Is Ho-oh Good in Gold & Silver Playthrough?
Tin Tower in Gold (level 40) or Tin Tower in Silver (level 70, postgame). Ho-Oh is the offensive counterpart to Lugia with massive Attack and Special. In Gold, catching it before the E4 makes the Champion fight considerably easier. Fire/Flying handles most of the late game.
Ho-oh has the type edge here and should clean up Falkner's team.
Ho-oh resists most of Bugsy's coverage and hits back hard.
Ho-oh has the type edge here and should clean up Whitney's team.
Ho-oh has the type edge here and should clean up Morty's team.
Ho-oh resists most of Chuck's coverage and hits back hard.
Ho-oh resists most of Jasmine's coverage and hits back hard.
Ho-oh has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Ho-oh has the type edge here and should clean up Clair's team.
Ho-oh has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Ho-oh has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina's team.
Ho-oh resists most of Erika's coverage and hits back hard.
Ho-oh has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Ho-oh has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Ho-oh has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Ho-oh has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Ho-oh has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Ho-oh has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Ho-oh resists most of Koga's coverage and hits back hard.
Ho-oh resists most of Bruno's coverage and hits back hard.
Ho-oh has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
How to Get Ho-oh in Gold & Silver
Ho-oh is a fixed encounter, not a random spawn. Walk up to it, interact, and the battle starts immediately. Head to Tin Tower when your team is ready for the fight.
How to Get Ho-oh in Gold & Silver
Ho-oh Weakness
Type-wise, Ho Oh takes extra damage from Rock, Water, and Electric. Watch out for Rock attacks, those deal 4x damage. Ground moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity. 5 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Ho Oh's special bulk (base 154 Sp.Def) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 4x (Critical) | Rock |
| 2x (Weak) | Water, Electric |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Fighting, Steel |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Grass, Bug |
| 0x (Immune) | Ground |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
- Special stat split into Sp.Atk and Sp.Def
What is Ho Oh Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Ho-oh
 Lapras WaterIce | C | |
Obtain MethodUnion Cave Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ho Oh View Lapras builds →Surf 2x38-46% Thunder 2x33-39% | ||
 Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 36 Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ho Oh View Sudowoodo builds →Rock Throw 4x77-91% Thunder Punch 2x11-13% | ||
 Flaaffy Electric | C | |
 Quagsire WaterGround | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 32 Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ho Oh View Quagsire builds →Surf 2x33-39% Rollout 4x29-35% | ||
 Magnemite ElectricSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ho Oh View Magnemite builds →Thunder 2x52-62% Rollout 4x18-22% | ||
Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 36 Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ho Oh View Sudowoodo builds →Rock Slide 4x105-124%KO Thunder Punch 2x11-14% | ||
 Ampharos Electric | C | |
Lapras WaterIce | C | |
Obtain MethodUnion Cave Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ho Oh View Lapras builds →Surf 2x39-47% Thunder 2x32-38% | ||
 Feraligatr Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Totodile (New Bark Town Gift) | ||
 Magneton ElectricSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ho Oh View Magneton builds →Thunder 2x63-75% Rollout 4x23-28% | ||
Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 36 Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ho Oh View Sudowoodo builds →Rock Slide 4x103-121%KO Thunder Punch 2x11-13% | ||
Ampharos Electric | C | |
Lapras WaterIce | C | |
Obtain MethodUnion Cave Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ho Oh View Lapras builds →Surf 2x38-45% Thunder 2x31-37% | ||
Feraligatr Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Totodile (New Bark Town Gift) | ||
Magneton ElectricSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ho Oh View Magneton builds →Thunder 2x61-73% Rollout 4x23-27% | ||
Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 36 Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ho Oh View Sudowoodo builds →Rock Slide 4x103-121%KO Thunder Punch 2x11-13% | ||
Ampharos Electric | C | |
Lapras WaterIce | C | |
Obtain MethodUnion Cave Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ho Oh View Lapras builds →Surf 2x38-45% Thunder 2x31-37% | ||
Feraligatr Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Totodile (New Bark Town Gift) | ||
Magneton ElectricSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ho Oh View Magneton builds →Thunder 2x61-73% Rollout 4x23-27% | ||
Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 36 Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ho Oh View Sudowoodo builds →Rock Slide 4x103-121%KO Thunder Punch 2x11-13% | ||
Ampharos Electric | C | |
Lapras WaterIce | C | |
Obtain MethodUnion Cave Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ho Oh View Lapras builds →Surf 2x38-45% Thunder 2x31-37% | ||
Feraligatr Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Totodile (New Bark Town Gift) | ||
Magneton ElectricSteel | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ho Oh View Magneton builds →Thunder 2x61-73% Rollout 4x23-27% | ||
 Tyranitar RockDark | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ho Oh View Tyranitar builds →Rock Slide 4x132-156%KO Surf 2x26-31% | ||
Sudowoodo Rock | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 36 Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Ho Oh View Sudowoodo builds →Rock Slide 4x104-122%KO Thunder Punch 2x9-11% | ||
 Raikou Electric | S | |
 Suicune Water | B | |
Ampharos Electric | C | |
 Gyarados Water | B | |
Recommended Build ItemLeftovers Moves
Damage vs Ho Oh View Gyarados builds →Surf 2x26-31% Hydro Pump 2x31-37% Body Slam23-27% | ||
Ho-oh Evolutions
No breeding, no evolution. Ho Oh is a Fire/Flying legendary with 680 base stat total that you obtain once and build around. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
GS Ho-oh Best Moveset
130 Attack and 110 Sp. Atk with Fire/Flying TermStab from MoveSacred Fire that has a 50%% burn chance on every hit. MoveRecover provides reliable HP recovery, and MoveEarthquake handles Rock types. Held ItemLeftovers sustains. Burns, hits hard from both sides, and recovers. Offensive legendary with built-in disruption.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Fire Blast
- Sacred Fire
Moves List
Hard to wall, honestly. Ho Oh threatens 10 types beyond its own STAB, with Normal and Rock standing out. Pair that with Fire Blast and Sacred Fire and switchins need to think twice.
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
Legends claim this POKéMON flies the world’s skies continuously on its magnificent seven-colored wings.
A legend says that its body glows in seven colors. A rainbow is said to form behind it when it flies.
Ho-oh Gold & Silver Guide
In Gold & Silver, Ho-oh is a Legendary Pokemon rated S-Tier. At 680 BST, it hits hard. It excels as a wallbreaker. Rest with Charcoal is the standard set.
Ho-oh is a static encounter at Johto Tin Tower in Gold & Silver. Ho-oh appears at level 40. Prerequisite: Rainbow Wing. Save before the encounter. These one-shot Pokemon don't respawn if you knock them out or run out of Poke Balls.
In Gold & Silver, Ho-oh's biggest threats include Aerodactyl (Rock), Gyarados (Water), and Raikou (Electric), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Aerodactyl is the most dangerous since Rock moves deal 4x damage. Ho-oh has enough bulk to absorb a hit, but don't push the matchup. Pivot to a teammate that resists.
Base 90 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many. On offense, Ho-oh is a mixed attacker with base 130 Attack and 110 Sp. Atk. Defensively? Tanky enough to absorb a few hits. Best used as a wallbreaker.
In Gold & Silver, the best way to handle Ho-oh: Status moves (Toxic, Will-O-Wisp) wear it down. Setup sweepers can use it as a boost opportunity. Special attackers bypass its physical bulk.
Game Availability
First obtainable in Gold & Silver, Ho Oh has been featured in 17 titles across 9 generations. Legendary status means a single encounter per playthrough in most games.
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 6ORAS
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