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ohthehypocrisy · 5 months

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Cacturne for Pokemon Unite!

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Cacti plants are some of the coolest lifeforms on our planet, so a pokemon designed off of one is sure to be the peak of coolness. And it is. That holey smile and raggedy hat makes Cacturne out to be one cool cucumber, or should I say suave succulent? It also helps that Cacturne isn’t so edgy that it would be uncomfortable to look at. It’s spiky, yes, but not overly spiky that it isn’t unapproachable.

But can this needley nomad survive the dangerous trek through the perilous fields of Aeos Islands? Let’s find out!

While it boasts a very high pair of offensive stats, that isn’t enough to make Cacturne particularly suited for any feasible role in a pokemon team. Unfortunately, it is let down by low HP, low defenses, and very low Speed. Now, this is a very strange set of stats to give to a cactus pokemon, of all things, as the pokemon is based on the most defensively oriented plant known to humans. Looking at its moves and abilities paint a bigger picture, as this pokemon isn’t a passive prickler, but rather an opportunistic omnivore. It hunts for prey weakened by the desert heat, utilizing its Sand Veil ability to hide and its Dark typing to get the jump on enemies. While this hide-and-seek would be more fitting of a Speedster, the fact that Cacturne can employ sneak attacks along with powerful long range shots makes it best suited for the role of an...

Attacker

Basic Attack - Ranged/Attack

Spin around dangerously, flinging cactus spikes everywhere. Holding the button causes the attack to deal damage continuously at the cost of movement speed.

This basic attack damages all enemies within range. If the button is held down, the pokemon spins rapidly, damaging enemies nearby rapidly.

While holding the basic attack button, your movement speed is reduced by 30%. This factor remains constant even if you use speed boosters like Salac Berry or X Speed.

Tapping the button damages all enemies within range once and doesn’t reduce your speed. It is possible to tap the button with precise timing to continue attacking without losing speed, but the rate of damage is much slower this way.

The unfortunate rule of all ranged basic attacks is that you can only damage one enemy at a time per shot. The only exception to this is if a basic attack or boosted basic attack packs a small explosion effect that can damage multiple enemies at once, though even that effect can only hit an extra 2 or 3 targets.

As Cacturne clearly uses their spines for offense rather than defense, it breaks the mold by attacking literally everything all around it, allowing it to blanket an entire area with flying needles. This means that, in addition to the opposing enemy team, you can deal some great damage to any wild pokemon nearby, and the rate of damage is very high so you might also be able to secure objectives like Regieleki.

However, just using the attack cuts into your movement speed, as Cacturne cannot really control its speed while it’s spinning and attacking. This isn’t that great for a frail Attacker like Cacturne, as all it takes is a Defender to stomach a couple of hits before reaching you and hitting you really hard, possibly hard enough to KO you.

You have the ability to spread great damage within an area of effect, but you’re a frail Attacker with reduced movement speed, meaning you’re extremely susceptible to just about any counterattack. But as long as you’ve got back up and teammates distracting the enemy, you should turn out fine while contributing the most damage to the fight.

Although, why take part in the fight when you’d rather disappear like sand in the wind?

Ability: Sand Veil

When the pokemon is damaged from a move by the opposing team, the damage is negated and a torrent of whirling sand is created. The whirling sand deals damage over time to enemies within an area of effect and hides you and your allies as long as it is active. This ability goes on cooldown afterwards, but the cooldown can be reduced by Sand Attack, Sandstorm, or Destiny Bond.

Sand Veil reacts to damage from Moves used by the opposing team. Basic attacks and damaging abilities do not trigger Sand Veil. Wild Pokemon cannot trigger Sand Veil.

When activated, Sand Veil becomes an active area of damage that behaves like Tall Grass for you and your allies, but enemies will not be able to see you, even if they’re also in the area of effect. Anti-Invisibility effects will still reveal you and your teammates, however. The area of effect is moderately less than that of a Goal Zone and lingers for 6 seconds.

Enemies will have their vision obscured while within Sand Veil, and this obscuring effect cannot be cleared by Full Heal or other hindrance clearing effects, as it is an effect of the sand whirl lingering on the field rather than it affecting enemies. Umbreon’s Mean Look also affects enemies in the same way, as Full Heal does not allow targets to leave Mean Look.

Sand Veil also blocks the first hit of damage, but will not prevent any consecutive hits from damaging you. After activating, the ability goes on cooldown for 30 seconds.

Consequently, Sand Veil will not block hindrances or debuffs or other effects that activate on a confirmed hit, ie, Absol’s Night Slash sequencing into the second half of the attack, even if the first hit had its damage negated. If a sequence attack deals damage according to the amount of damage dealt in the first part of the attack, the damage calculation defaults to 1x damage.

Sand Attack, Sandstorm, and Destiny Bond reduce the cooldown of Sand Veil by a set amount each.

The damage inflicted on enemies through Sand Veil scales with your Attack stat and can be increased with items like Attack Weight or Weakness Policy. Speaking of which, since Sand Veil sets the damage to 0, it technically counts as damage, which triggers Weakness Policy as well as other item interactions.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re probably rolling your eyes at ‘another invisibility inducing effect, like we don’t already have enough of those’. Well, yes, Sand Veil does hide you and your teammates, but it’s not exactly invisibility. When you get hit by a move, Cacturne creates a whirl of sand that behaves like tall grass, except your enemies will be unable to see you, even if they’re also in the sand whirl.

As long as the ability is active, you get one free hit taken for 0 damage and some valuable cover for you and your team. Being able to completely negate damage is very rare in Pokemon Unite, but it helps an otherwise frail Attacker escape certain death in some situations. However, Sand Veil will only block the first hit of damage, meaning that any follow-ups will hurt all the same. It also means that you’ll still be struck with hindrances and debuffs, meaning Crustle’s X-Scissor can really mess you up. Perhaps it’s a good idea to pack Full Heal yourself to get out of sticky situations like this.

Still, the whirling sand is useful, as it not only obscures the visions of your enemies, but it also damages them too. The damage Sand Veil deals scales with your attack, so if you make it stronger through held items or emblems, it’ll really rack up the damage numbers for you.

Speaking of which, Cacturne knows some moves that combo very well with Sand Veil, as you’ll soon see.

At the start of the game, Cacturne will start out as Cacnea. You can choose between Growth or Sand Attack as your first move. By Level 3, you will have learned both.

Move 1: Growth (Buff)

The needles on your body sharpen and extend outward, boosting your attack and increasing the range of your basic attack for 5 seconds. Also deals increased damage to enemies that get close to you. 11s cooldown.

Growth boosts your Attack stat by 20% for 5 seconds and also slightly expands the range of your basic attack while the boost is active.

Enemies within melee basic attack range receive 1.25x more damage from your basic attack as well.

Because of how wide reaching your basic attack is, being able to power it up is what turns you from a dangerous ranged Attacker into a deadly one. With a 20% boost to your Attack stat, you’ll be putting your enemies through some unsolicited acupuncture therapy. Growth also expands the range of the basic attack slightly, meaning that you can reach a little bit further out and damage even more enemies.

It doesn’t make you any faster though, as that’s still a weakness. And while the extra range helps you beat out opposing ranged attackers, you’ll also be dealing bonus damage to melee attackers as well. Growth adds an extra 1.25x damage multiplier to enemies that get close to you while you’re attacking with the boost active, allowing you to very easily handle even the sturdiest Defenders in the early game.

Keep in mind that you’re still playing as a frail Attacker, and that the Growth boosted basic attack still leaves you vulnerable to being chased. You’re also still a Cacnea at this point in the game, so your defenses are even worse than your evolved form. Remember, you gotta use Sand Veil to your full advantage. Not just to protect yourself, but also to combo it with Sand Attack.

Move 2: Sand Attack (Debuff)

Hurl sand everywhere in all directions, damaging enemies and reducing the accuracy of their moves. If Sand Veil is active and Sand Attack is used within the area of effect, increases the size and damage of Sand Veil and reduces the cooldown of Sand Veil. 7s cooldown.

Sand Attack deals weak damage to all enemies within range and adds a 20% chance of their moves failing to deal damage to you and your allies for 4 seconds.

If used within an active Sand Veil, the size of Sand Veil doubles and reduces the cooldown of the ability by an additional 6 seconds.

Sand Veil also deals more damage and has its duration reset when Sand Attack is used within.

The accuracy dropping effect also applies to enemies hit by Sand Veil as it expands.

Pocket sand? Cacnea’s loaded with the stuff. Accuracy reducing moves are extremely rare in Pokemon Unite, as I’m pretty sure only Eldegoss’s Leaf Tornado+ can inflict such a debuff, if I recall correctly. Reducing the accuracy of your opponent’s moves can be very helpful, but you’re putting a lot of faith in chance to save your frail Attacker’s HP bar. It can be a big boon to your lane partner, but you’re better off combining the attack with Sand Veil.

If you use Sand Attack while inside Sand Veil, you’ll not only make the whirling sand even bigger, but you’ll reset the duration of the effect and reduce the cooldown of the ability. Creating a highly damaging whirl of sand can put some pressure on the opposing team, especially when combined with your basic attack boosted by Growth. That’s a lot of damage being thrown everywhere.

But it’s all still weak damage. Eventually, as the fight goes on, your stats will let you down, even if you boost them, so it’s time to power up and evolve.

At Level 5, Cacnea evolves into Cacturne. At the same time, Growth becomes either Spiky Shield or Needle Arm.

Move 1a: Spiky Shield (Buff)

Gain 15% shield. When the shield receives melee damage, the attacker receives the same amount of damage as well. If a ranged attack damages the shield, needles are ejected outward, damaging all enemies close by. If you are using your basic attack while receiving damage, a cactus thorn is launched in the direction of the attack, flying in a straight line and dealing double damage to any enemy hit. 9s cooldown.

At Level 11, Spiky Shield becomes Spiky Shield+.

Increases the amount of damage reflected back at enemies. Increases the amount of shield gained.

The shield gained scales with your HP. While the shield is active, all melee attacks and moves have their damage reflected to the attacker.

Receiving a ranged attack triggers the basic attack, dealing damage once.

While the shield is active and while you’re using your basic attack, a projectile thorn is launched in the direction of the received attack, dealing double damage to all enemies it hits. This thorn scales with your Attack.

Spiky Shield+ increases the shield gained to 25%.

In addition, all reflected damage, either from the damage received by the shield or through the thorn launched as a counterattack, deal 2.75x damage in response instead.

If Sand Veil nullifies the damage received, the counterattack deals damage based on the power of the attack that was nullified.

Piercing damage bypasses the shield granted by Spiky Shield, nullifying the move’s ability to deal counterattacks.

Cacti uses their spines defensively, so it makes sense that Cacturne can do the same thing too. While it doesn’t grant a big shield, especially with that low HP and defenses, the shield is tied to a unique counterattack effect where damage absorbed by the shield is reflected back through flying needles.

Melee attackers will find that the damage they deal will be reflected back at them if they don’t deal piercing damage. Ranged attackers will trigger your basic attack, or a single flying spine dart if you get hit while using your basic attack. Spiky Shield effectively grants you some extra buffs to your survivability and the amount of damage you can deal to enemies in a wide range. It may not grant you extra power like Growth does, but man does it really sting when any hit gets returned with a spray of needles.

However, Spiky Shield is tied to the shield it provides to you, which isn’t permanent. After a short while, the shield will disappear, along with all the protections and counterattack effects it offers you, and it has a pretty lengthy cooldown of 9 seconds before the move can be used again. Also, while the shield gives you some beef, you’re still a frail Attacker, so don’t expect it to save you from a full scale assault from the enemy team.

It’s best used against melee attackers that like to make drastic dives with their moves, like overconfident Speedsters. If you are playing with a team, you can provide some great covering fire as you aren’t as likely to be focused during the fight. And with all of those blind attacks being thrown out everywhere, you’ll be giving everyone pins and needles, yeesh!

Move 1b: Needle Arm (Buff/Recovery)

Enlarges the thorns on your arms, increasing your Attack and Movement Speed as well as the range of your basic attack. Dealing damage to enemies with your arms deals more damage and restores HP with each hit. 11s cooldown.

At Level 11, Needle Arm becomes Needle Arm+.

Boosts your movement speed even more while using your basic attack and while Needle Arm+ is active.

Needle Arm boosts your Attack by 35% and expands the range of your basic attack as well for 5 seconds.

Enemies damaged nearby will receive 1.3x more damage and will restore your HP equal to the amount of damage dealt.

Needle Arm nullifies the speed reducing effect of your basic attack and instead boosts your movement speed by 20% while using your basic attack. This movement speed boost only affects you while both your basic attack and the Needle Arm boost are active. Needle Arm+ increases your Movement Speed to 30% instead.

While Spiky Shield provides great protection in specific circumstances, Needle Arm just about improves on everything Growth provides and more. While it gives you more attack power, it’ll also drastically improve your movement speed. It effectively turns you into Petal Dance Venusaur, just with needles instead of flower petals.

Using your basic attack normally forces you to slow down, which can leave you vulnerable to Defenders that can outpace you or Attackers with long range skill shots. Needle Arm removes this self-inflicted limitation and instead makes you even faster if you power up with the move first before attacking. In addition to extra range, you can cover a lot of ground very quickly, giving everyone a lovely dose of needles.

Needle Arm also increases your close range ability as well, as it grants extra damage to enemies that get hit by your arms, you know, those spiky things on its side. Not only that, the close range attack restores your HP as it deals damage, meaning that you can very easily outpace melee attackers with raw damage and healing, despite being a frail Attacker yourself. You know, it’s probably because Cacturne is hydrating itself with sweat and tears shed by the enemy team. Yeah, that’s probably it...

While you do have a major boost to your speed and damage and can even trade HP bars with enemies up close, you’re still a frail Attacker and the boost of Needle Arm doesn’t last all that long. Also I should point out that Needle Arm as a buff is visible to players as it causes the spines on your arms to glow bright green. Savvy players will see that and stay out of range until the buff wears off, moving in to attack and possibly for the KO as Needle Arm takes 11 seconds to come off of cooldown. So just because Needle Arm is powerful, doesn’t mean you aren’t any less weaker as a frail Attacker.

Because it cannot be stressed enough just how frail this thing is.

At Level 7, Sand Attack becomes either Sandstorm or Destiny Bond.

Move 2a: Sandstorm (Area)

Summons a whirling cyclone of sand that Shoves all enemies back. The sandstorm hides you and your allies and damages enemies within for 7 seconds. If Sand Veil is active and used within the area of effect, the sandstorm drastically increases in size and also reduces the cooldown of the ability as well. 10.5s cooldown.

At Level 13, Sandstorm becomes Sandstorm+.

Increases damage dealt to enemies. Your attacks deal more damage to enemies if both you and the enemy are within the area of effect.

Sandstorm creates a massive whirlwind of sand that lingers in an area of effect for 7 seconds. Upon activation, all enemies are shoved back and you and your allies are hidden and cannot be seen by the opposing team, even if they’re also within the area of effect.

If used within Sand Veil, the sandstorm drastically increases in sand, encompassing a large area. When used in this way, the cooldown of Sand Veil is reduced by 10 seconds.

In addition, Sand Veil will have its duration reset to 7 seconds and deals 1.5x more damage to enemies within.

Sandstorm+ increases damage dealt to enemies by an additional 50%, used within or outside of Sand Veil.

If you and an enemy are within Sandstorm+, your attacks deal 50% more damage. This boost affects Sandstorm+ while it is active as well.

You know how when you come home from the beach, you’ll find little pockets of sand in every corner of your body? What’s up with that, anyway? Well, Cacturne’s entire body is filled with sand, I think. I mean, how else is it able to stir up a massive whirlwind of sand on the fly?

The move functions as a portable Sand Veil that you can summon on command without needing to take a hit. It brings out a giant whirl of sand that hides you from enemies and also deals moderate damage over time within the area of effect. While that’s all well and good, it’s even stronger if you manage to combine it with Sand Veil, in the same way as you could with Sand Attack. Within an active Sand Veil, you’ll triple the size of the sand whirl, covering a massive area and cutting down the cooldown of the ability by a large amount.

Combining Sand Veil with Sandstorm in this way is great, but it’s a little one-note. I mean, it deals more damage and covers a wide area, and can even keep you and your team hidden, even if the enemy team is also inside the whirling sand, but that’s it. It’s best use is to counter sure-hit moves like Cinderace’s Blaze Kick or Umbreon’s Mean Look, as sure-hit moves cannot be used without a visible target within range. Sandstorm protects you and your teammates from these moves, and can even be used to stall basic attacks from dealing damage, as these mash happy enemies won’t be able to aim their basic attacks without visible opponents nearby and may even be tricked into fighting Wild Pokemon for a bit.

Sandstorm+ has a beneficial upgrade in that, in addition to dealing extra damage to enemies within the sand, you’ll also be dealing extra damage if both you and the enemy are inside the whirling sand. And since you can summon a massive storm by combining Sandstorm with Sand Veil, you can cover the entire area with sand and needles, like an unfortunate car accidentally running into a cactus bush. All of a sudden, this frail Attacker has the enemy on the ropes as sand and cactus needles are flying everywhere, overwhelming the opposition.

But Cacturne is still an opportunistic hunter in some sense. So instead of kicking up a whirl of sand, what if it just approached you menacingly?

Move 2b: Destiny Bond (Buff)

A ghastly aura envelops the pokemon as its evasiveness increases drastically for a short while. When an enemy deals damage to you, a portion of the damage is negated and redirected and the enemy will have their vision obscured and their accuracy reduced for a short while. If Sand Veil is activated or if Destiny Bond is used within Sand Veil, the whirling sand follows the user as it moves, dealing more damage and further increasing your evasiveness. The cooldown of Sand Veil is also reduced by 7 seconds. 13s cooldown.

At Level 13, Destiny Bond becomes Destiny Bond+.

Movement Speed increases and a greater portion of damage is negated.

Destiny Bond grants you a 55% chance to evade damage completely for 4 seconds.

If any lucky hits lands, 50% of the damage received will be negated and returned to the attacker while Destiny Bond is active. Destiny Bond+ increases this to 75%.

In addition to negating damage, enemies will be inflicted with Vision Obscured for 2 seconds and have their accuracy reduced for 4 seconds. The accuracy debuff makes all moves 70% more likely to fail to deal damage.

If Sand Veil activates during Destiny Bond, the whirling sand follows you around as it goes, resetting the duration of Destiny Bond. If Destiny Bond is used within Sand Veil, the duration of Sand Veil is reset and will also follow you around.

In either case, Sand Veil deals 3x more damage to enemies within the area of effect and increases your evasion to 70%. Destiny Bond will also reduce the cooldown of Sand Veil by 7 seconds if both are combined.

Destiny Bond+ increases your Movement Speed by 35% while active.

While having what could be called the best basic attack in the game, Cacturne has extremely low HP and defenses so all it would take to stop your needle flinging shenanigans is a strong lucky hit to put you down. Learning Destiny Bond over Sandstorm means that you’ll be missing out on the protection of a super sized Sand Veil and won’t be able to cover a huge area with damage. While Spiky Shield and Needle Arm both grant you sizable boons to your basic attack, the fact of the matter is that your basic attack puts you in range of the enemy’s counterattack. And if you want to be able to damage multiple enemies, you’ll be putting yourself out there in the open, vulnerable to multiple counterattacks at once.

Destiny Bond fixes this issue by granting you a massive boost to your evasiveness, turning all damage into a 50/50 chance of getting hit or not. While a 55% chance of evading damage may not seem all that helpful, especially since the boon only lasts for 4 seconds, it also comes with its own counterattack effect. Any attacks that do manage to hit through the evasion boost will be halved, with the other half going back to the attacker. It works a lot like Trevenant’s Pain Split, except it doesn’t last as long but can effect multiple enemies at once.

Another boon it grants is an unconditional boost to your movement speed, which is really useful for spamming your basic attack. Combined with Needle Arm+ and an X Speed boost, and you’ll be casting a lot of damage really quickly, spinning around like a battle top.

You can keep powering up Destiny Bond even more beyond this, as the move can also combine with Sand Veil for a powerful AoE spell. Basically, if Destiny Bond or Sand Veil are used together, the whirling sand will follow you around for the rest of the duration, turning you into a scouring swirl of sand that also has an even higher evasion boost. It also reduces the cooldown of Sand Veil as well, though not nearly as much as Sandstorm would. However, 7 seconds is what you’ll be working with, especially combined with the high cooldown of Destiny Bond, which is an insane 13 seconds. It’s very high, but also very fair for a pokemon that’s supposed to go down in two hits, as any other pokemon would become broken if they also gained this evasion buff.

Destiny Bond is a powerful boost for a frail Attacker like Cacturne as it not only increases your survivability by increasing your evasiveness, but also allows you to combine it with either Spiky Shield or Needle Arm. It lets you risk making dives into the opposing team and helps cover your retreat, all the while working well with your ability, Sand Veil, and making you even harder to hit if you managed your ability resources well enough. There’s still a risk you’ll get popped for taking a lucky shot, but it’s a fair trade-off for being able to deal high damage to just about everyone in the immediate area.

But Cacturne is known for one thing, and that’s taking out exhausted travelers in the desert, catching them weakened and unable to fight back. When it becomes fully powered up, it becomes...the Desert Hunter!

Unite Move: The Desert Hunter

Upon activation, the user becomes invisible and remains so for the duration of the Unite Move. When the Unite Move is used again, the user will become visible and deal a charging attack, damaging enemies. If the enemy’s HP was low enough, the enemy will be instantly KO’d and the user will become invisible again. The duration of the Unite Move resets if this move successfully KO’s an enemy.

The invisibility effect of The Desert Hunter lingers for the duration of the Unite Move and will remain so even if the user is damaged by enemies. The Unite Move lasts for 15 seconds. However, enemies will know Cacturne is nearby when vulnerable players start ‘sweating’.

When used again, Cacturne will become visible and will use a charging chop attack to damage enemies, dealing massive damage. If this attack lowers the target’s HP to 10% or lower, the target is instantly KO’d.

Successfully KO’ing a target in this way resets the duration of the Unite Move, turning Cacturne invisible again.

This move does not deal piercing damage. The Unite Move immediately ends after failing to KO an enemy or when Cacturne is KO’d or when time runs out.

Ok so, I did technically lie when I said that Cacturne doesn’t get invisibility, as its Unite Moves makes it disappear for the entire attack. However, Gengar has nearly the same Unite Move, and it isn’t regarded as an invisible assassin or anything like that, though it probably should be.

Digression aside, while Gengar does get a pretty big Movement Speed boost for its Unite Move, Cacturne...doesn’t. I mean, it lasts a lot longer than Phantom Ambush, but it deals about the same damage. The real bonus you have over Gengar is being able to use this Unite Move again and again, provided you nab some cheap KO’s for yourself.

See, The Desert Hunter combines Gengar’s Phantom Ambush with Tyranitar’s Tyrannical Rampage, in that if you deal a big enough hit of damage to an enemy that it sends their HP to 10% or less, that enemy will be instantly KO’d. If you manage to score a KO in this way, the Unite Move starts over, allowing you to get another KO if you attack other weakened enemies. Of course, you cannot use any basic attacks or moves to make this easier for yourself, so you’ll have to rely on your teammates to do the dirty work for you before you can nab that KO.

The move makes you invisible during the entire attack, keeping the disguise up even if you get hit by a stray attack. Some attacks can expose you by confirming your location even while invisible, like Duraludon’s Stealth Rock or Decidueye’s Shadow Sneak, but you won’t be brought out of hiding even then. It’s when you attack and fail to KO that you’ll be brought back to reality, blowing your cover. You’re supposed to use your invisibility to wait for the opportune moment to move in and attack for the KO. That’s why the move runs for 15 seconds, to give you enough waiting time for your team to significantly damage an enemy and allow you to dive in for the KO.

Of course, this isn’t a Unite Move you can just throw out at any moment and have it benefit you. You’ll need to use it at the right time, near the end of an extremely damaging team fight or after you’ve pelted the enemy with needles, and sand. And while you can threaten an instant KO to weakened enemies, you’ll still have to aim the attack, which doesn’t do piercing damage. If you use the Unite Move too early, you’ll have to wait for your teammates to weaken the opposing team for you, since you can’t use any attacks while The Desert Hunter is active.

You’re able to deal a lot of damage, but if the enemy team returns your aggression, you’ll find yourself losing the battle more often than you win. Having teammates around not only makes it easier to deal damage, as your allies can run the opposing team’s aggro for you, but they can also hinder them, allowing you to use your basic attack with impunity and maybe even finish them off with The Desert Hunter.

After all, scarecrows may be difficult to approach, but they’re still made of straw. You just gotta watch out for the ones that move, though...

Achievements

Deal 9000 damage to the opposing team with your basic attack before you are KO’d.

Cacturne sets itself apart from every other ranged Attacker in the game with its unique and powerful basic attack, a damaging torrent of needles fired everywhere all at once. It only makes sense that the Achievement specific to the scarecrow pokemon is centered around that one button. While 9k damage may seem easy enough to rack up, as even Supporters can come out of games with 10k damage dealt in total, the added stipulation makes it a little tough for Cacturne to earn this achievement.

It requires that you deal over 9000 damage with your basic attack before you get KO’d, meaning you only get one life to build up that damage, which can be tough as a frail Attacker. In order to land this achievement, it’d make sense to try and use it against the enemy team when they are cluttered together, but that further increases the risk to your own health as any one of them can easily counteract and KO you before you can even land 1k damage. See, while Cacturne’s basic attack has a very high rate of damage, the multiplier is extremely weak, dealing around 50 or 60 damage per hit. It averages up to moderate damage when compared to other DPS (Damage Per Second) builds, but when you’re trying to earn this medal, it can get tricky to do so without covering fire.

Of course, you can just power up with your moves, as the Achievement doesn’t say that you can’t boost up with either Spiky Shield or Needle Arm, and that’s where it gets you. Playing Cacturne intelligently is about learning how to spread all of this damage safely, using boosts when they are beneficial, and playing well with your team that they can protect you just as much as you can protect them. With a unique basic attack, it is your greatest strength as a playable pokemon but also your greatest weakness, so mastering Cacturne is all about minimizing this weakness and dealing as much damage as you can in a single go.

And to do that, you’ve got to master Sand Veil as an ability as well. So you better polish up your disappearing act.

Holowear

Cacturne’s humanoid shape allows it to make any Holowear work well for it, but we gotta make sure that it doesn’t detract from the overall appeal of the pokemon. I mean, it’s a cactus, it already has trouble making friends with people.

First off, we have the obvious Farmer Style Holowear, giving Cacturne a frayed straw hat and plaid shirt and blue overalls, along with a sprig of wheat in its mouth. Then there’s Doctor Style Holowear that has it wear a head mirror, a fancy white suit, and has its pockets full of syringes and candy. Then there’s Knitting Style Holowear, giving it sturdy glasses, an apron stuffed with yarn and sewing needles, and has pieces of felt stuck to its spines. Western Style Holowear lets Cacturne wear a big cowboy hat, an oversized poncho, and a couple of belts underneath its clothing that are fully stocked with satchels of sand. And lastly, you can’t go wrong with Spooky Style Holowear giving the pokemon a hollowed out pumpkin for a hat, tattered overalls, and candy and candy wrappers stuck to its spines.

There’s a lot of potential for costumes with Cacturne, thanks to its humanoid shape and questionable methods of attack, so it’s sure to sell well any Holowear made for it.

Strategy

Cacturne lives and dies by its basic attack, which is a shame that it starts out so weak in the beginning of battle. Having to start out as the weak Cacnea, you’ve got a lot of grinding to do and quickly if you want to have a decent impact in the game.

Because of your ability to deal constant damage in an area around yourself, you can play well in any of the three lanes in the beginning of the match. Of course, you’ll have to run ahead of the Bunnelbys as they’ll run away from you, and using your basic attack as intended slows you down while you use it. Maybe you could lead off the round with an immediate boost of X Speed, just so that you can make it to the middle of the lane just in time to meet your opponents.

Once the fight actually begins, you’ll need to utilize Sand Veil properly, as it will always activate against the opposing team during the very first confrontation. You can use the resulting Sand Veil sand whirl to hide in, taking you and your allies out of sight, preventing things like Rowlet’s Astonish or Scorbunny’s Ember from actually being able to aim and hit you. It will also deal damage to enemies who activated Sand Veil with a melee attack, forcing them to take damage from the whirling sand as well as your basic attack. It’s all small numbers of damage, but it’s a lot of damage being thrown around all at once, which can be a lot for the opposing team to handle at the beginning of the game.

Of course, they’ll start to outpace you in strength and durability as the game progresses, so you have to make sure that you’re also on the level. Getting to Level 5 means evolving and then having to choose between Spiky Shield and Needle Arm, and both have their uses. Spiky Shield is useful against balanced teams, but Needle Arm can be very punishing against frail compositions like Speedsters and Attackers and fragile Supporters like Sableye. Needle Arm also gives you a speed boost when you’re using your basic attack, ignoring the movement penalty altogether, allowing you to give chase to weakened enemies. Spiky Shield does offer a shield that can also heavily damage aggressive enemies, which is useful if you’re good at capitalizing on the openings granted to you by Sand Veil.

Sandstorm and Destiny Bond are both meant to help you evade damage, with one acting as a manual Sand Veil and the other gives you a great evasion boost which puts your survival in the hands of fate. Both are also meant to be combined with Sand Veil, with the former drastically increasing the size of the whirl and the latter bringing the sand cover with you. Sandstorm can cause big problems to the opposing team if they like to fight together often, whereas Destiny Bond punishes pokemon that rely on burst damage to get their KOs. All 4 of these moves can be combined with each other, though it should be noted that Spiky Shield and Sandstorm forgo any of the Movement Speed boosts granted by their alternatives, though this combo makes it a nightmare for melee attackers to make a meaningful dive on your team.

Being able to spread all of this damage and soften the enemy team up is what makes Cacturne a unique Attacker in Pokemon Unite. Despite your frailty, if you manage to deal meaningful dents in the opposing team, you’ll have made it much easier for your team to follow through and go for the KO, unless they completely blank at the opportunity. But hey, they can very easily return the favor by weakening them just enough for you to get the most mileage out of The Desert Hunter, a powerful Unite Move that can instantly KO a weakened enemy, allowing it to KO again if successful. Breaking down the team’s defenses is a team effort, but just as the farmer harvests the fruit of his labor, the scarecrow wards off pests with the threat of a looming spray of needles.

A moving scarecrow is an efficient scarecrow. Don’t turn your back on it, now...

And that’s Cacturne for Pokemon Unite! I used to fancy myself a Grass Type fanatic back in the day, but my very first pokemon was Blastoise back in Pokemon Blue. While I love all pokemon equally nowadays (some more than others), I do have a particular fondness for Grass Types and their biodiversity, especially the ones in Gen 3.

That’ll be it for this post, but do keep your eyes open for some bonus content. You’ll see what I mean...

#Cacturne #Cacnea #Pokemon Unite

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