QC: p2, TDK, PK-Gaming
GP: The Dutch Plumberjack
[OVERVIEW]
* Heatran boasts an excellent defensive typing in combination with splendid defensive stats, making it resistant to lots of attacking combinations as well as immune to poison and burn.
* Said typing is also great offensively, complementing its high Special Attack and taking advantage of a fair number of Fire- and Steel-weak threats in the tier.
* Access to a variety of great disruptive options including Taunt, Toxic, Magma Storm, and burn moves makes Heatran a persistent threat against stall and balance.
* It only has three weaknesses; however, they are extremely common STAB and coverage attacks on numerous checks and counters, especially Fighting and Ground.
* Base Speed of 77 is both a blessing and a curse, as it gets the jump on many common slower offensive and defensive threats but fails to trump base 80, 90, and 100 Speed foes with Speed investment.
* Lack of recovery can make Heatran worn down from repeated hits and switches into entry hazards.
[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Magma Storm
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Solar Beam
move 4: Taunt / Stealth Rock
item: Grassium Z
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Magma Storm has good Base Power, traps foes, and inflicts passive damage, dealing considerable damage to even resistant switch-ins. If Heatran successfully traps the appropriate switch-in, they cannot switch out of the incoming Bloom Doom.
* Earth Power provides good complementary coverage against opposing Heatran, Tyranitar, and Toxapex.
* Bloom Doom allows Heatran to lure in and unleash a powerful 200 Base Power attack that maims Water- and Ground-types while scoring a huge hit on neutral targets such as Gyarados and Landorus-T. However, Heatran can only use it once, leaving it with the suboptimal Solar Beam afterwards.
* Taunt stops slower defensive foes and attackers from freely recovering or setting up.
* Stealth Rock is a great option, as Heatran forces switches and usually fares well against some leads.
* Hidden Power Ice makes sure the likes of Dragonite, Latios, and Garchomp aren't setting up or switching in for free.
* Fire Blast is a powerful STAB move with slightly more acceptable accuracy and power than Magma Storm. Magma Storm's passive damage and trapping effect tend to be more desirable, however.
* Flash Cannon is an option, but it is only good for Clefable, as other targets are uncommon and Heatran's Fire attack will suffice most of the time.
* Sunny Day strengthens Fire attacks, weakens Water moves, makes Solar Beam a more consistent attack, and allows Heatran to check weather teams. It also boosts Speed by one stage if used with Firium Z.
* Hidden Power Electric hits Pelipper, Mantine, and other Water-types super effectively, but these targets can generally be taken care of with Bloom Doom + Magma Storm trapping.
Set Details
========
* Maximum Speed and Special Attack with a Timid nature makes Heatran hit as fast and hard as possible. In particular, it outruns Jolly maximum Speed Bisharp, Mega Scizor, as well as neutral natured Dragonite, Gyarados, and Landorus-T.
* 4 EVs are invested in Special Defense so Genesect grabs an Attack boost instead of a Special Attack boost.
* Grassium Z converts Solar Beam into Bloom Doom for one use.
* Air Balloon allows Heatran to check Excadrill, Garchomp, opposing Heatran, and other Ground attack-reliant attackers in a pinch.
* Leftovers provides passive recovery so Heatran can bluff a defensive set and switch in more often.
* Firium Z can convert Magma Storm into Inferno Overdrive for one use, or be used with Sunny Day to boost Speed by one stage.
Usage Tips
========
* Use Heatran's typing to switch into a variety of moves and counterattack with the appropriate move.
* Magma Storm deals good damage to typical switch-ins; therefore, it can be used if you are unsure of the opponent's next move.
* Heatran only has one chance to use Bloom Doom; Magma Storm helps by trapping Fire-resistant foes in and letting it unleash doom on them. Otherwise, use it with caution.
* Taunt is extremely handy against typical defensive Pokemon. Combined with Magma Storm, targets such as Chansey and Toxapex cannot switch out or recover while taking lots of damage.
Team Options
========
* Having Bloom Doom means Heatran can wipe out some Water- and Ground-type foes for other teammates, such as Garchomp and Excadrill.
* Tapu Bulu makes an excellent defensive and offensive core member, as it switches into Heatran's weaknesses almost perfectly and hits hard in return. Additionally, its ability, Grassy Surge, offers many useful utilities, including halving the power of Ground-type attacks, providing passive recovery, and further powering up Bloom Doom.
* Offensive Psychic-, Dragon-, and Fairy-types, such as Mega Gardevoir, Tapu Lele, Garchomp, and Mega Alakazam, benefit from Heatran's coverage against Steel-types.
* Celebi pairs well with Heatran whether it is using Thunder Wave to slow down opposing foes or Baton Passing Nasty Plot boosts.
* Latias and Latios provide pressure against opposing Dragon-types and Keldeo while providing utilities such as Defog or Healing Wish support.
[SET]
name: Bulky
move 1: Taunt
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Lava Plume / Magma Storm
move 4: Stealth Rock / Earth Power
item: Leftovers
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Timid / Calm
evs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Taunt prevents foes from boosting, setting up entry hazards, or using recovery moves.
* Toxic is a catch-all move against bulky foes Heatran can't hurt much otherwise, especially Water- and Dragon-types as well as specially defensive threats such as Chansey.
* Lava Plume is an accurate, reliable attacking option that hits hard despite no investment and makes foes wary of switching in due to the high burn chance. Burn chance may conflict with targets you want to poison, however. Running out of PP is also not an issue when running Lava Plume
* Magma Storm wears down foes even further every turn and has the nifty effect of trapping, allowing Heatran to switch in something else for free without double switching. It is powerful but less spammable than Lava Plume due to significantly lower PP and accuracy.
* Magma Storm also has a high chance to OHKO Dugtrio and finish it off with passive damage at the end of the turn.
* Stealth Rock is a great option if Heatran's team has no other setters; notably, Heatran tends to have a favorable matchup against common leads and entry hazard setters (with the exception of Garchomp).
* Earth Power provides alternative coverage so Heatran can wear down Toxapex, Tyranitar, and opposing Heatran more easily. It's also an alternative attacking option in case using up Magma Storm's PP is undesirable.
* Protect scouts moves and gives Heatran extra recovery and stalling turns. If using Magma Storm, it is especially effective against targets such as Toxapex and Chansey.
Set Details
========
* Maximum HP makes Heatran generally resilient, and maximized Speed enables it to pose an offensive threat to slower foes.
* 4 EVs are invested in Special Defense so Genesect grabs an Attack boost instead of a Special Attack boost.
* A Timid nature gives Heatran a boost against max speed positive-natured base 70s, such as Volcanion and Bisharp, as well as neutral-natured base 80 and 90 Speed threats such as Dragonite, Gyarados, and Landorus-T.
* A Calm nature with 252 HP and 252 Special Defense EVs is an option for more durability, allowing Heatran take strong attacks neutral and even super effective hits more easily.
* Leftovers offers passive recovery, which is vital for switching in and out throughout the match.
* Rocky Helmet is a cute but somewhat useful option for Chansey and other physical threats reliant on contact moves; however, Heatran will be worn down faster.
Usage Tips
========
* Heatran garners tons of switch-in in opportunities thanks to its bulk and typing.
* Using Taunt and Toxic together allows Heatran to wear down defensive foes steadily but effectively.
* Depending on the team, it may be better to throw out Heatran's Fire STAB attack first to analyze switch-in patterns, switch out, then come in again and use Toxic to cripple predicted switch-ins.
* Heatran is bulky enough to withstand weak Scalds and other weaker attacks, but don't push it, as Heatran has no recovery outside of Leftovers.
* When using Magma Storm, do not throw out indiscriminately, as Heatran has only 8 PP to use it effectively barring misses.
* If using Protect, do not misuse it, as opponents can take advantage of inaction and set up or recover (in which case Taunt is handy).
* Many Pokemon carry coverage solely to take care of Heatran, so play carefully and scout attacks first.
* Heatran can whittle down Toxapex and other similar targets one-on-one with repeated Fire attacks or Earth Power with Taunt.
Team Options
========
* This set usually has trouble against Water-types and can't stay too long against Dragon- and Ground-types due to lack of coverage and offensive investment, so some team support to address these are needed.
* Tapu Bulu switches into Heatran's weaknesses flawlessly while providing Grassy Terrain support, which halves the power of Ground-type attacks and provides even more passive recovery per turn for Heatran. Tapu Bulu also hits Heatran's checks hard.
* Tapu Lele doubles down on stall and balance well, as Heatran provides Fire coverage and checks Celesteela, Scizor, Genesect, and Jirachi. Meanwhile, Tapu Lele hits hard on its own with powerful Psychic-type attacks boosted further by Choice Specs.
* Tapu Fini makes a good blanket check or counter to most troublesome counters, such as Mega Charizard X, Chansey, opposing Heatran, and most Water- and Fighting-types.
* Celebi still takes on many of Heatran's checks and counters well while easily switching into status (thanks to Natural Cure), having recovery, and having access to Baton Pass.
* Unaware Clefable takes on setup sweepers well should anything wish to take advantage of Heatran's passivity.
* Wish support from the likes of Chansey and Clefable helps in case Heatran sustains too much damage.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Choice Scarf patches up Heatran's middling Speed and allows it to revenge kill faster or boosted threats. However, it has zero utility against defensive archetypes, and its Speed tier is not what it used to be, as more threats in the base 80 range (such as Xurkitree and Gyarados) are running Speed-boosting natures more frequently.
* Roar is a decent option, as Heatran already forces many switches as is and can rack up entry hazard damage. It also phazes setup sweepers such as Clefable.
* The combination of Rest and Sleep Talk is Heatran's only means of recovery outside of Leftovers, but forces it to sleep for two turns and may leave it with a limited amount of move slots.
* Resistance Berries such as Chople and Shuca Berry lower damage from super effective attacks and let Heatran counterattack. Many Ground-types tend to OHKO despite Shuca, however.
* Will-O-Wisp has a higher chance of burning than Lava Plume but is generally not worth a moveslot while being outclassed damage-wise by Toxic against special attackers.
* Shed Shell is an option on all sets to avoid being trapped by Dugtrio, but it otherwise a situational item and completely compromises essential Leftovers recovery.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ground-type Pokemon and Coverage**: As Heatran sports a quadruple weakness to Ground-type attacks, it is extremely susceptible to Earth Power and Earthquake, attacks commonly used for coverage. Ground-types, especially Hippowdon and Garchomp, typically threaten with an OHKO. Dugtrio is especially notable, as it can trap all non-Air Balloon variants of Heatran with Arena Trap and proceed to take it out of the match. However, there are not a lot of Ground-types that can safely switch in due to the power of Heatran's STAB Fire-type attacks as well as possible coverage attacks, such as Bloom Doom, against them.
**Fighting-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Several threats typically carry Fighting-type attacks such as Close Combat, Low Kick, and Focus Blast to deal with Heatran. Additionally, many Fighting-types do not mind Toxic in the long run and are notable for their good Speed stats and solid power, making threats such as Keldeo, Terrakion, Pheromosa, and Kommo-o solid checks. However, not many can switch in safely without taking decent damage.
**Water-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Heatran fares badly against most Water-types, as they resist its STAB combination, typically tank Earth Power well, and threaten with Scald, Waterfall, or Hydro Pump. If Heatran lacks Earth Power, then Tentacruel, Tapu Fini, and Toxapex are solid counters, as they are immune to Toxic and can whittle Heatran down with Scald. Other Water-types such as Pelipper and Gyarados also fare well but must exercise caution against well-timed Toxics, Solar Beam, or Bloom Doom.
**Dragon-type Pokemon**: Most Dragon-types can come in on most of Heatran's Fire-type attacks and Earth Power and proceed to set up or attack with their coverage attacks. Latios, for instance, switches in almost perfectly and threatens with Surf, while Dragonite and Kommo-o have Earthquake and Sky Uppercut or Focus Blast handy, respectively. Without such coverage attacks, however, defensive variants of Heatran can continuously switch in against these threats.
**Knock Off**: Defensive variants of Heatran are typically reliant on holding Leftovers to switch in continuously against resisted attacks. Therefore, removing its Leftovers with Knock Off makes it completely unable to recover. Additionally, several users of the move, including Hoopa and Crawdaunt, hit extremely hard with it. For offensive sets, this isn't much of a problem as Z-crystals minimize damage and cannot be removed, while Air Balloon will likely get used up beforehand anyway.
**High Offensive Pressure**: Although Heatran is bulky, it cannot consistently switch into attacks for too long as it lacks recovery outside of Leftovers. Faster and powerful attackers such as Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Xurkitree, Tornadus-T, and Kyurem-B are able to wear down Heatran quickly with their usual STAB or coverage attacks.
**Specially Defensive Threats**: If Heatran is not running Taunt or Toxic, several special walls and attackers such as Chansey, Tyranitar, Mega Charizard Y, and opposing Heatran can switch in rather easily and can set up entry hazards or recover lost damage. With said moves, however, more passive walls tend to struggle a bit but can still exploit Heatran's lack of recovery by wearing it down themselves.
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