Cacturne is a humanoid, bipedal Pokémon that resembles a green scarecrow made of cacti. Its face has two eye holes through which yellow eyes can be seen, and six smaller holes representing a grinning mouth. It has numerous spikes along the length of its arms, legs, and around its neck. A pattern of green rhombi extends down the front of its body. A female has a large dark green rhombus above a smaller one, while a male has three small dark green rhombi. There is a triangular, dark green feature on its head that resembles a hat with spiky tips.
Cacturne is a nocturnal Pokémon that rarely moves during the day, which allows it to hold moisture. At night, it searches for prey or follows travelers until they become exhausted. Prior to Generation V, Needle Arm was its signature move. It has lived in deserts for so long that its blood has transformed into sand.
During the daytime, Cacturne remains unmoving so that it does not lose any moisture to the harsh desert sun. This Pokémon becomes active at night when the temperature drops.
If a traveler is going through a desert in the thick of night, Cacturne will follow in a ragtag group. The Pokémon are biding their time, waiting for the traveler to tire and become incapable of moving.
During the daytime, Cacturne remains unmoving so that it does not lose any moisture to the harsh desert sun. This Pokémon becomes active at night when the temperature drops.
If a traveler is going through a desert in the thick of night, Cacturne will follow in a ragtag group. The Pokémon are biding their time, waiting for the traveler to tire and become incapable of moving.
Cacturne, the Scarecrow Pokémon. Cacturne is the evolved form of Cacnea, and holds traits of both Grass and Darktypes. It rarely moves during the day, but is active once the temperature drops at night.
Cacturne first appeared in Talk About Timing, Treecko, under the ownership of Wally. He was first seen when he was rowing a boat during a flood caused by Kyogre.
Cacturne appears to based on a cactus, possibly the saguaro, and a scarecrow. It could be associated with the nighttime because cacti are known as night (CAM) plants, since their carbon dioxide fixation process occurs during the night. Its face is similar to a classic Halloweenjack-o'-lantern, referencing the tendency for scarecrows to have pumpkins for heads.
Name origin
Cacturne and Noctus may be a combination of cactus and nocturne (French for nocturnal).
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.