Quote:
Originally Posted by Fat ZandgaiaX
Tentacool needs more love :(
A basic sp. defensive set with good support-options like scald, rapid spin, toxic spikes and knock off screw up so many pokémon :D
Not to mention it doesn't 'really' need eviolite all that much, unlike something like say wartortle. I have to mention that tentacool is only good on high-defensive focused teams though, being too slow and too weak in a straight fight to do much other than support/tank.
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I don't get what you're saying here. Tentacool doesn't "need" Eviolite like Wartortle does? What does that mean? Tentacool isn't very bulky
at all without the Eviolite. Wartortle is almost as specially bulky as Tentacool with equal investment. For example, Specs Altaria does 42.25 - 50% to specially defensive Tentacool with Draco Meteor and 43.16 - 51.24% to specially defensive Wartortle (each with Eviolite), so you're looking at about 2.4% less damage from special attacks on Tentacool's side. Meanwhile, Tentacool has hilariously bad physical bulk, and I do mean hilariously bad. Just to put this into perspective, SpD Tentacool is taking 49.29 - 58.09% from Scarf Sawk's Close Combat. SpD Wartortle, on the other hand, is taking 47.51 - 56.21% from the same attack, so Wartortle is so much bulkier on the physical side that it actually takes neutral attacks better than Tentacool takes resisted ones. Tentacool
absolutely needs the Eviolite. Otherwise, it's OHKOd by even resisted physical hits like CB Sawk's Close Combat with incredible ease. Heck, without the Eviolite, even Tentacool's special bulk is a little worse than that of an Infernape with equal investment. That's not a place you want to be if you're a special tank.
Even besides bulk, Tentacool suffers every problem ever attributed to Wartortle, except it's even worse. There are three main criticisms that I've seen of Wartortle (besides that it has no recovery, which Tentacool can't claim either). First, Wartortle is often criticized because it can't damage much with a low base 65 SpA stat. Tentacool is wielding a jaw dropping base 50 SpA stat, and it doesn't even have Seismic Toss or Night Shade to compensate like Wartortle and Frillish do. Second, Wartortle is criticized for being setup bait, but at least it can use Haze to eliminate any boosts even if the opponent is behind a Substitute, and it can use Seismic Toss to break a Substitute of any Pokemon with < 404 HP. It also has Yawn as an extra utility to either force a switch or effectively get a KO due to the screwy 5th Gen sleep mechanics, provided Sub is not an isssue. Tentacool has no such way of preventing the opponent from setting up on it. Third, people often claim that Wartortle is bad because it can't beat opposing spin blockers, but at least it can use Foresight to ignore them entirely. Tentacool has no such luxury, and it gets destroyed by the #1 spin blocker in NU, Golurk. At least Wartortle can take a hit from Golurk; physically defensive Wartortle can survive CB Golurk's Earthquake even after taking damage from Stealth Rock, 3 layers of Spikes, and poison from 2 layers of Toxic Spikes.
I'm sorry, Wartortle is mediocre at best, but Tentacool is absolutely awful.