Sets
CB Sweeper
- Item Held
- Choice Band
- Nature
- Adamant (+Attack, -Special Attack) / Jolly (+Speed, –
Special Attack)
- Effort Points
- 252 Attack – 252 Speed – 6 Special Defense
A Fire-type Pokémon with a better Attack than Special Attack is
rare, and taking into account that the Uber metagame is really Special-
based, Ho-oh can really trouble a lot of those legendary Pokémon. Sacred
Fire is all such a Pokémon needs. High base power and a great side effect,
leaving the target with a burn 50% of the time. Physical sweepers like
Groudon and Rayquaza that may predict the Fire-type move will have to think
again before switching in as their offensive capabilities may be cut down
to half. Earthquake takes care of Pokémon resisting Sacred Fire, more
importantly Heatran, which is OHKOed and the common Water-types Kyogre and
Palkia which are 2HKOed. Now, while Punishment may not seem like a good
move with its base power of 60, it can really take down some huge threats.
Any stat-boosting Pokémon will be afraid of it after using its move and
with the grand majority of stat-uppers being Psychic-type, this move
becomes a real menace. Nasty Plot/Swords Dance Mew, Calm Mind Mewtwo, Calm
Mind Latios and Latias, Cosmic Power Deoxys are a few examples of what
Pokémon this move is supposed to hit. Finally, Return is mostly a filler
since Ho-oh’s physical movepool isn’t something to brag about. However, it
still manages to 2HKO quite a few Ubers that don’t resist it.
The EP spread is just the straightforward spread for your standard
Choice Band sweeper. Adamant vs. Jolly depends on what you are afraid of.
Adamant lets you tie with other neutral natured, base 90 Speed Ubers. Jolly
makes you outrun Rayquaza, which rarely goes for max Speed, however it
needs just one Dragon Dance to outrun Ho-oh. Generally, Adamant nature is
recommended.
Calm Mind Sweeper
- Item Held
- Leftovers
- Nature
- Calm (+Special Defense, -Attack)
- Effort Points
- 252 Special Defense – 248 HP – 10 Speed
Special based Ho-oh can also be a pain. Since most Ubers are
Special based as well, after a Calm Mind or two this bird will be
impossible to take down. Of course, its Special Attack is also boosted
along with its sky-high Special Defense, allowing it to sweep with its
STABed Flamethrower. Thunder can be used to deal with Kyogre since it will
change the weather. However, Hidden Power Ice is a better alternative as it
takes care of the Lati twins, Giratina and Rayquaza. Of course, getting a
good Ho-oh with Hidden Power Ice is a pretty hard task, so Thunder will be
your option for an in-game Ho-oh. Roost is obviously here to make sure that
Ho-oh lasts in the battle, as well as for dropping its 4x weakness to Rock
during that turn.
Choice Specs Sweeper
- Item Held
- Choice Specs
- Nature
- Modest (+Special Attack, -Attack)
- Effort Points
- 252 Special Attack – 252 Speed – 6 Special
Defense
Should a Special based Ho-oh be needed while you don’t feel
comfortable with Calm Mind, a Choice Specs set can always be used. Of
course, the power of this set is kind of low when compared to the Choice
Band one, but its ability to hit more opponents is quite important. Fire
Blast is the suggested Fire-type move for this set due to its base power,
but Flamethrower is an option for accuracy purposes. Shadow ball takes care
of the wide variety of Psychic-type Ubers while Thunder deals with Kyogre.
In the last slot, you can go with Hidden Power Ice for defeating Rayquaza
or Earth Power for defeating Heatran.
Defensive Phoenix
- Item Held
- Leftovers
- Nature
- Careful (+Special Defense, -Special Attack)
- Effort Points
- 252 Special Defense – 248 HP – 10 Speed
Physical sweepers will be met with a burn from Sacred Fire
(hopefully), while Special ones will be paralyzed by Thunder Wave, while
seeing their power being reduced by Light Screen. That way, you can prepare
an easy, late-game sweep with the rest of your team after having crippled
most members of your opponent’s team. Roost is here as it should be in any
defensive minded set.
Toxistaller
- Item Held
- Leftovers
- Nature
- Careful (+Special Defense, -Special Attack)
- Effort Points
- 252 Special Defense – 248 HP – 10 Speed
Same set with the previous one, but with Toxic this time. After
poisoning them, stall as much as you can with Light Screen and Roost as
Pressure eats their PP turn by turn. Sacred Fire takes care of Physical
sweepers again as well as Steel-types, immune to Toxic.
Other Possible Options
One would expect that an Uber has so many options that it doesn’t know what
to use. However, Ho-oh is one of the few Ubers that lack a fantastic
movepool. Whirlwind is one of its other
options, allowing it to phaze opponents as well as to spread
paralysis/poison. Reflect can boost its
average Defense. Overheat is an option on
the Choice Specs set if you plan on switching out after every hit. Rest and Sleep
Talk are also on Ho-oh’s movepool and are worth consideration if you
are afraid of Toxic users.
Counters
It’s not really hard to understand that Kyogre is the best counter to Ho-oh, even if it
carries Thunder. It can change the weather to rain, dropping Fire’s power
while hitting with its mighty Surf or even mightier Water Spout. Palkia also works similarly, resisting Fire,
being neutral to Electric and having Surf to hit Ho-oh.
Rayquaza, Latios and Latias are all resistant to Fire and Electric,
and immune to Ground too, making their switch into Ho-oh pretty easy.
However, all of them stopped by Hidden Power Ice using Ho-oh versions while
Latios and Latias are stopped by Shadow Ball as well. Of course, if the
latter two carry Calm Mind, they can minimize damage and beat Ho-oh, though
a boosted Punishment will destroy them. Heatran can switch into anything but
Earthquake/Earth Power and it can even receive a Flash Fire boost.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t have any good moves to threaten Ho-oh. Same goes
for Giratina, which is afraid of Hidden
Power Ice and Shadow Ball.
Finally, if you want to have an easier job dealing with Ho-oh, Stealth
Rock can chip off a nice 50% of its HP as it switches in.
Opinion & Notes
In D/P, the legendary phoenix got what it desperately needed. Its signature
move, Sacred Fire, turned Physical now, allowing it to wreak some real
havoc with its wonderful 50% chance of leaving the opponent with a burn. On
the other hand, Stealth Rock arrived as well, completely ruining its day.
Hence, Ho-oh isn’t the most common Pokémon in Ubers, though its not bad at
all. Nevertheless, Ho-oh is definitely worth a spot in a team as it’s one
of the few Pokémon that can do the job of Physical sweeper and a Special
wall which can threaten even Physical sweepers.
Note that Earth Power is available
to Ho-oh only via Platinum’s move tutor.