In Legends: Arceus, Cranidos isn't fully evolved, so it's not built for competitive play. You'll want to evolve it into Rampardos to unlock its full potential. At 350 BST, it's a stepping stone rather than a team anchor.

What is Cranidos weak to?

In Legends: Arceus, Cranidos's biggest threats include Gyarados (Water), Exeggutor (Grass), and Blaziken (Fighting), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Ground and Steel-type attackers are also a problem. With 5 weakness types, most competitive teams carry at least one counter.

What is the best ability for Cranidos?

In Legends: Arceus, Run Sheer Force on Cranidos. It's the ability that defines how you build around it and the main reason it holds a competitive niche. Cranidos also gets Mold Breaker, but they don't compare.

What role does Cranidos play in battle?

In Legends: Arceus, Cranidos fills the cannon role. It's a physical attacker with base 125 Attack. At base 58 Speed, it won't be moving first often. And it's fragile, can't afford to take many hits.

Cranidos - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Physical

Cannon

DTier

58Speed · Slow

Stats & Training

Cranidos's all-in on Attack at the expense of Sp. Atk. The physical lean is obvious from the bars. Yields 1 Attack EV and follows a standard growth curve.

Base Stats

Avg

HP67

Attack125

Defense40

Sp. Atk30

Sp. Def30

Speed58

Total350

Details

Catch Rate

Challenging45 / 255

Growth Rate

Erratic600,000 XP

Height0.9 m

Weight31.5 kg

Base XP70

Abilities

Mold Breaker

Bypasses targets' abilities if they could hinder or prevent a move.

Sheer ForceHA

Strengthens moves with extra effects to 1.3× their power, but prevents their extra effects.

EV Yield

HPAtk+1DefSpASpDSpe

Attack training source

Pokedex Entries

An incredibly rare sight. They duel each other by ramming their heads together, and the resulting sound echoes throughout the area like the pealing of a bell.

Legends: Arceus

Cranidos Weakness

Cranidos is weak to Water, Grass, Fighting, Ground, and Steel. It resists 4 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. That's a lot of weak spots to cover so team support is important.

Cranidos Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Water, Grass, Fighting, Ground, Steel
0.5x (Resist)	Normal, Fire, Poison, Flying

Type ChartFragile

5Weak

4Resist

0Immune

Score-6

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Water Grass Fighting Ground Steel

½xResist

Normal Fire Poison Flying

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

None

STAB (4)

Fire Ice Flying Bug

How to Beat Cranidos in Legends: Arceus (Best Counters)

Gastrodon WaterGround	B
Available Move Moves Mud-SlapLv. 1 Damage vs Cranidos Mud-Slap 2x 43-52% View Gastrodon builds →
Vaporeon Water	B
Available Move Moves BubbleLv. 1 Damage vs Cranidos Bubble 2x 87-104%KO View Vaporeon builds →
Heracross BugFighting	C
Available Move Moves Rock SmashLv. 5 Damage vs Cranidos Rock Smash 2x 87-104%KO View Heracross builds →
Shaymin Grass	C
Obtain MethodFloaro Gardens Interact Encounter Available Move Moves LeafageLv. 1 Damage vs Cranidos Leafage 2x 74-91% View Shaymin builds →
Cherrim Grass	C
Available Move Moves AbsorbLv. 1 Damage vs Cranidos Absorb 2x 43-52% View Cherrim builds →

Legends: Arceus Evolution

Cranidos evolves into Rampardos. It's a two-stage chain with the method shown below. A decent partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are slow to hatch. Evolving adds up to 145 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms

#408Cranidos

Level 30

#409Rampardos

Stat Comparison 2 Stages

Cranidos

Rock

Rampardos

Rock

97+30

ATK

125

165+40

DEF

60+20

SP.ATK

65+35

SP.DEF

50+20

SPE

BST

350C-Tier

495B-Tier+145

ROLE

Cannon

TYPE

Physical

Breeding is not available in this game

Legends: Arceus Cranidos Best Moveset

Best Build

Legends: Arceus uses different battle mechanics.

Competitive build content is not applicable for this game. Select a main series game for builds.

Moves

Cranidos's movepool balances level-up moves with TM options. Consistent STAB comes from Head Smash and Stone Edge, and coverage across 9 types keeps opponents from switching in for free. No major gaps here.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Tackle

D4010035Normal

Lv 5

Ancient Power

D601005Rock

Lv 9

Bite

C6010025Dark

Lv 15

Rock Slide

B759010Rock

Lv 21

Iron Head

C8010015Steel

Lv 29

Crunch

C8010015Dark

Lv 37

Double-Edge

B12010015Normal

Lv 47

Head Smash

B150805Rock

TM Moves

Cranidos can't learn any TM moves

Egg Moves

Cranidos doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Tut

Tutor

Bulldoze

C6010020Ground

Tutor

Earth Power

D9010010Ground

Tutor

Fire Punch

C7510015Fire

Tutor

Flamethrower

D9010015Fire

Tutor

Focus Energy

C——30Normal

Tutor

Ice Beam

D9010010Ice

Tutor

Iron Head

C8010015Steel

Tutor

Iron Tail

C1007515Steel

Tutor

Rest

C——10Psychic

Tutor

Rock Slide

B759010Rock

Tutor

Rock Smash

D4010015Fighting

Tutor

Stealth Rock

C——20Rock

Tutor

Stone Edge

B100805Rock

Tutor

Thunder Punch

C7510015Electric

Tutor

Thunderbolt

D9010015Electric

Tutor

Zen Headbutt

C809015Psychic

Legends: Arceus Cranidos Locations

decent spawn rates for Cranidos across 1 locations in mid-game routes. Nothing complicated. Check the sorted list below, compare the top few options, and head to whichever is closest.

Best Locations to Catch Cranidos in Legends: Arceus

Space-Time Distortion - Mount Coronet

Grass Distortion

Uncommon

Cranidos Guide

In Legends: Arceus, Cranidos isn't fully evolved, so it's not built for competitive play. You'll want to evolve it into Rampardos to unlock its full potential. At 350 BST, it's a stepping stone rather than a team anchor.
In Legends: Arceus, Cranidos's biggest threats include Gyarados (Water), Exeggutor (Grass), and Blaziken (Fighting), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Ground and Steel-type attackers are also a problem. With 5 weakness types, most competitive teams carry at least one counter.
In Legends: Arceus, Run Sheer Force on Cranidos. It's the ability that defines how you build around it and the main reason it holds a competitive niche. Cranidos also gets Mold Breaker, but they don't compare.
In Legends: Arceus, Sheer Force is the hidden ability. It strengthens moves with extra effects to 1.3× their power, but prevents their extra effects. Worth hunting for if you want Cranidos to compete at a higher level.
In Legends: Arceus, Cranidos fills the cannon role. It's a physical attacker with base 125 Attack. At base 58 Speed, it won't be moving first often. And it's fragile, can't afford to take many hits.

Game Availability

Cranidos first appeared in Diamond & Pearl and has been available in 12 games across 7 generations. Obtainable through catching or hatching as a base form in most titles where it appears.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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Heatran FireSteel	S
Recommended Build AbilityFlashfire ItemLeftovers NatureTimid Moves Earth Power Magma Storm Stealth Rock TauntUtility View Heatran builds →
Excadrill GroundSteel	A
Recommended Build AbilityMold Breaker ItemLeftovers NatureJolly Moves EarthquakeSTAB Rapid Spin Iron Head Swords Dance Damage vs Cranidos Earthquake 2x 249-293%KO Rapid Spin 21-24% View Excadrill builds →
Rillaboom Grass	A
Recommended Build AbilityGrassy Surge ItemAssault Vest NatureAdamant Moves Fake Out Grassy Glide U Turn Wood Hammer Damage vs Cranidos U Turn 60-71% Wood Hammer 2x 309-364%KO View Rillaboom builds →
Conkeldurr Fighting	A
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Slowking WaterPsychic	A
Recommended Build AbilityRegenerator ItemColbur Berry NatureRelaxed Moves ScaldSTAB TeleportUtility Slack Off Future Sight Damage vs Cranidos Scald 2x 155-182%KO View Slowking builds →