Houndoom 18/106 · Great Encounters

Great Encounters is a set in the Diamond & Pearl series. It was released on 1 February 2008. The printed size is 106, and the checklist is the same length. Houndoom is 18/106, in position 18 of 106 on this checklist. Before it is 17 Exploud, and after it is 19 Hypno. The listed rarity is Rare.

Houndoom is a Stage 1 Darkness Pokémon with 90 HP. The card lists level 41. In the Pokédex this is Houndoom (#229), generation 2 (Johto). The card says it evolves from Houndour. In this catalog that name is Houndour (#228).

Ken Sugimori illustrated this card. The same name is on 1,112 other cards in the catalog.

Houndoom (#229) has 44 other cards in the catalog. Those other cards are in 29 sets. The other printings with a release date run from 2001 to 2025. The earliest other card is Houndoom 4/75 in Neo Discovery (2001). That card lists 70 HP, and this one lists 90 HP. The rarity there is Rare Holo, and here it is Rare. Shin-ichi Yoshida illustrated that card, and Ken Sugimori illustrated this one. 41 other cards of Houndoom list a different HP.

The attack Dark Fang lists 20 damage. The cost is Darkness. Choose 1 card from your opponent's hand without looking and discard it. Black Fire is another attack lists 40+ damage. The cost is Fire, Colorless. You may discard a Fire or Darkness Energy attached to Houndoom. If you discard a Fire Energy, the Defending Pokémon is now Burned. If you discard a Darkness Energy, this attack does 40 damage plus 30 more damage. Weakness is Water +20. Resistance is Psychic -20. Retreat cost is 1. The flavor text reads "Long ago, people imagined its eerie howls to be the call of the grim reaper."

I keep a set binder for Great Encounters, meant to hold every card of that set. This card is one slot in the Great Encounters set binder. A generation binder holds one card of each species. Houndoom can fill a slot in Generation 2 binder (Johto). I still need this card.