Best counters for Heatran in Pokemon GO

An efficient combat pick in Pokemon GO, Heatran is a dual Fire/Steel-type Pokemon originating from the Generation IV Pokemon games and will also be featured as a raid boss during a Raid Hour on November 27 as part of the Mischief Unbound event.

Heatran has utility in Pokemon GO both as a PvE battler while also seeing significant use in Ultra and Master Leagues in PvP. As an opponent, it can be a tough enemy to take down if trainers aren't well prepared. Fortunately, Heatran appears often enough in Pokemon GO battles for a significant counter game to develop specifically against it.

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Ground-type moves can easily counter Heatran in Pokemon GO

Heatran can be tough, but it is still entirely beatable with the right team (Image via Niantic)

As a Fire/Steel-type Pokemon, Heatran is weak to three elemental move types in Pokemon and Pokemon GO. These move types are Water, Fighting, and Ground, with Ground-type attacks being twice as super effective as Water and Fighting-type moves. If at all possible, trainers should focus on the use of Ground-type Pokemon and moves in order to take full advantage of Heatran's most glaring weakness.

Below trainers can find some excellent Pokemon and moves to take on Heatran in Pokemon GO effectively:

Pokemon	Fast Move	Charge Move
Garchomp	Mud Shot	Earth Power
Mega Blastoise/Blastoise	Water Gun	Hydro Cannon
Landorus	Mud Shot	Earthquake
Rhyperior	Mud-Slap	Earthquake
Groudon	Mud Shot	Earthquake
Mega Gyarados/Gyarados	Waterfall	Hydro Pump
Excadrill	Mud-Slap	Drill Run
Krookodile	Mud-Slap	Earthquake
Golurk	Mud-Slap	Earth Power
Golem	Mud-Slap	Earthquake
Donphan	Mud-Slap	Earthquake
Mega Lopunny	Low Kick	Focus Blast
Swampert	Mud Shot	Earthquake
Flygon	Mud Shot	Earth Power
Mamoswine	Mud-Slap	Bulldoze
Seismitoad	Mud Shot	Earth Power
Haxorus	Counter	Earthquake
Gastrodon	Mud-Slap	Earth Power
Lucario	Counter	Aura Sphere
Conkeldurr	Counter	Dynamic Punch

In addition to the listed Pokemon, there are tons of other options to choose from in Pokemon GO that can still deal reliable super effective damage to Heatran. It all comes down to what the player has available and what they are comfortable using, as well as what suits their battle strategy best. It doesn't hurt to experiment and find the perfect counter team for the trainer, as no two teams will be alike. Even if trainers pick the same Pokemon, they will likely possess different moves, stats, or combat powers.

Heatran can be tough to deal with due to its reliably solid attack stat, but its health stats are nothing to write home about. This gives Pokemon GO trainers the ability to take it down quickly if they can exploit its weaknesses. The process will obviously take longer in the event that Heatran is being fought as a raid boss, but this Pokemon should still be easier to battle than many Legendary/Mythic Pokemon and meta picks such as Giratina or Registeel.

However, every trainer and situation is different, and planning for Heatran may take some trial and error even with a counter team in place.