Hippowdon

Hippowdon's great bulk, solid defensive typing, and reliable recovery allow it to check prominent offensive threats such as Dragapult, Heatran, and Excadrill. Hippowdon is one of the defining components of sand balance teams due to Sand Stream and provides further support by setting up Stealth Rock and checking key threats like Dragapult and Tapu Koko. However, Hippowdon's susceptibility to being pivoted against by these Pokemon makes it easy to wear down and forces it to switch out. It also faces stiff competition as a defensive Ground-type from Pokemon such as Landorus-T, Swampert, and Gastrodon; however, Hippowdon manages to offset this due to reliable recovery in Slack Off and access to Stealth Rock. Additionally, as Hippowdon is a passive Stealth Rock setter, it is difficult to keep its entry hazards on the field against common entry hazard removers such as Corviknight, since it can only use Whirlwind or Toxic to dissuade them. Hippowdon is also vulnerable to entry hazards and status, which make it much harder to remain healthy while checking offensive threats.