![[Image: rhyperior_by_all0412-d5et7hw.jpg]](http://img08.deviantart.net/f549/i/2012/258/a/d/rhyperior_by_all0412-d5et7hw.jpg)
Introduction:
Rhyperior is a hidden gem (Is this a pun? Am I funny?). Introduced in 4th generation as an evolution to Rhydon, Rhyperior never got much competitive use because of it's typing disadvantage. Despite his lack of usage, he is a great anti-meta Pokemon. Lets look at his stats (I am totally going to copy Eckly's style of post here)
![[Image: rhyperior_by_creepyjellyfish-d7a493w.gif]](http://orig10.deviantart.net/9526/f/2014/073/7/a/rhyperior_by_creepyjellyfish-d7a493w.gif)
Type: Rock/Ground
Weaknesses: Grass x4, Water x4, Fighting x2, Steel x2, Ice x2, Ground x2
Resistances: Flying x.5, Normal x.5, Fire x.5, Poison x.25, Rock x.5
Abilities:Lightningrod - Electric-type moves are drawn to this Pokémon. Electric-type moves will do no damage and the Pokémon's SP ATK is raised one stage. If the Pokémon is Ground-type, moves are drawn to it, but it gets no boost.
Solid Rock- Damage by super-effective moves is reduced by 25%.
Reckless (Hidden Ability) - The power of moves that have recoil damage is increased by 20%, except Struggle.
Base Stats: 115 Hp/140 Atk/130 Def/55 SpA/55 SpD/40 Spd
Weaknesses: Grass x4, Water x4, Fighting x2, Steel x2, Ice x2, Ground x2
Resistances: Flying x.5, Normal x.5, Fire x.5, Poison x.25, Rock x.5
Abilities:Lightningrod - Electric-type moves are drawn to this Pokémon. Electric-type moves will do no damage and the Pokémon's SP ATK is raised one stage. If the Pokémon is Ground-type, moves are drawn to it, but it gets no boost.
Solid Rock- Damage by super-effective moves is reduced by 25%.
Reckless (Hidden Ability) - The power of moves that have recoil damage is increased by 20%, except Struggle.
Base Stats: 115 Hp/140 Atk/130 Def/55 SpA/55 SpD/40 Spd
The Only Set I Care To Mention
Rhyperior @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Atk / 156 Def / 52 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hammer Arm
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Ice Punch
What? No Protect on a doubles Pokemon? This guy is crazy #Deltaiscrazy! There is a method to my madness here. I am going to start with the item. You will see a Weakness Policy on a Pokemon like Aegislash because of it's high defenses and many weaknesses. Rhyperior also has very high defenses and many common weaknesses. What really makes Weakness Policy a good thing on Rhyperior is his ability Solid Rock, which makes an attack that normally has a x2 modifier have a 1.5 modifier (or x4 becomes x3, but, lets face it, Rhyperior can't survive a drop of water). Because Earthquake is such a common attack in doubles, Rhyperior often gets the x2 attack from his Weakness Policy. Lets look at the moves before I go into EV's. Rhyperior gets STAB Earthquake and Rock Slide, both of which are very good attacks in double battles. Then, we have Hammer Arm to kill Pokemon like Kangaskhan and other normal type pokemon (and sometimes Heatran). Then we have Ice Punch which will
many of Pokemon x4 weak to it in our current meta. Now, a brief thing on the EV's. There was only one thing I wanted to survive, a 252+ Aegislash Blade Flash Cannon. I put just enough SpD to survive it. I maxed out Hp because it was just easy to do, and it gave considerable amounts of bulk. I cannot specifically remember why I invested that specific number into attack, but I did, and I ran Adamant to get the most out of my stats. I threw the rest into defense. Now, for some calculations. I should probably mention that most of these will be with the Weakness Policy boost. All of these are in doubles as well.Offensive Calculations
As you can see, without the Weakness Policy boost, Rhyperior doesn't hit for many OHKO's. But, you will see why I run Weakness Policy, and why Rhyperior is amazing.
Defensive Calculations
Threats:
Any semi decent water or grass type attack, especially if it is a special attack. Rhyperior is very tanky, but not even he can tank a powerful x4 supereffective attack. Double focus also works very well. He can absorb a strong physical hit, but his defenses will crumble under multiple attacks. Because he is very slow, he will almost always go last, but when he attacks, he will hit hard, even without a Weakness Policy. Mega Venusaur is not very threatened by Rhyperior, and will destroy it with Giga Drain. Suicune can shrug off most of Rhyperior's hits, and do a massive amount of damage with Scald. The same goes for Ludicolo, and even Politoad. Because he is weaker specially, a strong Shadow Ball can often bring him down low. Gengar is very good at this, because he is immune to Earthquake and Hammer Arm, and, if Rhyperior doesn't have a Weakness Policy, is not KO's by him. Charizard Y can use Solar Beam and destroy Rhyperior before you can say KO.
Good Teammates:
Because of Rhyperior's x4 weakness to grass and water, Amoongus is a great partner for Rhyperior. It can redirect Water and Grass type attacks, and the things that threaten Amoongus can be easily taken care of by Rhyperior (minus a psychic type Pokemon). A very fast Pokemon that can take care of Rhyperior's main threats like Talonflame and Mega Sceptile are good teammates for Rhyperior. Rhyperior is amazing under Trick Room, and a Pokemon like Cresselia that can set up Trick Room and has levitate would work well alongside Rhyperior. Alternatively, a Gardevoir with Trick Room and Telepathy also would work well with Rhyperior. Rhyperior has a a lower special defense, so an an Assault Vest Pokemon (or Goodra) could work well.
Alternate Items:
Well, I only have one set for Rhyperior, and that excels from Weakness Policy, but if you want, there are a few things that could work:
- Expert Belt
Rhyperior will be looking for Super Effective hits, and the 20% increase to those hits could make a difference.
- Assault Vest
Rhyperior's Special Defense is low, and Assault Vest boosts Special Defense, plus we aren't using any attacking moves anyways.
- Rocky Helmet
Rhyperior is a massive physical wall, and the little amount of chip damage that Rocky Helmet can provide could help in the long run. Unfortunately, this, and all of the other items are inferior to Weakness Policy (which the set was kinda built around).
Alternate Moves
The current set is (what I believe to be) the optimal set. However, there are other options that could play into your team better.
- Megahorn
Megahorn is a massively powerful bug type attack, with only a little bit of accuracy problems.
- Stone Edge
Stone Edge is a much stronger, and less accurate Rock Slide. The problem is, we are in doubles, and Rock Slide hits both opponents.
- Drill Run
Drill Run is to Earthquake as Stone Edge is to Rock Slide. It hits slightly harder, but it only hits one Pokemon, and has accuracy problems.
- Protect
This move could work, but the whole point of this set is to be hit by a Supereffective attack, and then kill whatever hit you, and potentially do lots of damage to it's partner. Basically, the opponent hitting you with a physical attack becomes the worst thing they could do.
That is it for my Rhyperior moveset. I hope you enjoyed it, and maybe want to try Rhyperior one day. Also, I really hope I put this in the right place.
