Imagine what every Gold/Silver player must have thought when they saw this Heracles beetle fall out of one of the two trees on the route between Union Cave and Azalea Town after using Headbutt on every tree you see:
Heracross was probably the only viable Bug type back then no thanks to having exclusive access to the 120 base power Megahorn, though when you are competing with Fury Cutter, Pin Missile, and freaking Leech Life (Pre Gen 7) it's hardly a competition. Heracross has remained a viable threat since then offering high power, great abilities, a good movepool, and average speed. Obviously Bug types have long since come into their own in the metagame, and Megahorn can now be taught via TR, so Heracross is no longer the king of the sap covered tree, but it's still a strong choice and will be a great option to anyone looking for a buggy bruiser.
The Bug Burns with Bravado!
Ability: Guts
Item: Flame Orb
Nature: Jolly (+Speed -Sp.Attack)
EVs: (HP 4) (Attack 252) (Speed 252)
Moves:
Close Combat
Megahorn
Throat Chop/Earthquake
Stone Edge/Swords Dance
Set Details:
Access to Guts means a 1.5x boost thanks to Flame Orb, not to mention immunity to sleep, paralysis, poison, and freeze. Between that and the 125 base stat attack Heracross hits like Heracles himself. Close Combat is the most powerful and spammable Fighting STAB even if it does come at the expense of defense, and Megahorn is your signature Bug STAB, and still one of the best users of the move. The other offensive slots go to your choice of coverage since Bug/Fighting has a lot of holes in its coverage, namely Poison, Flying and Ghost types. Stone Edge handles the Flying types that would be your bane otherwise, Throat Chop takes out opposing Ghost types that love switching in, and Earthquake keeps Poison types from walling you. However, you could opt to go the muscle over matter option and slap Swords Dance onto this set to make Heracross so insanely powerful that even its neutral or resisted attacks decimate the opposition.
Bug Catcher Tajiri sent out Heracross!
Ability: Moxie
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Jolly (+Speed -Sp.Attack)
EVs: (HP 4) (Attack 252) (Speed 252)
Moves:
Close Combat
Megahorn
Throat Chop
Aerial Ace
Set Details:
Heracross is fortunate to have access to not just Fighting STAB typing, but also the relatively rare ability Moxie. Between those two factors Heracross makes for an excellent D-Maxer that can decimate the opposition like a boulder rolling downhill picking up speed and power as it tumbles down the mountain. Close Combat and Megahorn are still the obvious choices, the former of which will boost Heracross and its magnificent horn's physical attack power. Throat Chop has the best neutral coverage of all of its coverage moves, and the last slot actually goes to Aerial Ace since when D-Maxed it will boost our kaiju bug's speed from its respectable, but not quite stellar base 85 speed, allowing it to successfully outpace threats it could not otherwise and keep the momentum going. And thanks to Moxie boosting its attack as well with each successful KO, this set can be difficult to stop unless you send in your counters quickly and mercilessly.
Bet on this Boisterous Bruiser to be your Best Buddy Bug Boi on the Battlefied and Beyond...Bea... (Don't you love alliteration?)
