Darnell
Respected.
QC ? / ? / ?
GP ? / ?
- Is a cute bigger Hippo ◕‿‿◕
- Reliable recovery
- Stealth Rock
- Good physical bulk
- Sand on switch-in
- Slow
- Predictable
- Lack of offensive moves and coverage
- Outclassed by other Ground-types
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name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Whirlwind
move 4: Slack Off
ability: Sand Stream
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
nature: Impish
Moves
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- Stealth Rock is an entry hazard which is always nice in wearing down Pokemon when they switch-in
- Slack Off is reliable recovery to keep Hippo at a good amount of HP
- Earthquake is Base Power 100 STAB attack which lets Hippowdon finish off opponents and hurts Mega-Gengar hard
- Whirlwind avoids Pokemon such as Gothitelle, Arceus, and Xerneas setting up against Hippo
- Toxic can be used to catch Pokemon off-guard which are immune to Earthquake so Hippowdon can actually touch them.
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- Leftovers is for some recovery back back at the end of each turn
- EVs invested are to maximize Hippowdon's physical bulk
- Impish nature is to raise the Defense
- Sand Stream is for sand which benefits sand teams and breaks sash users such as Scolipede and Smeargle
Usage Tips
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- Hippowdon should be brought in when predicting most physical attacks. Boosted ones should be avoided.
- Hippo needs to be careful when dealing with Primal Groudon - max Attack Precipice Blades + SR + prior damage will 2HKO while Groudon can also run special attacks (It will lose 1v1 or have to force it out with Whirlwind.
- Hippowdon doesn't appreciate getting worn down with burns or poison so try to avoid status from Gliscor, Ho-Oh, and Mega Sableye.
- Zekrom has a chance of running Draco Meteor which hurts Hippo bad so be cautious
- Sand, Earthquake and Slack Off can wear down opponents rather than having to switch out
- The perks over using this over Tyranitar is its less weaknesses, better physical bulk and access to recovery.
- Primal Groudon lowers Excadrill usage on sand teams due to it being harder to get up as checking them becomes harder due to Overheat variants
- Hippo despises boosted Fire Punches (+2 252+ Atk Groudon Fire Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippowdon in Sun: 331-391 (78.8 - 93%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery)
Team Options
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- Excadrill appreciates Hippowdon's sand due to its ability, Sand Rush raising its Speed.
- Pokemon which can take Special attacks such as Blissey
- Palkia and Arceus-Grass are useful since opposing Kyogre love Hippowdon due to it removing its sand and threatning it with hard hitting STAB in rain.
- Pokemon which can take Grass-type attacks such as Ferrothorn, Dialga, and Mega-Scizor.
- Pokemon which can take Water-type attacks such as Groudon-Primal, and err... ones listed for checking Kyogre.
- Aegislash appreciates Hippowdon taking Ground-type attacks aimed at it from users such as Landorus-T, Gliscor, and Excadrill.
- Pokemon which deal with Ground-type immunities such as Ice Beam from Kyogre to damage Flying-type and Levitate users such as Latios, Latias, Yveltal and Water Spout or Scald depending on the set for Ho-Oh
Other Options
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- Smooth Rock
- Yawn
- Stone Edge
- Sand Force (non-Sand Hippo)
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**Water-types**: Water-types such as Kyogre-Primal, Palkia, and Arceus-Water threaten Hippowdon out with their super effective attacks, OHKOing Hippowdon before it has a chance to set up hazards or recovery. Kyogre-Primal also removes sand from the field due to Primordial Sea which would be needed to benefit other teammates such as Excadrill.
**Grass-types**: Grass-types such as Shaymin-S and Ferrothorn can take an Earthquake; Shaymin-S especially due to it having an immunity to Ground-type attacks and either threaten Hippowdon out with their STAB attacks or Ferrothorn can use the chance to set up hazards as Hippowdon switches out.
**Status**: Status such as poison and burn can wither down Hippowdon's HP to the point where it switching in and taking an attack won't successfully allow it to live the next hit and go for Slack Off. With Toxic users such as Gliscor in the tier, Hippowdon needs to be cautious of when is best to switch in and set up its Stealth Rock.
**Taunt**: Taunt users which outspeed Hippowdon such as Yveltal, Mewtwo, and Mega-Sableye can use prevent Hippowdon from using Stealth Rock, Whirlwind or Slack Off, forcing it to either switch out or continue to spam Earthquake.
*Offensive Special Attackers**: Offensive special attackers such as Mega Gengar, Xerneas, and Mega Mewtwo Y can threaten Hippowdon out with their special attacks due to Hippowdon being built on taking physical hits. These hard hitting attacks with either 2HKO or OHKO Hippowdon and if it does switch, Xerneas can use the chance to Geomancy or Mega Mewtwo Y can Calm Mind.
**Ground Immunities**: Flying-type or Levitate Pokemon such as Ho-Oh, Mega Gengar, Mega Salamence, Latios, and Latias are immune to Hippowdon's Earthquake therefore they can't be touched besides than sand damage or Hippowdon going for Whirlwind. This can cause problems especially for Hippowdon when faced against Yveltal which runs Taunt therefore Hippowdon can't touch it.
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