Cacturne vs Tropius

[Jedi Link]

Well, I'm thinking of my team for Sapphire, and either Cacturne or Tropius is likely to be my Grass type. So, what are the pros and cons of each Pokemon (difficulty of training,etc.)? What are their best moves? Also, what will be the first gym I could use them in? I don't want to have to get my Grass type too late.

(Remember, this is just an in-game team)

[ace]

I ASSUME that you can obtain a Cacturne first( i haven't got R/S tho, so my info is not confirmed) but the desert where you get cacnea and to evolve should come before you can get Tropius because Tropius is a big powerful pokemon that you probably can't get until late in the game whereas Cacnea is weaker so should be obtainable first.*Takes a breath* Basically i would hav thought u can get Cacturne first, and on the Cacturne or Tropius front... More people favour Cacturne cos of it's Spiking/sandstorming abilitities.

[Red Angel]

Try this for Tropius

And this for Cacturne

Stats & moves just one convenient click away... I'm lazy, ain't I?

[Nevermore]

Cacturne
Pros
- Cool type
- Grass/Dark useful against the Psychic and Water leaders, and also the Ghost-user in the Elite 4
- Can learn many useful moves for both in-game battling and use on a strategic team
- Much stronger than Tropius.
- You can get it about mid-way through the game, as soon as you enter the desert. After the fourth or fifth badge, I think?
Cons
- It's CREEPY!! But that might be a plus, depending on your perpsective.

Tropius
Pros
- Learns a wide variety of moves, including Whirlwind, Razor Leaf, Body Slam, Gust, Earthquake
- You can teach it Fly
Cons
- Its not as strong as Cacturne. As far as I remember, I don't think it has enough Attack stat to use Flying moves well. Since this is in-game you could still use it, but it would need more training.
- x4 Ice weakness is worse than Cacturne's x4 Bug weakness.
- It doesn't look all that appealing, to me at least.
- I don't know where you can get it o_o

Since it's in-game go with whichever one you like more, but if you like them equally Cacturne's the better Pokemon.

[rinku]

Tropius has better defensive stats, Cacturne has better offensive stats. However, since Tropius has STAB on Flying attacks, it isn't as far behind Cacturne in the physical attack department as it appears from just their raw stats. For the record, these are:

Cacturne:
HP70, A115, D60, S55, SA115, SD60

Tropius
HP99, A68, D83, S51, SA72, SD87

Go with whichever floats your boat. Sceptile is superior to both of them if you want a Grass type, IMHO, but pokémon preferences are very much about what appeals to you personally. Both have good, unique movesets.

[Aninymouse]

Tropius shows up once you get Surf and cross that small river, heading towards the Team Magma/Aqua building. he's kinds rare, and only shows up in the Tallest Grass, because he's so big.

actually, Jumpluff has his same type combo, and it was used EXTENSIVELY in GSC. and as far as in-game use, Tropius would serve you better, as:
1. it has much better defenses
2. doesnt need breeding to have best moves, saving time
3. there are almost NO ice types in-game, and few ice attacks
4. um, the guy has BANANAS! yeah!
5. he's faster than Cacturne

of course, Cacturne can do more damage, but he's very slow, and has bad defenses. people use him because he makes a superb annoyer, which wont be that special in-game.

up to you, though.

[Jedi Link]

Hmm...interesting. From the information given by Aninymouse and Nevermore, Tropius looks to be the winner (yes, bannanas are certainly a plus.) Now, I don't have the game yet, so when do you get Surf? Is about the same time as GSC (around the fourth badge)? If so it's perfect timing. Now, on to my Sharpedo decision...

[Onaicul]

I say use Cacturne. He has a good type and good moves. Toropius is alright but I like Cacturne better.

[Waru_no_Yami]

The two pretty much balance each other out... I'd assume Tropius is more of an all-out sweeper, whereas Cacturne can use more of a strategy. It's really just personal preference, though.

And yeah, Tropius is so cool! It's a BANANA TREE! That's just ingenius!

[rinku]

I probably wouldn't rate Tropius as a "sweeper" - his offensive stats are too low. His best move is Solarbeam, and he learns it naturally. Fly is his most powerful Flying attack, and probably preferred over Aerial Ace due to its in-game use. Probably a moveset something like this:

Solarbeam
Sunny Day
Fly/Aerial Ace
Synthesis/Whirlwind

Sunny Day, Solarbeam and Synthesis work well. He has enough HP and defenses to take a fair degree of damage, and if he's got Sunny Day out his trait doubles his speed, so it's almost a required move Hidden Power Fire would be an excellent addition if possible, since that adds another special type that gets boosted by clear weather.

He gets a place in Team Green, but then so does Cacturne

[Deck Knight]

You get Surf after beating the 5th Gym leader(your father, the guy with the Slaking, which says something right there O_O) and going to the house to the left of the Gym, and talking to the guy inside, and boom, you have Surf. Tropius is inm route 119, in the tall grass. Right before that tree house village. Beyond the treehouse village is where you can find Absol, a nifty dark type with 00berish attack.

[The Hobbit]

Did you know that Bananas will be extinct in 10 years. There is a parasite that is slowly killing them of.

Anyway, go with Tropius, he's awesome!

[Freegan]

Tropius!!!!...Tropius!!!!...Tropius!!!!

stomp
gust
solarbeam
razor leaf
magic leaf (or something)

[stickachu]

hmmm... Like everyone said, in-game, Tropius is probably better. For serious battling, I'd go with cacturne. Bananas!

[Jedi Link]

Bananas extinct? How horrible!

Well, thanks for the help. I have a similar question, but I don't want to get yelled at for starting a new just for it: What of Sableye? I've seen its stats and they're kinda...meh...but, hey, Pikachu is worse and in Yellow Pikachu won the Elite Four for me! I was thinking of putting our Dark/Ghost little friend for his great type combo and decent moves, but do his sorta low stats make him unusable in-game?

[rinku]

In-game, her three immunities, resistance to Poison and no weaknesses make her great. Her lowish stats don't affect her role as an annoyer/trapper, and her offensive stats are respecable enough for decent power STAB attacks. In particular, she can dole out a fair Shadow Ball hit.

If her stats were much higher, she'd be too good. As it is, she's a fair choice generally, and a good choice in an annoyer/trapper/thief role.