[SET]
Bulky Attacker (Heatran) @ Shuca Berry / Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 20 Def / 164 SpA / 4 SpD / 68 Spe OR 212 HP / 4 Def / 36 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest / Timid
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Substitute / Taunt / Hidden Power Ice / Overheat
- Protect
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
========
* Heatran is a premier Fire-type attacker in the VGC 2009 metagame. With a great Special Attack stat, Heatran offensively checks common threats such as Metagross, Abomasnow, and Bronzong. Heatran also has excellent natural bulk and a great defensive typing, providing a defensive answer to Latios, Cresselia, and Gengar.
* Heatran's high natural bulk allows it to stay on the field and progressively wear down foes with Heat Wave.
* Heatran also has a quite respectable Speed stat of 77, being slightly faster than Metagross and Smeargle. The second EV spread leverages Heatran's Speed to set up Substitute against slower Pokemon such as the aforementioned Metagross and Smeargle, in addition to Pokemon who commonly lack threatening offensive tools against it such as Cresselia and Gengar.
* Earth Power is almost mandatory for hitting Pokemon resistant or immune to Fire-type attacks such as Infernape, Rhyperior, and especially opposing Heatran. Significant Speed investment and Earth Power are extremely important in the mirror matchup.
* Pokemon that cannot hit Heatran for good damage such as Cresselia, Bronzong, Gengar, and Abomasnow, provide a perfect opportunity for Heatran to set up a Substitute. Substitute can block status moves such as Cresselia's Thunder Wave or Smeargle's Dark Void in addition to stalling Trick Room turns. Heatran can also shut down status moves from supportive Pokemon for its teammates with Taunt. Trick Room-centered teams are especially vulnerable to Taunt Heatran.
* Hidden Power Ice can also be quite effective on Shuca Berry variants, enabling Heatran to hit the likes of Latios, Garchomp, and Zapdos for super effective damage and survive any Ground-type moves they may have.
* Overheat can OHKO most Metagross and Bronzong without Occa Berry. Overheat is also very good at punching holes through the opponent's team, breaking through Pokemon such as Cresselia and bulky Zapdos.
* Shuca Berry allows Heatran to survive essentially every important Ground-type attack, such as Metagross's and Focus Sash Garchomp's Earthquake, and even set up a Substitute after. Leftovers is great for extending Heatran's longevity on Substitute sets. When behind a Substitute and using Leftovers, Heatran becomes very hard to remove for teams that rely on Psychic-, Steel-, or Dragon-type attacks.
* 68 Speed EVs are needed for Heatran to outspeed uninvested base 85 Speed Pokemon such as Cresselia and Suicune.
* 252 HP and 20 Defense EVs allow Heatran to survive Close Combat from Jolly Infernape.
* 164 Special Attack EVs with a Modest nature enable Heatran to 2HKO most Metagross with Heat Wave, even if they are holding Occa Berry.
* 212 HP EVs maximizes healing from Leftovers, which helps Heatran set up more Substitutes.
Teambuilding
=========
* Because of Heatran's flexible Speed stat, common speed control tools such as Icy Wind, Thunder Wave, and Trick Room can all work in Heatran's favor depending on the team.
* Skill Swap in combination with Levitate is also an extremely powerful strategy. Granting Levitate to Heatran can essentially make it unkillable in combination with Substitute + Leftovers for certain teams that rely on Ground-type attacks to KO Heatran consistently.
* Teams that struggle with dealing consistent damage to Metagross and Cresselia really appreciate Heatran's ability to set up Substitute in front of them and attack with Heat Wave.
* Even with Shuca Berry, most Ground-type attacks will 2HKO Heatran. Fast Ground-types such as Garchomp are extremely tough to handle when leading Heatran.
* Snorlax is one of Heatran's primary defensive checks, as it has great HP and Special Defense in combination with Thick Fat. While some Snorlax that carry Crunch and Fire Punch may not be able to hit Heatran back for good damage, most carry Earthquake.
* Bulky Waters such as Gyarados and Suicune are similarly not afraid of Heat Wave or Earth Power and can deal super effective damage back.
* Out of the Water-types, Swampert is the most fearsome, as few Pokemon carry Grass-type moves to hit Swampert for super effective damage. Swampert also OHKOes Heatran not holding Shuca Berry with Earth Power.
* Ground-immune Pokemon such as Zapdos, Gyarados, Latios, and Cresselia are obvious partners for Heatran, as they can easily switch into the Ground-type attacks that Heatran hates.
* Latios is a standout partner for Heatran, as their typings perfectly complement one another defensively. Between the two of them, they resist every type besides Rock. Heatran can easily switch in on Dragon- and Ice-type moves such as Choice Scarf Salamence's Draco Meteor and Abomasnow's Blizzard, which threaten Latios. Additionally, Latios can freely use Life Orb Draco Meteor once Heatran removes opposing Steel-types.
* Zapdos hits Water-type Pokemon for super effective damage with Thunderbolt or Hidden Power Grass.
* While Cresselia is one of Heatran's primary targets, they are also one of Heatran's greatest allies. Cresselia has access to the common speed control tools Icy Wind, Trick Room, and Thunder Wave, in addition to Skill Swap + Levitate. Cresselia is also a great counter against Fighting-types such as Infernape and Hariyama, which target Heatran. Depending on the team, Cresselia is a great user of Sunny Day, which boosts the damage of Heat Wave and reduces Water-type damage.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tepigace.610903/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/oopsgtg.567986/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/earthfromthefuture.697682/
Bulky Attacker (Heatran) @ Shuca Berry / Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 20 Def / 164 SpA / 4 SpD / 68 Spe OR 212 HP / 4 Def / 36 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest / Timid
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Substitute / Taunt / Hidden Power Ice / Overheat
- Protect
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
========
* Heatran is a premier Fire-type attacker in the VGC 2009 metagame. With a great Special Attack stat, Heatran offensively checks common threats such as Metagross, Abomasnow, and Bronzong. Heatran also has excellent natural bulk and a great defensive typing, providing a defensive answer to Latios, Cresselia, and Gengar.
* Heatran's high natural bulk allows it to stay on the field and progressively wear down foes with Heat Wave.
* Heatran also has a quite respectable Speed stat of 77, being slightly faster than Metagross and Smeargle. The second EV spread leverages Heatran's Speed to set up Substitute against slower Pokemon such as the aforementioned Metagross and Smeargle, in addition to Pokemon who commonly lack threatening offensive tools against it such as Cresselia and Gengar.
* Earth Power is almost mandatory for hitting Pokemon resistant or immune to Fire-type attacks such as Infernape, Rhyperior, and especially opposing Heatran. Significant Speed investment and Earth Power are extremely important in the mirror matchup.
* Pokemon that cannot hit Heatran for good damage such as Cresselia, Bronzong, Gengar, and Abomasnow, provide a perfect opportunity for Heatran to set up a Substitute. Substitute can block status moves such as Cresselia's Thunder Wave or Smeargle's Dark Void in addition to stalling Trick Room turns. Heatran can also shut down status moves from supportive Pokemon for its teammates with Taunt. Trick Room-centered teams are especially vulnerable to Taunt Heatran.
* Hidden Power Ice can also be quite effective on Shuca Berry variants, enabling Heatran to hit the likes of Latios, Garchomp, and Zapdos for super effective damage and survive any Ground-type moves they may have.
* Overheat can OHKO most Metagross and Bronzong without Occa Berry. Overheat is also very good at punching holes through the opponent's team, breaking through Pokemon such as Cresselia and bulky Zapdos.
* Shuca Berry allows Heatran to survive essentially every important Ground-type attack, such as Metagross's and Focus Sash Garchomp's Earthquake, and even set up a Substitute after. Leftovers is great for extending Heatran's longevity on Substitute sets. When behind a Substitute and using Leftovers, Heatran becomes very hard to remove for teams that rely on Psychic-, Steel-, or Dragon-type attacks.
* 68 Speed EVs are needed for Heatran to outspeed uninvested base 85 Speed Pokemon such as Cresselia and Suicune.
* 252 HP and 20 Defense EVs allow Heatran to survive Close Combat from Jolly Infernape.
* 164 Special Attack EVs with a Modest nature enable Heatran to 2HKO most Metagross with Heat Wave, even if they are holding Occa Berry.
* 212 HP EVs maximizes healing from Leftovers, which helps Heatran set up more Substitutes.
Teambuilding
=========
* Because of Heatran's flexible Speed stat, common speed control tools such as Icy Wind, Thunder Wave, and Trick Room can all work in Heatran's favor depending on the team.
* Skill Swap in combination with Levitate is also an extremely powerful strategy. Granting Levitate to Heatran can essentially make it unkillable in combination with Substitute + Leftovers for certain teams that rely on Ground-type attacks to KO Heatran consistently.
* Teams that struggle with dealing consistent damage to Metagross and Cresselia really appreciate Heatran's ability to set up Substitute in front of them and attack with Heat Wave.
* Even with Shuca Berry, most Ground-type attacks will 2HKO Heatran. Fast Ground-types such as Garchomp are extremely tough to handle when leading Heatran.
* Snorlax is one of Heatran's primary defensive checks, as it has great HP and Special Defense in combination with Thick Fat. While some Snorlax that carry Crunch and Fire Punch may not be able to hit Heatran back for good damage, most carry Earthquake.
* Bulky Waters such as Gyarados and Suicune are similarly not afraid of Heat Wave or Earth Power and can deal super effective damage back.
* Out of the Water-types, Swampert is the most fearsome, as few Pokemon carry Grass-type moves to hit Swampert for super effective damage. Swampert also OHKOes Heatran not holding Shuca Berry with Earth Power.
* Ground-immune Pokemon such as Zapdos, Gyarados, Latios, and Cresselia are obvious partners for Heatran, as they can easily switch into the Ground-type attacks that Heatran hates.
* Latios is a standout partner for Heatran, as their typings perfectly complement one another defensively. Between the two of them, they resist every type besides Rock. Heatran can easily switch in on Dragon- and Ice-type moves such as Choice Scarf Salamence's Draco Meteor and Abomasnow's Blizzard, which threaten Latios. Additionally, Latios can freely use Life Orb Draco Meteor once Heatran removes opposing Steel-types.
* Zapdos hits Water-type Pokemon for super effective damage with Thunderbolt or Hidden Power Grass.
* While Cresselia is one of Heatran's primary targets, they are also one of Heatran's greatest allies. Cresselia has access to the common speed control tools Icy Wind, Trick Room, and Thunder Wave, in addition to Skill Swap + Levitate. Cresselia is also a great counter against Fighting-types such as Infernape and Hariyama, which target Heatran. Depending on the team, Cresselia is a great user of Sunny Day, which boosts the damage of Heat Wave and reduces Water-type damage.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tepigace.610903/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/oopsgtg.567986/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/earthfromthefuture.697682/
Last edited:
