Overview
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Mega Houndoom is an often overlooked specially offensive threat. It takes up a team's Mega Evolution slot, doesn't hit as hard as its competition due being unable to hold other items, and has its ability mostly wasted by how poor sun is in respect to other playstyles. However, the helldog is not something to simply brush aside. It has a fantastic Speed stat, very impressive Special Attack, respectable defenses, great offensive STABs, and a number of useful utility moves. When used correctly, Mega Houndoom will reduce the opponent to ashes.
Nasty Plot
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name: Nasty Plot
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Dark Pulse
move 4: Taunt / Destiny Bond
ability: Flash Fire
item: Houndoominite
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Moves
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Nasty Plot raises Houndoom's Special Attack to quite impressive levels, letting it act as a proficient wallbreaker and even as a sweeper against slower teams. Fire Blast is Houndoom's primary STAB; its high Base Power with negligible drawbacks makes Mega Houndoom a very fierce attacker compared to Pokemon that rely on less powerful moves as their main attack. Dark Pulse is secondary STAB that offers reliable accuracy, a handy flinch chance, and reasonably good neutral coverage with Fire Blast. Taunt is a useful move that aids in setting up against phazers that can't damage Houndoom otherwise, such as Mandibuzz. It also allows Houndoom to set up in the face of status users that rely on status such as Porygon 2, Chansey, or Heatran lacking Earth Power. On top of this, Taunt prevents walls such as Chansey from recovering, letting Houndoom wear down defensive teams more easily. Destiny Bond is more suited for fighting offensive teams as Houndoom has trouble muscling past some offensive staples such as Keldeo, Tyranitar, and Terrakion. Destiny Bond can make short work of these Pokemon early-game. Hidden Power Fighting is a very good option as it can deal considerable damage to Tyranitar, which otherwise easily counters Houndoom. Hidden Power Grass is a second viable Hidden Power which has the ability to hit a number of good checks to Houndoom such as Keldeo, Azumarill, and Terrakion very hard. Flame Charge is an option for a pseudo double dance set, letting Houndoom boost its Speed to clean up late-game.
Set Details
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Maximum Speed and Special Attack EVs optimize Mega Houndoom's sweeping and wallbreaking abilities. A Timid nature is mandatory, as without a Speed-positive nature a large number of important Speed tiers are missed. The remaining four EVs go into Defense as opposed to HP as it lets Houndoom take less entry hazard damage. Flash Fire is the ideal ability as the boost persists when Houndoom is Mega-Evolved and gives it a free switch-in if played correctly.
Usage Tips
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Specially defensive Heatran with Earth Power is a counter to Mega Houndoom, but it is nearly powerless if it lacks Earth Power and the latter has Taunt. Scouting for Heatran's moveset before deploying Houndoom may let it set up for free on Heatran. The easiest way to accomplish this is to switch Houndoom into Heatran as it uses Lava Plume, then switch out. Houndoom's typing is convenient for beating Ghost-types that like to throw around burns, such as mono-attack Gengar and standard Sableye; these are perhaps the best switch-in opportunities for it. Mandibuzz is complete setup bait for Mega Houndoom should the latter have Taunt, so exploit this. Chansey should be Taunted to prevent recovery and status, making it easy to wear down and switch into. Mega Venusaur is also a pretty good Taunt target for preventing Leech Seeds and Synthesis, again making it easy to wear down and switch into, or outright beat. Mega Houndoom functions quite well as a wallbreaker; setting it up mid-game to break down bulky Pokemon for the rest of your team is where it is most effective. Destiny Bond's primary targets are Keldeo, Terrakion, Tyranitar, and basically anything slower than Houndoom that it can't beat and will probably respond with an OHKO. It can also be used to take down Chansey if it is dumb enough to KO Houndoom with Seismic Toss.
Team Options
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Stealth Rock is a serious issue for Houndoom, and Defog or Rapid Spin support is crucial. Scizor performs in this role relatively well as it lures Will-O-Wisp and offensive Fire-type moves for Houndoom's Flash Fire; it is also a reasonable switch into Tyranitar, one of Houndoom's best counters. Latios as a Defogger can deal with Keldeo and Breloom pretty effectively. Drought Ninetales, especially with a Heat Rock, gives Mega Houndoom a huge amount of power without any need for setup. +2 Houndoom is so strong in the sun, it can OHKO Blissey. Landorus-T is excellent at absorbing strong Ground- and Fighting-type moves aimed at Houndoom, while also taking some Rock-type moves comfortably. Landorus-T also can counter Talonflame, a good offensive check to Houndoom. Dugtrio is an incredibly valuable trapping partner as it is capable of trapping and KOing two of Houndoom's biggest adversaries: Tyranitar and Heatran. Azumarill is quite capable of switching into and beating prominent offensive checks to Houndoom such as Greninja and Keldeo. Rotom-W is a solid teammate for Houndoom as it can take on a number of Houndoom's greatest checks such as Keldeo, Talonflame, and Azumarill and generate momentum with Volt Switch for Houndoom to come in safely. Tangrowth and Ferrothorn are good Azumarill switch-ins, and as such are useful alongside Houndoom.
Other Options
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Sucker Punch is Houndoom's only option for priority and can mitigate issues against opposing priority and Choice Scarf users. However, it is quite weak without Attack investment. Will-O-Wisp screws with some switch-ins, most prominently Tyranitar, Hippowdon, Azumarill, and Terrakion, but it is contrary to Houndoom's fast and hard-hitting nature. Sludge Bomb is a mildly useful move that can break through Azumarill and does the most damage to Fairy-types. An offensive sun set is feasible, but independent Sunny Day use is easy to shut down for opposing weather starters, the recoil incurred is not worth the effort and a fully dedicated sun team struggles far too much against common threats to be worth the trouble.
Checks & Counters
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**Revenge Killers**: Choice Scarf Garchomp, Excadrill, and Terrakion make easy offensive checks or counters, depending on the field condition. Strong priority users such as Breloom, Talonflame, and Azumarill are also good checks or counters. Pokemon that naturally outspeed Mega Houndoom and can hit it super effectively such as Greninja and Deoxys-S make good checks as well.
**Tyranitar**: Tyranitar replaces sun with sand, resists Houndoom's dual STAB, and has the bulk to take anything else while retaliating with Stone Edge; it really only fears Destiny Bond. Tyranitar is thus Houndoom's best counter.
**Chansey**: This blob sponges anything from Houndoom if it's healthy and cripples it with status. Chansey can only be dealt with if Houndoom packs a combination of Taunt and Destiny Bond, although this is rather rare.
**General Specially Defensive Tanks**: Specially defensive Hippowdon can take a +2 Fire Blast and KO with Earthquake in response, while bulky Assault Vest users like Conkeldurr can take a +2 attack and KO back. In general, dedicated specially defensive Pokemon that Houndoom can't hit super effectively will be able to respond to it pretty effectively.
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