[AG] Ho-Oh [QC 2/3] Written

Overview

A fairly large Attack stat paired with powerful STAB attacks make Ho-Oh a dominant offensive force, particularly since Ho-Oh can use Sacred Fire's 50% Sacred Fire to halt physical attackers and provide residual damage to break Lugia's Multiscale. It's great bulk allows Ho-Oh to switch into many Pokemon with ease, while absorbing all neutral or resisted special attacks. Access to a phenomenal ability in Regenerator allows Ho-Oh to successfully regain HP without much effort as long as Stealth Rock isn't up. Ho-Oh's solid Fire / Flying typing gives Ho-Oh key resistances and immunities and makes it one of the best answer to Calm Mind Arceus formes, particularly Fairy and Steel, and lets it check nearly any support Pokemon that lacks Toxic. However, a 4x Stealth Rock weakness limits Ho-Oh's ability to check Pokemon and necessitates reliable hazard clearing, and its lacking physical. defense allows it to fall prey to attackers such as Mega Rayquaza

Tank
Ho-Oh @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 200 HP / 216 Atk / 92 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Earthquake / Thunder Wave / Substitute
- Recover

Set Comments
Moves

Sacred Fire is a reliable STAB move with a 50% chance to burn, and is Ho-Oh's best option to hit most switch-ins. Brave Bird is a secondary STAB move with more PP and damage output, but deals recoil damage to Ho-Oh and lacks the secondary effect. Earthquake hits Rock-type Pokemon such as Arceus-Rock and Tyranitar hard and is Ho-Oh's best options versus Primal Groudon. Thunder Wave slows the foe and allows Ho-Oh or its teammates to clean later on in the game; it also cripples Geomancy Xerneas if Ho-Oh needs to take on a healthy variant. Substitute blocks many status moves and allows Ho-Oh to set up on Pokemon it walls and avoid having to predict switches, but Ho-Oh is too slow to Substitute on many common status users such as support Arceus and will get Toxiced regardless. Recover restores Ho-Oh’s HP and allows it to stay in on Pokemon it walls.

Set Details
200 HP EVs, alongside 92 Special Defense EVs, allow Ho-Oh to live a +2 Xerneas Thunder 100% of the time and retaliate; the remaining EVs are placed in Attack alongside an Adamant Nature to maximize Ho-Oh’s damage output. Regenerator is the ability of choice to regain HP on switch out, as it prevents Ho-Oh from needing to constantly recover. Life Orb increases the damage of all of Ho-Oh’s Attacks while allowing it to switch moves to recover or change attacks.

Usage Tips
Switch Ho-Oh freely into Pokemon it walls such as support Arceus-Ground, Xerneas, and Arceus-Steel to fire off attacks. Keep Stealth Rock off the field whenever possible, as it cripples Ho-Oh’s utility and prevents it from checking Pokemon such as Calm Mind Arceus reliably. In a similar vein, scout for Rock-type attacks on Pokemon such as Primal Groudon and Arceus whenever possible, as they easily OHKO Ho-Oh. Since Ho-Oh doesn’t require PP to heal, it can be very handy to outlast opposing teams. Where possible, use Sacred Fire conservatively; it only has 8 PP, and is needed for Ho-Oh to check Steel-type Pokemon reliably.

Team Options
Defoggers such as Arceus-Fairy and Arceus-Ground extremely important to clear Stealth Rocks for Ho-Oh. Answers to Stone Edge users such like Primal Groudon and Extreme Killer Arceus in Zygarde-C, Arceus-Ground, and Giratina are handy, both to take and to scout for the attack. Physical attackers such as Primal Groudon and Mega Rayquaza pait well with Ho-Oh to wear down shared Check and Counters such as Arceus-Water, Arceus-Rock, or Giratina. Fairy Types such as Xerneas and Arceus-Fairy force out threatening Dragon-type Pokemon such as Zygarde-C, Giratina, and Mega Rayquaza. Support Arceus are handy to switch into physical attackers like Mega Rayquaza that force out Ho-Oh. Answers to Primal Kyogre such as Ferrothorn, Primal Groudon, and Chansey are appreciated; these all also serve as backup Xerneas checks, and the last can use Heal Bell to cure Ho-Oh should it get Toxiced.

Choice Band
Ho-Oh @ Choice Band
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 200 HP / 216 Atk / 92 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Earthquake
- Sleep Talk / Whirlwind

Set Comments

Moves

Sacred Fire is a powerful physical STAB attack with a helpful Burn chance. Brave Bird has a higher BP, allowing Ho-Oh to muscle past bulkier foes such as support Arceus and Giratina and gives excellent coverage. Earthquake hits common answers such as Tyranitar, Arceus-Rock, and Primal Groudon for heavy damage. Sleep Talk allows Ho-Oh to act as a check to sleep users such as Hypnosis Mega Gengar and Lunala. Whirlwind aids Ho-Oh in answering Geomancy Xerneas, and can be used to scout for answers or rack up hazard damage.

Set Details
200 HP EVs, alongside 92 Special Defense EVs allow Ho-Oh to live a +2 Xerneas Thunder 100% of the time; 216 Attack EVs, an Adamant nature, and a choice band allow Ho-Oh to deal as much damage as possible while hitting that benchmark. Regenerator is the ability of choice to regain HP on switch out and counteract the recoil from Brave Bird. Choice Band greatly increases Ho-Oh's damage output and allows it to wear down bulky walls such as support Arceus more easily.

Usage Tips

In the early game, click Sacred Fire frequently to burn switch-ins and make them easier to wear down; be sure to conserve some uses, however, as Earthquake is not always enough to answer Steel-type Pokemon. Avoid bringing Ho-Oh in when Stealth Rocks are up; if necessary, use Defog to clear entry hazards. Be careful using Earthquake, as it isn't particularly powerful unless super effective and allows threatening Flying-type Pokemon such as Mega Rayquaza to freely switch in. Beware of using all of Sacred Fire's PP, however, as it forces Ho-Oh to switch and robs you of its utility later.

Team Options

Ho-Oh greatly appreciates Defog support, so users such as Arceus-Fairy, Arceus-Dark, and Arceus-Ground pair well with it. Earthquake Mega Rayquaza is a great partner, as it can lure in and KO Rock-type Pokemon like Arceus-Rock and Tyranitar; in return, Ho-Oh can take on Skarmory, Celesteela, and Arceus-Steel, which Earthquake Mega Rayquaza generally has more trouble with. Revenge Killers such as Extreme Killer Arceus, Deoxys-A, and Choice Scarf Lunala are handy to take on Pokemon that set up on Ho-Oh while its locked into the wrong move. Primal Groudon appreciates Ho-Oh as an additional Xerneas check to take pressure off of it and as an answer to Arceus-Ground, and can act as an answer to Arceus-Rock and Primal Kyogre. Additional Xerneas checks such as Arceus-Steel, Magearna, and Ferrothorn are helpful since Ho-Oh is not a reliable Geomancy Xerneas check; these Steel-type Pokemon can also take on Arceus-Rock. Answers to Dragon Types such as Xerneas, Arceus-Water, and Arceus-Fairy are appreciated to stop them from walling or setting up on Ho-Oh.

Stall-Oh
Ho-Oh @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 208 Def / 52 SpD
Impish Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Toxic
- Recover

Set Comments

Moves

Sacred Fire allows Ho-Oh to cripple physical attackers with a burn and deal damage without compromising its bulk. Brave Bird hits the rest of the metagame and stops Pokemon such ad Mega Rayquaza from freely setting up on Ho-Oh. Toxic wears down opposing bulky Pokemon such as support Arceus and other Ho-Oh. Recover restores Ho-Oh’s HP, reducing its reliance on Regenerator and helping it check Calm Mind Arceus formes.

Set Details

248 HP EVs, alongside 52 Special Defense EVs, help Ho-Oh check Xerneas by ennsuring it always lives a +2 Thunder. The remaining 208 EVs are placed in Defense to allow Ho-Oh to take arbitrary physical attacks. Regenerator is the ability of choice to regain HP on switch out, as it prevents Ho-Oh from needing to constantly recover and allows it to keep momentum; it also is very useful for PP stalling. Leftovers gives Ho-Oh passive recovery and aids it in avoiding being worn down by Toxic.

Usage Tips

Switch Ho-Oh freely into most special attackers, as it can heal itself without using turns or recovery pp. Keep Stealth Rock off the field whenever possible to allow Ho-Oh to switch in. Avoid using Sacred Fire recklessly, as you may end up burning something you need to Toxic or running out of PP. Beware of Rock-type coverage on Pokemon such as Primal Groudon or Arceus, as it can OHKO Ho-Oh

Team Options

Defoggers such as Giratina, Arceus-Ground, and Arceus-Water are very handy to clear hazards and allow Ho-Oh to freely switch. Similarly, Mega Sableye pairs well to bounce back hazards as they are set; it appreciates Ho-Oh checking Fairy-type Pokemon and Calm Mind Arceus forms. Physical walls such as Lugia, Giratina, and Zygarde-C are useful to cover Ho-Oh’s weaker defense stat; Zygarde-C in particular easily takes Rock-type attacks for Ho-Oh. Status clearers such as Clefable, Chansey, and Xerneas aid Ho-Oh by curing Toxic, which eats into Ho-Oh’s recovery and stops it from staying in to wear down foes. Primal Kyogre checks such as Ferrothorn, Chansey, and Primal Groudon are helpful, as its rain boosted attacks can overwhelm even Ho-Oh's Special Defense stat.

Strategy Comments

Other Options


Flame Charge may be run on the life orb set to increase Ho-Oh's speed stat and allow for a sweep, but is unreliable and is hampered by Ho-Oh's frequent need to switch. Z-celebrate gives +1 in all stats, but is incompatable with Regenerator, is single use, unreliable, and takes up your Z-move slot. Whirlwind allows Ho-Oh to better handle Calm Mind Arceus and Geomancy Xerneas, but comes at the cost of a more important move such as Earthquake or Toxic. Toxic may be run on offensive Ho-Oh sets to wear down switch-ins, particularly support Arceus and Lugia. Reflect or Light Screen are decent options to let Ho-Oh support its team and check strong attackers.


Checks and Counters
Stealth Rock :
Ho-Oh's weakness to Stealth Rock removes any defensive utility it provides by removing half its health when switching in. While Stealth Rock is up, Ho-Oh cannot utilize Regenerator effectively and is therefore impaired severely.

Rock-types : Ho-Oh suffers immensely from its crippling weakness to Rock-type Pokemon, particularly Arceus-Rock but also Tyranitar, as they are only threatened by Earthquake. Rock-type Pokemon resist both of Ho-Oh's STAB attacks, while they can also deal enough damage to OHKO with their STAB boosted Rock-type attacks.

Water-types : Arceus-Water can easily switch into any of Ho-Oh's attacks, and is able to 2HKO with Judgment or stall it out with Toxic. Primal Kyogre doesn't appreciate switching in on Brave Bird; however, if given the chance to attack, it can easily OHKO Ho-Oh without much concern.

Bulky Dragon-type Pokemon : Bulky Dragon-type Pokemon such as Zygarde, Arceus Dragon, and Giratina wall Ho-Oh; they can easily switch into Sacred Fire to stall out its PP and aren't weak to Brave Bird.

Rock-type Coverage : Arceus and Groudon-Primal can often bear Stone Edge or Rock Slide, which OHKO Ho-Oh easily; while less common, offensive Solgaleo may do the same.

Zekrom: Ho-Oh cannot damage Zekrom directly with its STAB attacks and often relies on Earthquake to deal damage or Sacred Fire's chance to inflict a burn. Zekrom's Bolt Strike decimates any Ho-Oh set with any item attached.

Toxic: Toxic doesn't directly beat Ho-Oh, but it greatly weakens it and limits how long it can stay on the field; it is also the most common way for Ho-Oh's checks, such as Arceus-Water, to take it out.
 
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MZ

And now for something completely different
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these are mostly nitpicks without too much standing on the analysis and/or things that'd probably get ironed out in writeup... except for the fact that you've blatantly copy-pasted points like what sacred fire does from one set to the other which is just not ok. they can say the same thing and read different, all of these instances need to be edited. I didn't mark every case because it'd be annoying to go and check back consistently, you're gonna need to go back and take care of it though that's just a massive no-no
Overview

- Fairly large Attack stat paired with powerful STAB attacks make Ho-Oh a dominant offensive force.
- Can abuse Sacred Fire's 50% Sacred Fire to halt physical attackers and provide residual damage to allow Lugia's Multiscale and Deoxys's Focus Sash to be broken. not entirely sure that messing with sash deo sometimes is an overview worthy point but w/e
- Excessive weird word choice bulk allows Ho-Oh to switch into many Pokemon with ease, while absorbing all neutral or resisted special attacks.
- Access to a phenomenal ability in Regenerator allows Ho-Oh to successfully regain HP without much effort, granted Stealth Rock isn't up.
- Decent Fire-Flying typing gives Ho-Oh key resistances and immunities to Fire-, Fairy-, and Ground-type attacks rly should say something specific about #1 cm arc check in the meta somewhere in the overview, seems to fit here but either way that's a huge point that needs a specific mention bc blanketing cm fairy, ground, steel, etc at once is amazing
- SR Weakness limits Ho-Oh's ability to check Pokemon and necessitates reliable hazard clearing
- Lack of Physical defense allows it to fall prey to attackers such as Mega Rayquaza

Tank
Ho-Oh @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 200 HP / 216 Atk / 92 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Earthquake / Thunder Wave / Substitute
- Recover

Set Comments
Moves

- Sacred Fire is a reliable STAB move with a 50% chance to burn, and is Ho-Oh's best option to hit most switch-ins
- Brave Bird is a secondary STAB move with more PP and damage output, but deals recoil damage to Ho-Oh and lacks the secondary effect.
- Earthquake hits Rock- and Electric-type Pokemon such as Arceus-Rock and Zekrom hard. I'd really just stick with mentioning rock types, rockceus and ttar are 10x more relevant than zekrom. it's also nice to not take BB+LO recoil vs Pdon
- Thunder Wave slows the foe and allows Ho-Oh to cripple common switch-ins such as Arceus-Water and allows Ho-Oh or its teammates to clean later on in the game. i really see twave as being nice for geoxern/speed invested arc formes/other fast stuff, if you wanted to cripple waterceus you'd use toxic
- Substitute blocks many status moves and allows Ho-Oh to set up on Pokemon it walls and avoid having to predict switches, but Ho-Oh is too slow to substitute on many common status users such as support Arceus. make it more clear that this is about being toxic'd before the sub
- Recover restores Ho-Oh’s HP and allows it to stay in on Pokemon it walls.

Set Details
- 200 HP EVs, alongside 92 Special Defense EVs, allow Ho-Oh to live a +2 Xerneas Thunder 100% of the time.
- The remaining EVs are placed in Attack alongside an Adamant Nature to maximize Ho-Oh’s damage output.
- Regenerator is the ability of choice to regain HP on switch out, as it prevents Ho-Oh from needing to constantly recover.
- Life Orb increases the damage of all of Ho-Oh’s Attacks, while allowing it to switch moves to recover or change attacks
Usage Tips (spacing here)
- Switch Ho-Oh freely into Pokemon it walls such as support Arceus-Ground, Xerneas, and Arceus-Steel to fire off attacks.
- Keep Stealth rock off the field whenever possible, as it cripples Ho-Oh’s utility and prevents it from checking Pokemon such as Calm Mind Arceus reliably.
- Scout for Rock-type attacks on Pokemon such as Primal Groudon and Arceus whenever possible, as they easily OHKO Ho-Oh
- Since Ho-Oh doesn’t require PP to heal, it can be very handy to outlast opposing teams.
this is a bit bare, maybe at least scouting for rock moves vs things like groundceus and pdon (idk what else, solg?) that only sometimes have it

Team Options
- Defoggers such as Arceus-Fairy and Arceus-Ground are useful *vitally important* to clear Stealth Rocks for Ho-Oh.
- Answers to Stone Edge users such as Zygarde-C, Arceus-Ground, and Giratina are handy, both to take and to scout for the attack. it's a weird statement to blanket all stone edge users since they can be as diverse as solgaleo and ekiller, maybe split edge users up a bit more or at least be specific with "stone edge users like xyz"
- Physical attackers such as Primal Groudon and Mega Rayquaza pait well with Ho-Oh to wear down Shared Check and Counters such as Arceus-Water, Arceus-Rock, or Giratina.
- Fairy Types such as Xerneas and Arceus-Fairy force out threatening Dragon-type Pokemon such as Zygarde-C, Giratina, and Mega Rayquaza.
random phys def arc formes are also good since you'll be forced out mostly by things like megaray. also worth mentioning clerics, not required but good for tox

Choice Band
Ho-Oh @ Choice Band
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 200 HP / 216 Atk / 92 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Earthquake
- Sleep Talk

Set Comments

Moves (this section is where i saw the most blatant copy-pasting that is really really really bad)

- Sacred Fire is a reliable STAB move with a 50% chance to burn, and is Ho-Oh's best option to hit most switch-ins.
- Brave Bird is a secondary STAB move with more PP and damage output, but deals recoil damage to Ho-Oh and lacks the secondary effect.
- Earthquake hits Rock- and Electric-type Pokemon such as Arceus-Rock and Zekrom hard while being Ho-Oh's best option against ?
- Sleep Talk allows Ho-Oh to act as a check to sleep users such as Hypnosis Mega Gengar and Lunala. bro what happened to set details?????????
- 200 HP EVs alongside 92 Special Defense EVs allow Ho-Oh to live a +2 Xerneas Thunder 100% of the time.
- The remaining 216 EVs are placed in Attack alongside an Adamant Nature to maximize Ho-Oh’s damage output.
- Regenerator is the ability of choice to regain HP on switch out, as it prevents Ho-Oh from needing to constantly recover.
- Choice Band greatly increases Ho-Oh's Damage output and allows it to wear down bulky walls such as support Arceus more easily.

Usage Tips

- In the early game, click Sacred Fire frequently to burn switch-ins and make them easier to wear down.
- Use Defog and double switches to bring Ho-Oh in without Taking Stealth Rock damage. double switches? so ur doubling into SR users? idk it's a weird point, especially when the most common one sometimes carries edge/slide/tomb. plus hooh isn't using defog. i think the point is supposed to say "defog and/or don't switch hooh into rocks if possible" but this doesn't convey that
- Be careful using earthquake, as it isn't particularly powerful unless super effective and allows threatening Flying-type Pokemon such as Mega Rayquaza to freely switch in.
- Beware of using all of Sacred Fire's PP, however, as it forces Ho-Oh to switch and robs you of its utility later.

Team Options

- Ho-Oh greatly appreciates Defog support, so users such as Arceus-Fairy, Arceus-Dark, and Arceus-Steel pair well with it.
- Other physical attackers such as Mega Rayquaza and Primal Groudon pair well with Ho-Oh to wear down shared answers. pretty sure i remember reading this exact thing
- Revenge Killers such as extreme killer Arceus, Deoxys-A, and Choice Scarf Xerneas idk about this one, scarf xern cant revenge boosting espeed arc formes... or megaray... or CM arc formes... basically it's a better attacker than revenge killer. u could mention lunala or yvel if u want a scarfer are handy to take on Pokemon that set up on Ho-Oh while its locked into the wrong move.
- Answers to Dragon Types such as Zygarde-C and Giratina are appreciated to stop that from walling Ho-Oh you didn't actually say what the dragon answers are
wouldn't mind seeing something about ray checks since it definitely can get in an annoying amount on this. also something about having secondary geoxern checks since only band hooh is in no way reliable so teams should have some kind of backup


Stall-Oh
Ho-Oh @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 208 Def / 52 SpD
Impish Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Toxic
- Recover

Set Comments

Moves (spacing, copying)

- Sacred Fire is a powerful STAB move with a high chance to burn, allowing Ho-Oh to cripple physical attackers on the switch.
- Brave Bird Hits most of the Metagame for heavy damage and Prevents ho-Oh from being setup bait.
- Toxic wears down opposing bulky Pokemon such as support Arceus and other Ho-Oh
- Recover restores Ho-Oh’s HP and allows it to stay in on Pokemon it walls.
Set Details (spacing, copying again)

- 248 HP EVs alongside 52 Special Defense EVs ensure Ho-Oh will always live a +2 Thunder from Xerneas
- The remaining 208 EVs are placed in physical defense to allow Ho-Oh to take arbitrary physical attacks.
- Regenerator is the ability of choice to regain HP on switch out, as it prevents Ho-Oh from needing to constantly recover.
- Leftovers gives Ho-Oh passive recover and aids it in avoiding being worn down by status. might as well just say toxic

Usage Tips

- Switch Ho-Oh freely into most special attackers, as it can heal itself without using turns or recovery pp.
- Keep Stealth Rock off the field whenever possible to allow ho-oh to switch in.
- Avoid using Sacred Fire recklessly, as you may end up burning something you need to Toxic.
- Beware of Rock-type coverage on Pokemon such as Primal Groudon or Arceus, as it OHKOes Ho-Oh
this section definitely needs to talk about the kinds of mons hooh can switch into / wall, it's a bit more of an obscure set and reading this would leave me with no clue what kind of things phys def is supposed to beat. you mention taking on special attackers more than physical. think about this and it'll probably become more obvious that there's just more to talk about on this set than copying points that apply to offensive ones

Team Options

- Defoggers such as Giratina, Arceus-Ground, and Arceus-Water are very handy to clear hazards and allow Ho-Oh to freely switch.
- Similarly, Mega Sableye pairs well to bounce back hazards as they are set. and also likes the cm arc form and fairy type check
- Physical walls such as Lugia, Giratina, and Zygarde-C are useful to cover Ho-Oh’s weaker defense stat; Zygarde-C in particular easily takes Rock-type attacks for Ho-Oh
- Status clearers such as Clefable, Chansey, and Xerneas aid Ho-Oh byb curing Toxic, which eats into Ho-Oh’s recovery and stops it from staying in to wear down foes.
- Primal Kyogre checks such as Ferrothorn, Chansey, and Primal Groudon are helpful, as its rain boosted attacks can overwhelm even Ho-Oh's Special Defense stat.
i see things that hooh appreciates, u kinda skipped on stuff that appreciates the support hooh has to offer

Strategy Comments

Other Options


- Flame Charge may be run on the life orb set to increase Ho-Oh's speed stat and allow for a sweep.
- Z-celebrate may be used to gain +1 in all stats, but is incompatable with Regenerator, is single use, and takes up your Z-move slot and is super unreliable, prone to being revenge killed... make this sound more negative
- Whirlwind allows Ho-Oh to better handle Calm Mind Arceus, but comes at the cost of a more important move. what important move?

Checks and Counters
Stealth Rock :
Ho-Oh's weakness to Stealth Rock removes any utility it provides, removing half its health when switching in. While Stealth Rock is up, Ho-Oh cannot utilize Regenerator effectively and is therefore impaired severely.

Rock-types : Ho-Oh suffers immensely from its crippling weakness to Rock-type Pokemon, particularly Arceus-Rock as it is only threatened by Choice Band Earthquake. Rock-type Pokemon resist both of Ho-Oh's STAB attacks, while they can also deal enough damage to OHKO with their STAB boosted Rock-type attacks. Other prevalent Rock-type Pokemon include Tyranitar. slapping ttar on at the end just sounds weird

Water-types : Arceus-Water can easily switch into any of Ho-Oh's attacks, and is able to 2HKO with Judgment or stall it out with Toxic. Primal Kyogre doesn't appreciate switching in on Brave Bird; however, if given the chance to attack, it can easily OHKO Ho-Oh without much concern.
(spacing) Bulky Dragon-type Pokemon : Bulky Dragon-type Pokemon such as Zygarde and Giratina-O wall Ho-Oh and can easily switch into Sacred Fire to stall out its PP. this sorta makes it sound like they cant chew brave bird which they totally can, although maybe it's just me. also mention dragceus, it's not great but it should go here anyway

Rock-type Coverage : Arceus and Groudon-Primal can often bear Stone Edge or Rock Slide, which OHKO Ho-Oh easily. Arbitrary Calm Mind Arceus formes may opt to invest in Attack, and run Stone Edge just to prevent Ho-Oh walling them. not sure arbitrary is the right word. also not totally convinced that cm stone edge arc formes need a mention because lol it's garb and u can just try iron defense/refresh

Zekrom: Ho-Oh cannot damage Zekrom directly with its STAB attacks and often relies on Earthquake to deal damage or Sacred Fire's chance to inflict a burn. Zekrom's Bolt Strike decimates any Ho-Oh set with any item attached.

not sure why there isn't a toxic section after zekrom, most of hood's best switchins rely on this to cripple it and it can really mess with ur staying power in tandem with all the chip from BB, LO, rocks, w/e it has to deal with
I'm tempted to not stamp until you fix the copy pasting because it's that blatant of an issue, but it's not like I'll really look over it again other than making sure you didn't not change things so w/e, 1/3 but seriously don't do that and if i see that's not fixed i will hunt you down and write an irate post
qcstamp.gif
 

Chloe

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NUPL Champion
i havent used this mon before but ill have a go anyway
Overview

- Fairly large Attack stat paired with powerful STAB attacks make Ho-Oh a dominant offensive force.
- Can abuse Sacred Fire's 50% >>>Sacred Fire<<< to halt physical attackers and provide residual damage to allow Lugia's Multiscale and Deoxys's Focus Sash to be broken.
- Great bulk allows Ho-Oh to switch into many Pokemon with ease, while absorbing all neutral or resisted special attacks.
- Access to a phenomenal ability in Regenerator allows Ho-Oh to successfully regain HP without much effort, granted Stealth Rock isn't up.
- Solid Fire / Flying typing gives Ho-Oh key resistances and immunities and makes it one of the best answer to Calm Mind Arceus formes, particularly Fairy and Steel, and lets it check nearly any support Pokemon that lacks Toxic.
- SR Weakness limits Ho-Oh's ability to check Pokemon and necessitates reliable hazard clearing
- Lack of Physical defense allows it to fall prey to attackers such as Mega Rayquaza

Tank
Ho-Oh @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 200 HP / 216 Atk / 92 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Earthquake / Thunder Wave / Substitute
- Recover

Set Comments
Moves

- Sacred Fire is a reliable STAB move with a 50% chance to burn, and is Ho-Oh's best option to hit most switch-ins
- Brave Bird is a secondary STAB move with more PP and damage output, but deals recoil damage to Ho-Oh and lacks the secondary effect.
- Earthquake hits Rock-type Pokemon such as Arceus-Rock hard and is Ho-Oh's best options versus Primal Groudon.
- Thunder Wave slows the foe and allows Ho-Oh or its teammates to clean later on in the game; it also cripples Geoxern if Ho-Oh needs to take on a healthy variant.
- Substitute blocks many status moves and allows Ho-Oh to set up on Pokemon it walls and avoid having to predict switches, but Ho-Oh is too slow to Substitute on many common status users such as support Arceus and will get Toxiced regardless.
- Recover restores Ho-Oh’s HP and allows it to stay in on Pokemon it walls.

Set Details
- 200 HP EVs, alongside 92 Special Defense EVs, allow Ho-Oh to live a +2 Xerneas Thunder 100% of the time.
- The remaining EVs are placed in Attack alongside an Adamant Nature to maximize Ho-Oh’s damage output.
- Regenerator is the ability of choice to regain HP on switch out, as it prevents Ho-Oh from needing to constantly recover.
- Life Orb increases the damage of all of Ho-Oh’s Attacks while allowing it to switch moves to recover or change attacks.

Usage Tips
- Switch Ho-Oh freely into Pokemon it walls such as support Arceus-Ground, Xerneas, and Arceus-Steel to fire off attacks.
- Keep Stealth rock off the field whenever possible, as it cripples Ho-Oh’s utility and prevents it from checking Pokemon such as Calm Mind Arceus reliably.
- Scout for Rock-type attacks on Pokemon such as Primal Groudon and Arceus whenever possible, as they easily OHKO Ho-Oh
- Since Ho-Oh doesn’t require PP to heal, it can be very handy to outlast opposing teams.
- However be cautious when using Sacred Fire as it only has 8 PP and its often relied on as a way to surpass opposing Steel-types.

Team Options
- Defoggers such as Arceus-Fairy and Arceus-Ground extremely important to clear Stealth Rocks for Ho-Oh.
- Answers to Stone Edge users >>>such like<<< Primal Groudon and Extreme Killer Arceus in Zygarde-C, Arceus-Ground, and Giratina are handy, both to take and to scout for the attack.
- Physical attackers such as Primal Groudon and Mega Rayquaza pait well with Ho-Oh to wear down Shared Check and Counters such as Arceus-Water, Arceus-Rock, or Giratina.
- Fairy Types such as Xerneas and Arceus-Fairy force out threatening Dragon-type Pokemon such as Zygarde-C, Giratina, and Mega Rayquaza.
- Support Arceus are handy to switch into physical attackers like Mega Rayquaza that force out Ho-Oh.
- Clefable also pairs well with Ho-Oh, as it can help deal with Toxic via Heal Bell and unaware lets it take pressure of Ho-Oh for checking Xerneas. remove this, clef is garb, change it to chansey if you really want to keep this point as it helps check ogre as well. (you probably want a separate sections for ogre answers anyway)
- Primal Kyogre checks such as Primal Groudon, Ferrothorn and Chansey all benefit Ho-Oh immensely.


Choice Band
Ho-Oh @ Choice Band
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 200 HP / 216 Atk / 92 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Earthquake
- Sleep Talk / Whirlwind (Sleep Talk is often useless this gen, Whirlwind isn't the worst thing to be locked into and provides phazing so win/win)

Set Comments

Moves

- Sacred Fire is a reliable STAB move with a 50% chance to burn, and is Ho-Oh's best option to hit most switch-ins.
- Brave Bird is a secondary STAB move with more PP and damage output, but deals recoil damage to Ho-Oh and lacks the secondary effect.
- Earthquake hits Rock- and Electric-type Pokemon such as Arceus-Rock and Zekrom hard while being Ho-Oh's best option against
- Sleep Talk allows Ho-Oh to act as a check to sleep users such as Hypnosis Mega Gengar and Lunala.

Set Details
- 200 HP EVs alongside 92 Special Defense EVs allow Ho-Oh to live a +2 Xerneas Thunder 100% of the time.
- The remaining 216 EVs are placed in Attack alongside an Adamant Nature to maximize Ho-Oh’s damage output.
- Regenerator is the ability of choice to regain HP on switch out, as it prevents Ho-Oh from needing to constantly recover, which would be especially problematic when equipped with a Choice Band.
- Choice Band greatly increases Ho-Oh's Damage output and allows it to wear down bulky walls such as support Arceus more easily.

Usage Tips

- In the early game, click Sacred Fire frequently to burn switch-ins and make them easier to wear down.
- However be cautious in its usage as it only has 8 PP and its often relied on as a way to surpass opposing Steel-types.
- Use Defog and double switches to bring Ho-Oh in without Taking Stealth Rock damage.
- Be careful using Earthquake, as it isn't particularly powerful unless super effective and allows threatening Flying-type Pokemon such as Mega Rayquaza to freely switch in.
- Beware of using all of Sacred Fire's PP, however, as it forces Ho-Oh to switch and robs you of its utility later.

Team Options

- Ho-Oh greatly appreciates Defog support, so users such as Arceus-Fairy, Arceus-Dark, and Arceus-Steel pair well with it. remove arc steel from this right now and replace it with arc-ground, support arc-steel is so passive and you generally wouldnt run cm arc-steel on balance anyway
- Other physical attackers such as Mega Rayquaza and Primal Groudon pair well with Ho-Oh to wear down shared answers.
- Revenge Killers such as Arceus, Deoxys-A, and Choice Scarf Xerneas are handy to take on Pokemon that set up on Ho-Oh while its locked into the wrong move.
- Answers to Dragon Types such as Zygarde-C and Giratina are appreciated to stop that from walling Ho-Oh

Stall-Oh (just rename it to physically defensive imo)
Ho-Oh @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 208 Def / 52 SpD
Impish Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Toxic
- Recover

Set Comments

Moves

- Sacred Fire is a powerful STAB move with a high chance to burn, allowing Ho-Oh to cripple physical attackers on the switch.
- Brave Bird Hits most of the Metagame for heavy damage and Prevents ho-Oh from being setup bait.
- Toxic wears down opposing bulky Pokemon such as support Arceus and other Ho-Oh
- Recover restores Ho-Oh’s HP and allows it to stay in on Pokemon it walls.

Set Details

- 248 HP EVs alongside 52 Special Defense EVs ensure Ho-Oh will always live a +2 Thunder from Xerneas
- The remaining 208 EVs are placed in physical defense to allow Ho-Oh to take arbitrary physical attacks such as Choice Banded Dragon Ascent from Mega Rayquaza.
- Regenerator is the ability of choice to regain HP on switch out, as it prevents Ho-Oh from needing to constantly recover.
- Leftovers gives Ho-Oh passive recover and aids it in avoiding being worn down by status.

Usage Tips

- Switch Ho-Oh freely into most special attackers, as it can heal itself without using turns or recovery pp.
- Keep Stealth Rock off the field whenever possible to allow ho-oh to switch in.
- Avoid using Sacred Fire recklessly, as you may end up burning something you need to Toxic. and it also lacks PP
- Beware of Rock-type coverage on Pokemon such as Primal Groudon or Arceus, as it OHKOes Ho-Oh

Team Options

generally youd want to cater this mostly to mons youd find on stall since this is only really usable on semi-stall/full stall; looks like youve mostly done this bar a few exceptions:
- Defoggers such as Giratina, Arceus-Ground, and Arceus-Water are very handy to clear hazards and allow Ho-Oh to freely switch.
- Similarly, Mega Sableye pairs well to bounce back hazards as they are set.
- Physical walls such as Lugia, Giratina, and Zygarde-C are useful to cover Ho-Oh’s weaker defense stat; Zygarde-C in particular easily takes Rock-type attacks for Ho-Oh
- Status clearers such as Clefable, Chansey, and Xerneas aid Ho-Oh byb curing Toxic, which eats into Ho-Oh’s recovery and stops it from staying in to wear down foes. 1) remove xern from here, defensive xern doesnt exist anymore
- Primal Kyogre checks such as Ferrothorn, Chansey, and Primal Groudon are helpful, as its rain boosted attacks can overwhelm even Ho-Oh's Special Defense stat.
- clerics such as Chansey, Blissey and TheTerribleMoonMonThatOnlyReallyWallsSupportSlashCMArcAndXernButWeRunItBecauseStallSucksAtCheckingThoseThings enable Ho-Oh to be cured of Toxic so that it can capitalise off of its own Toxic usage (or something like that).

Strategy Comments

Other Options


- Flame Charge may be run on the life orb set to increase Ho-Oh's speed stat and allow for a sweep. but is usually useless
- Z-celebrate may be used to gain +1 in all stats, but is incompatable with Regenerator, is single use, and takes up your Z-move slot. It generally isn't very viable though.
- Whirlwind allows Ho-Oh to better handle Calm Mind Arceus, but comes at the cost of a more important move. mention this as >EQ on tank
- Toxic can be run on offensive variants to help overcome Support Arceus formes and Lugia easier.
- Reflect or Light Screen may be also be used as Ho-Oh can often force switches and use that turn to provide team support instead of double switching or doing minimal damage to an opposing Zygarde-Complete or Water Arceus.


Checks and Counters
Stealth Rock :
Ho-Oh's weakness to Stealth Rock removes any utility it provides, removing half its health when switching in. While Stealth Rock is up, Ho-Oh cannot utilize Regenerator effectively and is therefore impaired severely.

Rock-types : Ho-Oh suffers immensely from its crippling weakness to Rock-type Pokemon, particularly Arceus-Rock as it is only threatened by Choice Band Earthquake. Rock-type Pokemon resist both of Ho-Oh's STAB attacks, while they can also deal enough damage to OHKO with their STAB boosted Rock-type attacks. Other prevalent Rock-type Pokemon include Tyranitar.

Water-types : Arceus-Water can easily switch into any of Ho-Oh's attacks, and is able to 2HKO with Judgment or stall it out with Toxic. Primal Kyogre doesn't appreciate switching in on Brave Bird; however, if given the chance to attack, it can easily OHKO Ho-Oh without much concern.

Bulky Dragon-type Pokemon : Bulky Dragon-type Pokemon such as Zygarde and Giratina-O wall Ho-Oh and can easily switch into Sacred Fire to stall out its PP.

Rock-type Coverage : Arceus and Groudon-Primal can often bear Stone Edge or Rock Slide, which OHKO Ho-Oh easily. Arbitrary Calm Mind Arceus formes may opt to invest in Attack, and run Stone Edge just to prevent Ho-Oh walling them.

Zekrom: Ho-Oh cannot damage Zekrom directly with its STAB attacks and often relies on Earthquake to deal damage or Sacred Fire's chance to inflict a burn. Zekrom's Bolt Strike decimates any Ho-Oh set with any item attached.
qc 1/3!
 

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