[Overview]
<p>Feel the wrath of Rampardos and its unrivaled base 165 Attack, which makes it the strongest wallbreaker you'll ever get to see in the lower tiers. Out of its two decent abilities, Mold Breaker is superior as it allows Rampardos to be a wallbreaker with a bit of utility by allowing it to OHKO common Sturdy Stealth Rock users. However, despite all of the power Rampardos packs, it is quite the glass cannon; its defenses are quite low and it is quite slow. Nonetheless, Rampardos is still able to outspeed the slower defensive Pokemon in the tier and does a fine job of Head Smashing them into oblivion.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Head Smash
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Crunch
move 4: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
item: Choice Band
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>On this set, Rampardos is equipped with a Choice Band in order to boost its Attack to sky-high levels; it works great with Head Smash because even Pokemon that resist the move have trouble tanking multiple hits. Head Smash is Rampardos's main attack and wreaks destruction easily, especially since it boasts the capability to 2HKO two of the bulkiest physical walls in Neverused: Alomomola and Musharna. Unfortunately, there is a limit to the amount of shots Rampardos is able to fire—there is a large amount of recoil damage incurred by the usage of Head Smash, which wears out Rampardos fairly quickly. Earthquake is a very useful move, especially when combined with Mold Breaker, as it is able to bypass Sturdy and KO its users, often eliminating common entry hazard setters early game. Crunch OHKOes Golurk, another common Stealth Rock setter. Stone Edge and Rock Slide are good alternative options when Rampardos is low on health and does not wish to fall to recoil; Stone Edge is more powerful but Rock Slide is more accurate.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Superpower is an alternative option to the set as it provides great coverage and has high power; however, it has the consequence of dropping Rampardos's Attack and Defense after each use. A Jolly nature can also be used to allow Rampardos to outspeed standard Mandibuzz, after which it can proceed to OHKO it, but this invariably results in a drop in power. Sheer Force is a viable option as it boosts the power of Crunch and Rock Slide, but Rampardos prefers the ability to OHKO Sturdy Pokemon before they have the chance to set up Stealth Rock.</p>
<p>Rampardos is generally used to destroy the bulkiest of walls so that other teammates will have an easier time sweeping, and with paralysis support from teammates such as Musharna, Probopass, and Regice, Rampardos is also able to sweep as well. Good teammates for Rampardos are those that can take advantage of the removal of bulky walls and sweep. Some common late-game cleaners such as Sawsbuck, Tauros, and Sawk are good teammates as they take advantage of Rampardos's wallbreaking abilities. Offensive Seismitoad is a good teammate for dealing with opposing defensive Seismitoad , a Stealth Rock setter which isn't OHKOed by Rampardos. It also sets up its own Stealth Rock for your team; Stealth Rock weakens opponents so that Rampardos can break through them. Some Pokemon that appreciate Rampardos's ability to defeat common Stealth Rock setters include powerhouses such as Charizard and Swellow that otherwise have a limited number of switch-ins. Additionally, Rampardos functions very well on Trick Room teams, so other great supporting teammates include Musharna, Duosion, and Beheeyem.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Other options include a specially offensive Sheer Force set with moves such as Thunderbolt and Ice Beam, but this set is not very appropriate for the Neverused tier due to Tangela's dwindling usage—its only use is to lure Alomomola, which is 2HKOed by Head Smash regardless. A Choice Scarf set is a good idea, but even after the boost, Rampardos's Speed is still underwhelming. Stealth Rock can be used on an offensive lead set, but such a set is suboptimal due to Rampardos's frailty. Toxic is another great option to use on a Life Orb set to cripple bulky walls such as Alomomola and Tangela. Rampardos boasts boosting moves in Swords Dance and Rock Polish, and can elect to run both for a double dance set. However, it is difficult to find opportunities for Rampardos to set up due to its low defenses. Substitute can act as a useful shield against stray attacks, but it will cause Rampardos to lose even more health, which can be painful in conjunction with Head Smash. A combination of Substitute and Endeavor can help Rampardos get past troublesome opponents such as Alomomola low on health without risking the recoil of Head Smash.</p>
<p>Some options that Rampardos has are downright unviable and should not be used. Double-Edge might seem tempting due to its high power, but it has useless coverage, and its recoil just reduces Rampardos's already disappointing longevity. A Substitute + Focus Punch set should not be considered as Superpower should be sufficient as Rampardos's Fighting-type coverage and its Substitutes are frail and easily broken. Dragon Tail might seem fun for phazing the opponent but a bulkier phazer such as Lickilicky should be used for the role of a phazer instead.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>It is very difficult to counter Rampardos, as even the bulkiest physical walls have trouble tanking more than one Head Smash. Metang is one of the few reliable checks to Rampardos, as it avoids the OHKO from Earthquake most of the time and can OHKO back with Meteor Mash or Bullet Punch. Since Fighting-types resist Rock-type attacks, they can also tank a hit before smashing Rampardos with a super effective STAB move of choice; Pokemon capable of doing so include Sawk, Throh, and Gurdurr. Alomomola in particular can wear out Rampardos by forcing it to Head Smash repeatedly, causing Rampardos to take massive amount of recoil, while stalling it out with Wish and Protect. In a similar vein, Tangela is a check that is 2HKOed only by Head Smash, and can easily hit Rampardos hard with its STAB Grass-type moves. Torterra is another stable check to Rampardos, being able to survive a Head Smash and retaliate with Earthquake or Wood Hammer. In general, it is easy to kill this bumbling beast by outspeeding it and striking it where it hurts; many common offensive Pokemon in the tier can accomplish this easily, with some common choices being Samurott, Ludicolo, Primeape, and Seismitoad.</p>
<p>Feel the wrath of Rampardos and its unrivaled base 165 Attack, which makes it the strongest wallbreaker you'll ever get to see in the lower tiers. Out of its two decent abilities, Mold Breaker is superior as it allows Rampardos to be a wallbreaker with a bit of utility by allowing it to OHKO common Sturdy Stealth Rock users. However, despite all of the power Rampardos packs, it is quite the glass cannon; its defenses are quite low and it is quite slow. Nonetheless, Rampardos is still able to outspeed the slower defensive Pokemon in the tier and does a fine job of Head Smashing them into oblivion.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Head Smash
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Crunch
move 4: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
item: Choice Band
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>On this set, Rampardos is equipped with a Choice Band in order to boost its Attack to sky-high levels; it works great with Head Smash because even Pokemon that resist the move have trouble tanking multiple hits. Head Smash is Rampardos's main attack and wreaks destruction easily, especially since it boasts the capability to 2HKO two of the bulkiest physical walls in Neverused: Alomomola and Musharna. Unfortunately, there is a limit to the amount of shots Rampardos is able to fire—there is a large amount of recoil damage incurred by the usage of Head Smash, which wears out Rampardos fairly quickly. Earthquake is a very useful move, especially when combined with Mold Breaker, as it is able to bypass Sturdy and KO its users, often eliminating common entry hazard setters early game. Crunch OHKOes Golurk, another common Stealth Rock setter. Stone Edge and Rock Slide are good alternative options when Rampardos is low on health and does not wish to fall to recoil; Stone Edge is more powerful but Rock Slide is more accurate.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Superpower is an alternative option to the set as it provides great coverage and has high power; however, it has the consequence of dropping Rampardos's Attack and Defense after each use. A Jolly nature can also be used to allow Rampardos to outspeed standard Mandibuzz, after which it can proceed to OHKO it, but this invariably results in a drop in power. Sheer Force is a viable option as it boosts the power of Crunch and Rock Slide, but Rampardos prefers the ability to OHKO Sturdy Pokemon before they have the chance to set up Stealth Rock.</p>
<p>Rampardos is generally used to destroy the bulkiest of walls so that other teammates will have an easier time sweeping, and with paralysis support from teammates such as Musharna, Probopass, and Regice, Rampardos is also able to sweep as well. Good teammates for Rampardos are those that can take advantage of the removal of bulky walls and sweep. Some common late-game cleaners such as Sawsbuck, Tauros, and Sawk are good teammates as they take advantage of Rampardos's wallbreaking abilities. Offensive Seismitoad is a good teammate for dealing with opposing defensive Seismitoad , a Stealth Rock setter which isn't OHKOed by Rampardos. It also sets up its own Stealth Rock for your team; Stealth Rock weakens opponents so that Rampardos can break through them. Some Pokemon that appreciate Rampardos's ability to defeat common Stealth Rock setters include powerhouses such as Charizard and Swellow that otherwise have a limited number of switch-ins. Additionally, Rampardos functions very well on Trick Room teams, so other great supporting teammates include Musharna, Duosion, and Beheeyem.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Other options include a specially offensive Sheer Force set with moves such as Thunderbolt and Ice Beam, but this set is not very appropriate for the Neverused tier due to Tangela's dwindling usage—its only use is to lure Alomomola, which is 2HKOed by Head Smash regardless. A Choice Scarf set is a good idea, but even after the boost, Rampardos's Speed is still underwhelming. Stealth Rock can be used on an offensive lead set, but such a set is suboptimal due to Rampardos's frailty. Toxic is another great option to use on a Life Orb set to cripple bulky walls such as Alomomola and Tangela. Rampardos boasts boosting moves in Swords Dance and Rock Polish, and can elect to run both for a double dance set. However, it is difficult to find opportunities for Rampardos to set up due to its low defenses. Substitute can act as a useful shield against stray attacks, but it will cause Rampardos to lose even more health, which can be painful in conjunction with Head Smash. A combination of Substitute and Endeavor can help Rampardos get past troublesome opponents such as Alomomola low on health without risking the recoil of Head Smash.</p>
<p>Some options that Rampardos has are downright unviable and should not be used. Double-Edge might seem tempting due to its high power, but it has useless coverage, and its recoil just reduces Rampardos's already disappointing longevity. A Substitute + Focus Punch set should not be considered as Superpower should be sufficient as Rampardos's Fighting-type coverage and its Substitutes are frail and easily broken. Dragon Tail might seem fun for phazing the opponent but a bulkier phazer such as Lickilicky should be used for the role of a phazer instead.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>It is very difficult to counter Rampardos, as even the bulkiest physical walls have trouble tanking more than one Head Smash. Metang is one of the few reliable checks to Rampardos, as it avoids the OHKO from Earthquake most of the time and can OHKO back with Meteor Mash or Bullet Punch. Since Fighting-types resist Rock-type attacks, they can also tank a hit before smashing Rampardos with a super effective STAB move of choice; Pokemon capable of doing so include Sawk, Throh, and Gurdurr. Alomomola in particular can wear out Rampardos by forcing it to Head Smash repeatedly, causing Rampardos to take massive amount of recoil, while stalling it out with Wish and Protect. In a similar vein, Tangela is a check that is 2HKOed only by Head Smash, and can easily hit Rampardos hard with its STAB Grass-type moves. Torterra is another stable check to Rampardos, being able to survive a Head Smash and retaliate with Earthquake or Wood Hammer. In general, it is easy to kill this bumbling beast by outspeeding it and striking it where it hurts; many common offensive Pokemon in the tier can accomplish this easily, with some common choices being Samurott, Ludicolo, Primeape, and Seismitoad.</p>
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