Niantic
The Laval Dome Pokemon Heatran is now available in Pokemon Go, according to Niantic.
The Legendary Pokemon will be available to fight in Raid Battles from now until January 15th at 1:00 p.m. PST.
If you’re looking to take on the Legendary Pokemon, you’re going to need some top tier Pokemon. Here are the best counters to use against Heatran.
Heatran is a fire- and steel-type Pokemon. According to GamePress, it has the Quick Moves Bug Bite and Fire Spin along with the Charge Moves Fire Blast, Iron Head and Stone Edge.
It is resistant to a whopping ten types. It resists dragon-, flying-, normal-, and psychic-type moves and double resists bug-, fairy-, grass-, ice-, poison-, and steel-type moves. It is weak to fighting- and water-type moves and double weak to ground-type moves.
We believe that the best counter to Heatran is Groudon with Mud Shot and Earthquake. While both of its moves aren’t the strongest attacks according to GamePress, they take advantage of Groudon’s massive attack along with Heatran’s double weakness to ground. It also takes reduced damage against Heatran’s Stone Edge. There really isn’t a downside to using Groudon. Rhyperior with Mud Slap and Earthquake would also be a great choice, but it’s weak to Heatran’s Iron Head.
Kyogre with Waterfall and Hydro Pump is the second best choice. Kyogre has monstrous attack along with its powerful water-type moves, which will make short work of Heatran. It also resists Heatran’s fire- and steel-type moves. Just like with Groudon, there’s no downside to using Kyogre. Gyarados with Waterfall and Hydro Pump is almost as good, but it’s weak to Heatran’s Stone Edge.
Machamp with Counter and Dynamic Punch is also an excellent choice. It’s high attack combined with its mighty combo of moves will make short work of Heatran. Plus, it resists Heatran’s bug- and rock-type moves. Hariyama is almost as good as it has the same combo of moves along with higher defenses, but it has slightly less attack.
For something a little different, try Mewtwo with Psycho Cut and Focus Blast. Usually Mewtwo is better off with Shadow Ball or Psychic, but Focus Blast can tear apart steel-types. Plus, Focus Blast isn’t exclusive to EX Raids like Shadow Ball is. However, be careful as Mewtwo is weak to Heatran’s Bug Bite. GamePress recommends using Psycho Cut over Confusion because while Confusion deals more damage, Psycho Cut is easier to dodge with and provides more energy so you can use Shadow Ball sooner.
Here are some other good counters:
Here’s a convenient infographic from user Kryd0s on The Silph Road Subreddit detailing all of the best counters for Heatran.
Heatran will be boosted in Sunny/Clear weather and Snowy weather, according to our guide. That means it will appear at a higher CP when caught and it will be more powerful in battle. Fighting-type counters will have their moves boosted in Cloudy weather, water-type counters will have their moves boosted in Rainy weather and ground-type counters will have their moves boosted in Sunny/Clear weather.
For more Pokemon Go news, guides and more, check out Heavy.
See also: