Rampardos was originally introduced to the Pokémon series in Gen IV, and trainers can encounter and evolve this fossil Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Known as the Head Butt Pokémon, Rampardos uses its dome-like skull to unleash powerful physical attacks against its opponents. As players journey across Hisui on their mission to seek all Pokémon, however, finding Rampardos and its unevolved form, Cranidos, may prove to be a challenge.
In terms of offensive power, Rampardos is one of the heaviest hitters trainers can obtain in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Its blisteringly high base attack stat is higher than that of all of the Legendary Pokémon in the game, allowing it to knock out most opponents in just one or two turns. However, the weakness of its other stats leaves it pretty unbalanced, and its low defense can leave it vulnerable in battle. However, Rampardos’ attack stat is on par with some of the most powerful Legendaries and even Mega Evolutions in the franchise, so it can still be a very strong member of the trainer’s party.
Rampardos can only be caught in the Space-Time Distortions that appear at random in the Coronet Highlands area of Pokémon Legends: Arceus. It doesn’t spawn anywhere else in the Hisui region, and its low spawn rate inside these Distortions can make it difficult to find and catch. Trainers will likely have better luck encountering and evolving a Cranidos, which is easy to train and appears more frequently than its evolved form.
How To Evolve Rampardos In Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Like Rampardos, Cranidos can only be found and caught in the Space-Time Distortions that appear in Pokémon Legends: Arceus’ Coronet Highlands. However, it’s a much more common spawn than Rampardos, which makes it much easier to catch. Cranidos can evolve into Rampardos when it reaches level 30, and since many of the Cranidos that spawn inside Space-Time Distortions are at level 35 or higher, players will likely be able to evolve their Cranidos immediately. If trainers do evolve their Cranidos right away, however, they might have a harder time completing its Research Tasks unless they catch another one, so it’s a good idea to raise Cranidos’ Research Level to 10 before evolving it into Rampardos.
Once Pokémon Legends: Arceus players have caught or evolved Rampardos, they’ll have to complete its Research Tasks to perfect their Hisui Pokédex. Fortunately, Rampardos’ Research Tasks mostly require players to observe it using specific moves, and they can quickly max out its Research Level by using the moves Iron Head, Double-Edge, and Head Smash in battle. Once the Pokédex is complete and every entry is at Research Level 10, players will receive the Shiny Charm from the Galaxy Expedition Team, which will make it much easier for them to encounter Shiny Pokémon like Shiny Rampardos in the postgame.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is available on Nintendo Switch.
