I love canines (obviously from my username), and I love Houndoom. And I know he isn't the best mega and Mega Charizard Y is a better sun user, but I love him so much and I would love to make a good team with the little guy!
Therefore, with inspiration from other Mega Houndoom teams I've googled, I came up with this team:
Therefore, with inspiration from other Mega Houndoom teams I've googled, I came up with this team:
Houndoom-Mega @ Houndoominite
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Sludge Bomb
- Nasty Plot
This was the suggested spread sheet everywhere, and the stats are what Showdown has suggested for me. Timid is a good nature because speed is a huge factor in competitive play and could severely ruin any Pokemon (*cough*Incineroar*cough*). Also, there isn't much of a loss with the lowered Attack, as he's not even a physical attacker anyways. Fire Blast and Dark Pulse are obvious: STAB. Sludge Bomb is to hit fairies that it'll hopefully outspeed. Nasty Plot is for boosting SPA and hitting a bit harder, and may be useful when it comes to bulky Pokemon.
Ninetales @ Firium Z
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Psyshock
Houndoom cannot reach its full potential without the sun. Therefore, I chose Ninetales. It's a fast Pokemon and it could be useful if Houndoom is knocked down. It also has access to Solar Beam, which is great in the sun!
I'm still a bit conflicted on whether or not I should use Torkoal. You could give your opinion on which one is better in the comments.
Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower
- Leech Seed
- Protect
Houndoom is weak to Fairies, so a steel type is a really good choice. I heard that Celesteela is a good choice for a Houndoom team, so I used it! It has... oddly specific HP, great special defense, and a bit of defense to make it extra bulky. It also has Leech Seed, which is great for Houndoom because of its lack of recovery. Beast Boost is also a great ability and would make it a pain to battle with.
Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 108 SpD / 92 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Scald
- Defog
- Taunt
Because I have two fire types on my team, I got double the weaknesses. I used Tapu Fine to not only resist other water types, but to also hit Ground types and Rock types, something the team is a bit weak to according to that Pokemon Forever Team Calculator I've been using. :P
I personally prefer Scald over Nature's Madness because Nature's Madness, while I can see the usefulness of it, takes up another slot that could be used for a water move.
Should I have used Tapu Bulu instead? After all, Tapu Bulu has grassy terrain that will give Houndoom a bit of health, especially because Solar Power whittles down its HP. Should I have replaced Tapu Fini with Tapu Bulu and have used a different water type or should I keep them the same?
Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Giga Drain
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Good ol' surprisingly great Tangrowth. Not only is he bulky, he deals with a lot of Houndoom's weaknesses, such as water, rock, and ground. Hidden Power Ice could hit flying types and be good against Dragon and Ground types, and even Dragon+Ground Pokemon like Garchomp! (I always insist on using an Ice move on Garchomp because it's so fun)
Flygon @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Iron Tail
The immunity to ground is greatly appreciated since I have 2 fire types! And I could deal with the Ice weakness because I have 3 Pokemon that resist Ice. There is Zygarde, but lets be real here: Thousand Arrows is completely broken and is a pain to deal with. Also, I prefer Flygon over both Garchomp and Zygarde. If he isn't a good choice, let me know! I wouldn't mind using Zygarde nor Garchomp :P
So how is my team? I would love to hear your thoughts <3
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Sludge Bomb
- Nasty Plot
This was the suggested spread sheet everywhere, and the stats are what Showdown has suggested for me. Timid is a good nature because speed is a huge factor in competitive play and could severely ruin any Pokemon (*cough*Incineroar*cough*). Also, there isn't much of a loss with the lowered Attack, as he's not even a physical attacker anyways. Fire Blast and Dark Pulse are obvious: STAB. Sludge Bomb is to hit fairies that it'll hopefully outspeed. Nasty Plot is for boosting SPA and hitting a bit harder, and may be useful when it comes to bulky Pokemon.
Ninetales @ Firium Z
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Psyshock
Houndoom cannot reach its full potential without the sun. Therefore, I chose Ninetales. It's a fast Pokemon and it could be useful if Houndoom is knocked down. It also has access to Solar Beam, which is great in the sun!
I'm still a bit conflicted on whether or not I should use Torkoal. You could give your opinion on which one is better in the comments.
Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower
- Leech Seed
- Protect
Houndoom is weak to Fairies, so a steel type is a really good choice. I heard that Celesteela is a good choice for a Houndoom team, so I used it! It has... oddly specific HP, great special defense, and a bit of defense to make it extra bulky. It also has Leech Seed, which is great for Houndoom because of its lack of recovery. Beast Boost is also a great ability and would make it a pain to battle with.
Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 108 SpD / 92 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Scald
- Defog
- Taunt
Because I have two fire types on my team, I got double the weaknesses. I used Tapu Fine to not only resist other water types, but to also hit Ground types and Rock types, something the team is a bit weak to according to that Pokemon Forever Team Calculator I've been using. :P
I personally prefer Scald over Nature's Madness because Nature's Madness, while I can see the usefulness of it, takes up another slot that could be used for a water move.
Should I have used Tapu Bulu instead? After all, Tapu Bulu has grassy terrain that will give Houndoom a bit of health, especially because Solar Power whittles down its HP. Should I have replaced Tapu Fini with Tapu Bulu and have used a different water type or should I keep them the same?
Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Giga Drain
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Good ol' surprisingly great Tangrowth. Not only is he bulky, he deals with a lot of Houndoom's weaknesses, such as water, rock, and ground. Hidden Power Ice could hit flying types and be good against Dragon and Ground types, and even Dragon+Ground Pokemon like Garchomp! (I always insist on using an Ice move on Garchomp because it's so fun)
Flygon @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Iron Tail
The immunity to ground is greatly appreciated since I have 2 fire types! And I could deal with the Ice weakness because I have 3 Pokemon that resist Ice. There is Zygarde, but lets be real here: Thousand Arrows is completely broken and is a pain to deal with. Also, I prefer Flygon over both Garchomp and Zygarde. If he isn't a good choice, let me know! I wouldn't mind using Zygarde nor Garchomp :P
So how is my team? I would love to hear your thoughts <3