[Overview]
<p>Rampardos is primarily seen as a wallbreaker in the RU tier, and accomplishes this with two main sets: one is that of a Choice Band wallbreaker and another is that of of a mixed core-breaker that can lure in its checks and counters and defeat them with an the appropriate coverage move. This lets it be a Thus, between its colossal Attack stat and surprisingly generous special movepool, Rampardos is a truly great weapon against stall [NB - it has attributes that make it great against stall, rather than the fact that it happens to be able to run two sets. You can change or add to the attributes I've listed if you disagree or have more to say; I just went with the most immediately obvious plus point for both sets]. However, it is let down by its poor Speed stat, which along with its horrible defensive typing and quite average bulk means ,(remove) meaning that it won't be sticking around for long. It also faces competition from Aggron as a Rock-type with access to Head Smash, and unlike Rampardos, Aggron does not have to take massive amounts of recoil due thanks to its Rock Head ability, meaning that Rampardos is often passed on over in favor of it. Nevertheless, Rampardos separates itself from Aggron with through its superior Attack and the ability to utilize its movepool well by going mixed. [and now that I added the previous statement, this seems a little redundant. Whoops. Not sure how to fix that. Maybe something along the lines of "Rampardos separates itself from Aggron through the traits listed above, which give it a strong advantage as a stallbreaker" or something. Use best judgement. Or if you think it's fine, leave it be]</p>
[SET]
name: Mixed
move 1: Head Smash / Rock Slide
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Ice Beam
item: Life Orb
ability: Sheer Force
nature: Rash
evs: 16 Atk / 252 SpA / 240 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Rampardos would normally be thought of as a juggernaut, pummeling through the tier with its massive Attack ["think of" implies a specific noun rather than an action, if you don't like juggernaut then change], it also has the ability to go mixed due to access to Sheer Force and a vast, expansive special movepool. Access to Sheer Force is what makes this set work, as 65 Special Attack is quite poor and without the previously mentioned ability, Rampardos would lose the ability to OHKO its would-be counters even with super effective attacks. The purpose of this set is to lure in would-be the aforementioned checks and counters [nix repeat] and destroy them with a the appropriate coverage move of choice. Head Smash is Rampardos's signature move for good reason; coming off base 165 Attack, it can OHKO relatively bulky threats such as Amoonguss and Slowking even with minimal investment. However, the massive recoil it takes means that Head Smash should only be used to ease prediction [what exactly do you mean by this? please elaborate] or where its coverage moves would otherwise not OHKO the target, making it very prediction-heavy [is it prediction heavy or is it easing prediction? Surely it can't do both], and that Rampardos will usually not be there survive for long enough to KO more than one or two Pokemon on a given team. Rock Slide is an alternative option, and while it does not hit nearly as hard as Head Smash does, it comes with the benefit of negating Life Orb damage, does not make Rampardos take additional recoil, and hits quite hard when boosted by Sheer Force, although it misses out on the OHKOs mentioned earlier. Thunderbolt OHKOes Qwilfish, OHKOes Alomomola after Stealth Rock, and hits Poliwrath hard, letting it hit three important targets that would give it trouble; while although Rampardos can 2HKO the former two with Head Smash, the recoil it takes is would take makes this less than ideal. Focus Blast is yet another Sheer Force-boosted coverage move that lets Rampardos deal with important threats that would otherwise wall it: Steelix, Aggron,(comma) and Rhydon. Ice Beam is in the last slot as it lets Rampardos hit Druddigon and Torterra hard, as well as get an accurate hit on Rhydon. In addition, it forms a BoltBeam combo with Thunderbolt, granting near-flawless reliable coverage. [This is something of an irrelevant statement but I'll leave it]</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The given EV spread lets Rampardos outspeed Adamant Torterra (which Rampardos can then proceed to destroy with Ice Beam), with the rest thrown into while Special Attack is maximized to let Rampardos hit hard with its coverage moves and guarantee the OHKO on Rhydon, Steelix,(comma) and Alomomola after Stealth Rock. The rest of the EVs go into Attack to power up its STAB move. Rash is chosen as suggested for the nature as a Speed-boosting nature does not let Rampardos outspeed anything significant, and the extra power is helpful to net the previously mentioned OHKOs [Maybe mention why Rash as opposed to Mild?]. Zen Headbutt is an option to hit the Fighting-types which Rampardos despises, most notably Hariyama, but the moves on the set offer more coverage against more threats to Rampardos in general. While this set is able to rip through common stall cores, offense is a playstyle Rampardos struggles with a lot because of its horrible defensive typing, average bulk, and the fact that most offensive Pokemon outspeed it and can easily OHKO. As far as partners go, Uxie, Slowking,(comma) and Qwilfish make for good partners as they can provide paralysis support; some of these Pokemon help it in more than one way (Qwilfish provides Spikes support while Uxie can bring it Rampardos in with U-turn). Swellow also makes for a good partner as it can clean through weakened teams, and Rampardos can break through stall cores that give it trouble. In addition, it also provides a fast hitter, which makes up for Rampardos's poor Speed. Choice Scarf Rotom-C can outspeed and KO Pokemon such as Poliwrath that give this set trouble and appreciates Rampardos's ability to destroy more defensively oriented Pokemon.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Head Smash
move 2: Superpower
move 3: Fire Punch
move 4: ThunderPunch / Rock Slide
item: Choice Band
ability: Sheer Force
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Rampardos's most effective set is that of a mixed wallbreaker, this set takes a more straightforward approach to said role, although with more prediction required. Head Smash is the main move on this set and hits most of the tier for good damage. Superpower is run in the second slot to hit Pokemon that would otherwise easily stomach a Head Smash, such as Steelix, Aggron, and Rhydon,(remove) for good damage (and it OHKOes Aggron). Fire Punch gets the Sheer Force boost and OHKOes threats such as Ferroseed and Escavalier without the stat drops from Superpower in the former's case or taking the massive recoil from Head Smash in the latter's case. It also hits the previously mentioned Steelix harder hard, albeit a lot less hard than Superpower. In the last slot, ThunderPunch hits problematic Pokemon such as Poliwrath, Alomomola, and Qwilfish for good damage, 2HKOing all of them. Alternatively, Rock Slide is a reliable STAB move that is boosted by Sheer Force, is more accurate, and doesn't force Rampardos to take massive recoil.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Sheer Force is the preferred ability as it gives Fire Punch, ThunderPunch, and Rock Slide a much-needed boost. Alternatively, Mold Breaker can be used alternatively to allow Rampardos to screw over Custap Berry Crustle leads. Stone Edge can be used as an alternative STAB, but Head Smash is generall generally better and Rock Slide with a Sheer Force boosts boost hits about as hard. Ice Punch can be used on the set to hit Ground-types such as Golurk,(remove) and Torterra harder, but Rampardos generally cannot spare a moveslot for it. This set especially loves having paralysis support due to its poor Speed; again, Uxie, Qwilfish, and Slowking make for excellent candidates. Swellow and Accelgor make for a good cleaners that can wreck the opposing team after their checks are gone and clean up after Rampardos has done its job. Mesprit can cover up its Fighting weakness and learns Healing Wish, which can heal Rampardos up to full health and get rid of pesky status. Magneton can trap and get rid of the Steel-types that Rampardos despises. Fast, powerful Pokemon such as Sceptile and Aerodactyl can form a potent offensive core with Rampardos and appreciate its ability to break through defensive Pokemon.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>While a Choice Scarf set might seem perfect due to Rampardos's Speed, it is still very slow and can be outsped by Sceptile and Cinccino even when wielding holding said item. It is also easily revenge killed and unlike its wallbreaking counterparts, struggles against defensively oriented teams. Trick Room is a playstyle that Rampardos can fit quite well on Trick Room teams, making and is it a good candidate for a wallbreaker on such teams with the appropriate IV and nature adjustments. Hidden Power Grass is an option on the mixed set to hit Quagsire while retaining coverage on Rhydon, but it cannot OHKO the latter (unlike a Sheer Force-boosted Focus Blast) and the former is quite rare. Stealth Rock can be utilized in an offensive lead set, but Rampardos is quite frail and not a very reliable entry hazard setter. Substitute + Focus Punch can be used, but Rampardos has a hard time setting up Substitutes and the moveslots required cut into its coverage. Outrage and Double Edge are two seemingly appealing moves, but provide no coverage and are both usually a waste of a moveslot.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Countering Rampardos is almost impossible due to its great coverage, high Attack, and strong STAB moves. A very effective way of stopping it is to simply prevent it from switching in on a slower Pokemon, meaining meaning that it will have to take a hit before attacking. Fighting-types, especially bulky ones such as Hariyama and Poliwrath, can stomach any hit from Rampardos and OHKO with a STAB move of choice, though the former has to watch out for a Zen Headbutt and the latter will be hit hard by Thunderbolt or ThunderPunch from the respective sets. Ground-types such as Torterra and Golurk work as well. Golurk warrants a special mention due to its ability to hard-wall the Choice Band set and to be able to take one Ice Beam (unlike Torterra). However, checking it is quite easy for most teams. Ferroseed stands out as a good check due to its overall bulk, allowing it to take at least one coverage move and proceed to OHKO Rampardos. Alomomola can take a Head Smash from Rampardos, and although it is 2HKOed, Rampardos in turn takes massive recoil due to Alomomola's high HP stat. However, it Alomomola is OHKOed by a Sheer Force-boosted Thunderbolt after Stealth Rock.</p>
<p>The best way to check Rampardos is to simply revenge kill it,(comma) due to the fact that it is quite slow and not exactly sturdy. Pokemon such as Rotom-C, faster variants of Gallade, and Sceptile can easily end Rampardos with their STABs STAB moves. Almost any Pokemon faster than it with decent attacking prowess can OHKO it. Finally, users of priority such as Spiritomb, Absol, Kabutops, Gurdurr,(comma) and Hitmonlee can ruin Rampardos's fun very quickly indeed.</p>