Competitive Information for Cranidos [Sun/Moon]
Rock
Abilities:
Movesets for Singles
What is a good competitive moveset for Cranidos? These builds have been optimized for Pokemon competing in Sun/Moon Single Battles. The movesets and EVs have been specifically calibrated to deal the most amount of damage to the largest group of potentially common opponents and typing threats for the Sun/Moon generation metagame.
Cranidos is an outstanding Rock-typed Pokemon. Cranidos is not a Pokemon anyone usually expects sees on the battlefield. Cranidos is weak to Fighting, Grass, Ground, Steel, and Water-typed attacks.
Item: Normalium Z / Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Double-Edge / Return
- Superpower / Hammer Arm
- Rock Slide / Rock Tomb
- Earthquake
Physical Sweeper Cranidos (Sheer Force)
Cranidos is a stupendous Physical Sweeper. It tries to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Life Orb boosts the power of Cranidos's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. However, Sheer Force negates the recoil damage from Life Orb while still increasing the damage from both it's ability and the orb making it an amazing item for Cranidos. With Sheer Force, Cranidos's attacks with secondary effects have 1.3x power; nullifies the effects.
♦ Return is a physical 0-base power Normal-type move (max 102 power at maximum happiness).
♦ Superpower is a physical 120-base power Fighting-type move (lowers your Cranidos's attack and defense by 1 stage).
♦ Hammer Arm is a physical 100-base power Fighting-type move (lowers your Cranidos's speed by 1 stage).
♦ Rock Slide is a physical STAB-boosted 75-base power Rock-type move (30% chance to flinch the foes).
♦ Rock Tomb is a physical STAB-boosted 60-base power Rock-type move (100% chance to lower the target's speed by 1 stage).
♦ Earthquake is a physical 100-base power Ground-type move (hits adjacent pokemon).
Movesets for Doubles
What is a good doubles moveset for Cranidos? These builds have been optimized for Sun/Moon Double Battles. They have movesets and EVs specifically calibrated to generally work best versus multiple Pokemon at once as well as helping to support other team members and allys in the Sun/Moon generation metagame.
Item: Rockium Z / Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Rock Slide / Rock Tomb
- Earthquake / Bulldoze
- Double-Edge / Return
- Superpower / Hammer Arm
Doubles Physical Sweeper Cranidos (Sheer Force)
Cranidos is a decent Physical Sweeper. It's designed to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Life Orb boosts the power of Cranidos's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. However, Sheer Force negates the recoil damage from Life Orb while still increasing the damage from both it's ability and the orb making it an amazing item for Cranidos. With Sheer Force, Cranidos's attacks with secondary effects have 1.3x power; nullifies the effects.
♦ Rock Tomb is a physical STAB-boosted 60-base power Rock-type move (100% chance to lower the target's speed by 1 stage).
♦ Earthquake is a physical 100-base power Ground-type move (hits adjacent pokemon).
♦ Bulldoze is a physical 60-base power Ground-type move (100% chance lower adjacent pkmn speed by 1 stage).
♦ Double-Edge is a physical 120-base power Normal-type move (has 33% recoil).
♦ Return is a physical 0-base power Normal-type move (max 102 power at maximum happiness).
♦ Superpower is a physical 120-base power Fighting-type move (lowers your Cranidos's attack and defense by 1 stage).
♦ Hammer Arm is a physical 100-base power Fighting-type move (lowers your Cranidos's speed by 1 stage).
Movepool
Wondering what moves can Cranidos learn? Here is the list of moves this Pokemon can learn in this selected generation.
Sort and organize the learnset by move type, category, accuracy, and power. Bolded moves will gain the same-type attack bonus (STAB) if this Pokemon uses them.
Damage Modifiers:
Combo List
These are a list of several common move combinations Cranidos can perform in Sun/Moon. Not every combo going to be game-changing, but some can be pretty fun to play with. Sometimes these can be easily overlooked or forgotten, hence why we find and list them here. Discover what items, abilities, and moves this Pokemon can use in combination with each other to gain a strategic advantage in competitive battles.
Competitive SM Move and Ability Combos for Cranidos
- Moves: Swagger + Screech
- Moves: Rain dance + Thunder
- Moves: Endure + Endeavor
- Moves: Rest + Sleep talk
- Moves: Thunderbolt + Ice beam
- Ability: Sheer Force + Item: Life Orb
- Move: Assurance + Item: Rocky Helmet
- Move: Fling + Item: King's Rock
- Move: Facade + Item: Flame Orb
- Move: Facade + Item: Toxic Orb
- Move: Endeavor + Item: Focus Sash
- Ability: Sheer Force + Additional Effect Move: Blizzard
- Ability: Sheer Force + Additional Effect Move: Fire Blast
- Ability: Sheer Force + Additional Effect Move: Flamethrower
- Ability: Sheer Force + Additional Effect Move: Ice Beam
- Ability: Sheer Force + Additional Effect Move: Fire Punch
- Ability: Sheer Force + Additional Effect Move: Headbutt
- Ability: Sheer Force + Additional Effect Move: Ancient Power
- Ability: Sheer Force + Additional Effect Move: Earth Power
- Moves with Priority: Endure, Protect
Most notable and possible best moves for Cranidos
- Protect
- Rest
Common Effort Values for Cranidos in Sun and Moon
- Nature ( )
- Nature ( )
- Optimize Cranidos's EV spread for Pokemon Sun and Moon
Related Videos
Here are various how-to-use and competitive moveset analysis video guides for Cranidos in Sun/Moon. These featured videos will most likely contain additional strategies and combos not listed on our site. Disclaimer: All videos belong to their respective owners along with the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the videos. They belong solely to the author and not to us.
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