Heatran is one of the best Pokemon in the tier thanks to an insane typing and great ability in Flash Fire, granting it a number of key immunities and resistances to make it a great check to a number of top-tier Pokemon like Clefable, Ferrothorn, Tornadus-T, Celesteela, and Tapu Lele. It is a fantastic breaker due to a solid base Special Attack stat of 130 and access to a great STAB move in Magma Storm, which when used in tandem with Taunt grants Heatran the invaluable ability to trap and remove passive Pokemon such as Toxapex, Chansey, and Alomomola that would otherwise beat it; furthermore, its Inferno Overdrive can be a nightmare for would-be-checks such as Gliscor, Garchomp, and Ash-Greninja to switch into. These traits make it one of the best Stealth Rock setters in the tier, as it is capable of forcing out foes with its power. However, due to Heatran's prevalence, it can lose to Pokemon it would otherwise check, such as Mega Mawile, Tornadus-T, and Volcarona, due to coverage they run specifically for it. Heatran also unfortunately lacks any form of recovery outside of Leftovers and is vulnerable to both Stealth Rock and Spikes, meaning it can be worn down quite quickly. A middling Speed tier means Heatran is quite easy to force it out with faster Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Ash-Greninja.
