[OVERVIEW]
- Hippowdon is one of the best physical walls which has access to good typing,great bulk and reliable recovery in the form of slack off which enables Hippowdon to continuously check on common threats in the tier such as Mega Charizard-X, Excadrill, Tyranitar and Tapu koko.
- It has Good Support Options In Stealth Rock and Whirlwind.
- Hippowdon is the tier's premier Sand Stream user due to its longevity.
- However, it has poor Special Defense which allows Special attackers like Manaphy, Latios and Mega-Alakazam to easily get past it.
- Weak to Common types in the tier like Water and Grass which are running around everywhere and many Pokemons like Genesect and Phermosa carrying Ice Beam doesn't help it either.
- However, Hippowdon has reliable recovery,has a higher base defensive stats though Intimidate make Landrous-T more physically bulky and it doesn't die to Ice Punch and Hp Ice as easily as Garchomp and Landorus-T do which many Pokemons like Tapu Koko,Conkeldurr and Mega Metagross carry as Hippowdon avoids the 2hko from Tapu Koko's HP Ice,Mega Metagross's and Conkeldurr's Ice Punch.
- The addition of new weather setters such as Pelliper and Ninetales-Alola with the arrival of Generation 7 may limit the effect of the weather that Hippowdon provides.
[SET]
name: The Great Physical Wall
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Slack Off
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Stone Edge / Toxic / Whirlwind
item: Leftovers
ability: Sand Stream / Sand Force
nature: Impish
evs: 248HP / 240 Def / 20 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
- Stealth Rock is a great support move, and Hippowdon is very good at setting it up due to its great bulk.
- Slack Off provides reliable recovery, making it more difficult to wear Hippowdon down.
- Earthquake is a strong STAB that makes sure Hippowdon is not completely useless when Taunted and allows it to hit Pokemons it can check like Mega Metagross, Mega Charizard-X, Tapu Koko, Bisharp and Diggersby.
- Stone Edge is preferred in the last moveslot to heavily damage Thundurus, Tornadus, Mega Pinsir, Mega Charizard Y, and other Flying-types.
- Toxic is a great move on Hippowdon that cripples opposing walls like Slowbro, Tangrowth and Landrous-T.
- Whirlwind is a phazing move, removing your opponent's stat boosts while racking up entry hazard damage, and it is Hippowdon's best chance against bulkier setup sweepers such as Mega Scizor.
Set Details
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- The above Ev spread makes sure Hippowdon can always survive a grass knot from Life orb Tapu Koko after stealth rock as well as avoiding the 2HKO completely from Tapu Lele,2HKO from HP Ice by life orb Tapu Koko and the 2HKO from flash cannon by non-specs Magnezone,all after stealth rock and leftovers recovery while making it as physically bulky as possible.
- Leftovers is used to provide passive recovery that could mean the difference between getting 2HKOed and getting 3HKOed like from Tapu-Lele's moonblast.
- Sand Stream is the preferred ability as it lets Hippowdon replace opposing weather and double Excadrill's Speed, although Sand Force can be used if Sand Stream is detrimental to the rest of your team.
- Smooth Rock can be used to extend the duration of Sand Stream, which can provide a sweeping opportunity for Sand Rush Excadrill, which absolutely loves the sand Hippowdon provides.
- Rocky helmet can be used to punish and slowly wear down U-turn users like Tapu-koko, Landorus-T and Genesect along with Stealth Rock and Sandstorm damage, however lack of leftovers hurts Hippowdon a lot.
- An alternate EV spread of 252 Hp / 188 Def / 68 Def can be run to survive a Grass Knot from Tapu Koko and Psychic from Scarf Tapu Lele, both after rocks and leftovers recovery.However,Hippowdon looses a good amount of Physical bulk and gets 2hkoed from life orb Diggersby's return and psyshock from Timid Specs Tapu Lele and Grass Knot Tapu Koko is not very common.
Usage Tips
========
- Hippowdon's bulk allows it to take almost every non-super effective physical moves easily and it doesn't get worn down fast due to reliable recovery in the form of Slack Off.
- Use Hippowdon to take on common physical attackers such as Diggersby, Tyranitar, Excadrill, Bisharp, Dragonite, Charizard-X and also Electric type pokemon like Raikou and Tapu-koko though Hippowdon has to be vary of the grass knot variants of Tapu-Koko.
- Hippowdon can switch on a predicted Solarbeam from Charizard-Y or Stone Edge from Kabutops and easily remove opposing weathers but has to be extremely wary in doing so as they can deal high amounts of damage to it with Fire Blast and Waterfall respectively.
- Hippowdon can set up Stealth Rock several times throughout the match, so you don't have to worry too much about Defog or Rapid Spin.
- If you see a Pokemon that is badly affected by sandstorm on the opposing team, such as Chansey or Mega Venusaur, always try to take advantage of it.
Team Options
========
- Hippowdon appreciates teammates that can take on special attackers easily, such as Chansey and Mantine, as Hippowdon Special defense is quite low.The latter especially is a great partner as it gains one-fourth of its HP by switching into water type attacks aimed at Hippowdon while Hippowdon can take Rock and Electric attacks aimed at Mantine.
- The former can also rid Hippowdon of any status effect that it might have been inflicted with which is extremely helpful as Poison and Burns are two of the best ways to wear Hippowdon down.
- Sand Rush Excadrill absolutely loves the Sand turns that Hippowdon can provide allowing it to sweep the opposing team after its checks are worn down.
- Hippowdon also appreciates teammates that can switch into Water-, Ice-, and Grass-type attacks, such as Ferrothorn and Mega Venusaur.
- If you are using Mega Venusaur, be sure to use Sand Force as Hippowdon's ability because Sand Stream reduces Synthesis's recovery.
- Ferrothorn can also lay Spikes, which can quickly wear down the opponent in conjunction with Stealth Rock, sand, and Whirlwind.
- Skarmory also makes for a good hazard stacking core with Hippowdon and it can beat Grass types like Tapu Bulu for Hippowdon and Hippowdon can take pokemon like Mega Charizard-X and Tapu Koko for it.
- Water type Pokemons like Tapu Fini, Toxapex and Slowking make for good defensive teammates, as they can take Water- and Ice-type attacks for Hippowdon. Tapu Fini deserves a special mentionn due to misty terrain making Hippowdon immune to being crippled by poison or burn.
- Fairy types make for good teammates as Hippowdon is a sitting duck against Mega Sableye.
- Mega-sableye itself is a good teammate for Hippowdon as it can shut out opposing hazard setters that beat Hippowdon such as Skarmory and Ferrothorn .
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
- A Special Defensive set with a Careful nature can be used to handle threats such as Specs Magnezone, Latios, Mega Alakazam, Thundurus and Mega Charizard Y as this spread allows Hippowdon to take two Fire Blasts from full health in sand, or disrupt a predicted Solar Beam with Sand Stream, which is the only ability that should be used with this spread.
- Ice Fang can be used on either set to hit Garchomp and other Pokemon weak to Ice for heavy damage but is very weak otherwise, and it is generally better to use Toxic or Whirlwind.
===================
**Grass Types*: Grass-types such as Tangrowth, Breloom, Tapu-Bulu, Mega Venusaur, and Ferrothorn can easily switch into Hippowdon and hit back hard with their respective STAB moves. Breloom, Amoongus and Tangrowth can put Hippowdon to sleep, Mega Venusaur can use Leech Seed or deal heavy damage with Giga Drain, and Ferrothorn can set up entry hazards. Tapu Bulu deserves a strong mention as it can set up Grassy Terrain to halve Earthquake's base power and easily OHKOes Hippowdon with Wood Hammer and is generally difficult to switch into a grassy terrain boosted wood hammer coming from a base 130 Attack. However, Hippowdon's Sand Stream can lessen the recovery they all get through Synthesis.
**Water Types**: Almost all common Water-types, such as Azumarill, Gyarados, Suicune, Tapu Fini, Manaphy, and Rotom-W, force Hippowdon out with their respective STAB moves, and Hippowdon can't do much to them in return. However, all except Tapu Fini, must be wary of Toxic.
**Powerful Special Attackers**: Strong special attackers such as Greninja, Latios and Mega Charizard Y can break through Hippowdon with strong special attacks
**Ice-types**: Common Ice-types, such as Kyurem-B and Ninetales-Alola can easily KO Hippowdon with their STAB moves, although most of them have to be wary of switching into Stone Edge..
**Status and Taunt**: Toxic and Will-O-Wisp are very detrimental to Hippowdon, slowly wearing it down so that a strong attacker can overwhelm it. Because most Taunt users, such as Azelf and Tapu Koko, are faster than Hippowdon, they can stop it from setting up Stealth Rock, healing, or spreading status.
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