In Black & White, Don't let Hippowdon's 525 base stat total fool you. Sand Stream is what makes it tick. It punches way above its weight class. We rate it B-Tier as a tank. Earthquake with Leftovers is the standard set.

What is Hippowdon weak to?

In Black & White, Hippowdon's biggest threats include Swampert (Water), Roserade (Grass), and Lapras (Ice), all carrying super-effective STAB moves.

What is the best ability for Hippowdon?

In Black & White, Run Sand Stream on Hippowdon. It's the ability that defines how you build around it and the main reason it holds a competitive niche. Hippowdon also gets Sand Force, but they don't compare.

What role does Hippowdon play in battle?

In Black & White, Hippowdon fills the tank role. It's a physical attacker with base 112 Attack. Base 47 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. And it's tanky enough to absorb a few hits.

What are the best moves for Hippowdon?

For Black & White, the core moveset is Earthquake, Slack Off, Stealth Rock, and Whirlwind. Earthquake leads at 24% usage. Earthquake provides reliable STAB damage.

Hippowdon - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Physical

Tank

BTier

47Speed · Slow

Stats & Training

Hippowdon's spread favors physical bulk over offense. Defense leads the defensive side, Speed eats the cost. Yields 2 Defense EVs per defeat. Slow 1.25M XP grind to level.

Base Stats

High

HP108

Attack112

Defense118

Sp. Atk68

Sp. Def72

Speed47

Total525

Details

Catch Rate

Challenging60 / 255

Growth Rate

Slow1.25M XP

Height2.0 m

Weight300.0 kg

Base XP184

Abilities

Sand StreamTop Pick

Summons a sandstorm that lasts indefinitely upon entering battle.

Sand ForceHARare

Strengthens rock, ground, and steel moves to 1.3× their power during a sandstorm. Protects against sandstorm damage.

EV Yield

HPAtkDef+2SpASpDSpe

Defense training target

Pokedex Entries

It is surprisingly quick to anger. It holds its mouth agape as a display of its strength.

Hippowdon Weakness

Type-wise, Hippowdon takes extra damage from Water, Grass, and Ice. Electric moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity. Hippowdon's physical bulk (base 118 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.

Hippowdon Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Water, Grass, Ice
0.5x (Resist)	Poison, Rock
0x (Immune)	Electric

Type ChartAvg

3Weak

2Resist

1Immune

Score-1

Gen V Type Chart

Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Water Grass Ice

½xResist

Poison Rock

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

Electric

STAB (5)

Fire Electric Poison Rock Steel

How to Beat Hippowdon in Black & White (Best Counters)

In Black & White, Excadrill's Earthquake hits Hippowdon for 35-41%. Scizor deals 39-45% with Superpower.

TyranitarThreatens with Ice Beam, outspeeds, excellent bulk RockDark	S
Recommended Build AbilitySand Stream ItemChopleberry NatureAdamant Moves PursuitSTAB CrunchSTAB Superpower Thunder Wave Damage vs Hippowdon Pursuit 14-16% Crunch 27-32% Superpower 27-32% View Tyranitar builds →
ExcadrillOutspeeds GroundSteel	A
Recommended Build AbilitySandforce ItemChoice Scarf NatureJolly Moves EarthquakeSTAB Rapid Spin Iron Head Rock Slide Damage vs Hippowdon Earthquake 35-41% Rapid Spin 12-14% Rock Slide 9-10% View Excadrill builds →
ScizorOutspeeds BugSteel	A
Recommended Build AbilityTechnician ItemLife Orb NatureAdamant Moves Bullet Punch Superpower Pursuit U Turn Damage vs Hippowdon Bullet Punch 20-23% Superpower 39-45% Pursuit 13-15% U Turn 34-40% View Scizor builds →
JirachiThreatens with Ice Punch, outspeeds SteelPsychic	A
Recommended Build AbilitySerenegrace ItemLeftovers NatureCareful Moves Iron Head U Turn Ice Punch Healing Wish Damage vs Hippowdon U Turn 10-12% View Jirachi builds →
InfernapeOutspeeds FireFighting	B
Recommended Build AbilityBlaze ItemLife Orb NatureJolly Moves Close Combat OverheatSTAB Mach Punch Hidden Power Ice Damage vs Hippowdon Close Combat 45-53% Overheat 36-42% Mach Punch 15-18% View Infernape builds →

Black & White Evolution

Hippowdon is the evolved form of Hippopotas. Breeding produces Hippopotas eggs, and they're slow to hatch. Evolving from Hippopotas gave Hippowdon the biggest boost in HP (+40), bringing the total to 525 stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms

#449Hippopotas

Level 34

#450Hippowdon

Stat Comparison 2 Stages

Hippopotas

Ground

Hippowdon

Ground

108+40

ATK

112+40

DEF

118+40

SP.ATK

68+30

SP.DEF

72+30

SPE

47+15

BST

330C-Tier

525B-Tier+195

ROLE

Balanced

Tank

TYPE

Physical

Breeding

Easy

Breed with Hippowdon to get Hippopotas eggs easily using 181 partners from the Ground egg group. Notable egg moves include Body Slam, Curse, Revenge and 7 more.

Egg Groups

Ground

Gender

♂50.0%♀50.0%

Hatch Time

30 cycles·7,710 steps

Moderate~8 min with Flame Body

Egg Moves

10moves

Breed With (best first)

Black & White Hippowdon Best Moveset

The build centers on Stealth Rock and survivability. Leftovers means passive recovery each turn, and max HP and Sp. Def EVs give Hippowdon the bulk to set up repeatedly. Sand Stream adds another layer of staying power. Slack Off keeps it healthy between hits.

Best Build

Solid pick

Wall

Ability

Sand Stream

Item

LeftoversSUSTAIN

Best Nature for Hippowdon

Careful+SPD

Hippowdon best EVs are HP and Sp. Def

EVs

Def

SpD

Wall Moveset

EarthquakeSTAB
Slack Off
Stealth Rock
WhirlwindSLOW -6Utility

Recommended Teammates

SkarmoryGood

ClefableDecent

LatiosDecent

Moves

The egg pool carries weight here. Body Slam and Curse aren't available any other way for Hippowdon, and they meaningfully change what it threatens. Stack those on top of Earthquake and Dig for solid options.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Bite

C6010025Dark

Lv 1

Fire Fang

C659515Fire

Lv 1

Ice Fang

C659515Ice

Lv 1

Sand Attack

——10015Ground

Lv 1

Tackle

D5010035Normal

Lv 1

Thunder Fang

C659515Electric

Lv 1

Yawn

———10Normal

Lv 7

Bite

C6010025Dark

Lv 13

Yawn

———10Normal

Lv 19

Dig

B8010010Ground

Lv 19

Take Down

—908520Normal

Lv 25

Sand Tomb

—358515Ground

Lv 31

Crunch

C8010015Dark

Lv 40

Earthquake

S10010010Ground

Lv 50

Double-Edge

B12010015Normal

Lv 60

Fissure

——305Ground

TM Moves

TM45

Attract

C—10015Normal

TM78

Bulldoze

C6010020Ground

TM28

Dig

B8010010Ground

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM26

Earthquake

S10010010Ground

TM42

Facade

C7010020Normal

TM21

Frustration

——10020Normal

TM68

Giga Impact

B150905Normal

TM10

Hidden Power

—6010015Normal

TM15

Hyper Beam

C150905Normal

TM17

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM27

Return

D—10020Normal

TM05

Roar-6

C—10020Normal

TM80

Rock Slide

B759010Rock

TM94

Rock Smash

D4010015Fighting

TM39

Rock Tomb

—609510Rock

TM48

Round

—6010015Normal

TM37

Sandstorm

D——10Rock

TM71

Stone Edge

C100805Rock

HM04

Strength

C8010015Normal

TM90

Substitute

C——10Normal

TM11

Sunny Day

C——5Fire

TM87

Swagger

——9015Normal

TM06

Toxic

C—9010Poison

Egg Moves

Egg

Body Slam

C8510015Normal

Egg

Curse

C——10Ghost

Egg

Revenge-4

—6010010Fighting

Egg

Sand Tomb

—358515Ground

Egg

Slack Off

S——10Normal

Egg

Sleep Talk

D——10Normal

Egg

Spit Up

——10010Normal

Egg

Stockpile

D——20Normal

Egg

Swallow

D——10Normal

Egg

Whirlwind-6

A—10020Normal

Tutor Moves

Hippowdon can't learn any Tutor moves

Transfer Moves

Gen

Gen 4

Captivate

——10020Normal

Gen 4

Endure+4

D——10Normal

Gen 4

Headbutt

C7010015Normal

Gen 4

Mud-Slap

D2010010Ground

Gen 4

Natural Gift

——10015Normal

Gen 4

Secret Power

—7010020Normal

Gen 4

Water Pulse

D6010020Water

How to Get Hippowdon in Black & White

Can't catch Hippowdon directly. Start with Hippopotas at solid rates from the locations below, then evolve at level 34. The 2-stage line from Hippopotas to Hippowdon is where the leveling time goes.

How to Obtain Hippowdon in Black & White

Step 1Catch Hippopotas
Route 4
WhiteGrass Lv.15 Route
CommonEarly
AnySwarm active
Route 4
BlackGrass Lv.15 Route
CommonEarly
AnySwarm active
Train until Level 34
Step 2Hippowdon ✓

Hippowdon Guide

In Black & White, Don't let Hippowdon's 525 base stat total fool you. Sand Stream is what makes it tick. It punches way above its weight class. We rate it B-Tier as a tank. Earthquake with Leftovers is the standard set.
In Black & White, Hippowdon's biggest threats include Swampert (Water), Roserade (Grass), and Lapras (Ice), all carrying super-effective STAB moves.
In Black & White, Run Sand Stream on Hippowdon. It's the ability that defines how you build around it and the main reason it holds a competitive niche. Hippowdon also gets Sand Force, but they don't compare.
In Black & White, Hippowdon fills the tank role. It's a physical attacker with base 112 Attack. Base 47 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. And it's tanky enough to absorb a few hits.
For Black & White, the core moveset is Earthquake, Slack Off, Stealth Rock, and Whirlwind. Earthquake leads at 24% usage. Earthquake provides reliable STAB damage.

Game Availability

Hippowdon first appeared in Diamond & Pearl and has been available in 14 games across 7 generations. Obtainable through wild encounters in most titles where it appears.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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