Iconic
10-25-2008, 11:50 PM
Tentacruel:
http://www.legendarypokemon.net/images/dp_artwork/73.png
Team Support:
Tentacruel @ Leftovers
Ability: Liquid Ooze
Nature: Calm (+Sp.Def, -Att.)
EVs: 204 HP/54 Sp.Att/252 Sp.Def
- Surf
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin/Knock Off
- Knock Off/Ice Beam/Sludge Bomb
Ah, good ole supporting Tentacruel, a solid team player in the OU metagame indeed. Our jellyfish friend learns some of the most useful support moves in the game, and its an added boost that you will find switching him in is relatively easy. Do your best to come in on Ice Beams, Flamethrowers and Surfs, while watching for Psychics, Earth Powers and Thunderbolts. Anyways, Surf is obviously your main attack since its backed by STAB. Youll almost always want to pack Toxic Spikes on your Tentacruel, since along with Forretress and Roserade, its one of the few Pokes who can set it up effectively (if at all). The third slot should be used for another supporting move. You should be choosing between Rapid Spin or Knock Off, two very useful moves. Since Stealth Rocks are so prevalent in the metagame, Rapid Spin is a solid choice to protect any Sashes you have on your team. It can also get rid of annoying Spikes that sap a lot of HP on your oncoming Pokes if you have the tenancy to switch a lot. Keep in mind that if youre afraid of Toxic Spikes, Tentacruel absorbs them every time he switches in. Knock Off can be an awesome move to have in your arsenal, since it not only removes your opponents item from play for the rest of the match, but it also may help in determining that Pokemons moveset. Your last slot can be used for a final attack, or Knock Off if you opted for Rapid Spin in the third slot. The arrival of the Platinum move tutors made Rapid Spin and Knock off legal together, which is huge plus for this set. However, only having Surf as your attack means youll be walled by Waters, Grasses and Dragons. Ice Beam handles Grasses and Dragons, but Bulky Waters still give you a big problem. Sludge Bomb can handle that problem, but youll need more Sp.Att EVs to really do any good damage. This is why Knock Off is probably your best bet, as this is more of a defensive set.
The EVs are really straightforward for this set. Pumping in 252 EVs with a Calm nature maximizes Tentacruels awesome Sp.Def. The HP EVs listed is Tentacruels optimal Leftovers recovery stat, which also means the remaining EVs can be allocated to Sp.Att to give Surf more of a bite. Leftovers is your item of choice for this set. Dont be fooled by putting Black Sludge on Tentacruel instead of Lefties. Since the Platinum move tutors gave a whole bunch of new Pokes Trick, it may seem like a good idea to have Black Sludge to damage the Tricker. This is true, but it also just means it can simply Trick the Black Sludge onto another one of your Pokes, which would really suck. Only use Black Sludge if youre restricted by Item Clause.
Swords Dance Sweeper:
Tentacruel @ Leftovers/Salac Berry/Liechi Berry
Ability: Clear Body
Nature: Jolly (+Speed, -Sp.Att.)
EVs: 46 HP/252 Att/216 Speed
- Swords Dance
- Waterfall
- Poison Jab
- Substitute/Natural Gift
Although Tentacruels Attack stat is inferior to his Sp.Att, Swords Dance certainly makes this set viable and potential deadly. Waterfall and Poison Jab are two solid STAB attacks, and they can do a lot of damage if you get a Swords Dance or two in. Substitute is somewhat of a filler, but it can be useful if youre going to Sub down to a boost or if you wish to Substitute on a switch. Substitute also walls certain Pokes, which may cause even more switches. If youre using a Salac or Liechi Berry, Natural Gift is an 80 BP Physical Fighting or Grass attack respectively, which can be very nice in terms of coverage. Regardless of her EV Spread, Blissey falls to a Salac Berry Natural Gift in two hits after a Swords Dance. Pick what you feel would be the best for your team. Youll want to maximize Tentacruels Attack and run a Jolly nature for this set. Giving him 216 Speed EVs puts you at 319 Speed, making you faster than all Pokes with base 95 Speed no matter the EV Spread. Youll then want to dump the rest of the EVs into HP. Clear Body is actually the ability of choice for this set so that your opponent doesnt bring in a Gyara or Mence to Intimidate you before you Sub up.
Rest-Talker (Crocruel?):
Tentacruel @ Leftovers
Ability: Liquid Ooze
Nature: Calm (+Sp.Def, -Att.)
EVs: 252 HP/6 Def/252 Sp.Def
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Toxic Spikes/Sludge Bomb
- Surf
Similar to how Crocune uses its bulk to set up while asleep, this set gives Tentacruel a better opportunity to set up Toxic Spikes than previous sets. This thing should be your status absorber, as you can either Sleep Talk if youre put to sleep or Rest if youre Poisoned, Burned, etc. The beauty of Crocruel (yes, thats what I will be calling it) is that youll be able to get your Toxic Spikes up when youre asleep, which is pretty much the selling point for this set. If youre mortally afraid of being walled, you can use Sludge Bomb instead of Toxic Spikes for a pure Rest-Talker. However, that means youd have to change your EV Spread and youd no longer be a Crocruel. Speaking of EVs, youll want to max his HP, since optimal Lefties numbers should be ignored due to the fact you have Rest.
Mirror Coater:
Tentacruel @ Leftovers
Ability: Liquid Ooze
Nature: Calm (+Sp.Def, -Att.)
EVs: 252 HP/6 Sp.Att/252 Sp.Def
- Mirror Coat
- Barrier
- Surf
- Knock Off/Toxic Spikes
A pretty cool set here. Tentacruel is one of the best Mirror Coaters in the game due to his fantastic ability to take a Special hit. Anyways, by boosting your Defense with Barrier, your opponent will essentially be forced to attack you on the Special spectrum. This is when you Mirror Coat them for, hopefully, a nice KO. Surf is listed so that you dont get Taunted your *** off. Knock Off can be used on a switch if you have a sufficient amount of Barriers. Alternatively, you can opt to set up with Toxic Spikes, but youll be hard pressed to find a good time to set up. Youll definitely want to pick Leftovers as your item to try to heal off as much damage you take. The EV Spread also makes you as bulky as possible on the Special side.
Choice Specs Sweeper:
Tentacruel @ Choice Specs
Ability: Liquid Ooze
Nature: Timid (+Speed, -Att.)
EVs: 46 HP/252 Sp.Att/216 Speed
- Surf/Hydro Pump
- Sludge Bomb
- Ice Beam
- Giga Drain/HP Grass
Tentacruel doesnt have too many options for a Choice Specs set, but the ones he does have a pretty solid. Surf is your main STAB attack, but Hydro Pump can hit harder. Hydro Pumps 85% accuracy is someone offsetting, so Surf is probably your best bet. Sludge Bomb is, again, a solid secondary STAB, but its only really good for Grasses. Ice Beam gives great coverage, and Giga Drain is for Waters. Hidden Power Grass is feasible for a more powerful attack, but Giga Drain is nice for healing. Pretty self-explanatory.
Annoyer/Staller:
Tentacruel @ Leftovers
Ability: Liquid Ooze
Nature: Calm (+Sp.Def, -Att.)
EVs: 204 HP/54 Sp.Att/252 Sp.Def
- Toxic Spikes/Toxic
- Confuse Ray
- Knock Off
- Surf
Thanks to his sturdy defenses and great annoying movepool, Tentacruel makes a nice Staller/Annoyer. Take your pick between Toxic Spikes and Toxic. Setting up some nice Toxic Spikes could, as always, screw over your opponents entire team. However, Toxic is a solid alternative if you have good prediction skills and figure a switch is coming. Confuse Ray is seriously one of the most annoying moves in the game, and combined with a badly poisoned Poke, your opponent will definitely be in a bad situation. Further add to your opponents annoyance by knocking off their item and youve got one angry foe! Surf is there to, again, prevent Taunters, and to also pile up some damage after youve poisoned, confused and knocked off your opponents Poke.
Other Options:
There really isnt that much else that wasnt listed. Tentacruel is probably sturdy enough to Haze, but youre better off utilizing his better support moves. Accupressure relies a lot on luck, but it can be useful to boost his defenses or Special Attack (keep in mind he already has Swords Dance and Barrier). Safeguard can protect the team, but Tentacruels got better options. Attract only gets mentioned if you wish to kill you opponent with annoyance on the Staller set.
Opinion:
Tentacruels a neat Pokemon with the ability to wall your opponent, on dish out a powerful hit in the process. However, probably the best thing about Tentacruel is how well he supports the team. Toxic Spikes, Rapid Spin and Knock Off can really be beneficial to your team, which means there are tons of reasons to bring Tentacruel into battle. However, his weakness to one of the most popular moves in the game, Earthquake, means hell have to be very careful switching in. Weaknesses to Thunderbolt and Psychic dont help either, but excellent Special Defense and resistances to Ice Beam, Surf and Flamethrower certainly make up for that.
Counters:
Tentacruel really doesnt like facing off against Bulky Waters. Suicune can come in on pretty much anything and start setting up Calm Minds like mad. Swampert, Quagsire and Gastrodon also wall or jellyfish friend if hes not carrying Natural Gift Grass, Giga Drain or HP Grass (which he rarely does). Bronzong isnt affected by Toxic Spikes, and can do anything ranging from Hypnosis to Earthquake (Crocruel somewhat counters it). Jirachi can do quite some damage, coming in and hitting Tentacruel with STAB Zen Headbutt or potentially Thunderbolt.
http://www.legendarypokemon.net/images/dp_artwork/73.png
Team Support:
Tentacruel @ Leftovers
Ability: Liquid Ooze
Nature: Calm (+Sp.Def, -Att.)
EVs: 204 HP/54 Sp.Att/252 Sp.Def
- Surf
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin/Knock Off
- Knock Off/Ice Beam/Sludge Bomb
Ah, good ole supporting Tentacruel, a solid team player in the OU metagame indeed. Our jellyfish friend learns some of the most useful support moves in the game, and its an added boost that you will find switching him in is relatively easy. Do your best to come in on Ice Beams, Flamethrowers and Surfs, while watching for Psychics, Earth Powers and Thunderbolts. Anyways, Surf is obviously your main attack since its backed by STAB. Youll almost always want to pack Toxic Spikes on your Tentacruel, since along with Forretress and Roserade, its one of the few Pokes who can set it up effectively (if at all). The third slot should be used for another supporting move. You should be choosing between Rapid Spin or Knock Off, two very useful moves. Since Stealth Rocks are so prevalent in the metagame, Rapid Spin is a solid choice to protect any Sashes you have on your team. It can also get rid of annoying Spikes that sap a lot of HP on your oncoming Pokes if you have the tenancy to switch a lot. Keep in mind that if youre afraid of Toxic Spikes, Tentacruel absorbs them every time he switches in. Knock Off can be an awesome move to have in your arsenal, since it not only removes your opponents item from play for the rest of the match, but it also may help in determining that Pokemons moveset. Your last slot can be used for a final attack, or Knock Off if you opted for Rapid Spin in the third slot. The arrival of the Platinum move tutors made Rapid Spin and Knock off legal together, which is huge plus for this set. However, only having Surf as your attack means youll be walled by Waters, Grasses and Dragons. Ice Beam handles Grasses and Dragons, but Bulky Waters still give you a big problem. Sludge Bomb can handle that problem, but youll need more Sp.Att EVs to really do any good damage. This is why Knock Off is probably your best bet, as this is more of a defensive set.
The EVs are really straightforward for this set. Pumping in 252 EVs with a Calm nature maximizes Tentacruels awesome Sp.Def. The HP EVs listed is Tentacruels optimal Leftovers recovery stat, which also means the remaining EVs can be allocated to Sp.Att to give Surf more of a bite. Leftovers is your item of choice for this set. Dont be fooled by putting Black Sludge on Tentacruel instead of Lefties. Since the Platinum move tutors gave a whole bunch of new Pokes Trick, it may seem like a good idea to have Black Sludge to damage the Tricker. This is true, but it also just means it can simply Trick the Black Sludge onto another one of your Pokes, which would really suck. Only use Black Sludge if youre restricted by Item Clause.
Swords Dance Sweeper:
Tentacruel @ Leftovers/Salac Berry/Liechi Berry
Ability: Clear Body
Nature: Jolly (+Speed, -Sp.Att.)
EVs: 46 HP/252 Att/216 Speed
- Swords Dance
- Waterfall
- Poison Jab
- Substitute/Natural Gift
Although Tentacruels Attack stat is inferior to his Sp.Att, Swords Dance certainly makes this set viable and potential deadly. Waterfall and Poison Jab are two solid STAB attacks, and they can do a lot of damage if you get a Swords Dance or two in. Substitute is somewhat of a filler, but it can be useful if youre going to Sub down to a boost or if you wish to Substitute on a switch. Substitute also walls certain Pokes, which may cause even more switches. If youre using a Salac or Liechi Berry, Natural Gift is an 80 BP Physical Fighting or Grass attack respectively, which can be very nice in terms of coverage. Regardless of her EV Spread, Blissey falls to a Salac Berry Natural Gift in two hits after a Swords Dance. Pick what you feel would be the best for your team. Youll want to maximize Tentacruels Attack and run a Jolly nature for this set. Giving him 216 Speed EVs puts you at 319 Speed, making you faster than all Pokes with base 95 Speed no matter the EV Spread. Youll then want to dump the rest of the EVs into HP. Clear Body is actually the ability of choice for this set so that your opponent doesnt bring in a Gyara or Mence to Intimidate you before you Sub up.
Rest-Talker (Crocruel?):
Tentacruel @ Leftovers
Ability: Liquid Ooze
Nature: Calm (+Sp.Def, -Att.)
EVs: 252 HP/6 Def/252 Sp.Def
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Toxic Spikes/Sludge Bomb
- Surf
Similar to how Crocune uses its bulk to set up while asleep, this set gives Tentacruel a better opportunity to set up Toxic Spikes than previous sets. This thing should be your status absorber, as you can either Sleep Talk if youre put to sleep or Rest if youre Poisoned, Burned, etc. The beauty of Crocruel (yes, thats what I will be calling it) is that youll be able to get your Toxic Spikes up when youre asleep, which is pretty much the selling point for this set. If youre mortally afraid of being walled, you can use Sludge Bomb instead of Toxic Spikes for a pure Rest-Talker. However, that means youd have to change your EV Spread and youd no longer be a Crocruel. Speaking of EVs, youll want to max his HP, since optimal Lefties numbers should be ignored due to the fact you have Rest.
Mirror Coater:
Tentacruel @ Leftovers
Ability: Liquid Ooze
Nature: Calm (+Sp.Def, -Att.)
EVs: 252 HP/6 Sp.Att/252 Sp.Def
- Mirror Coat
- Barrier
- Surf
- Knock Off/Toxic Spikes
A pretty cool set here. Tentacruel is one of the best Mirror Coaters in the game due to his fantastic ability to take a Special hit. Anyways, by boosting your Defense with Barrier, your opponent will essentially be forced to attack you on the Special spectrum. This is when you Mirror Coat them for, hopefully, a nice KO. Surf is listed so that you dont get Taunted your *** off. Knock Off can be used on a switch if you have a sufficient amount of Barriers. Alternatively, you can opt to set up with Toxic Spikes, but youll be hard pressed to find a good time to set up. Youll definitely want to pick Leftovers as your item to try to heal off as much damage you take. The EV Spread also makes you as bulky as possible on the Special side.
Choice Specs Sweeper:
Tentacruel @ Choice Specs
Ability: Liquid Ooze
Nature: Timid (+Speed, -Att.)
EVs: 46 HP/252 Sp.Att/216 Speed
- Surf/Hydro Pump
- Sludge Bomb
- Ice Beam
- Giga Drain/HP Grass
Tentacruel doesnt have too many options for a Choice Specs set, but the ones he does have a pretty solid. Surf is your main STAB attack, but Hydro Pump can hit harder. Hydro Pumps 85% accuracy is someone offsetting, so Surf is probably your best bet. Sludge Bomb is, again, a solid secondary STAB, but its only really good for Grasses. Ice Beam gives great coverage, and Giga Drain is for Waters. Hidden Power Grass is feasible for a more powerful attack, but Giga Drain is nice for healing. Pretty self-explanatory.
Annoyer/Staller:
Tentacruel @ Leftovers
Ability: Liquid Ooze
Nature: Calm (+Sp.Def, -Att.)
EVs: 204 HP/54 Sp.Att/252 Sp.Def
- Toxic Spikes/Toxic
- Confuse Ray
- Knock Off
- Surf
Thanks to his sturdy defenses and great annoying movepool, Tentacruel makes a nice Staller/Annoyer. Take your pick between Toxic Spikes and Toxic. Setting up some nice Toxic Spikes could, as always, screw over your opponents entire team. However, Toxic is a solid alternative if you have good prediction skills and figure a switch is coming. Confuse Ray is seriously one of the most annoying moves in the game, and combined with a badly poisoned Poke, your opponent will definitely be in a bad situation. Further add to your opponents annoyance by knocking off their item and youve got one angry foe! Surf is there to, again, prevent Taunters, and to also pile up some damage after youve poisoned, confused and knocked off your opponents Poke.
Other Options:
There really isnt that much else that wasnt listed. Tentacruel is probably sturdy enough to Haze, but youre better off utilizing his better support moves. Accupressure relies a lot on luck, but it can be useful to boost his defenses or Special Attack (keep in mind he already has Swords Dance and Barrier). Safeguard can protect the team, but Tentacruels got better options. Attract only gets mentioned if you wish to kill you opponent with annoyance on the Staller set.
Opinion:
Tentacruels a neat Pokemon with the ability to wall your opponent, on dish out a powerful hit in the process. However, probably the best thing about Tentacruel is how well he supports the team. Toxic Spikes, Rapid Spin and Knock Off can really be beneficial to your team, which means there are tons of reasons to bring Tentacruel into battle. However, his weakness to one of the most popular moves in the game, Earthquake, means hell have to be very careful switching in. Weaknesses to Thunderbolt and Psychic dont help either, but excellent Special Defense and resistances to Ice Beam, Surf and Flamethrower certainly make up for that.
Counters:
Tentacruel really doesnt like facing off against Bulky Waters. Suicune can come in on pretty much anything and start setting up Calm Minds like mad. Swampert, Quagsire and Gastrodon also wall or jellyfish friend if hes not carrying Natural Gift Grass, Giga Drain or HP Grass (which he rarely does). Bronzong isnt affected by Toxic Spikes, and can do anything ranging from Hypnosis to Earthquake (Crocruel somewhat counters it). Jirachi can do quite some damage, coming in and hitting Tentacruel with STAB Zen Headbutt or potentially Thunderbolt.