What should the last move for my Houndoom be?

Question

I'm training up my team and I'm thinking up what I want my Pokemon's final movesets to be that they'll use the rest of the game. I'm thinking this for Houndoom:
Houndoom@ Dread Plate
Nature: Bold
Ability: Flash Fire
-Flamethrower
-Dark Pulse
-Nasty Plot
-Sunny Day/Toxic/Fire Blast/I don't know
As you can see, I'm having trouble deciding what his last move should be, so any suggestions would be very helpful. I'd like it to be a free move, as in a level up move or a TM you can get outside of buying it. If there is one that has to be bought that you feel is absolutely essential then I think I'll get it anyway, I just want to save up money and not spend a ton on TMs, since I'm already buying swords dance for Gabite from the Game Corner, which is really pricey since I'm just gonna buy the coins(I have really bad luck with the gambling in Pokemon). Thanks so much!

Comments

I would recommend Sludge Bomb, Will-o-wisp, or Sucker Punch, but that's not a full answer so

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Nasty Plot is learned at Level 60 — right around Cynthia's levels. How should we be defining a good move? I.e. does it only need to be good against Cynthia, the Elite 4, or some other criteria? For example, Thunder Fang is probably pretty helpful against Crasher Wake's Gyarados and Cyrus' Murkrow/Honchkrow, but it isn't great against the Pokemon League.

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I don't think Houndoom really has good moves besides flamethrower and dark pulse. Sludge bomb doesn't cover anything useful, will-o-wisp is post-game, sucker punch is physical (and expensive), and thunder fang is also physical.

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Solar Beam + Sunny Day is probably your best choice for additional moves, but otherwise, there aren't any very good options. Maybe hang onto Howl, as most of your moves are Physical until much later in the game, or just teach Houndoom HMs as filler.

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Solar Beam Sunny Day would require two slots, and since I am planning to have three slots full, since Nasty Plot is pretty much essential, and the other two fill out both its STAB options. As for Thunder Fang, I've already got a Luxray, which has Thunder Fang. So I'm not sure what to fill it out with. Would Toxic be good? Or Sunny Day? I know it likely won't be a damaging move because I kind of have all my bases covered. Maybe Shadow Ball? I honestly don't know. If its an attack, I want it to be special, not physical, and if its status, I want it to be something that either inflicts a condition, or is a stat raise I might need, like a speed raising one.

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To answer your question Amethyst, it really just needs to be useful against the types of 'mons or battles after Crasher Wake, if its also good for Cynthia/Elite 4 then that's just a bonus. I don't really want thunder Fang, because I've sort of got electric attacks covered with my Luxray, and like JustATypical person said, its physical.

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As @Amethyst mentioned, you won't be able to get Nasty Plot until Level 60, which is roughly around Cynthia's levels. I would only go with Howl for a while, as you'll be stuck with Fire Fang/Bite until later in the game, and then Solar Beam and Sunny Day until Nasty Plot, as Thunder Fang and Iron Tail are Physical, Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb offer zero additional coverage, and Toxic should be saved for a bulkier Pokémon if need be.

Answer 1

Houndoom's movepool isn't especially great in Gen IV. It's stuck with Physical STAB in the form of Fire Fang and Bite/Faint Attack for most of the game, unless you have the money to shell out for Flamethrower at the Veilstone Game Corner. It can technically get Fire Blast instead of Fire Fang, but with 5 PP and low accuracy, it's not completely desirable for the average player, but can function better in most scenarios. In terms of coverage however, I would recommend one of the two choices for the two move slots (as again, Nasty Plot comes very late into the game):

• Thunder Fang + Howl - Howl allows for Houndoom to compensate for its lower Attack stat by setting up on the enemy, especially helping its STABs. Thunder Fang is intended as coverage that benefits from Howl raising the Attack stat.

• Solar Beam + Sunny Day - Generally the better of the two choices. Solar Beam serves as Houndoom's only viable Special coverage (Sludge Bomb and Shadow Ball are a big no-no) against Water, Ground, and Rock-types even into the lategame. Sunny Day both lets Solar Beam charge in one turn, and also gives Houndoom's Fire moves more power.

If you eventually do get Nasty Plot, the fourth move slot can generally serve as filler, as Solar Beam and Sunny Day aren't the best without the other, and Thunder Fang and Howl are worthless by this point of the game.

Throughout your playthrough, your Houndoom's moveset will look something like this,

Houndoom @ Dread Plate
Ability: Flash Fire
Bold Nature
- Fire Fang / Fire Blast (Level 32 / TM38, Veilstone Department Store) -> Flamethrower (Level 48 OR Veilstone Game Corner)
- Bite / Faint Attack (Level 17 / 38) -> Dark Pulse (TM79, Victory Road)
- Thunder Fang / Solar Beam (Move Relearner / TM22, Veilstone Department Store)
- Howl / Sunny Day (Move Relearner / TM11, Route 212) -> Nasty Plot (Level 60)

Comments

Thanks so much for the help! I'll probably use the sunny/solar beam combo until I get nasty plot and dark pulse. As for flamethrower, there's actually a free one in the Fuego Ironworks I'm about to go get, so I'll have that pretty soon.

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Fire blast is very useful before you get the flamethrower TM, though Houndoom unfortunately has a type disadvantage against both Maylene and Wake. Howl is kind of useless if it's boosting only one move and that move doesn't even get STAB.