OU Heatran

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[OVERVIEW]

Heatran is one of the best Pokemon in the metagame thanks to a variety of different traits. Its typing and really well-rounded stats make it a good check to top threats within the metagame like Magearna, Mega Mawile, Tornadus-T, and Ferrothorn. Additionally, because of Z-Moves, it's hard to consistently keep Heatran in check defensively. For example, it can easily overwhelm checks like Garchomp and Mega Alakazam with Steelium Z as well as Tapu Fini and Rotom-W with Grassium Z. It's an exceptionally useful Stealth Rock setter because it can easily pressure common Defoggers like Tornadus-T and Rotom-W. It can also function as a stallbreaker with the combination of Magma Storm, Toxic, and Taunt, only adding to its overall versatility. However, Heatran's popularity is not entirely positive. Because of how popular it is, Pokemon like Magearna, Tornadus-T, Volcarona, and Tapu Lele, Pokemon that Heatran is supposed to check, often elect to use coverage moves to overwhelm it. In addition to this, Heatran has no reliable recovery, which makes it pretty easy to wear down with entry hazards and even resisted moves like Hurricane over time. Heatran's middling Speed tier also leaves it susceptible to offensive Pokemon like Landorus-T, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Medicham.

[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Lava Plume
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Protect
move 4: Stealth Rock / Earth Power
item: Leftovers
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 180 SpD / 76 Spe

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

Lava Plume is the preferred STAB move because of its reliability, PP, and ability to burn Pokemon like Toxapex and Gliscor if its Toxic Orb hasn't activated yet. The combination of Toxic and Protect allows Heatran to cripple and rack up damage against Pokemon that'd otherwise check it quite well, such as Mega Alakazam, Mega Latias, and Rotom-W. Protect also lets Heatran rack up extra Leftovers recovery, scout Choice item users such as Landorus-T and Ash-Greninja, and punish High Jump Kick users like Mega Lopunny and Mega Medicham. Heatran is a great Stealth Rock setter because it can put consistent pressure on common Defoggers such as Tornadus-T and Rotom-W. If its team already has another Stealth Rock setter, Heatran can afford to run Earth Power to hit opposing Heatran and Toxapex. As an alternative, Heatran can run a moveset consisting of Magma Storm, Taunt, Earth Power, and Toxic or Stealth Rock in order to get rid of Toxapex and Chansey reliably; however, it is limited by Magma Storm's low PP and inaccuracy.

Set Details
========

76 Speed EVs allow Heatran to outspeed uninvested Rotom-W, allowing it to fire off a move in a pinch. A Calm nature alongside the rest of the EVs are put into Special Defense to check Pokemon like Magearna better. 52 Special Attack EVs should be run if Heatran is running Earth Power in order to OHKO offensive Heatran.

Usage Tips
========

Heatran should primarily switch into Pokemon like Magearna, Tapu Lele, and Ferrothorn throughout the game. However, make sure to scout for Focus Blast from Magearna and Tapu Lele and Knock Off from Ferrothorn first. From there, Heatran should aim to cripple checks like Mega Alakazam, Garchomp, and Mega Latios with Toxic. If these Pokemon aren't expected to come in, it's often more beneficial to just set Stealth Rock. However, if you do choose to use Toxic, using Protect will often be attractive to rack Toxic poison damage and Leftovers recovery up quickly, but using it does leave the opponent free to do whatever without going punished, so be considerate of what positions using Protect could leave you in.

Team Options
========

Because of Heatran's general lack of reliable recovery, having solid Defoggers to keep entry hazards off the field, such as Tapu Fini, Rotom-W, and Tornadus-T, is incredibly important. Heatran synergizes very well with Grass-types like Tapu Bulu, Tangrowth, and Ferrothorn in general because they can check Ground- and Water-type Pokemon like Garchomp, Ash-Greninja, and Tapu Fini, which Heatran can struggle against. Tapu Bulu in particular pairs very well with Heatran because it provides Heatran with extra recovery while also weakening Earthquake from, for example, Landorus-T with Grassy Terrain. Bulky Water-types like Toxapex and Tapu Fini are also solid options to check Ash-Greninja, which is one of the best offensive checks to Heatran. It should be noted that if Tapu Fini is run alongside Heatran, it can't use Toxic to catch Pokemon like Garchomp if Misty Terrain is up.

[SET]
name: Z-Move
move 1: Magma Storm / Lava Plume
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Flash Cannon / Solar Beam
move 4: Stealth Rock
item: Steelium Z / Grassium Z
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

Magma Storm enables Heatran to trap passive Pokemon like Toxapex while attaining nice chip damage on checks such as Garchomp. If Heatran is running Solar Beam, Magma Storm should always be used instead of Lava Plume to ensure that Pokemon like Tapu Fini can't scout for Bloom Doom. Alternatively, Lava Plume can be run to cripple common Pokemon like Rotom-W and Garchomp. Earth Power lets Heatran hit opposing Heatran and overwhelm Toxapex. Flash Cannon hits checks such as Mega Alakazam, Garchomp, Tyranitar, and Mega Latios for good damage. However, Corkscrew Crash is the main appeal to using Flash Cannon, allowing Heatran to outright OHKO said checks. Alternatively, Solar Beam should be run alongside Grassium Z to overwhelm Water-type checks such as Tapu Fini and Rotom-W. It also lets Heatran OHKO Pokemon like Mega Alakazam and Garchomp under Grassy Terrain. Because of Heatran's great matchup against many Defoggers and passive Pokemon in general, it's a great Stealth Rock user. If Heatran's team already has another Stealth Rock user, Taunt can be run alongside Magma Storm to overwhelm passive Pokemon like Chansey.

Set Details
========

4 Defense EVs allow Heatran to take a +2 Sucker Punch from Mega Mawile from full health. A Modest nature is preferred to improve damage rolls against Garchomp and Gliscor. Heatran can also elect to use Firium Z to OHKO Tangrowth while overwhelming checks like Mega Sableye. Running Firium Z also leaves Heatran with room to run Toxic.

Usage Tips
========

Because opponents are likely to scout for Z-Moves from Heatran once they don't see Leftovers, you should make sure not to immediately use the Z-Move against checks like Mega Alakazam and Mega Latios. Rather, you should lure them into a fake sense of security and then use Heatran's Z-Move when they switch a target in. For similar reasons, don't reveal Flash Cannon too early. In a similar vein, you should make sure to trap Pokemon like Tapu Fini and Rotom-W to ensure that they are KOed by Bloom Doom. Early-game, Heatran should aim to set up Stealth Rock and weaken checks with Magma Storm. Magma Storm especially helps with positioning yourself, as it prevents the foe from switching out. Don't use it too frequently early on though because of its poor PP. Also, despite Heatran's very respectable bulk, you should not repeatedly send it into attacks from Pokemon like Tornadus-T and Magearna because it is worn down quickly.

Team Options
========

Other Steel-types such as Magearna and Celesteela are really important to run with Heatran, as it is unable to check Psychic-types like Mega Alakazam and Tapu Lele defensively. Grass-types in general form an amazing defensive core with Grassium Z Heatran. Most notably, they can check Ground- and Water-types such as Garchomp and Ash-Greninja. Tapu Bulu deserves a special mention because it provides Heatran with a bit of recovery and can boost the power behind its Bloom Doom thanks to Grassy Terrain, which makes it nearly impossible to switch into Heatran. Entry hazards limit the amount of times that Heatran can switch into play, so hazard removal from the likes of Tornadus-T and Rotom-W is appreciated.

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

Will-O-Wisp can be run instead of Toxic on Firium Z variants to cripple Mega Mawile and Garchomp as well as activate Flash Fire against Mega Sableye teams, but it leaves Heatran completely helpless against Mega Alakazam. Metal Sound allows Heatran to reliably deal with Reuniclus, which can otherwise slowly overwhelm it. It also makes it easy for Heatran to weaken slower Tapu Fini variants. However, it doesn't provide much besides that, so other moves are often preferred. Roar can be run in a few niche circumstances on teams that don't want to give Reuniclus and Substitute Mega Latias free turns to set up with Calm Mind. However, Heatran can't really afford to fit it on its moveset.

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

**Water-types**: Defensive Water-types such as Tapu Fini, Rotom-W, and Slowbro can be hard for Heatran to deal with without Bloom Doom or Toxic. Tapu Fini can also prevent Heatran from crippling grounded Pokemon like Garchomp with Toxic. Offensive Water-types such as Ash-Greninja, Mega Swampert, and Gyarados can also switch into Heatran a few times.

**Ground-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Ground-types like Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Gliscor are capable of forcing Heatran out but struggle to consistently switch in because of the threat of a Z-Move. Pokemon such as Volcarona, Tangrowth, and Mega Charizard X often run Ground-type coverage to deal with Heatran, so it should be wary of switching into them.

**Dragon-types**: Dragon-type Pokemon such as Mega Latios, Mega Latias, and Hydreigon resist Heatran's Fire-type STAB attack and can pressure it with Earthquake or Earth Power or use it as setup bait. They should be wary of Toxic and Corkscrew Crash, though.

**Tyranitar**: Tyranitar doesn't mind much from specially defensive Heatran and can pressure it with Earthquake or Pursuit trap it. It should be wary of Z-Move variants, though, because they can easily overwhelm it.

**Fighting-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Fighting-types such as Mega Medicham, Mega Lopunny, and Mega Gallade can easily pressure Heatran with their STAB moves but struggle to switch into it. Some Pokemon like Tapu Lele, Magearna, and Tornadus-T often run Fighting-type coverage to pressure Heatran.

**Residual Damage**: Heatran lacks any form of reliable recovery and has to rely on Leftovers. Because of this, it's easily worn down by entry hazards, Leech Seed, as well as Knock Off, which makes it more liable to chip damage.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Jordy, 395754]]
- Quality checked by: [[DKM, 402001], [lyd, 303291], [GMars, 273636]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073], [Estronic, 240732]]
 
Last edited:

Solaros & Lunaris

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Hi there big Jordy just some suggestions (these are all for SpDef btw)

I think you can mention in either Moves or Usage Tips that Protect can be used to punish Choiced-mons (Lando, Gren, etc.). It also punishes Medi/Lop for clicking HJK, which can be appreciated on some teams.

Mention that Heatran can’t use Toxic as liberally if Fini is a teammate due to Misty Terrain.

I think a mention of a Fighting resist should go in Team Options to fuck with Choice-locked Lele so it doesn’t just open holes on these teams.

Edit: Also for the Z-Moves section, you may want to put Leftovers if the team has another Z-user, although it is much more prone to being Knocked.

Edit 2: Mention Fini and Washtom can remove Heatran’s Rocks if it lacks BD or Toxic. Also under Ground types in C&C, isolate Gliscor because its immune to status (same with Fini).
 
Last edited:
Couple suggestions

I think it's worth mentioning for the Z set that the 4 Def (or HP) EVs ensure that it lives M-Mawiles's +2 Sucker Punch from full (needs a max roll to kill but still, and the investment needed is minuscule)

+2 252+ Atk Huge Power Mawile-Mega Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Heatran: 273-322 (84.5 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252+ Atk Huge Power Mawile-Mega Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 274-323 (84.8 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

I also think Nature Power can be placed in OO, being able to hit stuff like Rotom-W hard w/o Grassium Z is nice

Possibly mention Mawile under Fighting-type coverage and Diancie under Ground-type coverage

Mention Leech Seed with Residual Damage as well
 

bigtalk

Banned deucer.
[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Lava Plume
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Protect
move 4: Stealth Rock / Earth Power
item: Leftovers
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 216 SpD / 40 Spe
IMO Earth Power is equally/more important than Protect, so Stealth Rock should be slashed with either just Protect or both Protect and Earth Power.
* If its team already has another Stealth Rock setter, Heatran can afford to run Earth Power to hit opposing Heatran and Toxapex.
Mention Tyranitar as well.
* The combination of Toxic and Protect allow Heatran to cripple and rack up damage against Pokemon that'd otherwise check it quite well, such as Mega Alakazam, Garchomp, and Rotom-W.
- I wonder if Garchomp is the best example here, since it's likely to use Stealth Rock or setup an SD rather than clicking Earthquake outright against a Heatran. Using Protect against a Garchomp might not always be the smartest idea.
- Same things as Solaros & Lunaris said above about Protect scouting Choice-locked Pokemon and punishing HJK.
* Magma Storm enables Heatran to trap passive Pokemon like Toxapex, while attaining nice chip damage on checks such as Garchomp.
* Alternatively, Lava Plume can be run to cripple common Pokemon like Rotom-W and Garchomp.
Mention how Magma Storm prevents the target from switching out, so they cannot attempt to bait the Z-move and sack something to it once they have been trapped. For this reason personally I'd unslash Lava Plume from this set.
* Earth Power lets Heatran hit opposing Heatran and overwhelm Toxapex.
* Flash Cannon hits checks such as Mega Alakazam, Garchomp, and Mega Latios for good damage. However, Corkscrew Crash is the main appeal to using Flash Cannon, allowing Heatran to outright OHKO said checks.
* Alternatively to Flash Cannon, Solar Beam can be run alongside Grassium Z to overwhelm Water-type checks such as Tapu Fini and Rotom-W. It also lets Heatran OHKO Pokemon like Mega Alakazam and Garchomp under Grassy Terrain.
Mention Tyranitar for each of these.
Other Options
You could also mention these:

- Will-O-Wisp can be used to evade Sucker Punch from Mega Mawile and improves Heatran's ability to break past Mega Sableye, as Magic Bounce will cause it to activate Heatran's Flash Fire. When used in tandem with Magma Storm, the residual damage from burn and trapping can put a lot of pressure on foes.
- Nature Power can be run alongside Tapu Koko or Tapu Bulu, allowing Heatran to bypass some of its usual checks without having to use a Z-Crystal. In Electric Terrain, it becomes Thunderbolt and hits Mantine, Gyarados, and Mega Charizard Y for supereffective damage. In Grassy Terrain, it becomes Energy Ball and hits Rotom-W, Gastrodon, and Tyranitar for supereffective damage.
Checks and Counters
- In Water-types, give Tapu Fini a special mention because Heatran can't annoy it with status.
- Mention Tyranitar but that it gets annoyed by status/Earth Power.
 
Last edited:

DKM

Are you feeling nervous? Are you having fun?
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The combination of Toxic and Protect allow Heatran to cripple and rack up damage against Pokemon that'd otherwise check it quite well, such as Mega Alakazam and Rotom-W
I'd add Mega Latias.

The combination of Toxic and Protect allow Heatran to cripple and rack up damage against Pokemon that'd otherwise check it quite well, such as Mega Alakazam and Rotom-W. It also lets Heatran scout Choice item users such as Landorus-T and Ash-Greninja, while also letting it punish High Jump Kick users like Mega Lopunny and Mega Medicham.
I could be wrong but I don't think the "it" at the start of the 2nd sentence is obvious.

Because Heatran lacks any other form of recovery, Leftovers is mandatory.
You could mention either here or on the Protect bullet that you can gain extra recovery with lefties + protect.

Usage Tips
========
(For Z-move)
I think you could add a small bullet that this Heatran shouldn't switch into attacks over and over because it has less bulk and no lefties. Even stuff like Torn's Hurricane wear it down quickly, especially if rocks are up.

Will-O-Wisp can be run instead of Toxic to cripple Mega Mawile and to activate Flash Fire against Mega Sableye teams, but it leaves Heatran completely helpless against Mega Alakazam.
And Garchomp hates it.

Dragon-type Pokemon such as Mega Latios and Mega Latias resist Heatran's Fire-type STAB and can pressure it with Earthquake or use it as setup bait. They should be wary of Toxic and Corkscrew Crash, though.
You can also add Hydreigon.

QC 1/3 great stuff
 
comments in fuchsia.
[OVERVIEW]

* Heatran is one of the best Pokemon in the metagame thanks to a variety of different traits.
* Thanks to its typing and really well-rounded stats, it's a good check to top threats within the metagame like Magearna, Mega Mawile, Tornadus-T, and Ferrothorn.
* Because of Z-Moves it's hard to consistently keep Heatran in check defensively. For example, it can easily overwhelm checks like Garchomp, Mega Alakazam, Tapu Fini, and Rotom-W with Steelium Z and Grassium Z respectively.
* It's an exceptionally useful Stealth Rock setter because it can easily pressure common Defoggers like Tornadus-T and Rotom-W. It can also function as a stallbreaker with the combination of Magma Storm, Toxic, and Taunt, only adding to its overall versatility.
* However, Heatran's popularity is not entirely positive. Because of how popular it is, Pokemon like Magearna, Tornadus-T, Volcarona, and Tapu Lele, Pokemon that Heatran is supposed to check, often elect to use coverage moves to overwhelm it.
* In addition to this, Heatran has no reliable recovery, which makes it pretty easy to wear down with hazards and even resisted moves like Hurricane over time.
* Heatran's middling Speed tier also leaves it susceptible to offensive Pokemon like Landorus-T, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Medicham.

[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Lava Plume
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Protect
move 4: Stealth Rock / Earth Power
item: Leftovers
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 184 SpD / 76 Spe

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

* Lava Plume is the preferred STAB move because of its reliability, PP, and ability to burn Pokemon like Toxapex and Gliscor, if its Toxic Orb hasn't activated yet.
* Magma Storm is an alternative option that can be run to reliably get rid of Toxapex and Chansey when used in tandem with Taunt and Earth Power, but its low PP and inaccuracy make it hard to rely on. mention the last move can be either toxic or stealth rock because they way it's written alongside the slashes makes it feel like the last move would be toxic or protect. i also think this should be mentioned at the very end, because magma storm isn't slashed.
* The combination of Toxic and Protect allow Heatran to cripple and rack up damage against Pokemon that'd otherwise check it quite well, such as Mega Alakazam, Mega Latias, and Rotom-W. Protect also lets Heatran rack up extra Leftovers recovery, scout Choice item users such as Landorus-T and Ash-Greninja, and punish High Jump Kick users like Mega Lopunny and Mega Medicham.
* Heatran is a great Stealth Rock setter because it can put consistent pressure on common Defoggers such as Tornadus-T and Rotom-W.
* If its team already has another Stealth Rock setter, Heatran can afford to run Earth Power to hit opposing Heatran and Toxapex.

Set Details
========

* 76 Speed EVs allow Heatran to outspeed Rotom-W, allowing Heatran to get off a Toxic in a pinch. or a stealth rock or a taunt or a lava plume or a magma storm, just don't be that specific about toxic i guess.
* A Calm nature alongside the rest of the EVs are put into Special Defense to check Pokemon like Magearna better.
* 52 Special Attack EVs should be run if Heatran is running Earth Power in order to OHKO offensive Heatran.
* Because Heatran lacks any other form of recovery, Leftovers is mandatory.

Usage Tips
========

* Heatran should primarily switch into Pokemon like Magearna, Tapu Lele, and Ferrothorn throughout the game. However, make sure to scout for Focus Blast from Magearna and Tapu Lele and be wary of a potential Knock Off from Ferrothorn first.
* From there, Heatran should aim to cripple checks like Mega Alakazam, Garchomp, and Mega Latios with Toxic or set Stealth Rock.
* If you do choose to use Toxic, using Protect will often be attractive to rack Toxic poison damage and Leftovers recovery up quickly, but using it does leave the opponent free to do whatever without going punished, so be considerate of what positions using Protect could leave you in.

Team Options
========

* Because of Heatran's general lack of reliable recovery, having solid Defoggers to keep hazards off, such as Tapu Fini, Rotom-W, and Tornadus-T, is incredibly important.
* Heatran synergizes very well with Grass-types in general because they can check Ground- and Water-type Pokemon like Garchomp, Ash-Greninja, and Tapu Fini, which Heatran can struggle against. Especially Tapu Bulu pairs well with Heatran, providing it with an extra bit of recovery as well as weakening Earthquake thanks to Grassy Terrain. mention the other grasses too though.
* Bulky Water-types like Toxapex and Tapu Fini are also solid options to check Ash-Greninja, which is one of the best offensive checks to Heatran. It should be noted that if Tapu Fini is run alongside Heatran, it most can't use Toxic to catch Pokemon like Garchomp if Misty Terrain is up.

[SET]
name: Z-Move
move 1: Magma Storm / Lava Plume
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Flash Cannon / Solar Beam
move 4: Stealth Rock
item: Steelium Z / Grassium Z
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

* Magma Storm enables Heatran to trap passive Pokemon like Toxapex, while attaining nice chip damage on checks such as Garchomp. make it clear that you always want magma storm with grassium z.
* Alternatively, Lava Plume can be run to cripple common Pokemon like Rotom-W and Garchomp.
* Earth Power lets Heatran hit opposing Heatran and overwhelm Toxapex.
* Flash Cannon hits checks such as Mega Alakazam, Garchomp, Tyranitar, and Mega Latios for good damage. However, Corkscrew Crash is the main appeal to using Flash Cannon, allowing Heatran to outright OHKO said checks.
* Alternatively to Flash Cannon, Solar Beam can be run alongside Grassium Z to overwhelm Water-type checks such as Tapu Fini and Rotom-W. It also lets Heatran OHKO Pokemon like Mega Alakazam and Garchomp under Grassy Terrain.
* Because of Heatran's great matchup against many Defoggers and passive Pokemon in general, it's a great Stealth Rock user.
* If Heatran's team already has another Stealth Rock user, Taunt can be run to overwhelm passive Pokemon like Chansey. again, alongside magma storm.

Set Details
========

* 4 Defense EVs allow Heatran to live a +2 Sucker Punch from Mega Mawile from full.
* A Modest nature is preferred to improve damage rolls against Garchomp and Gliscor.
* Heatran can also elect to use Firium Z to OHKO Tangrowth while overwhelming checks like Mega Sableye. Running Firium Z also leaves Heatran with room to run Toxic.

Usage Tips
========

* Because opponents are likely to scout Z-Moves from Heatran once they don't see Leftovers, you should make sure not to immediately use the Z-Move against checks like Mega Alakazam and Mega Latios. Rather, you should lure them into a fake sense of security and then use Heatran's Z-Move when they switch in. For similar reasons, don't reveal Flash Cannon too early.
* Early-game, Heatran should aim to set Stealth Rock and weaken checks with Magma Storm.
* Magma Storm especially helps with positioning yourself, as it prevents the opponent from switching out. Don't use it too frequently early on, though, because of its poor PP.
* Also, despite Heatran's very respectable bulk, you should not repeatedly send it into attacks from Pokemon like Tornadus-T and Magearna because it is worn down quickly.

mention that you want to trap stuff like tapu fini and rotom-w before using bloom doom so they don't scout. catching them on the switch in will probably be hard because most teams run two (or more) heatran checks.

Team Options
========

* Other Steel-types such as Magearna and Celesteela are really important to run with Heatran, as it is unable to defensively check Psychic-types like Mega Alakazam and Tapu Lele.
* Grass-types in general form an amazing defensive core with Grassium Z Heatran. Most notably, they can check Ground- and Water-types such as Garchomp and Ash-Greninja. Tapu Bulu deserves a special mention because it provides Heatran with a bit of recovery and can boost the power behind its Bloom Doom thanks to Grassy Terrain, which makes it nearly impossible to switch into Heatran.
* Hazards limit the amount of times that Heatran can switch into play, so hazard removal from the likes of Tornadus-T and Rotom-W is appreciated.

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

* Metal Sound allows Heatran to reliably deal with Reuniclus, which can otherwise slowly overwhelm it. However, it doesn't provide much besides that, so other moves are often preferred. doesn't taunt do this better? metal sound has other benefits though.
* Will-O-Wisp can be run instead of Toxic to cripple Mega Mawile and Garchomp as well as to activate Flash Fire against Mega Sableye teams, but it leaves Heatran completely helpless against Mega Alakazam.
* Roar can be run in a few niche circumstances on teams that don't want to give Substitute Mega Latias free turns to setup with Calm Mind. However, Heatran can't really fit it. reuniclus too.

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

**Water-types**: Defensive Water-types such as Tapu Fini, Rotom-W, and Slowbro can be hard for Heatran to deal with without Bloom Doom or Toxic. Tapu Fini can also prevent Heatran from crippling grounded Pokemon like Garchomp with Toxic. Offensive Water-types such as Ash-Greninja, Mega Swampert, and Gyarados can also switch into Heatran a few times.

**Ground-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Ground-types like Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Gliscor are capable of forcing Heatran out, but struggle to consistently switch in because of the threat of a Z-Move. Pokemon such as Volcarona, Tangrowth, and Mega Charizard X often run Ground-type coverage to deal with Heatran, so it should be wary of switching into them.

**Dragon-types**: Dragon-type Pokemon such as Mega Latios, Mega Latias, and Hydreigon resist Heatran's Fire-type STAB and can pressure it with Earthquake, Earth Power, or use it as setup bait. They should be wary of Toxic and Corkscrew Crash, though.

**Tyranitar**: Tyranitar doesn't mind much from specially defensive Heatran and can pressure it with Earthquake or Pursuit trap it. It should be wary of Z-Move variants, though, because they can easily overwhelm it.

**Fighting-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Fighting-types such as Mega Medicham, Mega Lopunny, and Mega Gallade can easily pressure Heatran with their STAB moves, but struggle to switch into Heatran. Some Pokemon like Tapu Lele, Magearna, and Tornadus-T often run Fighting-type coverage to pressure Heatran.

**Residual Damage**: Heatran lacks any form of reliable recovery, having to rely on Leftovers. Because of this, it's easily worn down by hazards, Leech Seed, and Knock Off in general.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Jordy, 395754]]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
qc 2/3.
 

GMars

It's ya boy GEEEEEEEEMARS
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Usage Tips
========

Heatran should primarily switch into Pokemon like Magearna, Tapu Lele, and Ferrothorn throughout the game. However, make sure to scout for Focus Blast from Magearna and Tapu Lele and be wary of a potential Knock Off from Ferrothorn first. From there, Heatran should aim to cripple checks like Mega Alakazam, Garchomp, and Mega Latios with Toxic or set Stealth Rock. If you do choose to use Toxic, using Protect will often be attractive to rack Toxic poison damage and Leftovers recovery up quickly, but using it does leave the opponent free to do whatever without going punished, so be considerate of what positions using Protect could leave you in.
Go more into when to set rocks versus when to toxic

Really nice work, 3/3
 
180860
J
eatran amgp
180859



[OVERVIEW]

Heatran is one of the best Pokemon in the metagame thanks to a variety of different traits. Thanks to its typing and really well-rounded stats, it's a good check to top threats within the metagame like Magearna, Mega Mawile, Tornadus-T, and Ferrothorn. Because of Z-Moves,(+comma) it's hard to consistently keep Heatran in check defensively. For example, it can easily overwhelm checks like Garchomp, Mega Alakazam, Tapu Fini, and Rotom-W with Steelium Z and Grassium Z respectively. It's an exceptionally useful Stealth Rock setter because it can easily pressure common Defoggers like Tornadus-T and Rotom-W. It can also function as a stallbreaker with the combination of Magma Storm, Toxic, and Taunt, which only adding adds to its overall versatility. However, Heatran's popularity is not entirely positive. Because of how popular it is, Pokemon like Magearna, Tornadus-T, Volcarona, and Tapu Lele, Pokemon that Heatran is supposed to check, often elect to use coverage moves to overwhelm it. In addition to this, Heatran has no reliable recovery, which makes it pretty easy to wear down with entry hazards and even resisted moves like Hurricane over time. Heatran's middling Speed tier also leaves it susceptible to offensive Pokemon like Landorus-T, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Medicham.

[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Lava Plume
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Protect
move 4: Stealth Rock / Earth Power
item: Leftovers
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 180 SpD / 76 Spe

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

Lava Plume is the preferred STAB move because of its reliability, PP, and ability to burn Pokemon like Toxapex and Gliscor, if its Toxic Orb hasn't activated yet. The combination of Toxic and Protect allows Heatran to cripple and rack up damage against Pokemon that'd otherwise check it quite well, such as Mega Alakazam, Mega Latias, and Rotom-W. Protect also lets Heatran rack up extra Leftovers recovery, scout Choice item users such as Landorus-T and Ash-Greninja, and punish High Jump Kick users like Mega Lopunny and Mega Medicham. Heatran is a great Stealth Rock setter because it can put consistent pressure on common Defoggers such as Tornadus-T and Rotom-W. If its team already has another Stealth Rock setter, Heatran can afford to run Earth Power to hit opposing Heatran and Toxapex. Magma Storm is an alternative option that can be run to reliably get rid of Toxapex and Chansey when used in tandem with Taunt and Earth Power, with Toxic or Stealth Rock in the last slot, but its low PP and inaccuracy make it hard to rely on.

Set Details
========

76 Speed EVs allows Heatran to outspeed uninvested Rotom-W without any investment into Speed, allowing Heatran to fire off a move in a pinch. A Calm nature alongside the rest of the EVs are put into Special Defense to check Pokemon like Magearna better. 52 Special Attack EVs should be run if Heatran is running Earth Power in order to OHKO offensive Heatran. Because Heatran lacks any other form of recovery, Leftovers is mandatory.

Usage Tips
========

Heatran should primarily switch into Pokemon like Magearna, Tapu Lele, and Ferrothorn throughout the game. However, make sure to scout for Focus Blast from Magearna and Tapu Lele and be wary of a potential Knock Off from Ferrothorn first. From there, Heatran should aim to cripple checks like Mega Alakazam, Garchomp, and Mega Latios with Toxic. If these Pokemon aren't expected to come in, it's often more beneficial to just set up Stealth Rock. However, If you do choose to use Toxic, using Protect will often be attractive to rack up Toxic poison damage and Leftovers recovery up quickly, but using it does leave the opponent free to do whatever without going punished, so be considerate of what positions using Protect could leave you in.

Team Options
========

Because of Heatran's general lack of reliable recovery, having solid Defoggers to keep hazards off, such as Tapu Fini, Rotom-W, and Tornadus-T, is incredibly important. Heatran synergizes very well with Grass-types like Tapu Bulu, Tangrowth, and Ferrothorn in general because they can check Ground- and Water-type Pokemon like Garchomp, Ash-Greninja, and Tapu Fini, which Heatran can struggle against. Tapu Bulu in particular pairs very well with Heatran because it provides Heatran with extra recovery, while also weakening Earthquake with Grassy Terrain. Bulky Water-types like Toxapex and Tapu Fini are also solid options to check Ash-Greninja, which is one of the best offensive checks to Heatran. It should be noted that if Tapu Fini is run alongside Heatran, it most can't use Toxic to catch Pokemon like Garchomp if Misty Terrain is up.

[SET]
name: Z-Move
move 1: Magma Storm / Lava Plume
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Flash Cannon / Solar Beam
move 4: Stealth Rock
item: Steelium Z / Grassium Z
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

Magma Storm enables Heatran to trap passive Pokemon like Toxapex, while attaining nice chip damage on checks such as Garchomp. If Heatran is running Solar Beam, Magma Storm should always be used instead of Lava Plume to ensure that Pokemon like Tapu Fini can't scout for it. Alternatively, Lava Plume can be run to cripple common Pokemon like Rotom-W and Garchomp.(-extra space)Earth Power lets Heatran hit opposing Heatran and overwhelm Toxapex. Flash Cannon hits checks such as Mega Alakazam, Garchomp, Tyranitar, and Mega Latios for good damage. However, Corkscrew Crash is the main appeal to using Flash Cannon, allowing Heatran to outright OHKO said checks. Alternatively to Flash Cannon, Solar Beam can should be run alongside Grassium Z to overwhelm Water-type checks such as Tapu Fini and Rotom-W. It also lets Heatran OHKO Pokemon like Mega Alakazam and Garchomp under Grassy Terrain. Because of Heatran's great matchup against many Defoggers and passive Pokemon in general, it's a great Stealth Rock user. If Heatran's team already has another Stealth Rock user, Taunt can be run alongside Magma Storm to overwhelm passive Pokemon like Chansey.

Set Details
========

4 Defense EVs allow Heatran to live a +2 Sucker Punch from Mega Mawile from full. A Modest nature is preferred to improve damage rolls against Garchomp and Gliscor. Heatran can also elect to use Firium Z to OHKO Tangrowth while overwhelming checks like Mega Sableye. Running Firium Z also leaves Heatran with room to run Toxic.

Usage Tips
========

Because opponents are likely to scout Z-Moves from Heatran once they don't see Leftovers, you should make sure not to immediately use the Z-Move against checks like Mega Alakazam and Mega Latios. Rather, you should lure them into a fake sense of security and then use Heatran's Z-Move when they switch in. For similar reasons, don't reveal Flash Cannon too early. In a similar vein, you should make sure to trap Pokemon like Tapu Fini and Rotom-W to ensure that they are KOed by Bloom Doom. During early-game, Heatran should aim to set up Stealth Rock and weaken checks with Magma Storm. Magma Storm especially helps with positioning yourself, as it prevents the opponent from switching out. Don't use it too frequently early on, though, because of its poor PP. Also, despite Heatran's very respectable bulk, you should not repeatedly send it into attacks from Pokemon like Tornadus-T and Magearna because it is worn down quickly.

Team Options
========

Other Steel-types such as Magearna and Celesteela are really important to run with Heatran, as it is unable to defensively check Psychic-types like Mega Alakazam and Tapu Lele consistently. Grass-types in general form an amazing defensive core with Grassium Z Heatran. Most notably, they can check Ground- and Water-types such as Garchomp and Ash-Greninja. Tapu Bulu deserves a special mention because it provides Heatran with a bit of recovery and can boost the power behind its Bloom Doom thanks to Grassy Terrain, which makes it nearly impossible to switch into Heatran. Entry hazards limit the amount of times that Heatran can switch into play, so hazard removal from the likes of Tornadus-T and Rotom-W is appreciated.

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

Will-O-Wisp can be run instead of Toxic on Firium Z variants to cripple Mega Mawile and Garchomp as well as to activate Flash Fire against Mega Sableye teams, but it leaves Heatran completely helpless against Mega Alakazam. Metal Sound allows Heatran to reliably deal with Reuniclus, which can otherwise slowly overwhelm it. It also makes it easy for Heatran to weaken slower Tapu Fini variants. However, it doesn't provide much besides that, so other moves are often preferred. Roar can be run in a few niche circumstances on teams that don't want to give Reuniclus and Substitute Mega Latias free turns to setup with Calm Mind. However, Heatran can't really fit it.

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

**Water-types**: Defensive Water-types such as Tapu Fini, Rotom-W, and Slowbro can be hard for Heatran to deal with without Bloom Doom or Toxic. Tapu Fini can also prevent Heatran from crippling grounded Pokemon like Garchomp with Toxic (and ig u could also mention it can defog away rocks). Offensive Water-types such as Ash-Greninja, Mega Swampert, and Gyarados can also switch into Heatran a few times.

**Ground-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Ground-types like Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Gliscor are capable of forcing Heatran out, but struggle to consistently switch in because of the threat of a Z-Move. Pokemon such as Volcarona, Tangrowth, and Mega Charizard X often run Ground-type coverage to deal with Heatran, so it should be wary of switching into them.

**Dragon-types**: Dragon-type Pokemon such as Mega Latios, Mega Latias, and Hydreigon resist Heatran's Fire-type STAB and can pressure it with Earthquake, Earth Power, or use it as setup bait. They should be wary of Toxic and Corkscrew Crash, though.

**Tyranitar**: Tyranitar doesn't mind much from specially defensive Heatran and can pressure it with Earthquake or Pursuit trap it. It should be wary of Z-Move variants, though, because they can easily overwhelm it.

**Fighting-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Fighting-types such as Mega Medicham, Mega Lopunny, and Mega Gallade can easily pressure Heatran with their STAB moves, but struggle to switch into Heatran. Some Pokemon like Tapu Lele, Magearna, and Tornadus-T often run Fighting-type coverage to pressure Heatran.

**Residual Damage**: Heatran lacks any form of reliable recovery, having to rely on Leftovers. Because of this, it's easily worn down by entry hazards, Leech Seed, and Knock Off in general.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Jordy, 395754]]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
 

Rabia

is a Site Content Manageris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a CAP Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Battle Simulator Moderator
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[OVERVIEW]

Heatran is one of the best Pokemon in the metagame thanks to a variety of different traits. Thanks to its typing and really well-rounded stats, it's a good check to top threats within the metagame like Magearna, Mega Mawile, Tornadus-T, and Ferrothorn. Because Additionally, because (weird flow otherwise) of Z-Moves,(+comma) it's hard to consistently keep Heatran in check defensively. For example, it can easily overwhelm checks like Garchomp, Mega Alakazam, Tapu Fini, and Rotom-W with Steelium Z and Grassium Z respectively Garchomp and Mega Alakazam with Steelium Z as well as Tapu Fini and Rotom-W with Grassium Z (using respectively doesn't really work for a list like this). It's an exceptionally useful Stealth Rock setter because it can easily pressure common Defoggers like Tornadus-T and Rotom-W. It can also function as a stallbreaker with the combination of Magma Storm, Toxic, and Taunt, which only adding adds (eh not really necessary, both have the same meaning) to its overall versatility. However, Heatran's popularity is not entirely positive. Because of how popular it is, Pokemon like Magearna, Tornadus-T, Volcarona, and Tapu Lele, Pokemon that Heatran is supposed to check, often elect to use coverage moves to overwhelm it. In addition to this, Heatran has no reliable recovery, which makes it pretty easy to wear down with entry hazards and even resisted moves like Hurricane over time. Heatran's middling Speed tier also leaves it susceptible to offensive Pokemon like Landorus-T, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Medicham.

[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Lava Plume
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Protect
move 4: Stealth Rock / Earth Power
item: Leftovers
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 180 SpD / 76 Spe

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

Lava Plume is the preferred STAB move because of its reliability, PP, and ability to burn Pokemon like Toxapex and Gliscor, if its Toxic Orb hasn't activated yet. The combination of Toxic and Protect allows Heatran to cripple and rack up damage against Pokemon that'd otherwise check it quite well, such as Mega Alakazam, Mega Latias, and Rotom-W. Protect also lets Heatran rack up extra Leftovers recovery, scout Choice item users such as Landorus-T and Ash-Greninja, and punish High Jump Kick users like Mega Lopunny and Mega Medicham. Heatran is a great Stealth Rock setter because it can put consistent pressure on common Defoggers such as Tornadus-T and Rotom-W. If its team already has another Stealth Rock setter, Heatran can afford to run Earth Power to hit opposing Heatran and Toxapex. Magma Storm is an alternative option that can be run to reliably get rid of Toxapex and Chansey when used in tandem with Taunt and Earth Power, with Toxic or Stealth Rock in the last slot, but its low PP and inaccuracy make it hard to rely on. (this sounds more like an entirely different moveset instead of just another option for a move. if that's what you were going for, I'd change this sentence to something like "Heatran can alternatively run a moveset of Magma Storm / Earth Power / Taunt / Toxic or Stealth Rock to reliably get rid of Toxapex and Chansey, but such a set is limited by Magma Storm's low PP and inaccuracy.")

Set Details
========

76 Speed EVs allows (no, EVs is plural, so verb conjugation needs to stay in the plural) Heatran to outspeed uninvested Rotom-W without any investment into Speed, allowing Heatran it to fire off a move in a pinch. A Calm nature alongside the rest of the EVs are put into Special Defense to check Pokemon like Magearna better. 52 Special Attack EVs should be run if Heatran is running Earth Power in order to OHKO offensive Heatran. Because Heatran lacks any other form of recovery, Leftovers is mandatory. (this seems really obvious to me just having read the Overview ngl, not sure if it really needs to stay)

Usage Tips
========

Heatran should primarily switch into Pokemon like Magearna, Tapu Lele, and Ferrothorn throughout the game. However, make sure to scout for Focus Blast from Magearna and Tapu Lele and be wary of a potential Knock Off from Ferrothorn first. From there, Heatran should aim to cripple checks like Mega Alakazam, Garchomp, and Mega Latios with Toxic. If these Pokemon aren't expected to come in, it's often more beneficial to just set up (unnecessary) Stealth Rock. However, If if you do choose to use Toxic, using Protect will often be attractive to rack up (unnecessary, he includes 'up' later in the sentence in a fine spot) Toxic poison damage and Leftovers recovery up quickly, but using it does leave the opponent free to do whatever without going punished, so be considerate of what positions using Protect could leave you in.

Team Options
========

Because of Heatran's general lack of reliable recovery, having solid Defoggers to keep entry hazards off the field, such as Tapu Fini, Rotom-W, and Tornadus-T, is incredibly important. Heatran synergizes very well with Grass-types like Tapu Bulu, Tangrowth, and Ferrothorn in general because they can check Ground- and Water-type Pokemon like Garchomp, Ash-Greninja, and Tapu Fini, which Heatran can struggle against. Tapu Bulu in particular pairs very well with Heatran because it provides Heatran with extra recovery,(RC) while also weakening Earthquake (maybe some examples could work here just to show the extent to which Heatran benefits? like how you can take lando eq and potentially burn it with plume) with Grassy Terrain. Bulky Water-types like Toxapex and Tapu Fini are also solid options to check Ash-Greninja, which is one of the best offensive checks to Heatran. It should be noted that if Tapu Fini is run alongside Heatran, it most can't use Toxic to catch Pokemon like Garchomp if Misty Terrain is up.

[SET]
name: Z-Move
move 1: Magma Storm / Lava Plume
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Flash Cannon / Solar Beam
move 4: Stealth Rock
item: Steelium Z / Grassium Z
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

Magma Storm enables Heatran to trap passive Pokemon like Toxapex,(RC) while attaining nice chip damage on checks such as Garchomp. If Heatran is running Solar Beam, Magma Storm should always be used instead of Lava Plume to ensure that Pokemon like Tapu Fini can't scout for it Bloom Doom (clarity). Alternatively, Lava Plume can be run to cripple common Pokemon like Rotom-W and Garchomp.(-extra space) (in the future it's easier to just remove the space and make a comment after the check if it's a common thing done) Earth Power lets Heatran hit opposing Heatran and overwhelm Toxapex. Flash Cannon hits checks such as Mega Alakazam, Garchomp, Tyranitar, and Mega Latios for good damage. However, Corkscrew Crash is the main appeal to using Flash Cannon, allowing Heatran to outright OHKO said checks. Alternatively to Flash Cannon, Solar Beam can should (keep original) be run alongside Grassium Z to overwhelm Water-type checks such as Tapu Fini and Rotom-W. It also lets Heatran OHKO Pokemon like Mega Alakazam and Garchomp under Grassy Terrain. Because of Heatran's great matchup against many Defoggers and passive Pokemon in general, it's a great Stealth Rock user. If Heatran's team already has another Stealth Rock user, Taunt can be run alongside Magma Storm to overwhelm passive Pokemon like Chansey.

Set Details
========

4 Defense EVs allow Heatran to live take a +2 Sucker Punch from Mega Mawile from full. A Modest nature is preferred to improve damage rolls against Garchomp and Gliscor. Heatran can also elect to use Firium Z to OHKO Tangrowth while overwhelming checks like Mega Sableye. Running Firium Z also leaves Heatran with room to run Toxic.

Usage Tips
========

Because opponents are likely to scout for Z-Moves from Heatran once they don't see Leftovers, you should make sure not to immediately use the Z-Move against checks like Mega Alakazam and Mega Latios. Rather, you should lure them into a fake sense of security and then use Heatran's Z-Move when they switch a target in. For similar reasons, don't reveal Flash Cannon too early. In a similar vein, you should make sure to trap Pokemon like Tapu Fini and Rotom-W to ensure that they are KOed by Bloom Doom. During early-game (keep original), Heatran should aim to set up (not necessary) Stealth Rock and weaken checks with Magma Storm. Magma Storm especially helps with positioning yourself, as it prevents the opponent foe from switching out. Don't use it too frequently early on,(RC) though,(RC) because of its poor PP. Also, despite Heatran's very respectable bulk, you should not repeatedly send it into attacks from Pokemon like Tornadus-T and Magearna because it is worn down quickly.

Team Options
========

Other Steel-types such as Magearna and Celesteela are really important to run with Heatran, as it is unable to defensively check Psychic-types like Mega Alakazam and Tapu Lele consistently (this sort of falls under "changing the meaning of the sentence", so I'll leave it up to Jordy and the other OU QC to decide if this is fine). Grass-types in general form an amazing defensive core with Grassium Z Heatran. Most notably, they can check Ground- and Water-types such as Garchomp and Ash-Greninja. Tapu Bulu deserves a special mention because it provides Heatran with a bit of recovery and can boost the power behind its Bloom Doom thanks to Grassy Terrain, which makes it nearly impossible to switch into Heatran. Entry hazards limit the amount of times that Heatran can switch into play, so hazard removal from the likes of Tornadus-T and Rotom-W is appreciated.

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

Will-O-Wisp can be run instead of Toxic on Firium Z variants to cripple Mega Mawile and Garchomp as well as to activate Flash Fire against Mega Sableye teams, but it leaves Heatran completely helpless against Mega Alakazam. Metal Sound allows Heatran to reliably deal with Reuniclus, which can otherwise slowly overwhelm it. It also makes it easy for Heatran to weaken slower Tapu Fini variants. However, it doesn't provide much besides that, so other moves are often preferred. Roar can be run in a few niche circumstances on teams that don't want to give Reuniclus and Substitute Mega Latias free turns to set up(add space) with Calm Mind. However, Heatran can't really fit it.

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

**Water-types**: Defensive Water-types such as Tapu Fini, Rotom-W, and Slowbro can be hard for Heatran to deal with without Bloom Doom or Toxic. Tapu Fini can also prevent Heatran from crippling grounded Pokemon like Garchomp with Toxic (and ig u could also mention it can defog away rocks). Offensive Water-types such as Ash-Greninja, Mega Swampert, and Gyarados can also switch into Heatran a few times.

**Ground-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Ground-types like Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Gliscor are capable of forcing Heatran out,(RC) but struggle to consistently switch in because of the threat of a Z-Move. Pokemon such as Volcarona, Tangrowth, and Mega Charizard X often run Ground-type coverage to deal with Heatran, so it should be wary of switching into them.

**Dragon-types**: Dragon-type Pokemon such as Mega Latios, Mega Latias, and Hydreigon resist Heatran's Fire-type STAB attack and can pressure it with Earthquake,(RC) or Earth Power,(RC) or use it as setup bait. They should be wary of Toxic and Corkscrew Crash, though.

**Tyranitar**: Tyranitar doesn't mind much from specially defensive Heatran and can pressure it with Earthquake or Pursuit trap it. It should be wary of Z-Move variants, though, because they can easily overwhelm it.

**Fighting-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Fighting-types such as Mega Medicham, Mega Lopunny, and Mega Gallade can easily pressure Heatran with their STAB moves,(RC) but struggle to switch into Heatran it. Some Pokemon like Tapu Lele, Magearna, and Tornadus-T often run Fighting-type coverage to pressure Heatran.

**Residual Damage**: Heatran lacks any form of reliable recovery,(RC) having and has to rely on Leftovers. Because of this, it's easily worn down by entry hazards, Leech Seed, and Knock Off in general.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Jordy, 395754]]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]

do your credits you lazy fuck. gp 1/2 once done. xapx if you have any questions about my comments or the changes I made myself, message on on Discord
 

Astra

talk to me nice
is a Site Content Manageris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Community Leader Alumnus
add remove (comments)
[OVERVIEW]

Heatran is one of the best Pokemon in the metagame thanks to a variety of different traits. Thanks to its Its typing and really well-rounded stats, (RC) it's make it a good check to top threats within the metagame like Magearna, Mega Mawile, Tornadus-T, and Ferrothorn (optional changes, sounded repetitive after coming from last sentence). Additionally, because of Z-Moves, it's hard to consistently keep Heatran in check defensively. For example, it can easily overwhelm checks like Garchomp and Mega Alakazam with Steelium Z as well as Tapu Fini and Rotom-W with Grassium Z. It's an exceptionally useful Stealth Rock setter because it can easily pressure common Defoggers like Tornadus-T and Rotom-W. It can also function as a stallbreaker with the combination of Magma Storm, Toxic, and Taunt, only adding to its overall versatility. However, Heatran's popularity is not entirely positive. Because of how popular it is, Pokemon like Magearna, Tornadus-T, Volcarona, and Tapu Lele, Pokemon that Heatran is supposed to check, often elect to use coverage moves to overwhelm it. In addition to this, Heatran has no reliable recovery, which makes it pretty easy to wear down with entry hazards and even resisted moves like Hurricane over time. Heatran's middling Speed tier also leaves it susceptible to offensive Pokemon like Landorus-T, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Medicham.

[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Lava Plume
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Protect
move 4: Stealth Rock / Earth Power
item: Leftovers
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 180 SpD / 76 Spe

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

Lava Plume is the preferred STAB move because of its reliability, PP, and ability to burn Pokemon like Toxapex and Gliscor, (RC) if its Toxic Orb hasn't activated yet. The combination of Toxic and Protect allows Heatran to cripple and rack up damage against Pokemon that'd otherwise check it quite well, such as Mega Alakazam, Mega Latias, and Rotom-W. Protect also lets Heatran rack up extra Leftovers recovery, scout Choice item users such as Landorus-T and Ash-Greninja, and punish High Jump Kick users like Mega Lopunny and Mega Medicham. Heatran is a great Stealth Rock setter because it can put consistent pressure on common Defoggers such as Tornadus-T and Rotom-W. If its team already has another Stealth Rock setter, Heatran can afford to run Earth Power to hit opposing Heatran and Toxapex. As an alternative, Heatran can run a moveset consisting of Magma Storm, Taunt, Earth Power, and Toxic or Stealth Rock in order to get rid of Toxapex and Chansey reliably; however, it is limited by Magma Storm's low PP and inaccuracy.

Set Details
========

76 Speed EVs allow Heatran to outspeed uninvested Rotom-W, allowing it to fire off a move in a pinch. A Calm nature alongside the rest of the EVs are put into Special Defense to check Pokemon like Magearna better. 52 Special Attack EVs should be run if Heatran is running Earth Power in order to OHKO offensive Heatran.

Usage Tips
========

Heatran should primarily switch into Pokemon like Magearna, Tapu Lele, and Ferrothorn throughout the game. However, make sure to scout for Focus Blast from Magearna and Tapu Lele and Knock Off from Ferrothorn first. From there, Heatran should aim to cripple checks like Mega Alakazam, Garchomp, and Mega Latios with Toxic. If these Pokemon aren't expected to come in, it's often more beneficial to just set Stealth Rock. However, if you do choose to use Toxic, using Protect will often be attractive to rack up Toxic poison damage and Leftovers recovery up quickly, but using it does leave the opponent free to do whatever without going punished, so be considerate of what positions using Protect could leave you in.

Team Options
========

Because of Heatran's general lack of reliable recovery, having solid Defoggers to keep entry hazards off the field, such as Tapu Fini, Rotom-W, and Tornadus-T, is incredibly important. Heatran synergizes very well with Grass-types like Tapu Bulu, Tangrowth, and Ferrothorn in general because they can check Ground- and Water-type Pokemon like Garchomp, Ash-Greninja, and Tapu Fini, which Heatran can struggle against. Tapu Bulu in particular pairs very well with Heatran because it provides Heatran with extra recovery while also weakening Earthquake from, for example, Landorus-T with Grassy Terrain. Bulky Water-types like Toxapex and Tapu Fini are also solid options to check Ash-Greninja, which is one of the best offensive checks to Heatran. It should be noted that if Tapu Fini is run alongside Heatran, it can't use Toxic to catch Pokemon like Garchomp if Misty Terrain is up.

[SET]
name: Z-Move
move 1: Magma Storm / Lava Plume
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Flash Cannon / Solar Beam
move 4: Stealth Rock
item: Steelium Z / Grassium Z
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

Magma Storm enables Heatran to trap passive Pokemon like Toxapex while attaining nice chip damage on checks such as Garchomp. If Heatran is running Solar Beam, Magma Storm should always be used instead of Lava Plume to ensure that Pokemon like Tapu Fini can't scout for Bloom Doom. Alternatively, Lava Plume can be run to cripple common Pokemon like Rotom-W and Garchomp. Earth Power lets Heatran hit opposing Heatran and overwhelm Toxapex. Flash Cannon hits checks such as Mega Alakazam, Garchomp, Tyranitar, and Mega Latios for good damage. However, Corkscrew Crash is the main appeal to using Flash Cannon, allowing Heatran to outright OHKO said checks. Alternatively, Solar Beam should be run alongside Grassium Z to overwhelm Water-type checks such as Tapu Fini and Rotom-W. It also lets Heatran OHKO Pokemon like Mega Alakazam and Garchomp under Grassy Terrain. Because of Heatran's great matchup against many Defoggers and passive Pokemon in general, it's a great Stealth Rock user. If Heatran's team already has another Stealth Rock user, Taunt can be run alongside Magma Storm to overwhelm passive Pokemon like Chansey.

Set Details
========

4 Defense EVs allow Heatran to take a +2 Sucker Punch from Mega Mawile from full health. A Modest nature is preferred to improve damage rolls against Garchomp and Gliscor. Heatran can also elect to use Firium Z to OHKO Tangrowth while overwhelming checks like Mega Sableye. Running Firium Z also leaves Heatran with room to run Toxic.

Usage Tips
========

Because opponents are likely to scout for Z-Moves from Heatran once they don't see Leftovers, you should make sure not to immediately use the Z-Move against checks like Mega Alakazam and Mega Latios. Rather, you should lure them into a fake sense of security and then use Heatran's Z-Move when they switch a target in. For similar reasons, don't reveal Flash Cannon too early. In a similar vein, you should make sure to trap Pokemon like Tapu Fini and Rotom-W to ensure that they are KOed by Bloom Doom. During early Early-game, Heatran should aim to set up Stealth Rock and weaken checks with Magma Storm. Magma Storm especially helps with positioning yourself, as it prevents the foe from switching out. Don't use it too frequently early on though because of its poor PP. Also, despite Heatran's very respectable bulk, you should not repeatedly send it into attacks from Pokemon like Tornadus-T and Magearna because it is worn down quickly.

Team Options
========

Other Steel-types such as Magearna and Celesteela are really important to run with Heatran, as it is unable to defensively (you said defensively twice) check Psychic-types like Mega Alakazam and Tapu Lele defensively. Grass-types in general form an amazing defensive core with Grassium Z Heatran. Most notably, they can check Ground- and Water-types such as Garchomp and Ash-Greninja. Tapu Bulu deserves a special mention because it provides Heatran with a bit of recovery and can boost the power behind its Bloom Doom thanks to Grassy Terrain, which makes it nearly impossible to switch into Heatran. Entry hazards limit the amount of times that Heatran can switch into play, so hazard removal from the likes of Tornadus-T and Rotom-W is appreciated.

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

Will-O-Wisp can be run instead of Toxic on Firium Z variants to cripple Mega Mawile and Garchomp as well as to activate Flash Fire against Mega Sableye teams, but it leaves Heatran completely helpless against Mega Alakazam. Metal Sound allows Heatran to reliably deal with Reuniclus, which can otherwise slowly overwhelm it. It also makes it easy for Heatran to weaken slower Tapu Fini variants. However, it doesn't provide much besides that, so other moves are often preferred. Roar can be run in a few niche circumstances on teams that don't want to give Reuniclus and Substitute Mega Latias free turns to set up with Calm Mind. However, Heatran can't really afford to fit it on its moveset. (just adding more mayo to the burger or some dumb analogy like that)

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

**Water-types**: Defensive Water-types such as Tapu Fini, Rotom-W, and Slowbro can be hard for Heatran to deal with without Bloom Doom or Toxic. Tapu Fini can also prevent Heatran from crippling grounded Pokemon like Garchomp with Toxic. Offensive Water-types such as Ash-Greninja, Mega Swampert, and Gyarados can also switch into Heatran a few times.

**Ground-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Ground-types like Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Gliscor are capable of forcing Heatran out but struggle to consistently switch in because of the threat of a Z-Move. Pokemon such as Volcarona, Tangrowth, and Mega Charizard X often run Ground-type coverage to deal with Heatran, so it should be wary of switching into them.

**Dragon-types**: Dragon-type Pokemon such as Mega Latios, Mega Latias, and Hydreigon resist Heatran's Fire-type STAB attack and can pressure it with Earthquake or Earth Power or use it as setup bait. They should be wary of Toxic and Corkscrew Crash, though.

**Tyranitar**: Tyranitar doesn't mind much from specially defensive Heatran and can pressure it with Earthquake or Pursuit trap it. It should be wary of Z-Move variants, though, because they can easily overwhelm it.

**Fighting-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Fighting-types such as Mega Medicham, Mega Lopunny, and Mega Gallade can easily pressure Heatran with their STAB moves but struggle to switch into it. Some Pokemon like Tapu Lele, Magearna, and Tornadus-T often run Fighting-type coverage to pressure Heatran.

**Residual Damage**: Heatran lacks any form of reliable recovery and has to rely on Leftovers. Because of this, it's easily worn down by entry hazards, Leech Seed, and Knock Off. (knock off doesn't really "wore down" heatran like how hazards and leech seed do, so i probably would reword it so it says something like knock off cripples it so it's more susceptible to residual damage or something)

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Jordy, 395754]]
- Quality checked by: [[DKM, 402001], [lyd, 303291], [GMars, 273636]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073], [, ]]
2/2 :blobthumbsup:
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