Ash & Pikachu
A Houndoom appeared in After The Missing Rucksack!!.
Movie adaptations
A Pokémon hunter owned a Houndoom in Celebi: a Timeless Encounter.
Phantom Thief Pokémon 7
Multiple Houndoom appeared in Breaking Into The Enemy's Lair!, under the ownership of Team Galactic Grunts.
Pocket Monsters HeartGold & SoulSilver Go! Go! Pokéathlon
A Houndoom appeared in Pocket Monsters HeartGold & SoulSilver Go! Go! Pokéathlon.
Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure
A Houndoom appeared in JBA4, under the ownership of Archer.
Pokémon Adventures
In Slick Slowking, multiple Houndoom were used by Carl to prevent Gold and Crystal from attacking with their Roar attack.
Maxie has five Houndoom in his arsenal, one of which he used to kill Norman to prevent him from using Rayquaza to interrupt Kyogre and Groudon's fight again. They first appeared in It All Ends Now V.
In Showdown with Houndoom, Pearl came across a Houndoom that attacked him and Rayler. It was one of the Pokémon that Team Galactic had left behind to guard the Fuego Ironworks.
Darach has a Houndoom, which was used in his battle against Platinum in Getting the Drop on Gallade II.
A Houndoom appeared in Out-Odding Oddish, under the ownership of a Pokéathlon participant.
Karen's Houndoom was seen in Attaway, Aipom!, prior to her Elite Four colleagues challenging Gold in the Pokéathlon.
Archer's Houndoom appeared in a flashback and was used to threaten Petrel in All About Arceus III.
Team Plasma liberated a Houndoom from a Trainer. It was left behind at N's Castle in A Difficult Parting.
In X-actly What They Wanted, Team Flare Scientist Mable owns a Houndoom.
A Houndoom capable of Mega Evolution appeared in Magearna Moves, under the ownership of one of Gurkinn's students.
A Houndoom belonging to an Aether Foundation Employee first appeared in Play the Melody That Echoes in the Altar.
Pokémon Gotta Catch 'Em All
A Houndoom appeared in GDZ47, under the ownership of a thief.
Asuka is revealed to have a Houndoom, which first appeared in GDZ59.
Pokémon Ranger the Comic: Double Mission
A Houndoom appeared in Pokémon Ranger the Comic: Double Mission Episode Two as one of the Pokémon that Solana captured with her Capture Styler. It reappeared in Pokémon Ranger the Comic: Double Mission Episode Four and was released in Pokémon Ranger the Comic: Double Mission Episode Five.
- Houndoom has three different sprites in each Generation II game. It also shares this same trait in Generation IV games. This makes it one of the few Pokémon with this distinction.
Origin
Houndoom seems to be based on the legends of hellhounds, black dogs, and possibly Cerberus of Greek mythology. Its horns and pointed tail resemble common depictions of the devil. Its skeletal adornments may be a reference to the hellhounds' and black dogs' associations with death and allude to the association of dogs with bones as their food, especially in cartoons. They may also be inspired by the grim reaper, and the bands around its ankles resemble shackles. Its build and coloration are similar to a Dobermann, and it also somewhat resembles the extinct Tasmanian wolf due to the stripe-like bony ridges on its back. Its pack-hunting behavior and eerie howling are reminiscent of wolves.
Name origin
Houndoom may be a combination of hound and doom (death or a terrible fate).
Hellgar may be a combination of hell and gar (Old English for spear; referring to its tail). It could also refer to Garmr, a hellhound in Norse mythology.