Heatran

[Qazoo306]

[OVERVIEW]

• + Great typing and bulk
  • +Resists common spread moves (Heat Wave, -ate Hyper Voice, Blizzard)
  • +Immunity to Fire-type moves, and gains more power on its own Fire-type moves if that immunity is used due to Flash Fire
• + Strong special attacker
• + Powerful spread STAB option
  • -Wide Guard
• +Good coverage
  • Can still be walled by common threats
• -Common weaknesses (Ground-, Water-, and Fighting-types)
• -Can be very predictable with few variations on its sets
• -Bad speed tier
  • Too slow to not use Trick Room or Tail Wind, but still gets outsed by common sweepers under Trick Room

[SET]
name: Substitute Attacker
move 1: Heat Wave
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Protect
item: Leftovers
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Modest
evs: 56 HP / 252 SpA / 200 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Heat Wave
  • Powerful fire-type STAB
  • Hits both opponents
  • Can be blocked by wide guard
  • Spammable under many circumstances
• Earth Power
  • Good coverage
  • Hits many Pokemon for neutral damage that resist Heat Wave
  • Hits Aegislash when it's using wide guard
  • Hits opposing Heatran
• Substitute
  • Good bulk allows Substitutes to take multiple hits
  • Allows Heatran to avoid status such as paralysis and confusion
    
  • Gives Heatran a buffer from powerful super effective moves
• Protect
  • Allows Heatran to avoid an otherwise fatal attack
    
  • Allows for scouting of surprise coverage moves that would otherwise KO Heatran
    
  • Stalling out field conditions such as rain, Trick Room, and terrains

Set Details
========

• EVs and nature
  
  • 252 SpA EVs with a boosting nature maximizes Heatran's damage output
  • If EVs need to be moved into other stats, this is typically the stat taken from
  • 200 Spe EVs with a neutral nature allows Heatran to outspeed neutral natured base 70s
  • 252 Spe EVs and maybe even a boosting nature can be used to help in the Heatran mirror
  • 56 HP EVs are the leftover EVs
    
  • Gives Heatran a good Leftovers + Substitute number
  • Allows Substitutes to survive adamant Landorous-T Rock Slides
    
  • 0 IV in attack and a hindering nature is recommended to reduce damage from confusion
• Item
  • Leftovers are best
  • Gives passive recovery to restore HP for substitutes
  • Heatran is generally in for enough turns to allow for Leftovers to heal more than a Sitrus Berry
  • No other item is recommended if Substitute is being used

Usage Tips
========

• General playstyle
  • The goal with running this Heatran set is to set up a Substitute so that Heatran can safely deal solid damage against the other team using Heat Wave
• Setting up and using Substitutes
  • Easy to do against support Pokemon such as Amoonguss and Jirachi
  • Scarfers locked in to weak hits such as Rock Slide Landorous-T are easy to set up on
  • Avoid setting up on pokemon that beat Heatran themselves, but don't immediately switch out if a substitute is already up
  • Use Heatran's partner
  • If Heatran is at risk of being KOed, even behind a Substitute, switch out. It's usually more worth while to keep Heatran healthy and safe for later use that simply let it get KOed.

Team Options
========

• Redirectors
  • Helps set Substitutes up
  • Helps prolong Heatran's staying power
  • Amoonguss
• Sun (weather)
  
  • Powers up Heatran's strongest move
  • Most Water-types dont like the sun being up, so one common check to Heatran is weakened
  • Mega Charizard-Y
• Checks and counters to Fighting-types
  • Fighting types are one of Heatran's biggest weaknesses
  • Fairy, Flying, and Psychic-type Pokemon can beat most fighting types, and appreciate having opposing Steel-types being taken out of the game.
  • Mega-Salamence, Tapu Lele, Latios
• Fake Out support
  • Helps with setting up substitutes
  • Can be used to prevent a strong move being launched off
• Tail Wind or Trick Room
  • Heatran is needs some form of speed control
  • Many Tail Wind setters also have good offensive synergy with Heatran such as Shaymin-Sky
  • Latios
• Defensive synergy
  • Because of it's bulk and typing, it can switch in on hits that would KO allies
  • It's weaknesses are common resistances for other types, so pokemon that resist or are immune to it's weaknesses for it to switch into are great for it's longevity
  • Suicune, Tapu Bulu
• Indimidate
  • Forces switches, especially among physical Fighting-types that otherwise threaten Heatran
    
  • Increases Heatran's physical bulk
  • Salamence (pre-mega)
• Dragon Slayers
  • Any Dragon-Type that resists or is immune to Ground-Type moves, such as Hydreigon and Salamence, completely walls Heatran
  • Partners with powerful Ice- or Fairy-type attacks that can handle these pokemon are great assets for Heatran
  • Tapu Lele, Tapu Koko, Mega-Diancie

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

• 3 Attacks
  
  • A secondary STAB or coverage move can be run over Substitute
  • Flash Cannon and Flamethrower (or any single target Fire-type move)
  • Hidden Power Ice can be used to get a surprise KO on 4x Ice-type weak pokemon, such as Landorous-T and Mega Salamence
    
  • Life orb or Shucca Berry are the preferred items for increased power or longevity, respectively
  • Safety Goggles is an option for Spore and Rage Powder immunity if Amoonguss is a problem
• Eruption
  
  • Do not use with Substitute
  • Leftovers are preferred to restore HP and increase Eruption's base power
    
  • Forced Quiet nature, so use on a Trick Room team

Checks and Counters
===================

**Ground-Type Pokemon**

• Attacks are 4x super-effective
• Common coverage type for many special attackers
• Many Pokemon Heatran checks carry Hidden Power Ground to get the surprise KO

**Water-Type Pokemon**

• Bulky waters can easily take several hits from Heatran and either OHKO or 2HKO Heatran in return
• Offensive waters, especially under rain, outspeed and OHKO Heatran with their powerful STAB attacks

**Fighting-Type Pokemon**

• Most fast offensive Fighting-types carry a strong STAB attack such as Close Combat or Superpower
• Bulky Fighting-types can tank several hits and KO Heatran in return. Many of them even restore their HP with Drain Punch
• Common type for coverage

**Wide Guard**

• Prevents Heat Wave from connecting
• Forces Heatran to either rely on it's partner to either KO or force out the Wide Guard user, use a coverage move, or switch out

**Opposing Weather**

• Only really threatened by rain
• Weakens power of Heat Wave
• Many rain attackers are offensive Water-types who can easily KO Heatran with a STAB and weather boosted Water-Type attack

 

[Qazoo306]

Skeleton is up

 

[talkingtree]

Even though this is a skeleton, you still need to include all the information that would be in a full writeup. Put it back into WIP and work on this some more, Heatran is an important Pokemon so I need a detailed analysis on site. Since this is so important I'm being strict, so this will be your last warning or I'll ask that you write a lower priority Pokemon.

 

[Qazoo306]

Ok

 

[Qazoo306]

I've fleshed out most of the points I made in the original OP. Is the EV spread good? It's the one I typically use, but the XY analysis has something else listed. I feel my overview is too short, but I expand on all of the points throughout the rest of the post. I used the old analysis as a reference for a lot of info, especially for OO and Checks and Counters.

Should I give Eruption its own set? I think that it's different enough from the standard Substitute set to get it's own, but it was only mentioned under OO in the XY analysis, so I wasn't sure. Thoughts?

I'm going to keep it in WiP until I get the OK from someone on QC to move it to that stage this time and not rush it.

 

[talkingtree]

I appreciate the effort you've put into this, but it isn't up to par with what we're looking for so I have to reassign.