Is Houndour Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Route 7 encounter in Kanto or Safari Zone. Dark/Fire with AbilityEarly Bird or AbilityFlash Fire. Houndoom at level 24 fills the rare Fire/Dark combination. The late availability is the one drawback.
Houndour trades roughly evenly with Falkner's team.
Houndour trades roughly evenly with Bugsy's team.
Houndour trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Houndour has the type edge here and should clean up Morty's team.
Chuck's team hits Houndour's weaknesses hard.
Houndour has the type edge here and should clean up Jasmine's team.
Houndour has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Clair's team hits Houndour's weaknesses hard.
Houndour has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Houndour trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Houndour trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Houndoom resists most of Erika's coverage and hits back hard.
Houndoom has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Houndoom resists most of Sabrina's coverage and hits back hard.
Houndoom trades roughly evenly with Blaine's team.
Houndoom trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Houndoom resists most of Will's coverage and hits back hard.
Houndoom has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Houndoom trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Houndoom has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Houndoom trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Catchable
Catch Houndour on Route 7 (walking, Lv 15, rare).
Recommended Moves
- LV 17DarkBitePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 25
- After Bugsy
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 180Accuracy 85%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- LV 30FireFire FangPower 98Accuracy 95%PP 15
- LV 35DarkFeint AttackPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Clair
- TM79DarkDark PulsePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Sold by the TM clerk on 3F of the Celadon Department Store
- LV 43FireFlamethrowerPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 48DarkCrunchPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
Evolve Houndour to Houndoom
Houndour evolves into Houndoom at Level 24. Your Houndour should hit Level 24 before you reach Erika, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 180Accuracy 85%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- LV 32FireFire FangPower 98Accuracy 95%PP 15
- After Clair
- TM79DarkDark PulsePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Sold by the TM clerk on 3F of the Celadon Department Store
- LV 48FireFlamethrowerPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 54DarkCrunchPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 60DarkNasty PlotPower —Accuracy 100%PP 20
How to Get Houndour in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Houndour only comes out at night, a rare spawn on a single Kanto route in both games. Daytime hunting gets you nowhere, so set the clock after dark before you go looking for one.
1 location to catch Houndour
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 8Where To Catch Houndour in HGSS
The line opens with Houndour at Lv. 15 via walking encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.
- Step 1Houndour ✓
- Step 2Catch or Evolve into Houndoomor evolve from Houndour (Step 1)
Want the exact numbers? Work out your catch odds in HeartGold & SoulSilver for Houndour.
How to Get Shiny Houndour in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Houndour prowls Route 7 at night, though a shiny comes faster from Masuda breeding with a foreign parent. Compare Shiny Houndour odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Houndour Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Curious how fast a hunt could go? Work out your HeartGold & SoulSilver shiny odds for Houndour.
Houndour Weakness
Houndour is weak to Water, Fighting, Ground, and Rock. On the flip side, it's immune to Psychic-type moves entirely. 6 resistances give it solid defensive coverage on top of that. Flash Fire grants an additional Fire immunity, reshaping the matchup chart.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Water, Fighting, Ground, Rock |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Grass, Ice, Ghost, Dark, Steel |
| 0x (Immune) | Psychic |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Houndour Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Houndour
 Hariyama Fighting | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Houndour View Hariyama builds →Focus Punch 2x401-472%KO Earthquake 2x179-211%KO Stone Edge 2x179-211%KO Surf 2x52-61% | ||
 Blaziken FireFighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Torchic (Silph Co Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Houndour View Blaziken builds →Focus Punch 2x401-472%KO Earthquake 2x179-211%KO Stone Edge 2x179-211%KO | ||
 Gallade PsychicFighting | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Houndour View Gallade builds →Focus Punch 2x416-490%KO Earthquake 2x185-218%KO Stone Edge 2x185-218%KO | ||
 Rampardos Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cranidos (Pewter City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Houndour View Rampardos builds →Head Smash 2x532-626%KO Focus Punch 2x354-417%KO Earthquake 2x236-278%KO Surf 2x73-87% | ||
 Breloom GrassFighting | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Houndour View Breloom builds →Focus Punch 2x430-507%KO Stone Edge 2x191-226%KO | ||
 Hitmonlee Fighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Tyrogue (Mt Mortar Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Houndour View Hitmonlee builds →Focus Punch 2x401-472%KO Earthquake 2x179-211%KO Stone Edge 2x179-211%KO | ||
 Tyranitar RockDark | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Houndour View Tyranitar builds →Focus Punch 2x295-348%KO Stone Edge 2x295-348%KO Earthquake 2x197-232%KO Surf 2x99-117%KO | ||
 Toxicroak PoisonFighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Houndour View Toxicroak builds →Focus Punch 2x362-426%KO Earthquake 2x162-190%KO Stone Edge 2x162-190%KO | ||
 Primeape Fighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Houndour View Primeape builds →Focus Punch 2x357-421%KO Earthquake 2x159-188%KO Stone Edge 2x159-188%KO | ||
 Garchomp DragonGround | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Houndour View Garchomp builds →Earthquake 2x287-338%KO Stone Edge 2x191-226%KO Brick Break 2x144-170%KO Surf 2x86-101%KO | ||
 Marowak Ground | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Houndour View Marowak builds →Earthquake 2x191-225%KO Focus Punch 2x190-224%KO Stone Edge 2x127-150%KO | ||
 Machoke Fighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Houndour View Machoke builds →Focus Punch 2x343-404%KO Earthquake 2x153-180%KO Rock Slide 2x115-135%KO | ||
 Gyarados Water | S | |
Obtain MethodLake Of Rage Good Rod Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Houndour View Gyarados builds →Aqua Tail 2x250-295%KO Earthquake 2x185-218%KO Stone Edge 2x185-218%KO Rock Smash 2x74-88% | ||
 Suicune Water | A | |
Obtain MethodBurned Tower Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Houndour View Suicune builds →Surf 2x143-168%KO Dig 2x97-115%KO Rock Smash 2x49-59% | ||
Houndour Evolutions
Houndour evolves into Houndoom. It's a two-stage chain with the method shown below. A massive partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs take an average time to hatch. Evolving adds up to 170 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Houndour easily with 131 breeding partners from the Field egg group. Pass egg moves like Beat Up, Counter, Feint and 10 more to offspring.
HGSS Houndour Best Moveset
Dark/Fire at 80 Sp. Atk and 65 Speed with AbilityFlash Fire absorbing Fire moves for a power boost. The moveset fires special Dark and Fire damage. 45 HP and 30 Defense fold to any physical hit. Evolve to Houndoom.
Best Build
Houndour best EVs are Attack and Sp. Atk
Utility Moveset
- Sucker Punch
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Pursuit
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Egg moves make a real difference. Houndour gets Beat Up and Counter exclusively through breeding, filling gaps that TMs and level-up can't touch. Coverage across 8 types rounds out the picture alongside Fire Blast and Heat Wave.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
All 26 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It uses different kinds of cries for communicating with others of its kind and for pursuing its prey.
To corner prey, they check each other’s location using barks that only they can understand.
Houndour HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Houndour has 330 BST and evolves into Houndoom. Compare the two forms before you give either one a team slot.
Yes. Houndour is not available during the main story. It can only be obtained after entering the Hall of Fame. Houndour becomes available after the main story is complete in HeartGold & SoulSilver.
Game Availability
Houndour first appeared in Gold & Silver and has been available in 17 games across 8 generations. Obtainable through catching or hatching as a base form in most titles where it appears.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GSDebut
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves
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