Heracross (), known in Japan as , is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon media franchise, first introduced in the 1999 video games Pokémon Gold and Silver and designed by Ken Sugimori. Since Heracross's debut, it has appeared in multiple games including Pokémon Go and the Pokémon Trading Card Game, as well as in various forms of merchandise.
Resembling a blue Japanese rhinoceros beetle with a prolonged horn on its forehead, Heracross is classified as a Bug- and Fighting-type Pokémon. In the franchise's fictional universe, Heracross is strong enough to topple trees, but is typically docile. The species also has a rivalry with the Pokémon Pinsir. Heracross have been owned by multiple characters in both the games and Pokémon: The Series, including by anime protagonist Ash Ketchum; Heracross has been primarily voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi and Yuji Ueda in the series. An additional form of Heracross, dubbed Mega Heracross, was introduced in the 2013 video game Pokémon X and Y.
Following its debut, Heracross received positive reception for both its design and competitive abilities, consistently being recommended for use during playthroughs. It was also noted for its reflection of real-world insect fighting. A Heracross named "Bois" in Pokémon Legends: Z-A received additional praise from critics and fans, causing the creation of memes and appreciation posts in the community.
Conception and development Heracross is a species of fictional creatures called Pokémon created for the Pokémon media franchise. Developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo, the Japanese franchise began in 1996 with the video games Pokémon Red and Green for the Game Boy, which were later released in North America as Pokémon Red and Blue in 1998. In these games and their sequels, the player assumes the role of a Trainer whose goal is to capture and use the creatures' special abilities to combat other Pokémon. Some Pokémon can transform into stronger species through a process called evolution via various means, such as exposure to specific items. Each Pokémon has one or two elemental types, which define its advantages and disadvantages when battling other Pokémon. A major goal in each game is to complete the Pokédex, a comprehensive Pokémon encyclopedia, by capturing, evolving, and trading with other Trainers to obtain individuals from all Pokémon species.
Heracross was first introduced in Pokémon Gold and Silver. When developing the games, around 300 individual Pokémon designs were drafted by various development team members, with each deciding their names and features and revising the drafts as needed. During this process, the team actively tried to avoid vague design concepts, as they felt this had caused difficulty creating completed Pokémon during the development of Red and Blue. As the team selected which Pokémon would be included, they were drawn and finalized by lead artist Ken Sugimori. To maintain balance, however, many of the newer species did not appear in the early stages of the game. Additionally, many of the Pokémon were designed with merchandise in mind, taking into account the related Pokémon toy line and anime series. As a result designs often had to be kept simplistic, something that caused strain for Sugimori and affected his approach to the next Pokémon franchise titles, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.
Heracross is known as the Single Horn Pokémon; it is a large bipedal beetle-like Pokémon with a blue exoskeleton. It is typically smiling, a long horn on its forehead with two antenna either side of it, and yellow eyes. Depending on its gender, its horn is capped with a different structure; a cross-shape for males and a heart-shape for females. Underneath its exoskeleton are a set of wings. Its shiny form changes its color to bright pink. Heracross can range from being docile to toppling over trees, depending on its mood and behavior. It also likes to consume tree sap, using its horn to hoard it. Heracross has been shown to have different relationships between certain Pokémon. Heracross is observed to have a commensal relationship with the Pokémon Butterfree, whereas it has rivalry with another beetle-like Pokémon Pinsir, which it has been seen battling in games like New Pokémon Snap. In the code of a leaked build of a Gold and Silver demo from Nintendo Space World 1997, a scrapped evolution of Pinsir was found called Plucks or Plux, which featured design elements similar to Heracross. Both fans and journalists speculate that the former was reworked into the latter, with some pointing to the fact that Heracross was not present within the demo as evidence of the theory. Within another leaked build from later on in development, a scratchpad image was found containing an earlier design of Heracross featuring a vertical mouth similar to Pinsir. Many Pokémon of the second generation's region, Johto, were designed with a rural Japanese influence due to a significant amount of species being based on animals known to live in "temperate forest environment." Heracross's design likely originates from the order of Coleoptera, most likely the Japanese rhinoceros beetle (Allomyrina dichotoma). Heracross's name is a combination of "hercules beetle" and "cross", as well as stemming from the Greek mythological hero Heracles, later adapted by the Romans as Hercules.
The 2013 game Pokémon X and Y introduced a temporary, in-battle transformation for Heracross known as Mega Heracross. Its design features red accents, claw-like hands and a longer horn. Mega Heracross is more strongly based on the hercules beetle.
Appearances
Heracross first appeared in the 1999 video game Pokémon Gold and Silver; it is classified as a Bug- and Fighting-type Pokémon with only one stage, meaning it has no pre-evolutions and is not known to evolve. In Pokémon X and Y, Heracross received a new form called Mega Heracross, obtainable by using a Heracronite Mega Stone. The Mega form would go on to appear in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Sun and Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, and Legends: Z-A. Depending on the game, Heracross can only be caught through different circumstances. In Gold and Silver, as well as the enhanced version Pokémon Crystal, it could only be encountered by having a Pokémon use the move Headbutt on trees on specific routes. In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, if a player uses the Sweet Honey item on certain colored trees, Heracross have a chance to appear from it. In other games in the series, Heracross are rarer to encounter, only being available on specific routes or areas that feature rare Pokémon such as the Safari Zone in the third generation games, or only available in a post-game area like in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. In Pokémon Sun and Moon, they can only be obtained by trading. Heracross has occasionally been a version exclusive, meaning one would need to be trade to be seen in the opposite version; a naturally obtainable Heracross can only be found in Pokémon Y and Pokémon Shield. It was initially absent from Pokémon Sword and Shield until being added in the Isle of Armor DLC expansion pack. In Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the player can receive a Heracross named "Bois" from trading with an NPC during an early game tutorial mission. Heracross has been used by many characters across multiple entries in the series, such as by the player's rival Blue in his champion match in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, rival Barry and Elite Four member Aaron in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Platinum and their respective remakes, and Commander Kamado in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
Heracross can be seen in other spin-off Pokémon video games, including Pokémon Stadium 2, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, Pokémon Rumble World, Pokémon Shuffle, Pokémon Duel, Pokémon Masters EX, and Pokémon Sleep. A Heracross can appear during the night version of the Florio Nature Park level of New Pokémon Snap; the player can interact with the Heracross and cause it to react to and fight a Pinsir in order to complete in-game requests. In Pokémon Go, Heracross is only able to be caught in regions of South America, Central America, Mexico, southern Florida and Texas. It has occasionally been made available internationally, such as during an event that promoted Mega Heracross in Raid Battles. Heracross was used for a promotional event for GO in August 2018, where The Pokémon Company president Tsunekazu Ishihara traded the Pokémon to Japanese actor Takeru Satoh. It and its Mega form have made multiple appearances in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, including in a Japan-exclusive set meant to promote the recent instalments in the Pokémon movies series. A Heracross card would later appear in the mobile game Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket. In the Super Smash Bros. series, Heracross has been obtainable in multiple titles as a collectable; in Melee it appeared as a trophy, and in Ultimate it appeared as a "spirit".
In Pokémon: The Seriess third season, Pokémon: The Johto Journeys, protagonist Ash Ketchum catches a Heracross in the episode "A Sappy Ending" after it defeated Team Rocket, in which it becomes an infrequent member of his team throughout his time in the Johto region. It would appear on Ash's team in the Johto League, where it would defeat his rival Gary Oak's Magmar. Ash would eventually send Heracross to go live at Professor Oak's lab. It would subsequently re-appear in further eras of the series, such as Battle Frontier and Sinnoh League, where in the latter Heracross would be defeated by Sinnoh League competitor Tobias's Darkrai. Another Heracross would appear in Pokémon Journeys: The Series; Ash's friend Goh trades his second Pinsir for a Heracross owned by the Bug-type trainer Kricketina Kylie (known in Japanese as Korotock Koromi), after his first Pinsir fell in love with the Heracross. Until 2022, Heracross was voiced by Japanese voice actor Katsuyuki Konishi, although in Pokémon: Advanced Battle, Heracross was briefly voiced by Koichi Sakaguchi. Heracross would later be voiced by voice actor Yuji Ueda. In 2018's Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us, a Heracross is voiced by Shinnosuke Ogami.
Promotion and reception Heracross has been featured on a number of merchandise, such as plushes, figurines, accessories, card sleeves, and clothing. In September 2013, a toy featuring Heracross for the Japan-exclusive arcade game Pokémon Tretta was one of six toys included in McDonald's Japan Happy Meals to commemorate the release of Pokémon X and Y. In Japan, a pokéfuta depicting Heracross and Chansey was installed in an area of Tamura, Fukushima.