Although it is sad that the third and final Ultra Bonus Week is coming to an end today, this does help clear up some space for new activities in Pokemon GO. As the special Unova spawns, egg hatches, and Battle Raids disappear; the map will return to its usual patterns until the next event kicks off (which never takes long). Along with these changes comes an exciting Battle Raid boss rotation that will replace Genesect with a different powerful Legendary Pokemon.
Starting later this afternoon, Heatran is returning to 5-star Battle Raids. The popular Gen 4 Fire- and Steel-type is a very strong counter for a lot of important Raid battles, so players will likely be excited about the chance to head out and battle against it once again. Heatran can be weather boosted by Sunny or Snowy weather, so it's possible that Pokemon GO users can use that late summer Sunny boost to catch an extra strong version of the Legendary.
Heatran has a pretty unique dual-typing, which means there are going to be a different interesting weaknesses to account for. First off, players should be aware that Heatran has a ton of resistances. Start out be clearly avoiding these types that it features double resistance against: Bug, Fairy, Grass, Ice, Poison, Steel. Keep all of those on the sideline and instead fill out the roster with Pokemon that are Ground, Fighting, and Water-types. Heatran is double weak to Ground, so that is where players should really focus their efforts if possible.
Best Heatran Counters
Groudon - Mud Shot/Earthquake
Rhyperior - Mud Slap/Earthquake
Landorus - Mud Shot/Earth Power
Garchomp - Mud Shot/Earthquake
Exadrill - Mud Slap/Drill Run
Strong Heatran Counters
Golurk - Mud Slap/Earth Power
Rhydon - Mud Slap/Earthquake
Swampert - Mud Shot/Earthquake
Golem - Mud Slap/Earthquake
Other Acceptable Heatran Counters
Machamp - Counter/Dynamic Punch
Flygon - Mud Shot/Earthquake
Breloom - Counter/Dynamic Punch
Hariyama - Counter/Dynamic Punch
Luckily, many of the Heatran counters are Pokemon that have been useful in Battle Raids time and time again. Players who have been raiding frequently likely have a full power Groudon, Rhyperior, or Gardchomp at the ready considering how frequently they come up. Even if not, many of the alternatives like Rhydon, Golem, and Machamp have been useful Battle Raid counters since the game first introduced Battle Raids. Just keep in mind that Heatran is a strong Legendary and players should take a small group of friends alongside to take it down, unless they are experienced level 40s with fully powered counters and lots of practice duo and trio'ing Raid Bosses.
Once the new event arrives this weekend, the festivities should give trainers a good reason to continue catching the best Unova Pokemon in the game and getting closer to that complete Pokedex. Check back for more Pokemon GO updates closer to the event. Until then, good luck out there, trainers!
Pokemon GO is available now in select regions on Android and iOS devices.