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Houndoom
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229
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Houndour
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Kingdra
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210
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Houndour
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Slugma
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367
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Houndour
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Porygon2
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Hellgar
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HAH − oon − doom
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Houndour
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Dark Pokémon
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Stage 1
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Fire
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Dark
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4ft 7in
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14
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770lb
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35
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Black
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The parts of its body that are black turn dark blue and the parts of its body that are orange turn yellow
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Early Bird/Flash Fire
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Roar, Crunch, Flamethrower (Level 41)
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('''Hellgar''' ヘルガー ''Herugā'' in
Japanese , '''Hundemon''' in
German and '''Demolosse''' in
French ) is a
Fictional character of the
Pokémon franchise.
"Houndoom" is a
Portmanteau of the words ''hound'', which refers to dogs, and ''doom'', which means unavoidable misfortune and destruction. The German name can be interpreted either as a portmanteau of "Hund" (dog) and "Dämon" (demon), or "Hund" and "Pokémon". Its Japanese name is possibly a combination of "
Hell " and "
Guardian ."
Houndoom is
Canine in appearance, resembling the
Dobermann Breed , but some of its features closely match the
Stereotypical image of the ''
Hellhound '', a monster once believed to torment and feed on the souls of sinners in Hell. Houndoom has two long curved
Horn s on its head, a tail that ends in a spaded tip, and two bony rings around each ankle. It also has three bony semicircles on its back and a bony collar around its neck. A Houndoom's fur is mostly black, but its muzzle and underbelly are red. Its "Shining Pokémon" color is a dark blue instead of black, which is sometimes also seen in Dobermanns.
Houndoom is a somewhat controversial Pokémon, as it has been accused of representing
Satanism ; Houndoom is characterized as a demon-dog with horns and a tail similar to that of
Satan . Pokémon fans argue that Houndoom is not evil, as a kind-hearted Houndoom appeared in episode #152 of the Pokémon animé.
Houndoom possibly derives many of its traits from
Black Dog s,
Mythical Ghost Dogs said to
Haunt the
British Isles and much of
Europe .
Black Dog s act as guardians of old
Graveyards and the treasures they may contain, or of old unpaved roads.
Black Dogs are best known for their terrifying habits, which include stalking human intruders into their territory with the intention of killing of frightening them.
Black Dog s are not always evil, however, as there are stories of them acting as
Guardian Spirits for young women.
Another possible inspiration for Houndoom are the
Hounds Of Tindalos , terrifying inter-dimensional beings created in the fictional works of
H.P. Lovecraft and
Frank Belknap Long . The
Hounds Of Tindalos are evil creatures born of the angles of the universe. They traverse across time in pursuit of time travelers, and will not quit their hunt until they have destroyed their target. The
Hounds Of Tindalos can materialize from any corner with an angle of 120˚ or smaller, and the only sure protection against them is to seal oneself in a completely round room without any corners.
It is possible that Houndoom derives its Pursuit attack from the
Hounds Of Tindalos , and on one Pokémon card, Hondoom is shown against a background of clocks with their hands a different angles.
Other (more well-known) possible inspirations for Houndoom include
Cerberus /
Kerberos of
Greek and
Roman Mythology , and
Garm /Helgarmr of
Norse Mythology .
Houndooms live in packs, whose leader is decided by fierce fighting among its members. The leader develops horns sharply raked towards its back to display its dominant status.
Houndoom's body is filled with toxins. It releases these in the form of a toxic gas through its mouth, which, if inhaled by a pokemon is quite deadly.
The Houndoom is one of the most feared predators among Pokémon. Just the sound of its howl is enough to send all other Pokémon which hear it hurrying back to the safety of their nests.
Houndoom is particularly infamous for its fire breath. While many Fire-type Pokémon have the ability to breathe fire, Houndoom's flame has a special property.
Thanks to the
Toxin s in its body, a burn inflicted by a Houndoom's pungent flame will cause pain that can never be alleviated. This is why Houndoom is feared; if it burns you, you burn painfully for all eternity. Nevertheless, a Burn
Status Ailment caused by a Houndoom in the video games behaves in the same way as all other Burns.
In ''
Pokémon Colosseum '', Houndoom is a Shadow Pokémon that can be Snagged in Realgam Tower. Otherwise, Houndoom cannot be found in the wild. It can be evolved from
Houndour though, so the availability of the latter dictates the availability of the former.
Houndoom is a very popular Pokémon thanks to its above-average stats and knowledge of powerful attacks. The most common moveset is Crunch, Flamethrower, Hidden Power, Pursuit,Crunch and Flamethrower are all around attacking moves, Hidden Power grass covers Houndoom's major weaknesses: Rock, Ground, and Water, and it works well against dual weak opponents such as Swampert, Quagsire, Golem, and Rhydon, which would otherwise defeat Houndoom with ease. Pursuit is used against opponents that will likely switch out, as it inflicts extra damage on exiting pokemon, and hits them before they leave. Another moveset is the "Sunnybeamer" one, with Sunny Day, Flamethrower, Solarbeam, Crunch. Sunny Day benefits both Flamethrower and Solarbeam. Crunch is there for
STAB , and can be substituted for Will-O-Wisp if the player wants to fix its Defense problem.
One of Houndoom's main drawbacks is its low defense, so that a strong Ground, Rock or Fighting-type attack will put it in big trouble.
In Pokemon XD it can be captured in Houndour's form at one of Cipher's lairs.
Houndoom has made a fair number of appearances. In episode #152 (Houndoom's Special Delivery) a Houndoom used as a in the Silver Conference (episode #274-
Johto Photo Finish), and
Team Magma in episode #303 (A three Team scheme).
Houndoom has a rather absurd amount of cards under its name, as evidenced by the following list of expansion sets where it has appeared in:
- ''Neo Discovery'' (Dark-type)
- ''Neo Revelation'' (Dark-type)
- ''Neo Destiny'' (Fire-type, as Dark Houndoom)
- ''Aquapolis'' (Dark-type)
- ''Aquapolis'' (Fire-type)
- ''Skyridge'' (Dark-type)
- ''EX Dragon'' (Dark-type)
- ''EX: Team Magma vs. Team Aqua'' (Fire-type, as Team Magma's Houndoom)
- ''EX: Team Magma vs. Team Aqua'' (Dark/Fire-type, as Team Magma's Houndoom)
- ''EX: Team Rocket Returns'' (Dark/Fire-type, as Dark Houndoom)
- ''EX: Team Rocket Returns'' (Dark/Fire-type, as Dark Houndoom)
- ''EX: Unseen Forces'' (Fire-type)
