Ho-Oh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ho-Oh | |
|---|---|
 National Pokédex Lugia - Ho-Oh (#250) - Celebi |
|
| Japanese name | Houou |
| Evolves from | None |
| Evolves into | None |
| Generation | Second |
| Species | Rainbow Pokémon |
| Type | Fire / Flying |
| Height | 12 ft 6 in (3.8 m) |
| Weight | 138.7 lb (199 kg) |
| Ability | Pressure |
Ho-Oh (ホウオウ Hō'ō?, Houou in original Japanese language versions) is one of the 493 fictional species of Pokémon creatures from the Pokémon media franchise. The purpose of Ho-Oh in the games, anime and manga, as with all other Pokémon, is to battle both wild Pokémon, untamed creatures encountered while the player passes through various environments, and tamed Pokémon owned by Pokémon trainers.[1] The Pokémon's name is the Japanese word for phoenix, specifically, the legendary Chinese phoenix, the Fenghuang. The name is romanized as Houou in Japanese versions and has been rewritten as the palindromic Ho-Oh. In addidtion, Ho-Oh is featured on the box art for Pokémon Gold.
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[edit] Biological characteristics
Ho-Oh is similar to a phoenix like creature, and it can see into the future. It flies continuously through the world's skies on its magnificent 7-colored wings (its not exactly easy to see the seven colors in Pokemon Emerald, but they do resemble a variety of colors). Its appearance signifies the beginning of an era of peace between humans and Pokémon. It will reveal itself to Trainers who are pure of heart and it is also said to live at the foot of a rainbow.
Long ago in Ecruteak, there were two towers, the Brass Tower and Tin Tower being the roost of Lugia and Ho-Oh, respectively. When the Brass Tower burned down, thus being renamed the Burned Tower, both Pokémon fled, never to be seen again. Three Pokémon became trapped in the flames of the Brass Tower and perished. Ho-Oh returned to the Burned Tower and resurrected the three Pokémon, who were renamed Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. They were to guard the ruins of the Burned Tower, while Lugia resided in the Whirl Islands off the coast of Olivine. Of the three Pokémon, Ho-Oh is closest to Suicune, as revealed in Pokémon Crystal. Ho-Oh's relationship with the three legendary beasts parallels the relationship Lugia has with the three winged mirages Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres. In Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, it is caught at the Tin Tower in Ecruteak City.
In Pokemon Colosseum, Ho-Oh was said to be a representative of the bonds between humans and Pokemon. After the player beats Evice, head of the Cipher organization, Ho-Oh thwarts Evice's attempt to escape by destroying his helicopter.
[edit] In the video games
To catch Ho-Oh in Pokémon Gold, Silver or Crystal, players must first receive the "Rainbow Wing." The way to obtain it varies between the different versions. In Crystal, it can be obtained by capturing the three legendary beasts, and is at level 60. In Silver, it can be obtained from a man standing to the side of the Pokémon Center in Pewter City after you have beat the Johto League, and is at level 70. In Gold, it can be obtained by saving the Johto Radio Tower in Goldenrod, and is at level 40.
In Pokémon Colosseum, Ho-Oh happens to help Wes take part in the final battle with Evice, the master of Cipher, but only shows up during the scene where Evice attempts to escape on his helicopter after being defeated by Wes. Angered by the evil actions of Cipher, Ho-Oh destroys Evice's chopper to prevent him from going further.
The player can receive Ho-Oh afterwards by first purifying every one of Story Mode's Shadow Pokémon and then using the Story Mode team to completely clear the Battle Mode equivalent of Mt. Battle. The player can import any Ruby, Sapphire, FireRed, or LeafGreen Pokémon into the Story mode and use them. Starting in this game, Ho-Oh's moveset was tweaked so that it now learns Sacred Fire at Level 77.
The player can also obtain Ho-Oh along with Lugia in Pokémon Emerald, Pokemon Leafgreen and Pokemon Firered at Navel Rock. A Mystic Ticket, which can be obtained at special Nintendo events, is required to get to Navel Rock.[2]
Ho-Oh also appears as both a boss and a playable character in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. A Spinda tells the player about how it went on a quest to meet a mirage Pokémon, but it is on the verge of passing out, so it asks the partner to complete the quest for it. Xatu from the Great Canyon speaks of the Three Fields, awaiting the three legendary beasts, which eventually leads to Ho-Oh's appearance. Once Spinda hears about the player's story, it is cured and will finally be able to walk again.
Until Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Ho-Oh's overall statistics were the highest in the Pokémon games, along with Mewtwo, Lugia, and Rayquaza. However, the Legendary Pokemon Arseus, introduced in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, surpasses the capabilities of Ho-Oh.
Ho-Oh has outstanding Attack and Special Defense, high HP and Special Attack and average Speed and Defense. Since Ho-Oh has such high HP and Special Defense, when used with HP restoring moves such as Recover, it is able to shrug off numerous blows and counter with its own arsenal of attacks.
Although it is somewhat rare, Ho-Oh can appear in Super Smash Bros. Melee out of a Poké Ball. Once it appears, it will fly up and into the background, and proceed to use the devastating fire attack Sacred Fire, spread across the area of the playing field where its Poké Ball was thrown. It also makes an appearance as a Trophy, where the second O in its name was lowercase.
[edit] In the anime
As such, Ho-Oh has not made any major appearance in the anime. Only Ash has seen it several times.
In the first episode of the series, Ash Ketchum sees a large, shining bird flying above the plain, making Ho-Oh the first Pokémon to appear in the anime before the games, as well as the first Legendary Pokémon to appear in the anime. When he consults his Pokédex, it responds that it has no data on the gorgeous creature, emphasizing that there are many Pokémon that have not yet been identified. Ash later discovers it was Ho-Oh by talking to Morty, Ecruteak's gym leader, and Eusine, a Suicune fanatic and legendary Pokémon expert. Ash later sees Ho-Oh again as he leaves for Hoenn.
Given the timing of the episode's debut, most people speculate that Ho-Oh was created by the series' staff and later incorporated into the second generation of games by Nintendo, or was intended to be one of the 3 winged mirages from the original games. Possible evidence supporting this theory includes the fact that, in the second episode, Ash saw a stone engraving of a legendary bird Pokémon and remarked that he had seen it, but Professor Oak said that he probably hadn't, saying that many people had searched their whole life for that Pokémon and never found it. Strangely, the image in question was not actually of Ho-Oh, but Moltres.
Also, during the Battle Pyramid episode, Ash saw Ho-Oh again at the end of the episode after his battle with Brandon.
Ho-Oh also made an appearance in Pokemon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, though it turned out to be Mew in a transformed state.
Drawing on the similarity to the Chinese phoenix, who is said to appear when a great leader or hero is born, the fact that Ash sees it on his first day as a Trainer serves as foreshadowing that Ash will save the world or be a legendary hero at least once. Indeed, although Ash hasn't done anything similar in the series, he did save the world in some of the movies, such as Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back, Pokémon: The Movie 2000, and Pokémon: Jirachi Wishmaker.
[edit] In the trading card game
Ho-Oh has made five appearances in the Trading Card Game thus far and they are in the following sets:
- Neo Revelation (holographic Fire-type)
- Neo Revelation (rare Colorless)
- Skyridge (as a holographic Colorless with the Crystal Type Poke-Body)
- Unseen Forces (rare Fire-type)
- Unseen Forces (holographic Fire-type, as Ho-Oh EX)
The first colorless Ho-Oh wielded a Rainbow Burn attack that did additional damage based on the number of unique energy cards attached to it. Ho-Oh EX is a Pokémon with a powered up version of the Neo Revelation Ho-Oh's Rainbow Burn attack.
[edit] References
- The following games and their instruction manuals: Pokémon Red and Blue; Pokémon Yellow; Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Stadium 2; Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal; Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald; Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen; Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
- Notes
- ^ Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire Review (page 1) Ign.com. URL Accessed June 1, 2006.
- ^ We've Got the Ticket to Fun!, Pokémon.com. URL last accessed March 4, 2007.
- Publications
- Barbo, Maria. The Official Pokémon Handbook. Scholastic Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-439-15404-9.
- Loe, Casey, ed. Pokémon Special Pikachu Edition Official Perfect Guide. Sunnydale, CA: Empire 21 Publishing, 1999. ISBN 1-930206-15-1.
- Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon FireRed & Pokémon LeafGreen Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., August 2004. ISBN 1-930206-50-X
- Mylonas, Eric. Pokémon Pokédex Collector’s Edition: Prima’s Official Pokémon Guide. Prima Games, September 21 2004. ISBN 0-7615-4761-4
- Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon Emerald Version Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., April 2005. ISBN 1-930206-58-5
[edit] External links
- Official Pokémon website
- Bulbapedia (a Pokémon-centric Wiki)’s article about Ho-oh as a species
- Ho-Oh’s fourth-generation Pokédex entry on Serebii.net
- Pokémon Dungeon Pokédex entry, full of statistics analysis
- PsyPoke - Ho-Oh Pokédex entry and Usage Overview
- Smogon.com - Ho-Oh Tactical Data
- WikiKnowledge.net’s entry for Ho-Oh Previously hosted by Wikibooks
