Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: How to Find and Catch Heatran

Though players may encounter a handful of Legendary Pokemon during the main story of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, they will not be able to catch any of them until after they've completed the game. The Lake Guardians are arguably the simplest to locate in this regard, but with a little searching, players can locate a slew of other fantastic Legendaries, including Heatran, a fire/steel-type Pokemon.

Heatran is a good choice for people who choose Turtwig or Piplup as their beginning Pokemon because the Sinnoh region's fire-type selection is fairly lacking. Of course, with the ability to obtain Charizard and Typhlosion via the Grand Underground section in Briliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, this is no longer as beneficial as it was in the original releases.

Where to Find Heatran in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

Heatran can be located in the depths of the post-game territory Stark Mountain, but first players must defeat Cynthia and register all of the Sinnoh region's Pokemon in their Pokedex. Thankfully, the latter isn't quite as difficult as it sounds, as most players will have already encountered all but a few of them while progressing through the main tale. For most players, finding Drifloon (return to the Valley Windworks after defeating Team Galactic), Lumineon (evolves from Finneon at level 31), and either Palkia or Dialga (talk to Cynthia's grandmother in Celestic Town) will be quite straightforward.

Returning to Professor Rowan after seeing all 151 Sinnoh Pokemon (and hatching the Manaphy Egg earned from the game's Mystery Gift mode) would result in the player's Pokedex being upgraded to the National Dex. After that, players should fly over to the Fight Area (or take the Ship from Snowpoint City if they haven't already) and then head east on Route 230. They can travel north on Route 228 after surfing for a bit and should continue in this way until they reach the Stark Mountain entrance through Route 227.

Players will be compelled to partner up with another trainer named Buck once they enter the volcano. They must continue north until they discover a cavern with an artifact known as the Magma Stone, which Buck will take before departing. After he's done, gamers should exit the building and proceed west on Route 226. This will eventually bring them to Buck's grandfather's house in the Survival Area. Buck will decide to return the Magma Stone if players speak with him, who can be found in the house to the left of the Poke Mart. Players will discover a level 70 Heatran waiting for them when they return to the cavern in the depths of Stark Mountain.

How to Catch Heatran in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

Before dealing with Heatran, players should always save their game in case something goes wrong. Assuming they won't be utilizing a Master Ball to catch the fire/Steel-type Legendary, they should also make sure they have plenty of Ultra Balls in their bag, as Heatran can be difficult to catch at times. Players should approach Heatran once they're confident they're ready, then click the A button to start a battle.

Because of its high level, catching Heatran is a little more difficult than catching Uxie, Mesprit, or Azelf, as it is capable of dealing a lot more damage. On the other hand, this does make it much more difficult to knock Heatran out by accident, so things aren't all bad. To be safe, players should avoid attacking it with fighting, water, or ground-type attacks and instead use a type that Heatran is immune to (normal, psychic, ice, dragon, or fairy, to name a few).

Heatran can be resurrected by beating the Elite Four again if it is inadvertently knocked out, however, it is much quicker and faster to simply close and reopen the software to reload their save from before the battle. When the Pokemon's HP reaches the red zone, they should start tossing Ultra Balls and keep doing so until the Pokemon is caught. Using a move like Yawn or Hypnosis to put it to sleep first can make things a bit simpler, but it shouldn't be necessary to catch Heatran.