0250 Ho-Oh

Incinerate is Ho-Oh's only viable fast move option due to its high STAB damage and energy generation, though it is quite cumbersome being a 5 turn fast move. Extrasensory and Steel Wing are both inferior choices by a considerable margin, though they don't suffer nearly as much from the slow animation that Incinerate has. Hidden Power is not a great attack in PVP, but it can have some niche utility on Ho-Oh if given the proper typing.

Brave Bird demands quite a bit of energy, but is the cheapest charge move available to Ho-Oh. While its self-debuff makes it somewhat risky, its high STAB damage makes it considerably threatening if unshielded. Sacred Fire is a very powerful STAB move with a 50% Attack debuff chance, and burns down Steel-type targets. Earthquake provides coverage against Rock types and certain targets such as Zekrom. Solar Beam and Fire Blast are among the most expensive charge moves in the game energy-wise, but the former provides coverage against Water and Rock Pokemon that Ho-Oh can struggle against, while the latter is best avoided because it is completely outclassed by Sacred Fire.

Ho-Oh can only join the Great League if obtained as a research breakthrough reward and traded afterwards to reroll its IVs. This makes Ho-Oh very costly and unlikely to have a shot at Great League, but nonetheless it has its niches. Being more slightly more bulky than Charizard is attractive as a Fire/Flying type, but access to slow charge moves often causes Ho-Oh to lose matchups if the opponent commits 2 shields. Overall Ho-Oh is mostly a one-trick-pony that has a lot of potential when shields are down, but otherwise can struggle compared to other meta picks. Ho-Oh also faces stiff competition from Talonflame, who possesses similar stats and moves, but can pressure shields more effectively with Flame Charge.

Ho-Oh has better performance in the Ultra League, where it starts to wield the only real advantage afforded to it; a good stat-spread. Here, it acts primarily as a closer, using its powerful but slow charged moves to finish off opponents lacking shields. It also has good matchups against tier-relevant pokemon such as Alolan Muk, Venusaur, and Registeel. Due to its double weakness however, Pokemon with Rock-type coverage tend to counter Ho-Oh, while Water and Dragon Pokemon are also quite common in this league. Like with Great League, Ho-Oh also faces competition with Talonflame in Ultra League, perhaps even moreso.

Ho-Oh shines brightest in the Master League, now being able to make full use of its great stats. Its relatively unique Fire/Flying typing presents it with key resistances to Fairy-, Fighting- and Ground-type attacks, allowing Ho-Oh to take on Groudon, Togekiss, Metagross, and Zacian. Ho-Oh's ability to hard counter non Wild Charge Zacian is unique in the Master League, making it a valuable teammate to various Dragon-types.

While Ho-Oh packs an incredibly potent closing and hit-and-run capabilities, it does often find itself struggling against shields due to taxing side effects of its charge moves. Ho-Oh additionally has trouble against some of the metagame's titans, such as Kyogre, both formes of Giratina, Zekrom, and Palkia. Its double weakness to Rock-type attacks can leave it vulnerable to Melmetal, both formes of Landorus, and Excadrill when its shields are down. Finally, Incinerate's long duration can be unforgiving, making it difficult for Ho-Oh to switch out to catch its opponent's move, and can leave it vulnerable to getting sniped down by high damage fast moves at low HP.