Pokémon Houndoom

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Houndoom @Houndoomite
Flash Fire (Solar Power)
Timid 4HP/252SpAtk/252Spd
- Nasty Plot
- Flamethrower
- Dark Pulse
- Sludge Bomb


This set has worked rather well for me, giving me a few openings I can use as a safe switch out. Florges can set up, as well as pass wish on to him at a later time. Florges provides oodles of team support, given the proper playing. Although she is outclassed by Sylveon, it still works. He doesn't rely fully on team support either. He acts as quite the threat even before going mega, providing you with an ever prevalent Fire switch for any weaker to fire mons such as Ferrothorn or even Froslass.

Flamethrower and Dark Pulse are both obvious choices due to STAB. Nasty Plot for predicting a switch with free set up, and Sludge Bomb to catch our new Fairy overlords off guard. This set provides enough support just from the presence of such a pokemon, that it fits well into most teams as a solid Fire Type. Solar Power is very nice, and if you can use it, go for it. It is not at all necessary to use every battle, and it leaves your opponent constantly guessing when you are going to try to set up for such a strategy.

Additional moves that would be notably useful with Houndoom would definitely be Destiny Bond, Sucker Punch, HP Ice/Ground, and even the useful Solarbeam. All of these moves provide him with a sort of coverage he doesn't have otherwise, and all should be noted as being useful given a certain situation. IMO, Sucker Punch would be fun to run on a Naive/Hasty set with the last 4 EV's into Atk rather than HP.

Overall, a semi-useful pokemon has been given a gift of complete unpredictability, and obscene power. Houndoom is going to make a hard splash this gen, and I think we won't be done talking about him for a while.

 

[qwazz]

This place is probably abandoned by now. But I would like to point out that a potential support pokemon is usable here.

Houndoom @ Houndoominite
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Timid nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt/Roar
- Rest/protect/Fire STAB of your choice

Pretty straight-forward set. Mega houndoom got a serious boost to his defenses (somewhat silly, because he also got a speed boost.) But 75/90/90 is not to be underestimated, especially after you're burned. You can use it as a phaser, or a fast taunt pokemon. Destiny bond may also be an option. Foul play is to stop dragon dance/swords dance sweepers who think they can force the switch. This set is probably not gonna be top tier, but it's an interesting idea to me.

 

[lalala45]

Yeah this thread has been abandoned since January (MegaDoom...anybody home?)

That set however is kinda, eh, I mean 75/90/90 bulk is alright, but I think its much better on something that has more bulk and more reliable recovery, Houndoom can't take too many hits like a tank zard x could. Its best if he just goes straight up offensive.

 

[Strykeypoo]

Yeah this thread has been abandoned since January (MegaDoom...anybody home?)

That set however is kinda, eh, I mean 75/90/90 bulk is alright, but I think its much better on something that has more bulk and more reliable recovery, Houndoom can't take too many hits like a tank zard x could. Its best if he just goes straight up offensive.

Mega Houndoom is a pretty frustrating pokemon. Pretty good stat distribution, and dual stab that only a handful of pokemon resists. Unfortunately those handful of pokemon are pretty big threats in OU, including the likes of Azumarill, Greninja, Keldeo, Mega Gyarados and Tyranitar. Also, compared to Megazard Y, MH got a pretty shitty ability. MH would be able to make good use of the sun, but that then requires either the support of otherwise dead weight Ninetales or the use of Sunny Day. Sunny Day cuts into MH's movepool significantly though, and gives an inferior boost to attack when compared to Sunny Day. Also, after taking a hit as well as Solar Power damage, MH wont live much longer.

If I were to use Mega Houndoom, I'd just play to its strengths and run something like


Houndoom-Mega @ Houndoominite
Ability: Solar Power
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid/Hasty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse/Sucker Punch
- Nasty Plot/HP Electric
- Will-O-Wisp

Mega Houndoom is fast, and that is really the only reason you would run it over Charizard Y in OU. This set works in either two ways; you run Nasty Plot and HP Electric and try to function as mid-end game sweeper, outspeeding anything that isn't Greninja or scarfed. Otherwise you HP Electric and possibly Sucker Punch and try to punch holes in teams. In my opinion (and the usage statistics) the latter is largely inferior to Charizard Y. Will-o-Wisp is a must, regardless, as it cripples the Tyranitars, Terrakions and Azumarills that would otherwise love to switch in on you.

 

[Giagantic]

I have been experimenting with various weather teams and found that even though you have to relie on the mediocre ninetales mega houndooms sheer power under the sun makes up for this. After just one nasty plot he is able to potentially 1 shot 250hp and def chansey and blissey . His biggest weaknesses lay with his weakness to fighting and ground with conkeldur being able neaely one shot him. however one of the biggest issues he facesis the speed before mega evolving being base 95 meaning a large number of threats outspeed and ko if not megad . sorry if there are a lot of errors typing this in a hospital on my phone.

 

[Mariachi Duck]

I've been running MegaDoom on the UU ladder to some effect. I just treat his ability like Florges' or Swampert's ability; it will never/rarely come up, but I'll just use the pokemon for its strengths in other areas.

The set I run:
Houndoom @ Houndoominite
Flash Fire -> Solar Power
Nature: +SPE, -SpD
EVs: 4 ATK / 252 SpATK / 252 SPE
- Sucker Punch
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Sludge Bomb

Sucker Punch has the surprise factor associated with it, and it is pretty shockingly powerful. He can outspeed some pokemon that fear his other moves but try to OHKO with priority, or revenge kill scarfers with it. Sometimes, it's just good to go out with a bang and get one last big chunk of damage off when he's being revenge killed by something which outspeeds, and Dark's neutral coverage this gen is just stellar. Fire Blast/Dark Pulse is of course the recommended STAB combo; you could run Flamethrower if you prefer accuracy, I haven't done the calcs needed to score if you lose any relevant OHKOs. Sludge Bomb hits Florges, who still only takes about 45% from it, but it beats his other moves against her by a long shot. The coverage vs. grass types is largely irrelevant due to Fire STAB, so it is basically just for Florges.

If this dog kept Flash Fire after mega evoing, he'd be a lot better, IMHO. That would let him come in and out more easily, and possibly run a set with Overheat to take advantage of his mixed stats and hit-and-run. As it is, he's basically a nuke that takes down 1-2 pokemon and damages another and then dies.

EDIT: It is worth noting that "just one Nasty Plot" under the sun costs you 2 turns of Sun (minimum) and 25% of your HP just setting up. The Sun weakens Aqua Jet, though, which sort of offsets the damage over time aspect in some situations. He's still weak to Vacuum Wave and Mach Punch, and pretty fragile though. I really don't think Solar Power is worth capitalizing on unless your opponent runs Sun.

 

[Mischief Maker]

What about some teammates for Mega Houndoom? I'm really trying to make him viable. And I must confess I'm using OU pokes to support him at the moment.

I use a scout with U-turn to look or naturalize threats and then bring out a Sun setter that can utilize Chlorophyll. Sometimes my Chlorophyll user can sweep, other times not. When I switch out to the doom, usually in the face of a fire threat, I get a boots and I am able to sweep late game with her.

 

[Jaroda]

What about some teammates for Mega Houndoom? I'm really trying to make him viable. And I must confess I'm using OU pokes to support him at the moment.

I use a scout with U-turn to look or naturalize threats and then bring out a Sun setter that can utilize Chlorophyll. Sometimes my Chlorophyll user can sweep, other times not. When I switch out to the doom, usually in the face of a fire threat, I get a boots and I am able to sweep late game with her.

Consider Deoxys-S and Jumpluff.

Deo-S has peerless speed able to get up Sunny Day, Screens and some hazards to ease sweeping. You decide on the combination. I'd recommend screens with Light Clay over Heat Rock however.

Jumpluff has crazy good 110 speed, which can also be boosted by Chlorophyl, but he also gets Infiltrator. In addition to Sunny Day Jumpluff has two moves that will help Houndoom significantly; Sleep Powder and Memento. With Infiltrator, even enemies behind a Sub can be put to sleep, meaning that's one less obstacle for Houndoom to worry about (or any sweeper really). So when they switch Jumpluff can now use Memento to drastically lower the enemies offenses and get Houndoom in safely. With either screens or Sunny Day up, Houndoom should be able to safely use Nasty Plot(Substitute) and reak havoc.

Jumpluff@Heat Rock
Chlorophyll/Infiltrator
Jolly 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spd
~ U-Turn/Leech Seed
~ Sleep Powder
~ Sunny Day
~ Memento

Also, Latias is a very good option as well, who can also use screens, Defog hazards away, and use Healing Wish. Houndoom would actually pair really well with Latias since Bisharp HATES Houndoom, resisting both STABs and fleeing from Fire.

 

[Mischief Maker]

Thank you Jaroda for the awesome advice. I'll get working on this and test it as soon as I can.

 

[Jaroda]

One last one to consider is Volbeat. Volbeat with Focus Sash and Prankster can Baton Pass Tailglow to Houndoom, which is needless to say, apocalyptic. Prankster coupled with Focus Sash is a near guarantee pass and Volbeat still has access to Sunny Day, Light Screen, substitute and Thunder Wave to assist further. The final merit is that as a Bug type you can expect to attract Fire moves which can help you activate Flash Fire.

 

[Ash Borer]

What about some teammates for Mega Houndoom? I'm really trying to make him viable. And I must confess I'm using OU pokes to support him at the moment.

I use a scout with U-turn to look or naturalize threats and then bring out a Sun setter that can utilize Chlorophyll. Sometimes my Chlorophyll user can sweep, other times not. When I switch out to the doom, usually in the face of a fire threat, I get a boots and I am able to sweep late game with her.

http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/houndoom-qc-0-3.3495618/

check team options. If you're trying to play sun in XY OU I feel as if there are som mandatory pokemon

- Heat Rock users are imperative for sun Houndoom. Ninetales sets up sun the easiest but its otherwise deadweight on a team.
- I wouldnt attempt to run sun with a straight face without Dugtrio. Dugtrio traps and kills Tyranitar, and Heatran. Both pokemon completely arrest the momentum of sun offense
- Chlorophyll venusaur is a godsend to sun, it beats Azumarill, Keldeo, Hippowdon, and some other pokemon that problematic for Houndoom

I would strongly suggest Venusaur / HOundoom / Dugtrio core then work on Hazard control (defog, rapid stealth rock user of your own), setting the sun (heat rock sunny day users or ninetales), and countering dealing with big hreats to sun like Talonflame, Mamoswine, Balloon heatran, etc

 

[Mischief Maker]

I've been using Greninja / Venusaur / Houndoom. My ninja is my check and sometimes I can end up sweeping with him right off the bat. My biggest problem is that I seem to be vastly affected by status. If I get paralyzed I have a 50% chance of not attacking. (I know it's actually 25%)

I've been looking at Dugtrio for that utility to check threats. Thanks for bringing this back to my mind. Venusaur is my sun setter and can actually sweep sometimes or even lure out fire type moves to switch into.

 

[Noisy Noivern]

It's a shame Houndoom didn't just get his mega form as a regular Evolution.
Him and Zard Y would be a nice and powerful Tag Team. You just need Bug/Steel, or Ferrothorn as bait.
- It's actually worth a Team Slot... but not a Mega Slot.

 

[fleurdyleurse]

I built a team with Mega-Houndoom together with Deoxys-D, Azumarill, Bisharp, Keldeo, and Latios. it's quite effective, setting hazards with Deo-D, and threatening with Bisharp to scare off Defog. Mega-Houndoom can be an effective cleaner when used in tandem with Latios/Azu/Keldeo. It's not as bad as you might think, after a Nasty Plot, it's actually quite powerful. It also has a nice 115 speed which outspeeds Zard-Y and clean OHKOs after Nasty Plot + Sun. It also causes many switches with punishes with hazards. Quite good, imo.

 

[dkkc19]

It's a shame Houndoom didn't just get his mega form as a regular Evolution.
Him and Zard Y would be a nice and powerful Tag Team. You just need Bug/Steel, or Ferrothorn as bait.
- It's actually worth a Team Slot... but not a Mega Slot.

Agreed. And it would be hands down the most badass Pokemon if the Mega Houndoom form was his 3rd evolution.

 

[lalala45]

This mega evolution is one of the most interesting out of all the ones that I've seen, simply because its power is too much for any general pokemon to take other than really dedicated special walls, and most pokemon are running physically defensive sets due to the sheer number of powerful physical attackers around. Having such immediate power is to be praised for.

Unfortunately, since someone needs to set up his sun for him, as opposed to zard y, most don't even bother because full on weather teams are so "oldschool" since the nerf; another thing is a lot of people tend to favor a balance of durability and power over glass cannons with a butt-ton of power (there are few exceptions out there). Humans always want things to be easier naturally.

...To be honest though, in my opinion I don't think this really matters too much, because if you can make a glass cannon work, you can make a glass cannon work, and the reward will be so fulfilling in the end. Mega Houndoom is the prime example of "go big or go home"; You dish out everything you can and in the end you hopefully did enough to warrant a great success. Spamming +2 solar power boosted, sun boosted, stab fire blasts like no end is Mega Houndoom's goal, in which---

SOMETHING WILL DIE, NO MATTER WHAT. (most likely at least 3 pokemon if you're a decent player).

And there you go, Mega houndoom did something for your team. :)

 

[Celon]

This mega evolution is one of the most interesting out of all the ones that I've seen, simply because its power is too much for any general to take other than really dedicated special walls, and most pokemon are running physically defensive sets due to the sheer number of powerful physical attackers around. Having such immediate power is to be praised for.

Unfortunately, since someone needs to set up his sun for him, as opposed to zard y, most don't even bother because full on weather teams are so "oldschool" since the nerf; another thing is a lot of people tend to favor a balance of durability and power over glass cannons with a butt-ton of power (there are few exceptions out there). Humans always want things to be easier naturally.

...To be honest though, in my opinion I don't think this really matters too much, because if you can make a glass cannon work, you can make a glass cannon work, and the reward will be so fulfilling in the end. Mega Houndoom is the prime example of "go big or go home"; You dish out everything you can and in the end you hopefully did enough to warrant a great success. Spamming +2 solar power boosted, sun boosted, stab fire blasts like no end is Mega Houndoom's goal, in which---

SOMETHING WILL DIE, NO MATTER WHAT. (most likely at least 3 pokemon if you're a decent player).

And there you go, Mega houndoom did something for your team. :)

Can I just say that Mega Houndoom really isn't as much of a Glass Cannon as you make him sound? Sure, it's no Mega Gyarados as far as a bulky offensive Pokemon goes, but 75/90/90 Defenses aren't much to scoff at either. It can survive priority moves from the likes of Azumarill and Conkeldurr, and potentially KO them. Just my 2 cents though

 

[Aragorn the King]

Can I just say that Mega Houndoom really isn't as much of a Glass Cannon as you make him sound? Sure, it's no Mega Gyarados as far as a bulky offensive Pokemon goes, but 75/90/90 Defenses aren't much to scoff at either. It can survive priority moves from the likes of Azumarill and Conkeldurr, and potentially KO them. Just my 2 cents though

252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Aqua Jet vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Houndoom: 260-308 (89 - 105.4%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Conkeldurr Mach Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Houndoom: 168-198 (57.5 - 67.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
I thought you were joking, but you're actually right. However, I still would not advise keeping Houndoom on either of these two. At +0, it can only do 72% max to Azumarill (while facing a 31.3% to be killed, if at 100%), and only 44.4% max to Assault Vest Conk, who can safely Drain Punch after.
I do realize these were just examples that show its decent bulk, but they don't show the best situations.

EDIT: Okay, now that I think about it, you could use Sunny Day on Azumarill's predicted switch to hurt its Aqua Jets and allow you to run Solar Beam.

 

[Celon]

252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Aqua Jet vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Houndoom: 260-308 (89 - 105.4%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Conkeldurr Mach Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Houndoom: 168-198 (57.5 - 67.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
I thought you were joking, but you're actually right. However, I still would not advise keeping Houndoom on either of these two. At +0, it can only do 72% max to Azumarill (while facing a 31.3% to be killed, if at 100%), and only 44.4% max to Assault Vest Conk, who can safely Drain Punch after.
I do realize these were just examples that show its decent bulk, but they don't show the best situations.

EDIT: Okay, now that I think about it, you could use Sunny Day on Azumarill's predicted switch to hurt its Aqua Jets and allow you to run Solar Beam.

Yeah. Sunny Day on Mega Houndoom doesn't make Azumarill the most reliable check. However, Conkeldurr just full on massacres Mega Houndoom, so it definitely needs support from the likes of Azumarill to maul Conkeldurr. (Preferably the BellyJet set, as it doesn't mind losing its item too much)

 

[skies]

Actually, no it does not:
252 SpA Solar Power Mega Houndoom Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Conkeldurr in Sun: 402-474 (97.1 - 114.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

 

[Aragorn the King]

Actually, no it does not:
252 SpA Solar Power Mega Houndoom Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Conkeldurr in Sun: 402-474 (97.1 - 114.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

I was assuming the Nasty Plot set, which is generally considered its best set, without any boosts. But even at +2, Conk, who should be running max special defense btw, not HP, takes 88.8% max from Fire Blast, and then easily kills with Drain Punch. Sunny Day neuters Azumarill, but Conk still handles it well.

 

[skies]

I was assuming the Nasty Plot set, which is generally considered its best set, without any boosts. But even at +2, Conk, who should be running max special defense btw, not HP, takes 88.8% max from Fire Blast, and then easily kills with Drain Punch. Sunny Day neuters Azumarill, but Conk still handles it well.

I am /that/ guy that runs Modest:
252+ SpA Solar Power Mega Houndoom Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Assault Vest Conkeldurr in Sun: 324-382 (78.2 - 92.2%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and 1 layer of Spikes
I like Modest with Sunny Day / Fire Blast / whatever the hell you want. Modest Mega Houndoom still outspeeds base 100s, you do miss out on outspeeding Keldeo and nailing it with Solar Bema though, which sucks.

 

[Aragorn the King]

I am /that/ guy that runs Modest:
252+ SpA Solar Power Mega Houndoom Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Assault Vest Conkeldurr in Sun: 324-382 (78.2 - 92.2%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and 1 layer of Spikes
I like Modest with Sunny Day / Fire Blast / whatever the hell you want. Modest Mega Houndoom still outspeeds base 100s, you do miss out on outspeeding Keldeo and nailing it with Solar Bema though, which sucks.

Hmm... I'd never think to run modest with that fantastic speed tier. But if it works for you, great! If you're using it 100% as a wall breaker, I'd think Modest would actually be better. But as a sweeper I think Timid is better.

 

[Celon]

I was assuming the Nasty Plot set, which is generally considered its best set, without any boosts. But even at +2, Conk, who should be running max special defense btw, not HP, takes 88.8% max from Fire Blast, and then easily kills with Drain Punch. Sunny Day neuters Azumarill, but Conk still handles it well.

I can understand why most Conkeldurr run Max Special Defense instead of HP, which is to gain back more HP from Drain Punch, but you're really cutting back on Conk's good mixed bulk by not investing in HP. Though, glad to know that Houndoom at least stands a chance against Conkeldurr. If not, then it can just use Destiny Bond.

 

[lalala45]

Can I just say that Mega Houndoom really isn't as much of a Glass Cannon as you make him sound? Sure, it's no Mega Gyarados as far as a bulky offensive Pokemon goes, but 75/90/90 Defenses aren't much to scoff at either. It can survive priority moves from the likes of Azumarill and Conkeldurr, and potentially KO them. Just my 2 cents though

Okay, maybe I exaggerated a little bit, Mega Houndoom isn't exactly that frail, it can take some hits, but since we are talking about OU, its "frail" compared to the majority of pokemon residing in the tier. Besides, Mega Houndoom should avoid taking anything (even if it is resisted) unless its absolutely necessary since solar power has that life orb effect on him. I would pair him with a wish sylveon with baton pass so that way you can play mind games and get some health to Megadoom as soon as possible.

My point still stands though:

1. Get him in safely through volt-turn, prediction, etc.
2. Hit Hard and kill something (boost if you find an opportunity)
3. get out as soon as possible