Cacturne
Changes:
- Merging the two SD sets. I'll write the new one from scratch.
- Removing the NP set. It sucks. Cacturne isn't scary at all without Sucker Punch. The writeup said NP's big advantage was Focus Blast does more to Registeel than Brick Break, but Cacturne gets Low Kick. Unless QC really loved that set I'm moving it to OO.
- Removing the SubSeed set. It's pretty bad outside of Sandstorm, and inside Sandstorm if I get a free turn I'd much rather spend it setting up Spikes or SD than Leech Seed. The defensive Spikes set has Substitute and Leech Seed as slashes anyway, so I'll just mention a fast spread in AC of that set instead. Again, if QC disagrees I can bring it back, but I would never use this set in NU let alone UU.
- No major changes to Spikes Lead or defensive Spikes. I'll tweak the writeups a little but as far as I can tell the sets are fine.
- Rewriting Overview, OO, and C&C sections.
[Overview]
<p>Few Pokemon are more frustrating to face than Cacturne. As a Swords Dance sweeper with STAB Sucker Punch and base 115 Attack, it would already be sufficiently threatening, but throw in a 20% chance to evade any attack in sandstorm and you have a truly evil cactus. With access to Spikes, Cacturne is also a surprisingly effective team supporter, capable of setting up multiple layers of entry hazards against some of the most common defensive Pokemon in UU. Cacturne does have its flaws, however. Its low base 55 Speed forces it to rely on the fickle Sucker Punch to take on most offensive Pokemon, and its pitiful defensive stats and weaknesses to common types such as Bug, Fighting, and Fire make it easy to KO, provided the attacks connect. Like it or not, Cacturne is a Pokemon that relies on luck to reach its full potential; one roll of the RNG dice can be the difference between a wasted team slot and a devastating sweep.</p>
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Seed Bomb / Substitute
move 4: Low Kick / Focus Punch
item: Life Orb
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With an excellent base 115 Attack stat and access to STAB Sucker Punch, Cacturne is a fearsome Swords Dance sweeper. After a boost, Cacturne has the power to 2HKO the entire tier with the appropriate move. Sucker Punch covers Cacturne's low Speed and OHKOes the vast majority of offensive Pokemon, including common bulky attackers such as Milotic, Venusaur, Moltres, and Torterra. Seed Bomb is a more reliable STAB attack to use against defensive Pokemon and those that try to play around Sucker Punch with Substitute and other non-attacking moves. Low Kick rounds out Cacturne's coverage by OHKOing Registeel and Steelix; it is also Cacturne's best move against other walls that resist Seed Bomb, such as Tangrowth.</p>
<p>This set is frightening enough as it is, but it becomes truly terrifying when sandstorm is up. Sand Veil makes every counter a shaky one and gives Cacturne the ability to sometimes come out on top in matchups where it would otherwise always lose. Using Substitute in the third slot allows Cacturne to really take advantage of the evasion boost by stalling out the opponent's hits until the near-inevitable miss. Substitute also allows Cacturne to use Focus Punch in the last slot, giving it even more power against defensive Pokemon such as Tangrowth, Arcanine, and Hitmontop.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Cacturne can also use Encore to further aggravate opponents. Encore can simplify Cacturne's initial setup by forcing a switch, and it also punishes foes such as Mismagius and Moltres that may try to avoid Sucker Punch by setting up a Substitute in Cacturne's face. With sandstorm support, Leftovers and BrightPowder are both viable items that can make Cacturne even more difficult to take down. Leftovers allows Cacturne to create at least one additional Substitute, giving the opponent more opportunities to miss, while BrightPowder decreases the opponent's accuracy even further to 72%. In the long run, both items have similar effectiveness, but BrightPowder gives Cacturne a slightly better chance of getting at least one free turn.</p>
<p>Whether or not Cacturne is using Substitute to stall for misses, sandstorm support from Hippopotas is very beneficial. Not only does sandstorm activate Sand Veil, but it also adds residual damage to the opponent's Pokemon, allowing Cacturne to KO opponents that otherwise might barely survive its assaults. Furthermore, Hippopotas can set up Stealth Rock, which severely weakens some of the Pokemon Cacturne fears, and spread status with Toxic or Yawn. Priority users such as Arcanine, Blaziken, Hitmontop, and Toxicroak can bypass Sucker Punch and prey on Cacturne's poor defenses, making a sweep impossible. Slowbro is an excellent check to all four of these Pokemon thanks to its excellent physical bulk and resistances to Fire- and Fighting-type moves. SubRoost Moltres is also a major problem for Cacturne, as Substitute protects it from Sucker Punch and it resists both Seed Bomb and Low Kick. Milotic can handle Moltres quite easily with a RestTalk set, and it also fares well against most of the other Fire- and Fighting-types that trouble Cacturne. Rhyperior is another excellent teammate in general, especially with sandstorm boosting its Special Defense. It can force out nearly all of the Pokemon that Cacturne fears with its incredibly potent STAB combination, and its immense bulk allows it to brush off hits that would destroy Cacturne, while Cacturne can switch in on the Water- and Grass-type moves that are Rhyperior's Achilles' heel.</p>
[SET]
name: Spikes Lead
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Encore
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Seed Bomb
item: Focus Sash
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Cacturne is most often seen as an extremely dangerous Swords Dance sweeper, but with access to Spikes, Encore, and Sucker Punch, it can also be an effective lead. Encore locks opposing Pokemon into non-damaging moves such as Stealth Rock, giving Cacturne free turns to set up multiple layers of Spikes, while Sucker Punch punishes foes that try to attack. As one of the very few Pokemon that can set up Spikes while retaining an offensive presence, Cacturne is a good fit on offensive teams in need of entry hazards.</p>
<p>Spikes and Encore are the two most important moves on this set. Cacturne's Focus Sash guarantees it will get at least one layer of Spikes up against any opposing lead that lacks Taunt, but Encore often creates opportunities for Cacturne to set up the second and third layers as well. Sucker Punch works extremely well in tandem with Encore; Encore encourages opponents to attack Cacturne directly, and Sucker Punch nails them when they oblige. Sucker Punch also deals heavy damage to most common U-turn leads, including Ambipom, Uxie, and Mesprit. Furthermore, the priority is very useful in finishing off opposing leads after knocking them down to their Focus Sash. Seed Bomb is the best option in the last slot, as it provides a reliable STAB attack that hits leads such as Omastar, Kabutops, and Cloyster for super effective damage.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Protect can replace Seed Bomb if Ambipom and Persian are major concerns, as both can otherwise use Fake Out to remove Cacturne's Focus Sash and finish it off with Return before Cacturne gets a chance to move. However, the loss of Seed Bomb makes Cacturne extremely vulnerable to any opposing leads with Taunt. Adamant is usually the best nature, since Cacturne has Sucker Punch to deal with faster foes, but a Jolly nature does allow Cacturne to outspeed minimum Speed Uxie, tie with Timid Omastar, and beat an assortment of other Pokemon later in the match, such as Adamant Torterra and Modest Exeggutor. Either way, a simple EV spread that maximizes Cacturne's Attack and Speed is the way to go.</p>
<p>Ambipom and Persian are major problems for this set, as they can use Taunt or Hypnosis to shut Cacturne down before it gets a chance to set up Spikes, or simply KO with Fake Out and Return if Cacturne lacks Protect. Scyther and Arcanine are also common leads that come out on top against Cacturne; each can bring Cacturne down to its Focus Sash with their super effective STAB attacks, then avoid taking a second Sucker Punch by finishing Cacturne off with Quick Attack or ExtremeSpeed. Rhyperior is an excellent switch-in to all four of these foes thanks to its titanic HP and Defense stats, although it must beware of Hidden Power Grass from Arcanine. Rhyperior can also use its matchup advantage to take the opportunity to set up Stealth Rock or begin a sweep with Rock Polish, maintaining the offensive momentum that is so important to most teams that employ Cacturne. Azumarill is another worthy teammate thanks to its solid overall bulk and ability to destroy Fire-types such as Arcanine with Aqua Jet. Since Cacturne's primary purpose is to set up Spikes, it's a good idea to also bring sweepers that appreciate residual damage on their grounded counters. Blaziken, Swellow, and Aggron are all examples of Pokemon that can turn 2HKOs into OHKOs with Spikes support.</p>
[SET]
name: Spikes
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Synthesis / Substitute
move 3: Dark Pulse / Leech Seed / Encore
move 4: Energy Ball
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Cacturne's base stats clearly favor offense, it also functions fantastically as a defensive Spikes user. Cacturne holds several advantages over its fellow UU Spikes users: it's the only one with access to Encore, the only one with instant recovery (barring the extremely rare Roselia), and its typing allows it to comfortably set up against common Pokemon such as Spiritomb, Rotom, Milotic, and other bulky Water-types. Sand Veil further increases Cacturne's effectiveness, often giving it one or more free turns even against Pokemon that would otherwise counter it. Finally, Cacturne's fantastic Special Attack stat allows it to threaten most common Rapid Spinners with super effective Grass-type attacks, making it difficult for opponents to quickly remove the Spikes that Cacturne sets up.</p>
<p>Synthesis provides reliable instant recovery, allowing Cacturne to stick around longer and set up as many layers of Spikes as possible. Dark Pulse and Energy Ball are both solid STAB attacks that hit hard even without any investment in Special Attack; Energy Ball hits Rapid Spin users such as Donphan, Cloyster, and Kabutops hard, while Dark Pulse grants valuable neutral coverage. If Cacturne has sandstorm support, Synthesis becomes less useful, so the set plays a little differently. Substitute works well with Sand Veil by creating opportunities for a miss, and Leech Seed provides recovery and causes switches, which will rack up residual damage and give Cacturne free turns to set up additional layers of Spikes. Encore is also a good option in the third slot, regardless of the situation, as it is very effective at generating free turns and forcing opponents to switch.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Grass Knot is a valid alternative to Energy Ball for extra power against many walls, especially if Cacturne already has a consistent STAB attack in Dark Pulse. BrightPowder may be a tempting item to use in sandstorm to lower the opponent's accuracy even further to 72%, but Leftovers is almost always better in the long run as it allows Cacturne to create more Substitutes, giving the opponent additional chances to miss. The given EVs focus on Cacturne's special bulk, enabling it to set up easily against bulky Water-types and other weak special attackers. An alternative spread of 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe with a Timid nature can be useful with Substitute and Leech Seed; this allows Cacturne to get a Substitute up before opposing walls can hit it with status, but it comes at the cost of some survivability.</p>
<p>If you're planning to abuse Sand Veil with this set, Hippopotas support is obviously mandatory. A spinblocker such as Mismagius, Rotom, or Spiritomb is also highly recommended; they also provide an invaluable immunity to Fighting-type attacks from the likes of Hitmontop, which counters Cacturne easily. Cacturne's 4x weakness to Bug-type attacks makes it very vulnerable to U-turn users. Scyther is particularly dangerous, as it has Aerial Ace to bypass Sand Veil's evasion effect and is immune to Spikes. Registeel and other Steel-types therefore make great teammates with resistances to Bug-, Ice-, Poison-, and Flying-type attacks that Cacturne fears. Finally, bulky Water-types such as Milotic pair well with Cacturne, as they can sponge Fire-type attacks from the likes of Houndoom and Blaziken.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Cacturne learns Nasty Plot and has equal base attacking stats, so a special set with Dark Pulse, Energy Ball, and Focus Blast is just as powerful as the standard Swords Dance set. While this set does allow Cacturne to beat a couple of its usual counters, such as Weezing and defensive Hitmontop, Cacturne will have a very difficult time trying to sweep without the priority of Sucker Punch. With such low Speed and pitiful defenses, a Nasty Plot set is unlikely to land more than one attack, so you're almost always better off using Swords Dance.</p>
<p>Destiny Bond is always a nasty surprise for opponents, but Cacturne's low Speed makes it difficult to use. Superpower, Brick Break, and Drain Punch are alternative Fighting-type moves that Cacturne can use, but most of the Pokemon Cacturne wants to hit with a Fighting-type move are heavy Pokemon that Low Kick hits for 100 or 120 Base Power anyway. ThunderPunch can surprise Moltres on the switch, but it offers very little value otherwise. Poison Jab hits Tangrowth and other Grass-types slightly harder than Cacturne's other moves, but its overall coverage is disappointing. Needle Arm is Cacturne's signature move and comes with a nice 30% flinch rate, but Seed Bomb is significantly more powerful, and Cacturne is too slow to make good use of the secondary effect.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Hitmontop can fire off a Technician-boosted Mach Punch to easily OHKO Cacturne before it can do anything back, and it also has Rapid Spin to rid the field of any Spikes Cacturne has set up. Blaziken, Arcanine, and Toxicroak similarly dodge Sucker Punch with powerful priority attacks of their own, although they will take some serious damage in the process, as their priority moves will only 2HKO. Moltres can use Substitute to block Sucker Punch and resists all of Cacturne's other moves. Scyther's Aerial Ace ignores Cacturne's evasion boosts, and it also has Quick Attack to stop Cacturne from striking first with Sucker Punch. Weezing resists Seed Bomb and Low Kick and can cripple Cacturne with Will-O-Wisp or wipe out its boosts with Haze. If Cacturne lacks Seed Bomb, Ghost-types such as Mismagius can switch in with impunity and burn Cacturne with Will-O-Wisp or set up a Substitute and boost with Nasty Plot. Any faster Pokemon with Encore can force Cacturne out by locking it into Substitute or Swords Dance, although this should be done with caution, as you don't want to end up Encoring Spikes.</p>
<p>When Sand Veil is active, remember that none of these counters are guaranteed to succeed. There is a good chance (close to 80%) that you will miss at least once against a Cacturne that is spamming Substitute. Make sure your Cacturne counters are healthy enough to take a hit and still do their job, or you will find yourself furiously cursing at your opponent as Cacturne wipes out your team.</p>
