What it does
Headlong Rush is a Ground-type physical move at base 120 power. It makes contact. After the move resolves — whether or not it KO'd the target — the user's Defense and Special Defense each drop by one stage. That drop is unconditional.
Ground coverage is strong: it hits Steel, Rock, and Poison for super effective damage, and those are common defensive typings. The downside is you can't hit Flying-type targets at all, and Levitate fully immunizes anything that has it. Against everything else, 120 base power with STAB on a high-Attack user delivers serious damage.
The contact tag matters in specific matchups. Rough Skin, Iron Barbs, and Rocky Helmet all trigger on contact moves. Against a Rocky Helmet holder, each use costs you 1/8 of your max HP in recoil on top of whatever the opponent's attacks do.
Who runs it
Golurk (60%) defines this move's competitive identity. Ghost/Ground typing gives it a unique offensive profile, and Headlong Rush is its primary Ground STAB nuke. With base 124 Attack, the damage output is real. It's slow, though — Trick Room support lets it move first and get the hit in before it eats a fast threat's attack.
Torterra (34%) runs it to patch Ground coverage onto a Grass/Ground typing that can otherwise struggle against certain Steel and Rock builds. It contributes alongside spread move pressure from the rest of the team.
Pangoro (19%) uses it more as a secondary coverage slot than a primary strategy.
How to use it
The highest-value turns are when the opponent has one or two Pokemon weak to Ground on the field and you have no immediate threat to your back line — meaning the Defense drop won't instantly backfire.
In doubles, think about what comes after. If you use Headlong Rush and both opposing Pokemon are still alive, you're now taking hits from two directions at lowered Defense and Special Defense. That's where the stat drop goes from 'minor inconvenience' to 'why did I do that.' On turns where you're already planning to use Protect next, the drop is nearly free — burn the damage this turn, protect through the retaliation.
Golurk under Trick Room is the most straightforward case: bring it in, move first due to low Speed inverting the order, fire Headlong Rush for large damage. Without Trick Room, it typically loses the speed race and may not survive to act.
Tips & strategy
Count the remaining threats before committing. Against one opponent left, the Defense drop has limited impact — only one source of damage next turn. Against two healthy opposing Pokemon, the drop can turn a healthy Golurk into something that gets two-hit from full. If there's any doubt about surviving retaliation, Protect on the follow-up turn is often the right call.
Golurk's Ghost typing gives it Normal and Fighting immunity — useful resistances in doubles. But Water, Grass, Ice, Dark, and Ghost all hit it for super effective damage. After the Defense drop, any of those moving into range becomes significantly more dangerous. If the opponent has a hidden Water or Ice threat, using Headlong Rush into them can hand them a free KO.
Rocky Helmet chip adds up. Three or four Headlong Rush uses against a Rocky Helmet holder costs 3/8 to 1/2 of your max HP in recoil before the battle ends. Track what the opponent is holding and factor that into how aggressively you use this move.