[OVERVIEW]
Houndoom is powerful and possesses a good Speed tier, and its dual STAB types are very effective against the majority of Pokemon in NU while having generally great neutral coverage. Nasty Plot makes Houndoom one of the tier's premier wallbreakers, whereas Flame Charge allows Houndoom to perform as a cleaner against offensive teams. Houndoom has some useful resistances to Ghost, Grass, and Ice and immunities to Fire and Psychic, but it has paper-thin physical bulk and does not appreciate taking any unresisted STAB attack. Weaknesses to Stealth Rock, Mach Punch, and Aqua Jet can make setup difficult as well. Houndoom's frailty and multitude of common weaknesses also make it quite liable to be KOed should it fail to take out its foe.
[SET]
name: Nasty Plot
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Dark Pulse
move 4: Flame Charge / Hidden Power Water
item: Darkinium Z / Life Orb
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Nasty Plot doubles Houndoom's Special Attack, allowing it to hit incredibly hard. Fire Blast is Houndoom's main STAB attack, doing massive damage to anything that doesn't resist it after a Nasty Plot boost. Dark Pulse complements Fire Blast well, as it hits many Pokemon that resist Fire Blast for at least neutral damage, being particularly effective against the likes of Slowking, Slowbro, and Jellicent. Darkinium Z turns Dark Pulse into Black Hole Eclipse, which serves as a powerful one-time nuke that hits insane levels of damage output. For example, +2 Black Hole Eclipse is able to OHKO Pokemon such as Vaporeon, Piloswine, Assault Vest Slowking, Substitute + Bulk Up Braviary, and other such bulky Pokemon that would otherwise be out of Houndoom's reach, as well as OHKO Emboar and bulky Rhydon after Stealth Rock damage.
Flame Charge is a great option to greatly improve Houndoom's matchup against offensive teams, letting it outspeed and threaten the likes of Sceptile, Virizion, Sneasel, Choice Scarf Rotom-C, Mismagius, Sigilyph, Delphox, and Whimsicott. If Houndoom is using Life Orb instead of Darkinium Z, Hidden Power Water is an option to round out Houndoom's coverage, as +2 Life Orb-boosted Hidden Power Water cleanly OHKOes bulky Rhydon, Emboar, and opposing Houndoom and does 56-66% to Assault Vest Incineroar. Sucker Punch is a noteworthy option on the Life Orb set as well, giving Houndoom access to a priority move with reasonable power. However, the lack of investment means that Sucker Punch isn't going to be OHKOing anything bulkier than Alolan Raichu or non-Colbur Berry Mismagius, which can limit its usefulness. Taunt prevents the opponsing Pokemon's attempts to heal or inflict Houndoom with status ailments, which can give Houndoom additional setup opportunities against Pokemon such as Uxie, Gourgeist-XL, and Clefairy as well as shut down Pyukumuku.
Set Details
========
Maximum Special Attack and Speed investment makes the most out of Houndoom's power and Speed tier, with a Timid nature allowing it to outrun Pokemon such as Meloetta, Lilligant, Rotom, and Toxicroak and Speed tie with Drapion and opposing Houndoom. Darkinium Z gives Houndoom access to a powerful one-time Dark-type nuke, which comes in handy with or without a Nasty Plot boost to KO certain targets and avoid retaliation. Life Orb is a fine alternative to boost Houndoom's overall power should another Pokemon be running your Z-Move, notably giving Dark Pulse enough power to OHKO Slowbro after Stealth Rock damage alone. Flash Fire is the ability of choice to take advantage of Fire-type moves such as Fire Blast and Will-O-Wisp, letting Houndoom switch in more easily while also giving it a substantial boost to its own Fire Blast if it switches into a Fire-type move.
Usage Tips
========
Houndoom can make use of its Speed tier, power, and numerous resistances and immunities to threaten out foes and attain various setup opportunities. It can threaten to toast slower Grass-types such as Lilligant, Vileplume, and Ferroseed; it can try to get a Flash Fire boost from Will-O-Wisp users, such as Spiritomb and Weezing, aand Pokemon Choice-locked into Fire-type moves and scare them out; or it can threaten to nuke slower Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Meloetta, Uxie, Slowbro, and Jellicent. Houndoom's typing and ability also let it check Pokemon such as Cryogonal, Delphox, and Mismagius in a pinch.
If Houndoom has both Nasty Plot and Flame Charge, what it sets up with depends on the opponent's team: using Nasty Plot is the right choice to break a bulkier opposing team, whereas a more offensive team would warrant Flame Charge instead. In the case of Houndoom without Flame Charge, it can simply throw out a powerful move against offensive teams, which lack reliable switch-ins to it. While it is certainly important to wait for the opportune moment to unleash Black Hole Eclipse, Houndoom's frailty means you should not get too conservative with it, as you don't want Houndoom to end up KOed as a result of you holding back for too long. It's important to know if Houndoom needs its Z-Move later and if it even gets the chance to use it later, so keep those factors in mind.
Team Options
========
One of Houndoom's greatest qualities is that its many useful resistances and powerful offensive typing allow it to synergize well with many kinds of Pokemon. Fighting-types make terrific offensive partners for Houndoom, exerting heavy offensive pressure on the opponent's team. Hitmonlee, Virizion, Toxicroak, Medicham, Machamp, and Sawk are examples of Fighting-types that can break down cores alongside Houndoom. Virizion is especially notable as a partner, as it resists Water-, Rock-, and Ground-type moves for Houndoom, and Toxicroak can switch in on Water-, Rock-, and weaker Fighting-type attacks. In turn, Fighting-types lure in Psychic-, Ghost-, and Poison-type Pokemon, giving good attacking and setup opportunities for Houndoom.
Grass-types provide good defensive synergy with Houndoom, making them great teammates. Virizion makes an excellent partner for the aforementioned reasons, while Sceptile offers a more immediately powerful approach by throwing out Leaf Storms to soften up the opposing team. Rotom-C and Whimsicott protect Houndoom from Water- and Ground-type moves, as well as Fighting-type moves in Whimsicott's case, while using Volt Switch or U-turn to pivot against incoming Grass- or Poison-types for Houndoom to roast; Whimsicott can even use Memento to allow Houndoom to set up more easily. While Vileplume may not threaten to sweep a team, it is a much sturdier and more reliable defensive response to Houndoom's weaknesses, and with the threat of Effect Spore, reasonable power, and support options such as Sleep Powder and Aromatherapy, Vileplume has just enough presence to not completely drain offensive momentum.
Ghost- and Psychic-types aid Houndoom's matchup against Fighting-types, which are some of Houndoom's most common offensive responses. Sigilyph can take Ground- and Fighting-type attacks, as well as Scald and Toxic, aimed at Houndoom while using its expansive movepool to threaten the opponent's bulkier cores. Mismagius and Meloetta provide even more breaking power alongside Houndoom and can even lure in and do heavy damage to some of Houndoom's checks: Meloetta can use Focus Blast to dent Guzzlord and Assault Vest Incineroar, while Mismagius can use Dazzling Gleam and Continental Crush to accomplish the same feat.
As with all offensive Pokemon, Houndoom appreciates entry hazards to make it easier to get KOs, such as the OHKO on Steelix without interference from Sturdy or the OHKO on the likes of Slowbro with Life Orb-boosted Dark Pulse. Considering Houndoom's frailty, it is all the more important for Houndoom to ensure its KOs lest its sweep get cut short. Fast entry hazard users, such as Accelgor and Archeops, can quickly set up Spikes or Stealth Rock and immediately control the pace of the match, while bulkier entry hazard users such as Seismitoad, Qwilfish, Garbodor, Uxie, Ferroseed, and Druddigon can cover at least one of Houndoom's weaknesses, take priority moves for it, and provide additional support mainly in the form of status ailments.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Hidden Power Grass is mainly used for Life Orb Houndoom to OHKO Quagsire and OHKO Poliwrath after a Nasty Plot. Hidden Power Grass is also able to OHKO Seismitoad and Gastrodon at +2 without using Black Hole Eclipse while still hitting Rhydon 4x super effectively like Hidden Power Water does. However, running Hidden Power Grass leaves Emboar and opposing Houndoom resistant to all of Houndoom's attacks and forces it to expend its +2 Z-Move on those instead to KO them, and Houndoom would much rather use its Z-Move against bulky Water-types and just wear down the more dangerous Fire-types with repeated hits they cannot heal off. With one layer of Stealth Rock or Spikes, Super Fang puts Guzzlord and Assault Vest Incineroar into the perfect KO range for a +2 Black Hole Eclipse later. The downside is that those two are Super Fang's only targets, and it needs to be used against those two on the switch. Super Fang can also whittle down Hariyama, but Hariyama also needs to have taken Spikes damage twice to be put in range of +2 Black Hole Eclipse.
Firium Z allows Houndoom to access Inferno Overdrive via its Fire Blast, which is substantially stronger than Darkinium Z-boosted Dark Pulse, However, Fire Blast doesn't need much of a power boost and is better off being complemented by Black Hole Eclipse, which effectively wipes out Pokemon resistant to Fire, as opposed to turning Fire Blast into a nuke but having an unboosted Dark Pulse that isn't strong enough to back it up. Houndoom does learn Pursuit, but Houndoom's need to go mixed so as to not significantly weaken Fire Blast makes Pursuit much less effective in Houndoom's hands compared to other Pursuit users such as Sneasel, Drapion, and Spiritomb.
Houndoom has the Speed to use a Choice Scarf set that has the STAB attacks to threaten many offensive Pokemon and even Destiny Bond to pick up a surprise KO. The big downside is that Houndoom has a heavy weakness to entry hazards, especially Stealth Rock, that would only be exacerbated by it switching in and out many times in a match. Flame Charge Houndoom is also more effective at cleaning games, due to its ability to switch attacks and access its Z-Move. Choice Band Unnerve Houndoom is hilarious in its ability to bypass Colbur Berry and hit fleeing Ghost- and Psychic-types with a full-powered Pursuit, but Houndoom's lack of any good physical Fire-type STAB attack makes this idea nothing more than a gimmick.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fighting-type Pokemon**: Fighting-types usually present the biggest immediate threat to Houndoom. Thick Fat Hariyama is a hard counter, as Houndoom's attacks bounce off its thick hide. Poliwrath is a counter as well and can pick off Houndoom with Scald followed by Vacuum Wave, though it has to be wary of Hidden Power Grass. Hitmonlee, Emboar, Scrafty, Machamp, Hitmontop, and Gurdurr can all survive an unboosted Fire Blast and KO Houndoom with their Fighting-type STAB attacks. Fighting-type Choice Scarf users such as Emboar, Hitmonlee, and Medicham can revenge kill Houndoom as well, though Medicham will not appreciate a hit from Flame Charge Houndoom. Virizion naturally outspeeds Houndoom and beats it with Close Combat, though it has to watch out for Flame Charge variants, as Life Orb-boosted Fire Blast OHKOes it.
**Incineroar and Guzzlord**: These two have considerable special bulk and resist Houndoom's dual STAB types while being able to easily KO Houndoom with Earthquake or Dragon-type STAB moves. The only thing they have to worry about is getting hit by Super Fang on the switch while entry hazards are up, as this puts them in range of +2 Black Hole Eclipse.
**Faster Pokemon**: Tauros, Archeops, Cinccino, Dodrio, Focus Blast Typhlosion, and Focus Blast or Earthquake Sceptile can revenge kill Houndoom, and various Choice Scarf users, such as Drapion and Braviary, can accomplish the job as well. However, they have to be cautious against Flame Charge Houndoom, which can render most of them no longer checks.
**Priority Attacks**: Flame Charge Houndoom's blistering Speed may require the use of priority moves in order to outrun it. Life Orb Hitmonlee's Mach Punch can immediately OHKO Houndoom, while Gurdurr's Mach Punch takes it out at 70%, allowing them to check Houndoom after it sets up. Aqua Jet is potent against Houndoom as well, with the most relevant users including Samurott, Kabutops, Carracosta, and even offensive Swift Swim Qwilfish. While Toxicroak's Vacuum Wave is nowhere near as effective as Mach Punch and Toxicroak is easily KOed by Fire Blast, it can still pick off Houndoom at half health. Other problematic priority moves for Houndoom include Fake Out from Ambipom and Kangaskhan, Quick Attack from Dodrio, and Accelerock from Lycanroc-D. Do note that Houndoom's resistance to Sucker Punch, Shadow Sneak, Bullet Punch, and Ice Shard makes it harder to take down Houndoom with these moves.
**Tanks**: While Houndoom possesses great bursts of power, it is still possible to withstand its attacks using sheer bulk, especially if Houndoom has used up its Z-Move. Houndoom's +2 Dark Pulse is unable to OHKO most bulkier Pokemon that resist Fire, such as bulky Rhydon, Seismitoad, Vaporeon, Druddigon, Drampa, Lanturn, and Gastrodon. Some of these may succumb to +2 Dark Pulse if Houndoom is running Life Orb, but Vaporeon, Gastrodon, and bulky Rhydon can still stomach the hit, although Rhydon has to worry about Hidden Power. Quagsire is only OHKOed by Life Orb-boosted Hidden Power Grass, but it is still a shaky direct switch-in, as it is 2HKOed by either Dark Pulse followed by Black Hole Eclipse or two Life Orb-boosted Dark Pulses. Pyukumuku is a comfortable answer for a Houndoom set that lacks Taunt.
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