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Old Sep 12th, 2012, 10:00:36 PM   #1
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Default Rampardos (Special Attacker) [QC 3/3]

http://www.smogon.com/bw/pokemon/Rampardos


[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Head Smash
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Thunderbolt
move 4: Focus Blast
item: Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
nature: Rash
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Why this set deserves to be on-site:
  • Takes advantage of Sheer Force very well with its variety of special attacks
  • Thanks to Sheer Force Rampardos has essentially a maxed out base 99 Special Attack stat along with it canceling out Life Orb recoil for 3/4ths of its moves
  • Very powerful and unexpected wallbreaker
  • Breaks down the popular Alomomola + Amoonguss core easily
  • Head Smash and base 165 Atk differentiates it from other special attackers
  • Special walls such as Regice, Flareon, Altaria, and Lickilicky cannot stand to the power of Rampardos's Head Smash
  • Has almost no safe switch ins, and unlike the physical sets doesn't kill itself with recoil
  • Some of the bulkiest Pokemon in NU, Musharna and Misdreavus, cannot take a combination of Head Smash + Fire Blast; an impressive feat to be capable of doing without using super effective attacks

Damage Calculation Vs. Multiple Bulky Pokemon


Additional Comments:
  • Absolutely loves hazards support to help it get key OHKOes. Garbodor is recommended for a partner to Rampardos for Spikes.
  • Can use either Earth Power or Ice Beam over Focus Blast if needed
  • Earth Power is a more accurate option over Focus Blast but misses out on Pokemon such as Miltank and Scraggy
  • Ice Beam is a 'cool' option to hit Altaria, Shelgon, and Golurk harder, but it should only really be used if your team needs to deal with Shelgon as the other two gets taken down by Head Smash
  • Partners for Rampardos include Psychic-type Pokemon such as Musharna and Gardevoir can take Fighting-type attacks aimed at Rampardos and beat Gurdurr, Throh, Specially Defensive Seismitoad, and Machoke; Pokemon that can handle Rampardos
  • Since Rampardos is so frail Pokemon such as Swellow, Braviary, and Eelektross can take advantage of U-turn (and/or Volt Switch in Eel's case) to bring in Rampardos safely into something it can beat. Swellow and Braviary attract Rock-type Pokemon such as Golem, Regirock, or Probopass that Rampardos will have to trouble taking down from there or doing massive damage to a team if they decide to switch.
Last edited by EBeast; Sep 13th, 2012 at 9:44:56 PM.
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Old Sep 12th, 2012, 10:11:47 PM   #2
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I really don't see the need for Rampardos to go special (base 65 SpA) when many of his physical movepool (backed up by its base 165 Atk) also benefits from the Sheer Force boost. With Rock Slide, Zen Headbutt, Superpower, and Thunderbolt a physically oriented Naughty Rampardos can pretty much O-2HKO everything.

EDIT: I meant sheer force, not LO -_-;; edited.
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Old Sep 12th, 2012, 10:12:11 PM   #3
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The lack of recoil is probably the biggest thing separating this set from other Rampardos sets. Everyone is already aware of Rampardos' wall-breaking abilities, but they usually aren't prepared to take multiple attacks from it. Anyways, this skeleton looks fine; hazards should probably get a bigger mention though because Rampardos absolutely needs to grab those OHKOs. Decent players aren't going to be switching a wall (or any Pokemon) into Rampardos, which makes the 2HKOs less relevant.


QC Approved 1/3
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Old Sep 12th, 2012, 10:18:47 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fat FLCL View Post
The lack of recoil is probably the biggest thing separating this set from other Rampardos sets. Everyone is already aware of Rampardos' wall-breaking abilities, but they usually aren't prepared to take multiple attacks from it. Anyways, this skeleton looks fine; hazards should probably get a bigger mention though because Rampardos absolutely needs to grab those OHKOs. Decent players aren't going to be switching a wall (or any Pokemon) into Rampardos, which makes the 2HKOs less relevant.

QC APPROVED 1/3
mmhm. I'll make sure to make a paragraph dedicated to it in the actual writing. Thanks for the 1st QC! Also don't forget about the QC tags!
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Old Sep 13th, 2012, 2:02:35 AM   #5
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I was a bit skeptical of this at first glance but it seems to be an okay set, especially given the calcs. I'd still really like to see some logs of it in action, but for now this has my shaky approval (mostly because seeing a special Rampardos set on-site is really questionable - even with Sheer Force, why would you ditch that monstrous base 165 Attack for a pitiful 65 Special Attack?). Unless you're impeccable in your reasoning and explanation of why it works and why it's good, this is going to be questioned.

I'd like to see mentions of partners that appreciate its wallbreaking abilities and particularly those that can bring it in safely, like Swellow, Eelektross, etc.
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Old Sep 13th, 2012, 8:55:07 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fat Zebraiken View Post
I was a bit skeptical of this at first glance but it seems to be an okay set, especially given the calcs. I'd still really like to see some logs of it in action, but for now this has my shaky approval (mostly because seeing a special Rampardos set on-site is really questionable - even with Sheer Force, why would you ditch that monstrous base 165 Attack for a pitiful 65 Special Attack?). Unless you're impeccable in your reasoning and explanation of why it works and why it's good, this is going to be questioned.

I'd like to see mentions of partners that appreciate its wallbreaking abilities and particularly those that can bring it in safely, like Swellow, Eelektross, etc.
This is my reasoning for it:
  • The main reason to use over a physical set is for the ability to break down Pokemon with Rampardos's excellent coverage without a single drawback. CB and Scarf sets are great attacker and can break down walls but are sometimes forced to lock themselves into moves such as Superpower or Earthquake, which could give dangerous Pokemon such as Ludicolo or Haunter a free turn to wreak havoc. When not using Rampardos's coverage moves it's usually spamming Head Smash to kill whatever tries to come in and Rampardos will eventually kill itself off from the recoil especially with Alomomola being a common Pokemon and it having high amounts of HP and Regenerator. With a Sheer Force special set Rampardos doesn't have to worry about killing it self with recoil or Pokemon like Tangela or Alomomola ruining its fun. It can change up moves whenever it wants and due to its power with Sheer Force and isn't pressured to predict an Alomomola or Amoonguss switch in as it can easily OHKO both of them with the right move. Even a Physical Sheer Force set doesn't have the same utility as while it can beat Amoonguss with Zen Headbutt, most of its move are not affected by Sheer Force and don't help it against Alomomola or Tangela.
  • In short, a quick way to look at is is that physical Rampardos is a set that can break almost anything, but at the cost of tons of recoil damage to break the tough physical walls or lowering stats with Superpower, while it doesn't OHKO every physical wall. Special Rampardos can do the same in terms of wallbreaking, with its special moves having great coverage and power, but has an easy way to get past of the special walls that would stop it with Head Smash.


If this gets past QC I'll make sure to word and emphasize that as best as I possibly can in the writing alongside the hazard support Furi wanted me to put in as well. [Also this my my 300th post :])
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Old Sep 13th, 2012, 9:10:15 PM   #7
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Alright, that's fine with me, then.


QC Approved 2/3
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Old Sep 13th, 2012, 9:41:19 PM   #8
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this set does have its perks, its a really neat Alomomola and Amoonguss lure(primarily Alomomola). In the writing I really want the downfalls of this set emphasized, and how this set should only be used on specific teams and that most of the time a physical Rampardos would be better. I have seen this set used, and it is not bad and offers a new way to look at the lovable dinosaur <3


QC Approved 3/3 it has enough of a niche, and is useful enough to be on site
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Old Sep 16th, 2012, 8:46:04 PM   #9
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EBeast is doing a full revamp of Rampardos, including this set.
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