Alright, I took the Flame Charge set from comatthew's thread and various other stuff from Heysup's thread and meshed them together, and updated it to the metagame. Also, I 'added' in Eviolite Houndour. I'm thinking about meshing Flame Charge and the first set, honestly they are pretty similar... EDIT: Took out Eviolite at QC request.
QC: comatthew6, Moo
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[Overview]
<p>Houndour is notable force in Little Cup, and this is mostly because it is one of the hardest Pokemon to switch into. The combination of its two STABs are only resisted by opposing Houndour, Deino, and Thick Fat Makuhita, of which the first two will not want to switch in while the latter you will likely never encounter on the battlefield. This great coverage, combined with Houndour's impressive attacking stats, give it huge potential as a mixed attacker and wall breaker when in the hands of a competent player. However, Houndour is frail, only hits 17 Speed, and is weak to priority, all of which make it very easy to revenge kill. It is also weak to Stealth Rock, which puts an even bigger damper on its already limited lifespan.</p>
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Dark Pulse / Crunch
move 3: Hidden Power Ground / Substitute
move 4: Sucker Punch
item: Life Orb
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Hasty
evs: 36 Atk / 36 Def / 200 SpA / 236 Spe
ivs: 3 HP
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is Houndour's most effective set, and is what you will most frequently encounter. With STAB Fire Blast and Dark Pulse, Houndour 2HKOes a majority of the metagame, allowing it to shine against more defensive teams that lack many Pokemon to revenge kill it with. Hidden Power Ground picks off opposing Houndour, the most common of the three Pokemon that resist Houndour's STABs, and it also is Houndour's best move against Rock-types and Electric-types, notably Chinchou and Omanyte. As Houndour only hits 17 Speed, Sucker Punch helps give it the upper hand against many of the Pokemon that outspeed and threaten it such as Diglett and Gastly, although many Pokemon (including the aforementioned two) often use Substitute to try and get around Sucker Punch, so you should be wary of that. With an HP IV of 3 Houndour hits 19 HP, minimizing Life Orb recoil while retaining full power on Hidden Power.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Crunch can be used over Dark Pulse to hit specially bulky Pokemon such as Munchlax harder; however, without a Lonely nature and max Attack it probably won't hit them hard enough, and Houndour really needs the Speed. Substitute is also an option as Houndour 2HKOes many Pokemon, so if you can get a Substitute up while the opponent switches Houndour will almost definitely get a KO. It also works well in tandem with Sucker Punch by forcing the opponent to attack. If you do use Substitute, it would be best to use it over Hidden Power, as Houndour doesn't really need it as much as the other moves to score its 2HKOes. Hidden Power Fighting can be used instead of Hidden Power Ground as it hits Deino, another one of the few Pokemon that resist both Fire- and Dark-type attacks, for super effective damage, although Houndour loses its best move against Chinchou.</p>
<p>Good teammates for Houndour are able to switch into the Pokemon that will come in to revenge kill it. Both Frillish and Slowpoke are able to deal with Croagunk, while Slowpoke also deals with Timburr, another Pokemon that poses a big threat to Houndour with its STAB Mach Punch. Ferroseed can take on the bulky Water-types that will switch into Houndour such as Staryu, Chinchou, and Omanyte. It can also support Houndour with entry hazards to punish the opponent for the switches Houndour forces, and can use Thunder Wave to bring even fast opponents down to a speed below Houndour's. In exchange, Houndour can cover Ferroseed's weakness to Fire-type attacks. A Chinchou of your own can also help deal with the aforementioned Water-type Pokemon, and can easily bring Houndour in safely using Volt Switch on an opponent's switch.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Fire Blast / Overheat
move 2: Dark Pulse
move 3: Hidden Power Ground
move 4: Pursuit / Flamethrower
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Timid / Hasty
evs: 36 Atk / 36 Def / 200 SpA / 236 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With Houndour's excellent Special Attack and great coverage, it makes for a fantastic user of Choice Scarf. The main strategy with this set is to get Houndour in safely and spam its STAB Fire Blast, using other moves when appropriate. Dark Pulse is Houndour's strongest move against most Water-types, while Hidden Power Ground hits other Houndour, as well as Chinchou, hardest. Pursuit can be used to make Houndour a decent makeshift Gastly check; with Choice Scarf, Houndour easily outspeeds it, so when Gastly switches out expecting a Dark Pulse it will be KOed by Pursuit instead. Be cautious when using Pursuit though, as if your opponent has something like Scraggy waiting in the wings then they will easily be able to set up on Houndour afterwards. If you don't care about trapping Gastly, Flamethrower is a reliable choice for those who are paranoid about Fire Blast misses.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Overheat can be used instead of Fire Blast if you choose to employ more of a hit-and-run strategy, though at -2, Houndour is easy set up bait for all sorts of sweepers, so make sure you have answers to that. Hidden Power Fighting can be used on this set as well; however, Chinchou is much more common that Deino, so unless you really need the extra insurance against Deino, it's generally not worth it.</p>
<p>Good teammates can help to deal with the specially bulky Pokemon that can actually take Houndour's attacks.
- good teammates can deal with specially bulky pokemon like lileep and munchlax
- aforementioned teammates (ferroseed/frillish/chinchou/slowpoke)
[SET]
name: Flame Charge
move 1: Flame Charge
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Hidden Power Ground
move 4: Dark Pulse / Sucker Punch
item: Life Orb
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Timid / Naive
evs: 36 Atk / 36 Def / 200 SpA / 236 Spe
ivs: 3 HP
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set allows Houndour to attain the Speed of the Choice Scarf set while still having the ability to switch attacks, and when played in the right hands, it can be very destructive. Since Houndour's Speed is only decent at best, it appreciates the guaranteed boost from Flame Charge. In addition, Houndour still retains great coverage with just three moves. Fire Blast is a great STAB attack that does incredible amounts of damage to any Pokemon that doesn't resist or is immune to it. Hidden Power Ground pairs well with Fire Blast and stops other Houndour in their tracks. Dark Pulse allows Houndour to easily KO Slowpoke as well as give it a nice secondary STAB attack, while Sucker Punch grants Houndour a priority attack. A Timid nature is optimal but a Naive nature should be used if Sucker Punch is being used in the fourth slot. The EVs maximize Special Attack and Speed with the remainder boosting Attack and Defense.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Because this set will easily lose to priority users such as Timburr and Croagunk, Slowpoke is a good partner. It can come in on a Mach Punch or Vacuum Wave without much trouble, and use Psychic to destroy them. In addition to priority users, Pokemon with high Special Defense such as Mantyke and Munchlax stop this set in its tracks. Pokemon such as Chinchou and Mienfoo that can help deal with those two make excellent partners.</p>
[Other Options]
- can run nasty plot, not really worth it though (to easy to revenge)
- thunder fang? lol
- will-o-wisp/taunt/embargo are cool options but dour is not really bulky enough to pull any of them off...
- early bird can be helpful to deal with gastly's hypnosis
- can run a lead set with focus sash, but that is a little outdated (see: 4th generation)
- gets foul play...?
[Checks and Counters]
- munchlax
- lileep is bulky and is only hit neutral
- deino resists fire/dark and is probably bulky enough to
- some bulky waters like eviolite staryu and chinchou and omanyte?
- timburr and croagunk can revenge kill
- pretty much any scarfer thats not gastly/snover
- sub diglett can trap and kill with prediction
- getting up sr
- other residual damage
[Dream World]
- Unnerve is really not worth it in a metagame where Eviolite is more popular than Oran Berry by miles.
QC: comatthew6, Moo
---
[Overview]
<p>Houndour is notable force in Little Cup, and this is mostly because it is one of the hardest Pokemon to switch into. The combination of its two STABs are only resisted by opposing Houndour, Deino, and Thick Fat Makuhita, of which the first two will not want to switch in while the latter you will likely never encounter on the battlefield. This great coverage, combined with Houndour's impressive attacking stats, give it huge potential as a mixed attacker and wall breaker when in the hands of a competent player. However, Houndour is frail, only hits 17 Speed, and is weak to priority, all of which make it very easy to revenge kill. It is also weak to Stealth Rock, which puts an even bigger damper on its already limited lifespan.</p>
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Dark Pulse / Crunch
move 3: Hidden Power Ground / Substitute
move 4: Sucker Punch
item: Life Orb
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Hasty
evs: 36 Atk / 36 Def / 200 SpA / 236 Spe
ivs: 3 HP
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is Houndour's most effective set, and is what you will most frequently encounter. With STAB Fire Blast and Dark Pulse, Houndour 2HKOes a majority of the metagame, allowing it to shine against more defensive teams that lack many Pokemon to revenge kill it with. Hidden Power Ground picks off opposing Houndour, the most common of the three Pokemon that resist Houndour's STABs, and it also is Houndour's best move against Rock-types and Electric-types, notably Chinchou and Omanyte. As Houndour only hits 17 Speed, Sucker Punch helps give it the upper hand against many of the Pokemon that outspeed and threaten it such as Diglett and Gastly, although many Pokemon (including the aforementioned two) often use Substitute to try and get around Sucker Punch, so you should be wary of that. With an HP IV of 3 Houndour hits 19 HP, minimizing Life Orb recoil while retaining full power on Hidden Power.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Crunch can be used over Dark Pulse to hit specially bulky Pokemon such as Munchlax harder; however, without a Lonely nature and max Attack it probably won't hit them hard enough, and Houndour really needs the Speed. Substitute is also an option as Houndour 2HKOes many Pokemon, so if you can get a Substitute up while the opponent switches Houndour will almost definitely get a KO. It also works well in tandem with Sucker Punch by forcing the opponent to attack. If you do use Substitute, it would be best to use it over Hidden Power, as Houndour doesn't really need it as much as the other moves to score its 2HKOes. Hidden Power Fighting can be used instead of Hidden Power Ground as it hits Deino, another one of the few Pokemon that resist both Fire- and Dark-type attacks, for super effective damage, although Houndour loses its best move against Chinchou.</p>
<p>Good teammates for Houndour are able to switch into the Pokemon that will come in to revenge kill it. Both Frillish and Slowpoke are able to deal with Croagunk, while Slowpoke also deals with Timburr, another Pokemon that poses a big threat to Houndour with its STAB Mach Punch. Ferroseed can take on the bulky Water-types that will switch into Houndour such as Staryu, Chinchou, and Omanyte. It can also support Houndour with entry hazards to punish the opponent for the switches Houndour forces, and can use Thunder Wave to bring even fast opponents down to a speed below Houndour's. In exchange, Houndour can cover Ferroseed's weakness to Fire-type attacks. A Chinchou of your own can also help deal with the aforementioned Water-type Pokemon, and can easily bring Houndour in safely using Volt Switch on an opponent's switch.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Fire Blast / Overheat
move 2: Dark Pulse
move 3: Hidden Power Ground
move 4: Pursuit / Flamethrower
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Timid / Hasty
evs: 36 Atk / 36 Def / 200 SpA / 236 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With Houndour's excellent Special Attack and great coverage, it makes for a fantastic user of Choice Scarf. The main strategy with this set is to get Houndour in safely and spam its STAB Fire Blast, using other moves when appropriate. Dark Pulse is Houndour's strongest move against most Water-types, while Hidden Power Ground hits other Houndour, as well as Chinchou, hardest. Pursuit can be used to make Houndour a decent makeshift Gastly check; with Choice Scarf, Houndour easily outspeeds it, so when Gastly switches out expecting a Dark Pulse it will be KOed by Pursuit instead. Be cautious when using Pursuit though, as if your opponent has something like Scraggy waiting in the wings then they will easily be able to set up on Houndour afterwards. If you don't care about trapping Gastly, Flamethrower is a reliable choice for those who are paranoid about Fire Blast misses.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Overheat can be used instead of Fire Blast if you choose to employ more of a hit-and-run strategy, though at -2, Houndour is easy set up bait for all sorts of sweepers, so make sure you have answers to that. Hidden Power Fighting can be used on this set as well; however, Chinchou is much more common that Deino, so unless you really need the extra insurance against Deino, it's generally not worth it.</p>
<p>Good teammates can help to deal with the specially bulky Pokemon that can actually take Houndour's attacks.
- good teammates can deal with specially bulky pokemon like lileep and munchlax
- aforementioned teammates (ferroseed/frillish/chinchou/slowpoke)
[SET]
name: Flame Charge
move 1: Flame Charge
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Hidden Power Ground
move 4: Dark Pulse / Sucker Punch
item: Life Orb
ability: Flash Fire
nature: Timid / Naive
evs: 36 Atk / 36 Def / 200 SpA / 236 Spe
ivs: 3 HP
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set allows Houndour to attain the Speed of the Choice Scarf set while still having the ability to switch attacks, and when played in the right hands, it can be very destructive. Since Houndour's Speed is only decent at best, it appreciates the guaranteed boost from Flame Charge. In addition, Houndour still retains great coverage with just three moves. Fire Blast is a great STAB attack that does incredible amounts of damage to any Pokemon that doesn't resist or is immune to it. Hidden Power Ground pairs well with Fire Blast and stops other Houndour in their tracks. Dark Pulse allows Houndour to easily KO Slowpoke as well as give it a nice secondary STAB attack, while Sucker Punch grants Houndour a priority attack. A Timid nature is optimal but a Naive nature should be used if Sucker Punch is being used in the fourth slot. The EVs maximize Special Attack and Speed with the remainder boosting Attack and Defense.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Because this set will easily lose to priority users such as Timburr and Croagunk, Slowpoke is a good partner. It can come in on a Mach Punch or Vacuum Wave without much trouble, and use Psychic to destroy them. In addition to priority users, Pokemon with high Special Defense such as Mantyke and Munchlax stop this set in its tracks. Pokemon such as Chinchou and Mienfoo that can help deal with those two make excellent partners.</p>
[Other Options]
- can run nasty plot, not really worth it though (to easy to revenge)
- thunder fang? lol
- will-o-wisp/taunt/embargo are cool options but dour is not really bulky enough to pull any of them off...
- early bird can be helpful to deal with gastly's hypnosis
- can run a lead set with focus sash, but that is a little outdated (see: 4th generation)
- gets foul play...?
[Checks and Counters]
- munchlax
- lileep is bulky and is only hit neutral
- deino resists fire/dark and is probably bulky enough to
- some bulky waters like eviolite staryu and chinchou and omanyte?
- timburr and croagunk can revenge kill
- pretty much any scarfer thats not gastly/snover
- sub diglett can trap and kill with prediction
- getting up sr
- other residual damage
[Dream World]
- Unnerve is really not worth it in a metagame where Eviolite is more popular than Oran Berry by miles.
