Pokémon Houndoom

[Ckarasu]

So many replies, yet not a single mention of Sludge Bomb? C'mon people? That thing would wreck any Fairies hoping to check it, including Azumarill, you don't need to be a genius to know that. Basically, when Mega Evolved, Megadoom gets STAB on all of it's special attacks, and 2x on Fire and Dark type attacks. If you decide to run a Nasty Plot set, wow. +3 STAB sun boosted Fire Blast at 140 Sp Atk? I would hate to be on the receiving end of that. Fairies? Sludge Bomb. Water types? Solar Beam. The things that can safely take one of these things to the face are few and far between. While sun has been nerfed, and it's risky as well as potentially wasteful to use Nasty Plot instead of a different move for better coverage, even without these things, it has base 140 special attack and a decent speed stat. It also resists Ghost, as well as only taking neutral damage from Fairy. It's one of the best special sweepers ever, even when it's not in it's ideal conditions.

Dude, I said that on page one.
Proof:

Well, it does have perfect coverage. Just checked, and nothing resists that set-up. Sadly, once sun is down, Houndoom loses a move(Solar Beam) due to it being impractical. It's a tad risky, especially when you can just run Poison, Fire, Dark for good coverage.

His only usable poison move is Sludge Bomb, so yeah.
Tyranitar causes problems, though. Sandstorm allows him to tank that Solar Beam easily, as well as making it take the whole two turns to charge.

 

[hotcoldyay7]

What about just switching out when heatran and tyranitar come out, instead of getting koed by them? It seems awful to stay in, knowing they can tank and strike back with a move that houndoom will be hit SE by and possibly die to, despite that nice defense boost from MEvo.

Houndoom@Houndoomite. (flash fire ----> solar power)
Timid/Naive, 4 HP or Atk, 252 SpAtk/Spe
-fire blast/flamethower
-sludge bomb/Nasty Plot
-dark pulse
-hp fighting/foul play/substitute/crunch

It would be awesome to team this up with a fire weak partner, then predict a fire move, take it in with houndoom's flash fire, and spam fire blasts like crazy.

Does Megadoom stand a chance in OU? I actually feel like he's worthusing, considering the nice defense and speed buffs along with his now great special attack.

 

[Aldrius]

Does Megadoom stand a chance in OU? I actually feel like he's worthusing, considering the nice defense and speed buffs along with his now great special attack.

It'll be viable in OU I think, but just because of how tiering works, mega evolutions are unlikely to hit OU unless their base forms are viable there as well. (Garchomp, Gengar, Scizor, Lucario, Tyrannitar, Gyarados...) I think things like MegaHeracross, MegaPinsir, MegaAmpharos, MegaAbsol, MegaMawile that fill a more specific niche and have a more unique typing will be more likely. I like MegaHoundoom but I think it's movepool might be too limited to make ENOUGH of a splash.

 

[Kejmur]

It'll be viable in OU I think, but just because of how tiering works, mega evolutions are unlikely to hit OU unless their base forms are viable there as well. (Garchomp, Gengar, Scizor, Lucario, Tyrannitar, Gyarados...) I think things like MegaHeracross, MegaPinsir, MegaAmpharos, MegaAbsol, MegaMawile that fill a more specific niche and have a more unique typing will be more likely. I like MegaHoundoom but I think it's movepool might be too limited to make ENOUGH of a splash.

Also his ability with weather nerf is kind of situational as well. While I think in Gen 5 MegaHoundoom would get a shot at dedicated sunny teams, in this Gen it may be just much harder to pull off. It's still possible with Heat Rock to use those of course, but it's much less reliable with much less turns to deal huge damage (and with smart switching much easier to stall out and handle). While I love MegaHoundoom design, he is IMO lacking. If he had something like Adaptability... but he doesn't. Oh well.

 

[Spectruma?]

So many replies, yet not a single mention of Sludge Bomb? C'mon people? That thing would wreck any Fairies hoping to check it, including Azumarill, you don't need to be a genius to know that. Basically, when Mega Evolved, Megadoom gets STAB on all of it's special attacks, and 2x on Fire and Dark type attacks. If you decide to run a Nasty Plot set, wow. +3 STAB sun boosted Fire Blast at 140 Sp Atk? I would hate to be on the receiving end of that. Fairies? Sludge Bomb. Water types? Solar Beam. The things that can safely take one of these things to the face are few and far between. While sun has been nerfed, and it's risky as well as potentially wasteful to use Nasty Plot instead of a different move for better coverage, even without these things, it has base 140 special attack and a decent speed stat. It also resists Ghost, as well as only taking neutral damage from Fairy. It's one of the best special sweepers ever, even when it's not in it's ideal conditions.

According to calcs a solar boosted MegaHoundoom in the sun guarantees a 2HKO on azumarill with fire blast. And azumarill is about the only fairy type that could possibly be a problem for Houndoom.

I'd rather run some coverage for TTar and Heatran than run sludge bomb for fairies.

 

[Mettie7]

Indeed. http://www.serebii.net/abilitydex/solarpower.shtml

This should probably be updated in the OP. As I see it, there are benefits to both sets:

- Sunny Day + Solar Power = SpA x 1.5 and increased defenses by weakening Water moves, giving MegaHound more bulk with its increased power, at the cost of 1/8 HP per turn.
- Nasty Plot = SpA x 2, and no health loss, but also makes the hound more susceptible to Aqua Jets.

Why not both? Having Droughtails or or a Sunny Day user on top of Nasty Plot for a x3 SpA boost, if you can pull it off that is, maybe for doubles?

 

[dende5416]

It'll be viable in OU I think, but just because of how tiering works, mega evolutions are unlikely to hit OU unless their base forms are viable there as well. (Garchomp, Gengar, Scizor, Lucario, Tyrannitar, Gyarados...) I think things like MegaHeracross, MegaPinsir, MegaAmpharos, MegaAbsol, MegaMawile that fill a more specific niche and have a more unique typing will be more likely. I like MegaHoundoom but I think it's movepool might be too limited to make ENOUGH of a splash.

I just wanted to point out: There are only restrictions on moving pokemon down a tier (i.e. a OU pokemon is not allowed in UU) where as, any UU pokemon can come up into OU with a trainer. Weather thats a good idea, however, can be very situational.

 

[tinyranitar]

Why not Hidden Power Fairy? Like HP Ice, it hits Dragons, but it also hits Fighting and Dark types for SE, which Fire Blast, Dark Pulse, and SolarBeam can't deal with.

Also, what if you use Ninetales, or a Weather Starter over Sunny day?

HP Fairy doesn't exist due to the fact that HP is calculated the same way it was in previous gens

 

[Boltaway]

This is the Houndoom set that I'm currently using in conjunction with a sun team.

Houndoom @ Houndoominite
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
IVs: 21 HP
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Sludge Bomb / Solarbeam
- Destiny Bond / Will-O-Wisp

Honestly, I don't think Nasty Plot or Sunny Day are the way to go. Even though Mega-Houndoom has increased defenses of 75/90/90, that's still pretty pitiful and therefore susceptible to priority, any strong move, etc. Carrying it out on the switch is an option, but the prediction in that is bothersome. Sunny Day support then, is a must for this set, but it frees up a turn that you could be better spending attacking anyway. Nasty Plot is powerful, but Mega-Houndoom really isn't bulky enough to take most hits. However, in the sun he survives (if my calcs are correct) banded Azumarill's Aqua Jet -- which is important, since you can OHKO most of the time with Sludge Bomb, depending on its HP EVs (136 is the bare, bare, minimum it needs to survive).

On the topic of Azumarill, Sludge Bomb is preferred, but in the Sun, Fire Blast 2HKOs easily. Sludge Bomb might be useful for other fairy types that roam the tier, but Solarbeam is a good option if you're feeling ballsy. Solarbeam, it should be noted, nets better coverage than Sludge Bomb.

The three major counters to Mega-Houndoom are priority users, Tyranitar, and bulky waters. The reason why I opted not to run Sucker Punch is that a) Mega-Houndoom has base 115 speed, which is much faster most of the OU tier (bar Alakazam, Starmie, Dugtrio, Jolteon, Greninja, Talonflame, and pesky Pranksters) and b) Mega-Houndoom loses access to Life Orb, meaning that Sucker Punch is a much weaker move -- not to mention, it prevents you from gaining coverage. Furthermore, Mega-Houndoom outspeeds most Pokémon that would otherwise threaten it -- and those Pokémon that do threaten it, have super-effective fighting or water type priority and often aren't phazed by a weak Sucker Punch. Talonflame is also a headache, 2HKOing with Brave Bird, making SR support required both defensively and offensively -- Choice Banded often OHKOs in conjunction with Solar Power recoil; interestingly, Fire Blast in the sun does more than Sludge Bomb.

Tyranitar is the one Pokémon that will give Mega-Houndoom the biggest headache, outside of perhaps eviolite Chansey. Sand Stream nullifies your Solar Power and Fire-type STAB boost and boost's Tyranitar's Special Defense. 252 HP / 252+ SDef Tyranitar isn't even 3HKOd by Hidden Power Fighting, factoring in Leftovers, and can easily OHKO with Stone Edge. Assault Vest variants (without SDef investment) laugh at heartily. Unfortunately, Mega-Houndoom is outsped (by 3 or so stat points) by Choice Scarf Jolly Tyranitar, so beware.

There are a couple solutions. The first, in lieu of Gen 5 Ninetales, is to use Sunny Day -- but the problem with this is that even after Solar Power, Mega-Houndoom isn't going to OHKO Specially Defensive Tyranitar.

On my team, like most sun teams, a trapper becomes integral. As such, I find Dugtrio to be invaluable team support for Mega-Houndoom. He can come in Tyranitar and bring him down with Earthquake or 1 HP Reversal.

However, if for whatever odd reason Dugtrio is out, you Will-O-Wisp on the switch-in. Finally, if even that's not an option or you feel Will-O-Wisp is a wasted slot, you pull out the nuke -- Destiny Bond. This is really what makes the set tick, since if your opponent sends out a counter you can respond by taking them down with you. Base 115 speed also means that he generally gets the jump on it.

Another thing that Mega-Houndoom hates are bulky water-types; Solarbeam can help, but is of course sun-dependent, and often fails against defensive beasts like specially defensive Tentacruel. Greninja and Scarf Keldeo, while not bulky, are both fast enough to OHKO. Most water-types immediately threaten Mega-Houndoom, which means you either switch out or Destiny Bond. Chlorophyll or Thick Fat Venusaur synergizes well with Mega-Houndoom, baiting Fire-type attacks so you can get Flash Fire, resisting everything Mega-Houndoom is weak to bar Rock-types, taking care of Tyranitar (usually), and bulky-water types. Not to forget, they cooperate quite well on a sun team.

This is becoming a really large wall of text, so I better stop. I do realize of course, that Mega-Houndoom dies very quickly with SR and Solar Power in play, but can seriously wreck through things in short amounts of time. Were this early Gen 5, I have no doubts he'd be the poster-child of offensive Sun.

PS: The 21 HP IVs look really odd, but I use them to hit a Solar Power and Stealth Rock number. It might not be necessary, but the amount of bulk I loose is negligible in the end.

Supporting Calcs

252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Aqua Jet vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Houndoom in Sun: 128-152 (43.9 - 52.2%)
252+ Atk Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Houndoom: 171-202 (58.7 - 69.4%)
252+ Atk Choice Band Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Houndoom: 256-303 (87.9 - 104.1%)
252 SpA Solar Power Mega Houndoom Fire Blast vs. 192 HP / 0 SpD Talonflame in Sun: 288-340 (83.4 - 98.5%)
252 SpA Mega Houndoom Hidden Power Fighting vs. 252 HP / 0+ SpD Assault Vest Tyranitar in Sand: 112-136 (27.7 - 33.6%)
252 SpA Solar Power Mega Houndoom Hidden Power Fighting vs. 252 HP / 0+ SpD Assault Vest Tyranitar in Sun: 252-300 (62.3 - 74.2%)
0- Atk Tyranitar Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Houndoom: 272-324 (93.4 - 111.3%)
252 SpA Solar Power Mega Houndoom Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Tentacruel in Sun: 135-160 (37 - 43.9%)
252 SpA Solar Power Mega Houndoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Heatran in Sun: 144-169 (37.3 - 43.7%)

 

[Aoda]

Isn't Dragalge a tough check? And Unaware Quagsire?

 

[Kairyu_Gen1]

I realize that this guy is an absolute boss in the sun, but wouldn't nasty plot nasty plot be the best move to distinguish itself from other sun sweepers like MegaZardY and Volcarona who can do with less support while still putting out impressive numbers?

 

[Boltaway]

Isn't Dragalge a tough check? And Unaware Quagsire?

Depends on the set. Max HP / SpDef+ takes it on pretty well and Dragon Pulse / Sludge Bomb 2HKO, factoring in Solar Power recoil.
252 SpA Solar Power Mega Houndoom Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Dragalge in Sun: 133-157 (39.8 - 47%)
252 SpA Solar Power Mega Houndoom Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Dragalge in Sun: 179-211 (53.5 - 63.1%)
Although sadly, I'm not sure he'll be that used until he gets adaptability. Offensive Dragalge variants, on the other hand, get cleanly OHKOed.

Quagsire is definitely a check outside of the sun, but even max special defense gets 2HKOed. And sadly, he's not fast enough to OHKO it back.
252 SpA Solar Power Mega Houndoom Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Quagsire in Sun: 201-237 (51 - 60.1%)

 

[Aoda]

Depends on the set. Max HP / SpDef+ takes it on pretty well and Dragon Pulse / Sludge Bomb 2HKO, factoring in Solar Power recoil.
252 SpA Solar Power Mega Houndoom Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Dragalge in Sun: 133-157 (39.8 - 47%)
252 SpA Solar Power Mega Houndoom Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Dragalge in Sun: 179-211 (53.5 - 63.1%)
Although sadly, I'm not sure he'll be that used until he gets adaptability. Offensive Dragalge variants, on the other hand, get cleanly OHKOed.

Quagsire is definitely a check outside of the sun, but even max special defense gets 2HKOed. And sadly, he's not fast enough to OHKO it back.
252 SpA Solar Power Mega Houndoom Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Quagsire in Sun: 201-237 (51 - 60.1%)

I expected worse numbers on Dragalge. Still, I think adaptability Dragalge's Draco Meteor will hurt a lot. Seen Dragalge's special bulk and typing, shouldn't flinching Dragalge with Dark Pulse be more effective?

 

[Boltaway]

I expected worse numbers on Dragalge. Still, I think adaptability Dragalge's Draco Meteor will hurt a lot. Seen Dragalge's special bulk and typing, shouldn't flinching Dragalge with Dark Pulse be more effective?

In the sun, Fire Blast is the better option. Banking on a flinch chance with Dark Pulse doesn't make much sense when you can 2HKO with Fire Blast (unless it miseses, of course).
0 SpA Dragalge Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Houndoom: 150-177 (51.5 - 60.8%)
0 SpA Adaptability Dragalge Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Houndoom: 200-236 (68.7 - 81%)

Dragalge's Draco Meteor does a lot, even without special defense invest and Adaptability can OHKO with SR or enough prior damage. You'll still have to watch out for the possible Destiny Bond though.

 

[Patrick1088]

I like houndooms design and am a big fan of mixed doom from gen v uu where i used him as a mindgame victini/chandy check. As far as ttar is concerned i think destiny bond is the way to go. The nerf to hidden power hurt but houndoom got the buff to dark attacks. Do i see it as ou? Its questionable tbh with strong fighting types like assault vest conkeldur and terrakion which is only 2 weeks away. Well see what happens though...

 

[Jin White]

Are you finding it viable to run Ninetales with Mega Houndoom? A few people have mentioned switching 'doom "directly in after sun is up" but that EQ/Stone Edge aimed at Ninetales is going to wreck Houndoom just as hard. Stacking the Stealth Rocks weakness and making your team that much more susceptible to TTar and even Toed seems... unwise.

It seems like he'd be better paired with a manual Sunny Day grass-type, like Chlorophyll Venusaur (who is a Flash Fire lure, a threat in itself, and a Fighting-resist) or Prankster Whimsicott (for much of the same reason). How are you sustaining sun for your MegaDoom, if you're bold enough to use him at all?

 

[Haze Milotic]

Mega Doom isn't good enough to break out of UU, due to the fact that Mach Punch exists.
Also, it's kind of strange that Houndoom and Manectric got Mega Evos in my opinion. Neither are that great other than Manectric with Volt Switch Intimidate...
Doom just isn't viable in OU, not even with a Mega Stone

 

[skies]

So many replies, yet not a single mention of Sludge Bomb? C'mon people? That thing would wreck any Fairies hoping to check it, including Azumarill, you don't need to be a genius to know that. Basically, when Mega Evolved, Megadoom gets STAB on all of it's special attacks, and 2x on Fire and Dark type attacks. If you decide to run a Nasty Plot set, wow. +3 STAB sun boosted Fire Blast at 140 Sp Atk? I would hate to be on the receiving end of that. Fairies? Sludge Bomb. Water types? Solar Beam. The things that can safely take one of these things to the face are few and far between. While sun has been nerfed, and it's risky as well as potentially wasteful to use Nasty Plot instead of a different move for better coverage, even without these things, it has base 140 special attack and a decent speed stat. It also resists Ghost, as well as only taking neutral damage from Fairy. It's one of the best special sweepers ever, even when it's not in it's ideal conditions.

+6 252+ SpA Solar Power Mega Houndoom Solar Beam vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Heatran in Sun: 240-282 (74.3 - 87.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Just saying... But, I think the most viable set will be Nasty Plot / Fire Blast / Dark Pulse / Solar Beam. I honestly feel Dark Pulse is mandatory for the fact Heatran can and will wall you.
+2 252+ SpA Solar Power Mega Houndoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Heatran in Sun: 313-370 (81 - 95.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
See, hit on the switch and proceed to sweep. I mean, you're walled to hell and back by Tyranitar, look:
+6 252+ SpA Mega Houndoom Hidden Power Fighting vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Tyranitar in Sand: 388-460 (96 - 113.8%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
You'll need +6, 252+, and you can try to get through it.

 

[Jin White]

+6 252+ SpA Solar Power Mega Houndoom Solar Beam vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Heatran in Sun: 240-282 (74.3 - 87.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Just saying... But, I think the most viable set will be Nasty Plot / Fire Blast / Dark Pulse / Solar Beam. I honestly feel Dark Pulse is mandatory for the fact Heatran can and will wall you.
+2 252+ SpA Solar Power Mega Houndoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Heatran in Sun: 313-370 (81 - 95.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
See, hit on the switch and proceed to sweep. I mean, you're walled to hell and back by Tyranitar, look:
+6 252+ SpA Mega Houndoom Hidden Power Fighting vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Tyranitar in Sand: 388-460 (96 - 113.8%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
You'll need +6, 252+, and you can try to get through it.

252 SpA Mega Houndoom Hidden Power Ground vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Heatran: 192-228 (49.7 - 59%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO

That's without any sort of boost and a neutral nature, so realistically it's a good deal more damage (OHKO at +2). Dark, Fire, and Ground nets you perfect neutral coverage except, I think, on Hydreigon (friggin type coverage calc doesn't take abilities into account).

HP Ground is still not doing a whole lot to TTar, unless you've already got a NP boost and you catch an offensive TTar on the switch. Assault Vest TTar will take any hit for days and days.

Sounds like Dugtrio would make an excellent partner!

 

[pectus_Umbra]

Ah, hey there. Just wanted to pop in and offer some two cents. While I haven't experimented with houndoom yet, I have actually been involved in discussion about roserade, and came to the conclusion earlier today that it could also be a decent potential partner, with the ability to handle bulky water and rotom-w, as well as rose and doom having complementary types in the same manner as venosaur, but with rose able to provide a combo of sleep+spikes as well as slightly more speed and special attack in exchange for some of the bulk venosaur offers. it also opens up possible shenanigans with weather ball, if you're into that kind of thing.

It may also be worth looking into Trevenant or Gourgeist as well, who can pull a lot of weight as spinblockers that can also wall and stall while crippling physical mons with burns. They have immunity to most forms of priority, resist aqua jet, and most likely have the bulk to survive shadow sneak off aegislash, who will be the primary user for the time being.

 

[pkmn-taicho321]

Any set without hidden power ground or fighting is completely walled by TTar and Heatran, which will both be huge this gen.
I really love Houndoom, but I feel he is one of the worse mega's. SR weakness and the fact that you can only use 1 mega on a team really hurt him.

Running Sunny day if you Switch TTar into a Sunnyday setup TTar will not get Sandstream, thus dying horribly to Solarbeam. Heatran no longer resists Dark Pulse, and is not currently a factor in Pre-Pokebank OU.

 

[Aoda]

Are you finding it viable to run Ninetales with Mega Houndoom? A few people have mentioned switching 'doom "directly in after sun is up" but that EQ/Stone Edge aimed at Ninetales is going to wreck Houndoom just as hard. Stacking the Stealth Rocks weakness and making your team that much more susceptible to TTar and even Toed seems... unwise.

It seems like he'd be better paired with a manual Sunny Day grass-type, like Chlorophyll Venusaur (who is a Flash Fire lure, a threat in itself, and a Fighting-resist) or Prankster Whimsicott (for much of the same reason). How are you sustaining sun for your MegaDoom, if you're bold enough to use him at all?

Prankster whimsiott, Venusaur ( who has more bulk than roserade), Dugtrio ( bye bye Tyrannitar and Hippowdon), Trevenant, Rotom-H (maybe?).
I can't think of other partners at this moment. ( stuff like salamence with water resistance and ground immunity could also have a nice switch in I guess)

Mega Doom isn't good enough to break out of UU, due to the fact that Mach Punch exists.
Also, it's kind of strange that Houndoom and Manectric got Mega Evos in my opinion. Neither are that great other than Manectric with Volt Switch Intimidate...
Doom just isn't viable in OU, not even with a Mega Stone

I thought it's the opposite. GF gave pokemon mega evos, when some of them don't even need them to be a threat (garchomp, Lucario, Scizor, Tyrannitar, for instance).

 

[LawofDeath]

I hate Tyranitar, I hate Heatran.. gdi..


HIDDEN POWER is nerferd now so it's only uses are for 4x weakness. No it doesn't OHKO most Tyranitar, and no coverage for Heatran as dark puls does more damage.

I've been fighting over destiny bond, will-o-wisp, or even inferno for last slot just for these two actively annoying f*cks.. ;-;

 

[Jin White]

I hate Tyranitar, I hate Heatran.. gdi..


HIDDEN POWER is nerferd now so it's only uses are for 4x weakness. No it doesn't OHKO most Tyranitar, and no coverage for Heatran as dark puls does more damage.

I've been fighting over destiny bond, will-o-wisp, or even inferno for last slot just for these two actively annoying f*cks.. ;-;

Dear god not Inferno. 50% accuracy and 5 PP.

You're probably better off running Super Fang. In fact, you're probably a LOT better off running Super Fang. Destiny Bond's a cool idea though; prankster M-Banette makes good use of it, and Mega Houndoom's got really nice speed.

I think HP Fight gives you the most bang for your buck, 2HKOing 252 HP / 0 SpDef TTar in the sand if Modest. Just make sure you have something for Azumarill... and every other poke in the game

 

[WishMaker Ace]

Most Mega Houndoom sets I see Passersby use consist of setting up with Nasty Plot and just spam Fire Blast and Dark Pulse under the sun. Personally, I wouldn't give it Nasty Plot. With the Weather being limited to 8 turns (considering Weather Rock), Mega Houndoom would be better off just being a heavy hitter than a sweeper (late-game sweeper would be possible with Nasty Plot and sun). Politoed and Tyranitar stop Nasty Plot Mega Houndoom right on its track, getting rid of its Solarbeam and Solar Power boost. Greninja and Dugtrio would make good use of the turn Mega Houndoom used to set up Nasty Plot.