- Yea, this is like the most underrated Mega and the old analysis isn't that good in my eyes, so I asked Jukain for a revamp. It 6-0s pretty much all stall teams when you weaken Chansey (which is not hard to do). If you don't believe me, ask Doughboy whose stall team I swept 6-0 last night. Destiny Bond needs to be removed and replaced by Hidden Power [Grass]. Sunny Day should be slashed after Nasty Plot.
Sunny Day allows Mega Houndoom to wreck its most common switch in, Assault Vest Azumarill, which can no longer revenge kill it with Aqua Jet doing a pitiful average of 30% in the Sun. Solar Beam is OHKOing after prior damage or OHKO if it decides to switch in on Dark Pulse / Fire Blast. Using Sunny Day = Solarbeam which means you are also wrecking Terrakion and Keldeo which resist its STABs. Fire Blast also gets a huge boost meaning that Chansey, a Pokemon in which Taunt is required for to beat over time, gets 2HKOed by Fire Blast after 2 Stealth Rock switch ins. Yes, 2HKOed. The difference between Sunny Day and Nasty Plot is that Mega Houndoom gets 8 attacks Max with Solar Power in use meaning its worn down fast. The second difference is that Nasty Plot makes Dark Pulse more powerful. While its main targets are smacked down even in Sun, even Offensive Heatran survives whereas +2 Dark Pulse OHKOes 50% after Stealth Rock damage. Defensive Heatran isn't much of a problem, but Offensive is because it carries Earth Power which can do up to 89% meaning it will picked off by like MEga Scizor's Bullet Punch or such. However, Sunny Day is a viable move choice and I have used the Sunny Day set a lot. Also, it makes Tyranitar switch ins useless, Mega Houndoom's only counter along with Azumarill. Its worth a slash.
Mega Houndoom 6-0s all Stall Teams when used correctly
Okay, I guess Quagsire might be in the way, but its 2HKOed by Dark Pulse so playing carefully around it is important. I am expressing this in the analysis for a reason because it does! This is the biggest mistake I see when people use freakin Mega Houndoom. They think they can just set up on like Chansey and set up Nasty Plot, then use Taunt and sweep. But no, Chansey kills it after 3 Seismic Tosses. It has to be worn down after repeated switch ins from Fire Blast. If you are facing a Skarmory, you don't set up Nasty Plot as it switches off to Chansey if Chansey is healthy. Let Stealth Rock and Fire Blast do the work in the beggining and switch to like Terrakion which forces it out. Next time when your facing like Mega Scizor and force it out once again to Chansey, Stealth Rock will bring it to about 58% and Taunt so it can't use Recover and Toxic. You can either set up Nasty Plot once again (or if you used Fire Blast as it switched in again then first time), then finish it off. everything else is demolish. Mega Venusaur and even the most SpD bulky Charizard die to Fire Blast and Dark Pulse respectively after Stealth Rock. Everything else, lol, they die. Also, Clefable isn't a counter. Its 2HKOed by Fire Blast and remember its part Fire-type, so...
Mega Houndoom is not useless versus Offensive teams
Mega Houndoom is taking Sucker Punch from Mega Mawile and hits for an OHKO back, the most threatening PKMN in the metagame currently. Many teams have to run like Terrakion, Keldeo, and other soft checks because of this thing. With Mega Houndoom, you are not restricting team building as much as you think. 115 Base Speed gives the boost to check Latios, Bisharp, Excadrill,...and do massive damage to things like Landorus-I. After Nasty Plot / Sunny Day its like only being checked by Azumarill (lol Sunny Day), Thundurus-I, Conkeldurr (which sucks and noone uses), and Breloom. Yea, its p. good versus Offense.
Code:
Quality Control [alexwolf | jukain | ben gay]
Grammar-Prose [ suck my d | GP team ftw]
Amateur Checks [None]########
Though it is often forgotten, Mega Houndoom brings a huge amount of utility to the table, checking dangerous threats such as Bisharp, Mega Sableye, and Latios. It also has favorable matchups against common Pokemon; against offensive teams, common switch-ins to it such as Tyranitar and Azumarill are crippled by Will-O-Wisp, while stall teams are troubled by Taunt. Mega Houndoom's access to Nasty Plot and its high Speed allows it to sweep teams with ease. However, its weakness to Stealth Rock can be troublesome: it also is forced out by threats such as Keldeo, Heatran, Rotom-W, Tornadus-T, Mega Lopunny and Mega Altaria. Nonetheless, Mega Houndoom's utility and ability to sweep balanced teams 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 once its checks and counters have been removed, and thanks to its great typing, it can force out and set up on Pokemon such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Mew, Mega Sableye, and Slowbro. 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 Mega Houndoom such as Azumarill, Tyranitar, Terrakion, and Garchomp. It also allows Mega Houndoom to check Bisharp. Taunt can be used fto stallbreak, but if it used, Mega Houndoom loses out on the utility of Will-O-Wisp. Hidden Power Grass and Sludge Bomb can be used in the last moveslot to hit Pokemon that otherwise wall Mega Houndoom, such as Azumarill, Keldeo, Terrakion, Tyranitar, Togekiss, and Mega Altaria, though Will-O-Wisp usually cripples most of these, and its utility will be missed. Sunny Day can be used to utilize Solar Power, heightening Mega Houndoom's damage output, but it can be worn down easily; Solar Beam is also easy for an opponent to take advantage of.
Set Details
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The given EVs allow Mega Houndoom to survive 3 Seismic tTosses from Chansey and Choice Band Talonflame's Brave Bird. Flash Fire allows Mega Houndoom to switch-into Fire-type moves such as Volcarona's Fire Blast and Mega Charizard Y's Fire Blast, as well as Heatran's Lava Plume. Against Mega Charizard Y's case, a boost can be very important because it gives Mega Houndoom a Solar Power boost meaning it can do a huge amount of damage, while Tyranitar, a common teammate of Mega Charizard Y, is neutered by Will-O-Wisp.
Usage Tips
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Offensive teams have trouble dealing with Mega Houndoom, so using Will-O-Wisp to target predicted switch-ins is vital to its success. Mega Houndoom can take advantage of stall teams' weakness to Taunt by double switching many times to wear Chansey down with Stealth Rock and then, when Chansey is weakened, Taunting it so that it cannot heal and setting up on it with Nasty Plot.
Team Options
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Gengar and Latios make for great teammates to pair with Mega Houndoom. They appreciate Tyranitar being burned so they cannot be reliably Pursuit trapped, allowing them to wreak havoc with Shadow Ball and Draco Meteor, respectively; Earthquake Latios gets a special mention for the ability to eliminate Heatran, a check to Mega Houndoom. Gyarados has excellent synergy with Mega Houndoom and is able to set up on a bunch of switch-ins to Mega Houndoom. Mega Houndoom is also able to deal with Ferrothorn, a Pokemon that walls Gyarados. Starmie, Excadrill, Latias, and Latios can remove hazards and share nice synergy with Mega Houndoom. Toxicroak is an underrated teammate that has plenty of opportunities to spam Gunk Shot against Mega Houndoom's checks and counters such as Tyranitar, Chansey, Keldeo, Unaware Clefable, Terrakion, and Mega Altaria, if expecting a double switch.
Other Options
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Sucker Punch is Mega Houndoom's only option for priority and can mitigate issues against opposing priority and Choice Scarf users. However, it is quite weak without Attack investment. Destiny Bond is a viable alternative in the last slot, but the utility provided by Taunt or Will-O-Wisp or the coverage given by Hidden Power Grass is usually superior. Finally, Sludge Bomb is an option 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 great offensive checks or counters to Mega Houndoom, depending on the field condition. Strong priority users such as Breloom, Talonflame, and Conkeldurr are also good checks or counters to Mega Houndoom. Thundurus can paralyze Houndoom, crippling 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 to Mega Houndoom.
**Mega Diancie**: Mega Diancie can switch into Mega Houndoom with ease, as it walls Mega Houndoom's STAB moves and can bounce Will-O-Wisp back. It can then easily OHKO Mega Houndoom with Diamond Storm back.
**Tyranitar**: Tyranitar replaces sun with sand, resists Mega Houndoom's STAB moves, and has the bulk to take anything before retaliating with Stone Edge. Tyranitar is thus Mega Houndoom's best counter. Tyranitar can still be eliminated by a combination of Sunny Day and Solar Beam on the switch; Will-O-Wisp can also be problematic for it.
**Chansey** Chansey switches into Mega Houndoom if its not using Taunt, but if it does, the opposing team can wear it down rather easily; however, Mega Houndoom with Taunt can prevent a weakened Chansey from healing. Also, be aware that Chansey is 2HKOed by Fire Blast in sun with prior damage.
**Conkeldurr**: Conkeldurr can take hits from Mega Houndoom easily while benefitting from Will-O-Wisp, thanks to Guts. It can easily OHKO Mega Houndoom back with Drain Punch and restore any lost HP.
**Azumarill**: Azumarill walls Mega Houndoom's STAB moves, and it can setup on Mega Houndoom with Belly Drum. Assault Vest Azumarill takes even less damage from Mega Houndoom's attacks; however, Azumarill still has to be wary of Will-O-Wisp, which will prevent it from doing its job.
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