[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Explosion
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Naive
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Choice Scarf Heatran is the ultimate revenge killer, holding many dangerous threats at bay. This includes, but is not limited to Scizor, Shaymin-S, Salamence, Lucario, and even other Heatran. With its many resistances and immunity to Fire, Heatran can come in with a little prediction and force all of these Pokemon to switch or die. The Choice Scarf allows Heatran to outrun all unscarfed pokemon, save Ninjask, reaching an impressive 417 speed. If you keep your Heatran alive, it will keep you reasonably safe from any of the previously listed pokemon. With its high Speed, Special Attack and defenses, Heatran is a potent Pokemon indeed.</p>
<p>Fire Blast is your STAB move, forcing out Scizor, Lucario, Shaymin-S, Jirachi, Celebi, and more. Coming off of an impressive 359 Special Attack, it hurts even when resisted. Earth Power is an absolute necessity, due the the popularity of Heatran, and complements Fire Blast by removing other Fire-types. Giving an enemy Heatran a Flash Fire boost is dangerous, so a well predicted Earth Power will remove them in one clean blow. Hidden Power Ice allows you to revenge kill DD Salamence once it goes into an Outrage and gives you a 100% accurate move for taking out Shaymin-S. Hidden Power Grass allows you to wear down bulky Water counters, who will switch into your Fire attacks without fear. Dragon Pulse is also a usable option for greater neutral coverage while still denting the OU Dragons. Lastly, Explosion is for when Heatran is on the verge of death, and it will likely take something down with it.</p>
<p>Max speed is absolutely necessary. The primary reason is to outrun Timid Shaymin-S and base 130 Speed Pokemon. Additionally, given the popularity of Heatran, it is not a bad idea to at least Speed tie with opposing Choice Scarf Heatran.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Fire Blast / Overheat
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Dragon Pulse / Flamethrower
item: Choice Specs
nature: Modest
evs: 40 HP / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With Choice Specs equipped, Heatran's Fire Blast has as much power as Specsmence's Draco Meteor, absolutely destroying most anything that doesn't resist it. If you can get a Flash Fire boost, even Blissey will fear it, possibly being 2HKOed with Stealth Rock damage. Overheat is even more ridiculous, with the first hit OHKOing most of the OU metagame, but the second hit is much weaker, due to Overheat's side effect of cutting Heatran's Special Attack by two stages. It's a matter of preference, and depends on the rest of your team. Do you need Heatran to be a hit and run attacker, handily nuking whatever switches in, or do you want consistent yet high damage? The accuracy is also an issue, with Overheat being 90% accurate, and Fire Blast being 85% accurate. Over the course of two turns however, Fire Blast does more damage. </p>
<p>Like with any Choice user, prediction is required. Quite often, your opponent will predict a Fire attack coming from miles away. They will likely switch in a bulky Water or a Flash Fire Pokemon. Hidden Power Grass should 2HKO the majority of bulky Waters, while Earth Power destroys Fire-types. By carefully removing these pokemon, Heatran can eventually set your team up for a sweep.</p>
<p>While not as much of a team supporter as the other Heatran sets, Choice Specs Heatran is worth considering as a high powered special sweeper, and will greatly benefit most teams. The Speed EVs allow you to outrun Jolly Tyranitar and Adamant Metagross. If you chose Fire Blast as your sweeping move, use Dragon Pulse in moveslot 4. If you chose Overheat, put Flamethrower in the final slot.</p>
[SET]
name: Rest + Sleep Talk
move 1: Lava Plume / Fire Blast
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers / Life Orb / Shed Shell
nature: Modest
evs: 248 HP / 56 SpA / 204 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Heatran lacks any form of recovery outside of Rest and Sleep Talk, his large amount of resistances and above average defenses make it a very good status absorber, and even a special wall. Typically it would be better to choose a special sponge that had access to instant recovery, but Heatran is sturdy enough that it doesn't matter; Rest and Sleep Talk is enough to keep it healthy. With Heatran's decent typing and good defenses it can easily take on special attackers such as Celebi, Rotom-Appliance, Jirachi and many others. This Heatran can even beat Blissey one on one, thanks to the burn rate of Lava Plume, and the Special Defense dropping effects of Earth Power. Rest makes Blissey's status attempts futile, and heals off any Seismic Toss damage.</p>
<p> Lava Plume makes physical attackers think twice before switching in, having a nice 30% chance of inflicting a burn on them. Fire Blast can be used because of it's high power, and you don't have to worry about it's PP thanks to Sleep Talk. However, your burn rate is reduced, making it a lesser option. Earth Power has nice coverage with Lava Plume, hitting Fire types and Rock types who resist it. Any team that needs a good sturdy tank should give Rest Sleep Talk Heatran a try. It hits reasonably hard, resists a huge amount of attacks, and it can both absorb and inflict status fairly reliably. Shed Shell allows escape from Dugtrio, which would be important if the mole were more popular.</p>
<p>A more offensive spin on the Rest Sleep Talk set is achieved by changing to Timid nature, and using an EV spread of 248 HP, 36 SpA and 224 Spe. This outruns Adamant Heracross. Use a Life Orb and put Fire Blast over Lava Plume. Thanks to Rest and Sleep Talk you can still easily defeat Blissey. </p>
[SET]
name: Burn Support
move 1: Will-O-Wisp
move 2: Stealth Rock / Substitute
move 3: Overheat
move 4: Roar / Earth Power
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 16 SpA / 240 SpD
nature: Modest
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This Heatran is very sneaky. It sets up Stealth Rock as soon as possible, while hopefully luring out a Salamence or Gyarados. Then, later in the battle, it can Will-o-wisp the respective counter switching into it, or Roar in order to chip away at its health with Stealth Rock. If setting up Stealth Rock is not required, Heatran can use Substitute, easing the opportunity to inflict Burn on the incoming physical sweeper.</p>
<p>Will-O-Wisp is an extremely effective move, and can seriously debilitate the opponent if used cleverly. The most common OU sweepers: Salamence, Gyarados and Tyranitar all have few qualms about switching into Heatran, and therefore frequently find themselves burned on turn one. With its high Special Defense, Heatran can even afford to take a Suicune's Surf and Roar it away to deal with later in the battle.</p>
<p>This Heatran is an especially effective Gengar check. 359 Special Attack Life Orb Gengar's Focus Blast will never KO Heatran, even after Heatran switches into a Shadow Ball. Meanwhile, Heatran will always OHKO 4 HP / 0 SpD Gengar with Overheat. Essentially, this set will lure out and cripple the most common physical sweepers, and will also effectively deal with the most common special sweeper.</p>
[SET]
name: Taunt
move 1: Taunt
move 2: Metal Sound / Stealth Rock
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Earth Power / Hidden Power Grass
item: Leftovers
nature: Modest
evs: 228 HP / 252 SpA / 30 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p> Because of its reasonable bulk and plethora of resistances, Taunt Heatran can both prevent your opponent from setting up and inflicting nasty status attacks. Metal Sound is a very effective way to beat Blissey. Merely Taunt as they switch in Blissey, and then it will be unable to use Thunder Wave, Wish, Softboiled or Protect. You can then Metal Sound them, making Fire Blast a clean 3HKO. Earth Power is for other Heatran, but you will have to catch them on the switch. Hidden Power Grass allows you to dent bulky Water counters after a Metal Sound. This Blissey killing capability is very important for teams that are easily walled by her, and the surprise value should not be underestimated. Taunt Heatran is easily as effective as the other sets, and is a dangerous threat in its own right. </p>
<p> Unfortunately, this Heatran has to be a lot slower than the other builds to be effective. 380 HP allows Heatran to take 4 Seismic Tosses, even after Stealth Rock damage, and still survive with 1 HP left. This allows you to defeat any kind of Blissey, no matter what moveset they are running. The Special Attack is maximized for a high damage output. The remaining Speed EVs, by an interesting coincidence, put you at 197, which outruns no speed base 80s. </p>
<p> This Heatran makes a fine lead, as no one in their right mind would Taunt a Heatran. The threat of being Scarfed will usually convince Azelf to set up Stealth Rock and forgo Taunt. This allows you to set up Stealth Rock fairly safely, and then start attacking. It's a great deal harder to beat Blissey as it takes as many hits to kill, but you can still take it down if you get a Flash Fire boost. </p>
[Other Options]
<p> Hidden Power Electric can get surprise kills on Gyarados, especially if you use it on Choice Scarf Heatran. Flamethrower can be used over Fire Blast on many of the sets if you fear accuracy. Heatran's signature attack Magma Storm can be used to trap something like Blissey and Explode on them, freeing you to sweep with special attackers. This is risky though as Magma Storm only has 70% accuracy. Dragon Pulse deserves a mention, as it is your best weapon against Kingdra. It still hurts the other dragons significantly as well. For item choices, Shuca Berry and Shed Shell can work on a few of the sets. Shuca Berry allows you to survive a powerful Ground attack, which is a good way to kill enemy Heatran. Shed Shell allows you to escape Dugtrio. A Salac Berry is usable for a Speed boost when coupled with Substitute.</p>
<p> Do not be tempted to use moves like Dark Pulse, Flash Cannon and AncientPower. Their type coverage is poor, and Heatran's other moves hit almost everything much harder. </p>
[EVs]
<p>Always maximize Heatran's Special Attack unless you are running the Rest + Sleep Talk set, or on the Stealth Rock set. Then decide what you would like to outrun. 128 EVs and a Modest nature outruns Adamant Tyranitar. Modest and 216 EVs outruns Jolly Tyranitar and Adamant Metagross. On the Scarf set, just maximize Speed. You don't want to lose a speed tie with another Scarftran if it comes down to it. </p>
<h2> Legal IVs for Hidden Power </h2>
<p>HP GRASS:</p>
<p>Modest: 2 ATK, 30 SPATK</p>
<p>Naive: 26 ATK, 30 SPATK</p>
<p>Timid: 2 ATK, 30 SPATK</p>
<p>HP ICE:</p>
<p>Naive: 30 ATK, 30 DEF</p>
<p>Timid: 22 ATK, 30 DEF</p>
<p>HP ELECTRIC:</p>
<p>Timid: 30 SPATK</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Heatran is the anti-metagame Pokemon, capable of keeping top threats such as Scizor, Lucario, Shaymin-S, and Salamence in check. With the ability to counter some of the biggest threats in the game and neutrality to Stealth Rock he is far beyond the level of any Fire-type in Pokemon. The secondary Steel typing gives him a lot of good resistances, and Flash Fire allows him to take on his fellow Fire-types fairly easily. While the weaknesses to extremely common moves such as Earthquake, Surf, and Close Combat hinder its walling potential its ability as a defensive Pokemon should not be overlooked. With decent defensive typing, neutrality to Stealth Rock, and one of the highest Special Attack stats in the OverUsed tier Heatran should not be underestimated. /p>
<p>Heatran will be seen on a lot of teams, so be prepared for it. It's a sturdy tank, a great team player, and a frightening sweeper. Heatran is among the most used Pokemon for a good reason. It's easily one of the most important pokemon you will both use and face in your competitive battling experience. </p>
[Counters]
<p> Bulky Waters such as Milotic, Suicune, Slowking, Vaporeon, and Swampert can counter Heatran quite effectively, but Specs boosted Hidden Power Grass can take them down. Milotic is the best of these, as it has Recover, and doesn't mind being burned by Lava Plume or Will-O-Wisp as this activates Marvel Scale. Gyarados can handle Heatran on occasion, but Stealth Rock and potential burns hinder this somewhat. Porygon2 is an interesting counter. It traces Flash Fire and isn't weak to any other moves. Porygon2 can then paralyze Heatran and wear it down with Thunderbolt, using Recover as necessary. Kingdra can come in on Heatran and set up unless it switches into a Dragon Pulse. </p>
<p> Blissey is a fairly good counter to Heatran, provided she has some means of hitting it. With the increase in Fire attacks thanks to Scizor, getting a Flash Fire boost is easier, which means Blissey might have to take boosted Fire attacks. Explosion also gets rid of Blissey, but at the cost of Heatran's life. Heatran counters itself as long as it doesn't come into Earth Power. Adamant Scarfed Dugtrio can revenge kill Heatran no matter the set. Magnezone can also revenge kill Heatran if it is caught locked into Hidden Power or Dragon Pulse. </p>
<p> Snorlax can come into Heatran with relative impunity thanks to Thick Fat and threaten with Earthquake. Hariyama does the same, but uses a Fighting attack instead. Like Blissey, both will fall to Explosion. A Careful Tyranitar can shrug off any hits not boosted by Choice Specs, even Earth Power, which barely 4HKOs. </p>
<p> Most Heatran you face will be Choiced. Take advantage of this when deciding what you will switch in. </p>
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Explosion
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Naive
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Choice Scarf Heatran is the ultimate revenge killer, holding many dangerous threats at bay. This includes, but is not limited to Scizor, Shaymin-S, Salamence, Lucario, and even other Heatran. With its many resistances and immunity to Fire, Heatran can come in with a little prediction and force all of these Pokemon to switch or die. The Choice Scarf allows Heatran to outrun all unscarfed pokemon, save Ninjask, reaching an impressive 417 speed. If you keep your Heatran alive, it will keep you reasonably safe from any of the previously listed pokemon. With its high Speed, Special Attack and defenses, Heatran is a potent Pokemon indeed.</p>
<p>Fire Blast is your STAB move, forcing out Scizor, Lucario, Shaymin-S, Jirachi, Celebi, and more. Coming off of an impressive 359 Special Attack, it hurts even when resisted. Earth Power is an absolute necessity, due the the popularity of Heatran, and complements Fire Blast by removing other Fire-types. Giving an enemy Heatran a Flash Fire boost is dangerous, so a well predicted Earth Power will remove them in one clean blow. Hidden Power Ice allows you to revenge kill DD Salamence once it goes into an Outrage and gives you a 100% accurate move for taking out Shaymin-S. Hidden Power Grass allows you to wear down bulky Water counters, who will switch into your Fire attacks without fear. Dragon Pulse is also a usable option for greater neutral coverage while still denting the OU Dragons. Lastly, Explosion is for when Heatran is on the verge of death, and it will likely take something down with it.</p>
<p>Max speed is absolutely necessary. The primary reason is to outrun Timid Shaymin-S and base 130 Speed Pokemon. Additionally, given the popularity of Heatran, it is not a bad idea to at least Speed tie with opposing Choice Scarf Heatran.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Fire Blast / Overheat
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Dragon Pulse / Flamethrower
item: Choice Specs
nature: Modest
evs: 40 HP / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With Choice Specs equipped, Heatran's Fire Blast has as much power as Specsmence's Draco Meteor, absolutely destroying most anything that doesn't resist it. If you can get a Flash Fire boost, even Blissey will fear it, possibly being 2HKOed with Stealth Rock damage. Overheat is even more ridiculous, with the first hit OHKOing most of the OU metagame, but the second hit is much weaker, due to Overheat's side effect of cutting Heatran's Special Attack by two stages. It's a matter of preference, and depends on the rest of your team. Do you need Heatran to be a hit and run attacker, handily nuking whatever switches in, or do you want consistent yet high damage? The accuracy is also an issue, with Overheat being 90% accurate, and Fire Blast being 85% accurate. Over the course of two turns however, Fire Blast does more damage. </p>
<p>Like with any Choice user, prediction is required. Quite often, your opponent will predict a Fire attack coming from miles away. They will likely switch in a bulky Water or a Flash Fire Pokemon. Hidden Power Grass should 2HKO the majority of bulky Waters, while Earth Power destroys Fire-types. By carefully removing these pokemon, Heatran can eventually set your team up for a sweep.</p>
<p>While not as much of a team supporter as the other Heatran sets, Choice Specs Heatran is worth considering as a high powered special sweeper, and will greatly benefit most teams. The Speed EVs allow you to outrun Jolly Tyranitar and Adamant Metagross. If you chose Fire Blast as your sweeping move, use Dragon Pulse in moveslot 4. If you chose Overheat, put Flamethrower in the final slot.</p>
[SET]
name: Rest + Sleep Talk
move 1: Lava Plume / Fire Blast
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers / Life Orb / Shed Shell
nature: Modest
evs: 248 HP / 56 SpA / 204 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Heatran lacks any form of recovery outside of Rest and Sleep Talk, his large amount of resistances and above average defenses make it a very good status absorber, and even a special wall. Typically it would be better to choose a special sponge that had access to instant recovery, but Heatran is sturdy enough that it doesn't matter; Rest and Sleep Talk is enough to keep it healthy. With Heatran's decent typing and good defenses it can easily take on special attackers such as Celebi, Rotom-Appliance, Jirachi and many others. This Heatran can even beat Blissey one on one, thanks to the burn rate of Lava Plume, and the Special Defense dropping effects of Earth Power. Rest makes Blissey's status attempts futile, and heals off any Seismic Toss damage.</p>
<p> Lava Plume makes physical attackers think twice before switching in, having a nice 30% chance of inflicting a burn on them. Fire Blast can be used because of it's high power, and you don't have to worry about it's PP thanks to Sleep Talk. However, your burn rate is reduced, making it a lesser option. Earth Power has nice coverage with Lava Plume, hitting Fire types and Rock types who resist it. Any team that needs a good sturdy tank should give Rest Sleep Talk Heatran a try. It hits reasonably hard, resists a huge amount of attacks, and it can both absorb and inflict status fairly reliably. Shed Shell allows escape from Dugtrio, which would be important if the mole were more popular.</p>
<p>A more offensive spin on the Rest Sleep Talk set is achieved by changing to Timid nature, and using an EV spread of 248 HP, 36 SpA and 224 Spe. This outruns Adamant Heracross. Use a Life Orb and put Fire Blast over Lava Plume. Thanks to Rest and Sleep Talk you can still easily defeat Blissey. </p>
[SET]
name: Burn Support
move 1: Will-O-Wisp
move 2: Stealth Rock / Substitute
move 3: Overheat
move 4: Roar / Earth Power
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 16 SpA / 240 SpD
nature: Modest
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This Heatran is very sneaky. It sets up Stealth Rock as soon as possible, while hopefully luring out a Salamence or Gyarados. Then, later in the battle, it can Will-o-wisp the respective counter switching into it, or Roar in order to chip away at its health with Stealth Rock. If setting up Stealth Rock is not required, Heatran can use Substitute, easing the opportunity to inflict Burn on the incoming physical sweeper.</p>
<p>Will-O-Wisp is an extremely effective move, and can seriously debilitate the opponent if used cleverly. The most common OU sweepers: Salamence, Gyarados and Tyranitar all have few qualms about switching into Heatran, and therefore frequently find themselves burned on turn one. With its high Special Defense, Heatran can even afford to take a Suicune's Surf and Roar it away to deal with later in the battle.</p>
<p>This Heatran is an especially effective Gengar check. 359 Special Attack Life Orb Gengar's Focus Blast will never KO Heatran, even after Heatran switches into a Shadow Ball. Meanwhile, Heatran will always OHKO 4 HP / 0 SpD Gengar with Overheat. Essentially, this set will lure out and cripple the most common physical sweepers, and will also effectively deal with the most common special sweeper.</p>
[SET]
name: Taunt
move 1: Taunt
move 2: Metal Sound / Stealth Rock
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Earth Power / Hidden Power Grass
item: Leftovers
nature: Modest
evs: 228 HP / 252 SpA / 30 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p> Because of its reasonable bulk and plethora of resistances, Taunt Heatran can both prevent your opponent from setting up and inflicting nasty status attacks. Metal Sound is a very effective way to beat Blissey. Merely Taunt as they switch in Blissey, and then it will be unable to use Thunder Wave, Wish, Softboiled or Protect. You can then Metal Sound them, making Fire Blast a clean 3HKO. Earth Power is for other Heatran, but you will have to catch them on the switch. Hidden Power Grass allows you to dent bulky Water counters after a Metal Sound. This Blissey killing capability is very important for teams that are easily walled by her, and the surprise value should not be underestimated. Taunt Heatran is easily as effective as the other sets, and is a dangerous threat in its own right. </p>
<p> Unfortunately, this Heatran has to be a lot slower than the other builds to be effective. 380 HP allows Heatran to take 4 Seismic Tosses, even after Stealth Rock damage, and still survive with 1 HP left. This allows you to defeat any kind of Blissey, no matter what moveset they are running. The Special Attack is maximized for a high damage output. The remaining Speed EVs, by an interesting coincidence, put you at 197, which outruns no speed base 80s. </p>
<p> This Heatran makes a fine lead, as no one in their right mind would Taunt a Heatran. The threat of being Scarfed will usually convince Azelf to set up Stealth Rock and forgo Taunt. This allows you to set up Stealth Rock fairly safely, and then start attacking. It's a great deal harder to beat Blissey as it takes as many hits to kill, but you can still take it down if you get a Flash Fire boost. </p>
[Other Options]
<p> Hidden Power Electric can get surprise kills on Gyarados, especially if you use it on Choice Scarf Heatran. Flamethrower can be used over Fire Blast on many of the sets if you fear accuracy. Heatran's signature attack Magma Storm can be used to trap something like Blissey and Explode on them, freeing you to sweep with special attackers. This is risky though as Magma Storm only has 70% accuracy. Dragon Pulse deserves a mention, as it is your best weapon against Kingdra. It still hurts the other dragons significantly as well. For item choices, Shuca Berry and Shed Shell can work on a few of the sets. Shuca Berry allows you to survive a powerful Ground attack, which is a good way to kill enemy Heatran. Shed Shell allows you to escape Dugtrio. A Salac Berry is usable for a Speed boost when coupled with Substitute.</p>
<p> Do not be tempted to use moves like Dark Pulse, Flash Cannon and AncientPower. Their type coverage is poor, and Heatran's other moves hit almost everything much harder. </p>
[EVs]
<p>Always maximize Heatran's Special Attack unless you are running the Rest + Sleep Talk set, or on the Stealth Rock set. Then decide what you would like to outrun. 128 EVs and a Modest nature outruns Adamant Tyranitar. Modest and 216 EVs outruns Jolly Tyranitar and Adamant Metagross. On the Scarf set, just maximize Speed. You don't want to lose a speed tie with another Scarftran if it comes down to it. </p>
<h2> Legal IVs for Hidden Power </h2>
<p>HP GRASS:</p>
<p>Modest: 2 ATK, 30 SPATK</p>
<p>Naive: 26 ATK, 30 SPATK</p>
<p>Timid: 2 ATK, 30 SPATK</p>
<p>HP ICE:</p>
<p>Naive: 30 ATK, 30 DEF</p>
<p>Timid: 22 ATK, 30 DEF</p>
<p>HP ELECTRIC:</p>
<p>Timid: 30 SPATK</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Heatran is the anti-metagame Pokemon, capable of keeping top threats such as Scizor, Lucario, Shaymin-S, and Salamence in check. With the ability to counter some of the biggest threats in the game and neutrality to Stealth Rock he is far beyond the level of any Fire-type in Pokemon. The secondary Steel typing gives him a lot of good resistances, and Flash Fire allows him to take on his fellow Fire-types fairly easily. While the weaknesses to extremely common moves such as Earthquake, Surf, and Close Combat hinder its walling potential its ability as a defensive Pokemon should not be overlooked. With decent defensive typing, neutrality to Stealth Rock, and one of the highest Special Attack stats in the OverUsed tier Heatran should not be underestimated. /p>
<p>Heatran will be seen on a lot of teams, so be prepared for it. It's a sturdy tank, a great team player, and a frightening sweeper. Heatran is among the most used Pokemon for a good reason. It's easily one of the most important pokemon you will both use and face in your competitive battling experience. </p>
[Counters]
<p> Bulky Waters such as Milotic, Suicune, Slowking, Vaporeon, and Swampert can counter Heatran quite effectively, but Specs boosted Hidden Power Grass can take them down. Milotic is the best of these, as it has Recover, and doesn't mind being burned by Lava Plume or Will-O-Wisp as this activates Marvel Scale. Gyarados can handle Heatran on occasion, but Stealth Rock and potential burns hinder this somewhat. Porygon2 is an interesting counter. It traces Flash Fire and isn't weak to any other moves. Porygon2 can then paralyze Heatran and wear it down with Thunderbolt, using Recover as necessary. Kingdra can come in on Heatran and set up unless it switches into a Dragon Pulse. </p>
<p> Blissey is a fairly good counter to Heatran, provided she has some means of hitting it. With the increase in Fire attacks thanks to Scizor, getting a Flash Fire boost is easier, which means Blissey might have to take boosted Fire attacks. Explosion also gets rid of Blissey, but at the cost of Heatran's life. Heatran counters itself as long as it doesn't come into Earth Power. Adamant Scarfed Dugtrio can revenge kill Heatran no matter the set. Magnezone can also revenge kill Heatran if it is caught locked into Hidden Power or Dragon Pulse. </p>
<p> Snorlax can come into Heatran with relative impunity thanks to Thick Fat and threaten with Earthquake. Hariyama does the same, but uses a Fighting attack instead. Like Blissey, both will fall to Explosion. A Careful Tyranitar can shrug off any hits not boosted by Choice Specs, even Earth Power, which barely 4HKOs. </p>
<p> Most Heatran you face will be Choiced. Take advantage of this when deciding what you will switch in. </p>
