Tentacruel
Attack
Defense
Stamina
Best Movesets
Analysis
Tentacruel is typically an overlooked Pokemon in the normal games. But in GO, it's a defensive powerhouse, and Niantic’s CEO John Hanke’s favorite. For this very reason, we cannot rate it too low.
… Just kidding, we here at Gamepress/Pokebase are used to being ignored by Niantic!
Sadly, Tentacruel just lacks what it takes to be worthwhile. It's competing in one type that is legitimately very power, and another that's notoriously weak, and it can't really compete on either side of the equation. It's good on defense, but defense is largely a dead meta.
Offense
- Poison Jab and Acid are similar, though the former tends to pull ahead. Poison Sting falls behind.
- Hydro Pump is optimal for the raw power and STAB, but Sludge Wave creates a full Poison-type moveset.
- Blizzard is a solid move, but there are better candidates for Ice-type offense.
- Scald is a downgrade.
- Acid Spray is a terrible move in raids, and Payback has no real utility.
Defense
- Poison Jab is only slightly better than Acid for the damage; both are usable.
- Scald is the best Charge Move for defense due to its greater usage frequency as a 2-bar move.
- Hydro Pump, Sludge Wave, and Blizzard all take a very long time to access, and Tentacruel might faint before then.
- Acid Spray is meant for PvP.
- Poison Sting falls behind on defense, and Payback is too slow.
Tentacruel possesses amazing Fast Attacks. Poison Sting's high energy generation tends to be preferable as Tentacruel's Charged Attacks are rather expensive. Acid offers a better balance between damage and energy gains. Poison Jab is a good move, but slightly trails behind the other two in terms of performance.
The debuff chance, solid DPE, and (relatively) low cost of Scald make the move mandatory on Tentacruel. From here, a case can be made for multiple of Tentacruel's charged moves: Acid Spray works best with Acid, as the latter's higher damage synergizes better with the Defense debuff. Blizzard allows Tentacruel to super effectively threaten Flying and Dragon types which would otherwise beat it, particularly Giratina-A. Sludge Wave doesn't offer any additional coverage, but costs less energy than other options, hits hard with STAB, and improves matchups against Water-type opponents such as Feraligatr and Poliwrath. Hydro Pump is too expensive and is redundant compared to Scald. Finally, Payback has strong performance and counter-coverage, making it great.
Tentacruel has a small niche as an anti-meta specialist, sporting above average bulk, and a defensive Water/Poison typing. While its Poison moveset offensively doesn't provide a lot of value, especially compared to more energy-focused Poison Sting users such as Drapion, Tentacruel's reputation largely comes from its nuke-style plays. Access to very hard-hitting charge moves can make Tentacruel threatening, though only when shields are down. Unfortunately, it is almost entirely outclassed by many other options.
