A Shadow raid boss hits harder than its normal form (Shadow Frenzy), and the Pokemon you catch afterwards is a Shadow. Purified Gems weaken it mid-fight; the simulation does not use them.
Beating Shadow Cranidos should take 1 trainer with level 40 counters. Caught CP 922-1,040.
Weak tofighting1.6xground1.6xsteel1.6xwater1.6xgrass1.6x
Improve your raidweather · friendship · Mega in the lobby · Party Power · Adventure EffectsShow ▾Hide ▴
Weather
★ boosts a type this boss is weak toFriendship
every trainer in the lobby who is your friendMega in the lobby
a Mega boosts every trainer's attacks: 1.3x of its own type, 1.1x of othersParty Power
Party Play: the charged move after a full meter does 2xAdventure Effects
only these three change a raidOf the game's eleven Adventure Effects only Behemoth Blade (Crowned Sword Zacian), Behemoth Bash (Crowned Shield Zamazenta) and Dynamic Punch+ (Mega Mewtwo X) change a raid; Roar of Time, Spacial Rend, Freeze Shock, Ice Burn, Sunsteel Strike, Moongeist Beam, Future Sight+ and Dynamax Cannon act outside raids. Dynamic Punch+ only counts against a Mega boss, so it changes nothing here. Sources: the full list, Behemoth Blade / Bash, Dynamic Punch+.
Best counters
Mega, Legendary, Shadow · level 40The best Shadow Cranidos counters are Mega Mewtwo X, Necrozma (Dusk Mane), Shadow Landorus (Therian), Zamazenta (Crowned Shield), Shadow Conkeldurr & Shadow Metagross.
M. Mewtwo X
Necrozma (Dusk Mane)
S. Landorus (Therian)
Zamazenta (Crowned Shield)
S. Conkeldurr
S. Metagross
7 more Megas ranked inside the top six — a party can hold only one Mega, so the best one stays and the next non-Mega takes the slot.
Ranked by Estimator (trainers needed); small print: time to winOrder byEstimatorOverall %
- 1
Mega Mewtwo XMegaLegendarypartyPsycho Cut / Dynamic Punch+0.040:08 - 2
Mega GreninjaMegaWater Shuriken / Surf+0.050:08 - 3
Mega StarmieMegaPsywave / Liquidation+0.050:09 - 4
Necrozma (Dusk Mane)LegendarypartyPsycho Cut / Sunsteel Strike0.060:10 - 5
Mega LucarioMegaForce Palm / Aura Sphere0.060:10 - 6
Shadow Landorus (Therian)ShadowLegendarypartyMud Shot / Sandsear Storm0.060:10 - 7
Mega ChesnaughtMegaVine Whip / Seed Bomb+0.060:10 - 8
Primal GroudonMegaLegendaryMud Shot / Precipice Blades0.060:10 - 9
Zamazenta (Crowned Shield)LegendarypartyIce Fang / Behemoth Bash0.060:10 - 10
Mega FalinksMegaCounter / Brick Break+0.060:11 - 12
Shadow ConkeldurrShadowpartyForce Palm / Dynamic Punch0.060:11 - 13
Shadow MetagrossShadowpartyFury Cutter / Meteor Mash0.060:11
More orders under All settings (Sort by). The top 15 in detail.
Type a name, then Enter or click a result
Top 15 Shadow Cranidos counters in detail
Click a row for damage per move, breakpoints and the energy cycle. Click a column to sort. All 30 ranked attackers, with every column, are under All settings.
| # | Attacker | Moveset | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | psychicPsycho CutfightingDynamic Punch+ | 6,112 | 0:08 | 0.04 | 0.0 | 5448.8% | ||
| 2 | waterWater ShurikenwaterSurf+ | 3,784 | 0:08 | 0.05 | 0.0 | 5315.9% | ||
| 3 | psychicPsywavewaterLiquidation+ | 3,701 | 0:09 | 0.05 | 0.0 | 4843.3% | ||
| 4 | psychicPsycho CutsteelSunsteel Strike | 4,099 | 0:10 | 0.06 | 0.0 | 4359.9% | ||
| 5 | fightingForce PalmfightingAura Sphere | 3,826 | 0:10 | 0.06 | 0.0 | 4274.4% | ||
| 6 | groundMud ShotgroundSandsear Storm | 3,922 | 0:10 | 0.06 | 0.0 | 4270.2% | ||
| 7 | grassVine WhipgrassSeed Bomb+ | 4,093 | 0:10 | 0.06 | 0.0 | 4199.4% | ||
| 8 | groundMud ShotgroundPrecipice Blades | 5,902 | 0:10 | 0.06 | 0.0 | 4152.2% | ||
| 9 | iceIce FangsteelBehemoth Bash | 4,172 | 0:10 | 0.06 | 0.0 | 4152.2% | ||
| 10 | fightingCounterfightingBrick Break+ | 3,670 | 0:11 | 0.06 | 0.0 | 4036.1% | ||
| 11 | bugFury CuttergrassFrenzy Plant | 4,056 | 0:11 | 0.06 | 0.0 | 3963.4% | ||
| 12 | fightingForce PalmfightingDynamic Punch | 3,337 | 0:11 | 0.06 | 0.0 | 3963.4% | ||
| 13 | bugFury CuttersteelMeteor Mash | 3,791 | 0:11 | 0.06 | 0.0 | 3899.6% | ||
| 14 | fightingCounterpsychicFuture Sight+ | 6,428 | 0:11 | 0.06 | 0.0 | 3837.1% | ||
| 15 | fightingCounterfightingAura Sphere | 4,161 | 0:11 | 0.06 | 0.0 | 3817.7% |
Ordered by Estimator alone, fewest trainers needed first. . The place badge names each row's Overall place on hover.
Times are one trainer with six copies of that attacker, level 40 at 15/15/15, no weather, no friendship, no dodging, Shadow / Mega / Legendary attackers hidden — the same defaults pokebattler.com's own counter pages open with. Open the full counter tool to change any of them. "Details" opens the per-move damage, breakpoints and energy cycle against Shadow Cranidos.
Estimator is how many trainers of this strength the fight needs. Power is the share of Shadow Cranidos's HP that six of that attacker remove inside one raid timer, so over 100% means they finish it with time to spare. Faints is how many of the six go down inside that timer.
Simulating each boss moveset…
Cranidos weaknesses and resistances
Every one of the 18 attacking types against this boss's typing. GO multipliers: 1.6x super effective, 2.56x doubly, 0.625x resisted, 0.39x doubly resisted.
- Weak (5)
- Neutral (9)
- Resists (4)
It resists normal0.625xflying0.625xpoison0.625xfire0.625x— bringing one of those is throwing damage away.
What Cranidos throws at you
Its standard movepool, with the damage window a dodge has to beat.
Fast moves
| Move | Power | Energy | Duration | Hits at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| psychicZen Headbutt | 11 | +9 | 1.0s | 0.75s |
| normalTake Down | 7 | +8 | 1.0s | 0.75s |
Charged moves
| Move | Power | Energy | Duration | Hits at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| rockRock TombSTAB | 65 | -50 | 3.0s | 2.05s |
| rockAncient PowerSTAB | 70 | -33 | 3.5s | 2.85s |
| groundBulldoze | 80 | -50 | 3.5s | 2.60s |
Catch CP
What the encounter after the fight can hand you.
| IV spread | CP at L20 | CP at L25 (weather boosted) |
|---|---|---|
| 6/6/6floor | 922 | 1,153 |
| 7/7/7 | 935 | 1,169 |
| 8/8/8 | 948 | 1,185 |
| 9/9/9 | 961 | 1,201 |
| 10/10/10 | 974 | 1,217 |
| 11/11/11 | 987 | 1,234 |
| 12/12/12 | 1,000 | 1,250 |
| 13/13/13 | 1,013 | 1,267 |
| 14/14/14 | 1,026 | 1,283 |
| 15/15/15hundo | 1,040 | 1,300 |
Caught CP range 922 - 1,040, or 1,153 - 1,300 when the weather boosts it.
A raid encounter is level 20 (level 25 weather boosted) and cannot roll an IV below 6/6/6 — a Shadow raid's floor is 6, not the usual 10. Anything outside the first range is not this raid's reward.
Shadow raid floor. A Shadow Raid encounter rolls a minimum of 6/6/6, so this band starts at 922, not at the 974 a 10/10/10 catch would give. pokebattler.com's own page for a Shadow boss prints that 10/10/10 value as its floor — it is applying the standard-raid rule — so expect its range to start 52 CP higher than this one.
When it is in raids
From the raid schedule, refreshed daily.
Cranidos is not on the raid schedule right now. The simulation above is still exact for the tier chosen — any boss can be simulated, current or not.
All settings
Shadow Tier 1: 600 HP, 3:00 timer, boss Attack 139 / Defense 51 (15/15/15 at tier CPM 0.5974).
Every column, and pokebattler.com's own rank
On a phone the list shows estimator, time to win and faints. Overall, Power, win chance, CP, DPS and TDO appear on a wider screen.
| # | Attacker | Moveset | Overall | Power | Est.Estimator | TimeTime to win | Faints | Win % (1) | CP | DPS | TDO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mega Mewtwo X psychicfightingmega Psycho Cut / Dynamic Punch+ | Psycho Cut / Dynamic Punch++26 more movesets | 100% | 5448.8% | 0.04 | 0:08 | 0.0 | 100% | 6,112 | 90.5 | 724 |
| 2 | Mega Greninja waterdarkmega Water Shuriken / Surf+ | Water Shuriken / Surf++17 more movesets | 90% | 5315.9% | 0.05 | 0:08 | 0.0 | 100% | 3,784 | 76.7 | 629 |
| 3 | Mega Starmie waterpsychicmega Psywave / Liquidation+ | Psywave / Liquidation++44 more movesets | 87% | 4843.3% | 0.05 | 0:09 | 0.0 | 100% | 3,701 | 75.6 | 680 |
| 4 | Necrozma (Dusk Mane) psychicsteel Psycho Cut / Sunsteel Strike | Psycho Cut / Sunsteel Strike+14 more movesets | 70% | 4359.9% | 0.06 | 0:10 | 0.0 | 100% | 4,099 | 66.5 | 665 |
| 5 | Mega Lucario fightingsteelmega Force Palm / Aura Sphere | Force Palm / Aura Sphere+23 more movesets | 64% | 4274.4% | 0.06 | 0:10 | 0.0 | 100% | 3,826 | 71.1 | 724 |
| 6 | Shadow Landorus (Therian) groundflyingshadow Mud Shot / Sandsear Storm | Mud Shot / Sandsear Storm+9 more movesets | 63% | 4270.2% | 0.06 | 0:10 | 0.0 | 100% | 3,922 | 65.0 | 662 |
| 7 | Mega Chesnaught grassfightingmega Vine Whip / Seed Bomb+ | Vine Whip / Seed Bomb++20 more movesets | 68% | 4199.4% | 0.06 | 0:10 | 0.0 | 100% | 4,093 | 66.4 | 689 |
| 8 | Primal Groudon groundfiremega Mud Shot / Precipice Blades | Mud Shot / Precipice Blades+9 more movesets | 63% | 4152.2% | 0.06 | 0:10 | 0.0 | 100% | 5,902 | 57.8 | 607 |
| 9 | Zamazenta (Crowned Shield) fightingsteel Ice Fang / Behemoth Bash | Ice Fang / Behemoth Bash+7 more movesets | 70% | 4152.2% | 0.06 | 0:10 | 0.0 | 100% | 4,172 | 60.0 | 630 |
| 10 | Mega Falinks fightingmega Counter / Brick Break+ | Counter / Brick Break++7 more movesets | 62% | 4036.1% | 0.06 | 0:11 | 0.0 | 100% | 3,670 | 73.5 | 793 |
| 11 | Mega Sceptile grassdragonmega Fury Cutter / Frenzy Plant | Fury Cutter / Frenzy Plant+11 more movesets | 58% | 3963.4% | 0.06 | 0:11 | 0.0 | 100% | 4,056 | 58.0 | 638 |
| 12 | Shadow Conkeldurr fightingshadow Force Palm / Dynamic Punch | Force Palm / Dynamic Punch+11 more movesets | 56% | 3963.4% | 0.06 | 0:11 | 0.0 | 100% | 3,337 | 55.3 | 608 |
| 13 | Shadow Metagross steelpsychicshadow Fury Cutter / Meteor Mash | Fury Cutter / Meteor Mash+15 more movesets | 62% | 3899.6% | 0.06 | 0:11 | 0.0 | 100% | 3,791 | 56.0 | 626 |
| 14 | Mega Mewtwo Y psychicmega Counter / Future Sight+ | Counter / Future Sight++26 more movesets | 62% | 3837.1% | 0.06 | 0:11 | 0.0 | 100% | 6,428 | 72.7 | 823 |
| 15 | Mega Blaziken firefightingmega Counter / Aura Sphere | Counter / Aura Sphere+20 more movesets | 53% | 3817.7% | 0.06 | 0:11 | 0.0 | 100% | 4,161 | 65.2 | 748 |
| 16 | Mega Garchomp dragongroundmega Mud Shot / Earthquake | Mud Shot / Earthquake+13 more movesets | 60% | 3791.1% | 0.06 | 0:11 | 0.0 | 100% | 5,424 | 53.1 | 611 |
| 17 | Mega Metagross steelpsychicmega Fury Cutter / Meteor Mash | Fury Cutter / Meteor Mash+15 more movesets | 63% | 3791.1% | 0.06 | 0:11 | 0.0 | 100% | 4,911 | 53.1 | 610 |
| 18 | Shadow Gallade psychicfightingshadow Low Kick / Sacred Sword | Low Kick / Sacred Sword+19 more movesets | 53% | 3739.1% | 0.07 | 0:12 | 0.0 | 100% | 3,093 | 52.3 | 609 |
| 19 | Mega Swampert watergroundmega Mud Shot / Hydro Cannon | Mud Shot / Hydro Cannon+11 more movesets | 58% | 3713.6% | 0.07 | 0:12 | 0.0 | 100% | 4,401 | 53.2 | 624 |
| 20 | Pheromosa bugfighting Low Kick / Focus Blast | Low Kick / Focus Blast+7 more movesets | 46% | 3704.1% | 0.07 | 0:12 | 0.0 | 100% | 2,842 | 53.1 | 624 |
| 21 | Shadow Kingler watershadow Bubble / Crabhammer | Bubble / Crabhammer+14 more movesets | 50% | 3701.0% | 0.07 | 0:12 | 0.0 | 100% | 2,829 | 54.6 | 642 |
| 22 | Shadow Greninja waterdarkshadow Bubble / Hydro Cannon | Bubble / Hydro Cannon+14 more movesets | 51% | 3701.0% | 0.07 | 0:12 | 0.0 | 100% | 2,654 | 53.4 | 629 |
| 23 | Mega Gallade psychicfightingmega Low Kick / Sacred Sword | Low Kick / Sacred Sword+19 more movesets | 56% | 3691.6% | 0.07 | 0:12 | 0.0 | 100% | 4,521 | 59.0 | 696 |
| 24 | Mega Heracross bugfightingmega Counter / Upper Hand | Counter / Upper Hand+17 more movesets | 53% | 3633.1% | 0.07 | 0:12 | 0.0 | 100% | 4,814 | 50.7 | 608 |
| 25 | Shadow Groudon groundshadow Mud Shot / Earthquake | Mud Shot / Earthquake+9 more movesets | 54% | 3633.1% | 0.07 | 0:12 | 0.0 | 100% | 4,115 | 50.8 | 609 |
| 26 | Shadow Mamoswine icegroundshadow Mud-Slap / High Horsepower | Mud-Slap / High Horsepower+11 more movesets | 51% | 3633.1% | 0.07 | 0:12 | 0.0 | 100% | 3,328 | 53.0 | 636 |
| 27 | Kartana grasssteel Razor Leaf / Sacred Sword | Razor Leaf / Sacred Sword+14 more movesets | 52% | 3633.1% | 0.07 | 0:12 | 0.0 | 100% | 3,677 | 51.5 | 618 |
| 28 | Shadow Blaziken firefightingshadow Counter / Aura Sphere | Counter / Aura Sphere+20 more movesets | 48% | 3627.1% | 0.07 | 0:12 | 0.0 | 100% | 2,848 | 65.2 | 779 |
| 29 | Shadow Machamp fightingshadow Karate Chop / Dynamic Punch | Karate Chop / Dynamic Punch+23 more movesets | 50% | 3609.0% | 0.07 | 0:12 | 0.0 | 100% | 3,056 | 50.9 | 614 |
| 30 | Shadow Excadrill groundsteelshadow Metal Claw / Earthquake | Metal Claw / Earthquake+14 more movesets | 51% | 3588.2% | 0.07 | 0:12 | 0.0 | 100% | 3,244 | 55.9 | 677 |
How accurate is this? Same top pick as pokebattler.com on 26 of 27 lists checked, 90% of its top tens shared; weakest on Mewtwo's default list (7 of 10).
Ranking. Our full ranking against the page pokebattler.com serves for the same boss and settings, on 27 boss and filter combinations read live (2026-10-04): 242 of 270 top-ten places shared, the same #1 on 26. On the six fixed reference bosses (read 2026-10-03): 85% top-ten overlap with its default filters, 83% with Shadow, Mega and Legendary on. A close top three is shown as a tie because the order inside it is below what we can measure.
Time to win. Graded with Pokebattler's own movesets against every boss moveset, average per boss: Tier 1 and 3 +0.1% to +1.2%; Tier 5 −2.9% to +1.3%; Mega −1.1% to +2.6%; Shadow Tier 5 −1.8% to +0.3%. One attacker can be off by more: median 1.6%, worst 15%, RMS per boss moveset 2.05%.
- Mewtwo (Tier 5, default filters) shares 7 of Pokebattler's top 10: Absol, Incineroar and Salamence sit just outside ours, Polteageist, Cursola and Hisuian Typhlosion just inside.
- Groudon (Tier 5, default filters) shares 7 of 10; its Grass and Water counters run 2-6% fast here.
- Tier 5 times run about 2-3% fast for attackers that faint often, and 2-3% slow on Mega Charizard Y and Mega Beedrill, whose counters resist the boss.
- Tier 1 lists are the least checked: Combee (Tier 1) shares only 3 of Pokebattler's top 10, with Gigalith first here where Pokebattler puts Rhyperior.
This boss on pokebattler.com (its Shadow boss page; the ordinary boss's page is a different, easier fight). Boss-by-boss accuracy report.
Ranked 30 attackers in 0.1 s (50 Monte Carlo runs each, seed 1). Same boss on pokebattler.com. The same ranking as JSON: /api/raids/rank.