Cranidos
Rock
Best attacking moveset: Zen Headbutt and Ancient Power, worth 9.1 damage per second against a neutral target.
Best moveset
Cranidos can learn 6 combinations. Zen Headbutt with Ancient Power does the most damage per second of them, at level 40 with a perfect attack stat. Same-type moves get the 1.2× bonus, and the cycle assumes the charged attack fires the moment it has the energy.
Stats and moves come straight from the game's own data files. Every number on this page is a raid and gym number, not a PvP one.
Type matchups
| Fast attack | Type | Power | Duration | Energy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Take Down | Normal | 7 | 1.0s | +8 |
| Zen Headbutt | Psychic | 11 | 1.0s | +9 |
| Charged attack | Type | Power | Duration | Energy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ancient Power | Rock | 70 | 3.5s | -33 |
| Bulldoze | Ground | 80 | 3.5s | -50 |
| Rock Tomb | Rock | 65 | 3.0s | -50 |
Shiny
Yes. Shiny Cranidos has been released. Players have found it from: wild, raid, research, photobomb.
Evolution family
Numbers
| Max CP | 2,058 at level 50, 1,820 at level 40 |
|---|---|
| Raid catch | 1,040 CP at level 20, or 1,300 if weather boosted (perfect IVs) |
| Lowest possible raid catch | 974 CP. Raid encounters can't roll below 10/10/10 |
| Base stats | 218 attack · 71 defense · 167 stamina |
What it costs
| Candy to evolve | 25 Candy |
|---|---|
| Second charged move | 75,000 Stardust and 75 Candy |
| Buddy distance | 5 km per Candy |
| Purify a Shadow one | 5,000 Stardust and 5 Candy |
| Size | 0.9 m and 31.5 kg |
Best moveset against each type
Cranidos does not have one best moveset, it has 3. Which one wins depends on what you are attacking, because a move only gets its bonus against something weak to it. Best against Poison, Flying, Bug.
| Against | Best moveset | DPS |
|---|---|---|
| Poison | Zen Headbutt + Bulldoze | 13.4 |
| Zen Headbutt + Ancient Power | 12.7 | |
| Bug | Zen Headbutt + Ancient Power | 12.7 |
| Fire | Zen Headbutt + Ancient Power | 12.7 |
| Ice | Zen Headbutt + Ancient Power | 12.7 |
| Rock | Zen Headbutt + Bulldoze | 11.0 |
| Electric | Zen Headbutt + Bulldoze | 11.0 |
| Fighting | Zen Headbutt + Bulldoze | 10.7 |
| Steel | Zen Headbutt + Bulldoze | 9.7 |
| Normal | Zen Headbutt + Ancient Power | 9.1 |
| Ghost | Zen Headbutt + Ancient Power | 9.1 |
| Water | Zen Headbutt + Ancient Power | 9.1 |
| Grass | Zen Headbutt + Ancient Power | 9.1 |
| Dragon | Zen Headbutt + Ancient Power | 9.1 |
| Fairy | Zen Headbutt + Ancient Power | 9.1 |
| Ground | Zen Headbutt + Bulldoze | 8.2 |
| Psychic | Zen Headbutt + Ancient Power | 8.0 |
| Dark | Take Down + Ancient Power | 7.8 |
Same maths as the headline number, run once per defending type: level 40, perfect attack IV, and the target's own type taken into account. Sorted by damage, so the top of this table is what Cranidos is actually for.
Counters: what beats Cranidos
| Attacker | Type | Moveset | DPS |
|---|---|---|---|
 Lucario | FightingSteel | Force Palm + Aura Sphere Legacy | 71.8 |
 Kartana | GrassSteel | Razor Leaf + Leaf Blade | 68.7 |
 Pheromosa | BugFighting | Low Kick + Focus Blast | 65.7 |
 Terrakion | RockFighting | Double Kick + Sacred Sword Legacy | 65.4 |
 Blaziken | FireFighting | Counter + Aura Sphere | 64.9 |
 Metagross | SteelPsychic | Bullet Punch + Meteor Mash Legacy | 62.7 |
 Inteleon | Water | Water Gun + Hydro Cannon Legacy | 61.8 |
 Kyogre | Water | Waterfall + Origin Pulse Legacy | 61.6 |
 Breloom | GrassFighting | Force Palm + Grass Knot Legacy | 61.6 |
 Tinkaton | FairySteel | Fairy Wind + Gigaton Hammer Legacy | 60.9 |
Ranked by damage per second against Cranidos's own defense, at level 40 with a 15 attack IV, one per evolution family.