In FireRed & LeafGreen, Cacturne looks average on paper at 475 BST. But Water Absorb is why it sees play. Build around that and it pulls its weight. C-Tier cannon on our tier list.

What is Cacturne weak to?

In FireRed & LeafGreen, Cacturne's biggest threats include Scyther (Bug), Blaziken (Fire), and Lapras (Ice), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Scyther is the most dangerous since Bug moves deal 4x damage. Fighting, Poison, and Flying-type attackers are also a problem. With 6 weakness types, most competitive teams carry at least one counter.

What is the best ability for Cacturne?

Cacturne gets Water Absorb and Sand Veil. But Water Absorb is the one that matters. It's the centerpiece of every viable set. Build around that.

What role does Cacturne play in battle?

Cacturne is a special attacker with base 115 Sp. Atk. Speed tells the real story. At base 55 Speed, it won't be moving first often. Fits the cannon role.

What is Cacturne's hidden ability?

In FireRed & LeafGreen, Water Absorb is the hidden ability. It absorbs water moves, healing for 1/4 max HP. Worth hunting for if you want Cacturne to compete at a higher level.

Cacturne - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Special

Cannon

CTier

55Speed · Slow

Stats & Training

Everything pushes toward mixed damage here. Cacturne's Attack does the work, Speed pays the price. But you're still getting 2 Attack and Sp. Atk EVs per KO. Moderately hard to find, on a 1.06M XP medium-slow curve.

Base Stats

Above

HP70

Attack115

Defense60

Sp. Atk115

Sp. Def60

Speed55

Total475

Details

Catch Rate

Challenging60 / 255

Growth Rate

Medium Slow1.06M XP

Height1.3 m

Weight77.4 kg

Base XP166

Abilities

Sand Veil

Increases evasion to 1.25× during a sandstorm. Protects against sandstorm damage.

Water AbsorbHANot in game

Absorbs water moves, healing for 1/4 max HP.

Water Absorb grants Water immunity

EV Yield

HPAtk+1DefSpA+1SpDSpe

Attack training target

Pokedex Entries

It lives in deserts. It becomes active at night when it hunts for prey exhausted from the desert’s heat.

Cacturne Weakness

Cacturne is weak to Bug, Fire, Ice, Fighting, Poison, and Flying. Watch out for Bug attacks, those deal 4x damage. On the flip side, it's immune to Psychic-type moves entirely. It resists 6 types, so it can switch into a lot of moves safely. Water Absorb grants an additional Water immunity, reshaping the matchup chart.

Cacturne Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
4x (Critical)	Bug
2x (Weak)	Fire, Ice, Fighting, Poison, Flying
0.5x (Resist)	Water, Electric, Grass, Ground, Ghost, Dark
0x (Immune)	Psychic

Type ChartVulnerable

6Weak

6Resist

2Immune

Score-5

Gen III Type Chart

Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move

4xCritical

Bug

2xWeak

Fire Ice Fighting Poison Flying

½xResist

Water Electric Grass Ground Ghost Dark

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

Psychic Water

STAB (5)

Water Ground Rock Psychic Ghost

How to Beat Cacturne in FireRed & LeafGreen (Best Counters)

In FireRed & LeafGreen, Aerodactyl can KO Cacturne with Double-Edge (91-107%). Forretress threatens a KO with Explosion (88-104%). Charizard's Fire Blast also KOs at 171-202%.

Aerodactyl RockFlying	A
Recommended Build AbilityRockhead ItemChoice Band NatureJolly Moves Earthquake Rock Slide Double Edge Hidden Power Flying Damage vs Cacturne Earthquake 38-44% Rock Slide 85-100%KO Double Edge 91-107%KO View Aerodactyl builds →
Forretress BugSteel	B
Recommended Build AbilitySturdy ItemLeftovers NatureCareful Moves SpikesHazard Rapid Spin Explosion Earthquake Damage vs Cacturne Rapid Spin 18-21% Explosion 88-104%KO Earthquake 18-21% View Forretress builds →
Charizard FireFlying	B
Recommended Build AbilityBlaze ItemLeftovers NatureHasty Moves Fire Blast Hidden Power Grass SubstituteUtility Focus Punch Damage vs Cacturne Fire Blast 2x 171-202%KO View Charizard builds →
Regice Ice	B
Recommended Build AbilityClearbody ItemLeftovers NatureQuiet Moves Ice Beam Thunderbolt Explosion Thunder Wave Damage vs Cacturne Ice Beam 2x 133-157%KO Thunderbolt 22-26% Explosion 67-78% View Regice builds →
Medicham FightingPsychic	C
Recommended Build AbilityPure Power ItemSalacberry NatureJolly Moves Shadow Ball Brick Break Rock Slide Focus Punch Damage vs Cacturne Shadow Ball 14-17% Rock Slide 27-32% View Medicham builds →

FireRed & LeafGreen Evolution

Cacturne is what Cacnea becomes. Breed it for Cacnea eggs (average hatch time). A decent partner pool for breeding via two egg groups. Eggs are average hatch time. The evolution from Cacnea pushed Cacturne to 475 total stats. Attack saw the largest single gain at +30. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms

#331Cacnea

Level 32

#332Cacturne

Stat Comparison 2 Stages

Cacnea

Grass

Cacturne

GrassDark

70+20

ATK

115+30

DEF

60+20

SP.ATK

115+30

SP.DEF

60+20

SPE

55+20

BST

335C-Tier

475B-Tier+140

ROLE

Trick Room

Cannon

TYPE

Mixed

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed with Cacturne to get Cacnea eggs easily using 35 partners from the Plant and Humanshape egg groups. Notable egg moves include Acid, Counter, Dynamic Punch and 2 more.

Egg Groups

PlantHumanshape

Gender

♂50.0%♀50.0%

Hatch Time

20 cycles·5,140 steps

Quick~5 min with Flame Body

Egg Moves

5moves

Breed With (best first)

FireRed & LeafGreen Cacturne 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

Egg moves make a real difference. Cacturne gets Acid and Counter exclusively through breeding, filling gaps that TMs and level-up can't touch. Poison and Fighting coverage and more rounds out the picture alongside Solar Beam and Giga Drain.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Absorb

—2010020Grass

Lv 1

Growth

D——20Normal

Lv 1

Leer

——10030Normal

Lv 1

Poison Sting

—1510035Poison

Lv 1

Revenge-4

—6010010Fighting

Lv 5

Absorb

—2010020Grass

Lv 9

Growth

D——20Normal

Lv 13

Leech Seed

C—9010Grass

Lv 17

Sand Attack

D—10015Ground

Lv 21

Pin Missile

—149520Bug

Lv 25

Ingrain

———20Grass

Lv 29

Feint Attack

—60—20Dark

Lv 35

Spikes

C——20Ground

Lv 41

Needle Arm

—6010015Grass

Lv 47

Cotton Spore

——8540Grass

Lv 53

Sandstorm

———10Rock

Lv 59

Destiny Bond

D——5Ghost

TM Moves

TM45

Attract

——10015Normal

TM09

Bullet Seed

—1010030Grass

HM01

Cut

—509530Normal

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM42

Facade

C7010020Normal

HM05

Flash

——7020Normal

TM01

Focus Punch-3

B15010020Fighting

TM21

Frustration

——10020Normal

TM19

Giga Drain

B751005Grass

TM10

Hidden Power

—6010015Normal

TM15

Hyper Beam

B150905Normal

TM17

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM27

Return

D—10020Normal

TM37

Sandstorm

———10Rock

TM43

Secret Power

—7010020Normal

TM22

Solar Beam

B12010010Grass

HM04

Strength

—8010015Normal

TM11

Sunny Day

C——5Fire

TM06

Toxic

C—8510Poison

Egg Moves

Egg

Acid

—4010030Poison

Egg

Counter-5

D—10020Fighting

Egg

Dynamic Punch

D100505Fighting

Egg

Grass Whistle

——5515Grass

Egg

Teeter Dance

D—10020Normal

Tutor Moves

Tut

Tutor

Body Slam

C8510015Normal

Tutor

Counter-5

D—10020Fighting

Tutor

Double-Edge

B12010015Normal

Tutor

Mega Kick

—120755Normal

Tutor

Mega Punch

—808520Normal

Tutor

Mimic

———10Normal

Tutor

Seismic Toss

D—10020Fighting

Tutor

Substitute

C——10Normal

Tutor

Swords Dance

C——30Normal

How to Get Cacturne in FireRed & LeafGreen

Cacturne isn't available in the wild in FireRed & LeafGreen. Start by transferring Cacnea from Ruby, Emerald, or Scarlet. The evolution path from Cacnea to Cacturne is covered in the steps below.

How to Obtain Cacturne in FireRed & LeafGreen

Step 1Obtain Cacnea
Catch in the wild in:
RubyWalking · Route 111 EmeraldWalking · Route 111
Then trade to FireRed & LeafGreen to continue the evolution chain.
Also found in:
Diamond Platinum Omega Ruby Brilliant Diamond Scarlet
Train until Level 32
Step 2Cacturne ✓

Cacturne Guide

In FireRed & LeafGreen, Cacturne looks average on paper at 475 BST. But Water Absorb is why it sees play. Build around that and it pulls its weight. C-Tier cannon on our tier list.
In FireRed & LeafGreen, Cacturne's biggest threats include Scyther (Bug), Blaziken (Fire), and Lapras (Ice), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Scyther is the most dangerous since Bug moves deal 4x damage. Fighting, Poison, and Flying-type attackers are also a problem. With 6 weakness types, most competitive teams carry at least one counter.
Cacturne gets Water Absorb and Sand Veil. But Water Absorb is the one that matters. It's the centerpiece of every viable set. Build around that.
Cacturne is a special attacker with base 115 Sp. Atk. Speed tells the real story. At base 55 Speed, it won't be moving first often. Fits the cannon role.
In FireRed & LeafGreen, Water Absorb is the hidden ability. It absorbs water moves, healing for 1/4 max HP. Worth hunting for if you want Cacturne to compete at a higher level.

Game Availability

Debuting in Ruby & Sapphire, Cacturne appears in 14 games across 8 generations. A reliable presence in a solid number of games, typically found through wild encounters.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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