Disaster Area
formerly Piexplode
[Overview]
Houndour's unique typing combination is somewhat of a godsend in ADV NU. In spite of its palty bulk, its good Speed and Special Attack allow it a space in the Metagame. The Dark STAB is well-matched with access to Pursuit, and no Electric weakness, or indeed any special weakness other than Water, means that it's an effective check to Chimecho, and with access to pursuit, can even trap Haunter. Fire typing (and thus Fire/Grass resistance) paired with Early Bird makes it a very solid check to Sunnybeamers too.
[SET]
name: Pursuit+EndSalac
move 1: Pursuit
move 2: Endure
move 3: Fire Blast / Overheat / Flamethrower
move 4: Crunch
item: Salac Berry
nature: Modest
evs: 252 SAtk / 44 SDef / 212 Spd
ivs: 0 Atk
[SET COMMENTS]
- Pursuit allows it to trap Haunter.
- Endure allows it to activate Salac Berry consistently, letting it get off another attack versus faster foes.
- A fire STAB of choice complements its Dark STAB and destroys grass-types.
- Crunch provides a stronger Dark STAB option, particularly can be useful versus Chimecho and Haunter.
- Hidden Power Grass or another filler could be used in the last slot instead. HP Grass notably has great coverage alongside Fire.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
- The EV spread allows it to outspeed max Speed base 50s (such as Mawile, Piloswine, and Bellossom), and less heavily invested faster pokemon (there are many in the base 50-65 speed range that choose not to run max speed), as well as the whole unboosted metagame at +1, then maximising power. The remainder goes into Special Defense since all hits it's wanted to survive are on the Special side. 0 Atk IVs minimise random confusion damage (the Hound is never going to use struggle!).
- A much more specially bulky EV spread could be run, possibly with Leftovers instead, since it can be EVd to avoid being 2HKOd by Haunter's Thunderbolt for example. However, this spread allows it to be most useful in those matchups where haunter isn't present, and suiting the more offensively inclined teams it generally fits on.
- Partners that love Haunter out of the way and Chimecho crippled are great, such as CB Hitmonchan, or any Normal/Fighting type attackers.
[Other Options]
- Taunt, Thief, Will-o-Wisp, and Counter all stand out as potentially interesting moves, but don't fit the specialised approach of the aforementioned set. Solarbeam could be trialled with Sun Support, as could it running its own Sunny Day, whilst ChestoRest or Snatch could be opted for as well. Endure+Petaya is also a consideration.
[Checks and Counters]
- Running lots of Special Defense on CM chimecho, or pairing Light Screen support with Haunter both help these Pokemon be more resilient to the hound.
- Diglett can trap it, but may be tricky to bring in.
- Bulky waters and rocks can handle it fine.
Houndour's unique typing combination is somewhat of a godsend in ADV NU. In spite of its palty bulk, its good Speed and Special Attack allow it a space in the Metagame. The Dark STAB is well-matched with access to Pursuit, and no Electric weakness, or indeed any special weakness other than Water, means that it's an effective check to Chimecho, and with access to pursuit, can even trap Haunter. Fire typing (and thus Fire/Grass resistance) paired with Early Bird makes it a very solid check to Sunnybeamers too.
[SET]
name: Pursuit+EndSalac
move 1: Pursuit
move 2: Endure
move 3: Fire Blast / Overheat / Flamethrower
move 4: Crunch
item: Salac Berry
nature: Modest
evs: 252 SAtk / 44 SDef / 212 Spd
ivs: 0 Atk
[SET COMMENTS]
- Pursuit allows it to trap Haunter.
- Endure allows it to activate Salac Berry consistently, letting it get off another attack versus faster foes.
- A fire STAB of choice complements its Dark STAB and destroys grass-types.
- Crunch provides a stronger Dark STAB option, particularly can be useful versus Chimecho and Haunter.
- Hidden Power Grass or another filler could be used in the last slot instead. HP Grass notably has great coverage alongside Fire.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
- The EV spread allows it to outspeed max Speed base 50s (such as Mawile, Piloswine, and Bellossom), and less heavily invested faster pokemon (there are many in the base 50-65 speed range that choose not to run max speed), as well as the whole unboosted metagame at +1, then maximising power. The remainder goes into Special Defense since all hits it's wanted to survive are on the Special side. 0 Atk IVs minimise random confusion damage (the Hound is never going to use struggle!).
- A much more specially bulky EV spread could be run, possibly with Leftovers instead, since it can be EVd to avoid being 2HKOd by Haunter's Thunderbolt for example. However, this spread allows it to be most useful in those matchups where haunter isn't present, and suiting the more offensively inclined teams it generally fits on.
- Partners that love Haunter out of the way and Chimecho crippled are great, such as CB Hitmonchan, or any Normal/Fighting type attackers.
[Other Options]
- Taunt, Thief, Will-o-Wisp, and Counter all stand out as potentially interesting moves, but don't fit the specialised approach of the aforementioned set. Solarbeam could be trialled with Sun Support, as could it running its own Sunny Day, whilst ChestoRest or Snatch could be opted for as well. Endure+Petaya is also a consideration.
[Checks and Counters]
- Running lots of Special Defense on CM chimecho, or pairing Light Screen support with Haunter both help these Pokemon be more resilient to the hound.
- Diglett can trap it, but may be tricky to bring in.
- Bulky waters and rocks can handle it fine.