I got permission from Rising_Dusk to take this over for Megan_Fox. Please give him credit for the moveset, and the skeleton for Set Comments and Additional Comments.
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/cradily
[Overview]
<p>At first glance, Cradily may seem handicapped as a Curse sweeper due to the large number of weaknesses and only average stats compared to the rest of the Pokemon that reside in the tier. However, while Cradily's Rock typing may haunt it with a number of weaknesses, it does give a big advantage to it; increasing its Special Defense stat by 50% under sandstorm. That combines with the fact that it has access to Recover, a move that other Curse users such as Swampert, Tyranitar, and Regirock wish they had. Overall, Cradily is not completely inpaired due to a number of defining qualities, which allow it to be a potent threat in today's metagame.</p>
[SET]
name: OU Curse
move 1: Curse
move 2: Rock Slide
move 3: Recover / Rest
move 4: Earthquake / Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
nature: Careful
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Cradily is an effective user of Curse, having several advantages over Tyranitar and Regirock, beginning with Suction Cups to prevent it from being phazed, and also not being weak to Water- and Grass-type attacks. Curse is a great move, boosting Cradily's average Attack and Defense stats, allowing it to hit harder and take hits more easily. Rock Slide is Cradily's main attack, gaining STAB and hitting most Pokemon who don't resist it quite hard after a few boosts. The next slot is up to preference. Recover allows Cradily to heal without going to sleep, and prevents it from becoming set up bait in certain cases. However, Rest completely heals Cradily, and also allows Cradily to function well even if it is hit by Toxic or Will-O-Wisp. Earthquake should be used if Recover is in the previous slot, giving Cradily more coverage, while Sleep Talk is the preferred option if Cradily carries Rest, allowing Cradily to attack or set up Curse while asleep.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread maximizes Cradily's HP and Special Defense stats, allowing Cradily to take most special attacks with ease, especially when sandstorm is in play. The remaining EVs are put into Attack, allowing Cradily to hit a bit harder. No EVs are invested into its Defense stat because Cradily will be boosting it with Curse, meaning the EVs are better off being invested to add to Cradily's special bulk. Careful nature is used to boost Cradily's Special Defense even further.</p>
<p>A Pokemon with the Sand Stream ability is needed in order for Cradily to be most successful. Tyranitar and Hippowdon are both great options, being able to set up Stealth Rock, and provide permanent sandstorm in which Cradily can take more powerful special hits. A teammate who can switch into Bug-, Steel-, and Fighting-type attacks is also appreciated. Examples include Gyarados and Zapdos, who resist all three types which Cradily is weak to and will often attract.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Cradily has quite a number of options that it could opt for, but many are rather mediocre. Seed Bomb is by far the best move not mentioned above Cradily can make use of. Seed Bomb can replace Earthquake, providing Cradily with a secondary STAB attack, as well as being able to nail common physial walls such as Swampert and Hippowdon. Cradily can make use of a set consisting of Stockpile and Swords Dance, but this limits Cradily to two moves, and only one if it chooses to opt for a healing move, greatly limiting it's coverage. Stone Edge can be used instead of Rock Slide, trading accuracy for power, but is not recommended, as Stone Edge has low PP, and can be easily stalled out. Mirror Coat can be used to reflect any special attacks for double the damage, but doing this will also limit Cradily's coverage, only being able to use one attack. Toxic can be used to cripple bulky opponents, but is generally not worth a moveslot. Finally, Pain Split can be used over Recover, so Cradily can heal itself while damaging the opponent, but if the opponent does not have relatively high HP, Cradily will not be able to heal much, and the extra HP that Recover can provide is often crucial for Cradily.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Cradily has a number of counters, and most of them are Pokemon who have an attack which Cradily is weak to. Scizor is the number one threat to Cradily, having three moves that hit Cradily for super effective damage. Scizor becomes an even bigger threat if it carries Swords Dance, because it can Swords Dance to boost its Attack by two stages, while Cradily can only boost its Defense by one stage each turn. If Scizor manages to defeat Cradily, one of Cradily's teammates must be able to deal with a Scizor who has multiple Attack boosts. Metagross is another counter, having a powerful Meteor Mash to hit Cradily, which is further boosted by STAB. Meteor Mash coming from Metagross hurts Cradily a lot, even after one or two defense boosts. Similarly to Metagross, Infernape has a powerful STAB super effective Close Combat to dispose of Cradily, but is a lesser threat as it is much more frail, and Cradily can easily retaliate with Earthquake. Jirachi is a threat, because it can often flinch Cradily to death with a STAB super effective Iron Head. Jirachi can also Trick Cradily a Choice Scarf, rendering it useless for the rest of the match. Finally, Breloom resists anything Cradily can throw at it, use Spore to incapacitate it, set up a Substitute, and knock it out with Focus Punch.</p>
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/cradily
[Overview]
<p>At first glance, Cradily may seem handicapped as a Curse sweeper due to the large number of weaknesses and only average stats compared to the rest of the Pokemon that reside in the tier. However, while Cradily's Rock typing may haunt it with a number of weaknesses, it does give a big advantage to it; increasing its Special Defense stat by 50% under sandstorm. That combines with the fact that it has access to Recover, a move that other Curse users such as Swampert, Tyranitar, and Regirock wish they had. Overall, Cradily is not completely inpaired due to a number of defining qualities, which allow it to be a potent threat in today's metagame.</p>
[SET]
name: OU Curse
move 1: Curse
move 2: Rock Slide
move 3: Recover / Rest
move 4: Earthquake / Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
nature: Careful
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Cradily is an effective user of Curse, having several advantages over Tyranitar and Regirock, beginning with Suction Cups to prevent it from being phazed, and also not being weak to Water- and Grass-type attacks. Curse is a great move, boosting Cradily's average Attack and Defense stats, allowing it to hit harder and take hits more easily. Rock Slide is Cradily's main attack, gaining STAB and hitting most Pokemon who don't resist it quite hard after a few boosts. The next slot is up to preference. Recover allows Cradily to heal without going to sleep, and prevents it from becoming set up bait in certain cases. However, Rest completely heals Cradily, and also allows Cradily to function well even if it is hit by Toxic or Will-O-Wisp. Earthquake should be used if Recover is in the previous slot, giving Cradily more coverage, while Sleep Talk is the preferred option if Cradily carries Rest, allowing Cradily to attack or set up Curse while asleep.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread maximizes Cradily's HP and Special Defense stats, allowing Cradily to take most special attacks with ease, especially when sandstorm is in play. The remaining EVs are put into Attack, allowing Cradily to hit a bit harder. No EVs are invested into its Defense stat because Cradily will be boosting it with Curse, meaning the EVs are better off being invested to add to Cradily's special bulk. Careful nature is used to boost Cradily's Special Defense even further.</p>
<p>A Pokemon with the Sand Stream ability is needed in order for Cradily to be most successful. Tyranitar and Hippowdon are both great options, being able to set up Stealth Rock, and provide permanent sandstorm in which Cradily can take more powerful special hits. A teammate who can switch into Bug-, Steel-, and Fighting-type attacks is also appreciated. Examples include Gyarados and Zapdos, who resist all three types which Cradily is weak to and will often attract.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Cradily has quite a number of options that it could opt for, but many are rather mediocre. Seed Bomb is by far the best move not mentioned above Cradily can make use of. Seed Bomb can replace Earthquake, providing Cradily with a secondary STAB attack, as well as being able to nail common physial walls such as Swampert and Hippowdon. Cradily can make use of a set consisting of Stockpile and Swords Dance, but this limits Cradily to two moves, and only one if it chooses to opt for a healing move, greatly limiting it's coverage. Stone Edge can be used instead of Rock Slide, trading accuracy for power, but is not recommended, as Stone Edge has low PP, and can be easily stalled out. Mirror Coat can be used to reflect any special attacks for double the damage, but doing this will also limit Cradily's coverage, only being able to use one attack. Toxic can be used to cripple bulky opponents, but is generally not worth a moveslot. Finally, Pain Split can be used over Recover, so Cradily can heal itself while damaging the opponent, but if the opponent does not have relatively high HP, Cradily will not be able to heal much, and the extra HP that Recover can provide is often crucial for Cradily.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Cradily has a number of counters, and most of them are Pokemon who have an attack which Cradily is weak to. Scizor is the number one threat to Cradily, having three moves that hit Cradily for super effective damage. Scizor becomes an even bigger threat if it carries Swords Dance, because it can Swords Dance to boost its Attack by two stages, while Cradily can only boost its Defense by one stage each turn. If Scizor manages to defeat Cradily, one of Cradily's teammates must be able to deal with a Scizor who has multiple Attack boosts. Metagross is another counter, having a powerful Meteor Mash to hit Cradily, which is further boosted by STAB. Meteor Mash coming from Metagross hurts Cradily a lot, even after one or two defense boosts. Similarly to Metagross, Infernape has a powerful STAB super effective Close Combat to dispose of Cradily, but is a lesser threat as it is much more frail, and Cradily can easily retaliate with Earthquake. Jirachi is a threat, because it can often flinch Cradily to death with a STAB super effective Iron Head. Jirachi can also Trick Cradily a Choice Scarf, rendering it useless for the rest of the match. Finally, Breloom resists anything Cradily can throw at it, use Spore to incapacitate it, set up a Substitute, and knock it out with Focus Punch.</p>
