Taken over from Kingler12345. Approved by macle.
Overview
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Even with the nerf to weather this generation, Hippopotas is a viable Pokemon, working well as a physical wall and a sand setter. Its superb physical bulk makes it a great answer to several physical threats such as Mienfoo, Fletchling, Timburr, Archen, Drilbur, Pawniard, and Zigzagoon. Moreover, it has access to a reliable recovery move in Slack Off, making it very resilient; it also has access to moves such as Stealth Rock and Whirlwind, with the latter preventing it from being a setup fodder for Misdreavus, unlike other walls like Spritzee. However, Hippopotas has its flaws; one of them is its special bulk. While it isn't bad, it is still underwhelming, meaning special attackers such as Chinchou, Abra, Omanyte, Staryu, Foongus, and Cottonee can easily destroy Hippopotas. Overall, despite its flaws, Hippopotas is a great physical wall and a staple for sand teams.
Physical Wall
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name: Physical Wall
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Slack Off
move 3: Stealth Rock
move 4: Whirlwind / Rock Tomb
ability: Sand Stream
item: Eviolite
evs: 212 HP / 20 Atk / 212 Def / 20 SpD / 20 Spe
nature: Impish
Moves
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Earthquake is a obligatory STAB move that hits hard thanks to Hippopotas's solid base 72 Attack. Slack Off gives Hippopotas reliable recovery and assists greatly in walling opponents. Stealth Rock supports the team and puts pressure on the opposing team's switch-ins by providing important residual damage. Whirlwind is a great move as it helps Hippopotas in dealing with setup sweepers, also shuffling teams and racking up residual damage. Rock Tomb can be used instead of Whirlwind to deal with Flying-types such as Fletchling, while also lowering the opponent's Speed by one stage, which can be very helpful support for teammates.
Set Details
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Eviolite is the preferred item because of the additional bulk it provides, as Slack Off is already a continuous and reliable source of recovery that greatly outclasses the one-time use of Berry Juice. An Impish nature and the given EV spread allow Hippopotas to comfortably switch in on physical attackers. The remaining EVs are used to increase Hippopotas's Attack, Special Defense, and Speed by one point each.
Usage Tips
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Hippopotas works great as physical wall due to its solid 68 / 78 / 48 bulk. Furthermore, it isn't setup bait unlike other walls; thanks to Whirlwind, opponents that attempt to gain multiple boosts, set up Substitute, and/or use Baton Pass to pass these won't get past Hippopotas. Something that is important to know is that if Hippopotas leads and comes out at the same time as Snover or Vulpix, sandstorm will be the dominant weather as Hippopotas is slower than both of them. Hippopotas also works well on stall and semi-stall teams due to its great bulk and the ability to remove sun, while also doing residual damage to opponents thanks to Sand Stream.
Team Options
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Lileep is a great teammate as it gets a 50% Special Defense boost under sandstorm and is immune to Water-type moves aimed at Hippopotas thanks to Storm Drain. Vullaby is another great partner for Hippopotas, as it can deal with the Chlorophyll sweepers that often accompany Vulpix: it resists Grass, and its Overcoat ability blocks sand damage as well as Sleep Powder. Munchlax deals with the Ice-type weakness many of Hippopotas's favorite teammates have, and Hippopotas can easily tank the Fighting-type moves aimed at Munchlax. Nosepass also gets the Special Defense boost under sand, making it a great mixed wall. Tentacool is another great teammate that deals with Ice-type attacks, while also having great special bulk and the ability Liquid Ooze, which means it damages opponents trying to hit Hippopotas with Giga Drain. As for offensive teammates, Sand Rush users such as Drilbur and Sandshrew that can sweep with their boosted Speed under the sand are good choices, as is Archen, which gets a buff to its Special Defense thanks to its Rock typing.
Other Options
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Toxic can be used, and it works well in combination with Earthquake, which hits Steel- and Poison-types that are immune to Toxic for super effective damage. The elemental fangs can be used and offer good coverage, but Earthquake is, most of the time, the better option for a attacking move. Crunch hits Ghost-types hard, which often have Levitate. Superpower offers good coverage, but is hard to fit onto a set. Curse can be used, but it doesn't help Hippopotas's special bulk, and the boosts also accumulate too slowly. A sun counter set to deal with Vulpix can be used, with a 132 HP / 20 Atk / 132 Def / 180 SpD / 20 Spe EV spread and a Careful nature. Smooth Rock can be used to extend the length of sand to eight turns, which is great for teams dedicated to sweeping with either Drilbur or Sandshrew.
Checks & Counters
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**Grass-types**: Grass-types such as Cottonee, Foongus, and Chespin wall Hippopotas and also deal heavy damage with their Grass-type STAB moves. Cottonee can also Encore Hippopotas into using a move such as Stealth Rock, giving a teammate a free switch-in.
**Water-types**: Water-types are also a huge problem for Hippopotas, namely Omanyte, Staryu, and Corphish. All of them outspeed Hippopotas and OHKO it with their Water-type STAB moves. Staryu can also remove Hippopotas's Stealth Rock with Rapid Spin.
**Ground-immune Pokemon**: Hippopotas struggles against Ground-immune Pokemon such as Misdreavus, which can Will-O-Wisp it, and Flying-types such as Fletchling and Vullaby if it lacks Rock Tomb.
**Snover**: Snover is the perfect Hippopotas counter as it changes the weather to hail and outspeeds and OHKOes Hippopotas with either of its STAB moves.
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