Competitive Information for Cacnea [Diamond/Pearl]
Grass
Abilities:
If Sandstorm is active, this Pokemon's evasiveness is 1.25x; immunity to Sandstorm.
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Movesets for Singles
Looking for a competitive moveset for Cacnea? These builds are optimized for Diamond/Pearl Single Battles. The movesets and EVs are designed to maximize damage against common opponents and threats in the Diamond/Pearl metagame. Check out the expert movesets below to boost your battle performance and dominate your opponents!
Meet Cacnea, the prestigious Pokémon of Grass types! Cacnea is not a Pokémon anyone usually expects to see on the battlefield. It often dominates battles in the LC tier (Little Cup). It is weak to Bug, Fire, Flying, Ice, and Poison-typed attacks. Explore the movesets of Cacnea below to understand its battle capabilities.
Item: Focus Sash / Choice Band
Ability: Sand Veil
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 120 Hp / 252 Atk / 68 Def / 68 SpD
Moveset:
- Seed Bomb / Needle Arm
- Thunder Punch / Brick Break
- Sucker Punch / Payback
- Poison Jab / Poison Sting
Prepare for single battles with Cacnea as a notable Physical Sweeper. The main aim of this moveset is to overwhelm foes with overwhelming physical attacks. Focus Sash helps protect Cacnea from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. Choice Band will increase the damage of Cacnea's physical moves by 1.5x at the cost of locking you into the first move you pick. With Sand Veil, if sandstorm is active Cacnea's evasiveness is 1.25x; immunity to sandstorm. Thunder Punch or Brick Break are added to provide additional threat coverage.
◆ Needle Arm is a physical STAB-boosted 60-base power Grass-type move (30% chance to make the target flinch).
◆ Thunder Punch is a physical 75-base power Electric-type move (10% chance to paralyze the target).
◆ Brick Break is a physical 75-base power Fighting-type move (destroys screens, even if the target is immune).
◆ Sucker Punch is a physical priority-increased 80-base power Dark-type move (usually goes first. Fails if target is not attacking).
◆ Payback is a physical 50-base power Dark-type move (power doubles if your Cacnea moves after the target).
◆ Poison Jab is a physical 80-base power Poison-type move (30% chance to poison the target).
◆ Poison Sting is a physical 15-base power Poison-type move (30% chance to poison the target).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/eaa14b
Item: Razor Fang / Life Orb
Ability: Sand Veil
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
EVs: 120 Hp / 68 Def / 252 SpA / 68 SpD
IVs: 0 Atk
Moveset:
- Energy Ball / Grass Knot
- Dark Pulse
- Acid
- Snore
Taking on single battles? Cacnea is a dazzling Special Sweeper. It is primarily designed to crush rivals using forceful special attacks. Life Orb boosts the power of Cacnea's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Sand Veil, if sandstorm is active Cacnea's evasiveness is 1.25x; immunity to sandstorm. With a Razor Fang equipped to it, Cacnea's attacks without a chance to flinch gain a 10% chance to flinch.
◆ Grass Knot is a special STAB-boosted 0-base power Grass-type move (more power the heavier the target).
◆ Dark Pulse is a special 80-base power Dark-type move (20% chance to make the target flinch).
◆ Acid is a special 40-base power Poison-type move (10% chance to lower the foes special defense by 1 stage).
◆ Snore is a special 40-base power Normal-type move (Cacnea must be asleep. 30% chance to flinch target).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/eba14b
Movesets for Doubles
Need a strong doubles moveset for Cacnea? These builds are perfect for VGC (Pokémon Video Game Championship) and other competitive Diamond/Pearl Double Battles. The VGC is the ultimate test of strategy and skill, and these movesets and EVs are designed to excel against multiple opponents at once while providing essential support to your team. Dominate the Diamond/Pearl metagame with these expert-crafted setups!
Item: Focus Sash / Choice Band
Ability: Sand Veil
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 120 Hp / 252 Atk / 68 Def / 68 SpD
Moveset:
- Seed Bomb / Needle Arm
- Thunder Punch / Brick Break
- Sucker Punch / Payback
- Poison Jab / Poison Sting
In double battles, Cacnea is known as a stupendous Physical Sweeper. It's meant to take down the opponent's team with heavy-hitting physical attacks. Focus Sash helps protect Cacnea from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. Choice Band will increase the damage of Cacnea's physical moves by 1.5x at the cost of locking you into the first move you pick. With Sand Veil, if sandstorm is active Cacnea's evasiveness is 1.25x; immunity to sandstorm. Thunder Punch or Brick Break are added to provide additional threat coverage.
◆ Needle Arm is a physical STAB-boosted 60-base power Grass-type move (30% chance to make the target flinch).
◆ Thunder Punch is a physical 75-base power Electric-type move (10% chance to paralyze the target).
◆ Brick Break is a physical 75-base power Fighting-type move (destroys screens, even if the target is immune).
◆ Sucker Punch is a physical priority-increased 80-base power Dark-type move (usually goes first. Fails if target is not attacking).
◆ Payback is a physical 50-base power Dark-type move (power doubles if your Cacnea moves after the target).
◆ Poison Jab is a physical 80-base power Poison-type move (30% chance to poison the target).
◆ Poison Sting is a physical 15-base power Poison-type move (30% chance to poison the target).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/faa14b
Item: Razor Fang / Life Orb
Ability: Sand Veil
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
EVs: 120 Hp / 68 Def / 252 SpA / 68 SpD
IVs: 0 Atk
Moveset:
- Energy Ball / Grass Knot
- Acid
- Dark Pulse
- Snore
Cacnea shows a decent Special Sweeper prowess in double battles. It was designed to take down the opponent's team with powerful special moves. Life Orb boosts the power of Cacnea's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Sand Veil, if sandstorm is active Cacnea's evasiveness is 1.25x; immunity to sandstorm. With a Razor Fang equipped to it, Cacnea's attacks without a chance to flinch gain a 10% chance to flinch.
◆ Grass Knot is a special STAB-boosted 0-base power Grass-type move (more power the heavier the target).
◆ Acid is a special 40-base power Poison-type move (10% chance to lower the foes special defense by 1 stage).
◆ Dark Pulse is a special 80-base power Dark-type move (20% chance to make the target flinch).
◆ Snore is a special 40-base power Normal-type move (Cacnea must be asleep. 30% chance to flinch target).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/fba14b
Movepool
Want to know what moves Cacnea can learn? Check out the full list of moves available in the Pokemon Diamond/Pearl generation.
Sort and organize the learnset by type, category, accuracy, and power. Moves in bold get the same-type attack bonus (STAB) when used by Cacnea.
Damage Modifiers:
Combo List
These are a list of several common move combinations Cacnea can perform in Diamond/Pearl. 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 DP Move and Ability Combos for Cacnea
- Moves: Sunny day + Solar beam
- Moves: Sunny day + Growth
- 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 Cacnea's stats
- Growth
- Nasty Plot
- Swords Dance
Most notable and possible best moves for Cacnea
- Destiny Bond
- Protect
- Rest
- Toxic
Common Effort Values for Cacnea in Diamond and Pearl
Usage Data
Explore the latest analytical usage data for this Pokémon from various VGC and online competitions. We use this data to develop our strategies and movesets. The data is categorized by competition and skill level: top-ranking trainers, mid-level players, and entry-level players.
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