So I know this thread is a little out of date but I have a question for Houndoom users.If you were using the Pursuit/Sucker Punch/Fire Blast or Overheat set and wanted something to use on walls that could switch in on your Fire move (say bulky waters or Flash Fire users) what would you use in the fourth slot?Somethings I was thinking about trying:
Toxic - Since I doubt most steels would want to take a Fire Blast/Overheat to the face you would only have to worry about poisons being immune.The other upside is that regardless of the bulk it would die from poison.
The downsides are its a slow killer and might not help much against agressive Flash Fire users like Arcanine.The other downside is you would have serious problems against Sub users if you don't hit before there Sub as now the set could possibly be walled.Pursuit probably won't break a Sub,Toxic and Sucker Punch can be played around with the Sub.
Taunt - This one is kind of a neat idea.If the opposing wall is extremely bulky you can get the Taunt in and then switch to a better wallbreaker/setup sweeper since most walls don't hit very hard.It also combos well Sucker Punch/Pursuit as they have no choice but to attack or switch.It also stops those Sub shenanigans I was talking about.
The problem is just that Houndoom isn't very bulky so if it mispredicts against tank pokemon like Sub/Roost Zapdos you probably lose your Houndoom to a Thunderbolt.It also doesn't help as much against more agressive checks like Arcanine.
Super Fang - A friend of mine suggested this to me and I admit I like the idea.The thought process was that if the Pokemon trying to wall Houndoom doesn't have reliable recovery every time it tries to switch in it will have half its health stripped away until it is in range of the Fire move.It also helps dealing with more agressive counters as with only half health they are far more vulnerable to Sucker Punch killing before they even touch Houndoom.
The problem seems to be that walls that do have a recovery move are not as affected by Super Fang as they would be by Toxic or Taunt.
I'm not sure I got everything but those were some thoughts.Are these options better than running another coverage move like Thunder Fang or HP Fighting?
Toxic - Since I doubt most steels would want to take a Fire Blast/Overheat to the face you would only have to worry about poisons being immune.The other upside is that regardless of the bulk it would die from poison.
The downsides are its a slow killer and might not help much against agressive Flash Fire users like Arcanine.The other downside is you would have serious problems against Sub users if you don't hit before there Sub as now the set could possibly be walled.Pursuit probably won't break a Sub,Toxic and Sucker Punch can be played around with the Sub.
Taunt - This one is kind of a neat idea.If the opposing wall is extremely bulky you can get the Taunt in and then switch to a better wallbreaker/setup sweeper since most walls don't hit very hard.It also combos well Sucker Punch/Pursuit as they have no choice but to attack or switch.It also stops those Sub shenanigans I was talking about.
The problem is just that Houndoom isn't very bulky so if it mispredicts against tank pokemon like Sub/Roost Zapdos you probably lose your Houndoom to a Thunderbolt.It also doesn't help as much against more agressive checks like Arcanine.
Super Fang - A friend of mine suggested this to me and I admit I like the idea.The thought process was that if the Pokemon trying to wall Houndoom doesn't have reliable recovery every time it tries to switch in it will have half its health stripped away until it is in range of the Fire move.It also helps dealing with more agressive counters as with only half health they are far more vulnerable to Sucker Punch killing before they even touch Houndoom.
The problem seems to be that walls that do have a recovery move are not as affected by Super Fang as they would be by Toxic or Taunt.
I'm not sure I got everything but those were some thoughts.Are these options better than running another coverage move like Thunder Fang or HP Fighting?
