[OVERVIEW]
* Solid typing and Special Defense let Tentacruel reliably check Keldeo, Primarina, bulky variants of Scizor, and Volcanion lacking Earth Power.
* Tentacruel's access to Rapid Spin, Haze, and Toxic Spikes make it a very useful support Pokemon.
* A high Speed tier for a defensive Pokemon lets Tentacruel naturally outpace Primarina without investment and Adamant Bisharp and Adamant Honchkrow with very minimal investment.
* Tentacruel lacks reliable recovery, so it is prone to being worn down by repeated switches in.
* Decidedly average Defense even when invested means that Tentacruel can't reliably check Entei and Swords Dance Cobalion throughout a match despite resisting their STAB moves.
* It also has competition from Starmie and Mantine as a bulky Water hazard remover, since both have reliable recovery to boast over Tentacruel.
[SET]
name: Utility
move 1: Rapid Spin
move 2: Scald
move 3: Toxic Spikes
move 4: Haze / Acid Spray / Toxic
item: Black Sludge / Icium Z
ability: Liquid Ooze
nature: Timid
evs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 8 SpA / 16 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Rapid Spin removes entry hazards for Tentacruel's team.
* Scald threatens physical attackers with a burn and 2HKOes most Pokemon weak to Water.
* Toxic Spikes harasses defensive teams that lack a grounded Poison-type and annoys spinners like Mega Blastoise and offensive Starmie.
* Haze allows Tentacruel to fend off Swords Dance Scizor, Swords Dance Decidueye, and other slower boosters that can't threaten Tentacruel with an OHKO. It also provides a one-off healing move when used with Icium Z.
* Acid Spray reduces Special Defense by two stages and can force some extra switches to take advantage of Toxic Spikes. In particular, it allows Tentacruel to beat most variants of Calm Mind Clefable one-on-one.
* Toxic is another way to harass defensive teams more directly. In particular, it's Tentacruel's best means to punish Latias, Slowbro, and Mantine switching in.
* Sludge Wave is an option if a stronger Poison-type STAB move is desired.
Set Details
========
* The EV spread maximizes physical bulk while allowing Tentacruel to outspeed Jolly Decidueye and Jolly Bisharp in order to wipe away their boosts with Haze or threaten a KO before being hit by a boosted move.
* 8 Special Attack EVs guarantee the 2HKO on Entei without the need for entry hazards.
* Black Sludge gives Tentacruel a form of passive recovery and a way to punish Trick users.
* Icium Z used in conjunction with Haze is perfectly viable to give Tentacruel a one-time full healing move should Tentacruel's team not have a way to utilize Z-moves in an offensive manner.
* Liquid Ooze is the chosen ability as it punishes the use of draining moves on Tentacruel.
* A Timid nature with 136 EVs can be used to outspeed Nidoking and Kommo-o or 148 EVs to outspeed Adamant Entei and below.
Usage Tips
========
* Tentacruel should be used on more balanced and defensive teams that need a reliable answer to most variants of Primarina, Keldeo, and Volcanion.
* Try to have a more reliable answer to physically offensive Fire- and Fighting-types as even resisted hits from them will do a lot of damage to Tentacruel.
* Scald is generally safe to throw out whenever there are no entry hazards on the field to get rid of.
* One layer of Toxic Spikes is often enough to hamper opposing teams as two layers is typically quite difficult to get up in a match.
* Haze helps against setup sweepers such as bulky Swords Dance Scizor and Substitute + Calm Mind Keldeo.
* Acid Spray is generally used force switches and reduce the foe's chances to set up on Tentacruel.
* Toxic is the only way for Tentacruel to reliably pressure Latias, Slowbro, and Mantine, and should be used on the switch in, as Tentacruel cannot safely stay in on the former two.
Team Options
========
* Clefable is very nice for Wish / Cleric support. Also provides a secondary check to Keldeo variants with Hidden Power Electric.
* Krookodile has amazing defensive synergy, can set Stealth Rock, and threaten opposing Electric- and Psychic-types with its STAB moves.
* Hippowdon is a more defensive Ground-type that sets Stealth Rock and chases off Electric-types. It also pivots into Latias rather well with Special Defense investment.
* Setup sweepers that need some turns to become threatening, such as bulky Swords Dance Scizor and Substitute + Calm Mind Keldeo appreciate Toxic Spikes to wear down the opponent. Keldeo also appreciates not having to deal with Toxic Spikes, as Tentacruel absorbs them upon switching in.
* Pokemon that dislike Stealth Rock, namely Mega Aerodactyl and Choiced attackers like Scizor and Raikou appreciate not having to deal with the residual damage.
* Ghost-types that can reliably spinblock to prevent the removal of Toxic Spikes are helpful. Decidueye, Doublade, and Gengar can be useful to prevent Rapid Spin attempts by opponents.
* More reliable checks to Entei and Cobalion are helpful as Tentacruel takes a fair amount of damage from them despite its defensive investment and typing.
* Swampert, Latias, and defensive Arcanine can often check these threats reliably. Volcanion provides a 4x resistance to Sacred Fire and Flare Blitz from Entei and Iron Head from Cobalion, but has to be wary of Stone Edge from Entei and a possibly boosted All-Out Pummeling from Cobalion.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
============
* An offensive set with Hydro Pump, Sludge Bomb, Ice Beam, and one of Rapid Spin or Toxic Spikes can be used. It faces stiff competition from Starmie and Mega Blastoise as an offensive Water-type Rapid Spinner, however. Such a set should use Black Sludge or Expert Belt as the item with maximum Special Attack and Speed investment.
* Knock Off can annoy opponents by removing items but it's hard to fit in over other utility options.
* A specially defensive variant of the utility set can be used in order to have an easier time with Primarina and Volcanion, but this makes Tentacruel falter against Choice Specs Keldeo thanks to Secret Sword hitting for physical damage.
* Assault Vest may seem like a cute idea for a bulky offensive set with Mirror Coat to surprise the likes of Alakazam and Celebi, but the extra utility options in Haze and Toxic Spikes help sell Tentacruel over defensive Starmie.
Checks and Counters
==================
**Psychic-types**: Latias is a major pain for any Tentacruel set. It's immune to Toxic Spikes via Levitate, doesn't care for Scald burns, can Defog away Toxic Spikes, and can use any Tentacruel without Haze or Toxic as setup fodder. It can also just choose to OHKO with STAB Psyshock. Starmie, Alakazam, and Reuniclus are other notable Psychic-types that generally don't care about what Tentacruel can throw at them.
**Scald switch-ins**: Volcanion and Mantine can easily switch into Scald thanks to Water Absorb. Mantine can proceed to get rid of Toxic Spikes with Defog while Volcanion can punish Tentacruel heavily if it carries Earth Power or Hidden Power Electric. Celebi and Starmie have access to Natural Cure to heal burns or poison upon switching out and can threaten Tentacruel with Psychic-type STAB moves. Clefable has Magic Guard to absorb Scald burns but it also has a hard time doing anything in return and can be pressured by Acid Spray. Toxicroak is less common, but it can use Dry Skin to easily get in on a Scald and is immune to Toxic as well as absorbing Toxic Spikes.
**Lures**: Pokemon that Tentacruel typically checks such as Keldeo and Primarina are easily able to run coverage options to push heavy damage onto Tentacruel. Both can 2HKO Tentacruel with Hidden Power Electric and Psychic respectively, although Primarina is still forced out due to being slower and weak to Sludge Bomb. Volcanion is another key example with Earth Power and Hidden Power Electric both reliably 2HKOing Tentacruel.
**Guts Users**: Conkeldurr adores switching into status and can easily absorb a Scald burn or switch in after Toxic Spikes have been set in order to punish Tentacruel's team with powerful Guts-boosted attacks. Heracross isn't as common, but is still notable thanks to its high Attack stat and higher Speed tier.
**Physical Attackers**: Pokemon that can hit hard with physical attacks, namely Entei and Cobalion, are able to push heavy damage onto Tentacruel in spite of its resistance to their STAB moves. Krookodile, Swords Dance Gliscor, Mega Aerodactyl, and Zygarde-10% can also plow through Tentacruel with Ground-type moves.
**Entry Hazard Removers**: While not every Tentacruel will run Toxic Spikes, Empoleon, Latias, Mantine, defensive Starmie, and opposing Tentacruel can very easily get rid of the Toxic Spikes Tentacruel may set. All are either immune to Toxic Spikes or have a means to get around it and are also immune to or not bothered by Scald burns. Latias and Starmie are by far the best answers to Tentacruel thanks to their Psychic-type STAB moves. Empoleon and opposing Tentacruel are immune to Sludge Bomb poisoning while Mantine has reliable recovery to outlast Tentacruel and can wear it down with repeated Air Slashes, only fearing the rare Toxic.
* Solid typing and Special Defense let Tentacruel reliably check Keldeo, Primarina, bulky variants of Scizor, and Volcanion lacking Earth Power.
* Tentacruel's access to Rapid Spin, Haze, and Toxic Spikes make it a very useful support Pokemon.
* A high Speed tier for a defensive Pokemon lets Tentacruel naturally outpace Primarina without investment and Adamant Bisharp and Adamant Honchkrow with very minimal investment.
* Tentacruel lacks reliable recovery, so it is prone to being worn down by repeated switches in.
* Decidedly average Defense even when invested means that Tentacruel can't reliably check Entei and Swords Dance Cobalion throughout a match despite resisting their STAB moves.
* It also has competition from Starmie and Mantine as a bulky Water hazard remover, since both have reliable recovery to boast over Tentacruel.
[SET]
name: Utility
move 1: Rapid Spin
move 2: Scald
move 3: Toxic Spikes
move 4: Haze / Acid Spray / Toxic
item: Black Sludge / Icium Z
ability: Liquid Ooze
nature: Timid
evs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 8 SpA / 16 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Rapid Spin removes entry hazards for Tentacruel's team.
* Scald threatens physical attackers with a burn and 2HKOes most Pokemon weak to Water.
* Toxic Spikes harasses defensive teams that lack a grounded Poison-type and annoys spinners like Mega Blastoise and offensive Starmie.
* Haze allows Tentacruel to fend off Swords Dance Scizor, Swords Dance Decidueye, and other slower boosters that can't threaten Tentacruel with an OHKO. It also provides a one-off healing move when used with Icium Z.
* Acid Spray reduces Special Defense by two stages and can force some extra switches to take advantage of Toxic Spikes. In particular, it allows Tentacruel to beat most variants of Calm Mind Clefable one-on-one.
* Toxic is another way to harass defensive teams more directly. In particular, it's Tentacruel's best means to punish Latias, Slowbro, and Mantine switching in.
* Sludge Wave is an option if a stronger Poison-type STAB move is desired.
Set Details
========
* The EV spread maximizes physical bulk while allowing Tentacruel to outspeed Jolly Decidueye and Jolly Bisharp in order to wipe away their boosts with Haze or threaten a KO before being hit by a boosted move.
* 8 Special Attack EVs guarantee the 2HKO on Entei without the need for entry hazards.
* Black Sludge gives Tentacruel a form of passive recovery and a way to punish Trick users.
* Icium Z used in conjunction with Haze is perfectly viable to give Tentacruel a one-time full healing move should Tentacruel's team not have a way to utilize Z-moves in an offensive manner.
* Liquid Ooze is the chosen ability as it punishes the use of draining moves on Tentacruel.
* A Timid nature with 136 EVs can be used to outspeed Nidoking and Kommo-o or 148 EVs to outspeed Adamant Entei and below.
Usage Tips
========
* Tentacruel should be used on more balanced and defensive teams that need a reliable answer to most variants of Primarina, Keldeo, and Volcanion.
* Try to have a more reliable answer to physically offensive Fire- and Fighting-types as even resisted hits from them will do a lot of damage to Tentacruel.
* Scald is generally safe to throw out whenever there are no entry hazards on the field to get rid of.
* One layer of Toxic Spikes is often enough to hamper opposing teams as two layers is typically quite difficult to get up in a match.
* Haze helps against setup sweepers such as bulky Swords Dance Scizor and Substitute + Calm Mind Keldeo.
* Acid Spray is generally used force switches and reduce the foe's chances to set up on Tentacruel.
* Toxic is the only way for Tentacruel to reliably pressure Latias, Slowbro, and Mantine, and should be used on the switch in, as Tentacruel cannot safely stay in on the former two.
Team Options
========
* Clefable is very nice for Wish / Cleric support. Also provides a secondary check to Keldeo variants with Hidden Power Electric.
* Krookodile has amazing defensive synergy, can set Stealth Rock, and threaten opposing Electric- and Psychic-types with its STAB moves.
* Hippowdon is a more defensive Ground-type that sets Stealth Rock and chases off Electric-types. It also pivots into Latias rather well with Special Defense investment.
* Setup sweepers that need some turns to become threatening, such as bulky Swords Dance Scizor and Substitute + Calm Mind Keldeo appreciate Toxic Spikes to wear down the opponent. Keldeo also appreciates not having to deal with Toxic Spikes, as Tentacruel absorbs them upon switching in.
* Pokemon that dislike Stealth Rock, namely Mega Aerodactyl and Choiced attackers like Scizor and Raikou appreciate not having to deal with the residual damage.
* Ghost-types that can reliably spinblock to prevent the removal of Toxic Spikes are helpful. Decidueye, Doublade, and Gengar can be useful to prevent Rapid Spin attempts by opponents.
* More reliable checks to Entei and Cobalion are helpful as Tentacruel takes a fair amount of damage from them despite its defensive investment and typing.
* Swampert, Latias, and defensive Arcanine can often check these threats reliably. Volcanion provides a 4x resistance to Sacred Fire and Flare Blitz from Entei and Iron Head from Cobalion, but has to be wary of Stone Edge from Entei and a possibly boosted All-Out Pummeling from Cobalion.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
============
* An offensive set with Hydro Pump, Sludge Bomb, Ice Beam, and one of Rapid Spin or Toxic Spikes can be used. It faces stiff competition from Starmie and Mega Blastoise as an offensive Water-type Rapid Spinner, however. Such a set should use Black Sludge or Expert Belt as the item with maximum Special Attack and Speed investment.
* Knock Off can annoy opponents by removing items but it's hard to fit in over other utility options.
* A specially defensive variant of the utility set can be used in order to have an easier time with Primarina and Volcanion, but this makes Tentacruel falter against Choice Specs Keldeo thanks to Secret Sword hitting for physical damage.
* Assault Vest may seem like a cute idea for a bulky offensive set with Mirror Coat to surprise the likes of Alakazam and Celebi, but the extra utility options in Haze and Toxic Spikes help sell Tentacruel over defensive Starmie.
Checks and Counters
==================
**Psychic-types**: Latias is a major pain for any Tentacruel set. It's immune to Toxic Spikes via Levitate, doesn't care for Scald burns, can Defog away Toxic Spikes, and can use any Tentacruel without Haze or Toxic as setup fodder. It can also just choose to OHKO with STAB Psyshock. Starmie, Alakazam, and Reuniclus are other notable Psychic-types that generally don't care about what Tentacruel can throw at them.
**Scald switch-ins**: Volcanion and Mantine can easily switch into Scald thanks to Water Absorb. Mantine can proceed to get rid of Toxic Spikes with Defog while Volcanion can punish Tentacruel heavily if it carries Earth Power or Hidden Power Electric. Celebi and Starmie have access to Natural Cure to heal burns or poison upon switching out and can threaten Tentacruel with Psychic-type STAB moves. Clefable has Magic Guard to absorb Scald burns but it also has a hard time doing anything in return and can be pressured by Acid Spray. Toxicroak is less common, but it can use Dry Skin to easily get in on a Scald and is immune to Toxic as well as absorbing Toxic Spikes.
**Lures**: Pokemon that Tentacruel typically checks such as Keldeo and Primarina are easily able to run coverage options to push heavy damage onto Tentacruel. Both can 2HKO Tentacruel with Hidden Power Electric and Psychic respectively, although Primarina is still forced out due to being slower and weak to Sludge Bomb. Volcanion is another key example with Earth Power and Hidden Power Electric both reliably 2HKOing Tentacruel.
**Guts Users**: Conkeldurr adores switching into status and can easily absorb a Scald burn or switch in after Toxic Spikes have been set in order to punish Tentacruel's team with powerful Guts-boosted attacks. Heracross isn't as common, but is still notable thanks to its high Attack stat and higher Speed tier.
**Physical Attackers**: Pokemon that can hit hard with physical attacks, namely Entei and Cobalion, are able to push heavy damage onto Tentacruel in spite of its resistance to their STAB moves. Krookodile, Swords Dance Gliscor, Mega Aerodactyl, and Zygarde-10% can also plow through Tentacruel with Ground-type moves.
**Entry Hazard Removers**: While not every Tentacruel will run Toxic Spikes, Empoleon, Latias, Mantine, defensive Starmie, and opposing Tentacruel can very easily get rid of the Toxic Spikes Tentacruel may set. All are either immune to Toxic Spikes or have a means to get around it and are also immune to or not bothered by Scald burns. Latias and Starmie are by far the best answers to Tentacruel thanks to their Psychic-type STAB moves. Empoleon and opposing Tentacruel are immune to Sludge Bomb poisoning while Mantine has reliable recovery to outlast Tentacruel and can wear it down with repeated Air Slashes, only fearing the rare Toxic.
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