Hey, so been using this quite a bit and I'm fairly confident that SD doesn't deserve it's own set, mostly outclassed by Shifty (kinda has a niche in being immune to Scald, but that's about it) and would be better off getting AC in the Spikes set, where it can function to an extent. SubPunch is also just not very good imo, but that may just be because I kinda hate SubPunch as a whole illegal and still lame. Otherwise not much to say, fairly straightforward 'mon imo.
King Shaqtus
[Overview]
<p>At a glance, it is difficult to justify the use of Cacturne in the RU metagame. With so many potent Grass-types available for use, it hardly seems wise to handicap yourself with a Pokemon like Cacturne. However, despite its appearance, Cacturne is actually quite unique in what it offers. Due to Cacturne's high offensive stats and powerful STAB Sucker Punch, it is one of the tier's best offensive Spikes users, capable of threatening a variety of common Pokemon in order to set up entry hazards. To add to this, Cacturne is also able to apply significant offensive pressure to both Kabutops and Cryogonal, the most common and effective Rapid Spin users of the tier, allowing it to effectively prevent its entry hazards from being removed on its own. What's more, its unique typing, complemented by its useful ability in Water Absorb, makes it a very effective choice for offensively-inclined teams, checking threatening Pokemon such as Slowking and Substitute + Calm Mind Uxie, as well as comfortably switching into bulky Water-types. However, Cacturne's lack of natural bulk means that it is heavily reliant on its resistances to take hits of any kind, meaning that it often struggles to switch in and can be forced out just as easily. What's more, being as slow as it is, Cacturne relies heavily on Sucker Punch to handle offensive threats, making it a very prediction-heavy Pokemon in many situations. While Cacturne is by no means a Pokemon that can be thrown on any team, it does retain a significant niche in the RU metagame and should be taken into consideration when building offensive teams.</p>
[SET]
name: Offensive Spikes
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Seed Bomb
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Substitute
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Lonely / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 152 SpA / 104 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Thanks to Cacturne's high offensive stats, unique typing, and potent movepool, it makes an excellent offensive Spikes user. As Cacturne is capable of threatening a variety of Pokemon, ranging from frail sweepers to common defensive pivots, it is capable of finding opportunities to set up Spikes as the opposing Pokemon are forced to switch out. One of Cacturne's most effective tools in threatening Pokemon is its STAB Sucker Punch, which allows it to pick off a variety of frail faster Pokemon. Moreover, Sucker Punch applies significant pressure upon the best Rapid Spin users in the tier, Kabutops and Cryogonal, dealing major damage to the former and OHKOing the latter almost always with a Life Orb. Seed Bomb provides Cacturne with a safe STAB move capable of immediately threatening the Water-types it checks, as well as preventing Kabutops from switching into Cacturne and threatening to either spin away its entry hazards or KO with Stone Edge. Lastly, Hidden Power Fire allows Cacturne to round off its coverage, punishing Steel-types such as Escavalier and Durant as well as defensively-inclined Grass-types, most notably Tangrowth. On the other hand, while Substitute leaves Cacturne vulnerable to Steel-types, it does allow Cacturne to stay in on a variety of Pokemon that would otherwise force it out, as well as minimizing the risk associated with using Sucker Punch.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The given EV spread maximizes Cacturne's offensive presence while providing it enough Speed to outpace minimally invested Lanturn, allowing Cacturne to KO with Seed Bomb before being weakened by a potential Ice Beam or Thunder Wave. However, if Substitute is used over Hidden Power Fire, it would be worthwhile to invest the Special Attack EVs in Speed, as many common Pokemon, such as Aggron, Bouffalant, and Golurk, also aim to outpace Lanturn. In terms of item choice, the extra power of Life Orb is somewhat of a necessity when utilizing Hidden Power Fire in order for it to inflict significant damage upon its primary targets, while Leftovers's guaranteed recovery is largely preferable in conjunction with Substitute in order to set up more comfortably. However, that is not to say that Cacturne is restricted to these items, as it is capable of utilizing a reasonably wide arrangement of alternative options in order to allow to better fulfill certain roles. Some of the most pertinent of these choices are Dark Gem, which provides Cacturne a useful "middle ground" option between Leftovers and Life Orb, whose boost in power can allow it to better check certain sweepers, and Occa Berry, which allows it to switch more safely into Slowking and Grass-types without risking being blown out of the water by Fire Blast or Hidden Power Fire, respectively. Should the necessity to hit Normal-types be particularly high, Low Kick and Superpower both hit such Pokemon while retaining coverage against Steel-types, but it should be noted that critical targets of Hidden Power Fire, namely Escavalier and Durant, aren't hit particularly hard by this. Moreover, Swords Dance can be used in order to put even further pressure on the opponent to play around Sucker Punch and give Cacturne a window to sweep late-game, but opposing priority users make it rather difficult for it to do so.</p>
<p>In terms of partners, Cacturne has a variety of Pokemon that help make its job a little bit easier. Choice Scarf Emboar is a perfect example of this, offering a strong switch-in to support-based Grass-types capable of "absorbing" their Sleep Powders and Spores nicely, in addition to baiting bulky Water-types that Cacturne can in turn capitalize on. Moreover, while Cacturne is more than capable of setting up Spikes alongside several common entry hazard users, it is placed in a stalemate position in doing so that can often lead to both sides getting up all their entry hazards of choice. This makes having a spinner highly encouraged, and offensively speaking, Kabutops is the best fit for such a role, offering a solid switch-in to difficult Pokemon such as Entei and providing further offensive pressure on the opponent. However, Water-types as a whole are solid partners for Cacturne, providing good defensive synergy and forming a classic Fire / Water / Grass core, and if hazards are not an issue, then Kabutops can very well be substituted for an alternative Water-type. Omastar and Samurott both prove excellent examples of alternatives, with the former similarly capitalizing on Entei through Shell Smash and the latter acting as an effective wallbreaker to break up defensive cores. Lastly, while Cacturne is fairly self-sufficient in maintaining its own entry hazards against the spinners of the tier, defensive Rotom is a very helpful teammate, offering a solid offensive presence capable of capitalizing on Cacturne's Spikes, a useful resist to Bug-, Flying-, and Fighting-type attacks, and the ability to spinblock, deterring the opponent from attempting to Rapid Spin. Rotom is also the best candidate for spinblocking Kabutops, who Cacturne experiences some issues against as a spinner.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>While Cacturne actually possesses a fairly expansive movepool, this is largely overshadowed by the very similar Shiftry, whose extra Speed gives it the advantage in a sweeping role under most conditions, namely through both Swords Dance and Nasty Plot. For this reason, Cacturne is generally restricted to be used as a Spikes setter in order for it to avoid being outclassed. However, Cacturne's low Speed does benefit it in a Trick Room setting, where its high Attack and Special Attack, excellent coverage, and resistances to Dark- and Ghost-type attacks makes it a fully capable Trick Room sweeper. Additionally, a set utilizing Destiny Bond alongside Custap Berry is an interesting tactic for eliminating problematic Pokemon, but this does require significant maneuvering and knowledge of how well Cacturne can take certain hits in order to be utilized to its fullest potential.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>While outright preventing Cacturne from fulfilling its role as a Spikes setter is difficult, as it is capable of pressuring most conventional responses to entry hazards rather well, several Pokemon can simply threaten it offensively. Fire-types, especially ones like Entei and Emboar that can handle Sucker Punch well, are problematic for Cacturne, as it cannot effectively prevent them from switching in while they can OHKO with their STAB attacks in return. Offensively inclined Steel-types, such as Aggron and Klinklang, can switch into most of Cacturne's arsenal safely and proceed to either set up on it or outright KO it with their STAB moves. Although they don't particularly enjoy Life Orb Hidden Power Fire, bulky Grass-types such as Tangrowth and Amoonguss are more than capable of switching into Cacturne and can cripple it with status or wear it down with their attacks. While Pokemon like Hitmonlee and Primeape don't take Seed Bomb very well, they are otherwise fairly safe responses to Cacturne, resisting Sucker Punch and capable of threatening it with the prospect of a powerful Close Combat. Finally, offensive Substitute users, such as Sceptile, Rotom-F, and Scolipede, are capable of playing around Cacturne's Substitute with proper prediction, forcing it into a 50-50 prediction scenario.</p>
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King Shaqtus
[Overview]
<p>At a glance, it is difficult to justify the use of Cacturne in the RU metagame. With so many potent Grass-types available for use, it hardly seems wise to handicap yourself with a Pokemon like Cacturne. However, despite its appearance, Cacturne is actually quite unique in what it offers. Due to Cacturne's high offensive stats and powerful STAB Sucker Punch, it is one of the tier's best offensive Spikes users, capable of threatening a variety of common Pokemon in order to set up entry hazards. To add to this, Cacturne is also able to apply significant offensive pressure to both Kabutops and Cryogonal, the most common and effective Rapid Spin users of the tier, allowing it to effectively prevent its entry hazards from being removed on its own. What's more, its unique typing, complemented by its useful ability in Water Absorb, makes it a very effective choice for offensively-inclined teams, checking threatening Pokemon such as Slowking and Substitute + Calm Mind Uxie, as well as comfortably switching into bulky Water-types. However, Cacturne's lack of natural bulk means that it is heavily reliant on its resistances to take hits of any kind, meaning that it often struggles to switch in and can be forced out just as easily. What's more, being as slow as it is, Cacturne relies heavily on Sucker Punch to handle offensive threats, making it a very prediction-heavy Pokemon in many situations. While Cacturne is by no means a Pokemon that can be thrown on any team, it does retain a significant niche in the RU metagame and should be taken into consideration when building offensive teams.</p>
[SET]
name: Offensive Spikes
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Seed Bomb
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Substitute
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Lonely / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 152 SpA / 104 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Thanks to Cacturne's high offensive stats, unique typing, and potent movepool, it makes an excellent offensive Spikes user. As Cacturne is capable of threatening a variety of Pokemon, ranging from frail sweepers to common defensive pivots, it is capable of finding opportunities to set up Spikes as the opposing Pokemon are forced to switch out. One of Cacturne's most effective tools in threatening Pokemon is its STAB Sucker Punch, which allows it to pick off a variety of frail faster Pokemon. Moreover, Sucker Punch applies significant pressure upon the best Rapid Spin users in the tier, Kabutops and Cryogonal, dealing major damage to the former and OHKOing the latter almost always with a Life Orb. Seed Bomb provides Cacturne with a safe STAB move capable of immediately threatening the Water-types it checks, as well as preventing Kabutops from switching into Cacturne and threatening to either spin away its entry hazards or KO with Stone Edge. Lastly, Hidden Power Fire allows Cacturne to round off its coverage, punishing Steel-types such as Escavalier and Durant as well as defensively-inclined Grass-types, most notably Tangrowth. On the other hand, while Substitute leaves Cacturne vulnerable to Steel-types, it does allow Cacturne to stay in on a variety of Pokemon that would otherwise force it out, as well as minimizing the risk associated with using Sucker Punch.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The given EV spread maximizes Cacturne's offensive presence while providing it enough Speed to outpace minimally invested Lanturn, allowing Cacturne to KO with Seed Bomb before being weakened by a potential Ice Beam or Thunder Wave. However, if Substitute is used over Hidden Power Fire, it would be worthwhile to invest the Special Attack EVs in Speed, as many common Pokemon, such as Aggron, Bouffalant, and Golurk, also aim to outpace Lanturn. In terms of item choice, the extra power of Life Orb is somewhat of a necessity when utilizing Hidden Power Fire in order for it to inflict significant damage upon its primary targets, while Leftovers's guaranteed recovery is largely preferable in conjunction with Substitute in order to set up more comfortably. However, that is not to say that Cacturne is restricted to these items, as it is capable of utilizing a reasonably wide arrangement of alternative options in order to allow to better fulfill certain roles. Some of the most pertinent of these choices are Dark Gem, which provides Cacturne a useful "middle ground" option between Leftovers and Life Orb, whose boost in power can allow it to better check certain sweepers, and Occa Berry, which allows it to switch more safely into Slowking and Grass-types without risking being blown out of the water by Fire Blast or Hidden Power Fire, respectively. Should the necessity to hit Normal-types be particularly high, Low Kick and Superpower both hit such Pokemon while retaining coverage against Steel-types, but it should be noted that critical targets of Hidden Power Fire, namely Escavalier and Durant, aren't hit particularly hard by this. Moreover, Swords Dance can be used in order to put even further pressure on the opponent to play around Sucker Punch and give Cacturne a window to sweep late-game, but opposing priority users make it rather difficult for it to do so.</p>
<p>In terms of partners, Cacturne has a variety of Pokemon that help make its job a little bit easier. Choice Scarf Emboar is a perfect example of this, offering a strong switch-in to support-based Grass-types capable of "absorbing" their Sleep Powders and Spores nicely, in addition to baiting bulky Water-types that Cacturne can in turn capitalize on. Moreover, while Cacturne is more than capable of setting up Spikes alongside several common entry hazard users, it is placed in a stalemate position in doing so that can often lead to both sides getting up all their entry hazards of choice. This makes having a spinner highly encouraged, and offensively speaking, Kabutops is the best fit for such a role, offering a solid switch-in to difficult Pokemon such as Entei and providing further offensive pressure on the opponent. However, Water-types as a whole are solid partners for Cacturne, providing good defensive synergy and forming a classic Fire / Water / Grass core, and if hazards are not an issue, then Kabutops can very well be substituted for an alternative Water-type. Omastar and Samurott both prove excellent examples of alternatives, with the former similarly capitalizing on Entei through Shell Smash and the latter acting as an effective wallbreaker to break up defensive cores. Lastly, while Cacturne is fairly self-sufficient in maintaining its own entry hazards against the spinners of the tier, defensive Rotom is a very helpful teammate, offering a solid offensive presence capable of capitalizing on Cacturne's Spikes, a useful resist to Bug-, Flying-, and Fighting-type attacks, and the ability to spinblock, deterring the opponent from attempting to Rapid Spin. Rotom is also the best candidate for spinblocking Kabutops, who Cacturne experiences some issues against as a spinner.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>While Cacturne actually possesses a fairly expansive movepool, this is largely overshadowed by the very similar Shiftry, whose extra Speed gives it the advantage in a sweeping role under most conditions, namely through both Swords Dance and Nasty Plot. For this reason, Cacturne is generally restricted to be used as a Spikes setter in order for it to avoid being outclassed. However, Cacturne's low Speed does benefit it in a Trick Room setting, where its high Attack and Special Attack, excellent coverage, and resistances to Dark- and Ghost-type attacks makes it a fully capable Trick Room sweeper. Additionally, a set utilizing Destiny Bond alongside Custap Berry is an interesting tactic for eliminating problematic Pokemon, but this does require significant maneuvering and knowledge of how well Cacturne can take certain hits in order to be utilized to its fullest potential.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>While outright preventing Cacturne from fulfilling its role as a Spikes setter is difficult, as it is capable of pressuring most conventional responses to entry hazards rather well, several Pokemon can simply threaten it offensively. Fire-types, especially ones like Entei and Emboar that can handle Sucker Punch well, are problematic for Cacturne, as it cannot effectively prevent them from switching in while they can OHKO with their STAB attacks in return. Offensively inclined Steel-types, such as Aggron and Klinklang, can switch into most of Cacturne's arsenal safely and proceed to either set up on it or outright KO it with their STAB moves. Although they don't particularly enjoy Life Orb Hidden Power Fire, bulky Grass-types such as Tangrowth and Amoonguss are more than capable of switching into Cacturne and can cripple it with status or wear it down with their attacks. While Pokemon like Hitmonlee and Primeape don't take Seed Bomb very well, they are otherwise fairly safe responses to Cacturne, resisting Sucker Punch and capable of threatening it with the prospect of a powerful Close Combat. Finally, offensive Substitute users, such as Sceptile, Rotom-F, and Scolipede, are capable of playing around Cacturne's Substitute with proper prediction, forcing it into a 50-50 prediction scenario.</p>
[Overview]
[SET]
name: Offensive Spikes
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Seed Bomb
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Substitute
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Lonely / Adamant
evs: 152 HP / 252 Atk / 104 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
[Other Options]
[Checks and Counters]
- There are so many Grass-type 'mons made available and usable, both defensive and offensive, so faces some pretty serious competition for a slot
- Cacturne's real niche is as an offensive Spikes user, being able to find a decent amount of free turns due to offensive pressure and an assortment of cool resists / immunities
- Cool offensive options, including a damn powerful Sucker Punch, and the ability to go mixed allow it to threaten a variety of Pokemon after it comes in safely, in addition to allowing it to threaten the major spinners of the tier
- Still pretty slow and frail, it faces some real difficulty switching in and can be forced out without too much trouble
- Relies pretty heavily on Sucker Punch when taking on offensive teams, meaning that it can be a pretty prediction-heavy 'mon at times
- As unorthodox as it is, Cacturne has a distinguishable niche in the RU metagame, and is worth taking into consideration when building offensively inclined teams
[SET]
name: Offensive Spikes
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Seed Bomb
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Substitute
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Lonely / Adamant
evs: 152 HP / 252 Atk / 104 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
- Due to Cacturne's high offensive presence and unique set of resistances, Cacturne finds quite a few opportunities to set up Spikes
- Cacturne's high offensive presence and STAB attacks also put significant strain on common spinners like Kabutops and Cryogonal, allowing it to effectively preserve its own hazards
- STAB Sucker Punch is generally a solid move to have, allows Cacturne to keep a handful of frailer sweepers in check and pick off spinners before they can get a move in
- Seed Bomb offers Cacturne a useful secondary STAB move that allows Cacturne to deal consistent damage
- Hidden Power Fire provides Cacturne a method taking on bulky Steel- and Grass-types, allowing it to pressure Ferroseed and threaten switch-ins such as Escavalier and Tangrowth
- On the other hand, Substitute really buffs Cacturne's staying power, helping it maneuver around spinners better and generally having good synergy with Sucker Punch
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
- The given EVs allow it outpace defensive Lanturn to avoid compromising itself to an Ice Beam or Thunder Wave and of course maximize offensive presence and bulk
- When using HP Fire, EVs invested in bulk can be traded over to SpA no problem. 68 EVs guarantee LO Cacturne to OHKO standard Esca after SR, and 112 EVs allows it to OHKO Offensive Tangrowth and standard Ferroseed after SR+Spikes
- In terms of item choice, Leftovers is definitely preferable in the use of Substitute, since Water Absorb isn't reliable enough recovery, though non-Sub variants really appreciate the extra power boost (not to say its bad, just not recommended)
- Cacturne has a couple unconventional, yet viable, alternative items to work with. The most notable of these are Dark Gem, which offers a solid "middle ground" in terms of power:longevity that allows it to maintain a powerful Sucker Punch, and Occa Berry, which allows Cacturne to eat the off-hand HP Fire or a Slowking Fire Blast and act accordingly
- In terms of alternate attacks, Low Kick / Superpower offers similar Steel-type coverage as HP Fire, though most of the targets are hit harder by HP Fire and Cacturne can afford to go mixed without too much hassle
- Swords Dance is a cool option for allowing Cacturne to double as a late-game cleaner, though doing so requires some serious para support more often than not
- Choice Scarf Emboar is one of the better partners for this set, since it switches into the Grass-types Cacturne usually finds itself up against quite well, and while it doesn't benefit from Spikes more so than any other offensive 'mon, it does tend to bait Pokemon Cacturne can Spike up on (Slowking, Qwilfish, Momo, Rhydon~ish, etc.)
- That said, Cacturne itself does tend to draw in Spikes users, making a spinner such as Kabutops never a bad idea
- Rotom is also far from a bad idea, as even though it can self-spinblock decently a healthy Kabutops can still come through and spin, making a deterrent never a bad idea. Rotom also provides a nice check to Bug-, Fighting-, and Flying-type attacks, which is chill
[Other Options]
- A dedicated Swords Dance set is usable, but its also usable on the faster Shiftry (and it can be argued that Nature Power > Low Kick), who is generally superior in the role barring Cacturne's access to Water Absorb
- It has Nasty Plot, but is far too slow to make use of it
- Cacturne's good offensive stats, nice coverage, and resistances to Ghost- and Dark-type attacks make it a solid candidate for use in Trick Room
- DBond+Chople Berry is actually really fun if you get good at getting Cacturne under 25% safely, but pretty gimmicky overall
[Checks and Counters]
- Not much really stops it from spiking up, but a number of 'mons can apply pressure on it
- Fire-types, especially those that can play around / don't care about Sucker Punch, are pretty prominent responses to Cacturne, since they normally outright OHKO it. Entei, Sub Moltres, and Emboar are all notable examples of this
- Offensive Steel-types, notably Aggron and Klinklang can be a problem if given too many opportunities
- Bulky Grass-types such as Tangrowth and Amoonguss can threaten to either put it to sleep or dispatch it with the appropriate attack
- Strong Fighting-types like Hitmonlee and Primeape can't necessarily switch in Seed Bomb very well, but otherwise they can come in pretty comfortably and threaten it out with the threat of their STAB attacks (though Primeape is taking ~50% from a LO Sucker Punch, so it needs to be moderately healthy)
- Well-played Substitute users can play around Cacturne's Sucker Punch, pressuring a 50-50 mindgame
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