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-
Mold Breaker
- Abilities that hinder attacks are nullified.
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Sheer Force
- Increases power of moves with secondary effects by 30%, but removes the effects.
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Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
97
|
- |
335 |
398 |
- |
| Atk |
165
|
329 |
366 |
429 |
471 |
| Def |
60
|
140 |
156 |
219 |
240 |
| SpA |
65
|
149 |
166 |
229 |
251 |
| SpD |
50
|
122 |
136 |
199 |
218 |
| Spe |
58
|
136 |
152 |
215 |
236 |
Overview
Rampardos comes from a time period where the norm was "kill or be killed," and that's exactly how Rampardos plays when it enters the battlefield. This prehistoric beast has an incredible base 165 Attack, second only to Deoxys-A. This alone makes Rampardos terrifying to face once it finds a time to come in. Secondly, it has an extremely powerful move to abuse in the form of Head Smash, which straight up OHKOes any Pokemon that doesn't resist it due to sheer brute force, but at the cost of a large chunk of Rampardos's health. Along with this, Rampardos also gets various coverage moves to destroy all that resist Head Smash, including Earthquake, Fire Punch, and even Ice Beam!
While it may seem that Rampardos is an unstoppable monster, it has some fatal flaws. After you look at Rampardos's Attack, you will notice that other than its above average HP, all of its other stats are, in short, terrible. With only base 60 Defense and base 50 Special Defense, along with the curse of being a Rock-type, Rampardos will not be surviving any hits anytime soon. Its Speed is an abysmal base 58, which is far too low for sweeping. However, if you play Rampardos to its advantages, and with a fair amount of team support, it can be an invaluable member to a team in much need of power.
If you are thinking of Rampardos, this is most likely the first set that comes to mind. When equipped with a Choice Scarf, Rampardos outruns all Pokemon up to base 110 Speed—effectively the entire unboosted tier. This allows Rampardos to finally wield its awesome power. Head Smash works hand-in-hand with Rampardos's base 165 Attack to crush the bones of opposing Pokemon. Stone Edge is an option over Head Smash if the recoil is unappealing, but Rampardos loses a considerable amount of power, making Head Smash the better option most of the time. Earthquake gives Rampardos coverage against Steel-types such as Steelix and Klinklang, who can tank a Head Smash easily and KO back with Earthquake or Gear Grind, respectively. Thanks to Mold Breaker, Rampardos can bypass abilities and hit the likes of Rotom with Earthquake, or break through Sturdy. Fire Punch decimates Ferroseed, who would wall Rampardos otherwise. Zen Headbutt cripples bulky Fighting-types such as Hariyama and Throh.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
An Adamant nature is an option over Jolly, but Rampardos is powerful enough anyway, and loses the ability to outrun key threats. This Rampardos set is meant to revenge kill and break walls, and Pokemon that benefit from having key threats weakened make excellent teammates for Rampardos. For example, Klinklang benefits from having Qwilfish removed from the match, and early-game, Rampardos can weaken Qwilfish with a Head Smash, allowing Klinklang to sweep late-game more easily. Pokemon such as Uxie and Quagsire give Rampardos trouble, and therefore should be paired with Pokemon that can easily beat these threats. Most bulky Ghost- and Dark-types make short work of Uxie, while most Grass-types easily take care of Quagsire. Spiritomb can also take on bulky Fighting-types for Rampardos, burning them with Will-O-Wisp while being immune to their STAB moves.
If there were a way to describe this set, it would be "high risk, high reward." While almost nothing stands in its way once it sets up, it can be hard to find a time to set up in the first place. After a Rock Polish, Rampardos outruns the entire unboosted tier, meaning that outside of priority, Rampardos is very hard to revenge kill. Stone Edge is Rampardos's strongest STAB move that lacks drawbacks, and usually 2HKOes all threats that don't resist it. Head Smash can be used in this slot for more power, but if you do this Rampardos will rarely last more than three turns, making it an inferior option in this case. Earthquake hits bulky Steel-types, who would easily be able to tank a Stone Edge, for super effective damage; examples include Steelix and Klinklang. Earthquake also hits Stunfisk, who resists Stone Edge and can tank anything else Rampardos has to throw at it. Fire Punch nails Ferroseed, OHKOing it.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Rampardos needs a lot of support to sweep, even with the immense power it packs. First of all, Rampardos needs entry hazard support to score certain KOs against bulkier Pokemon. Smeargle is a good teammate, because it can cripple an opponent with Spore, and set up Stealth Rock and Spikes for Rampardos. Ferroseed is also a good partner, because it can also set up Stealth Rock and Spikes, while also serving as an excellent defensive pivot for your team. Crustle is also reliable as a hazard setter with access to both Stealth Rock and Spikes, and it has Sturdy to make sure at least one layer of entry hazards can be set. Magneton is a great partner, being able to set up on Ferroseed and take out several opponents from behind a Substitute. Moltres is also a great teammate as it can smash the face of Ferroseed, while also breaking walls for Rampardos. Zen Headbutt is also an option over Ice Beam or Fire Punch to hit bulky Fighting-types such as Hariyama and Throh, who would wall this set badly otherwise. Although Rampardos can be very hard to stop once set up, it needs some support to set up. Wynaut works well, as Encoring setup sweepers and status inducers can give Rampardos a free turn to set up, and Wynaut can also get rid of things that threaten Rampardos, such as Hitmonchan.
With one of the highest Attack stats in the game and a terrible Speed stat, Rampardos is an ideal Trick Room attacker. Head Smash is truly a force under Trick Room, crushing all but the bulkiest Pokemon and bringing even them to their knees. Stone Edge can be used over Head Smash if you don't like the recoil, but Rampardos will lose a noticeable amount of power, and Rampardos wont be living for more than three turns anyway. Earthquake allows Rampardos to hit those pesky Steel-types, such as Steelix and Aggron. Take note that a resisted Head Smash is stronger than a neutral Earthquake. Substitute is there to avoid Sucker Punch from foes such as Spiritomb and Absol, and also to take advantage of the switches Rampardos forces. Fire Punch is used to take care of Ferroseed. Swords Dance is another option to take advantage of the switches Rampardos causes with its absolutely massive Attack stat, which makes it nearly impossible to wall.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The given EVs make Rampardos as strong and bulky as possible, while also reducing recoil from Head Smash. A Brave nature is chosen to lower Rampardos's Speed even further, while not lowering either attacking stat. As the set name suggests, this set is made to work under Trick Room, and needs Trick Room users to accommodate that. Slowking is an excellent partner to set up Trick Room multiple times per match thanks to its excellent special bulk and its Regenerator ability. Uxie is also a good partner to set up Trick Room, as it can utilize U-turn to get Rampardos in unscathed. Mesprit is also an excellent partner as it can use Healing Wish late-game to heal Rampardos up to full health. Spiritomb is immune to Fighting-type moves and can sweep itself thanks to its access to Calm Mind. Smeargle can set up entry hazards and Spore a Pokemon to sleep to give Rampardos a free switch in.
Since Rampardos will most likely only be on the battlefield for three turns, other Trick Room sweepers are a good idea to sweep late-game. Aggron is an excellent partner for Rampardos, because the two can form a double dragon core; Rampardos can break down Aggron's counters, allowing Aggron to sweep under Trick Room late-game. Marowak is also a good partner for the same reason as Aggron; once walls are broken Marowak can sweep rather easily without anything to stop it. Slowking can deal with bulky Fighting-types such as Hariyama, as can Mesprit and Beheeyem. They also can set up Trick Room for Rampardos, boosting its Speed once again.
Other Options
Rampardos has a few other options that it can utilize, although it is outclassed in most of these roles. Rampardos can use Stealth Rock with its ability to force switches, but Rampardos is better off simply attacking to outright KO any threat that stands in its way. Assurance is another move that can be used, and seems quite useful until you realize that Head Smash is almost twice as powerful. Rampardos can use a Substitute + Focus Punch set quite effectively to smash anything that resists Head Smash and Earthquake, but Aggron is usually better at this role due to the various resistances it can set up on. Dragon Tail can be used to phaze threats, but Rampardos is so frail that it can't survive attacks often enough to do so. Outrage, Double-Edge, and Superpower are all options, but Head Smash is stronger than all three, and the three moves provide no further coverage for the most part. Curse is an interesting option in Trick Room, but there are better abusers outside of Trick Room, and it uses a precious turn in Trick Room Rampardos can be using to crush the opponent. Combined with Focus Sash, Endeavor can be used to lower a Pokemon down to 1 HP, but Rampardos can simply OHKO the opposing Pokemon anyway.
Checks and Counters
With the second highest Attack stat in the game, there is nearly nothing that can switch in on Rampardos safely. There are a few that can do the job though. Quagsire can switch into anything Rampardos does, ignore all boosts with Unaware, and easily KO Rampardos with an Earthquake or Scald. Dusknoir can come in on Rampardos and burn it with Will-O-Wisp, usually surviving a hit from Rampardos. Bulky Fighting-types such as Hariyama can switch in on Head Smash and quickly dispatch Rampardos with powerful STAB super effective moves. Ferroseed can take on Rampardos lacking Fire Punch easily, Leech Seeding it, setting up hazards on it, or simply KOing it with Gyro Ball. Stunfisk can tank anything that Rampardos has to throw at it except Earthquake, and promptly cripple it with Thunder Wave or Earth Power. Steelix can easily take a Head Smash from Rampardos and KO it with Gyro Ball. If you don't have a wall that can easily take on Rampardos, revenge killing it is the best option. Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee can Mach Punch Rampardos into oblivion, while Spiritomb and Absol can Sucker Punch variants lacking Substitute. Feraligatr can Aqua Jet Rampardos back to the prehistoric age. Sceptile and Aerodactyl are faster than even Choice Scarf Rampardos and can promptly KO it with their attacks.
