Houndstone

Using Houndstone in a Playthrough

Greavard evolves into Houndstone starting at level 30 when it levels up at night, making the family straightforward to complete once the time-of-day requirement is understood. Houndstone is a physically oriented Ghost-type with base 101 Attack and solid 72/100/97 defenses, granting useful Normal and Fighting immunities and far more staying power than many offensive Ghost-types. Its signature Last Respects begins at 50 base power and becomes 50 points stronger each time a Pokémon on the user's side has fainted during the battle, but ordinary story teams should not intentionally lose teammates merely to maximize it. Sand Rush doubles Houndstone's Speed during sandstorm and can support an offensive role, while the Hidden Ability Fluffy halves damage from contact moves at the cost of doubling the damage of Fire-type attacks, creating a very different defensive profile. Poltergeist, Shadow Sneak, Body Press, Play Rough, Will-O-Wisp, and coverage or utility moves let it function as either an attacker or a bulky Ghost, although some of its strongest options are less accurate than ideal. Terastallization can remove the Ghost weaknesses to Dark and Ghost or amplify a finishing attack, but changing type also removes the valuable Normal and Fighting immunities. Adamant supports Sand Rush or offensive sets, while Impish or Careful can fit bulkier Fluffy approaches.

Houndstone in Competitive Pokémon

Houndstone's competitive history is inseparable from Last Respects: it was quickbanned from early SV OU in November 2022 because the move could become overwhelmingly strong late in battles, especially on Sand Rush sets. After Pokémon HOME introduced additional Last Respects users, Smogon shifted the tiering action to the move itself; Last Respects was unanimously banned from SV OU in May 2023 and Houndstone was allowed back into standard play. Without that move, Houndstone settled much lower and is currently NU, where it functions as a bulky Ghost-type and spinblocker rather than an automatic late-game sweeper. Fluffy lets defensive sets absorb contact attacks exceptionally well, while Will-O-Wisp, Night Shade, Roar, Body Press, and item choices such as Rocky Helmet or Heavy-Duty Boots help it punish physical attackers and support hazard-stacking teams. Sand Rush remains available for offensive builds, and Poltergeist plus Shadow Sneak can give those sets meaningful damage and priority, but they no longer possess the extreme scaling that made the original Last Respects set oppressive. Poor reliable recovery, vulnerability to strong special attackers, and reliance on imperfect options such as Pain Split or Rest limit its defensive ceiling. Its path from OU quickban to legal NU defensive Pokémon is therefore a clear case where a single move, rather than the species' ordinary stat line, created the original tiering problem.

Houndstone in Nuzlockes

Houndstone is a good Nuzlocke evolution once Greavard reaches level 30 at night because its two immunities, solid mixed bulk, and useful base 101 Attack give it more margin for error than many Ghost-types. Fluffy can be exceptional survival insurance against contact moves by halving their damage, but it also doubles Fire damage, so an unexpected contact-free Fire attack or coverage move can turn the Ability into a liability. Sand Rush is more straightforward on teams that can reliably create sand, allowing Houndstone to outspeed threats rather than absorbing their attacks. Last Respects is perfectly accurate and can become stronger after teammates faint, but conventional Nuzlocke goals make those deaths a cost rather than a resource; it is best viewed as compensation after losses, not a strategy that should encourage sacrificing party members. Shadow Sneak provides safe priority for finishing weakened targets, whereas Poltergeist and Play Rough carry 90% accuracy and therefore more miss risk when a guaranteed knockout is required. Memento causes the user to faint and is normally incompatible with preserving Houndstone, while Rest and Pain Split provide less dependable recovery than true instant healing. With known opposing coverage and careful handling of Fluffy's Fire weakness, Houndstone can be a durable and valuable team member rather than merely a Last Respects gimmick.

Houndstone is a large skeletal canine whose legs and tail appear to float beneath a heavy covering of shaggy fur rather than attaching visibly to a conventional torso. A tombstone-like protuberance rises from its head, and the species strongly dislikes having that structure touched. It spends much of its time sleeping buried in graveyards with only the tombstone visible and is described as the most loyal of all dog Pokémon. Its origin is closely tied to mourning: Violet states that a lovingly mourned Pokémon can be reborn as Houndstone, while Legends: Z-A describes a Pokémon that spent many years guarding its deceased master's gravestone before being reborn as a Ghost type. This combination of graveyard habitat, rebirth, and extreme loyalty gives Houndstone one of the clearest death-and-bereavement ecologies among ordinary Pokémon species.