Finally getting onto this.
If I told you to imagine a ferocious fire-breathing hell hound in Pok?mon form, you'd probably much sooner envisage the horned head of Houndoom than its pre-evolved form. However, when it comes to Smogon's Little Cup meta, this is in many ways a perfect description for Houndour as well.
In the Little Cup tier, only first stage Pok?mon that cannot evolve are allowed to participate and whilst it's by no means the premier threat in the tier, here Houndour can be quite the contender. In this article we're going to look at what makes this little beast great whilst also examining its shortcomings.
In Houndour-speak, "woof" means "die!"
#228 Houndour
Classification: The Dark Pok?mon
Type: Dark, Fire
Abilities: Early Bird, Flash fire, Unnerve
Weaknesses: Fighting, Ground, Rock, Water
Resistances: Dark, Fire, Ghost, Grass, Ice, Steel
Immunities: Psychic
Evolves Into: Houndoom at Lv. 24
Height: 0.6m
Weight: 10.8kg
Tier: LC
LC Usage Statistics (Updated August 2016): 2.369% (52nd)
Base stats (Range at Lv 5)
HP: 45 (19-24)
Attack: 60 (9-16)
Defence: 30 (7-13)
Special Attack: 80 (11-18)
Special Defence: 50 (9-15)
Speed: 65 (9-17)
Base Stat Total: 330
Considering that Houndour is an unevolved Pok?mon, its stats are quite impressive sitting at a base stat total of three hundred and thirty. In particular, Houndour is a strong offensive presence with a huge base eighty Special Attack and good Attack and Speed as well. Combining this with an impressive six types weak to its STABs and excellent neutral coverage, Houndour is potentially one of the most threatening offensive presences in the Little Cup meta.
With thirty Defense and fifty Special Defense, Houndour has less to brag about defensively but it does have some positives. a base Special Defense of fifty is quite high for an unevolved offensively oriented Pok?mon and allows Houndour to easily take ineffective Special moves or to survive one or two weak neutral Special attacks. Houndour's typing also provides it with six resistances to match its type advantages as well as immunities to both the powerful Psychic type and the crippling Will-O-Wisp.
Houndour's moveset is also fairly impressive with Houndour having access to extremely powerful STAB moves in Flamethrower, Fire Blast and also Dark Pulse and Sucker Punch. It also possesses reasonable coverage in the form of Sludge Bomb, Iron Tail, Thunder Fang and Hidden Power. On the utility side of things, Houndour has access to the extremely powerful boosting move Nasty Plot as well as to the useful defensive move Substitute. Futhermore, it can also run the crippling status moves Will-O-Wisp, Toxic, Destiny Bond and Taunt.
Sadly, this is where the positives end and the flaws start coming in. Firstly, Houndour's abilities are not particularly useful. Flash Fire does allow a free switch into Fire attacks and a corresponding boost to Houndours own, already powerful, Fire moves but this will be a rare occurrence against competent opponents. Early Bird makes waking up from Sleep more likely, but isn't overly helpful as it doesn't provide complete immunity and Sleep is a rare status affliction. In a tier where almost every Pok?mon will carry Eviolite or a Choice Scarf, Houndour's hidden ability of Unnerve is completely useless since it prevents the opponent from using held Berries.
In addition to its unappealing abilities, Houndour also suffers defensively. For each of its potent offensive strengths, it also possesses a weakness defensively. Houndour is weak to Fighting, Ground, Rock and Water which are all very powerful and common offensive types across every tier. This is a flaw greatly compounded by a pitiful physical Defense that sees it unable to take even neutral physical attacks and a Special Defense insufficient to protect Houndour from its weaknesses. Houndour also suffers from a weakness to Stealth Rock and a complete lack of recovery. These various factors mean that Houndour can be used as a dangerous sweeper but also that those using it must do so with caution and good support.
If I told you to imagine a ferocious fire-breathing hell hound in Pok?mon form, you'd probably much sooner envisage the horned head of Houndoom than its pre-evolved form. However, when it comes to Smogon's Little Cup meta, this is in many ways a perfect description for Houndour as well.
In the Little Cup tier, only first stage Pok?mon that cannot evolve are allowed to participate and whilst it's by no means the premier threat in the tier, here Houndour can be quite the contender. In this article we're going to look at what makes this little beast great whilst also examining its shortcomings.
The Subject
In Houndour-speak, "woof" means "die!"
#228 Houndour
Classification: The Dark Pok?mon
Type: Dark, Fire
Abilities: Early Bird, Flash fire, Unnerve
Weaknesses: Fighting, Ground, Rock, Water
Resistances: Dark, Fire, Ghost, Grass, Ice, Steel
Immunities: Psychic
Evolves Into: Houndoom at Lv. 24
Height: 0.6m
Weight: 10.8kg
Tier: LC
LC Usage Statistics (Updated August 2016): 2.369% (52nd)
Base stats (Range at Lv 5)
HP: 45 (19-24)
Attack: 60 (9-16)
Defence: 30 (7-13)
Special Attack: 80 (11-18)
Special Defence: 50 (9-15)
Speed: 65 (9-17)
Base Stat Total: 330
Considering that Houndour is an unevolved Pok?mon, its stats are quite impressive sitting at a base stat total of three hundred and thirty. In particular, Houndour is a strong offensive presence with a huge base eighty Special Attack and good Attack and Speed as well. Combining this with an impressive six types weak to its STABs and excellent neutral coverage, Houndour is potentially one of the most threatening offensive presences in the Little Cup meta.
With thirty Defense and fifty Special Defense, Houndour has less to brag about defensively but it does have some positives. a base Special Defense of fifty is quite high for an unevolved offensively oriented Pok?mon and allows Houndour to easily take ineffective Special moves or to survive one or two weak neutral Special attacks. Houndour's typing also provides it with six resistances to match its type advantages as well as immunities to both the powerful Psychic type and the crippling Will-O-Wisp.
Houndour's moveset is also fairly impressive with Houndour having access to extremely powerful STAB moves in Flamethrower, Fire Blast and also Dark Pulse and Sucker Punch. It also possesses reasonable coverage in the form of Sludge Bomb, Iron Tail, Thunder Fang and Hidden Power. On the utility side of things, Houndour has access to the extremely powerful boosting move Nasty Plot as well as to the useful defensive move Substitute. Futhermore, it can also run the crippling status moves Will-O-Wisp, Toxic, Destiny Bond and Taunt.
Sadly, this is where the positives end and the flaws start coming in. Firstly, Houndour's abilities are not particularly useful. Flash Fire does allow a free switch into Fire attacks and a corresponding boost to Houndours own, already powerful, Fire moves but this will be a rare occurrence against competent opponents. Early Bird makes waking up from Sleep more likely, but isn't overly helpful as it doesn't provide complete immunity and Sleep is a rare status affliction. In a tier where almost every Pok?mon will carry Eviolite or a Choice Scarf, Houndour's hidden ability of Unnerve is completely useless since it prevents the opponent from using held Berries.
In addition to its unappealing abilities, Houndour also suffers defensively. For each of its potent offensive strengths, it also possesses a weakness defensively. Houndour is weak to Fighting, Ground, Rock and Water which are all very powerful and common offensive types across every tier. This is a flaw greatly compounded by a pitiful physical Defense that sees it unable to take even neutral physical attacks and a Special Defense insufficient to protect Houndour from its weaknesses. Houndour also suffers from a weakness to Stealth Rock and a complete lack of recovery. These various factors mean that Houndour can be used as a dangerous sweeper but also that those using it must do so with caution and good support.
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The Sets
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