[OVERVIEW]
- Solid 86 / 97 / 107 bulk and access to reliable recovery make it a good special or mixed wall
- Access to Stealth Rock, can switch in and set it up throughout the match
- Great blanket check to a lot of stuff
- Unique ability lets it check Water-types such as Lanturn fairly well and take Scalds for its team
- Beats some common entry hazard removers, such as Prinplup, Sandslash, Kabutops, and Claydol
- Also beats common entry hazard setters such as Rhydon, Carracosta, and Claydol with Giga Drain, making it a decent lead
- Interesting typing, can check Electric-types as well as Tauros and non-PuP Kangaskhan
- However, its typing is a double-edged sword, as it leaves Cradily open to common Fighting-type moves
- Passive nature means that it can't do too much damage back, making it setup bait for dangerous sweepers
- Susceptible to Taunt and status moves
[SET]
name: Defensive 'Dily
move 1: Recover
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Giga Drain
move 4: Stealth Rock / Stone Edge / Ancient Power
item: Leftovers
ability: Storm Drain
nature: Calm / Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
- Recover reliably heals Cradily, not much else to say lol
- Toxic makes up for Cradily's passive nature a bit, allowing it to wear down the opposing team
- Giga Drain takes advantage of Cradily's ability to check Water-types, as well as hitting entry hazard setters such as Rhydon, Carracosta, and Claydol super effectively
- Stealth Rock is the preferred option in the last moveslot, as Cradily can use its great special bulk to switch in and set up SR throughout the match
- If you already have a Stealth Rock setter on your team, Stone Edge is a strong secondary STAB move that allows Cradily to threaten Ice-, Fire-, and Flying-type moves
- Ancient Power is a more consistent option and significantly weaker option than Stone Edge, although it does give Cradily the benefit of being able to run a Calm nature, thus not compromising its Speed
Set Details
========
- The EVs and nature give Cradily as much special bulk as possible in order to tank hits from Pokemon such as Floatzel, Pyroar, and Lilligant
- A Sassy nature should be used if one opts for Rock Slide so that Cradily's Attack is not lowered
- Storm Drain turns Cradily into a decent check to the Water-types of the tier
- Leftovers gives Cradily some passive recovery
- A physical spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA with a Bold or Relaxed nature can be used if that suits your team better
Usage Tips
========
- Try to come in on predicted Water-type moves, such as Floatzel's Hydro Pump, and from there you generally want to either set up Rocks, but you can do whatever the situation calls for
- It can also come in on resisted Normal- and Electric-type moves from the likes of Tauros, Kangaskhan, Rotom, and Lanturn
- Cradily can also be lead if there is a Pokemon such as Rhydon or Claydol on the opposing team that it can easily beat
- This should be obvious, but keep Cradily away from Pokemon that commonly carry status moves, such as Mismagius, Rotom, and Granbull
- Crippling switch-ins with Toxic can be very helpful for Cradily's team
- Don't overestimate Cradily's bulk; it still takes a ton of damage from physical attackers and even gets 2HKOed by some neutral special attacks, such as 252+ Magmortar's Fire Blast after Stealth Rock
Team Options
========
- Cradily definitely appreciates Pokemon that can Fighting-type Pokemon, such as Garbodor, Granbull, Xatu, and Musharna. Garbodor can also set up Spikes and TSpikes, while Xatu discourages the use of status moves thanks to its ability, Magic Bounce.
- Fire-types such as Magmortar and Flareon can deal with Steel-types, while Cradily covers Water-types in return
- Ghost-types such as Misdreavus and Rotom can spinblock for Cradily while checking Fighting-types
- Pokemon such as Mega Audino and Granbull can provide cleric support while being able to handle most physical attackers
- Lanturn in particular can switch into Steel-types and stronger special attackers such as Magmortar
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
- Rocky Helmet annoys physical attackers such as Tauros and Kangaskhan, but doesn't have much use outside of this, as Cradily shouldn't be staying in on most physical attackers anyway and it generally prefers te passive recovery that Cradily provides
- Earth Power can be used to hit Steel-types such as Klinklang, Mawile, and Pawniard
- Mirror Coat can be used to surprise special attackers that try to wear Cradily down, but it doesn't have much room for it
- A mono-attacking set with RestTalk, Curse, and Rock Slide could be used, but doesn't really have the raw bulk or power to pull off such a set
- (will give strong OO mention in write-up) Weakness Policy allows Cradily to take advantage of non-STAB super effective coverage moves such as Floatzel's Ice Beam, Garbodor's Drain Punch, Swellow's U-turn, and Kangaskhan's Drain Punch. Earth Power is recommended on this set for coverage on more threats such as Garbodor, Skuntank, Mawile, Klinklang, and Pawniard.
- Sludge Bomb is a decent surprise option and provides some coverage against Pokemon such as Tangela, Shiftry, and Mega Audino
===================
**Fighting- and Steel-types**: Steel-types such as Klinklang, Mawile, and Ferroseed can switch in without fearing anything from Cradily and fire back with a STAB move. Klinklang and Mawile can set up on it, while Ferroseed can set up hazards. Fighting-types such as Sawk, Hitmonchan, and Gurdurr are in a similar boat, though the former two don't like taking a Toxic. Gurdurr can switch in relatively freely and boost with Bulk Up.
**Setup Sweepers**: Due to its relative passivity, Cradily is setup bait for sweepers such as Mawile, Pawniard, Klinklang, Malamar, Mismagius, and Mega Audino, as well as Scyther and Vivillon if Cradily is lacking Rock Slide.
**Strong Attackers**: Pokemon such as Sawk, Primeape, Swellow, Zangoose, Zweilous, Pinsir, Bouffalant, and Magmortar can put offensive pressure on Cradily, threatening to either OHKO or 2HKO.
**Taunt Users**: Pokemon that utilize Taunt such as Archeops and Skuntank can mostly shut down Cradily, as it prevents it from recovering HP and statusing opponents.
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