Houndstone Movesets & Competitive Sets

Set Details Roar allows Houndstone to phaze setup sweepers such as Flygon and Scyther while also causing entry hazard damage against a new foe. Will-O-Wisp can be used to cripple physical attackers that otherwise might beat Houndstone such as Drednaw and Rhyperior. Houndstone can use the combination of RestTalk, allowing it to consistently handle foes such as Flygon, Rhyperior, and Paldean Tauros-W. Pain Split can be used to free up a moveslot on Houndstone while also working exceptionally well on high-HP targets such as Vaporeon and Copperajah. Body Press allows Houndstone to hit common Dark-types such as Incineroar and Scrafty for big damage. Rocky Helmet deals chip damage against Pokemon such as Flygon and Flamigo, Heavy-Duty Boots allows Houndstone to ignore entry hazards to take on Pokemon such as Scyther more easily, and Leftovers can help keep Houndstone healthy over the course of the game. Tera Water lets Houndstone resist Water-type attacks from Pokemon such as Basculegion-M and Paldean Tauro-W while also resisting Fire-type attacks from Incineroar and Infernape. Tera Fighting boosts the power of Body Press while also giving Houndstone a Dark resistance that helps it against Overqwil and Scrafty. Tera Fairy makes Houndstone immune to Dragon-type attacks from the likes of Flygon, allows it to resist Dark-type moves, and still lets it easily take on Fighting-types such as Paldean Tauros-W, Flamigo, and Hariyama. Houndstone primarily fits on bulky offense and balance teams, particularly Spike stack teams, as they heavily appreciate its ability to check Pokemon such as Flamigo and Basculegion-M while also stopping Rapid Spin from Tsareena. Entry hazard setters such as Klefki, Rhyperior, and Gligar pair well with Houndstone because they appreciate its reliability in keeping up hazards against teams that rely on Rapid Spin. In return, Houndstone appreciates the passive chip damage against checks such as Flamigo and Flygon. Hazard removal options such as Tsareena and Cramorant are heavily appreciated by Houndstone, as they can allow Rocky Helmet or Leftovers variants to stay healthy over the course of a game. Special walls such as Copperajah and Goodra pair extremely well with Houndstone, as they love its ability to check common physical attackers such as Flamigo and Paldean Tauros-W. They can then handle special attackers that Houndstone might struggle with such as Munkidori and Chandelure. Due to Fluffy doubling the power of Fire-type attacks, Houndstone can immensely struggle against Pokemon such as Chandelure and Incineroar. Therefore, Fire-resistant Pokemon such as Vaporeon, Altaria, and Incineroar are especially appreciated. Wish passers such as Vaporeon and Sylveon are great for Houndstone. Wish can help keep Houndstone healthy without having to use the unreliable Rest or Pain Split, and Houndstone can check powerful wallbreakers the wish passers might otherwise struggle with such as Choice Band Flamigo and Rhyperior. Fighting-types such as Paldean Tauros-F, Scrafty, and Toxicroak can help take on Dark-types that Houndstone commonly struggles with like Overqwil and Wo-Chien, and in return, Houndstone can help with Pokemon they can struggle against such as Flamigo.

Play Rough lets Houndstone take out foes like Flygon and Paldean Tauros-W while ensuring Scrafty can't take advantage of it. Alternatively, Body Press allows Houndstone to put its Defense investment to good use to target Scrafty as well as switch-ins like Incineroar, Copperajah, and Dudunsparce. Shadow Sneak lets Houndstone pick off weakened, frail foes such as Munkidori, Tornadus, and Flamigo. Pain Split uses Houndstone's low HP to punish and capitalize on foes with reliable recovery. Notably, it helps Houndstone spinblock Tsareena more consistently. The given EV spread allows Houndstone to outspeed Klefki while maximizing, firstly, its Attack and, secondly, Body Press's power, notably 2HKOing offensive Incineroar, and it means Houndstone can simultaneously be bulky while healing as much as possible with Pain Split. Tera Fairy ensures Houndstone maintains its matchup against Fighting- and Dragon-types like Heracross, Goodra, and Flygon; gives it a resistance to Incineroar's Knock Off; and boosts Play Rough so that Houndstone can OHKO Flygon and, after a bit of chip damage, Paldean Tauros-W as well. Tera Fighting powers up Body Press to ensure a 2HKO on defensive Incineroar, and it gifts Houndstone a useful resistance to Dark-type moves such as Knock Off. Tera Dark works better to slow down Ghost-types like Decidueye and Chandelure while still offering a resistance to Knock Off. However, opting for Tera Dark leaves Houndstone more easily beaten by the same Fighting-type foes it once checked like Toxicroak and Paldean Tauros-W while being significantly worn down by U-turn. Heavy-Duty Boots lightens the pressure on Houndstone's team to remove entry hazards, allowing them to set even more hazards and consequently increase its efficacy. Weakness Policy takes advantage of Houndstone's increased bulk from Fluffy to let it become a reverse sweeper after getting hit by a Knock Off either from a Fighting-type like Heracross or a foe like Tsareena. Houndstone's main job is to stop spinners like Tsareena. Because of this, it synergizes greatly with entry hazard setters like Spikes Gligar and Klefki as well as Stealth Rock Duraludon, Copperajah, and Rhyperior. In return, especially for the last three, Houndstone acts as an offensive check to Fighting-types like Flamigo, Heracross, and Scrafty. Calm Mind users such as Sylveon and Uxie are great at capitalizing on and pressuring bulkier foes that Houndstone can struggle to break through like defensive Tsareena, Vaporeon, and Dudunsparce. In a similar vein, Houndstone appreciates Knock Off users like Gligar, Swampert, and Copperajah, since they can draw in Tsareena, allowing the combination of hazards plus Houndstone's Poltergeist to overwhelm it. Speed control in the form of Heavy-Duty Boots users like Munkidori and Ambipom as well as Choice Scarf Flamigo can circumvent hazards, which is necessary on Spikes stacking teams using Houndstone, as its Speed is quite low. Houndstone flails against Normal- and Dark-types like Dudunsparce, Overqwil, and Incineroar, so partners that can take advantage of them such as Scrafty, Rhyperior, and Paldean Tauros-F complement it quite well. In addition, Houndstone appreciates the latter two being able to take a Fire-type attack in a pinch. However, bulkier Fire-resistant teammates such as Vaporeon, Goodra, Incineroar, and Rhyperior work better to switch into dangerous foes like opposing Incineroar, Chandelure, and Salazzle.