Is Hippowdon any good in the Pokemon GO phone app?

Hippowdon may be one of the stronger members of the Sinnoh Pokedex, but is it any good in Pokemon GO?

Hippowdon has a strong niche in the main series games due to its ability to bring up sand with Sand Stream. In the phone app, though, Hippodown doesn’t get this perk. It still has immense bulk and decent firepower behind it, but how does it stack up to other Ground-type Pokemon?

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Should trainers be using this Ground-type Pokemon?

On paper, Hippowdon’s stats make it look powerful. It has enough bulk and strength to play defense and offense. It can sponge tons of hits with its 238 Stamina stat, and 201 Attack is just enough for it to bait some shields and do some damage.

Trainers also have tons of freedom when picking Hippowdon’s moveset. The Generation IV hippo can learn all three of the elemental fangs, all of which deal eight damage in PvP.

It all comes down to what coverage the trainer wants. Scared of Skarmory? Run Fire Fang. Scared of Azumarill? Run Thunder Fang. Hippowdon can alternate between these moves depending on which threats it wants to cover.

Its list of charge moves isn’t horrible either. Weather Ball (Rock) costs a low amount of energy and is excellent at baiting shields. Earth Power is also a strong move that is quicker to charge than Earthquake.

Hippowdon can use every elemental fang move (Image via Game Freak)

Perhaps Hippowdon’s biggest issue is its typing. It is a pure Ground-type, which isn’t too much of a problem in itself but becomes problematic when looking at the other Ground-types in the Great League.

What do Swampert, Galarian Stunfisk, and Wishcash all have in common? They each have a secondary typing that fixes one of Ground’s weaknesses. Swampert and Wishcash take neutral from Water moves, and Galarian Stunfisk takes neutral from Grass.

Hippowdon, though, doesn’t have a response to these types. Also, much to its chagrin, the Great League is filled with Water-types (Azumarill, Jellicent) and Grass-types (Trevenant, Meganium).

As a result, Hippowdon doesn’t really hang in with the other threats in the meta. PvPoke has it ranked 351st in Great League rankings. This Pokemon could probably be used on a team successfully, but it would need to have strong support.