#331

Cacnea

Grass

Best attacking moveset: Sand Attack and Grass Knot, worth 9.1 damage per second against a neutral target.

Best moveset

Cacnea can learn 15 combinations. Sand Attack with Grass Knot does the most damage per second of them, at level 40 with a perfect attack stat. Same-type moves get the 1.2× bonus, and the cycle assumes the charged attack fires the moment it has the energy.

Stats and moves come straight from the game's own data files. Every number on this page is a raid and gym number, not a PvP one.

Type matchups

Weak toFlyingPoisonBugFireIce

ResistsGroundWaterGrassElectric

Fast attack	Type	Power	Duration	Energy
Poison Sting	Poison	4	0.5s	+6
Sand Attack	Ground	4	0.5s	+7
Sucker Punch	Dark	5	0.5s	+6

Charged attack	Type	Power	Duration	Energy
Brick Break	Fighting	40	1.5s	-33
Grass Knot	Grass	90	2.5s	-50
Payback	Dark	95	2.0s	-100
Seed Bomb	Grass	55	2.0s	-33
Trailblaze	Grass	65	2.0s	-50

Shiny

Yes. Shiny Cacnea has been released. Players have found it from: wild, raid, research, photobomb.

Evolution family

Cacnea

Cacturne

Numbers

Max CP	1,404 at level 50, 1,242 at level 40
Raid catch	709 CP at level 20, or 887 if weather boosted (perfect IVs)
Lowest possible raid catch	658 CP. Raid encounters can't roll below 10/10/10
Base stats	156 attack · 74 defense · 137 stamina

What it costs

Second charged move	50,000 Stardust and 50 Candy
Buddy distance	3 km per Candy
Purify a Shadow one	3,000 Stardust and 3 Candy
Size	0.41 m and 51.3 kg

Best moveset against each type

Cacnea does not have one best moveset, it has 6. Which one wins depends on what you are attacking, because a move only gets its bonus against something weak to it. Best against Rock, Ground, Water.

Against	Best moveset	DPS
Rock	Sand Attack + Grass Knot	14.2
Ground	Sand Attack + Grass Knot	13.1
Water	Sand Attack + Grass Knot	13.1
Ghost	Sucker Punch + Payback	12.1
Psychic	Sucker Punch + Payback	12.1
Electric	Sand Attack + Grass Knot	10.3
Steel	Sand Attack + Brick Break	10.1
Fairy	Poison Sting + Grass Knot	9.9
Normal	Sand Attack + Grass Knot	9.1
Fighting	Sand Attack + Grass Knot	9.1
Ice	Sand Attack + Grass Knot	9.1
Dark	Sand Attack + Grass Knot	9.1
Poison	Sand Attack + Payback	8.6
Fire	Sand Attack + Payback	8.6
Grass	Poison Sting + Payback	8.3
Dragon	Sand Attack + Payback	7.1
Flying	Poison Sting + Payback	6.7
Bug	Poison Sting + Payback	6.7

Same maths as the headline number, run once per defending type: level 40, perfect attack IV, and the target's own type taken into account. Sorted by damage, so the top of this table is what Cacnea is actually for.

Counters: what beats Cacnea

Attacker	Type	Moveset	DPS
Blacephalon	FireGhost	Incinerate + Mind Blown Legacy	81.8
Eternatus	PoisonDragon	Poison Jab + Dynamax Cannon Legacy	69.9
Reshiram	DragonFire	Fire Fang + Fusion Flare Legacy	67.9
Pheromosa	BugFighting	Bug Bite + Bug Buzz	63.6
Salamence	DragonFlying	Fire Fang + Fly	62.6
Chandelure	GhostFire	Fire Spin + Overheat	62.1
Moltres	FireFlying	Fire Spin + Fly	61.6
Cinderace	Fire	Fire Spin + Pyroball	61.3
Enamorus	FairyFlying	Fairy Wind + Fly	61.0
Volcarona	BugFire	Fire Spin + Overheat	60.6

Ranked by damage per second against Cacnea's own defense, at level 40 with a 15 attack IV, one per evolution family.