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 live in deserts with virtually no rainfall. It battles by swinging its thick, spiked arms. Once a year, a yellow flower blooms.
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% | ||
 Cyndaquil Fire | D | |
Obtain MethodLittleroot Town Gift | ||
 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 | |
 Oddish GrassPoison | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Oddish builds →Sludge Bomb 2x94-111%KO Acid 2x46-55% | ||
Torchic Fire | D | |
Obtain MethodRoute 101 Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Torchic builds →Ember 2x58-69% Peck 2x31-37% | ||
Cyndaquil Fire | D | |
Obtain MethodLittleroot Town Gift | ||
 Gulpin Poison | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Gulpin builds →Sludge Bomb 2x89-106%KO Sludge 2x66-78% | ||
Taillow Normal | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Taillow builds →Wing Attack 2x69-83% Peck 2x43-51% | ||
 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 →Flamethrower 2x137-162%KO Sludge Bomb 2x91-108%KO Ember 2x63-75% Fire Spin 2x57-67% | ||
 Seviper Poison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Seviper builds →Sludge Bomb 2x154-182%KO Flamethrower 2x103-121%KO Poison Tail 2x87-103%KO | ||
 Swellow Normal | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Swellow builds →Wing Attack 2x93-111%KO Peck 2x57-67% | ||
 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% | ||
Seviper Poison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Seviper builds →Sludge Bomb 2x160-189%KO Flamethrower 2x106-126%KO Poison Tail 2x90-107%KO | ||
Swellow Normal | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Swellow builds →Wing Attack 2x94-111%KO Peck 2x56-67% | ||
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% | ||
Seviper Poison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Seviper builds →Sludge Bomb 2x163-192%KO Flamethrower 2x108-128%KO Poison Tail 2x92-108%KO | ||
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 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% | ||
In Emerald, 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 | ||
Emerald 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.
Emerald 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
Emerald Cacnea Locations
moderate rates across 1 locations for Cacnea in mid-game routes. Scroll the sorted list below and pick whichever spot sits closest to your current route. The rate differences between locations are worth comparing.
Best Locations to Catch Cacnea in Emerald
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 Emerald, 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 Emerald. 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