[Overview]



Heatran struggles somewhat in a metagame dominated by rain
On every corner, there's always a Water- or Fighting-type Pokémon/Attack waiting to defeat him, or a Dugtrio waiting to trap him
Latis and Tyranitar on every corner don't help either, as Heatran struggles to damage them
This is not to speak about its crippling 4x weakness to Ground
Although this is not as crippling as the above weakness, as Ground is an easy weakness to cover with so many Pokémon immune to it
Still, Heatran is one of the few Fire-types easy to fit on teams
It takes out most Steel- and Grass-types with its Fire STAB
Speaking of Steel-types, many of them almost always use moves that don't threathen Heatran at all, giving it free switches
Heatran can easily counter any sun team that doesn't have Dugtrio or whose Dugtrio has been take out
Heatran is versatile, can run defensive sets, offensive support sets, and even trapping sets

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Stealth Rock / Toxic / Taunt
item: Air Balloon / Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]


Peharps the best offensive supporter for teams around
Can fit on any non-rain team, especially those looking for a way to setup Stealth Rock reliably, a way to deal with Dragon-types that lack a Fighting- or Water-type attack, or simply a way to wall sun teams
Fire Blast is the best STAB to run on this set, it can OHKO/2HKO any Steel- and Grass-type, many of them can be 2HKOed even on rain
Earth Power is there so that opposing Heatran do not wall him, so, it is a necessity (even more so than Fire Blast). However, it is also useful to, for example, 2HKO Terrakion (not that you would stay in on him; but you can discourage him from switching-in a second time).
Hidden Power Ice is the recommended Hidden Power. Is the combination of it and Air Balloon that allows Heatran to check most Dragon-types
Hidden Power Grass is a viable option to deal with Water-types, especially Rotom-W, Politoed, Starmie, and Gastrodon, all which can take the other attacks with ease
As for the last slot, Stealth Rock is the primary option. Heatran setups Stealth Rock reliably, thanks to the switches that it forces
If something else can setup Stealth Rock on your team, Toxic is the other main option to shut down common switch-ins like bulky Water-types, and beat Volcarona 1x1
Taunt shuts down common switch-ins, like the blobs and defensive Water-types, and also shut down Baton Pass
It can also surprise things expecting to use Heatran as setup fodder, like Gyarados


[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]


Instead of Toxic, you can run Will-O-Wisp. It has the advantage of being capable of crippling Fighting-types not named Conkeldurr, as well as Gyarados
Flame Chage can be used to sweep late-game. It also lets Heatran beat Dugtrio, by hitting him on the switch, outspeeding, and then OHKOing with Fire Blast or a super-effective Hidden Power
Apart from those, Roar is yet another option, capable of surprising switches and setup sweepers. Unlike Taunt, it can rack up hazard damage
Dragon Pulse is an option on the last slot if you run Hidden Power Grass, as you can then still cover Dragons, which would not be possible with Hidden Power Ice. It works better when Life Orb is used as the item, since otherwise Heatran may not have the power to OHKO most Dragon-types after Stealth Rock damage
Overall, the last slot is mainly filler; choose which option you think that is the best for your team
Air Balloon is the primary item to avoid Ground-type attacks, Spikes, and being trapped by Dugtrio. Life Orb can be used to buff its attacks, especially when using Flame Charge, as the extra power is appreciated to sweep
Apart from Air Balloon and Life Orb, Leftovers can also be used, but being able to be immune to Ground-type attacks has generally more utility than having extra longevity
252 SpA to hit as hard as possible, 4 SpD to prevent the rare but annoying Porygon2 from grabbing an SpA boost from Heatran
A bulky spread can be used, with 244 HP / 252 SpA / 12 Spe can be used, with a Modest nature, as Heatran appreciates the extra bulk, but it will miss out outspeeding Adamant Dragonite, defensive Gliscor, and Breloom
The reason why a Timid nature is chosen, is because Heatran can outspeed Breloom (Jolly or Adamant), and Adamant Dragonite, and OHKO them with Fire Blast or Hidden Power Ice (after Multiscale has been broken), respectively
As for partners, Pokémon that attract Fire-type attacks are good partners, examples being Forretress, Ferrothorn, and Scizor
The former two are able to setup hazards to help Heatran dishing out more damage, and the latter can easily dispose of Blissey and Chansey, two notable counters to this set. Scizor also checks Lati@s, Tyranitar, and Terrakion, things that either Heatran struggles to damage, or is forced to run away from
Ninetales is a good partner to power up Fire Blast, making Heatran a dangerous sweeper even mid-game if it chooses to run Flame Charge
Tyranitar is another good partner to dispose of the pink blobs, as well as Lati@s, two things that can wall Heatran (Hidden Power Ice hurts, though, but does not 2HKO)
Celebi and Jellicent are two great partners that resist Heatran's weakness. The former easily disposes of bulky Water-types that counter this set, and the latter is immune to the only two weakness that Heatran have (with Air Balloon). Both counter Keldeo, a notable counter to this Heatran
Landorus-T can counter Terrakion, and thus is a notable partner. It can be easily fitten on offensive teams. Gengar is another check to Terrakion, as it is immune to Close Combat, outspeed, and do heavy damage with Focus Blast.


[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Lava Plume
move 2: Stealth Rock / Roar
move 3: Protect
move 4: Toxic / Will-O-Wisp / Earth Power
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm
evs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]


Heatran is sturdy and has a lot of key resistances, a wide support movepool, so it makes a good special wall, even though it has no reliable recovery
It also not setup bait, thanks to its 130 base SpA and Lava Plume's high burn chance
Lava Plume is, of course, the best STAB move to use on this set. High burn chance and reability are the reasons for this.
Stealth Rock is the primary option due to the switches that Heatran forces, but if there is something else that can setup it on your team, Roar is preferred to phaze and rack up hazard damage
Protect scouts choiced moves, and gives more Leftovers recovery, in adittion to racking up more residual damage on the opponent
Toxic and Will-O-Wisp are both status moves that can be used. The former is preferred because of Lava Plume's high burn chance
But instead, you can run Earth Power. Earth Power allows Heatran to take out opposing Heatran, as well as other Fire-types, that can wall this set otherwise. Earth Power from offensive Heatran sets do not OHKO this Heatran, but it has 78% chance to OHKO back with its own Earth Power. Another viable option is Hidden Power Ice, which defeats Dragon-types, Gliscor, and Landorus(-T)

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

The reason why a specially defensive set is chosen over a physical one, is because most Heatran's resistances are specially-based, and the most common physical attacks aimed at Heatran hit it super-effectively, such as Close Combat and Earthquake, and would OHKO or 2HKO even with maximum investiment. In adittion, Heatran can already use Lava Plume to burn opponents and shrug off physical hits.
An EV spread of 248 HP / 16 SpA / 244 SpD with a Modest nature and Flamethrower as the main attacking move can be used, it lets Heatran hit a little harder, which can be useful on many situations. For example, it can be used to OHKO standard Ferrothorn on rain 60% of time, something that even standard defensive Heatran cannot do
Another viable EV spread is a faster one, with 248 HP / 12 SpD / 248 Spe and a Calm nature. This lets Heatran outrun Adamant Breloom and Jolly Scizor, and take them down with Lava Plume. It can also outspeed SubD-Tail Kyurem-B, and Roar him before it can phaze Heatran with Dragon Tail. This spread can also outspeed Gliscor and Landorus-T, which is a boon if you are using Hidden Power Ice.
Toxic Spikes support is appreciated if Heatran plans to run Earth Power instead of a status move, but Toxic Spikes is somewhat innefective on this new metagame
Forretress can do this job, and it can attract Fire-type attacks that Heatran can easily absorb
Wish support is appreciated because Heatran lacks reliable recovery. Vaporeon is a great teammate because it can provide this, and absorb Water-type attacks aimed at Heatran
Jellicent also absorbs Water-attacks, and as a bonus, is immune to 2 of Heatran's weakness

[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Earth Power / Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Toxic / Will-O-Wisp
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]



Heatran has the tendency to force switches, and this set trys to take advantage of this, to setup a free Substitute
Fire Blast is the best STAB to run on this set, especially as Substitute means that Heatran can usually afford to miss
Earth Power is recommended to take out opposing Heatran, but Hidden Power Ice is this Heatran's only means of damaging Dragon-types.
The last slot goes to a status move. Toxic is the recommended option to surprise bulky Water-types; it can't be stalled out by reliable recovery and is more accurate
However, Will-O-Wisp can cripple any physical sweeper not named Conkeldurr
Another option is to use both Earth Power and Hidden Power Ice, forgoing the use of a status move althogeter. This is not recommended, though, as Heatran likes to have a way to cripple bulky Water-types while it is behind a Substitute


[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Hidden Power Grass can be used to damage bulky Water-types, but this set has a better way to deal with them: crippling them with status
You can use more HP EVs to make Heatran bulkier, but you have to take out EVs from SpA, as Heatran needs all speed that it can get to preserve its substitute whenever possible
Please note that Pokémon with Natural Cure will not mind being statused, so this Heatran is yet another set that can't deal well with the blobs
This is not to mention that Vaporeon can simply cure itself from status if it's raining
Scizor can deal with the former, and Ferrothorn can deal with the latter. Both can also attract Fire-type attacks that Heatran can absorb
It's recommended that you use a partner that can take out opposing Heatran, like Dugtrio, if you are not using Earth Power.
This Heatran can toxic stall Politoed and Tyranitar, so your own Tyranitar or Ninetales can take advantage of this
Anything that can take advantage of poisoned or burned opponents is a good partner. For example, setup sweepers like Latias are able to use poisoned bulky Water-types as setup fodder, while Toxic puts them at KO range, or force switches.
Celebi is peharps the best partner for Heatran, as it can deal with bulky Water-type Pokémon that do not mind status, such as Starmie and Hydration Vaporeon. They have awesome synergy in general.

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Overheat / Fire Blast
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Dragon Pulse
move 4: Flamethrower
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]


Heatran can also function as a good revenge killer. Its base 77 Speed lets it outrun up to Base 130s
Overheat is the recommended option because Heatran will be usually switching out anyway, and it is more accurate and lets Heatran dish out as much damage as possible
Fire Blast can be used instead to stay out for longer
Earth Power because again, you don't want to give free switch-ins to opposing Heatran and Rock-types
Hidden Power Ice revenge kills Dragons, and is a more reliable way to deal with Gliscor and Landorus, than using its innacurate Fire attacks
Dragon Pulse deals more damage to Dragons 2x weak to Ice (such as Lati@s and Hydreigon), but those 4x weak to Ice take more damage from Hidden Power Ice, which is why the latter is the preferred option. However, Dragon Pulse hits Kyurem-B, and Kingdra, two Dragons neutral to Hidden Power Ice. Dragon Pulse is also this Heatran's best attack against Rotom-W
Flamethrower to sweep late-game or in situations where Overheat is inadivsable


[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Unfortunately, this set is not as powerful as other offensive sets, and is prone to becoming setup bait if you choose the wrong attack.
However, this set can also deal with Dugtrio. The only other of Heatran's sets that can do this are those that carry Air Balloon or Flame Charge
Hidden Power Grass is yet another option to deal with Gastrodon and Quagsire
Hidden Power Electric lets you revenge kill Gyarados. The loss of Hidden Power Ice is not too bad, as Heatran can OHKO Landorus and Gliscor with Fire Blast/Overheat. However, you must then use Dragon Pulse instead of Flamethrower, to not be walled by Dragon-types
Ninetales is a good partner to power up Overheat, letting it revenge kill almost anything that doesn't resist it
On sun teams, Chlorophyll sweepers such as Venusaur easily take out bulky Water-types that tend to wall this set. Venusaur can even defeat the pink blobs on a strange yet effective way.
A partner that can deal with Pokémon that may try to take advantage of a Choice-locked Heatran is appreciated. Some examples are Terrakion, Keldeo, Dragonite, Salamence, Latias, and Gyarados. Scizor, Celebi, Mamoswine, Hippowdon, and Landorus-T are some examples.



[SET]
name: Weather Trapper
move 1: Sunny Day
move 2: Magma Storm
move 3: Solarbeam
move 4: Earth Power / Hidden Power Ice
item: Air Balloon / Life Orb / Chople Berry
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Might reuse the current analysis text anyway, but...
Heatran can use Sunny Day alongside Magma Storm to win weather wars
Apart from them, Solarbeam is there to smack Politoed and Tyranitar, as well as any bulky Water-type foolish enough to switch-in, suck as Rotom-W, Starmie, Jellicent, and Gastrodon.
As Magma Storm will trap them, they have no choice but to be 2HKOed, and there's little they can do back.
Earth Power is a necessity to dispose of opposing Heatran, and thus is the recommended option
Hidden Power Ice is better used if you have a partnered Dugtrio, but in any case, it disposes of Dragon-types without relying on Magma Storm's shaky accuracy


[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]


This set can be used on non-sun teams, but seriously, it functions much better on them, and you should have better ways to win the weather war otherwise
For this reason, Ninetales is the best partner. Ninetales generally is the weather inducer that has the hardest time winning weather wars, so it appreciates this Heatran as a partner as well
Timid Venusaur is a partner that can deal with dangerous Pokémon like Terrakion. Under sun, it can outspeed even Scarf variants, and can also deal with Scarf Politoed, the only Politoed set that can beat this Heatran.
Trapping support from the likes of Dugtrio and Wobbuffet is appreciated to deal with Pokémon that give this set trouble, such as faster Fighting-types or weather inducers
The former can even free up a moveslot to Hidden Power Ice on Heatran
Something that can deal with Chansey and Blissey is a good partner. Xatu will beat them 1x1 due to a combination of Toxic, Roost, and Magic Bounce. Darmanitan and Victini OHKO them on the sun, SubToxic Gliscor setups on them, and Terrakion simply makes them run away


[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Fire Blast / Overheat
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Dragon Pulse / Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Hidden Power Grass / Flamethrower
item: Choice Specs
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

This set is the most powerful set that Heatran has. It opens holes on the opponent's teams, and leave the rest to Heatran's teammates
Fire Blast is so powerful under sun that it can 2HKO some Pokémon that resist it, and even the pink blobs can be 2HKOed with Stealth Rock damage
Overheat can replace it to dish out the most damage possible. However, it forces Heatran to switch after it uses this
Earth Power is there to not be walled by opposing Heatran
Dragon Pulse covers Dragon-types, and is Heatran's most effective option against the likes of Lati@s. Hidden Power Ice is more effective against Dragon-types 4x weak to it, as well as being more accurate against Landorus and Gliscor. However, the latter are already OHKOed by Fire-type attacks
And using Hidden Power Ice does not let Heatran use Hidden Power Grass, which gives important coverage against bulky Water-types.
But Flamethrower can replace Hidden Power Grass, especially if you are using Overheat. It may seem to be redundant to run 2 Fire moves on this set, but there are times when Flamethrower will be preferred over Fire Blast because it is more accurate, or over Overheat because it doesn't force Heatran to switch


[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

A Modest nature is the main option to deal as much damage as possible, but Timid can be used, especially if you use Hidden Power Ice, to outspeed Adamant Dragonite and OHKO him.
A spread with 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD with a Quiet nature is viable and makes use of the move Eruption. Eruption is so powerful when boosted by Choice Specs and sun, that it can even 2HKO Chansey without Stealth Rock support. However, Eruption is a move that is only legal with a Quiet nature; this means that Heatran should be used with Trick Room support, obviously. Physically defensive Trick Room Cresselia is possibly the best partner (apart from Ninetales) for this reason.
Ninetales is appreciated as a partner, to power up Fire Blast, making it excessively powerful and capable of beating even the pink blobs
Also, on a sun team, Heatran can open holes for Chlorophyll sweepers like Venusaur, to take advantage of them later on battle
Although Terrakion hates coming on Earth Power or repeated sun-boosted Fire Blasts, it nonetheless can use a -2 Heatran as setup bait, and potentially wreck the entire sun team with a SubSalac set. Timid Venusaur can revenge kill this Terrakion's set, but Gliscor or Forretress can also deal with this Terrakion too.

[Other Options]

A TormentTran set can be used, but Toxic Spikes sucks on this metagame, and this set is hard to pull off
Shed Shell is another way which Heatran can deal with Dugtrio, not by defeating him, but by being capable of switching out. However, Scarf/Balloon/Flame Charge/Magma Storm sets are much more effective in terms of dealing with Dugtrio; you are also forced to forfeit a valuable item, like Leftovers or Life Orb
Flash Cannon can be used as a secondary STAB to hit Rock-types harder, but Heatran has Earth Power, which has no STAB but also cover Rock-types, but has better coverage. Flash Cannon works as a STAB option on rain teams, though. (Fire-type STAB still comes handy against things like Ferrothorn)
Dark Pulse and AncientPower are poor in terms of coverage, and even when super-effective, are often outdamaged by a neutral Fire Blast
Metal Sound can force switches or force the opponent to take heavy damage, but it is unreliable and gimmicky
Stone Edge is an option to take out Volcarona, OHKOing 4/0 variants even with a negative nature. But it has no use otherwise
Heatran can use a RestTalk set, since it is its only mean of recovery. However, awful sleep mechanics hinder this set's viability
Don't use Flame Body. Flash Fire is what lets Heatran counter sun teams effectively, and most physical sweepers have a way to 2HKO or OHKO Heatran anyway.
Lastly, Heatran can use a Magma Storm set without Sunny Day, or vice-versa, but both are more effective when used thogether


[Checks & Counters]

Chansey and Blissey are the only foolproof counters to Heatran, they take nothing from most attacks and are immune to status, but they must watch out for Specs sun-boosted Fire Blast which will 2HKO.
Bulky Water-types that are not weak to Earth Power, but they must watch out for Hidden Power Grass/Electric.
Keldeo hates Hidden Power Grass/Electric and repeated sun-boosted Fire-type attacks, but it can usually switch-in safely and OHKO with any of its STAB moves.
Terrakion is generally a good switch-in for Heatran. It hates coming out on Earth Power (which will 2HKO if sandstorm is not up), but Heatran does not straight away use Earth Power because it wants to use the opportunity to setup Stealth Rock, which is like if Heatran was saying "Hey Terrakion, you can come here free!". With sandstorm active, Terrakion does not mind Earth Power either, as it only has a very small chance to be 2HKOed. Heatran does not to want staying in because it will be OHKOed by Close Combat; Terrakion can take advantage of this to setup a SD/RP/Sub. It does have to watch out for Will-O-Wisp and Lava Plume, however.
Other Fighting-types can also work, but each of them has a unfortunate drawback that makes them shaky checks. Conkeldur is 2HKOed by Fire Blast, Lucario is hard pressed to find an opportunity to switch on Heatran, and Breloom does not even OHKO with Mach Punch without a boost, while Fire Blast easily OHKO back. All of them except Conkeldurr also loathe status
Anything with Earthquake is able to easily dispose of Heatran, but Heatran can carry Air Balloon, and with so many foes immune to Earthquake, one must think twice about using this move
Dugtrio often carry Focus Sash to switch out safely on any attack except Magma Storm, trap Heatran, and defeat him with Earthquake, or even Reversal. It must watch out for sets with Choice Scarf or Flame Charge, however.
Landorus (both Therian and Incarnate) can outspeed and defeat Heatran, but it cannot switch on Hidden Power Ice, or Fire-type attacks. The same applies to Garchomp.
Opposing Heatran with Air Balloon are good counters, as long as your own Heatran does not carry Air Balloon
CM Latias takes little damage from most attacks, even Hidden Power Ice, and proceeds to setup on it with impunity. Latios also works, but it loathes Hidden Power Ice and sun-boosted Fire-type attacks.
Tyranitar is generally a good counter. It takes little damage from even Earth Power on sandstorm. Weather Trapper sets will 2HKO with Solarbeam under sun, but the most common variant of Tyranitar, Choice Band, OHKO with Superpower, not giving Heatran time to setup sun or attack back.
Mamoswine does not fear even Air Balloon variants, as it often carry Superpower to deal with them
If Heatran lacks Earth Power, opposing Heatran have free reign, and if Heatran lacks Hidden Power Ice, Dragon-types are generally capable of walling and defeating Heatran
Without Hidden Power Grass, Gastrodon and Rotom-W wall Heatran forever. However, it must also watch out for Toxic
Things that Heatran usually defeat can instead defeat him with the appropriate move. For example, Heatran cannot switch on Scizor's Superpower, Venusaur's Earthquake, Celebi's Earth Power, etc.