Alongside the 2018 Pokemon Go Winter event comes the need to know the best Pokemon Go Heatran counters, as the Fire/Steel-type Legendary Pokemon is now available to take on as a Tier 5 Raid Boss in Pokemon Go. Heatran replaces Lugia and Ho-Oh, who were Raid Bosses for a limited-time event last weekend. While the Lake Trio—Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf—were featured on the artwork for the Pokemon Go Winter event, Heatran was announced as the actual Raid Boss yesterday, December 18. Heatran will be available to take on in Tier 5 Raids until January 15. Here’s everything you need to know about Pokemon Go Heatran counters, including the best Pokemon to use against Heatran in Pokemon Go and all details of Heatran’s strengths, weaknesses, and movesets.
Pokemon Go Heatran Counters – Weakness and Best Pokemon to Use
Pokemon Go Heatran counters aren’t in short supply, but Pokemon who don’t directly counter Heatran are pretty much useless against it, so you’ll want as many as you can get. With resistances to ten types, six which are doubly resisted, Heatran’s typing makes it an incredibly powerful Pokemon. However, Heatran is weak to Fighting, Water, and Ground—the last of which is your best bet, being super-effective x4 against Heatran.
So, with Ground-types in mind, the best Pokemon Go Heatran counter of all is none other than the Continent Pokemon itself: Groudon. As the most powerful Ground-type in the game, a Groudon with dual Ground-type moves should be able to tackle Heatran pretty easily, especially given that it resists Stone Edge Heatran (which is already the weakest variant of Heatran by a landslide). So, if you have the Pokemon Ruby mascot in Pokemon Go, catching Heatran will be pretty easy for you.
If you haven’t got a Groudon, there are some other fantastic Pokemon Go Heatran counters out there, too. Rhyperior wasn’t featured in our guide about the best Pokemon to use the Sinnoh Stone on in Pokemon Go, but if you have a spare Sinnoh Stone and don’t happen to have a Groudon, it’s definitely the second best Heatran counter. With Mud Slap and Earthquake, Rhyperior will be able to use its massive bulk and attack power to easily incapacitate even a particularly strong Heatran.
Interestingly, stats from the Go Hub simulator show that Garchomp will outperform both Groudon and Rhyperior when it arrives in Pokemon Go. For now, though, players have no access to the final form of Gible. Due to the fact that the Garchomp family was introduced in Gen 4, however, this could change in the near future. By the same logic, another Sinnoh Stone Pokemon—Mamoswine—could still arrive at some point this December, which will absolutely rearrange the entire Ice and Ground-type meta.
Some honorable mentions for the best Pokemon Go Heatran counters list are Rhydon, Swampert, and Kyogre. Rhydon is outshone by its Sinnoh Stone evolved form, but it’s still a strong Pokemon itself and could do some real damage against a Heatran in neutral weather. Swampert’s typing makes sure that it resists pretty much everything at Heatran’s disposal and gives it access to STAB Ground attacks, and Kyogre’s massive bulk and access to STAB Water moves makes it a worthy contender for this list, too. While Groudon is the best and Rhyperior is a close second, Rhydon, Swampert, and Kyogre can all work fantastically against Heatran.
Pokemon Go Heatran Counters – Heatran Movesets
Knowing the Pokemon Go Heatran counters isn’t very helpful unless you know a little about Heatran itself. Its movepool isn’t particularly deep, meaning that a lot of its possible movesets have next to no meta viability. However, there are some that are better than others.
Its Fast Attacks are Fire Spin and Bug Bite. The former gets STAB, whereas the latter is tied to a criminally-underrated type. However, due to its lack of STAB, Bug Bite loses out here. Heatran’s Charged Attacks are Stone Edge, Iron Head, and Fire Blast. The best move here is Iron Head, as it works wonders against Fairy-types, whereas the worst is Stone Edge. Due to not having STAB, it’s a next-to-useless move on Heatran. Fire Blast is fine, but Iron Head is better.
Pokemon Go Heatran Counters – Pokemon Go December Raid Bosses
Heatran is the Tier 5 Raid Boss from December 18 to January 15, but who else is on the Raid lineup for the next month? Here’s a full list of all five Raid Tiers with every Pokemon available to fight in each:
- Tier 1: Shinx (Shiny chance), Shellder (Shiny chance), Magikarp (Shiny chance), Snorunt (shiny chance), Buizel
- Tier 2: Dewgong, A-Exeggutor, Mawile (Shiny chance), Sneasel
- Tier 3: Piloswine, Jynx, Machamp, A-Raichu (Shiny chance)
- Tier 4: Walrein, A-Marowak (Shiny chance), Lapras, Tyranitar
- Tier 5: Heatran
With tons of Shiny chances, it’s well worth your while to take on some of the lower Raid Tiers over the holidays, too!
Pokemon Go Heatran Counters – What Other Pokemon Came to Go in December 2018?
As well as Heatran’s arrival as a Raid Boss, lots of new Pokemon from Gen 4 arrived in Go yesterday. The full list of those discovered so far are:
- Bronzor/Bronzong
- Snover/Abomasnow
- Croagunk/Toxicroak
- Finneon/Lumineon,
- Skorupi/Drapion
- Munchlax
Munchlax hatches from 7 km eggs, but all of the other Pokemon can be found roaming the wild—including their evolved forms. Fans will be disappointed to know that there’s no sign of Glaceon or Mamoswine yet, though! Last but not least, keep your eyes peeled for shiny Azurill, shiny Santa Hat Pikachu, and shiny Delibird this month.
