Heatran (BW2 Revamp) [QC: 3/3] [GP: 1/2]

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alexwolf

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Add those please:

AC of SpD said:
- Mention Roserade and RestTalk Gyarados as partners. The first can set up Spikes and T-Spikes and gets free switches against the water-types that Heatran attracts. The latter has perfect defensive synergy with Heatran, aside from Rock and Electric moves, and Gyarados can handle most Water-types, physical Dragons, and even choiced Terrakion with the help of Protect on Heatran
- Earth Power for opposing Heatran, Tentacruel, Terrakion and Infernape
- Taunt to get past the blobs, Jellicent, and stop Ferrothorn in rain from setting up on Heatran. Whenever i use Taunt on SpD Heatran i use it over Roar, as Heatran needs Toxic and Protect to get past the blobs with Taunt
- Hidden Power Ice for dragons, Gliscor, and Landorus(-T)

QC Approved (2/3)
 

Dark Fallen Angel

FIDDLESTICKS IS ALSO GOOD ON MID!
All changes made! Also, I wrote the analysis itself now because as I have heard of, does the third QC need it to be written now?
 

Shurtugal

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The offensive set would like an AC mention of Flame Charge, as its a hell of a great sweeper in sun.

AC Specs on the Scarf set. GL
 
Very informative topic, I liked the Scarf-Tran the most and it has been very strong with it's STAB Fire Blast, great revenge killer and a good hp-ice for the predicted switches.
 

Pocket

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Too big for me to check in one sitting - gonna offer feedback in piece meals ;x

Overview:
I am surprised you introduced Heatran without mentioning at all about its unique typing. Fire / Steel combined with its ability is the main reason why Heatran is the top OU Pokemon in BW2 despite the prevalence of Rain. Heatran possesses the offensive prowess of a Fire type coupled with the defensive prowess of a Steel type, resulting in this tanky nuke. In a way, the typing is a double-edged sword in a way, making Heatran extremely weak to common moves like EQ, Close Combat, and Surf, while giving it plethora of useful resistances, most notably resistance to Bullet Punch and Draco Meteors. While its typing turns Heatran into one of the best checks to Sun Offense, it's typing makes it one of the easiest preys for Dugtrio to eliminate. Its ability Flash Fire complete's Heatran's defensive and offensive build, by being immune to Fire moves, while boosting its own powerful Fire move further!

Offensive:
Peharps this makes Earth Power more important than even Heatran's STAB Fire Blast, as otherwise, other Heatran would be able to switch in with absolute impunity.
Nah, cut out the hyperbole - Heatran's powerful STAB Fire Blast to roast Ferrothorn, etc is more important than Earth Power's ability to eliminate opposing Heatran. Rephrase this
Heatran is able to defeat any Dragon-type that lacks a Fighting-type or Water-type attack.
What about EQ?
Will-O-Wisp can cripple any Fighting-type not named Conkeldurr, that would dare switching in.
Fighting-types don't usually switch into Heatran, so this is a weird sentence. Common targets of Will-O-Wisp would be common Heatran switch-ins like Tyranitar, Gyarados, Dragonite, and Terrakion. Rephrase
It also lets Heatran beat Dugtrio (especially useful if it use Life Orb), as Heatran can hit Dugtrio on the switch, and outspeed thanks to the Speed boost, and OHKO Dugtrio with Hidden Power or Fire Blast.
Another weird phrase in red - Heatran does not need Life Orb to beat Dugtrio. Maybe rephrase that LO is a particularly useful item for sweeping with Flame Charge in a separate sentence from Dugtrio.
never take out any EVs from this, as (especially if you don't use Life Orb) Heatran is otherwise too weak to fight back.
Again, cut out the hyperbole. Heatran will never be "too weak." Find a more precise way to describe your point.
4 SpD seems trivial at first, but prevent the rare yet very annoying Porygon2 from gaining a Special Attack boost. Although Heatran can still not do much back (unless it has Taunt or Toxic), it can prevent its teammates from taking too much damage from Porygon2's attacks.
Too much space just to justify 4 SpD EVs. Truncate this into a simple sentence, or even leave it entirely out, since it's largely irrelevant.
However, a bulky EV spread of 244 HP / 252 SpA / 12 Spe and a Modest nature is very viable, as apart from the aforementioned threats, there aren't much situations where Heatran will be in need of speed, and the extra bulk is very appreciated.
It's worth mentioning that with max HP, Heatran may run Chople Berry to comfortably survive hits from Terrakion, Breloom, and other fighting moves.

~ Good teammate suggestions

Specially Defensive:

~ Too much slashitis; keep it simple for the readers. That said, Taunt is a really useful move on defensive mons to prevent set up. I'll only ask to remove HP Ice and drop it into AC
It is a much more reliable way to spread burns, and can affect Poison- and Steel-types.
Remove phrase in strike out
 

Dark Fallen Angel

FIDDLESTICKS IS ALSO GOOD ON MID!
Made the suggested changes, Pocket. I actually didn't even noticed that I forgot of talking of Heatran's fantastic typing.
 

shrang

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In general:
- QC discussed this, and we decided that the set order should be:
Offensive -> SpD -> Trapper -> Scarf -> Sub -> Specs

Offensive set:

However, a bulky EV spread of 244 HP / 252 SpA / 12 Spe and a Modest nature is very viable
What is that outspeeding? What sits on 192 Speed? If it's 8 Speed Heatran, then that's speed creeping. I reckon just drop it to 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe

Choice Specs:

Even Chansey and Blissey cannot whitstand 2 sun-boosted Fire Blast; they are 2HKOed after Stealth Rock damage.
Important to note that this is doesn't always happen, you have about a 50/50 shot of getting that 2HKO on Blissey after SR and Leftovers (less factoring in accuracy), not 100%.

Fix these and I'll approve. Good job.
 

Pocket

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Specially Defensive:

~ After revisiting this set, the slashitis really make this set look disorganized. From reading many RMTs and personal experience from the ladder, I say that Lava Plume, Protect, and Toxic are pretty much staples, with the last slot being interchangeable among Stealth Rock, Roar, and Earth Power. Thus I suggest the move order to be changed to the following:

move 1: Lava Plume
move 2: Protect
move 3: Toxic
move 4: Stealth Rock / Earth Power / Roar
(move HP Ice and Taunt to AC)

Substitute:

~ Well written, nothing much to add other than specify Vaporeon as ones with Hydration, because Water Absorb Vaporeon would certainly be annoyed by status.

~ Actually I have a couple of things to say. Although Natural Cure Pokemon can switch out to cure status, it is still suffering from the status affliction while it's active. Thus the likes of offensive Starmie would find itself worn out after a 2-3 turns of status damage, and same can be said for Chansey / Blissey without Aromatherapy, wearing down just as fast as Heatran most likely. You should thus clarify this in your set comments. The only Pokemon truly unperturbed by this set is Hydration Vaporeon.

~ Sand and hazards would be particularly synergistic with this set, as sand exacerbates the passive damage of status afflictions, and hazards would punish Natural Cure and other hardy Pokemon from switching out.

~ AC Protect and Taunt: This Heatran can be particularly nasty in conjunction with Protect or Taunt over Earth Power, serving a similar role as toxicstalling or stallbreaker Gliscor. It can simply Toxic-stall with Sub + Protect or prevent the likes of Chansey, Blissey, etc from healing themselves or their teammates with Softboiled / Wish / Aromatherapy.

Choice Scarf:

~ Actually Fire Blast is quite indispensable on Heatran, since it has great sweep potential and much less set-up bait than post special drop from Overheat. Slash Overheat before Flamethrower as an accurate and powerful alternative to Fire Blast, when Heatran can afford the special drop but cannot afford to miss. Remove Overheat slash on Fire Blast of course.
  • Make sure your Set Comments and AC reflect this change (ie more emphasis on Fire Blast and less emphasis on Overheat; explain why Overheat is NOT Tran's main move and Fire Blast is its main move.)
Although base 77 Speed is seemingly not sufficient, it still lets Heatran outrun up to base 130s, as well as +1 Adamant Dragonite.
I'd also include +1 Gyarados, since Heatran can technically check it with Hidden Power Electric.

~ Remove HP Grass from AC; it's simply an inferior move that should never be used on ScarfTran over HP Ice / HP Ele

~ AC Stealth Rock, Sleep Talk, Will-O-Wisp, Toxic: I've seen players actually use on there Scarf Heatran, because it can afford to do so. Heatran forces many switches that allows it to set up Stealth Rock early-game. With Sleep Talk, it can absorb sleep from likes of Amoonguss and Venusaur and not be useless. Will-O-Wisp and Toxic are targeted on common bulky Water, Rock, or Dragon type switch-ins that attempt to wall or set up on Heatran.

~ AC Stone Edge for no other purpose than killing Volcarona, which scores an OHKO even with Timid Nature.

~ AC Modest Nature: Heatran loses the ability to hit before +1 Adamant Dragonite and +1 Adamant Gyarados, but it does provide Heatran more notable power for late-game sweep, especially on a Sun team, which most often includes a fast Chlorophyll sweeper anyways.

Weather Trapper:
Air Balloon will also help against Dugtrio; it will not be able to trap Heatran, and will be KOed through Focus Sash if it switches on Magma Storm, effectively making this Heatran a difficult target for Dugtrio.
Include that it also aids in dispatching Hippowdon, as it is forced to either Ice Fang or better yet Whirlwind, as it cannot touch Air Balloon Heatran otherwise.

~ AC Taunt to prevent Tyranitar / Hippowdon / Blissey from setting up rocks. It also have the added bonus of preventing Hippowdon from phazing Heatran or Blissey from healing, thereby being at Heatran's full mercy (assuming tran is holding Air Balloon) while entrapped.

~ AC Modest & Life Orb to have the greatest potential to 2HKO Blissey / Chansey with Magma Storm after little residual damage.

~ AC Shuca Berry & Max HP to comfortably survive Dugtrio's EQ and retaliate KO with Magma Storm

For this reason, Dugtrio is an excellent partner. Although it seems to be redundant as it can also trap, it is able to dispose of Tyranitar, no matter which set it runs.
I think redundant trapping is actually the whole point here. Heatran initiates the trapping of weather-inducers with Magma Storm, and do as much damage as possible. Even if Heatran falls short and bites the dust, Dugtrio immediately replaces its spot and finish off the weather summoners without fail (well except for Hippowdon perhaps, which Heatran should be able to dispose on its own). It's this ability to double-whammy the summoner with a dual-trapping core without being completely useless outside of this function that makes this set so potent.
Make sure that the opponent does not have a Pokémon that can change the weather back before sacrificing this set or Ninetales. If your opponent has something like Tornadus with Rain Dance, it can undo all your hard effort.
I don't like this quote. If Heatran has contributed in the removal of the weather summoner, then it has done its job. Tornadus can change the weather, but it'll be temporary, Ninetales can change the weather. Now this is a different story, if you lose Ninetales, and Tornadus removes Sun with Rain Dance, but this is an analysis about Heatran not Ninetales... I'd simply remove this last part.
 
Even offensive heatran has some defensive responsibilities. Running 32 HP EVs still allow it to outspeed toxicroak, while 56 still allow it to outspeed adamant breloom.
 

Dark Fallen Angel

FIDDLESTICKS IS ALSO GOOD ON MID!
Did the aforementioned changes. However, I think that offensive Heatran should still use max Speed to not miss out outspeeding opposing Heatran.
 
Deletions
Addditions / Corrections
Comments


[Overview]

<p>The transition to BW2 was not too kindy to Heatran. Actually, it has been rather harsh. This is because of the new threats introduced, which The introduction of new threats such as Keldeo that have made rain more dominant than ever has only added to Heatran's woes. One of them is Keldeo, an excellent counter to most variants of Heatran. In fact, there is always a Water- or Fighting-type Pokémon or attack waiting to defeat him it (be consistent with how you refer to Pokemon. Stick to one of "it" and "he", and don't alternate between the two). This is not to speak about its 4x weakness to Ground, which is actually not as much as problem, with so many Pokémon immune to it. The 4x weakness to Ground means that makes Heatran is an easy prey for Dugtrio. With so many things that make Heatran's life difficult, one may question why Heatran is still one of the most used Pokémon.</p>

<p>The answer lies in the fact that Heatran is perhaps the best Fire-type in OU, and the easiest to fit on teams. Thanks to its unique Fire/Steel typing, it combines the offensive characteristics of a Fire-type with the defensive prowess of a Steel-type, which in combination with its Flash Fire ability, is peharps the reason why Heatran is so prevalent despite the ubiquitous rain teams. Despite having crippling The aforementioned crippling weakness to Water-type attacks, as well as Earthquake, and Fighting-type blows notwithstanding, the typing and ability give Heatran important 4x resistances to Ice, Grass, Bug, and Steel, as well as an immunity to Fire-type attacks and many other resistances (including to the omnipresent Outrages and Draco Meteors)! With this powerful Fire-type STAB, Heatran can take out most Steel- and Grass-types easily with its powerful Fire Blasts. It is also very versatile, having the ability to run specially defensive sets to wall special attackers lacking a super effective move, offensive support sets, and even trapping sets Heatran can also opt to run a specially defensive set to wall any special attacker that lacks a super-effective move to use against it. Most Steel-types in OU are free switch-ins for to Heatran, as they generally don't use moves that can threaten it. Heatran is also the best counter to sun teams; once their Dugtrio or Terrakion is out of the equation, sun teams are hard-pressed to do much to defeat him it. Heatran is also very versatile; it can run defensive sets, offensive support sets, and even trapping sets. (shifted this sentence) All these make Heatran it one of the best Pokémon in OU, despite a metagame that is seemingly conspiring against it.</p> (A Pokemon is on a team. It is the best / worst in a metagame)

(Okay, there was a lot of fluff in the Overview, which is why I rewrote some parts. You might also want to merge the two paragraphs now)

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Stealth Rock / Taunt / Toxic
item: Air Balloon / Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>It is hard to imagine something that can support teams and pose an offensive threat at the same time, but Heatran can do this. Heatran It has a potent STAB Fire Blast that can roast most Steel-types and Grass-types, even in rain. This set can also deal with many Dragon-types, can set up Stealth Rock reliably, and can wall sun teams despite the lack of defensive investiment. All of these make Heatran one of the most versatile special attackers from in OU, and you should always consider using this set on your non-rain teams.</p>

<p>Fire Blast is the best STAB to run on this set. As said above, it defeats most Steel- and Grass-types, as well as Bug-types, all of which are surprisingly common on OU and demand Fire-type attacks to deal with them. However, there is one Steel-type that laughs at Fire-type attacks, and actually loves being hit by one them: It is Heatran itself! That's where Earth Power comes in, as it is able to maim opposing Heatran. Be wary of Air Balloon variants, however. Also, Earth Power is useful because it alsohits Rock-types such as Tyranitar and Terrakion, as they thatresist Fire Blast. Not that Heatran would dare staying in on Terrakion, of course, but you it ("you" refers to the player) can discourage Terrakion from switching in a second time, as it is 2HKOed by Earth Power. On In sandstorm, they can both avoid the 2HKO, however, so take care. As for Hidden Power, we have two choices. Hidden Power Ice is the recommended one: with a combination of Air Balloon, a Fire/Steel typing, and a Flash Fire ability, Heatran is able to defeat any Dragon-type that lacks a Fighting-type or Water-type attack, as long as you it maintains its your Air Balloon. Examples are Dragonite and Salamence, both which are hard-pressed to do much to Heatranwith its Air Balloon intact as long as you can mantain its Balloon intact. If you feel that your team already has plenty of ways to deal with Dragon-types, or if your team has problems with bulky Water-types, Hidden Power Grass can be used. Hidden Power Ice is usually the superior choice, however, as with it, Heatran can take advantage of its resistance to Dragon-type attacks and the ability to come in safely on those (here, "those" refers to the Dragon-type attacks) the Dragon-types that lack a Water- or Fighting-type attack, and defeat them.</p>

<p>The last slot is dedicated to a support option. Stealth Rock is the main one, as Heatran is one of the best and most reliable users of it; it forces many switches and can take out Magic Bounce users such as Espeon and Xatu with STAB Fire Blast Heatran force many switches, all which provid a perfect oportunity to setup Stealth Rock. Heatran also threathens to defeat the two Magic Bounce users, Xatu and Espeon, with its powerful STAB Fire Blasts. If something else carries Stealth Rock on your team, it can be replaced by Taunt. Taunt shuts down common switch-ins, like such as Chansey and Blissey, as well as things expecting to use Heatran as setup fodder, like Gyarados, or even Calm Mind Keldeo. Toxic is another option that can cripple bulky Water-types that would otherwise love to switch on Heatran lacking Hidden Power Grass. Toxic also lets Heatran beat Volcarona 1vs1; despite being able to wall Volcarona (unless it runs Hidden Power Ground), Heatran is not able to do much back without Toxic.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>There are still many other options that can be used in the last slot. Another status that Heatran can spread is burns, through the move Will-O-Wisp; though many bulky Water-types have reliable recovery, so that they can to heal offstall out the burn damage with, Will-O-Wisp can cripple common switch-ins such as Tyranitar, Gyarados, Dragonite, and Terrakion, that would dare switching in. Flame Charge boosts Heatran's Speed, enabling it to sweep late-game once the opposing team has been weakened and its checks and counters have been removed, and is especially useful on sets with Life Orb if you use a Life Orb item to boost Heatran's power. It also lets Heatran beat Dugtrio, as Heatran can hit Dugtrio on the switch, and outspeed thanks to the Speed boost, and outspeed and OHKO Dugtrio with Hidden Power or Fire Blast. Roar is yet another option, that can save life against some Dragon-type setup sweepers, break Baton Pass chains, and rack up hazard damage. If you use Hidden Power Grass, another option that can be used is Dragon Pulse can be used, so that you Heatran can still cover Dragon-types. The last slot is mainly filler, and you should use the option that best fits to your team's needs.</p>

<p>Air Balloon is the primary item to avoid Ground-type attacks, Spikes, and being trapped by Dugtrio. Please be careful with which what you will switch in Heatran on, as otherwise, Air Balloon will pop for nothing and you Heatran will not be able to wall Dragon-types. Generally, Heatran should be switching in on an expected Ground-type or Fire-type move, or a status move. Life Orb provides a much-needed boost to Heatran's attacks, and is very useful if it is using options like Dragon Pulse of Flame Charge in the last slot. However, the utility of Air Balloon is generally too good to pass up. Leftovers provides longevity, but it is very hard to find a reason to use it over Life Orb or Air Balloon; you are better off using the Substitute set if you want to use Leftovers.</p>

<p>252 Special Attack EVs lets Heatran hit as hard as possible. 4 SpD seems trivial at first, but prevent the rare yet very annoying Porygon2 from gaining a Special Attack boost. A Timid nature and 252 Speed EVs let Heatran outspeed Adamant Dragonite, as well as all variants of Breloom; Then, it can then OHKO the former with Hidden Power Ice (after Multiscale has been broken) and the latter with Fire Blast (Mach Punch will not OHKO a full-health Heatran). However, a bulky EV spread of 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe and a Modest nature is very viable, as apart from the aforementioned threats, there aren't much many situations where Heatran will be in need of Speed, and the extra bulk is very really appreciated. Still, the aforementioned threats are so omnipresent that you may still find the Speed to be very useful. It is worth noting that Chople Berry is a useful item with the bulky EV spread, as it lets Heatran live the Fighting-type blows from the likes of Terrakion and Breloom.</p>

<p>As for partners, Pokémon that attract Fire-type attacks due to their 4x weakness to it, tend to be the best. Forretress complements Heatran's Stealth Rock with Spikes, and can check Terrakion and Haxorus, two Pokémon that are dangerous for Heatran. Scizor can dispose of Blissey and Chansey, and can check the Lati twins, Tyranitar, and Terrakion, all of which can threaten Heatran in some way or another. Finally, Ferrothorn also has access to Spikes, and can dispose of bulky Water-types. Ninetales is another good partner because its Drought will power up Fire Blast, but Tyranitar can dispose of the Lati twins and the pink blobs, and is thus is an excellent partner too. Celebi and Jellicent have amazing synergy with Heatran; and thus are excellent partners. the former easily defeats bulky Water-types that counter Heatran, and the latter is immune to the only two weakness that Heatran has (with Air Balloon). Both also counter Keldeo, which is capable of countering this Heatran very well, as well as Sheer Force Landorus, which can still defeat Heatran with Focus Blast. Landorus-T can counter Terrakion, and thus is a notable partner. Gengar can spinblock, preventing Heatran's Stealth Rock from being spun away, and checks most Fighting-types, as well as andthe aforementioned Sheer Force Landorus.</p>

[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Lava Plume
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Protect
move 4: Stealth Rock / Roar / Earth Power
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm
evs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Although Heatran is an excellent offensive Pokémon, it should not be forget don't forget itsthat Heatran has impressive 91/106/106 defenses, which in conjunction with its unique Fire/Steel typing and ability, make Heatran a great special wall, even though it has no reliable recovery. Heatran is not setup bait either, as it has Roar and a huge base 130 Special Attack, letting it rather hard for a wall.</p>
(combine these two paragraphs)
<p>
Lava Plume is the best STAB option for this set, with a chance to burn opposing Pokémon, which makes its burn chance making up for the lack of investment in physical Defense. Protect scouts Choice users, and while also rackingup passive damage and Leftovers recovery. Toxic is the status move of choice because it cannot be stalled out by reliable recovery, and affects Volcarona (which is especially useful if you don't run Roar, as Heatran is hard-pressed to do much back otherwise). Plus, Lava Plume already carries a 30% chance to burn the opponent.</p>

<p>The last moveslot contains a myriad of options, and can be customized depending on your team's needs. Stealth Rock is an excellent support move, and this Heatran is one of the its best users. Thanks to investment in Special Defense, Heatran is capable of surviving even uninvested rain-boosted Scalds from bulky Water-types, letting it set up Stealth Rock on their front if needed. If something else carries Stealth Rock on your team, you can use Roar, a great support option to rack up hazard damage, spread burns (alongside Lava Plume), and phaze those special setup sweepers that dare using Heatran as setup fodder. It is also useful to scout opposing Dugtrio. Earth Power can be used instead of both options, as it allows specially defensive Heatran to take out opposing Heatran, as well as other Fire-types, Tentacruel, and Terrakion, all which would wall this set otherwise. Earth Power from offensive Heatran sets do not OHKO specially defensive Heatran, while it has a 78% chance to OHKO back with its own Earth Power.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>A specially defensive spread is preferred over a physical one, because most of Heatran's resistances are specially-based. Also, most common physical attacks (such as Earthquake and Close Combat) aimed at Heatran hit it super effectively (e.g.: Close Combat, Earthquake) and would OHKO or 2HKO even with maximum investment in Heatran's physical defense bulk. Another reason is that Heatran can already use Lava Plume to burn opponents and shrug off physical hits.</p>

<p>An EV spread with 248 HP / 16 SpA / 244 SpD with a Modest Nature is viable, and in this case, Flamethrower should be chosen as the attacking option. This lets Heatran hit a little harder, which can be useful in some situations; for example, it can OHKO standard Ferrothorn in rain 60% of time, something that the standard defensive Heatran cannot do. Another viable EV spread is a fast one, with 248 HP / 12 SpD / 248 Spe and a Calm nature. This EV spread can outrun Adamant Breloom and Jolly Scizor, and defeat them KO with Lava Plume. It can also outspeed Substitute + Dragon Tail Kyurem-B, and Roar him it before it can phaze Heatran with Dragon Tail. If you are using Hidden Power Ice, this spread also lets Heatran outspeed defensive Gliscor and bulky Landorus-T. Hidden Power Ice is a useful move to take out Dragon-types, especially Dragonite, which would like to use a defensive Heatran as setup fodder if they run Lum Berry. An alternative status move is Will-O-Wisp. Due to Lava Plume's high burn chance and Toxic's higher accuracy, Toxic is generally preferred, but Will-O-Wisp has a merit in that it is a much more reliable way to spread burns. Taunt may seem like an strange option, but it stops Ferrothorn from setting up on Heatran in rain; as absurd as it sounds, Ferrothorn can survive one Lava Plume if it's raining, and set up an entry hazard; Taunt prevent this. Forretress can also survive one Lava Plume thanks to Sturdy, and thus, Taunt may prove to be very useful. Also, the combination of Taunt, Protect, and Toxic, lets Heatran you take out some walls, like Blissey and Chansey, two Heatran's nemesis Blissey and Chansey, two of its greatest nemeses.</p>

<p>Toxic Spikes support is appreciated, especially if Heatran plans to run Earth Power instead of a status move, but remember that Toxic Spikes is somewhat ineffective on this metagame. Remember that Even with Toxic Spikes, Toxic may still prove to be a great move, as it isn't always that you have the opportunity to set up two Toxic Spikes layers; plus, some Pokémon are immune to Toxic Spikes. Forretress is a great partner, because its high physical bulk complements the special bulk of Heatran; it Forretress can use Spikes to complement Stealth Rock, it can attract Fire-type attacks that Heatran can easily absorb, and can check some Pokémon like Terrakion, that can defeat Heatran. Wish support is appreciated because Heatran lacks reliable recovery. Vaporeon is one of the best choices, because it can provide this, and alsoabsorb Water-type attacks aimed at Heatran. Lastly, Jellicent also absorbs Water-type attacks, and is immune to 2 two of Heatran's weakness. Roserade can switch into on bulky Water-types, and is able to set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes, both which can complement Heatran's Stealth Rock. RestTalk Gyarados has amazing synergy with Heatran, resisting all of its weaknesses, while handling most Water-types, physical Dragons, as well as Choice Terrakion with the help of Protect on Heatran.</p>

[SET]
name: Weather Trapper
move 1: Sunny Day
move 2: Magma Storm
move 3: Solarbeam
move 4: Earth Power / Hidden Power Ice
item: Air Balloon / Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Sun teams have a natural disadvantage over against other non-hail weather teams, and this Heatran's set is there to help them win the weather war. Although this Heatran is better used on sun teams, it can also be used on weatherless teams, or even teams of other weathers, to combat opposing weather inducers. Still, sun is the home of this set, and is where it should be used most of the time, and for good reason. The combination of Sunny Day and Magma Storm allows Heatran to smack weather inducers, taking out their STAB on Water-type attacks in Politoed's case, or their increased Special Defense in Tyranitar's case. Magma Storm has the same power as Fire Blast, but traps the opponent so that it cannot flee.</p>

<p>Solarbeam is used alongside the other two moves, because this Heatran can use Sunny Day to prevent weather inducers from taking advantage of a Heatran locked into Solarbeam. Speaking of which weather inducers, they are all weak to this move, and will be 2HKOed or OHKOed in sun, while they can do little back. The combination of Sunny Day and Solarbeam also means that this set can deal with bulky Water-types better than any other Heatran. As Magma Storm will trap them, they have no choice but to be 2HKOed.</p>

<p>The first three moves are all staples, and should not be touched. The last moveslot contains 2 options: Earth Power and Hidden Power Ice. Earth Power is the recommended option because otherwise, opposing Heatran would be able to switch in freely. This set has to lure Pokémon that switch resist its Fire-type STAB. As such, this set becomes a liability if there is a Pokémon that can switch in with absolute impunity. Hidden Power Ice is, however, is Heatran's best way to damage Dragon-types, so it can be considered if you have other ways of removing enemy Heatran, such as Dugtrio. With Hidden Power Ice, Heatran can also trap Dragon-types, such as Adamant Dragonite, which will always be defeated if it switches into Magma Storm, as it will have its Multiscale broken, and will be outsped and easily OHKOed by Hidden Power Ice.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Air Balloon is the recommended item because it will help against Dragon-types, especially if you run Hidden Power Ice. Air Balloon will also help against Dugtrio; it will not be able to trap Heatran, and will be KOed through Focus Sash if it switches on Magma Storm, effectively making this Heatran a difficult target for Dugtrio. Hippowdon is also hard-pressed to do much against Heatran if it sports an Air Balloon; it will be actually be unable to touch Heatran if it uses Whirlwind instead of Ice Fang. Life Orb makes Heatran even more powerful and, in conjunction with entry hazards, can let Heatran OHKO the weather inducers instead of 2HKOing them.</p>

<p>Taunt can be used instead of both Earth Power and Hidden Power Ice. If you have effective ways to deal with both Dragon-types and opposing Heatran, Taunt will be of very help highly useful, especially if combined used in conjunction with a Modest nature and a Life Orb. With Taunt, Heatran can potentially 2HKO both Blissey and Chansey with Magma Storm after a little of residual damage, and preventing their recovery will actually make this feat possible. This can also be done against Hippowdon, but you will need an Air Ballon, as otherwise Hippowdon will OHKO with Earthquake. Speaking of which, if Heatran has Taunt and Hippowdon does not have Ice Fang, it will be unable to touch Heatran at all, as long as the latter has Air Balloon. Even with Ice Fang, Hippowdon will be outsped and 2HKOed by Magma Storm. Shuca Berry seems like it is outclassed by Air Balloon, but Shuca Berry is not consumed by any non-Ground-, Poison-, and Fire-type attack, and still lets Heatran comfortably take a Dugtrio's Earthquake and retaliate with Magma Storm.</p>

<p>This Heatran is versatile and can still function as a strong special attacker, outside its trapping role. It should be noted that Heatran will not always win against opposing weather inducers. For example, Tyranitar. Choice Band variants of Tyranitar can OHKO Heatran with Superpower, not giving it time to before the latter can set up sun and attack with Solarbeam. Choice Scarf variants also do the same; they do not OHKO, but they outspeed and 2HKO before Heatran can hit Tyranitar with Solarbeam. For this reason, Dugtrio is an excellent partner. Although it seems to be redundant as it can also trap, it is able to dispose of Tyranitar, no matter which set it the latter runs. Not only that, but Dugtrio can also dispose of opposing Heatran, freeing up the last moveslot for Hidden Power Ice on this set letting it use Hidden Power Ice and not waste that moveslot on Earth Power just because it needs a way to not let opposing Heatran switch in with impunity. Choice Scarf Politoed, as rare as it may be, is also an annoyance, as it can outspeed and OHKO with Hydro Pump, before Heatran can even set up the sun. Timid Venusaur is for this reason a great partner. It can also deal with other dangerous Pokémon like Terrakion and Keldeo; Venusaur will outspeed even Choice Scarf variants of the latter, if the sun is shining. Wobbuffet cannot deal with Tyranitar or Heatran as effectively as Dugtrio, but it can deal better with Choice Scarf Politoed, as well as faster Fighting-types.</p>

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Dragon Pulse
move 4: Overheat / Flamethrower
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Heatran can also function as a good revenge killer. Although base 77 Speed is seemingly not sufficient, it still lets Heatran outrun up to base 130s, as well as +1 Adamant Dragonite and +1 Adamant Gyarados. An advantage over other revenge killers is Heatran's typing and bulk, which means that Heatran it get much more opportunities to switch in, instead of having to rely on switching in after a teammate has been killed.</p>

<p>Fire Blast is the recommended STAB move because it has great sweeping potential, and Heatran is much less prone to becoming setup bait with it than Overheat. Earth Power is there to not be walled by opposing Heatran, but it is also very useful to revenge kill Rock-types such as Terrakion, as well as revenge killing Lucario and Magnezone without relying on Fire Blast's shaky accuracy. Hidden Power Ice revenge kills Dragon-types, and is a more reliable way to deal with Gliscor and Landorus/Landorus-T, than using its STAB Fire-type attacks Fire Blast. Dragon Pulse deals more damage to Dragons 2x weak to Ice, such as the Lati twins, and Hydreigon. Those 4x weak to Ice take more damage from Hidden Power Ice, which is why it is usually the preferred option. However, Dragon Pulse has other advantages, like hitting Kyurem-B and Kingdra, two Dragon-types neutral to Hidden Power Ice; it Dragon Pulse is also this Heatran's best attack against Rotom-W. The last moveslot is a toss-up between Overheat and Flamethrower. Overheat dishes out the most damage possible, and can be used if Heatran can afford to suffer from the Special Attack drop. Flamethrower is much weaker, but it is perfectly accurate and does not suffer from stat drops.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Unfortunately, this set is not as powerful as other offensive sets, and due to being locked on one attack, it is even more prone to becoming setup bait, should you predict wrongly. However, this set can also deal with Dugtrio. The only other of Heatran's sets that can do this are those that carry Air Balloon or Flame Charge.</p>

<p>Hidden Power Electric can be used to revenge kill +1 Gyarados, but note that Heatran will only outpace those that run an Adamant nature. The loss of Hidden Power Ice is not that bad, as Heatran can still use sun-boosted Fire attacks to OHKO Gliscor and Landorus, but you must use Dragon Pulse on the last slot to not be walled by Dragon-types. It may seem like an April Fools joke to mention Stone Edge, but it is useful for the sole purpose of revenge killing Volcarona. Unless Volcarona has Hidden Power Ground (be very wary if that's the case), it will do pitful damage to Heatran even after multiple Quiver Dance boosts, despite being able to outspeed it, while in return, Heatran hits with Stone Edge, which scores an OHKO even with a nature that hinders the Attack stat. A Modest nature can be used to provide even more power, which is especially useful if Heatran is being used as a late-game sweeper. Although it loses the ability to outpace +1 Gyarados and +1 Dragonite (if they have an Adamant nature), Choice Scarf Heatran is usually used on sun teams, where it is likely to be paired with a Chlorophyll user, which can outspeed the aforementioned Pokémon and revenge kill them.</p>

<p>Ninetales is the best partner for this set, as the sun it brings makes Fire Blast even more powerful, letting it revenge kill anything that doesn't resist it. Chlorophyll sweepers such as Venusaur can easily take out bulky Water-types that tend to wall this set. Venusaur can also defeat Blissey and Chansey in a strange, yet effective way. A partner that can deal with Pokémon that may try to take advantage of a Choice-locked Heatran is appreciated. Scizor, Celebi, Mamoswine, Hippowdon, and Landorus-T are some examples, taking care of threats like Terrakion, Landorus, or and Keldeo.</p>

[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Earth Power / Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Toxic / Will-O-Wisp
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>A tendency that Heatran has is to force switches. This set takes advantage of those switches to set up free Substitutes. Behind a Substitute, Heatran can either attack or cripple the opponent with a status move. This is especially useful against things threats that would defeat Heatran otherwise, such as Landorus, and Terrakion.</p>

<p>Fire Blast is an excellent and powerful STAB, and Substitute means that Heatran can usually afford to miss. Earth Power is the recommended coverage move, as otherwise, opposing Heatran stop this set cold. However, Hidden Power Ice is this set's only means of quickly disposing of Dragon-types, so it can be considered over Earth Power. The last slot goes to a status move. Toxic is the recommended option because it cannot be stalled out by reliable recovery due to its damage increasing over time, and it is much more reliable. It is especially useful against the bulky Water-types that love switching-in on Heatran. Will-O-Wisp, however, has an enormous advantage: crippling physical attackers not named Conkeldurr. It is so good when the opposing Terrakion try to break Heatran's Substitute, only to be burned and rendered useless for the rest of match. (replace ellipses with full stop) Another option is to use both Earth Power and Hidden Power Ice, forgoing the use of a status move. This is not recommended, however, as Heatran likes to have a way to cripple bulky Water-types while it is behind a Substitute.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>You can use more HP EVs to make Heatran bulkier, but you have to take out EVs from Special Attack, as Heatran needs all the Speed that it can get to preserve its Substitute whenever possible. Unlike the main offensive set, this set can afford to have less power, as Heatran can also damage the opponent with status. However, this is not to say that Heatran will necessarily like to lose power due to the lack of investiment in Special Attack. Thus, think twice before adding any EVs to HP. Taunt can be used instead of the coverage move to transform this Heatran on into a bulky stallbreaker. It can stall out walls like Blissey and Chansey with status, and can prevent them from recovering with Taunt. Be very wary that Heatran will hate being walled by both Dragon-types and opposing Heatran, however.</p>

<p>Hydration Vaporeon does not mind status while it's raining, and can just defeat Heatran with repeated Scalds. Pokémon with Natural Cure will not mind that much being statused that much, as they can simply switch out to cure status. Such Pokémon include Starmie, as well as Blissey and Chansey. However, all they will still loathe status until they switch out (Blissey and Chansey can cure themselves if they have Aromatherapy, however)&mdash;thus, the only Pokémon truly unperturbed by this set is Hydration Vaporeon. Scizor can deal with the pink blobs, while Ferrothorn can deal with the bulky Water-types. Both also attract Fire-type attacks that Heatran can use to switch in safely. If Heatran is not using Earth Power, it is recommended that you pack a partner that can take out opposing Heatran. Dugtrio stands out as the best option, as it can trap them with its ability. This Heatran can usually Toxic stall Politoed and Tyranitar, so Ninetales or your own Tyranitar can take advantage of this. A Tyranitar of your own is an excellent partner, as sandstorm damage will add up with status, killing the opponent faster; and with hazards, this can will punish Natural Cure Pokémon from when they switch back in after healing their status out. Anything that can take advantage of poisoned or burned opponents is a good partner. For example, setup sweepers like Latias are able to use poisoned Water-types as setup fodder, while Toxic puts pushes them at into KO range. Celebi is peharps the best partner for this Heatran, as it has awesome synergy in general, and can take out the Water-types that do not mind status, such as bulky Starmie, and Vaporeon.</p>

[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Fire Blast / Overheat
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Dragon Pulse / Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Hidden Power Grass / Flamethrower
item: Choice Specs
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Heatran can equip a Choice Specs and murder opposing Pokémon with its powerful (and possibly sun-boosted) Fire Blasts. This set is so powerful that under sun it can 2HKO even many Pokémon that resist Fire Blast. Even Chansey and Blissey can hardly whitstand 2 two sun-boosted Fire Blasts; half of the time, they are 2HKOed after Stealth Rock damage. However, Overheat can replace Fire Blast. It as it dishes out the most damage possible, and is so powerful that it can OHKO even some things that resist it, such as frailer Dragons like Haxorus or and Salamence. However, Overheat has two drawbacks; it forces Heatran to switch out after it is used (though a -2 sun-boosted Overheat is still very powerful), and does not let Heatran it 2HKO the pink blobs.</p>

<p>Although it is hard to find something that can tank two consecutive Fire Blasts and live to tell the tale, these sort of Pokémon exist. For example, opposing Heatran will not mind switching on Fire Blast or Overheat, and will appreciate the boost to their own Fire Blasts thanks to Flash Fire. For this reason, Earth Power is the primary coverage move. Earth Power, when boosted by Choice Specs, also lets Heatran 2HKO non-specially defensive Tyranitar, which is useful because Tyranitar can normally tank Earth Power from other Heatran variants. Dragon Pulse is a better more reliable way to deal with Dragon-types than using Fire-type STAB, though keep in mind that many Dragons will still take heavy damage from sun-boosted Fire Blasts. Still, Dragon Pulse is a reliable way to OHKO or 2HKO them. Hidden Power Ice can replace it, as it does more damage to Dragonite and Salamence, covers Garchomp more effectively, and is more accurate against Landorus and Gliscor. However, the latter two are easily OHKOed by Fire-type attacks anyway. Remember that using Hidden Power Ice will not let Heatran use Hidden Power Grass, which is an option on the last slot that gives important coverage against bulky Water-types, especially Politoed, which has Drizzle to nerf Fire Blast. Flamethrower can replace Hidden Power Grass if you are using Overheat, as Flamethrower doesn't lower Heatran's stats and is more accurate. Remember that without Hidden Power Grass, bulky Water-types will usually wall this set, though many of them should be wary of taking repeated sun-boosted Fire Blasts.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>A Modest Nature is the main option to deal as much damage as possible. Timid can be used, especially if you run Hidden Power Ice, to outspeed Adamant Dragonite and OHKO him it. It is also useful because Jolly Breloom would be able to outspeed and OHKO with Low Sweep otherwise. However, without the Modest nature, Heatran cannot guarantee the 2HKO on the pink blobs, even with Stealth Rock on the field.</p>

<p>A spread with 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD with and a Quiet nature is viable and makes use of the move Eruption. Eruption, when boosted by Choice Specs and sun, is so powerful that it can even 2HKO Chansey without Stealth Rock support. However, Eruption is a move that is only legal with a Quiet nature. This means that Heatran should obviously be used with Trick Room support. In this case, physically defensive Cresselia is possibly the best partner, as it can set up Trick Room and wall some dangerous attackers for Heatran, like Sheer Force Landorus.</p>

<p>Although this Heatran can function without sun support, it is the sun that brings to the table many of the 2HKOs and OHKOs mentioned above (such as the 2HKO on the pink blobs), so Ninetales is the best parner. Also, Chlorophyll sweepers take advantage of the holes blown open by Heatran, so that they can take advantage later on the battle. Although Terrakion hates coming in on Earth Power or repeated sun-boosted Fire Blasts, it will force Heatran out, and potentially wreck the entire sun team with a SubSalac set. Timid Venusaur can revenge kill Heatran Terrakion even after the Salac Berry boost, but Gliscor or Forretress can also deal with this Terrakion too.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>A TormentTran set can be used, but this set is heavily reliant on Toxic Spikes support, and they are unfortunately innefective in this metagame. Also, there are more many faster threats that pack super effective attacks against Heatran, so this set is hard to pull off. Keldeo is also a common threat that easily deal with TormentTran, as both of Keldeo's STABs hit it super effectively.</p>

<p>Shed Shell is another way that Heatran can use to deal with Dugtrio, not by defeating him, but by being capable of switching out even with Arena Trap. However, Heatran has more effective ways to deal with Dugtrio, in via Choice Scarf sets, Air Balloon, or the moves Flame Charge and Magma Storm. You It are also forced to forfeit a valuable item, like Leftovers or Life Orb. Shed Shell is much more viable on the defensive set, which as it has absolutely no way to deal with Dugtrio otherwise. However, without Leftovers, defensive Heatran will desesperately need Wish support, as it lacks reliable recovery.</p>

<p>Flash Cannon can be used as a secondary STAB that can hit Rock-types harder, but Heatran already has Earth Power for this. It does not receive STAB, but has much better coverage, and can still hit Rock-types super-effectively. Other options like Dark Pulse and AncientPower are poor in terms of coverage, and even when super effective, are often outdamaged by Fire Blast, except against specific targets. Metal Sound can force switches or force the opponent to take heavy damage, but it is unreliable and gimmicky at best. As strange as it sounds, Stone Edge is an option if you desesperately need a way to take out Volcarona. Even with a negative nature, 4/0 variants of Volcarona are OHKOed. However, Stone Edge has absolutely no use apart from that specific threat. Heatran can use a RestTalk set, since it this is its Heatran's only means of recovery, but However, awful sleep mechanics hinder this set's viability.</p>

<p>Don't use Flame Body. Flash Fire is what lets Heatran counter sun teams effectively, and Heatran usually loses to many physical attackers, because they carry Fighting- or Ground-type coverage anyway. Lastly, Heatran is also able to use a Magma Storm set without Sunny Day, or vice-versa. However, both moves are more effective when used thogether.</p>

[Checks & Counters]

<p>Chansey and Blissey are Heatran's best counters. They take nothing from most attacks, even when they are boosted, and are immune to status. However, they must watch out for sun-boosted Fire Blast from the Choice Specs set, which will 2HKO. Also, with a combination of Protect, Toxic, and Taunt, the specially defensive set can handle both blobs very well. Bulky Water-types are also excellent counters and checks as they take almost nothing from most Heatran's attacks. Those weak to Earth Power, such as Tentacruel, must watch out though, as Heatran can effectively deal with them, but most bulky Water-types take nothing from most Heatran's attacks. However, they hate status, and loathe either Hidden Power Grass or Electric. Keldeo also hates those Hidden Powers, but can usually switch in safely and defeat Heatran with any of its STAB moves.</p>

<p>Terrakion is generally a good switch in to Heatran, as it can sponge a Fire Blast thanks to its resistance and force Heatran out to set up. However, it hates coming out in on Earth Power early in the match, which will 2HKO if sandstorm is not up, but Heatran does not usually use Earth Power straight away because it wants to take the opportunity to would rather set up Stealth Rock. Heatran does not want to stay in because it will be OHKOed by Close Combat; Terrakion can take advantage of this to setup a Swords Dance/Rock Polish/Substitute. However, Terrakion must also watch out for burns from Will-O-Wisp and Lava Plume. Other Fighting-types can also work, but they all have a drawback that makes them shaky checks. For example, Conkeldurr is 2HKOed by Fire Blast, Lucario is hard-pressed to find an opportunity to switch into Heatran, and Breloom cannot OHKO a full-health Heatran with Mach Punch, while it is OHKOed back by Fire Blast. All of them except Conkeldurr also loathe status.</p>

<p>Anything with Earthquake is able to easily dispose of Heatran, but it can carry Air Balloon. Also, with so many foes immune to Earthquake, one must think twice about before using this move. Dugtrio often carry Focus Sash to switch out safely on any attack except Magma Storm (correct me if I'm wrong, but Dugtrio isn't concerned about switching out of Heatran. All it has to do is survive a hit and then OHKO with EQ) survive any hit. It can then trap Heatran, and defeat him OHKO with Earthquake. Watch out though, as Heatran has multiple ways to deal with Dugtrio, such as via Air Balloon, Choice Scarf, Flame Charge, and the aforementioned Magma Storm. Landorus (both Therian and Incarnate), as well as Garchomp, can outspeed and defeat KO Heatran using with Earthquake, but they cannot switch on into Hidden Power Ice (the former also cannot switch on fearsboosted Fire Blast). If your own Heatran does not carry Air Balloon, opposing Heatran with Air Balloon are also good counters.</p>

<p>Calm Mind Latias takes little damage from most attacks, even Hidden Power Ice, and can proceed to set up on it Heatran with impunity. Latios also works, but it is 2HKOed by Hidden Power Ice. Tyranitar is generally a good counter; it takes little damage from even Earth Power on the under sandstorm. Weather trapper sets will 2HKO with Solarbeam under sun, but the most common variant of Tyranitar, Choice Band, will OHKO with Superpower, not giving Heatran time to set up sun or attack back. Mamoswine does not fear even Air Balloon variants, as it often carries Superpower to deal with them. Porygon2 is rare, but it is absurdly annoying, as it traces Flash Fire, thus absorbing Fire Blasts, and takes little damage from any other move that Heatran may use; do note, however, that but Porygon2 absolutely hates status and Taunt.</p>

<p>If Heatran lacks Earth Power, opposing Heatran have free reign, and if Heatran lacks Hidden Power Ice, Dragon-types are generally capable of coming in safely. Without Hidden Power Grass, Gastrodon can wall Heatran forever, but it must also watch out for Toxic. Lastly, things that Heatran usually defeat can instead defeat it with the appropriate move. For example, Heatran cannot switch on Scizor's Superpower, Venusaur's Earthquake, or Celebi's Earth Power.</p>


The prose was a little messy at first, but it improved afterwards. The main problem was with prepositions and Smogon's grammar conventions; please take a good look at both. There were also several repeated spelling mistakes (such as "investiment" and "peharps") which could have been avoided. Otherwise,



GP 1 / 2
 

Soul Fly

IMMA TEACH YOU WHAT SPLASHIN' MEANS
is a Contributor Alumnus
REMOVE CHANGE/ADD COMMENTS


[Overview]

<p>
Unfortunately for Heatran, the introduction of new threats such as Keldeo that have made rain more dominant than ever has only added to its woes. In fact, there is always a Water- or Fighting-type Pokémon Pokemon or attack waiting to defeat it. This is not to speak about its 4x weakness to Ground, which makes Heatran easy prey for Dugtrio. With so many things that make Heatran's life difficult, one may question why Heatran is still one of the most used Pokémon Pokemon.</p>

<p>The answer lies in the fact that Heatran is perhaps the best Fire-type in OU, and the easiest not very difficult (Only to not imply that heatran can be carelessly thrown in on any team) to fit on teams. Thanks to its unique Fire/Steel typing, it combines the offensive characteristics of a Fire-type with the defensive prowess of a Steel-type, which in combination with its Flash Fire ability, isthe is the reason why Heatran is so prevalent despite the ubiquitous rain teams. The aforementioned crippling weakness to Water-type attacks, Earthquake, and Fighting-type blows notwithstanding, the typing and ability give Heatran important 4x resistances to Ice, Grass, Bug, and Steel, as well as an immunity to Fire-type attacks and many other resistances (including to the omnipresent Outrages and Draco Meteors)! Withpowerful With a powerful Fire-type STAB, Heatran can take out most Steel- Steel-Types and Grass-types easily. It is also very versatile, having the ability to run specially defensive sets to wall special attackers lacking a super effective move, offensive support sets, and even trapping sets. Most Steel-types in OU are free switch-ins forHeatran for Heatran, as they generally don't use moves that can threaten it. Heatran is also the best counter to sun teams; once their Dugtrio or Terrakion is out of the equation, sun teams are hard-pressed to do much to defeat it. All these make it one of the best Pokémon Pokemon GP standards indicate that 'Pokemon' shouldn't be spelled with an accent. Have changed all instances in OU, despite being in a metagame that is seemingly conspiring against it.</p>

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Stealth Rock / Taunt / Toxic
item: Air Balloon / Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
MANY instances of Double Spacing. If not intentional please correct. I have removed most occurrences from here on, so please crosscheck with your OP
<p>It is hard to imagine something that can support teams and pose an offensive threat at the same time, but Heatran can do this. It has a potent STAB Fire Blast that can roast most Steel-types and Grass-types, even in rain. This set can also deal with many Dragon-types, set up Stealth Rock reliably, and wall sun teams despite the lack of defensive investiment. All of these make Heatran one of the most versatile special attackers in OU, and you should always consider using this set on your non-rain teams.</p>

<p>Fire Blast is the best STAB to run on this set. As said above, it defeats most Steel- and Grass-types, as well as Bug-types, all of which are surprisingly common on OU and demand Fire-type attacks to deal with them. However, there is one Steel-type that laughs at Fire-type attacks and actually loves being hit by them:Heatran them, Heatran itself! That's This is where Earth Power comes in, as it is able to maim the opposing Heatran. However Bbe wary of Air Balloon variants, however. Earth Power also hits Rock-types such as Tyranitar and Terrakionthat resist Fire Blast. Not that Heatran would dare staying in on Terrakion, of course, but it can discourage Terrakion from switching in a second time, as it is 2HKOed by Earth Power. In sandstorm, they can both avoid the 2HKO, however, so take care. As for Hidden Power, we have two choices. Hidden Power Ice is the recommended one: with a combination of Air Balloon, a Fire/Steel typing, and a Flash Fire ability, Heatran is able to defeat any Dragon-type that lacks a Fighting-or Water-type attack, as long as it maintains itsAir its Air Balloon. Examples are Dragonite and Salamence, both which are hard-pressed to do much to Heatranwith Heatran with its Air Balloon intact. If you feel that your team already has plenty of ways to deal with Dragon-types, or if your team has problems with bulky Water-types, Hidden Power Grass can be used. Hidden Power Ice is usually the superior choice, however, as with it, Heatran can take advantage of its resistance to Dragon-type attacks and the ability to come in safely on the Dragon-types that lack a Water- or Fighting-type attack.</p>

<p>The last slot is dedicated to a support option. Stealth Rock is the main one, as Heatran is one of the best and most reliable users of it; it forces many switches and can take out Magic Bounce users such as Espeon and Xatu with STAB Fire Blast. If something else carries Stealth Rock on your team, it can be replaced by with Toxic. Taunt shuts down common switch-ins such as Chansey and Blissey, as well as things expecting to use Heatran as setup fodder, like Gyarados or even Calm Mind Keldeo. Toxic is another option that can cripple bulky Water-types that would otherwise love to switch in on Heatran lacking Hidden Power Grass. Toxic also lets Heatran beat Volcarona 1vs1; despite being able to wall Volcarona (unless it runs Hidden Power Ground), Heatran is not able to do much back without Toxic.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>There are many other options that can be used in the last slot.Heatran slot. Heatran can spread is burns through Will-O-Wisp; though many bulky Water-types have reliable recovery to heal off burn damage with, Will-O-Wisp can cripple common switch-ins such as Tyranitar, Gyarados, Dragonite, and Terrakion. Flame Charge boosts Heatran's Speed, enabling it to sweep late-game once the opposing team has been weakened and its checks and counters have been removed, and is especially useful on sets with Life Orb. It also lets Heatran beat Dugtrio, as Heatran canoutspeed can outspeed and OHKO Dugtrio with Hidden Power or Fire Blast. Roar is yet another option that can save life be a lifesaver against some Dragon-type setup sweepers, break Baton Pass chains, and rack up hazard damage. If you use Hidden Power Grass, Dragon Pulse can be used so that Heatran can still cover Dragon-types. The last slot is mainly essentially filler, and you should use the option that best fits your team's needs.</p>

<p>Air Balloon is the primary item to avoid Ground-type attacks, Spikes, and being trapped by Dugtrio. Please be careful with what you switch in Heatran on, as otherwise, Air Balloon will pop for nothing and Heatran will not be able to wall Dragon-types. Generally, Heatran should be switching in on an expected Ground-or Fire-type move, or a status move. Life Orb provides a much-needed boost to Heatran's attacks and is very useful if it is using options like Dragon Pulse of Flame Charge in the last slot. However, the utility of Air Balloon is generally too good to pass up. Leftovers provides longevity, but it is very hard to find a reason to use it over Life Orb or Air Balloon; you are better off using the Substitute set if you want to use Leftovers.</p>

<p>252 Special Attack EVs lets Heatran hit as hard as possible. 4 SpD seems trivial at first, but prevent the rare yet very annoying Porygon2 and Porygon-Z from gaining a Special Attack boost. A Timid nature and 252 Speed EVs let Heatran outspeed Adamant Dragonite, as well as all variants of Breloom; it can then OHKO the former with Hidden Power Ice (after Multiscale has been broken) and the latter with Fire Blast (Mach Punch will not OHKO a full-health Heatran). However, a bulky EV spread of 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe and a Modest nature is very viable, as apart from the aforementioned threats, there aren't many situations where Heatran will be in need of Speed, and the extra bulk is really appreciated. Still, the aforementioned threats are so omnipresent that you may still find the Speed to be very useful. It is worth noting that Chople Berry is a useful item with the bulky EV spread, as it lets Heatran live the Fighting-type blows from the likes of Terrakion and Breloom.</p>

<p>As for partners, Pokémon Pokemon that attract Fire-type attacks tend to be the best. Forretress complements Heatran's Stealth Rock with Spikes and can check Terrakion and Haxorus, two Pokémon Pokemon that are dangerous for Heatran. Scizor can dispose of Blissey and Chansey and check the Lati twins, Tyranitar, and Terrakion, all of which can threaten Heatran in some way or another. Finally, Ferrothorn also has access to Spikes and can dispose of bulky Water-types. Ninetales is another good partner because its Drought will power up Fire Blast, but Tyranitar can dispose of the Lati twins and the pink blobs and is thus an excellent partner too. Celebi and Jellicent have amazing synergy with Heatran; the former easily defeats bulky Water-types that counter Heatran, and the latter is immune to the only two weakness that Heatran has (with Air Balloon). Both also counter Keldeo, which is capable of countering this Heatran very well, as well as Sheer Force Landorus, which can still defeat Heatran with Focus Blast. Landorus-T can counter Terrakion, and thus is a notable partner. Gengar can spinblock, preventing Heatran's Stealth Rock from being spun away, and checks most Fighting-types and the aforementioned Sheer Force Landorus.</p>

[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Lava Plume
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Protect
move 4: Stealth Rock / Roar / Earth Power
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm
evs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Although Heatran is an excellent offensive Pokémon Pokemon, don't forget itsimpressive its impressive 91/106/106 defenses, which in conjunction with its unique Fire/Steel typing and ability make Heatran a great special wall, even though it has no reliable recovery. Heatran is not setup bait either, as it has Roar and a huge base 130 Special Attack. Lava Plume is the best STAB option for this set, with its burn chance making up for the lack of investment inDefense in Defense. Protect scouts Choice users while also racking up passive damage and Leftovers recovery. Toxic is the status move of choice because it cannot be stalled out by reliable recovery and affects Volcarona (which is especially useful if you don't run Roar, as Heatran is hard-pressed to do much back otherwise). Plus, Lava Plume already carries a 30% chance to burn the opponent.</p>

<p>The last moveslot contains a myriad of options, and can be customized depending on your team's needs. Stealth Rock is an excellent support move, and this Heatran is one of its best users. Thanks to investment in Special Defense, Heatran is capable of surviving even uninvested rain-boosted Scalds from bulky Water-types, letting it set up Stealth Rock if needed. If something else carries Stealth Rock on your team, you can use Roar, a great support option to rack up hazard damage, spread burns (alongside Lava Plume), and phaze those special setup sweepers that dare using who dare use Heatran as setup fodder. It is also useful to scout opposing Dugtrio. Earth Power can be used instead of both options, as it allows specially defensive Heatran to take out opposing Heatran, as well as other Fire-types, Tentacruel, and Terrakion, all which would wall this set otherwise. Earth Power from offensive Heatran sets do not OHKO specially defensive Heatran, while it has a 78% chance to OHKO back with its own Earth Power.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>A specially defensive spread is preferred over a physical one, because most of Heatran's resistances are specially-based. Also, most common physical attacks (such as Earthquake and Close Combat) aimed at Heatran hit it super effectively and would OHKO or 2HKO even with maximum investment in Heatran's physical bulk. Another reason is that Heatran can already use Lava Plume to burn opponents and shrug off physical hits.</p>

<p>An EV spread with 248 HP / 16 SpA / 244 SpD with a Modest Nature is viable, and in this case, Flamethrower should be chosen as the attacking option. This lets Heatran hit a little harder, which can be useful in some situations; for example, it can OHKO standard Ferrothorn in rain 60% of time, something that the standard defensive Heatran cannot do. Another viable EV spread is a fast one, with 248 HP / 12 SpD / 248 Spe and a Calm nature. This EV spread can outrun Adamant Breloom and Jolly Scizor and KO with Lava Plume. It can also outspeed Substitute = Dragon Tail Substitute+Dragon Tail Kyurem-B and Roar it before it can phaze Heatran with Dragon Tail. If you are using Hidden Power Ice, this spread also lets Heatran outspeed defensive Gliscor and bulky Landorus-T. Hidden Power Ice is a useful move to take out Dragon-types, especially Dragonite, which would like to use a defensive Heatran as setup fodder if they run Lum Berry. An alternative status move is Will-O-Wisp. Due to Lava Plume's high burn chance and Toxic's higher accuracy, Toxic is generally preferred, but Will-O-Wisp has merit in that it is a much more reliable way to spread burns. Taunt may seem like an strange option, but it stops Ferrothorn from setting up on Heatran in rain; as absurd as it sounds, Ferrothorn can survive one Lava Plume if it's raining and set up an entry hazard. Forretress can also survive one Lava Plume thanks to Sturdy, and thus, Taunt may prove to be very useful. Also, the combination of Taunt, Protect, and Toxic lets Heatran take out Blissey and Chansey, two of its greatest nemeses.</p>

<p>Toxic Spikes support is appreciated, especially if Heatran plans to run Earth Power instead of a status move, but remember that Toxic Spikes is somewhat ineffective on this metagame. Even with Toxic Spikes, Toxic may still prove to be a great move, as it isn't always that you have the opportunity to set up two Toxic Spikes layers; plus, some Pokémon Pokemon are immune to Toxic Spikes. Forretress is a great partner, because its high physical bulk complements the special bulk of Heatran; itcan it can use Spikes to complement Stealth Rock, attract Fire-type attacks that Heatran can easily absorb, and check some Pokémon Pokemon like Terrakion that can defeat Heatran. Wish support is appreciated because Heatran lacks reliable recovery. Vaporeon is one of the best choices, because it can also absorb Water-type attacks aimed at Heatran. Lastly, Jellicent also absorbs Water-type attacks and is immune to two of Heatran's weakness. Roserade can switch into bulky Water-types and is able to set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes, both which can complement Heatran's Stealth Rock. RestTalk Gyarados has amazing synergy with Heatran, resisting all of its weaknesses while handling most Water-types, physical Dragons, as well as Choice Terrakion with the help of Protect on Heatran.</p>

[SET]
name: Weather Trapper
move 1: Sunny Day
move 2: Magma Storm
move 3: Solarbeam
move 4: Earth Power / Hidden Power Ice
item: Air Balloon / Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Sun teams have a natural disadvantage against other non-hail weather teams, and this set is there to help them win the weather war. Although this Heatran is better used on sun teams, it can also be used on weatherless teams or even teams of other weathers to combat opposing weather inducers. Still, sun is the home of this set and is where it should be used most of the time, and for good reason. The combination of Sunny Day and Magma Storm allows Heatran to smack weather inducers, taking out their STAB on Water-type attacks in Politoed's case, or their increased Special Defense in Tyranitar's case. Magma Storm has the same power as Fire Blast, but traps the opponent so that it cannot flee.</p>

<p>Solarbeam is used alongside the other two moves because this Heatran can use Sunny Day to prevent weather inducers from taking advantage of a Heatran locked into Solarbeam. Speaking of weather inducers, they are all weak to this move and will be 2HKOed or OHKOed in sun, while they can do little back. The combination of Sunny Day and Solarbeam also means that this set can deal with bulky Water-types better than any other Heatran. As Magma Storm will trap them, they have no choice but to be 2HKOed.</p>

<p>The first three moves are all staples and should not be touched. The last moveslot contains 2 options: Earth Power and Hidden Power Ice. Earth Power is the recommended option because otherwise, opposing Heatran would be able to switch in freely. This set has to lure Pokémon Pokemon that resist its Fire-type STAB. As such, this set becomes a liability if there is a Pokémon Pokemon that can switch in with absolute impunity. Hidden Power Ice is, however, is Heatran's best way to damage Dragon-types, so it can be considered if you have other ways of removing enemy Heatran, such as Dugtrio. With Hidden Power Ice, Heatran can also trap Dragon-types such as Adamant Dragonite, which will always be defeated if it switches into Magma Storm, as it will have its Multiscale brokenand broken and will be outsped and easily OHKOed by Hidden Power Ice.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Air Balloon is the recommended item because it will help against Dragon-types, especially if you run Hidden Power Ice. Air Balloon will also help against Dugtrio; it will not be able to trap Heatran and will be KOed through Focus Sash if it switches on Magma Storm, effectively making this Heatran a difficult target for Dugtrio. Hippowdon is also hard-pressed to do much against Heatran if it sports an Air Balloon; it will actually be unable to touch Heatran if it uses Whirlwind instead of Ice Fang. Life Orb makes Heatran even more powerful and, in conjunction with entry hazards, can let Heatran OHKO the weather inducers instead of 2HKOing them.</p>

<p>Taunt can be used instead of both Earth Power and Hidden Power Ice. If you have effective ways to deal with both Dragon-types and opposing Heatran, Taunt will be highly useful, especially if used in conjunction with a Modest nature and a Life Orb. With Taunt, Heatran can potentially 2HKO both Blissey and Chansey with Magma Storm after a little of residual damage, and preventing their recovery will actually make this feat possible. This can also be done against Hippowdon, but you will need an Air Ballon Balloon, as otherwise Hippowdon will OHKO with Earthquake. Speaking of which, if Heatran has Taunt and Hippowdon does not have Ice Fang, it will be unable to touch Heatran at all, as long as the latter has Air Balloon. Even with Ice Fang, Hippowdon will be outsped and 2HKOed by Magma Storm. Shuca Berry seems like it is outclassed by Air Balloon, but Shuca Berry is not consumed by any non-Ground-, Poison-, and Fire-type attack, and still lets Heatran comfortably take a Dugtrio's Earthquake and retaliate with Magma Storm.</p>

<p>This Heatran is versatile and can still function as a strong special attacker outside its trapping role. It should be noted that Heatran will not always win against opposing weather inducers. For example, Choice Band variants of Tyranitar can OHKO Heatran with Superpower before the latter can set up sun and attack with Solarbeam. Choice Scarf variants also do the same; they do not OHKO, but they outspeed and 2HKO before Heatran can hit Tyranitar with Solarbeam. For this reason, Dugtrio is an excellent partner. Although it seems to be redundant as it can also trap, it is able to dispose of Tyranitar no matter which set the latter runs. Not only that, but Dugtrio can also dispose of opposing Heatran, freeing up the last moveslot for Hidden Power Ice on this set. Choice Scarf Politoed, as rare as it may be, is also an annoyance, as it can outspeed and OHKO with Hydro Pump before Heatran can even set up the sun. Timid Venusaur is for this reason a great partner. It can also deal with other dangerous Pokémon like Terrakion and Keldeo; Venusaur will outspeed even Choice Scarf variants of the latter if the sun is shining. Wobbuffet cannot deal with Tyranitar or Heatran as effectively as Dugtrio, but it can deal better with Choice Scarf Politoed, as well as faster Fighting-types.</p>

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Dragon Pulse
move 4: Overheat / Flamethrower
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Heatran can also function as a good revenge killer. Although base 77 Speed is seemingly not sufficient, it still lets Heatran outrun outpace up to base 130s, as well as +1 Adamant Dragonite and +1 Adamant Gyarados. An advantage over other revenge killers is Heatran's typing and bulk, which means that it get much more opportunities to switch in, instead of having to rely on switching in after a teammate has been killed.</p>

<p>Fire Blast is the recommended STAB move because it has great sweeping potential, and Heatran is much less prone to becoming setup bait with it than Overheat. Earth Power is there to not be prevent being walled by opposing Heatran, but it is also very useful to revenge kill Rock-types such as Terrakion, as well as Lucario and Magnezone without relying on Fire Blast's shaky accuracy. Hidden Power Ice revenge kills Dragon-types, and is a more reliable way to deal with Gliscor and Landorus/Landorus-T than Fire Blast. Dragon Pulse deals more damage to Dragons 2x weak to Ice, such as the Lati twins, and Hydreigon. Those 4x weak to Ice take more damage from Hidden Power Ice, which is why it is usually the preferred option. However, Dragon Pulse has other advantages, like hitting Kyurem-B and Kingdra, two Dragon-types neutral to Hidden Power Ice; it is also this Heatran's best attack against Rotom-W. The last moveslot is a toss-up between Overheat and Flamethrower. Overheat dishes out the most damage possible and can be used if Heatran can afford to suffer from the Special Attack drop. Flamethrower is much weaker, but it is perfectly accurate and does not suffer from stat drops.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Unfortunately, this set is not as powerful as other offensive sets, and due to being locked on one attack, it is even more prone to becoming setup bait should you predict wrongly. However, this set can also deal with Dugtrio. The only other of Heatran's sets that can do this are those that carry Air Balloon or Flame Charge.</p>

<p>Hidden Power Electric can be used to revenge kill +1 Gyarados, but note that Heatran will only outpace those that run an Adamant nature. The loss of Hidden Power Ice is not that bad, as Heatran can still use sun-boosted Fire attacks to OHKO Gliscor and Landorus, but you must use Dragon Pulse on the last slot to not be walled by Dragon-types. It may seem like an April Fools joke to mention Stone Edge, but it is useful for the sole purpose of revenge killing Volcarona. Unless Volcarona has Hidden Power Ground (be very wary if that's the case), it will do pitful pitiful damage to Heatran even after multiple Quiver Dance boosts, despite being able to outspeed it, while in return, Heatran hits with Stone Edge, which scores an OHKO even with a nature that hinders the Attack stat. A Modest nature can be used to provide even more power, which is especially useful if Heatran is being used as a late-game sweeper. Although it loses the ability to outpace +1 Gyarados and +1 Dragonite (if they have an Adamant nature), Choice Scarf Heatran is usually used on sun teams, where it is likely to be paired with a Chlorophyll user, which can outspeed the aforementioned Pokémon Pokemon and revenge kill them.</p>

<p>Ninetales is the best partner for this set, as the sun it brings makes Fire Blast even more powerful, letting it revenge kill anything that doesn't resist it. Chlorophyll sweepers such as Venusaur can easily take out bulky Water-types that tend to wall this set. Venusaur can also defeat Blissey and Chansey in a strange, yet effective way. A partner that can deal with Pokémon Pokemon that may try to take advantage of a Choice-locked Heatran is appreciated. Scizor, Celebi, Mamoswine, Hippowdon, and Landorus-T are some examples, taking care of threats like Terrakion, Landorus, and Keldeo.</p>

[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Earth Power / Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Toxic / Will-O-Wisp
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>A tendency that Heatran has is to force switches. Heatran has a tendency to force switches. Maintain participles This set takes advantage of those switches to set up free Substitutes. Behind a Substitute, Heatran can either attack or cripple the opponent with a status move. This is especially useful against threats that would defeat Heatran otherwise, such as Landorus, and Terrakion.</p>

<p>Fire Blast is an excellent STAB, and Substitute means that Heatran can usually afford to miss. Earth Power is the recommended coverage move, as otherwise, opposing Heatran stop this set cold. However, Hidden Power Ice is this set's only means of quickly disposing of Dragon-types, so it can be considered over Earth Power. The last slot goes to a status move. Toxic is the recommended option because it cannot be stalled out by reliable recovery due to its damage increasing over time, and it is much more reliable. It is especially useful against the bulky Water-types that love switching-in to switch in on Heatran. Will-O-Wisp, however, has an enormous advantage: crippling physical attackers not named Conkeldurr. It is so good extremely useful when the opposing Terrakion try to break Heatran's Substitute, only to be burned and rendered useless for the rest of match. Another option is to use both Earth Power and Hidden Power Ice, forgoing the use of a status move. This is not recommended, however, as Heatran likes to have a way to cripple bulky Water-types while it is behind a Substitute.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>You can use more HP EVs to make Heatran bulkier, but you have to take out EVs from Special Attack, as Heatran needs all the Speed that it can get to preserve its Substitute whenever possible. Unlike the main offensive set, this set can afford to have less power, as Heatran can also damage the opponent with status. However, this is not to say that Heatran will necessarily like to lose power due to the lack of investiment in Special Attack. Thus, think twice before adding any EVs to HP. Taunt can be used instead of the coverage move to transform this Heatran into a bulky stallbreaker. It can stall out walls like Blissey and Chansey with status and can prevent them from recovering with Taunt. Be very wary that Heatran will hate being walled by both Dragon-types and opposing Heatran, however.</p>

<p>Hydration Vaporeon does not mind status while it's raining and can just defeat Heatran with repeated Scalds. Pokémon Pokemon with Natural Cure will not mind being statused that much, as they can simply switch out to cure status. Such Pokémon Pokemon include Starmie, as well as Blissey and Chansey. However, they will still loathe status until they switch out (Blissey and Chansey can cure themselves if they have Aromatherapy, however)&mdash;thus, the only Pokémon Pokemon truly unperturbed by this set is Hydration Vaporeon. Scizor can deal with the pink blobs, while Ferrothorn can deal with the bulky Water-types. Both also attract Fire-type attacks that Heatran can use to switch in safely. If Heatran is not using Earth Power, it is recommended that you pack a partner that can take out opposing Heatran. Dugtrio stands out as the best option, as it can trap them with its ability. This Heatran can usually Toxic stall Politoed and Tyranitar, so Ninetales or your own Tyranitar can take advantage of this. A Tyranitar of your own is an excellent partner, as sandstorm damage will add up with status, killing the opponent faster; with hazards, this will punish Natural Cure Pokémon Pokemon when they switch back in after healing their status. Anything that can take advantage of poisoned or burned opponents is a good partner. For example, setup sweepers like Latias are able to use poisoned Water-types as setup fodder, while Toxic pushes them into KO range. Celebi is peharps the best partner for this Heatran, as it has awesome synergy in general and can take out the Water-types that do not mind status, such as bulky Starmie and Vaporeon.</p>

[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Fire Blast / Overheat
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Dragon Pulse / Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Hidden Power Grass / Flamethrower
item: Choice Specs
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Heatran can equip a Choice Specs and murder opposing Pokémon Pokemon with its powerful (and possibly sun-boosted) Fire Blasts. This set is so powerful that under sun it can 2HKO even many Pokémon Pokemonthat resist Fire Blast. Even Chansey and Blissey can hardly whitstand withstand two sun-boosted Fire Blasts; half the time, they are 2HKOed after Stealth Rock damage. However, Overheat can replace Fire Blast as it is so powerful that it can OHKO even some Pokémon Pokemon that resist it, such as frailer Dragons like Haxorus and Salamence. However, Overheat has two drawbacks; it forces Heatran to switch out after it is used (though a -2 sun-boosted Overheat is still very powerful), and does not let it 2HKO the pink blobs.</p>

<p>Although it is hard to find something that can tank two consecutive Fire Blasts and live to tell the tale, these sort of Pokémon Pokemon exist. For example, opposing Heatran will not mind switching on Fire Blast or Overheat and will appreciate the boost to their own Fire Blasts thanks to Flash Fire. For this reason, Earth Power is the primary coverage move. Earth Power, when boosted by Choice Specs, also lets Heatran 2HKO non-specially defensive Tyranitar, which is useful because Tyranitar can normally tank Earth Power from other Heatran variants. Dragon Pulse is a more reliable way to deal with Dragon-types, though keep in mind that many Dragons will still take heavy damage from sun-boosted Fire Blasts. Hidden Power Ice can replace it, as it does more damage to Dragonite and Salamence, covers Garchomp more effectively, and is more accurate against Landorus and Gliscor. However, the latter two are easily OHKOed by Fire-type attacks anyway. Remember that using Hidden Power Ice will not let Heatran use Hidden Power Grass, which gives important coverage against bulky Water-types, especially Politoed, which has Drizzle to nerf Fire Blast. Flamethrower can replace Hidden Power Grass if you are using Overheat, as Flamethrower doesn't lower Heatran's stats and is more accurate. Remember that without Hidden Power Grass, bulky Water-types will usually wall this set, though many of them should be wary of taking repeated sun-boosted Fire Blasts.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>A Modest Nature is the main option to deal as much damage as possible. Timid can be used, especially if you run Hidden Power Ice, to outspeed Adamant Dragonite and OHKO it. It is also useful because Jolly Breloom would be able to outspeed and OHKO with Low Sweep otherwise. However, without the Modest nature, Heatran cannot guarantee the 2HKO on the pink blobs, even with Stealth Rock on the field.</p>

<p>A spread with 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD and a Quiet nature is viable and makes use of Eruption. Eruption, when boosted by Choice Specs and sun, is so powerful that it can even 2HKO Chansey without Stealth Rock support. However, Eruption is a move that is only legal with a Quiet nature. This means that Heatran should obviously be used with Trick Room support. In this case, physically defensive Cresselia is possibly the best partner, as it can set up Trick Room and wall some dangerous attackers for Heatran, like Sheer Force Landorus.</p>

<p>Although this Heatran can function without sun support, it is the sun that brings to the table many of the 2HKOs and OHKOs mentioned above (such as the 2HKO on the pink blobs), so Ninetales is the best parner. Also, Chlorophyll sweepers take advantage of the holes blown open by Heatran, so that they can take advantage later on the battle. Although Terrakion hates coming in on Earth Power or repeated sun-boosted Fire Blasts, it will force Heatran out and potentially wreck the entire sun team with a SubSalac set. Timid Venusaur can revenge kill Terrakion even after the Salac Berry boost, but Gliscor or Forretress can also deal with this Terrakion too.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>A TormentTran set can be used, but this set is heavily reliant on Toxic Spikes support, and they are unfortunately innefective in this metagame. Also, there are many faster threats that pack super effective attacks against Heatran, so this set is hard to pull off. Keldeo is also a common threat that easily deal with TormentTran, as both of Keldeo's STABs hit it super effectively.</p>

<p>Shed Shell is another way that Heatran can use to deal with Dugtrio, not by defeating him, but by being capable of switching out even with Arena Trap. However, Heatran has more effective ways to deal with Dugtrio, via Choice Scarf sets, Air Balloon, or the moves Flame Charge and Magma Storm. It are also forced to forfeit a valuable item, like Leftovers or Life Orb. Shed Shell is much more viable on the defensive set, which has absolutely no way to deal with Dugtrio otherwise. However, without Leftovers, defensive Heatran will desesperately desperately need Wish support, as it lacks reliable recovery.</p>

<p>Flash Cannon can be used as a secondary STAB that can hit Rock-types harder, but Heatran already has Earth Power for this. It does not receive STAB, but has much better coverage and can still hit Rock-types super-effectively. Other options like Dark Pulse and AncientPower are poor in terms of coverage, and even when super effective, are often outdamaged outclassed by Fire Blast, except against specific targets. Metal Sound can force switches or force the opponent to take heavy damage, but it is unreliable and gimmicky at best. As strange as it sounds, Stone Edge is an option if you desesperately desperately need a way to take out Volcarona. Even with a negative nature, 4/0 variants of Volcarona are OHKOed. However, Stone Edge has absolutely no use apart from that specific threat. Heatran can use a RestTalk set since this is i only means of recovery, but awful sleep mechanics hinder this set's viability.</p>

<p>Don't use Flame Body. Flash Fire is what lets Heatran counter sun teams effectively, and Heatran usually loses to many physical attackers, because they carry Fighting- or Ground-type coverage anyway. Lastly, Heatran is also able to use a Magma Storm set without Sunny Day, or vice-versa. However, both moves are more effective when used thogether together.</p>

[Checks & Counters]

<p>Chansey and Blissey are Heatran's best counters. They take nothing from most attacks, even when they are boosted, and are immune to status. However, they must watch out for sun-boosted Fire Blast from the Choice Specs set, which will 2HKO. Also, with a combination of Protect, Toxic, and Taunt, the specially defensive set can handle both blobs very well. Bulky Water-types are also excellent counters and checks as they take almost nothing from most Heatran's attacks. Those weak to Earth Power, such as Tentacruel, must watch out though, as Heatran can effectively deal with them. However, they hate status and loathe either Hidden Power Grass or Electric. Keldeo also hates those Hidden Powers, but can usually switch in safely and defeat Heatran with any of its STAB moves.</p>

<p>Terrakion is generally a good switch in to Heatran, as it can sponge a Fire Blast thanks to its resistance and force Heatran out to set up. However, it hates coming in on Earth Power early in the match, which will 2HKO if sandstorm is not up, but Heatran does not usually use Earth Power straight away because it would rather set up Stealth Rock. Terrakion must also watch out for burns from Will-O-Wisp and Lava Plume. Other Fighting-types can also work, but they all have a drawback that makes them shaky checks. For example, Conkeldurr is 2HKOed by Fire Blast, Lucario is hard-pressed to find an opportunity to switch into Heatran, and Breloom cannot OHKO a full-health Heatran with Mach Punch, while it is OHKOed back by Fire Blast. All of them except Conkeldurr also loathe status.</p>

<p>Anything with Earthquake is able to easily dispose of Heatran, but it can carry Air Balloon. Also, with so many foes immune to Earthquake, one must think twice before using this move. Dugtrio often carry Focus Sash to survive any hit with exception of Magma Storm. It can then trap Heatran and OHKO with Earthquake. Watch out though, as Heatran has multiple ways to deal with Dugtrio, such as via Air Balloon, Choice Scarf, Flame Charge, and the aforementioned Magma Storm. Landorus (both Therian and Incarnate), as well as Garchomp, can outspeed and KO Heatran with Earthquake, but they cannot switch into Hidden Power Ice (the former also fears boosted Fire Blast). If your own Heatran does not carry Air Balloon, opposing Heatran with Air Balloon are also good counters.</p>

<p>Calm Mind Latias takes little damage from most attacks, even Hidden Power Ice, and can proceed to set up on Heatran with impunity. Latios also works, but it is 2HKOed by Hidden Power Ice. Tyranitar is generally a good counter; it takes little damage from even Earth Power under sandstorm. Weather trapper sets will 2HKO with Solarbeam under sun, but the most common variant of Tyranitar, Choice Band, will OHKO with Superpower, not giving Heatran time to set up sun or attack back. Mamoswine does not fear even Air Balloon variants, as it often carries Superpower to deal with them. Porygon2 is rare, but it is absurdly annoying, as it traces Flash Fire, thus absorbing Fire Blasts, and takes little damage from any other move that Heatran may use; do note, however, that Porygon2 absolutely hates status and Taunt.</p>

<p>If Heatran lacks Earth Power, opposing Heatran have free reign, and if Heatran lacks Hidden Power Ice, Dragon-types are generally capable of coming in safely. Without Hidden Power Grass, Gastrodon can wall Heatran forever, but it must also watch out for Toxic. Lastly, Pokémon Pokemon that Heatran usually defeat can instead defeat it with the appropriate move. For example, Heatran cannot switch on Scizor's Superpower, Venusaur's Earthquake, or Celebi's Earth Power.</p>
 
Oglemi and I are double teaming this one. I'm doing the first three sets + overview, Ogles is doing last three sets + OO/C+C.

[Overview]

<p>Unfortunately for Heatran, the introduction of new threats such as Keldeo that have has made rain more dominant than ever, which has only added to its woes. In fact, there is always a Water- or Fighting-type Pokémon or attack waiting to defeat it. This is not to speak about of its 4x weakness to Ground, which makes Heatran easy prey for Dugtrio. With so many things that make Heatran's life difficult, one may question why Heatran is still one of the most used Pokémon.</p>

<p>The answer lies in the fact that Heatran is perhaps the best Fire-type in OU, and the easiest to fit on teams. Thanks to its unique Fire/Steel typing, it combines the offensive characteristics of a Fire-type with the defensive prowess of a Steel-type, which in combination with its Flash Fire ability, is (space) the reason why Heatran is so prevalent despite the ubiquitous rain teams. The aforementioned crippling weakness to Water-type attacks, Earthquake, and Fighting-type blows notwithstanding, the typing and ability give Heatran important 4x resistances to Ice, Grass, Bug, and Steel, as well as an immunity to Fire-type attacks and many other resistances (including to the omnipresent Outrages and Draco Meteors)! With (space) powerful Fire-type STAB, Heatran can take out most Steel- and Grass-types easily. It is also very versatile, having the ability to run specially defensive sets to wall special attackers lacking a super effective move, offensive support sets, and even trapping sets. Most Steel-types in OU are free switch-ins for (space) Heatran, as they generally don't use moves that can threaten it. Heatran is also the best counter to sun teams; once their Dugtrio or Terrakion is out of the equation, sun teams are hard-pressed to do much to defeat it. All these make it one of the best Pokémon in OU, despite a metagame that is seemingly conspiring against it.</p>

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Stealth Rock / Taunt / Toxic
item: Air Balloon / Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>It is hard to imagine something that can support teams and pose an offensive threat at the same time, but Heatran can do this it. It has a potent STAB Fire Blast that can roast most Steel-types and Grass-types, even in rain. This set can also deal with many Dragon-types, set up Stealth Rock reliably, and wall sun teams despite the lack of defensive investiment. All of these make Heatran one of the most versatile special attackers in OU, and you should always consider using this set on your non-rain teams.</p>

<p>Fire Blast is the best STAB to run on this set. As said above, it defeats most Steel- and Grass-types, as well as Bug-types, all of which are surprisingly common on OU and demand Fire-type attacks to deal with them. However, there is one Steel-type that laughs at Fire-type attacks and actually loves being hit by them: (space) Heatran itself! That's where Earth Power comes in, as it is able to maim opposing Heatran. Be wary of Air Balloon variants, however. Earth Power also hits Rock-types that resist Fire Blast, such as Tyranitar and Terrakionthat resist Fire Blast. Not that Heatran would dare staying in on Terrakion, of course, but it can discourage Terrakion from switching in a second time, as it is 2HKOed by Earth Power. In sandstorm, they can both avoid the 2HKO, however, so take care. As for Hidden Power, we have two choices. Hidden Power Ice is the recommended one: with a combination of Air Balloon, a Fire/Steel typing, and a Flash Fire ability, Heatran is able to defeat any Dragon-type that lacks a Fighting-or Water-type attack, as long as it maintains its (space) Air Balloon. Examples are Dragonite and Salamence, both which are hard-pressed to do much to a Heatran (space) with its Air Balloon intact. If you feel that your team already has plenty of ways to deal with Dragon-types, or if your team has problems with bulky Water-types, Hidden Power Grass can be used. Hidden Power Ice is usually the superior choice, however, as with it, Heatran can take advantage of its resistance to Dragon-type attacks and the ability to come in safely on the Dragon-types that lack a Water- or Fighting-type attack.</p>

<p>The last slot is dedicated to a support option. Stealth Rock is the main one, as Heatran is one of the best and most reliable users of it; it forces many switches and can take out Magic Bounce users such as Espeon and Xatu with STAB Fire Blast. If something else carries Stealth Rock on your team, it can be replaced by Toxic. Taunt shuts down common switch-ins such as Chansey and Blissey, as well as things expecting to use Heatran as setup fodder, like Gyarados or even Calm Mind Keldeo. Toxic is another option that can cripple the bulky Water-types that would otherwise love to switch on any Heatran lacking Hidden Power Grass. Toxic also lets Heatran beat Volcarona 1vs1 one-on-one; despite being able to wall Volcarona (unless it runs Hidden Power Ground), Heatran is not able to do much back without Toxic it.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>There are many other options that can be used in the last slot. (space) Heatran can spread is burns through Will-O-Wisp; though many bulky Water-types have reliable recovery to heal off burn damage with, Will-O-Wisp can cripple common switch-ins such as Tyranitar, Gyarados, Dragonite, and Terrakion. Flame Charge boosts Heatran's Speed, enabling it to sweep late-game once the opposing team has been weakened and its checks and counters have been removed, and is especially useful on sets with Life Orb. It also lets Heatran beat Dugtrio, as Heatran can (space) outspeed and OHKO Dugtrio with Hidden Power or Fire Blast. Roar is yet another option that can save Heatran's life against some Dragon-type setup sweepers, break Baton Pass chains, and rack up hazard damage. If you use Hidden Power Grass, Dragon Pulse can be used so that Heatran can still cover Dragon-types. The last slot is mainly filler, and you should use the option that best fits your team's needs.</p>

<p>Air Balloon is the primary item to avoid Ground-type attacks, Spikes, and being trapped by Dugtrio. Please be careful with what you switch in Heatran on, as otherwise, Air Balloon will pop for nothing and Heatran will not be able to wall Dragon-types. Generally, Heatran should be switching in on an expected Ground- (space) or Fire-type move, or a status move. Life Orb provides a much-needed boost to Heatran's attacks and is very useful if it is when using options like Dragon Pulse of or Flame Charge in the last slot. However, the utility of Air Balloon is generally too good to pass up. Leftovers provides longevity, but it is very hard to find a reason to use it over Life Orb or Air Balloon; you are better off using the Substitute set if you want to use Leftovers.</p>

<p>252 Special Attack EVs lets Heatran hit as hard as possible. 4 SpD seems trivial at first, but prevents the rare yet very annoying Porygon2 from gaining a Special Attack boost. A Timid nature and 252 Speed EVs let Heatran outspeed Adamant Dragonite, as well as all variants of Breloom; it can then OHKO the former with Hidden Power Ice (after Multiscale has been broken) and the latter with Fire Blast (Mach Punch will not OHKO a full-health Heatran). However, a bulky EV spread of 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe and a Modest nature is very viable, as apart from the aforementioned threats, there aren't many situations where Heatran will be in need of Speed, and the extra bulk is really appreciated. Still, the aforementioned threats are so omnipresent that you may still find the Speed to be very useful. It is worth noting that Chople Berry is a useful item with the bulky EV spread, as it lets Heatran live the Fighting-type blows from the likes of Terrakion and Breloom.</p>

<p>As for partners, Pokémon that attract Fire-type attacks tend to be the best. Forretress complements Heatran's Stealth Rock with Spikes and can check Terrakion and Haxorus, two Pokémon that are dangerous for Heatran. Scizor can dispose of Blissey and Chansey and check the Lati twins, Tyranitar, and Terrakion, all of which can threaten Heatran in some way or another. Finally, Ferrothorn also has access to Spikes and can dispose of bulky Water-types. Ninetales is another good partner because its Drought will power up Fire Blast, but Tyranitar can dispose of the Lati twins and the pink blobs and is thus an excellent partner too. Celebi and Jellicent have amazing synergy with Heatran; the former easily defeats bulky Water-types that counter Heatran, and the latter is immune to the only two weakness that Heatran has (with Air Balloon). Both also counter Keldeo, which is capable of countering this Heatran very well, as well as Sheer Force Landorus, which can still defeat Heatran with Focus Blast. Landorus-T can counter Terrakion, and thus is a notable partner. Gengar can spinblock, preventing Heatran's Stealth Rock from being spun away, and checks most Fighting-types and the aforementioned Sheer Force Landorus.</p>

[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Lava Plume
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Protect
move 4: Stealth Rock / Roar / Earth Power
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm
evs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Although Heatran is an excellent offensive Pokémon, don't forget its (space) impressive 91/106/106 defenses, which in conjunction with its unique Fire/Steel typing and ability make Heatran a great special wall, even though it has no reliable recovery. Heatran is not setup bait either, as it has Roar and a huge base 130 Special Attack. Lava Plume is the best STAB option for this set, with its burn chance making up for the lack of investment in (space) Defense. Protect scouts Choice users while also racking up passive damage and Leftovers recovery. Toxic is the status move of choice because it cannot be stalled out by reliable recovery and affects Volcarona (which is especially useful if you don't run Roar, as Heatran is hard-pressed to do much back otherwise). Plus, Lava Plume already carries a 30% chance to burn the opponent.</p>

<p>The last moveslot contains a myriad of options, and can be customized depending on your team's needs. Stealth Rock is an excellent support move, and this Heatran is one of its best users. Thanks to investment in Special Defense, Heatran is capable of surviving even uninvested rain-boosted Scalds from bulky Water-types, letting it set up Stealth Rock if needed. If something else carries Stealth Rock on your team, you can use Roar, a great support option to rack up hazard damage, spread burns (alongside Lava Plume), and phaze those special setup sweepers that dare using use Heatran as setup fodder. It is also useful to scout opposing Dugtrio. Earth Power can be used instead of both options, as it allows specially defensive Heatran to take out opposing Heatran, as well as other Fire-types, Tentacruel, and Terrakion, all of which would wall this set otherwise. Earth Power from offensive Heatran sets does not OHKO specially defensive Heatran, while it has a 78% chance to OHKO back with its own Earth Power.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>A specially defensive spread is preferred over a physical one, because most of Heatran's resistances are specially-based. Also, most common physical attacks (such as Earthquake and Close Combat) aimed at Heatran hit it super effectively and would OHKO or 2HKO even with maximum investment in Heatran's physical bulk. Another reason is that Heatran can already use Lava Plume to burn opponents and shrug off physical hits.</p>

<p>An EV spread with 248 HP / 16 SpA / 244 SpD with a Modest nature is viable, and in this case, Flamethrower should be chosen as the attacking option. This lets Heatran hit a little harder, which can be useful in some situations; for example, it can OHKO standard Ferrothorn in rain 60% of time, something that the standard defensive Heatran cannot do. Another viable EV spread is a fast one, with 248 HP / 12 SpD / 248 Spe and a Calm nature. This EV spread can outrun Adamant Breloom and Jolly Scizor and KO with Lava Plume. It can also outspeed Substitute + Dragon Tail Kyurem-B and Roar it before it can phaze Heatran with Dragon Tail. If you are using Hidden Power Ice, this spread also lets Heatran outspeed defensive Gliscor and bulky Landorus-T. Hidden Power Ice is a useful move to take out Dragon-types, especially Dragonite, which would like to use a defensive Heatran as setup fodder if they run Lum Berry. An alternative status move is Will-O-Wisp. Due to Lava Plume's high burn chance and Toxic's higher accuracy, Toxic is generally preferred, but Will-O-Wisp has merit in that it is a much more reliable way to spread burns. Taunt may seem like an strange option, but it stops Ferrothorn from setting up on Heatran in rain; as absurd as it sounds, Ferrothorn can survive one Lava Plume if it's raining and set up an entry hazard. Forretress can also survive one Lava Plume thanks to Sturdy, and thus, Taunt may prove to be very useful. Also, the combination of Taunt, Protect, and Toxic lets Heatran take out Blissey and Chansey, two of its greatest nemeses.</p>

<p>Toxic Spikes support is appreciated, especially if Heatran plans to run Earth Power instead of a status move, but remember that Toxic Spikes is somewhat ineffective on in this metagame. Even with Toxic Spikes, Toxic may still prove to be a great move, as it isn't always that you have the opportunity to set up two Toxic Spikes layers; plus, some Pokémon are immune to Toxic Spikes. Forretress is a great partner, because its high physical bulk complements the special bulk of Heatran; it (space) can use Spikes to complement Stealth Rock, attract Fire-type attacks that Heatran can easily absorb, and check some Pokémon like Terrakion that can defeat Heatran. Wish support is appreciated because Heatran lacks reliable recovery. Vaporeon is one of the best choices, because it can also absorb Water-type attacks aimed at Heatran. Lastly, Jellicent also absorbs Water-type attacks and is immune to two of Heatran's weakness. Roserade can switch into bulky Water-types and is able to set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes, both which can complement Heatran's Stealth Rock. RestTalk Gyarados has amazing synergy with Heatran, resisting all of its weaknesses while handling most Water-types, physical Dragons, as well as and Choice Terrakion with the help of Protect on Heatran.</p>

[SET]
name: Weather Trapper
move 1: Sunny Day
move 2: Magma Storm
move 3: Solarbeam
move 4: Earth Power / Hidden Power Ice
item: Air Balloon / Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Sun teams have a natural disadvantage against other non-hail weather teams, and this set is there to help them win the weather war. Although this Heatran is better used on sun teams, it can also be used on weatherless teams or even teams of other weathers to combat opposing weather inducers. Still, sun is the home of this set and is where it should be used most of the time, and for good reason. The combination of Sunny Day and Magma Storm allows Heatran to smack weather inducers, taking out their STAB on Water-type attacks in Politoed's case, or their increased Special Defense in Tyranitar's case. Magma Storm has the same power as Fire Blast, but traps the opponent so that it cannot flee.</p>

<p>Solarbeam is used alongside the other two moves because this Heatran can use Sunny Day to prevent weather inducers from taking advantage of a Heatran locked into Solarbeam. Speaking of weather inducers, they are all weak to this move and will be 2HKOed or OHKOed in sun, while they can do little back. The combination of Sunny Day and Solarbeam also means that this set can deal with bulky Water-types better than any other Heatran. As Magma Storm will trap them, they have no choice but to be 2HKOed.</p>

<p>The first three moves are all staples and should not be touched. The last moveslot contains 2 two options: Earth Power and Hidden Power Ice. Earth Power is the recommended option because otherwise, opposing Heatran would be able to switch in freely on Heatran without it. This set has to lure Pokémon that resist its Fire-type STAB. As such, this set becomes a liability if there is a Pokémon that can switch in with absolute impunity. Hidden Power Ice is, however, is Heatran's best way to damage Dragon-types, so it can be considered if you have other ways of removing enemy Heatran, such as Dugtrio. With Hidden Power Ice, Heatran can also trap Dragon-types such as Adamant Dragonite, which will always be defeated if it switches into Magma Storm, as it will have its Multiscale broken (space) and will be outsped and easily OHKOed by Hidden Power Ice.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Air Balloon is the recommended item because it will help against Dragon-types, especially if you run Hidden Power Ice. Air Balloon will also help against Dugtrio; it will not be able to trap Heatran and will be KOed through Focus Sash if it switches on Magma Storm, effectively making this Heatran a difficult target for Dugtrio. Hippowdon is also hard-pressed to do much against Heatran if it sports an Air Balloon; it will actually be unable to touch Heatran if it uses Whirlwind instead of Ice Fang. Life Orb makes Heatran even more powerful and, in conjunction with entry hazards, can let Heatran OHKO the weather inducers instead of 2HKOing them.</p>

<p>Taunt can be used instead of both Earth Power and Hidden Power Ice. If you have effective ways to deal with both Dragon-types and opposing Heatran, Taunt will be highly useful, especially if used in conjunction with a Modest nature and a Life Orb. With Taunt, Heatran can potentially 2HKO both Blissey and Chansey with Magma Storm after a little of residual damage, and preventing their recovery will actually make this feat possible. This can also be done against Hippowdon, but you will need an Air Balloon, as otherwise Hippowdon will OHKO with Earthquake. Speaking of which, if Heatran has Taunt and Hippowdon does not have Ice Fang, it will be unable to touch Heatran at all, as long as the latter has Air Balloon. Even with Ice Fang, Hippowdon will be outsped and 2HKOed by Magma Storm. Shuca Berry seems like it is outclassed by Air Balloon, but Shuca Berry is not consumed by any non-Ground-, Poison-, and or Fire-type attack, and still lets Heatran comfortably take a Dugtrio's Earthquake and retaliate with Magma Storm.</p>

<p>This Heatran is versatile and can still function as a strong special attacker outside its trapping role. It should be noted that Heatran will not always win against opposing weather inducers. For example, Choice Band variants of Tyranitar can OHKO Heatran with Superpower before the latter can set up sun and attack with Solarbeam. Choice Scarf variants also do the same; they do not OHKO, but they outspeed and 2HKO before Heatran can hit Tyranitar with Solarbeam. For this reason, Dugtrio is an excellent partner. Although it seems to be redundant as it can also trap, it is able to dispose of Tyranitar no matter which set the latter runs. Not only that, but Dugtrio can also dispose of opposing Heatran, freeing up the last moveslot for Hidden Power Ice on this set. Choice Scarf Politoed, as rare as it may be, is also an annoyance, as it can outspeed and OHKO with Hydro Pump before Heatran can even set up the sun. Timid Venusaur is for this reason a great partner. It can also deal with other dangerous Pokémon like Terrakion and Keldeo; Venusaur will outspeed even Choice Scarf variants of the latter if the sun is shining. Wobbuffet cannot deal with Tyranitar or Heatran as effectively as Dugtrio, but it can deal better with Choice Scarf Politoed, as well as faster Fighting-types.</p>

There are a lot of words missing spaces between them (possibly from previous corrections). I think I caught most of them, but pay attention when implementing to see if I missed any. =) I thought this flowed nicely and was pretty well-written, good job!

[gp]2/2~[/gp]

(Stamped the first three sets and overview)
 

Oglemi

Borf
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[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Dragon Pulse
move 4: Overheat / Flamethrower
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Heatran can also function as a good revenge killer. Although base 77 Speed is seemingly not sufficient, it still lets Heatran outrun up to base 130s, as well as +1 Adamant Dragonite and +1 Adamant Gyarados. An advantage over other revenge killers is Heatran's Heatran's main advantages over other revenge killers are its typing and bulk, which means that it gets much more opportunities to switch in, instead of as opposed to having to rely on switching in after a teammate has been killed.</p>

<p>Fire Blast is the recommended STAB move because it has great sweeping potential, and Heatran is much less prone to becoming setup bait with it than Overheat. Earth Power is there as to not be walled by opposing Heatran, but it is also very useful to revenge kill Rock-types such as Terrakion, as well as Lucario and Magnezone without relying on Fire Blast's shaky accuracy. Hidden Power Ice revenge kills Dragon-types, and is a more reliable way to deal with Gliscor, Landorus, and Landorus-T than Fire Blast. Dragon Pulse deals more damage to Dragons 2x weak to Ice such as Latias, Latios, and Hydreigon. Those 4x weak to Ice take more damage from Hidden Power Ice, which is why it is usually the preferred option. However, Dragon Pulse has other advantages, like hitting Kyurem-B and Kingdra, two Dragon-types neutral to Hidden Power Ice; it is also this Heatran's best attack against Rotom-W. The last moveslot is a toss-up between Overheat and Flamethrower. Overheat dishes out the most damage possible and can be used if Heatran can afford to suffer from the Special Attack drop. Flamethrower is much weaker, but it is perfectly accurate and does not suffer from stat drops.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Unfortunately, this set is not as powerful as other offensive sets, and due to being locked into one attack, it is even more prone to becoming setup bait should you predict wrongly. However, this set can also deal with Dugtrio. The only other of Heatran's sets that can do this are those that carry Air Balloon or Flame Charge.</p>

<p>Hidden Power Electric can be used to revenge kill +1 Gyarados, but note that Heatran will only outpace those that run an Adamant nature. The loss of Hidden Power Ice is not that bad, as Heatran can still use sun-boosted Fire attacks to OHKO Gliscor and Landorus, but you must use Dragon Pulse in the last slot as to not be walled by Dragon-types. It may seem like an April Fools' joke to mention Stone Edge, but it is useful for the sole purpose of revenge killing Volcarona. Unless Volcarona has Hidden Power Ground (be very wary if that's the case), it will do pitiful damage to Heatran even after multiple Quiver Dance boosts, despite being able to outspeed it, while in return, Heatran hits with Stone Edge, which scores an OHKO even with a nature that hinders the Attack stat. A Modest nature can be used to provide even more power, which is especially useful if Heatran is being used as a late-game sweeper. Although it loses the ability to outpace +1 Gyarados and +1 Dragonite (if they have an Adamant nature), Choice Scarf Heatran is usually used on sun teams, where it is likely to be paired with a Chlorophyll user, which can outspeed the aforementioned Pokémon and revenge kill them.</p>

<p>Ninetales is the best partner for this set, as the sun it brings makes Fire Blast even more powerful, letting it revenge kill anything that doesn't resist it. Chlorophyll sweepers such as Venusaur can easily take out bulky Water-types that tend to wall this set. Venusaur can also defeat Blissey and Chansey in a strange, yet effective way. A partner that can deal with Pokémon that may try to take advantage of a Choice-locked Heatran is appreciated. Scizor, Celebi, Mamoswine, Hippowdon, and Landorus-T are some examples, taking care of threats like Terrakion, Landorus, and Keldeo.</p>

[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Earth Power / Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Toxic / Will-O-Wisp
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>A tendency that Heatran has is to force switches. This set takes advantage of those switches to set up free Substitutes. Behind a Substitute, Heatran can either attack or cripple the opponent with a status move. This is especially useful against threats that would defeat Heatran otherwise such as Landorus and Terrakion.</p>

<p>Fire Blast is an excellent STAB, and Substitute means that Heatran can usually afford to miss. Earth Power is the recommended coverage move, as otherwise opposing Heatran stop this set cold. However, Hidden Power Ice is this set's only means of quickly disposing of Dragon-types, so it can be considered over Earth Power. The last slot goes to a status move. Toxic is the recommended option because it cannot be stalled out by reliable recovery due to its damage increasing over time, and it is much more reliable. It is especially useful against the bulky Water-types that love switching in on Heatran. Will-O-Wisp, however, has an enormous advantage: crippling physical attackers not named Conkeldurr. It is so good when the There is almost no better feeling in the world than watching opposing Terrakion try to break Heatran's Substitute, only to be burned and rendered useless for the rest of match. Another option is to use both Earth Power and Hidden Power Ice, forgoing the use of a status move. This is not recommended, however, as Heatran likes to have a way to cripple bulky Water-types while it is behind a Substitute.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>You can use more HP EVs to make Heatran bulkier, but you have to take out EVs from Special Attack, as Heatran needs all the Speed that it can get to preserve its Substitute whenever possible. Unlike the main offensive set, This set can afford to have less power, as Heatran can also damage the opponent with status. However, this is not to say that Heatran will necessarily like to lose power due to the lack of investment in Special Attack. Thus, think twice before adding any EVs to HP. Taunt can be used instead of the coverage move to transform this Heatran into a bulky stallbreaker. It can stall out walls like Blissey and Chansey with status and can prevent them from recovering with Taunt. Be very wary that Heatran will hate being walled by both Dragon-types and opposing Heatran, however.</p>

<p>Hydration Vaporeon does not mind status while it's raining and can just defeat Heatran with repeated Scalds. Pokémon with Natural Cure will not mind being inflicted with status that much, as they can simply switch out to cure status. Such Pokémon include Starmie, as well as Blissey and Chansey. However, they will still loathe status until they switch out (Blissey and Chansey can cure themselves if they have Aromatherapy, however)&mdash;thus, the only Pokémon truly unperturbed by this set is Hydration Vaporeon. Scizor can deal with the pink blobs, while Ferrothorn can deal with the bulky Water-types. Both also attract Fire-type attacks that Heatran can use to switch in safely. If Heatran is not using Earth Power, it is recommended that you pack a partner that can take out opposing Heatran. Dugtrio stands out as the best option, as it can trap them with its ability. This Heatran can usually Toxic stall Politoed and Tyranitar, so Ninetales or your own Tyranitar can take advantage of this. A Tyranitar of your own is an excellent partner, as sandstorm damage will add up with status, KOing the opponent faster; with hazards, this will punish Natural Cure Pokémon when they switch back in after healing their status. Anything that can take advantage of poisoned or burned opponents is a good partner. For example, setup sweepers like Latias are able to use poisoned Water-types as setup fodder, while Toxic pushes them into KO range. Celebi is perhaps the best partner for this Heatran, as it has awesome synergy in general and can take out the Water-types that do not mind status, such as notably bulky Starmie and Vaporeon.</p>

[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Fire Blast / Overheat
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Dragon Pulse / Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Hidden Power Grass / Flamethrower
item: Choice Specs
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Heatran can equip a Choice Specs and murder opposing Pokémon with its powerful (and possibly sun-boosted) Fire Blasts. This set is so powerful that under sun it can 2HKO even many Pokémon that resist Fire Blast. Even Chansey and Blissey can hardly withstand two sun-boosted Fire Blasts; half the time, they are 2HKOed after Stealth Rock damage. However, Overheat can replace Fire Blast as it is so powerful that it can OHKO even some Pokémon that resist it such as frailer Dragons like Haxorus and Salamence. However, Overheat has two drawbacks; it forces Heatran to switch out after it is used (though a -2 Specs- and sun-boosted Overheat is still very powerful), and does not let it 2HKO the pink blobs.</p>

<p>Although it is hard to find something that can tank two consecutive Fire Blasts and live to tell the tale, these sort of Pokémon exist. For example, opposing Heatran will not mind switching in on Fire Blast or Overheat and will appreciate the boost to their own Fire Blasts thanks to Flash Fire. For this reason, Earth Power is the primary coverage move. Earth Power, when boosted by Choice Specs, also lets Heatran 2HKO non-specially defensive Tyranitar, which is useful because Tyranitar can normally tank Earth Power from other Heatran variants. Dragon Pulse is a more reliable way to deal with Dragon-types, though keep in mind that many Dragons will still take heavy damage from sun-boosted Fire Blasts. Hidden Power Ice can replace it, as it does more damage to Dragonite and Salamence, covers Garchomp more effectively, and is more accurate against Landorus and Gliscor. However, the latter two are easily OHKOed by Fire-type attacks anyway. Remember that using Hidden Power Ice will not let Heatran use Hidden Power Grass, which gives important coverage against bulky Water-types, especially Politoed, which has Drizzle to nerf Fire Blast. Flamethrower can replace Hidden Power Grass if you are using Overheat, as Flamethrower doesn't lower Heatran's stats and is more accurate. Remember that without Hidden Power Grass, bulky Water-types will usually wall this set, though many of them should be wary of taking repeated sun-boosted Fire Blasts.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>A Modest Nature is the main option to deal as much damage as possible. Timid can be used, especially if you run Hidden Power Ice, in order to outspeed Adamant Dragonite and OHKO it. It is also useful because Jolly Breloom would be able to outspeed and OHKO with Low Sweep otherwise. However, without the Modest nature, Heatran cannot guarantee the 2HKO on the pink blobs, even with Stealth Rock on the field.</p>

<p>A spread with 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD and a Quiet nature is viable and makes use of Eruption. Eruption, when boosted by Choice Specs and sun, is so powerful that it can even 2HKO Chansey without Stealth Rock support. However, Eruption is a move that is only legal with a Quiet nature. This means that Heatran should obviously be used with Trick Room support. In this case, physically defensive Cresselia is possibly the best partner, as it can set up Trick Room and wall some dangerous attackers for Heatran, like Sheer Force Landorus.</p>

<p>Although this Heatran can function without sun support, it is the sun that brings to the table many of the 2HKOs and OHKOs mentioned above (such as the 2HKO on the pink blobs), so Ninetales is the best partner. Also, Chlorophyll sweepers take advantage of the holes blown open by Heatran later in the battle, so that they can take advantage later on the battle. Although Terrakion hates coming in on Earth Power or repeated sun-boosted Fire Blasts, it will force Heatran out and potentially wreck the entire sun team with a SubSalac set. Timid Venusaur can revenge kill Terrakion even after the Salac Berry boost, but Gliscor or Forretress can also deal with this Terrakion too.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>A TormentTran set can be used, but this set is heavily reliant on Toxic Spikes support, and they are unfortunately ineffective in this metagame. Also, there are many faster threats that pack super effective attacks against Heatran, so this set is hard to pull off. Keldeo is also a common threat that easily deal with TormentTran, as both of Keldeo's STABs hit it super effectively.</p>

<p>Shed Shell is another way that Heatran can use to deal with Dugtrio, not by defeating him, but by being capable of switching out even with Arena Trap. However, Heatran has more effective ways to deal with Dugtrio, via Choice Scarf sets, Air Balloon, or the moves Flame Charge and Magma Storm. It are also forced to forfeit a valuable item, like Leftovers or Life Orb. Shed Shell is much more viable on the defensive set, which has absolutely no way to deal with Dugtrio otherwise. However, without Leftovers, defensive Heatran will desperately need Wish support, as it lacks reliable recovery.</p>

<p>Flash Cannon can be used as a secondary STAB that can hit Rock-types harder, but Heatran already has Earth Power for this. It does not receive STAB, but has much better coverage and can still hit Rock-types super effectively. Other options like Dark Pulse and AncientPower are poor in terms of coverage, and even when super effective, are often outdamaged by Fire Blast, except against specific targets. Metal Sound can force switches or force the opponent to take heavy damage, but it is unreliable and gimmicky at best. As strange as it sounds, Stone Edge is an option if you desperately need a way to take out Volcarona. Even with a negative nature, 4/0 variants of Volcarona are OHKOed. However, Stone Edge has absolutely no use apart from that specific threat. Heatran can use a RestTalk set since this is its only means of recovery, but awful sleep mechanics hinder this set's viability.</p>

<p>Don't use Flame Body. Flash Fire is what lets Heatran counter sun teams effectively, and Heatran usually loses to many physical attackers, because they carry Fighting- or Ground-type coverage anyway. Lastly, Heatran is also able to use a Magma Storm set without Sunny Day, or vice-versa. However, both moves are more effective when used together.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Chansey and Blissey are Heatran's best counters. They take next to nothing from most attacks, even when they are boosted, and are practically immune to status. However, they must watch out for sun-boosted Fire Blast from the Choice Specs set, which will 2HKO. Also, with a combination of Protect, Toxic, and Taunt, the specially defensive set can handle both blobs very well. Bulky Water-types are also excellent counters and checks as they take almost nothing from most of Heatran's attacks. Those weak to Earth Power, such as Tentacruel, must watch out though, as Heatran can effectively deal with them. However, they hate status and loathe either Hidden Power Grass or Electric. Keldeo also hates those Hidden Powers, but can usually switch in safely and defeat Heatran with any of its STAB moves.</p>

<p>Terrakion is generally a good switch into Heatran, as it can sponge a Fire Blast thanks to its resistance and force Heatran out to set up. However, it hates coming in on Earth Power early in the match, which will 2HKO if sandstorm is not up, but Heatran does not usually use Earth Power straight away because it would rather set up Stealth Rock. Terrakion must also watch out for burns from Will-O-Wisp and Lava Plume. Other Fighting-types can also work, but they all have a drawback that makes them shaky checks. For example, Conkeldurr is 2HKOed by Fire Blast, Lucario is hard-pressed to find an opportunity to switch into Heatran, and Breloom cannot OHKO a full-health Heatran with Mach Punch, while it is OHKOed back by Fire Blast. All of them except Conkeldurr also loathe status.</p>

<p>Anything with Earthquake is able to easily dispose of Heatran, but it can carry Air Balloon. Also, with so many foes immune to Earthquake, one must think twice before using this move. Dugtrio often carry Focus Sash to survive any hit with the exception of Magma Storm. It can then trap Heatran and OHKO with Earthquake. Watch out though, as Heatran has multiple ways to deal with Dugtrio, such as via Air Balloon, Choice Scarf, Flame Charge, and the aforementioned Magma Storm. Landorus (both Therian and Incarnate), as well as Garchomp, Landorus, Landorus-T, and Garchomp can outspeed and KO Heatran with Earthquake, but they cannot switch into Hidden Power Ice (the former two also fear boosted Fire Blast). If your own Heatran does not carry Air Balloon, opposing Heatran with Air Balloon are also good counters.</p>

<p>Calm Mind Latias takes little damage from most attacks, even Hidden Power Ice, and can proceed to set up on Heatran with impunity. Latios also works, but it is 2HKOed by Hidden Power Ice. Tyranitar is generally a good counter; it takes little damage from even Earth Power under sandstorm. Weather trapper sets will 2HKO with SolarBeam under sun, but the most common variant of Tyranitar, Choice Band, will OHKO with Superpower, not giving Heatran time to set up sun or attack back. Mamoswine does not fear even Air Balloon variants, as it often carries Superpower to deal with them. Porygon2 is rare, but it is absurdly annoying, as it traces Flash Fire, thus absorbing Fire Blasts, and takes little damage from any other move that Heatran may use; do note, however, that Porygon2 absolutely hates status and Taunt.</p>

<p>If Heatran lacks Earth Power, opposing Heatran have free reign, and if Heatran lacks Hidden Power Ice, Dragon-types are generally capable of coming in safely. Without Hidden Power Grass, Gastrodon can wall Heatran forever, but it must also watch out for Toxic. Lastly, Pokémon that Heatran usually defeat can instead defeat it with the appropriate move. For example, Heatran cannot switch in on Scizor's Superpower, Venusaur's Earthquake, or Celebi's Earth Power.</p>

[Unreleased]

<p>Don't use Flame Body. Flash Fire is what lets Heatran counter sun teams effectively, and Heatran usually loses to many physical attackers because they carry Ground-type coverage moves anyway.</p>


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