Hippowdon is a large, hippo-like Pokémon with skin color based on its gender. It is light brown if male, and black if female. It has a dark gray back and muzzle with several holes in them. Sand often spills out of the ports on its back and its nostrils. This sand is stored internally, and is used to create twisters when attacking. It has a large, rounded snout, a mouth filled with peg-like teeth, and red eyes. Hippowdon has black feet with four blunt claws each. It is short-tempered, and may hold its mouth agape as a display of strength. Hippowdon's massive jaws are capable of crushing cars.
A male Hippowdon appeared in An Elite Coverup!, under the ownership of Bertha. He was used in a battle against Ash, where he was able to defeat Torterra.
Hippowdon, the Heavyweight Pokémon. It creates an enormous tornado of sand by blowing sand out of the holes in its body, and its mouth is over 6 feet in diameter.
A wild male Hippowdon first appeared in Bombastic Bibarel & Heroic Hippopotas, where Dr. Footstep set up a sticky carpet to collect his footprint, "finally" succeeding in extracting one from a Hippowdon. This, however, earned the ire of the Pokémon, which proceeded to send him and the threeSinnohtrainers flying with his Sand Tomb. As a result, Diamond and Platinum landed in the outskirts of Lake Verity, away from Pearl and Footstep, and promptly had to face two Super Nerds hired by Team Galactic to drive out intruders.
Bertha has a female Hippowdon that first appeared in Tackling Togekiss, used as transportation for Bertha, as well as to carry some books for her Trainer.
Despite having obvious gender differences, both Hippowdon and its pre-evolution have only one menu sprite, both of which depict the male variation.
Origin
Hippowdon is based on a hippopotamus. Because of the spouts upon its back that constantly spit sands, Hippowdon and its preevolution may be based upon the legendary Bahamut as, in some accounts of the myths behind it, it is said to support a bed of sand and have the head of a hippo.
Name origin
Hippowdon is a combination of hippopotamus, power, powder (as in sand), or pow (onomatopoeia for a bodily hit), and don (Spanish for lord; Ancient Greek for tooth).
Kabaldon is a combination of 河馬 kaba (hippopotamus) and don.
In other languages
Language
Title
Meaning
Japanese
カバルドン Kabaldon
From 河馬 kaba (hippopotamus) and don (Spanish for lord; Ancient Greek for tooth)
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.