The Great Wall Of Hypnosis
Hypno@Leftovers
Careful nature
Insomnia
252 HP/252 Sp. Def/4 Def
~Barrier
~Toxic
~Foul Play
~Protect
Hypno is an oddity, statwise. Semi-respectable HP, great Special Defense, meh everything else. It's clearly meant to be a wall, though, and so here we are. Barrier is to beef up Hypno's Defense so it can take hits on both sides. Toxic cripples the foe with status. Foul Play is Hypno's only weapon against Taunt users, and can turn a powerful opponent's own Attack stat against itself, Hypno possessing little to no offensive capability itself. Protect allows Leftovers to do their thing, as it has no reliable forms of recovery.
Item helps Hypno restore HP. Ability prevents Hypno from being put to sleep.
Sweep Dreams
Hypno@Leftovers
Impish nature
Insomnia
252 HP/252 Def/4 Atk
~Meditate
~Drain Punch
~Ice Punch
~ThunderPunch/Fire Punch
This set makes use of Hypno's decent physical movepool by way of Meditate. The EVs and nature are to help it rely on its beefed up Defense and its natural special bulk to stay alive. Meditate boosts Hypno's Attack. Drain Punch is for coverage and HP restoration. Ice Punch and ThunderPunch make a physical counterpart to BoltBeam, though ThunderPunch can be nixed for Fire Punch if you live in fear of Shedinja.
Item and Ability were already explained.
Sweep Dreams, Special Edition
Hypno@Leftovers
Bold nature
Insomnia
252 HP/252 Def/4 Sp. Atk
~Nasty Plot
~Psychic/Psyshock
~Shadow Ball
~Focus Blast
A different take on the previous set, oriented towards special attacks instead. Nasty Plot boosts Special Attack. Psychic for STAB (can be replaced with Psyshock to handle the likes of Chansey and Blissey). Shadow Ball and Focus Blast for coverage.
Item and Ability were already explained.
Other options:
*There's the move Hypno is best known for- Hypnosis. Unfortunately, its accuracy makes it an iffy option, and Hypno has better status to afflict foes with anyway.
*Psycho Cut is a decent option on the Meditate set for STAB, but it doesn't help with coverage much.
*Hypno has access to Baton Pass, provided it's from XD, so while it can't have any Egg moves to go with its Baton Pass set, it does learn enough boosting moves on its own to be able to make a difference in BP chains.
Abilities:
*Insomnia: Hypno cannot fall asleep. A great Ability, its only drawback being that Hypno can't even induce sleep in itself via Rest, so there goes its best bet for recovery.
*Forewarn: Hypno alerts its trainer to its opponent's most powerful move. It sounds like a great Ability, and in fact it can really screw up some strategies that rely on the element of surprise, but the thing is, the opponent also sees when Forewarn activates, meaning you can't bluff Insomnia.
*Inner Focus: Hypno's Hidden Ability. Hypno cannot flinch. The "flinching" from Focus Punch doesn't count as flinching for the purpose of this Ability. A meh Ability in its own right, but never worth robbing Hypno of Insomnia. Could be useful for screwing over Fake Out users, but that's about it.
Partners:
Dual screen users are always welcome for our bulky little hypnotist here. Smashpassing to the Meditate or Nasty Plot set isn't a bad idea, but be sure to White Herb away the reductions to the defenses, given the bulky nature of the sets.
Counters:
Skarmory laughs off Foul Play, is immune to Toxic, and attacks Hypno at its weaker stat of Defense. It can also phaze it out with Whirlwind or Roar if Hypno starts setting up Barrier. The special set is walled by Chansey and Blissey unless Hypno carries Psyshock, and unless you're packing Fire Punch in the physical set, Shedinja is just a giant middle finger to you.
Opinion:
Hypno is odd, but a true classic.
Prediction for next week:
Braviary