Introduction
Heracross has risen from the depths of RU to emerge as one of the premiere offensive threats in the current metagame. Base 125 would ordinarily be sufficient to qualify something as a top tier threat, but in a format littered with more answers to physical attackers than you could ever comprehend, that alone doesn’t cut it. This is where Heracross realizes its potential as the ultimate ideal of a glass cannon. Its most popular ability, guts, grants this competitive insect an incredibly 1.5x attack boon at the cost of willingly suffering a volatile status condition. A burn, which normally heralds doom for all physical attackers, on Heracross instead forces that burden onto its opponents.
Breakdown
With the +1 boost from guts, Heracross is capable of ohkoing a full health Vanilluxe in the snow (denying Aurora Veil), as well as having a greater than 51% chance of 2hkoing a full physically defensive Mandbiuzz. If Heracross chooses to run an adamant nature, these calculations only get better. Access to trailblaze may tempt Heracross users to preferentially use such a nature, but the increase in power is oftentimes not worth the sacrificed speed. Without a Jolly nature, Heracross is outpaced by the like of Mamoswine, Vanilluxe, and most importantly opposing Heracrosses. Jolly nature also allows Heracross to punish Rotom-H sets that choose not to opt for full speed EVs with a beneficial nature.
As dangerous as Heracross is, its checks can be even more so if they come into a favorable matchup. After a single defense drop from close combat, Heracross is liable to get ohkoed by choice band Scizzor’s bullet punch. Switching out though, could mean granting a swords dance set a free turn to then sweep you in reverse. Metal Coat and Focus Sash are the name of the Scizzor game in this arena, and determining the difference between the two can be life or death for teams carried by our favorite horned bug.
Another danger to watch for is the smogon bird herself, Fezandipti. With sets nearly as varied as the curses I scream upon seeing it cross my screen, Fez can come in on everything except for Façade or Earthquake, either forcing Heracross out or putting it in a position to give Rotom-H a free switch in. This is a tough needle to thread, and players should stay weary of the potential risks and benefits of placing Heracross in such a position to begin with.
Written by Typhon