Level 34To Hippowdon

HippowdonLast stage shown

#0450 · GENERATION 4

Hippowdon Build Guide

Ground

Physical defense and sand support

Build a Hippowdon team ↓

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Custom Pokédex collection.

Starter moveset

Generation 9 · casual singles · base form

ITEMLeftovers

ABILITYSand Stream

NATUREImpish

Earthquake

Slack Off

Stealth Rock

Whirlwind

How to play

Sand Stream starts a sandstorm on entry. Use favorable physical matchups to set Stealth Rock or recover with Slack Off; Whirlwind can force an eligible setup attacker out.

Watch out for

Key risk. Water, Grass and Ice attacks are super effective. Sand damages unprotected teammates and does not give Ground types the Rock-type Special Defense boost. Whirlwind acts late and can be blocked.

About this example

This editorial starting point is not a ranked-format recommendation or a legality check. It does not specify EVs or Tera type. Moves, items and abilities here do not change the builder score.

BATTLE PLAN

When to attack, set up or switch

Sand Stream starts a sandstorm on entry. Use favorable physical matchups to set Stealth Rock or recover with Slack Off; Whirlwind can force an eligible setup attacker out.

A Rock-type special attacker arrives

Sand raises Rock-type Special Defense, not Ground, so Hippowdon gets the chip and none of the bonus. Water, Grass and Ice each deal 2× and are the types that actually decide the switch.

You want the setup attacker removed

Whirlwind acts after the opponent’s move and fails against a Substitute, so it is a turn that taxes a sweeper rather than a guaranteed answer. Earthquake is the damage that does not have that problem.

The hazard turn comes up

Stealth Rock and Slack Off both want the same free switch, and Electric moves cannot touch Hippowdon, so the immune switch-in is the usual place to spend it. Leftovers pays on the turns it is not healing.

What does a safe pivot mean?

A teammate uses a switching move to bring Hippowdon in. A slower pivot may take the opponent’s hit first. Turn order and the opponent’s move still matter.

ITEM & ABILITY

How this build works

Sand Stream starts the storm on entry, and the sand chips every Pokémon that is not Rock, Ground or Steel — its own teammates included. Slack Off is the heal that lets it take a physical hit and stay in, and the storm never raises a Ground type’s Special Defense.

Watch the tradeoff. Water, Grass and Ice attacks are super effective. Sand damages unprotected teammates and does not give Ground types the Rock-type Special Defense boost. Whirlwind acts late and can be blocked.

These battle mechanics do not change the builder’s type-and-base-stat score. The tool does not simulate moves, abilities, held items or damage.

COMPARE YOUR OPTIONS

Hippowdon or Swampert?

Swampert offers Water typing and hazard support without starting sand or using Slack Off.

Base stats · standard forms in the local Generation 9 dataset
Stat	Hippowdon	Swampert
HP	108	100
Attack	112	110
Defense	118	90
Sp. Attack	68	85
Sp. Defense	72	90
Speed	47	60

Base stats are not final battle stats. Level, nature, IVs, EVs and battle effects affect the result. Check availability in your game before choosing an alternative.

Teammate ideas

A Steel teammate can resist Grass and avoid sand damage. Check that other teammates tolerate sand and can handle special attackers.

Corviknight

Resists Grass and avoids sand damage; Ice damage is neutral.

Read Corviknight guide →Compare teammates →

Metagross

Resists Grass and Ice and avoids sand damage through Steel typing.

Read Metagross guide →Compare teammates →

These are typing-based starting pairs, not a complete competitive team. Check the remaining four slots and your game’s rules.

Compare computed teammate suggestions →

Alternative: Swampert

Swampert offers Water typing and hazard support without starting sand or using Slack Off.

Read Swampert guide →

Try Swampert →

Type matchups

Weak to

Water2×Grass2×Ice2×

Resistances and immunities

Electric0×Poison0.5×Rock0.5×

Typing only. Abilities, items and battle effects can change these matchups.

HP108

Attack112

Defense118

Sp. Attack68

Sp. Defense72

Speed47

Evolution chain

Hippopotas#449
Level 34
Hippowdon#450

Standard main-series evolution conditions. Regional forms and games with special evolution systems can differ.

Build your Hippowdon team

Start with Hippowdon. Add teammates and compare your type-and-base-stat score.

Gen 9 · National Dex · Casual Settings & scope

GameFormat

Format scope · casual planning

Base species #001–1025, using Generation 9 data. A casual planning pool, not a VGC, ranked, or Showdown National Dex legality validator. Regional, Mega and alternate forms are not included yet.

SLOT 01#450

Hippowdon

Ground

SLOT 02

SLOT 03

SLOT 04

SLOT 05

SLOT 06

Understand your team

Offense79

Defense60

Coverage28

Synergy17

Types & base stats only · Not a win probability.

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Key insights

Grass attacks threaten 1 of 1 teammates, with no teammate resisting them by type.
Ice attacks threaten 1 of 1 teammates, with no teammate resisting them by type.
Your own types can hit 5 of 18 single-type targets super effectively. Actual move coverage can differ.
No teammate has a base Speed of 100 or higher. Consider adding a faster option.

Detailed type analysis · all 18 types

Incoming damage assumes typing only. 0× = immune, ½× / ¼× = resistant, 2× / 4× = weak. Resistance counts include immunities.

Incoming damage by attacking type
Attack	Hippowdon	Weak	Resist
Normal	1×	0	0
Fire	1×	0	0
Water	2×	1	0
Electric	0×	0	1
Grass	2×	1	0
Ice	2×	1	0
Fighting	1×	0	0
Poison	½×	0	1
Ground	1×	0	0
Flying	1×	0	0
Psychic	1×	0	0
Bug	1×	0	0
Rock	½×	0	1
Ghost	1×	0	0
Dragon	1×	0	0
Dark	1×	0	0
Steel	1×	0	0
Fairy	1×	0	0

Offensive type coverage

Against single-type targets, using only same-type attacks. This is not coverage against every dual-type species.

NormalNeutral

Fire✓ Super effective

WaterNeutral

Electric✓ Super effective

GrassResisted

IceNeutral

FightingNeutral

Poison✓ Super effective

GroundNeutral

FlyingImmune target

PsychicNeutral

BugResisted

Rock✓ Super effective

GhostNeutral

DragonNeutral

DarkNeutral

Steel✓ Super effective

FairyNeutral

How is the score calculated?

Offense (25%): neutral-or-better type coverage and strongest attacking base stats. Defense (30%): team resistances, unprotected and repeated weaknesses, and 4× vulnerabilities. Coverage (25%): fraction of 18 single-type targets hit super effectively by your own types. Synergy (20%): teammates resisting each other’s weaknesses, physical/special/bulk stat signals and base Speed ≥100. Scores are rounded to 0–100; the total uses the displayed subscores.

Rating bands: Excellent ≥80, Good ≥65, Fair ≥45, Poor below 45. An empty team has no rating.

Small teams are provisional and are not given a separate completion bonus. Adding a Pokémon can lower the score if it creates new weaknesses or lowers averages. These initial heuristics have not been calibrated against battle outcomes.