Solar Beam Ho-Oh
Just got one, 96% (15a/15d/13s), ES/SolB, and I'm trying to figure out what to do with it. Everything that is weak to solar beam, Ho-Oh is weak to, except ground. So is he a Rhydon/Sandslash/Groudon(eventually) killer, and that's it, or is he a generalist that can't use his attack against stuff that is weak against it? I now have ES/FB, SW/FB, and ES/SolB. I can clearly see a use for ES/BB, to help in solo Machamp raids - I have no Lugia :-( . But how is SB useful to Ho-Oh when almost everything weak to it, he's weak to their attack?
Answers
Here's how I look at it. If Ho-oh didn't have Solarbeam, then you would not be using Ho-oh against Pokémon like Vaporeon, Rhydon, Golem, etc., end of story. But, since Ho-oh does have Solarbeam, you can kind of consider it a "soft counter" to these Pokémon, despite Ho-oh's type disadvantage. Clearly, there are better options to counter water/ground/rock types than Ho-oh, but, in my opinion, Ho-oh is a special case because not only is Solarbeam such a powerful move in its own right, but Ho-oh has the monstrous stats to make up for its type disadvantages, and it'll most likely be strong enough to one-shot water/ground/rock types with Solarbeam even with no stab. And, the fact that you have a 96% Ho-oh with 15 ATK is perfect for that. But, like I said, soft counter. Ho-oh, like Lugia, is better suited as an anchor, when all else fails. It's currently the second strongest Pokémon in the game, you might as well make it useful! So, if you're satisfied with your 95% Ho-oh, power that bad boy up if/when you get the chance! Hope this helps! :)
You may find this interesting.
I too thought Ho-oh would have a potent SoB, but it appears that Exegg still out performs it...and it can't 1 hit KO things that Eggs can.
I totally agree with what you said, and many times it will 1 hit KO things, but I found this vid interesting - so I thought it was worthy of sharing - in that it shows it isn't quite as powerful as we might expect.
https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSilphRoad/comments/7gu299/maxed_out_my_solarbeam_hooh_and_went_for_a_little/
No doubt that Eggy still has the strongest Solar Beam, and BS/SolB is the strongest Grass attack in the game, pending Gen3. But Ho-Oh has a lot more defense than Eggy (and no grass quick move).
The issue for me is that the stuff that Eggy absolutely shreds [Golem, Omastar, Rhydon, Kabutops (if that ever becomes relevant)] all have attacks that Ho-Oh is weak (water) or doubly weak (rock) to. The only advantage I see is for Ground, and even there, Rhydon can surprise you with Stone Edge (not optimal, but still very good). This means that Ho-Oh is a safe counter for Sandslash (not really needed at high levels, Sandslash raids are very manageable) and Groudon (assuming it comes out where we think it will.) I'm not partial to powering up a mon that can only take out Groudon.
Eggy resists ground and water, and is neutral to rock. Ho-Oh is weak to water, and doubly weak to rock. Aside from more bulk, I can't see why Eggy isn't much better for attacking all of the mon that are weak/doubly weak to grass. Here's my list of types where Ho-Oh has a type advantage over Eggy (pluses are good, resistance, minuses are bad, weakness):
Type Ho-Oh Eggy
Bug: +2 -2 (double resist vs. doubly weak)
Fire: +1 -1
Dark: 0 -1 (from Eggy's psychic typing)
Fairy: +1 0
Flying: 0 -1
Poison: 0 -1
Steel: +1 0
Ghost: 0 -1
Ice: 0 -1
So, which among those types are best attacked by Grass? None that I'm aware of. Bug, Fire, Poison, Steel, and Flying all resist Grass, and Ice is best attacked by fire if you're using Ho-Oh. So if there's a new Gen3 that comes out with one of these types that's weak to Grass, Ho-Oh will have a niche.
So when we find a mon that has Dark, Fairy, or Ghost typing, and is weak to Grass, that will be Solar Beam Ho-Oh's time to shine (pun totally intended).
Just had one more thought. Ho-Oh might be very effective against Tyranitar, with Steel Wing/Solar Beam. You have to watch out for Stone Edge, but Ho-Oh resists Iron Tail and Fire Blast, and is neutral to Bite and Crunch. Still not as effective as Fight against Ttar, but nothing with fight attacks has Ho-Oh's massive CP.
People talk about Ho-oh's "monstrous stats" a lot, but only his defense stat is truly monstrous. his attack stat (239) is just barely higher than Exeggutor's (233), but Exeggutor gets a 20% STAB, and has better typing for amost anything you would want to use solar beam against. Even Victreebel has a stronger solar beam than Ho-oh, and Vileplume's and Venusaur's solar beams are about the same as Ho-oh's.
The high CP makes Ho-oh look like a better attacker than he really is, and is more reflective of his stellar tankiness than of any great attack capability.
