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How to beat and capture Mega Houndoom in Pokémon Go

Darkness looms within reach.
This article is over 4 years old and may contain outdated information

Mega Houndoom is now available to battle and capture in Pokémon Go’s Mega Raid rotation. But players need to take advantage of the opportunity before the Dark/Fire-type vanishes. 

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The community worked hard to unlock the most recent Mega Evolved threat, completing 275 million Mega Raids during the Mega Battle Challenge last month. Now, they can challenge Mega Houndoom and try to add it to their team. 

Since Mega Houndoom is a Dark and Fire-type, there are a lot of good counters you can use for taking the Dark Pokémon. Between Fighting and Ground-types, you should have enough to choose from, but Water-types will likely be your best friend in this matchup. 

As long as you avoid using Ghost, Psychic, Steel, Grass, or Bug-types, you won’t have much to worry about. 

At this point, you should almost always have a Rhyperior on hand to tackle a Mega Raid. It’s high defenses and powerful array of super-effective moves make it a great option. Smack Down and Earthquake will be your best friends moving forward, though you shouldn’t solely rely on the Drill Pokémon.

Swampert and Kyogre are great Water-type choices if you have them available. If you don’t have either of those bulkier options, you can always run with the tried and true Gyarados or Blastoise since more people have access to them. 

Fighting-types might not be able to take the Fire-type hits as well as the previously listed Pokémon, but Hariyama, Machamp, and Conkeldurr are solid picks.

Your best Fighting-type option actually doubles as a Rock-type with some incredible stats. Letting loose with a Terrakion can help you eliminate Houndoom quickly, while also resisting both of its STAB attacks. 

If you don’t have any of the previously mentioned Pokémon available, Tyranitar, Garchomp, Groudon, and Gigalith won’t leave you disappointed if you throw them into the action.


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Author
Image of Cale Michael
Cale Michael
Lead Staff Writer for Dota 2, the FGC, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and more who has been writing for Dot Esports since 2018. Graduated with a degree in Journalism from Oklahoma Christian University and also previously covered the NBA. You can usually find him writing, reading, or watching an FGC tournament.