[Overview]
<p>Tentacruel is the epitome of the word ''utility,'' as it can lay down Toxic Spikes, absorb them, use Rapid Spin to remove entry hazards, and more. Tentacruel also has Rain Dish, an amazing ability that gradually heals Tentacruel in the rain, making it a perfect candidate for rain stall teams. In addition, Tentacruel is surprisingly fast for a defensive Pokemon—with a base 100 Speed stat, it can outspeed Pokemon such as Adamant Breloom. As if that wasn't enough, Tentacruel has little to fear from the dreaded Chandelure (except for the occasional Hidden Power Ground), unlike most other walls. That being said, though, Tentacruel easily falls prey to hard-hitting physical attackers. Tentacruel is also not immune to powerful special attackers, particularly Latios and Manaphy, both of which are major threats to rain teams. If you can keep these threats at bay, though, Tentacruel will serve your team well.</p>
[SET]
name: Utility
move 1: Toxic Spikes
move 2: Rapid Spin
move 3: Scald
move 4: Ice Beam / Protect
item: Leftovers
ability: Rain Dish
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Tentacruel can perform a wide variety of functions; this set prioritizes setting up Toxic Spikes and removing entry hazards from your side of the field. Toxic Spikes keeps many walls that would otherwise quickly set up on it away. As it is a grounded Poison-type, Tentacruel can also remove Toxic Spikes from your side of the field. For other entry hazards, it can use Rapid Spin. Scald is listed in the third moveslot due to its nifty burn rate, which helps remedy Tentacruel's pitiful Defense. In the last moveslot, Ice Beam is useful for nailing Grass- and Dragon-type Pokemon that would otherwise laugh at Scald and proceed to set up. However, with Tentacruel's average base Special Attack, Pokemon such as Latios and Latias can shrug off Ice Beam, which makes Protect an alternative choice. Protect is also great at scouting the foe's set, and it allows Tentacruel to recover health without worry.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Tentacruel is pretty damn fast for a defensive Pokemon, which is why 16 EVs are invested in Speed. These EVs allow the jellyfish to outspeed Adamant Breloom, which can be rather annoying due to Spore. Tentacruel's Defense stat is also a bit lacking, which is why the rest of the EVs go to it and HP. An alternative EV spread would be 252 HP / 240 SpD / 16 Spe with a Calm nature. The trade-off is that Tentacruel can wall special attacks better while becoming more vulnerable to physical ones. Another interesting spread is 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe, which allows Tentacruel to outspeed Adamant Dragonite and Mamoswine, Modest Chandelure, and other neutral-natured Pokemon with base 80 Speed. If you use this spread, you can also replace Scald with Surf, which will OHKO the latter two under the rain (Spikes or Stealth Rock is required to get an OHKO with Scald). As for abilities, Rain Dish should be your primary choice if you use Tentacruel on a rain team, which you probably should anyway; Rain Dish also allows Tentacruel to check opposing rain teams.</p>
<p>Speaking of rain, Politoed is a must-have teammate, as having it on your team is the easiest way to summon rain. Unfortunately, these Pokemon share a common weakness to Electric-type attacks, which is why Pokemon such as Zapdos and Raikou help tremendously. SubRoost Zapdos and SubCM Raikou are amazing sets to use with Tentacruel; Zapdos can chill out behind a Substitute as the foe succumbs to Toxic damage, and Raikou appreciates having Chansey and Blissey destroyed by Toxic Spikes. These two Pokemon also benefit greatly from the rain, so not having them on your team should be a felony. Other good teammates are Grass-type Pokemon such as Ferrothorn; not only can Ferrothron sponge physical attacks aimed at Tentacruel, it can also lay down Spikes. Setup sweepers also work nicely with Tentacruel. Manaphy and Serperior, for example, enjoy Toxic Spikes support and Tentacruel's bulk. Serperior can also shred enemy Manaphy to pieces with Leaf Storm, provided that the water pixie did not set up with Calm Mind. Finally, you might want to consider having spinblockers; after all, nothing is more frustrating than having your Toxic Spikes spun away over and over again. Jellicent is one of the best defensive spinblockers in the DW metagame; however, your team can have some serious problems with Electric-type attacks if you decide to use it on a rain team, so you might want to use another Pokemon, such as Dusclops or even Gengar.</p>
[SET]
name: SubToxic
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Toxic
move 3: Scald
move 4: Rapid Spin / Toxic Spikes
item: Leftovers
ability: Rain Dish
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 148 Def / 108 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Tentacruel's greatest problems are Jellicient and Ferrothorn; these two Pokemon take little or no damage from its attacks, and the latter is immune to Toxic Spikes. However, by using a clever combination of Substitute and Toxic, Tentacruel can easily defeat them and other would-be counters, such as Togekiss. Substitute blocks Ferrothorn's Leech Seed, Jellicent's Will-o-Wisp, and other status moves. The loss of HP will not bother Tentacruel because, with Leftovers and Rain Dish, it can regain the lost health in two turns under the rain. Meanwhile, as its counters try in vain to cripple it, Tentacruel can dish out some deliciously ironic revenge by crippling them with either Toxic or Scald. As a huge bonus, Toxic can also hit any Pokemon that has a Flying typing or the Levitate ability, such as Togekiss, Dragonite, and Rotom-W. The last moveslot is a toss-up between Rapid Spin and Toxic Spikes. Rapid Spin is an important move because entry hazards are ridiculously prevalent in DW. Toxic Spikes, though, is greatly appreciated by rain stall teams.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The 108 EVs in Speed allow Tentacruel to outspeed Jolly Breloom and quickly create a Substitute before it can use Spore. The rest of the EVs are placed in HP and Defense to buff up Tentacruel defensively, although feel free to move some EVs to Special Defense. Rain Dish is the preferred ability here, as it helps Tentacruel regain health faster. If your team has problems with Conkeldurr, Venusaur, or Ferrothorn, then you can opt to use Liquid Ooze. Remember, though, that without the extra HP recovery from Rain Dish, Tentacruel will have a tough time against foes. Tentacruel can run Protect in the fourth moveslot to prolong Toxic damage, as well as scout the foe and recover health.</p>
<p>Politoed is a given partner, as it is vital that rain stays in play for as long as possible. However, Tyranitar can easily waltz in and change the weather, which will seriously hamper Tentacruel. Politoed can actually defeat Tyranitar with a Choice Specs Focus Blast; otherwise, you should have Pokemon such as Scizor, Breloom, or Dugtrio that can check it. Two other counters that this set cannot beat are Vaporeon and Manaphy, as both of them can use Hydration to purge themselves of Toxic and burn. Vaporeon is stopped cold by Ferrothorn and is easily obliterated by Zapdos, Thundurus, and Rotom-W. These four Pokemon also have excellent synergy with Tentacruel and, in addition, benefit immensely from the rain. Manaphy is a lot tougher to take down; the best you can do is to send in a powerful Pokemon that can obliterate it with a super effective move before it sets up with Calm Mind.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Tentacruel has a lot of other interesting support moves to use, such as Haze, Magic Coat, Knock Off, and Confuse Ray. Unfortunately, all moves listed on the sets are crucial, so it will rarely have an opportunity to use them. Tentacruel could also use Pain Split as a form of pseudo-recovery, although it will be difficult finding a free moveslot to use it. Tentacruel has access to powerful moves such as Hydro Pump, Sludge Wave, and Giga Drain. It can use these moves to form an offensive Rapid Spin set; Tentacruel is surprisingly fast, and your opponent, mistaking Tentacruel as a defensive Pokemon, will be caught totally off-guard. Speaking of powerful moves, replacing Scald with Surf is not a bad idea if you are worried about burn overlapping with Toxic.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>While rain is a great boon to Tentacruel, it is also ironically its downfall. With rain, Manaphy can laugh off Tentacruel's attempt to poison or burn it with Hydration and pound it with Energy Ball until it faints. Thundurus and Zapdos are two other terrors brought by the rain. These two are immune to Toxic Spikes and can quickly fry Tentacruel with Thunder. Toxicroak is a rare rain sweeper, but it is a great Tentacruel check because it is immune to Toxic Spikes and Scald. However, Toxicroak cannot do a lot of damage to Tentacruel unless it sets up. Vaporeon is another monster from the deep that can check Tentacruel, as it also has Hydration to remove status in the rain.</p>
<p>Removing the rain also makes Tentacruel easier to take down. Tyranitar, for example, can neutralize Leftovers recovery with sandstorm and easily pummel Tentacruel with Earthquake or Stone Edge. Speaking of Earthquake, it is the deadliest move to use against Tentacruel; Pokemon such as Garchomp and Excadrill easily outspeed the jellyfish and can use Earthquake to destroy it. Grass- and Dragon-types have little trouble with any Tentacruel that does not carry Ice Beam. Even if it does, though, remember that Tentacruel has a shabby base Special Attack, so any Pokemon with decent special bulk, such as Venusaur, Latios, and Dragonite, can shrug off its attacks. As a bonus, Venusaur can even remove Toxic Spikes. If all else fails, try using a powerful physical attacker to take down Tentacruel. With a pitiful base HP and Defense, it will not last long.</p>
