Is Tentacool Good in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Playthrough?
Surfing encounter throughout Sinnoh. Tentacruel tanks special hits well and has great Speed. Handles Flint well and tanks special hits from Lucian's team. More of a defensive pick than an offensive one.
Tentacool resists most of Roark's coverage and hits back hard.
Tentacool trades roughly evenly with Gardenia's team.
Tentacool trades roughly evenly with Maylene's team.
Crasher Wake's team hits Tentacool's weaknesses hard.
Tentacruel trades roughly evenly with Fantina's team.
Tentacruel has the type edge here and should clean up Byron's team.
Tentacruel has the type edge here and should clean up Candice's team.
Tentacruel trades roughly evenly with Volkner's team.
Tentacruel trades roughly evenly with Aaron's team.
Tentacruel trades roughly evenly with Bertha's team.
Tentacruel has the type edge here and should clean up Flint's team.
Tentacruel trades roughly evenly with Lucian's team.
Tentacruel trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Catch Tentacool on Route 205 (Surf, Lv 20-30, common).
Your Tentacool should hit Level 30 before you reach Fantina, at typical leveling pace.
How to Get Tentacool in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
Tentacool's scattered across 34 spots in mid-game water routes with high spawn rates. Check the list below for the closest location to wherever you are in the game. This one's quick.
Where To Catch Tentacool in BDSP
The path to Tentacool starts with Tentacool at Lv. 20-55 via surfing and walking encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.
Step 1Tentacool ✓Canalave CityLv.20-30Surfing on waterRate 60%Fuego IronworksLv.20-30Surfing on waterRate 60%Iron Island - OutsideLv.20-30Surfing on waterRate 60%Pastoria CityLv.20-30Surfing on waterRate 60%Route 205 - SouthLv.20-30Surfing on waterRate 60%Route 213Lv.20-30Surfing on waterRate 60%Route 218Lv.20-30Surfing on waterRate 60%Route 219Lv.20-30Surfing on waterRate 60%Route 220Lv.20-30Surfing on waterRate 60%Route 221Lv.20-30Surfing on waterRate 60%Route 222Lv.20-30Surfing on waterRate 60%Valley WindworksLv.20-30Surfing on waterRate 60%Bogsunk CavernLv.42-46GrassRequires Icicle BadgeFountainspring CaveLv.42-46CaveRequires Icicle BadgeRiverbank CaveLv.42-46CaveRequires Icicle BadgeStill-Water CavernLv.42-46CaveRequires Icicle BadgeSwampy CaveLv.42-46GrassRequires Icicle Badge
Step 2Catch or Evolve into TentacruelCanalave CityLv.20-40Surfing on waterRate 5%Fuego IronworksLv.20-40Surfing on waterRate 5%Iron Island - OutsideLv.20-40Surfing on waterRate 5%Pastoria CityLv.20-40Surfing on waterRate 5%Route 205 - SouthLv.20-40Surfing on waterRate 5%Route 213Lv.20-40Surfing on waterRate 5%Route 218Lv.20-40Surfing on waterRate 5%Route 219Lv.20-40Surfing on waterRate 5%Route 220Lv.20-40Surfing on waterRate 5%Route 221Lv.20-40Surfing on waterRate 5%Route 222Lv.20-40Surfing on waterRate 5%Valley WindworksLv.20-40Surfing on waterRate 5%Route 223Lv.35-45Surfing on waterRate 60%Sunyshore CityLv.35-45Surfing on waterRate 60%Pokémon LeagueLv.35-45Surfing on waterRate 35%Route 224Lv.40-55Surfing on waterRate 35%Bogsunk CavernLv.42-46GrassRequires Icicle BadgeFountainspring CaveLv.42-46CaveRequires Icicle BadgeRiverbank CaveLv.42-46CaveRequires Icicle BadgeStill-Water CavernLv.42-46CaveRequires Icicle BadgeSwampy CaveLv.42-46GrassRequires Icicle BadgeRoute 226Lv.40-55Surfing on waterRate 5%Route 230Lv.40-55Surfing on waterRate 5%or evolve from Tentacool (Step 1)
Tentacool Weakness
Tentacool is weak to Electric, Ground, and Psychic. 8 resistances give it solid defensive coverage on top of that. Tentacool's special bulk (base 100 Sp.Def) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Ground, Psychic |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Ice, Fighting, Poison, Bug, Steel, Fairy |
What is Tentacool Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Tentacool
 Marowak Ground | C | |
 Kadabra Psychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Kadabra builds →Dream Eater 2x118-140%KO Shock Wave 2x48-58% | ||
 Gastrodon WaterGround | C | |
 Hypno Psychic | C | |
 Mr. Mime PsychicFairy | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Mr. Mime builds →Dream Eater 2x104-123%KO Thunderbolt 2x62-74% | ||
Marowak Ground | C | |
Kadabra Psychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Kadabra builds →Dream Eater 2x116-138%KO Shock Wave 2x47-56% | ||
Gastrodon WaterGround | C | |
 Grumpig Psychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Grumpig builds →Dream Eater 2x93-109%KO Shock Wave 2x38-45% Bulldoze 2x47-56% | ||
Hypno Psychic | C | |
Marowak Ground | C | |
Kadabra Psychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Kadabra builds →Dream Eater 2x113-134%KO Shock Wave 2x46-54% | ||
Gastrodon WaterGround | C | |
Grumpig Psychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Grumpig builds →Dream Eater 2x91-108%KO Shock Wave 2x37-43% Bulldoze 2x48-57% | ||
Hypno Psychic | C | |
Marowak Ground | C | |
Kadabra Psychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Kadabra builds →Dream Eater 2x111-132%KO Shock Wave 2x45-53% | ||
 Chimecho Psychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Chimecho builds →Dream Eater 2x93-110%KO Shock Wave 2x38-45% | ||
Gastrodon WaterGround | C | |
Grumpig Psychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Grumpig builds →Dream Eater 2x88-104%KO Shock Wave 2x36-43% Bulldoze 2x46-55% | ||
Marowak Ground | C | |
 Jynx IcePsychic | C | |
Kadabra Psychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Kadabra builds →Dream Eater 2x111-132%KO Shock Wave 2x45-53% | ||
Chimecho Psychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Chimecho builds →Dream Eater 2x93-110%KO Shock Wave 2x38-45% | ||
Gastrodon WaterGround | C | |
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Garchomp can KO Tentacool with Earthquake (330-388%). Jolteon threatens a KO with Thunderbolt (179-210%). Alakazam's Psychic also KOs at 180-212%.
 Garchomp DragonGround | S | |
Recommended Build AbilityRough Skin ItemLeftovers NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Garchomp builds →Earthquake 2x330-388%KO | ||
 Jolteon Electric | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityVoltabsorb ItemChoice Specs NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Jolteon builds →Thunderbolt 2x179-210%KO Shadow Ball53-62% Volt Switch 2x139-164%KO | ||
 Alakazam Psychic | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityMagic Guard ItemLife Orb NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Alakazam builds →Shadow Ball53-63% Psychic 2x180-212%KO Focus Blast39-47% Energy Ball60-71% | ||
Tentacool Evolutions
Tentacool evolves into Tentacruel. It's a two-stage chain with the method shown below. A decent partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are average hatch time. Evolving adds up to 180 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Tentacool easily with 21 breeding partners from the Water3 egg group. Pass egg moves like Acupressure, Aqua Ring, Aurora Beam and 7 more to offspring.
BDSP Tentacool Best Moveset
100 Sp. Def is exceptional for a pre-evo but 40 Attack and 50 Sp. Atk at 70 Speed can't back it up offensively. Hidden AbilityRain Dish heals in rain. The moveset has Water and Poison TermStab defensively but evolving into Tentacruel unlocks B-tier with 120 Sp. Def.
Best Build
Support Moveset
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic Spikes
- Toxic
- Protect
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Breeding opens up real options for Tentacool. Acupressure and Aqua Ring come exclusively from egg moves, and they're worth the effort. The rest of the kit covers basics through Hydro Pump and Sludge Wave and coverage across 7 types.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Its body is mostly composed of water. It shoots strange beams from its crystal-like eyes.
It drifts in sea currents. Countless fishers are hurt by its poison stingers.
Tentacool Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Guide
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Tentacool does the job early-game if you need a Water/Poison type on your team. Evolve it into Tentacruel before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.
Game Availability
Tentacool has been part of the series since Red & Blue, appearing in 21 titles across all 10 generations. As a Gen 1 original, it's one of the most consistently available Pokemon in the franchise.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves