#214: Heracross

Heracross is ready to fuck up its opponents. 

Everything Game Freak did wrong with Pinsir they did right with Heracross. Pinsir is still a competetent and likeable Pokémon, and I didn't give it a 4.5-star rating for no fucking reason, but let's face it: with its ability to learn a ton of fighting-type moves - including its vast fighting-type level-up movepool - Pinsir should have been fighting in the first place. Heracross is less obviously a fighting type in its design (although its Mega form makes up for that) and doesn't learn as many fighting-type moves as Pinsir does, but it's definitely better than its 'predecessor'. Like Pinsir, Heracross is based on a popular bug species used in insect fighting, namely Japanese rhinoceros beetles, which are known for their incredible strength. Heracross, whose name is derived from Ἡρακλῆς ('Heracles', a demigod of Greek mythology more commonly known by its Roman name Hercules) and 'cross', has a flavor that could be expected from a combative bug: the claws on its feet are strong *blah blah blah* it uses them to dig them into the ground to gain a secure and solid footing *yada yada yada* hurls opponents and competitors for food over great distances with force *wah wah wah* thrusts its prized horn under enemies' bellies and flings them far way *yada yada yada* can lift 100 times its own weight and topple trees *blah blah blah*. No surprises there at all. Heracross feeds on fresh sap from leafy trees, though, and while it's usually a gentle and docile Pokémon, it will chase anyone who disturbs it while feeding on tree sap.

That's a sign of a serious tree sap addiction, if you ask me. I would check into rehab if I were you, Crossy. The sooner the better.

Official Mega Heracross art

In all seriousness, though, Heracross has gotten a nice new tactic in competitive play: a Mega. While I initially thought it was just a weird Mega evolution when it was first revealed, it has gradually grown on me since. Its design actually makes a lot of sense, too. It's already in Heracross's name, but Mega Heracross is based on the Hercules beetle, which is obviously derived from that same Greek demigod I was talking about earlier. The oddest thing about Mega Heracross is that its torso apparently resembles the grille of an air conditioner very much, doesn't it? It also functions as such: when it unleashes its maximum power, its body temperature increases dramatically, so it opens the shells of its arms and torso to let the heat escape. And it does indeed unleash its maximum power, because it has a whopping base attack stat of 185! Only Mega Mewtwo X exceeds that with a base attack stat of 190, but that's a legendary Pokémon and all, and Heracross most definitely isn't. It does lose a little speed upon Mega-evolving, though, so it allows you to not run a speed-boosting nature like Jolly but an attack-boosting nature such as Adamant instead. With a maxed-out attack stat of 260, Mega Heracross hits like a pulp truck crashes into an invisible dome. In other words, it hits HARD. And with the Skill Link ability, which allows moves that randomly hit two to five times to always hit five times, and a few nifty moves that benefit from it (Bullet Seed, Rock Blast and STAB Pin Missile), Mega Heracross is a force to be reckoned with. It can even use Swords Dance to boost its attack stat to utterly ridiculous levels.

It looks like this Heracross is swinging an opponent around. I believe it's Salamence,
but I couldn't be entirely sure. 

But there is also regular Heracross. It doesn't have access to Skill Link like Mega Heracross does, but it has some formidable abilities that it can use instead: Guts gives Heracross a 50% attack boost when it is inflicted by a status condition, which is why you can give it a Toxic Orb or Flame Orb to hold, while its hidden ability Moxie raises its attack by one stage every time it knocks out an opposing Pokémon. The latter works very well with a Choice Band or Life Orb rather than a Toxic Orb or something, as an Orb item only hinders Heracross when it doesn't have Guts. Both sets allow you to run a Jolly nature, but you should shy away from multi-strike moves. Go with moves that will do a massive amount of damage instantly, such as Close Combat, Megahorn, Earthquake, Stone Edge, Knock Off, Facade (only in conjunction with an Orb item) and either Night Slash or Shadow Claw.

3D (or semi-3D?) art of Mega Heracross, to be found in the Furious Fists expansion
of the Trading Card Game. The shells on its arms are open in order to ventilate its
body. 

Yes, Game Freak did a lot of things right with Heracross, and this Pokémon is a huge step forward compared to regular Pinsir - whom Game Freak did fix somewhat with a Mega. And while Mega Heracross is a monster, I'm still not a huge fan of its design. Yes, I know it's supposed to be based on a Hercules beetle, but the openable shells on its arms and torso makes me think like it's some kind of ventilation shaft. And to me, that's not exactly the definition of 'ordinary'. Then again, Pokémon based on magnets (Magnemite and Magneton) or gears (Klink, Klang and Klinklang) are quite out of the ordinary too, but at least their designs and flavor revolve all around that aspect instead of that aspect being just a small part of their designs. Like I said, I've come to appreciate Mega Heracross's design little by little, but for now I can't give it a perfect rating yet. It's a bit weird when you consider I'm giving 5-star ratings to Pokémon like Shuckle, Furret and Unown, but that's just the way it is.

Rating: 4.5/5