Overview
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A forgotThough it is often Mega Evolutioforgotten, Mega Houndoom brings a huge amount of utility on to the table, checking dangerous threats such as Bisharp, Mega Sableye, and Latios. In addition to this, it has favorable match ups against the current metagame;common Pokemon: against offensive teams, common switch-ins liketo it such as Tyranitar and Azumarill are cripplesd by Will-O-Wisp, while stall teams will havare trouble againstd by Taunt. Its access to Nasty Plot compoundeand by its high sSpeed allows it to sweep teams. Mega with ease. Houndoom, however, has a nastyits weakness to Stealth Rock weakness and can becan be troublesome; it also is easily forced out by threats such as Keldeo, Heatran, Rotom-W, Tornadus-T, and prominent Megas such as Lopunny, and Mega Altaria. Flaws asideNonetheless, its abutility to bringand a bunch of utility, and completely wreck to sweep balanced buildsteams easily makes it a solid choice to build around.
Utility Attacker
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name: Utility Attacker
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Dark Pulse
move 4: Will-O-Wisp / Taunt
ability: Flash Fire
item: Houndoominite
nature: Timid
evs: 40 HP / 8 Def / 208 SpA / 252 Spe
Moves
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Nasty Plot allows Mega Houndoom to sweep teams with ease when its checks and counters arehave been removed, and it can set up easily duethanks to its great typing allowing it to force Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Mew, Mega Sableye, and Slowbro out. Fire Blast and Dark Pulse are great STAB moves that have good neutral coverage. Will-O-Wisp is useful against offensive teams and can cripple common switch -ins to Houndoom, such as Azumarill, Tyranitar, Terrakion, and Garchomp. It also provides yallows Houndoom a greato check to Bisharp. Taunt can be used forto stallbreaking, but if it is used, Houndoom will miss out on the utility Will-O-Wisp has. Hidden Power [Grass] and Sludge Bomb are options forcan be used to hitting Pokemon that otherwise wall Mega Houndoom's coverage, such as Azumarill, Keldeo, Terrakion, Tyranitar, Togekiss, and Mega Altaria, butthough Will-O-Wisp usually cripples most of thesem, and its utility will be missed, along with Taunt. Sunny Day can be used to abusutilize Solar Power, bringheightening Mega Houndoom's Fire Blast off the charts,damage output but making it worn down easily, and; Solarb Beam can also be easily be played around with weather setters such as Tyranitar orand Politoed for example.
Set Details
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The following EVs allow yHoundoom tako survive 3 sSeismic tTosses from Chansey and live Choice Band Talonflame's Brave Bird. Flash Fire allows yHoundoom to comeswitch in on Fire-type moves such as Volcarona's Fire Blast, and Mega Charizard Y's Fire Blamethrower, andst, as well as Heatran's Lava Plume. In Mega Charizard Y's case, a boost can be very clutchimportant because itMega Houndoom gets a Solar Power boost meaning, Mega Houndoom it can do a huge amount of damage, while Tyranitar, a common teammate for Mega Charizard Y, can beis neutered by Will-O-Wisp.
Usage Tips
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Offensive teams have trouble againstdealing with Mega Houndoom, so using Will-O-Wisp to target predicted switch -ins is vital to its success. Stall teams have trouble against the Taunt variants of Houndoom, so using double switches to wear down Chansey with Stealth Rock, and then preventing it from healing later in the match with Taunt and using repeated Nasty Plots should do the job, repeatedly will allowing you roast the archetype Mega Houndoom to deal with stall teams.
Team Options
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Gengar and Latios are amazingmake for great teammates to pair wi, as th Houndoom. They appreciate Tyranitar being burned, somaking they cannotm unable to be reliably Pursuit trapped, allowing them to wrecak havoc with Shadow Ball and Draco Meteor, respectively.; Earthquake Latios gets a special mention foreven has the ability to eliminatinge Heatran, a check to Mega Houndoom. Gyarados has excellent synergy with Mega Houndoom, and is able to set up on a bunch of thswitch-ings to Mega Houndoom can burn such as Tyranitar in compound with Intimidate. Mega Houndoom also forces outis able to deal with Ferrothorn, something that which walls Gyarados. Starmie, Excadrill, Latias, and Latios remove hazards and share nice synergy with Mega Houndoom as well. Toxicroak is an underrated teammate that has plenty of opportunities to SPAMspam Gunk Shot by taking advantage of Mega Houndoom's checks and counters such as Tyranitar, Chansey, Keldeo, Unaware Clefable, Terrakion, and Mega Altaria, if expecting thea double switch.
Other Options
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Sucker Punch is Houndoom's only option for a priority move and can mitigate issues against opposing priority and Choice Scarf users. However, it is quite weak without Attack investment. Will-O-Wisp screws with some switch-ins, most prominently Tyranitar, Hippowdon, Azumarill, and Terrakion, but it is contrary to Houndoom's fast and hard-hitting nature. Destiny Bond is a viable alternative in the last slot, but the utility provided by Taunt and the coverage given by Hidden Power [Grass] is usually superior. Sunny Day remains an excellent option forto punishing Tyranitar, Hippowdon, and Azumarill. The latter's Aqua Jet will also be weakened, meaning that Mega Houndoom can avoid being revenge killed by it. Another notable feature is the 2HKO on Chansey with only 2 switch -ins into Stealth Rock allowing it to finish stall teams much faster. However, Houndoom will have little way of breaking past Heatran and stacked up Solar Power damage will wear Houndoom out fastquickly, meaning even the resisted priority moves such as Bullet Punch will finish it off after a couple offew turns. Finally, Sludge Bomb is can optionbe used to hit Mega Altaria and Assault Vest Azumarill harder, but Mega Houndoom needs Taunt or Will-O-Wisp to be effective.
Checks & Counters
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**Revenge Killers**: Revenge killers such as Choice Scarf Garchomp, Choice Scarf Keldeo, Mega Aerodactyl, Excadrill, and Terrakion make for easy offensive checks or counters, depending on the field condition. Strong priority users such as Breloom, Talonflame, and Conkeldurr are also good checks or counters to Houndoom. Thundurus-I can paralyze it making it no longer a threaHoundoom, neutralizing it. Also, Pokemon that naturally outspeed Mega Houndoom and can hit it super effectively, such as Mega Lopunny and Tornadus-T, make for good checks as well.
**Mega Diancie**: ItMega Diancie walls Mega Houndoom's STAB moves and can bounce Will-O-Wisp back. It easily OHKOes Houndoom with Diamond Storm back.
**Tyranitar**: Tyranitar replaces sun with sand, resists Houndoom's dual STAB moves, and has the bulk to take any of its hing elsets while retaliating with Stone Edge; it really only fears Destiny Bond. Tyranitar is thus Houndoom's best counter. Tyraintar can still be eliminated by a combination of Sunny Day and Solarb Beam so be aware., however; Will-O-Wisp can also be problematic for it.
**Chansey**: This blob spongChansey survives anything from Houndoom if it does not usinge Taunt, but if it idoes, the opposing teaHoundoom can wear it down rather easily. Also be aware that Chansey is also 2HKOed by Fire Blast in Sthe sun with prior damage.
**Conkeldurr**: ItConkeldurr can take hits easily and abuses itsfrom Houndoom while benefitting from Will-O-Wisp. It is Mega thanks to Guts while being able to KO Houndoom's best counter with its STAB moves.
**Azumarill**: The Assault Vest set is the bestAzumarill counter to its Houndoom and can even tanksurvive a Solarb Beam in Sun and retailiate with Play Rough. Azumarill in sun. It even has Aqua Jet to take it KO Hout before it candoom; howeven use an attack. Just like Tyranitar, it needs tomust be cwareful of Will-O-Wisp, however.
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