Amaranth
UPL Champion
[OVERVIEW]
Hypno has the best typing in RBY, serviceable base stats, and the uncommon ability to spread both sleep and paralysis through Hypnosis and Thunder Wave. While these qualities are good in a vacuum, Hypno is unfortunately outclassed by the most dominant Psychic-types in the tier; Starmie and Alakazam have Recover, while Exeggutor has Explosion, giving all three great options to play out of potentially difficult situations. Hypno, meanwhile, is stuck with Rest as its only recovery option and no way to match or break through its Psychic-type cousins in most scenarios. This means that Hypno struggles both defensively and offensively in practice, failing to find real defensive niches and to threaten much more than Thunder Wave on its Psychic-type foes.
Hypno's niche mostly exists alongside these superior Psychic-types, rather than in their place, offering unusual options its competitors lack or struggle to combine. For example, one may use their Exeggutor to lure a paralyzed target into blocking its Sleep Powder, KO it with Explosion, and then follow up with Hypno's Hypnosis for easy sleep. However, there are two use cases for Hypno as a primary Psychic-type that are worth mentioning. Hypno is better than either Jynx or Exeggutor at sleeping a foe, spreading paralysis, and later absorbing sleep thanks to its decent Defense, which allows it to run Rest without being overwhelmingly punished, thus potentially healing its own paralysis so that it may absorb sleep at a later point. Jynx struggles with using Rest due to its terrible Defense, while Exeggutor struggles because of Ice-type moves breaking its Rest cycles. Hypno's diverse toolkit also includes oddball moves such as Submission, which allows for more pressure on Chansey than the other Psychic-types can usually offer, and it can lead to some extremely favorable scenarios with some lucky paralysis and critical hits. These advantages are incredibly specific and marginal, though, so Hypno is nothing more than a fringe pick in RBY OU.
[SET]
name: Double Status
move 1: Hypnosis
move 2: Thunder Wave
move 3: Psychic
move 4: Seismic Toss / Rest
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Hypno's main draw is Hypnosis, as it incapacitates a Pokemon in a single turn, possibly making one would-be counter into nothing more than a momentum sink. The second best option against these counters is Thunder Wave; this won't help Hypno break through them much, but it will at least enable its teammates to do so. A number of options contest the fourth moveslot: Seismic Toss is the most common and appealing, as it is Hypno's best bet at pressuring Psychic-types. Rest allows it to stick around for longer, shrugging off weaker attacks from many special attackers, though it can be difficult for Hypno to wake up in the presence of strong physical attackers such as Tauros, Snorlax, and Rhydon.
Hypno's toothlessness against Alakazam and Starmie can most easily be addressed by an Explosion teammate that can lure and remove them—Exeggutor being by far the most reliable, though Gengar can also lure in the former. Once either is removed, Hypno's sleep and paralysis can actually significantly improve one's odds in the endgame. Endgames are usually left for Pokemon that are very dangerous but also very fragile, such as tier icon Tauros, for which Thunder Wave is often a death sentence. Alternatively, if one really needs to cripple Alakazam, Starmie, or Chansey for a teammate, Hypno's strong Psychic will most often force players to expose one of those three targets to its Thunder Wave, which can be very useful for specific teammates trying to break through them. Ultimately, though, this is no different from Alakazam's ability to force Thunder Wave onto special sponges, and Alakazam outclasses Hypno in most scenarios, so make sure you have further reasons to select Hypno—such as Hypnosis—if your primary goal is to paralyze special sponges.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Hypno can run a moveset of Hypnosis / Thunder Wave / Reflect / Rest, preferably as a lead. It allows Hypno to land Hypnosis, then paralyze any potential switch-ins, and then simply sit in place with Reflect and Rest until the opponent gives in and puts it to sleep, activating Sleep Clause to keep all its teammates safe. However, should this plan not come to fruition, this set can become entirely useless. Other Reflect + Rest sets can also exist, as these moves make Hypno generally hard to take down, but it will generally struggle with making progress due to Hypno's lackluster offense.
Submission allows Hypno to break through Chansey with some luck between full paralysis and critical hits. However, it is pretty much useless otherwise, and the recoil will leave Hypno significantly weakened even if it cripples or KOes Chansey. Nevertheless, due to Chansey's omnipresence, it can be viable to lure it in and break through it with some consistency.
Hypno has access to Meditate, Body Slam, and Hyper Beam, which can theoretically help it break through its Psychic-type walls, but in practice it takes far too long to set up and will usually get KOed before dealing any significant damage. If it elects to run just Meditate + Body Slam or Hyper Beam + Reflect + Rest, then it won't be KOed too quickly, but it also won't be able to break through a vast number of foes, including Gengar, Rhydon, and Reflect Snorlax. Headbutt's 30% flinch chance can give Hypno odds to break through foes in the long run, but it comes at the cost of Base Power.
Hypno can use Toxic in conjunction with Rest to try and defeat its Psychic-type walls through extremely passive stalling, something that standard Hypno cannot achieve by any other means. However, Toxic has proven to be a generally unsuccessful strategy at high level play, with only occasional appearances and no results to write home about.
Counter can be used to try and catch Snorlax and Tauros, but Hypno already struggles for moveslots, and spending one for Counter generally leaves it much less useful in the long term, banking almost its entire utility on the ability to land one Counter.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Psychic-types with Recover**: Starmie and Alakazam are unthreatened by Hypno's entire movepool bar Hypnosis. Hypno is able to cripple them with Thunder Wave, but it is pretty much forced to switch out immediately after, as it has no prospects in a one-on-one matchup without an extremely unlikely run of Psychic Special drops.
**Psychic-types with Rest**: While they do not handle Hypno quite as comfortably as Psychic-types with Recover, Rest Jynx, Slowbro, and Exeggutor can generally stop it from making progress, especially if Hypno lacks Seismic Toss. Because Hypno will force them into passivity for a few turns, they are not quite as efficient as other checks. Slowbro deserves a special mention due to its ability to set up with Amnesia against Hypno.
**Chansey**: While it has to respect the potential for Submission, Chansey is entirely happy against any other Hypno set, and even when Hypno is running Submission, misses and recoil can often lead to its demise.
**Physical Attackers**: While not as frail as other Psychic-types, Hypno is still not physically bulky enough to shrug off attacks from the likes of Snorlax, Rhydon, and Tauros, unless it is running the rare Reflect. All of these Pokemon can trade hits favorably against Hypno, especially if it ever attempts to use Rest.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Amaranth, 265630]]
- Quality checked by: [[Plague von Karma, 236353], [EB0LA, 423005]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [CryoGyro, 331519]]
Hypno has the best typing in RBY, serviceable base stats, and the uncommon ability to spread both sleep and paralysis through Hypnosis and Thunder Wave. While these qualities are good in a vacuum, Hypno is unfortunately outclassed by the most dominant Psychic-types in the tier; Starmie and Alakazam have Recover, while Exeggutor has Explosion, giving all three great options to play out of potentially difficult situations. Hypno, meanwhile, is stuck with Rest as its only recovery option and no way to match or break through its Psychic-type cousins in most scenarios. This means that Hypno struggles both defensively and offensively in practice, failing to find real defensive niches and to threaten much more than Thunder Wave on its Psychic-type foes.
Hypno's niche mostly exists alongside these superior Psychic-types, rather than in their place, offering unusual options its competitors lack or struggle to combine. For example, one may use their Exeggutor to lure a paralyzed target into blocking its Sleep Powder, KO it with Explosion, and then follow up with Hypno's Hypnosis for easy sleep. However, there are two use cases for Hypno as a primary Psychic-type that are worth mentioning. Hypno is better than either Jynx or Exeggutor at sleeping a foe, spreading paralysis, and later absorbing sleep thanks to its decent Defense, which allows it to run Rest without being overwhelmingly punished, thus potentially healing its own paralysis so that it may absorb sleep at a later point. Jynx struggles with using Rest due to its terrible Defense, while Exeggutor struggles because of Ice-type moves breaking its Rest cycles. Hypno's diverse toolkit also includes oddball moves such as Submission, which allows for more pressure on Chansey than the other Psychic-types can usually offer, and it can lead to some extremely favorable scenarios with some lucky paralysis and critical hits. These advantages are incredibly specific and marginal, though, so Hypno is nothing more than a fringe pick in RBY OU.
[SET]
name: Double Status
move 1: Hypnosis
move 2: Thunder Wave
move 3: Psychic
move 4: Seismic Toss / Rest
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Hypno's main draw is Hypnosis, as it incapacitates a Pokemon in a single turn, possibly making one would-be counter into nothing more than a momentum sink. The second best option against these counters is Thunder Wave; this won't help Hypno break through them much, but it will at least enable its teammates to do so. A number of options contest the fourth moveslot: Seismic Toss is the most common and appealing, as it is Hypno's best bet at pressuring Psychic-types. Rest allows it to stick around for longer, shrugging off weaker attacks from many special attackers, though it can be difficult for Hypno to wake up in the presence of strong physical attackers such as Tauros, Snorlax, and Rhydon.
Hypno's toothlessness against Alakazam and Starmie can most easily be addressed by an Explosion teammate that can lure and remove them—Exeggutor being by far the most reliable, though Gengar can also lure in the former. Once either is removed, Hypno's sleep and paralysis can actually significantly improve one's odds in the endgame. Endgames are usually left for Pokemon that are very dangerous but also very fragile, such as tier icon Tauros, for which Thunder Wave is often a death sentence. Alternatively, if one really needs to cripple Alakazam, Starmie, or Chansey for a teammate, Hypno's strong Psychic will most often force players to expose one of those three targets to its Thunder Wave, which can be very useful for specific teammates trying to break through them. Ultimately, though, this is no different from Alakazam's ability to force Thunder Wave onto special sponges, and Alakazam outclasses Hypno in most scenarios, so make sure you have further reasons to select Hypno—such as Hypnosis—if your primary goal is to paralyze special sponges.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Hypno can run a moveset of Hypnosis / Thunder Wave / Reflect / Rest, preferably as a lead. It allows Hypno to land Hypnosis, then paralyze any potential switch-ins, and then simply sit in place with Reflect and Rest until the opponent gives in and puts it to sleep, activating Sleep Clause to keep all its teammates safe. However, should this plan not come to fruition, this set can become entirely useless. Other Reflect + Rest sets can also exist, as these moves make Hypno generally hard to take down, but it will generally struggle with making progress due to Hypno's lackluster offense.
Submission allows Hypno to break through Chansey with some luck between full paralysis and critical hits. However, it is pretty much useless otherwise, and the recoil will leave Hypno significantly weakened even if it cripples or KOes Chansey. Nevertheless, due to Chansey's omnipresence, it can be viable to lure it in and break through it with some consistency.
Hypno has access to Meditate, Body Slam, and Hyper Beam, which can theoretically help it break through its Psychic-type walls, but in practice it takes far too long to set up and will usually get KOed before dealing any significant damage. If it elects to run just Meditate + Body Slam or Hyper Beam + Reflect + Rest, then it won't be KOed too quickly, but it also won't be able to break through a vast number of foes, including Gengar, Rhydon, and Reflect Snorlax. Headbutt's 30% flinch chance can give Hypno odds to break through foes in the long run, but it comes at the cost of Base Power.
Hypno can use Toxic in conjunction with Rest to try and defeat its Psychic-type walls through extremely passive stalling, something that standard Hypno cannot achieve by any other means. However, Toxic has proven to be a generally unsuccessful strategy at high level play, with only occasional appearances and no results to write home about.
Counter can be used to try and catch Snorlax and Tauros, but Hypno already struggles for moveslots, and spending one for Counter generally leaves it much less useful in the long term, banking almost its entire utility on the ability to land one Counter.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Psychic-types with Recover**: Starmie and Alakazam are unthreatened by Hypno's entire movepool bar Hypnosis. Hypno is able to cripple them with Thunder Wave, but it is pretty much forced to switch out immediately after, as it has no prospects in a one-on-one matchup without an extremely unlikely run of Psychic Special drops.
**Psychic-types with Rest**: While they do not handle Hypno quite as comfortably as Psychic-types with Recover, Rest Jynx, Slowbro, and Exeggutor can generally stop it from making progress, especially if Hypno lacks Seismic Toss. Because Hypno will force them into passivity for a few turns, they are not quite as efficient as other checks. Slowbro deserves a special mention due to its ability to set up with Amnesia against Hypno.
**Chansey**: While it has to respect the potential for Submission, Chansey is entirely happy against any other Hypno set, and even when Hypno is running Submission, misses and recoil can often lead to its demise.
**Physical Attackers**: While not as frail as other Psychic-types, Hypno is still not physically bulky enough to shrug off attacks from the likes of Snorlax, Rhydon, and Tauros, unless it is running the rare Reflect. All of these Pokemon can trade hits favorably against Hypno, especially if it ever attempts to use Rest.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Amaranth, 265630]]
- Quality checked by: [[Plague von Karma, 236353], [EB0LA, 423005]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [CryoGyro, 331519]]
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