Pokédex · IX (Paldea)

Houndstone#972

Its greatest asset is Attack — higher than 79% of species. Weak point: Sp. Atk — lower than 74% of species. This is the final form of its line — it does not evolve any further. Defensively it can rely on 2 weaknesses, 2 resistances and 2 full immunities. Normal and Fighting-type moves do nothing to it at all.

Shiny version

Ghost

Height: 2.0 m (6′07″) Weight: 15.0 kg (33.1 lbs)

Base stats

59%

Atk

101

79%

Def

100

82%

SpA

26%

SpD

85%

Spe

53%

TOTAL

488

64%

Last column: what percentage of 1084 species and regional forms have a lower value. Strong point: Sp. Def.

A nature can improve this entry further: its boost hits hardest on Attack, the stat in which this species already leads. Which nature does that — see the list of natures.

Which nature to choose

It hits physically: its Attack (101) is 51 points higher than its Sp. Atk. So the drop hits a stat the set usually does not use at all.

Adamant +Atk · −SpA The default choice: the boost goes where this species is already strong.
Jolly +Spe · −SpA Mid-range Speed means the turn order is still worth fighting for — check exactly whom you will outspeed before you give up power.

Hidden Power and Weather Ball still deal damage based on Sp. Atk. If either of them is going into the set, lowering Sp. Atk is no longer free.
Sand Rush doubles Speed in a sandstorm. Calculate Speed benchmarks with the ability active — it may change the point of a +Spe or −Spe nature.

A conclusion drawn from base stats alone — a specific moveset can reverse it. All 25 natures.

Regional numbers 3

The header shows the national number. Inside the game the Pokédex counts from the beginning — below is the number you will see in your version.

Paldea	#312	Scarlet / Violet
Hyperspace	#024	Legends: Z-A , Legends: Z-A: Mega Dimension
Pokémon Champions	#972	Champions

Abilities

Sand Rush Doubles Speed during a sandstorm. Protects against sandstorm damage.
Fluffy Damage from contact moves is halved. Damage from Fire moves is doubled.

How players use it

Gen 9 OU · rank 183 Gen 9 UU · rank 66

Data from 574,541 ranked battles on Smogon (Gen 9 OU, 2026-09). These are not numbers from the game — they are player habits. Gen 9 OU is the most popular format with no top-down team restrictions — everything is allowed except what was deemed too strong.

Rank 183 among 309 Pokémon in use — it is on 0.09% of teams.

Moves Poltergeist 83% Will O Wisp 57.1% Roar 50.7% Pain Split 49.4% Play Rough 42.3% Shadow Sneak 40.3% Trick 23.4% Ice Fang 16.8% Body Press 9.4% Lick 8.8%

Items Rocky Helmet 47.2% Choice Band 27% Life Orb 17.8% Leftovers 5.7% Heavy Duty Boots 2.3%

Abilities Fluffy 53% Sand Rush 47%

Tera Type Dark 44% Ghost 27% Fairy 24.6% Stellar 1.9%

EV spreads Impish · 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk 44.1% Adamant · 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def 20.1% Adamant · 252 Atk / 240 Spe / 16 HP 14.8% Adamant · 252 Atk / 240 Spe / 16 Def 7.5% Impish · 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 Spe 6.3%

Teammates Gholdengo 47.6% Excadrill 46.8% Tyranitar 43.2% Hisuian Samurott 42.8% Glimmora 42.7% Hisuian Goodra 42.6% Alomomola 19.1% Hydrapple 17.7%

Each row is a separate distribution, not a single set: the most common item and the most common move do not have to appear on the same Pokémon.

Pokédex entry

Houndstone spends most of its time sleeping in graveyards. Among all the dog Pokémon, this one is most loyal to its master.

Egg Group: Field Gender: 50% ♂ / 50% ♀ Catch difficulty: medium (60/255) Base friendship: 50/255 Base EXP: 171

Evolution line Full line →

#971

Greavard #972

Houndstone Level 30, at night

Resistances and weaknesses

Type chart →

How much damage Houndstone takes when it is hit by a move of each type.

Weak to Ghost ×2 Dark ×2

Resistant to Poison ×½ Bug ×½

Immune to Normal ×0 Fighting ×0

Variant gallery

The gallery shows only the appearance variants that exist for this Pokémon. Every image shows the same character and differs in source — a Pokémon HOME render or a pixel sprite — and in coloring, regular or shiny.

Houndstone — large render in its regular coloring — Pokémon HOME

Houndstone — large render in its shiny coloring — Pokémon HOME shiny

Pixel sprite

Shiny pixel sprite

Breeding

All Egg Groups →

Offspring can come from 275 species from the same Egg Groups (with opposite genders) or from Ditto. Below are the first 12 by Pokédex number.

The Egg hatches after 20 cycles, which is roughly 5,400 steps. The exact cycle length depends on the game — newer titles shortened it noticeably — so treat this number as an order of magnitude, not a countdown. Having the Flame Body Ability in your party halves the wait.

Moves (59)

Full move list →

Below are the moves learned by leveling up. The rest (43 via TM/TR) are on the full list.

Lv.	Move	Type	Cat.	Power	Acc.	PP
1	Growl	Normal	Status	—	100%	40
1	Tackle	Normal	Physical	40	100%	35
3	Lick	Ghost	Physical	30	100%	30
6	Bite	Dark	Physical	60	100%	25
6	Tail Whip	Normal	Status	—	100%	30
9	Roar	Normal	Status	—	—	20
12	Headbutt	Normal	Physical	70	100%	15
16	Dig	Ground	Physical	80	100%	10
24	Rest	Psychic	Status	—	—	5
28	Crunch	Dark	Physical	80	100%	15
36	Play Rough	Fairy	Physical	90	90%	10
41	Helping Hand	Normal	Status	—	—	20
46	Phantom Force	Ghost	Physical	90	100%	10
51	Charm	Fairy	Status	—	100%	20
58	Double Edge	Normal	Physical	120	100%	15
—	Last Respects	Ghost	Physical	50	100%	10

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