Hippopotas Update (GP 2/2)

Woodchuck

actual cannibal
is a Battle Simulator Admin Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnus
updating hippopotas. there isn't really a reason for it to have two sets and teammates/slashes on it should be revisited.


HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPPO

[Overview]

<p>Hippopotas has one niche in Little Cup: using its ability, Sand Stream, to set up permanent sandstorm. Sandstorm is the most dangerous weather in Little Cup, with devastating sweepers such as Drilbur and Sandshrew and resilient walls like Lileep benefiting from it. With good bulk, decent defensive typing, Slack Off, and access to Stealth Rock, Hippopotas is not dead weight either, being able to check many physical attackers in the tier. Nevertheless, despite its lackluster offenses and weaknesses to Water-, Grass-, and Ice-type attacks, Hippopotas maintains a solid niche in Little Cup because of how threatening sand teams can be.</p>

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Slack Off
move 4: Whirlwind / Crunch
item: Eviolite
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Impish
evs: 132 HP / 20 Atk / 212 Def / 100 SpD / 20 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Hippopotas's most important role is staying alive to keep sandstorm up to support its teammates, so Eviolite is the chosen item along with heavy EV investment in its defenses. Thanks to its good bulk, Hippopotas can set up Stealth Rock on much of the tier; it can take hits from basically any physical attacker. Earthquake is Hippopotas's consistent STAB, doing solid damage to Pokemon that Hippopotas can wall such as Drilbur and Mienfoo. With the help of Slack Off, Hippopotas can continually switch in and Earthquake physical attackers throughout the match to wear them down for its team. Whirlwind in the last slot allows Hippopotas to check stat boosters and prevent setup from the likes of Dragon Dance Scraggy and SubRoost Murkrow, in addition to shuffling the opposing team around to rack up Stealth Rock damage. Crunch, on the other hand, prevents Hippopotas from being a completely free switch-in for Natu and prevents Taunt Misdreavus from setting up on it. However, without Whirlwind, Hippopotas is vulnerable to being set up on by Will-O-Wisp Misdreavus, Murkrow, and Scraggy, so be ready to check these threats with the rest of your team.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Toxic can be used to let Hippopotas wear down Pokemon that can normally switch in and wall it such as Misdreavus, Lileep, and Porygon. Rock Slide is viable over Crunch to hit Murkrow and other Flying-types. If another Pokemon on your team is running Stealth Rock (Lileep is common on sand teams), Hippopotas can run an extra supporting or attacking move instead. Drilbur is the most obvious teammate to Hippopotas, playing the role of a great spinner and dangerous sweeper. Sandshrew can be run alongside Drilbur to form a "Double Rush" team; the two can overwhelm their shared checks and beat down the opposing team. However, stacking up on three Ground-types will make your team extremely vulnerable to Water-, Grass-, and Ice-type attacks. Lileep is a fantastic teammate for Hippopotas, receiving a Special Defense boost from sandstorm, and contributing excellent synergy by being immune to Water-type attacks and taking little damage from Grass-type attacks. Lileep can take most special attacks, while Hippopotas covers physical threats; the two together can check the majority of the tier. The biggest obstacle to Hippopotas's ability to support its teammates with sand is Snover. Most of the best Pokemon in sand&mdash;Drilbur, Sandshrew, Lileep, and Hippopotas itself&mdash;are weak to Ice, so Snover's ability to summon hail to replace sandstorm makes it the perfect Pokemon to combat sand. For this reason, Pawniard and Munchlax are excellent teammates for Hippopotas, able to switch in easily on most of Snover's attacks and trap it with Pursuit or threaten to OHKO with Iron Head and Fire Punch, respectively. Staryu is also problematic for Hippopotas by being able to OHKO it with Hydro Pump and Rapid Spin away Stealth Rock. Lileep, as mentioned above, helps deal with Water-type threats like Staryu; Ferroseed also walls Staryu and can set up Spikes. Ghost-types such as Misdreavus and Frillish are also good support for Hippopotas to block Rapid Spin and take special attacks effectively.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Hippopotas has one other ability: Sand Force. Unfortunately for Hippopotas, it is the only Sand Stream user in Little Cup, so running Sand Force is a gimmick at best due to its reliance on the other team. Stockpile allows Hippopotas to raise its defenses and become much bulkier, but it fears Toxic and still loses to strong Water-type attacks like Staryu's Hydro Pump. Overall, Hippopotas's only effective niche is being a Sand Stream and Stealth Rock user, and the options listed are the best way to fulfill that niche.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Snover removes sand from the field and threatens to KO with either of its STABs. Bronzor walls Hippopotas and can Toxic it and set up Stealth Rock. Staryu can use Rapid Spin to remove the Stealth Rock Hippopotas sets up and can OHKO it with Hydro Pump. Misdreavus takes little from most of Hippopotas's attacks and can burn it with Will-O-Wisp to render its attacks almost useless. In addition, Misdreavus can set up on non-Whirlwind Hippopotas with Nasty Plot. Natu, although rare, beats all Hippopotas variants without Crunch or Rock Slide by reflecting Stealth Rock, Whirlwind, and Toxic with Magic Bounce. Wingull can set up Rain Dance on Hippopotas and deal heavy damage to most common members of sand teams with STAB Hurricane and Scald. In general, Water-, Ice-, and Grass-types are effective at defeating the sandiest of mammals.</p>

[Overview]

  • sets sandstorm
  • good bulk
  • loses to most pokemon immune to ground as well as mons carrying water/grass/ice-type attacks
  • overall solid niche in lc because of how threatening sand teams can be

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Slack Off
move 4: Whirlwind / Crunch
item: Eviolite
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Impish
evs: 212 HP / 20 Atk / 212 Def / 20 SpD / 20 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

  • most important role is setting up Sand Stream to support mons like Drilbur, Sandshrew, and Lileep
  • good defenses let it set up stealth rock on much of the tier
  • earthquake is hippo's stab, lets it hit things that it can take hits from like drilbur and mienfoo
  • checks dd scraggy and subroost krow with whirlwind, while slack off allows hippopotas to stay alive longer
  • slack off is especially useful when facing teams with snover because it is much more important to keep hippo alive
  • slack off is really helpful to keep tanking mienfoo hjks, drilbur eqs, scraggy and timburr drain punches and neutral hits from the other threats it walls
  • be careful that you don't get set up on without whirlwind -- you are vulnerable to misdreavus
  • crunch allows hippo to hit abra and misdreavus
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

  • toxic lets hippopotas wear down common switchins to it that could wall it like misdreavus, lileep, wingull
  • rock slide hits murkrow and other flying-types
  • if you have another Pokemon running Stealth Rock on your team such as Lileep, you can forego Stealth Rock for an extra support or attacking move
  • Drilbur is the most obvious teammate to hippopotas, playing the role of either a great spinner or a dangerous sweeper
  • sandshrew can be run alongside drilbur for "double rush", the two can overwhelm their shared checks and beat down the opposing team
  • lileep gets a special defense boost in sand and covers sand teams' water weakness; it's one of the best walls in sand actually and should be on almost every sand team
  • biggest obstacle to hippopotas's ability to support teammates with sand is a snover on the other team (this problem is especially bad for double rush teams)
  • munchlax and pawniard can easily switch into most of snover's attacks and pursuit it to death
  • staryu wrecks you with hpump and spins away sr, pack lileep or ferroseed to wall it.
  • misdreavus and frillish are good support for hippopotas as well as they can spinblock and take hits from the special side of the spectrum
[Other Options]

  • sand force as an anti-sand mon? too gimmicky because you obviously wouldn't be able to carry your own sand stream user
  • stockpile lets you raise your defenses but you fear toxic and still lose to strong water-type attacks like staryu's hydro pump
  • just stick to the options listed
[Checks and Counters]

  • SNOVER. FEAR IT.
  • bronzor walls hippo and toxics it
  • staryu spins away rocks and hpumps
  • misdreavus takes little from most of hippo's attacks and burns it; sets up on non-whirlwind hippopotas
  • natu beats non-crunch
  • wingull sets up rain dance and hits most compenents of a sand team like a truck
  • in general water-, ice-, and grass-types are going to defeat hippopotas, in addition to any pokemon that are immune to earthquake
 

Celestavian

Smooth
is a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Past SPL Champion
Slack Off should definitely be the first slash over Whirlwind. If anything, put Whirlwind, Rock Slide, and Crunch into one slot because Hippo only really needs one of those and it certainly wants recovery to continually wall stuff like Mienfoo HJKs, Drilbur Earthquakes, Scraggy and Timburr Drain Punches, etc.

Looks good besides that.



QC Approved 1/3
 
Change the main spread to 132 HP / 100 SpD.

Two extra points in Special Defense is worth losing 1 in HP. You still maintain 25 HP, giving you 13 HP Slack Offs, making this an even more valuable change.
 

Yonko7

Guns make you stupid. Duct tape makes you smart.
is a Contributor Alumnus
[Overview]

<p>Hippopotas has one niche in Little Cup: using its ability, Sand Stream, to set up permanent sandstorm. Sandstorm is the most dangerous weather in Little Cup, with devastating sweepers such as Drilbur and Sandshrew and resilient walls like Lileep benefitting from it. With good bulk, decent defensive typing, Slack Off, and access to Stealth Rock, Hippopotas is not dead weight either, being able to check many physical attackers in the tier. All in all, despite its lackluster offenses and weaknesses to Water-, Grass-, and Ice-type attacks, Hippopotas maintains a solid niche in Little Cup because of how threatening sand teams can be.</p>

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Slack Off
move 4: Whirlwind / Crunch
item: Eviolite
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Impish
evs: 132 HP / 20 Atk / 212 Def / 100 SpD / 20 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Hippopotas's most important role is staying alive to keep sandstorm up to support its teammates, so Eviolite is the chosen item along with heavy EV investment in its defenses. Thanks to its good bulk, Hippopotas can set up Stealth Rock on much of the tier; it can take hits from basically any physical attacker. Earthquake is Hippopotas's consistent STAB, doing solid damage to Pokemon that Hippopotas can wall such as Drilbur and Mienfoo. With the help of Slack Off, Hippopotas can continually switch in and Earthquake physical attackers throughout the match to wear them down for its team. Whirlwind in the last slot allows Hippopotas to check stat boosters and prevent setup from the likes of Dragon Dance Scraggy and SubRoost Murkrow, in addition to shuffling the opposing team around to rack up Stealth Rock damage. Crunch, on the other hand, prevents Hippopotas from being a completely free switch-in for XNatu and prevents Taunt Misdreavus from setting up on it. However, without Whirlwind, Hippopotas is vulnerable to being set up on by Will-O-Wisp Misdreavus, Murkrow, and Scraggy, so be ready to check these threats with the rest of your team.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Toxic can be run to let Hippopotas wear down Pokemon that can normally switch in and wall it such as Misdreavus, Lileep, and Porygon. Rock Slide is viable over Crunch to hit Murkrow and other Flying-types. If another Pokemon on your team is running Stealth Rock (Lileep is common on sand teams), Hippopotas can run an extra supporting or attacking move instead. Drilbur is the most obvious teammate to Hippopotas, playing the role of a great spinner and dangerous sweeper. Sandshrew can be run alongside Drilbur to form a "Double Rush" team; the two can overwhelm their shared checks and beat down the opposing team. However, stacking up on three Ground-types will make your team extremely vulnerable to Water-, Grass-, and Ice-type attacks. Lileep is a fantastic teammate for Hippopotas, receiving a Special Defense boost from sandstorm, and contributing excellent synergy by being immune to Water-type attacks and taking little damage from Grass-type attacks. Lileep can take most special attacks, while Hippopotas covers physical threats; the two together can check the majority of the tier. The biggest obstacle to Hippopotas's ability to support its teammates with sand is Snover;, most of the best Pokemon in sand&mdash;Drilbur, Sandshrew, Lileep, and Hippopotas itself&mdash;are weak to Ice; Snover's ability to summon hail to replace sandstorm makes it the perfect Pokemon to combat sand. For this reason, Pawniard and Munchlax are excellent teammates for Hippopotas, able to switch in easily on most of Snover's attacks and trap it with Pursuit or threaten to OHKO with Iron Head and Fire Punch, respectively. Staryu is also problematic for Hippopotas, able to OHKO it with Hydro Pump and Rapid Spin away Stealth Rock. Lileep, as mentioned above, helps deal with Water-type threats like Staryu; Ferroseed also walls Staryu and can set up Spikes. Ghost-types like Misdreavus and Frillish are also good support for Hippopotas to block Rapid Spin and take special attacks effectively.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Hippopotas has one other ability: Sand Force. Unfortunately for Hippopotas, it is the only Sand Stream user in Little Cup, so running Sand Force is a gimmick at best due to its reliance on the other team. Stockpile allows Hippopotas to raise its defenses and become much bulkier, but it fears Toxic and still loses to strong Water-type attacks like Staryu's Hydro Pump. Overall, Hippopotas's only effective niche is as a Sand Stream and Stealth Rock user, and the options listed are the best way to fulfill that niche.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Snover removes sand from the field and threatens to KO with either of its STABs. Bronzor walls Hippopotas and can Toxic it and set up Stealth Rock. Staryu can use Rapid Spin to remove the Stealth Rock Hippopotas sets up, and can OHKO it with Hydro Pump. Misdreavus takes little from most of Hippopotas's attacks and can burn it with Will-O-Wisp to render its Attack almost useless, in addition to, she can setting up on non-Whirlwind Hippopotas with Nasty Plot. Natu, although rare, beats all Hippopotas variants without Crunch or Rock Slide by reflecting Stealth Rock, Whirlwind, and Toxic with Magic Bounce. Wingull can set up Rain Dance on Hippopotas and deal heavy damage to most common members of sand teams with STAB Hurricane and Scald. In general, Water-, Ice-, and Grass-types are effective at defeating the sandiest of mammals.</p>


[Overview]

<p>Hippopotas has one niche in Little Cup: using its ability, Sand Stream, to set up permanent sandstorm. Sandstorm is the most dangerous weather in Little Cup, with devastating sweepers such as Drilbur and Sandshrew and resilient walls like Lileep benefiting from it. With good bulk, decent defensive typing, Slack Off, and access to Stealth Rock, Hippopotas is not dead weight either, being able to check many physical attackers in the tier. All in all, despite its lackluster offenses and weaknesses to Water-, Grass-, and Ice-type attacks, Hippopotas maintains a solid niche in Little Cup because of how threatening sand teams can be.</p>

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Slack Off
move 4: Whirlwind / Crunch
item: Eviolite
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Impish
evs: 132 HP / 20 Atk / 212 Def / 100 SpD / 20 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Hippopotas's most important role is staying alive to keep sandstorm up to support its teammates, so Eviolite is the chosen item along with heavy EV investment in its defenses. Thanks to its good bulk, Hippopotas can set up Stealth Rock on much of the tier; it can take hits from basically any physical attacker. Earthquake is Hippopotas's consistent STAB, doing solid damage to Pokemon that Hippopotas can wall such as Drilbur and Mienfoo. With the help of Slack Off, Hippopotas can continually switch in and Earthquake physical attackers throughout the match to wear them down for its team. Whirlwind in the last slot allows Hippopotas to check stat boosters and prevent setup from the likes of Dragon Dance Scraggy and SubRoost Murkrow, in addition to shuffling the opposing team around to rack up Stealth Rock damage. Crunch, on the other hand, prevents Hippopotas from being a completely free switch-in for Natu and prevents Taunt Misdreavus from setting up on it. However, without Whirlwind, Hippopotas is vulnerable to being set up on by Will-O-Wisp Misdreavus, Murkrow, and Scraggy, so be ready to check these threats with the rest of your team.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Toxic can be run to let Hippopotas wear down Pokemon that can normally switch in and wall it such as Misdreavus, Lileep, and Porygon. Rock Slide is viable over Crunch to hit Murkrow and other Flying-types. If another Pokemon on your team is running Stealth Rock (Lileep is common on sand teams), Hippopotas can run an extra supporting or attacking move instead. Drilbur is the most obvious teammate to Hippopotas, playing the role of a great spinner and dangerous sweeper. Sandshrew can be run alongside Drilbur to form a "Double Rush" team; the two can overwhelm their shared checks and beat down the opposing team. However, stacking up on three Ground-types will make your team extremely vulnerable to Water-, Grass-, and Ice-type attacks. Lileep is a fantastic teammate for Hippopotas, receiving a Special Defense boost from sandstorm, and contributing excellent synergy by being immune to Water-type attacks and taking little damage from Grass-type attacks. Lileep can take most special attacks, while Hippopotas covers physical threats; the two together can check the majority of the tier. The biggest obstacle to Hippopotas's ability to support its teammates with sand is Snover, most of the best Pokemon in sand&mdash;Drilbur, Sandshrew, Lileep, and Hippopotas itself&mdash;are weak to Ice; Snover's ability to summon hail to replace sandstorm makes it the perfect Pokemon to combat sand. For this reason, Pawniard and Munchlax are excellent teammates for Hippopotas, able to switch in easily on most of Snover's attacks and trap it with Pursuit or threaten to OHKO with Iron Head and Fire Punch, respectively. Staryu is also problematic for Hippopotas, able to OHKO it with Hydro Pump and Rapid Spin away Stealth Rock. Lileep, as mentioned above, helps deal with Water-type threats like Staryu; Ferroseed also walls Staryu and can set up Spikes. Ghost-types like Misdreavus and Frillish are also good support for Hippopotas to block Rapid Spin and take special attacks effectively.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Hippopotas has one other ability: Sand Force. Unfortunately for Hippopotas, it is the only Sand Stream user in Little Cup, so running Sand Force is a gimmick at best due to its reliance on the other team. Stockpile allows Hippopotas to raise its defenses and become much bulkier, but it fears Toxic and still loses to strong Water-type attacks like Staryu's Hydro Pump. Overall, Hippopotas's only effective niche is as a Sand Stream and Stealth Rock user, and the options listed are the best way to fulfill that niche.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Snover removes sand from the field and threatens to KO with either of its STABs. Bronzor walls Hippopotas and can Toxic it and set up Stealth Rock. Staryu can use Rapid Spin to remove the Stealth Rock Hippopotas sets up, and can OHKO it with Hydro Pump. Misdreavus takes little from most of Hippopotas's attacks and can burn it with Will-O-Wisp to render its Attack almost useless, in addition, she can set up on non-Whirlwind Hippopotas with Nasty Plot. Natu, although rare, beats all Hippopotas variants without Crunch or Rock Slide by reflecting Stealth Rock, Whirlwind, and Toxic with Magic Bounce. Wingull can set up Rain Dance on Hippopotas and deal heavy damage to most common members of sand teams with STAB Hurricane and Scald. In general, Water-, Ice-, and Grass-types are effective at defeating the sandiest of mammals.</p>


Sorry for the wait :(

Great job!

[gp]1/2[/gp]
 

Redew

κακκῶ σεαυτόν
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
[Overview]

<p>Hippopotas has one niche in Little Cup: using its ability, Sand Stream, to set up permanent sandstorm. Sandstorm is the most dangerous weather in Little Cup, with devastating sweepers such as Drilbur and Sandshrew and resilient walls like Lileep benefiting from it. With good bulk, decent defensive typing, Slack Off, and access to Stealth Rock, Hippopotas is not dead weight either, being able to check many physical attackers in the tier. All in allNevertheless, despite its lackluster offenses and weaknesses to Water-, Grass-, and Ice-type attacks, Hippopotas maintains a solid niche in Little Cup because of how threatening sand teams can be.</p>

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Slack Off
move 4: Whirlwind / Crunch
item: Eviolite
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Impish
evs: 132 HP / 20 Atk / 212 Def / 100 SpD / 20 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Hippopotas's most important role is staying alive to keep sandstorm up to support its teammates, so Eviolite is the chosen item along with heavy EV investment in its defenses. Thanks to its good bulk, Hippopotas can set up Stealth Rock on much of the tier; it can take hits from basically any physical attacker. Earthquake is Hippopotas's consistent STAB, doing solid damage to Pokemon that Hippopotas can wall such as Drilbur and Mienfoo. With the help of Slack Off, Hippopotas can continually switch in and Earthquake physical attackers throughout the match to wear them down for its team. Whirlwind in the last slot allows Hippopotas to check stat boosters and prevent setup from the likes of Dragon Dance Scraggy and SubRoost Murkrow, in addition to shuffling the opposing team around to rack up Stealth Rock damage. Crunch, on the other hand, prevents Hippopotas from being a completely free switch-in for Natu and prevents Taunt Misdreavus from setting up on it. However, without Whirlwind, Hippopotas is vulnerable to being set up on by Will-O-Wisp Misdreavus, Murkrow, and Scraggy, so be ready to check these threats with the rest of your team.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Toxic can be runused to let Hippopotas wear down Pokemon that can normally switch in and wall it such as Misdreavus, Lileep, and Porygon. Rock Slide is viable over Crunch to hit Murkrow and other Flying-types. If another Pokemon on your team is running Stealth Rock (Lileep is common on sand teams), Hippopotas can run an extra supporting or attacking move instead. Drilbur is the most obvious teammate to Hippopotas, playing the role of a great spinner and dangerous sweeper. Sandshrew can be run alongside Drilbur to form a "Double Rush" team; the two can overwhelm their shared checks and beat down the opposing team. However, stacking up on three Ground-types will make your team extremely vulnerable to Water-, Grass-, and Ice-type attacks. Lileep is a fantastic teammate for Hippopotas, receiving a Special Defense boost from sandstorm, and contributing excellent synergy by being immune to Water-type attacks and taking little damage from Grass-type attacks. Lileep can take most special attacks, while Hippopotas covers physical threats; the two together can check the majority of the tier. The biggest obstacle to Hippopotas's ability to support its teammates with sand is Snover. Most of the best Pokemon in sand&mdash;Drilbur, Sandshrew, Lileep, and Hippopotas itself&mdash;are weak to Ice, so Snover's ability to summon hail to replace sandstorm makes it the perfect Pokemon to combat sand. For this reason, Pawniard and Munchlax are excellent teammates for Hippopotas, able to switch in easily on most of Snover's attacks and trap it with Pursuit or threaten to OHKO with Iron Head and Fire Punch, respectively. Staryu is also problematic for Hippopotas, by being able to OHKO it with Hydro Pump and Rapid Spin away Stealth Rock. Lileep, as mentioned above, helps deal with Water-type threats like Staryu; Ferroseed also walls Staryu and can set up Spikes. Ghost-types likesuch as Misdreavus and Frillish are also good support for Hippopotas to block Rapid Spin and take special attacks effectively.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Hippopotas has one other ability: Sand Force. Unfortunately for Hippopotas, it is the only Sand Stream user in Little Cup, so running Sand Force is a gimmick at best due to its reliance on the other team. Stockpile allows Hippopotas to raise its defenses and become much bulkier, but it fears Toxic and still loses to strong Water-type attacks like Staryu's Hydro Pump. Overall, Hippopotas's only effective niche is asbeing a Sand Stream and Stealth Rock user, and the options listed are the best way to fulfill that niche.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Snover removes sand from the field and threatens to KO with either of its STABs. Bronzor walls Hippopotas and can Toxic it and set up Stealth Rock. Staryu can use Rapid Spin to remove the Stealth Rock Hippopotas sets up, and can OHKO it with Hydro Pump. Misdreavus takes little from most of Hippopotas's attacks and can burn it with Will-O-Wisp to render its Aattacks almost useless. In addition, Misdreavus can set up on non-Whirlwind Hippopotas with Nasty Plot. Natu, although rare, beats all Hippopotas variants without Crunch or Rock Slide by reflecting Stealth Rock, Whirlwind, and Toxic with Magic Bounce. Wingull can set up Rain Dance on Hippopotas and deal heavy damage to most common members of sand teams with STAB Hurricane and Scald. In general, Water-, Ice-, and Grass-types are effective at defeating the sandiest of mammals.</p>


[Overview]

<p>Hippopotas has one niche in Little Cup: using its ability, Sand Stream, to set up permanent sandstorm. Sandstorm is the most dangerous weather in Little Cup, with devastating sweepers such as Drilbur and Sandshrew and resilient walls like Lileep benefiting from it. With good bulk, decent defensive typing, Slack Off, and access to Stealth Rock, Hippopotas is not dead weight either, being able to check many physical attackers in the tier. Nevertheless, despite its lackluster offenses and weaknesses to Water-, Grass-, and Ice-type attacks, Hippopotas maintains a solid niche in Little Cup because of how threatening sand teams can be.</p>

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Slack Off
move 4: Whirlwind / Crunch
item: Eviolite
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Impish
evs: 132 HP / 20 Atk / 212 Def / 100 SpD / 20 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Hippopotas's most important role is staying alive to keep sandstorm up to support its teammates, so Eviolite is the chosen item along with heavy EV investment in its defenses. Thanks to its good bulk, Hippopotas can set up Stealth Rock on much of the tier; it can take hits from basically any physical attacker. Earthquake is Hippopotas's consistent STAB, doing solid damage to Pokemon that Hippopotas can wall such as Drilbur and Mienfoo. With the help of Slack Off, Hippopotas can continually switch in and Earthquake physical attackers throughout the match to wear them down for its team. Whirlwind in the last slot allows Hippopotas to check stat boosters and prevent setup from the likes of Dragon Dance Scraggy and SubRoost Murkrow, in addition to shuffling the opposing team around to rack up Stealth Rock damage. Crunch, on the other hand, prevents Hippopotas from being a completely free switch-in for Natu and prevents Taunt Misdreavus from setting up on it. However, without Whirlwind, Hippopotas is vulnerable to being set up on by Will-O-Wisp Misdreavus, Murkrow, and Scraggy, so be ready to check these threats with the rest of your team.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Toxic can be used to let Hippopotas wear down Pokemon that can normally switch in and wall it such as Misdreavus, Lileep, and Porygon. Rock Slide is viable over Crunch to hit Murkrow and other Flying-types. If another Pokemon on your team is running Stealth Rock (Lileep is common on sand teams), Hippopotas can run an extra supporting or attacking move instead. Drilbur is the most obvious teammate to Hippopotas, playing the role of a great spinner and dangerous sweeper. Sandshrew can be run alongside Drilbur to form a "Double Rush" team; the two can overwhelm their shared checks and beat down the opposing team. However, stacking up on three Ground-types will make your team extremely vulnerable to Water-, Grass-, and Ice-type attacks. Lileep is a fantastic teammate for Hippopotas, receiving a Special Defense boost from sandstorm, and contributing excellent synergy by being immune to Water-type attacks and taking little damage from Grass-type attacks. Lileep can take most special attacks, while Hippopotas covers physical threats; the two together can check the majority of the tier. The biggest obstacle to Hippopotas's ability to support its teammates with sand is Snover. Most of the best Pokemon in sand&mdash;Drilbur, Sandshrew, Lileep, and Hippopotas itself&mdash;are weak to Ice, so Snover's ability to summon hail to replace sandstorm makes it the perfect Pokemon to combat sand. For this reason, Pawniard and Munchlax are excellent teammates for Hippopotas, able to switch in easily on most of Snover's attacks and trap it with Pursuit or threaten to OHKO with Iron Head and Fire Punch, respectively. Staryu is also problematic for Hippopotas by being able to OHKO it with Hydro Pump and Rapid Spin away Stealth Rock. Lileep, as mentioned above, helps deal with Water-type threats like Staryu; Ferroseed also walls Staryu and can set up Spikes. Ghost-types such as Misdreavus and Frillish are also good support for Hippopotas to block Rapid Spin and take special attacks effectively.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Hippopotas has one other ability: Sand Force. Unfortunately for Hippopotas, it is the only Sand Stream user in Little Cup, so running Sand Force is a gimmick at best due to its reliance on the other team. Stockpile allows Hippopotas to raise its defenses and become much bulkier, but it fears Toxic and still loses to strong Water-type attacks like Staryu's Hydro Pump. Overall, Hippopotas's only effective niche is being a Sand Stream and Stealth Rock user, and the options listed are the best way to fulfill that niche.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Snover removes sand from the field and threatens to KO with either of its STABs. Bronzor walls Hippopotas and can Toxic it and set up Stealth Rock. Staryu can use Rapid Spin to remove the Stealth Rock Hippopotas sets up and can OHKO it with Hydro Pump. Misdreavus takes little from most of Hippopotas's attacks and can burn it with Will-O-Wisp to render its attacks almost useless. In addition, Misdreavus can set up on non-Whirlwind Hippopotas with Nasty Plot. Natu, although rare, beats all Hippopotas variants without Crunch or Rock Slide by reflecting Stealth Rock, Whirlwind, and Toxic with Magic Bounce. Wingull can set up Rain Dance on Hippopotas and deal heavy damage to most common members of sand teams with STAB Hurricane and Scald. In general, Water-, Ice-, and Grass-types are effective at defeating the sandiest of mammals.</p>


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