- Attack
- 156
- Defense
- 74
- HP
- 137
100% CP
- Shadow RaidsLv20
- 709
- min 618
- Weather boostLv25
- 887
- min 773
- MaxLv50
- 1,404
- Lv40 1,242
At a glance
Basics
Shadow Cacnea is a Grass-type Pokémon. Its 100% IV CP is 709 at level 20 (Shadow Raids), 887 at weather-boosted level 25 and up to 1,404 at level 50. It is weak to Fire/Ice/Poison/Flying/Bug attacks (1.6×). It resists Water/Electric/Grass/Ground attacks. In raids, Sucker Punch + Grass Knot is its strongest moveset (level 40, 100% IVs). It evolves into Shadow Cacturne with 50 Candy. As your buddy, it earns 1 Candy every 3 km you walk together.
- Category
- Cactus Pokémon
- Buddy distance
- 3 km
- Second Charged Attack
- 60,000 Stardust · 60 Candy
- Max CP · Lv50 / Lv51 (Best Buddy)
- 1,404 / 1,421
- Shadow modifiers
- Attack ×1.2, Defense ×0.83 in battle (not shown in CP)
Cacnea lives in arid locations such as deserts. It releases a strong aroma from its flower to attract prey. When prey comes near, this Pokémon shoots sharp thorns from its body to bring the victim down.
All values are for Pokémon GO; main-series values are not listed. The Pokédex entry is the game's own English text.
Related tips
- Shadow Pokémon: when to purifyShadow Pokémon have 1.2× Attack but also take more damage, and they cost 1.2× Stardust and Candy to power up.
- How to read IVs and appraisalsIVs run from 0 to 15 for each of Attack, Defense and HP, and appraisal stars are set by the sum of the three (0–45).
- What to power up first (power-up priorities for beginners)Stardust is limited, so first power up strong counters you'll use for a long time across many raids.
Best movesetsLv40 · 15/15/15 IVs
- 1
Sucker Punch
Grass KnotBest100% efficiency13.4TDO 105 - 2
Sand AttackGrass Knot96% efficiency12.9TDO 101 - 3
Poison StingGrass Knot93% efficiency12.4TDO 97 - 4Sucker PunchSeed Bomb89% efficiency12.0TDO 94
- 5Sucker PunchTrailblaze87% efficiency11.7TDO 91
Top 5 of 15 movesets.
Raid and Gym efficiency against an ordinary neutral 5-star boss. DPS is damage per second, TDO is total damage dealt before fainting, and efficiency compares (DPS³ × TDO)^¼ with the top moveset. Shadow modifiers (1.2× Attack, 0.83× Defense) are included. Against a specific boss, moves of the types it's weak to do more.
Learnable moves
Fast Attack3
| Moves | Power | Energy | DPS | EPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sucker PunchBestDark · 0.5s | 5 | +6 | 10 | 12 |
| Poison StingPoison · 0.5s | 4 | +6 | 8 | 12 |
| Sand AttackGround · 0.5s | 4 | +7 | 8 | 14 |
Charged Attack5
| Moves | Power | Energy | DPS | DPE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grass KnotBestGrass · 2.5s · STAB | 90 | 50 | 43.2 | 2.16 |
| PaybackDark · 2s | 95 | 100 | 47.5 | 0.95 |
| TrailblazeGrass · 2s · STAB | 65 | 50 | 39 | 1.56 |
| Seed BombGrass · 2s · STAB | 55 | 33 | 33 | 2 |
 Brick BreakFighting · 1.5s | 40 | 33 | 26.7 | 1.21 |
- DPS is damage per second, EPS energy per second and DPE damage per energy. A Charged Attack costing 100 energy uses 1 bar, 50 uses 2 bars and 33 uses 3 bars.
- STAB (same-type attack bonus) applies to moves of the Pokémon's own type, which deal 1.2× damage (included in DPS, DPT and DPE).
Calculate with your Pokémon
Move the sliders or enter a CP and Shadow Cacnea's stats, move performance and power-up cost update instantly.
Enter the CP shown in the game to find the closest level for these IVs.
- Actual Attack
- 122.6
- Actual Defense
- 44.3
- Actual HP
- 90
Actual stat = (base stat + IV) × level multiplier. Shadow ×1.2 Attack and ×0.83 Defense are included (not in the in-game CP). Level 51 is the Best Buddy boost.
Move performance at these stats
Sand AttackGrass KnotBest100% efficiencyThis is the best moveset at these stats. That's 78% of the same moveset's DPS at Lv40 with 15/15/15.
Raid calculation against a neutral 5-star boss. * Exclusive moves need an Elite TM.
Power-up cost
- Stardust
- 270,000
- Candy
- 312
- Candy XL
- 0
Lv 20 → 40: 40 power-ups, CP 1,242 after
Based on the game's power-up cost table. Shadow costs 1.2× and purified 0.9× (rounded up per power-up); Lucky Pokémon pay half the Stardust. Event bonuses are not included.
IV rankings by leagueBy stat product
Shadow Cacnea only reaches CP 1,404 at level 50 with 100% IVs, so it can't reach this league's cap. In that case, higher IVs are better.
| Rank | Attack | Defense | HP | Level | CP | vs. #1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 50 | 1,404 | 100.0% |
| 2 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 50 | 1,396 | 99.4% |
| 3 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 50 | 1,399 | 99.2% |
| 4 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 50 | 1,395 | 99.2% |
| 5 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 50 | 1,396 | 98.9% |
| 6 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 50 | 1,387 | 98.8% |
| 7 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 50 | 1,391 | 98.6% |
| 8 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 50 | 1,386 | 98.6% |
| 9 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 50 | 1,390 | 98.4% |
| 10 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 50 | 1,388 | 98.3% |
Stat product = Attack × Defense × HP (up to level 50, excluding Best Buddy). It shows how long a Pokémon lasts under the same CP cap and doesn't include move matchups.
EvolutionFrom game data
- Base
- Shadow CacneaViewingBest movesSucker PunchGrass Knot
- Best moves are the top raid moveset at level 40 with 15/15/15 IVs.
Damage takenGO multipliers
- ×1.6
Fire
IcePoison
Flying
Bug - ×0.625
Water
ElectricGrassGround
Show all 18 types
Normal×1- Fire×1.6
- Water×0.625
- Electric×0.625
- Grass×0.625
- Ice×1.6
- Fighting×1
- Poison×1.6
- Ground×0.625
- Flying×1.6
Psychic×1- Bug×1.6
Rock×1
Ghost×1
Dragon×1- Dark×1
Steel×1
Fairy×1
Offensive matchupsBased on learnable moves
- GrassSTAB 1.2×Grass Knot · Seed Bomb · TrailblazeSuper effective ×1.6WaterGroundRock
- GroundSand AttackSuper effective ×1.6FireElectricPoisonRockSteel
- FightingBrick BreakSuper effective ×1.6NormalIceRockDarkSteel
- PoisonPoison StingSuper effective ×1.6GrassFairy
- DarkSucker Punch · PaybackSuper effective ×1.6PsychicGhost
Events1 past
No upcoming events are known yet.
- 2021.11.02Spotlight Hour: Cacnea · 2× Candy for catches