Heatran Raid Duo Guide

It really can't be argued that anything in the game is better than Primal Groudon at curb-stomping Heatran, and chances are that this is a fact that will never change. Primal Groudon sports the absolute top numbers in DPS and TDO, and it provides its boosts to Pokemon on your team even while it's not on the field. Primal Groudon is the counter, with the one and only drawback being its weakness to Earth Power.... yes, the Ground king is weak to Ground. Still, Primal Groudon is the best option regardless of the situation.

The king of Ground Type dragons, Shadow Garchomp shares much in common with Primal Groudon in this raid, but just... a bit worse. It's an amazing backup Mega, and can definitely put in the work, but it is definitely the lesser of the two.

While this hulking beast is best known for its ability to douse everything within line-of-sight with tremendous amounts of water, it's also very capable as a Ground Type Mega Evolution... I mean, it's not as good as Primal Groudon, but we've already established that nothing is. Still, if you lack the earthen Primal or just want to save up that sweet, sweet Primal Energy, then Mega Swampert is the runner-up.

Primal Kyogre very much lives in the shadow of Primal Groudon for this raid, but its a solid option in Rainy weather, especially since it gives its boost to the team regardless of if it's on the field or not. 

When it comes to Ground damage, nothing quite measures up to Shadow Garchomp... unless it happens to have the word "Primal" in its name. Shadow Garchomp hits hard and fast, and has a resistance to Fire Type attacks, giving it a very strong matchup in this raid.

Landorus - Therian Forme is a powerful attacker that's boosted over the top by Sandsear Storm. It's not the best counter here, but it can keep up with the best for all intents and purposes.

Shadow Excadrill is easily one of the top DPS options here, though it's going to drop quickly against Heatran's Fire Type Moves and Earth Power. However, it does resist Bug Bite and Iron Head while also double-resisting Stone Edge, so it will be surprisingly bulky in just under half of the possible movesets.

The one true vanilla Ground Type, Groudon honestly doesn't need a sub-typing to be amazing. Given its huge power backed up by Precipice Blades, one of the strongest attacks in the game. Groudon doesn't even need its Primal forme to be truly great.... though said primal forme is preferred. 

Shadow Rhyperior is bulky and strong, making it a very good universal option for this raid. Just note that it doesn't like fighting against Earth Power or Iron Head.

Shadow Mamoswine has a DPS that can keep pace pretty well with the other top counters on the list. However, its weakness to the majority of what Heatran can throw at it makes it very glassy at the same time.

While not as strong as its Shadow forme, Garchomp is still an outstanding mix of DPS and TDO that can wreck Heatran with its power-house Ground Type moveset.

Rhyperior laughs in the face of Fire Type movesets, but doesn't like taking an Iron Head to the face. In terms of average performance, it's pretty close to Groudon but with lower DPS.

Easily overlooked due to the power of some of its compatriots, Shadow Golurk actually has very solid performance in this raid.

Not as strong as its Therian forme, but still a viable choice.

The updated version of the original Rock/Ground attacker, Shadow Golem is a bit on the lower-end of the power spectrum, but is still a capable attacker.

While its Water Type moveset is objectively stronger in most other scenarios, Shadow Swampert can also utilize its Ground moveset to drop Heatran.

Excadrill is pretty frail here due to its Fire weakness, but still capable of putting in work.