Name: Houndoom
Classification: Dark
Type: Dark/fire
Number: 229
Evolution: Houndour – Houndoom (level 24)
Height: 140 cm
Weight: 35 kilos
Habitat: Northern forests and plains
Description: Houndoom are the great predators of the northern forests. They live in packs of up to 12 members, both male and female adults, plus young. When the Houndour reach maturity, they leave the pack and form packs of their own. Upon evolution, they can be readmitted into a Houndoom pack, though rarely the one they were born in. The alpha of the pack can be male or female and is decided by fierce fighting among the pack members. Dominant Houndoom can be recognised by their horns, which grow to be sharply raked towards the back. Males always have larger horns than females. Shown here is a male. When a once dominant Houndoom is dethroned, he is likely to be expelled from the pack. When a male is the alpha, all females in the pack mate with him. When a female is the alpha, she mates with a male of her choosing and the other females are not allowed to mate.
Although Houndoom look frightening, they are not very strong physically. Their bodies are built for speed and they weigh very little. They have no external ears, but there are earholes just next to the horns. The boney protrusions on their back, neck and legs protect weak spots in their skeleton. Their tail is used for balance, giving them an almost cat-like grace on small ledges. They hunt at night, where they become almost invisble as they approach their prey due to their black fur. They have incredible stamina and hunt by exhausting their prey, nipping at its legs while driving it through the forests or across plains until it collapses. A well-placed kick from a Stantler or similar prey, however, can easily break a Houndooms back.
Apart from meat, Houndoom can often be seen taking bites from the soil or certain plants. These things contain elements necessary for Houndoom to produce the toxins in its body that ignite when exposed to oxygen. This enables the Houndoom to spew foul-smelling flame. The flames not only burn, but still carry a residue of the toxin which greatly delays the healing of burn wounds. It can take years for the pain to subside and there is currently no treatment. Houndoom do not use this flame for the hunt and rarely in combat for dominance, but rather to defend their territory against other pokémon and humans.
Many legends about Houndoom have survived the ages and are still popular today. Its terrifying howl was thought to be the voice of the Grim Reaper, speaking through these pokémon. This howl could either signify death or warn people and pokémon alike that to leave their homes tonight would mean certain death. One particularly charming myth tells that Houndoom is in fact already dead and its howl is a plea to Queen Death to be returned to the living on the night of a full moon.


Suggested by  iankeith