Desert travelers and the peoples of oasis communities have often reported being woken late at night by the sudden appearance of a light so powerful it illuminated the whole desert as though day had broken hours early, a light they call the desert sun. These miniaturized stars are produced by Cacturne, but are only created in dire situations, for their heat will immobilize the nocturnal user. Most commonly, the desert sun is used to immobilize other Cacturne, for these pokemon have a more quarrelsome temperament than even humans, and the sunlight can calm their tensions by forcing them to discuss matters and think things over.
Yet the light of the desert sun can be focused into a weapon just like the light of the true sun, an ultimate attack shared with many a grass pokemon albeit rarely used after dark. In times of drought, or when a Cacturne hunts pokemon under their protection, Cacturne can come into conflict with the powerful Flygon who fancy themselves guardians of the desert. A few Cacturne use it to finish off dangerous prey like Claydol or Sandslash, but few are willing to tolerate such heat for a meal for a moment longer than they must.
These bursts of light have become more common in the last few decades, for which the blame can be placed on the inexorable march of science. As soon as the desert sun was discovered by the outside world, researchers became fascinated by the fact that Cacturne create sunlight at night, a fact they often experienced firsthand when proud Cacturne tried to blind them to avoid capture. They still seek a way to use this light as an energy source, but no matter how many Cacturne they captured or experiments they tried, the lights remain all too short-lived.