Cranidos
Cranidos is a Rock-type Pokémon, the Head Butt Pokémon, number 408 (#0408) in the National Pokédex. It was introduced in Generation 4 and comes from the Sinnoh region. It is 0.9 m tall and weighs 31.5 kg.
Cranidos is the Head Butt Pokémon, a revived fossil whose rock-hard skull snapped jungle trees in half 100 million years ago. Its Pokédex entries agree on two things: it hits hard, and there is not much going on behind that skull.
How to pronounce Cranidos
Cranidos is pronounced KRAN-ih-dohs. The capital letters show the stressed syllable.
Listen to Cranidos said out loud:
In Japanese it is ズガイドス (Zugaidos).
Hear every other name on the Pokémon pronunciation guide.
Lore
Biology
Cranidos is a grey, dinosaur-like Pokémon with a hooked beak, red eyes and a hard blue dome for a head. It is 0.9 m tall and weighs 31.5 kg. The Pokédex calls the skull as hard as iron, and says fossilised tree trunks snapped in two are often found in the rock layers that hold Cranidos fossils.
Behaviour
Cranidos settle duels by slamming their skulls together, and the Pokédex says the sound rings out like a bell. One entry calls it a very rare sight, another says it used its headbutts against Aerodactyl, and a third says Cranidos toughen their heads by butting one another.
Habitat
Bulbapedia places it in dense forests and jungles around 100 million years ago. In the Scarlet and Violet base games it comes only by trade or transfer, though The Indigo Disk adds the Terarium's Canyon Biome in Scarlet and 3 star Tera Raid Battles.
Diet
The Pokédex says it butted trees down and then ate their ripe berries.
Powers
Its Abilities are Mold Breaker and, hidden, Sheer Force. It knows Headbutt from the start, then gains Zen Headbutt at level 37 and Head Smash at level 46. With base Attack 125 but Defense 40 and Special Defense 30, it hits like a much bigger Pokémon and folds just as fast.
Name origin
Cranidos may combine 'cranium' and 'dinosaur'. The Japanese name is Zugaidos (ズガイドス), possibly from zugaikotsu, the word for cranium.
Design inspiration
Bulbapedia says Cranidos is based on Pachycephalosaurus, a dinosaur with an extremely thick skull roof that is thought to have been used for headbutting.
Evolution notes
Cranidos evolves into Rampardos at level 30. Bulbapedia notes that this, shared with Shieldon, is the earliest evolution level of any Fossil Pokémon.
In the games
Cranidos is the final Pokémon, at level 14, of Oreburgh Gym Leader Roark in Diamond and Pearl, where it also debuted as a revival from a Skull Fossil. In Legends: Arceus it appears in space-time distortions in the Coronet Highlands, but it is not in Legends: Z-A.
In the anime
Roark's Cranidos debuted in 'Shapes of Things to Come!', and in the series Pokémon Evolutions, 'The Rival' shows it losing a Gym battle to Barry's Piplup.
Fun facts
- In Platinum, your Trainer ID decides which fossil the Oreburgh Mining Museum can revive: odd numbers get Cranidos, even numbers Shieldon.
- In the manga Pokémon Adventures, Roark's Cranidos was hatched from an Egg long ago and appears to be among the first Pokémon he ever owned.
- Bulbapedia says Cranidos ties with Rockruff for the lowest base Defense of any Rock-type Pokémon.
Base stats
- HP: 67
- Attack: 125
- Defense: 40
- Sp. Atk: 30
- Sp. Def: 30
- Speed: 58
Cranidos’s base stat total is 350. Its highest stat is Attack.
Type matchups
What is Cranidos weak to?
Cranidos takes extra damage from Water (2×), Grass (2×), Fighting (2×), Ground (2×), Steel (2×) moves.
It resists Normal (½×), Fire (½×), Poison (½×), Flying (½×).
Evolution
How does Cranidos evolve?
Cranidos evolves into Rampardos at level 30.
The whole family: Cranidos, Rampardos.
Abilities
- Mold Breaker: Bypasses targets' abilities if they could hinder or prevent a move.
- Sheer Force (hidden ability): Strengthens moves with extra effects to 1.3× their power, but prevents their extra effects.
Moves
Moves Cranidos learns by level up in Scarlet / Violet
| Level | Move | Type | Category | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Headbutt | Normal | Physical | 70 |
| 1 | Leer | Normal | Status | — |
| 6 | Focus Energy | Normal | Status | — |
| 10 | Rock Smash | Fighting | Physical | 40 |
| 15 | Take Down | Normal | Physical | 90 |
| 19 | Scary Face | Normal | Status | — |
| 24 | Assurance | Dark | Physical | 60 |
| 28 | Slam | Normal | Physical | 80 |
| 33 | Ancient Power | Rock | Special | 60 |
| 37 | Zen Headbutt | Psychic | Physical | 80 |
| 42 | Screech | Normal | Status | — |
| 46 | Head Smash | Rock | Physical | 150 |
TM moves (47)
Cranidos can learn 47 moves from TMs in Scarlet / Violet: Take Down, Mud-Slap, Scary Face, Protect, Thief, Trailblaze, Facade, Bulldoze, Rock Tomb, Fling, Endure, Sunny Day, Rain Dance, Sandstorm, Dig, Zen Headbutt, Body Slam, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Sleep Talk, Rock Blast, Stomping Tantrum, Rest, Rock Slide, Swords Dance, Iron Head, Substitute, Crunch, Dragon Pulse, Stealth Rock, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, Earth Power, Ice Beam, Fire Blast, Blizzard, Earthquake, Stone Edge, Thunder, Tera Blast, Roar, Smack Down, Uproar, Double-Edge, Endeavor, Curse, Dragon Cheer.
Egg moves (4):Hammer Arm, Stomp, Thrash, Whirlwind.
Breeding & training
- Gender: 87.5% male, 12.5% female.
- Egg groups: Monster.
- Egg cycles: 30 (steps to hatch, Scarlet/Violet: 3,840).
- Catch rate: 45 out of 255.
- Base friendship (Gen 8 onward): 50.
- Growth rate: Slow Then Very Fast (600,000 experience points to reach level 100).
- Defeating it gives 1 Attack effort value.
- Base experience yield: 70.
Pokédex 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)
Its hard skull is its distinguishing feature. It snapped trees by headbutting them, and then it fed on their ripe berries. (Ultra Moon)
A primeval Pokémon, it possesses a hard and sturdy skull, lacking any intelligence within. (Ultra Sun)
In rock layers where Cranidos fossils are found, the fossilized trunks of trees snapped in two are also often found. (Moon)
It lived in jungles around a hundred million years ago. It used its skillful headbutts to combat Aerodactyl. (Sun)
A lifelong jungle dweller from 100 million years ago, it would snap obstructing trees with head butts. (Platinum, Black, White, Black 2, White 2, Y, Alpha Sapphire)
Names around the world
| Japanese | ズガイドス |
|---|---|
| Romaji | Zugaidos |
| French | Kranidos |
| German | Koknodon |
| Spanish | Cranidos |
| Italian | Cranidos |
| Korean | 두개도스 |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 头盖龙 |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 頭蓋龍 |
Trivia
- Fastest Rock type in Gen 4: 58 Speed, shared with 1 other.
- Taller than 43% of all Pokémon (0.9 m).
- Heavier than 54% of all Pokémon (31.5 kg).
- Base stat total 350, ranked #701 of 1,025.
- Its best stat is Attack, ranked #65 of 1,025.
- One of 74 Rock-type Pokémon (counting dual types).
- One of 170 blue Pokémon.
- Number 22 of 107 Pokémon introduced in Generation 4 (Sinnoh).
- Part of an evolution family of 2 Pokémon.
- Can learn 60 different moves in Scarlet / Violet.
- Catch rate 45: about 5.9% per Poké Ball at full health.
- Appears in 9 distinct Pokédex entries.
Sources and fact-checking
- Stats, types, abilities, moves, evolutions, forms and Pokédex entries: PokéAPI open game data.
- Lore: written by pokee.si in our own words, researched from Bulbapedia: Cranidos (Pokémon), Serebii: Cranidos (Scarlet/Violet Pokédex).
- Pronunciation (KRAN-ih-dohs): it follows how the English anime, games or official videos say it.
Last checked: . Every sentence of the lore was checked against Bulbapedia, Serebii and the game data.
Explore
Rock-type Pokémon · Sinnoh region guide · Mold Breaker ability · Sheer Force ability · Compare Cranidos · Full Pokédex · Type chart · All moves
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Gen 4 Rock-type Pokémon · Gen 4 Pokémon list · Blue Pokémon list · Monster egg group · Pokémon that start with C · Dinosaur Pokémon