Rhyperior

This set is great at beating Rapid Spin users who try to come in and Spin away Rhyperior's Stealth Rock. Donphan and Hitmontop are 2HKOed by Earthquake with Spikes support, Cloyster is taken care of by Stone Edge, and Claydol is hit hard by Megahorn. This means Pokemon such as Qwilfish and Cloyster who set up Spikes appreciate Rhyperior's presence on a team. They work especially well since with Spikes support, Rhyperior can 2HKO Blastoise, who is another common Rapid Spinner. Cloyster and Qwilfish can also set up on bulky Water-types such as Milotic who threaten Rhyperior.

Rhyperior is also a stellar physical wall, especially when against Pokemon without a super effective STAB attack. Using a specially defensive Altaria with Rhyperior works as an effective walling duo, since Altaria resists Water-, Fighting-, Ground-, and Grass-type attacks that would normally destroy Rhyperior, while Rhyperior can take Rock-type attacks and any hard-hitting physical attacker. Ice-type is left uncovered, so using something like Azumarill is beneficial as well.

The EV spread is designed to allow Rhyperior to create 101 HP Substitutes and to outrun minimum Speed Weezing and Clefable, with the rest of the EVs dumped into Attack. While an alternative offensive spread of 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe can be used to put more pressure on the opponent, using such a spread takes away Rhyperior's ability to create 101 HP Substitutes and freely set up on Seismic Toss Chansey and Clefable. Leftovers is the recommended item to regain the health lost from creating Substitutes. Life Orb can be used, though Rhyperior's HP will be quickly drained from the combination of Substitute, Life Orb, and potential entry hazard damage. Ice Punch or Avalanche can be used over Megahorn for a reliable way to smack Grass-types for super effective damage; however, the lost damage output on Uxie and Mesprit is highly disappointing.

Milotic is a hard stop to this set, as Rhyperior lacks the power to 2HKO it with Earthquake. Venusaur and offensive Lanturn therefore make great partners due to their ability to plow right through Milotic. Venusaur also has the added benefit of absorbing Toxic Spikes and Toxic, which completely ruin this set's effectiveness, as well as resisting any Grass- and Fighting-type attacks aimed at Rhyperior. In return, Rhyperior walks all over Chansey, Clefable, and Registeel, and should Rhyperior safely set up a Substitute, it can eliminate Altaria and Moltres with ease.

This set absolutely loves paralysis support, as it allows Rhyperior to create Substitutes against faster foes, such as Ambipom, Kangaskhan, and Scyther, and possibly proceed to sweep the opponent's team. Rhyperior has an easy time OHKOing paralyzed Venusaur, Moltres, Sceptile, and Omastar, all of whom normally outpace it, with the appropriate attacking move. Awesome teammates to provide paralysis include Slowbro, Slowking, Registeel, and Uxie. Registeel and Uxie can also provide Stealth Rock support, while Slowbro and Slowking can utilize Trick Room to aid Rhyperior against faster, non-paralyzed foes. Finally, Rhyperior enjoys Wish and cleric support to keep it healthy and free of status. Teammates that can provide said support are Clefable, Leafeon, and Vileplume.

An alternative item (and strategy) for this Rhyperior set is to use a Passho Berry. Passho Berry allows Rhyperior to take an extra Water-type attack from Pokemon such as Blastoise or Milotic. This means that you don't have to rely on weakening them as much. Passho Berry also protects you from Aqua Jet, which is used by Azumarill, Kabutops, and Feraligatr. However, without a Life Orb, Rhyperior isn't going to have as much of an easy time sweeping, and it also loses important KOs on Milotic, Blastoise, Claydol, and Slowbro.

This Rhyperior set benefits from Stealth Rock and Spikes support more than most of the other sets would, since it's pulling off a late game sweep. Cloyster is a good candidate to set up Spikes, since it can set up on the bulky Water-types who will come in on Rhyperior. Qwilfish is also a good candidate since it possesses neutrality to Grass-type attacks in addition to its Water-type resistance. Rhyperior also appreciates Reflect and Light Screen support since these barriers allow it to set up quite easily while also being able to brush off most priority attacks.

Besides screens, Stealth Rock, and Spikes, Rhyperior really appreciates the removal of certain Choice Scarf and priority users, since they will easily outpace Rhyperior even after a Rock Polish boost. Venusaur is a major threat to Rhyperior since it threatens to OHKO with its STAB Leaf Storm. Having a Pokemon such as Moltres who can easily dispose of these Choice Scarf users is very beneficial for Rhyperior. There are also many Pokemon who carry priority moves that halt Rhyperior's sweep. Vacuum Wave and Aqua Jet in particular cause problems for Rhyperior since they are both super effective, and Vacuum Wave hits Rhyperior's much weaker Special Defense stat, while Rhyperior has a 4x weakness to Aqua Jet. Vacuum Wave is usually only seen on Pokemon such as Toxicroak and Blaziken, and Dugtrio is a perfect candidate to take them out. Aqua Jet is a little tougher, but Moltres is a great candidate again to lure out these Water-types and hit them hard with Hidden Power. Magmortar and Blaziken can also work, hitting the Aqua Jet users hard with Thunderbolt and Superpower respectively.

This set really only functions with sandstorm support, which means Hippopotas is a necessary evil. With Roar, Rhyperior really benefits from Pokemon who can set up Spikes reliably. Cloyster is an excellent choice for this job since it resists Water-type attacks aimed at Rhyperior. Qwilfish is also an exceptional teammate for Rhyperior since it can set up Spikes and resists Water- and Fighting-type attacks. As a bonus, it also only takes neutral damage from Grass-type attacks. Rhyperior also benefits from Toxic Spikes, which both of the listed Pokemon can provide as well.

The option of Aqua Tail over Rock Blast is simply personal preference. Rock Blast allows you to absolutely destroy SubRoost variants of Moltres and Articuno, as well as nailing Pokemon such as Substitute Mismagius. Aqua Tail will hit Donphan harder than Earthquake (although Earthquake 2HKOes anyway) and will also do major damage to other Rhyperior.

While you may be tempted to fire off Earthquakes at every given chance, that is not the best plan when using Rhyperior. Rhyperior's main attack on this set is Stone Edge, especially for early in the game before you know your opponent's team. The reasoning behind this is that no Pokemon is immune to Rock-type attacks, and when you are in a metagame with Pokemon such as Nasty Plot Mismagius, Moltres, Swellow, and Scyther, you definitely don't want to be forced to switch out against them. This especially applies for Scyther and Swellow since Rhyperior is likely your team's only Flying-type resistance. Once you've taken out the Pokemon who can set up on Ground-type attacks, you are free to use Earthquake, which is always bad news for your opponent. This isn't to say that you should never use Earthquake before your opponent's Pokemon are fainted because hitting Pokemon who wall Stone Edge on the switch with a STAB Earthquake can turn the tide of the match as it will usually OHKO that Pokemon. Stone Edge is simply meant to be used as your main attack.

This Rhyperior set is an excellent early-game hard-hitter since very few Pokemon can stand up to its onslaught of powerful physical attacks. The fact that only a few Pokemon can take a STAB attack from Rhyperior makes it an excellent lure for bulky Pokemon. Rhyperior can also usually OHKO these Pokemon with its other STAB move. For example, Steelix can switch in and shrug off Rhyperior's Stone Edge. However, if it switches into Earthquake, it will be easily OHKOed. This helps Pokemon such as Swellow and Scyther, because without Steelix in their way, they should have a much easier time sweeping.

Rhyperior also greatly benefits from Gravity and paralysis support. With Gravity and paralysis support, Rhyperior can plow through most teams with its powerful STAB Earthquake, since no Pokemon are immune to it. Paralysis support in particular helps Rhyperior sweep late game, since otherwise it will likely be forced out by something faster. Pokemon like Clefable and Porygon2 work quite well with Rhyperior because they have access to both Gravity and Thunder Wave.

Rhyperior will also definitely need some defensive support since it is a Choiced Pokemon, meaning it will likely KO something and then be forced out. The two most obvious attack-types that will be used on Rhyperior are Water and Grass. This makes any sort of Grass-type Pokemon an excellent teammate for Rhyperior, especially since as a bonus, they can take Ground-type attacks aimed at Rhyperior as well.

With horrible Speed and an immensely high Attack stat, it is no surprise that Rhyperior is one of the deadliest Trick Room sweepers. The fact that it has perfect coverage from Earthquake, Stone Edge, and Megahorn add to Rhyperior's sweeping capabilities. Swords Dance is a good move to use in the fourth slot since Rhyperior is likely to be bulky enough to pull one off and still have three turns to sweep. After a Swords Dance, Rhyperior will pretty much OHKO the entire tier, and it's no surprise since it will have 832 Attack under its belt. Aqua Tail can be used if you don't like losing a turn of Trick Room to set up Swords Dance, since it hits Donphan and other Rhyperior harder than your other attacks.

248 HP EVs ensures that Rhyperior can get an extra attack out of Life Orb while also giving it significant bulk. Attack is maximized to increase Rhyperior's sweeping potential, and the remaining eight EVs are dumped in Defense. A Brave nature is recommended since with a lower Speed, Rhyperior will be "faster" in Trick Room.

A couple reliable Trick Room set-up Pokemon are needed for this set to function. Pokemon such as Porygon2 and Slowking make great teammates for Rhyperior because of their ability to reliably set up Trick Room. Alakazam is also quite an effective teammate since it can set up Reflect and Light Screen before it uses Trick Room. It can even set up Gravity if you wish. Reflect and Light Screen are important because they allow Rhyperior to almost guarantee itself a Swords Dance, meaning it has up to four turns of straight OHKOing the opponent.