Is Tentacruel Good in Red & Blue Playthrough?
Surprisingly good on the special side, with high speed to match. Tentacruel can take special hits that would KO most Water-types and outspeeds most of the E4. An overlooked pickup that performs better than its reputation suggests.
Brock's Pokemon outpace and outclass Tentacool here.
Misty's typing presses Tentacool's defenses.
Tentacool trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Tentacool trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Tentacool trades roughly evenly with Koga's team.
Tentacool trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Tentacruel resists most of Blaine's coverage and hits back hard.
Tentacruel resists most of Giovanni's coverage and hits back hard.
Tentacruel has the type edge here and should clean up Lorelei's team.
Tentacruel has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Tentacruel trades roughly evenly with Agatha's team.
Tentacruel trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Tentacruel has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Catch Tentacool
Catch Tentacool on Route 19 (Surf, Lv 5-40, common).
Recommended Moves
- After Misty
- TM11WaterBubble BeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Cerulean Gym Leader Misty
- After Lt. Surge
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Celadon Department Store roof
- After Erika
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- After Koga
- TM06PoisonToxicPower —Accuracy 85%PP 10Prize for defeating Fuchsia Gym Leader Koga
- After Sabrina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 90%PP 5Pokémon Mansion
- LV 48WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
Evolve Tentacool to Tentacruel
Tentacool evolves into Tentacruel at Level 30. Your Tentacool should hit Level 30 before you reach Blaine, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Misty
- TM11WaterBubble BeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Cerulean Gym Leader Misty
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Rocket Game Corner
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- After Erika
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- After Koga
- TM06PoisonToxicPower —Accuracy 85%PP 10Prize for defeating Fuchsia Gym Leader Koga
- After Sabrina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 90%PP 5Pokémon Mansion
- LV 50WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
How to Get Tentacruel in Red & Blue
Tentacruel only comes from a Tentacool that reaches level 30, with no wild form. Given how thickly Tentacool covers the water, the base form is never the hard part.
Catch Tentacool at any of these 9 spots to eventually evolve into Tentacruel.
Encountered via fishing with a Rod, Surfing
- 1Catch Tentacool
- 2Evolve Tentacruelat Lv.30
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Badge 7How to Obtain Tentacruel in RB
To get Tentacruel, start by catching Tentacool through fishing and surfing encounters at Lv. 5-40. The chain covers 1 catchable stage before reaching the final form.
Tentacruel Weakness
Electric, Ground, Psychic, and Bug moves hit Tentacruel for super-effective damage. 5 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Tentacruel's special bulk (base 120 Special) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Ground, Psychic, Bug |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Ice, Fighting, Poison |
- Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
- Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
- Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
What is Tentacruel Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Tentacruel
 Mewtwo Psychic | S | |
Obtain MethodCerulean Cave Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacruel View Mewtwo builds →Psychic 2x82-97% Thunderbolt 2x58-69% | ||
 Zapdos Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodPower Plant Interact Encounter | ||
 Hypno Psychic | C | |
 Jolteon Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacruel View Jolteon builds →Thunderbolt 2x64-76% Pin Missile 2x8-9% | ||
 Exeggutor GrassPsychic | S | |
 Magneton Electric | C | |
 Starmie WaterPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Staryu (Route 19 Super Rod) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacruel View Starmie builds →Psychic 2x57-68% Thunderbolt 2x40-47% | ||
 Slowbro WaterPsychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacruel View Slowbro builds →Psychic 2x57-68% Earthquake 2x55-65% | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacruel View Rhydon builds →Earthquake 2x129-152%KO Thunderbolt 2x22-26% | ||
 Kadabra Psychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacruel View Kadabra builds →Psychic 2x67-79% Dig 2x32-38% | ||
 Raichu Electric | C | |
 Nidoking PoisonGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Nidorino (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacruel View Nidoking builds →Earthquake 2x105-124%KO Thunderbolt 2x35-41% | ||
 Electrode Electric | B | |
Obtain MethodPower Plant Interact Encounter | ||
 Nidoqueen PoisonGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Nidorina (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacruel View Nidoqueen builds →Earthquake 2x97-114%KO Thunderbolt 2x32-38% | ||
Tentacruel Evolutions
You get Tentacruel from Tentacool at level 30. This Water/Poison-type hits 555 total stats and can't produce eggs. Special grew the most through evolution (+70 over Tentacool), and Tentacruel peaks at 555 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
RB Tentacruel Best Moveset
120 Special makes Tentacruel one of the better special tanks available. MoveSurf hits hard and MoveBlizzard adds Ice coverage. Poison typing adds nothing offensively but the Water TermStab and Special stat carry the weight.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Wrap
- Blizzard
- Toxic
- Surf
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Level-up moves are just the starting point for Tentacruel. TMs unlock Normal and Ice coverage and turn a straightforward STAB kit around Hydro Pump and Surf into something with actual range.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- 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.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM 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 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
All 20 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
The tentacles are normally kept short. On hunts, they are extended to ensnare and immobilize prey.
Tentacruel Red & Blue Guide
In Red & Blue, use Tentacruel as a sweeper. Splits damage between physical and special. It outspeeds most threats, Surf is the primary attack.
Game Availability
One of the original 151, Tentacruel has appeared in 21 games: nearly every mainline game. From Red & Blue through the latest titles, it's rarely been left out of a regional Pokedex.
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 7Let's Go
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
Explore
Where to go next after Tentacruel.
Keep playing · Red & BlueRed & Blue Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Red & Blue Tier List