Chaos Hound

The Chaos Hound (ダークビースト Dark Beast) is a boss fought at the end of Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. It is a twisted, burly werewolf-like creature that Blados and Chalis control like a pet, and all three fight the party in the first of the two final boss battles.

Background and Story
The Chaos Hound first appears seemingly out of nowhere at Apollo Sanctum, where it blocks the ladder leading up to the platform of the Apollo Lens. Though it moves to attack, it mysteriously halts after noticing Sveta. While the Adepts are confused, Sveta makes an attempt to help the creature fight whatever influence is controlling it. Before the Chaos Hound is completely successful, Blados and Chalis reappear and use their Dark Psynergy to enrage the creature. The trio then attack Matthew's party of Adepts.

Depending on whether he Chaos Hound or both Blados and Chalis are defeated, one of two events occur. Blados and Chalis are either absorbed into the Chaos Hound due to an overflow of Darkness, or they decide to use a power called Dark Binding and initiate fusion themselves. Regardless of the case, a multi-armed monstrosity is formed, and the creature attacks the Adepts. After the party defeats it, the Chaos Chimera separates into its componments, including the Chaos Hound. At this time, Sveta discovers that the Chaos Hound is the twisted body of her brother, Volechek, who Tuaparang captured and "improved" after Volechek turned against them at the start of the Grave Eclipse. The Tuaparang commanders reveal that as a creature of darkness, Volechek will not be able to exist in the normal light-filled world, and thus will die once the Grave Eclipse ends. They also note that they had intended to sacrifice him anyway, by using him to fire the Apollo Lens (the vast amounts of light that hit the firing platform are stated to be deadly). When Sveta makes an attempt to sacrifice herself to fire the Apollo Lens, Volechek's consciousness awakens and he regains his senses long enough to fire the Apollo Lens in her place.

As a Boss
The Chaos Hound is a level 44 enemy. It fights alongside Blados and Chalis at Apollo Sanctum as the first half of the final boss encounter. To end the battle and progress to the second half, the player must defeat either the Chaos Hound or both Blados and Chalis. The following cutscene will play out differently depending on the outcome of the battle.

In-battle, the Chaos Hound has access to the following battle commands:

Strategy
The final battle is essentially two battles in one, with the Chaos Hound appearing in the first half. Compared to Blados and Chalis, the Chaos Hound has higher HP, Attack, and Defense than either, but has less Agility. One successful outcome requires the defeat of both Blados and Chalis while the other requires the defeat of the Chaos Hound. Given that the Chaos Hound's 3374 HP is lower than Blados's and Chalis's combined HP stat, focusing damage on the Chaos Hound will result in a dramatically shorter battle, thereby saving your Adepts for the much more difficult battle against the Chaos Chimera.

In terms of abilities, the Chaos Hound's Dark Blow is likely its most damaging, due to its high added damage. However, Deadly Gas and Wicked Howl can be troublesome for Adepts with low Luck, due to their side-effects. Thus, Cure Poison is useful for at least one Adept to have.

When combating the Chaos Hound, it is wise to take advantage of its weakness to Venus. A Master using Annihilation can be useful due to the Psynergy's high multiplier making it a reliable choice. If using summons, Judgment and/or Crystallux are good choices. In-battle healing is recommended due to the relative strength of Blados, Chalis's and the Chaos Hounds offenses. However, the player may wish to stock up on PP-restorative items before hand, to help ensure a full PP pool for the second half of the battle.

Once the battle has ended, the player will have an opportunity to heal and/or rearrange their party for the final part of the battle.