Noktuska Movesets & Wettbewerbs-Sets

Moves Dark Pulse is Cacturne's main STAB attack, 2HKOing most of the tier thanks to its respectable Base Power and the small pool of reliable Pokemon that resist Dark-type attacks. Giga Drain is a powerful secondary STAB move, hitting Water-, Ground-, and Fighting-types for significant damage, recovering some health, and providing excellent coverage alongside Dark Pulse. Energy Ball can be used for the higher power; however, it misses out on the recovery of Giga Drain, and the power gain is minimal. Cacturne's Sucker Punch is the strongest, albeit somewhat unreliable, priority move in NU, easily threatening faster Psychic- and Ghost-types that lack a Colbur Berry, as well as letting Cacturne overcome its lackluster Speed and pick off a faster foe. Spikes is the preferred choice for the last moveslot, letting Cacturne support its team by weakening grounded foes as they switch in. Cacturne is a particularly effective user of Spikes, as it beats nearly all users of entry hazard control outside of Skuntank. Destiny Bond can be used to take down a foe when Cacturne will be going down anyway, and it is particularly useful against a Mega Audino's Dazzling Gleam or Hariyama's Close Combat. Spiky Shield can be used to ease prediction against users of Choice items and to punish use of physical attacks. Set Details The EV spread and a Mild nature allow Cacturne to hit as hard and as fast as possible without taking away from its ability to switch into weaker special attacks or the power of Sucker Punch. Life Orb boosts Cacturne's power to incredible levels, with only a minor toll in the form of a small amount of recoil damage after each attack. Water Absorb is the necessary ability, as it makes Cacturne an excellent offensive check to the abundance of Water-types in the tier, most notably Lanturn, Prinplup, and Quagsire. A Hasty nature can be used over Mild; however, all this accomplishes is outspeeding neutral-natured Aurorus, Exeggutor, and standard Garbodor while tying with neutral-natured Flareon and Sandslash, at the cost of a noticeable drop in power that isn't really worth it for most teams. If you do choose to use a Hasty nature, however, Energy Ball should be chosen over Giga Drain to somewhat compensate for the loss of power. Usage Tips Due to its frailty, Cacturne should be brought in on a safe switch, such as by a slow U-turn or Volt Switch or after a teammate has fainted, to keep it as healthy as possible. If necessary, Cacturne should be switched in on an attack it's immune to, such as Lanturn's Scald or Musharna's Psychic, or a weaker attack, such as Quagsire's Earthquake or Rotom's Shadow Ball. Cacturne is often best played aggressively early-game, punching holes in the team with its powerful STAB attacks or setting Spikes to whittle down foes upon them switching in. Destiny Bond, if chosen, should be used when Cacturne would otherwise be knocked out, in an attempt to take the foe down with it. This is especially useful when up against slower attackers that can knock Cacturne out, such as Hariyama and Mega Audino, if they choose to attack Cacturne. Be wary when using Sucker Punch, as your opponent can play around this by going for a non-attacking move, often forcing 50-50 situations. This is particularly troublesome when Cacturne is facing setup sweepers, such as Klinklang, as they can avoid Sucker Punch while getting a free turn to set up. Additionally, it should be noted that many foes that Sucker Punch threatens, such as Rotom and Mismagius, can use Will-O-Wisp to avoid Sucker Punch and cripple Cacturne for the rest of the match. If Spiky Shield is run, it should be used primarily to get off chip damage on physical attackers such as Hariyama or to scout what move users of Choice items will be locking themselves into. Team Options Cacturne fits best on faster-paced offensive teams that appreciate a check to Water-types and Spikes support more than they would the speed and Defog support that Shiftry can provide. Klinklang is the near-perfect partner for Cacturne in offensive synergy, with Klinklang setting up on the Fairy-, Flying-, and Bug-types that plague Cacturne and Cacturne defeating the Electric- and Water-types that stop Klinklang; however, be aware that this core struggles with common Fighting- and Fire-types, so this should be accounted for accordingly. Electric-types, such as Rotom and Zebstrika, appreciate Cacturne eliminating Lanturn and Ground-types, while they check Flying-types in return. Lanturn makes for a noteworthy partner, checking the Fire- and Flying-types that Cacturne struggles with while Cacturne eliminates opposing Lanturn. Garbodor makes for a great partner, taking on the Fighting- and Fairy-types that trouble Cacturne while Cacturne handles the Ground- and Psychic-types that trash Garbodor. Using Garbodor also allows Cacturne to forgo Spikes for Destiny Bond or Spiky Shield. Running Spiky Shield on Cacturne when it is paired with Garbodor is also beneficial in that Cacturne can use Spiky Shield to maximize the damage stacked up by the Toxic Spikes set by Garbodor. Garbodor also punishes usage of U-turn with Rocky Helmet and Aftermath, which Cacturne attracts due to its 4x weakness to Bug-type attacks. Mesprit and Cacturne form a potent entry hazard-stacking core, with Mesprit setting Stealth Rock and Cacturne laying Spikes, whittling the foes down as they switch in. Late-game cleaners, such as Swellow, appreciate Cacturne punching holes in the opponent's team and laying Spikes so the cleaner can sweep up once the opposition is sufficiently weakened.

This set focuses on making the very best out of Cacturne's ability to lay down Spikes and hit hard at the same time. The first moveslot is obviously Spikes; Spikes is one of the most useful moves any Pokemon can get, and even though Cacturne's stats don't exactly encourage using it, it's still the main reason to use Cacturne at all. In the second moveslot, Destiny Bond is usually preferred, as it can surprise an unsuspecting Pokemon and take it down. Swords Dance is also an option, as Cacturne can take advantage of bulky Water-types, such as Alomomola, and punch holes in offensive teams. Sucker Punch fills the third moveslot, as it helps bypass Cacturne's pathetic Speed stat and hits with stellar power after the STAB boost is taken into account. Seed Bomb is the obvious choice for the final moveslot, as it grants Cacturne additional STAB coverage and comes with the benefit of hitting Alomomola, a Pokemon that physical attackers normally have a hard time breaking through, extremely hard. The only change that should be considered for the EVs and nature is using Adamant over Jolly. This is not recommended though, as Jolly allows Cacturne to outpace standard Misdreavus, something very useful for an entry hazard setter. Focus Sash is the only item you should use on this set. Even though Life Orb might seem like a viable alternative, Cacturne is simply too frail to miss out on the guaranteed one-time survival that Focus Sash brings, especially as it should be used as a suicide lead. A different move option would be Substitute, which can help Cacturne pressure the opponent and avoid status, but as you should never run Focus Sash in tandem with Substitute, it should only be used with Leftovers instead. As this Cacturne set aims to set up Spikes, offensive Pokemon appreciate it for the extra damage output against walls, making them harder to switch into, the most prevalent being Samurott, Sawk, and Kangaskhan. Cacturne's favorite teammate, though, is definitely Golurk; the two together have great synergy both offensively and defensively, as Golurk can spinblock the Spikes set by Cacturne and can even set Stealth Rock, a move that works amazingly in tandem with Spikes.

Making use of the deadly combination of Swords Dance and Sucker Punch, this Cacturne set is very scary if it gets to set up. Swords Dance makes Cacturne a deadly offensive threat; with a Life Orb boost, Sucker Punch can OHKO many prevalent threats such as Primeape after Stealth Rock, and Samurott. Sucker Punch is the main attacking move, as the priority it has lets Cacturne threaten a myriad of offensive threats and helps it bypass its annoying Speed problem. Seed Bomb is necessary as it lets Cacturne hit threats such as Alomomola much harder and gives it way to avoid having to predict with Sucker Punch, which can be helpful against slower foes. Drain Punch is the main move for the final slot, as it provides perfect neutral coverage by hitting Steel-types hard. Substitute is a great move for use against Misdreavus and Alomomola to avoid status and set up easily though. It also pressures the opponent to attack Cacturne, which makes Sucker Punch more reliable. A different EV spread of 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe and an Adamant nature can be used in tandem with Substitute and Leftovers, enables Cacturne to still outspeed Alomomola and save many EVs for HP to survive hits, thereby having a much easier time setting up. Without higher Speed investment though, Cacturne will be outpaced and burned by Misdreavus before it does anything. Life Orb is preferred if using Drain Punch, but if you plan on utilizing Substitute in the fourth moveslot, Leftovers is the definite item of choice. Lum Berry and Dark Gem are also viable options for the item slot, as the former helps Cacturne set up against walls and the latter allows for a single, hard-hitting Sucker Punch without eating away at Cacturne's HP like Life Orb does. Offensive Probopass is one of the best partners for this particular Cacturne set; not only is it able to set up Stealth Rock to help Cacturne sweep more easily, but it also traps and kills most Steel-types that resist Cacturne's STAB attacks. Unfortunately, the core is demolished by just about any Fighting-type in NU. Golurk is a great partner with fantastic offensive and defensive synergy, and the ability to support Cacturne's potential sweeps by setting up Stealth Rock. Fire-types such as Charizard, Rapidash, and Camerupt are good partners too, as they can lure in Water-types, threaten bulky Grass- and Steel-types, and switch into Fire-type attacks aimed at Cacturne.

Set Description With maximum Special Attack investment, Cacturne is a good offensive Spiker that can threaten Regirock, Slowking, Sandslash, and Dusclops while also ignoring Tauros's Intimidate should it stay in on Tauros. Dark Pulse hits Pokemon like Charizard on the switch and is a strong attack against Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Gardevoir and Dusclops. Sucker Punch hits hard even without any EV investment and complements Dark Pulse by picking off chipped foes that might pose a threat to Cacturne, notably preventing Pokemon llike Drifblim, Haunter, and Jynx from sweeping. In turn, Dark Pulse can prevent the aforementioned sweepers from setting up Substitute or a boosting move, and it isn't affected by Dusclops's Will-O-Wisp. Encore can be used in the last slot to disrupt defensive cores and slower sweepers such as Calm Mind Slowking, and it forces switches to spread passive damage from the Spikes Cacturne sets. Synthesis gives Cacturne longevity on bulkier teams that aim to keep it healthy. Seed Bomb with Attack investment is another potential option that lets Cacturne pressure specially bulky Pokemon like Hitmonchan and Lickilicky, although it becomes worse at pressuring Regirock and Sandslash, and Cacturne doesn't have a good secondary physical Dark-type STAB move to back up Sucker Punch. Leftovers allows Cacturne to passively heal from hits it might weather when switching into Regirock and Slowking mid-game, while Focus Sash is more helpful in the lead position to let Cacturne set one layer of Spikes at minimum and can even be considered mid-game, since Cacturne can switch into Stealth Rock users such as Regirock and Sandslash, helping it set more layers of Spikes. The given EV spread allows Cacturne to outspeed minimum Speed Sandslash and land a hit before it uses Rapid Spin. Alternatively, 124 Speed EVs allow Cacturne to outspeed minimum Speed Poliwrath and lock it into Substitute or a Water-type move with Encore, and 176 Speed EVs allow Cacturne to outspeed Adamant Marowak and Golem as well as minimum Speed Nidoqueen. While Cacturne can set Spikes effectively versus slower foes, it shouldn't switch into offensive Pokemon too hastily, as Cacturne's lacking bulk makes it hard to switch into resisted attacks, and the right coverage options can easily shut down Cacturne from setting Spikes. Be sure to scout for Signal Beam from Slowking, Gardevoir, and Electrode, Ice Beam from Sharpedo and Floatzel, Flamethrower from Manectric, and Poison Jab from Skuntank. Team Options Cacturne fits on teamstyles that forgo using Skuntank to Pursuit trap Psychic- and Ghost-types in favor of laying entry hazards on them. It is most commonly used mid-game to switch into Regirock, Slowking, and Choice-locked Manectric, although it can be used in the lead position with Focus Sash to guarantee a layer of Spikes against leads such as Charizard, Hitmonchan, and Tauros. However, lead Cacturne will face issues if it runs into an opposing lead with Fake Out or Taunt such as Medicham or Jynx. Cacturne's support structure will vary depending on its team's archetype, but one aspect is true regardless: Cacturne requires a spinblocker to uphold its Spikes against Rapid Spin users. Drifblim and Haunter are useful in this role on offensive teams while being potent sweepers that appreciate chip damage on bulky foes. Dusclops and Sableye, on the other hand, fit better as spinblockers on defensive teams, switching into Fighting-types and Tauros that might threaten Cacturne and using passive damage to wear down the opposition. To make up for Spikes not dealing damage to Flying-types and Levitate users, Cacturne likes being paired with a Stealth Rock user to provide valuable damage on them while also increasing entry hazard damage on grounded foes. Regirock is a good Stealth Rock setter on offensive teams that can switch into Charizard and Tauros, and since Regirock tends to beat Spikes-immune Pokemon like Charizard, Drifblim, and Articuno, it can also utilize Spikes to its advantage by beating down foes with its strong EdgeQuake coverage and KOing bulky foes with Explosion. Nidoqueen can set Stealth Rock and absorb Toxic Spikes for defensive teams while shuffling foes around to rack up hazard damage with Roar or laying its own Toxic Spikes to complete the hazard trifecta and slowly wear down teams ill-prepared for longer battles. In turn, Cacturne can switch into Water- and Ground-types such as Slowking, Sandslash, and non-Ice Beam Sharpedo and Floatzel. Offensive Spikes teams aren't complete without wallbreakers that can take advantage of passive chip damage on bulky foes that Cacturne facilitates. Hitmonchan, Medicham, Tauros, and Manectric can all draw in Spikes-weak Pokemon and thus appreciate Spikes damage wearing down their respective checks. If Cacturne is being used without Encore, it appreciates teammates that can phaze defensive setup sweepers and force switches to spread Spikes damage, and Roar Nidoqueen, Encore Poliwrath, Encore Politoed, and Roar Articuno are effective in this role.

This set combines Cacturne's good offensive presence and its ability to set Spikes, disrupt the opponent's team, and force switches. In order to get the best out of this set, switch in on a foe using a setup or status move like Reflect and use Encore on it. From there, set up Spikes, or if you can predict what Pokemon your opponent is going to switch to, use the appropriate STAB move. Hidden Power Dark is more useful than Needle Arm for its broader neutral coverage, higher power, and ability to rip apart Chimecho and Haunter. The best options over Needle Arm are Leech Seed and Substitute, both of which best utilize the switches Encore will force and can lead to even more switches by the opponent. The Speed EVs outspeed minimum base 60 Speed Pokemon and max Speed Adamant Sudowoodo as a bonus. The rest of the EVs are placed into HP to give Cacturne a bit of bulk, and Special Attack is maxed out to make use of Cacturne's Special Attack as best as possible. However, the EVs as a whole are pretty flexible, and EVs can be moved from Special Attack or Speed to the defenses to better cushion common attacks Cacturne resists like Earthquake and Surf. As a support Pokemon, this set is less dependent on having teammates that support it, but having teammates that can capitalize on the Spikes Cacturne provides is important. Offensive Pokemon like Pidgeot, Raticate, Hitmonchan, and Vigoroth are good examples of Pokemon that make use of Spikes and enjoy having Cacturne's offensive presence on the team to remove problematic Pokemon like Rock-types and Chimecho. Cacturne also has an easy time switching in on defensive Pokemon like Whiscash and Lickitung and forcing them out with Encore, making it a good partner for Fire-types and special attackers like Plusle.

Despite the lack of STAB moves, this is Cacturne's hardest hitting set. Special attacking sets are far more common, and the Pokemon that counter those sets, such as Lickitung and Kecleon, are easily taken out by Focus Punch. Substitute is needed to allow Cacturne to fire off Focus Punch without flinching. Hidden Power Ghost forms perfect coverage with Focus Punch and is needed to hit Haunter and Chimecho. The last slot is mostly filler, but Leech Seed is probably the most useful option because it creates a makeshift SubSeed set, which can push some bulky Pokemon like Kingler into KO range of Focus Punch. However, Destiny Bond is a useful tool for threatening an instant KO against the foe. Both choices are great, and both allow an opportunity to fire off a free Focus Punch by forcing switches. The EV spread is designed to hit as hard as possible while outrunning maximum Speed Modest Huntail. Running a Grass- or Dark-type STAB move in the last slot is an option, but they're pretty weak with an Adamant nature and no investment, even with Cacturne's high Special Attack stat. Other physical move options include Brick Break and Double-Edge for a strong, reliable attack when without a Substitute. Glalie is an ideal teammate for this set, as Cacturne forces a lot of switches between Focus Punch and Leech Seed or Destiny Bond, and Spikes helps capitalize on those forced switches. This set can lure in and take out common switch-ins to Cacturne like Hitmonchan and Murkrow, meaning Pokemon that can sweep with their removal are good teammates. Rock-types, Pupitar in particular, love having Hitmonchan out of the picture. Hitmonchan of your own and Chimecho love having Murkrow and Pidgeot out of the way. This set is probably the best switch-in to Chimecho in the tier, particularly Calm Mind variants, as most don't carry a move that can hit Cacturne effectively, while Cacturne can easily 2HKO Chimecho by targeting its weaker defensive stat. This fact further increases the synergy between Cacturne and Hitmonchan and also makes Cacturne a valued teammate of Poison-types like Haunter and Arbok. Finally, this set is totally walled by Swalot, making Ground-types like Piloswine good teammates as well.

This set combines all of Cacturne's best aspects to get as much mileage out of it as possible. The main reason you'd use Cacturne over Glalie or Roselia as a Spiker is that Cacturne is significantly harder to switch into, and with a wide array of coverage moves available, Cacturne ensures just that with this set. Giga Drain or Needle Arm should be used as Cacturne's primary STAB move. Giga Drain offers passive recovery, which can let Cacturne take on Water- and Rock-types slightly better, while Needle Arm has far more PP and has a chance to flinch the target. Hidden Power Dark is recommended as a secondary STAB move, and Dark-type attacks are hard to come by in the tier, which allows Cacturne to act as one of the few decent checks to Chimecho. However, Hidden Power Psychic can be used instead to nail Hitmonchan looking for a free switch in to spin away Cacturne's Spikes, and it also gets a decent hit on the Poison-types in the tier. Destiny Bond is a great tool for ensuring the opposing Pokemon goes down with Cacturne, and Cacturne is one of the few with access to the move in the tier. As a bonus, it may also scare the opponent into switching the next turn, freeing up time for Cacturne to lay another layer of Spikes. Because Cacturne is rather slow, Destiny Bond is kind of hard to use effectively or consistently, which is why Thunder Punch is also suggested in the last slot. Normally, Murkrow and Pidgeot have a fairly safe switch into Cacturne, but Thunder Punch ensures that that is not the case, OHKOing the former and easily 2HKOing the latter. A Timid nature and maximum Speed investment allow Cacturne to outrun maximum Speed Jolly Pupitar, with the rest of the EVs pumped into Special Attack so that Cacturne hits as hard as possible. A special attacking set is preferred due to Cacturne's STAB types being special. As for other move options, Toxic is a decent option for crippling Hitmonchan and bulkier walls like Lickitung and Kecleon. Different Hidden Powers can be used depending on your team's needs, but Dark and Psychic are by far the most useful. Teams that don't want to use Glalie because of its typing and don't like Roselia because of its physical frailty will really like Cacturne. While it's frail both specially and physically, its resistances allow it to stand up to some attacks the other two cannot. Cacturne fits best on heavy offense teams since it doesn't last long itself but is capable of dishing out a ton of damage. Unfortunately, Hitmonchan probably has the easiest time switching into Cacturne out of the Spikers and can either easily OHKO it with Sky Uppercut or spin away Cacturne's Spikes. To combat Hitmonchan, Haunter and Chimecho are recommended as teammates, and they have decent synergy with Cacturne outside of checking Hitmonchan. Murkrow and Pidgeot easily switch into anything apart from Thunder Punch and threaten to KO Cacturne with their Flying-type STAB moves, making Rock-types like Relicanth and Sudowoodo and Steel-types like Mawile good teammates. Rock-types also make good use of the Spikes Cacturne sets up and lure in bulky Water-types, which Cacturne can then easily switch into and threaten out.