From Smogon's NatDex Ubers analysis by Eledyr, Bobsican and bumboclaat. Written for Pokémon Showdown, so it might not work perfectly in PBF.
- Item
- Heavy Duty Boots
- Ability
- RegeneratorHA
- Nature
- AdamantAtkSpA
EVs508/510
248HP
176Atk
20Def
0SpA
56SpD
8Spe
- Offensive Ho-Oh avoids a proclivity for passivity that can be exploited by common Pokemon such as Taunt Calm Mind Arceus formes, Dragon Dance Zygarde, and wallbreaker Eternatus. Consequently, many balance and bulky offense structures prefer offensive Ho-Oh, as it is more proactive while retaining most of the traits that enable Ho-Oh to function as a strong support Pokemon. Offensive Ho-Oh retains its spot as the best entry hazard removal, a blanket special wall, and a pivot with excellent longevity. However, Ho-Oh's offensive presence comes at the cost of its physical bulk, which renders it a poor switch-in to Pokemon such as Zacian-C and Marshadow.
- Sacred Fire's burn chance dissuades most physical attackers such as Dragon Dance Arceus-Ground and Rayquaza from switching in. Brave Bird heavily chunks Pokemon that would otherwise easily switch in to Sacred Fire such as Eternatus, Primal Groudon, and Primal Kyogre. Brave Bird's high damage and PP also prevents Pokemon Calm Mind Arceus formes from attempting to stall out Sacred Fire and use Ho-Oh as setup fodder. These traits combine to make Brave Bird Ho-Oh's most spammable move.
- Ho-Oh's last moveslot is quite flexible and easily tailored to meet the needs of its team. Thunder Wave hinders Pokemon such as Zacian-C and Eternatus, allowing teammates to handle them easily should Ho-Oh be unable to. Whirlwind's phasing prevents some threats such as Coil Zygarde lacking Dragon Tail, Meteor Beam Eternatus, and Calm Mind Arceus formes lacking Taunt from getting out of hand in a pinch, especially given Coil Zygarde in particular can use Ho-Oh lacking Whirlwind as setup fodder. Earthquake is more specific and should always be used alongside Tera Ground, but it enables Ho-Oh to more directly challenge Primal Groudon and Eternatus.
- 56 Special Defense EVs causes Eternatus's +1 Dynamax Cannon to 3HKO. 20 Defense EVs enable Ho-Oh to survive Zacian-C's +1 Wild Charge, Choice Band Tera Dark Chien-Pao's Crunch, Ultra Necrozma's +1 Photon Geyser, Silk Scarf Tera Normal Arceus's Double-Edge, and Choice Band Rayquaza's Dragon Ascent. 8 Speed EVs enable Ho-Oh to outspeed paralyzed Zacian-C. 176 Attack EVs enable Ho-Oh to break Tera Ground Zygarde-C's Substitute with Sacred Fire. If Ho-Oh is not using Thunder Wave nor has paralysis support from a teammate, an alternative EV spread of 248 HP / 176 Atk / 28 Def / 56 SpD enables Ho-Oh to survive Swords Dance Utility Primal Groudon's Rock Tomb after one turn of Toxic chip.
- Tera Grass covers many of the sparse holes in Ho-Oh's defensive profile, enabling it to survive boosted Zacian-C's Wild Charge and Eternatus's Meteor Beam and paralyze or phase these threats. Ho-Oh benefits from its newfound Electric-, Water, and Ground-type resistances to pivot into Primal Kyogre and Coil Zygarde. Although Ho-Oh cannot beat Coil Zygarde long-term, the ability to easily phase it before it has accumulated enough boosts to become an offensive threat is incredibly valuable and allows teammates to position themselves to prevent it from getting out of hand.
- If a more offensive approach is desired, Tera Flying transforms Ho-Oh from a Pokemon that is difficult to switch into to a proper wallbreaker that cleaves through bulkier teams; the power boost enables Ho-Oh to 2HKO defensive Eternatus and support Arceus formes. Tera Ground is a niche option for teams that struggle with Meteor Beam Eternatus, protecting Ho-Oh from the move and causing Earthquake to OHKO after Stealth Rock while providing benefits against offensive Primal Groudon and Zacian-C. Tera Dark is an alternative for teams that struggle with Ultra Necrozma and Yveltal.
- Ho-Oh is immensely flexible in-game. Against hyper offense teams, Ho-Oh's role is often limited to removing hazards and dealing with a significant threat such as Zacian-C or Eternatus, as it is rarely left with enough HP to use Regenerator to check multiple Pokemon. This often has an outsized impact on the match due to relieving the defensive burden on teammates such as Primal Groudon and Zygarde, leading to easier victories.
- Ho-Oh plays a more active role against balance and bulky offense teams, as the slower pace often enables it to show off its defensive prowess. Ho-Oh can be played quite freely, but should be wary of Pokemon that commonly use Rock-type coverage such as Primal Groudon and Eternatus until scouted. Sacred Fire's burn plays a pivotal role in breaking through bulkier Pokemon such as Calm Mind Arceus formes and Eternatus, as the chip prevents them from shrugging off Brave Bird. Despite soft checking the majority of the metagame, some caution should be exercised with physical attackers. For example, despite the ability to trade with Zacian-C, offensive Ho-Oh cannot switch in safely to do so.
- Primal Groudon is a near-mandatory teammate: it switches into the few Pokemon Ho-Oh cannot—namely Primal Kyogre and Zacian-C —while providing entry hazards. It appreciates Ho-Oh's ability to check Arceus-Ground lacking Rock-type coverage, Calm Mind Arceus-Dark, and Eternatus. If Thunder Wave is used, Primal Groudon should consider investing a couple EVs in Speed to outpace paralyzed Eternatus and Zacian-C.
- Calm Mind Arceus-Dark is an excellent teammate due to its ability to compress essential defensive roles such as checking Ultra Necrozma and Life Orb Yveltal, and a Ghost-type resistance that forces Choice Band Marshadow to predict properly—all while serving as a potent wincon—while appreciating Ho-Oh checking Zacian-C and Arceus-Fairy. Choice Band Marshadow is an incredibly effective revenge killer and wallbreaker further enabled by the sturdy defensive backbone Ho-Oh helps to reinforce. In particular, Ho-Oh appreciates Marshadow's ability to revenge kill Extreme Killer Arceus and Ultra Necrozma while dissuading wallbreakers such as Calm Mind Arceus formes, Swords Dance Utility Primal Groudon, and Primal Kyogre from setting up.
Community Ho-Oh sets
- Item
- Leftovers
- Ability
- RegeneratorHA
- Nature
- ImpishDefSpA
EVs508/510
252HP
0Atk
204Def
0SpA
52SpD
0Spe
From the pvp-hooh tag
Smogon sets for Ho-Oh2
Synced daily from Smogon's National Dex analyses. Written for Pokémon Showdown, so these sets might not work perfectly in PBF.
- Item
- Heavy Duty Boots
- Ability
- RegeneratorHA
- Nature
- ImpishDefSpA
EVs508/510
248HP
0Atk
204Def
0SpA
56SpD
0Spe
- Ho-Oh shines as an entry hazard control option that can cripple and scout a sizable portion of the metagame with little risk while also keeping itself healthy with Regenerator. Its Fire / Flying typing and solid mixed bulk enable it to come into a variety of foes such as Arceus-Ground, Arceus-Fairy, and Mega Salamence. Its typing specifically grants it an immunity to burns from the likes of Giratina-O and Arceus-Dark and Toxic Spikes from Eternatus.
- Sacred Fire lets Ho-Oh apply pressure on Steel-types—which are immune to Toxic—like Necrozma-DM and Zacian-C while also potentially crippling foes with a burn, rendering it difficult to switch into.
- Toxic allows Ho-Oh to cripple switch-ins such as Zygarde, Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, Giratina-O, opposing Ho-Oh, and support Arceus formes without Refresh.
- Whirlwind disrupts setup sweepers such as Necrozma-DM and Zygarde.
- The bulk EVs help Ho-Oh avoid an OHKO from Zacian-C's Wild Charge at +2 Attack and Choice Band Tera Flying Rayquaza's Dragon Ascent while also letting it never be 2HKOed by a +1 Eternatus's Dynamax Cannon.
- Tera Grass helps against foes such as Marshadow, Arceus-Ground, and especially Zygarde, as Zygarde's Thousand Arrows hits the entire metagame for neutral or super effective damage otherwise. Tera Grass also makes Ho-Oh a good check for Water-types such as Palkia-O, Primal Kyogre, and Arceus-Water.
- Tera Ground gives Ho-Oh the option to outplay foes that try to hit it with super effective Rock- and Electric-type coverage like Marshadow and Flutter Mane, and it also eases the matchup against Eternatus and Zekrom.
- Tera Dark provides Ho-Oh with the capability to easily check Psychic-, Dark-, and Ghost-types like Mega Mewtwo Y, Ultra Necrozma, Yveltal, and Lunala. With it, Ho-Oh can also ignore Taunt from Grimmsnarl, allowing it to remove dual screens with Defog.
- By Terastallizing, Ho-Oh minds Stealth Rock significantly less, which can be crucial if it loses its Heavy-Duty Boots, with Tera Ground in particular giving it the most longevity via resisting Rock. However, it also becomes vulnerable to other entry hazards such as Spikes and Toxic Spikes.
- Ho-Oh's utility and defensive traits let it fit well on balance and more defensive team structures that appreciate an entry hazard control option, pivot, and phazer.
- Avoid keeping Ho-Oh on targets that can use Knock Off to remove its Heavy-Duty Boots. Otherwise, Ho-Oh's longevity will be compromised, or it will be forced to Terastallize.
- Ho-Oh should be preserved at good health if the opposing team has strong threats that it's meant to check, such as Arceus-Ground and Zygarde. When handling setup sweepers, it's more consistently reliable for Ho-Oh to use Whirlwind than to inflict a burn with Sacred Fire. However, this strategy shouldn't be relied on too much late-game, as Whirlwind fails when only a single foe remains.
- As it's tasked with answering many different threats, Ho-Oh can get overwhelmed if heavily relied on. Therefore, Pokemon such as Primal Groudon, Arceus-Poison, and Necrozma-DM help Ho-Oh as secondary answers to foes such as Zacian-C.
- Pokemon such as Marshadow, Zacian-C, Eternatus, and Primal Groudon often run super effective coverage that can KO Ho-Oh; as a result, it appreciates allies that can come into them, which include Giratina-O, Arceus-Ground, and Necrozma-DM.
- Ho-Oh appreciates entry hazard setters because Sacred Fire, Toxic, and Whirlwind can force a lot of switches and thus deal massive amounts of chip damage, so Pokemon such as Primal Groudon and Eternatus are great allies in this regard.
- Item
- Choice Band
- Ability
- RegeneratorHA
- Nature
- JollySpeSpA
EVs508/510
0HP
252Atk
4Def
0SpA
0SpD
252Spe
- Equipped with a Choice Band, Ho-Oh is a powerful wallbreaker that threatens to OHKO or 2HKO a large majority of the tier, including staples like Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, Arceus-Ground, and Necrozma-DM.
- Ho-Oh's Brave Bird is easily spammable thanks to the lack of Flying-resistant Pokemon in the metagame. It's capable of OHKOing staples like offensive Primal Kyogre and Ultra Necrozma after Stealth Rock damage and can 2HKO Yveltal, utility Arceus formes after Stealth Rock, and opposing defensive Ho-Oh. Its recoil is usually easy to pilot around thanks to Regenerator.
- Sacred Fire deals hefty damage to Steel-types, 2HKOing Necrozma-DM and OHKOing Zacian-C and Ferrothorn. Sponging a burn is also very annoying for common switch-ins like Zygarde, Giratina, and Eternatus, as it cuts their passive recovery. Flare Blitz can be used alternatively for its higher PP and slightly higher Base Power, but the reduced chance to burn combined with the lack of important targets that would fall to Flare Blitz makes it a generally inferior option compared to Sacred Fire.
- Earthquake threatens Primal Groudon and Necrozma-DM with super effective damage. It comes in handy against Primal Groudon, as when compared to Brave Bird, Earthquake has no recoil and can still 2HKO it.
- The last moveslot is flexible: Defog, while seemingly counter-intuitive on a Choice-locked set, is actually usable thanks to the forced switches Choice Band Ho-Oh produces. Recover can instead be used to grant Ho-Oh even more longevity. These two moves are dangerous to lock into, however, as they leave Ho-Oh completely passive. Alternatively, Flare Blitz can give more flexibility in the Fire-type attack Ho-Oh can use.
- A Jolly nature alongside maximum EV investment in Speed is recommended so Ho-Oh can always at least Speed tie with base 90 Speed Pokemon like Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre.
- Tera Flying further boosts Brave Bird, allowing absurd damages such as always 2HKOing defensive Primal Groudon, Dondozo, and defensive Arceus formes. It also comes in handy defensively, as a pure Flying typing makes Ho-Oh less sensitive to Stealth Rock and Rock-type attacks such as Arceus-Ground's Power Gem. However, it also make it weak to Will-O-Wisp and Ice Beam, which can be detrimental when facing foes like support Arceus formes, Lunala, and Giratina. Meanwhile, it also makes switching on an opposing Ho-Oh risky due to Sacred Fire becoming able to burn your own Ho-Oh.
- Tera Ground is great both offensively and defensively; it lets Earthquake always 2HKO defensive Primal Groudon, and it even gives a slight chance to OHKO offensive Primal Groudon. Meanwhile, it turns Ho-Oh's 4x weakness to Rock into a resistance, making Ho-Oh vastly more resilient against Stealth Rock and allowing it to lure in and remove most Rock-type attack users, like Primal Groudon, Eternatus, and Meteor Beam Deoxys-A.
- Regenerator is unable to compensate for Ho-Oh's crippling Stealth Rock weakness. Consequently, Ho-Oh is usually seen on defensive teams that are able to provide consistent entry hazard removal. Accordingly, this enables Ho-Oh to find many safe entry points throughout the game and handle Pokemon these teams have trouble with such as Heavy-Duty Boots Eternatus and Taunt + Calm Mind Arceus formes. This set can also be used to lure in and remove Gothitelle, which is usually a terrible matchup for defensive teams.
- Ho-Oh requires strong Defog support from teammates like Giratina and support Arceus formes, as the absence of Stealth Rock enables it to be used more aggressively. Ho-Oh can exploit defensive Pokemon such as utility Arceus formes and Eternatus using Recover to find easy entry points to wallbreak. Furthermore, Giratina checks most Primal Groudon sets and brings Pressure support, draining Stealth Rock's PP faster, which makes it a strong teammate for Ho-Oh.
- Special sponges like Chansey and specially defensive Necrozma-DM help Ho-Oh with pivoting around special attackers, such as Primal Kyogre and Meteor Beam Eternatus. In return, once positioned, Ho-Oh can deal with Taunt Arceus formes, which usually shut them down.