Heatran is yet another Legendary from the Diamond & Pearl games, which appears in Pokemon GO Raids quite often, and here are the best counters you need to add to your roster when taking on the Lava Dome Pokemon.
Heatran Weaknesses in Pokemon GO – Type Effectiveness
Generation 4 of Pokemon (Diamond & Pearl) has plenty of Legendaries that aren’t on the box. Heatran is among the most powerful, as its Fire/Steel typing makes it hard to deal with in battle. That said, Heatran is weak to Water, Fighting, and Ground-type attacks. As a bonus, it’s 2.5x weak to Ground-type moves, making Ground-type Pokemon a must have.
| Pokemon | Type | Vulnerable To | Strong Against | Resistant To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Heatran | Fire/Steel | Ground Water Fighting | Grass Ice Bug Steel Rock Fairy | Normal Grass Ice Flying Psychic Bug Dragon Steel Fairy Poison |
Not only is the pool of effective attacks limited, but Heatran resists ten types of attacks. It’s invulnerable to Poison types and has double resistance to Steel, Fairy, Ice, and Grass.
Honestly, we can’t recommend Ground-type attackers enough. Leave the Dragon-type Legendaries at home and focus solely on exploiting Heatran’s vulnerability to Ground.
Heatran Counters in Pokemon GO
Heatran is liable to wipe the floor with your team if you aren’t prepared. Stick to the Pokemon listed below, and you should be fine when taking on Heatran Raids.
| Pokemon | Moves |
|---|---|
 Primal Groudon/ Groudon (Shadow) | Mud Shot Precipice Blades |
 Mega Garchomp/ Garchomp (Shadow) | Mud Shot Earth Power |
 Excadrill (Shadow) | Mud-Slap Scorching Sands |
 Rhyperior (Shadow) | Mud-Slap Earthquake |
 Mamoswine (Shadow) | Mud-Slap High Horsepower |
 Landorus (Therian) | Mud Shot Sandsear Storm |
 Landorus (Incarnate) | Mud Shot Earth Power |
 Rhydon (Shadow) | Mud-Slap Earthquake |
 Golurk (Shadow) | Mud-Slap Earth Power |
 Mega Swampert/ Swampert (Shadow) | Mud Shot Earthquake |
How To Beat Heatran in Pokemon GO Raids
While Heatran’s attacks can be a pain to deal with, if you stick with the Pokemon listed above, these 5-star raids are a breeze. Heatran favors Fire-type attacks, so avoid Bug, Ice, Steel, and Grass types. With a team of high-level Pokemon, it should take two or three trainers to take down a Heatran.
That said, if you’re having trouble with a smaller group, try recruiting some remote raiders using the PokemonGoFriends subreddit or the Pokebattler Raid Party app.
If you want to sit these raids out and wait for a more challenging encounter, take a look at our Pokemon GO Raid schedule to see which bosses are on the horizon.
Can Heatran be Shiny in Pokemon GO?
Yes, Heatran can be Shiny in Pokemon GO. To check if a Heatran is shiny, you must defeat it in a raid. Its shiny form will appear during the catch sequence.
Heatran has a 1/20 chance of being Shiny, as does every legendary Pokemon encountered through Raids.
