How GOOD was Hippowdon ACTUALLY? - History of Hippowdon in Competitive Pokemon

Hippowdon is today’s Pokemon for our competitive history series! Join False Swipe Gaming in this brief overview of Hippowdon in competitive Pokemon!
PATREON!
/ falseswipegaming
FULL RESEARCH SOURCES HERE
docs.google.com/document/d/1p...
0:00 - Intro
0:53 - DPP/Gen 4
5:19 - Gen 4 VGC
6:28 - BW/Gen 5
13:46 - Gen 5 VGC
14:17 - XY/Gen 6
18:08 - Gen 6 VGC
21:03 - SM/Gen 7
24:38 - SS/Gen 8
29:04 - Gen 8 VGC
30:20 - Outro
The Official False Swipe Gaming Twitter:
/ falseswipeg
Directed by Kellen
/ kellen_fsg
Follow Me On Twitch!: / kellen_fsg
Written By
Kevin aka BKC
His Channel: / @bkcplayspokemon
This Bread Needs More Jam: / @thisbreadneedsmorejam583
Edited By
Connor Nguyen aka CDK
Follow Him: / cdk_1989
VFX Intro By
Ryan Gonzales
ryangonzalesfilmmaker.weebly....
Sound Designed by
Ryan Gonzales
Game Capture Artist:
DarkMusician
Follow Him: / of_darkmusician
DISCLAIMERS ON FORMATS COVERED:
Notice I said POPULAR formats, meaning a format where there is a significant amount of people who compete in it for tournaments and so on and so forth.
For the record, I do not care what rules or formats people play their battles by nor am I saying these formats are the only formats that should be played. The way you play Pokemon is between you and your opponent. I just like examining popular tournament formats.
Songs Used (List of ALL Songs used for this series. Some may or may not make it into the video):
docs.google.com/document/d/1H...
My Twitter:
/ kellen_fsg
Resources and Historical References
History of Rule Variants: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wik...
Smogon University:
www.smogon.com/
Maikiri
/ nbmakiri
Aaron Cybertron Zheng:
/ cybertronvgc
Pokeaim
/ joeypokeaim
Pokemon Battle Historia:
pokemon.s20.xrea.com/
Nintendo Cup 2000 Team Construction:
pokemon.s20.xrea.com/2nd/const...
Nintendo Cup 2000 Tier List:
pokemon.s20.xrea.com/2nd/2000/
Pokemon Japanese Battle Wiki:
wiki.xn--rckteqa2e.com/wiki/%E...
Sprites From:
www.spriters-resource.com/
pldh.net/dex/sprites/index

[@ashwinnair3645]

"It has walled...Arceus in Ubers" Could God create a stone so heavy that even He could not lift it? Yes, apparently.

[@halacharif286]

Wow

[@IamSaralinka]

Even our lord and savior needs a contingency plan against itself

[@Grintock]

I always disliked this question. It's a definition question, to which the fair answer for any omnipotent being would be: yes, they could create a rock so heavy they could not lift it, and they could lift it.

[@ashwinnair3645]

@@Grintock "yes, they could create a rock so heavy they could not lift it, and they could lift it."

[@suezuccati304]

@@Grintock the point is to prove that absolute omnipotence is inherently contradictory. Nothing can be omnipotent because being omnipotent is incoherent.

[@keenanlarsen1639]

It's hilarious how like half of Hippo's highlight reel in this vid is just clips of things switching into stealth rocks

[@coolstr44]

Or viciously creating earthquakes...

[@justinmartin9052]

It’s comments like these @Keenan Larsen, just restating the obvious that get on my nerves

[@darthrevan5609]

@@justinmartin9052 yeah but comments are good for the KZbin algorithm

[@4KDolbyDigital]

@@justinmartin9052 better than comments that literally just quote the video directly

[@btb8675]

Maybe y’all should just respect that stealth rocks and scizors choice band technician bullet punch (and incredible type synergy with most sand-immune Pokémon) will always be the most reliable forms of augmenting sand storm’s residual damage. Seismitoad is mostly on the rise because he is one of the chosen few to learn toxic. He also has water absorb, electric immunity, and sand immunity. Corviknight is great for his ground immunity, rocky helmet, pressure, iron defense, body press, along with better than average speed it is a legitimate threat and it’s g-max move is also defog-buffed. Brave bird and roost are nice to have. U don’t really need steel STAB as in most situations scizor is just better for that with b-punch.

[@danieltomas2545]

The fact that hippowdon's video is over 30 mins long with 4 VGC placements confirms that the ttar remake will at least be close to 2 hours with ttar having 2 extra generations, extra generations in ubers, increased viability in OU, being one of the best vgc mons of all time (literally why hippo had 4 vgc placements in 5 generations) and even a mega form.

[@laprasrules12]

And then we have the movies for Lando and Ferrothorn

[@JeffSmith-jg5hd]

@@laprasrules12 and the half hour special for xerneas, talonflame, terrakion etc...

[@user-lq4ct6dr5m]

TTar’s bizarre UU adventure

[@Slade0120]

and then Gen 8 happened

[@nic8597]

Ah the number of mons which will easily hit 30 mins...togekiss, bronzong, amoonguss, salamence, garchomp, conkeldurr, snorlax, rotom, tornadus, thundurus, zapdos, gengar, aegislash and there's so many more...

[@armyidiot]

Despite it's size and weight, Hippowdon was straight break dancing back and forth between OU and UU and once even laid a fat smackdown in Ubers. Mad props to this fly hippo.

[@ashikjaman1940]

Somebody PLEASE give me fanart of Hippowdon dressed like a breakdancer

[@Not_interestEd-]

Hippo: "You can't kill me." Players: "Are you sure?" Hippo: "You Can't Kill Me." Players: "Understandable have a nice day."

[@impulse1228]

“Bulky Aerodactyl” is a phrase I'd thought I'd never hear.

[@matthewkuscienko4616]

It's weird, but if Infernape can pull off a defensive set with access to slack off for healing, than so too can an even faster Pokemon with roost to heal whilst shedding it's flying typing (and thus vulnerability to ice, electric and rock attacks) while also having it's special defensive boosted by sandstorm due to it's rock typing makes it surprisingly possible. It's likely somewhat niche, due to Aerodactyl not normally being known for it's bulkiness, but it just goes to show how players will adapt certain Pokemon to fill roles that you wouldn't normally think they could if it means getting a leg up in certain match ups

[@fever_1033.0]

I thought the same! 👀

[@Drakorre]

That's something Pimpnite would do

[@Resener1]

@@matthewkuscienko4616 BKC in his own videos has talked about how he loved to use bulky substitute aerodactyl in past generations. Its access to pressure and taunt also made it a nightmare to deal with for certain Pokémon in the past, like trick room bronzong and leaf storm celebs, as it could stall out their moves and prevent healing and/or status from other Pokémon. Pokémon is a crazy game sometimes, as there’s so much innovation due to the sheer number of possibilities for Pokémon teams and their sets.

[@DarkSymphony777]

We did hear physical sweeper Chansey in their remake video so bulky Aerodactyl is not as big a deal

[@thisisaclown8497]

Who knew a mon with a mono ground typing, a type more well known for being a great offensive type (esp with STAB earthquake) than a great defensive type, and 112 base attack would be best known as an unbreakable wall, being one of the most consistent pokemon of all time? Really goes to show the power of passive damage while having slack off with the mono ground typing resisting stealth rocks and being immune to sand to outlast other pokemon.

[@doktorsmiles2034]

The 420 hp help tho

[@marcorossi2854]

Massive hp stat, also has access to to roar and yawn, a great defensive mon that it's not meant to stall but to support many balance and offensive teams

[@azzydreamurr5677]

@Average Gamer yours is a hippo

[@marcorossi2854]

@@XCodes but the good thing about hippo is that with good investment in sp def it becomes tanky on both sides

[@thatonekidthatnobodytruste5406]

Yeah it’s because there’s so many great offensive ground types already, such as excadrill and smogon daddy, and they overshadow other grounds such as hippo here along with gliscor, so they broke through with their defensive play styles.

[@darthandeddu66]

Petition to False swipe Gaming to continue doing" How good was a particular type series"

[@biojayz5976]

That would be great

[@Game_Hero]

and the Super Smash Brothers series

[@lobomen8843]

i support all content of this channel, but something different every now and again is dope

[@EndingNote111]

Yeah, that was really fun

[@noosurprises]

Bring back Blunder too

[@koharuyuuki3162]

Gen 8 UU Hippowdon: I must go, OU needs me. Note: UU nearly died on Hippowdon's way back to OU.

[@CanadianBaconPwnage]

This sentiment is just true of Hippowdon in general. Hippo is a great example of how usage works in Smogon. Good Pokemon can drop to a lower tier not because it's a bad Pokemon, but that it's not the right pick at the time. Then, when the higher tier needs it, it moves up. Many people seem to forget this, and assume lower tiers are just for bad Pokemon. The Slowpoke evolutions/variants are also great examples of this, especially in Gen 8.

[@N12015]

@@CanadianBaconPwnage And only once each three months. That's the reason why NU still has Flygon even though they know that thing will be RU and his departure in july will cause a disaster because it's the most popular mon in that tier. Same thing could happen with Zarude and Chandelure going to UU.

[@Ob1tuber]

Then the Tyrant (Tyranitar) dropped down, but left

[@raphaelmarquez9650]

@@CanadianBaconPwnage "Many people seem to forget this, and assume lower tiers are just for bad Pokemon." That's because Smogon's naming department for their tier lists is horrible by confusing newcomers what's supposedly the equivalent of high tier, mid tier, low tier, or bottom tier. You would think UU would be this game's lower tier based on what it stands for (Underused), but no, it's actually this game's high tier list instead of something like MU (Mildly Used). Same goes for how it handles BL (borderline) because it sounds like a perfect name for a mid-tier list, but instead it's used as a mini-banlist between other tier lists. Because of this naming problem, newcomers will assume that there is no high tier and mid tier list, only banlists (Ubers), top tier (OU), and everything else below them (UU, RU, NU, and PU) are low tiers. To prevent this, I would've renamed these Smogon tiers like this to make it less confusing: Ubers (banlist) OU (top tier) MU (high tier) BL (mid tier) UU (low tier) RU (bottom tier) NU becomes the new untiered because it's redundant to have both when they mean the same thing (Pokemon that are never ever used), and PU gets removed too since it doesn't fit into the standard tier list organization we see in other competitive games.

[@ScourgeTheGreat]

@@raphaelmarquez9650 you do realize NU and PU exist because there's so many pokemon that you can have additional tiers, right? It doesn't fit into standard tier list organization because most competitive games don't have this many potential choices

[@JorgelCrisp]

“Hippos aren’t especially known for their speed” Uhhh, have you ever seen a Hippo chasing someone? Those guys can outrun a person on both Water AND Land

[@cintronproductions9430]

Yeah, apparently hippos are faster than Usain Bolt. If a hippo chases you on land, your only chance of survival is climbing a tree, but if they chase you in water, you simply won't survive.

[@trailguidealex5010]

30 miles per hour is their avrege

[@hyperstormx3194]

To be fair, most people don't know that. So he is right, they aren't KNOWN for their speed, even if they are speedy.

[@Drakorre]

They are as fast as horses

[@JorgelCrisp]

@@hyperstormx3194 this is fair, I can understand why you would think they’re slow. Hippos are absolutely terrifying though

[@neelarai971]

5:55 ah yes, my favorite pokemon to round out a weather team, a goddamn shedinja

[@SimpleAmadeus]

"Hippos aren't exactly known for their speed" Sort of true in the sense that people don't know it, but hippos are actually shockingly fast. They can run 48 km/h (that's 30 m/h).

[@nomfvideoesonmeisthatokfor6539]

Thats why it has that base 47 speed. Probably

[@scoutbane1651]

@@nomfvideoesonmeisthatokfor6539 So that's why caterpie has 45 speed. As we all know, caterpillars can achieve a maximum speed of 45 km/h when running from leaf to leaf

[@CrazedKasaJizo]

@@scoutbane1651 yes

[@ishaanharry8995]

​@@scoutbane1651don't even get me started on the icecream cone

[@insertobligatoryreferenceh489]

There should be a regional form of this line in some tropical region with Drizzle.

[@madmicro157]

YES

[@HowlingOneify]

That wold be neat. Water/ground type varient then?

[@tuskoub]

Knowing GameFreak, they’d make it an Ice type with Snow Warning instead

[@Rarest26]

One that shoots water from it’s pores as opposed to sand (well, knowing Game Freak, they’d probably do the same thing they did to non GMax Blastoise). There’s probably something like that on Deviantart or something.

[@SPZ-gv2on]

It could work as a poison/water type with either coming out of its pores. Then we could have a second toxapex!

[@mouser724]

"Hippos aren't known for their speed" They should. Despite their size, real hippos can run faster than humans, so don't anger them ! Actually, in Sword and Shield, you can see Hippowdon's running speed behind the player. It's quite fast !

[@alexamundarain3332]

Yeah!

[@benjaminshinar9509]

was searching for this comment. hippos are fast and dangerous.

[@Dara-up1pt]

@@benjaminshinar9509 yea they're actually assholes. They just kill bc they can iirc lol.

[@jaschabull2365]

Yep, they don't have the Greek for "horse" in their name for nothing, they can run as fast as one.

[@justinthibodeaux8601]

Science shows that a hippos legs are to stubby and their body is to fat to run fast. The hippo of course does it anyway as they don't care what humans think.

[@Daftanemone]

I will always hate how going 3d got rid of the sand around him.

[@Rarest26]

True, although maybe the problem was particle effects. Just look at how laggy Moltres can be.

[@naturalharmoniagropius4486]

Makes a lot of sense. Imagine using Rapid Spin and Hippowdon's sand on the floor weirdly spuns around.

[@pablojams5152]

@@naturalharmoniagropius4486 err hippo doesn’t get spin tho lol

[@naturalharmoniagropius4486]

@@pablojams5152 just imagine. There are some ways to make Hippowdon use Rapid Spin (e.g.: Copycat from a Zoroark, Transform, Metronome, etc.) It was coded in the game's files. Hence, why it some mods able to do randomized playthroughs.

[@thunderhog45]

3D ruined hundreds of pokemon tbh

[@kelvingarcia5399]

"I was bad" -The 2016 world champion

[@Julian-mc3tc]

Everybody is talking about the Hippo while I am here wondering why the f*ck did he bring a Magmar

[@Epzilon12]

@@Julian-mc3tc IIRC, this was because this was the last series where you could use pokemon from older gens (now you need the stamp from the current gen). This is to prevent things like Follow Me Magmar, which is only obtainable through XD: Gale of Darkness via Purification and it makes building sets and legality checking really annoying. Although, the exact odds someone got a perfect IV correct nature magmar from the purification is like... suspiciously low. This means that people are more likely to attempt to hack mons in, which is something gamefreak does not like. Note: Follow-Me Magmar would be really good due to a combination of Flame Body (contact Burns), Eviolite (free bulk), and redirection.

[@thecriticalghost4626]

@@Julian-mc3tc There is literally a Magmar video

[@erwin791]

Actually the SS part lacked some info. In Home meta, Helmet Hippo was a crucial part of OU, as it was one the few actual answers to Flame Orb Conkeldurr, while being a sturdy answer to dangerous mons like Excadrill, Zeraora, Aegislash and Bisharp. This made it a great addition to many balanced teams.

[@user-pp6pr5fg8w]

Yeah. Tyranitar even dropped in usage and viability just because of Hippowdon

[@N12015]

Not to mention that for a long time Hippowdon was seem as superior than Tyranitar due to being a better answer to Excadrill, even after the return of the sand king and now both are slightly falling out of favour.

[@YOSSARIAN313]

@@N12015 If excadrill had a move that beat ferrothorn it would be ou

[@AverageHandle_]

@@YOSSARIAN313 nah corv is worse for drill than feroo

[@YOSSARIAN313]

@@AverageHandle_ a move that beats ferro probably is gonna beat corviknight

[@shakeelamlay130]

Wolfey's dark past will never leave him.

[@fransgreidanus5678]

Can you explain?

[@roccopiosaracino3681]

@@fransgreidanus5678 he explained a lot of times that his 2013 worlds team was pure garbage and that he kinda regrets using it

[@SoggySlopster]

Who tf is “wolfey” ? that sounds like a furry

[@ScuffedHits]

@@SoggySlopster one of the best competitive pokémon players

[@roccopiosaracino3681]

@@SoggySlopster his name is literally wolfe lol

[@ryansoltner5229]

14:14 that was the moment i was waiting for and it did not disappoint.

[@shpaghettishpaghetti6219]

At least he didn't have a Hippowdon and *Shedinja* on his team.

[@YarnLalms711]

@@shpaghettishpaghetti6219 the guy with Shedinja and Hippo got 2nd overall, I think that guy is pretty happy with it

[@bobfranklin2572]

"Bulky Aerodactyl" is the most cursed thing I've ever heard

[@GIR177]

In DPPt, it's actually not as terrible of a gimmick as it seems. Sandstorm can make it decently bulky on the special side with HP investment, its typing can let it wall certain things like Heatran, and it can stall out quite a few things with SubRoost + Pressure because of how fast it is.

[@Astromontana]

I guessed you never heard when he said "After Cutiefly was banned".

[@acemerceramv8561]

I mean, Bulky Archeops was a thing

[@DrDrao]

Bulky deoxys speed in 1v1.

[@abdulbaten9537]

Chills dude

[@OurKindofEntertainment]

Damn the length of this video is almost as long as Hippowdon's jawline!

[@TheBestFormOfHumor]

Random = funny

[@oddadvertisment3365]

@@TheBestFormOfHumor have you seen his jawline? Do you know what a jawline is?

[@TheBestFormOfHumor]

@@oddadvertisment3365 Yes, I know what a jawline is. It's just that this joke was not funny in the slightest.

[@Ego-Fiend]

I mean it is a hippo You can park your car there

[@sworddash2365]

@@TheBestFormOfHumor 2 things. 1: Humor is subjective 2: how is it random? The comment was a joke on how long the video is, while also cracking a joke at its gen 4/5 sprites, with how massive its mouth is. It made sense, so it succeeded as a joke.

[@jvgonzalez90]

lol I remember that moment I saw the two versions of Hippowdown and I thought the black one was a shiny.

[@errorbirdesther]

Even to this day I think the same thing

[@jth1954]

The weather wars were the funnest meta game I have ever played. I remember running weather less teams

[@brain_tonic]

I did the opposite. I ran double weather!

[@jth1954]

@@brain_tonic nice I tried to catch my openet in a catch 22 and benefit from all weather. For a brief period Exadrill was free to play on non sand teams and running it basically shut down sand teams

[@brain_tonic]

@@jth1954 Yeah my Volcarona carried Hurricane for the raintards.

[@jth1954]

@@brain_tonic cool

[@flamingrubys11]

@@brain_tonic ayyy i ran a hail and drizzle set up how bout you?

[@gustavorodriguez5643]

Give BKC a rise for that intro alone.

[@huseyintok02]

Things Hippowdon had in his/her pocket: - Fruit - Plants - Leftovers - *Physical* *attackers*

[@MisterSleep1123]

And occationally, dwebbles

[@tytar2132]

@@MisterSleep1123 and drapion corpse

[@thecriticalghost4626]

Pockets?

[@colewatson4830]

And sand.

[@M3rtyville]

I remember in Gen 5 when I thought I was finally getting good at competitive when a friend of my casually stalled out my team with a single Hippowdon. He didn't even switch once, and I couldn't get past it with super effective moves.

[@davidlarkin1040]

What was your team?

[@M3rtyville]

@@davidlarkin1040 That was over a decade ago. Hard to tell. I know I had a Water Type at least and I think a Mew.

[@powerrangerblue8566]

I imagine it was mostly physical attackers or else I don't believe you'd have this much trouble.

[@M3rtyville]

@@powerrangerblue8566 He somehow predicted a switch and roared wearing down my special attackers. At some point I just couldn't kill it with anything since it could just Earthquake it and heal up. And it set up Stealth Rock at the start...

[@powerrangerblue8566]

@@M3rtyville stealth rock should be removed from the game in my opinion, is what I would've said if heavy duty boots didn't exist. But honestly hazards are a massive issue pregen8.

[@snapclub8751]

I’m surprised that nobody experimented with Stockpile + Body Press sets. Also, another advantage that Hippowdon has over T-tar is Yawn.

[@phantomb108]

I expected Scorching Sands shenanigans

[@snarls3760]

Stockpiles effects dissapper if u you use an attacking move

[@lazargodragonborn5058]

@@snarls3760 no they don't stockpiles only vanish after using either spit up or swallow you can use any other attacking move after stockpile just fine

[@goldenhydreigon4727]

Imagine using Yawn

[@xx_lunchmeat_xx752]

stockpile quag works wonders so why not hippowdon

[@trevorwhiteboy2649]

You forgot to mention that Hippowdon starred in her own 2005 movie, Madagascar

[@Rarest26]

Alongside Girafarig and the unrevealed Pyroar and Zebstrika.

[@ScourgeTheGreat]

We all know the empoleons were the best part of that franchise

[@Nightwing_.]

King passimian was the stuff.

[@goldenhydreigon4727]

And they brought in her male counterpart in the sequel and he turned into a giant meme

[@LegoReader12345hello]

As well as featuring four eisecues

[@poejavelski148]

Whenever I see this mon as a lead in gen 4 OU on showdown I already know what I’m in for 😤

[@BeeEmpress]

Me and the boys running empoleon:

[@poejavelski148]

@@BeeEmpress Taunt DD Gyara is my favourite wall breaker in gen 4.

[@tytar2132]

@@BeeEmpress when the hippodon is special defensive now what

[@BeeEmpress]

@@tytar2132 you still have a sash and a torrent boost now cretin

[@tytar2132]

@@BeeEmpress what if my hippodon was scarfed

[@The_Mister_E]

It's kinda funny how Hippowdon is known for stall, since real hippos are lethal like no other land mammal! Sure it makes sense considering how thick their skin is and how bulky their build is, but 112 attack is a little light for tusks that scare all but elephants away!

[@rueblie2627]

But elephants only have 69 defence and a weakness to ground

[@rueblie2627]

@Nish The Great Copperajah

[@boonem9267]

This matches with real life, hippopotamus also have thicker skin than elephants

[@KahunaLagoona]

@@rueblie2627 What about the Tire Elephant?

[@matthewkuscienko4616]

@@KahunaLagoona Hippowdon has ice fang for that Pokemon

[@singingcrow439]

You know a pokemon is good when it can compete with Tyranitar itself for a niche and actually win at times.

[@Not_interestEd-]

And then, SV happened. TTar isn't bad, it just doesn't have their friends.

[@WellToastedBagel]

Just like the animal it's based on. It's an unassuming beast of a mon that can tank the top tiers and threaten them, all in one package. It's almost Skarm esque in its how consistently reliable it is in its job, and I have always appreciated it for that.

[@Rarest26]

This comment gave me TierZoo vibes, for some reason.

[@ezradianadieuveille4676]

@@Rarest26 of course

[@imlatino4572]

@@Rarest26 there hasn't been any videos lately, right? I haven't seen them in my feed

[@ActualTrash8]

@@imlatino4572 a few weeks later….

[@stripes9386]

Thumbnail really demonstrates how much personality was lost in the transition to 3D

[@Pigggles]

It would definitely be weird for hippowdown to continuously leak sand in the 3D models, just like making them move around like in gen 5 would look pretty dumb

[@Cobalt957]

@@Pigggles but it still could open his mouth every 15 seconds in his idle or just stomping around.

[@Tougedrift]

Gen 5 is aesthetically the coolest when it comes to the models, hands down.

[@thepunisher6674]

Bro look at the reuniclus 3D model vs the pixel model the 3D model is trash and the the pixel model is amazing the same happened with hippowdon

[@turbo__unicorn3370]

Thankfully they did it justice in New Pokémon Snap

[@Dz73zxxx]

Ah yes the regular customer which always get one shotted by my empoleon's surf in e4 gen 4 battle but somehow in competitive its bulkiness is fcking mindblowing

[@pablojams5152]

That’s what IVs and EVs and proper natures will do for you lol

[@unmployedvillager7341]

AI vs Humane

[@cosmic-_-]

I love this hippo, this thing could stall out a +1 choice band genesect extreme speed with rocky helmet when it was released in gen 8. Love the beast

[@BeeEmpress]

Skarmory:

[@nero9506]

@@BeeEmpress Skarmory is only a defensive wall, and it mostly partners well with stall teams. Hippowdon on the other hand is not only extremely good on the physical defense side, but has also a pretty good ATK as stated in the video. Also, sand stream is a fantastic ability that allows it to partner with offensive beasts like Excadrill, besides also providing some nice chip damage.

[@BeeEmpress]

@@nero9506 1st of all Hippowdon never invests into its attack and skarmory has only been a stall only mon in gen 6 & 7. And skarmory also has chip damage in a small way like you know, spikes stealth rock and toxic :)

[@nero9506]

@@BeeEmpress Aehm I never said Skarmory was a stall only mon, I said it's an exclusive defensive wall that partners well mostly with stall teams, because its only reliable way of doing damage is chip damage from hazards and toxic. Also, that's the point with hippowdown, it doesn't need to invest EVs on its ATK because stab earthquake is such a good move on itself, and 112 ATK uninvested is still good compared to the relatively weak 80 ATK of skarmory. And again, my point with Sand Stream wasn't that it deals chip damage, but rather that it ALSO deals chip damage. The main strength of Sand Stream is that it provides a good support to the team against other weathers, managing to remove annoying Rain and especially Sun settlers, it boosts mons that benefit from the ability like I mentioned earlier (Excadrill, Garchomp, Diancie-Mega, Corvi etc.) and it provides, again, nice chip damage. I also wanna remind you that Hippowdon also learns stealth rock and toxic, as well as Slack Off, so if you wanna go for the full stally strat then it's also a good option. P.S. Hippowdon is also way more spreadable in teams than Skarmory is.

[@BeeEmpress]

@@nero9506 fucking hell I didn’t even type that much out go do your taxes

[@Smart1529]

I remember using this hippo before I learnt that its really good in competitive back when I was playing Pearl. Its nice to see recognition of a Pokemon you liked sometimes. Also unpopular opinion- Hippopotas and Hippowdon has one of the best distinctive cries in the game.

[@KahunaLagoona]

"Its nice to see recognition of a Pokemon you liked sometimes." Someday Swalot, you'll get your time in the sun. That thing carried me in Gale of Darkness. Who knew a status setter was so good in those games?

[@azureshieldchannel1969]

The sound of sand getting pumped out at the end of the cry

[@AhmedHussain-ju6xd]

@@KahunaLagoona yeah he is pretty underrated

[@Blacturne859]

Two of my favorite cries as well

[@jaretco6423]

I also loved there Gen. 5 sprites.

[@SgtCookie111]

Offensive Threat: _Exists_ Hippowdon: "...and I took that personally."

[@openinginawe5518]

Hippos are tough. Sand hippos also are tough I wonder what a regional would look like. Also Bertha was tough.

[@BeeEmpress]

Is this a poem

[@BladeTNT2018]

I guess

[@BeeEmpress]

@person person ??

[@Frog_Dogger]

@person person It would probably be much weaker than normal Hippowdon. But the idea of a monster hippo with crystal-y looking ice tusks is badass

[@awesomeraichu59342]

I think a regional variant Hippowdon with a typing of Ground/ Electric, would be awesome. Give it the ability electric surge. And give it a flipped stat line, making it a special attacking ground type (We really need more of those). Give it moves such as thunderbolt, discharge, shock wave, charge beam, thunder, thunder wave, rising voltage, flamethrower, fire blast, incinerate, heat wave, ancient power, power gem, sludge bomb, sludge wave, flash cannon, and ice beam. And this would make for a cool regional variant, and an awesome special attacking ground type. Stats: HP: 108 Attack: 30 Defense: 118 Special attack: 112 Special defense: 89 Speed: 68

[@liamrobert2460]

After the gen 5 section, I’m really curious about competitive stoutland

[@CigaretteCrayon]

Peaked in Gen 5 UU and was never seen again.

[@iantaakalla8180]

And can somewhat work in Pokémon GO Ultra League to somewhat counter Giratina and nothing else.

[@starmapping7848]

@@CigaretteCrayon In gen 6 PU that think could be arguably the best

[@mydude9710]

It's doing pretty well in doubles UU (and to a lesser extent out), used it myself it's pretty good and has wide coverage

[@Pompadourius]

Stoutland's my favorite, it's kinda cool to hear that competitive Stoutland was a thing. lol

[@nixuniverse5240]

I'll never forget the time when I was a kid fighting slews of male Hippowdon only to find a female one and thought it was a shiny 😑

[@Pionterus]

Ig everyone thought that. Its a Shame that the Shiny is bad

[@Rainb0wzNstuff]

Same

[@justinnzamora5366]

I was one of the many people who thought Bertha had a shiny Hippowdon.

[@NMOberski]

I used my master ball on one and saved immediately :(

[@fufinmug]

same tbh

[@Krazykarlton]

I would love it if we got a weather mini series. Like how weather has shaped competitive Pokémon.

[@StevenDaniels81]

That would be really dope

[@Skullhawk13]

Gen 5 section is 65% of video

[@nicolaswhitehouse3894]

That hippodown in the elite 4 was always tough to beat when you had infernape as your starter, and it really slowed the pacing of the game by constantly chipping residual damage from the sandstorm I remember.

[@MisterSleep1123]

Bertha

[@nicolaswhitehouse3894]

@@MisterSleep1123 yeah that grandma I remember now thanks

[@matthewkuscienko4616]

That is why it's a good idea to teach Infernape grass knot for that battle. It's normally not very good against Bertha's team, but grass knot gives it a huge leg up against them, since her entire team is weak to grass, with several being 4x weak to the type (unless you're playing platinum, that is), and both versions of her team have a lot of heavy Pokemon that take hefty damage from grass knot and low kick

[@nicolaswhitehouse3894]

@@matthewkuscienko4616 it can learn grass knot ? I was just a kid back then so I was just spamming Infernape+giratina to the end hahahaha

[@marcoguzman095]

Me *laughs in empoleon*

[@masterofchaos7282]

Remember using it during a ground mono run of platinum. It was a lot of fun to use.

[@_G.C]

Gotta love those early sprites and pieces of artwork

[@theleoita90]

Gen 2 animated are pretty nice (even if not in this video tho)

[@TheBigAyland]

At this point, I'm looking forward to the Ferrothorn Film, and the Landorus-Therian Netflix series

[@jis11]

And the heatran movie

[@InfernoPower]

Don't forget the Rotom documentary series

[@shadowtitanx3962]

Arceus Seasons as well

[@Oliver-uz1fs]

Seems like everyone forget about the zapdos trilogy

[@sircophagusthethird6936]

This video summed up Hippowdon: Smogon Tyranitar: VGC

[@jis11]

Actually, hippowdon is the zamazenta to ttar being zacian(Ttar is more offensively inclined)

[@sircophagusthethird6936]

@@jis11 That’s a good comparison

[@shadowtitanx3962]

At least Hippowdon has a good movepool, unlike Zamazenta.

[@neond6740]

@@jis11 Except Hippowdon is also good.

[@Oscarus4250]

@@sircophagusthethird6936 But one flaw. Hippowdon has better typing defensely, while Tyranitar offensively. In Zacian/Zamazenta case, the attributes are swapped

[@Dj_Gj]

We have 5 out of the 6 Pokémon Paul took to the Sinnoh league, so why not finish the team? If you haven’t already, How GOOD was Ninjask ACTUALLY?

[@makepr]

He doesnt own one though? The team he used was elektrivire, aggron, ninjask, drapion, froslass and gastrodon no?

[@Dj_Gj]

@@makepr ????

[@makepr]

@@Dj_Gj it said so at wiki

[@Dj_Gj]

@@makepr you make no sense. HE HAS A NINJASK!

[@makepr]

@@Dj_Gj i said he had one, and he has one. Whats the proplem

[@munchrai6396]

The matchup between Diancie and Hippowdon is actually surprisingly nuanced because Diancie can run bulk to take advantage of its stats before mega evolving. Though, I'm not sure if Defensive or Special Defensive Hippowdon was more common at the time. If its mostly defensive then this strategy would allow Diancie to barely edge out a 2 shot with good prediction

[@pablojams5152]

Hippo gets iron head which could make a difference with 4x effective coverage but running it for just Diancie seems niche at best

[@toadallynoodle5414]

@@pablojams5152 Iron Head could still allow it to hit some of the most scary things at the time, like Mega Gardevoir, and could take the chance to hit all the Levitating and Flying-Types that were rampant in Gen 6, a niche choice for its moveset, but potentially useful.

[@beta511ee4]

@@toadallynoodle5414 It’s barely stronger than Earthquake, though.

[@shikhar2327]

Hippowdon, the pokemon that was so situational it took an entire generation to understand its viability.

[@Hufflepuff528]

One of the most underrated Gen 4 mons ❤️

[@thomasramirez5132]

I thought it was from gen 5

[@jaretco6423]

Thomas. Gen. 4.

[@huseyintok02]

I love Hippowdon's sprite of Gen 4 and Gen 5 where the whole amount of sand is coming from his/her body!🤎

[@arielcevallos8188]

Yeah, it was genius, hope it returns on next gens, the actual one is boring

[@xx_lunchmeat_xx752]

are you afraid to misgender a fictional hippo

[@shirokiro9081]

@@xx_lunchmeat_xx752 Gee, it’s almost like Hippowdon has a male/female form.

[@pekorisa]

If a Pkmn has both a female and male variant at that point you could make you life easier and use "its" instead ngl

[@PerfectAzrael]

@UCiH9ONJvXpTDH3QTZeBC8MA Bruh.

[@jamesdinius7769]

One terrifying thing I realized. Keldeo, the terror of OU for gens 5 and 6, has fallen to UU. That's how bad power creep is. Of course, some good things happen. Apparently Nidoking, who has been UU since gen 3 is up in OU now.

[@AverageHandle_]

Nah it’s not powercreep, it’s the fact that both pex and fini exist

[@bulborb8756]

as of now, Nidoking is back to lording over his throne in UU, which isn't bad since he's been pretty contempt with it

[@AverageHandle_]

@@bulborb8756 he’s pretty viable in OU tho

[@MrMatheuslego]

"How good was Hippowdon actually ?" Excadrill drawn in a shoujo style: *"Perfect..."*

[@EshamPlayz]

Oh because of Sand Rush and Swords Dance, right?

[@InfernoPower]

@@EshamPlayz excadrill has both sand rush and sand force so hippo is just simply his best friend

[@EshamPlayz]

@@InfernoPower haha

[@brendan01]

Ttrar too

[@allenkeettikkal3149]

Gen 5: “It was unmatched at shutting down Tentacruel” Me: *laughs in Seismitoad*.

[@danielmartins9901]

Why are you inside a Seismitoad? That hardly seems like a situation to laugh

[@irisrosario5040]

@@danielmartins9901 if dont get it They probably use a Seismitoad in a fight

[@danielmartins9901]

@@irisrosario5040 I was um....making a joke. Cause he said "laughs in Seismitoad"😐

[@irisrosario5040]

@@danielmartins9901 oh

[@dragicianryudo595]

Hippowdon is great and synergizes with some of my favorite pokemon, so it's good to hear it was suitably amazing. I also love that it makes sand play viable in game, where as the other sand setters are so late game you're just playing weakness laden rocks.

[@Dreamyzas]

You know this dude is damn good when the video starts with a: “ Kneel before “

[@AverageHandle_]

Let’s be real Hippowdon’s 2D sprite is way better than it’s 3D sprite

[@Pompadourius]

The sprite is badass, it's like this beast with its lower half seemingly made of sand. Doesn't feel the same without the sand.

[@mrtrollnator123]

​@@Pompadouriusexcept for the platinum sprite

[@AndrewMagnificent]

Friendship ended with Tyranitar, now Hippowdon is my best friend -Excadrill at the start of gen 8, probably

[@1tsJustKetchup]

Quite literally, cuz Tyranitar got booted from OU at one point

[@ArmageddonAngel]

What a throwback

[@Rarest26]

@@1tsJustKetchup And it should've stayed down there, especially after the Spectrier ban.

[@vdd1001]

@@Rarest26 wym tyranitar is great

[@CherrEblue]

@@vdd1001 and t-tar is good but at the start of gen 8 the hippo just took its place for a bit

[@gutsmasterson2488]

I can’t tell you how long I have waited for this! Hippowdon is a beast in competitive and now the world can see it too.

[@TheRealW.S.Foster]

For each generation of Pokémon that I've played, starting with RSE and ending at XY, there's always that one Pokémon that eventually tipped the scales and got me to get the game they appeared in. Long story short, Hippowdon was the Pokémon that made me get Diamond & Platinum.

[@lisandroiribarne1141]

What were the others?

[@TheRealW.S.Foster]

@@lisandroiribarne1141 Gen 3 was Slaking overall. Gen 5 was that tree deer, can't remember it's name. And for Gen 6, it was Pyroar.

[@jellomochas]

@@TheRealW.S.Foster Deerling/Sawsbuck

[@TheRealW.S.Foster]

@@jellomochas That's the one. I remember it had four forms too based on the seasons. I think my favorite was the summer form.

[@firetools]

For me that would be Hydreigon for Gen 5, and Grimmsnarl for Gen 8.

[@tedscheett9420]

I love Hippowdon, but I would like to see some of the "banned" mons that this channel hasn't covered. Cresselia, The Genies, Ferrothorn... I want to know how good they were.

[@togakhan1274]

That has to be one of the classiest Pokemon introductions ever.

[@aurabender150]

O 0 O 00 O 000

[@galvsparks6295]

O 0 O 00 O 000 O 0000

[@georgeadrsonbuteltavaresbu782]

O 0 O 00 O 000 O 0000 O 00000

[@fullstopdice]

O 0 O 00 O 000 O 0000 O 00000 O 000000

[@pawchamp]

tbh I think it'd be pretty cool if you did an analysis of some of the CAPmons, or even the Create-A-Pokemon meta in general. It's the meta for all of the fakemons that Smogon designed to fill weird niches that nothing else fills, so it has a lot of cool stuff that'd you'd never see outside of CAP.

[@highvoltage3508]

One of the coolest defensive Pokémon alongside skarmory and tangrowth

[@CigaretteCrayon]

Communists when they realize that the C is Capitalized. 😭

[@highvoltage3508]

@@CigaretteCrayon bruh

[@hos427]

this dude really called him Hippowdon Corleone, and I really just almost pissed my pants laughing at the dry delivery. Happy Sunday!

[@2022irons]

Hippowdon: *I Fear No Man, But That Thing (Roserade’s Leaf Storm), It Scares Me*

[@GamerGhostRider]

I legit thought this one had been done a while ago.

[@viniciuslucio98]

No, it was 2 videos for Tyrannitar but your confusion makes sense

[@xdude228]

@@viniciuslucio98 When was there a second Tyranitar video?

[@viniciuslucio98]

@@xdude228 in the past

[@matthewroberts198]

Not surprising, its been mentioned in pretty much every video involving OU (since its introduction in Gen IV)

[@xdude228]

@@viniciuslucio98 Unless they deleted it, there's never been a second Tyranitar video. Its still just the original al one from 3 years ago.

[@Bestestbro]

God the dramatic music coupled with the intensity in False Swipe's voice while narrating kept me watching till the end. Ya got yourself a new subscriber

[@vdd1001]

Oh boy, a long one right when I'm gonna have dinner after studying for 5 hours straight? So good

[@Chucky_Martinez]

Ok I am kind of happy you did Hippowdon, but still hope you do Conkeldurr

[@cosmic-espeon6358]

False Swipe Gaming makes really informative content.

[@blackknightrises8612]

I dont comment on your videos very often, but just want to say what a great job you do with these videos, i always watch these on a sunday night once uploaded and week on week its consistently great content. Keep it up 👍

[@mafiousbj]

You have to love how self-aware Wolffe is ^^

[@petervilla5221]

0:47 look how they massacred my boy. The biggest nerf to the terror of the savannah in plain sight.

[@NanaKyoto]

Hippowdon is quite literally sand, it's coarse, and gets everywhere, much like its places in competitive.

[@SoonYoungKim_94]

Imo one the MOST underrated Pokémon period. I say underrated as in its not as discussed as much as Clefable, Urshifu, or ferrothorn just to name a few. Not trying to undermine Hippowdon; sorry if that’s how people felt about my comment.

[@BeeEmpress]

No

[@galvsparks6295]

Totally. I just feel so many people don’t talk about it for how strong it is

[@dixienormus2802]

Hippowdon is the face of sand teams. Anyone who's faced one knows its not underrated.

[@kadens]

no one talks about granbull granbull can be op

[@BeeEmpress]

@@dixienormus2802 ttar be like:

[@azzydreamurr5677]

Hippowdon is pretty much good for everything, setting up hazards, utilizing status conditions, doing lots of damage with earthquake. Whirlwinding threats out and has an easy time with recovery.

[@TheKreve]

Hippowdon gets banned from UU Eviolite hippopotas: Allow me to introduce myself

[@davidlarkin1040]

Sand in UU: Adios

[@EsoiTheGrumpyMawile]

I'll make you proud daddy!

[@bagkid5645]

damn battles looked so much better in battle revolution.

[@Gato-be2jr]

And has one of the most advanced Ai in all Pokemon

[@oswaldogil8819]

It's funny how everytime Hippowdon fell to UU he was needed in OU to check powerful pokemon. I have seen these videos very interesting for succesful pokemon, I would really like to see a remake of Starmie with the title: "How GREAT was Starmie ACTUALLY"

[@HowlingOneify]

I dunno if Starmie would get tht classification. It eeally started struggling in Gen 6 and as of now... i think is NU.

[@oswaldogil8819]

@@HowlingOneify oh damn it did?

[@FL_2802]

Starmie definitely isn't great tho It's already bad in gen 8

[@nic8597]

6 generations of OU and 1 generation of UU would definitely be considered great regardless, sadly it really got hurt by the knock off buff putting it on every team and the number of defog users making rapid spin pretty useless. 6 gens of OU is actually the same as dragonite.

[@naturalharmoniagropius4486]

Starmie now stinks in Gen 8

[@PoopyHead78902]

Hippos are actually known for their speed being as fast as horses

[@patrickthompson7288]

Just imagine if sand improved defense for ground types like it does for special defence for rocks

[@marcusferro7588]

Hippowdon was so good Wolfe ran it in 2013, hoping for it to carry lmao

[@pedroarthurdesouzagomes3262]

Oh, the sweet memories. I remember playing singles in Shoddy Battle and sand teams were my favorite thanks to Hippowdon. Amazing job on the video, as usual. 🔥

[@goldenhydreigon4727]

Ah yes, Tyranitar's Echo Fighter

[@tytar2132]

I LOVE HIPPODON I WANTED A VIDEO ON HIM SOOOOO BAD THANK YOU FALSE SWIPE YOUR DA BEST

[@ParakeetDSi]

oH My GoD!!!11!1! is THAT A smAsH bRoD REfERenCe?1!?

[@1tsJustKetchup]

This actually made me laugh. That’s a fun joke lmao

[@insertobligatoryreferenceh489]

Stole the words straight out of my mouth.

[@thecriticalghost4626]

No

[@aespa690]

I love Hippowdon. I used this guy on my "no attacks" team and beat foes with hazards, sandstorm, rocky helmet, toxic, and phasing moves.

[@kaua4781]

Its funny how Hippowdon took 7 years to close his mouth

[@NicofTime...]

Well it took twenty for Snorlax to stand up yo

[@kaua4781]

@@NicofTime... i mean hippowdon havent stand up yet in 15 years! Its just a matter of time bro.

[@mcdonnell-douglasdc-1056]

When hippos yawn, they're not tired or exhausted. They are angry and territorial. "Get out or I'll make you!" Is the message they convey.

[@ethanstein6613]

Female hippowdon appears, Literally almost everyone: IS THAT A SHINY HIPPOWDON?!

[@LegendaryAntiHero]

I never thought about using Hippodown in Gen 4 or its remakes. I merely caught Geodude early on and stuck with Golem. However, I caught Alpha Hippodown in Legends Arceus. What's cool about Alpha is I can add them to my party and use them in battle immediately since their levels are likely higher than my starter when I catch them.

[@SenorFlamingo]

Drinking game: take a shot for every shift Hippowdon made between OU and UU

[@zeke_insano]

And it even has plenty of attacks for countering the types super effective to it. It had thunder fang for water types and fire fang for grass. An absolute beast, used it in Legends Arceus no regrets.

[@Novice1390]

Great vid as always. Thanks, keep up the good work.

[@tarabaci]

I remember that Hippowdon would fit so well in my Gen 4 team but I dropped that idea because Gen 4 was so slow and the sandstream would make my run at least two weeks longer.

[@rotomRASENGAN]

Hehehehe... Hippowdon’s max HP stat is 420.

[@Caffeine_Factor]

Nice

[@axell15thewispmaster51]

What?

[@Caffeine_Factor]

@@axell15thewispmaster51 Nice

[@axell15thewispmaster51]

@@Caffeine_Factor Can you please explain it to me?

[@Caffeine_Factor]

@@axell15thewispmaster51 used to refer to cannabis or to the act of smoking cannabis. "a 420-friendly hotel"

[@juanca2567]

Do “How good was Eevee actually”. Sylveon would be good too (isn’t it odd that the only functional Eeveelutions in VGC are the 130 Special Defense ones, being Umbreon and Sylveon).

[@MrcreeperDXD777]

its only good in gen 7 where it was everywhere on baton pass teams thanks to the evoboost z move

[@juanca2567]

I already know it’s going to be a Little cup version of the Wigglytuff video, but I still want to see it happen.

[@stop8388]

@@juanca2567 honestly? It has adaptability and some strong stab moves. I'm not saying it's a huge threat, but I'd hope it would at least be a decent gimmick.

[@Gaurang_Karande]

The mon that defined weather generation and it's well over 30 minute mark. So let's get our popcorns rolling

[@BeeEmpress]

That’s Tyranitar and politoad what

[@davidlarkin1040]

Politoed and T-Tar are the true weather setters.

[@Gatescholar]

I just imagine Hippo wants to take a nap and relax down in UU, and everytime he JUSTS got comfortable trainers show up and are like "Ya gotta come back to OU! It's a mess up there!"

[@alexdrake4081]

I won’t forget the time I raged when i lost to a Hippowdon with Thunder fang... used on a Gyarados

[@exeggutivejudge3747]

At full??

[@alexdrake4081]

@@exeggutivejudge3747 yeah

[@exeggutivejudge3747]

@@alexdrake4081 Ik Gyrados is 4x weak to Electric, but the Fang moves aren't really that powerful. In my experience, no one really dies from a 4x effective fang move unless it's Strong Jaw or Tough Claws.

[@eyecontrol4900]

@@exeggutivejudge3747 unless Hippo had attack investment

[@spinceiling7442]

One of the coolest mons ever imo. So underrated

[@Neevkl_7]

Used this thing as a Zacian answer in VGC series 8. Such a good mon. Very underrated in doubles.

[@Wheeler-gc4tj]

And now we wait for the forgotten one, Gigalith!