Stats & Training
Attack and Sp. Atk carry most of Cacnea's stat budget. Speed's the obvious dump stat. Common in the wild and yields 1 Sp. Atk EV. Follows a 1.06M XP medium-slow curve.
CACNEA lives in arid locations such as deserts. It releases a strong aroma from its flower to attract prey. When prey comes near, this POKéMON shoots sharp thorns from its body to bring the victim down.
The more arid and harsh the environment, the more pretty and fragrant a flower CACNEA grows. This POKéMON battles by wildly swinging its thorny arms.
Cacnea Weakness
Cacnea's Grass typing leaves it vulnerable to Fire, Ice, Poison, Flying, and Bug. 4 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Water Absorb grants an additional Water immunity, reshaping the matchup chart.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Fire, Ice, Poison, Flying, Bug |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Water, Electric, Grass, Ground |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
 Torchic Fire | D | |
Obtain MethodRoute 101 Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Torchic builds →Ember 2x57-68% Peck 2x28-34% | ||
 Taillow Normal | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Taillow builds →Wing Attack 2x66-79% Peck 2x42-51% | ||
 Wingull Water | D | |
 Nincada BugGround | D | |
 Zubat Poison | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Zubat builds →Sludge Bomb 2x85-102%KO Leech Life 2x51-60% | ||
 Oddish GrassPoison | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Oddish builds →Sludge Bomb 2x100-119%KO Acid 2x48-57% | ||
Torchic Fire | D | |
Obtain MethodRoute 101 Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Torchic builds →Ember 2x56-67% Peck 2x32-38% | ||
 Gulpin Poison | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Gulpin builds →Sludge Bomb 2x89-105%KO Sludge 2x63-76% | ||
Taillow Normal | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Taillow builds →Wing Attack 2x71-86% Peck 2x44-52% | ||
Wingull Water | D | |
 Skarmory Steel | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Skarmory builds →Air Cutter 2x89-107%KO Peck 2x53-63% | ||
 Torkoal Fire | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Torkoal builds →Overheat 2x197-233%KO Flamethrower 2x137-162%KO Sludge Bomb 2x91-108%KO Ember 2x63-75% | ||
 Swellow Normal | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Swellow builds →Wing Attack 2x93-111%KO Peck 2x57-67% | ||
 Volbeat Bug | C | |
 Golbat Poison | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Golbat builds →Sludge Bomb 2x130-154%KO Leech Life 2x78-92% Wing Attack 2x89-107%KO | ||
Skarmory Steel | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Skarmory builds →Air Cutter 2x90-107%KO Peck 2x56-67% | ||
Torkoal Fire | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Torkoal builds →Overheat 2x201-237%KO Flamethrower 2x141-167%KO Sludge Bomb 2x94-111%KO Ember 2x65-78% | ||
Swellow Normal | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Swellow builds →Wing Attack 2x94-111%KO Peck 2x56-67% | ||
Volbeat Bug | C | |
Golbat Poison | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Golbat builds →Sludge Bomb 2x135-159%KO Leech Life 2x79-94% Wing Attack 2x90-107%KO | ||
Skarmory Steel | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Skarmory builds →Fly 2x136-160%KO Air Cutter 2x92-108%KO Aerial Ace 2x92-108%KO Peck 2x56-66% | ||
Torkoal Fire | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Torkoal builds →Overheat 2x203-241%KO Flamethrower 2x142-167%KO Sludge Bomb 2x94-112%KO Ember 2x65-77% | ||
 Tropius Grass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Tropius builds →Fly 2x121-143%KO Aerial Ace 2x83-98% Gust 2x56-66% | ||
Swellow Normal | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Swellow builds →Fly 2x142-167%KO Wing Attack 2x98-115%KO Aerial Ace 2x98-115%KO Peck 2x59-70% | ||
Golbat Poison | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Golbat builds →Sludge Bomb 2x136-160%KO Leech Life 2x80-95% Wing Attack 2x92-108%KO Aerial Ace 2x92-108%KO | ||
Skarmory Steel | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Skarmory builds →Fly 2x137-162%KO Air Cutter 2x92-109%KO Aerial Ace 2x92-109%KO Peck 2x55-65% | ||
 Dodrio Normal | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Dodrio builds →Fly 2x177-209%KO Aerial Ace 2x120-141%KO Peck 2x72-85% | ||
 Xatu Psychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Xatu builds →Fly 2x129-153%KO Aerial Ace 2x87-103%KO Peck 2x52-62% | ||
Torkoal Fire | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Torkoal builds →Overheat 2x207-244%KO Fire Blast 2x175-206%KO Flamethrower 2x144-171%KO Sludge Bomb 2x96-114%KO | ||
Tropius Grass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Tropius builds →Fly 2x120-141%KO Aerial Ace 2x82-97% Gust 2x55-65% | ||
Skarmory Steel | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Skarmory builds →Fly 2x138-162%KO Air Cutter 2x94-110%KO Aerial Ace 2x94-110%KO Peck 2x56-66% | ||
Dodrio Normal | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Dodrio builds →Fly 2x175-206%KO Aerial Ace 2x119-140%KO Peck 2x70-83% | ||
Xatu Psychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Xatu builds →Fly 2x128-151%KO Aerial Ace 2x86-102%KO Peck 2x51-61% | ||
Torkoal Fire | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Torkoal builds →Overheat 2x206-242%KO Fire Blast 2x175-206%KO Flamethrower 2x142-168%KO Sludge Bomb 2x94-112%KO | ||
Tropius Grass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Tropius builds →Fly 2x119-140%KO Aerial Ace 2x82-96% Gust 2x56-66% | ||
In Ruby & Sapphire, Forretress can KO Cacnea with Explosion (139-163%). Charizard threatens a KO with Fire Blast (268-316%). Gyarados deals 49-58% with Earthquake.
 Forretress BugSteel | B | |
Recommended Build AbilitySturdy ItemLeftovers NatureCareful Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Forretress builds →Rapid Spin28-33% Explosion139-163%KO Earthquake28-33% | ||
 Charizard Fire | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityBlaze ItemLeftovers NatureHasty Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Charizard builds →Fire Blast 2x268-316%KO | ||
 Gyarados Water | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityIntimidate ItemLeftovers NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Gyarados builds →Earthquake49-58% | ||
 Regice Ice | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityClearbody ItemLeftovers NatureQuiet Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Regice builds →Ice Beam 2x209-246%KO Thunderbolt35-41% Explosion104-122%KO | ||
 Venusaur GrassPoison | C | |
Recommended Build AbilityOvergrow ItemLeftovers NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Venusaur builds →Giga Drain41-49% Sludge Bomb 2x126-148%KO | ||
Ruby & Sapphire Evolution
One evolution ahead. Cacnea grows into Cacturne through a straightforward two-stage chain. A decent partner pool for breeding via two egg groups. Eggs are average hatch time. The evolved forms gain up to 140 total stats over Cacnea. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Cacnea easily with 35 breeding partners from the Plant and Humanshape egg groups. Pass egg moves like Acid, Counter, Dynamic Punch and 2 more to offspring.
Ruby & Sapphire Cacnea Best Moveset
Best Build
No build content available for this Pokemon in Gen 3.
Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.
Moves
You'll want to breed for Acid and Counter on Cacnea. These egg moves aren't just nice to have. Combined with STAB from Solar Beam and Giga Drain, they expand what Cacnea can actually threaten in practice.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Ruby & Sapphire Cacnea Locations
A few locations for Cacnea with decent spawn rates across mid-game routes. The sort toggle below swaps between best odds and earliest access, so you can approach it based on where you are in the game.
Best Locations to Catch Cacnea in Ruby & Sapphire
Cacnea Guide
Get Cacnea to Cacturne at level 32. At 335 BST, Cacnea is just the starting point.
Level 32 gets you Cacturne. Not the fastest evolution, so consider Exp. Share or route grinding to speed it up.
For Ruby & Sapphire, you can run Cacnea through the first few routes without issues. 335 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Cacturne as fast as you can.
You can find Cacnea in Ruby & Sapphire. The Locations section has the full breakdown of routes and encounter details. It also appears in 13 other games across the series.
Game Availability
Available in 14 titles since its debut in Ruby & Sapphire, Cacnea spans 8 generations of Pokemon games. It's accessible through catching or hatching as a base form in a solid number of games.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RSDebut
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves