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Description
Rampardos (the Head Butt Pokémon) is an exceptionally rare Rock-type Pokémon found among tropical jungles and craggy peaks across the world, though only in exceptionally limited numbers. While their chances of lasting very long in battle are fairly slim, Rampardos are destructive creatures that can easily reduce anything slower than them to rubble within the blink of an eye. They might not be the most intelligent of creatures to battle with, but as long as you can point them in the right direction before they charge, it's unlikely that anything that manages to get in their way will survive for very long after the first strike!

Cranidos and Rampardos are normally nonexistent in the wild today, but as a result of modern science's advances, these beasts have finally been brought back to the world through the use of Skull Fossils. Interestingly enough, Skull Fossils are probably one of the few specialty fossils that physically share much in common with the creatures they are associated with, namely in regards to the density and mass of their skulls, and are so sturdy themselves that in ancient times they were dug up and used as helmets by people due to them being harder than steel. Cranidos and Rampardos are believed to be related to if not part of the genus Pachycephalosaurus and likely died out at around the same time at the end of the Cretaceous. As with their ancient relatives, Cranidos and Rampardos possess massively thick skull caps that are designed primarily for head-butting matches against other members of their species as a way of deciding the ownership rights of food, mating, and (at least in their case) just about everything else. Unlike their relatives, however, these beasts are also known to use their massive skulls offensively as well, specializing in moves that result in massive damage to both themselves and the opposition in tandem to fight off ancient predators such as Aerodactyl. This alone can make them fun to try out, but what truly makes little sense about these creatures is their astonishing lack of an actual type; aside from the Rock-type alignment they earn as a result of their resurrection from fossils, these beasts technically have no natural type and are probably one of the closest members to the line that separates Pokémon from normal animals known. This does not mean that they should be ignored, however, as their astonishing physical abilities more than make them a dire threat against any beast unfortunate enough to be slower than them in battle.

Rampardos are one of the most physically powerful beasts to ever live on the planet and are rightfully feared by trainers of all types for the potential damage they can do in battle; this is a hard lesson that scientists in particular had to learn personally when the first revived Cranidos evolved into one, as it proceeded to escape its containment unit and destroyed a nearby skyscraper with a single Headbutt attack. In battle, Rampardos are pretty much limited to using their massive skulls for direct offense, but considering that their pearl-like skull cap is nearly 30cm thick and as sturdy as iron as a result of continuous use and growth, it goes without saying that they won't feel a single thing no matter how hard they ram their heads into something. This can come to the great detriment of other Pokémon in battle, as it means that attacks that are otherwise preventable by forcefully striking the head (namely Headbutt, Zen Headbutt and Head Smash) are impossible to deter with Rampardos; moreover, Rampardos possess the most powerful Head Smash attack out of all Pokémon and are the prime reason why the move is considered to be a Rock-type attack in the first place. Despite their skillful head-butting power and other advantages, however, Rampardos are weakened substantially as a result of two considerable flaws. For one thing, their defenses are fairly poor and their movement speed isn't high enough to keep up with most other fully-evolved Pokémon. Secondly and more importantly, they are not very bright. Even though they can effectively crush even the sturdiest of objects by head-butting them at full-force, the constant usage of their skull as a weapon causes continuous trauma to the inside of their brains and prevents them from developing much past a juvenile state and can even cause some shrinkage in extreme cases. As such, Rampardos are generally difficult to teach and it can be very frustrating to try and get them to use tactics other than simply bashing their opponent until they stop moving (something a few theories suggest may have had a hand in their eventual extinction), but the fact that they manage to learn the Endeavor attack immediately after evolving can help alleviate the threat of taking massive damage without payback in some cases. It might take a truly specialized trainer to make much use of them, but for those willing to gamble on them, Rampardos are monstrous creatures that even the most heavily-armored of opponents will not be able to resist for long.

Relying on these beasts in battle might be more of a risk than most trainers are willing to take, but despite their associated cost, Rampardos are amazing creatures that can literally take anything and everything the opposition has in terms of defense and reduce it to nothing. With the highest base Attack stat out of all Rock-type Pokémon and a Head Smash attack guaranteed to turn most opponents into quivering piles of torn tissue and broken bones, it goes without saying that this is one species of Pokémon you definitely do not want to catch on a bad day. If you plan on giving one of these brutes a try someday, do yourself a favor and raise one from a Cranidos; finding one in the wild is hard enough, but surviving a wild encounter with one of these hard-headed monsters is something that humans simply were not designed to accomplish!

Professor Wormwood