
Heatmor
[Overview]
<p> Heatmor is an interesting Pokemon, with a niche in both Trick Room and Tailwind teams. His base 105 Special Attack and 97 Attack stats make him a decent choice if you're looking to be original. Although he is largely outclassed by Chandelure, Heatran has access to both physically and specially based moves and thus, Heatmor can serve as a great surprise factor against unprepared teams. </p>
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Heat Wave
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Protect
item: Fire Gem / Dark Gem
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Rash
evs: 44 HP / 212 Atk / 252 SpA
ivs: 30 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>The best way to use Heatmor is to bring it in on the fairly common Heat Wave to receive a nice boost. It has decent enough stats to run a mixed set. Dark Gem Sucker Punch gives it the edge on the prevalent Ghost- types. Although it rarely packs the needed punch to KO many common threats, it certainly serves as a nice Pokemon to punch holes in the opposition for an easier time. </p>
<p>Heat Wave allows for a powerful STAB move. Switching into a common Fire-type move from Chandelure gives a powerful boost that allows Heatmor to start shooting off its own boosted Heat Waves. It requires a bit of prediction and timing, but if executed correctly, Heatmor can become a big threat to unprepared teams. Should you choose to run Fire Gem, Heatmor can do massive damage to Pokemon that resist its moves. Heatmor's Heat Wave boosted with Fire Gem significantly damages the common Amoonguss to the point where it can be taken down by even a resisted move, making it useful for taking it down. Sucker Punch provides coverage against common Ghost- types, such as Chandelure, Jellicent, and Golurk. It often falls short in comparison to other methods of countering them, but it provides priority for an easy revenge kill. Hidden Power Ice allows for coverage against common dragons such as Hydreigon and Haxorus, who resist its Heat Wave. Protect is a key move to have in VGC, as it allows Heatmor to effectively scout for some of its opponent's moves and gain momentum in the battle. </p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Although this set looks good on paper, in practice Heatmor often falls short. It has enough bulk to survive Archeops' STAB Rock Slide, but it cannot do serious damage back. Under Trick Room or Tailwind however, Heatmor is given a better chance to shine. Its Speed is nothing to write home about on its own, so if you're considering running Trick Room, Heatmor might be an interesting choice. With a Speed IV of 0 and a Quiet Nature, Heatmor reaches only 63 Speed, which makes it a strong candidate for Trick Room. When facing opposing Trick Room, Sucker Punch provides a good way to dent common Ghost- and Psychic-types in the metagame. On the other hand, it is also in an in-between stage, where it can benefit from Tailwind as well. With the set listed, Heatmor is able to outspeed many of its common counters, which allow it to be somewhat more useful. However, it still doesn't fit as strong a role as many of the other Pokemon available. Its weaknesses to the common Rock Slide, Earthquake, Surf, and Water Spout are also massive drawbacks of using Heatmor. </p>
[Other Options]
<p>If you're looking for someone worth some while on a sun team, Heatmor receives both Sunny Day and Solarbeam. Although there are much better members for sun teams, sometimes a Pokemon like Heatmor fits nicely. Another thing worth a mention is an all out Physical set. With its mainly physical movepool, Heatmor opens up some other options. Another thing to consider on the current set might be Focus Blast over Hidden Power Ice, but its 70% accuracy is a deterrent in the fast paced VGC metagame. Focus Sash might be something else to consider, if you're worried about getting KOed by the common Water Spout or Earthquake. </p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Most Pokemon that outspeed Heatmor can either check or counter it. Some of the common counters are Terrakion and Gigalith, and for the most part, any Rock-type. Samurott, Alomomola, and Darmanitan also take small amounts of damage from Heatmor's attacks and hit back harder. Common checks are also bulkier Jellicent and Hydreigon variants. For the most part, most commonly seen Pokemon in VGC 2011 will be able to beat Heatmor with very little issue.</p>