Heatran Raid Guide

CP Range

Move Difficulty

For Easy moves, the first to mention is Bug Bite. This is a low-powered move with absolutely no meaningful coverage. Seeing Bug Bite shows up means the raid is going to be that much easier to deal with. Fire Blast is next because, despite its high raw power, it is very slow and easy to dodge. If you take it to the face then it's going to STING, but a bit of careful play makes it fairly easy to deal with. Earth Power is a bit of a borderline move that COULD be in Intermediate, but is left in Easy due to the fact that it lacks much meaningful coverage (outside of Shadow Excadrill and Primal Groudon, ironically), and is slow as dirt. Pun intended. Still, it does neutral damage to most of the other top counters, so it CAN be a bit threatening. Finally, Stone Edge is pretty hard to dodge, but its damage output is significantly less than Fire Blast, and it comes out infrequently. Add to that the fact that the majority of Heatran's counters resist it, and it's not much of a threat in general.

For Intermediate, we start with Fire Spin. Decent neutral coverage against Heatran's top counters (minus a few like Primal Groudon and Garchomp's various formes) and solid base damage means it does pose a bit of a threat. Next is Flamethrower, which COULD be Heatran's most threatening overall move if not for the fact that Primal Groudon and the various Garchomp formes resist it.

On the Hard side, the only move worth really fearing is Iron Head. Post-STAB it hits pretty hard, and most of Heatran's top counters take neutral damage from it, so it definitely can pose a threat if not dealt with properly.

Overview

Heatran is a pretty danged powerful Fire Type that has a HUGE advantage that makes it a worthy raider despite the fact that it's not always the top DPS option; it double-resists literally every type in the game that's weak to Fire. This fact makes it an outstanding TDO-focused raider, and also a MONSTER in select Rocket battles. This thing is a TDO TITAN that has solid DPS to back it up, at least if you score a version with Magma Storm during an event or via an Elite TM.

As a Raid Boss, Heatran is a bit of a mixed bag. This thing can be a stubborn monster that hangs on and throws out fairly threatening moves, or it can be an absolute pushover. But, regardless, it's NOT a hard raid due to the fact that it's double-weak to Ground, meaning the right counters can absolutely pulverize it in short order.

Team Building Approach

• Heatran is weak to Ground (2x), Water, and Fighting.
• Ground is the way to go. That double-weakness combined with the raw power of the Ground Type titans makes it the top counter even when other types are weather boosted.
• Water can work in Rainy weather or as team-fillers, but it will always lurk in Ground's shadow. Still, its resistance to Fire and Steel can give it some additional utility
• Fighting... same. Minus the resistance.

Best Raid Counters

Supreme Counters

Oh look, they're all Ground Types! The top options here actually approach solo-level DPS, with some capable of easily surpassing it in Sunny weather and/or with the Primal boost of Primal Groudon. In general, everything here SHOULD be capable of hitting solo-level DPS under perfect conditions with the exception of Shadow Rhyperior, which can still work if paired with some higher DPS options to pick up its tiny bit of slack.

Worth noting is that Shadow Excadrill is VERY matchup dependent. If Heatran is packing a Fire Type moveset or Earth Power, then it's going to absolutely melt. But if it's packing a moveset like Bug Bite/Stone Edge, then it's one of the TDO kings.

Good Counters