
[SET]
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stealth Rock
move 3: Slack Off
move 4: Whirlwind / Toxic
item: Leftovers
ability: Sand Stream
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 8 Atk / 248 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
Hippowdon acts as a great check to threatening physical attackers like Terrakion, Excadrill, and Bulk Up Zeraora. It's a decent user of Stealth Rock as well, dealing with Excadrill as a remover, and able to Whirlwind Corviknight and Mandibuzz into possibly a favorable foe to set up Stealth Rock against. Whirlwind also helps deal with non-Taunt Bulk Up Corviknight if it's not the opponent's last Pokémon. Whirlwind is also useful in general for racking up Stealth Rock damage on threats like Kyurem, Zeraora, Rotom-Heat after a Knock Off, among others, as well as not letting Corviknight and the aforementioned Kyurem come in for free. Toxic can be used to directly cripple Mandibuzz, as well as just hitting other Pokémon that would come in freely on Hippowdon otherwise, such as Rotom-Heat and Hydreigon. 248 Def EVs are just enough to avoid a 2HKO from Choice Band Terrakion's Close Combat, and the remaining 8 EVs are placed into Attack to guarantee an OHKO on Excadrill.
Speaking of Excadrill, Sand Rush variants are nice allies that provide hazard removal and appreciate the boosted speed for a couple of turns. Clefable, Sylveon, or Mandibuzz are also great allies that help cover threats on the special end, most notably Dragapult, Hydreigon, and Keldeo, with the former two dealing with Kyurem as well, all of which would be huge trouble to Hippowdon. Water-types like Toxapex and Seismitoad are also valuable teammates, acting as a check to Dracovish and further helping the Aegislash matchup.
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