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Know Your Pokemon

Lorshinator replied to wraith89's topic in Team Building Discussion

[sprite]450[/sprite] #450: Hippowdon Type: Ground Ability: Sand Stream / Sand Force (Dream World) Base stats: 108/112/118/68/74/47 Difficulty: Intermediate Hello desert hippo! Hippowdon is famous in gen 4 and onwards for being the second sandstorm inducer! That means that Hippowdon was a very common pokemon due to it's hefty bulk, strength, some interesting moves and above all, sand stream, making it a viable option for any weather team. In gen 5, however, it's lost it's status as an OU and now is treading the path of UU, unfortunately. What? Why? Well, let's start of with it's strengths. First and foremost, look at it's physical stats. Pretty nice eh? This thing is probably, in Gen 5, amongst the bulkiest pokemon in all of UU with it's high HP and defence, making it bulkier than Donphan, the most common UU. Hippowdon's goodiness doesn't stop there, since it has an impressive base attack of 112, allowing it to hit things it doesn't like very well. It's ground typing is excellent and doesn't have too many weaknesses either. With it's ability, sand stream, it induces a semi-permanent sandstorm. This is the primary reason for using it. Being a great inducer of weather, sending it out will support your entire team, if need be. Unlike the underestimated DW Politoed, however, Hippowdon can still serve well after summoning weather. It hits hard, can set up stealth rocks, be a great phazer with roar/whirlwind, and my personal favourite, immediate recovery with slack off! I also would prefer Sand Stream over Sand force, since Hippowdon requires a sandstorm to make use of it, unless you have a Tyranitar in tow or something. Hippowdon is used primarily as a phazer or defensive instead of a utility/offensive such as Donphan. If you need a physical UU pokemon that can take hits very well and hit back well physically or need a pokemon with sandstream, here you go! But like all pokemon, it's far from perfect. In OU, which is trolled by many physical attackers in the past, Hippowdon's entrance to UU brings many, and I mean many, special attackers. This is his sore spot, as Hippwdon has a bit of trouble dealing with special attackers. Many of them can easily come in and shy Hippowdon away, since unlike Tyranitar, he does not get a special defence boost from weather. Also, poisoning him can easily cause him to perish over time, and if taunted, he cannot phaze at all. Hippowdon is very scared of any water type special attacker faster than it or able to take a hit. Empoleon may be weak to ground, but if timed right, can jump right in and destroy it. Grass pokemon scare it a lot too, such as Venusaur, Lilligant, Whimsicott, the list could go on. Also, many electric pokemon can take a huge chunk of his HP with a super effective hidden power. It's also tremendously slow, and this can be a problem. If he tries using rocks, DW Xaut/Espeon can come in and wall him very well, unless he has crunch or stone edge. Pretty much any nameable special attacking water, grass, or ice type cause him to flee in terror. As mentioned earlier, toxic and burns really cripple Hippowdon without a cleric. However, despite this, Hippowdon is a fearsome new addition to UU and caution should be taken when you see one, for this sand hippopotamus can cause a lot of problems for any team, and serve well on your team, regardless if you need the weather or not. Notable moves: Stealth rock, Earthquake, Crunch, Ice fang, fire fang, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, yawn, Curse, Slack off, Toxic, roar, whirlwind, Revenge, Super Power, Stockpile, Useful Items: Leftovers, rocky helmet, sitrus berry, lum berry, ground gem, Counters: Empoleon, Slowbro, Vaporeon, Milotic, Roserade, Sceptile, Jellicent, Blastoise, Ferrothorn, Starmie, Quagsire, Torterra, Whimsicott, Lilligant

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