Roark's Rampardos

Roark's Rampardos (Japanese: ヒョウタのラムパルド Hyouta's Rampald) is Roark's main in the, , and the Pokémon Adventures. It appears as a Cranidos in all of these, as well as in the Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure! manga, making Cranidos or Rampardos Roark's main Pokémon in all media he appears in. It also appears as a card in the TCG.

In the anime
Roark found as a  during his childhood, when it was still a Fossil. It was the first Pokémon to be restored from a Fossil by scientists in Oreburgh City.

Cranidos debuted in Shapes of Things to Come!, where Roark used it as the third and final Pokémon against Paul. It knew some powerful attacks, such as. Cranidos fought against Paul's Chimchar and Paul allowed Chimchar to get hit repeatedly by its Zen Headbutt. This caused Chimchar to activate, which powered its moves. Even though this gave Chimchar the upper hand, it was still not enough, as Cranidos managed to defeat Chimchar with after Chimchar executed Dig.

Cranidos then went up against, who took damage earlier from its battle with Roark's. During the battle, Elekid pounded Cranidos's knee, which caused it to reel in pain. Despite Elekid's  Cranidos, it was canceled out by Cranidos's. Cranidos still suffered from the added pain on its knee and then clashed with Elekid's with its Zen Headbutt. Both Pokémon stood up and Cranidos fell down, thus losing to Elekid, but not without giving a fierce battle. It reappeared in A Gruff Act to Follow!. Roark used it as his first Pokémon against and his. It surprised everyone by jumping into the air with Headbutt when Aipom was about to charge for. Aipom's Focus Punch was interrupted after she was hit by Headbutt. It wasn't long until Cranidos was able to defeat Aipom despite Aipom's use of.

Cranidos battled next. It overpowered Pikachu at first even though Pikachu had used and  on it before, assuming that it would slow down. This caused Paul to leave but Pikachu's fighting spirit convinced him to stay. Ash recalled Pikachu and sent out. Cranidos countered Turtwig's with Flamethrower, burning out Razor Leaf. Cranidos combination of Zen Headbutt and Flamethrower nearly took out Turtwig but Turtwig survived them and Cranidos lost to Turtwig's Razor Leaf. However, the impact of the battle weakened both Turtwig and Pikachu enough so that Roark's Onix could finish them off, thus defeating Ash. In Wild in the Streets!, Cranidos was sent out to deal with a rampaging and. 's intervention gave Dr. Kenzo and another scientist a change to recall them in the Poké Balls. Cranidos briefly took on and stopped its  from attacking any further. It then battled Team Rocket and fired his net at it. This gave Cranidos the courage to evolve into Rampardos and defeated the trio after getting the Fossil revival machine back from them.

Ash then challenged Roark for a rematch in O'er the Rampardos we Watched!. Rampardos became the last Pokémon Ash faced. Since both and  dealt with  and Onix previously, they were unable to handle Rampardos's power which caused Rampardos to easily defeat them. During its battle with Turtwig, Rampardos almost defeated, but Turtwig managed to emerge victorious once again due to quick thinking on Ash's part, earning Ash the.

It reappeared in Ancient Family Matters!, where it battled against Byron's. However, the match was interrupted due to Team Rocket trying to steal Byron's Fossil collection. It then teamed up with Bastiodon to send the trio blasting off and retrieve the Fossils.

Rampardos briefly appeared alongside Roark during the ending credits of Zoroark: Master of Illusions.

Personality and characteristics
Since reviving Cranidos from a Fossil, it became Roark's most relied on Pokémon. During the battles between Paul and Ash, it was able to hold its own against them, even forcing the opponent down to one Pokémon.

During Cranidos's first battle against Ash, it nearly defeated him on its own but lost to Turtwig. However, it contributed to weakening his team enough for Onix to defeat both Turtwig and Pikachu.

In the games
Rampardos, in either of its forms, is Roark's main Pokémon in all the games he appears in.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga
Roark received Rampardos as an prior to the. He hatched into a Cranidos sometime after.

Cranidos made his first onscreen appearance in Putting a Crimp in Kricketot walking out of the Oreburgh Mine along with his Trainer.

In A Conk on Cranidos's Cranium, Roark sent Cranidos out as his first Pokémon during ’s Gym battle with him. Cranidos fought against. After he managed to do heavy damage to her with a super-effective, both Roark and Platinum immediately recalled their Pokémon and sent out and  in their stead.

Following the defeat of Onix, Roark sent out Cranidos again. Cranidos used which gave Piplup problems. He continued to use Double Team and attempted a. However, Piplup used earlier which caused Cranidos to get. The confusion caused Cranidos to hurt himself and eventually faint.

Cranidos reappeared in Brash Bronzong I alongside his Trainer. During a talk with Mr. Foreman, Cranidos evolved into a, something that Roark expected.

Rampardos reappeared in Byron's imagination in Encountering Elekid alongside Roark and Onix.

In Creeping Away from Cradily, Rampardos participated in the final battle alongside the Gym Leaders’ other Pokémon against Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter. It was revealed later on that Roark was able to defeat Saturn. However, the Red Chain bind Rampardos and the others in an attempt to stop Cyrus. He worked with the other Pokémon worked together to free themselves from the Red Chain.

In the Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure! manga
Roark's Cranidos was used to rescue Hareta after he was tied up by 's. Then, he used it in Hareta's Gym battle and lost to his Piplup with the help of an Oran Berry Roark gave earlier.

Cranidos was later seen along with the Gym Leaders's other Pokémon where they were battling with in order to protect Hareta. However, Palkia canceled out their attacks.

In the manga
Roark's Rampardos appeared as a Cranidos in PMDP07 of the manga.

In the TCG
Roark's Rampardos is featured in the Pokémon Trading Card Game as a TCG Pokémon GL (Pokémon). The following is a list of related cards.

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