Lileep is obtained from resurrecting the Root Fossil from Route 111 (Ruby/Sapphire) or the Mirage Tower (Emerald) in Rustboro City.
Lileep is an uncommon pick in Nuzlockes, and it's not hard to see why - with only two resistances, a very slow experience gain, and an abhorrent movepool until level 43, it's far from the best Pokémon to have. That said, things get a bit better for everyone's favorite barnacle after it evolves - Cradily boasts impressive defense stats, with Def and SpDef sitting at 97 and 107 respectively. Its base attack stats are also identical, which gives it a lot of options once the right TMs become available. The Suction Cups ability is niche, but can be very handy in some situations. An example: if you had an opportunity to catch a Vulpix, thanks to Suction Cups, its Roar would never let it escape. Hooray!
One of Cradily's strengths is that 11 types hit it neutrally, including Fire, Water, and Grass, so in terms of tanking, there's very little it can't do. Just watch out for sneaky Fighting moves (Ice isn't as big a deal due to the high base SpDef, and Ice-type moves being fairly uncommon in this generation).
Gym #5 - Norman (Petalburg City, Normal-type): If you don't mind a bit of grinding, Lileep can be a godsend against Norman, resisting the powerful Normal STABs he can throw at you, and gradually whittling down the tyrannical Slaking duo. It should be noted that his level 31 Slaking has Focus Punch, but by keeping up an offensive, that shouldn't be much of an issue.
Courtney/Shelly (Weather Institute): For Courtney, Numel should go down relatively easily; it might have decent offensive stats, but its bulk is lacking, and it doesn't really have the greatest moveset. Just watch out for high Magnitude rolls. Mightyena, on the other hand, has the potential to be rather annoying; it's packing Swagger, as well as Bite for some flinchhax. However, it's not too threatening. As for Shelly, Carvanha can hit hard with Crunch, but its paper-thin defenses mean that it'll go down to pretty much any move with reasonable power. Mightyena, on the other hand, has the potential to be rather annoying; it's packing Swagger, as well as Bite for some flinchhax. However, it's not too threatening.
Rival (Route 119): You should never let Lileep fight Combusken, as it has STAB super-effective Double Kick, which will hurt quite a bit. Marshtomp and Grovyle are also rather strong, but Lileep's good bulk should be able to tank a few hits from them, provided it isn't underleveled. However, since Lileep doesn't learn many good moves through level-up, it's probably not going to be able to do much back. Brendan/May's other Pokémon shouldn't be able to do too much, as they're either going to be weak, unevolved, or both.
Gym #6 - Winona (Fortree City, Flying-type): Cradily has a few uses here, but generally makes the fight longer than it needs to be. Skarmory completely walls Cradily by resisting Grass moves and having enough physical bulk to eat up Rock Tomb, but Cradily can function well against Swellow due to the bird's low defenses. Pelipper can stall Cradily out very easily with the combination of Protect and Supersonic, so unless you have Giga Drain and no other options, it's a good idea to use something else here. As for Altaria, Cradily's able to hit it reasonably hard with Rock Tomb, but its low PP count can be a problem. Moreover, Altaria is packing Earthquake, which will really hurt after a few Dragon Dances, so trying to stall it out isn't a good idea. Overall, Cradily can work here, but it's slow and it's risky.
Rival (Lilycove City): Pretty much the same as the last rival battle, except your Lileep is probably a Cradily by now, and it might actually have some decent moves. Stay away from Combusken, but if you're fighting pretty much anything else, you should be able to get away with spamming Rock Tomb and/or Giga Drain (if you have it). Cradily's bulky enough to take anything Brendan/May's Pokémon can dish out.
Tabitha/Matt (Lilycove Hideout): Tabitha is relatively easy; his Numel and Camerupt are both easily handled by the very bulky Cradily. Fire back with Giga Drain when you need some extra health, but if they've managed to get up an Amnesia, you should probably switch to a physical move, such as Rock Tomb, Strength, or Secret Power. Mightyena is rocking an annoying moveset of Roar, Swagger, Scary Face, and Bite; however, Swagger is purely luck-based, and Bite isn't too dangerous off of Mightyena's base 60 Special Attack. Matt has a Carvanha, a Mightyena, and a Sharpedo. The Carvanha and Sharpedo will easily go down to a single Giga Drain each, but Mightyena is going to be able to take a few hits. Thankfully, though, it doesn't have Swagger; rather, it has Bite, Tackle, Howl, and Odor Sleuth. Cradily's a good pick for this battle, although you might want to have something else fight against the Mightyena.
Gym #7 - Tate and Liza (Mossdeep City, Psychic-type): This is another matchup that goes in Cradily's favour - many people dread the heavy-hitting special moves and sun-boosted Flamethrowers from this gym, but Cradily can take it on without breaking a sweat. Nothing Liza and Tate can throw at you will hit Cradily super-effectively, and given that Lunatone and Solrock are both weak to Grass, Barnacle-Boy can hit surprisingly hard here. Keep an eye on your HP during the sun and you shouldn't have any issues. Except for maybe your Giga Drain PP, but then again, you have Leppa Berries for that.
Courtney/Shelly (Seafloor Cavern): Courtney only has a Camerupt and a Mightyena. Cradily can handle both, but it's best to just use a Water-type against the Camerupt. Pretty much anything can beat Mightyena, though. If it's Shelly, Cradily can spam Giga Drain against everything but Mightyena.
Maxie/Archie (Seafloor Cavern): Maxie, on the other hand, is rather difficult. His Mightyena has that annoying Swagger, his Crobat is still hard to beat, and his Camerupt is packing the QuakeSlide combination. As with most of the previous battles, Cradily can handle Maxie's team, but it should really only act as a reliable switch-in in this fight; it doesn't dish out hits too well, but it absorb them like nobody's business. If it's Archie, Cradily deals well with Sharpedo. Crobat, not so much, unless it has Rock Tomb or AncientPower. Mightyena is as annoying as before.
Groudon (Cave of Origin, Ruby only): If you choose to battle and capture Groudon like I did, then Cradily is your key player here. Groudon's moveset is Fire Blast, Earthquake, Bulk Up, and Slash. Fire Blast means nothing, since its not STAB and Cradily can take that like a beast because it's used to the heat. Bulk Up + Slash is a fatal combo for most due to the crits, but Cradily can make good use of its normal resistance to shrug the majority of those off too -- it can get a little dangerous after 3+ Bulk Ups, though. Earthquake's the only potentially dangerous move Groudon has -- try to heal up after each just in case of a crit, and count down how many it has (Earthquake has 10 PP) -- if you can stall out Earthquake before bringing Cradily in, try to do so.
Kyogre (Cave of Origin, Sapphire only): Unlike Groudon, Cradily wants nothing to do with Kyogre - Calm Mind, Hydro Pump, Ice Beam and Body Slam? No way. Moreover, Kyogre's rain-boosted Hydro Pumps are one of the few things that can pierce Cradily's special shell, and they are going to HURT. Worse yet, after a Calm Mind or two, you'll be lucky if Ice Beam isn't a OHKO. Avoid this fight at all costs.
Gym #8 - Wallace (Sootopolis City, Water-type): Oddly enough, Wallace poses very little threat to Cradily -- his only Ice moves are Sealeo's Aurora Beam and Milotic's Ice Beam, and a well-trained Cradily can easily tank the former. You should have access to Giga Drain by this point, which is Cradily's best Grass STAB in this game, and it can be put to good use here. Just watch out for Luvdisc's Confuse Ray/Attract combo.
Wally (Victory Road): Altaria may be bulky, but it's also weak to Rock. Cradily should be able to take it down with two AncientPowers, while Altaria can't really do too much back (its only attacking moves have 60 base power). Delcatty is annoying since it has Sing; you should probably let something with a bit of speed take care of it, since Delcatty is very frail and will likely be OHKO'd by a strong move from something with decent attacking stats. Roselia is very manageable, since it won't be able to Leech Seed you, and its STAB moves only deal neutral damage. It does have Toxic, though, so be wary of that. Magneton will resist anything and everything you throw at it except for Earthquake, which you probably should have used on something with a better Attack stat, or the incredibly weak Rock Smash. Gardevoir hits hard with Psychic, but if your Cradily is at a decently high level, it should be able to eat up several of those and at worst 3HKO with AncientPower.
Elite Four Sidney (Ever Grande City, Dark-type): As always, Cradily is a decent choice for this battle but not necessarily the best. Sidney's Dark-types have low defenses, so you should probably use a different team member that has the ability to OHKO them with strong super-effective moves or STAB moves.
Elite Four Phoebe (Ever Grande City, Ghost-type): A Sunny Day + Solarbeam combination might work in this battle, as might Toxic-stall. The only problem is that Phoebe's Dusclopses are as bulky as you are, and one of them has Ice Beam. They both have pressure to deplete your precious PP as well. I'd advise using something with Shadow Ball for this battle, but Cradily will definitely be able to come in and soak up a few hits if need be.
Elite Four Glacia (Ever Grande City, Ice-type): Unfortunately, Cradily does have a weakness to Ice-type moves. Using its Rock-type STAB might seem appealing, but it's not worth the risk of a STAB super-effective Ice Beam or Blizzard to the face.
Elite Four Drake (Ever Grande City, Dragon-type): If you want, you'll probably be able to set up Amnesias on his Shelgon and stall out his entire team. That's rather slow and tedious, though, so you might just want to use whatever Pokémon on your team has Ice Beam.
Champion Steven (Ever Grande City, Steel-type): Steel is also super-effective against Cradily, so it's probably best to leave it on the sidelines for this battle. It can handle Claydol suitably, though. A fossil vs. fossil match might seem fun as well, but keep in mind, against both Steven's Armaldo and his Cradily, you're probably going to be on equal footing.
Post-Game: What is that? Is it edible?
Gym #5 - Norman (Petalburg City, Normal-type): If you don't mind a bit of grinding, Lileep can be a godsend against Norman, resisting the powerful Normal STABs he can throw at you, and gradually whittling down the tyrannical Slaking. However, you want to make sure you're watching out for the sole Slaking's Counter. You want to avoid the Linoone as well - you want it down quickly, before it sets up Belly Drum and starts causing problems.
Shelly (Weather Institute): Carvanha can hit hard with Crunch, but its paper-thin defenses mean that it'll go down to pretty much any move with reasonable power. Mightyena, on the other hand, has the potential to be rather annoying; it's packing Swagger, as well as Bite for some flinchhax. However, it's not too threatening.
Rival (Route 119): You should never let Lileep fight Combusken, as it has STAB super-effective Double Kick, which will hurt quite a bit. Marshtomp and Grovyle are also rather strong, but Lileep's good bulk should be able to tank a few hits from them, provided it isn't underleveled. However, since Lileep doesn't learn many good moves through level-up, it's probably not going to be able to do much back. Brendan/May's other Pokémon shouldn't be able to do too much, as they're either going to be weak, unevolved, or both.
Gym #6 - Winona (Fortree City, Flying-type): Cradily has a few uses here, but generally makes the fight longer than it needs to be. Skarmory completely walls Cradily by resisting Grass moves and having enough physical bulk to eat up Rock Tomb. Pelipper can stall Cradily out very easily with the combination of Protect and Supersonic, so unless you have Giga Drain and no other options, it's a good idea to use something else here. As for Altaria, Cradily's able to hit it reasonably hard with Rock Tomb, but its low PP count can be a problem. Moreover, Altaria is packing Earthquake, which will really hurt after a few Dragon Dances, so trying to stall it out isn't a good idea. The Swablu shouldn't be much of an issue, but keep an eye on the battle, as it's packing Perish Song. Tropius' Grass typing also allows Cradily's Acid to do considerable damage. It has no super-effective moves either, so outside of Aerial Ace, Tropius can't touch you. Overall, Cradily can work here, but it's slow and it's risky.
Rival (Lilycove City): Pretty much the same as the last rival battle, except your Lileep is probably a Cradily by now, and it might actually have some decent moves. Stay away from Combusken, but if you're fighting pretty much anything else, you should be able to get away with spamming Rock Tomb and/or Giga Drain (if you have it). Cradily's bulky enough to take anything Brendan/May's Pokémon can dish out.
Tabitha (Jagged Pass Hideout): Tabitha is largely the same as in Ruby; he adds a Zubat to his team and his Camerupt is a level higher than in Ruby, but that comes at the cost of his Numel and Mightyena having their levels lowered to 26 and 28, respectively. Zubat is easily taken out with a Rock-type move, while everything else is the same as in Ruby.
Maxie (Jagged Pass Hideout): Maxie, on the other hand, may pose a threat; while his Mightyena is packing the less dangerous Take Down instead of Bite (well, less dangerous to Cradily, at least), it is a rather high level (level 37) and has the same annoying status moves as Tabitha's. However, Crobat and Camerupt can potentially be quite dangerous. Crobat is very bulky, quite strong, and insanely fast; it has Wing Attack as a strong STAB attack, Confuse Ray for general hax, Air Cutter for crithax, and Bite for flinchhax. Camerupt has the dangerous Earthquake and Rock Slide combination alongside Take Down, which doesn't threaten Cradily at all, and Amnesia to deter you from using specially-based moves. Cradily can technically take on Maxie's entire team, but it'll be a slow fight. I wouldn't recommend using it against anything except Crobat.
Matt (Lilycove Hideout): He has a Carvanha, a Mightyena, and a Sharpedo. The Carvanha and Sharpedo will easily go down to a single Giga Drain each, but Mightyena is going to be able to take a few hits. Thankfully, though, it doesn't have Swagger; rather, it has Bite, Tackle, Howl, and Odor Sleuth. Cradily's a good pick for this battle, although you might want to have something else fight against the Mightyena.
Gym #7 - Tate and Liza (Mossdeep City, Psychic-type): This is another matchup that goes in Cradily's favour - many people dread the heavy-hitting special moves and sun-boosted Flamethrowers from this gym, but Cradily can take it on without breaking a sweat. Nothing Liza and Tate can throw at you will hit Cradily super-effectively, and given that Lunatone, Solrock, and Claydol are all weak to Grass, Barnacle-Boy can hit surprisingly hard here. Keep an eye on your HP during the sun and you shouldn't have any issues. Except for maybe your Giga Drain PP, but then again, you have Leppa Berries for that.
Maxie and Tabitha (Mossdeep Space Center, tag battle with Steven): Cradily isn't going to be able to do much here other than sponge hits, which Steven's lead, a Metang, is also quite good at doing. Two tanks aren't going to be able to win a battle very quickly, so it's probably wise to use something with a bit more power in this battle. While Cradily can certainly take many hits during this battle, it can't do too much back due to Mightyena's Intimidate.
Shelly (Seafloor Cavern): Cradily deals with everything except for the Mightyenas very well and with great efficiency -- but only if it has Giga Drain.
Archie (Seafloor Cavern): Again, Cradily deals well with Sharpedo. Crobat, not so much, unless it has Rock Tomb or AncientPower. Mightyena is as annoying as before.
Gym #8 - Juan (Sootopolis City, Water-type): Oddly enough, Juan poses very little threat to Cradily -- his only Ice moves are Sealeo's Aurora Beam and Kingdra's Ice Beam and a well-trained Cradily can easily tank the former. You should have access to Giga Drain by this point, which is Cradily's best Grass STAB in this game, and it can be put to good use here. Just watch out for Luvdisc's Confuse Ray/Attract combo. Kingdra, however, is a jackass. It has Ice Beam to threaten you as well as a nasty combo of Rest+Chesto Berry and Double Team. If you thought some of your previous fights with Cradily lasted a while, you haven't seen anything. If you have other options, switch. If not... get your Leppas and X Accuracies. And prepare for a long show.
Wally (Victory Road): Altaria may be bulky, but it's also weak to Rock. Cradily should be able to take it down with two AncientPowers, while Altaria can't really do too much back (its only attacking moves have 60 base power). Delcatty is annoying since it has Sing; you should probably let something with a bit of speed take care of it, since Delcatty is very frail and will likely be OHKO'd by a strong move from something with decent attacking stats. Roselia is very manageable, since it won't be able to Leech Seed you, and its STAB moves only deal neutral damage. It does have Toxic, though, so be wary of that. Magneton will resist anything and everything you throw at it except for Earthquake, which you probably should have used on something with a better Attack stat, or the incredibly weak Rock Smash. Gardevoir hits hard with Psychic, but if your Cradily is at a decently high level, it should be able to eat up several of those and at worst 3HKO with AncientPower.
Elite Four Sidney (Ever Grande City, Dark-type): As always, Cradily is a decent choice for this battle but not necessarily the best. Sidney's Dark-types have low defenses, so you should probably use a different team member that has the ability to OHKO them with strong super-effective moves or STAB moves.
Elite Four Phoebe (Ever Grande City, Ghost-type): A Sunny Day + Solarbeam combination might work in this battle, as might Toxic-stall. The only problem is that Phoebe's Dusclopses are as bulky as you are, and one of them has Ice Beam. They both have pressure to deplete your precious PP as well. I'd advise using something with Shadow Ball for this battle, but Cradily will definitely be able to come in and soak up a few hits if need be.
Elite Four Glacia (Ever Grande City, Ice-type): Unfortunately, Cradily does have a weakness to Ice-type moves. Using its Rock-type STAB might seem appealing, but it's not worth the risk of a STAB super-effective Ice Beam or Blizzard to the face.
Elite Four Drake (Ever Grande City, Dragon-type): If you want, you'll probably be able to set up Amnesias on his Shelgon and stall out his entire team. That's rather slow and tedious, though, so you might just want to use whatever Pokémon on your team has Ice Beam.
Champion Wallace (Ever Grande City, Water-type): This is a totally different scenario from when he was a leader. Wailord can tank Giga Drains due to its massive HP and is carrying Blizzard. Tentacruel is neutral to it and has Ice Beam, and Milotic's Toxic turns Cradily's stalling strength into a massive weakness. You could potentially use it against Whiscash and Ludicolo, but everything else is a definite no-go.
Post-Game: Since the Meteor Falls match against Steven is more or less like the Champion fight in Ruby and Sapphire, check that matchup for details.
Moves[]
This is one of Cradily's main weaknesses: until it learns AncientPower at level 43, its best natural moves are Acid and Astonish. Yeah, it's that bad. Stockpile and Swallow come at level 60 as recovery moves, but they're not really advisable in Generation III. Ingrain (level 22) also provides recovery, but should be avoided at all costs as it prevents you from switching out. Amnesia is an extremely useful move that Lileep learns at level 36; it gives Cradily great potential as a wall. Beware of crits, though.
TM-wise, Cradily's movepool opens up a little bit: Giga Drain is an obvious choice and is available on Route 123, not long after the sixth gym. However, its mediocre base power and low PP hurt its offensive potential. It works great as a defensive recovery move, though. Offensively, the two important moves are Sludge Bomb (Cradily is one of the few Pokémon that can actually make use of a move that beats Grass-types) and Earthquake. Sludge Bomb is available in Dewford Town after you beat Norman, and Earthquake can be found in the Cave of Origin. The high base power of these moves help to keep Cradily's damage output up and synergize well with its equal attacking stats by allowing it to hit hard on both the physical and special side. An honourable mention goes out to Toxic, which works very well with Cradily's INABILITY TO DIE, and is available in the Fiery Path around the same time you get the Root Fossil - very handy!
Minimum stats are calculated with 0 EVs, IVs of 0, and a hindering nature, if applicable.
Maximum stats are calculated with 252 EVs, IVs of 31, and a helpful nature, if applicable.
Cradily's stats[]
Stat
Range
At Lv. 50
At Lv. 100
HP:
86
146 - 193
282 - 376
Attack:
81
77 - 146
150 - 287
Defense:
97
91 - 163
179 - 322
Sp.Atk:
81
77 - 146
150 - 287
Sp.Def:
107
100 - 174
197 - 344
Speed:
43
43 - 104
81 - 203
Total:
495
Other Pokémon with this total
Minimum stats are calculated with 0 EVs, IVs of 0, and a hindering nature, if applicable.
Maximum stats are calculated with 252 EVs, IVs of 31, and a helpful nature, if applicable.
Lileep Line Ratings
Availability
Matchups
Movepool
Survivability
Type Usefulness
Team Role
Offensive Utility
Defensive Utility
Tankiness
Fun Factor
Overall
What Nature do I want? Cradily's utility extends to natures too - since its defensive and offensive stats are relatively balanced, it can work well with almost anything. Avoid Speed-boosting natures if you can, since Speed means nothing to a tank. Attack-lowering natures are also undesirable, since although Cradily is a mixed attacker, its harder-hitting moves do tend to be physical.
At what point in the game should I be evolved? Wait until level 43 before evolving your Lileep. This is when it learns the incredibly useful AncientPower, which Cradily doesn't get until level 48. This should come around the time you get to Mossdeep City.
How useful is the Lileep line in a Nuzlocke? Lileep is a pain to train up. Lileep's attacking stats and movepool are particularly poor, and it needs more experience points than most Pokémon to level-up. The late evolution (level 40 at the earliest) certainly doesn't help things either. However, Lileep's just a late-bloomer. Once it hits level 43 and gets access to a few decent STABs, it can dish out damage pretty well, and it becomes one of the most reliable tanks you can possibly get. In short, the root Pokémon lives its entire life in slow-motion. It levels slowly, and early on, it kills things slowly, but it dies very, VERY slowly as well.
