Houndoom: The Best Dog Pokémon

There is one Pokémon that gave me the shivers the first time I encountered it back in 2000. One Pokémon that has the appearance of the devil himself. Houndoom.

According to the Pokédex, toxins in its body produce a flame that shoots from its mouth and causes never-ending pain. The sound of its howl scares other Pokémon back into their nests. People imagined its howls to be the call of the grim reaper long ago. It's just a scary Pokémon.

It's even featured in the video for this Hatsune Miku song based on Team Rocket:

But I don't think Houndoom is evil per se. It's feared, certainly. But I see it as a misunderstood little guy. Houndoom is a dog Pokemon, after all, which means it's a good, loyal friend. Look at how kind it's being to Misty's Togepi, helping it get home. Good dog, Houndoom.

Plus, it's by far the most metal-looking dog Pokémon in all nine generations so far. That makes it cool in my book.