If you simply checked for yourself you would realise that CB Head Smash pretty much always 2HKOs Gastrodon and will only not be 2HKOed if Rampardos rolls min damage twice in a row. Even if you don't want to use Head Smash, CB Stone Edge does a minimum of 35% to max HP, max Defence Gastrodon, the same with Claydol.
Great, and then he's sitting at 50% HP assuming he's taken no other damage and Gastrodon hasn't done anything. Not factoring that even with a Wide Lens, Stone Edge and Head Smash have a 12% chance of missing.
If being able to attack is such a feat it would never have been placed in BL to begin with. Honestly now, Rampardos is slow but with enough Speed EVs it is still going to be outspeeding every wall in UU. Revenge killers may be able to take it out but there are hardly any good or reliable switch-ins to Rampardos, which means that every time it switches in, then its possible and very likely its taking something out before it leaves.
Wow, that's so unique to Rampardos. It's not at all like Altaria, Aerodactyl, Scyther, Swellow, Hitmonlee, Hitmontop, Glaceon, Froslass, Ninetales, RD-Omastar, Persian/Purugly, Relicanth, Sharpedo, Venusaur and possibly SubPunch Aggron can do that too, I mean seriously, stop treating Rampardos like it's the only thing in the game that can be a threat if used correctly and with luck. And what does it matter if it's outspeeding it if it can't OHKO it? Steelix OHKO's back with EQ and if it's a Choice version, you can switch into a flying Poke as I doubt he'll be looking to use Rock attacks on a Steelix. The same goes for any Rock resistant poke that is weak to EQ. If you've made your Xatu hold a Flame Orb, then correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't this get Synchronized to Rampardos? you've then crippled it and taken no damage while Xatu is unaffected by the Attack halving, and you can then use Psychic with that Scarf in order to destroy it/its switch-in while using Aromatherapy from Meganium or something to cure the burn, who can also put up a Reflect (and Reflect should not be ignored). How is this a bad solution?
Poliwrath could use Hypnosis but that means it only has a 70% chance of stopping Rampardos and if your relying on Hypnosis to stop something then its not a reliable counter. Also I don't see why you are making the assumption that just about every super effective attack will OHKO Rampados. Rampardos' defenses may be bad, but that does not mean that it cannot take a hit or two thanks to it's base 97 HP. A min Attack Poliwrath does 86% mamimum to a min HP, min Defense Rampardos with Waterfall....alot, but definitely not the OHKO your claiming.
And if it uses Head Smash after that, it'll KO itself. Not to mention the damage it'll take upon getting BP'ed in and potential Stealth Rock damage. Poliwrath has 70 Speed compared to Rampardos's 58, so you won't need to put as much as Rampardos in order to outspeed it, and then you can put 252 in Attack, guaranteed KO. That Base 97 HP is more for some kind of minimum insurance that you can use Head Smash once, maybe twice, when you're in a Sandstorm with max SP. Def and a Careful nature imo. It doesn't mean that he can take a hit or two, not even close. I don't think theres any reasonable (ie. not Weedle or Luvdisc) poke that doesn't 2KO Rampardos if its attack is neutral to Rock - his defenses are
that poor. Some may need an investment in Attack or Sp. Atk, though.
Getting off one Swords Dance (a move which Rampardos can use by itself) while having a Life Orb, is a hell of a lot more feasible than having to Baton Pass an Agility and a Swords Dance to a Life Orbed Hitmonlee. What kind of comparison is this!?
You do realise that unless you're going to stack the argument in your favor and present a completely unrealistic situation (ie. the opponent's team is comprised of CB Weedles), this won't matter? Anything that can put a dent in things will make sure that Rampardos takes itself out thanks to the Life Orb recoil, that is, if Rampardos doesn't get OHKO'ed. And I don't think you realise it but I'm just pulling this one on you for fun. You're telling me that it's a hell of a lot harder to BP an Agility and Swords Dance to a LO Hitmonlee than use Swords Dance on Rampardos, and then you go on to cite Leafeon as a BP'er. I thought Rampardos was going to SD itself? if we then add in Rock Polish, that's two turns and two move slots in order to boost itself. By now, it should be down in the range of KO'ing itself with Life Orb assuming you've attacked it once, and this is assuming you've even had to switch poke. Unless it's got SD and Rock Polish on the same set, in which case it's still easy to take out as I've now repeated over nine thousand times (because while it's powering up you can take it out very easily). Rampardos can also not come in on anything at all, and will guaranteedly faint without getting an attack off should you try to switch it in on something that isn't a joke (Weedle, Luvdisc, although Luvdisc admittedly could use RD and OHKO it with Surf...).
Nothing in UU switches into CB or SD Rampardos well.....period.
I can't be bothered commenting on this.
Weezing will counter that Hitmonlee as well as probaly Claydol with Psychic, so be my guest to start suggesting Rampardos counters.
Steelix will counter it nicely (unless Head Smash/Stone Edge suddenly aren't its main attacks anymore), as will said Xatu if it's not using Rock attacks, Venusaur IIRC sponges anything it has and OHKO's it with Leaf Storm, and there are probably some others but I can't be bothered to name them, you'll have to test it out for yourself. And Fiskebollen had a very good point, instead of thinking Rampardos is BL because you can boost it with SD and RP, how about upgrading your play a little since that seems to happen automatically? Don't even start commenting on Rampardos's without RP, as these are easily revenge killed, and Rampardos is not unique in this regard.
What kind of argument is saying "If you've faced the team before". Obviously if you know the pokemon's moveset it will be somewhat easier to counter. As for your argument you might want to browse through Tangerine's stickied guide in Stark Mountain on how to argue, just to see how much some of his points really hurt your arguments, but to save time i'll post a bit of it here.
Well odds are you'll recognize your enemies in UU. I also did just that, stated why it was valid. If you know where its boosts come from then you can counter it easier as you'll know what to expect, if you'd never faced that team before then you wouldn't know what to expect, hence why I said that.
Since when does Burn stop a Baton Passer? Also you mention taking out the Baton Passer is the easiest thing in the world, if it were so easy then the stragety would not be viable. Leafeon is also the most common Swords Dance passer in UU so I don't think Politoed is really going to be coming in to try to stop Leafeon's pass.
I'm sorry, I meant that on the turn it BP's you can burn it so that when Rampardos is switched in, it's burned. Take it out, as in switch in anything with decent speed and a super-effective Special Attack against Leafeon (*cough* Ninetales etc. *sneeze*). It's not very hard. But lets not derail the argument by going on about Leafeon. I also don't think Leafeon OHKO's Politoed, and if it does, Leafeon OHKO's Rampardos as well, making it a counter as it will also outspeed it. But let's broaden our view our little, there are lots of things that can counter Leafeon. Venomoth, Venusaur, basically anything that resists Leaf Blade and has a decent, super-effective Special Attack.
