Copyediting Physdef Hippowdon (GP 1/2)

[Sneakyplanner]

[OVERVIEW]
Hippowdon is one of the best physical walls in the tier, excelling thanks to its high base HP and Defense as well as the difficult to break pure Ground typing. Hippowdon has the best raw physical bulk compared to other physical walls such as Slowbro, Chesnaught, Cobalion, and Amoonguss. This bulk allows it to take neutral hits exceptionally well, making it a safe switch-in to unresisted moves like Cobalion’s Close Combat and Galarian Zapdos’s Brave Bird. As it is taking these hits, it is wearing foes down through passive damage from the sand it summons. It also has many chances to switch in, giving it plenty of opportunities to set up Stealth Rock. Hippowdon is the anchor for most balance teams in the tier, putting in work and making progress in basically every game. However, Hippowdon can struggle with particularly strong wallbreakers like Choice Band Okidogi or Galarian Zapdos because it is relied on to consistently take neutral hits, and it is also vulnerable to passive damage such as entry hazards.

[SET]
Physically Defensive (Hippowdon) @ Rocky Helmet / Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
Tera Type: Ghost / Dragon / Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock / Whirlwind
- Whirlwind / Stone Edge
- Slack Off

[SET COMMENTS]

Set Details
===
The tier is full of threatening physical attackers, and Hippowdon handles most of them with ease, switching into attacks from Pokemon like Terrakion, Revavroom, Kleavor, Krookodile, Maushold, and Bisharp. Hippowdon's sand provides passive damage and helps disarm other weather teams by removing their weather. Stealth Rock is the most common option, as Hippowdon makes a good setter due to its many chances to switch in and good matchup against Cyclizar, the tier's best spinner. Whirlwind gives Hippowdon the option to force out setup sweepers or rack up chip damage against does trying to switch into Earthquake. Whirlwind is preferred over Roar due to Throat Chop Bisharp blocking the latter move. Stone Edge is a coverage option to hit Flying-types trying to switch into the normally passive Hippowdon, allowing it to turn the tables on matchups like Rotom-H, Noivern and, Moltres. Stone Edge also helps to break Air Balloon on Pokemon such as Cobalion and Revavroom that try to turn Hippowdon into a setup opportunity. Rocky Helmet is the most common item due to its importance in dealing with Maushold, a Pokemon that can otherwise threaten to sweep teams on its own, while also providing chip damage vs physical attackers such as Cobalion and Kleavor. However, teams with other answers to Maushold or that don’t need the passive damage can instead run Leftovers or Heavy-Duty Boots. Tera Dragon removes Hippowdon's weaknesses to Grass and Water, being especially helpful against Iron Leaves and rain teams. Tera Ghost is an all-around strong defensive type that also blocks Rapid Spin from Cyclizar and allows it to take on Cobalion no matter how many Iron Defense boosts it gets and beat other Fighting types like Conkeldurr and Slither Wing. Tera Poison gives Hippowdon a resistance to Grass, Fairy and Fighting and makes Hippowdon immune to toxic and able to absorb toxic spikes, being useful on teams that are otherwise weak to them.

Hippowdon is common on bulky offense and balance teams. However, Hippowdon’s weaknesses must be accounted for in teambuilding, especially when considering the set it runs. Whirlwind Hippowdon needs to be paired with something that can handle Ground immune Pokemon like Noivern, Moltres, and Rotom-H well. Assault Vest Cyclizar and Rotom-H are two Pokémon that can safely switch into them. While Hippowdon is able to switch into strong Fighting-type attacks from pokemon like Cobalion and Mienshao when fully healthy, it loses this resilience with even just a little bit of chip damage. Hippowdon should be paired with a more sturdy Fighting resistant Pokemon such as Slowbro or Moltres. Hippowdon without Whirlwind may require extra support for physical setup sweepers. Choice Scarf users faster than Iron Leaves, such as Mienshao, Terrakion, Gengar and Hisuian Zoroark can all fill this role. Non-Stealth Rock Hippowdon should be paired with another Stealth Rock setter such as Empoleon or Cobalion.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
Certain teams such as ones with Pokemon running Synthesis or that have teammates that dislike passive sandstorm chip such as Alolan Muk or Suicune would prefer Sand Force, effectively giving it no ability. Sand Force also makes it easier to Terrastalize Hippowdon, since it doesn’t have to worry about its own sandstorm and has a better matchup vs other Hippowdons due to its stronger Earthquake. Hippowdon can also run varying amounts of special defense in order to better match up vs special attackers such as 140 Special Defense EVs to survive two Photon Geysers from Necrozma, but Hippowdon often relies on maximum physical bulk to take neutral physical attacks.

Checks and Counters
====
Ground-immune Pokemon: Mono-Earthquake Hippowdon is unable to hit Ground-immune foes at all, making Rotom-H, Moltres, Salamence and Noivern incredibly safe switch-ins to it.

Grass-Types: Hippowdon with Stone Edge can hit Ground-immune foes but can't do any real damage to Grass-types such as Iron Leaves and Chesnaught. Iron Leaves is especially threatening due to its ability to set up on Hippowdon and sweep.

Special Attackers: Hippowdon's low Special Defense and reliance on physical defense investment means it is vulnerable to special attacks even from non-invested attackers. Pokemon like Gengar and Gardevoir are attackers that Hippowdon does not want to switch in on, and bulky Pokemon with decent special damagesuch as Slowbro and Reuniclus are able to take Hippowdon's Earthquakes and threaten it in return.

Wallbreakers with Entry Hazard support: Pokemon like Choice Band Okidogi, Terrakion, and Mienshao can overcome Hippowdon's raw physical bulk with the help of chip damage such as hazard support. Okidogi's Close Combat is favored to 2HKO Hippowdon from full with Stealth Rock up and guaranteed to 2HKO with a single layer of Spikes.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sneakyplanner.598717/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/rarelyme.513635/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/fluff.614438/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/

 

[Rarelyme]

qc 1/2

ADD REMOVE COMMENT
[OVERVIEW]
Hippowdon is one of the best physical walls in the tier, excelling thanks to its excellent stats and difficult to break pure ground typing. Out of all the tier’s physical walls such as Slowbro, Chesnaught, Cobalion and Amoonguss, Hippowdon has the best raw physical bulk. This bulk allows it to take neutral hits exceptionally well, making it a safe switch-in to unresisted moves like Terrakion’s close combat or Zapdos-Galar’s brave bird. And as it is taking these hits, it is wearing the opponent down through passive damage from the sand it summons. The many chances it gets to switch in give it plenty of opportunities to set up stealth rock. Hippowdon is the anchor for most balance teams in the tier, putting in work and making progress in basically every game. The hippo is an immovable master of reliability, and it can often feel harder to build without it than to build with it.

[SET]
Physically defensive (Hippowdon) @ Rocky Helmet / Leftovers / Heavy-Duty Boots not on the sample set so I'm taking it out
Ability: Sand Stream
Tera Type: Ghost / Dragon / Steel Poison same here
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock / Whirlwind
- Whirlwind / Stone Edge
- Slack Off

[SET COMMENTS]

[SET DETAILS]
[PARAGRAPH 1]
Hippowdon’s strong base stats make it excel as a physical wall. The tier is full of threatening physical attackers, and Hippowdon handles most of them with ease, switching into attacks from pokemon like Terrakion, Revavroom, Kleavor, Krookodile, Maushold and Bisharp. It can serve as a nearly perfect blanket physical wall and damages enemies in return through its plentiful passive damage. Rocky helmet is the most common item due to its importance in dealing with Maushold; a pokemon which can otherwise threaten to sweep teams on its own. add how it punishes the numerous pivots and is crucial is some 1v1 like IronPress Coba or Kleavor However, teams with other answers to maushold that don’t need the passive damage can instead run leftovers or heavy-duty boots for better longevity. Tera dragon helps vs most of hippowdon’s weaknesses name them, being especially helpful vs iron leaves add the rain mu. Tera ghost is an all-around strong defensive type that also blocks rapid spin from Cyclizar and allows it to take on Cobalion no matter how many iron defense boosts it gets and other fighting types like conk or slither. Steel is a universally strong defensive type that gives Hippowdon a poison immunity and fairy and dragon resistance while keeping its immunity to sandstorm damage, however becoming weak to fighting can be problematic. add Tera Poison Hippowdon has two free move slots and 3 or 4 moves it wants to fit in them. Stealth rock is the most common option, as Hippowdon makes a good setter due to its many chances to switch in and good matchup vs Cyclizar. Whirlwind is the most common move for that final slot, giving hippo the option to force out setup sweepers or rack up hazard/sand chip damage against opponents trying to switch into earthquake. little sentence why ww and not roar Stone edge is a coverage option to hit flying types trying to switch into the normally passive Hippowdon, allowing it to turn the tables on matchups like Rotom-Heat, Thundurus-Therian and Moltres.

[PARAGRAPH 2]
When using Hippowdon you have to make sure to manage its health carefully. It is very slow and lacks the passive recovery of Regenerator that other physical walls like Slowbro and Amoonguss have, and so once Hippowdon dips below ~80% HP it loses the ability to safely switch into a lot of physical attacks. This is especially true for Hippowdons running rocky helmet over leftovers. this is very interesting but not really the place to talk about it, especially if you don't give solutions Hippowdon has a good matchup vs Cyclizar, but keeping hazards up often relies on out-damaging regenerator with passive damage and not giving Cyclizar the chance to freely click rapid spin. Once Cyclizar manages to knock off Hippowdon’s helmet, it becomes much harder to keep the hazards up. this is a key interaction in the tier so good idea to mention it but it should go at the end of the paragraph and mention counterplays to deal with bike Hippowdon fits well on bulky offense and balance teams, requiring very little support. However, Hippowdon’s weaknesses must be accounted for in team building, especially when considering the set it runs. Whirlwind Hippo needs to be paired with something that can handle Thundurus, Moltres and Rotom-heat well, often Cyclizar, and stone edge Hippowdon may require extra support for physical setup sweepers, whether it be a secondary physical wall or strong revenge killer give examples. talk about the no sr variant coupled with other rock setters

[CHECKS AND COUNTERS] --> this part should be last
Mono-earthquake Hippowdon is often helpless vs ground immunities with heavy-duty boots. These pokemon are able to turn Hippowdon into a chance to get their strong special attackers in and start threatening damage. mention balloon users Hippowdon with stone edge can be threatened by grass types due to their ground resistance and rock neutrality. Iron Leaves can turn Hippowdon without a phasing move into a free win as it sets up swords dance. mention physical setup like IronPress coba and BU okidogi If Hippowdon setting up hazards is problematic for your team, then one of the grass type rapid spinners/defoggers like Tsareena, Brambleghast or Decidueye-Hisui can reliably switch in and keep hazards off. not relevant enough

[OTHER OPTIONS]
Roar is an alternative phasing move that can doesn’t get blocked by Brambleghast’s wind rider but does get blocked by Throat Chop; a common move on Bisharp. Sand stream is a strong ability, but certain teams such as ones with pokemon running Synthesis or otherwise dislike passive sandstorm chip would prefer sand force, effectively giving Hippowdon no ability. Sand force also makes it easier to terrastalize Hippowdon since it doesn’t have to worry about its own sandstorm sand force hippo also always beats regular hippo. Hippowdon can also run varying amounts of special defense in order to better match up vs special attackers, but this is usually worse than max physdef since Hippowdon needs that bulk to reliably take neutral physical attacks.

Good job, tag me when these are implemented and i'll give it the first qc stamp. Also, revise it another time to make it ready for gp, there are still some "hippo", capitalized letters missing or abbreviations.

 

[Sneakyplanner]

Rarelyme I added your changes, ready for round 2.

 

[fluff!!]

qccheck

comment add remove

[OVERVIEW]
Hippowdon is one of the best physical walls in the tier, excelling thanks to its excellent stats and high base HP and Defense stats coupled with the difficult to break pure Ground typing. Out of all the tier’s physical walls such as Slowbro, Chesnaught, Cobalion and Amoonguss, Hippowdon has the best raw physical bulk. This bulk allows it to take neutral hits exceptionally well, making it a safe switch-in to unresisted moves like Terrakion Cobalion’s Close Combat or Galarian Zapdos’s Brave Bird. And as it is taking these hits, it is wearing the opponent down through passive damage from the sand it summons. The many chances it gets to switch in give it plenty of opportunities to set up Stealth Rock. Hippowdon is the anchor for most balance teams in the tier, putting in work and making progress in basically every game.
Add a paragraph talking about Hippowdon's weaknesses, like being prone to 2HKO by very strong wallbreakers like Choice Band Okidogi and susceptibility to hazards.

[SET]
Physically Defensive (Hippowdon) @ Rocky Helmet / Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
Tera Type: Ghost / Dragon / Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock / Whirlwind
- Whirlwind / Stone Edge
- Slack Off

[SET COMMENTS]

[SET DETAILS]
Hippowdon’s strong base stats make it excel as a physical wall. The tier is full of threatening physical attackers, and Hippowdon handles most of them with ease, switching into attacks from Pokemon like Terrakion, Revavroom, Kleavor, Krookodile, Maushold and Bisharp. It can serve as a nearly perfect blanket physical wall and damages enemies in return through its plentiful passive damage. Rocky Helmet is the most common item due to its importance in dealing with Maushold; a Pokemon which can otherwise threaten to sweep teams on its own, while also providing chip damage vs physical attackers such as Cobalion and Kleavor. However, teams with other answers to maushold or that don’t need the passive damage can instead run Leftovers. Hippowdon's sand provides strong passive damage and also helps disarm other weather teams by removing their weather. Hippowdon has two free move slots and 3 or 4 moves it wants to fit in them. Stealth Rock is the most common option, as Hippowdon makes a good setter due to its many chances to switch in and good matchup vs the tier's premier Rapid Spin user in Cyclizar. Whirlwind is the most common move for that final slot, giving Hippowdon the option to force out setup sweepers or rack up chip damage against opponents trying to switch into Earthquake. Whirlwind is preferred over roar due to throat chop Bisharp blocking the latter move. Stone Edge is a coverage option to hit flying types trying to switch into the normally passive Hippowdon, allowing it to turn the tables on matchups like Rotom-Heat, Thundurus-Therian and Moltres. Talk about how Stone Edge helps breaking Air Balloon from Cobalion/Revavroom. Tera Dragon helps vs Hippowdon's weaknesses to Grass and Water, being especially helpful vs iron leaves and Rain teams. Tera Ghost is an all-around strong defensive type that also blocks rapid spin from Cyclizar and allows it to take on Cobalion no matter how many iron defense boosts it gets and beat other Fighting types like Conkeldurr and Slither-wing. Tera Poison gives Hippowdon a resistance to Grass, Fairy and Fighting and makes it immune to toxic and absorb toxic spikes, being useful on teams that are otherwise weak to them.

Hippowdon fits well is a common sight on bulky offense and balance teams as their blanket physical check and Stealth Rock setter., requiring very little support. However, Hippowdon’s weaknesses must be accounted for in team building, especially when considering the set it runs. Whirlwind Hippowdon needs to be paired with something that can handle Flying-type and levitating Pokemon such as Thundurus-T, Moltres and Rotom-Heat well. Assault Vest Cyclizar and Rotom-Heat are two Pokémon that can safely switch into all of them. Talk about how Hippowdon really enjoys having a 2nd answer against all the Fighting-type wallbreakers to play around typing resistances against all the Fighting-type wallbreakers who would otherwise 2HKO Hippo, and give examples of such teammates. Hippowdon without Whirlwind may require extra support for physical setup sweepers, such as a strong revenge killer. Strong revenge killers in the form of Choice Scarfers faster than Iron leaves, such as Mienshao, Terrakion, Gengar and Zoroark-hisui can all fill this role. Non-Stealth Rock Hippowdon should be paired with some other Stealth Rock setter such as Empoleon, Jirachi or Cobalion. Other Ground types like Gastrodon, Rhyperior or Swampert can be used as hazard setters, but stacking weaknesses with Hippowdon is not recommended, If it is not recommended then we should not talk about it here. Hippowdon has a good matchup vs Cyclizar, but keeping hazards up often relies on out-damaging regenerator with passive damage and not giving Cyclizar the chance to freely click use rapid spin. Once Cyclizar manages to knock off Hippowdon’s helmet, it becomes much harder to keep the hazards up. Using pivot moves or double switching is a good way to get Hippowdon in on the turn you expect them your opponent to switch to Cyclizar and keep it from spinning or getting free regenerator health. Switching Hippo in aggressively vs Cyclizar in the early game will help you keep hazards up, even if it gets knocked off in the process.

[OTHER OPTIONS]
Sand stream is a strong ability, but certain teams such as ones with Pokémon running Synthesis or otherwise dislike passive sandstorm chip such as Alolan Muk or Suicune would prefer sand force, effectively giving Hippowdon no ability. Sand force also makes it easier to terrastalize Hippowdon since it doesn’t have to worry about its own sandstorm and has a better matchup vs other Hippowdons due to its stronger Earthquake. Hippowdon can also run varying amounts of special defense in order to better match up vs special attackers, but this is usually worse than max physdef since Hippowdon needs that bulk to reliably take neutral physical attacks.

[CHECKS AND COUNTERS]
Mono-Earthquake Hippowdon is often helpless vs Ground immunities with heavy-duty boots such as Rotom-Heat, Thundurus-Therian and Moltres. These Pokemon are able to turn Hippowdon into a chance to get their strong special attackers in and start threatening damage. Air balloon users such as Revavroom, Terrakion and Cobalion can also fulfill this role. Hippowdon with Stone Edge can be threatened by Grass types due to their ground resistance and rock neutrality. Iron leaves is especially threatening to non-Whirlwind Hippowdon due to its ability to set up vs it. Other setup sweepers that boost their defense such as iron defense Cobalion and bulk up Okidogi can also exploit Hippowdon lacking Whirlwind. Talk about the exceptionally strong wallbreakers who can 2HKO Hippowdon, its susceptibility to hazards and its low special bulk.

update: slight edit

update 2: after talking with Rarelyme, I edited my amqc to prefer comments over writing small paragraphs myself.

 

[Rarelyme]

qccheck

comment add remove

[OVERVIEW]
Hippowdon is one of the best physical walls in the tier, excelling thanks to its excellent stats and high base HP and Defense stats coupled with the difficult to break pure Ground typing. Out of all the tier’s physical walls such as Slowbro, Chesnaught, Cobalion and Amoonguss, Hippowdon has the best raw physical bulk. This bulk allows it to take neutral hits exceptionally well, making it a safe switch-in to unresisted moves like Terrakion Cobalion’s Close Combat or Galarian Zapdos’s Brave Bird. And as it is taking these hits, it is wearing the opponent down through passive damage from the sand it summons. The many chances it gets to switch in give it plenty of opportunities to set up Stealth Rock. Hippowdon is the anchor for most balance teams in the tier, putting in work and making progress in basically every game.
Add a paragraph talking about Hippowdon's weaknesses, like being prone to 2HKO by very strong wallbreakers like Choice Band Okidogi and susceptibility to hazards.

[SET]
Physically Defensive (Hippowdon) @ Rocky Helmet / Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
Tera Type: Ghost / Dragon / Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock / Whirlwind
- Whirlwind / Stone Edge
- Slack Off

[SET COMMENTS]

[SET DETAILS]
Hippowdon’s strong base stats make it excel as a physical wall. The tier is full of threatening physical attackers, and Hippowdon handles most of them with ease, switching into attacks from Pokemon like Terrakion, Revavroom, Kleavor, Krookodile, Maushold and Bisharp. It can serve as a nearly perfect blanket physical wall and damages enemies in return through its plentiful passive damage. Rocky Helmet is the most common item due to its importance in dealing with Maushold; a Pokemon which can otherwise threaten to sweep teams on its own, while also providing chip damage vs physical attackers such as Cobalion and Kleavor. However, teams with other answers to maushold or that don’t need the passive damage can instead run Leftovers. Hippowdon's sand provides strong passive damage and also helps disarm other weather teams by removing their weather. Hippowdon has two free move slots and 3 or 4 moves it wants to fit in them. Stealth Rock is the most common option, as Hippowdon makes a good setter due to its many chances to switch in and good matchup vs the tier's premier Rapid Spin user in Cyclizar. Whirlwind is the most common move for that final slot, giving Hippowdon the option to force out setup sweepers or rack up chip damage against opponents trying to switch into Earthquake. Whirlwind is preferred over roar due to throat chop Bisharp blocking the latter move. Stone Edge is a coverage option to hit flying types trying to switch into the normally passive Hippowdon, allowing it to turn the tables on matchups like Rotom-Heat, Thundurus-Therian and Moltres. Talk about how Stone Edge helps breaking Air Balloon from Cobalion/Revavroom. Tera Dragon helps vs Hippowdon's weaknesses to Grass and Water, being especially helpful vs iron leaves and Rain teams. Tera Ghost is an all-around strong defensive type that also blocks rapid spin from Cyclizar and allows it to take on Cobalion no matter how many iron defense boosts it gets and beat other Fighting types like Conkeldurr and Slither-wing. Tera Poison gives Hippowdon a resistance to Grass, Fairy and Fighting and makes it immune to toxic and absorb toxic spikes, being useful on teams that are otherwise weak to them.

Hippowdon fits well is a common sight on bulky offense and balance teams as their blanket physical check and Stealth Rock setter., requiring very little support. However, Hippowdon’s weaknesses must be accounted for in team building, especially when considering the set it runs. Whirlwind Hippowdon needs to be paired with something that can handle Flying-type and levitating Pokemon such as Thundurus-T, Moltres and Rotom-Heat well. Assault Vest Cyclizar and Rotom-Heat are two Pokémon that can safely switch into all of them. Talk about how Hippowdon really enjoys having a 2nd answer against all the Fighting-type wallbreakers to play around typing resistances against all the Fighting-type wallbreakers who would otherwise 2HKO Hippo, and give examples of such teammates. Hippowdon without Whirlwind may require extra support for physical setup sweepers, such as a strong revenge killer. Strong revenge killers in the form of Choice Scarfers faster than Iron leaves, such as Mienshao, Terrakion, Gengar and Zoroark-hisui can all fill this role. Non-Stealth Rock Hippowdon should be paired with some other Stealth Rock setter such as Empoleon, Jirachi or Cobalion. Other Ground types like Gastrodon, Rhyperior or Swampert can be used as hazard setters, but stacking weaknesses with Hippowdon is not recommended, If it is not recommended then we should not talk about it here. Hippowdon has a good matchup vs Cyclizar, but keeping hazards up often relies on out-damaging regenerator with passive damage and not giving Cyclizar the chance to freely click use rapid spin. Once Cyclizar manages to knock off Hippowdon’s helmet, it becomes much harder to keep the hazards up. Using pivot moves or double switching is a good way to get Hippowdon in on the turn you expect them your opponent to switch to Cyclizar and keep it from spinning or getting free regenerator health. Switching Hippo in aggressively vs Cyclizar in the early game will help you keep hazards up, even if it gets knocked off in the process.

[OTHER OPTIONS]
Sand stream is a strong ability, but certain teams such as ones with Pokémon running Synthesis or otherwise dislike passive sandstorm chip such as Alolan Muk or Suicune would prefer sand force, effectively giving Hippowdon no ability. Sand force also makes it easier to terrastalize Hippowdon since it doesn’t have to worry about its own sandstorm and has a better matchup vs other Hippowdons due to its stronger Earthquake. Hippowdon can also run varying amounts of special defense in order to better match up vs special attackers, but this is usually worse than max physdef since Hippowdon needs that bulk to reliably take neutral physical attacks.

[CHECKS AND COUNTERS]
Mono-Earthquake Hippowdon is often helpless vs Ground immunities with heavy-duty boots such as Rotom-Heat, Thundurus-Therian and Moltres. These Pokemon are able to turn Hippowdon into a chance to get their strong special attackers in and start threatening damage. Air balloon users such as Revavroom, Terrakion and Cobalion can also fulfill this role. Hippowdon with Stone Edge can be threatened by Grass types due to their ground resistance and rock neutrality. Iron leaves is especially threatening to non-Whirlwind Hippowdon due to its ability to set up vs it. Other setup sweepers that boost their defense such as iron defense Cobalion and bulk up Okidogi can also exploit Hippowdon lacking Whirlwind. Talk about the exceptionally strong wallbreakers who can 2HKO Hippowdon, its susceptibility to hazards and its low special bulk.

update: slight edit

update 2: after talking with Rarelyme, I edited my amqc to prefer comments over writing small paragraphs myself.

this is now a proper qc check Sneakyplanner

 

[Sneakyplanner]

QC2 implemented and I edited the format to fit better with the template.

 

[Sneakyplanner]

GP Team ready for review

 

[autumn]

This is GP 1/2, this needs another check after this.
Make sure to proofread before GP for capitalisation in future - every Pokemon name, move name, item name etc needs to be capitalised.
I think this is your first analysis, so use the guide method (video in point 3) to implement this. This is really important to avoid missing edits.
ac = add comma / rc = remove comma

Hide

[OVERVIEW]
Hippowdon is one of the best physical walls in the tier, excelling thanks to its high base hp and defense as well as the difficult to break high HP and Defense as well as its difficult-to-break pure Ground typing. Out of all the tier’s physical walls such as Slowbro, Chesnaught, Cobalion and Amoonguss, Hippowdon has the best raw physical bulk compared to other physical walls such as Slowbro, Chesnaught, Cobalion, and Amoonguss. (makes it easier to follow by talking about hippo first) This bulk allows it to take neutral hits exceptionally well, making it a safe switch-in to unresisted moves like Cobalion’s Close Combat or and Galarian Zapdos’s Brave Bird. And as As it is taking these hits, it is wearing the opponent foes down through passive damage from the sand it summons. The many chances it gets to switch in give It also has many chances to switch in, giving it plenty of opportunities to set up Stealth Rock. Hippowdon is the anchor for most balance teams in the tier, putting in work and making progress in basically every game. However, Hippowdon's reliance on taking neutral hits means it can struggle with particularly strong wallbreakers like Choice Band Okidogi or and Galarian Zapdos because it is relied on to consistently take neutral hits, and it is also as well as being vulnerable to passive damage such as entry hazards. ('reliance on taking neutral hits' isn't really clear. I think this is what you mean, lmk fi not)

[SET]
Physically Defensive (Hippowdon) @ Rocky Helmet / Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
Tera Type: Ghost / Dragon / Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock / Whirlwind
- Whirlwind / Stone Edge
- Slack Off

[SET COMMENTS]

[SET DETAILS]
Set Details
===
Hippowdon’s strong base stats make it excel as a physical wall. (you've already said this in the overview) The tier is full of threatening physical attackers, and Hippowdon handles most of them with ease, switching into attacks from Pokemon like Terrakion, Revavroom, Kleavor, Krookodile, Maushold, (AC) and Bisharp. It can serve as a blanket physical wall and damages enemies in return through its plentiful passive damage. (you've also made this same point in the overview as well) Rocky Helmet is the most common item due to its importance in dealing with Maushold, (AC) a Pokemon which that can otherwise threaten to sweep teams on its own, while also providing chip damage vs physical attackers such as Cobalion and Kleavor. However, teams with other answers to maushold Maushold or that don’t need the passive damage can instead run Leftovers. Hippowdon's sand provides passive damage and helps disarm other weather teams by removing their weather. Hippowdon has two free move slots and 3 or 4 moves it wants to fit in them. Stealth Rock is the most common option, as Hippowdon makes a good setter due to its many chances to switch in and good matchup vs against Cyclizar, (AC) the tier's best rapid spinner. Whirlwind is the most common move for that final slot, giving gives Hippowdon the option to force out setup sweepers or rack up chip damage against opponents foes trying to switch into Earthquake. Whirlwind is preferred over roar due to throat chop Roar due to Throat Chop Bisharp blocking the latter move. Stone Edge is a coverage option to hit flying types Flying-types trying to switch into the normally passive Hippowdon, allowing it to turn the tables on matchups like Rotom-Heat, Noivern and Rotom-H, Noivern, and Moltres. Stone Edge also helps to break Air Balloons on pokemon Air Balloon on Pokemon such as Cobalion and Revavroom that try to turn Hippowdon into a setup opportunity. (paragraph order needs to follow set order - you should always talk about moves before items like helmet, so move the part with move descriptions up to before the rocky helmet line) Tera Dragon helps vs removes Hippowdon's weaknesses to Grass and Water, being especially helpful vs against Iron Leaves and rain teams. Tera Ghost is an all-around strong defensive type that also blocks rapid spin Rapid Spin from Cyclizar and allows it to take on Cobalion no matter how many iron defense Iron Defense boosts it gets and beat other Fighting types like Conkeldurr and Slither-wing Slither Wing. Tera Poison gives Hippowdon a resistance to Grass, Fairy, (AC) and Fighting, and it also makes Hippowdon immune to Toxic and able to absorb Toxic Spikes and makes it immune to toxic and absorb toxic spikes, being useful on teams that are otherwise weak to them.

Hippowdon is common on bulky offense and balance teams. However, Hippowdon’s weaknesses must be accounted for in team building teambuilding, especially when considering the set it runs. Whirlwind Hippowdon needs to be paired with something that can handle Ground-ummune pokemon Ground-immune Pokemon like Noivern, Moltres, (AC) and Rotom-Heat well. Assault Vest Cyclizar and Rotom-Heat are two Pokémon that can safely switch into them. While Hippowdon is able to switch into strong Fighting-type attacks from pokemon Pokemon like Cobalion and Mienshao when fully healthy, it loses this resilience with even just a little bit of chip damage. This is why Hippowdon should be paired with a more sturdy fighting resist Fighting-resistant teammate such as Slowbro or Moltres. Hippowdon without Whirlwind may require extra support for physical setup sweepers. Choice Scarfers Scarf users faster than Iron leaves Leaves, such as Mienshao, Terrakion, Gengar and Zoroark-hisui can Gengar, and Hisuian Zoroark, can all fill this role. Non-Stealth Rock Hippowdon should be paired with some other another Stealth Rock setter such as Empoleon or Cobalion. Hippowdon has a good matchup vs against Cyclizar, but keeping entry hazards up often relies on out-damaging regenerator outdamaging Regenerator with passive damage and not giving Cyclizar the chance to use rapid spin Rapid Spin. Once Cyclizar manages to knock off Hippowdon’s helmet remove Hippowdon's Rocky Helmet with Knock Off, it becomes much harder to keep the hazards up. (I don't rally see how this cyclizar point links to teammates - you're saying it can kinda keep up hazards, but paragraph 2 is about talking about teammates for Hippo, so do you run a spinblocker? Something to offensively pressure it?) Using pivot moves or double switching is a good way to get Hippowdon in on the turn you expect your opponent to switch to Cyclizar and keep it from spinning. (so you do run pivot support - what examples of Pokemon do you have that can pair well?) Switching Hippo in aggressively vs Cyclizar in the early game will help you keep hazards up, even if it gets knocked off in the process. Switching Hippowdon into Cyclizar early-game can help keep hazards up even if Hippowdon gets hit by Knock Off in the process. (this sentence has no link to teammates)

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
Sand stream is a strong ability, but certain Certain teams such as ones with Pokémon Pokemon running Synthesis or that have teammates that otherwise dislike passive sandstorm chip, (AC) such as Alolan Muk or and Suicune, (AC) would prefer sand force Hippowdon to run Sand Force, effectively giving Hippowdon it no ability. Sand force also makes it easier to terrastalize Hippowdon since Sand Force also makes it easier to Terastallize Hippowdon, since it doesn’t have to worry about its own sandstorm and has a better matchup vs other Hippowdons against other Hippowdon due to its stronger Earthquake. Hippowdon can also run varying amounts of special defense Special Defense in order to better match up vs against special attackers, but Hippowdon often relies on maximum physical bulk to take neutral physical attacks. ('varying amount of special defense' is pretty vague - are there any specific spreads worth mentioning?)

Checks and Counters
====
Ground immunities: **Ground-immune Pokemon**: Mono-Earthquake Hippowdon is unable to hit fliers Ground-immune foes at all, making pokemon like Rotom-heat, Moltres, Salamence and Noivern Rotom-H, Moltres, Salamence, and Noivern incredibly safe switch-ins to it.

Grass types: **Grass-types**: Hippowdon with Stone Edge can hit fliers, but Ground-immune Pokemon but can't do any real damage to Grass types Grass-types such as Iron Leaves and Chesnaught. Iron Leaves is especially threatening due to its ability to set up on Hippowdon and sweep.

Special attackers: **Special Attackers**: Hippowdon's low special defense Special Defense and reliance on physical defense Defense investment means it is vulnerable to special attacks even from non-invested attackers. Pokemon like Gengar and Gardevoir are attackers that Hippowdon does not want to switch in on, and bulky pokemon Pokemon with decent special attacks (do you mean the stat 'Special Attack' or just good special moves?) such as Slowbro and Reuniclus are able to take Hippowdon's Earthquakes and threaten it in return.

Wallbreakers with hazard support: pokemon **Wallbreakers with Entry Hazard Support**: Pokemon like Choice Band Okidogi, Terrakion or Terrakion, and Mienshao can overcome Hippowdon's raw physical bulk with the help of chip damage such as hazard support. Okidogi's Close Combat is favored to 2hko 2HKO Hippowdon from full with Stealth Rock up and guaranteed to 2hko with a single spike 2HKO with a single layer of Spikes.

[SET CREDITS] this is a full, not a set, so just credits is good
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sneakyplanner.598717/
Quality checked by:
Rarelyme
fluff!!
Grammar checked by:
you need to use profile links for credits the same way you did the 'written by' - a tag won't work

QC ready

 

[Sneakyplanner]

Changes implemented, GP Team ready for gp check 2.