Houndour

The lower half of a two-stage line. At level 24 it evolves into Houndoom, and that's it: there is no earlier stage, third stage or branching evolution depending on the time of day or a stone.

The starting point is a Dobermann. Pointed ears, an elongated muzzle, a black body with a red belly and snout, and two fangs poking out over the lip. On top of that dog is a hellhound layer: bony ridges spread across its back, white rings around its ankles that imitate bones, and a skull-shaped mark on its forehead, placed just above its real eyebrows. It is 60 centimetres tall and weighs 10.8 kilograms, the measurements of a real medium-sized dog.

The Pokédex entries barely talk about fire. They talk about the pack. It hunts in groups and divides up the work: the members signal their positions with barks that only they understand, then close in from the sides until the prey has nowhere left to run. The howl just before dawn is not a threat, but a warning of where the group is and how far its territory extends. Another entry credits it with unwavering loyalty towards its Trainer. The official category, Dark Pokémon, falls short for a creature whose defining trait is stated to be companionship.

330 base stat points divided around one clear idea: 80 Special Attack, followed by 65 Speed and 60 Attack. The rest is tissue paper. 45 HP and 30 Defense, the lowest figure on the sheet, mean that any decent physical hit knocks it out in one go, without needing a type advantage.

Flash Fire is the Ability that gives it something to do. It completely nullifies Fire-type attacks and, whenever it takes one, boosts the power of its own: getting a free switch into Flamethrower and coming out stronger is one of the few clean plays it has. Early Bird only matters if it gets put to sleep; Unnerve, its hidden Ability, stops the opponent from using Berries.

On the attack, its two types cover each other's backs well. Dark handles Psychic and Ghost, Fire handles Grass, Ice, Bug and Steel, and it is rare for an opponent to resist both at once. Flamethrower comes at 44, Dark Pulse and Nasty Plot are on the TM list, and Sucker Punch, which is an Egg Move, partly patches the Speed gap.

Defensively, the numbers do not add up. Five weaknesses—Fighting, Ground, Rock, Water and Fairy—and those 30 Defense points left exposed. Immunity to Psychic and resistances to Fire, Grass, Ice, Steel, Dark and Ghost are of little use when the next turn finishes the job.

In a normal playthrough, its window is short and badly placed. In Gold, Silver and Crystal it only appears at night on Route 7 in Kanto, meaning after the Johto League has already been beaten. Where it does its job is against specific types: it gets a free switch into a Psychic attack, and Bite at level 16 is enough to clear Ghost routes until evolution changes the numbers.

It belongs to the Field Egg Group and no other, which is the most populated group in the Pokédex: pairing it up is effortless. The gender ratio is 50% female, without the skewed proportions found in other lines, so breeding gets started first time. Its 20 egg cycles work out at roughly 5355 steps.

Of its eight Egg Moves, three make a difference. Sucker Punch gives priority in exchange for failing if the opponent does not attack, and on a body with 65 Speed that is more than a bonus. Thunder Fang covers the Water type, which is one of the matchups it handles worst. Destiny Bond turns a guaranteed death into a one-for-one trade. The other five—Counter, Fire Spin, Reversal, Spite and Feint—are filler.

The evolution has no trick to it: reach level 24, with no stones, friendship or time of day involved. What does matter is its experience curve, which is Slow, the most expensive of the six, so that 24 arrives later than it does for most teammates. Its base friendship, 35, is also below the usual figure.

In the wild it lives in rugged terrain. Its catch rate, 120, puts it in the comfortable range: much easier to handle than a starter's 45 and nowhere near the 255 of a first-route Pokémon. It gives 1 Special Attack EV.