Heracross
Attack
Defense
Stamina
Best Movesets
Analysis
Heracross has a unique Bug/Fighting typing that would not be seen again until the Ultra Beasts in Sun/Moon. As a Bug-type attacker, Heracross is both outclassed and not viable for tasks such as soloing Alakazam. As a Fighting-type attacker, Heracross is still outclassed, but it’s a great choice for tasks that require lots of pugilistic power.
Heracross frequently appears in gyms, either to show off or to help a player farm candy, but its defensive prowess is poor, being weak to and resisted by many types.
If you're lucky enough to have a good Heracross outside of its native range, then definitely hold onto it. Mega Heracross is an absolute monster.
Offense
- Counter should be paired with Close Combat to make Heracross a decent Fighting attacker.
- Struggle Bug can be paired with Megahorn for Bug-type offense, but there are better options in this role.
- Rock Blast can add some versatility for attacking Gyms as a secondary move, but is otherwise not very useful.
- Earthquake and Upper Hand are outclassed by Heracross’s other charge moves. However, while Upper Hand is weak, the fact that it's 3-bar means it's occasionally optimal when compared to the mediocre Close Combat...
Defense
- Struggle Bug performs better than Counter, but is resisted by many types that would attack Heracross.
- Rock Blast and Upper Hand are both multi-bar moves that can come out frequently.
- The rest of the available Charge Moves are 1-bar moves. Close Combat, Megahorn, Earthquake is the order of preference.
Counter is a solid move in PvE thanks to its high damage and decent energy generation. Struggle Bug is horrendous.
Upper Hand stands as the must-have move for Heracross thanks to its high average Fighting Type damage, low energy cost, and Defense buffing capabilities. Megahorn is a bit more expensive, but it hits like a truck and can close the deal pretty well if not resisted. Rock Blast is very appealing for Heracross due to its low energy cost and useful Rock-type coverage, especially against Heracross's weakness to Flying-types.
Heracross can use its rare typing, good stats, and strong moves to act as a niche closer. It's particularly effective against Dark types and can provide solid counter-coverage for Psychic and Ghost-types. The problem here is the fact that its restricted CP does it no favors, and common Pokemon with effective counter-coverage are running around the tier, such as Altaria and Deoxys-D, though Psychic-types in particular also need to be weary of STAB Megahorn. Just note that Heracross fares particularly poorly against Ghost-types, and needs to run very quickly if its opponent has any chance of packing Flying-type moves in particular.
