Competitive Information for Cacturne [Black/White]


Grass / Dark
Abilities:
Note: Pokemon with the Water Absorb ability are immune to Water attacks.
Movesets for Singles
What is a good competitive moveset for Cacturne? These builds have been optimized for Pokemon competing in Black/White Single Battles. The movesets and EVs have been specifically calibrated to deal the most amount of damage to the largest group of potentially common opponents and typing threats for the Black/White generation metagame.
Cacturne is popular Grass and Dark-typed Pokemon. Cacturne are common Pokemon to see in the BW metagame. This Pokemon deserves to see more play in the meta. Cacturne is weak to Bug, Fighting, Fire, Flying, Ice, and Poison-typed attacks.
Item: Life Orb / Magnet
Ability: Water Absorb
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Thunder Punch / Double-Edge
- Sucker Punch / Payback
- Seed Bomb / Needle Arm
- Superpower / Brick Break
Physical Sweeper Cacturne (Water Absorb)
Cacturne is a sensational Physical Sweeper. The purpose of this moveset is to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. White Herb will reset Cacturne's negative stat changes once (specifically for when it uses Superpower). Focus Sash helps protect Cacturne from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. Life Orb boosts the power of Cacturne's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Water Absorb, Cacturne heals 1/4 of its max hp when hit by water moves; water immunity. Thunder Punch was added to provide additional threat coverage.
♦ Double-Edge is a physical 120-base power Normal-type move (has 33% recoil).
♦ Sucker Punch is a physical STAB-boosted priority-increased 80-base power Dark-type move (usually goes first. fails if target is not attacking).
♦ Payback is a physical STAB-boosted 50-base power Dark-type move (power doubles if your Cacturne moves after the target).
♦ Seed Bomb is a physical STAB-boosted 80-base power Grass-type move that deals a good amount of damage.
♦ Needle Arm is a physical STAB-boosted 60-base power Grass-type move (30% chance to flinch the target).
♦ Superpower is a physical 120-base power Fighting-type move (lowers your Cacturne's attack and defense by 1 stage).
♦ Brick Break is a physical 75-base power Fighting-type move (destroys screens, unless the target is immune).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/fs10a14c
Item: Life Orb / Miracle Seed
Ability: Water Absorb
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Energy Ball / Giga Drain
- Dark Pulse
- Hyper Beam / Round
- Venoshock / Acid
Special Sweeper Cacturne (Water Absorb)
Cacturne is an awesome Special Sweeper. It's primary goal is to take down the opponent's team with high-damaging special attacks. Focus Sash helps protect Cacturne from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. Life Orb boosts the power of Cacturne's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Water Absorb, Cacturne heals 1/4 of its max hp when hit by water moves; water immunity.
♦ Giga Drain is a special STAB-boosted 75-base power Grass-type move (Cacturne recovers 50% of the damage dealt).
♦ Dark Pulse is a special STAB-boosted 80-base power Dark-type move (20% chance to flinch the target).
♦ Hyper Beam is a special 150-base power Normal-type move (Cacturne cannot move next turn).
♦ Round is a special 60-base power Normal-type move (power doubles if others used round this turn).
♦ Venoshock is a special 65-base power Poison-type move (power doubles if the target is poisoned).
♦ Acid is a special 40-base power Poison-type move (10% chance to lower the foes special defense by 1 stage).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/fs11a14c
Item: Red Card
Ability: Water Absorb
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
EVs: 231 Hp / 231 SpA / 48 Spe
Moveset:
- Nasty Plot
- Energy Ball
- Focus Blast
- Dark Pulse
Cacturne Special Tank (Nasty Plot Cacturne)
Cacturne is an astounding Special Tank. It attempts to take a nice amount of hits from special attacks while dealing some decent damage. With Water Absorb, Cacturne heals 1/4 of its max hp when hit by water moves; water immunity.
♦ Energy Ball is a special STAB-boosted 80-base power Grass-type move (10% chance to lower the target's special defense by 1 stage).
♦ Focus Blast is a special 120-base power Fighting-type move (10% chance to lower the target's special defense by 1 stage).
♦ Dark Pulse is a special STAB-boosted 80-base power Dark-type move (20% chance to flinch the target).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/fs12a14c
Movesets for Doubles
What is a good doubles moveset for Cacturne? These builds have been optimized for Black/White Double Battles. They have movesets and EVs specifically calibrated to generally work best versus multiple Pokemon at once as well as helping to support other team members and allys in the Black/White generation metagame.
Item: Life Orb / Magnet
Ability: Water Absorb
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Thunder Punch / Double-Edge
- Sucker Punch / Payback
- Seed Bomb / Needle Arm
- Superpower / Brick Break
Doubles Physical Sweeper Cacturne (Water Absorb)
Cacturne is an extraordinary Physical Sweeper. It is designed to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. White Herb will reset Cacturne's negative stat changes once (specifically for when it uses Superpower). Focus Sash helps protect Cacturne from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. Life Orb boosts the power of Cacturne's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Water Absorb, Cacturne heals 1/4 of its max hp when hit by water moves; water immunity. Thunder Punch was added to provide additional threat coverage.
♦ Double-Edge is a physical 120-base power Normal-type move (has 33% recoil).
♦ Sucker Punch is a physical STAB-boosted priority-increased 80-base power Dark-type move (usually goes first. fails if target is not attacking).
♦ Payback is a physical STAB-boosted 50-base power Dark-type move (power doubles if your Cacturne moves after the target).
♦ Seed Bomb is a physical STAB-boosted 80-base power Grass-type move that deals a hefty amount of damage.
♦ Needle Arm is a physical STAB-boosted 60-base power Grass-type move (30% chance to flinch the target).
♦ Superpower is a physical 120-base power Fighting-type move (lowers your Cacturne's attack and defense by 1 stage).
♦ Brick Break is a physical 75-base power Fighting-type move (destroys screens, unless the target is immune).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/fd10a14c
Item: Life Orb / Miracle Seed
Ability: Water Absorb
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Energy Ball / Giga Drain
- Dark Pulse
- Acid / Venoshock
- Hyper Beam / Round
Doubles Special Sweeper Cacturne (Water Absorb)
Cacturne is an extraordinary Special Sweeper. This moveset attempts to take down the opponent's team with high-damaging special attacks. Focus Sash helps protect Cacturne from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. Life Orb boosts the power of Cacturne's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Water Absorb, Cacturne heals 1/4 of its max hp when hit by water moves; water immunity.
♦ Giga Drain is a special STAB-boosted 75-base power Grass-type move (Cacturne recovers 50% of the damage dealt).
♦ Dark Pulse is a special STAB-boosted 80-base power Dark-type move (20% chance to flinch the target).
♦ Acid is a special 40-base power Poison-type move (10% chance to lower the foes special defense by 1 stage).
♦ Venoshock is a special 65-base power Poison-type move (power doubles if the target is poisoned).
♦ Hyper Beam is a special 150-base power Normal-type move (Cacturne cannot move next turn).
♦ Round is a special 60-base power Normal-type move (power doubles if others used round this turn).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/fd11a14c
Movepool
Wondering what moves can Cacturne learn? Here is the list of moves this Pokemon can learn in this selected generation.
Sort and organize the learnset by move type, category, accuracy, and power. Bolded moves will gain the same-type attack bonus (STAB) if this Pokemon uses them.
Damage Modifiers:
Combo List
These are a list of several common move combinations Cacturne can perform in Black/White. Not every combo going to be game-changing, but some can be pretty fun to play with. Sometimes these can be easily overlooked or forgotten, hence why we find and list them here. Discover what items, abilities, and moves this Pokemon can use in combination with each other to gain a strategic advantage in competitive battles.
Competitive BW Move and Ability Combos for Cacturne
- Moves: Sunny day + Solar beam
- Moves: Sunny day + Growth
- Moves: Swagger + Foul play
- Moves: Rest + Sleep talk
- Moves: Rest + Snore
- Moves: Substitute + Drain punch
- Moves: Substitute + Leech seed
- Moves: Ingrain + Leech seed
- Moves: Toxic + Leech seed
- Move: Swagger + Item: Mirror Herb
- Move: Fling + Item: King's Rock
- Move: Facade + Item: Flame Orb
- Move: Facade + Item: Toxic Orb
- Item: Blunder Policy + Move: Dynamic Punch
- Moves with Priority: Endure, Protect, Sucker Punch
- Moves that Break Screens: Brick Break
- Moves that inflict status: Toxic
Moves that boost Cacturne's stats
- Growth
- Nasty Plot
- Swords Dance
Most notable and possible best moves for Cacturne
- Destiny Bond
- Protect
- Rest
- Toxic
Common Effort Values for Cacturne in Black and White
- Nature ( )
- Nature ( )
- Optimize Cacturne's EV spread for Pokemon Black and White
Related Videos
Here are various how-to-use and competitive moveset analysis video guides for Cacturne in Black/White. These featured videos will most likely contain additional strategies and combos not listed on our site. Disclaimer: All videos belong to their respective owners along with the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the videos. They belong solely to the author and not to us.
We currently do not have any competitive video guides for Cacturne in Black/White
Want to have your Competitive Pokemon videos sponsored on our site? Contact us!
Some builds on this page have been hidden, click here to display them
Here are the best movesets for Cacturne. Top rated Cacturne Black/White movesets. You can find Cacturne builds Black/White. Cacturne movesets Black/White are listed here. VGC Cacturne Competitive Movesets can be found here. Find various EV spreads, find the best nature for Cacturne in Black/White along with competitive movesets. Basic info and Movesets for evolution