[Overview]
<p>No matter how you look at it, Hippowdon is probably one of the most powerful forces to drop into UU. As the only fully evolved inducer of sandstorm in the tier, it has the ability to support whole teams revolving around sandstorm with Sand Stream. Even teams that don't need sandstorm can use Hippowdon with success, as it can remove the other major weather in the tier: hail. Hippowdon is one of the, if not the most, physically bulky Pokemon in UU, which means it can work admirably as a wall that can take on many of the prominent physical threats in the metagame. It also has a surprising amount of power, boasting a base 112 Attack and a decent offensive movepool to choose from, allowing it to go offensive as well as defensive.</p>
<p>With all these perks there must inevitably be drawbacks, and Hippowdon has a few of those. Although it's more physically bulky than Skarmory up in OU, it's Special Defense definitely leaves something to be desired, and can be easily preyed on by the many special attackers residing in UU carrying either a super effective STAB move or Grass Knot to maim Hippowdon. Hippowdon's Speed is also very bad, and though it helps in situations when both it and Abomasnow are sent out in the beginning of a match, it also means that Hippowdon can only outspeed the slowest of Pokemon in UU. However, despite these glaring flaws, Hippowdon still has excellent potential on any team that needs its services.</p>
[SET]
name: Physical Wall
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Slack Off
move 3: Stealth Rock
move 4: Toxic / Stone Edge / Roar
item: Leftovers
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Thanks to its stellar HP and Defense, Hippowdon has the capability of tanking hits from some of the most prominent physical attackers in the tier while also having the capability of hitting hard in return or supporting your team with Stealth Rock or Toxic support. Hippowdon's presence on the field also changes the weather to sandstorm, which can be critical late in a match if the opponent has a different weather up. Earthquake is Hippowdon's main attacking move, having excellent neutral coverage and hitting a good portion of UU for neutral or super effective damage. It is easily powerful enough to take out somewhat quasi-defensive Pokemon such as Arcanine in two hits, and can allow Hippowdon to take out another prominent wall, Registeel, if the it lacks Toxic. Slack Off is Hippowdon's ace in the hole so to speak, as it allows Hippowdon to regain up to half of its HP that may have been lost either through passive damage or attacks.</p>
<p>Though Earthquake and Slack Off are usually enough to fulfill Hippowdon's basic purpose of staying alive as long as possible while still maintaining an offensive presence, the other two moves Hippowdon carries allow it to further increase its usefulness to your team. Stealth Rock is an excellent move in Hippowdon's arsenal, forcing the opponent to take at least some damage whenever switching in the field and putting pressure on the opponent in general. The final moveslot is usually dependent on what you want Hippowdon to take on easier, seeing as each option functions completely different from the other. Toxic allows Hippowdon to neutralize bulkier threats and allows it subsequently to stall out the opponent to death with poison damage. It also significantly decreases the lifespan of any sweeper coming to take advantage of Hippowdon. Stone Edge is a decent offensive option in that final moveslot as well, forming excellent neutral coverage alongside Earthquake. The infamous EdgeQuake combo hits a good portion of UU for neutral damage, which is a major plus. Another interesting thing to note about Stone Edge is that Xatu, the only user of Magic Bounce in UU, is hit super effectively, meaning that if you can dispatch of it, Hippowdon can safely set down Stealth Rock. Lastly, Roar is a neat idea to try for Hippowdon's fourth move, as it allows Hippowdon to not only force any threatening opponents off of the field, but also rack up entry hazard damage on the incoming Pokemon, possibly from Stealth Rock that Hippowdon set up.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread given may be simple, but it still gets the job done for Hippowdon. Maximum investment in HP and Defense allow Hippowdon to survive as many physical hits as possible. An Impish nature helps to further increase Hippowdon's massive Defense, hitting 368 Defense when all is said and done. As a minor note, maximum defensive investment is also the only way it can survive more than 2 Earthquakes from Choice Band Rhyperior, meaning Hippowdon can check one of the most powerful stallbreakers in UU if used correctly. The final 4 EVs are put into Special Defense to give Hippowdon a small buffer against special attackers. Leftovers is the preferred item, as it gives it consistent recovery over the span of a match. It also neutralizes any damage that Hippowdon will take from hail, which is useful in certain situations.</p>
<p>Hippowdon can run a specially defensive spread to compensate for its meager Special Defense, but that is better left to much more adept Pokemon such as Chansey and, to a lesser extent, Snorlax. If you do decide to run such a spread, keep in mind that although you will be able to take some special hits easier, you will also be slightly compromising Hippowdon's physically defensive capabilities; in most cases, these drawbacks will outweigh the possible benefits. In terms of possible moves Hippowdon can use, the only noticeable option is Ice Fang, which can be used to hit Flygon for super effective damage, as well as Donphan, which removes any Stealth Rock you lay down with Rapid Spin. However, both can be stalled out using a combination of Toxic and Slack Off, nullifying most benefits that one may receive from using Ice Fang.</p>
<p>Hippowdon's weak Special Defense makes a specially defensive teammate almost a mandate. Chansey fills this role very nicely, being able to tank any and all special hits for Hippowdon bar the relatively rare boosted Psyshock. However, as Chansey is usually running Eviolite, it can't heal off sandstorm damage without using Wish, which can be problematic at times. If this is discouraging, you can try other special walls such as Snorlax or Umbreon, which don't have to worry as much about sandstorm damage. Regardless, all of the aforementioned Pokemon benefit from Hippowdon's presence as well, as Hippowdon can cover their weaker Defense. Abusers of Sand Stream are also interesting teammates to pair with Hippowdon, seeing as many of them become very tough to face when under sandstorm. Lastly, Toxic Spikes puts a big damper in Hippowdon's otherwise wonderful bulk, so a Poison-type is interesting idea to take care of that. Rapid Spin support is also an option to get rid of Toxic Spikes.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Crunch
move 4: Ice Fang / Fire Fang
item: Choice Band
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Although Hippowdon, more often than not, will be used defensively, it also is perfectly able to go fully offensive when carrying a Choice Band. Boasting a base 112 Attack stat, one of the highest in UU, Hippowdon is able to smash through just about anything that isn't extremely physically bulky using a combination of STAB Earthquake and coverage moves. As an added plus, even without investment in Hippowdon's defenses, Hippowdon still has more than enough bulk to survive many physical hits, an attribute which many more offensive Pokemon would kill to have. Earthquake is the main move on this set, and is the gold standard in terms of balancing offensive power with reliability. Earthquake demolishes just about anything that doesn't resist it, even 2HKOing all forms of Deoxys-D and Rhyperior when Spikes are on the field. As such, you will usually be using it the most. Stone Edge in conjunction with Earthquake provides excellent coverage, allowing you to scout for any incoming switch-ins to Earthquake while still taking out most of the things that are immune to Earthquake in one or two hits.</p>
<p>Due to Hippowdon's excellent coverage, its last two moveslots are not necessarily as important in most situations, but they can still prove vital when used correctly. Crunch soundly smacks any Psychic-type switch-ins, as well as prominent Ghost-types such as Mismagius and Dusclops, both of which prove problematic for other variants of Hippowdon. The final moveslot generally depends on what you think Hippowdon needs to cover for your team. Ice Fang provides a solid hit on Flygon and opposing Ground-types, while Fire Fang hits Escavalier and Heracross super effectively. Fire Fang also has the advantage of soundly OHKOing any Abomasnow intending to switch in on a resisted attack.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs, again, are relatively simplistic and allow Hippowdon to function as needed. Maximum HP allows Hippowdon to maintain nice overall bulk, and maximum Attack lets Hippowdon hit like a truck after the boost from Choice Band. An Adamant nature is preferred, as it gives Hippowdon as high of an Attack stat it can possibly reach. You can put some of your HP EVs into Special Defense to help against special attacks, but it doesn't help Hippowdon too much.</p>
<p>Aside from the options shown above, Hippowdon has surprisingly few moves to choose from. Superpower is an interesting option, but hits nothing noticeably harder than a STAB Earthquake, apart from Chansey, which has a small chance of being KOed with Stealth Rock, and is KOed with a layer of Spikes on the field. Aside from that, Hippowdon can run a non-offensive move on this set to help bluff a defensive set, Slack Off and Toxic being the most logical.</p>
<p>Again, teammates that can take advantage of sand are good ideas, such as Cobalion and Rhyperior. Special attackers are also good teammates to help weaken or take out physical walls that would stand in Hippowdon's way. Entry hazard support is an absolute must, as it makes many of Hippowdon's 2HKOes and OHKOes possible.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Hippowdon has a fairly small movepool to choose from, so there aren't really that many options to choose from besides the ones listed above. A boosting set capitalizing on Curse or Stockpile looks good on paper, but Hippowdon is too slow and has too low a Special Defense stat to fully abuse either. Yawn is an interesting option to force switches or make an opponent fall asleep if they decide to switch in. However, Roar and Toxic are usually better in their respective roles. Whirlwind has the same effect as Roar, but hits enemies with the ability Soundproof; however, it is incompatible with Stealth Rock, which is infinitely useful on Hippowdon. Rock Slide can be used over Stone Edge if you are worried about accuracy. Lastly, you can put 28 EVs into Speed to outspeed all Chansey, but it's the only really notable Pokemon Hippowdon is outspeeding with Speed investment.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Special attacks are the bane of Hippowdon's existence, as they can easily take advantage of the one weak point in Hippowdon's otherwise stellar bulk: its Special Defense. Bulkier attackers such as Shaymin and Suicune get an honorable mention, as they don't have to worry about taking a hit or two from Hippowdon. Powerful physical attackers with super effective attacks, such as Azumarill, can dispatch a weakened Hippowdon rather easily. However, be wary of its Choice Band set, as switching in on the wrong move may prove fatal.</p>
<p>Abomasnow is a solid switch-in to just about any move from Hippowdon, as it not only changes the weather against it, but can abuse STAB Blizzard to take it out with ease. Roserade also gets an honorable mention, as it can batter Hippowdon with STAB Grass-type moves, or put it to sleep and set up Toxic Spikes, which are incredibly painful for any Hippowdon. It must watch out for Earthquake though. Cresselia is immune to Earthquake and can come in on any move from the Choice Band set besides Crunch, retaliating to Hippowdon with Toxic or a moderately powerful Ice Beam. Cresselia can also set up Dual Screens to help a more threatening teammate come in as well.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Hippowdon is set to receive the Sand Force ability from the Dream World. While one of Hippowdon's biggest traits is the ability to bring sandstorm, teams solely using it for its physical walling capabilities will usually prefer a lack of Stealth Rock on Hippowdon as opposed to sandstorm damage. On a lesser note, Hippowdon can now use a much more powerful Earthquake and Stone Edge if it receives sandstorm support from Hippopotas.</p>
