Stats & Training
Tentacool's spread isn't flashy. Sp. Def leads, Defense trails, 1 stats clear the bar. Common in the wild and worth 1 Sp. Def EV, on a slow 1.25M XP grind.
Because its body is almost entirely composed of water, it shrivels up if it is washed ashore.
Tentacool Weakness
Tentacool is weak to Electric, Ground, and Psychic. 7 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 type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
 Lunatone RockPsychic | C | |
 Solrock RockPsychic | C | |
 Pachirisu Electric | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Pachirisu builds →Thunderbolt 2x58-69% Spark 2x83-98% | ||
 Cubone Ground | D | |
 Electrike Electric | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Electrike builds →Thunderbolt 2x73-87% Spark 2x83-98% | ||
 Rotom ElectricGhost | C | |
Obtain MethodOld Chateau Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Rotom builds →Thunderbolt 2x88-103%KO Shock Wave 2x59-70% Thunder Shock 2x44-52% | ||
 Gligar Ground | C | |
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
 Onix RockGround | C | |
 Gible DragonGround | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Gible builds →Earthquake 2x155-183%KO Sand Tomb 2x59-70% | ||
Rotom ElectricGhost | C | |
Obtain MethodOld Chateau Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Rotom builds →Thunder 2x108-127%KO Thunderbolt 2x90-107%KO Shock Wave 2x62-74% Thunder Shock 2x41-49% | ||
Gligar Ground | C | |
Graveler RockGround | C | |
Onix RockGround | C | |
Gible DragonGround | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Gible builds →Earthquake 2x160-189%KO Sand Tomb 2x59-70% | ||
 Bronzong SteelPsychic | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Bronzong builds →Dream Eater 2x86-103%KO Earthquake 2x127-151%KO Psychic 2x77-90% Extrasensory 2x70-82% | ||
Lunatone RockPsychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Lunatone builds →Dream Eater 2x97-115%KO Earthquake 2x90-107%KO Psychic 2x90-107%KO Confusion 2x52-62% | ||
Rotom ElectricGhost | C | |
Obtain MethodOld Chateau Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Rotom builds →Thunder 2x108-127%KO Dream Eater 2x64-77% Thunderbolt 2x90-107%KO Shock Wave 2x62-74% | ||
Gligar Ground | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Gligar builds →Earthquake 2x170-201%KO Dig 2x136-160%KO | ||
Gible DragonGround | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Gible builds →Earthquake 2x160-189%KO Dig 2x129-152%KO Sand Tomb 2x59-70% | ||
Bronzong SteelPsychic | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Bronzong builds →Dream Eater 2x79-95% Earthquake 2x125-148%KO Psychic 2x74-88% Extrasensory 2x66-78% | ||
 Gastrodon WaterGround | C | |
Obtain MethodCanalave City Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Gastrodon builds →Earthquake 2x177-209%KO Dig 2x143-170%KO Mud Bomb 2x61-72% Mud-Slap 2x22-26% | ||
 Quagsire WaterGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Quagsire builds →Earthquake 2x183-215%KO Dig 2x147-173%KO Mud Bomb 2x47-55% Mud Shot 2x41-49% | ||
Lunatone RockPsychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Lunatone builds →Dream Eater 2x93-111%KO Earthquake 2x86-102%KO Psychic 2x86-101%KO Confusion 2x49-59% | ||
Gible DragonGround | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Gible builds →Earthquake 2x154-183%KO Dig 2x124-147%KO Sand Tomb 2x58-68% | ||
Bronzong SteelPsychic | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Bronzong builds →Dream Eater 2x81-95% Earthquake 2x124-147%KO Psychic 2x72-86% Extrasensory 2x64-77% | ||
Gastrodon WaterGround | C | |
Obtain MethodCanalave City Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Gastrodon builds →Earthquake 2x177-208%KO Dig 2x143-168%KO Mud Bomb 2x59-70% Mud-Slap 2x20-24% | ||
Quagsire WaterGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Quagsire builds →Earthquake 2x182-214%KO Dig 2x145-171%KO Mud Bomb 2x46-55% Mud Shot 2x39-46% | ||
 Steelix SteelGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Steelix builds →Earthquake 2x182-214%KO Dig 2x145-171%KO Thunder Fang 2x80-94% | ||
Gible DragonGround | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Gible builds →Earthquake 2x156-184%KO Dig 2x124-147%KO Sand Tomb 2x57-67% | ||
Bronzong SteelPsychic | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Bronzong builds →Future Sight 2x99-117%KO Dream Eater 2x83-99% Earthquake 2x131-155%KO Psychic 2x75-89% | ||
Gastrodon WaterGround | C | |
Obtain MethodCanalave City Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Gastrodon builds →Earthquake 2x186-219%KO Dig 2x148-175%KO Mud Bomb 2x62-73% Mud-Slap 2x22-26% | ||
Quagsire WaterGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Quagsire builds →Earthquake 2x190-224%KO Dig 2x152-180%KO Mud Bomb 2x49-57% Mud Shot 2x42-50% | ||
Steelix SteelGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Steelix builds →Earthquake 2x190-224%KO Dig 2x152-180%KO Thunder Fang 2x83-97% | ||
Gible DragonGround | D | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Gible builds →Earthquake 2x163-193%KO Dig 2x130-154%KO Sand Tomb 2x59-70% | ||
In Platinum, Magnezone can KO Tentacool with Thunderbolt (135-159%). Gliscor threatens a KO with Earthquake (209-246%).
 Magnezone ElectricSteel | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityMagnetpull ItemLeftovers NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Magnezone builds →Thunderbolt 2x135-159%KO Explosion121-143%KO | ||
 Gliscor Ground | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityHypercutter ItemLeftovers NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Gliscor builds →Earthquake 2x209-246%KO Ice Fang23-27% | ||
 Celebi PsychicGrass | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityNatural Cure ItemLeftovers NatureBold Moves View Celebi builds →
| ||
 Jolteon Electric | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityVoltabsorb ItemChoice Specs NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Tentacool View Jolteon builds →Thunderbolt 2x179-210%KO Shadow Ball53-62% | ||
 Garchomp DragonGround | C | |
Ground is super effective against TentacoolView Garchomp → | ||
Platinum Evolution
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, Aurora Beam, Confuse Ray and 5 more to offspring.
Platinum Tentacool Best Moveset
Best Build
No build content available for this Pokemon in Gen 4.
Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.
Moves
Breeding opens up real options for Tentacool. Acupressure and Aurora Beam come exclusively from egg moves, and they're worth the effort. The rest of the kit covers basics through Hydro Pump and Sludge Bomb and Normal and Ice coverage and more.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Transfer Moves
Platinum Tentacool Locations
high spawn rates in mid-game water routes across 14 locations. Tentacool's one of the easier catches on the list. Knock it out fast and save your time for harder targets.
Best Locations to Catch Tentacool in Platinum
Tentacool won't take long. 14 surfing spots from Lv. 20-40 with solid rates across most of them. The top locations at each game stage are listed first.
Tentacool Guide
Tentacool evolves into Tentacruel at level 30. One evolution, no branching. Solid jump from 335 BST.
Tentacool evolves into Tentacruel at level 30. Takes some grinding. Plan your team around the mid-game wait.
In Platinum, 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.
Tentacool is catchable in Platinum. Check the Locations section above for specific routes, encounter rates, and methods. It also appears in 20 other games across the series.
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 1Y
Yellow - Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves