Hippopotas (QC 3/3) (GP 2/2)

[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>
 

kokoloko

what matters is our plan!
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  • The word "Overview" should not be capitalized in the formatting.
  • Hippopotas does not get a SpD boost in Sand, only Rock-types do, contrary to what your overview currently states.
  • Earthquake should be "move 2," Slack Off should be "move 3", and "move 4" should probably just be Toxic / Roar with Yawn in AC.
  • You also don't talk about Earthquake's functions at all in your set comments, just mention how it prevent mons like Taunt + SD Cobalion from using you as set up bait and that should be enough.
  • I dunno if its Dream World ability is released. If it isn't, you need a [Dream World] section at the bottom explaining why you should stick to Sand Stream or use something else. If it is, then just say this in OO.
Aside from my nitpicks, good skeleton :)
 

Chou Toshio

Over9000
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uh... so is there anything else Hippo can do that I'm missing? Pretty straight foreward... don't think you can fuck this one up.

QC APPROVED 1/3
 

Komodo

Huff
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Just passin' by. Loads of analyses tend to skip these things, and I think it's a pretty important point. You should mention teammates that synergize well with Hippopotas, especially defensive ones, such as Empoleon, Arcanine, and friends.
 
yeah pretty straightforward. one thing:

Sand Viel abusers such as Cacturne benifit from sand.

its "Sand Veil"

QC 2/3
 

Moo

Professor
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definitely mention more bulky water-types, especially blastoise because it has rapid spin.

*Stamp*
 

Andy Snype

Mr. Music
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[Overview]

<p>With Sand Stream as its ability, Hippoptas becomes the only Pokemon in the UU tier capable of summoning permanent weather. Sand Stream allows Hippopotas to bring up permanent sandstorm, which is essential on any sandstorm team. Even though Hippopotas is an NFE Pokemon, it still has amazing physical bulk on the physical side thanks to Eviolite, but unfortunately, its Special Defense is only moderate. At first glance, one may think that the only reason to use Hippopotas is for setting up sandstorm, but that is only one side of the story. Hippopotas is capable of more than just that; its support movepool is quite large, consisting of: Stealth Rock, Toxic, Roar, and Yawn. To top all of that, it has a reliable recovery move in the form of Slack Off, which means that it won't have to always depend on the unreliable Rest. However, Hippopotas is almost completely shut down by Taunt users who are not immune to Earthquake; those that are immune to Earthquake such as Azelf completely wall it.. Hippopotas's Attack stat is nothing to write home about either. Lastly, Hippopotas is a mono-Ground-type Pokemon, which gives it an unfortunate weakness 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 team to abuse, and is generally used as a lead, but there are a few other things it can accomplish as well. Pokemon that abuse sandstorm include: Stoutland, Cradily, and Regirock. Apart from bringing up permanent sandstorm, it can set up Stealth Rock, which is almost essential for sweepers in the UU metagame. Earthquake only does decent damage to anything that does not resist it, but is quite useless against walls such as opposing Hippopotas and Slowbro. It also ensures that Hippopotas is not completely shut down by Taunt users such as Swords Dance + Taunt Cobalion. 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 works well with Slack Off. Roar allows Hippopotas to force a switch when it has unfavorable match-ups and prevents the foe from setting up entry hazards or boosting.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Bulldoze is an option over Earthquake for Hippopotas to support its team even further by lowering the opponent's Speed stat. Yawn is an alternative over Roar, as it also forces switchesand 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 Defense reaches great levels (340 HP / 420 Defense). Sand Stream is without a doubt, the best ability for Hippopotas, infact, it is the only reason to use Hippopotas in UU. As for teammates, Wish + Heal Bell Clefable is a good one as it can get rid of status and pass on huge Wishes to heal Hippopotas. Clefable isn't affected by sandstorm thanks to Magic Guard. Sand Veil users, such as Cacturne, can abuse sandstorm behind a Substitute. Cacturne can also take Grass- and Water-type moves directed at Hippopotas. Rock-types such as Regirock, Cradily, and Probopass, and other Rock-type Pokemon won't mind the Special Defense boost provided by sandstorm. Sand Rush Stoudland, a deadly UU sweeper, will greatly benefit from sandstorm as it doubles its Speed. Empoleon is a specially defensive Pokemon that has decent synergy with Hippopotas: Hippopotas can take Electric-type moves directed at Empoleon, while Empoleon can take Grass- and Water-type moves directed at Hippopotas. Cradily is another Pokemon that provides good synergy with Hippopotas. Cradily can take Grass- and Water- type moves (Cradily is immune to Water-type move because of Storm Drain), while Hippopotats can take Electric-type moves directed at Cradily. Unfortunately, they both fall to Ice-type moves, so an Ice-type resist, such as Empoleon, can be used together with Hippopotas and Cradily. Lastly, Toxic Spikes support and even Spikes can be useful if you plan on using Hippopotas on a stall-oriented team. Pokemon that can set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes are 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, but as mentioned earlier Hippopotas's Attack stat isn't good enough to do any noticeable damage. Three exception of Grass-types that don't resist Earthquake are Roserade, Ferroseed, and Cradily. Rock Slide is an alternative to Earthquake. Rock Slide hits Flying-types, which are immune to Earthquake, for super effective damage. The choice between Crunch, Earthquake, and Rock Slide depends on Hippopotas's teammates. Whirlwind can be used over Roar if you're paranoid about Pokemon with Soundproof, but it comes with a great loss: no Stealth Rock. Unfortunately, Stealth Rock and Whirlwind are an illegal combination. (I'd like a researcher/UU QC member on this to verify since Smeargle is in the egg group and can learn both. Can it still learn SR through egg move?) Stockpile can be used to boost Hippopotas's Defense and Special Defense, making it even harder to take down, which allows it to Toxic stall with ease. Curse can increase Hippopotas's Defense and Attack, but is inferior to Stockpile since Hippopotas's offensive movepool is lacking. Lastly, Rest and Sleep Talk with an attacking move and Stealth Rock can be used for instant recovery and to cure Hippopotas from any status, but is generally less reliable than Slack Off.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>The biggest counter to Hippopotas is Xatu. Thanks to Magic Bounce, Xatu can bounce back both Toxic and Stealth Rock, and to top all of that, its Flying typing gives it an immunity to Earthquake. Xatu can then set up Reflect, Light Screen, and even Calm Minds. Although they have to be vary of Roar, Substitute + Nasty Plot versions of Mismagius and Azelf can get setup a Substitute to avoid Toxic, boost their Special Attack using Nasty Plot, and then proceed to KO it with a STAB move. Roserade sets up multiple layers of Spikes and Toxic Spikesagainst Hippopotas since it's immune to Toxic and takes close to no damage from Earthquake. Roserade can also straight-out OHKO Hippopotas with Leaf Storm or Giga Drain. Deoxys-D is another perfect counter to Hippopotas. After Taunting Hippopotas, it won't have to worry about being phazed out or being poisoned by Toxic and can then proceed to set up Spikes. Strong special attackers such as Gorebyss can take Earthquakes with ease and set up using moves such as Shell Smash, but again, they have to be wary of Roar. Strong special attackers can also simply OHKO Hippopotas with a STAB move since it has bad Special Defense. Suicune takes Earthquakes without any problem, and doesn't have to worry about being crippled by Toxic, since most versions of Suicune carry Rest. Bulky Water-types in general wall Hippopotas. Slowbro and Blastoise, for example, won't have to worry about Earthquake thanks to their good Defense stat, and the latter is also able to spin away Stealth Rock. Lastly, anything with Taunt can pose a huge threat to Hippopotas, especially Levitating Taunters such as Azelf as they are immune to Earthquake. </p>



GP Approved (1/2)
 
[Overview]

<p>WithThanks to its Sand Stream as its ability, Hippopotas becomeis the only Pokemon in the UU tier capable of summoning permanent weather. Sand Stream allows Hippopotas to bring upstart a permanent sandstorm, which is essential on any sandstorm team. Even though Hippopotas is an NFE Pokemon, it still has amazing physical bulk on the thanks to Eviolite, but unfortunately, its Special Defense is only moderate. At first glance, one mayight think that the sandstorm is the only reason to use Hippopotas is for setting up sandstorm, but that i's only one side of the story.many benefits to using Hippopotas. It is capable of more than just that; its support movepool is quite large, consisting of:, courtesy of its large support movepool, which includes Stealth Rock, Toxic, Roar, and Yawn. To top all of that, itit off, Hippopotas also has a reliable recovery move in the form of Slack Off, which means that it won't have to always depend on the unreliable Rest. .</p>

<p>
However, Hippopotas is almost completely shut down by Taunt users who are not immune to Earthquake; those that are immune to Earthquake, such as Azelf completely wall it. Hippopotas's Attack stat is nothing to write home about, either. Lastly, Hippopotas is a mono-pure Ground-type Pokemon, which gives it an 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 team to abuse andmates, which can include Stoutland, Cradily, and Regirock. Although it is generally used as a lead, but there are a few other things itHippopotas can accomplish as well. Pokemon that abuse sandstorm include: Stoutland, Cradily, and Regirock. Apart from bringing up permanent sandstorm, it can set</p>

<p>The first is setting
up Stealth Rock, which is almost essential for sweeperall teams in the UU metagame. Earthquake only does decent damage to anything that does not resist it but is quite useless against walls such as opposing Hippopotas and Slowbro. It alsomost 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 when it hasagainst an unfavorable match-ups, and prevents the foe from setting up multiple layers of entry hazards or boosting.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Bulldoze is an option over Earthquake forthat 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 Ddefenses reaches great levels (of 340 HP / 420 Defense). Sand Stream is the only reason to use Hippopotas in UU. .</p>

<p>
As for teammates, Wish + Heal Bell Clefable is a good onepartner, 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 abuse sandtake 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 won't mindill also appreciate the Special Defense boost provided by sandstorm. Sand Rush Stoudtland, a deadly UU sweeper, will greatly benefit from sandstorm as it, which doubles its Speed. Empoleon is a specially defensive Pokemon that has decent synergy with Hippopotas: Hippopotas can</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 providehas good synergy with Hippopotas. Storm Drain Cradily can take Grass- and Water- type moves (Cradily is immune to Water-type move because of Storm Drain), while Hippopotats can take Electric-type moves directed at Cradily. Unfortunately, they both fall to Ice-type moves, so an Ice-type resist, such as Empoleon, can be used together with Hippopotas and Cradily. Lastly, Toxic Spikes support and even Spikesother 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 arreliably 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, but. However, as mentioned earlier, Hippopotas's Attack stat isn't good enough for it to do any noticeable damage. Three Grass-types that don't resist Earthquake are Roserade, Ferroseed, and Cradily. Rock Slide is another alternative to Earthquake. Rock Slidehat hits Flying-types, which are immune to Earthquake, for super effective damage. The choice between Crunch, Earthquake, Crunch, and Rock Slide should depends 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. Unfortunately,, 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, which allows it to and letting it Toxic stall with ease. Curse can increase Hippopotas's Defense and Attack, but is inferior to Stockpile sinceas Hippopotas's offensive movepool is lacking. Lastly, Rest and Sleep Talk withcan be used alongside an attacking move and Stealth Rock can be used for instant recovery and to cure Hippopotas from any status, but this is generally less reliable than Slack Off.</p>

[Checks and Counters]


<p>The biggest counter to Hippopotas is Xatu. Thanks to Magic Bounce, Xatu can bounce back both Toxic and Stealth Rock, and to top it all of thatf, 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 vwary 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 proceed to KO itKO Hippopotas with a STAB move.

<p>
Roserade can sets up multiple layers of Spikes and Toxic Spikes against Hippopotas sinceas it's immune to Toxic and takes close to nolittle damage from Earthquake.; Roserade can also straight-out OHKO Hippopotas with Leaf Storm or Giga Drain. Deoxys-D is another perfect counter to Hippopotas. After Taunting HippopotasThanks to Taunt, it won't have to worry about being phazed out or being poisoned by Toxic, and can then proceed to set up Spikes. </p>

<p>
Strong special attackers such as Gorebyss can take Hippopotas's weak Earthquakes with ease and set up using moves such as Shell Smash, but again, they have to be wary of Roar. Strong special attackers can also simply OHKO Hippopotas with a STAB move since it has bad Special Defense, 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 doesones that carry Rest don't have to worry about being crippled by Toxic, since most versions of Suicune carry Rest either. Bulky Water-types in general wall Hippopotas. Slowbro and Blastoise, for example, won't have to worry aboutshrug 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>


GP APPROVED 2/2

[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>
 

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