Overview
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Heatran remains an interesting choice for any XY Ubers team. Its excellent, unique typing in conjunction with its ability grants it five quadruple resistances and two key immunities, including to Toxic and Will-O-Wisp. This makes it a solid switch-in to the majority of defensive Pokemon present in the metagame, as it is able to wall them completely. Moreover, its typing also allows it to wall numerous offensive threats that are unable to hit it for much damage, such as Genesect, Dialga, Fairy-types, and most variants of Ho-Oh and Rayquaza. Heatran can also lay down Stealth Rock, a move restricted to few Ubers Pokemon, and it has no trouble against common Defog users. However, the loss of permanent sunlight makes an offensive set much less viable than in previous generations, and Heatran's weaknesses to common moves such as Earthquake and Surf are as exploitable as ever. Additionally, it struggles in some regards as a defensive Pokemon in that it is very prone to Taunt and lacks reliable recovery outside of Rest, and it is still OHKOed by a +2 Focus Blast from Xerneas despite being an otherwise solid Fairy-type counter. Finally, Heatran sorely misses its resistances to Ghost- and Dark-type moves, and it does not appreciate the new generation's addition of offensive powerhouses in Mega Mewtwo X and Mega Blaziken. Drawbacks aside, playing Heatran to its strengths will pay off immensely.
Specially Defensive
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name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Lava Plume
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Stealth Rock
move 4: Roar / Taunt
ability: Flash Fire
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
nature: Calm
Moves
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Lava Plume is Heatran's obligatory Fire-type STAB move, packing a decent punch even without Special Attack investment. The true appeal of the move, however, is in its 30% burn rate, which discourages most physically inclined Ground- and Fighting-types from switching into Heatran. Toxic allows Heatran to deal with bulky Pokemon effectively and has great synergy with Lava Plume, as the latter hits Steel-types super effectively. Stealth Rock is the ultimate support move and works particularly well on Heatran as it often finds itself forcing switches, giving it space to use the move. It can also defeat most Defog users one-on-one thanks to Toxic and Lava Plume. Roar allows Heatran to phaze dangerous boosting sweepers such as Swords Dance Rayquaza and is useful for racking up damage in tandem with Stealth Rock. Taunt shuts down Blissey, support Dialga, Giratina, and Deoxys-D, and it can hit Defog Arceus formes and Yveltal on the switch. If Taunt is chosen in the final slot, it's highly recommended that Heatran opt for the alternative EV spread mentioned in Set Details in order to outrun Pokemon with an uninvested base 90 Speed.
A few other move options are available. Protect can be used to scout for potential Water-, Ground-, or Fighting-type coverage moves from the opponent, while also accumulating another round of poison or burn damage and Leftovers recovery. However, it has the nasty flaw of potentially giving the opponent a free switch if used excessively. Fire Blast can be used over Lava Plume for its ability to 2HKO Mega Gengar. Lastly, Stone Edge can be used with a Sassy nature as it 2HKOes Ho-Oh, but it offers no real use outside of that.
Set Details
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Maximum investment in HP and Special Defensive is rather straightforward, as it allows Heatran to tank strong special moves such as Draco Meteor, Dark Pulse, and Thunder more effectively. An EV spread of 252 HP / 148 SpD / 108 Spe should be used with Taunt in order to outspeed and Taunt opposing Giratina, support Dialga, and Deoxys-D lacking Speed investment. Though Heatran will usually not be taking many physical moves bar U-turn and Dragon Claw, a physically defensive set is also an option to take attacks such as Psystrike and the odd Outrage more effectively.
Usage Tips
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Simply put, Heatran should be switched in on one of its resistances or immunities and proceed to set up Stealth Rock. Its previously mentioned immunities to Toxic and Will-O-Wisp make this even easier, granting it the ability to come in on and scare out virtually any defensive Pokemon. Toxic and Lava Plume should be used when appropriate: use Toxic against bulky Pokemon such as Ho-Oh and support Arceus formes and Lava Plume when fishing for burns or against Pokemon with an immunity to Toxic. Use Roar to phaze out opponents that attempt to set up on Heatran or that have already set up, as well as on predicted switches, ideally racking up entry hazard damage in the process. Taunt followed by Toxic will dispose of most stall-oriented Pokemon and support Arceus formes, though Arceus will need to be Taunted on the switch.
Be wary of double switches when sending out Heatran, as it can be left in a tight situation when confronted with an opponent like Kyogre, Mega Gengar, or Mega Blaziken. Also, make sure Heatran is not your only check to top Pokemon such as Xerneas and Ho-Oh, as they can often KO Heatran if they run the proper coverage move.
Team Options
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In general, good teammates are Pokemon that can compensate for Heatran's Water-, Ground-, and Fighting-type weaknesses and can take advantage of what it can do, namely setting up Stealth Rock and inflicting dangerous Pokemon with Toxic. Groudon is a particularly helpful teammate thanks to its Drought ability, removing Heatran's Water-type weakness for a select number of turns and boosting the power of its Lava Plume. Groudon can also forgo Stealth Rock and run an offensive set if Heatran has the move, luring out threats such as Kyogre and Yveltal and hitting them hard. Palkia checks Kyogre and can hit most Ground-types super effectively, while Heatran can deal with the Fairy-types that plague Palkia. Gliscor and Landorus-T are full stops to nearly every Ground- and Fighting-type and can use U-turn to get Heatran in safely. Grass Arceus checks Kyogre and Ground-types well. Lugia and the Giratina formes can defeat most Ground- and Fighting-types bar Gliscor, though they share a nasty weakness to Yveltal with Heatran, as does Grass Arceus. Zekrom can check Yveltal and Water-types and can use Volt Switch to get Heatran in with minimal risk. Yveltal itself also makes a good teammate, able to deal with Ground-types and Mega-Evolved Mewtwo. Fairy-types are good partners, as they can deal with Fighting-types and Yveltal. As a final note, Heatran loves Wish support due to its lack of a reliable recovery move.
Other Options
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Heatran has little in the way of other options. A Chople Berry is an option to guarantee that Heatran can check Geomancy Xerneas, as a +2 Focus Blast will OHKO otherwise. A Torment set with Protect, Substitute, and Lava Plume can be used, but such a set leaves Heatran useless against Ho-Oh and forces it to give up Stealth Rock. Offensive sets with Taunt or a Choice Scarf are usable, though they are no longer as appealing as they were in previous generations due to the lack of permanent sunlight and the nerf to powerful special Fire-type moves. Attacking options for an offensive set include Overheat, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Flash Cannon, Earth Power, Ancient Power, Dragon Pulse, and Hidden Power Ice. Rest is Heatran's only recovery move and can be used with cleric support. Lastly, Magma Storm is a powerful move that gives Heatran the opportunity to trap and KO certain switch-ins, but its low accuracy makes it unreliable.
Checks & Counters
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**Kyogre**: Kyogre brings rain, doesn't mind burns, and can KO Heatran with a Water-type move. RestTalk variants completely shut Heatran down, as they don't care about Toxic either.
**Palkia**: Palkia can switch in on Lava Plume and KO Heatran with Surf as long as Drought isn't in effect, though it won't like Toxic unless it's running Rest.
**Water Arceus**: Water Arceus doesn't mind being burned but once again needs to watch out for Toxic. Calm Mind + Refresh Water Arceus is particularly adept at countering Heatran.
**Gliscor**: Gliscor is unaffected by Toxic and cannot be burned, provided that its Toxic Orb has activated. It can switch in on any move and KO Heatran with Earthquake.
**Ground-types**: Other Ground-types despise Toxic and Lava Plume but can outspeed and KO Heatran with Earthquake.
**Fighting-types**: Blaziken is notable for its immunity to burns and can use Low Kick or set up Swords Dance. Fighting Arceus doesn't mind burns and can retaliate with a super effective Judgment, but it will not appreciate a Toxic on the switch.
**Opposing Heatran**: If carrying Earth Power, an opposing Heatran is able to deal with Heatran as it takes nothing from all other moves it carries.
**Ho-Oh with Earthquake**: Though uncommon, an Earthquake from Ho-Oh will OHKO Heatran. As most Ho-Oh with Earthquake are offensive, they aren't terribly hindered by Toxic due to constant switching and Regenerator.
**Revenge Killers**: Faster Pokemon that don't like Toxic or Lava Plume but can hit Heatran super effectively, such as Mega Mewtwo X, Lucario, Terrakion, and Deoxys-A, are safe options to revenge KO Heatran.
**Taunt**: Common Taunt users that don't mind being burned make fine checks to Heatran. Examples of these include offensive Yveltal and Mega Mewtwo Y with Focus Blast.
Overview
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Specially Defensive
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name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Lava Plume
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Stealth Rock
move 4: Roar / Taunt
ability: Flash Fire
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
nature: Calm
Moves
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Set Details
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Usage Tips
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Team Options
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Other Options
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Checks & Counters
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- Great, unique typing and excellent ability give it five 4x resistances and two immunities
- Immune to poison and burns
- Good Stealth Rock user
- Checks a ton of things including Fairies, Ho-Oh, Genesect, most Rayquaza, and just about any wall
- Walls lots of things
- No more permanent sunlight
- Exploitable weaknesses to common moves like Earthquake and Surf
- Taunt prone
- No reliable recovery
- Lost important resistances to Dark and Ghost
- Not particularly fond of new threats in Mega Blaziken and Mega Mewtwo X
Specially Defensive
########
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Lava Plume
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Stealth Rock
move 4: Roar / Taunt
ability: Flash Fire
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
nature: Calm
Moves
========
- Lava Plume damages things and has that nice 30% burn chance, notably hits Steels super effectively
- Toxic cripples just about everything else and lets Heatran beat things it walls, including top threats like Fairyceus and Ho-Oh without Earthquake
- Heatran is a solid user of Stealth Rock, which is limited to few Pokemon in Ubers. It's also capable of taking down practically any Defog user between Lava Plume and Toxic
- Roar phazes anything that has boosted or that tries to set up, notably GeoXern without Focus Blast (or in the not-so-unlikely event that it misses)
- Taunt shuts down Blissey, support Dialga, and Giratina, and can hit Defog Arceus forms and Yveltal on the switch. However, if running Taunt, it's highly recommended to use the alternate EV spread mentioned in Set Details to outpace uninvested base 90s
- Protect can be used in the last slot to scout for moves that are super effective against Heatran that the opponent may or may not have. It can also be used to stall for another turn of poison/burn damage and Leftovers recovery
- Fire Blast is an option over Lava Plume for more power, guaranteeing a 2HKO on Mega Gengar
- Stone Edge 2HKOes Ho-Oh (make it's used with a Sassy nature, though).
Set Details
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- Max HP/SpD to tank things like Draco Meteor, Dark Pulse, and Thunder effectively
- An alternate spread of 252 HP / 148 SpD / 108 Spe can be used. This allows Heatran to outspeed and Taunt Giratina and other uninvested base 90s
- You're not going to be tanking many physical hits other than things like U-turn and Dragon Claw
- However, a physically defensive set is an option to take attacks like Psystrike and the odd Outrage more effectively, as well as help Heatran wall Ho-Oh (and Rayquaza) without Earthquake
Usage Tips
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- Switch in on moves of one of the seven types Heatran laughs at and/or against walls, most Steel-types, and Toxic/Will-O-Wisp
- Get Stealth Rock up ASAP if using it, Heatran forces a lot of switches
- Toxic stall Pokemon that you can wall (Ho-Oh, Fairies, Steels) or Toxic and switch out depending on the situation; Heatran cannot heal itself outside of Leftovers so it does not want to take too many hits if unnecessary
- Fish for burns and take out Pokemon that are immune to Toxic with Lava Plume
- Taunt + Toxic versus stall-oriented Pokemon and support Arceus (which will need to be hit on the switch)
- Use Roar to phaze out opponents that attempt to set up and on predicted switches, ideally racking up hazard damage in the process
- If running Protect, scout for random coverage moves accordingly. Don't be predictable with it and give your opponent a free switch-in, however.
- Make sure Heatran is not your only check to top Pokemon like Xerneas and Ho-Oh
- Be wary of double switches to things like Kyogre, Blaziken, and Mega Gengar
Team Options
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- In general, good teammates are things that can deal with Heatran's Ground/Fighting/Water weaknesses and/or can take advantage of what it can do, namely setting up Stealth Rock and hitting dangerous Pokemon with Toxic
- Groudon
- Palkia
- Gliscor
- Landorus-T
- Grassceus forms a great core with Heatran (though this is notably weak to Yveltal)
- Lugia (again, though, this compounds the Yveltal weakness)
- Giratina and Giratina-O (Yveltal though)
- Zekrom
- Yveltal
- Fairy-types
- Wish support
Other Options
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- Will-O-Wisp can be used but is redundant with Lava Plume, and running it over Lava Plume makes Heatran complete Taunt bait
- A Torment set with Protect, Substitute, and Lava Plume can be used, but leaves Heatran useless against the Fire-types it walls so well
- Offensive sets such as Taunt + 3 attacks and Choice Scarf are usable, though these are no longer as appealing with the loss of permanent sun (as well as the nerf to powerful special Fire moves). Attacking options for an offensive set include Overheat, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Flash Cannon, Earth Power, Dragon Pulse, Ancient Power, and Hidden Power Ice
- Rest
- Magma Storm
Checks & Counters
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- Kyogre (particularly RestTalk variants)
- Palkia (particularly with Rest)
- Waterceus (particularly with Calm Mind + Refresh)
- Gliscor
- Ground-types
- Fighting-types (Blaziken in particular, also Fightceus)
- Opposing Heatran with Earth Power
- Ho-Oh with Earthquake
- Revenged by Mega Mewtwo X, Lucario, Terrakion, Landorus-T, Deoxys-A, etc. (faster Pokemon that despise status, or in the case of Deoxys-A, are OHKOed by any attack)
- Taunt
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