michael
m as in mancy
DOG
Writing this up now; just need to finish off C&C. I'll edit it in later tonight. If any QCers want to look over it and suggest changes on IRC, that'd be cool since nooblord prem changed the set dramatically before handing it off to me gdi
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[Overview]
<p>Houndour stands out as one of the hardest Pokemon to switch into in Little Cup, with outstanding offensive stats and a great typing. It can check several of the biggest threats in the metagame with Sucker Punch, and its base 80 Special Attack is among the highest in the tier. However, Houndour is exceptionally frail, having been cursed with meager 45 / 30 / 50 defenses. It also needs a Life Orb to function effectively and is susceptible to common priority attacks including Mach Punch and Fake Out, reducing its lifespan dramatically. Nevertheless, Houndour is an excellent utility Pokemon in Little Cup, so long as you keep it away from its own checks.</p>
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Sucker Punch
move 2: Crunch / Dark Pulse
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Protect / Substitute
item: Life Orb
ability: Early Bird / Flash Fire
nature: Lonely
evs: 196 Atk / 36 SpA / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
ivs: 0 HP
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is by far Houndour's most effective set. STAB Sucker Punch is the key move, giving Houndour the ability to check top metagame threats such as Misdreavus, Abra, and Drilbur. Sucker Punch is tied with ExtremeSpeed as the most powerful priority in the game, and its useful Dark typing hits most major threats hard. Crunch is a much more reliable STAB attack, as it does not require the opponent to attack; Pokemon such as Staryu and Ponyta will often attempt to switch into Fire Blast only to be KOed by a Crunch and Sucker Punch in rapid succession. Fire Blast is Houndour's most powerful attack against physically bulky Pokemon, such as Hippopotas, and will OHKO SubRoost Murkrow 62.5% of the time after Stealth Rock damage. Protect is a filler move, defending against Fake Out from Mienfoo and Croagunk as well as letting Houndour scout priority attacks. However, Substitute can also be useful, as it lets Houndour capitalize upon its ability to force switches.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread looks odd for a Pokemon with base 80 Special Attack; however, Houndour's key attack is Sucker Punch, and so Attack is maximized. After investing EVs to hit 16 Speed, Houndour Speed ties with Modest Chinchou and Naughty Drifloon and outspeeds defensive Mienfoo, Pokemon it can 2HKO easily. With 0 HP IVs, Houndour has 19 HP, which reduces Life Orb recoil to 1 HP per turn, increasing Houndour's longevity overall. As for moves, Flame Charge can be used over Protect to boost Speed while dealing decent damage; however, the extra utility for blocking Fake Out and scouting priority is generally more useful. Pursuit is another option for the last slot to trap Misdreavus, but Houndour is OHKOed by Hidden Power Fighting after Stealth Rock damage and so requires an inordinate amount of prediction to succeed at this. Dark Pulse is an option over Crunch to provide a marginally more powerful STAB, but it doesn't hit anything harder than Crunch does and is weaker against Houndour's checks, such as Munchlax and Chinchou. The choice between Flash Fire and Early Bird can be tough; the former gives Houndour an immunity to Fire-type attacks and an occasional 50% boost in power to Fire Blast whereas the latter allows Houndour to counter Foongus and Shroomish incredibly well as well as not let Porygon Trace Flash Fire.</p>
<p>Houndour is incredibly frail and can't take Fighting-type attacks from even defensive Croagunk. As such, Natu, Misdreavus, and Shelmet make excellent teammates to sponge these attacks and set up while forcing out the opponent; the latter in particular is a good teammate, as it can counter any Scraggy set and set up Spikes. Ferroseed, Lileep, Hippopotas, and Chinchou have excellent defenses and can help sponge hits aimed at Houndour. Eviolite Drilbur and Sandshrew are not OHKOed by Sucker Punch and will KO with Earthquake in return; having something to check them is compulsory. Houndour is so frail that it can barely take a hit from anything; it is 2HKOed by Snover's Blizzard and is OHKOed by Ponyta's Wild Charge 75% of the time after Stealth Rock damage. Because of this, it should almost always only be sent in following a KO to revenge kill. Wish support from Lickitung is very beneficial; however, getting Houndour in to receive it is difficult, as they are both weak to Fighting-type attacks.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Foremost amongst Houndour's alternative options is a mostly special set; however, Sucker Punch is Houndour's main draw, and many other Pokemon in the metagame are far more effective at purely special attacking. An Eviolite can be used to boost Houndour's bulk, but would result in a heavy loss of power, stopping Houndour from reliably 2HKOing Staryu or OHKOing Mienfoo with the appropriate moves. A Nasty Plot set is very powerful, but Houndour is horrendously frail and the set lacks any priority attacks, causing it to be easily revenge killed by anything faster. Flamethrower can be used over Fire Blast or Protect, as you will be gambling less on a potential miss, but the drop in power or the loss of scouting ability are both very noticeable. Super Fang is another option for dealing 50% damage to Pokemon such as Munchlax and Tentacool that would otherwise shrug off Houndour's attacks. Rest is an option for Houndour as well; Early Bird provides a buffer against sleep, meaning that Rest will only make it vulnerable for one turn. However, Houndour is still incredibly frail and will often take an inordinate amount of damage in that one free turn.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Houndour has very few hard counters on account of its superlative offensive stats and high Base Power attacks. However, Porygon makes an excellent counter, as it can Trace Flash Fire to be immune to Fire Blast and is only 3HKOed 4% of the time by Crunch. Houndour can run Early Bird purely to get around Trace Porygon, however, so keep that in mind. Lileep is never 2HKOed by Houndour in sand and can KO back with AncientPower or simply stall it out with Recover. Bad luck can ruin Houndour at the worst times, as missing a single Fire Blast will often get Houndour KOed.</p>
<p>It is far easier to check and revenge kill Houndour than to counter it. Faster Pokemon resistant to Sucker Punch, such as Murkrow, can KO Houndour, but can't switch into its attacks. Scraggy, Mienfoo, and Croagunk can take a resisted hit from Houndour and KO in return with super effective Fighting-type attacks. Munchlax can switch in on Fire Blast and KO with Return or Earthquake, but can be 2HKOed by Crunch after Stealth Rock damage; Staryu, Tentacool, and Chinchou are in the same boat, being 2HKOed by Crunch and Sucker Punch after Stealth Rock damage. Flash Fire Ponyta gets a boost from Fire Blast and will always KO with Wild Charge after Stealth Rock and one turn of Life Orb recoil. Defensive Omanyte and Tirtouga are often 2HKOed after entry hazard damage, but they can swiftly KO back and can take a Fire Blast followed by Crunch. Drilbur and Sandshrew can take a Sucker Punch—just barely, in Drilbur's case—and KO with Earthquake. In a pinch, Hippopotas can take a Fire Blast and KO with Earthquake. Misdreavus can also beat Houndour with a little prediction to avoid Sucker Punch.</p>
[Overview]
hits like a BAMF
sexy offensive typing
fire blast is literally the greatest thing in the world.
has shit for defenses
needs life orb to be a threat
priortiy fucks it
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Crunch / Dark Pulse
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Protect / Substitute
item: Life Orb
ability: Early Bird / Flash Fire
nature: lonely
EVs: 196 Atk / 36 Spa / 36 Spd / 236 Spe
ivs: 3 HP
[SET COMMENTS]
being a pyro is fucking great.
there is no such thing as prediction with this set. deal 45% to staryu with fire blast!
dark pulse gives good coverage against most of the stuff that resists fire blast.
sucker punch is goo priority cause this thing is frail as fuck
last move is pretty useless.
protect dodges fake outs, which is cool against mienfoo
sub is cool for predicting switches, but makes you die too quickly
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
flame charge is pretty cool but protect is probably more useful.
pursuit that missy
spread maxes speed, lowers life orb damage, maxes spa, and then rest in attack
shit to take fighting attacks is cool. natu missy
beats the fuck outa snover maybe so chinchou or staryu like
cant actually take a hit, so walls might be useful. ferro lileep hippo chinchou all are examples
dont switch in unless you know its not going to get hit otherwise it dies
porygon, lileep can take 2 hits and just fuck with you. get a scraggy its a god.
scraggy takes a fire blast, croagunk and timburr have priority, so get a fighting counter. shelmet works and gives hazards!
early bird lets you counter foongus and shroomish better, while flash fire gives you an immunity and lets you nearly ohko staryu with fire blast lol
wish support from lickitung is cool.
hey drilbur is a (BAN ME PLEASE) find a way to beat it !
[Other Options]
nasty plot
eviolite, lol
choice scarf
more physical oriented
early bird rest
sub
flamethrower (and inferno)
super fang
[Checks and Counters]
porygon
lileep
murkrow outspeeds but takes shitloads from sucker punch
missy if you lose prediction wars
scraggy will kill it, but with hail down, fire blast will kill it in 2 turns.
croagunk and timburr priority
hippo takes a hit and eqs
drilbur and sandshrew just fuck you up.
chinchou and staryu take fire blasts but not the other shit
ponyta is immune to fire blast
hax
munchlax
scarfs that can take a sucker punch
sr and hazards
fuck forgot other water types
omantye and tirtouga fuck you up. aqua jet really hurts
tentacool
hits like a BAMF
sexy offensive typing
fire blast is literally the greatest thing in the world.
has shit for defenses
needs life orb to be a threat
priortiy fucks it
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Crunch / Dark Pulse
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Protect / Substitute
item: Life Orb
ability: Early Bird / Flash Fire
nature: lonely
EVs: 196 Atk / 36 Spa / 36 Spd / 236 Spe
ivs: 3 HP
[SET COMMENTS]
being a pyro is fucking great.
there is no such thing as prediction with this set. deal 45% to staryu with fire blast!
dark pulse gives good coverage against most of the stuff that resists fire blast.
sucker punch is goo priority cause this thing is frail as fuck
last move is pretty useless.
protect dodges fake outs, which is cool against mienfoo
sub is cool for predicting switches, but makes you die too quickly
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
flame charge is pretty cool but protect is probably more useful.
pursuit that missy
spread maxes speed, lowers life orb damage, maxes spa, and then rest in attack
shit to take fighting attacks is cool. natu missy
beats the fuck outa snover maybe so chinchou or staryu like
cant actually take a hit, so walls might be useful. ferro lileep hippo chinchou all are examples
dont switch in unless you know its not going to get hit otherwise it dies
porygon, lileep can take 2 hits and just fuck with you. get a scraggy its a god.
scraggy takes a fire blast, croagunk and timburr have priority, so get a fighting counter. shelmet works and gives hazards!
early bird lets you counter foongus and shroomish better, while flash fire gives you an immunity and lets you nearly ohko staryu with fire blast lol
wish support from lickitung is cool.
hey drilbur is a (BAN ME PLEASE) find a way to beat it !
[Other Options]
nasty plot
eviolite, lol
choice scarf
more physical oriented
early bird rest
sub
flamethrower (and inferno)
super fang
[Checks and Counters]
porygon
lileep
murkrow outspeeds but takes shitloads from sucker punch
missy if you lose prediction wars
scraggy will kill it, but with hail down, fire blast will kill it in 2 turns.
croagunk and timburr priority
hippo takes a hit and eqs
drilbur and sandshrew just fuck you up.
chinchou and staryu take fire blasts but not the other shit
ponyta is immune to fire blast
hax
munchlax
scarfs that can take a sucker punch
sr and hazards
fuck forgot other water types
omantye and tirtouga fuck you up. aqua jet really hurts
tentacool