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.
It prefers harsh environments, such as deserts. It can survive for 30 days on water stored in its body.
It lives in arid locations. Its yellow flowers bloom once a year.
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 |
 Arcanine Fire | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Arcanine builds →Flare Blitz 2x236-278%KO Heat Wave 2x173-204%KO Flamethrower 2x165-194%KO Fire Fang 2x128-151%KO | ||
 Volcarona BugFire | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Volcarona builds →Flare Blitz 2x146-173%KO Hurricane 2x172-203%KO Heat Wave 2x222-262%KO Bug Buzz 2x212-250%KO | ||
 Gyarados Water | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Gyarados builds →Hurricane 2x134-158%KO Ice Fang 2x96-114%KO | ||
 Noivern Dragon | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Noivern builds →Hurricane 2x195-230%KO Heat Wave 2x113-133%KO Air Slash 2x134-158%KO Wing Attack 2x83-98% | ||
 Skeledirge FireGhost | A | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Fuecoco (Cabo Poco Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Skeledirge builds →Overheat 2x254-300%KO Fire Blast 2x216-254%KO Heat Wave 2x187-221%KO Flamethrower 2x177-209%KO | ||
In Scarlet & Violet, Volcarona can KO Cacnea with Heat Wave (120-141%). Volcanion threatens a KO with Flamethrower (129-152%). Glimmora deals 43-51% with Power Gem.
Volcarona BugFire | A | |
Recommended Build AbilityFlame Body ItemGrassyseed NatureModest Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Volcarona builds →Heat Wave 2x120-141%KO | ||
 Volcanion FireWater | A | |
Recommended Build AbilityWaterabsorb ItemHeavy-Duty Boots NatureModest Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Volcanion builds →Flamethrower 2x129-152%KO | ||
 Glimmora RockPoison | A | |
Recommended Build AbilityToxicdebris ItemRed Card NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Glimmora builds →Power Gem43-51% | ||
 Weavile DarkIce | A | |
Recommended Build AbilityPressure ItemHeavy-Duty Boots NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Weavile builds →Knock Off53-62% Ice Shard 2x66-77% | ||
 Pelipper Water | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityDrizzle ItemFocus Sash NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Pelipper builds →Hurricane 2x116-137%KO | ||
Scarlet & Violet Evolution
One evolution ahead. Cacnea grows into Cacturne through a straightforward two-stage chain. Plenty of partners 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 73 breeding partners from the Plant and Humanshape egg groups. Pass egg moves like Acid, Belch, Block and 5 more to offspring.
Scarlet & Violet Cacnea Best Moveset
The game plan is straightforward: click Swords Dance, then sweep. Eviolite and Waterabsorb support the setup turn. EVs go into spread so Cacnea hits hard once it's boosted.
Best Build
Cacnea best EVs are Attack and Sp. Def
Physical Attacker Moveset
- Sucker Punch
- Seed Bomb
- Swords Dance
- Drain Punch
Recommended Teammates
Physical Sweeper Moveset
- Unknown
- Endeavor
- Sucker Punch
- Power Trip
Recommended Teammates
Moves
You'll want to breed for Acid and Belch on Cacnea. These egg moves aren't just nice to have. Combined with STAB from Leaf Storm and Solar Beam, they expand what Cacnea can actually threaten in practice.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Scarlet & Violet Cacnea Locations
high spawn rates in mid-game routes across 2 locations. Cacnea's one of the easier catches on the list. Knock it out fast and save your time for harder targets.
Best Locations to Catch Cacnea in Scarlet & Violet
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 Scarlet & Violet, 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 Scarlet & Violet. 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