Is Tentacruel Good in Yellow Playthrough?
Faster and specially bulkier than most Water-types. Tentacruel absorbs special hits that would KO Golduck or Seadra and outspeeds most of the E4. An overlooked option that outperforms what people expect.
Tentacruel resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Tentacruel trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Tentacruel trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Tentacruel has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Tentacruel trades roughly evenly with Koga's team.
Tentacruel trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Tentacruel resists most of Blaine's coverage and hits back hard.
Tentacruel has the type edge here and should clean up Giovanni's team.
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.
Catchable
Catch Tentacruel on Route 19 (Super Rod fishing, Lv 30, uncommon).
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
- LV 50WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
- After Koga
- TM06PoisonToxicPower —Accuracy 85%PP 10Prize for defeating Fuchsia Gym Leader Koga
- After Sabrina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 90%PP 5Pokémon Mansion
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
- LV 48WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
- After Koga
- TM06PoisonToxicPower —Accuracy 85%PP 10Prize for defeating Fuchsia Gym Leader Koga
- After Sabrina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 90%PP 5Pokémon Mansion
How to Get Tentacruel in Yellow
The Super Rod pulls Tentacruel at a few coastal spots, common enough in the 20-to-40 range. Catch a Tentacool while surfing and it evolves at 30 anyway.
3 locations to catch Tentacruel11 locations to catch Tentacool
Encountered via fishing with a Rod
Encountered via fishing with a Rod, Surfing
Badge 5
Badge 6Catch Tentacool at any of the 11 locations below, then level it up to 30 — it evolves into Tentacruel.
Badge 1
Badge 2
Badge 3
Badge 4 Badge 5 Badge 6Where To Catch Tentacruel in Y
Tentacool is your first catch on the way to Tentacruel. You'll find fishing and surfing encounters from Lv. 5-40 across 19 total spots in the chain.
- Step 1Catch TentacoolRoute 19Lv.5-40Surfing on waterRate 100%Route 20Lv.5-40Surfing on waterRate 100%Route 21Lv.5-40Surfing on waterRate 100%Route 11Lv.10-20Super RodRate 90%Vermilion City - CityLv.10-20Super RodRate 90%Route 17Lv.5-15Super RodRate 70%Vermilion City - HarborLv.10-15Super RodRate 70%Route 19Lv.15-30Super RodRate 60%Route 21Lv.15-30Super RodRate 60%Pallet TownLv.10-20Super RodRate 40%Cinnabar IslandLv.15-30Super RodRate 40%Route 18Lv.15Super RodRate 40%Route 13Lv.10Super RodRate 20%Seafoam Islands - B3FLv.20-40Surfing on waterRate 70%Seafoam Islands - B4FLv.20-40Surfing on waterRate 70%Route 20Lv.20Super RodRate 40%
- Step 2Tentacruel ✓or evolve from Tentacool (Step 1)
Not landing the catch? Calculate Tentacruel catch rates for Yellow by ball, status, and HP.
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
 Hypno Psychic | C | |
 Sandslash Ground | C | |
 Jolteon Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacruel View Jolteon builds →Thunderbolt 2x66-77% Pin Missile 2x8-10% | ||
 Exeggutor GrassPsychic | S | |
 Magneton Electric | C | |
 Slowbro WaterPsychic | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 12 Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacruel View Slowbro builds →Psychic 2x57-68% Earthquake 2x55-66% | ||
 Rhydon GroundRock | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacruel View Rhydon builds →Earthquake 2x130-153%KO Thunderbolt 2x23-27% | ||
 Kadabra Psychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacruel View Kadabra builds →Psychic 2x67-79% Dig 2x33-39% | ||
 Raichu Electric | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Pichu (Pallet Town Gift) | ||
 Nidoking PoisonGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacruel View Nidoking builds →Earthquake 2x106-126%KO Thunderbolt 2x36-43% | ||
 Nidoqueen PoisonGround | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacruel View Nidoqueen builds →Earthquake 2x97-114%KO Thunderbolt 2x33-39% | ||
 Dugtrio Ground | B | |
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
 Parasect BugGrass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Tentacruel View Parasect builds →Dig 2x66-79% Leech Life 2x21-25% | ||
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
Y Tentacruel Best Moveset
One of the higher Special stats in the format at 120, making MoveSurf and MoveBlizzard legitimate threats. The Water TermStab carries the offense while Poison adds nothing useful. Tanks special hits and fires back harder than most mid-tier Water-types. Bulk and power from the right stat.
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
Its 80 tentacles can stretch and contract freely. They wrap around prey and weaken it with poison.
Tentacruel Yellow Guide
In Yellow, 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 · YellowYellow Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Yellow Tier List