I finished my Hippopotas analysis, but a huge problem just had to come up. I noticed a mistake that I needed to correct, but instead of backspace deleting the word, the entire page went back. I didn't save it either... Anyway, I'm posting what I have rewritten (again...) so far, even though it's not much. Sorry for the delay.
Thanks.
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/hippopotas
Status: COMPLETE! (ready for uploading)
__________________________________________________
[ OVERVIEW]
<p>Hippopotas is the only Pokemon in Little Cup who can set up a permanent sandstorm. It usually finds its place on defensively-oriented teams, aiding its team with sandstorm support which adds more residual damage to the opponent.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, Hippopotas is not as effective as its big brother Hippowdon is in OU. Hippowdon can easily switch into various physical threats and constantly phaze them and successfully heal its HP via Slack Off. However, in a metagame filled with offense, Hippopotas struggles to wall effectively. Furthermore, low Speed and Special Defense stats really hinder its ability to stay in for long periods of time. Even with these shortcomings, Hippopotas is still a very dependable Pokemon. It can consistently set up both sandstorm and Stealth Rock, a claim no other Little Cup Pokemon can make.</p>
[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Crunch / Rock Slide
move 4: Slack Off / Roar
item: Oran Berry / Leftovers
nature: Impish
evs: 212 HP / 36 Atk / 212 Def / 36 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Hippopotas plays a very important role in the Little Cup metagame; it is the only Pokemon that can set up a permanent sandstorm. This makes it a very effective Pokemon in the lead position, setting up Stealth Rock without much trouble and having a chance to disable the opponent's Focus Sash due to the sandstorm. With its great physical bulk it also makes a great switch-in to many physically-based threats that can be troublesome, such as Meowth, Aron, and Larvitar.</p>
<p>Stealth Rock is a helpful move for both Hippopotas and its team, as many Pokemon that are immune or resistant to Hippopotas's Earthquake, such as Paras and Mantyke, take upwards of 25% damage from it. Earthquake offers Hippopotas a reliable STAB attack to use, dealing decent damage. Crunch and Rock Slide are two options that provide excellent coverage in conjunction with Earthquake. Crunch helps Hippopotas combat Gastly and Duskull, two common switch-ins, while Rock Slide deals heavy damage to Flying-types, such as Mantyke and Taillow. Deciding the final move is quite difficult. Slack Off allows Hippopotas to recover a lot of its health to keep on switching in and tanking; however, in a metagame filled with Pokemon OHKOing and 2HKOing other Pokemon, it may be hard to pull off. Another issue is that lot of Pokemon can set up against Hippopotas with impunity. Gligar can easily pull off Swords Dance and sweep with insanely strong Earthquakes, Dratini can set up Dragon Dance reasonably well and destroy Hippopotas with Waterfall, while Krabby can set up both Agility and Swords Dance and sweep with boosted Crabhammers. This is where Roar comes into play, stopping Pokemon from setting up against it. It really depends on what your team needs most: a reliable physical tank or phazer.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread is straightforward. 212 HP and Defense EVs are all Hippopotas needs to max out its HP and Defense, reaching stats of 26 and 18, respectively. The remaining EVs are split into Attack and Special Defense to add one point to each. The item choice is up to personal preference. Oran Berry is the recommended item, leaving Hippopotas with healthy HP after using Stealth Rock, assuming it took heavy damage. Since Hippopotas has a reasonably high HP stat, it could make use of Leftovers, restoring bits of its HP every turn. If you do choose to use Leftovers, using Slack Off instead of Roar is recommended so Hippopotas restores more of its HP once it uses Slack Off.</p>
<p>Defensive teams will generally appreciate Hippopotas's presence, as the sandstorm it provides increases the residual damage the opponent takes. Hippopotas is also a vital member on stall teams, even though stall is very hard to master in Little Cup. Munchlax and Omanyte are common members on defensive and stall teams, the former taking special attacks with ease (something Hippopotas does not like), while the latter receiving a 1.5x Special Defense boost due to the sandstorm and setting up several layers of Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Besides defensive teams, Hippopotas is also used on sandstorm teams. Pokemon with the Sand Veil ability or Rock typing will always benefit from the sandstorm. Gligar and Cacnea, for example, will have increased evasion, helping them set up easier to sweep. As for Pokemon that are or part Rock-type, Lileep and Larvitar are good examples that appreciate the Special Defense boost, helping them set up as well. Aside from using Pokemon that benefit from the sandstorm, weather changers can instantly cripple your sandstorm team. Snover is arguably the greatest threat to Hippopotas and its teammates, so it needs to be taken care of in order for Hippopotas to keep the sandstorm up. Houndour is a great Pokemon to dispose of Snover, as it resists both of Snover's STAB moves and can OHKO it with Fire Blast or trap it with Pursuit, which would put Snover at low enough health to be taken care of by Stealth Rock. Munchlax can also harm Snover greatly with Return, and it also boasts excellent Special Defense and HP to take the special attacks Hippopotas cannot.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Hippopotas is mainly used because of its ability to set up a permanent sandstorm, so its team should generally consist of sandstorm-abusing Pokemon. These type of Pokemon can be broken down into two categories: defensive and offensive.</p>
<p>Any Pokemon that is or part Rock-type will always appreciate the 1.5x Special Defense boost that a sandstorm provides them with. Since most Rock-types are weaker on the special side, the sandstorm helps accommodate that weakness to make it of lesser concern. Lileep is a prime example of a Pokemon that appreciates the bonus Special Defense, helping it set up Swords Dance, Curse, or Stockpile against special attackers that have unSTABed super effective attacks fairly well. Omanyte is another great Pokemon to look into, making it take special hits, even super effective ones (bar Grass attacks due to Omanyte's 4x weakness), much better. This also helps it set up several layers of Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Basically, any Rock-type will enjoy a sandstorm, so it's up to you to decide who fits your team the best.</p>
<p>Offensively, Pokemon that have the Sand Veil ability are recommended. This gives them a 20% evasion increase, helping them set up more reliably. Cacnea and Gligar are excellent examples of this, as the enhanced evasion allows them to potentially set up Substitute or Swords Dance without taking any damage in the process. Other Pokemon with the ability Sand Veil include Diglett, Sandshrew, and Gible.</p>
<p>Snover needs to be taken into account when using Hippopotas, as it instantly sets up an everlasting hailstorm upon switching in. Houndour is one of the few Pokemon that can almost always take out Snover. It is able to easily OHKO Snover with Fire Blast, or it can stop Snover from feeling safely by using Pursuit, which would end Snover up with low enough health to fall under Stealth Rock's presence. Munchlax is also a decent alternative, as its high Special Defense and HP helps it take Blizzard and Energy Ball like a champ. It can then bring down Snover with Return or weaken it with Pursuit should it flee. Also, due to Munchlax's superb Special Defense, it could take on various special attackers that threaten Hippopotas, such as Chinchou, Mantyke, and Bulbasaur.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Hippopotas does not have the greatest of movepools, but it has a few moves that can be useful in some situations.</p>
<p>A Stockpile set can be used to some decent success, boosting Hippopotas's poor Special Defense to higher levels. With the abundant use of Ice- and Water-type moves, however, it may be difficult to pull it off. Curse can also be used, except that it has the same problems that Stockpile has, and it doesn't add any Special Defense boosts. Lastly, a Choice Band set with Earthquake, Crunch, Superpower, and Rock Slide might be useful, though Gligar would be better relegated to this task, due to its higher Attack and Speed.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Hippopotas's horrible Special Defense makes it vulnerable to powerful special attacks, so using strong special attackers is a good way to bring it down. Houndour and Gastly are good examples of powerful special attackers that can easily bring death upon Hippopotas with their respective STAB moves. Also, any Pokemon with super effective special attacks will instantly OHKO Hippopotas, such as Porygon's Ice Beam, Bulbasaur's Leaf Storm, and Mantyke's Hydro Pump.</p>
<p>Since Hippopotas is quite weak offensively and almost any Pokemon can find it very easy to set up against it without taking much damage. Gligar, who is immune to Earthquake and takes pathetic damage from other moves Hippopotas uses, can easily set up Substitute, Swords Dance, or Rock Polish and threaten to sweep Hippopotas's entire team with death-inducing Earthquakes. Krabby can easily pull off several Swords Dance or Agility boosts because of its high Defense stat, allowing it to fire off powerful Crabhammers to the opponent. The only thing that needs to be watched out for is if Hippopotas carries Roar.</p>
<p>Any weather changer can threaten Hippopotas with their super effective attacks and also remove the raging sandstorm. Snover, who sets up hail, Exeggcute, who sets up sun, and Mantyke, who sets up rain, can all OHKO Hippopotas with their super effective STAB attacks.</p>
Thanks.
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/hippopotas
Status: COMPLETE! (ready for uploading)
__________________________________________________
[ OVERVIEW]
<p>Hippopotas is the only Pokemon in Little Cup who can set up a permanent sandstorm. It usually finds its place on defensively-oriented teams, aiding its team with sandstorm support which adds more residual damage to the opponent.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, Hippopotas is not as effective as its big brother Hippowdon is in OU. Hippowdon can easily switch into various physical threats and constantly phaze them and successfully heal its HP via Slack Off. However, in a metagame filled with offense, Hippopotas struggles to wall effectively. Furthermore, low Speed and Special Defense stats really hinder its ability to stay in for long periods of time. Even with these shortcomings, Hippopotas is still a very dependable Pokemon. It can consistently set up both sandstorm and Stealth Rock, a claim no other Little Cup Pokemon can make.</p>
[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Crunch / Rock Slide
move 4: Slack Off / Roar
item: Oran Berry / Leftovers
nature: Impish
evs: 212 HP / 36 Atk / 212 Def / 36 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Hippopotas plays a very important role in the Little Cup metagame; it is the only Pokemon that can set up a permanent sandstorm. This makes it a very effective Pokemon in the lead position, setting up Stealth Rock without much trouble and having a chance to disable the opponent's Focus Sash due to the sandstorm. With its great physical bulk it also makes a great switch-in to many physically-based threats that can be troublesome, such as Meowth, Aron, and Larvitar.</p>
<p>Stealth Rock is a helpful move for both Hippopotas and its team, as many Pokemon that are immune or resistant to Hippopotas's Earthquake, such as Paras and Mantyke, take upwards of 25% damage from it. Earthquake offers Hippopotas a reliable STAB attack to use, dealing decent damage. Crunch and Rock Slide are two options that provide excellent coverage in conjunction with Earthquake. Crunch helps Hippopotas combat Gastly and Duskull, two common switch-ins, while Rock Slide deals heavy damage to Flying-types, such as Mantyke and Taillow. Deciding the final move is quite difficult. Slack Off allows Hippopotas to recover a lot of its health to keep on switching in and tanking; however, in a metagame filled with Pokemon OHKOing and 2HKOing other Pokemon, it may be hard to pull off. Another issue is that lot of Pokemon can set up against Hippopotas with impunity. Gligar can easily pull off Swords Dance and sweep with insanely strong Earthquakes, Dratini can set up Dragon Dance reasonably well and destroy Hippopotas with Waterfall, while Krabby can set up both Agility and Swords Dance and sweep with boosted Crabhammers. This is where Roar comes into play, stopping Pokemon from setting up against it. It really depends on what your team needs most: a reliable physical tank or phazer.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread is straightforward. 212 HP and Defense EVs are all Hippopotas needs to max out its HP and Defense, reaching stats of 26 and 18, respectively. The remaining EVs are split into Attack and Special Defense to add one point to each. The item choice is up to personal preference. Oran Berry is the recommended item, leaving Hippopotas with healthy HP after using Stealth Rock, assuming it took heavy damage. Since Hippopotas has a reasonably high HP stat, it could make use of Leftovers, restoring bits of its HP every turn. If you do choose to use Leftovers, using Slack Off instead of Roar is recommended so Hippopotas restores more of its HP once it uses Slack Off.</p>
<p>Defensive teams will generally appreciate Hippopotas's presence, as the sandstorm it provides increases the residual damage the opponent takes. Hippopotas is also a vital member on stall teams, even though stall is very hard to master in Little Cup. Munchlax and Omanyte are common members on defensive and stall teams, the former taking special attacks with ease (something Hippopotas does not like), while the latter receiving a 1.5x Special Defense boost due to the sandstorm and setting up several layers of Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Besides defensive teams, Hippopotas is also used on sandstorm teams. Pokemon with the Sand Veil ability or Rock typing will always benefit from the sandstorm. Gligar and Cacnea, for example, will have increased evasion, helping them set up easier to sweep. As for Pokemon that are or part Rock-type, Lileep and Larvitar are good examples that appreciate the Special Defense boost, helping them set up as well. Aside from using Pokemon that benefit from the sandstorm, weather changers can instantly cripple your sandstorm team. Snover is arguably the greatest threat to Hippopotas and its teammates, so it needs to be taken care of in order for Hippopotas to keep the sandstorm up. Houndour is a great Pokemon to dispose of Snover, as it resists both of Snover's STAB moves and can OHKO it with Fire Blast or trap it with Pursuit, which would put Snover at low enough health to be taken care of by Stealth Rock. Munchlax can also harm Snover greatly with Return, and it also boasts excellent Special Defense and HP to take the special attacks Hippopotas cannot.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Hippopotas is mainly used because of its ability to set up a permanent sandstorm, so its team should generally consist of sandstorm-abusing Pokemon. These type of Pokemon can be broken down into two categories: defensive and offensive.</p>
<p>Any Pokemon that is or part Rock-type will always appreciate the 1.5x Special Defense boost that a sandstorm provides them with. Since most Rock-types are weaker on the special side, the sandstorm helps accommodate that weakness to make it of lesser concern. Lileep is a prime example of a Pokemon that appreciates the bonus Special Defense, helping it set up Swords Dance, Curse, or Stockpile against special attackers that have unSTABed super effective attacks fairly well. Omanyte is another great Pokemon to look into, making it take special hits, even super effective ones (bar Grass attacks due to Omanyte's 4x weakness), much better. This also helps it set up several layers of Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Basically, any Rock-type will enjoy a sandstorm, so it's up to you to decide who fits your team the best.</p>
<p>Offensively, Pokemon that have the Sand Veil ability are recommended. This gives them a 20% evasion increase, helping them set up more reliably. Cacnea and Gligar are excellent examples of this, as the enhanced evasion allows them to potentially set up Substitute or Swords Dance without taking any damage in the process. Other Pokemon with the ability Sand Veil include Diglett, Sandshrew, and Gible.</p>
<p>Snover needs to be taken into account when using Hippopotas, as it instantly sets up an everlasting hailstorm upon switching in. Houndour is one of the few Pokemon that can almost always take out Snover. It is able to easily OHKO Snover with Fire Blast, or it can stop Snover from feeling safely by using Pursuit, which would end Snover up with low enough health to fall under Stealth Rock's presence. Munchlax is also a decent alternative, as its high Special Defense and HP helps it take Blizzard and Energy Ball like a champ. It can then bring down Snover with Return or weaken it with Pursuit should it flee. Also, due to Munchlax's superb Special Defense, it could take on various special attackers that threaten Hippopotas, such as Chinchou, Mantyke, and Bulbasaur.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Hippopotas does not have the greatest of movepools, but it has a few moves that can be useful in some situations.</p>
<p>A Stockpile set can be used to some decent success, boosting Hippopotas's poor Special Defense to higher levels. With the abundant use of Ice- and Water-type moves, however, it may be difficult to pull it off. Curse can also be used, except that it has the same problems that Stockpile has, and it doesn't add any Special Defense boosts. Lastly, a Choice Band set with Earthquake, Crunch, Superpower, and Rock Slide might be useful, though Gligar would be better relegated to this task, due to its higher Attack and Speed.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Hippopotas's horrible Special Defense makes it vulnerable to powerful special attacks, so using strong special attackers is a good way to bring it down. Houndour and Gastly are good examples of powerful special attackers that can easily bring death upon Hippopotas with their respective STAB moves. Also, any Pokemon with super effective special attacks will instantly OHKO Hippopotas, such as Porygon's Ice Beam, Bulbasaur's Leaf Storm, and Mantyke's Hydro Pump.</p>
<p>Since Hippopotas is quite weak offensively and almost any Pokemon can find it very easy to set up against it without taking much damage. Gligar, who is immune to Earthquake and takes pathetic damage from other moves Hippopotas uses, can easily set up Substitute, Swords Dance, or Rock Polish and threaten to sweep Hippopotas's entire team with death-inducing Earthquakes. Krabby can easily pull off several Swords Dance or Agility boosts because of its high Defense stat, allowing it to fire off powerful Crabhammers to the opponent. The only thing that needs to be watched out for is if Hippopotas carries Roar.</p>
<p>Any weather changer can threaten Hippopotas with their super effective attacks and also remove the raging sandstorm. Snover, who sets up hail, Exeggcute, who sets up sun, and Mantyke, who sets up rain, can all OHKO Hippopotas with their super effective STAB attacks.</p>
