Storm Drain changes the entire equation for Cradily. The 495 BST doesn't tell the full story. Ranked C-Tier as a support.

What is Cradily weak to?

Cradily's biggest threats include Cloyster (Ice), Blaziken (Fighting), and Scyther (Bug), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Steel-type attackers are also a problem.

What is the best ability for Cradily?

Storm Drain is what you want on Cradily. Every competitive set worth running is built with that ability in mind. The alternatives (Suction Cups) work on paper but Storm Drain is what makes Cradily worth using.

What role does Cradily play in battle?

Base 43 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. On offense, Cradily is a special attacker with base 81 Sp. Atk. Defensively? Tanky enough to absorb a few hits. Best used as a support.

What are the best moves for Cradily?

The core moveset is Giga Drain, Recover, Leech Seed, and Ancientpower. Giga Drain leads at 0% usage. This set covers the support role with a mix of damage and utility.

Cradily - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Special

Support

CTier

43Speed · Very Slow

Cradily Best Moveset

97/107 defenses with hidden AbilityStorm Drain absorbing Water moves for Sp. Atk boosts, removing one of Rock/Grass typing's weaknesses. 86 HP gives the moveset real bulk alongside the immunity. Fell from C-tier because 81/43 in Sp. Atk and Speed are too low to pressure opponents, and four remaining weaknesses are common.

★Gen III — Ruby, Sapphire & EmeraldA

Rock/Grass with Suction Cups preventing forcing switches in Gen III (Ruby & Sapphire). Set up Curse or Amnesia without worrying about Roar or Whirlwind. A patient wall with an unusual niche.

Received Suction Cups

Best Moves

SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE

Egg

Recover

Normal—COMMONRecovery

TM44

Rest

Psychic—COMMONRecovery

TM6

Toxic

Poison—RAREUtility

TM26

Earthquake

Ground100RARECoverage

Lv 36

Amnesia

Psychic—RAREUtility

Egg

Rock Slide

Rock75RARESTAB

Lv 48

Ancient Power

Rock60RARESTAB

Egg

Barrier

Psychic—RAREUtility

Cradily Ruby & Sapphire Moves Cradily Emerald Moves

Best Build

Experimental

Wall

Cradily best EVs are HP and Attack

EVs

Atk

SpD

Wall Moveset

RecoverRecovery
RestRecovery
ToxicUtility
EarthquakeCoverage

Recommended Teammates

MagnetonDecent

UmbreonDecent

SkarmoryDecent

↓Gen IV — Diamond, Pearl & PlatinumC

Stealth Rock was everywhere in Gen IV (Diamond & Pearl) and Cradily set it, but so did everything else. 86/97/107 bulk wasn't special when faster Rock-types had the same tools.

Physical/Special split overhauled move damage

SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE

Egg

Recover

Normal—COMMONRecovery

TM80

Rock Slide

Rock75COMMONSTAB

TM26

Earthquake

Ground100RARECoverage

Tutor

Seed Bomb

Grass80RARESTAB

Xfer

Curse

Ghost—RARESetup

TM75

Swords Dance

Normal—RAREUtility

Cradily Diamond & Pearl Moves Cradily Platinum Moves

Experimental

Wall

EVs

Atk

SpD

Wall Moveset

RecoverRecovery
Rock SlideSTAB
EarthquakeCoverage
Seed BombSTAB

Recommended Teammates

TyranitarGood

HippowdonDecent

→Gen V — Black & White / B2W2C

Storm Drain redirected all Water moves and boosted Sp. Atk in Gen V (Black & White). In a Rain-heavy format, absorbing Water attacks had value. Not enough to climb, but enough to hold.

Gained Storm Drain as hidden abilityHidden Abilities became available

SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE

Egg

Recover

Normal—COMMONRecovery

Tutor

Giga Drain

Grass75COMMONSTAB

Lv 36

Ancient Power

Rock60COMMONSTAB

TM6

Toxic

Poison—RAREUtility

Egg

Stealth Rock

Rock—RARESTAB

Lv 56

Energy Ball

Grass90RARESTAB

TM10

Hidden Power (Fire)

Fire60RARECoverage

Cradily Black & White Moves Cradily Black 2 & White 2 Moves

Experimental

Special Tank

EVs

SpA

SpD

Special Tank Moveset

RecoverRecovery
Giga DrainSTAB
Ancient PowerSTAB
ToxicUtility

Recommended Teammates

TyranitarDecent

GliscorDecent

→Gen VI — X & Y / ORASC

Storm Drain and Recover kept Cradily alive in Gen VI (X & Y), but Rock/Grass with four weaknesses was hard to justify on any serious team.

Fairy type added to the gameMega Evolution became available

SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE

Egg

Recover

Normal—COMMONRecovery

TM39

Rock Tomb

Rock60RARESTAB

TM6

Toxic

Poison—RAREUtility

TM44

Rest

Psychic—RARERecovery

Egg

Curse

Ghost—RARESetup

Lv 36

Amnesia

Psychic—RAREUtility

Lv 26

Giga Drain

Grass75RARESTAB

Lv 17

Ancient Power

Rock60RARESTAB

Cradily X & Y Moves Cradily ORAS Moves

Experimental

Wall

EVs

Atk

Def

Wall Moveset

RecoverRecovery
Rock TombSTAB
ToxicUtility
RestRecovery

Recommended Teammates

KlefkiDecent

SlowbroDecent

ClefableDecent

↓Gen VII — Sun & Moon / USUME

Four gens of decline by Gen VII (Sun & Moon). Absorbing Water moves was a niche, but better Pokemon did that without carrying Rock/Grass defensive baggage.

Z-Moves became available

SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE

Lv 26

Giga Drain

Grass75COMMONSTAB

Egg

Recover

Normal—COMMONRecovery

TM6

Toxic

Poison—COMMONUtility

Egg

Stealth Rock

Rock—COMMONSTAB

Lv 17

Ancient Power

Rock60COMMONSTAB

Tutor

Earth Power

Ground90RARECoverage

Cradily Sun & Moon Moves Cradily Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Moves

Experimental

Wall

EVs

SpA

SpD

Wall Moveset

Giga DrainSTAB
RecoverRecovery
ToxicUtility
Stealth RockSTAB

Recommended Teammates

SkarmoryDecent

→Gen VIII — Sword & Shield / BDSPE

Fell to the bottom in Gen VIII (Sword & Shield). Storm Drain was useful in doubles but singles had no need for a slow Rock/Grass wall with mediocre stats.

Gigantamax became availableDynamax became available

SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE

Xfer

Toxic

Poison—COMMONUtility

Lv 36

Giga Drain

Grass75COMMONSTAB

Lv 1

Leech Seed

Grass—COMMONSTAB

Xfer

Recover

Normal—COMMONRecovery

TR76

Stealth Rock

Rock—RARESTAB

TR1

Body Slam

Normal85RARECoverage

Cradily Sword & Shield Moves Cradily BDSP Moves

Experimental

Wall

EVs

Atk

SpD

Wall Moveset

ToxicUtility
Giga DrainSTAB
Leech SeedSTAB
RecoverRecovery

Recommended Teammates

CrobatGood

Cradily Weakness

Type-wise, Cradily takes extra damage from Ice, Fighting, Bug, and Steel. Storm Drain grants an additional Water immunity, reshaping the matchup chart. Cradily's overall bulk (86/97/107) lets it take a hit or two from most weaknesses before going down.

Cradily Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Ice, Fighting, Bug, Steel
0.5x (Resist)	Normal, Electric

What is Cradily Weak Against

Fragile

4Weak

2Resist

1Immune

Score-6

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Ice Fighting Bug Steel

½xResist

Normal Electric

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

Water

What is Cradily Strong Against

7Strong

1Resisted

0Immune

Score+6

2xStrong

Fire Water Ice Ground Flying Bug Rock

½xResisted

Steel

0xImmune

None

Best Pokemon Against Cradily

Kyurem's Draco Meteor hits Cradily for 39-46%. Conkeldurr's Drain Punch hits Cradily for 78-92%.

Kyurem DragonIce	A
Recommended Build AbilityPressure ItemLoaded Dice NatureTimid Moves Freeze Dry Earth Power Icicle Spear Draco Meteor Damage vs Cradily Icicle Spear 2x 18-21% Draco Meteor 39-46% View Kyurem builds →
Conkeldurr Fighting	B
Recommended Build AbilityGuts ItemFlame Orb NatureAdamant Moves Drain Punch Mach Punch Knock Off Ice Punch Damage vs Cradily Drain Punch 2x 78-92% Mach Punch 2x 42-49% Knock Off 23-27% View Conkeldurr builds →
Volcarona BugFire	B
Recommended Build AbilityFlame Body ItemHeavy-Duty Boots NatureModest Moves Quiver Dance Quiver Dance Fiery Dance Bug Buzz View Volcarona builds →
Metagross SteelPsychic	B
Recommended Build AbilityClearbody ItemAssault Vest NatureAdamant Moves Earthquake Bullet Punch Psychic Fangs Meteor Mash Damage vs Cradily Earthquake 34-40% Bullet Punch 2x 41-49% Psychic Fangs 43-51% View Metagross builds →
Zacian-Crowned
Recommended Build AbilityIntrepidsword ItemRustedsword NatureJolly Moves Iron Head Iron Head Swords Dance Swords Dance View Zacian-Crowned builds →

Evolution

Evolved from Lileep. Cradily is the final form in this two-stage line. A decent partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are slow to hatch. Attack grew the most through evolution (+40 over Lileep), and Cradily peaks at 495 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms

#345Lileep

Level 40

#346Cradily

Stat Comparison 2 Stages

Lileep

RockGrass

Cradily

RockGrass

86+20

ATK

81+40

DEF

97+20

SP.ATK

81+20

SP.DEF

107+20

SPE

43+20

BST

355C-Tier

495C-Tier+140

ROLE

Balanced

TYPE

Special

Mixed

Breeding

Moderate

Breed with Cradily to get Lileep eggs using 37 partners from the Water3 egg group.

Egg Groups

Water 3

Gender

♂87.5%♀12.5%

Hatch Time

30 cycles·7,710 steps

Moderate~8 min with Flame Body

Breed With (best first)

How to Get Cradily

All 14 games

Cradily isn't available in the wild in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. Start by transferring Lileep from Ruby & Sapphire, Emerald, or Sword & Shield. The evolution path from Lileep to Cradily is covered in the steps below.

How to Obtain Cradily in BDSP

Step 1Obtain Lileep
CARTRIDGE TRADE
from Sword & Shield
Available
Catch in Sword & Shield via Super rod · Giant's Bed, then trade to the current game via link cable.
LATER APPEARANCE
from Ruby & Sapphire
Not Tradeable
Appears in Ruby & Sapphire via Gift · Rustboro City · Revive Root Fossil. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
LATER APPEARANCE
from Emerald
Not Tradeable
Appears in Emerald via Gift · Rustboro City · Revive Root Fossil. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
LATER APPEARANCE
from Diamond & Pearl
Not Tradeable
Appears in Diamond & Pearl via Gift · Oreburgh City · Revive Root Fossil. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
LATER APPEARANCE
from Platinum
Not Tradeable
Appears in Platinum via Gift · Oreburgh City · Revive Root Fossil. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
LATER APPEARANCE
from HeartGold & SoulSilver
Not Tradeable
Appears in HeartGold & SoulSilver via Gift · Pewter City · Revive Root Fossil. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
LATER APPEARANCE
from Black & White
Not Tradeable
Appears in Black & White via Gift · Nacrene City · Revive Root Fossil. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
Train until Level 40 to evolve into Cradily
Step 2Cradily ✓

Base Stats

Bulk defines Cradily's stat line. Sp. Def and Defense anchor the defensive side, but Speed can't keep up offensively. Tough to catch and worth 2 Sp. Def EVs.

Base Stats

Above

HP86

Attack81

Defense97

Sp. Atk81

Sp. Def107

Speed43

Total495

Details

Catch Rate

Challenging45 / 255

Growth Rate

Erratic600,000 XP

Height1.5 m

Weight60.4 kg

Base XP173

Abilities

Suction Cups

Prevents being forced out of battle by other Pokémon's moves.

Storm DrainHidden Ability

Redirects single-target water moves to this Pokémon where possible. Absorbs Water moves, raising Special Attack one stage.

Storm Drain grants Water immunity

EV Yield

HPAtkDefSpASpD+2Spe

Special Defense training target

Pokedex Entry

It lives in the shallows of warm seas. When the tide goes out, it digs up prey from beaches.

Pokemon Shining Pearl

Cradily Guide

Storm Drain changes the entire equation for Cradily. The 495 BST doesn't tell the full story. Ranked C-Tier as a support.
Cradily's biggest threats include Cloyster (Ice), Blaziken (Fighting), and Scyther (Bug), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Steel-type attackers are also a problem.
Storm Drain is what you want on Cradily. Every competitive set worth running is built with that ability in mind. The alternatives (Suction Cups) work on paper but Storm Drain is what makes Cradily worth using.
Base 43 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. On offense, Cradily is a special attacker with base 81 Sp. Atk. Defensively? Tanky enough to absorb a few hits. Best used as a support.
The core moveset is Giga Drain, Recover, Leech Seed, and Ancientpower. Giga Drain leads at 0% usage. This set covers the support role with a mix of damage and utility.

Game Availability

Available in 14 titles since its debut in Ruby & Sapphire, Cradily spans 8 generations of Pokemon games. It's accessible through wild encounters in a solid number of games.

Click a game to view version-specific details

Settings

Cradily

Cradily Best Moveset

Best Moves

Best Build

Cradily Weakness

What is Cradily Weak Against

Best Pokemon Against Cradily

Evolution

How to Evolve

Breeding

How to Get Cradily

How to Obtain Cradily in BDSP

How to Obtain Cradily in SwSh

How to Obtain Cradily in USUM

How to Obtain Cradily in SM

Base Stats