Tentacool is a Water/Poison-type Pokemon in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pearl, and many players will undoubtedly be interested in encountering it. Fortunately, it is not very difficult to find a Tentacool in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pearl, though fans will need to fulfill some prerequisites before they are able to do so. Fans can find details on those prerequisites, and how they are connected to locating a Tentacool, in this guide.
Updated on March 24, 2022, by Kirkland Fortner: So why do players want to be sure to capture Tentacool? Well, the obvious first answer is to complete the Pokedex. This game, after all, is centered around, "Gotta catch 'em all." However, there are many more interesting reasons that players will want to grab this incredible creature. So, we are updating this article with exactly why players want to find, catch, and train Tentacool.
Why Tentacool?
In short, other than just to complete the Pokedex, Tentacool is worth getting because of its evolution, Tentacruel. It doesn't take players long to find out that Tentacruel is a surprisingly good Pokemon despite how common it is.
To begin, its type combination is Water/Poison, 2 types that compliment each other surprisingly well. Defensively, it's very good. Only 3 weaknesses to Electric, Ground, and Psychic. In exchange, it has 8 resistances to Fairy, Fighting, Steel, Fire, Water Bug, Poison, and Ice, a very solid list of types to resist. The offensive side is also quite good, with this typing being able to hit Grass, Fire, Ground, Rock, and Fairy for super-effective damage. These are not at all bad types to hit effectively.
Tentacruel also has very good stats. It has very high Speed and Special Defense, with a usable Special Attack stat. The high Speed lets it take advantage of Water/Poison's good offensive prowess, and the high Special Defense makes it very annoying for any opponent to try to KO with Special moves.
As for the Abilities, Liquid Ooze makes it so opponents using HP draining moves take damage instead of healing. So, that one is incredibly situational. Rain Dish gives Tentacruel 1/16 of its health back if it's taken any damage as long as the Rain is up. So, that one is better, but still not amazing. This last Ability is the golden one, however. Clear Body has a simple, but very good effect. It blocks any and all stat reduction the opponent tries to throw at Tentacruel. This means Tentacruel cannot have its Attack/Defense/Speed etc. lowered by the opponent. This is a useful trait to have, as it makes Tentacruel impossible to weaken outside of Status Conditions.
How to Find Tentacool
The first step toward tracking down a Tentacool is to unlock Surf in Pokemon BDSP, a move that allows players to travel across the surface of water. Fans will obtain this move by speaking to an old woman in Celestic Town, and players that have not yet unlocked it should simply continue progressing through the game’s main story. These fans should also work to defeat the Hearthome City Gym Leader, as doing so will allow them to use Surf outside of battle.
After earning the ability to freely Surf, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl players should use the move to go out onto a body of water and float around until they engage with a Tentacool. There are several different areas where this can be done, and here is a list of locations that are home to waterways that fans should target:
- Canalave City (In the canal near the boat)
- Route 205 (South)
- Route 213
- Route 218
- Route 219
- Route 220
- Route 221
- Route 222
While players that spend some time on these routes should find a Tentacool quite easily, fans that are not having any luck may want to try another option. More specifically, Adrian, a Trainer that is found on Route 220, will occasionally bring one of these jellyfish Pokemon to battle. Again, it should not be necessary for fans to turn to Adrian for their Tentacool encounters, but players that are trying to unlock the National Pokedex in Pokemon BDSP should be aware of this opportunity nonetheless.
Regardless of how a player ultimately encounters a Tentacool in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, they should be able to catch it with almost any ball that they have at their disposal. From there, fans can evolve the Pokemon into Tentacruel simply by getting it to Level 30, a very simple task indeed. In fact, the most complicated part of this whole process is earning Surf, and players should now be quite clear on exactly how that is done.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are available now on the Switch.