[Overview]
<p>Thanks to its Sand Stream ability, Hippopotas is the only Pokemon in the UU tier capable of summoning permanent weather. Sand Stream allows Hippopotas to start a permanent sandstorm, which is essential on any sandstorm team. Even though Hippopotas is an NFE Pokemon, it still has amazing physical bulk thanks to Eviolite, but unfortunately, its Special Defense is only moderate. At first glance, one might think that the sandstorm is the only reason to use Hippopotas, but that's only one of the many benefits to using Hippopotas. It is capable of more than just that, courtesy of its large support movepool, which includes Stealth Rock, Toxic, Roar, and Yawn. To top it off, Hippopotas also has a reliable recovery move in the form of Slack Off.</p>
<p>However, Hippopotas is almost completely shut down by Taunt users who are immune to Earthquake, such as Azelf. Hippopotas's Attack stat is nothing to write home about, either. Lastly, Hippopotas is a pure Ground-type Pokemon, which gives it unfortunate weaknesses to common Grass-, Ice-, and Water-type attacks.</p>
[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Slack Off
move 4: Toxic / Roar
item: Eviolite
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Hippopotas's main goal is to summon permanent sandstorm for its teammates, which can include Stoutland, Cradily, and Regirock. Although it is generally used as a lead, there are a few other things Hippopotas can accomplish as well.</p>
<p>The first is setting up Stealth Rock, which is almost essential for all teams in the UU metagame. Earthquake does decent damage to most offensive Pokemon that do not resist it, and ensures that Hippopotas is not completely shut down by Taunt users such as Swords Dance + Taunt Cobalion. However, do not expect Earthquake to do much against walls such as opposing Hippopotas and Slowbro. Slack Off is Hippopotas's best bet for a reliable recovery move, and is useful when attempting to Toxic stall an opposing Pokemon. Slack Off also ensures more survivability, which allows Hippopotas to repeatedly switch in on the off chance that sandstorm is replaced by another weather condition. Toxic is helpful for crippling walls such as Slowbro and Deoxys-D, and as previously mentioned, works well with Slack Off. Roar allows Hippopotas to force a switch against an unfavorable match-up, and prevents the foe from setting up multiple layers of entry hazards or boosting.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Bulldoze is an option over Earthquake that enables Hippopotas to support its team even further by lowering the opponent's Speed stat. Yawn is an alternative over Roar, as it also forces switches and puts Pokemon to sleep, but is completely useless against Pokemon that carry Substitute. With 252 HP and Defense EVs, coupled with an Impish nature and a boost from Eviolite, Hippopotas's defenses reach great levels of 340 HP / 420 Defense.</p>
<p>As for teammates, Wish + Heal Bell Clefable is a good partner, as it can get rid of status and pass on huge Wishes to heal Hippopotas. Clefable also isn't affected by sandstorm thanks to Magic Guard. Sand Veil users, such as Cacturne, can take advantage of the sandstorm from behind a Substitute; Cacturne can also take Grass- and Water-type moves directed at Hippopotas. Rock-types such as Regirock, Cradily, and Probopass will also appreciate the Special Defense boost provided by sandstorm. Sand Rush Stoutland, a deadly UU sweeper, will greatly benefit from sandstorm, which doubles its Speed.</p>
<p>Empoleon has decent synergy with Hippopotas on many levels: not only is it a specially defensive Pokemon that can cover Hippopotas's weaker defensive side, it can also take Electric-type moves directed at Empoleon, while Empoleon can take Grass- and Water-type moves directed at Hippopotas. Cradily is another Pokemon that has good synergy with Hippopotas. Storm Drain Cradily can take Grass- and Water-type moves, while Hippopotas can take Electric-type moves directed at Cradily. Unfortunately, they both fall to Ice-type moves, so another teammate that resists these, such as Empoleon, can be used for a sturdy core. Lastly, Toxic Spikes and Spikes support can be useful if you plan on using Hippopotas on a stall-oriented team; Pokemon that can set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes reliably include Omastar and Nidoqueen.<p>
[Other Options]
<p>Hippopotas has a few other viable options. The first is Crunch, which hits Grass-types such as Shaymin harder than Earthquake does. However, as mentioned earlier, Hippopotas's Attack stat isn't good enough for it to do any noticeable damage. Rock Slide is another alternative that hits Flying-types, which are immune to Earthquake, for super effective damage. The choice between Earthquake, Crunch, and Rock Slide should depend on Hippopotas's teammates, but Earthquake is largely the best of the three.</p>
<p>Whirlwind can be used over Roar if you're paranoid about Pokemon with Soundproof, but it comes with a great loss: no Stealth Rock, as Stealth Rock and Whirlwind are an illegal combination. Stockpile can boost both Hippopotas's Defense and Special Defense stats, making it even harder to take down and letting it Toxic stall with ease. Curse can increase Hippopotas's Defense and Attack, but is inferior to Stockpile as Hippopotas's offensive movepool is lacking. Lastly, Rest and Sleep Talk can be used alongside an attacking move and Stealth Rock for instant recovery and to cure Hippopotas from status, but this is generally less reliable than Slack Off.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>The best counter to Hippopotas is Xatu. Thanks to Magic Bounce, Xatu can bounce back both Toxic and Stealth Rock, and to top it all off, its Flying typing gives it an immunity to Earthquake. Xatu can then set up Reflect, Light Screen, and even Calm Mind boosts. Although they have to be wary of Roar, Substitute + Nasty Plot versions of Mismagius and Azelf can use Substitute to avoid Toxic, boost their Special Attack using Nasty Plot, and then KO Hippopotas with a STAB move.
<p>Roserade can set up multiple layers of Spikes and Toxic Spikes against Hippopotas as it's immune to Toxic and takes little damage from Earthquake; Roserade can also straight-out OHKO Hippopotas with Leaf Storm or Giga Drain. Deoxys-D is another perfect counter to Hippopotas. Thanks to Taunt, it won't have to worry about being phazed out or poisoned by Toxic, and can proceed to set up Spikes.</p>
<p>Strong special attackers such as Gorebyss can take Hippopotas's weak Earthquakes with ease, threaten it with a super effective STAB move preying on its bad Special Defense, and set up with Shell Smash, but they too have to watch out for Roar. Suicune takes Earthquakes without any problem, and ones that carry Rest don't have to worry about being crippled by Toxic either. Bulky Water-types in general wall Hippopotas. Slowbro and Blastoise, for example, shrug off Earthquake thanks to their good Defense stats, and the latter is also able to spin away Stealth Rock. Lastly, anything with Taunt can pose a huge threat to Hippopotas, especially Levitating Taunt users such as Azelf, as they are immune to Earthquake. </p>
<p>Thanks to its Sand Stream ability, Hippopotas is the only Pokemon in the UU tier capable of summoning permanent weather. Sand Stream allows Hippopotas to start a permanent sandstorm, which is essential on any sandstorm team. Even though Hippopotas is an NFE Pokemon, it still has amazing physical bulk thanks to Eviolite, but unfortunately, its Special Defense is only moderate. At first glance, one might think that the sandstorm is the only reason to use Hippopotas, but that's only one of the many benefits to using Hippopotas. It is capable of more than just that, courtesy of its large support movepool, which includes Stealth Rock, Toxic, Roar, and Yawn. To top it off, Hippopotas also has a reliable recovery move in the form of Slack Off.</p>
<p>However, Hippopotas is almost completely shut down by Taunt users who are immune to Earthquake, such as Azelf. Hippopotas's Attack stat is nothing to write home about, either. Lastly, Hippopotas is a pure Ground-type Pokemon, which gives it unfortunate weaknesses to common Grass-, Ice-, and Water-type attacks.</p>
[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Slack Off
move 4: Toxic / Roar
item: Eviolite
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Hippopotas's main goal is to summon permanent sandstorm for its teammates, which can include Stoutland, Cradily, and Regirock. Although it is generally used as a lead, there are a few other things Hippopotas can accomplish as well.</p>
<p>The first is setting up Stealth Rock, which is almost essential for all teams in the UU metagame. Earthquake does decent damage to most offensive Pokemon that do not resist it, and ensures that Hippopotas is not completely shut down by Taunt users such as Swords Dance + Taunt Cobalion. However, do not expect Earthquake to do much against walls such as opposing Hippopotas and Slowbro. Slack Off is Hippopotas's best bet for a reliable recovery move, and is useful when attempting to Toxic stall an opposing Pokemon. Slack Off also ensures more survivability, which allows Hippopotas to repeatedly switch in on the off chance that sandstorm is replaced by another weather condition. Toxic is helpful for crippling walls such as Slowbro and Deoxys-D, and as previously mentioned, works well with Slack Off. Roar allows Hippopotas to force a switch against an unfavorable match-up, and prevents the foe from setting up multiple layers of entry hazards or boosting.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Bulldoze is an option over Earthquake that enables Hippopotas to support its team even further by lowering the opponent's Speed stat. Yawn is an alternative over Roar, as it also forces switches and puts Pokemon to sleep, but is completely useless against Pokemon that carry Substitute. With 252 HP and Defense EVs, coupled with an Impish nature and a boost from Eviolite, Hippopotas's defenses reach great levels of 340 HP / 420 Defense.</p>
<p>As for teammates, Wish + Heal Bell Clefable is a good partner, as it can get rid of status and pass on huge Wishes to heal Hippopotas. Clefable also isn't affected by sandstorm thanks to Magic Guard. Sand Veil users, such as Cacturne, can take advantage of the sandstorm from behind a Substitute; Cacturne can also take Grass- and Water-type moves directed at Hippopotas. Rock-types such as Regirock, Cradily, and Probopass will also appreciate the Special Defense boost provided by sandstorm. Sand Rush Stoutland, a deadly UU sweeper, will greatly benefit from sandstorm, which doubles its Speed.</p>
<p>Empoleon has decent synergy with Hippopotas on many levels: not only is it a specially defensive Pokemon that can cover Hippopotas's weaker defensive side, it can also take Electric-type moves directed at Empoleon, while Empoleon can take Grass- and Water-type moves directed at Hippopotas. Cradily is another Pokemon that has good synergy with Hippopotas. Storm Drain Cradily can take Grass- and Water-type moves, while Hippopotas can take Electric-type moves directed at Cradily. Unfortunately, they both fall to Ice-type moves, so another teammate that resists these, such as Empoleon, can be used for a sturdy core. Lastly, Toxic Spikes and Spikes support can be useful if you plan on using Hippopotas on a stall-oriented team; Pokemon that can set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes reliably include Omastar and Nidoqueen.<p>
[Other Options]
<p>Hippopotas has a few other viable options. The first is Crunch, which hits Grass-types such as Shaymin harder than Earthquake does. However, as mentioned earlier, Hippopotas's Attack stat isn't good enough for it to do any noticeable damage. Rock Slide is another alternative that hits Flying-types, which are immune to Earthquake, for super effective damage. The choice between Earthquake, Crunch, and Rock Slide should depend on Hippopotas's teammates, but Earthquake is largely the best of the three.</p>
<p>Whirlwind can be used over Roar if you're paranoid about Pokemon with Soundproof, but it comes with a great loss: no Stealth Rock, as Stealth Rock and Whirlwind are an illegal combination. Stockpile can boost both Hippopotas's Defense and Special Defense stats, making it even harder to take down and letting it Toxic stall with ease. Curse can increase Hippopotas's Defense and Attack, but is inferior to Stockpile as Hippopotas's offensive movepool is lacking. Lastly, Rest and Sleep Talk can be used alongside an attacking move and Stealth Rock for instant recovery and to cure Hippopotas from status, but this is generally less reliable than Slack Off.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>The best counter to Hippopotas is Xatu. Thanks to Magic Bounce, Xatu can bounce back both Toxic and Stealth Rock, and to top it all off, its Flying typing gives it an immunity to Earthquake. Xatu can then set up Reflect, Light Screen, and even Calm Mind boosts. Although they have to be wary of Roar, Substitute + Nasty Plot versions of Mismagius and Azelf can use Substitute to avoid Toxic, boost their Special Attack using Nasty Plot, and then KO Hippopotas with a STAB move.
<p>Roserade can set up multiple layers of Spikes and Toxic Spikes against Hippopotas as it's immune to Toxic and takes little damage from Earthquake; Roserade can also straight-out OHKO Hippopotas with Leaf Storm or Giga Drain. Deoxys-D is another perfect counter to Hippopotas. Thanks to Taunt, it won't have to worry about being phazed out or poisoned by Toxic, and can proceed to set up Spikes.</p>
<p>Strong special attackers such as Gorebyss can take Hippopotas's weak Earthquakes with ease, threaten it with a super effective STAB move preying on its bad Special Defense, and set up with Shell Smash, but they too have to watch out for Roar. Suicune takes Earthquakes without any problem, and ones that carry Rest don't have to worry about being crippled by Toxic either. Bulky Water-types in general wall Hippopotas. Slowbro and Blastoise, for example, shrug off Earthquake thanks to their good Defense stats, and the latter is also able to spin away Stealth Rock. Lastly, anything with Taunt can pose a huge threat to Hippopotas, especially Levitating Taunt users such as Azelf, as they are immune to Earthquake. </p>