Pokémon Tentacruel

[Rosen]

approved by alexwolf

Tentacruel
#073
Water/Poison

80 HP / 70 Atk / 65 Def / 80 SAtk / 120 SDef / 100 Spe

Abilities: Clear Body/Liquid Ooze/Rain Dish[HA]

Level Up Moves:
Reflect Type
Toxic Spikes
Acid Spray
Hydro Pump

TM Moves:
Toxic
Venoshock
Ice Beam
Rain Dance
Hidden Power
Sludge Wave
Safeguard
Scald
Rest
Sleep Talk
Dazzling Gleam
Substitute

Moves Acquired by Breeding/Tutoring:
Confuse Ray
Haze
Knock Off
Mirror Coat
Rapid Spin

Potential Movesets:

Acid Spin (I'm so clever)
alexwolf (Tentacruel) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 236 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
- Acid Spray
- Scald
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin

Since TheShellderSmuggler is now a banned deucer, I will be taking over this thread ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Enjoy​

 

[Gladio]

Just a nitpick Rosen , but I think you swapped Tentacruel's Defense and Special Attack (had its defense really been base 80, we would see more physically defensive sets nowadays :P ).

Nitpickings aside, Tentacruel seems to be shaping up quite well in the ORAS metagame, as it provides much needed Rapid Spin support and works as a Bulky Water and as a Greninja check (watch out for Extrasensory) simultaneousely; base 100 Speed is also surprisingly high on a defensive Pokemon and it allows it to either set up Toxic Spikes/Haze/Toxic/whatever before getting taunted (although Tenta has quite the 4mss and fitting in any of these moves can be difficult) or even get a last ditch Rapid Spin/Knock Off against the likes of Defensive Rotom/Zapdos before succumbing to Volt Switch/Thunderbolt; Liquid Ooze is also pretty cool to cripple things like Leech Seed Ferrothorn and Giga Drain Mega Sceptile (the latter may have EQ though) and, last but not least, Acid Spray allows it to check dangerous boosters like CM Mega Sableye/Clefable/Slowbro and force switches, thus accumulating entry hazard damage on the opponent's side or spreading burns with Scald.

After testing it out a bit, I'd say it works pretty well with Defensive Lando-T and Clefable itself, as the former takes the physical assault aimed at the jellyfish and provides SR while the latter provides Wish+Heal Bell support to keep it healthy.

 

[TURBODERP]

Is it ever worth running a physically defensive set on this thing? I feel like no simply because you'll still lose to Exca and Lati-twins (with Psyshock or Tbolt) and your ability to come in on things like CM Clefable or Mega Sceptile/Venusaur gets hindered.

 

[Force Majeure]

I see Tentacruel (<3) as a Specially-defensive analogue to Alomomola, minus recovery prowess and susceptibility to Toxic, plus hazard setting and control.

I'm mostly posting to suggest that everyone try the Acid Spin set in the OP. Combined with hazard stacking (which is criminally unpopular in OU at the moment), this set forces QUITE A FEW switches, esp. slower physical Mons who get hit with Acid Spray on the switch, followed by Scald. It's wicked, and I love it.

Is it ever worth running a physically defensive set on this thing? I feel like no simply because you'll still lose to Exca and Lati-twins (with Psyshock or Tbolt) and your ability to come in on things like CM Clefable or Mega Sceptile/Venusaur gets hindered.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Tentacruel has pretty feh HP, so it really doesn't have the capacity to mix its defenses, unlike that bag of HP I keep talking about.

 

[TURBODERP]

I think you hit the nail on the head. Tentacruel has pretty feh HP, so it really doesn't have the capacity to mix its defenses, unlike that bag of HP I keep talking about.

Yeah, I just wonder if there are any neat benchmarks for avoiding OHKO's for some standard physical attacks we could reach with some Def investment without seriously compromising special bulk.

 

[Rosen]

tentacruel is best run with sdef investment, physical is still frail and is a waste of its great special bulk. pair it with something that can tank physical hits. chesnaught in particular has fabulous type and stat synergy with tentacruel, while also providing leech seed and hazard stacking support. they do share a psychic weakness, though, so something like jirachi, bronzong, or mega sableye work very well here. a birdspam check is a given requirement, so defensive lando-t or even rotom-h/w are also good things to consider. cleric support is nice too.

 

[silver97]

I see Tentacruel (<3) as a Specially-defensive analogue to Alomomola, minus recovery prowess and susceptibility to Toxic, plus hazard setting and control.

tentacruel is very different from alomomola, mola is probably the best wishpasser of the game and is an important part of stall/semistall teams, while tenta is good at controlling hazards. However the reasons why we don't see tenta anymore in OU are many: its main role was the defensive spinner, but with xy rapid spin has lost importance because of the tons of defoggers that are now able to clean the field from hazards and the only teams that need their hazards so they don't want to remove them with defog are offensive teams, which prefer to carry exca or starmie. Another role it had was the toxic spikes setter, but in today's meta 3/4 of the pokemons don't care about poisoning because they are immune/can heal it/are boosted by it. The nerf of rain also nerfed tenta as rainstall is not a viable archetype anymore so tenta lost a reliable form of recovery. The xy meta is fullfilled with absurdly strong attackers, especially physical attackers, and is difficult for a defensive pokemon to handle them if they lack a form of instant recovery, plus the most powerful of the meta have attacks to beat it (exca, greninja, lati@s...).

 

[BlueDryBones1]

Was wondering if I can get any opinions if I should change anything on the Tentacruel I've been using in case I should make any changes before I get one in-game?

Merri (Tentacruel) (F) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Rain Dish
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 240 HP / 192 Def / 60 SpD / 16 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Acid Spray
- Protect
- Rapid Spin
- Scald

Acid Spray hasnt been doing really anything for me. I feel Toxic/Ice Beam may be more useful as this thing just begs for MegaMences to switch in and use it as setup fodder. I can usually stop them but its then becomes very hard to send Tenta back in in fear it comes back so dont know if its worth it.

Its on a Rain Team. Only Politoed and Swampert on it can set up Rain so I tried to make it not heavily depend on it. I could add Rain Dance to this too but not sure if I'll need it as I've been fine with just my 2 rain setters.

You could argue Latias may be better for this role but I only want to use things I can breed in-game so want to stick with Tentacruel as it does well in the Rain and my team appreciates its typing.

Speed EVs are to outspeed Adamant Bisharp as it can 2HKO it in the Rain if I ever come across that situation. HP/Defense EVs are to avoid the 3HKO from Specs Keldeo SS if the Rain isnt up. Rest is put in SpD. Rain Dish b/c 1/8 HP per turn is nice as it helps it be able to Counter(apoligies if I used this term wrong) Greninja in the Rain if it doesnt have Extrasensory. Protect to help gain more recovery. Rapid Spin and Scald Self explanatory.

Its been doing pretty well so far but want some opinions before I go to get one in-game.

 

[silver97]

Was wondering if I can get any opinions if I should change anything on the Tentacruel I've been using in case I should make any changes before I get one in-game?

Merri (Tentacruel) (F) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Rain Dish
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 240 HP / 192 Def / 60 SpD / 16 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Acid Spray
- Protect
- Rapid Spin
- Scald

Acid Spray hasnt been doing really anything for me. I feel Toxic/Ice Beam may be more useful as this thing just begs for MegaMences to switch in and use it as setup fodder. I can usually stop them but its then becomes very hard to send Tenta back in in fear it comes back so dont know if its worth it.

Its on a Rain Team. Only Politoed and Swampert on it can set up Rain so I tried to make it not heavily depend on it. I could add Rain Dance to this too but not sure if I'll need it as I've been fine with just my 2 rain setters.

You could argue Latias may be better for this role but I only want to use things I can breed in-game so want to stick with Tentacruel as it does well in the Rain and my team appreciates its typing.

Speed EVs are to outspeed Adamant Bisharp as it can 2HKO it in the Rain if I ever come across that situation. HP/Defense EVs are to avoid the 3HKO from Specs Keldeo SS if the Rain isnt up. Rest is put in SpD. Rain Dish b/c 1/8 HP per turn is nice as it helps it be able to Counter(apoligies if I used this term wrong) Greninja in the Rain if it doesnt have Extrasensory. Protect to help gain more recovery. Rapid Spin and Scald Self explanatory.

Its been doing pretty well so far but want some opinions before I go to get one in-game.

imo setting rain manually is almost never worth it in OU cause you waste turns. Also, tentacruel cannot be used in the same way it was used in rainstall in bw, nowadays rain is an offensive playstyle that focuses on taking advantage of those 8 turns of rain to severely cripple the opposing team; that can't work if you stall out your own rain with such a passive set. The only reason i see tentacruel regaining some usage is because it is one of the few reliable switch-ins to greninja

 

[BlueDryBones1]

Well still running a Rain team so stuck with Rain Dish. Same set as before Tentacruel hasnt dissapointed me yet though I still am not finding enough uses for Acid Spray other than helping Heliolisk revenge kill but just doesnt seem worth it.

What are the uses for Acid Spray if anyone can give me some pokes its supposed to be used against. I know its for some stuff like Mega Bro and Clefable dont but they really bother the team much b/c I carry Encore for them to take advantage of their low speed and have stuff that can take all their common moves. When I do find them its usually Politoed who can take them out rather than Tentacruel. Scald/Protect/Rapid Spin are still important in most of the battles its in though. Even if its not so great to stall out the rain turns Protect increases its longevity so it can be used more in the battle but just dont really see much use for Acid Spray so dont know if its worth swapping out and for what.

 

[Yamborski]

 

[Derek Rebernik]

Bump.

Has anyone considered pairing this (max sp. def Cruel) with maybe an intimidate Krookodile? It seems on paper the two pair really well, and i feel like with the liquid ooze ability most of the grass around lately are draining moves, which is pretty sweet.

 

[Dovahhkiin64]

Personally i would run clear body on tentacruel just for the sake of effectively removing sticky web, and with knock off and prevent great threats from doing massive amounts of damage by getting rid of their item.

 

[Karxrida]

Personally i would run clear body on tentacruel just for the sake of effectively removing sticky web, and with knock off and prevent great threats from doing massive amounts of damage by getting rid of their item.

Sticky Web is not relevant enough to warrant running Clear Body, and the speed drop doesn't really stop you from spinning it away.

 

[robofiend]

tentacruel is best run with sdef investment, physical is still frail and is a waste of its great special bulk. pair it with something that can tank physical hits. chesnaught in particular has fabulous type and stat synergy with tentacruel, while also providing leech seed and hazard stacking support. they do share a psychic weakness, though, so something like jirachi, bronzong, or mega sableye work very well here. a birdspam check is a given requirement, so defensive lando-t or even rotom-h/w are also good things to consider. cleric support is nice too.

I honestly like Tenta better in a physically defensive role, its high spdef lets it take hits from Heatran, Clefable and Greninja even without investment. The added physical bulk gives it nice functionality in stopping Talonflame, who can be a problem for Lando-T: Will-O-Wisp burns are scary and being forced to run Stone Edge over other attacks like Knock off/U-Turn/Stealth Rock can be a pain. Even a +2 Brave Bird can't OHKO a physical def Tentacruel and scald does enough to KO when combined with Recoil/Rocks damage.

It's also a great check to the Fighting/Dark/Ice/etc. attack archetype, Conkeldurr can only knock off its sludge and Azumarill is usually just Tenta bait. It also makes Venusaur/Grassers cry by turning passive recovery like Leech Seed and Giga Drain into a loss of HP. It straight up laughs at stallers like Ferro, who can't stand to lose HP passively - especially when their opponent can spin away their spikes at will.

Tenta's ability to soak Greninja attacks (as long as it doesn't run Extrasensory) is another great reason to use it. It rapid spins, sets up Toxic Spikes and can even Knock Off Eviolite from Chansey.

Final thoughts:

It does great in stall as a hazard controller and with Chansey or Sableye (or both) as teammates it can keep from pesky balanced offense teams from racking up too much residual damage before trying to sweep. It also functions well in balanced offensive teams that need a Conk/Azu check that can enable Talonflame/Pinsir/etc. to sweep with RS.

 

[Karxrida]

I honestly like Tenta better in a physically defensive role, its high spdef lets it take hits from Heatran, Clefable and Greninja even without investment. The added physical bulk gives it nice functionality in stopping Talonflame, who can be a problem for Lando-T: Will-O-Wisp burns are scary and being forced to run Stone Edge over other attacks like Knock off/U-Turn/Stealth Rock can be a pain. Even a +2 Brave Bird can't OHKO a physical def Tentacruel and scald does enough to KO when combined with Recoil/Rocks damage.

It's also a great check to the Fighting/Dark/Ice/etc. attack archetype, Conkeldurr can only knock off its sludge and Azumarill is usually just Tenta bait. It also makes Venusaur/Grassers cry by turning passive recovery like Leech Seed and Giga Drain into a loss of HP. It straight up laughs at stallers like Ferro, who can't stand to lose HP passively - especially when their opponent can spin away their spikes at will.

Tenta's ability to soak Greninja attacks (as long as it doesn't run Extrasensory) is another great reason to use it. It rapid spins, sets up Toxic Spikes and can even Knock Off Eviolite from Chansey.

Final thoughts:

It does great in stall as a hazard controller and with Chansey or Sableye (or both) as teammates it can keep from pesky balanced offense teams from racking up too much residual damage before trying to sweep. It also functions well in balanced offensive teams that need a Conk/Azu check that can enable Talonflame/Pinsir/etc. to sweep with RS.

+2 252 Atk Sharp Beak Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tentacruel: 322-379 (88.4 - 104.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

:/

Tentacruel should not be used as your go-to answer for Conkeldurr, since its only form of recovery is Lefties.
Belly Drum Azumarill still wins since Knock Off is now legal with it (always OHKOs), so you're not even a check.

 

[Thunderorange]

Is it ever worth running a physically defensive set on this thing? I feel like no simply because you'll still lose to Exca and Lati-twins (with Psyshock or Tbolt) and your ability to come in on things like CM Clefable or Mega Sceptile/Venusaur gets hindered.

It walls azumaril and infernape lacking thunder punch? Physically defensive is probably crap but that is the best reason to run it I can think of.

 

[Breadley]

Perhaps a stupid question, but is Giga Drain ever viable on Tentacruel? The healing on it would probably be nice, but I suppose 80 SpA on a 75 BP move with no STAB is probably not super, and I guess the coverage on it wouldn't be very good.

 

[RandomBro]

i use assault vest tentacruel and it works nicely.

Tentacruel @ Assault Vest
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 SpAtk
Calm/Sassy Nature
-Sludge bomb
-Payback/Knock Off/Ice beam
-Hydro Pump
-Giga Drain

run a sassy if using payback/knock off or calm nature if your using ice beam. payback has the advantage of dealing heavy damage to psychic types like alakazam or ghost types like gengar. greninja is 2HKOd by payback if it uses extrasensory. knock off is for utility or you can use ice beam to hit dragons. sludge bomb and hydro pump are just STAB and giga drain is recovery which does acceptable damage to pokemon that it hits supereffectively.

 

[Vengeance417]

i use assault vest tentacruel and it works nicely.

Tentacruel @ Assault Vest
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 SpAtk
Calm/Sassy Nature
-Sludge bomb
-Payback/Knock Off/Ice beam
-Hydro Pump
-Giga Drain

run a sassy if using payback/knock off or calm nature if your using ice beam. payback has the advantage of dealing heavy damage to psychic types like alakazam or ghost types like gengar. greninja is 2HKOd by payback if it uses extrasensory. knock off is for utility or you can use ice beam to hit dragons. sludge bomb and hydro pump are just STAB and giga drain is recovery which does acceptable damage to pokemon that it hits supereffectively.

I'm sorry, but that set is just...bad. Extremely passive, no rapid spin and...Payback? Why? Giga Drain itself is a poor option at best. Assault Vest isn't the best item for tentacruel. Black Sludge and its support options such as Toxic Spikes make Tenta as good as it is.

 

[Kurona]

Assault Vest is really only good for bulky offensive 'mon with either bad or moderate special defence to patch up, like Conkeldurr or Azumarill. Sticking it on any random defensive 'mon is generally a very bad idea.

 

[Breadley]

Assault Vest is really only good for bulky offensive 'mon with either bad or moderate special defence to patch up, like Conkeldurr or Azumarill. Sticking it on any random defensive 'mon is generally a very bad idea.

Yeah, like, it can still use Rapid Spin, at least, but it's still not going to be wowing anyone.

 

[Derek Rebernik]

Maybe this would be cool?

Tentacruel @ Assault Vest
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 224 HP / 252 Def / 32 speed
Bold nature
-Acid Spray
-Giga Drain
-Scald
-Rapid Spin

 

[SojiX]

Recently I've been using this one :

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm nature
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic Spikes
- Knock Off
- Scald

Which is a standard set I believe, but works pretty well in the current OU meta (at least imo).

It's main purpose is to check greninja (beware of extrasensory) and spin.
Knock off does decent damage even with a calm nature, and toxik spikes/scald are pretty usefull.

 

[BlueLobster]

Maybe this would be cool?

Tentacruel @ Assault Vest
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 224 HP / 252 Def / 32 speed
Bold nature
-Acid Spray
-Giga Drain
-Scald
-Rapid Spin

It's cool, but 90% of good opponents would switch at -2 S.Deef and it's a steel heavy meta. It'd like to have a partial trapping move if going for acid spray gimmicks.