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Heracross Report

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Heracross (the Single Horn Pokémon) is a relatively rare Bug/Fighting-type Pokémon found among forests within the Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, Galar, Hisui, Paldea and Kitakami regions as well as the Pattern Bush of the Sevii Islands. While they might not look like a true threat from afar, Heracross are deceptively powerful insects that can easily lift and hurl opponents many times their size with their immense physical strength. Unless you have access to some powerful Flying-type attacks, you would be wise to steer away from these monster beetles if you know what's good for you; they might not have much in the way of versatility, but you'll certainly be wishing to hit the ground after getting flung into the air by their Megahorn attack!

Heracross are fairly simple insects that spend most of their time relaxing in peace amongst their forest habitats and rarely ever go out of their way to attack others. Although Heracross are known to feast on a wide range of berries and flower nectar for sustenance, their absolute favorite food is sweet tree sap, which they find via scent with their two antennae; this can make them both a welcome sight and a nuisance to Pokémon in a particular area, as they tend to enjoy the taste of the sticky fluid a bit too much. Heracross will often brush aside wild Pokémon feasting on exposed tree sap just so they can take it for themselves and will fiercely drive off anyone that dares to challenge them (with Vikavolt being their biggest rivals in the Alola region), but this rarely creates a major disturbance as the creatures are not gluttonous and will not take all of the sap present at the expense of others. The problem with Heracross is that they are actually unable to penetrate the bark of trees normally with their mouthparts, so they have to rely on other Pokémon such as Butterfree and Pinsir to the job for them; as such, most onlookers see wild Heracross as nothing more than thieves, which is really far from the truth. It is noted, though, that Heracross will not take having a meal interrupted very kindly and will attack any and all creatures that dare to strike them while they are feasting on sap; this can make them difficult to capture in the wild, as they are normally quite elusive and are only easily found by waiting for them to appear and feast on exposed tree sap or slathered honey.

Despite their simple appearance, Heracross are defined amongst insects for their advanced proficiency at using Fighting-type attacks, being one of the few Bug/Fighting-type Pokémon known to exist. Moreover, their bodies are extremely tough to deal with in close quarters in more ways than one. Defensively, Heracross are well-shielded from attacks by their steel-hard carapace which, interestingly enough, possesses unique energy-deflecting properties that grants them a surprisingly decent Special Defense stat. Offensively, Heracross are monsters that can easily deal tremendous amounts of damage against a wide range of opponents, primarily thanks to the massive central horn that they are proud of. In most battles, Heracross will rush towards opponents as quickly as they can and attempt to use their horn to lift and toss their opponent overhead in order to inflict damage and fling them as far away as possible (as they are generally quite docile and do not like fighting much). While their horn is only as tough as their carapace and would normally break under immense pressure, Heracross are able to effectively use their entire bodies as leverage when lifting something by digging their sharp hind claws into the ground before lifting; in practice, this allows the beasts to easily lift and heave objects that weigh 100 times as much as they do, making them a formidable opponent in any close-quarters battle. It is duly noted that this horn also makes Heracross one of the few non-Flying-type able to learn the deceptively powerful Aerial Ace attack and grants them the most powerful Megahorn attack out of all Pokémon; not even full-grown trees can resist being heaved over by the force of their Megahorn attack's impact. The only downside to them is that, while they do have wings, they are fairly poor flyers and are thus limited to ground combat in most cases. Overall, though, Heracross are fierce competitors that can easily deal significant amounts of damage in battle despite their lackluster appearance, a trait that all Bug-type specialists can come to like with time.

It is lastly noted that Heracross is one of only 46 species of Pokémon known to be capable of undergoing Mega Evolution. Triggered by the presence of a held Heracronite, Mega Evolution causes Heracross to rapidly develop a stronger, more durable exoskeleton across the entirety of their bodies that effectively turns them into walking tanks to some extent. In addition, the claws on their upper limbs become retractable while the muscles within said limbs increase substantially in size and are covered with armor thicker than that covering the rest of their body; this enables these creatures to deliver bone-shattering attacks in close quarters without having to worry too much about recoil damage to their limbs if an attack connects more harshly than intended. The most prominent, change, however, comes to their upper horn, which nearly doubles in length to the point where it exceeds the height of the main body. This massive horn may seem a bit on the unwieldy side, but it too is made of the same super-strong exoskeleton material covering their body and as such is as physically durable as a piece of solid titanium; combined with the smaller lower horn that they develop in Mega Evolution, these creatures are capable of gripping an object or opponent to easily throw them around, being capable of lifting up to 500 times their own bodyweight. It is also duly noted that when using their maximum power, these beasts tend to radiate an enormous amount of heat, more than enough to cook them from the inside out if the heat is not vented; as a result, Mega Heracross have developed venting grills on their torso and arms that can be opened to allow this extreme heat to escape to the outside air. While their temporary stay in Mega Evolution does grant these beasts incredible physical strength, the energy that is needed to keep that strength up rapidly dissipates once Mega Evolution ends, leaving them bothered with a terrible soreness in their muscles. In terms of stats, the transformation into Mega Heracross slightly decreases this beast's base Speed stat as a result of the sheer weight of the massive armor covering its body, but it is compensated by a slightly increased base Special Defense stat, a critically increased base Defense stat, and a cataclysmically increased base Attack stat; in turn, Mega Heracross gain the highest base Attack stat out of all Bug-type and non-legendary Fighting-type Pokémon as well as the highest base stat total out of all Bug-type Pokémon (tied with Genesect, Mega Scizor and Mega Pinsir). Moreover, while their new exoskeleton is heavy enough to impede their movement a little bit, special patches of elastic tissue at their joints enable them to execute attacks with extreme precision to the point of effectively making their Ability Skill Link. This Ability may not be the biggest of advantages in regards to the attacks they can use best (namely Megahorn), but it does enable them to deal massive damage with their Fury Attack, Arm Thrust, Bullet Seed and Pin Missile attacks, turning them into insect tanks capable of easily targeting and devastating any opponent that dares to get in their way.

Though they might not be able to bring much to the table in the way of special attacks, Heracross are powerful physical fighters that can easily level the playing field of opponents other Bug-types would cringe at the sight of. Difficult to damage and even more difficult to resist in battle, Heracross are loyal creatures that any Bug Catcher or experienced trainer can come to enjoy having around with practice. Just try not to have one around if you happen to have any plant-based Pokémon with flowers on their bodies; even if they can't get any tree sap to suck on, these beetles will gladly get whatever sweet fluid they can even at the risk of getting attacked by a plant!

Professor Wormwood
A report on the Single Horn Pokemon, Heracross. Enjoy.
© 2010 - 2024 Mutitus
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BrandonTheRabboat's avatar

I've come to know a LOT of Pokémon over the years, Professor, but Heracross is one of my oldest and strongest friends. I met him while I was visiting Unova alongside a Pinsir, and after neutralizing the latter, I caught the former. Besides Unova, we've been to Kalos, Hoenn, and Alola together, and Hera's sheer might with Megahorn, Close Combat, Stone Edge, and Earthquake has seen us through plenty of difficult battles against powerful foes. Heck, we even managed to master Mega Evolution together! But honestly, he's adorable off the battlefield. What with those cute eyes, his kindhearted personality, the way he goes nuts every time I throw a jar of honey in his direction... Oh! I'm really sorry Prof., I got carried away. Bottom line is: Heracross is hands-down my favorite Pokémon of all. I love him so much!