The best moveset for Cranidos in Pokemon GO

Though many Pokemon GO trainers will be in a hurry to evolve it, Cranidos itself is capable in a battle within reason.

Cranidos' evolution known as Rampardos is considered one of the better Rock-type Pokemon in the entire game due to its massive maximum attack stat. However, for players who already have Rampardos or are for whatever reason keeping Cranidos in its base form, there are still ways to optimize it when it comes to battle scenarios.

With the right moveset lined up, Cranidos can still deal solid damage in Pokemon GO and serve as an efficient combatant within certain situations.

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Pokemon GO: Cranidos moveset breakdown

Image via Niantic

Before diving into the numbers of Cranidos' moveset, it's worth remembering which moves are available to it. With five total moves between its fast moves and charged moves, Cranidos has a collection of moves that is average in size.

Be that as it may, there are still some moves that outperform others. Taking a look at Cranidos' moves in Pokemon GO, they currently shake out like this:

Fast moves

• Zen Headbutt (Psychic-type)
• Take Down (Normal-type)

Charged moves

• Bulldoze (Ground-type)
• Rock Tomb (Rock-type)
• Ancient Power (Rock-type)

Omitting type advantages and Weather Boosts temporarily, the Pokemon GO community has provided statistics on most of the game's moves.

Without the skewing effect of type effectiveness or momentary boosts, there are three total metrics to be aware of when measuring the capability of moves in an even-handed battle scenario:

• Damage Per Second (DPS): The amount of damage a Pokemon's moves will deal every second it continuously attacks.
• Total Damage Overall (TDO): The maximum total of damage a Pokemon is capable of dealing before it faints from losing all of its HP. This total is calculated by taking the Pokemon's DPS and multiplying it by the time it will remain on the field before fainting from damage.
• Time to First Activation (TTFA): Charged moves are a core part of battle in Pokemon GO, and TTFA measures the amount of time in seconds it takes for a Pokemon to activate its charged move for the first time in a given battle.

Having understood these measurements, Cranidos' movesets can be broken down by move combination:

• Zen Headbutt + Ancient Power: 11.58 DPS / 178.09 TDO / 4.4 second TTFA
• Zen Headbutt + Rock Tomb: 10.27 DPS / 157.97 TDO / 5.5 second TTFA
• Take Down + Ancient Power: 10.15 DPS / 156.1 TDO / 4.8 second TTFA
• Zen Headbutt + Bulldoze: 9.14 DPS / 140.57 TDO / 5.5 second TTFA
• Take Down + Rock Tomb: 9.13 DPS / 140.43 TDO / 6 second TTFA
• Take Down + Bulldoze: 8.68 DPS / 133.59 TDO / 6 second TTFA

Across the board, Zen Headbutt and Ancient Power provide the best damage capability in an evenly-matched situation. Type effectiveness and resistance alter the numbers themselves, as well as the extra damage provided by Weather Boosts.

However, the combination of Zen Headbutt and Ancient Power currently provides the top baseline for damage with regards to Cranidos' output in Pokemon GO.

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