Introduction
Cranidos is a Rock type Fossil Pokemon that was introduced in Generation IV and it was resurrected from a Skull Fossil. It evolves into Rampardos at level 30 and is known as the Head Butt Pokemon. Cranidos is overwhelmingly male as it spawns with an 87.5% chance of being male and 12.5% chance of being female.
About Cranidos
| First appearance in anime | Original Series: Shapes of Things to Come and A Gruff Act to Follow! |
| First appearance in game | Diamond and Pearl |
| Region | Sinnoh |
| Evolution | Cranidos → Rampardos |
| 1st Evo level | 30 |
| 2nd Evo level | N/A |
| Pokedex Entry | A primeval Pokémon, it possesses a hard and sturdy skull, lacking any intelligence within.Its hard skull is its distinguishing feature. It snapped trees by headbutting them, and then it fed on their ripe berries. |
Cranidos Base stats
| HP | 67 |
| ATTACK | 125 |
| DEFENCE | 40 |
| SP. ATTACK | 30 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 30 |
| SPEED | 58 |
| TOTAL | 350 |
Appearance
Cranidos is a small, dinosaur-like Pokemon, which is fitting given that it is a Fossil Pokemon. It is mostly gray, with some blue coloring on its head, back and tail. It has a hooked beak and a rounded head with three forward claws and one backward pointing claw on each foot. Cranidos also has very short, stubby arms with three claws on each.
Behavior
Cranidos is known for its head-first attack style in which it literally head butts enemies. It lived in dense forests before it went extinct and would use its head to knock down trees that were in its way. Furthermore, much like Aerodactyl, Cranidos would also uses its head-first attack style to knock down its prey and fight others. It is said to be very unintelligent.
Strengths and Weaknesses
As a standard Rock type Pokémon, Cranidos is weak against Fighting, Ground, Steel, Water and Grass type moves and will take twice the normal damage from them. It is not immune to any type of Pokemon but is resistant to Normal, Fire, Poison and Flying types, which will do half the damage. There is no advantage or disadvantage with Bug, Rock, Dragon, Fairy, Ghost, Dark, Fairy, Psychic, Electric and Ice type Pokemon.
Best moveset (Cranidos)
Cranidos has a lot of strong moves including Head Smash, which is a move that has 150 power and 80% accuracy. Here are Cranidos’ best moves: Head Smash has 1/2 recoil while Fire Blast has 85% accuracy but a 10% chance of burning the target. On the other hand, Hammer Arm has 90% accuracy and lowers the user’s Speed by 1 and Earthquake hits adjacent Pokemon and does double damage on Dig.
| Head Smash | Hammer Arm |
| Fire Blast | Earthquake |
How to catch Cranidos in Pokemon Go?
Cranidos can be found in quarries, cities, hiking trails and other natural areas. It was recently spawned very frequently due to the Ultra Unlock: Time event, although that has since ended. It evolves into Rampardos at 50 candies and was also previously a Raid boss but that changes cyclically.
Trivia
- Cranidos has the highest base attack stat of any unevolved Pokemon.
- Rampardos, the fully evolved Cranidos, has the highest base attack stat of all Rock type Pokemon.
- Cranidos and Rampardos are the only Fossil Pokemon that are not dual types. They are both just Rock type Pokemon.
- Cranidos has the lowest base Defense stat of any Rock type Pokemon.
Explainer Video
FAQs
- How big is Cranidos?
- Cranidos is pretty short, as it stands just 2’11 and it also weighs 69.4 pounds, making it one of the lighter Pokemon. Comparatively, Rampardos grows to just over five feet tall at 5’3 and weighs 226 pounds, which makes it significantly bigger.
- Is Cranidos in Pokemon Sword and Shield?
- No. Neither Cranidos or Rampardos made their way into Pokemon Sword and Shield. The Fossil Pokemon in that game refer to Pokemon that are revived with two different fossils. Dracovish, Dracozolt, Arctovish and Arctozolt are the Fossil Pokemon in question from those games.
- Is there a shiny Cranidos?
- Yes, in Pokemon Go. The shiny versions of both Cranidos and Rampardos trade their blue shade for red. Both versions had a high spawn rate during the Ultra Unlock: Time event, but are otherwise extremely rare.
Conclusion
Cranidos is a very strong Pokemon, evidenced by its base Attack of 125. It is also very rare. Being that it is a Fossil Pokemon, it is difficult to come by, especially in Pokemon Go. If you missed the Ultra Unlock: Time event, it may be a long time before you’re able to find one again, but it is definitely worth the effort.
