The Hippowdon set was pretty outdated, still containing references to Garchomp and using Ice Fang on every set. I have updated all the sets to the more recent metagame and obviously changed the write-ups. I tried to keep as much of of the original content as I could since it was actually rather well written, but I still had to make significant changes.
Due to Hippowdon's small usable movepool I have only added one set (Stockpile), but if anyone else has suggestions I would be glad to hear them! Oh and sorry in advance for any grammatical errors and typos and what not; it's hard to find mistakes in your own writing =P
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/hippowdon
[SET]
Name: Physical Wall
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Slack Off
move 3: Stealth Rock
move 4: Roar / Toxic / Stone Edge / Ice Fang
item: Leftovers
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>As far as physical walling goes, you won't find many Pokémon better than Hippowdon in DP. Rock resistance, 10% better overall physical Defense than Skarmory, and a one turn recovery move without any drawback makes Hippowdon a hard Pokémon to budge. It is easily the best Tyranitar switch-in in the game, it is a solid counter to Salamence which is not weak to Fire Blast, and it is never OHKOed by Lucario even after a Swords Dance. Not including Explosion and Selfdestruct, no Pokémon in the game can OHKO Hippowdon with any physical attack.</p>
<P>With amazing defenses and a rather shallow support movepool, Hippowdon is a perfect candidate for use of Stealth Rock. It can set up the entry hazard and then use Slack Off to recover any damage it takes, and it can even utilize Roar effectively to pile up residual damage on your opponent's team. Ice Fang may seem like it has good coverage, but it is only more powerful than Earthquake against Flying-types, which frequently employ Roost anyway. Salamence and Flygon are really the only Pokemon that Ice Fang deals significant damage to; Salamence is almost as crippled by Roar, and Flygon is rare and is not going to deal much damage to Hippowdon anyway. Stone Edge deals more damage to Flying-types, notably Gyarados, who loves to switch into Hippowdon. Finally, Toxic is a great move all around and goes perfectly with Hippowdon's stalling capabilities, though you should watch out for Substitute.</p>
<p>If you already have a Stealth Rock user, you can replace Stealth Rock with any of the moves suggested in the fourth moveslot.</p>
[SET]
name: CurseHippo
move 1: Curse
move 2: Slack Off
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Ice Fang / Stone Edge
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 48 Atk / 32 Def / 172 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Hippowdon has impressive attacking capability with 112 Base Attack, and Curse amplifies it while reducing Hippowdon's already-pathetic Speed stat. Here Ice Fang is preferred over Stone Edge since Curse boosts its power, and it is significantly more accurate than Stone Edge and cannot be easily PP stalled. However, if you really do not like Gyarados then Stone Edge is an option.</p>
<p>The EVs are designed to allow Hippowdon to always survive a Choice Specs Salamence's Draco Meteor, and by extension a Choice Specs Heatran's Fire Blast. 32 EVs in Defense is the first bonus point Hippowdon gets for having an Impish nature, and the rest of the points are placed in Attack.</p>
<p>If you want your Hippowdon to pack a little more oomph, a Life Orb can be used. If your opponent lacks strong special attacks he will have little chance of taking down Hippowdon anyway, and it can simply Slack Off if its health gets too low.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Crunch
move 3: Stone Edge / Ice Fang
move 4: Fire Fang / Slack Off / Toxic
item: Choice Band
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 124 Atk / 132 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Choice Band Hippowdon is used most effectively once a little information on the opponent's team has been gathered, so that it can surprise with massive damage right away.</p>
<p>The last slot is a matter of preference. Fire Fang is the primary option, as it allows for reasonable damage against the common switch-in Bronzong as well as massive damage to Forretress and a OHKO on Scizor. Slack Off is also viable, as Hippowdon is certainly capable of switching in and scaring off Pokemon like Lucario and Tyranitar, and late game the recovery can keep it alive long enough to get in a couple more Choice Band boosted attacks. Toxic is also a decent option, but since Celebi, Skarmory, and Bronzong are all Common switch-ins, being locked into Toxic often equates to free turns for your opponent.<p>
<p>The EVs are designed with Salamence and Lucario in mind. The HP and Defensive EVs allow Hippowdon to survive both an Adamant Salamence's Dragon Danced Life Orb Outrage and an Adamant Lucario's Life Orb Swords Dance Close Combat, and the Attack EVs are then enough to OHKO both with the proper Super Effective attack. Gyarados is similarly dispensed, usually falling to Stone Edge even after Intimidate. Crunch is absolutely vital to this moveset, since it can 2HKO both Celebi and the Rotom formes, thus clearing out two of the most annoying and difficult to KO pokemon in the game.</p>
[SET]
name: Stockpilopotamus (caelum edit: what the hell name is this?)
move 1: Stockpile
move 2: Roar
move 3: Slack Off
move 4: Earthquake / Toxic
item: Leftovers
nature: Impish
evs: 176 HP / 84 Def / 248 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Hippowdon is probably the only Pokemon in the game that can make good use of the Defense boosts granted by Stockpile. After a single Stockpile Hippowdon becomes incredibly difficult to KO without Toxic, able to survive a Grass Knot from Celebi with 40 Special Attack EVs (probably the highest you will encounter on the common defensive sets) and a Waterfall from Adamant Life Orb Gyarados and Roar them away with over half of its health left, factoring in Leftovers. Half health may seem low, but the only other even remotely common things that could subsequently KO Hippowdon are offensive Life Orb Suicune, Choice Specs Salamence, and Choice Specs Heatran, so it is likely that Hippowdon will be able to Slack Off afterward. After a second Stockpile there are few things in OU which can even 3HKO the sandy Hippopotamus.</p>
<p>This set is designed for use with entry hazards, preferably Stealth Rock and at least one layer of Spikes. You will likely find that it is incredibly easy to get multiple defense boosts via Stockpile, and with its then huge Defenses Hippowdon can spam Roar and Slack Off when needed. Since the main things it fears are Toxic and faster Phazers, this set is mainly recommended as a countermeasure against offensive teams. Since their members rarely have a way to heal and almost never use Toxic, their only option is to hope for a critical hit, which even then might not deal the damage necessary to take down Hippowdon. If your opponent is not running offense this set is still useful; however you should pack a cleric if you can, and try to get it out early in the match to scout your opponent's team and movesets to at least gain an advantage in knowledge.</p>
<p>Earthquake is the recommended move in the last slot, in order to give Hippowdon an option in case there is something that needs to be taken out immediately (such as a Blissey that was just Roared into entry hazards), and since it is likely that Hippowdon will be used on a stall team which is already using Toxic Spikes. It is also useful to KO an opposing Pokemon immediately instead of waiting for Roar to do the job, since Hippowdon unfortunately cannot avoid critical hits forever. However, If you are not worried about these things or simply want some poison damage on your team, Toxic is just as good of a choice. Since you have Roar anyway you don't really have to worry about Substitutes, so everything that isn't immune on your opponent's team is likely going to be taking poison damage before long. Taunt is hardly an issue since all the common Taunters - Azelf, Gyarados, and Gliscor - are immune to Earthquake anyway.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Although Hippowdon has a disappointingly shallow movepool, there are a few other useful moves it can employ.</p>
<p>Yawn is an alternative to Roar. It will never miss, even if a Pokémon’s evasion is raised (due to Sand Veil or Snow Cloak, for example), and it is useful for creating switches to rack up more entry damage and to make well-informed double switches. However, it makes Hippowdon extremely vulnerable to Substitute users, and it becomes worthless once Sleep Clause is in effect.</p>
<p>If you feel like going for paralysis, Body Slam can be used in the fourth moveslot of any set. This can provide vital support for a slow- to medium-speed team, but with a mediocre 85 base power, poor coverage, and only a 30% chance to paralyze, there are usually better options.</p>
<p>If you really do not like Blissey then Superpower is also an option, but its coverage is almost pointless against every other Pokemon, and if you fail to take down the pink blob in one shot she can easily Softboiled the damage away while taking less and less damage from Superpower. The Defense drop is also a huge blow to Hippowdon’s walling capabilities, and it will likely be forced to switch out afterwards.</p>
[EVs]
<p>Max HP and a heavy investment in Defense is needed to effectively counter Tyranitar and to have a chance to survive two STABed 120 power attacks from high attack Pokémon holding a Choice Band, such as Salamence. If you choose to run Curse, you may want to add some Special Defense, and if you are running Stockpile then you should be applying Special Defense in bulk. No matter what set you run, you should remember that maximum HP and 88 Special Defense EVs will cause Hippowdon to be only 3HKOed by Sub / Punch Tyranitar's Ice Beam, making it an almost guaranteed counter to any Tyranitar set (beware, though, as come CB Tyranitars carry Aqua Tail to 2HKO Hippowdon).</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Hippowdon is arguably the best starter there is for a stall team, with his Sand Stream ability, Stealth Rock to start residual damage early, and Roar to stop set-up attempts. Outside of stall he is restricted by his low Special Defense and Speed paired with what is not really amazing Attack, but he is still useful, especially when running a Curse set. The bottom line is that if you are looking for a physically bulky Pokemon or a phazer, then Hippowdon is a sure bet, but if you have another role to fill you should probably look elsewhere.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Defensive Hippowdon's lack of attacking power hurts it here. Any special attacker with moderate defense and no Ground weakness will switch in happily. Special mention goes to both Bronzong, who resists all of Hippowdon's attacks, is immune to Toxic, and will almost certainly 2HKO with Grass Knot, and Skarmory, who takes negligible damage from everything Hippowdon runs, can use Spikes after it switches in, and has a Whirlwind that makes Hippowdon’s Roar useless. Gyarados will happily set up on any set without Stone Edge. Celebi and the other bulky Water-types switch in on just about anything and force it out with a STAB Grass Knot or Surf, and depending on the set they may be able to set up as well.</p>
Due to Hippowdon's small usable movepool I have only added one set (Stockpile), but if anyone else has suggestions I would be glad to hear them! Oh and sorry in advance for any grammatical errors and typos and what not; it's hard to find mistakes in your own writing =P
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/hippowdon
[SET]
Name: Physical Wall
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Slack Off
move 3: Stealth Rock
move 4: Roar / Toxic / Stone Edge / Ice Fang
item: Leftovers
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>As far as physical walling goes, you won't find many Pokémon better than Hippowdon in DP. Rock resistance, 10% better overall physical Defense than Skarmory, and a one turn recovery move without any drawback makes Hippowdon a hard Pokémon to budge. It is easily the best Tyranitar switch-in in the game, it is a solid counter to Salamence which is not weak to Fire Blast, and it is never OHKOed by Lucario even after a Swords Dance. Not including Explosion and Selfdestruct, no Pokémon in the game can OHKO Hippowdon with any physical attack.</p>
<P>With amazing defenses and a rather shallow support movepool, Hippowdon is a perfect candidate for use of Stealth Rock. It can set up the entry hazard and then use Slack Off to recover any damage it takes, and it can even utilize Roar effectively to pile up residual damage on your opponent's team. Ice Fang may seem like it has good coverage, but it is only more powerful than Earthquake against Flying-types, which frequently employ Roost anyway. Salamence and Flygon are really the only Pokemon that Ice Fang deals significant damage to; Salamence is almost as crippled by Roar, and Flygon is rare and is not going to deal much damage to Hippowdon anyway. Stone Edge deals more damage to Flying-types, notably Gyarados, who loves to switch into Hippowdon. Finally, Toxic is a great move all around and goes perfectly with Hippowdon's stalling capabilities, though you should watch out for Substitute.</p>
<p>If you already have a Stealth Rock user, you can replace Stealth Rock with any of the moves suggested in the fourth moveslot.</p>
[SET]
name: CurseHippo
move 1: Curse
move 2: Slack Off
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Ice Fang / Stone Edge
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 48 Atk / 32 Def / 172 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Hippowdon has impressive attacking capability with 112 Base Attack, and Curse amplifies it while reducing Hippowdon's already-pathetic Speed stat. Here Ice Fang is preferred over Stone Edge since Curse boosts its power, and it is significantly more accurate than Stone Edge and cannot be easily PP stalled. However, if you really do not like Gyarados then Stone Edge is an option.</p>
<p>The EVs are designed to allow Hippowdon to always survive a Choice Specs Salamence's Draco Meteor, and by extension a Choice Specs Heatran's Fire Blast. 32 EVs in Defense is the first bonus point Hippowdon gets for having an Impish nature, and the rest of the points are placed in Attack.</p>
<p>If you want your Hippowdon to pack a little more oomph, a Life Orb can be used. If your opponent lacks strong special attacks he will have little chance of taking down Hippowdon anyway, and it can simply Slack Off if its health gets too low.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Crunch
move 3: Stone Edge / Ice Fang
move 4: Fire Fang / Slack Off / Toxic
item: Choice Band
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 124 Atk / 132 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Choice Band Hippowdon is used most effectively once a little information on the opponent's team has been gathered, so that it can surprise with massive damage right away.</p>
<p>The last slot is a matter of preference. Fire Fang is the primary option, as it allows for reasonable damage against the common switch-in Bronzong as well as massive damage to Forretress and a OHKO on Scizor. Slack Off is also viable, as Hippowdon is certainly capable of switching in and scaring off Pokemon like Lucario and Tyranitar, and late game the recovery can keep it alive long enough to get in a couple more Choice Band boosted attacks. Toxic is also a decent option, but since Celebi, Skarmory, and Bronzong are all Common switch-ins, being locked into Toxic often equates to free turns for your opponent.<p>
<p>The EVs are designed with Salamence and Lucario in mind. The HP and Defensive EVs allow Hippowdon to survive both an Adamant Salamence's Dragon Danced Life Orb Outrage and an Adamant Lucario's Life Orb Swords Dance Close Combat, and the Attack EVs are then enough to OHKO both with the proper Super Effective attack. Gyarados is similarly dispensed, usually falling to Stone Edge even after Intimidate. Crunch is absolutely vital to this moveset, since it can 2HKO both Celebi and the Rotom formes, thus clearing out two of the most annoying and difficult to KO pokemon in the game.</p>
[SET]
name: Stockpilopotamus (caelum edit: what the hell name is this?)
move 1: Stockpile
move 2: Roar
move 3: Slack Off
move 4: Earthquake / Toxic
item: Leftovers
nature: Impish
evs: 176 HP / 84 Def / 248 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Hippowdon is probably the only Pokemon in the game that can make good use of the Defense boosts granted by Stockpile. After a single Stockpile Hippowdon becomes incredibly difficult to KO without Toxic, able to survive a Grass Knot from Celebi with 40 Special Attack EVs (probably the highest you will encounter on the common defensive sets) and a Waterfall from Adamant Life Orb Gyarados and Roar them away with over half of its health left, factoring in Leftovers. Half health may seem low, but the only other even remotely common things that could subsequently KO Hippowdon are offensive Life Orb Suicune, Choice Specs Salamence, and Choice Specs Heatran, so it is likely that Hippowdon will be able to Slack Off afterward. After a second Stockpile there are few things in OU which can even 3HKO the sandy Hippopotamus.</p>
<p>This set is designed for use with entry hazards, preferably Stealth Rock and at least one layer of Spikes. You will likely find that it is incredibly easy to get multiple defense boosts via Stockpile, and with its then huge Defenses Hippowdon can spam Roar and Slack Off when needed. Since the main things it fears are Toxic and faster Phazers, this set is mainly recommended as a countermeasure against offensive teams. Since their members rarely have a way to heal and almost never use Toxic, their only option is to hope for a critical hit, which even then might not deal the damage necessary to take down Hippowdon. If your opponent is not running offense this set is still useful; however you should pack a cleric if you can, and try to get it out early in the match to scout your opponent's team and movesets to at least gain an advantage in knowledge.</p>
<p>Earthquake is the recommended move in the last slot, in order to give Hippowdon an option in case there is something that needs to be taken out immediately (such as a Blissey that was just Roared into entry hazards), and since it is likely that Hippowdon will be used on a stall team which is already using Toxic Spikes. It is also useful to KO an opposing Pokemon immediately instead of waiting for Roar to do the job, since Hippowdon unfortunately cannot avoid critical hits forever. However, If you are not worried about these things or simply want some poison damage on your team, Toxic is just as good of a choice. Since you have Roar anyway you don't really have to worry about Substitutes, so everything that isn't immune on your opponent's team is likely going to be taking poison damage before long. Taunt is hardly an issue since all the common Taunters - Azelf, Gyarados, and Gliscor - are immune to Earthquake anyway.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Although Hippowdon has a disappointingly shallow movepool, there are a few other useful moves it can employ.</p>
<p>Yawn is an alternative to Roar. It will never miss, even if a Pokémon’s evasion is raised (due to Sand Veil or Snow Cloak, for example), and it is useful for creating switches to rack up more entry damage and to make well-informed double switches. However, it makes Hippowdon extremely vulnerable to Substitute users, and it becomes worthless once Sleep Clause is in effect.</p>
<p>If you feel like going for paralysis, Body Slam can be used in the fourth moveslot of any set. This can provide vital support for a slow- to medium-speed team, but with a mediocre 85 base power, poor coverage, and only a 30% chance to paralyze, there are usually better options.</p>
<p>If you really do not like Blissey then Superpower is also an option, but its coverage is almost pointless against every other Pokemon, and if you fail to take down the pink blob in one shot she can easily Softboiled the damage away while taking less and less damage from Superpower. The Defense drop is also a huge blow to Hippowdon’s walling capabilities, and it will likely be forced to switch out afterwards.</p>
[EVs]
<p>Max HP and a heavy investment in Defense is needed to effectively counter Tyranitar and to have a chance to survive two STABed 120 power attacks from high attack Pokémon holding a Choice Band, such as Salamence. If you choose to run Curse, you may want to add some Special Defense, and if you are running Stockpile then you should be applying Special Defense in bulk. No matter what set you run, you should remember that maximum HP and 88 Special Defense EVs will cause Hippowdon to be only 3HKOed by Sub / Punch Tyranitar's Ice Beam, making it an almost guaranteed counter to any Tyranitar set (beware, though, as come CB Tyranitars carry Aqua Tail to 2HKO Hippowdon).</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Hippowdon is arguably the best starter there is for a stall team, with his Sand Stream ability, Stealth Rock to start residual damage early, and Roar to stop set-up attempts. Outside of stall he is restricted by his low Special Defense and Speed paired with what is not really amazing Attack, but he is still useful, especially when running a Curse set. The bottom line is that if you are looking for a physically bulky Pokemon or a phazer, then Hippowdon is a sure bet, but if you have another role to fill you should probably look elsewhere.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Defensive Hippowdon's lack of attacking power hurts it here. Any special attacker with moderate defense and no Ground weakness will switch in happily. Special mention goes to both Bronzong, who resists all of Hippowdon's attacks, is immune to Toxic, and will almost certainly 2HKO with Grass Knot, and Skarmory, who takes negligible damage from everything Hippowdon runs, can use Spikes after it switches in, and has a Whirlwind that makes Hippowdon’s Roar useless. Gyarados will happily set up on any set without Stone Edge. Celebi and the other bulky Water-types switch in on just about anything and force it out with a STAB Grass Knot or Surf, and depending on the set they may be able to set up as well.</p>
