Fight! Heracross and...Falinks?

 

 

Remember back in Gen 2 when they finally introduced a power Bug move in Megahorn? Finally, Psychic types could be hit hard for super effective damage! And Heracross was such an excellent user of the move, good defenses, great attack, workable speed. But wait, what's this? It's WEAK to Psychic moves because of its secondary Fighting type? Well so much for THAT. These days it is even harder for Heracross to stand out with Fairy types and power creep running amok. Fortunately, we can fix a few of these problems here.

First off, Heracross and its newly added Bug/Fighting comrade, Falinks, benefit a lot from the type matchup changes getting added to Bugmerald. No longer are they weak to Psychic moves, taking only neutral damage. Plus with Rock gaining resistance to Bug moves, the Fighting type coverage they provide is even more valuable. While neither of these Pokemon are going to be sweeping the enemy team alone, the double battle nature of this game will provide plenty of opportunities they never had in single player before such as Tailwind, Rage Powder, and other utility moves. With this help, I think players will find their boosted Bug/Fighting partners will be hitting dangerously hard and surviving far longer then they should. You'll just need to watch out for birds!

 1. Stats

Heracross is getting some very modest boosts to Defense, Sp. Defense, and a 5 point boost to Speed to bring it up to 525 from 500 base stat total. In the same vein, Falinks is receiving some small boosts to HP, Sp. Attack and Sp. Defense to bring it up to an even 500 base stat total.

 2. Abilities

Heracross is keeping Guts and Moxie as very fitting abilities. Swarm will be replaced by Inner Focus, giving it an option to be immune to both flinching and Intimidate to help its offense.

Falinks will likewise keep access to Battle Armor (buffed to now reduce damage to Steel and Rock moves) and Defiant. For a third Ability, I'm throwing in Stalwart. It fits nicely from a thematic standpoint with No Retreat, and it gives a boosted Falinks the ability to ensure elimination of high-priority targets regardless of things like Follow Me or Rage Powder.

3. Movepool

Heracross gets access to Mat Block and Storm Throw and gains back access to Bullet Seed and Pin Missile. Having some utility options to protect its teammates serves Heracross well in the double battles of the Bugmerald world, especially a rare move like Mat Block. And while it is missing Skill Link, the new Loaded Die item is a great option for players wanting to use multi-hit moves.

Otherwise, Heracross is in a great place. It gets powerful Fighting and Bug moves, all sorts of coverage options like Facade, Rock Slide, Earthquake, and Shadow Claw. It can boost itself with Bulk Up to become unstoppable on the physical front. Its only real weakness is its middling speed, but throw a Tailwind on your side of the field or a Sticky Web on the opponent's side and suddenly Heracross is mowing down opponents left and right.

Falinks gets Smart Strike, Wide Guard, Attack Order and Defend Order. Especially now that it is a Bug type, its crazy how well the Order moves fit. Heal Order, though, will be reserved for Vespiquen alone. For Special moves to use with its buffed Sp. Attack combined with No Retreat, I'm adding Scale Shot and Clanging Scales to go with the modified Attack Order which is now a special move. I love the idea of these tiny guys beating their little shields to cause a ruckus or chucking them at opponents. 

As one final bonus, Falinks will get access to Beat Up, but gets a perk in that Falinks itself will proc Beat Up five times, for a total of up to 10 hits (The Brass will not dirty its hands to get a last hit in here). This takes it from an incredibly niche move that is extremely hampered by party composition to a very powerful Dark type onslaught. Falinks does not get stab on this move or this would never be ok, but as is I think it offers some fun options for the player and makes it use-able even if your team is mostly Sp. Attackers.

Conclusion

I honestly have never used either of these Pokemon in-game very often. Heracross because its always been butts hard to find anywhere, hidden behind headbutted or honey-slathered tree mechanics. Falinks just enters the game too late to provide much in a first play-through. I haven't decided for this game how exactly the player will be encountering them, but it will definitely be easier and earlier for both. With all the changes detailed above, I think you'll find quite a bit of value by trying one out on your team!