Competitive Information for Heracross [X/Y]
Bug / Fighting
Abilities:
Movesets for Singles
What is a good competitive moveset for Heracross? These builds have been optimized for Pokemon competing in X/Y Single Battles. The movesets and EVs have been specifically calibrated to deal the most amount of damage to the largest group of potentially common opponents and typing threats for the X/Y generation metagame.
Heracross is a sensational Bug and Fighting-typed Pokemon. It's a frequent sight to see Heracross out in the 6th generation battlefield. Heracross is weak to Fairy, Fire, Flying, and Psychic-typed attacks.
Item: Flame Orb / Coba Berry
Ability: Guts
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Close Combat / Brick Break
- Bug Bite / Shadow Claw
- Earthquake
- Protect
Physical Sweeper Heracross (Guts)
Heracross is a decent Physical Sweeper. It is primarily designed to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. White Herb will reset Heracross's negative stat changes once (specifically for when it uses Close Combat). Flame Orb will burn Heracross at the end of the turn which will activate Heracross's Guts ability. Use Protect to help guarantee the Orb activates on your first turn. With Guts, if Heracross is statused its attack is 1.5x; ignores burn halving physical damage. Bug Bite or Shadow Claw are added to provide additional threat coverage.
♦ Brick Break is a physical STAB-boosted 75-base power Fighting-type move (destroys screens, unless the target is immune).
♦ Bug Bite is a physical STAB-boosted 60-base power Bug-type move (Heracross steals and eats the target's berry).
♦ Shadow Claw is a physical 70-base power Ghost-type move (high critical hit ratio).
♦ Earthquake is a physical 100-base power Ground-type move (hits adjacent pokemon).
♦ Protect is a status move (prevents moves from affecting your Heracross this turn).
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Stone Edge
- Night Slash
- Close Combat
- Megahorn
Heracross Physical Sweeper (Beastly Beetle)
Heracross is a fabulous Physical Sweeper. It's purpose is to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Choice Scarf will increase Heracross's speed by 1.5x but will lock you into the first move you pick. With Moxie, Heracross's attack is raised by 1 stage if it attacks and koes another pokemon.
♦ Night Slash is a physical 70-base power Dark-type move (high critical hit ratio).
♦ Close Combat is a physical STAB-boosted 120-base power Fighting-type move (lowers your Heracross's defense and special defense by 1 stage).
♦ Megahorn is a physical STAB-boosted 120-base power Bug-type move that deals a enormous amount of damage.
Movesets for Doubles
What is a good doubles moveset for Heracross? These builds have been optimized for X/Y Double Battles. They have movesets and EVs specifically calibrated to generally work best versus multiple Pokemon at once as well as helping to support other team members and allys in the X/Y generation metagame.
Item: Flame Orb / Coba Berry
Ability: Guts
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Close Combat / Brick Break
- Earthquake / Bulldoze
- Knock Off / Bug Bite
- Protect
Doubles Physical Sweeper Heracross (Guts)
Heracross is a marvelous Physical Sweeper. It's designed to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. White Herb will reset Heracross's negative stat changes once (specifically for when it uses Close Combat). Flame Orb will burn Heracross at the end of the turn which will activate Heracross's Guts ability. Use Protect to help guarantee the Orb activates on your first turn. With Guts, if Heracross is statused its attack is 1.5x; ignores burn halving physical damage. Knock Off or Bug Bite are added to provide additional threat coverage.
♦ Brick Break is a physical STAB-boosted 75-base power Fighting-type move (destroys screens, unless the target is immune).
♦ Earthquake is a physical 100-base power Ground-type move (hits adjacent pokemon).
♦ Bulldoze is a physical 60-base power Ground-type move (100% chance lower adjacent pkmn speed by 1 stage).
♦ Knock Off is a physical 65-base power Dark-type move (1.5x damage if foe holds an item; Note: This will also remove that item).
♦ Bug Bite is a physical STAB-boosted 60-base power Bug-type move (Heracross steals and eats the target's berry).
♦ Protect is a status move (prevents moves from affecting your Heracross this turn).
Movepool
Wondering what moves can Heracross learn? Here is the list of moves this Pokemon can learn in this selected generation.
Sort and organize the learnset by move type, category, accuracy, and power. Bolded moves will gain the same-type attack bonus (STAB) if this Pokemon uses them.
Damage Modifiers:
Combo List
These are a list of several common move combinations Heracross can perform in X/Y. Not every combo going to be game-changing, but some can be pretty fun to play with. Sometimes these can be easily overlooked or forgotten, hence why we find and list them here. Discover what items, abilities, and moves this Pokemon can use in combination with each other to gain a strategic advantage in competitive battles.
Competitive XY Move and Ability Combos for Heracross
- Moves: Endure + Flail
- Moves: Endure + Reversal
- Moves: Rest + Sleep talk
- Ability: Guts + Item: Flame Orb
- Move: Fling + Item: King's Rock
- Move: Facade + Item: Flame Orb
- Move: Facade + Item: Toxic Orb
- Moves with Priority: Bide, Endure, Protect, Helping Hand, Feint, Vacuum Wave
- Moves that Break Screens: Brick Break
Optimize Heracross's EVs for X/Y
Related Videos
Here are various how-to-use and competitive moveset analysis video guides for Heracross in X/Y. These featured videos will most likely contain additional strategies and combos not listed on our site. Disclaimer: All videos belong to their respective owners along with the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the videos. They belong solely to the author and not to us.
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