Introduced in generation two with the Pokemon Gold and Silver games, Houndoom is a dual-type dark and fire type. Houndoom is the final evolution of Houndour, evolving at level 24. It also received a mega evolution in generation six with the Pokemon X and Y games. As it is a generation two Pokemon, it has had ample time to appear many different times throughout the anime. This guide will showcase Houndoom’s capabilities in battle, its appearances in the anime, as well as other general facts about Houndoom.
About Houndoom
Houndoom was introduced into the series with Pokemon Gold and Silver. As an early entry into the franchise, it has had many chances to appear throughout the anime series. It first appeared in the episode Houndoom’s Special Delivery. Houndoom also appeared in a couple movies like The Power of Us and Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel. Since its appearance is rather sinister, its role in Pokemon media is often villainous and malevolent. Houndoom evolves from Houndour at level 24 and Houndoom does not evolve further. The Pokedex states that the pain from the flames it spits from its mouth never goes away.
| First appearance in anime | Pokemon Original Series Houndoom’s Special Delivery |
| First appearance in game | Pokemon Gold and Silver |
| Region | Johto |
| Evolution | Evolves from Houndour at level 24 |
| 1st Evo level | 24 |
| 2nd Evo level | N/A |
| Pokedex Entry | In a Houndoom pack, the one with its horns raked sharply towards the back serves a leadership role. These Pokémon choose their leader by fighting amongst themselves. |
Houndoom Base Stats
| HP | 75 |
| ATTACK | 90 |
| DEFENCE | 50 |
| SP. ATTACK | 110 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 80 |
| SPEED | 95 |
| TOTAL | 500 |
Appearance of Houndoom
Houndoom is a quadrupedal dog-like Pokemon. It closely resembles the Dobermann dog species. As a dual dark and fire type, most of its color scheme is black. Houndoom has a red snout and white accents throughout the back of its body. Its spine is laced with what appears to be bones, and where its neck meets the rest of its body there is a small skull-shaped ornament. Houndoom has two ram-like horns sticking outwards, and it has a pointed devil’s tail. The horns on a male Houndoom are larger than the horns on a female Houndoom.
Behavior of Houndoom
In line with its dog-like appearance, Houndooms run in packs. Their leader is chosen by fighting among themselves and the one with horns that are pointed backward is appointed as the leader. Its howls induce fear in its victims and in the Pokemon universe, it is regarded as the Grim Reaper. Along with its sinister appearance, most of its depictions in the anime are antagonistic roles.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Houndoom is a powerful special attacker with a decent speed stat to back it up with. The biggest weakness Houndoom has is its abysmally low physical defense stat. Almost any physical move can deal large amounts of damage to Houndoom even if it is resisted. As a dual-type fire and dark type, it is weak to fighting, ground, rock, and water type moves. Houndoom’s mega evolution solves some of its weaknesses, but it remains relatively squishy in terms of health pool. Connect a move against Houndoom and it will likely faint.
Mega Houndoom
Mega Houndoom gets the typical mega evolution treatment of gaining 100 total base stats throughout its statline. Luckily for Mega Houndoom, the distribution of stats mostly goes into its most powerful, while still managing to cover some of its weaknesses. For Mega Houndoom, its statline for special attack becomes very good and its speed stat is decent enough to compete with other sweepers. In terms of design, It becomes much spikier and its tail becomes split down the middle into two prongs. The horns on its head grow straight like a bull’s and the ornate bones around its spine and neck become larger and more pronounced.
Houndoom Shiny
A Shiny Houndoom keeps its bony colors on its back but swaps the black color on its body for a blue. Shiny Houndoom’s snout changes color from red to a yellow/cream color, and the claws on its feet remain its classic white color. To keep the rest of the color palette swap correct, the tail also turns blue. Like all shiny Pokemon, Shiny Houndoom gains a starry animation upon entering battle.
Shiny Mega Houndoom
Shiny Mega Houndoom looks very similar to regular Shiny Houndoom in terms of color scheme. The only major difference is the color of its snout, as it returns back to its red color palette. Another difference in Shiny Mega Houndoom’s colors are its claws, they turn from white to a dark red. Like most mega evolutions, Shiny Mega Houndoom is desirable simply because it showcases the effort required to grind a shiny Pokemon.
Best Moveset
Houndoom never saw too much success in competitive brackets. As a RU (Rarely Used) or at best UU (Under Used) denizen, even its mega evolution seems to be overlooked. Instead, most competitive trainers run regular Houndoom for their team. For a moveset consider Nasty Plot, Fire Blast, Dark Pulse, and Hidden Power Water or Hidden Power Steel. Nasty Plot seeks to abuse Houndoom’s absurd special attack stat, Fire Blast benefits from STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus), Dark Pulse is much of the same story, and the Hidden Power moves are to ensure you have good type coverage. For a held item, consider running a Life Orb as Houndoom’s health stat is already low and Life Orb will give you the best chance to One Hit KO.
| Nasty Plot | Fire Blast |
| Dark Pulse | Hidden Power Water/Hidden Power Steel |
How to Catch Houndoom in Pokemon Go
To collect a Houndoom for yourself in Pokemon Go, your best bet would be to find a Houndour and evolve it with 50 Houndour candies. Hondours will spawn more frequently in desert biomes. Of course, if you want to skip the candy grind, Houndour has also appeared as a level 3 raid boss in Pokemon Gyms. At this point in time, it does not seem as if Houndour spawns from any eggs. This means that you will have to locate a Houndour or you will have to find a Houndoom through raids.
Video Guide
Trivia
- The name Houndoom is a portmanteau of the words hound and doom.
- Houndoom is one of the few Pokemon to have three different sprites in the generation two and four games, its male, female, and shiny sprites.
FAQs
Q. Is Houndoom a good Pokemon?
Houndoom is not particularly a strong pick for competitive brackets, however, it does have its place in the tier it resides in. While each generation is different, Houndoom is unfortunately just outclassed by many other fire types. Of course in casual play, anything can work with enough EVs and good IVs.
Q. Who is better, Arcanine or Houndoom?
They are very comparable in competitive play, even fitting into similar tiers for competitive brackets. However, Arcanine comes with the intimidate ability which is more universally good than Houndoom’s Early Bird, Flash Fire, or Unnerve. Houndoom is also a stronger special attacker, but not as bulky as Arcanine.
Q. Is Houndoom a Legendary?
No, Houndoom is not a legendary Pokemon. Houndoom evolves from Houndour, it can be bred, and its experience margin and catch rate do not line up with other legendary Pokemon. There is nothing about Houndoom that fits with the legendary classification and there is nothing that is legendary about Houndoom.
Conclusion
Congratulations, you now know just about everything there is to know about this dark Pokemon. Houndoom is a dual-type dark and fire-type Pokemon that has had many chances to appear in the anime. It is often a villainous role, but it has managed to appear many times for fans of Pokemon. In terms of competitive battle, it is not particularly powerful but can fit a niche within your team. If you need a Pokemon that is offensive and offers fire and dark-type moves, Houndoom could be the loyal pick you need.
