Is Cacnea Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Breed-only. Grass with AbilitySand Veil for evasion in sandstorm. Cacturne at level 32 adds Dark. Breed-only chain with limited stats. Not worth pursuing.
Cacnea has the type edge here and should clean up Falkner's team.
Cacnea trades roughly evenly with Bugsy's team.
Cacnea has the type edge here and should clean up Whitney's team.
Cacnea trades roughly evenly with Morty's team.
Cacnea trades roughly evenly with Chuck's team.
Cacnea trades roughly evenly with Jasmine's team.
Cacnea has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Clair's team hits Cacnea's weaknesses hard.
Cacnea resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Cacnea has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Cacnea trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Erika's team hits Cacnea's weaknesses hard.
Janine's team hits Cacnea's weaknesses hard.
Cacnea trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Blaine's team hits Cacnea's weaknesses hard.
Blue's team hits Cacnea's weaknesses hard.
Cacturne has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Koga's team hits Cacturne's weaknesses hard.
Cacturne trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Cacturne trades roughly evenly with Karen's team.
Lance's team hits Cacturne's weaknesses hard.
Catchable
Catch Cacnea in the Safari Zone (walking, Lv 35). Requires 35 Forest objects placed in Desert.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 180Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- TUTORNormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Ilex Forest
- After Whitney
- TM60FightingDrain PunchPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 5Route 39
- After Chuck
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Chuck
- After Jasmine
- TM43NormalSecret PowerPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Lake of Rage
- LV 37DarkSucker PunchPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Clair
- TM79DarkDark PulsePower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Sold by the TM clerk on 3F of the Celadon Department Store
- LV 45GrassNeedle ArmPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 15
Evolve Cacnea to Cacturne
Cacnea evolves into Cacturne at Level 32. You get it at Level 35, past Level 32, so it evolves into Cacturne the next time it levels up.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 32)
- LV 32DarkFeint AttackPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Bugsy
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 180Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM52FightingFocus BlastPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- After Chuck
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Chuck
- LV 41DarkSucker PunchPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 5
- After Clair
- TM79DarkDark PulsePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Sold by the TM clerk on 3F of the Celadon Department Store
- LV 53GrassNeedle ArmPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 15
How to Get Cacnea in HeartGold & SoulSilver
No desert patch holds a wild Cacnea in these games. The prickly cactus only comes from a Cacturne egg, so you bring the evolved form in and breed down to it.
Wild Cacnea may be holding when caught:
Sticky Barb (5% chance) A held item that damages the holder on every turn. It may latch on to foes that touch the holder.1 location to catch Cacnea
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 8Where To Catch Cacnea in HGSS
The line opens with Cacnea at Lv. 35 via walking encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.
- Step 2Catch or Evolve into CacturneSafari Zone - SavannahLv.42FloorRequires 35 Forest objects placed in SavannahSafari Zone - DesertLv.48FloorRequires 42 Water objects placed in Desertor evolve from Cacnea (Step 1)
Not landing the catch? Calculate Cacnea catch rates for HeartGold & SoulSilver by ball, status, and HP.
How to Get Shiny Cacnea in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Cacnea takes a foreign parent at the Day Care, so breed it Masuda-style for a shiny of its own. Compare Shiny Cacnea odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Cacnea Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Want exact numbers for your session? Calculate your shiny odds in HeartGold & SoulSilver with Cacnea preloaded.
Cacnea Weakness
Cacnea's Grass typing leaves it vulnerable to Fire, Ice, Poison, Flying, and Bug. 4 resistances help offset the weaknesses. 5 weaknesses means you'll want teammates that can handle the coverage gaps.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Fire, Ice, Poison, Flying, Bug |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Water, Electric, Grass, Ground |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Cacnea Weak Against
FragileBest Pokemon Against Cacnea
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
 Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
 Pinsir Bug | C | |
 Scyther Bug | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Scyther builds →U-turn 2x138-163%KO Wing Attack 2x121-143%KO | ||
 Ninetales Fire | C | |
 Glaceon Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) | ||
 Arcanine Fire | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Arcanine builds →Fire Blast 2x218-257%KO Aerial Ace 2x81-96% | ||
 Yanmega Bug | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Yanmega builds →Silver Wind 2x127-150%KO Aerial Ace 2x90-107%KO | ||
 Venomoth BugPoison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Venomoth builds →Sludge Bomb 2x152-180%KO Silver Wind 2x101-120%KO Aerial Ace 2x54-64% | ||
 Vespiquen Bug | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Vespiquen builds →U-turn 2x107-127%KO Aerial Ace 2x93-110%KO Sludge Bomb 2x92-109%KO | ||
 Magmar Fire | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Magmar builds →Fire Blast 2x218-257%KO Smog 2x26-31% | ||
 Kricketune Bug | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Kricketune builds →X-Scissor 2x130-153%KO Aerial Ace 2x66-78% | ||
 Haunter GhostPoison | C | |
 Tentacruel WaterPoison | B | |
Obtain MethodCherrygrove City Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacnea View Tentacruel builds →Sludge Bomb 2x138-163%KO Ice Beam 2x98-116%KO | ||
Cacnea Evolutions
One evolution ahead. Cacnea grows into Cacturne through a straightforward two-stage chain. A decent partner pool for breeding via two egg groups. Eggs take an average time to hatch. 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 45 breeding partners from the Grass and Human-Like egg groups. Pass egg moves like Acid, Counter, Dynamic Punch and 7 more to offspring.
HGSS Cacnea Best Moveset
85 Attack and 85 Sp. Atk split evenly for a first-stage Grass/Dark. AbilitySand Veil adds evasion in sandstorm. 35 Speed and 40 in both defenses can't sustain anything. Cacturne improves the stats.
Best Build
Cacnea best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed
Special Revenge Killer Moveset
- Dark Pulse
- Hidden Power Ice
- Energy Ball
- Encore
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
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 Seed Bomb, they expand what Cacnea can actually threaten in practice.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
All 22 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It lives in arid locations. Its yellow flowers bloom once a year.
Cacnea HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
- Where in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Safari Zone can I find Cacnea?
See the Locations section above for where to find Cacnea in HeartGold & SoulSilver.
Safari rules: You can only use Safari Balls. No battling. Two tactical items shift the catch/flee trade-off:
- Throw bait to keep Cacnea from fleeing (flee rate cut to 1/4) but it becomes harder to catch (catch factor halved).
- Throw a rock to make Cacnea easier to catch (catch factor doubled) but it flees twice as often.
- Each effect lasts 2-6 random turns; throwing one cancels the other.
Yes. Wild Cacnea in HeartGold & SoulSilver can hold Sticky Barb (5%). Use Thief (TM46) or Covet to swipe the held item without affecting your catch chance. Quickest way to farm rare items like Sticky Barb.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Cacnea has 335 BST and evolves into Cacturne. Compare the two forms before you give either one a team slot.
Game Availability
Available in 14 titles since its debut in Ruby & Sapphire, Cacnea spans 7 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 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RSDebut
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves
Explore