Is Heracross Good in Emerald Playthrough?
Heracross in the Safari Zone is one of the strongest Bug/Fighting picks available. AbilitySwarm boosts Bug at low HP. High Attack powers Fighting moves well since Fighting is Physical in Gen 3. Handles Norman, Sidney, and Glacia. The Fighting side carries the offense.
Heracross resists most of Roxanne's coverage and hits back hard.
Heracross has the type edge here and should clean up Brawly's team.
Heracross has the type edge here and should clean up Wattson's team.
Heracross trades roughly evenly with Flannery's team.
Heracross resists most of Norman's coverage and hits back hard.
Heracross trades roughly evenly with Winona's team.
Heracross trades roughly evenly with Tate & Liza's team.
Heracross has the type edge here and should clean up Juan's team.
Heracross has the type edge here and should clean up Sidney's team.
Heracross trades roughly evenly with Phoebe's team.
Heracross resists most of Glacia's coverage and hits back hard.
Heracross trades roughly evenly with Drake's team.
Heracross has the type edge here and should clean up Wallace's team.
Catchable
Catch Heracross in the Safari Zone (walking, Lv 27-29, rare). Safari Zone: 500 entry fee, 30 Safari Balls, 500-step limit.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 27)
- LV 27FightingBrick BreakPower 113Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Norman
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 225Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 115
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- After Tate & Liza
- TUTORNormalDouble-EdgePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Sootopolis City
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Seafloor Cavern
- LV 53BugMegahornPower 180Accuracy 85%PP 10
- Post-Game
- TUTORNormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15Battle Frontier
- TUTORRockRock SlidePower 75Accuracy 90%PP 10Battle Frontier
- TUTORNormalSwords DancePower —Accuracy 100%PP 30Battle Frontier
Emerald Heracross Locations
One of the strongest things you can pull from the Safari Zone, Heracross hides there as a rare level 27 to 29 catch. The horned beetle appears nowhere else in Emerald, so that fenced grass is the single road to it.
1 location to catch Heracross
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 6Best Locations to Catch Heracross in Emerald
How to Get Shiny Heracross in Emerald
Heracross charges rarely through the Hoenn Safari Zone grass in Emerald, so stack Pokeblocks and patience while circling its extension zones, scanning every horned beetle you bump into for a shiny. Compare Shiny Heracross odds across every game
Shiny Heracross Evolution
Does Not EvolveEmerald Shiny Heracross Calculator
2 MethodsBoth methods here share the same odds, about 1 in 8,192 on each try. Pick whichever fits how you play.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
Breeding: Hatch eggs of this line; each egg rolls at the base shiny rate (no Masuda before Gen IV).
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 864-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 2,357-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 5,678-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 18,862-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Planning a longer hunt? Set up Heracross in the Emerald Shiny Odds Calculator to compare every method side by side.
Heracross Weakness
Type-wise, Heracross takes extra damage from Flying, Fire, and Psychic. Watch out for Flying attacks, those deal 4x damage. 5 resistances help offset the weaknesses. With 80 HP and balanced defenses, Heracross can afford to eat a neutral hit or two.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 4x (Critical) | Flying |
| 2x (Weak) | Fire, Psychic |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Fighting, Ground, Bug, Dark |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Heracross Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Heracross
 Blaziken FireFighting | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Torchic (Route 101 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Blaziken builds →Overheat 2x117-138%KO Aerial Ace 4x89-105%KO | ||
 Golbat Poison | C | |
Obtain MethodMeteor Falls Surfing | ||
 Altaria Dragon | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Altaria builds →Fly 4x101-119%KO Fire Blast 2x47-56% | ||
 Kadabra Psychic | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Kadabra builds →Future Sight 2x109-129%KO | ||
 Ninjask Bug | B | |
 Dodrio Normal | B | |
 Typhlosion Fire | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cyndaquil (Littleroot Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Typhlosion builds →Overheat 2x117-138%KO Aerial Ace 4x67-79% | ||
 Gardevoir Psychic | B | |
 Xatu Psychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Heracross View Xatu builds →Future Sight 2x90-107%KO Fly 4x109-129%KO | ||
 Gligar Ground | C | |
 Houndoom DarkFire | B | |
 Camerupt FireGround | C | |
 Skarmory Steel | A | |
 Torkoal Fire | C | |
Heracross Evolutions
What you see is what you get. Heracross sits outside any evolution chain, so focus on the egg moves and a decent partner pool from one egg group. Eggs take an average time to hatch. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Heracross easily with 37 breeding partners from the Bug egg group. Pass egg moves like Bide, False Swipe, Flail and 1 more to offspring.
E Heracross Best Moveset
Fighting/Bug dual TermStab backed by 125 base Attack makes Heracross one of the strongest physical tankbreakers available in Emerald. The moveset hits hard with MoveMegahorn and MoveBrick Break, while AbilityGuts turns status conditions into an Attack boost that makes it even more dangerous to leave in.
Best Build
Heracross best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Setup Sweeper Moveset
- Megahorn
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Breeding's the move. Bide and False Swipe give Heracross options it can't learn any other way, and Normal and Ground coverage and more already covers a decent range on top of Focus Punch and Megahorn. 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
All 23 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
They gather in forests seeking the sweet sap of trees. It is completely clad in a steel-hard shell. It is proud of its horn, which it uses to fling foes.
Heracross Emerald Guide
- How do I catch Heracross in the Emerald Safari Zone?
See the Locations section above for where to find Heracross in Emerald.
Safari rules: You can only use Safari Balls. No battling. Two tactical items shift the catch/flee trade-off:
- Throw bait to keep Heracross from fleeing (flee rate cut to 1/4) but it becomes harder to catch (catch factor halved).
- Throw a rock to make Heracross easier to catch (catch factor doubled) but it flees twice as often.
- Each effect lasts 2-6 random turns; throwing one cancels the other.
Mega Evolution isn't available in Emerald, but Heracross does have a Mega form in Gen 6-7 games (X/Y, ORAS, Sun/Moon). Mega Heracross hits 600 BST.
In Emerald, Heracross plays as a wallbreaker. Speed is middling, so pick your spots carefully. Megahorn is the primary attack.
In Emerald, Jolly is the go-to nature for Heracross. That's +Speed / -Sp. Atk. Pair it with 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe EVs. Fits the wallbreaker role.
Game Availability
Since debuting in Gold & Silver, Heracross has appeared in 19 titles over 8 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 7Let's Go
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
Explore
Where to go next after Heracross.
Keep playing · EmeraldEmerald Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Emerald Tier List