Is Rampardos Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Cranidos evolves at level 30. AbilityMold Breaker bypasses Levitate and Sturdy. The Attack stat is absurd. Paper defenses mean Rampardos hits once and hopes. Fossil timing limits it to the Battle Frontier.
Cranidos has the type edge here and should clean up Falkner's team.
Cranidos resists most of Bugsy's coverage and hits back hard.
Cranidos has the type edge here and should clean up Whitney's team.
Cranidos trades roughly evenly with Morty's team.
Chuck's Pokemon outpace and outclass Cranidos here.
Cranidos trades roughly evenly with Jasmine's team.
Cranidos trades roughly evenly with Pryce's team.
Cranidos trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Brock's team hits Cranidos's weaknesses hard.
Cranidos trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Cranidos has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Cranidos trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Cranidos has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Rampardos trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Rampardos resists most of Blaine's coverage and hits back hard.
Rampardos has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Rampardos has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Rampardos resists most of Koga's coverage and hits back hard.
Rampardos trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Rampardos has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Rampardos resists most of Lance's coverage and hits back hard.
Fossil Cranidos
Cranidos can be revived from a fossil obtained in Pewter City. Revive Skull Fossil. Revive a Skull Fossil at the Pewter Museum of Science.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM35FireFlamethrowerPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Game Corner
- LV 28RockAncient PowerPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
- TM59DragonDragon PulsePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Given by Clair in the Dragon's Den after the Dragon Shrine test
- LV 43RockHead SmashPower 225Accuracy 80%PP 5
Evolve Cranidos to Rampardos
Cranidos evolves into Rampardos at Level 30. Your Cranidos should hit Level 30 before you reach Sabrina, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM35FireFlamethrowerPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Game Corner
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- After Whitney
- HM03WaterSurfPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Kimono Girl in the Ecruteak Dance Theater
- After Chuck
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Chuck
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
- LV 52RockHead SmashPower 225Accuracy 80%PP 5
How to Get Rampardos in HeartGold & SoulSilver
You're catching Cranidos first, not Rampardos. Cranidos appears but it's a rare spawn in the encounters below. The step cards map the full 2-stage line with evolution methods between each stage.
Catch Cranidos at any of these 1 spot to eventually evolve into Rampardos.
- 1Catch Cranidos
- 2Evolve Rampardosat Lv.30
Badge 8How to Obtain Rampardos in HGSS
- Step 2Rampardos ✓
How to Get Shiny Rampardos in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Rampardos evolves from Cranidos, so breed that fossil baby Masuda-style at 1 in 1,638 and raise it up. Compare Shiny Rampardos odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Rampardos Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Soft Reset: Save in front of a static, gift, or legendary encounter, then reset until it sparkles.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Planning a longer hunt? Set up Rampardos in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Odds Calculator to compare every method side by side.
Rampardos Weakness
Water, Grass, Fighting, Ground, and Steel moves hit Rampardos for super-effective damage. 4 resistances help offset the weaknesses. 5 weaknesses means you'll want teammates that can handle the coverage gaps.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Water, Grass, Fighting, Ground, Steel |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Normal, Fire, Poison, Flying |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Rampardos Weak Against
FragileBest Pokemon Against Rampardos
 Breloom GrassFighting | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rampardos View Breloom builds →Focus Punch 2x185-218%KO Seed Bomb 2x99-116%KO Iron Tail 2x82-97% | ||
 Gallade PsychicFighting | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rampardos View Gallade builds →Focus Punch 2x178-210%KO Earthquake 2x79-94% Leaf Blade 2x72-84% | ||
 Hariyama Fighting | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rampardos View Hariyama builds →Focus Punch 2x172-203%KO Earthquake 2x76-90% Surf 2x36-42% | ||
 Hitmonlee Fighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Tyrogue (Mt Mortar Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rampardos View Hitmonlee builds →Focus Punch 2x172-203%KO Earthquake 2x76-90% | ||
 Blaziken FireFighting | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Torchic (Silph Co Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rampardos View Blaziken builds →Focus Punch 2x172-203%KO Solar Beam 2x98-116%KO Earthquake 2x76-90% | ||
 Toxicroak PoisonFighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rampardos View Toxicroak builds →Focus Punch 2x156-184%KO Earthquake 2x69-82% | ||
 Primeape Fighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rampardos View Primeape builds →Focus Punch 2x154-181%KO Earthquake 2x69-81% Iron Tail 2x69-81% | ||
 Marowak Ground | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rampardos View Marowak builds →Earthquake 2x83-97% Focus Punch 2x81-96% Iron Tail 2x55-65% | ||
 Garchomp DragonGround | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rampardos View Garchomp builds →Earthquake 2x124-146%KO Iron Tail 2x82-97% Brick Break 2x62-73% Surf 2x59-70% | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rampardos View Rhydon builds →Focus Punch 2x123-145%KO Earthquake 2x124-146%KO Iron Tail 2x82-97% Surf 2x38-46% | ||
 Machoke Fighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rampardos View Machoke builds →Focus Punch 2x147-173%KO Earthquake 2x66-78% | ||
 Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
 Sceptile Grass | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Treecko (Silph Co Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rampardos View Sceptile builds →Leaf Storm 2x165-194%KO Focus Punch 2x86-101%KO Earthquake 2x58-68% Iron Tail 2x58-68% | ||
 Steelix SteelGround | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Rampardos View Steelix builds →Earthquake 2x87-103%KO Iron Tail 2x87-103%KO Rock Smash 2x24-28% | ||
Rampardos Evolutions
Evolved from Cranidos. Rampardos is the final form in this two-stage line. Plenty of partners for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are slow to hatch. Attack grew the most through evolution (+40 over Cranidos), and Rampardos peaks at 495 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Rampardos to get Cranidos eggs using 63 partners from the Monster egg group. Notable egg moves include Crunch, Curse, Double-Edge and 6 more.
HGSS Rampardos Best Moveset
165 Attack is among the highest in the game, and AbilityMold Breaker ignores abilities like Sturdy and Levitate. The moveset demolishes anything it hits first. 58 Speed and 50 Defense mean faster threats act before Rampardos and one hit is usually enough to end it.
Best Build
Rampardos best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Revenge Killer Moveset
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Head Smash
- Thunder Punch
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Coverage runs deep. Rampardos can hit 11 types beyond STAB, including Normal and Dark. The offense anchors on Head Smash and Ancient Power while TMs handle everything else.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
All 38 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Its skull withstands impacts of any magnitude. As a result, its brain never gets the chance to grow.
Rampardos HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
Yes. Rampardos is a post-game Pokemon. You need to defeat the Elite Four and enter the Hall of Fame first. Rampardos becomes available after the main story is complete in HeartGold & SoulSilver.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, use Rampardos as a cannon. Physical side carries the damage. Not the fastest,
For HeartGold & SoulSilver, run Jolly on Rampardos. +Speed is what matters, and the -Sp. Atk cut doesn't hurt this set. Fits the cannon role.
Game Availability
Available in 12 titles since its debut in Diamond & Pearl, Rampardos spans 6 generations of Pokemon games. It's accessible through wild encounters in a solid number of games.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DPDebut
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves
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