ZU [BW] Hippopotas [GP 0/1]

[missangelic]

[SET]
name: Physical Wall
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Toxic / Rock Slide
move 4: Slack Off
item: Eviolite
ability: Sand Force
nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def

[SET COMMENTS]
A Ground typing, solid Eviolite-boosted bulk, and reliable recovery shape Hippopotas into a good wall to take on physical attackers like Lairon, Mienfoo, Muk, Arbok, and Pawniard. Even stronger physical wallbreakers like Slaking, Choice Band Exploud, and Guts Luxray struggle to break through Hippopotas's bulk on their own. Stealth Rock is a mandatory move for every team, and Hippopotas is a great user of the move, finding opportunities against top tier physical attackers like Lairon, Persian, and Muk. STAB Earthquake helps define Hippopotas's role as a counter to the Poison-types and Lairon, which are some of the most difficult Pokemon to check in the tier. Toxic is a catch-all move that synergizes well with STAB Earthquake and notably cripples Leafeon and Solrock, which could otherwise fully wall Hippopotas and threaten to setup or spread their own status. Rock Slide is a good alternative that 2HKOes Emolga and forces it to play mindgames versus Hippopotas's Earthquake when using Roost for recovery. Rock Slide helps Hippopotas to remain offensive versus other Flying-types like Pelipper. Hippopotas' Sand Stream ability is not legal in ZU, so it uses Sand Force.

Hippopotas best fits on bulkier teams looking to recruit a physically defensive backbone. The bulkier teams Hippopotas premiers on can complement it with a specially defensive partner like Clefairy, Meganium, or Grumpig. Clefairy is an especially amazing partner for Hippopotas thanks to its status immunity, great special bulk, and the freedom to use one of its many utility moves besides Stealth Rock. Clefairy appreciates Hippopotas beating one of Clefairy's best checks, Muk, and taking on other physical attackers like it. Choice Scarf Grumpig is a great check to special setup sweepers like Simisear that would threaten to break through Hippopotas. Frillish makes an excellent partner for Hippopotas, blocking Staryu's Rapid Spin, defusing physical attackers with Scald or Will-O-Wisp, and taking on problematic Pokemon like Kingler and Clefairy for Hippopotas. In turn, Frillish appreciates Hippopotas taking the strain off of it for checking Lairon, Arbok, and Muk. Leafeon or Meganium can alleviate status Hippopotas takes with Heal Bell or Aromatherapy respectively, while Ivysaur and Gloom are immune to Toxic; all of the aforementioned Grass-types take on problematic Water and Grass types for Hippopotas while appreciating its capacity to check Muk, Arbok, and Emolga for them. Staryu can absorb status for Hippopotas with Natural Cure. In exchange, Hippopotas takes pressure off of Staryu by checking physical attackers like Muk, Mienfoo, and Arbok for it, which can give it more opportunities to use Rapid Spin.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Hippopotas could run a specially defensive set with 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD and a Careful nature to face Raichu, Simisear, and Pikachu. However, Hippopotas's type makes it much more effective as a physical wall given its Ice and Water weaknesses make it vulnerable to common special attackers like Walrein, Glaceon, and Staryu. Hippopotas can run Whirlwind to phaze out switch-ins like Leafeon and Meganium, forming a nice synergy with Stealth Rock. Like with Toxic, running Whirlwind over Rock Slide makes Hippopotas more passive against Flying-types, and Whirlwind is ineffective if the opponent has one Pokemon remaining. Whirlwind can phaze setup sweepers like Shelgon, Grumpig, and Mothim, but Whirlwind is not useful for situations where the setup sweeper is the foe's last Pokemon. Body Slam gives Hippopotas a way to spread paralysis, which is less expected and irritating for Pokemon like Solrock, Emolga, and Leafeon.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Grass-Types**: Leafeon and Meganium take little damage from Hippopotas's Earthquake, have reliable recovery to stay healthy versus Hippopotas, threaten it out with their STAB moves, can use it as setup fodder, and can use it as a chance to support their their teammates with Heal Bell or Aromatherapy. Ivysaur and Gloom possess great physical bulk and reliable recovery, letting them take advantage of Hippopotas and threaten it out with their Grass-type STAB moves.

**Water-Types**: Most Water-types severely damage or OHKO Hippopotas with their STAB moves. Staryu, Frillish, and Pelipper have recovery to wall Hippopotas while they threaten it with Scald burns. Staryu and Frillish can disrupt Hippopotas' entry hazard setting with Rapid Spin and Taunt. Kingler, and Whiscash have good physical bulk, which enables all of them break through Hippopotas or use it as setup fodder. Walrein and Pelipper can come in as Stealth Rock is being set or on Hippopotas' Earthquake and threaten it out or exploit it to set up, but neither enjoys the additional chip damage from Stealth Rock.

**Bulky Pokemon**: Hippopotas' low damage output causes it to struggle against bulky foes. Solrock, Vibrava, and Vullaby are immune to Hippopotas' Earthquake, letting them switch in and recover. Bulky Toxic users such as Wormadam-S and Wormadam-G put Hippopotas on a timer and force it to use Slack Off more. Clefairy ignores Stealth Rock damage with Magic Guard and can abuse Hippopotas and support its team with its array of utility moves. Shelgon can use Hippopotas as setup fodder thanks to its bulk and is not bothered by Toxic with its Rest Talk set.

**Special Attackers**: Special attackers like Mr. Mime, Grumpig, and Simisear can easily break through Hippopotas due to its lower special bulk, though they don't want to take its Earthquake. Glaceon is especially threatening because it can OHKO Hippopotas with Ice Beam and doesn't take much damage from Hippopotas' attacks, though Hippopotas' Stealth Rock can wear it down. Raichu and Pikachu threaten Hippopotas with Hidden Power Ice on the switch but are OHKOed by Earthquake.

**Knock Off**: Physical attackers that Hippopotas would normally like to counter, like Persian, Emolga, and Mienfoo, can use Knock Off to remove a substantial part of Hippopotas' bulk, opening up themselves or a teammate to more easily KO it. Several Pokemon which wall Hippopotas like Ivysaur, Clefairy, and Pelipper commonly run Knock Off.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/missangelic.452572/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/monai.482455/
Grammar checked by:

 

[Gangsta Spongebob]

QC 1/2

QC 1/2

Add Remove Comments

[SET]
name: Physical Wall
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Rock Slide
move 4: Slack Off
item: Eviolite
ability: Sand Force
nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def

[SET COMMENTS]
A Ground typing, solid Eviolite-boosted bulk, and reliable recovery shape Hippopotas into a good wall to take on physical attackers like Lairon, Mienfoo, Muk, Arbok, and Pawniard. Even stronger physical wallbreakers like Slaking, Choice Band Exploud, and Guts Luxray struggle to break through Hippopotas's bulk on their own. Stealth Rock gives Hippopotas a way to rack up chip damage on offensive pivots like Emolga and Persian, making them easier to check, while punishing special attackers weak to Rock like Glaceon, Pelipper, and Walrein. Hippopotas' STAB Earthquake is decently powerful, 2HKOing Muk, Arbok, and Pawniard. You don't need to explain what Earthquake does Rock Slide 2HKOes Emolga and forces it to play mindgames versus Hippopotas's Earthquake when using Roost for recovery. Mention its ability to prevent Hippopotas from being total setup fodder to Flying-types Hippopotas' Sand Stream ability is not legal in ZU, so it uses Sand Force.
Added paragraph break
Hippopotas best fits on bulkier teams looking to recruit a physically defensive backbone. The bulkier teams Hippopotas premiers on can complement it with a specially defensive partner like Meganium, Clefairy, or Grumpig. Frillish makes an excellent partner for Hippopotas, blocking Staryu's attempts to Rapid Spin, defusing physical attackers further with Will-O-Wisp, and taking on problematic Pokemon like Kingler and Clefairy for Hippopotas. In turn, Frillish appreciates Hippopotas taking the strain off of it for checking Lairon, Arbok, and Muk. Leafeon or Meganium can alleviate status Hippopotas takes with Heal Bell or Aromatherapy respectively, while Ivysaur and Gloom are immune to Toxic; all of the aforementioned Grass-types take on problematic Water and Grass types for Hippopotas while appreciating its capacity to check Muk, Arbok, and Emolga for them. Staryu can absorb status for Hippopotas with Natural Cure. In exchange, Hippopotas takes pressure off of Staryu by checking Rock and Ground types Staryu doesn't have that many issues checking most Rock- and Ground-types, general physical attackers are a better example for it, which can give it more opportunities to use Rapid Spin.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Hippopotas could run a specially defensive set with 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD and a Careful nature to face Raichu, Simisear, and Pikachu. However, Hippopotas's type makes it much more effective as a physical wall given its Ice and Water weaknesses make it vulnerable to common special attackers like Walrein, Glaceon, and Staryu. Hippopotas could run Toxic over Rock Slide to put opposing walls like Solrock, Pelipper, Vullaby, Vibrava, and Frillish on a timer, but this makes Hippopotas more passive versus Flying-types such as Emolga or Quiver Dance and Mothim while checks to Hippopotas such as Staryu, Leafeon, and Meganium mitigate status with Natural Cure, Lum Berry, and Aromatherapy respectively. Hippopotas can run Whirlwind to phaze out switch-ins like Leafeon and Meganium, forming a nice synergy with Stealth Rock. Like with Toxic, running Whirlwind over Rock Slide makes Hippopotas more passive against Flying-types, and Whirlwind is ineffective if the opponent has one Pokemon remaining. Mention that Whirlwind can phaze setup sweepers, name drop some, explaining why a last-Pokemon situation can be an issue Body Slam gives Hippopotas a way to spread paralysis, which is less expected and irritating for Pokemon like Solrock, Emolga, and Leafeon.

Checks and Counters
===================
**Staryu**: Staryu is the most problematic Pokemon for Hippopotas. Staryu can Rapid Spin away Hippopotas' Stealth Rock, threaten to 2HKO Hippopotas with Scald and potentially burn it, and recover off any damage from Hippopotas Earthquake. As long as Staryu remains healthy enough with its Eviolite intact, it can repeatedly come in and threaten Hippopotas out. Tbf even if it takes a lot from EQ without Eviolite it can still do this pretty easily. Merge this with the Water-types section, and give Staryu a special emphasis.

**Grass-Types**: Leafeon and Meganium take little damage from Hippopotas's Earthquake and can threaten it out with their STAB moves and use it as setup fodder or a chance to use Heal Bell or Aromatherapy. Ivysaur and Gloom also possess great physical bulk and reliable recovery, letting them take advantage of Hippopotas and threaten it out with their Grass-type STAB moves.

**Water-Types**: Most Water-types threaten to severely damage or OHKO Hippopotas with their STAB moves. Kingler's good physical bulk, and access to Swords Dance and Agility let it break through Hippopotas or use it as setup fodder. Frillish takes little damage from Hippopotas, can burn it with Will-O-Wisp or Scald, and shuts down Hippopotas' recovery and entry hazard setting with Taunt. Walrein threatens Hippopotas with its STABs and can EV itself to make its Substitutes survive Hippopotas' Earthquake, though it dislikes taking chip damage from Stealth Rock and repeated hits from Hippopotas given its lacking recovery. Whiscash takes little damage from Hippopotas' Earthquake and can use it as setup fodder. Pelipper can come in on Hippopotas' Earthquake and threaten it out or use it as setup fodder, although it dislikes the chip damage from Stealth Rock and can take a chunk of damage from Rock Slide. You should work to combine Pokemon that share traits to save space. State that Whiscash and Kingler's good physical bulk let them use Hippopotas as setup fodder, Frillish and Staryu wall it, etc.

**Ground-Immunities and Ground-resists**: Vullaby, Solrock, and Vibrava take no damage from Hippopotas' STAB while Wormadam-S takes little damage from Earthquake, and all of them can shrug off Rock Slide. Vullaby can Taunt or Toxic Hippopotas to wear it down. Solrock can burn Hippopotas with Will-O-Wisp and use it as an opportunity to set up Stealth Rock. Vibrava and Wormadam-S stonewall Hippopotas and wear it down with Toxic. Merge this section with the status section, as that's how most walls actually beat Hippopotas. Rename it to something like "bulky Pokemon". From my experience, physical attackers don't randomly run Toxic very often. Also, be brief, you don't need to go super in-depth for every examples, especially ones explained earlier.

**Status**: Toxic poison from physical attackers Hippopotas looks to check such as Lairon, Mienfoo, and Emolga puts Hippopotas on a timer and makes it worse at walling them. Muk can try to poison Hippopotas with Poison Jab and Poison Touch to wear it down and force it to become passive and use Slack Off more often. Scald or Will-O-Wisp burns from foes like Staryu, Frillish, and Solrock are very threatening to Hippopotas, reducing its damage output making it more reliant on Slack Off for mitigating chip damage from burn.

**Special Attackers**: Grumpig and Mr. Mime can take advantage of Hippopotas' lower special bulk and break through it with Psychic. Glaceon cleanly OHKOes Hippopotas with Ice Beam and doesn't take much damage from Hippopotas' attacks, although it must be mindful of switching in repeatedly, especially if Hippopotas sets up Stealth Rock. Raichu and Pikachu threaten Hippopotas with Hidden Power Ice but do not want to come in on its attacks, especially Earthquake, and Raichu can only OHKO with a Nasty Plot boost while Pikachu cannot 2HKO it without prior chip damage. Be sure to specify that you're talking about general special attackers here. You can shorten this to just "Special attackers like... can easily break through Hippopotas. Ice-types like Glaceon are notably threatening because..."

**Clefairy**: Hippopotas hardly makes a dent in Clefairy's bulk. Clefairy can use Hippopotas as an opportunity to set up Stealth Rock, remove Hippopotas' Eviolite with Knock Off, use Heal Bell for its team, and recover health with Soft-Boiled. Clefairy can use Encore to lock Hippopotas into a move and wear it down with Seismic Toss. Add this to the bulky Pokemon section

**Taunt, Encore, and Substitute**: Taunt from Emolga, Persian, and Mienfoo denies Hippopotas recovery and the ability to set up Stealth Rock, forcing it to stay at low health and making it more prone to being picked off. Bibarel is a specialized lead which can shut Hippopotas down with Taunt, use it to set up Stealth Rock, and threaten it with Scald. If Emolga locks Hippopotas into Earthquake or Stealth Rock it can exploit it, but Emolga must be wary of switching into Rock Slide. Leafeon, Whiscash, and Walrein can all exploit Hippopotas' passivity to set up Substitute freely while threatening it out with their STAB moves. These Pokemon either already check Hippopotas (Leafeon or Whiscash) or dislike staying in vs it (Emolga, Persian) so you should just merge the former examples in other places

Added paragraph breaks for each section

Mention Knock Off in a section

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/missangelic.452572/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/

Grammar checked by:

 

[missangelic]

Implemented, thanks Gangsta Spongebob!

 

[Monai]

Qc2 when implemented

Guh

[SET]
name: Physical Wall
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Toxic / Rock Slide
move 4: Slack Off
item: Eviolite
ability: Sand Force
nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def

[SET COMMENTS]
A Ground typing, solid Eviolite-boosted bulk, and reliable recovery shape Hippopotas into a good wall to take on physical attackers like Lairon, Mienfoo, Muk, Arbok, and Pawniard. Even stronger physical wallbreakers like Slaking, Choice Band Exploud, and Guts Luxray struggle to break through Hippopotas's bulk on their own. Stealth Rock is a mandatory move for every team, and Hippopotas is a great user of the move, finding opportunities against top tier physical attackers like Lairon, Persian, and Muk. Stealth Rock gives Hippopotas a way to rack up chip damage on offensive pivots like Emolga and Persian, making them easier to check, while punishing special attackers weak to Rock like Glaceon, Pelipper, and Walrein. Dex info but also who doesn't know what sr does STAB Earthquake helps define Hippopotas's role as a counter to the Poison-types and Lairon, which are some of the most difficult Pokemon to check in the tier. Toxic is a catch-all move that synergizes well with STAB Earthquake and notably cripples Leafeon and Solrock, which could otherwise fully wall Hippopotas and threaten to setup or spread their own status. Rock Slide is a good alternative that 2HKOes Emolga and forces it to play mindgames versus Hippopotas's Earthquake when using Roost for recovery. Rock Slide helps Hippopotas to remain offensive versus other Flying-types like Pelipper. Hippopotas' Sand Stream ability is not legal in ZU, so it uses Sand Force.

Hippopotas best fits on bulkier teams looking to recruit a physically defensive backbone. The bulkier teams Hippopotas premiers on can complement it with a specially defensive partner like Meganium, Clefairy, or Grumpig. Frillish makes an excellent partner for Hippopotas, blocking Staryu's attempts to Rapid Spin, defusing physical attackers further with Will-O-Wisp, and taking on problematic Pokemon like Kingler and Clefairy for Hippopotas. In turn, Frillish appreciates Hippopotas taking the strain off of it for checking Lairon, Arbok, and Muk. Leafeon or Meganium can alleviate status Hippopotas takes with Heal Bell or Aromatherapy respectively, while Ivysaur and Gloom are immune to Toxic; all of the aforementioned Grass-types take on problematic Water and Grass types for Hippopotas while appreciating its capacity to check Muk, Arbok, and Emolga for them. Staryu can absorb status for Hippopotas with Natural Cure. In exchange, Hippopotas takes pressure off of Staryu by checking physical attackers like Muk, Mienfoo, and Arbok for it, which can give it more opportunities to use Rapid Spin.

Clefairy should be emphasized as a partner thanks to its incredible utility and natural status immunity. Hippo also beats its best check in Muk. Also where is Grumpig and why is it a good partner? If you wanted to include it, I would mention its Scarf set as an excellent check to many special setup mons like Simi.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Hippopotas could run a specially defensive set with 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD and a Careful nature to face Raichu, Simisear, and Pikachu. However, Hippopotas's type makes it much more effective as a physical wall given its Ice and Water weaknesses make it vulnerable to common special attackers like Walrein, Glaceon, and Staryu. Hippopotas could run Toxic over Rock Slide to put opposing walls like Solrock, Pelipper, Vullaby, Vibrava, and Frillish on a timer, but this makes Hippopotas more passive versus Flying-types such as Emolga and Mothim while checks to Hippopotas such as Staryu, Leafeon, and Meganium mitigate status with Natural Cure, Lum Berry, and Aromatherapy. Feel free to include whatever from this in the Toxic section earlier. Hippopotas can run Whirlwind to phaze out switch-ins like Leafeon and Meganium, forming a nice synergy with Stealth Rock. Like with Toxic, running Whirlwind over Rock Slide makes Hippopotas more passive against Flying-types, and Whirlwind is ineffective if the opponent has one Pokemon remaining. Whirlwind can phaze setup sweepers like Shelgon, Grumpig, and Mothim, but Whirlwind is not useful for situations where the setup sweeper is the foe's last Pokemon. Body Slam gives Hippopotas a way to spread paralysis, which is less expected and irritating for Pokemon like Solrock, Emolga, and Leafeon.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Grass-Types**: Leafeon and Meganium take little damage from Hippopotas's Earthquake, have reliable recovery to stay healthy versus Hippopotas, threaten it out with their STAB moves, can use it as setup fodder, and can use it as a chance to support their their teammates with Heal Bell or Aromatherapy. Ivysaur and Gloom possess great physical bulk and reliable recovery, letting them take advantage of Hippopotas and threaten it out with their Grass-type STAB moves.

**Water-Types**: Most Water-types severely damage or OHKO Hippopotas with their STAB moves. Staryu, Frillish, and Pelipper have recovery to wall Hippopotas while they threaten it with Scald burns. Staryu and Frillish can disrupt Hippopotas' entry hazard setting with Rapid Spin and Taunt. Kingler, Whiscash, and Whiscash have good physical bulk, which enables all of them break through Hippopotas or use it as setup fodder. Walrein and Pelipper can come in as Stealth Rock is being set or on Hippopotas' Earthquake and threaten it out or exploit it to set up, but neither enjoys the additional chip damage from Stealth Rock.

**Bulky Pokemon**: Hippopotas' low damage output causes it to struggle against bulky foes. Solrock, Vibrava, and Vullaby are immune to Hippopotas' Earthquake, letting them switch in and recover. Bulky Toxic users such as Wormadam-S and Wormadam-G put Hippopotas on a timer and force it to use Slack Off more. Clefairy ignores Stealth Rock damage with Magic Guard and can abuse Hippopotas and support its team with its array of utility moves. Shelgon can use Hippopotas as setup fodder thanks to its bulk and is not bothered by Toxic with its Rest Talk set.

**Special Attackers**: Special attackers like Mr. Mime, Grumpig, and Simisear can easily break through Hippopotas due to its lower special bulk, though they don't want to take its Earthquake. Glaceon is especially threatening because it can OHKO Hippopotas with Ice Beam and doesn't take much damage from Hippopotas' attacks, though Hippopotas' Stealth Rock can wear it down. Raichu and Pikachu threaten Hippopotas with Hidden Power Ice on the switch but are OHKOed by Earthquake.

**Knock Off**: Physical attackers that Hippopotas would normally like to counter, like Persian, Emolga, and Mienfoo, can use Knock Off to remove a substantial part of Hippopotas' bulk, opening up themselves or a teammate to more easily KO it. Several Pokemon which wall Hippopotas like Ivysaur, Clefairy, and Pelipper commonly run Knock Off.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/missangelic.452572/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/monai.482455/
Grammar checked by:

 

[missangelic]

Thanks Monai! I've implemented your check. This is ready for GP Team