Hypno Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Wish in combination with Protect allows Hypno to restore not only its own health but also the health of its teammates. Protect also gives Hypno additional Leftovers recovery and forces badly poisoned foes to take extra poison damage. Psychic is Hypno's strongest and most reliable STAB option, hitting Pokemon such as Combusken, Monferno, and Arbok super effectively. Alternatively, Seismic Toss ignores Hypno's subpar, uninvested Special Attack, dealing fixed damage to foes such as Bronzor and Clefairy that would take relatively little from Psychic. Taunt shuts down passive threats such as Bronzor and Audino. On the other hand, Toxic puts foes such as Stunfisk and Bouffalant on a timer, slowly draining away their health, while Foul Play gives Hypno counterplay options against physical attackers and wallbreakers such as Dusknoir and Stoutland. Set Details Maximum HP and Special Defense EVs alongside a Calm nature allow Hypno to check special attackers such as Combusken and Tangela. Insomnia prevents Hypno from being put to sleep by common sleep inducers such as Smeargle, Jumpluff, and Tangela. Leftovers grants Hypno access to passive recovery, allowing it to avoid having to use Wish as often and gain additional recovery when following up Wish with Protect. On the other hand, a Colbur Berry ensures Hypno is able to survive at least one Dark-type attack from Pokemon such as Cacturne, Leafeon, and Pawniard. Usage Tips Hypno should switch into special attackers such as Zebstrika, Combusken, and Articuno and try to cripple them with attacks and poison. Hypno should utilize Wish in combination with Protect to keep itself at a sustainable amount of health so that it can continue to check the Pokemon it needs to check. One should also evaluate if Hypno is healthy enough to pass a Wish to one of its teammates, taking entry hazards and status into account. Be wary of Knock Off users such as Leafeon and Dodrio, especially if Hypno opts to utilize Leftovers over a Colbur Berry. Team Options Switch-ins to Knock Off such as Colbur Berry Gourgeist-XL and Carbink are extremely beneficial for Hypno and its teammates. Gourgeist-XL and Hypno also happen to make a decent defensive core together. Entry hazard removal from Rapid Spin users such as Cryogonal and Defog users such as Vullaby and Vibrava can help ensure Hypno's overall longevity. Cleric support from Pokemon such as Heal Bell Altaria and Aromatherapy Roselia can alleviate status for Hypno and its teammates. Bulky sweepers that enjoy the Fighting and Psychic resistances Hypno provides, such as Munchlax and Muk, make for great teammates.

Hypno has good special bulk, allowing it to come in on special attackers and disrupt them. Wish is Hypno's recovery move, but should not be relied on to support its teammates due to Hypno's low HP stat. Protect allows Hypno to receive its own Wishes, scout for moves, and gain Leftovers recovery. Thunder Wave allows Hypno to cripple fast offensive threats such as Jynx and Primeape and support the team. On the other hand, Toxic lets Hypno wear down opposing walls such as Tangela. The last moveslot is reserved for an attacking move to prevent Hypno from being Taunt bait and setup fodder. Foul Play allows Hypno to hit Ghost-types and OHKO Choice Band Golurk but leaves it helpless against Fighting-types such as Gurdurr and Scraggy. Meanwhile, Seismic Toss can deal with these threats but leaves Hypno vulnerable to Ghost-types such as Misdreavus as well as Pokemon with 101 HP Substitutes, such as Braviary. Taunt is a decent option to stop status and setup from slower Pokemon. Reflect is a good option to patch up Hypno's low physical bulk, but it is hard to fit into the moveset. Psychic allows Hypno to hit Scolipede harder, but it is generally much weaker than the listed attacking moves. Insomnia is the ability of choice, setting Hypno apart from other special walls by allowing it to switch in on Jynx, Vileplume, and offensive Roselia fearlessly and wall them. The EV spread allows Hypno to avoid the 2HKO from Choice Band Primeape's Close Combat, Life Orb Jynx's Ice Beam, and Life Orb Charizard's Fire Blast. Hypno despises status, so teammates that can remove Toxic Spikes are essential. Scolipede, Roselia, and Garbodor are able to absorb Toxic Spikes and can set up their own to aid in Hypno's stalling. In particular, Rocky Helmet Garbodor is a great option to switch into and punish Pokemon that love using U-turn on Hypno. Teammates that can provide cleric support, such as Miltank and Audino, are also appreciated. Finally, teammates that cover Hypno's weaknesses to Dark- and Bug-type moves are decent. Klang and Gurdurr are able to do so with ease.

This is just about the only Hypno set you will encounter. It's your standard support Hypno that you will see around UU almost all the time. It can be an annoyance if you don't have things to faint this before it Thunder Waves your whole team and sets up a Reflect. If you're using this, you will most likely switch in on something that has the potential to use a sleeping move or hit you with a special attack. While not being much of an offensive guy, it takes special hits like few others in UU. Psychic and Seismic Toss both work. It really depends though, do you want something that can hit Pokemon such as Gligar harder, or being able to stop Pokemon with Substitute from setting up as easily? It's up to you and your overall team. If you use Protect, use it with Toxic to further stall turns, but both Toxic and Thunder Wave can be used with Reflect. Use Counter with Toxic, as well, because it really ruins a perfect prediction to have them fully paralyzed when you Counter, thus destroying the surprise.

This is pretty much the only other moveset you will encounter. Like the other moveset, switch into sleep moves and special attacks, use Substitute and Calm Mind, and Baton Pass them to a target Pokemon. It could work if you passed it to a fast Pokemon such as Electabuzz.

Set Description Hypno is highly effective at setting up opportunities for its team with this set. Thunder Wave is very useful for slowing down the enemy team and reducing their chances of attacking. The opponent will usually try to contain the spread of paralysis to a few Pokemon, usually RestTalk users. Once they are paralyzed, Hypno can proceed to set up a screen and then switch out to a Pokemon that will then often have an easy setup opportunity. Hypnosis can also be used to disrupt Ground-type Pokemon that might think they can switch into Thunder Wave; however, it is less effective against RestTalk users than Thunder Wave. Psychic is the preferred attacking option in most cases, especially alongside Thunder Wave, to prevent Nidoqueen from coming in freely. However, having Psychic as Hypno's sole attacking option leaves it without an option for hitting opposing Psychic-type Pokemon such as Mr. Mime and Girafarig, which can cause problems through their use of Baton Pass. Thus, Seismic Toss can be used to stop them from taking too much advantage of Hypno. Rest is the usual fourth move so that a weakened Hypno can recover its health, and Hypno's screens and paralysis can assist in ensuring it can then wake up again. Team Options As a supporter, Hypno is an excellent choice for teams that have at least a couple of setup sweepers, such as Scyther, Pinsir, Sandslash, Kabutops, and Victreebel. It can also work with Pokemon like Growth or Belly Drum Politoed, Curse Granbull, and Gyarados. Hypno's paralysis support can be taken advantage of by Substitute users such as Sandslash and Pikachu and can also work effectively with Swagger users, including Pokemon like Gyarados and Dodrio. Finally, Baton Pass users like Girafarig can take advantage of Hypno's screens and paralysis support to find opportunities to set up and get recipients like Quagsire and Poliwrath in safely.

Set Description This set takes advantage of Hypno's high Special Defense to boost up with Curse and attempt to sweep the opposing team. Early-game, Hypno is unlikely to find an opportunity to set up due to the likely presence of Pokemon like Curse Granbull, Omastar, and Haunter on the opposing team. However, later in the game, as the opposing team gets worn down, the opponent may not have any remaining options to deal with this set, as it has relatively few reliable counters. Body Slam is the best attacking option because it can be used throughout the game to potentially paralyze any Pokemon that might try to take advantage of Hypno's low initial damage output. One of the key benefits of using this set is that Hypno will eventually beat enemy RestTalk users such as Slowbro and opposing Hypno through Curse. Against these and many other foes, Hypno can also do a reasonable job of its usual roles of special wall and status absorber despite not having a reliable source of damage. Additionally, Nidoqueen can struggle to wear it down because it is difficult to force out once it has Defense boosts, especially with RestTalk keeping it healthy. Team Options This Hypno set is relatively easy to wall and beat with the right Pokemon, such as Omastar, which is not even 4HKOed by +6 Attack Hypno. It is therefore a good idea to ensure other offensive measures are present on one's team, such as Spikes from Qwilfish, which can help to wear down Pokemon that have an advantage over Hypno, such as Piloswine. Of absolutely critical importance is that this set is accompanied by a reliable answer to Curse Granbull, which easily sets up against this set and will virtually always beat it. Omastar is the most reliable Granbull counter, but Haunter and Magneton will also suffice. Hypno will also require support to deal with Bug-types such as Scyther and Pinsir, especially if they have Hidden Power Bug; Jumpluff and Gyarados are useful choices in this regard. Fire Blast Nidoqueen can also cover Hidden Power Bug variants of these two reasonably well, as they cannot have Hidden Power Ground on the same set. Defensive Electric-types such as Ampharos and Magneton can potentially threaten Hypno with their very powerful Thunders, so it is also a good idea to use Hypno alongside Ground-types such as Nidoqueen and Piloswine.

Set Description Hypno is one of the most resilient Pokemon in the tier, and its lack of relevant weaknesses and solid neutral coverage make it an ideal status absorber and RestTalk user. Psychic is used to ensure it can hit Haunter and so that Nidoqueen can't simply spam Earthquake against it, and Seismic Toss is typically chosen for its stable and consistent damage output. Thunder Wave can be chosen over Seismic Toss to make Hypno more of an immediate threat to Pokemon like Scyther and Jumpluff, but it comes at the cost of coverage against Pokemon like Mr. Mime and Magneton. This set is difficult to take down without using Explosion or setting up a physical attacker, and it is great at chipping sweepers down as they switch in. It makes a fantastic check to Pokemon that can otherwise be difficult to check due to their coverage, such as Electabuzz, Mr. Mime, Gyarados, and opposing RestTalk users like Slowbro and Slowking. Team Options The main draw to using Hypno for this role over Slowbro or Slowking is its lack of an Electric weakness, so it works best on teams that need an answer to threats like Mr. Mime, Kadabra, and Electabuzz. It is much worse off against Granbull and slightly worse off against Nidoqueen than Slowbro, so it is a good idea to pair it with solid answers to these; Omastar, Haunter, and Magneton are good checks to Granbull, while Gligar and RestTalk Granbull can handle Nidoqueen. Jumpluff is a good teammate for its ability to counter setup with Encore and spread status, particularly against Bug-types such as Scyther and Pinsir that may try to take advantage of Hypno's relatively low damage output. In general, most kinds of teams enjoy Hypno's presence due to the widespread use of status moves in the metagame and Hypno's ability to absorb them for its team.

Set Description Hypno's main draw is Hypnosis, as it incapacitates a Pokemon in a single turn, possibly making one would-be counter into nothing more than a momentum sink. The second best option against these counters is Thunder Wave; this won't help Hypno break through them much, but it will at least enable its teammates to do so. A number of options contest the fourth moveslot: Seismic Toss is the most common and appealing, as it is Hypno's best bet at pressuring Psychic-types. Rest allows it to stick around for longer, shrugging off weaker attacks from many special attackers, though it can be difficult for Hypno to wake up in the presence of strong physical attackers such as Tauros, Snorlax, and Rhydon. Hypno's toothlessness against Alakazam and Starmie can most easily be addressed by an Explosion teammate that can lure and remove them—Exeggutor being by far the most reliable, though Gengar can also lure in the former. Once either is removed, Hypno's sleep and paralysis can actually significantly improve one's odds in the endgame. Endgames are usually left for Pokemon that are very dangerous but also very fragile, such as tier icon Tauros, for which Thunder Wave is often a death sentence. Alternatively, if one really needs to cripple Alakazam, Starmie, or Chansey for a teammate, Hypno's strong Psychic will most often force players to expose one of those three targets to its Thunder Wave, which can be very useful for specific teammates trying to break through them. Ultimately, though, this is no different from Alakazam's ability to force Thunder Wave onto special sponges, and Alakazam outclasses Hypno in most scenarios, so make sure you have further reasons to select Hypno—such as Hypnosis—if your primary goal is to paralyze special sponges.