Is Heracross Good in X & Y Playthrough?
Breed only. Bug/Fighting with AbilitySwarm. Mega Heracross gains AbilitySkill Link, making multi-hit moves always strike 5 times. If obtained, handles Grant, Wulfric, and Wikstrom. Strong but breed-only access limits most players.
Heracross resists most of Viola's coverage and hits back hard.
Heracross resists most of Grant's coverage and hits back hard.
Heracross has the type edge here and should clean up Korrina's team.
Heracross has the type edge here and should clean up Ramos's team.
Heracross has the type edge here and should clean up Clemont's team.
Heracross trades roughly evenly with Valerie's team.
Heracross has the type edge here and should clean up Olympia's team.
Heracross resists most of Wulfric's coverage and hits back hard.
Heracross trades roughly evenly with Malva's team.
Heracross has the type edge here and should clean up Wikstrom's team.
Heracross trades roughly evenly with Drasna's team.
Heracross has the type edge here and should clean up Siebold's team.
Heracross has the type edge here and should clean up Diantha's team.
Catch Heracross on Route 12 (walking, Lv 25, rare).
X & Y Heracross Locations
Heracross sits at moderate rates across 2 spots in mid-game routes. Pick one from the sorted list and commit to it. Jumping between areas wastes more time than waiting in the right location.
Best Locations to Catch Heracross in X & Y
Heracross Weakness
Type-wise, Heracross takes extra damage from Flying, Fire, Psychic, and Fairy. Watch out for Flying attacks, those deal 4x damage. 5 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Heracross's overall bulk (80/115/105) lets it take a hit or two from most weaknesses before going down.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 4x (Critical) | Flying |
| 2x (Weak) | Fire, Psychic, Fairy |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Fighting, Ground, Bug, Dark |
What is Heracross Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Heracross
 Flabébé Fairy | D | |
 Combee Bug | D | |
 Fennekin Fire | D | |
Obtain MethodAquacorde Town Gift | ||
 Fletchling Normal | D | |
 Pansear Fire | D | |
 Ninjask Bug | B | |
 Gallade PsychicFighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Gallade builds →Aerial Ace 4x69-82% Confusion 2x29-35% | ||
 Aerodactyl Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodAmbrette Town Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Aerodactyl builds →Wing Attack 4x97-115%KO Fire Fang 2x34-41% | ||
 Fletchinder Fire | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Fletchinder builds →Aerial Ace 4x75-88% Flame Charge 2x32-40% | ||
 Mothim Bug | C | |
 Hawlucha Fighting | B | |
 Drifblim Ghost | C | |
 Golbat Poison | C | |
Aerodactyl Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodAmbrette Town Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Aerodactyl builds →Fly 4x123-146%KO Fire Fang 2x29-35% | ||
 Dodrio Normal | C | |
Hawlucha Fighting | B | |
Drifblim Ghost | C | |
Golbat Poison | C | |
Aerodactyl Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodAmbrette Town Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Aerodactyl builds →Fly 4x123-146%KO Fire Fang 2x29-35% | ||
Dodrio Normal | C | |
 Honchkrow Dark | B | |
Hawlucha Fighting | B | |
 Charizard Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Lumiose City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Charizard builds →Air Slash 4x118-140%KO Flare Blitz 2x70-83% | ||
Drifblim Ghost | C | |
 Archeops Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Archen (Ambrette Town Gift) | ||
Honchkrow Dark | B | |
Hawlucha Fighting | B | |
Charizard Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Charmander (Lumiose City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Charizard builds →Air Slash 4x117-138%KO Flare Blitz 2x71-83% | ||
Drifblim Ghost | C | |
Archeops Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Archen (Ambrette Town Gift) | ||
Hawlucha Fighting | B | |
Drifblim Ghost | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Drifblim builds →Fly 4x102-120%KO Psychic 2x39-46% | ||
 Staraptor Normal | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Staraptor builds →Brave Bird 4x184-217%KO | ||
 Salamence Dragon | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Salamence builds →Fly 4x154-182%KO Fire Blast 2x57-67% Zen Headbutt 2x46-54% | ||
Honchkrow Dark | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Honchkrow builds →Fly 4x145-170%KO Psychic 2x45-53% | ||
Salamence Dragon | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Salamence builds →Fly 4x153-180%KO Fire Blast 2x56-66% Zen Headbutt 2x45-54% | ||
Hawlucha Fighting | B | |
Archeops Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Archen (Ambrette Town Gift) | ||
 Chandelure GhostFire | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Chandelure builds →Overheat 2x125-148%KO Dream Eater 2x64-76% | ||
Drifblim Ghost | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Drifblim builds →Fly 4x98-115%KO Dream Eater 2x43-51% | ||
In X & Y, Staraptor's Double-Edge hits Heracross for 60-71%. Gardevoir threatens a KO with Moonblast (96-114%). Togekiss's Air Slash also KOs at 149-175%.
Staraptor Normal | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityReckless ItemChoice Scarf NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Staraptor builds →Close Combat20-24% Double Edge60-71% U Turn12-14% | ||
 Gardevoir PsychicFairy | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityTrace ItemChoice Scarf NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Gardevoir builds →Moonblast 2x96-114%KO Psychic 2x91-108%KO Shadow Ball27-32% | ||
 Togekiss Fairy | B | |
Recommended Build AbilitySerenegrace ItemLeftovers NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Togekiss builds →Air Slash 4x149-175%KO Dazzling Gleam 2x79-94% | ||
Heracross Evolutions
What you see is what you get. Heracross sits outside any evolution chain, so focus on the egg moves and plenty of partners from one egg group. Eggs are average hatch time. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
XY Heracross Best Moveset
The Mega form gains AbilitySkill Link making MovePin Missile and MoveRock Blast hit 5 times at 185 Attack. Fairy types resist Fighting TermStab, but Bug TermStab hits Fairy neutrally. Base AbilityGuts and AbilityMoxie still work. The moveset adapted through Mega access that shifted from Fighting power to multi-hit Bug devastation.
Best Build
Heracross best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Revenge Killer Moveset
- Megahorn
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Breeding's the move. Bide and Double-Edge give Heracross options it can't learn any other way, and coverage across 8 types already covers a decent range on top of Focus Punch and Close Combat. The egg moves push it further.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
This powerful Pokémon thrusts its prized horn under its enemies’ bellies, then lifts and throws them.
With its Herculean powers, it can easily throw around an object that is 100 times its own weight.
Heracross X & Y Guide
For X & Y, we rate Heracross B-Tier: a solid option in X & Y for the right team. At 600 BST, it fits the wallbreaker role. Megahorn with Choice Scarf is the standard set.
In X & Y, Heracross can Mega Evolve into Mega Heracross. That's 700 BST, up from 600. The stat redistribution often changes its best role. Mega Stone required, one per battle.
In X & Y, Heracross's biggest threats include Dodrio (Flying), Charizard (Fire), and Espeon (Psychic), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Dodrio is the most dangerous since Flying moves deal 4x damage. Fairy-type attackers are also a problem. Heracross has enough bulk to absorb a hit, but don't push the matchup. Pivot to a teammate that resists.
Skill Link is the go-to ability for Heracross. It extends two-to-five-hit moves and triple kick to their full length every time. It's Heracross's only ability.
Base 75 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many. On offense, Heracross is a physical attacker with base 185 Attack. Defensively? Tanky enough to absorb a few hits. Best used as a wallbreaker.
Game Availability
Since debuting in Gold & Silver, Heracross has appeared in 19 titles over 9 generations. Along the way, it received a Mega form in Generation 6, keeping it relevant across different competitive metas.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GSDebut
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORASMega
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves