Hippowdon (Analysis)

Snorlaxe

Snorlaxe

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Hippowdon

status: written and getting gp checked

QC Approved 2/2

GP Approved 1/2

okay, so even though hippowdon literally gained nothing during the generation transition, he will likely fulfill an interesting niche in that he is actually capable of checking the fearsome doryuuzu. in addition, sand stream allows him to call forth the permenant sandstorm that a few new threats benefit from so much. tbh i think that the physical wall is really gonna be the only viable set this generation, but if i do some testing and find offensive sets (like cb) to be good, i'll gladly add them. so yeah...hippowdon!

------------------------

[Overview]

<p>Though Hippowdon's gains in the transition to the 5th generation were few, it is still a stellar defensive and support Pokemon. Despite the multitude of powerful physical threats introduced, Hippowdon's titanic Defense and HP stats, along with its access to recovery in Slack Off, allow it to keep up with—and often beat—said threats. Aside from being an excellent defensive pivot, Hippowdon can also set up a permanent sandstorm with its Sand Stream ability, allowing it to effectively support several key Pokemon who were introduced this generation, such as Excadrill and Landorus. Though Hippowdon faces a lot of competition from Tyranitar for the role of summoning sandstorm, they each serve different purposes on a team, so don't make the mistake of confusing the two. Overall, Hippowdon's exceptional bulk allows it to truly shine this generation; underestimate it at your peril!</p>

[SET]
name: Physical Wall
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Slack Off
move 3: Stealth Rock
move 4: Ice Fang / Roar
item: Leftovers
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Hippowdon's excellent HP and Defense stats allow it to serve as a great physical wall. Despite the fact that Hippowdon and Tyranitar are both capable of setting up a permanent sandstorm, and thus compete with each other for a team slot, Hippowdon is a much more defensive Pokemon, while Tyranitar is significantly more offensive. Additionally, Hippowdon has access to instant recovery in the form of Slack Off, which is a tremendous asset for a wall.</p>

<p>Earthquake allows Hippowdon to deal decent damage to any Pokemon who does not resist it; it also allows Hippowdon to OHKO the fearsome and popular Excadrill, who fails to OHKO Hippowdon with even a Swords Dance-boosted Earthquake. Stealth Rock is very useful, as it is capable of turning many potential 2HKOs into OHKOs for Hippowdon's teammates, making it a great form of support. In the final moveslot, there are two good potential choices. Ice Fang is the primary option for its ability to bash Garchomp and Salamence switch-ins. Additionally, Ice Fang allows Hippowdon to scratch Balloon Excadrill, who otherwise has an easy time with Hippowdon. However, Roar is a worthy option as well, capable of scouting the opposing team while racking up residual damage from Stealth Rock.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>In the final moveslot, Hippowdon can use Toxic to poison switch-ins, or Stone Edge to deal respectable damage to Flying-types such as Gyarados and Togekiss. Keep in mind that by using one of the aforementioned moves, Hippowdon loses out on the utility provided by Ice Fang or Roar, making it a less valuable defensive pivot. This set's EV spread is extremely straightforward: 252 HP EVs give Hippowdon wonderful overall bulk, while 252 Defense EVs with an Impish nature maximize Hippowdon's already excellent physical defense. While an alternate spread of 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD is somewhat viable, Hippowdon's main niche is its ability to sponge hits from the various powerful physical attackers of this generation, so utilizing a specially defensive EV spread diminishes its capacity to fulfill its niche.</p>

<p>A Rapid Spinner is an excellent teammate for Hippowdon, as Spikes—and by extension, Toxic Spikes—severely hurts its tanking abilities. Excadrill is a great choice as it also benefits from Hippowdon's sandstorm. Starmie is a good teammate as well, capable of checking Gyarados, who can dent Hippowdon with its STAB Waterfall. Hippowdon struggles with powerful special attacks such as Choice Specs Latios's Draco Meteor. Additionally, special Water- and Grass-type moves will quickly demolish Hippowdon. As such, a special wall who is capable of sponging these powerful hits, like Blissey, is a great teammate. Any Pokemon who benefits from sandstorm support, such as Landorus, Garchomp, or the aforementioned Excadrill, is a great teammate; thanks to Hippowdon's sandstorm, these Pokemon are significantly powered up, making them top-notch partners.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Though Hippowdon does have a few other tricks up its sleeve, these tricks are generally poor options, as they are better utilized by other Pokemon. A Choice Band set could potentially be viable, but even with the Choice Band boost, Garchomp, Landorus, and even bulky Gliscor are all better suited to fulfilling the role of an offensive Ground-type. A Curse set may see some use, but it is easily phazed out by Pokemon such as Skarmory, and any Pokemon with a powerful special STAB attack will be able to make quick work of a Curse Hippowdon, even with maximum Special Defense investment. Yawn can be used as a potential support move, but is often outclassed as a phazing move by Roar. Outside of the above, Hippowdon doesn't have many other potential options; its movepool is fairly shallow, so when using Hippowdon, you should almost always attempt to play to its strengths as a physical wall.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>While very few physical attackers can beat Hippowdon, there are numerous special attackers who are capable of posing a tremendous threat to the hippopotamus. Any Pokemon with a super effective special attack, such as Vaporeon or Shaymin, is able to quickly dispose of Hippowdon. Additionally, even special attackers who don't pack a super effective move will often be able to crush Hippowdon. For instance, Choice Specs Hydreigon's Draco Meteor is a surefire OHKO on Hippowdon, while moves such as Heatran's Fire Blast will also deal shattering damage. Taunt users are capable of shutting down Hippowdon with extreme ease, leaving it almost completely useless. Taunt Skarmory in particular is able to neuter Hippowdon entirely, and can proceed to set up Spikes against it without a care in the world. In general, any special attacker who can take an Earthquake or two and attack back will be able to trounce Hippowdon one-on-one.</p>

[Dream World]

<p>Hippowdon's Dream World ability is Sand Force, which increases the power of its Ground- and Rock-type moves in a sandstorm. For Hippowdon, such moves are essentially limited to Earthquake and Stone Edge. While Sand Force is an excellent ability, it is quite redundant on Hipppowdon, as one of Hippowdon's major selling points is the ability to provide sandstorm support for threatening Pokemon such as Excadrill and Landorus. If you're running Hippowdon on a team where sandstorm is largely a hindrance, then feel free to use Sand Force; however, keep in mind that Sand Stream is a better ability in almost every other situation.</p>
 
Please use actual bullet points for your formatting. Check other completed analyses to see what I mean. You can find out how to do it by going advanced when editing your post.
 
with the number of doryuzu i've seen running balloon, and with hippowdon's effectiveness as one of its few true 'counters', I would definitely slash in Ice Fang over Roar on the first set so that you're able to touch it.
 
imo hippowdon is way too effective as a phazer to lose roar's utility just so that hippowdon can scratch balloon doryuuzu with ice fang. i will make a mention of that when i talk about ice fang, however.
 
Definitely go with Ice Fang over Roar. Having played it, I can say that Hippowdon as an anything check is not going to have time to Roar at all. He is, however, going to be able to take a hit from something like Garchomp, Sazandora, and other Dragon-types (Salamence / Dragonite) and Ice Fang them into oblivion. It's really, really important given how frequently Hippowdon will be forced to stare them down.
 
Remove all Uber mentions from your OP and replace them with OU mentions now that we are writing for the OU metagame. Everything else looks fine to me; Hippowdon can't really do much else this time around.

QC APPROVED (1/2)
 
Ice Fang should indeed be the main option, however, Roar deserves to be the second slash in the fourth moveslot, IMO. Everything else looks fine, just don't forget to remove the Uber mentions like Bloo said.

QC APPROVED (2/2)
 
Curious, but do you think he'll still be viable as a lead? During 4th Gen I've loved him for SR/Scouting/Earthquaking various stuff (Heatran, Infernape, Etc.) Can he still do this, or is he screwed over by other stuff?
 
Scrublock said:
Curious, but do you think he'll still be viable as a lead? During 4th Gen I've loved him for SR/Scouting/Earthquaking various stuff (Heatran, Infernape, Etc.) Can he still do this, or is he screwed over by other stuff?
Click to expand...

tbh i've seen tons of hippowdon leads over the course of 5th gen so far. people seem to like using him on teams that have to get both sandstorm and stealth rock up right away. while hippowdon is a great lead, i personally feel that he's much more valuable as a mid-game pokemon due to his capabilities as a defensive pivot. however, if your team wants to use hippowdon and also wants to get stealth rock up as soon as possible, then hippowdon makes a fine lead. the only common leads who he immeadiately loses to from my experience are surprise choice specs leads like latios and sazandora. however, the whole team preview thing has kind of gotten rid of the aspect of a true lead; in any event, hippowdon is a good lead, but i think it's better as a mid-game defensive pokemon.
 
Under optional changes you might want to add stockpile. I've used the stockpile stall set from 4th generation a lot and it has worked pretty well for me.
 
Great analysis, Snorlaxe. I am now seizing the oppurtunity to give this a GP Check / Proofread.

______________________________________________________________

Blue = Correction / Addition
Red = Deletion
Black (bold) = Comments

[box]
[Overview]

<p>Though Hippowdon's gains in the transition to the 5th generation were few, it is still a stellar defensive and support Pokemon. Despite the multitude of powerful physical threats who were introduced this generation, Hippowdon's titanic Defense and HP stats, along with access to recovery in Slack Off, allow it to keep up with—and often beat—the said threats. Aside from being an excellent defensive pivot, Hippowdon can also set up a permanent sandstorm with its Sand Stream ability, allowing it to effectively support several key Pokemon who were introduced this generation, such as Excadrill and Landorus. Though Hippowdon faces quite an amount of competition from Tyranitar for the role of a sandstorm summoner, they each serve different purposes on a team, so don't make the mistake of confusing the two. Overall, Hippowdon's exceptional bulk allows it to truly shine this generation; underestimate it at your peril!</p>

[SET]
name: Physical Wall
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Slack Off
move 3: Stealth Rock
move 4: Ice Fang / Roar
item: Leftovers
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Hippowdon's excellent HP and Defense stats allow it to serve as a great physical wall. Despite the fact that Hippowdon and Tyranitar are both capable of setting up a permanent sandstorm, and thus face some competition for a team slot, Hippowdon is a much more defensive Pokemon, while Tyranitar is significantly more offensive. Additionally, Hippowdon has access to instant recovery in the form of Slack Off, which is a tremendous asset for a wall.</p>

<p>Earthquake allows Hippowdon to deal decent damage to any Pokemon who does not resist it; it also allows Hippowdon to OHKO the fearsome and popular Excadrill, who fails to OHKO Hippowdon with even a Swords Dance-boosted Earthquake. Stealth Rock is very useful, as it is capable of turning many potential 2HKOs into OHKOs for Hippowdon's teammates, making it a great form of support. In the final moveslot, there are two good potential choices. Ice Fang is the primary option for its ability to bash Garchomp and Salamence switch-ins. Additionally, Ice Fang allows Hippowdon to scratch Balloon Excadrill, who otherwise has an easy time with Hippowdon. However, Roar is a worthy option as well, capable of scouting the opposing team while racking up residual damage from Stealth Rock.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>In the final moveslot, Hippowdon can use Toxic to poison switch-ins, or Stone Edge to deal respectable damage to Flying-types such as Gyarados and Togekiss. However, keep in mind that by using one of the aforementioned moves, Hippowdon loses out on the utility provided by Ice Fang or Roar, making it a less valuable defensive pivot. This set's EV spread is extremely straightforward: 252 HP EVs give Hippowdon wonderful overall bulk, while 252 Defense EVs with an Impish nature maximize Hippowdon's already excellent physical defense. While an alternate spread of 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD is somewhat viable, Hippowdon's main niche is its ability to sponge hits from the various powerful physical attackers of this generation, so utilizing a specially defensive EV spread is somewhat redundant.</p>

<p>A Rapid Spinner is an excellent teammate for Hippowdon, as Spikes—and by extension, Toxic Spikes—severely hurts its tanking abilities. Excadrill is a great choice as it also benefits from Hippowdon's sandstorm. Starmie is a good teammate as well, capable of checking Gyarados, who can dent Hippowdon with its STAB Waterfall. Hippowdon struggles with powerful special attacks such as Choice Specs Latios's Draco Meteor. As such, a special wall who is capable of sponging these powerful hits, like Blissey, is a great teammate. Any Pokemon who benefits from sandstorm support, such as Landorus, Garchomp, or the aforementioned Excadrill, are great teammates; thanks to Hippowdon's sandstorm, these Pokemon are signifigantly powered up, making them top-notch partners. Any Pokemon with a powerful special attack, like Reuniclus's Psychic, will give Hippowdon a hard time. In particular, special STAB Water- and Grass-types will quickly demolish Hippowdon.</p>

[Team Options]

<p>Excadrill is one of Hippowdon's best partners, as it can use Rapid Spin to clear away the opponent's entry hazards, and benefits tremendously from Hippowdon's sandstorm due to its Sand Throw ability. Blissey is a great teammate for Hippowdon, capable of tanking powerful special attacks such as Hydreigon's Draco Meteor that would otherwise spell doom for the bulky hippo. Support from Spikes and / or Toxic Spikes can help Hippowdon, as it tends to force a lot of switches due to its high Defense; if Hippowdon is utilizing Roar, it can force even more switches, therefore accumulating sizeable amounts of residual damage on the opposing Pokemon. Ferrothorn is a great teammate for this reason, as it is one of the best Spikes users in the game and synergizes quite well defensively with Hippowdon. As far as Toxic Spikes goes, Roserade is a good user of the move, though it lacks Nattorei's excellent natural bulk.</p>

<p>One of the main reasons one would use Hippowdon is for its ability to set up a permanent sandstorm with Sand Stream. As such, it makes sense to employ Pokemon who can take advantage of the sandstorm. Examples of such Pokemon include Garchomp, Terrakion, Landorus, and the aforementioned Excadrill. However, the true number of viable Pokemon who can abuse sandstorm is vast, so feel free to experiment with other potential teammates. Finally, any Pokemon who can take powerful Grass- and Water-type attacks, like Ferrothorn and Celebi, is a good teammate for Hippowdon.</p>

[Optional Changes]

<p>Though Hippowdon does have a few other tricks up its sleeve, these tricks are actually generally poor options due to the fact that they are outclassed by a large number of common Pokemon. A Choice Band set could potentially be viable, but even with the Choice Band boost, several other Pokemon still hit much harder than Hippowdon, making a Choice Band set somewhat of a waste on such a strong defensive Pokemon. A Curse set may see some use, but it is easily phazed out by Pokemon such as Skarmory, and any Pokemon with a powerful special STAB attack will be able to make quick work of such a Hippowdon variant. Yawn can be used as a potential support move, but Hippowdon is pressed for moveslots as it is, and Yawn will often be left by the wayside by more useful options such as Ice Fang, Roar, and even Toxic. Aside from the above things, Hippowdon doesn't have many other potential options; it's movepool is fairly shallow, so when using Hippowdon, you should almost always attempt to play to its strengths as a physical wall.</p>

[Counters]

<p>While very few physical attackers can beat Hippowdon, there are numerous special attackers who are capable of posing a tremendous threat to the hippopotamus. Any Pokemon with a super effective special attack, such as Vaporeon and Shaymin, is able to quickly dispose of Hippowdon. Additionally, even special attackers who don't pack a super effective move will often be able to crush Hippowdon. For instance, Choice Specs Hydreigon's Draco Meteor is a surefire OHKO on Hippowdon, while moves such as Heatran's Fire Blast will also deal shattering damage. Taunt users are capable of shutting down Hippowdon with extreme ease, leaving it almost completely useless. Taunt Skarmory in particular is able to neuter Hippowdon entirely, and can proceed to set up Spikes against it without a care in the world. In general, any special attacker who can take an Earthquake or two and attack back will be able to trounce Hippowdon one-on-one.</p>

[Dream World]

<p>Hippowdon's Dream World ability is Sand Strength, which increases the power of its Ground- and Rock-type moves in a sandstorm. For Hippowdon, such moves are essentially limited to Earthquake and Stone Edge. While Sand Strength is an excellent ability, it is quite redundant on Hipppowdon, as one of Hippowdon's major selling points is the ability to provide sandstorm support for threatening Pokemon such as Excadrill and Landorus. If you're running Hippowdon on a team where sandstorm is largely a hindrance, then feel free to use Sand Strength; however, keep in mind that Sand Stream is a better ability in almost every other situation.</p>
[/box]

[box]
[Overview]

<p>Though Hippowdon's gains in the transition between generations to the 5th generation were few, it is still a stellar defensive and support Pokemon. Despite the multitude of powerful physical threats who were introduced this generation, Hippowdon's titanic Defense and HP stats, as well as along with access to recovery in Slack Off, allow it to keep up with—and often beat—the said threats (Remove spaces between "with" and the first em dash, and between "beat" and the second em dash. Also, 2 hyphens are not a substitue for the em dash. I copy-pasted them from the Grammar and Spelling Standards Article on the main site) . Aside from being an excellent defensive pivot, Hippowdon can also set up permenant a permanent sandstorm with its Sand Stream ability, allowing it to effectively support several key Pokemon who were introduced this generation, such as Doryuuzu Excadrill and Randorosu Landorus. Though Hippowdon faces mild quite an amount of competition from Tyranitar for the role of a sandstorm summoner, they each serve a different purposes on a team, so don't make the mistake of confusing the two. Overall, Hippowdon's exceptional bulk allows it to truly shine this generation; underestimate it at your peril!</p>

[SET]
name: Physical Wall
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Slack Off
move 3: Stealth Rock
move 4: Ice Fang / Roar
item: Leftovers
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Hippowdon's excellent HP and Defense stats allow it to serve as a great physical wall. Despite the fact that Hippowdon and Tyranitar are both capable of setting up a permanent sandstorm, and thus face some competition for a team slot, Hippowdon is a much more defensive Pokemon, while Tyranitar is significantly more offensive. Additionally, Hippowdon has access to instant recovery in the form of Slack Off, which is a tremendous asset for a wall.</p>

<p>Earthquake allows Hippowdon to deal decent damage to any Pokemon who does not resist it; it also allows Hippowdon to OHKO the fearsome and popular Doryuuzu Excadrill, who fails to OHKO Hippowdon with even a Swords Dance-boosted Earthquake. Stealth Rock is very helpful useful(wouldn't "useful" be the better term here?), as it is capable of turning many potential 2HKOs into OHKOs for Hippowdon's teammates, making it a great form of support. In the final moveslot, there are two good potential choices. Ice Fang is the primary option for its ability to bash Garchomp and Salamence switch-ins. Additionally, Ice Fang allows Hippowdon to scratch Balloon Doryuuzu Excadrill, who otherwise has an easy time with Hippowdon. However, Roar is a worthy option as well, capable of scouting the opposing team while racking up residual damage from Stealth Rock.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>In the final moveslot, Hippowdon can use Toxic to poison switch-ins, or Stone Edge to deal respectable damage to Flying-types such as Gyarados and Togekiss. However, keep in mind that by using one of the aforementioned moves, Hippowdon loses out on the utility provided by Ice Fang or Roar, making it a less valuable defensive pivot. This set's EV spread is extremely straightforward: 252 HP EVs give Hippowdon wonderful overall bulk, while 252 Defense EVs with an Impish nature maximize Hippowdon's already excellent physical defense. While an alternate spread of 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD is somewhat viable, Hippowdon's main niche is its ability to sponge hits from the various powerful physical attackers of this generation, so utilizing a specially defensive EV spread is somewhat redundant.</p>

<p>A Rapid Spinner is an excellent teammate for Hippowdon, as Spikes—and by extension, Toxic Spikes—severely hurts its tanking abilities (once again, em dashes, not 2 hyphens. Remove the spaces, too). Doryuuzu Excadrill is a great choice as it also benefits from Hippowdon's sandstorm. Starmie is a good teammate as well, capable of checking Gyarados, who can dent Hippowdon with its STAB Waterfall. Hippowdon struggles with powerful special attacks such as Choice Specs Latios's Draco Meteor. As such, a special wall who is capable of sponging these powerful hits, like Blissey, is a great teammate. Any Pokemon who benefits from sandstorm support, such as Randorosu Landorus, Garchomp, or the aforementioned Doryuuzu Excadrill, are great teammates; thanks to Hippowdon's sandstorm, these Pokemon are signifigantly powered up, making them top-notch partners. Any Pokemon with a powerful special attack, like Rankurusu's Reuniclus's Psychic, will give Hippowdon a hard time. In particular, special STAB Water- and Grass-types will quickly demolish Hippowdon.</p>

[Team Options]

<p>Doryuuzu Excadrill is one of Hippowdon's best partners, as it can use Rapid Spin to clear away the opponent's entry hazards, and benefits tremendously from Hippowdon's sandstorm due to its Sand Throw ability. Blissey is a great teammate for Hippowdon, capable of tanking powerful special attacks such as Sazandora's Hydreigon's Draco Meteor that would otherwise spell doom for the bulky hippo. Support from Spikes and / or (add spaces) Toxic Spikes can help Hippowdon, as it tends to force a lot of switches due to its high Defense; if Hippowdon is utilizing Roar, it can force even more switches, therefore accumulating sizeable amounts of residual damage on the opposing Pokemon. Nattorei Ferrothorn is a great teammate for this reason, as it is one of the best Spikes users in the game and synergizes quite well defensively with Hippowdon. As far as Toxic Spikes goes, Roserade is a good user of the move, though she it lacks Nattorei's excellent natural bulk.(In all other instances in this analysis, you have used "it" to refer to Pokemon. Do not deviate from it here.)</p>

<p>One of the main reasons one would use Hippowdon is for its ability to set up a permanent sandstorm with Sand Stream. As such, it makes sense to employ Pokemon who can take advantage of the sandstorm. Examples of such Pokemon include Garchomp, Terrakion, Randorosu Landorus, and the aforementioned Doryuuzu Excadrill. However, the true number of viable Pokemon who can abuse sandstorm is extremely vast, so feel free to experiment with other potential teammates. Finally, any Pokemon who can take powerful Grass- and Water-type attacks, like Nattorei Ferrothorn and Celebi, is a good teammate for Hippowdon.</p>

[Optional Changes]

<p>Though Hippowdon does have a few other tricks up its sleeve, these tricks are actually generally poor options due to the fact that they are outclassed by a large number of common Pokemon. A Choice Band set could potentially be viable, but even with the Choice Band boost, several other Pokemon still hit much harder than Hippowdon, making a Choice Band set somewhat wasteful of a waste on such a strong defensive Pokemon. A Curse set may see some use, but it is easily phazed out by Pokemon such as Skarmory, and any Pokemon with a powerful special STAB attack will be able to make quick work of such a Hippowdon variant. Yawn can be used as a potential support move, but Hippowdon is pressed for moveslots as it is, and Yawn will often be left by the wayside by more useful options such as Ice Fang, Roar, and even Toxic. Aside from the above things, Hippowdon doesn't have many other potential options; it's movepool is fairly shallow, so when using Hippowdon, you should almost always attempt to play to its strengths as a physical wall.</p>

[Counters]

<p>While very few physical attackers can beat Hippowdon, there are numerous special attackers who are capable of posing a tremendous threat to the hippopotamus. Any Pokemon with a super effective special attack, such as Vaporeon and Shaymin, is able to quickly dispose of Hippowdon. Additionally, even special attackers who don't pack a super effective move will often be able to crush Hippowdon. For instance, Choice Specs Sazandora's Hydreigon's Draco Meteor is a surefire OHKO on Hippowdon, while moves such as Heatran's Fire Blast will also deal shattering damage. Taunt users are capable of shutting down Hippowdon with extreme ease, leaving it almost completely useless. Taunt Skarmory in particular is able to neuter Hippowdon entirely, and can proceed to set up Spikes against it without a care in the world. In general, any special attacker who can take an Earthquake or two and attack back will be able to trounce Hippowdon one-on-one.</p>

[Dream World]

<p>Hippowdon's Dream World ability is Sand Strength, which increases the power of its Ground- and Rock-type moves in a sandstorm. For Hippowdon, such moves are essentially limited to Earthquake and Stone Edge. While Sand Strength is an excellent ability, it is quite redundant on Hipppowdon, as one of Hippowdon's major selling points is the ability to provide sandstorm support for threatening Pokemon such as Doryuuzu Excadrill and Randorosu Landorus. If you're running Hippowdon on a team where sandstorm is largely a hinderance, then feel free to use Sand Strength; however, keep in mind that Sand Stream is a better ability in almost every other situation.</p>
[/box]
______________________________________________________________________________

EDIT: Done. Hope this will eventually count as a GP Check.
 
Fire Fang should be in OO, if not for Ferrothorn alone. Other than that this looks great, Hippo's movepool is tiny and you covered everything it can do competitively. I would have mentioned Thunder Fang but EQ hits everything just as hard except Gyarados and Skarmory (who doesn't care about it anyways)
 
On top of Calm's

Change/Add
Remove

[Overview]

<p>Though Hippowdon's gains in the transition to the 5th Generation were few, it is still a stellar defensive and support Pokemon. Despite the multitude of powerful physical threats who were introduced this generation, Hippowdon's titanic Defense and HP stats, along with its access to recovery in Slack Off, allow it to keep up with—and often beat—the said threats. Aside from being an excellent defensive pivot, Hippowdon can also set up a permanent sandstorm with its Sand Stream ability, allowing it to effectively support several key Pokemon who were introduced this generation, such as Excadrill and Landorus. Though Hippowdon faces quite an amount alot of competition from Tyranitar for the role of a sandstorm summoner, they each serve different purposes on a team, so don't make the mistake of confusing the two. Overall, Hippowdon's exceptional bulk allows it to truly shine this generation; underestimate it at your peril!</p>

[SET]
name: Physical Wall
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Slack Off
move 3: Stealth Rock
move 4: Ice Fang / Roar
item: Leftovers
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Hippowdon's excellent HP and Defense stats allow it to serve as a great physical wall. Despite the fact that Hippowdon and Tyranitar are both capable of setting up a permanent sandstorm, and thus face some competition compete for a team slot, Hippowdon is a much more defensive Pokemon, while Tyranitar is significantly more offensive. Additionally, Hippowdon has access to instant recovery in the form of Slack Off, which is a tremendous asset for a wall.</p>

<p>Earthquake allows Hippowdon to deal decent damage to any Pokemon who does not resist it; it also allows Hippowdon to OHKO the fearsome and popular Excadrill, who fails to OHKO Hippowdon with even a Swords Dance-boosted Earthquake. Stealth Rock is very useful, as it is capable of turning many potential 2HKOs into OHKOs for Hippowdon's teammates, making it a great form of support. In the final moveslot, there are two good potential choices. Ice Fang is the primary option for its ability to bash Garchomp and Salamence switch-ins. Additionally, Ice Fang allows Hippowdon to scratch Balloon Excadrill, who otherwise has an easy time with Hippowdon. However, Roar is a worthy option as well, capable of scouting the opposing team while racking up residual damage from Stealth Rock.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>In the final moveslot, Hippowdon can use Toxic to poison switch-ins, or Stone Edge to deal respectable damage to Flying-types such as Gyarados and Togekiss. However, Keep in mind that by using one of the aforementioned moves, Hippowdon loses out on the utility provided by Ice Fang or Roar, making it a less valuable defensive pivot. This set's EV spread is extremely straightforward: 252 HP EVs give Hippowdon wonderful overall bulk, while 252 Defense EVs with an Impish nature maximize Hippowdon's already excellent physical defense. While an alternate spread of 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD is somewhat viable, Hippowdon's main niche is its ability to sponge hits from the various powerful physical attackers of this generation, so utilizing a specially defensive EV spread is somewhat redundant diminishes its capacity to fulfill its niche.</p>

<p>A Rapid Spinner is an excellent teammate for Hippowdon, as Spikes—and by extension, Toxic Spikes—severely hurts its tanking abilities. Excadrill is a great choice as it also benefits from Hippowdon's sandstorm. Starmie is a good teammate as well, capable of checking Gyarados, who can dent Hippowdon with its STAB Waterfall. Hippowdon struggles with powerful special attacks such as Choice Specs Latios's Draco Meteor. As such, a special wall who is capable of sponging these powerful hits, like Blissey, is a great teammate. Any Pokemon who benefits from sandstorm support, such as Landorus, Garchomp, or the aforementioned Excadrill, are great teammates; thanks to Hippowdon's sandstorm, these Pokemon are significantly powered up, making them top-notch partners. Any Pokemon with a powerful special attack, like Reuniclus's Psychic, will give Hippowdon a hard time. In particular, special STAB Water- and Grass-types will quickly demolish Hippowdon.</p>

[Team Options]

<p>Excadrill is one of Hippowdon's best partners, as it can use Rapid Spin to clear away the opponent's entry hazards, and benefits tremendously from Hippowdon's sandstorm due to its Sand Throw ability. Blissey is a great teammate for Hippowdon, capable of tanking powerful special attacks such as Hydreigon's Draco Meteor that would otherwise spell doom for the bulky hippo. Support from Spikes and / or Toxic Spikes can help Hippowdon, as it tends to force a lot of switches due to its high Defense; if Hippowdon is utilizing Roar, it can force even more switches, therefore accumulating sizable amounts of residual damage on the opposing Pokemon. Ferrothorn is a great teammate for this reason, as it is one of the best Spikes users in the game and synergizes quite well defensively has good defensive synergy with Hippowdon. As far as Toxic Spikes goes, Roserade is a good user of the move, though it lacks Nattorei's excellent natural bulk.</p>

<p>One of the main reasons one would use Hippowdon is for its ability to set up a permanent sandstorm with Sand Stream. As such, it makes sense to employ Pokemon who can take advantage of the sandstorm. Examples of such Pokemon include Garchomp, Terrakion, Landorus, and the aforementioned Excadrill. However, the true number of viable Pokemon who can abuse sandstorm is vast, so feel free to experiment with other potential teammates. Finally, any Pokemon who can take powerful Grass- and Water-type attacks, like Ferrothorn and Celebi, is a good teammate for Hippowdon.</p>

[Optional Changes]

<p>Though Hippowdon does have a few other tricks up its sleeve, these tricks are actually generally poor options due to the fact that they are outclassed by a large number of common Pokemon better utilized by other Pokemon. A Choice Band set could potentially be viable, but even with the Choice Band boost, several other Pokemon still hit much harder than Hippowdon, making a Choice Band set somewhat of a waste on such a strong defensive Pokemon but Garchomp, Landlos, and even the bulky Gliscor are all more able-bodied to fill the role of brutal offensive Ground-type. A Curse set may see some use, but it is easily phazed out by Pokemon such as Skarmory, and any Pokemon with a powerful special STAB attack will be able to make quick work of such a Hippowdon variant of a cursing Hippowdon, even with maximum special defensive investment. Yawn can be used as a potential support move, but Hippowdon is pressed for moveslots as it is, and Yawn will often be left by the wayside by more useful options such as Ice Fang, Roar, and even Toxic is generally outclassed by Roar as a Phazing move. Aside from the above things Outside the above, Hippowdon doesn't have many other potential options; it's movepool is fairly shallow, so when using Hippowdon, you should almost always attempt to play to its strengths as a physical wall.</p>

[Counters]

<p>While very few physical attackers can beat Hippowdon, there are numerous special attackers who are capable of posing a tremendous threat to the hippopotamus. Any Pokemon with a super effective special attack, such as Vaporeon and Shaymin, is able to quickly dispose of Hippowdon. Additionally, even special attackers who don't pack a super effective move will often be able to crush Hippowdon. For instance, Choice Specs Hydreigon's Draco Meteor is a surefire OHKO on Hippowdon, while moves such as Heatran's Fire Blast will also deal shattering damage. Taunt users are capable of shutting down Hippowdon with extreme ease, leaving it almost completely useless. Taunt Skarmory in particular is able to neuter Hippowdon entirely, and can proceed to set up Spikes against it without a care in the world. In general, any special attacker who can take an Earthquake or two and attack back will be able to trounce Hippowdon one-on-one.</p>

[Dream World]

<p>Hippowdon's Dream World ability is Sand Strength, which increases the power of its Ground- and Rock-type moves in a sandstorm. For Hippowdon, such moves are essentially limited to Earthquake and Stone Edge. While Sand Strength is an excellent ability, it is quite redundant on Hipppowdon, as one of Hippowdon's major selling points is the ability to provide sandstorm support for threatening Pokemon such as Excadrill and Landorus. If you're running Hippowdon on a team where sandstorm is largely a hindrance, then feel free to use Sand Strength; however, keep in mind that Sand Stream is a better ability in almost every other situation.</p>

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GP 1/2
 
I am sorry if it offends you Chou, but I had a doubt with the first change you suggested in your GP check earlier.

<p>Though Hippowdon's gains in the transition to the 5th Generation were few, it is still a stellar defensive and support Pokemon.....
Click to expand...

Consider these 2 sentences:

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Hippowdon's gains in the transition to 5th Generation.....
[/box]

and

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Hippowdon's gains in the transition to the 5th Generation......
[/box]

The first sentence looks odd, due to the absence of any article before the words "5th generation." I feel that "the" should not be removed.

Otherwise, your GP check is pretty much impeccable. I hope this helps.
 
I don't know if i should comment on this but 4 gen only moves are banned on random battles because they are deemed illegal. My hippowdon cannot use SR :(
 
Hi, could you post some Ev alternatives in which you invest in Attack or special defence to gain ome crucial KO's or avoid 2 being 2 hit KO'd by common special moves?
 
You know, I noticed its mention in Optional Changes, but has anyone but me actually used a Curse Hippo? I mean with Curse, Defense investment is really unnecessary, so it can feel free to invest fully in SpD, meaning that the statement "any Pokemon with a powerful special STAB attack will be able to make quick work of such a Hippowdon variant" is not really true. It still can't take the most Powerful ones, but it is significantly better than one who has to worry about its Defense via investment.

Also for saying Skarmory easily phazes it, while i wont deny it, I will also say that my Curse hippo has multiple times beaten Skarmory one on one. Personally, I run Stone Edge on my Hippo, so it can sort of damage Skar. But, the typical situation is I Curse on the switch in, they, assuming they can just phaze me, try to set up spikes. I get another Curse in, and while they set up the next two layers, I SE them. It isn't able to outright KO before it can finish spiking and phaze you if you are only at +2 (unless you get a crit), but it can do some serious damage, and if they decide to Roost due to low health, a predicted EQ can finish it off.

Now I'm not saying I think Curse should get it's own set (well, yes that would be awesome, cause it rocks, but still). I just think you should consider changing your comments about it in the Optional Changes section.
 
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