The Final Sets -- Topic Updated and Re-done
Option #1:
Tangrowth @ Heat Rock
Bold, Chlorophyll, 240 HP / 152 Defense / 100 Sp.Atk / 16 Speed
- Sunny Day
- Morning Sun
- Grass Knot / Energy Ball
- Focus Blast / Hidden Power [Rock] / Hidden Power [Ice] / Sleep Powder
Heatran @ Life Orb / Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
Modest, Flash Fire, 252 Sp.Atk / 252 Speed / 6 HP
- Overheat
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Explosion
Option #2:
Tangrowth @ Heat Rock
Impish, Chlorophyll, 240 HP / 176 Defense / 76 Attack / 16 Speed
- Sunny Day
- Morning Sun
- Power Whip
- Rock Slide / Knock Off / Aerial Ace / Sleep Powder
Heatran @ Life Orb / Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
Modest, Flash Fire, 252 Sp.Atk / 252 Speed / 6 HP
- Overheat
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Explosion
The Introduction
Tangrowth is an amazing physical wall, and Heatran is a fantastic special sweeper. Together, these Pokemon counter each other's weaknesses and resistances, and they set each other up for major demolition of the opposing team.
Option #1:
Tangrowth @ Heat Rock
Bold, Chlorophyll, 240 HP / 152 Defense / 100 Sp.Atk / 16 Speed
- Sunny Day
- Morning Sun
- Grass Knot / Energy Ball
- Focus Blast / Hidden Power [Rock] / Hidden Power [Ice] / Sleep Powder
The Basics
This is a very unique Tangrowth set. It differs from the normal physical-oriented Tangrowth, and its entire move-set is based on the addition of Morning Sun -- achieved through Pokemon XD -- and Sunny Day. Also, with Chlorophyll, it can out-seed all base-90 speed-Pokemon with a neutral nature and max Effort Values in Speed. This set achieved 280 Speed in Sunny Day. Base-90, Neutral-Natured, Max Effort Values achieve only 279. So, make sure to get a 31 Independent Value in Speed! Yes, this means that you will out-speed the likes of Heracross, Gyarados, Heatran, Cresselia, and a lot of other certain common Pokemon.
Sunny Day gives Tangrowth a load of possibilities, and usually can be used freely on an enemy switch to a counter. With Sunny Day in effect, at least two of its moves take upon a whole new meaning. It also serves as weather control against the likes of Sandstorm and Rain Dance, the one thing that can really harm this set. Additionally, with Sunny Day in effect, all water attacks hit softer, helping out your rock, ground, and fire-typed Pokemon, and giving Tangrowth literally absolute immunity to them, even on the special side of the spectrum.
Chlorophyll gives Tangrowth an immediate doubling in speed, helping it out-speed everything with a base-90 Speed, Neutral Nature, and Max Effort Values in Speed. It helps give its set more priority against many counters following Sunny Day. Leaf Guard is also an option if you fear status inflictions, but it is probably far more situational than Chlorophyll. Leaf Guard is also an option with a Trick Room-based team. The extra 16 Effort Values in speed give it a base speed of 140. After Chlorophyll, this is boosted to 280 speed, helping it out-speed many threats at 279 speed and below.
With Heat Rock, Sunny Day stays in effect for eight turns, an extremely useful trait. This gives its purpose a far longer period from which to benefit. Leftovers is always an option, but considering the large healing of Morning Sun and the nature of the set's purpose, Heat Rock is a far superior option, and a welcomed change in an Item Clause environment.
Grass Knot is a staple of any Sunny Day set. With Tangrowth's base special attack of 110, STAB, and the Effort Values in special attack, this puts a large dent into anything that does not resist it. The following types resist Grass Knot -- Bug, Dragon, Fire, Flying, Grass, Poison, and Steel. Yes, that is quite a bit, but fear not. Its purpose is hardly to sweep the opposing team. Its biggest threats and intended counters -- Tyranitar, Gyarados, and the like -- take Grass Knot as 120 Base Power attack, a hit that matches any Solarbeam. Energy Ball is also an option if you expect to hit some light-weight Pokemon, but Grass Knot is usually a stronger alternative.
Morning Sun is one of the major additions to this variation. Similar to its sibling in Moonlight and Synthesis, Morning Sun recovers health based upon the weather effects. In normal conditions, Morning Sun recovers half of the user's max HP. In hindering conditions -- Sandstorm, specifically -- its healing powers are halved, healing only a fourth of the user's max HP. However, with Sunny Day in effect, Morning Sun heals for a whopping two-thirds of the user's max HP. On an ideal Tangrowth, that is a whopping 260 HP with a single Morning Sun, far more than most physical attackers can even dream of hitting you. Plus, with the ability to use Sunny Day, you can control the weather and help keep pesky hindering of the healing move off. In other words, the basic set of Sunny Day, Grass Knot, Morning Sun, and Chlorophyll keeps you healing fast and attacking fast. Remember, after Chlorophyll sets in, you out-speed a lot more than normal, meaning that you can heal ahead of many attacks without priority.
Focus Blast does not offer much in terms of coverage, and its accuracy is not exactly thrilling. But, it helps counter some huge threats, such as an opposing Heatran, which would otherwise wall you. It can also destroy Tyranitar, Weavile, and most steel and rock types. It is also Tangrowth's strongest special attack aside from Grass Knot and the trap-inviting Solarbeam. Hidden Power [Rock] is also a valuable alternative, as the combination of rock and grass covers everything but mono-steel types and also takes care of fire-types if Heatran is absent. Hidden Power [Ice], while not as good at type-coverage, helps counter dragons. The spread also takes them down quicker than a typical wall would. Finally, do not overlook Sleep Powder. Putting the opponent's counter to sleep as it switches in can aid in setting up Sunny Day and healing. Make sure to keep the Effort Values the same even if you only have one attacking move! You will not be able to take down Gyarados and Tyranitar as easily if you take out the special attack Effort Value points, especially in the absence of the standard Knock Off, Power Whip, and Leech Seed.
Objective
Now, here is the objective. Send Tangrowth out after a death or against a physical threat that it can wall. Use Sunny Day on the switch. Now, you out-run a lot of threats against it. You can use either Grass Knot or Focus Blast, depending on your situation and prediction. Tangrowth in and of itself is a fantastic physical wall, and with solid speed after Chlorophyll sets in and a move to quickly recover two-thirds of its max HP, it is an absolute bitch to take down. However, here is where the meat and juice truly lies. More often than not, the most common threat to Tangrowth is special attackers packed with a strong fire move. With Sunny Day set up, as well, all fire moves are boosted by 1.5x, essentially welcoming Tangrowth to be obliterated by a fire attack. However, most fire moves can be seen coming a mile away. We would just switch to a counter, right? Why, hello there, Heatran.
Option #2:
Tangrowth @ Heat Rock
Impish, Chlorophyll, 240 HP / 176 Defense / 76 Attack / 16 Speed
- Sunny Day
- Morning Sun
- Power Whip
- Rock Slide / Knock Off / Aerial Ace / Sleep Powder
The Differences
The differences with this set are the attacking nature of the set. With physical attacks, you are more susceptible to Intimidate, but can still deal solid damage. Sunny Day and Morning Sun are still the core of the set. Power Whip allows swift killing of Gyarados and deals more quickly with Vaporeon, Milotic, and other bulky waters geared toward Special Defense. It also hits Tyranitar very hard. Rock Slide offers the best type-coverage and nails Weavile that try to stick around and Ice Punch you, as well as physical flying-types that try to take you down. Knock Off is your basic utility. Aerial Ace deserves a mention because of its ability to destroy Heracross. While the type-coverage is only so-so, it deserves mention for that reason, alone. After Chlorophyll kicks in, the 16 Effort Values in speed allow you to out-speed all Adamant variations of Heracross without a Choice Scarf and knock them out before they can even try to use destroy you. Sleep Powder is always a solid choice, especially for setting up Heatran.
Heatran @ Life Orb / Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
Modest, Flash Fire, 252 Sp.Atk / 252 Speed / 6 HP
- Overheat
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Explosion
The Basics
This is essentially a fire-oriented variation of Choice Specs Salamence. Except, when switched in on a fire attack after Tangrowth sets up Sunny Day, it is hitting so hard that it is damned-near amazing. Why did I not include Dragon Pulse or Dark Pulse instead of Fire Blast? Well, if you manage to set up with Tangrowth and pass off to Heatran in the second half of the game, you do not want to waste such an amazing set-up with a loss to your special attack with Overheat. Even if you switch in and mis-predict the fire move, Heatran resists every single Tangrowth weakness. Heatran resists Bug and Flying, and 4x-resists Ice. Additionally, it is immune to Poison and Fire. So, while a mis-predict does not make Overheat slightly as powerful, it still does not cost you much in terms of recoil damage. Finally, Heatran has three weaknesses -- 4x-weakness to Ground, and standard weaknesses to Water and Fighting. Tangrowth resists Ground and Water, helping reverse switch-ins. Finally, in Sunny Day, Water-attacks have minimized power. In other words, even if Starmie, Vaporeon, Suicune, Salamence, Swampert, Gyarados, Milotic, or any other Pokemon with a threatening water move happens to land Surf / Hydro Pump / Waterfall on you, you will survive due to the sun's weakening of water attacks! So, think twice before exiting when you see a Starmie and just smack it with Fire Blast, instead. It will obliterate it and still survive with around 40% or more health.
Life Orb is definitely the preferred item of choice. It does not pack quite the same punch as Choice Specs, but it still hits hard enough to send Blissey to another dimension after the set-up. Also, it allows diversity, so if a Pokemon comes out that absorbs fire, you can easily switch to Earth Power. Finally, it allows that last Explosion before dying from either recoil damage or a faster move. Choice Scarf is also a valid option to help out-speed a lot of threats, and once you get Heatran completely set up, the loss of the attack boost is not nearly as much of a problem as the lack of speed is. Choice Specs is an option if you are looking for this set-up to completely run over Gyarados, Blissey, and Milotic without absolutely any trouble, but normally, Life Orb does almost as good of a job without locking you into an attack. Additionally, unlike Choice Scarf, Choice Specs leaves you no option but to retreat and desert your fantastic set-up if a faster Pokemon enters the field with Earthquake or Close Combat under its belt.
Overheat is a 140-based Fire-attack. After STAB, it runs at 210 power. Now, factor in the fun parts. After Life Orb, it hits at 273 power. After Flash Fire -- provided you switched in on a fire attack following Tangrowth's bait -- it hits 409 power. Finally, after Sunny Day, which is almost guaranteed to be up with Tangrowth leading off and holding Heat Rock, the attack hits a whopping 614-statistic, far more powerful than Explosion that can be used two to three times before the loss in special attack becomes too great. If Tangrowth does its job, it is essentially setting up a guaranteed knock out. Not even Blissey can switch in safely. Even bulky resistors, such as Gyarados, Swampert, Suicune, and Milotic, face a knock out with a single boosted Overheat. This is an attack that can take out basically every Pokemon in the game. Also, Overheat can be used a second time, still with a whopping 307 attack, nearly as powerful as Draco Meteor from standard Choice Specs Salamence. Even a third time still packs a punch of 157 attack, stronger than a standard STAB Flamethrower. This thing is lethal.
Fire Blast is an interesting idea. Okay, I understand. Why two fire moves on Heatran? Well, for one, it does not exactly need to use its slot to use Dragon Pulse with such boosted attacks. Two, Dark Pulse, while viable, just does not stand up to so much boosted fire attacks. But, more importantly, it serves the sweeping roll. If you manage to set up Sunny Day and switch-in on the fire move in the late game, it would be a shame to waste such amazing set-up on one or two Overheats. When sweeping is more in order, Fire Blast is preferred, acting as the "Dragon Pulse" on a Choice Specs Salamence set. Fire Blast still manages to hit 526 attack with the set-up, more than enough to kill ... well, almost anything. It can easily still 2HKO Blissey, at worst. Flamethrower is an alternative if you really hate missing, but the loss of power really is just too great, especially considering the lack of Choice Specs for Life Orb.
Earth Power hits everything that has the Flash Fire trait that the fire moves cannot hit, as well as foes with a 4x-weakness to Ground-type attacks. Only use this on Flash Fire Pokemon and 4x-weakness Pokemon, especially opposing Heatran.
Explosion is a last ditch effort, used especially in late-game when the Life Orb damage has amounted too much. It also can take out many special walls if your set-up did not go exactly as you planned.
THE POWER OF GROWTHTRAN
Question: This seems so much based on prediction. If you screw up, you are fried. How can I trust such a set?
Answer: Tangrowth still operates as a prime physical wall with this set. Sunny Day is basically a guarantee to get off no matter what is going on unless you got dragged out by a Whirlwind or Roar, which immediately makes you a quicker and more resistant threat with Morning Sun. A speedy wall with a move to potentially heal two-thirds of its max health is crazy. Even without Sunny Day, it still has solid coverage of its weaknesses, making it difficult to predict and hard to counter. No matter what, it still serves as an excellent physical wall. So what if it does not have Leech Seed? Heatran is also still completely functional without any set-up whatsoever. The only difference is the second fire move, which you *could* ditch if you desperately wanted the standard Fire Move / Earth Power / Dragon Pulse / Explosion. Also, even if you screw up on a prediction, everything Tangrowth hates -- everything -- is resisted or avoided by Heatran. So, unless they took a huge gamble and used Close Combat or Earthquake against your Tangrowth, you are fine even if you mis-predict the fire move.
Question: What happens if the foe out-speeds Tangrowth, even after Chlorophyll sets in?
Answer: Nothing. It just has to adjust to go second. It is not like going second is death to Tangrowth. At a base speed of 50, it is used to such an order. Going first is just an added bonus. All you need to do is re-adjust for when to heal, and you should be fine.
Question: Heatran's speed is not exactly that great. How will I survive to take advantage of my huge attack?
Answer: Your first move will almost always be a first strike -- when your opponent feeds you fire and sees the increase, they will likely use the next turn to switch to a counter. Then, only Ground and Fighting moves threaten you. Water moves are weakened during Sunny Day. So, most reliable counters that can afford to switch in on that deadly fire attack -- the likes of Bulky Waters -- have their main threat against you victimized by the same sun that made you so damned powerful.
Question: Tangrowth is just walled by too much with this set, no matter what I run. How can I do anything with it if I lose my Heatran?
Answer: It still serves as a physical wall with a fantastic healing move with weather control. Blissey and Cresselia often only have one or two moves, too, but that does not stop them from being monstrous at what they do.
Question: Why do you run a special set instead of a physical set?
Answer: This is a question I received a lot more of recently. I saw some people suggest a physical variation to the set, with Sunny Day, Morning Sun, Power Whip, and Rock Slide / Earthquake. The problem with the physical set is that it is two-fold. For one, it is eaten by intimidate, and its physical attack is not as high as its special attack, in the first place. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, is the idea of what you are attacking. With Sunny Day, the valuable Rock-Boosts in a Sandstorm no longer have any effect, especially in the case of Tyranitar. This set also can take down Hippowdon in its efforts to try to whip up another Sandstorm, whereas the physically based Power Whip would have a lot of trouble taking it down. Finally, a special-attacking set can lure out more special-oriented walls and tanks, something you want to both know and take out due to the whole point of a Heatran Rape.
Option #1:
Tangrowth @ Heat Rock
Bold, Chlorophyll, 240 HP / 152 Defense / 100 Sp.Atk / 16 Speed
- Sunny Day
- Morning Sun
- Grass Knot / Energy Ball
- Focus Blast / Hidden Power [Rock] / Hidden Power [Ice] / Sleep Powder
Heatran @ Life Orb / Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
Modest, Flash Fire, 252 Sp.Atk / 252 Speed / 6 HP
- Overheat
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Explosion
Option #2:
Tangrowth @ Heat Rock
Impish, Chlorophyll, 240 HP / 176 Defense / 76 Attack / 16 Speed
- Sunny Day
- Morning Sun
- Power Whip
- Rock Slide / Knock Off / Aerial Ace / Sleep Powder
Heatran @ Life Orb / Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
Modest, Flash Fire, 252 Sp.Atk / 252 Speed / 6 HP
- Overheat
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Explosion
The Introduction
Tangrowth is an amazing physical wall, and Heatran is a fantastic special sweeper. Together, these Pokemon counter each other's weaknesses and resistances, and they set each other up for major demolition of the opposing team.
Option #1:
Tangrowth @ Heat Rock
Bold, Chlorophyll, 240 HP / 152 Defense / 100 Sp.Atk / 16 Speed
- Sunny Day
- Morning Sun
- Grass Knot / Energy Ball
- Focus Blast / Hidden Power [Rock] / Hidden Power [Ice] / Sleep Powder
The Basics
This is a very unique Tangrowth set. It differs from the normal physical-oriented Tangrowth, and its entire move-set is based on the addition of Morning Sun -- achieved through Pokemon XD -- and Sunny Day. Also, with Chlorophyll, it can out-seed all base-90 speed-Pokemon with a neutral nature and max Effort Values in Speed. This set achieved 280 Speed in Sunny Day. Base-90, Neutral-Natured, Max Effort Values achieve only 279. So, make sure to get a 31 Independent Value in Speed! Yes, this means that you will out-speed the likes of Heracross, Gyarados, Heatran, Cresselia, and a lot of other certain common Pokemon.
Sunny Day gives Tangrowth a load of possibilities, and usually can be used freely on an enemy switch to a counter. With Sunny Day in effect, at least two of its moves take upon a whole new meaning. It also serves as weather control against the likes of Sandstorm and Rain Dance, the one thing that can really harm this set. Additionally, with Sunny Day in effect, all water attacks hit softer, helping out your rock, ground, and fire-typed Pokemon, and giving Tangrowth literally absolute immunity to them, even on the special side of the spectrum.
Chlorophyll gives Tangrowth an immediate doubling in speed, helping it out-speed everything with a base-90 Speed, Neutral Nature, and Max Effort Values in Speed. It helps give its set more priority against many counters following Sunny Day. Leaf Guard is also an option if you fear status inflictions, but it is probably far more situational than Chlorophyll. Leaf Guard is also an option with a Trick Room-based team. The extra 16 Effort Values in speed give it a base speed of 140. After Chlorophyll, this is boosted to 280 speed, helping it out-speed many threats at 279 speed and below.
With Heat Rock, Sunny Day stays in effect for eight turns, an extremely useful trait. This gives its purpose a far longer period from which to benefit. Leftovers is always an option, but considering the large healing of Morning Sun and the nature of the set's purpose, Heat Rock is a far superior option, and a welcomed change in an Item Clause environment.
Grass Knot is a staple of any Sunny Day set. With Tangrowth's base special attack of 110, STAB, and the Effort Values in special attack, this puts a large dent into anything that does not resist it. The following types resist Grass Knot -- Bug, Dragon, Fire, Flying, Grass, Poison, and Steel. Yes, that is quite a bit, but fear not. Its purpose is hardly to sweep the opposing team. Its biggest threats and intended counters -- Tyranitar, Gyarados, and the like -- take Grass Knot as 120 Base Power attack, a hit that matches any Solarbeam. Energy Ball is also an option if you expect to hit some light-weight Pokemon, but Grass Knot is usually a stronger alternative.
Morning Sun is one of the major additions to this variation. Similar to its sibling in Moonlight and Synthesis, Morning Sun recovers health based upon the weather effects. In normal conditions, Morning Sun recovers half of the user's max HP. In hindering conditions -- Sandstorm, specifically -- its healing powers are halved, healing only a fourth of the user's max HP. However, with Sunny Day in effect, Morning Sun heals for a whopping two-thirds of the user's max HP. On an ideal Tangrowth, that is a whopping 260 HP with a single Morning Sun, far more than most physical attackers can even dream of hitting you. Plus, with the ability to use Sunny Day, you can control the weather and help keep pesky hindering of the healing move off. In other words, the basic set of Sunny Day, Grass Knot, Morning Sun, and Chlorophyll keeps you healing fast and attacking fast. Remember, after Chlorophyll sets in, you out-speed a lot more than normal, meaning that you can heal ahead of many attacks without priority.
Focus Blast does not offer much in terms of coverage, and its accuracy is not exactly thrilling. But, it helps counter some huge threats, such as an opposing Heatran, which would otherwise wall you. It can also destroy Tyranitar, Weavile, and most steel and rock types. It is also Tangrowth's strongest special attack aside from Grass Knot and the trap-inviting Solarbeam. Hidden Power [Rock] is also a valuable alternative, as the combination of rock and grass covers everything but mono-steel types and also takes care of fire-types if Heatran is absent. Hidden Power [Ice], while not as good at type-coverage, helps counter dragons. The spread also takes them down quicker than a typical wall would. Finally, do not overlook Sleep Powder. Putting the opponent's counter to sleep as it switches in can aid in setting up Sunny Day and healing. Make sure to keep the Effort Values the same even if you only have one attacking move! You will not be able to take down Gyarados and Tyranitar as easily if you take out the special attack Effort Value points, especially in the absence of the standard Knock Off, Power Whip, and Leech Seed.
Objective
Now, here is the objective. Send Tangrowth out after a death or against a physical threat that it can wall. Use Sunny Day on the switch. Now, you out-run a lot of threats against it. You can use either Grass Knot or Focus Blast, depending on your situation and prediction. Tangrowth in and of itself is a fantastic physical wall, and with solid speed after Chlorophyll sets in and a move to quickly recover two-thirds of its max HP, it is an absolute bitch to take down. However, here is where the meat and juice truly lies. More often than not, the most common threat to Tangrowth is special attackers packed with a strong fire move. With Sunny Day set up, as well, all fire moves are boosted by 1.5x, essentially welcoming Tangrowth to be obliterated by a fire attack. However, most fire moves can be seen coming a mile away. We would just switch to a counter, right? Why, hello there, Heatran.
Option #2:
Tangrowth @ Heat Rock
Impish, Chlorophyll, 240 HP / 176 Defense / 76 Attack / 16 Speed
- Sunny Day
- Morning Sun
- Power Whip
- Rock Slide / Knock Off / Aerial Ace / Sleep Powder
The Differences
The differences with this set are the attacking nature of the set. With physical attacks, you are more susceptible to Intimidate, but can still deal solid damage. Sunny Day and Morning Sun are still the core of the set. Power Whip allows swift killing of Gyarados and deals more quickly with Vaporeon, Milotic, and other bulky waters geared toward Special Defense. It also hits Tyranitar very hard. Rock Slide offers the best type-coverage and nails Weavile that try to stick around and Ice Punch you, as well as physical flying-types that try to take you down. Knock Off is your basic utility. Aerial Ace deserves a mention because of its ability to destroy Heracross. While the type-coverage is only so-so, it deserves mention for that reason, alone. After Chlorophyll kicks in, the 16 Effort Values in speed allow you to out-speed all Adamant variations of Heracross without a Choice Scarf and knock them out before they can even try to use destroy you. Sleep Powder is always a solid choice, especially for setting up Heatran.
Heatran @ Life Orb / Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
Modest, Flash Fire, 252 Sp.Atk / 252 Speed / 6 HP
- Overheat
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Explosion
The Basics
This is essentially a fire-oriented variation of Choice Specs Salamence. Except, when switched in on a fire attack after Tangrowth sets up Sunny Day, it is hitting so hard that it is damned-near amazing. Why did I not include Dragon Pulse or Dark Pulse instead of Fire Blast? Well, if you manage to set up with Tangrowth and pass off to Heatran in the second half of the game, you do not want to waste such an amazing set-up with a loss to your special attack with Overheat. Even if you switch in and mis-predict the fire move, Heatran resists every single Tangrowth weakness. Heatran resists Bug and Flying, and 4x-resists Ice. Additionally, it is immune to Poison and Fire. So, while a mis-predict does not make Overheat slightly as powerful, it still does not cost you much in terms of recoil damage. Finally, Heatran has three weaknesses -- 4x-weakness to Ground, and standard weaknesses to Water and Fighting. Tangrowth resists Ground and Water, helping reverse switch-ins. Finally, in Sunny Day, Water-attacks have minimized power. In other words, even if Starmie, Vaporeon, Suicune, Salamence, Swampert, Gyarados, Milotic, or any other Pokemon with a threatening water move happens to land Surf / Hydro Pump / Waterfall on you, you will survive due to the sun's weakening of water attacks! So, think twice before exiting when you see a Starmie and just smack it with Fire Blast, instead. It will obliterate it and still survive with around 40% or more health.
Life Orb is definitely the preferred item of choice. It does not pack quite the same punch as Choice Specs, but it still hits hard enough to send Blissey to another dimension after the set-up. Also, it allows diversity, so if a Pokemon comes out that absorbs fire, you can easily switch to Earth Power. Finally, it allows that last Explosion before dying from either recoil damage or a faster move. Choice Scarf is also a valid option to help out-speed a lot of threats, and once you get Heatran completely set up, the loss of the attack boost is not nearly as much of a problem as the lack of speed is. Choice Specs is an option if you are looking for this set-up to completely run over Gyarados, Blissey, and Milotic without absolutely any trouble, but normally, Life Orb does almost as good of a job without locking you into an attack. Additionally, unlike Choice Scarf, Choice Specs leaves you no option but to retreat and desert your fantastic set-up if a faster Pokemon enters the field with Earthquake or Close Combat under its belt.
Overheat is a 140-based Fire-attack. After STAB, it runs at 210 power. Now, factor in the fun parts. After Life Orb, it hits at 273 power. After Flash Fire -- provided you switched in on a fire attack following Tangrowth's bait -- it hits 409 power. Finally, after Sunny Day, which is almost guaranteed to be up with Tangrowth leading off and holding Heat Rock, the attack hits a whopping 614-statistic, far more powerful than Explosion that can be used two to three times before the loss in special attack becomes too great. If Tangrowth does its job, it is essentially setting up a guaranteed knock out. Not even Blissey can switch in safely. Even bulky resistors, such as Gyarados, Swampert, Suicune, and Milotic, face a knock out with a single boosted Overheat. This is an attack that can take out basically every Pokemon in the game. Also, Overheat can be used a second time, still with a whopping 307 attack, nearly as powerful as Draco Meteor from standard Choice Specs Salamence. Even a third time still packs a punch of 157 attack, stronger than a standard STAB Flamethrower. This thing is lethal.
Fire Blast is an interesting idea. Okay, I understand. Why two fire moves on Heatran? Well, for one, it does not exactly need to use its slot to use Dragon Pulse with such boosted attacks. Two, Dark Pulse, while viable, just does not stand up to so much boosted fire attacks. But, more importantly, it serves the sweeping roll. If you manage to set up Sunny Day and switch-in on the fire move in the late game, it would be a shame to waste such amazing set-up on one or two Overheats. When sweeping is more in order, Fire Blast is preferred, acting as the "Dragon Pulse" on a Choice Specs Salamence set. Fire Blast still manages to hit 526 attack with the set-up, more than enough to kill ... well, almost anything. It can easily still 2HKO Blissey, at worst. Flamethrower is an alternative if you really hate missing, but the loss of power really is just too great, especially considering the lack of Choice Specs for Life Orb.
Earth Power hits everything that has the Flash Fire trait that the fire moves cannot hit, as well as foes with a 4x-weakness to Ground-type attacks. Only use this on Flash Fire Pokemon and 4x-weakness Pokemon, especially opposing Heatran.
Explosion is a last ditch effort, used especially in late-game when the Life Orb damage has amounted too much. It also can take out many special walls if your set-up did not go exactly as you planned.
THE POWER OF GROWTHTRAN
Question: This seems so much based on prediction. If you screw up, you are fried. How can I trust such a set?
Answer: Tangrowth still operates as a prime physical wall with this set. Sunny Day is basically a guarantee to get off no matter what is going on unless you got dragged out by a Whirlwind or Roar, which immediately makes you a quicker and more resistant threat with Morning Sun. A speedy wall with a move to potentially heal two-thirds of its max health is crazy. Even without Sunny Day, it still has solid coverage of its weaknesses, making it difficult to predict and hard to counter. No matter what, it still serves as an excellent physical wall. So what if it does not have Leech Seed? Heatran is also still completely functional without any set-up whatsoever. The only difference is the second fire move, which you *could* ditch if you desperately wanted the standard Fire Move / Earth Power / Dragon Pulse / Explosion. Also, even if you screw up on a prediction, everything Tangrowth hates -- everything -- is resisted or avoided by Heatran. So, unless they took a huge gamble and used Close Combat or Earthquake against your Tangrowth, you are fine even if you mis-predict the fire move.
Question: What happens if the foe out-speeds Tangrowth, even after Chlorophyll sets in?
Answer: Nothing. It just has to adjust to go second. It is not like going second is death to Tangrowth. At a base speed of 50, it is used to such an order. Going first is just an added bonus. All you need to do is re-adjust for when to heal, and you should be fine.
Question: Heatran's speed is not exactly that great. How will I survive to take advantage of my huge attack?
Answer: Your first move will almost always be a first strike -- when your opponent feeds you fire and sees the increase, they will likely use the next turn to switch to a counter. Then, only Ground and Fighting moves threaten you. Water moves are weakened during Sunny Day. So, most reliable counters that can afford to switch in on that deadly fire attack -- the likes of Bulky Waters -- have their main threat against you victimized by the same sun that made you so damned powerful.
Question: Tangrowth is just walled by too much with this set, no matter what I run. How can I do anything with it if I lose my Heatran?
Answer: It still serves as a physical wall with a fantastic healing move with weather control. Blissey and Cresselia often only have one or two moves, too, but that does not stop them from being monstrous at what they do.
Question: Why do you run a special set instead of a physical set?
Answer: This is a question I received a lot more of recently. I saw some people suggest a physical variation to the set, with Sunny Day, Morning Sun, Power Whip, and Rock Slide / Earthquake. The problem with the physical set is that it is two-fold. For one, it is eaten by intimidate, and its physical attack is not as high as its special attack, in the first place. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, is the idea of what you are attacking. With Sunny Day, the valuable Rock-Boosts in a Sandstorm no longer have any effect, especially in the case of Tyranitar. This set also can take down Hippowdon in its efforts to try to whip up another Sandstorm, whereas the physically based Power Whip would have a lot of trouble taking it down. Finally, a special-attacking set can lure out more special-oriented walls and tanks, something you want to both know and take out due to the whole point of a Heatran Rape.
