Is Cacturne Good in Diamond & Pearl Playthrough?
Grass/Dark with AbilitySand Veil. Transfer-only. AbilitySand Veil synergizes with Hippowdon's AbilitySand Stream if imported alongside. The physical/special split lets physical Dark match Cacturne's Attack. Handles Crasher Wake and Fantina.
Cacturne has the type edge here and should clean up Roark's team.
Cacturne has the type edge here and should clean up Gardenia's team.
Cacturne has the type edge here and should clean up Maylene's team.
Cacturne resists most of Crasher Wake's coverage and hits back hard.
Cacturne resists most of Fantina's coverage and hits back hard.
Cacturne has the type edge here and should clean up Byron's team.
Cacturne has the type edge here and should clean up Candice's team.
Cacturne has the type edge here and should clean up Volkner's team.
Aaron's team hits Cacturne's weaknesses hard.
Cacturne resists most of Bertha's coverage and hits back hard.
Cacturne trades roughly evenly with Flint's team.
Cacturne has the type edge here and should clean up Lucian's team.
Cacturne has the type edge here and should clean up Mars's team.
Cacturne has the type edge here and should clean up Jupiter's team.
Cacturne has the type edge here and should clean up Saturn's team.
Cacturne trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Catchable
Catch Cacturne on Route 228 (walking, Lv 52-53, common).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 52)
- LV 52DarkSucker PunchPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 5
- LV 52DarkFeint AttackPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Gardenia
- TM22GrassSolar BeamPower 180Accuracy 100%PP 10Veilstone Department Store
- TM68NormalGiga ImpactPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Game Corner
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Department Store
- After Byron
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Oreburgh Gate
- After Volkner
- TM79DarkDark PulsePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Victory Road
- Post-Game
- TM53GrassEnergy BallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 226
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
How to Get Cacturne in Diamond & Pearl
Cacturne prowls the same route as Cacnea, common but only deeper at level 52 up. It shifts its spawn between night and the daytime hours, so the clock changes how often the scarecrow appears.
Wild Cacturne may be holding when caught:
Sticky Barb (5% chance) Held: Holder takes 1/8 (12.5%) its max HP at the end of each turn. When the holder is hit by a contact move, the attacking Pokémon takes 1/8 its max HP in damage and receive the item if not holding one.1 location to catch Cacturne1 location to catch Cacnea
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 8Catch Cacnea at any of the 1 location below, then level it up to 32 — it evolves into Cacturne.
Badge 8Where To Catch Cacturne in DP
The path to Cacturne starts with Cacnea at Lv. 23-25 via walking encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.
- Step 1Catch Cacnea
- Step 2Cacturne ✓or evolve from Cacnea (Step 1)
Not landing the catch? Calculate Cacturne catch rates for Diamond & Pearl by ball, status, and HP.
How to Get Shiny Cacturne in Diamond & Pearl
Cacturne stalks Route 228 after dark, so a PokeRadar chain at night reaches its 1 in 200 shiny. Compare Shiny Cacturne odds across every game
Diamond & Pearl Shiny Cacturne Calculator
3 MethodsThe best route is PokeRadar Chain at full boosts, about 1 in 200 on each try. Tune it below.
PokeRadar Chain: Chain shaking-grass patches without breaking the combo. The rate peaks at a chain of 40.
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 | 22-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 58-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 139-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 460-- | -- |
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 Diamond & Pearl with Cacturne preloaded.
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.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 4x (Critical) | Bug |
| 2x (Weak) | Fire, Ice, Fighting, Poison, Flying |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Water, Electric, Grass, Ground, Ghost, Dark |
| 0x (Immune) | Psychic |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Cacturne Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Cacturne
 Heracross BugFighting | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacturne View Heracross builds →Megahorn 4x341-401%KO Focus Punch 2x213-250%KO Aerial Ace 2x57-67% | ||
 Breloom GrassFighting | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacturne View Breloom builds →Focus Punch 2x220-259%KO Sludge Bomb 2x48-56% | ||
 Pinsir Bug | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacturne View Pinsir builds →X-Scissor 4x228-268%KO Focus Punch 2x142-167%KO | ||
 Heatran FireSteel | S | |
Obtain MethodStark Mountain Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacturne View Heatran builds →Overheat 2x205-241%KO Rock Smash 2x30-35% | ||
 Armaldo RockBug | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Anorith (Oreburgh City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacturne View Armaldo builds →X-Scissor 4x228-268%KO Brick Break 2x71-84% Aerial Ace 2x57-67% | ||
 Infernape FireFighting | A | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Chimchar (Lake Verity Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacturne View Infernape builds →Focus Punch 2x182-214%KO Overheat 2x170-201%KO U-turn 4x114-135%KO Poison Jab 2x65-77% | ||
 Toxicroak PoisonFighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacturne View Toxicroak builds →Focus Punch 2x185-219%KO X-Scissor 4x133-157%KO Poison Jab 2x99-118%KO | ||
 Hariyama Fighting | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacturne View Hariyama builds →Focus Punch 2x205-241%KO Poison Jab 2x73-86% | ||
 Scyther Bug | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacturne View Scyther builds →X-Scissor 4x205-241%KO Wing Attack 2x77-90% Brick Break 2x64-75% | ||
 Yanmega Bug | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacturne View Yanmega builds →Bug Buzz 4x241-283%KO Air Slash 2x101-119%KO | ||
 Drapion PoisonDark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacturne View Drapion builds →X-Scissor 4x116-137%KO Poison Jab 2x87-103%KO Brick Break 2x54-64% Ice Fang 2x47-55% | ||
 Skarmory Steel | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacturne View Skarmory builds →X-Scissor 4x106-125%KO Fly 2x88-104%KO Rock Smash 2x27-32% | ||
 Machoke Fighting | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Cacturne View Machoke builds →Focus Punch 2x175-207%KO Poison Jab 2x63-74% Fire Blast 2x54-64% | ||
 Honchkrow Dark | B | |
Cacturne Evolutions
Cacturne is what Cacnea becomes. Breed it for Cacnea eggs (average hatch time). A decent partner pool for breeding via two egg groups. Eggs take an average time to hatch. 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
Breeding
Breed with Cacturne to get Cacnea eggs easily using 45 partners from the Grass and Human-Like egg groups. Notable egg moves include Acid, Counter, Dynamic Punch and 6 more.
DP Cacturne Best Moveset
115 in both Attack and Sp. Atk make Cacturne a rare true mixed attacker, and Grass/Dark coverage hits from unexpected angles. AbilitySand Veil adds evasion in sand teams. The moveset goes physical or special, but 55 Speed and 60 defenses mean it rarely gets more than one shot.
Best Build
Cacturne best EVs are Sp. Atk and HP
Support Moveset
- Energy Ball
- Spikes
- Dark Pulse
- Synthesis
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
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 Energy Ball.
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
36 of 38 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Transfer Moves
Base Stats
It becomes active at night, seeking prey that is exhausted from the day’s desert heat.
Cacturne Diamond & Pearl Guide
Yes. Wild Cacturne in Diamond & Pearl 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 Diamond & Pearl, Cacturne pairs best with Sableye, Skuntank, and Hitmonchan. Sableye has Excellent synergy and covers what Cacturne can't handle on its own.
Yes. Cacturne is not available during the main story. It can only be obtained after entering the Hall of Fame. Cacturne becomes available after the main story is complete in Diamond & Pearl.
In Diamond & Pearl, Cacturne plays as a cannon. Not the fastest, so pick your spots carefully.
In Diamond & Pearl, Modest is the go-to nature for Cacturne. That's +Sp. Atk / -Attack. Pair it with 172 HP / 252 SpA / 84 Spe EVs. Fits the cannon role.
Game Availability
Debuting in Ruby & Sapphire, Cacturne appears in 14 games across 7 generations. A reliable presence in a solid number of games, typically found through wild encounters.
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
Where to go next after Cacturne.
Keep playing · Diamond & PearlDiamond & Pearl Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Diamond & Pearl Tier List