Ho-Oh, the Rainbow Pokémon. Its feathers are in seven colors. It is said that anyone seeing it is promised eternal happiness..
Overview
In outright defiance of multiple generations of power creep, Ho-Oh returns in the ninth generation as seemingly immortal as the phoenix it evokes. This is in large part thanks to Ho-Oh’s defensive profile. 106 HP and 154 Special Defense is frankly absurd, granting Ho-Oh insane special hit taking ability. Physical attackers are not an answer to Ho-Oh either, thanks to its amazing STAB in Sacred Fire with a whopping 50% chance to Burn, crippling these would be checks. Ho-Oh’s hit taking is further enhanced with the excellent Fire Flying typing and the numerous resistances it provides, allowing Ho-Oh to pivot into all sorts of attacks. All this bulk is backed by robust recovery options in Recover, Roost and the potentially infinite healing of Regenerator allowing Ho-Oh to tank attacks time and time again. Ho-Oh is no slouch offensively either. While Base 130 Attack is a good start, it is not the upper echelon of power legends are known for. However, with Ho-Oh having fantastic Special Defense, Ho-Oh easily pressures most Special Attackers who generally are physically frailer and thus more vulnerable. Even against bulkier targets, Ho-Oh is a nightmare, Fire Flying STABs already providing great wide coverage, and Ho-Oh’s movepool does more than enough to fill the gaps, leaving few switch-ins truly safe.
For all Ho-Oh’s defensive prowess, there are easy methods to clip its wings. While Fire Flying is rather strong defensively, it does come saddled with troublesome weaknesses. The quadruple weakness to Stealth Rock is more glaring, mandating Ho-Oh run Heavy-Duty boots in any format where Stealth Rocks is expected. The weaknesses to Electric and Water are just as troubling, leaving Ho-Oh unable to wall two of the most prevalent legendary Special Attackers in Kyogre and Miraidon. To say nothing of the errant Power Gem, Rock Slide, Meteor Beam, Thunderbolt, and Wild Charge Pokémon like Lunala, Eteranatus, Zacian-Crowned and various Arceus forms can run. Ho-Oh’s Speed also sits at an unfortunate base 90. While this at least speed ties with Kyogre, generations of speed creep have left this insufficient often forcing Ho-Oh to take damage before acting, indirectly worsening its bulk. This has not stopped Ho-Oh from being all around excellent, and for trainers to make such changes to their movesets largely for Ho-Oh speaks volumes on its threat level. Despite being one of the oldest legendaries, like the immortal phoenix, Ho-Oh has again and again risen the occasion.
Positives
106/154 Special Bulk is absurd, allowing Ho-Oh to tank some of the strongest special attacks in the game.
Regenerator in conjunction with Recover or Roost gives Ho-Oh incredible longevity.
130 Attack is quite impressive, and Ho-Oh has the STABs and coverage to make the most of it.
Sacred Fire is an incredible STAB attack, offering solid damage and Burn rate in a single move slot.
Negatives
Quadruple weakness to Stealth Rock all but makes Heavy-Duty Boots mandatory for Ho-Oh.
Base 90 Defense is unimpressive leaving Ho-Oh reliant on Sacred Fire to tank physical blows.
Base 90 Speed leaves Ho-Oh outran by many offensive threats, forcing Ho-Oh to rely on its bulk even more.
Movesets
Prismatic Roc
-Sacred Fire
-Brave Bird
-Recover
-Earthquake
Ability: Regenerator
Item: Heavy-Duty Boots
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Offensive Ho-Oh melds the best of its good offense and fantastic defense, becoming a glue piece that can reliably pivot in and threaten opponents time and time again as a bulky attacker. Sacred Fire is mandatory on just about every Ho-Oh set, as a reliable physical Fire STAB with a 50% Burn rate is too good to pass up in general, let alone for Ho-Oh who uses the Burns to address its poorer Defense. Brave Bird is secondary STAB and while the recoil may be off putting for what is still partially a defensive Pokémon, the coverage from Brave Bird is too good to ignore. With Brave Bird, Ho-Oh threatens out prominent Fire resists like Koraidon, Kyogre, as well as ensuring bulkier ones like Giratina-Origin can't come in for free either. While Ho-Oh's Regenerator is ideal for the potential infinite healing it provides, Recover cannot be discounted for the bigger burst healing it provides, being ideal for shaking off Brave Bird recoil and larger blows while not mandating Ho-Oh switch out from a foe it could otherwise wall. The last move is up for preference. Earthquake is Ho-Oh's best coverage option, being its best answer into Eternatus, Arceus-Electric, Tyranitar and Miraidon, the latter two being some of the few Pokémon that resist both of Ho-Oh's STABs. Earthquake is also a great tool for punishing Tera Fire user looking to avoid a Sacred Fire Burn.
Tera Types:
Fire Flying is both a blessing and a curse for Ho-Oh, given the numerous resistances it provides, but balanced out by cripplingly common weaknesses that can make Ho-Oh's walling duties difficult. The fact that Ho-Oh has Regenerator further muddles matters as Ho-Oh can generate advantage by simply switching out of a bad matchup unlike many other Pokémon. If looking to Terastalize Ho-Oh, Grass is an ideal choice, giving Ho-Oh invaluable resistances to the Electric and Water moves as well as a neutrality to the Rock coverage that many Pokémon will run for Ho-Oh. This is especially handy in the matchups against Miraidon, Kyogre, Arceus-Water, Urshifu-Rapid and and Dondozo. If looking for a more offensive option, Tera Flying is popular, allowing Ho-Oh to outright OHKO Kyogre if Adamant, or reach that knock out with Stealth Rock chip if Jolly. Tera Ground is a solid offensive defensive option, giving a badly needed boost to Earthquake while providing Ho-Oh a valuable Electric immunity and Rock resistance, though the shared Water weakness is irksome.
EVs and Items:
The recommended EVs are a max Attack max Speed spread given how Ho-Oh speed ties with other notable threats like Kyogre and Groudon, allowing Ho-Oh to get the upper hand if they are not max Speed. While Jolly is preferred in the case of Speed ties, Adamant has its value too, enabling a OHKO on Kyogre with Tera Flying Brave Bid as well as Rayquaza, on top of getting OHKOs with Sacred Fire on Magearna and Corviknight. One can drop some speed investment for some more bulk if desired. One popular benchmark is 152 Speed EVs in the case of Necrozma-Dusk Mane who normally runs Knock Off which Ho-Oh absolutely cannot take. 136 Speed EVs is also popular for Sticky Web teams, outrunning heavily invested Mewtwo and Eternatus after a Sticky Web drop as well as Max Speed netural natured Koraidon, Chien-Pao and Eternatus. Heavy-Duty Boots is all but mandatory for Ho-Oh. Much of its value is garnered from the recovery that Regenerator grants, which is completely overwhelmed by the 50% Stealth Rocks takes. If confident about one's hazard game, a Sky Plate can be considered for extra power on Brave Bird without further compromising Ho-Oh's bulk and allowing for move flexibility.
Partners:
Koraidon is far and away the best partner for Ho-Oh. Sacred Fire is already a difficult move to switch into before one considers the free boost from the Sun. The two are also incredibly synergistic type wise with Koraidon resisting everything that Ho-Oh is weak to and Ho-Oh readily absorbing the Fairy attacks that threaten Koraidon, especially from Zacian-Crowned if not running Wild Charge. Groudon also works to a lesser extent for similar reasons, being a good answer into opposing Rock and Electric attacks while setting up hazards that Whirlwind Ho-Oh can punish.
Other Options:
Whirlwind, while a mainstay on more defensive Ho-Oh is fantastic even on offensive Ho-Oh, forcing out what would be opposing pivots, pHazing away dangerous sweepers, and racking up entry hazard damage.
Substitute is fantastic, especially against Pokémon whose only answer into Ho-Oh is Power Herb Meteor Beam or status, blanking the first attack allowing Ho-Oh to wail on them with impunity.
Flame Charge is a method for Ho-Oh to rectify its Speed against more aggressive teams.
Sacred Defense
-Sacred Fire
-Brave Bird
-Whirlwind
-Recover
Ability: Regenerator
Item: Heavy-Duty Boots
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
This Ho-Oh set while similar in moves to the offensive one, greatly emphasizes Ho-Oh’s role as an immortal wall, repeatedly pivoting into many Fairy, Fire, Ground and Fighting attacks before handling such attackers. As such, this set find its home as a key piece of many team’s defensive backbones. Sacred Fire remains the mainstay of any Ho-Oh set, the Burn and chip damage invaluable in mitigating the threat of the opposing team’s physical attackers for both Ho-Oh and its teammates. While Brave Bird seems antithetical to a defensive set Ho-Oh’s recovery easily more than offsets the recoil incurred and gives Ho-Oh a better matchup into opposing Fire resists. Whirlwind is vital for defensive Ho-Oh allowing it to remove boosting attackers that can’t or don’t care about being Burned like Curse Dondozo or Tera Fire Koraidon. Recover is vital for this set, giving Ho-Oh the longevity to repeatedly Whirlwind out or Burn opposing attackers without compromising itself.
Tera Types:
Fire Flying is both a blessing and a curse for Ho-Oh, given the numerous resistances it provides, but balanced out by cripplingly common weaknesses that can make Ho-Oh’s walling duties difficult. The fact that Ho-Oh has Regenerator further muddles matters as Ho-Oh can generate advantage by simply switching out of a bad matchup unlike many other Pokémon. If looking to Terastalize Ho-Oh, Grass is an ideal choice, giving Ho-Oh invaluable resistances to the Electric and Water moves as well as a neutrality to the Rock coverage that many Pokémon will run for Ho-Oh. This is especially handy in the matchups against Miraidon, Kyogre, Arceus-Water, Urshifu-Rapid and and Dondozo. Otherwise, Tera Fairy is a strong defensive typing that is invaluable against Koraidon, no selling Scale Shot and preventing Koraidon from setting up.
EVs and Items:
This set maximizes in physical bulk so that Ho-Oh has more breathing room in crippling opposing physical attackers. Alternatively, to better take on threats like Calyrex-Shadow Rider, heavily invest in Special Defense may be the way to go. Heavy-Duty Boots is all but mandatory for Ho-Oh, its quadruple weakness to Stealth Rock all but ruining what defensive utility it could have.
Partners:
Fairy weak Pokémon in general love Ho-Oh given how badly it trounces opposing Fairy types like Flutter Mane and Zacian-Crowned who require specific coverage to answer Ho-Oh, which can be easier said than done. Ting-Lu is a great example its Ground typing being much like Groudon in absorbing Electric and Rock attacks while also getting mileage out of Ho-Oh’s Fighting resistance. Urshifu-Rapid is more traditional, forming a Fire-Water core with Ho-Oh, though it is also excellent at absorbing most Rock coverage.
Given this set is rather passive, allies that can apply pressure are greatly appreciated. Glimmora is an excellent example its effortless setting of Toxic Spikes and entry hazards makes it simple to put a good chunk of the opposing team on a clock that Ho-Oh can easily help run out.
Other Options:
Earthquake can be a good way to lure in Miraidon though defensive Ho-Oh greatly prefers the utility of Whirlwind instead.
Protect and Substitute are great ways to punish Pokémon reliant on Meteor Beam to break through Ho-Oh while buying the opportunities for free chip damage.
Doubles and VGC Options
Ho-Oh’s performance isn’t near as domineering as its performance in singles, but its blend of bulk, power and utility makes it a very strong pick in restricted formats. While defensive Pokémon lacking redirection can struggle in Doubles, Ho-Oh outright weaponizes it bulk, using its fantastic longevity to repeatedly set Tailwind and spread Burns with Sacred Fire. The latter is especially valuable in restricted formats where many prominent physical restricted Pokémon either are unbothered by Intimidate like Zamazenta-Crowned or run Clear Amulet, leaving Ho-Oh one of the few ways to slow down such attackers. Offensively, Ho-Oh is primed to deal with the Grass typed staple on every team, with one of Amoonguss, Rillaboom, Brute Bonnet, Ogerpon and/or Whimsicott with none of them carrying a Tera to handle both Fire and Flying, to say nothing of other Flying weak staples like Urshifu, Volcarona and Koraidon. Ho-Oh has yet to see true doubles dominance; while its typing provides a great many resistances, being weak to prolific Special Attackers in Miraidon, Kyogre and Meteor Beam Lunala and Terapagos is a huge blow. Ho-Oh's speed not being that impressive outside of Tailwind is another pain point, allowing for more aggressive teams to overwhelm Ho-Oh before it can properly act. All in all, Ho-Oh remains a solid pick in double restricted formats and should be respected.
Rainbow Wind
-Sacred Fire
-Brave Bird
-Tailwind
-Protect
Ability: Regenerator
Item: Leftovers
Tera Type: Grass
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 76 Atk / 140 Def/ 4 SDef /36 Spe
Adamant Nature
Taken from ck49's Milwaukee Regional (Reg I) topping team, this set covers most of Ho-Oh's strengths. Ho-Oh is a rarity among Pokémon for being strong against Fighting+Special Ghost cores likes Calyrex-Shadow Rider + Zamazenta-Crowned and Koraidon + Flutter Mane thanks to its unique blend of resistance and bulk. Though the main reason one is ever using Ho-Oh is Sacred Fire. Coming off a base 130 Attack and STAB, Sacred Fire already hits like a truck, but the real prize is the high burn rate. Unlike Incineroar's Intimidate, which can be warded away with a Clear Amulet, Sacred Fire can only be stopped by Tera Fire, which not every physical attacker wants to run and is a huge opportunity cost regardless, making Ho-Oh fantastic at ruining a team's biggest physical threats. Brave Bird should not be discounted either for secondary STAB, hitting the almost always Tera Fire Koraidon incredibly hard, as well as threatening the ever present Urshifu. Brave Bird is also valuable into Grass typed support pieces like Rillaboom, Amoonguss, Brute Bonnet and most Ogerpon, all of who usually run Tera types that address their Fire weakness, not their Flying. Tailwind addresses Ho-Oh's other noticeable flaw, its poor speed, offering fantastic Speed control against teams that don't run Tailwind. Even against opposing Tailwind teams, Ho-Oh's durability is invaluable, allowing it to more consistently survive to the late game to reestablish Tailwind, where most other setters will have already been removed. Protect is the doubles staple, scouting out for Terastalizations and attacking, stalling for allied setup, as well as stalling out unfavorable field conditions and for extra Leftovers recovery. Given Ho-Oh's immense bulk, the ability to punish double ups into it is also greatly appreciated.
This EV spread greatly emphasizes Ho-Oh's physical bulk, with the following concessions. 76 Attack with Adamant Nature is the minimum threshold to OHKO Max HP Rillaboom with Sacred Fire, removing a key support piece from most opponents. 36 Speed EVs are also important, allowing Ho-Oh to outrun Calyrex-Shadow Rider in Tailwind. If running additional Speed support such as Electro Web or Icy Wind, 68 Speed EVs should be considered to allow Ho-Oh to outrun max Speed Ogerpon, which is important against the Wellspring and Cornerstone masks whose Ivy Cudgels do threaten Ho-Oh. Leftovers is recommended for the extra longevity on this set as well as recoup some of the recoil incurred from Brave Bird. Tera Grass provides invaluable resistances to Electric and Water, allowing Ho-Oh to make use of its incredible special bulk against Miraidon, Raging Bolt and Kyogre as well as survive errant Rock attacks from Cornerstone-Ogerpon, Terapagos, and Lunala in a pinch.
Preferred Partners:
Miraidon is an incredibly popular partner for Ho-Oh, with Miraidon loving Ho-Oh's fantastic matchup into Rillaboom, one of the biggest checks to Miraidon. Ho-Oh in turn loves Miraidon's pivoting with Volt Switch, granting an easy vector to repeatedly get Ho-Oh in and out and trigger Regenerator as well as Miraidon's quick removal of opposing Water types. Raging Bolt also works well with Ho-Oh for similar reasons.
While damage mitigation is good in general, it takes a new dimension with Ho-Oh who thanks to Regenerator can become near impossible to remove. As such Grimmsnarl makes for an excellent partner, greatly increasing Ho-Oh's bulk with Screens and Spirit Break while being another excellent pivot using thanks to its access to Parting Shot.
Rocky Helmet is a fun option with Tera Grass if wanting to have Urshifu-Rapid tear itself apart as well as punish the many physical attackers looking to exploit Ho-Oh's lower Defense.
Clear Amulet is also solid for keeping Ho-Oh's Attack up so it doesn't miss important OHKOs, though this is less important compared to other physical attackers given that Ho-Oh does garner value in pivoting out.
Life Dew is popular for pseudo immortal teams that are incredibly difficult to break through.
Countering Ho-Oh
Ho-Oh’s searing offense and immortal defense make it quite the task to take down, though there are enough flaws in its defense to make the task easier.
First and foremost is taking down Ho-Oh with sheer offense, muscling through its massive bulk and rendering its incredible recovery ability moot. Miraidon and Kyogre are two of the most well known given their terrifying offenses and super effective STABs, though Kyogre speed tying Ho-Oh and Ho-Oh being able to KO back with Brave Bird. Meteor Beam users like Eternatus, Lunala and Terapagos also readily threaten Ho-Oh, though the latter can also pick up a OHKO with Stellar Specs Hyper Beam. However these Meteor Beam users must be wary of Substitute and Protect as they will only get one shot to remove Ho-Oh. Other attackers like Banded Urshifu Rapid, Scarf Stone Edge Landorus-Therian and Specs Power Gem Flutter Mane all outspeed and can OHKO. It should be noted that few of these Pokémon like switching directly into a Sacred Fire, which goes true for many of the other capable, but slower physical attackers like Tyranitar as a Burn can prove ruinous even if the attack would still take out Ho-Oh, with Terapagos and Lunala disliking having their abilities permanently offline because of the Burn.
Toxic is also a massive hinderance for Ho-Oh, given how reliant it is on its longevity. Eterantus is easily one of the best options, even soaking up Earthquakes with ease and outlasting Ho-Oh with its own Recover while wasting precious Sacred Fire PP with Pressure. Gliscor can also do well. While it can’t switch in until Poison Heal is up, once it is in, it doesn’t need to worry about Sacred Fire Burns and can place Ho-Oh on a clock with Toxic that Gliscor can easily run out between Protect and Substitute.
Ho-Oh is quite vulnerable to Stealth Rocks, hence why it always carries Heavy-Duty Boots and as a result and item disruption all but turns off Regenerator and makes Ho-Oh much simpler to deal with.
Defensively checking Ho-Oh is a tall order, though not infeasible given its lack of boosting to increase its power, often requiring an offensive Terastalization to break through. Dondozo is one of the few physical attackers that doesn’t mind a Burn if it is running Rest, though it cannot use Ho-Oh as setup fodder thanks to the latter’s access to Whirlwind. Arceus-Water is another defensive staple that can attempt to outlast Ho-Oh while threatening it back with super effective STAB of its own.
While they cannot switch in directly, Tera Fire physical attackers are an answer to Ho-Oh due to their inability to be burned, allowing them to exploit Ho-Oh’s poor defense to the fullest, though Brave Bird and Earthquake can still do a number on such attackers.
Locations in Games
Red/Blue/Yellow:
Not in game
Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Tin Tower
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Navel Rock (Emerald)
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Navel Rock
Colosseum/XD:
Mt. Battle (Colosseum)
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Trade from Heart Gold/SoulSilver
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Bell Tower
Black/White:
Tranfser
Black 2/White 2:
Tranfser
X/Y:
Trade from Omega Ruby
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Sea Mauville (Omega Ruby)
Sun/Moon:
Trade from Ultra Sun
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Ultra Space Wilds (Ultra Sun)
Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Not in game
Sword/Shield:
Dynamax Adventures
Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl:
Ramanas Park
Legends: Arceus:
Not in Game
Scarlet/Violet:
South Province Area Four
Legends: Z-A:
Not in game
Anime Appearences
