Rampardos (Update) [GP 0/2]

My pet, Rampardos. May the force be with whoever has to GP this, its hella long.

[overview]
<p>Rampardos is the very essence of the term "glass cannon". Apart from its beastly Attack and above average HP all its other stats are poor. When using Rampardos it is essential to make sure you emphasize and focus on the qualities that set it apart from its powerful Rock counterparts in Aggron and Rhyperior, namely its slightly higher base Speed, and more importantly its ability, Mold Breaker which allows it to easily dispatch defensive threats such as Weezing with its powerful Earthquake. As it is blessed with a wide movepool, Rampardos can utilize quite alot of different sets.</p>


[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Stone Edge
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Zen Headbutt
move 4: Fire Punch
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>A Pokemon such as Rampardos screams out for a Choice Scarf set. Its huge power and low Speed mean that Choice Scarf can help it be more effective within the UU metagame. Stone Edge's STAB is the main attraction, boasting massive power off of Rampardos' 429 (if Jolly) or 471 (if Adamant) Attack. Earthquake gives Rampardos unresisted type coverage alongside Stone Edge, as well as hitting Pokemon such as Registeel, Weezing, and Rotom for super effective damage. Zen Headbutt once again hits fighters such as Hitmontop and Hariyama looking to switch in on a resisted Stone Edge. The last slot can be filled with a variety of moves although Fire Punch has better coverage with the other moves and is useful for taking out Bulky Grass-types.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Even though Rampardos boasts great Attack, entry hazard support is welcomed as it can turn many 2HKOs into solid KOs. Jolly is the preferred nature, as Rampardos reaches 351 Speed after a Choice Scarf, necessary to outrun Pokemon such as Mismagius and Manectric. Venusaur makes a great teammate being able to absorb Toxic Spikes that could significantly decrease Rampardos' longevity and resists 3 types that Rampardos is weak to. It also has Sleep Powder, allowing it to incapacitate Rampardos' counters, giving it free turns to switch in safely.</p>


[SET]
name: Rock Polish
move 1: Rock Polish
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Fire Punch / Ice Beam
item: Life Orb / Lum Berry
nature: Adamant / Naughty
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>While the Choice Scarf set grants Rampardos instant speed, it relies heavily on prediction and is forced out relatively easily. Rock Polish gives Rampardos increased speed with the ability to switch freely between attacks, making it much more dangerous. As with previous sets, Stone Edge is your key attacking move, complimented by Earthquake. Fire Punch provides further coverage, hitting Grass- and Bug-types for super effective damage. Ice Beam is a worthy alternative, granting Rampardos the ability to 2HKO Donphan and Tangrowth, two major threats.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>An Adamant nature should be used if you prefer sticking to an all out Physical set although if you plan on using Ice Beam, it is important to change nature to Naughty. Lum Berry allows Rampardos to setup on status inducers such as Chansey and Registeel without fear and proceed to sweep with its gigantic 430 Speed. When using this set it is important to try to rid the field of opposing priority users such as Hitmontop and Azumarill as they can put a swift end to Rampardos with Mach Punch and Aqua Jet respectively.</p>


[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Fire Punch / Zen Headbutt
item: Life Orb
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Rampardos is possibly one of the most powerful Pokemon in the entire game after a Swords Dance. Swords Dance boosts Rampardos' Attack to an unprecedented 942. The EV spread is set to take maximum advantage of Rampardos' sweeping ability, dumping them in Attack and Speed. Stone Edge is the primary attack as it is STAB and lacks any recoil damage unlike Head Smash. Earthquake provides good coverage and can finish of weakened opponents if you don't like the running the risk of Stone Edge missing. The last slot should be based on what Pokemon give your team more problems. Fire Punch is great for dealing with bulky Grass-type walls while Zen headbutt being less useful can be used to destroy Fighting-types such as Hariyama and Hitmontop.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Sandstorm support is appreciated as Rampardos' Special Defense gets boosted to a respectable amount, allowing it to take weak Surf and other Special attacks thrown at it and set up. The set EVs are straightforward, maximizing Rampardos' Speed and Attack, as without any Speed boosting move, it is vital to outspeed as many threats as possible.</p>


[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Stone Edge / Head Smash
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Fire Punch
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>The beauty about this set is that it requires less prediction compared to the Scarfed set and functions as a wallbreaker, substituting on the opponent's switch and proceed to wreak havoc. Head Smash could be used over Stone Edge if you prefer the extra power although it is to be noted that Leftovers is the preferable held item if you choose Head Smash due to the significant loss of HP from Substitute combined with the recoil damage from Head Smash. Earthquake and Fire Punch have good overage with Rampardos' choice of STAB and inflict a world of hurt to opposing Poison- and Grass-types such as Weezing and Venusaur thanks to Mold Breaker.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Ice Beam is the way to go if you have a tough time dealing with bulky defensive Ground-types such as Donphan. Be noted that the nature should be changed to Naughty if you choose to use Ice Beam as a Jolly nature reduces Rampardos' Special Attack. While this set can function as a standalone Pokemon better than other sets, it will still greatly appreciate entry hazards. Cloyster is a fine source of Spikes and Toxic Spikes, the latter of which will help to wear down opposing walls while Rampardos Substitutes. Omastar can also provide Spikes and Stealth Rock making it a worthy choice. Paralysis support from the likes of Uxie and Chansey and can aid Rampardos greatly in sweeping opposing teams due to its low Speed.</p>


[SET]
name: Trick Room Sweeper
move 1: Head Smash
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Fire Punch / Ice Beam
item: Life Orb
nature: Brave
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpA
ivs: 0 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>A stat spread like Rampardos' is ideal for a Trick Room set. Brave Rampardos with a 0 Speed IV reaches a low of 108 Speed, which is slower than almost any wall that tries to stand in its way. Head Smash is here because Rampardos doesn't need to survive a hit or set anything up, as well as the fact that in Trick Room, you will want to dish out as much damage as possible before the effects of Trick Room end. Earthquake adds coverage, Zen Headbutt handles Fighting-types and Fire Punch is for Torterra. Ice Beam is a solid alternative as it allows Rampardos to 2HKO bulk Ground-types such as Donphan and Torterra as well as Defensive Grass-types. The HP EVs help to soften the recoil sustained from Head Smash. </p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Naturally a Pokemon with the ability to set up Trick Room is required for this particular set. Uxie, Porygon-2 and Slowbro are all solid choices for the job, being sturdy enough to weather quite a few hits, and heal them off later. Exeggutor also makes an excellent partner for this Rampardos being able to cover its weaknesses perfectly while setting up Trick Room and incapacitating an opponent with the use of Sleep Powder.</p>


[optional changes]
<p>Rampardos' physical move pool leaves a lot to be desired, and what's listed is the extent of its usefulness. ThunderPunch is also available to hit bulky Water-types with more accuracy and reliability than Stone Edge, but its coverage is largely redundant with Stone Edge, which has the same power even when neutral. Crunch is available to hit Claydol and not much else compared to Stone Edge. Ice Beam and Fire Blast are two options to consider on Rampardos in order to net a 2HKO on defensive behemoths such as Donphan and Tangrowth although it should be noted that you should change your nature accordingly.</p>

[team options]
<p>All Rampardos sets will appreciate the presence of Stealth Rock on the opposing field, for which reason reliable Pokemon such as Uxie, Mesprit, Donphan and Claydol partner up effectively with Rampardos, all being able to take attacks directed at Rampardos, while also supporting with Stealth Rock. Paralysis support is appreciated greatly due to Rampardos' poor Speed, allowing Rampardos to bulldoze through teams.</p>

<p>Choice Scarf and Rock Polish Rampardos will benefit greatly from Spikes support, being unable to boost their attack, the extra damage provided goes a long way in helping it to clean up late game. Pokemon that can provide such support for Rampardos include Cloyster, Omastar, and Qwilfish, the latter of which can run a bulky spread in order to switch in on Fighting moves that Rampardos will inevitably attract.</p>

<p>On the defensive you will need Pokemon that can take care of Rampardos' glaring weaknesses. Strong Grass-types such as Leafeon and Tangrowth can cover Rampardos well, being able to switch in on Bulky Ground-types that trouble Rampardos, and pose a significant threat to troublesome Water-types. Leafeon is able to pass Wish and Heal Bell, both of which can not only aid Rampardos, but the team as a whole. Tangrowth is able to paralyze an opponent with Stun Spore, as well as soften up teams by Knocking Off vital recovery items like Leftovers. Venusaur is another solid choice, being able to dispatch of the same Ground and Water-types with ease, while sporting a Fighting resist, although it misses out on a Ground resist.</p>

<p>Weezing is also a good compliment defensively to pair with Rampardos, covering its Grass, Fighting and Ground weaknesses. It handles troublesome Grass-types such as Venusaur and Torterra, as well as being a full stop to most Fighting types that would otherwise make short work of Rampardos.</p>


[counters]
<p>Bulky Ground-Types usually make good answers to Rampardos. Donphan stands out as the number one answer to Rampardos, being able to switch into any of the sets with relative comfort and threaten Rampardos with its STAB Earthquake although it should tread carefully incase Rampardos is carrying Ice Beam. Torterra is in a similar boat as Donphan, while also resisting Rampardos' Stone Edge and Earthquake combo, it only fears Fire Punch. Claydol also sports resists to the EdgeQuake combo, and its good defensive stats mean can switch in on Rampardos with little fear, bar the rare Crunch attack.</p>

<p>Rampardos' low Speed is compounded by its lacklustre defences, which makes it easy for any faster Pokemon with a decent STAB attack to threaten Rampardos. Its poor defenses mean it is very susceptible to priority attacks, so Pokemon such as Azumarill, Hitmontop, and Absol, with their respective priority attacks, will put Rampardos out of commission in no time.</p>

i think that you could change around the trick room set a bit. i'm thinking of something like [rock stab of choice] / earthquake / fire punch / substitute with the swords dance spread, mentioning zen headbutt and the alternate ev spread in AC. this does seem almost exactly like the swords dance set, except with sub, so maybe a better option would be to slash sub with swords dance? it eases prediction and lets you get a free hit on, say, scyther attempting to absorb earthquake.

Im with Bad Ass. With Rampardos I found Sub + 3 attacks to be his best set, and would like to see that in the analysis (pretty high up there too) if possible.

Ok mans, I'll change it according to Bad Ass' suggestion. Do you think Sub+3 attacks should have its own set?

Ummm, where's OC? lol. :) Anyway, when you get around to it, Rampardos has a frickin' gigantic movepool, so some things you could put into it are:

Brick Break, Crunch, Double-Edge, Focus Punch, Hammer Arm, Iron Head, Outrage, Payback, Pursuit, Return, Superpower, and Thunderpunch for physical options.

Stealth Rock, Screech and Pain Split for auxiliary moves

and Ice Beam, Fire Blast, Earth Power, Dragon Pulse, Focus Blast, Surf, and Thunderbolt for special moves.

Like I said, he has a huge movepool.

Oglemi said:

Ummm, where's OC? lol. :) Anyway, when you get around to it, Rampardos has a frickin' gigantic movepool, so some things you could put into it are:

Brick Break, Crunch, Double-Edge, Focus Punch, Hammer Arm, Iron Head, Outrage, Payback, Pursuit, Return, Superpower, and Thunderpunch for physical options.

Stealth Rock, Screech and Pain Split for auxiliary moves

and Ice Beam, Fire Blast, Earth Power, Dragon Pulse, Focus Blast, Surf, and Thunderbolt for special moves.

Like I said, he has a huge movepool.

Click to expand...

In the current metagame a special set is out of the question, it should not even be mentioned in OC,it reaches a maximum of 251 lol and with its STAB move having a base power of 60 (Ancientpower) I don't really know how a special set would work ;).. I'll be sure to include other physical attacks in OC which I forgot about. Thanks.

i got your pm, sorry i was afk. i think you should probably call it three attack since even with swords dance you should probably be spamming head smash / stone edge most of the time, utilizing the support move to either tear through stall or function better vs offense. maybe make sub the first slash and....i dont know change around the order of the first 3 sets? they all seem equally useful

http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76418

Sets with Fire Punch (I'm thinking Substitute and Trick Room, not sure about Scarf) should consider slashing Ice Beam with Fire Punch, as in exchange for lowering your defenses so you don't lower Special Attack, you get to hit Tangrowth, Leafeon and Torterra harder than Fire Punch and Donphan harder than EQ. Other Grass types like Venusaur are already dealt with by Stone Edge which hits as hard as a x2 Fire Punch anyway. Steel types are dealt with by EQ.

I'm with YaM. I think all-non choice sets should consider having Ice Beam slashed with Fire Punch. Why on non-choice sets. You don't want to be locked into Ice Beam with Rampardos' lackluster Special Attack stat.

Made all changes, added some of my own, come on QC nigs ;)

put in life orb over salac berry, and also as the main slash. i think that the loss in survivability really hurts. it's hard enough to get a sub up, so you need to take advantage of the opportunity. if you miss that ko by a few percent, you're going to a) lose all of your momentum and b) they're going to be more wary next time. just my thoughts. also i'd support ice beam being the main slash, since fire punch is overall pretty useless, and nailing torterra and donphan at a lower health really helps.

i want to try out a swords dance/sub/stone edge/earthquake set - it allows rampardos to set up easily on weezing while also allowing you to use either sd or sub depending on the team you fight. i doubt you would miss the last move at all.

looks pretty good. some comments after testing:

for the rock polish set, be sure to make the first slash for nature Adamant and the EV spread 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe. then, slash Naughty and then mention the SpA EVs when you talk about Ice Beam in Set Comments. also mention how priority attacks like Azumarill's Aqua Jet and technitop's Mach/Bullet Punch can easily revenge.

SD set needs Jolly nature as the primary slash. as you said anything that Rampy outspeeds is pretty much dead, so it should maximize its Speed to maximize the amount of stuff that's dead.

Sub set again make the EV spread just straight 252/252 Atk/Spe with a Jolly nature and move the special attack spread into the comments where you talk about Ice Beam's merits.

trick room set looks fine.

in Team Options, be sure to make special mention of paralysis support from stuff like Registeel, as Rampardos easily bulldozes through teams when faster sweepers are paralyzed.

once these are put in, good work.


and also I don't like Sub + SD when you can just attack twice under a Sub. and M-BLADE came up with it.

What noobrag said:

Done writing the bad boy up, can someone add it to the GP queue.

The AC for all of these sets is really lacking. Try adding some more about Team Options within the sets themselves, and more about how to play with Rampardos. There's also little describing what Rampardos can't get past in the sets, or strategies to employ to help Rampardos set up (paralysis support, dual screens, etc.) Yes, it's a little repetitive, but it has to be done.

The Team Options section should be more of an overview of what are good general teammates for Rampardos, not what are good teammates for each specific set. Those comments should go in AC for the appropriate set.

Aeron Ee1 can have the OP as he is writing this now, thanks.

Aeron has taken this over.

Moving.