1000 Needles

1000 Needles is Cactuar's Special Shot in Mario Hoops 3-on-3. To perform it, the player must tap out an S shape.

Cactuar begins the shot by dribbling the ball in an S shape. The ball glows green, Cactuar throws it straight up and dives headfirst with the ball into the basket, spiraling as it goes. White "needles" explode in all directions. After the shot, it lands back on the ground and two 8-bit Chocobos orbit its head for a second.

If shot outside the three-point line instead of diving, Cactuar will jump, wind up its right hand, and punch the ball toward the hoop. When a teammate dunks it in, the white needles appear.

is a Blue Magic spell that Cactaurs can cast and characters can learn in the  series.

1000 Needles is also Cactuar's Special Shot in Mario Sports Mix. The same actions are for the ones for Mario Hoops 3-on-3, but opponents affected by the shot will have a small "1000" briefly appear over them, as if they had received damage in a Final Fantasy game.