Gen 1 Tentacruel Revamp (UU) [QC 2/2] [GP 2/2]

Shellnuts

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[OVERVIEW]

Tentacruel is unquestionably the defining threat of RBY UU, shaping every facet of the tier and dictating the viability of many Pokemon. Access to Wrap combined with its incredible base 100 Speed gives it nigh-unmatched utility in nearly every game. Tentacruel's Wrap shapes the identity of RBY UU, defining offensive and defensive play in the tier. Wrap wears down foes and gains momentum by pivoting while they're immobilized, and Tentacruel's many strengths accentuate these positives. Its high Speed and Wrap give it the advantage in most one-on-one interactions: against any slower foe, Tentacruel can just use Wrap and switch as the move expires, giving its team free chip damage and a free switch. This strategy has no good short-term counterplay: switching a faster Pokemon or Haunter into Wrap won't let it punish Tentacruel, making it very hard to punish and gain momentum against Tentacruel. Tentacruel also easily switches in on the tier's many Surfs and Blizzards from threats like Vaporeon, Dewgong, and Articuno. With all these switch-in chances, Tentacruel gets on the field often, and since most Pokemon are slower and thus completely shut down by Wrap, Tentacruel is hard to force out too. This longevity and pressure is made even more potent if Tentacruel chooses to run Rest to stick around even longer and avoid getting worn down. All this field presence, chip damage, momentum, and safe pivoting for offensive teammates lets Tentacruel immensely pressure defensive Pokemon. Finally, not only does Wrap prevent defensive Pokemon from healing during its duration, but Tentacruel can run Swords Dance to emphasize this pressure even more.

Tentacruel's many positive attributes support its Wrap, but they also have their own critical applications. With its base 120 Special, which is tied for the second-highest in the tier, STAB Surf or Hydro Pump, and good coverage with Blizzard, Tentacruel is an offensive behemoth. Its STAB moves deal significant damage to Kangaskhan, Omastar, Haunter, and Kadabra, while Blizzard hits Dodrio, Dragonite, Venusaur, Victreebel, and Tangela hard, if it doesn't just OHKO them outright. This wide coverage with Tentacruel's high Speed allows it to act as a revenge killer, a sweeper, and a wallbreaker. If it chooses to run Swords Dance, Tentacruel becomes a nigh-unwallable late-game sweeper, demolishing slower teams with Wrap, Hyper Beam, and Surf with near impunity. Meanwhile, with Rest and the fantastic Water typing, Tentacruel becomes a key defensive piece. It checks Articuno, one of the most dangerous Pokemon in the tier, and answers the myriad of Surfs and Blizzards from the tier's many Water-types, such as Vaporeon, Gyarados, Omastar, Dewgong, and itself, giving it a defensive niche as well as an entry opportunity. Further, all the above niches and Wrap synergize with each other. Wrap chip damage bolsters Tentacruel's offensive pressure, and whenever Tentacruel comes in to exploit a positive offensive or defensive matchup, it gains another chance to use Wrap.

Despite all these positives, Tentacruel does have some very notable flaws. Its Poison typing, while making it immune to Toxic, gives it a glaring weakness to Psychic and Earthquake. These weaknesses make it hard to switch Tentacruel into Pokemon like Hypno and Kangaskhan, and they prevent it from staying in against Kadabra and Dugtrio, both of which outspeed Tentacruel and heavily damage it with their STAB moves. Another notable weakness of Tentacruel is its physical frailty, which can allow threats such as Persian and Aerodactyl to force Tentacruel out as well. Tentacruel is also severely crippled by paralysis, as the Speed drop and chance for full paralysis mid-Wrap heavily impact its utility. Lastly, Tentacruel's reliance on Rest to heal itself can be heavily punished by Psychic-types such as Kadabra and Hypno, Electric-types such as Raichu and Electabuzz, and physical attackers such as Kangaskhan, Dodrio, Persian, and Dugtrio. However, even with these flaws, Tentacruel is the tier's apex predator, with its utility and power making it a mandatory pick for competitive teams.

[SET]
name: Wrap Pivot
move 1: Wrap
move 2: Surf
move 3: Blizzard
move 4: Rest

[SET COMMENTS]

Set Description
=========

This is Tentacruel's defining set, capable of extracting nigh-unmatched amounts of value at every stage of the game. With its strong Blizzard and STAB Surf, Tentacruel is a consistent offensive threat, capable of 2HKOing Kangaskhan, Tangela, Venusaur, Dodrio, and Persian while OHKOing Aerodactyl, Dugtrio, and Dragonite. Even specially bulky targets like Hypno and Articuno lose roughly 30% of their health to Surf, possibly forcing an early Rest from Hypno—which a teammate like Kangaskhan, Dugtrio, Dodrio, Persian, or Dragonite can exploit—or chipping Articuno enough to stop it from sweeping. Tentacruel's fast Wrap accentuates this damage, allowing it to immobilize and chip away at slower targets, preventing them from retaliating or healing any damage they may have incurred. Additionally, Wrap allows even more offensively-threatening teammates, such as Dugtrio, Articuno, Persian, and Kangaskhan, a safe entry point to exploit the damage dealt by Tentacruel. Tentacruel's last move is Rest for two main reasons; firstly, Rest gives it general longevity in the face of damage and status, allowing it to remain an active presence throughout the game. Secondly, by running Rest, Tentacruel can better leverage its respectable special bulk and resistances to Water and Ice, switching into the likes of Articuno, Vaporeon, Omastar, and opposing Tentacruel throughout a game. The improved matchup against opposing Tentacruel is especially important in end-games, as a Tentacruel without Rest is typically at a significant disadvantage in the mirror matchup, as is the improved matchup against Articuno, since it can be very difficult to check Articuno if you do not have Rest on Tentacruel or a secondary Water-type that can handle Articuno, such as Dewgong, Omastar, or Vaporeon.

Tentacruel is a very versatile and flexible Pokemon; it can be an offensive weapon and revenge killer with its Speed and consistent damage output, a defensive piece with its respectable special bulk, resistances, and Rest, and it can be a pivot with Wrap to bring in its teammates. Getting Tentacruel onto the field safely as often as possible is vital to making the most of it, as is properly identifying whether using Wrap to chip foes and pivot is worth risking a miss, or if Tentacruel should fire off strong Surfs and Blizzards to break down the opposing team's defensive core instead. However, you have to balance this pivoting and offense with keeping Tentacruel healthy as an answer to Articuno and Water-types such as Vaporeon, Dewgong, and opposing Tentacruel as well. Flying- and Grass-types switching in to answer Dugtrio are two great opportunities to bring Tentacruel into play, as Tentacruel threatens to OHKO or 2HKO many of them with Blizzard. Another good entry opportunity is while opposing slow wallbreakers, such as Kangaskhan and Articuno, switch into a Hypno or Vaporeon asleep from Rest, as Tentacruel can regain momentum with Wrap before they can retaliate. Tentacruel can also make good use of sleeping foes, such as Hypno and Omastar, attempting to burn sleep turns, as it can deal significant damage with Surf while they are asleep before starting Wrap as they wake up, preventing them from retaliating or healing off damage sustained during Rest.

Given how versatile a threat Tentacruel is, it synergizes very well with many common threats in the tier. Sweepers and wallbreakers like Dugtrio, Kangaskhan, Gyarados, and Persian enjoy Tentacruel's Wrap allowing them to switch in safely, preserving their health and avoiding getting paralyzed by Thunder Wave, which in turn lets them come in later for another round of attacks. In return, they threaten to 2HKO common Tentacruel answers like Kadabra and Electabuzz. Dugtrio is particularly noteworthy, as it is immune to Thunder Wave intended to cripple Tentacruel, punishing the opposition heavily for trying with its STAB Earthquake, good coverage in Rock Slide and Slash, threat of Substitute catching a switch from the opponent, and high critical hit rate. One especially good place to pivot Dugtrio in with Wrap is against opposing Tentacruel, as it can KO Tentacruel extremely early with Earthquake. In return, Tentacruel outspeeds and threatens common Dugtrio answers like Tangela, Venusaur, Dragonite, and Kangaskhan, with Wrap immobilizing them and wearing them down into Surf or Blizzard range. Hypno is another fantastic teammate for Tentacruel, coming into common Tentacruel answers like Kadabra and Electabuzz and forcing them to switch out, lest they get paralyzed by Thunder Wave or put to sleep by Hypnosis. Either status makes them easy pickings for slower physical attackers like Kangaskhan, Gyarados, and Dragonite, as well as prevents them from checking Tentacruel thereafter. Hypno, when healthy, also can soft check other common Tentacruel answers like Persian and Aerodactyl with its strong Psychic and Thunder Wave. In exchange, Hypno benefits immensely from Tentacruel's ability to answer Pokemon that heavily punish a resting Hypno, such as Kangaskhan, Gyarados, Venusaur, Tangela, and Dragonite. Furthermore, Tentacruel's fast Wrap benefits Hypno immensely by baiting in Pokemon that Hypno checks, such as Electabuzz and Kadabra, before, crucially, letting Hypno switch into them without taking chip damage or paralysis on the way in.

Bulky Pokemon such as Kangaskhan, Gyarados, Vaporeon, Dragonite, and Dewgong also make for effective Tentacruel teammates. While healthy, they can switch into some of Tentacruel's common checks such as Persian and Dugtrio, ideally while they are immobilized by Tentacruel's Wrap, and threaten the opposing team with strong attacks and the threat of paralysis from either Body Slam or Thunder Wave in the case of Dragonite. They are also very adept at exploiting sleeping Rest users, such as Hypno, Vaporeon, Omastar, and Dewgong, that switch into Wrap to burn sleep turns while taking relatively little damage from Tentacruel's Wrap. Dewgong also grants the Tentacruel user an additional Articuno counter, as do Omastar and Vaporeon, which allows Tentacruel to play more aggressively without as much risk of Articuno getting out of hand. Dewgong further has a freeze immunity, which allows Tentacruel to avoid taking as many Blizzards from an opposing Tentacruel and reduces the chances that it gets frozen. Tangela, Victreebel, and Venusaur also make for very effective Tentacruel partners, as, while healthy, they answer Dugtrio, Persian, and Electabuzz, using the entry point to land a crippling Sleep Powder before providing additional value with their other utility moves. Meanwhile, Tentacruel acts as a decent answer to any Flying-types, such as Articuno, Dragonite, and Gyarados, that try to exploit Tangela, Victreebel, and Venusaur's lack of coverage moves.

Lastly, Flying-type teammates such as the aforementioned Gyarados and Dragonite, but also Aerodactyl, Articuno, and Dodrio, can benefit Tentacruel by checking Dugtrio with their immunity to Earthquake and strong attacks. Gyarados and Dragonite can switch into Dugtrio's Rock Slide two times, barring an untimely critical hit, before Dugtrio can threaten to 2HKO them as they switch in. Aerodactyl and Dodrio are less sturdy answers to Dugtrio, only taking a single Rock Slide before Dugtrio can 2HKO them; however, they can threaten Kadabra fairly well when it is chipped. Aerodactyl's high Speed stat is particularly noteworthy because, excluding the uncommon Electrode, it is the only Pokemon that can reliably revenge kill an unparalyzed Dugtrio without taking an attack in the process. Its Normal resistance is also useful when facing Dugtrio, as Dugtrio commonly uses Slash as an early-game midground option when scouting its opponent's team, and Aerodactyl takes Slash very comfortably. Articuno is unable to switch into Dugtrio's Rock Slide safely at all, being 2HKOed from full health by it, but, when above 58% health, it can force Dugtrio to switch out with its Blizzard if it can come in safely—such as on an Earthquake or from Tentacruel's Wrap—and if Dugtrio is not behind a Substitute.

Tentacruel’s good Speed tier and access to Wrap make it a common lead in RBY UU, outspeeding and locking down any slower lead, including Hypno, Haunter, and Venusaur. Wrap allows a safe pivot to a teammate to capitalize on the immobilized lead, or any teammates that the opposing player switches to, whenever the Tentacruel user dictates. For example, if your opponent switches to Clefable or Hypno and attempts to PP stall Wrap or fish for a miss to paralyze Tentacruel, you can pivot to a teammate such as Venusaur or Haunter and put a foe to sleep. As another example, if your opponent leads Haunter and stays in to fish for a Wrap miss and put Tentacruel to sleep with Hypnosis, you can go to Dugtrio and threaten to OHKO Haunter with Earthquake. This ability to pivot with Wrap puts the Tentacruel user at a significant advantage, as they have the initiative and control the pace of the game, which allows them to pick the best moment to switch while chipping down the opposing team. This advantage creates an intricate mind game. Opponents commonly respond to this advantage by switching to a Pokemon with paralysis that outspeeds or Speed ties Tentacruel such as Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, or Electrode. These paralysis users pressure Tentacruel to quickly switch to a teammate, usually Hypno but possibly Dugtrio, before Wrap ends and the foe regains the initiative by freely threatening Tentacruel. If it hasn't started Wrap yet, Tentacruel may even hard switch instead of Wrap pivoting to avoid the risk of a Wrap miss. If Tentacruel hard switches, though, the opponent may predict this and, instead of bringing in a paralysis user, bring in their own Tentacruel to handle the incoming Hypno or Dugtrio. With the other Tentacruel possibly in play, the above mind game starts again. The original Tentacruel user may predict the opponent bringing in their opposing Tentacruel, causing the original user to bring in their own paralysis inducer, but the opponent may respond with their own Hypno or Dugtrio to beat the paralysis user, and so on.

When facing fast paralysis-inducing leads, such as Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, and Electrode, Tentacruel will be forced to switch to a teammate to avoid getting paralyzed, thereby giving the opposing player a chance to paralyze some Pokemon with Thunder Wave or predict the switch and bring in a sleep inducer such as Haunter or Venusaur. Note that the same pressure to switch and cede initiative occurs if Tentacruel misses a Wrap against the fast paralysis inducer as it switches in, or if Wrap connects but the Tentacruel doesn't switch out before it ends. Against opposing Tentacruel leads, Tentacruel can go for a freeze with Blizzard while dealing some minor chip damage, use Surf to maximize chip damage to more quickly bring the opposing Tentacruel into KO range for Dugtrio or Persian, or use Wrap and pivot into a fast paralysis-inducing teammate. While Tentacruel is likely to win the matchup against lead Dodrio by using Blizzard, it only wins while avoiding paralysis about half the time, and it is almost always significantly weakened from the interaction, which can be very costly given how valuable Tentacruel is. It is better to switch to another teammate that checks Dodrio, such as Omastar or Aerodactyl. The matchup against Persian is similar; Tentacruel is statistically more likely to win the one-on-one but will be significantly weakened in the process, which is undesirable in many circumstances. When leading with Tentacruel, it can be beneficial to have a second Water-type in the back, ensuring you can take opposing Water- and Ice-type attacks in case Tentacruel gets chipped or compromised by status early on.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Surf
move 3: Wrap
move 4: Hyper Beam

[SET COMMENTS]

Set Description
=========

Swords Dance Tentacruel is a surprising and effective late-game sweeper that can effectively break past bulkier Pokemon that expect to comfortably check it. These include Vaporeon, Hypno, and opposing Tentacruel, with Swords Dance Tentacruel punishing them using Rest especially hard. This Tentacruel set also can be a mid-game pivot, but since it cannot afford to run Rest, a Wrap miss is often devastating, making mid-game pivoting risky. After one Swords Dance, Tentacruel's Wrap deals around 6% per turn to bulky targets such as Hypno, Gyarados, Kangaskhan, and Vaporeon, transforming from a pivoting move that deals chip damage to a potent wallbreaking tool that completely decimates paralyzed teams. Boosted Wrap quickly wears foes down into KO range of either Surf or Tentacruel's boosted Hyper Beam, which are reliable KO options against slower and bulkier Pokemon once they are slightly below half health, while leaving them unable to retaliate. This process normally forces the opponent to rely on Pokemon that outspeed Tentacruel to force it out, such as Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, and Persian. However, none of these Pokemon can reliably switch into Tentacruel, as Tentacruel's boosted Hyper Beam can KO all of them after only a small amount of chip damage, or, in the case of Kadabra, no chip damage at all. When using Swords Dance to attempt a sweep, ensure that Tentacruel sets up against targets that are unable to status it or significantly harm it, such as sleeping targets looking to burn some sleep turns against Wrap, slower Pokemon looking to use a recovery move, or opposing Tentacruel looking to get a lucky freeze with Blizzard;&mdashthis mirror interaction is especially noteworthy in end-game positions, where Swords Dance Tentacruel dominates if it is reasonably healthy. It is important to recognize that these setup opportunities stem from opponents expecting Tentacruel to run its standard, less offensive set; take advantage whenever opponents make that wrong prediction and think they can tolerate being passive towards Tentacruel. Due to this set's increased vulnerability to status, it can be more difficult to bring in than the standard Wrap pivot set, often relying on resisted attacks, teammate Wrappers like Dragonite, and good double switching to come onto the field safely. Another notable, albeit uncommon, way of utilizing Swords Dance Tentacruel is as a mid-game wallbreaker, boosting its Attack against an opposing Tentacruel or Vaporeon that's burning Rest sleep turns to punch a large hole in the opposing team.

Swords Dance Tentacruel can be a challenging sweeper to use, often relying on its teammates to force the opponent into positions where it can safely use Swords Dance, as well as needing them to paralyze or KO any Pokemon that could stop its sweep. As mentioned before, sleeping Pokemon looking to burn a turn or two of sleep make excellent setup fodder; hence, Swords Dance Tentacruel pairs well with sleep inducers such as Haunter, Hypno, Venusaur, Victreebel, and Tangela. These five Pokemon also have defensive utility against foes that may stop Tentacruel's sweep as well, with Haunter walling opposing Persian, Venusaur, Victreebel, Tangela checking opposing Dugtrio, Raichu, Electabuzz, and Persian, Hypno crippling Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, and Persian with Thunder Wave—allowing Tentacruel to sweep with Swords Dance-boosted Wrap unopposed. Seismic Toss Hypno is also an effective teammate for Swords Dance Tentacruel, as it can reliably force an opposing Hypno to use Rest, most commonly at around half health, which gifts Tentacruel an excellent opportunity to switch in and use Swords Dance. Dugtrio and Persian are two excellent teammates for Swords Dance Tentacruel, as they can exploit opposing Kadabra, Electabuzz, and Raichu attempting to stop Tentacruel's sweep, as well as clean up any remaining foes after Swords Dance Tentacruel's assault. Kangaskhan and Dragonite are two more solid partners for Swords Dance Tentacruel that can paralyze or KO Persian and Kadabra attempting to check Tentacruel. Another issue teams with this set often face is dealing with Articuno and opposing Tentacruel, as Swords Dance Tentacruel cannot reliably switch into them throughout the match due to its lack of Rest. Teammates such as Vaporeon, Omastar, and Dewgong can switch into Articuno and Tentacruel throughout the game.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

While Tentacruel has a variety of other options, they are generally discouraged due to them either being very situational or making Tentacruel less consistent, which many team compositions cannot afford. Hydro Pump's increased power can be very appealing, as it achieves a guaranteed 3HKO on Hypno, a near-guaranteed 3HKO on Articuno, a guaranteed 2HKO on Persian, and a 2HKO against Kadabra 49.8% of the time; however, the worse accuracy and PP are very noticeable in prolonged games and make Tentacruel a much less consistent threat.

Hyper Beam can be a nice option on the Wrap Pivot set, allowing Tentacruel to pick off opposing Kadabra switching into it at 60% health, as well as hitting opposing Tentacruel for around 33% and opposing Dewgong and Vaporeon for roughly 27%. All of the latter three can be tough for Tentacruel to break past on its own. However, outside of those damage rolls, Hyper Beam doesn’t do that much for Tentacruel, making it hard to justify running over one of its standard moves.

Ice Beam grants Tentacruel more PP for freeze wars, increasing its chances of winning them. However, its drop in damage output from Blizzard is drastic, notably failing to OHKO Dragonite. Barrier can make Tentacruel take less damage from the wide array of physical moves, dodging the 2HKO from Kangaskhan's and Dugtrio's Earthquakes and allowing it to win those matchups; however, Barrier fails to assist it against Persian, which can ignore it with Slash and is one of the most popular physical attackers in the tier. Bubble Beam's 33.2% chance to drop Speed can come in handy against opposing Tentacruel and Persian, but in the vast majority of cases, Surf's higher damage is preferred. Mega Drain can be nice to hit Omastar or Golem with, as it allows Tentacruel to gain a significant amount of health back, but it otherwise has middling damage and hurts other matchups more than it helps.

On the Swords Dance set, Tentacruel can opt to run Blizzard over Surf to guarantee an OHKO on Dragonite and deal more damage to Grass-types, but this comes at the cost of a guaranteed OHKO on Dugtrio and a probable 2HKO on Persian and Kangaskhan, damage rolls that are often too valuable for Swords Dance Tentacruel to pass up on.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Fast Paralysis Inducers**: Any paralysis inducer that outspeeds Tentacruel, such as Kadabra, Raichu, Electabuzz, or the rare Electrode, can be a very pressing issue for it. The chance of full paralysis leaves Tentacruel with a 63.57% chance to connect Wrap, sharply harming its pivoting and sweeping. The Speed drop further hinders its pivoting and leaves it vulnerable to slower threats like Hypno and Gyarados. Kadabra and Electabuzz, which avoid a 2HKO from Surf, can switch into Tentacruel directly and threaten it with Thunder Wave. They can create significant momentum if they switch into Tentacruel as Wrap misses. Even if Wrap hits, they can wait out the Wrap turns and threaten 2HKOs with their STAB moves. That being said, all these checks fear a critical hit Surf, which will deal at least 70%, letting another attack or a teammate KO them. Kadabra mitigates that risk with Recover, but using Recover lets its checks such as Hypno switch in. You can reduce the threat of Surf by switching a Water-resistant Pokemon into Tentacruel first, baiting it to lock into Wrap. This creates a switch-in opportunity for paralysis inducers, which can wait out the Wrap turns and threaten to cripple or break through Tentacruel.

**Haunter**: Haunter has enough bulk to avoid a 2HKO from Tentacruel's attacks and won't take chip damage from Wrap, although it is still immobilized. Due to its strong Thunderbolt, Haunter can force Tentacruel out and make it waste Wrap PP, usually winning the matchup when Tentacruel is below 73%, as Thunderbolt will 2HKO Tentacruel from there. However, if Haunter has already been damaged, it may be forced to use Explosion instead. It should be noted that a Thunderbolt and subsequent Explosion from Haunter usually, but not always, will KO Tentacruel from full health. Critical hits from Surf can deal severe damage to Haunter, in addition, likely forcing it to use Explosion regardless of Tentacruel's health.

**Fast Physical Attackers**: Fast physical attackers such as Dugtrio, Persian, and Dodrio are all reliable checks to Tentacruel, beating or matching its Speed and exploiting its mediocre physical bulk to KO it from very high health. Dugtrio can 2HKO Tentacruel with Earthquake, but its fragility makes Surf a guaranteed OHKO, so Dugtrio is limited to a revenge killing role. Tentacruel is pressured to stay at 80% HP or more, out of Earthquake's OHKO range, but this is a tall order in many situations. Dugtrio's Speed and strong Earthquake also let it halt the Wrap momentum of a chipped Tentacruel, coming in on Wrap and waiting it out before KOing the Tentacruel with Earthquake; however, this is usually a last resort option, as many common threats can heavily punish Dugtrio's frailty if they are reasonably healthy. Persian can threaten a reliable 2HKO with Slash against a Tentacruel at 90% or below. Unlike Dugtrio, however, Persian has enough bulk to survive a Surf—and fairly often two—making it more flexible than Dugtrio in threatening and/or chipping Tentacruel without getting KOed. While both Dodrio and Aerodactyl are reliably 2HKOed by Tentacruel's Surf and Blizzard, they both match or exceed Tentacruel’s Speed and can significantly damage it with Hyper Beam, allowing them to consistently threaten a KO against a a sufficiently weakened Tentacruel below 62% while at high health. Dodrio significantly improve the matchup if it manages to paralyze Tentacruel with a Body Slam or use Agility before Tentacruel comes onto the field, as a Body Slam followed by a Hyper Beam is guaranteed to KO Tentacruel.

**Water-types**: Without Swords Dance, Tentacruel often struggles to break through opposing Water-types, such as Vaporeon, Gyarados, Dewgong, or opposing Tentacruel, on its own. It has to rely on landing multiple Wraps in a row to feasibly break through them or get a lucky freeze from Blizzard, which won't even work for Dewgong, all while risking getting paralyzed by Body Slam, frozen by Blizzard, or eating a strong Thunderbolt or Hyper Beam from Gyarados.

**Tangela, Victreebel, and Dragonite**: While neither switch into Tentacruel's Surf very well, when at high health, Tangela, Victreebel, and Dragonite, can be difficult for Tentacruel to break past with their good special bulk. Tentacruel has to land multiple Wraps in a row to break past these three, while they are able to cripple it immediately with Stun Spore or Thunder Wave if it misses. While Tentacruel outspeeds them and 2HKOes and OHKOes them with Blizzard, respectively, both of these Pokemon are very good at luring in Tentacruel and paralyzing it as it switches in, which can cripple Tentacruel for the rest of the game. In addition, because these two Pokemon are slower than Tentacruel, they can act after it wakes up from Rest, paralyzing it before it can retaliate and then pivoting to a more aggressive teammate with Bind or Wrap.

[CREDITS]

- Written by: [[Shellnuts, 491544], [pacattacc, 520967]]
- Earlier versions by: [[May, 236353], [Shellnuts, 491544], [Volk, 530877]]
- Quality checked by: [[May, 236353], [Volk, 530877]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [UT, 523866]]
 
Last edited:

Plague von Karma

Banned deucer.
Leaving some feedback on the current state of the analysis since you said you'll be having more time to do it with our team being out. This is shaping up to be something beautiful right now!
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(AH) = Hyphenate
(AC) = Add Comma
(AA) = Apostrophise

(RA) = Deapostrophise
(RH) = Dehyphenate


[OVERVIEW]

Tentacruel is unquestionably the defining threat (How about "king" or something more grandiose, hmm?) of RBY UU, shaping every facet of the tier. Access to Wrap combined with its Speed give it nigh-unmatched (AH) utility in nearly every game. By immobilizing and chipping Pokemon over its duration, with the immobilization persisting for a turn as Tentacruel switches out, Wrap shapes how offensive and defensive play is executed in the tier. As an offensive tool, Tentacruel’s Wrap puts immense pressure on defensive Pokemon by softening them up with chip damage, preventing them from healing over its duration, and most crucially, allows for offensive teammates to come onto the field safely. This minimizes the potential damage that can be done to Tentacruel’s teammates, allowing them to remain on the field longer, increasing the value that they can bring. (cite examples, main thought here are Pokemon that are normally worn down quickly, such as Kangaskhan, Gyarados, and maybe even rare picks like Raichu) As a defensive tool, Tentacruel’s Wrap allows teams to regain the initiative and stabilize by bringing Tentacruel in as slower wallbreakers (fixed spacing) such as Kangaskhan and Gyarados switch onto the field, stalling their momentum out with Wrap and forcing them to switch, while also letting defensive Pokemon preserve their health as they too can be pivoted onto the field to answer offensive threats without incurring damage as they switch in.

The utility Tentacruel's (AA) Wrap provides already makes it a core part of the tier, shaping offensive and defensive play to an unrivalled extent; (comma -> semi colon) however, (AC) that’s only one of the many things Tentacruel offers to a team. With its base 120 Special—the second-highest in the tier—access to STAB Surf and Hydro Pump, and good coverage with Blizzard, Tentacruel is an offensive behemoth, dealing significant damage to Kangaskhan, Omastar, Haunter, and Kadabra with its STABS moves, and hitting Dodrio, Dragonite, Venusuaur, and Tangela for significant amounts of massive (repetition) damage with Blizzard, if it doesn’t just OHKO them outright. This wide coverage when combined with Tentacruel’s high Speed allows it to act as a revenge killer, a sweeper, and a wallbreaker—especially in conjunction with Wrap preventing its target from healing afterwards. With Swords Dance, Tentacruel becomes a nigh-unwallable late-game sweeper, demolishing slower teams with Wrap, Hyper Beam, and Surf, with near impunity. With Rest and Tentacruel’s fantastic Water-typing, (RH) Tentacruel becomes a key defensive piece, checking Articuno, one of the most dangerous Pokemon in the tier, and answering the myriad of Surfs and Blizzards from the tiers many Water-types, such as Vaporeon, Gyarados, Omastar, and Dewgong.

Despite all these positives, Tentacruel does have some very notable flaws. Its Poison-typing, (RH) while making it immune to Toxic, gives it a glaring weakness to Psychic- and Ground-type attacks, which makes it hard to switch Tentacruel into Pokemon like Hypno and Kangaskhan, and prevents it from staying in against Kadabra and Dugtrio, both of whom outspeed Tentacruel and heavily damage it with their STABS moves. Another notable weakness of Tentacruel is its physical frailty, (Honestly, I think it's not that fragile. It can stomach Dugtrio's Earthquake and Persian's Slash better than say, Kadabra, and by enough of a margin to call it more of a "softer defensive stat", so to speak. Perhaps reword this; it's not being OHKOed by anything but critical hits.) taking significant damage from Body Slams and Hyper Beam which can allow threats such as Persian or Aerodactyl to force Tentacruel to switch out as well. Tentacruel’s severe weakness to paralysis doesn’t do it any favours (burgerland spelling) either, as the Speed drop and chance to fully paralyze mid-Wrap heavily impact its longevity. Lastly, Tentacruel’s reliance on Rest to heal itself can be heavily punished by Psychic-types such as Kadabra and Hypno, Electric-types such as Raichu and Electabuzz, Normal-type physical attackers such as Kangaskhan, Dodrio, and Persian, and Dugtrio. However, even with these flaws, Tentacruel is the dominant threat in the tier, with its utility and power making it a nigh-mandatory (AH) (tentless is largely a meme so consider even just saying mandatory or "largely considered to be a mandatory" could be valid) pick for most competitive (this feels more accurate; minor but enough of a difference to feel like an objective change) teams.

[SET]
name: Wrap Pivot
move 1: Wrap
move 2: Surf
move 3: Blizzard
move 4: Rest

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

This is Tentacruel's defining set, capable of extracting nigh-unmatched amounts of value at every stage of the game. With its strong STAB Surf and Blizzard, Tentacruel is an consistent offensive threat, capable of 2HKOing Kangaskhan, Persian, Tangela, Venusaur, Dodrio, and OHKOing Aerodactyl, Dugtrio, and Dragonite. Even against specially bulky targets like Hypno and Articuno, it's (RA) Surfs takes off roughly 30% of their health which can force an early Rest from Hypno or stop an Articuno sweep dead in its tracks. (bring up that critical hit rate here, it's a massive part of what makes Tentacruel so volatile) This damage is accentuated by Tentacruel's fast Wrap, allowing it to immobilize and chip away at slower targets, preventing its targets them (repetition) from retalliating or healing any damage it they may have incurred through the use of a healing move, (not sure what this bit means, remove or improve clarity) while also allowing more offensively threatening teammates such as Dugtrio, Articuno, Persian, and Kangaskhan, a safe entry (space)point to come onto the battlefield to exploit the momentum and damage acquired by Tentacruel. Tentacruel's last move on this set is Rest for two main reasons; firstly, by running Rest, Tentacruel can heal off damage or any status conditions it may have been afflicted with as it came onto the field or due to an untimely Wrap miss, allowing it to remain an active presence in the game for longer, which in turn gives it more turns to deal damage with Surf or Blizzard and gives it more opportunities to safely bring a teammate onto the field with Wrap. Secondly, by running Rest, Tentacruel can better leverage its respectable special bulk and resistances to Water- (AH) and Ice-type attacks, allowing it to switch into and even stall out (this is viable, right? or is my life a lie) the likes of Articuno, Vaporeon, Omastar, and itself consistently over the course of a game.

[the bit before feels like repetition of the intro, could be improved]
I don't think so. Here you're moreso going over what the intro said but in practice. If it's a big concern, what you may want to focus on are the strategies the set employs with more fleshed out examples. See what you did with the Surf calcs? Little things like that are nice.

[add in more detail around how its used, what lines of play it commonly sets up, what switches it lets happen like Persian/Dugtrio on Kadabra or Kangaskhan on Hypno trying to burn rest turns, etc. Every single Pokemon in the tier is able to synergize well with Tentacruel, elaborate on it]

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Surf
move 3: Wrap
move 4: Hyper Beam

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Swords Dance Tentacruel is a strong alternative to the standard Wrap Pivot set, aiming to beat over Pokemon it normally struggles to beat one-on-one, including but not limited to Vaporeon, Hypno, and opposing Tentacruel. While it eschews much of its liberal mid-game utility, it becomes a surprising, phenomenal late-game sweeper. Because of the lack of Rest, however, Swords Dance Tentacruel is often forced out by paralysis inducers such as Electabuzz and Kadabra; ergo, while it's still an important mid-game pivot, significantly more care has to be taken to succeed with the set.

+2 Wrap deals around 7% per tick to the UU metagame, allowing Tentacruel to rapidly chip Pokemon into range of either Surf or Hyper Beam. +2 Hyper Beam notably OHKOes Kadabra, making it significantly less inclined to switch in to try and paralyze Tentacruel. +2 Hyper Beam also KOes Raichu, Raticate, and Electabuzz after one or two Wrap uses. Additionally, against Pokemon like Hypno, Kangaskhan, and Gyarados, they can be KOed from over half HP; around five Wrap uses is normally sufficient to score the KO. Combined with Surf, it is near-impossible to wall a +2 Tentacruel, requiring a faster paralysis inducer to reliably force it out.

Ideally, Swords Dance Tentacruel should be paired with Pokemon that can reliably put an opposing Pokemon to sleep; Venusaur is an excellent choice, dealing significant damage to Omastar and Vaporeon with Razor Leaf while outrunning Hypno. Tier-king Hypno also makes a solid partner, putting a firm stop to Kadabra and providing defensive utility in numerous situations where Tentacruel would be forced out.

I wrote this, but some things we could note here given what we talked about last night;
* End-games are incredibly easy to secure; if faced with a Tentacruel with a Hypno and Kadabra in the back it can literally just win right there with two boosts and there's nothing the opposing player can do but pray it chokes. That alone is incredibly brutal.
* If opposing Tentacruel go for Blizzard to play chicken, they're just gonna get blown away. In fact, I'd argue opposing Tentacruel are what make this set so strong, because it's the easiest Pokemon to set up on so long as the Speed tie gods are on your side.


[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

While Tentacruel has a variety of other options, they are generally discouraged due to them either being useful in very rare situations, or because they increase the inconsistency of worsen Tentacruel's consistency for little reward. Hydro Pump can be used for increased damage output, but the accuracy and drop in PP are very noticeable in prolonged games. Ice Beam grants Tentacruel more PP for freeze wars, increasing its chances at winning them. (note the calcs that sell this option) However, the drop in damage output from Blizzard is drastic, notably failing to OHKO Dragonite and forcing Tentacruel to Wrap pivot into something more effective. Barrier can be chosen to make help Tentacruel take less damage from against (dex info removal and reducing verbosity) the wide array of physical moves, dodging the 2HKO from Kangaskhan and Dugtrio’s Earthquake and helping it win outright; however, it fails to address its Persian matchup, which is among the most common physical checks to Tentacruel.

Other things;
* Note what moves you drop. Personally I'd first drop Blizzard or maybe Rest depending on choice.
* Swords Dance + Wrap on its own is absolutely a set, usually Surf/SD/Wrap/Rest or Blizzard iirc.
* Hyper Beam on its own in respect to the Rest set is somewhat of a thing, in fact Lusch has used it with success.
* Maybe note Mega Drain? I remember seeing this on the old spotlight ladder, and I think a few newgen players interested in the tier have tried it. I mean, it does help with Omastar, so there is some merit. I would strongly discourage it overall, though. Here's the calcs; vs. Omastar: 122-144 (35.5 - 41.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO (16.8 - 19.8% recovered). It does also let you recover 26.1 - 30.8% against Golem but you should be Surfing it, so it's only something you'd see when it switches in or if you're finishing it off after prior chip, which is almost never happening.

This can be a lot longer than it initially seems, perhaps pac didn't go over it enough. If you need me to write about the black magic here, I'd happily oblige, I've experimented with Tentacruel quite a bit!


Checks and Counters
===================

You have the option of starting off with a paragraph about how counterplaying Tentacruel works, but this is a rarely-done thing even in Past Gens C&C. We didn't even do it for Uber Mewtwo, for instance. Weigh it out and maybe talk to me about it, as I think that it's worth exploring, but the Pokemon and options here probably explain themselves just fine in bullet points.

**Paralysis Inducers**: [WIP]
Ideas;
* First go over just how bad getting paralyzed is; Tentacruel ends up having to take a hit to pivot with Wrap, gets outsped by stuff like Golem and Kangaskhan, so on, so forth.
* Mention the fast Pokemon that come in on Wrap and say "get nae nae'd". Emphasise this as a big part of the tier in general.
* Discourage switching in on Body Slam users or I will cry


**Haunter**: [WIP] (Given it's uncommon, do you think it should be this high up, or do we want Haunter to gain stonks? Definitely for that, though~!)

**Dugtrio**: [WIP]

**Persian**: [WIP]

Stuff we should go over;
* "Passive damage" in respect to Leech Seed and burns. While rare, they're pretty damn annoying: Leech Seed means Tentacruel loses any progress it makes from Wrap chip damage, and burns cause it to take more damage than it deals. Burns are also incredibly depressing for Swords Dance sets as it has to boost again to make an impact, which is an opening it really can't afford in the AgiliWrap Dragonite tier. All of this also makes opposing wrappers annoying too. Maybe open with "While immune to Toxic..."
* While it's not a fan of Wrap, Hypno should definitely be mentioned in general.
* Dedicate a section to Kadabra perhaps?
* Articuno can situationally win out, as you discovered yourself, I think it's worth bringing up.
* Bulky Water-types tend to cause a stalemate w/ Tentacruel for a while and usually make it go to other Pokemon. It's technically being forced out here and many of them have Body Slam, no? Of course, emphasise that the pivoting and chip damage from Wrap is normally very significant. Omastar notably resists Wrap which makes it pretty strong here..


[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Shellnuts, 491544], [pacattacc, 520967], [Plague von Karma, 236353]]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
 

Volk

Demonstrably alive.
is a Community Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon
Let's review.

Access to Wrap combined with its speed give it nigh unmatched utility in nearly every game.
I'd make specific mention of the Base 100 Speed Tier, as it is pretty much the magic number of the tier. Acquainting new players with this key number seems like a good idea.

By immobilizing and chipping Pokemon over its duration, with the immobilization persisting for a turn as Tentacruel switches out, Wrap shapes how offensive and defensive play is executed in the tier.
This is a confusing sentence. I would lead off by saying that you are referring to Wrap here because it isn't exactly obvious as to whether "it" is Tentacruel or Wrap. Like it it would be much clearer and more concise to just say "Wrap shapes offensive and defensive tier by immobilizing and chipping Pokemon and generating free switches during the immobilization" or something of the sort.

As an offensive tool, Tentacruel’s Wrap puts immense pressure on defensive Pokemon by softening them up with chip damage, preventing them from healing over its duration, and most crucially, allows for offensive teammates to come onto the field safely. This minimizes the potential damage that can be done to Tentacruel’s teammates, allowing them to remain on the field longer, increasing the value that they can bring.
This is a bit redundant with the previous sentence. In the first sentence, the mention of healing seems unnecessary. In the second sentence, I think "remain on the field longer" is a bit misleading; it would be more accurate to say "enter the battle more frequently" or "enter the battle more times."

As a defensive tool, Tentacruel’s Wrap allows teams to regain the initiative and stabilize by bringing Tentacruel in as slower wall breakers such as Kangaskhan and Gyarados switch onto the field, stalling their momentum out with Wrap and forcing them to switch, while also letting defensive Pokemon preserve their health as they too can be pivoted onto the field to answer offensive threats without incurring damage as they switch in.
This is a weird example of defensive play. I'm not exactly sure if an example is really necessary here, but the only real "defensive" uses for Wrap are either as a midground play when you suspect something like Kadabra or Electabuzz might come in (so you can get their checks in safely) or when you want to get a harder counter (compared to Tentacruel) in against a slower Pokemon (the only real example of this is against Articuno, which Tentacruel might Wrap once or twice before switching into Vaporeon, Omastar, Dewgong, etc.).

The utility Tentacruels Wrap provides already makes it a core part of the tier, shaping offensive and defensive play to an unrivalled extent, however that’s only one of the many things Tentacruel offers to a team.
You can simplify this to a short "But wait, there's more" kind of thing to avoid repetition. Or you can just jump into the other positives with no introduction.

With its base 120 Special—the second-highest in the tier—access to STAB Surf and Hydro Pump, and good coverage with Blizzard, Tentacruel is an offensive behemoth, dealing significant damage to Kangaskhan, Omastar, Haunter, and Kadabra with its STABS, and hitting Dodrio, Dragonite, Venusuaur, and Tangela for significant amounts of damage with Blizzard, if it doesn’t just OHKO them outright.
Tentacruel only has one relevant STAB and it is generally preferable to say "STAB attacks" or "STAB moves" as STAB is usually treated as an adjective. Also huge nitpick, but, depending on how you count, Tentacruel isn't exactly the the second-highest in the tier. Moltres ties Articuno (125) for first and Kadabra (and Magneton) tie Tentacruel (120) for the next spot.

This wide coverage when combined with Tentacruel’s high speed allows it to act as a revenge killer, a sweeper, and a wallbreaker—especially in conjunction with Wrap preventing its target from healing afterwards.
You can probably trim the part of this sentence after the en dash.

With Swords Dance, Tentacruel becomes a nigh-unwallable late-game sweeper, demolishing slower teams with Wrap, Hyper Beam, and Surf, with near impunity.
Considering Swords Dance is rather unorthodox, I think you should preface this by saying Tentacruel "has the option" to use strong physical attacks and so on.

With Rest and Tentacruel’s fantastic Water-typing, Tentacruel becomes a key defensive piece, checking Articuno, one of the most dangerous Pokemon in the tier, and answering the myriad of Surfs and Blizzards from the tiers many Water-types, such as Vaporeon, Gyarados, Omastar, and Dewgong.
It's not a Water-type Pokemon but Tentacruel is also pretty important for Dragonite, depending on the set.

Its Poison-typing, while making it immune to Toxic, gives it a glaring weakness to Psychic- and Ground-type attacks, which makes it hard to switch Tentacruel into Pokemon like Hypno and Kangaskhan, and prevents it from staying in against Kadabra and Dugtrio, both of whom outspeed Tentacruel and heavily damage it with their STABS.
This could easily be two sentences. The term STAB is used improperly again.

Another notable weakness of Tentacruel is its physical frailty, taking significant damage from Body Slams and Hyper Beam which can allow threats such as Persian or Aerodactyl to force Tentacruel to switch out as well.
Kangaskhan, Dodrio, Dugtrio (kind of, not Normal-type moves), Gyarados, and Dragonite are also in this category.

Tentacruel’s severe weakness to Paralysis doesn’t do it any favours either, as the speed drop and chance to fully paralyze mid-wrap heavily impact its longevity.
This is kind of a silly sentence. I can't imagine that a "severe weakness" to anything would do any Pokemon "favors." You can just say it has a severe weakness to paralysis that inhibits its oppressive Wrap and impressive Speed.

Lastly, Tentacruel’s reliance on Rest to heal itself can be heavily punished by Psychic-types such as Kadabra and Hypno, Electric-types such as Raichu and Electabizz, Normal-type physical attackers such as Kangaskhan, Dodrio, and Persian, and Dugtrio.
Oh, I guess here is the exhaustive list.

However, even with these flaws, Tentacruel is the dominant threat in the tier, with its utility and power making it a nigh mandatory pick for most teams.
You can just end this sentence at "pick."

This is Tentacruel's defining set, capable of extracting nigh-unmatched amounts of value at every stage of the game.
That's a bit vague.

Even against specially Bulky targets like Hypno and Articuno, it's Surfs take off roughly 30% of their health which can force an early Rest from Hypno—which a teammate like Kangaskhan, Dugtrio, Dodrio, Persian, or Dragonite can exploit—or chip Articuno enough to stop it from sweeping. This damage is accentuated by Tentacruel's fast Wrap, allowing it to immobilize and chip away at slower targets, preventing its targets from retaliating or healing any damage it may have incurred through the use of a Healing move, while also allowing more offensively threatening teammates such as Dugtrio, Articuno, Persian, and Kangaskhan, a safe entry point to come onto the battlefield to exploit the momentum and damage acquired by Tentacruel.
This is an example of when the sentences just get too complex to follow (there are also a few typos like the wrong form of "its"). I've been playing this tier for five years now and I barely follow what you are trying to say here. New players will have no chance. You got to use shorter sentences here and there. It makes these ideas so much easier to follow and digest.

Tentacruel's last move on this set is Rest for two main reasons; firstly, by running Rest, Tentacruel can heal off damage or any status conditions it may have been afflicted with as it came onto the field or due to an untimely Wrap miss, allowing it to remain an active presence in the game for longer, which in turn gives it more turns to deal damage with Surf or Blizzard and gives it more opportunities to safely bring a teammate onto the field with Wrap.
Another long sentence, albeit an easier one to follow. More importantly though, there is just a lot of extraneous information here. The important part is that Rest will heal damage and status conditions and allow Tentacruel to be an active presence throughout the game. The manner in which Tentacruel was afflicted with a status isn't super important and the last part (after "which in turn") is redundant and unnecessary.

Secondly, by running Rest, Tentacruel can better leverage its respectable special bulk and resistances to Water and Ice-type attacks, allowing it to switch into the likes of Articuno, Vaporeon, Omastar, and itself consistently over the course of a game.
The ditto is actually super important here. Tentacruel on Tentacruel endgames are actually pretty common so forgoing Rest pretty much guarantees you lose, unless you have a lot of health and Swords Dance.

Tentacruel can also make good use of sleeping targets on the opposing team, such as Hypno or Omastar, attempting to burn sleep turns, as it can deal significant damage to them while they are asleep before immobilizing them with Wrap as they wake up, preventing them from retaliating or from healing off the damage with Rest.
The paragraph to which this sentence belongs is fine, I actually have no complaints (believe it or not). I'm only highlighting this one because I think you may have made a mistake with the spacing.

Sweepers like Dugtrio and Persian are good teammates for Tentacruel, as the safe switch provided by Wrap allows them to come onto the field safely, allowing them to preserve their health and avoid getting paralyzed by Thunder Wave — except in the case of Dugtrio due to its ground-typing — in the case of for later in the game, or to continue getting mileage out of them even when at low health.
Safe switches necessarily allow Pokemon to switch in safely.

Hypno, when healthy, also checks less common Tentacruel answers like Persian and Aerodactyl very well with its strong Psychic and Thunder Wave.
Hypno is kind of a soft check here and I wouldn't really call Persian "less common."

In exchange, Hypno benefits immensely from Tentacruel’s ability to answer Pokemon that heavily punish a resting Hypno—with strong physical attacks as Kangaskhan and Gyarados do, sleep-inducing moves as Venusaur and Tangela do, or setting up Agiliwrap as Dragonite does.
I'm a bit lost with the grammar here.

Bulky Pokemon such as Kangaskhan, Gyarados, Vaporeon, Dragonite, and Dewgong, also make for effective Tentacruel Teammates.
No need to capitalize "teammates."

As, while healthy, they can switch into some of Tentacruel’s common checks such as Persian or Dugtrio, ideally while they are immobilized by Tentacruel’s Wrap, and threaten the opposing team in return with strong attacks and the threat of paralysis.
I'd probably explicitly mention Body Slam as a major source of this paralysis among these bulky Pokemon.

Tangela and Venusaur also make for very effective Tentacruel partners, as, while healthy, they answer Dugtrio, Persian, and Electabuzz, using the entry point to put an opposing Pokemon out of commission with Sleep Powder while providing additional value after sleeping an opponent, either with other support moves such as Bind and Stun Spore, as in Tangela’s case, a strong STAB Razor Leaf as in Venusaurs case, while also checking Dugtrio.
Hypno and Haunter seize a similar advantage as well. Also, the ending of this sentence is punctuated inconsistently.

Aerodactyl’s high-speed stat is particularly noteworthy as, excluding the uncommon Electrode, it is the only Pokemon in the tier that outspeeds Dugtrio, making it the only Pokemon that can revenge kill an unparalyzed Dugtrio without taking an attack in the process, outside of another Dugtrio winning the speed tie.
It can be just "Aerodactyl's high Speed stat," no hyphen needed. If you want to skip over the Dugtrio speed tie case, you can say "reliably revenge kill."

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Surf
move 3: Wrap
move 4: Hyper Beam
I'm not a Swords Dance Tentacruel expert, but is this definitely the set? I've seen Blizzard a few times so maybe it can be slashed with Surf and/or Hyper Beam. I'm not sure.

Because of the lack of Rest, however, Swords Dance Tentacruel is often forced out by paralysis inducers such as Electabuzz and Kadabra; ergo, while it's still an important mid-game pivot, significantly more care has to be taken to succeed with the set.
Well, most Tentacruel variants won't want to mess with these Pokemon regardless unless the Tentacruel user is making a hard read. I think the more significant challenge is having a reliable answer to Articuno and opposing Tentacruel. Most people will just kind of mindless play the the Tentacruel ditto. This isn't always viable with the Swords Dance set, however, because damage is generally permanent. You need alternative answers to Tentacruel Wrap or just do everything in your power to prevent Tentacruel from coming out repeatedly, at least until the endgame. I would imagine bulky Water-type Pokemon mesh well with this set because I don't think this set wants to deal with Articuno very much.

+2 Hyper Beam notably OHKOes Kadabra, making it significantly less inclined to switch in to try and paralyze Tentacruel.
This is still kind of tricky because paralysis does pretty much ruin this set. You will probably need to deal with Kadabra (and Electabuzz) one way or another before you attempt anything with this set.

Ideally, Swords Dance Tentacruel should be paired with Pokemon that can reliably put an opposing Pokemon to sleep; Venusaur is an excellent choice, dealing significant damage to Omastar and Vaporeon with Razor Leaf while outrunning Hypno. Tier-king Hypno also makes a solid partner, putting a firm stop to Kadabra and providing defensive utility in numerous situations where Tentacruel would be forced out.
It might be nice to mention the kind of stuff Tentacruel likes to set up against. Sleeping Pokemon (be it from Rest or induced by Hynosis/Sleep Powder) are a very obvious choice, especially stuff like opposing Tentacruel and Vaporeon, as they will usually be willing to stick around a turn or two, as they generally aren't afraid of anything on the standard Tentacruel set. Even if they are not asleep, Tentacruel can use Swords Dance against bulky Water-type Pokemon, especially in endgames. The endgame ditto is especially notworthy as a healthy Swords Dance Tentacruel can usually secure this. I don't have much experience, but you may also be able to set up against Pokemon that are likely to switch out against Tentacruel, like Dragonite. Basically, any Pokemon with a boosting move in its set should come with an explanation of how it sets up.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
I have a few extra ideas for this section, take what you will:
  • Bubble Beam: It's quite weak, but the ~33% Speed drop is actually pretty useful in the ditto and against some Pokemon like Persian (though extra damage is probably better in this matchup).
  • Double Edge: It can be used in place of Hyper Beam on the Swords Dance set.
  • Mega Drain: This is surprisingly usable, though not super useful. Tentacruel can get a pretty good amount of health back with this move if it faces Vaporeon or Omastar.
  • Toxic: It synergizes with Wrap so maybe it can punish switch-ins, but it might not be worth it as a lot of Tentacruel answers don't really mind Toxic (see Kadabra).
Checks and Counters
===================

[The next bit was ripped straight from the old analysis, though I probably will update it heavily]
I'm not going to go into huge detail here because this was ripped (and I'm burning out here), but I'll cover the main ones that should appear (up to you how you draw the lines):
  • Paralysis: Hypno, Kadabra, Electabuzz, Dragonite, Tangela, Raichu, Clefable
    • Body Slam: Kangaskhan, Gyarados, Dodrio, Dewgong, Vaporeon, Venusaur, Omastar
  • Equal and Faster Pokemon: Tentacruel, Dodrio, Raichu, Kadabra, Electabuzz, Persian, Dugtrio, Aerodactyl, Electrode, Charizard
  • Haunter: Just Haunter
Writing this out made me realize damn near everything in UU has something it can use to punish Tentacruel significantly. The key ones are the faster Pokemon, but there is a lot to be said about everything here and how it works. Considering how important outplaying Tentacruel is to RBY UU, this section could end up being enormous (and that is totally fine).

I'll call it there for now. You know the drill, revise it and ping me. Cheers!
 
Last edited:

Plague von Karma

Banned deucer.
Implement for QC 1/2, good work, please ping me if you need any clarifications though.
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— is Markdown notation for emdashes, just keep them there. Makes Amaranth's job easier.

[OVERVIEW]

Tentacruel is unquestionably the defining threat of RBY UU, shaping every facet of the tier and dictating the viability of many Pokemon. (this is a crucial fact) Access to Wrap combined with its incredible Speed give it nigh-unmatched (AH) utility in nearly every game. By immobilizing and chipping Pokemon over its duration, with the immobilization persisting for a turn as Tentacruel switches out, (can use emdashes here if you want to be cute) Tentacruel's Wrap shapes how offensive and defensive play is executed in the tier. (you could say something like "giving RBY UU its identity") As an offensive tool, Tentacruel’s Wrap puts immense pressure on defensive Pokemon by softening them up with chip damage that can even be compounded with Swords Dance, (bit subjective, but note the overview isn't a set analysis and should absolutely note everything it can do in a general sense) preventing them from healing over its duration, and most crucially, allowing for offensive teammates to come onto the field safely. This minimizes the potential damage that can be done to Tentacruel’s teammates, allowing them to remain on the field longer, increasing the value that they can bring. (safely entering the field already gets this across imo) As a defensive tool, Tentacruel’s Wrap allows teams to regain the initiative and stabilize (seems redundant) by bringing Tentacruel in as slower wallbreakers (spacing) such as Kangaskhan and Gyarados switch onto the field in, stalling halting their momentum out with Wrap and forcing them to switch, while also letting defensive Pokemon preserve their health as they too can be pivoted onto the field to answer offensive threats without incurring damage as they switch in.

The utility Tentacruel's (AA) Wrap provides already makes it a core part of the tier, shaping offensive and defensive play to an unrivalled extent, however but (wrong use of "however", also less syllables helps this flow in a salesman sense) that’s only one of the many things Tentacruel offers to a team. With its base 120 Special—the second-highest in the tier—access to STAB Surf and Hydro Pump, and good coverage with Blizzard, Tentacruel is an offensive behemoth, dealing significant damage to Kangaskhan, Omastar, Haunter, and Kadabra with its STABS moves, and hitting Dodrio, Dragonite, Venusuaur, and Tangela for significant amounts of damage with Blizzard, if it doesn’t just OHKO them outright. This wide coverage when combined with Tentacruel’s high Speed allows it to act as a revenge killer, a sweeper, and a wallbreaker—especially in conjunction with Wrap preventing its target from healing afterwards. With Swords Dance, Tentacruel becomes a nigh-unwallable late-game sweeper, demolishing slower teams with Wrap, Hyper Beam, and Surf, with near impunity. With Rest and Tentacruel’s fantastic Water-typing, (RH) Tentacruel becomes a key defensive piece, checking Articuno, one of the most dangerous Pokemon in the tier, and answering the myriad of Surfs and Blizzards from the tier's (AA) many Water-types, such as Vaporeon, Gyarados, Omastar, and Dewgong.

Despite all these positives, Tentacruel does have some very notable flaws. Its Poison-typing, (RH) while making it immune to Toxic, gives it a glaring weakness to Psychic- and Ground-type attacks, which makes it hard to switch Tentacruel into Pokemon like Hypno and Kangaskhan, and prevents it from staying in against Kadabra and Dugtrio, both of whom outspeed Tentacruel and heavily damage it with their STABS moves. Another notable weakness of Tentacruel is its physical frailty, taking significant damage from Body Slams (or pluralise Hyper Beam) and Hyper Beam which can allow threats such as Persian or Aerodactyl (Neither of these Pokemon use Body Slam, maybe remove the examples outright) to force Tentacruel to switch out as well. Tentacruel’s severe weakness to paralysis doesn’t do it any favours either, as the Speed drop and chance to fully paralyze mid-wrap heavily impact its longevity. Lastly, Tentacruel’s reliance on Rest to heal itself can be heavily punished by Psychic-types such as Kadabra and Hypno, Electric-types such as Raichu and Electabuzz, Normal-type and physical (You mention Dugtrio, which isn't Normal-type) attackers such as Kangaskhan, Dodrio, and Persian, and Dugtrio. However, even with these flaws, Tentacruel is the dominant threat in the tier's apex predator, (let's play this up more, eh?) with its utility and power making it a nigh (it just is, no need to be modest) mandatory pick for most competitive teams.

[SET]
name: Wrap Pivot
move 1: Wrap
move 2: Surf
move 3: Blizzard
move 4: Rest

[SET COMMENTS]

Set Description
=========

This is Tentacruel's defining set, capable of extracting nigh-unmatched amounts of value at every stage of the game. With its strong STAB Surf and Blizzard, Tentacruel is a consistent offensive threat, capable of 2HKOing Kangaskhan, Persian, Tangela, Venusaur, Dodrio, and OHKOing Aerodactyl, Dugtrio, and Dragonite. Even against specially bulky targets like Hypno and Articuno, it's (RA) Surfs take off roughly 30% of their health which can force an early Rest from Hypno—which a teammate like Kangaskhan, Dugtrio, Dodrio, Persian, or Dragonite can exploit—or chip Articuno enough to stop it from sweeping. This damage is accentuated by Tentacruel's fast Wrap, allowing it to immobilize and chip away at slower targets, preventing its targets them from retaliating or healing any damage it they may have incurred through the use of a healing move, while also allowing more offensively threatening teammates—such as Dugtrio, Articuno, Persian, and Kangaskhan—a (this is what you wanted to achieve with the comma) safe entry point to come onto the battlefield to exploit the momentum and damage acquired dealt by Tentacruel. Tentacruel's last move on this set is Rest for two main reasons; firstly, by running Rest, Tentacruel can heal off damage or any status conditions it may have been afflicted with as it came onto the field or due to an untimely Wrap miss, allowing it to remain an active presence in the game for longer, which in turn gives it more turns to deal damage with Surf or Blizzard and gives it more opportunities to safely bring a teammate onto the field with Wrap. Secondly, by running Rest, Tentacruel can better leverage its respectable special bulk and resistances to Water and Ice-type attacks, allowing it to switch into the likes of Articuno, Vaporeon, Omastar, and itself consistently throughout a game.

Tentacruel is a very versatile Pokemon that can be used as the situation demands; (RC, ASC) it can be used as an offensive weapon and revenge killer with its Speed and consistent damage output, it can be used as (list formatting already gives this preposition) a defensive piece with its respectable special bulk, resistances, and Rest, and, as per the name of this set, it can be used as a pivot with Wrap to bring in its teammates. Getting Tentacruel onto the field safely as often as possible, as well as properly identifying whether using Wrap to deal chip and pivot in a teammate is worth risking a potential miss, or if it would be better for Tentacruel to fire off strong Surfs and Blizzards to break down the opposing teams defensive core, is vital to making the most of Tentacruel; however, you have to balance this with keeping Tentacruel healthy as an answer to Articuno and opposing Water-types such as Vaporeon, Dewgong, and opposing Tentacruel as well. Opposing Flying-types and Grass-types switching onto the field to answer Dugtrio are two great opportunities to bring Tentacruel into play, as Tentacruel threatens to OHKO or 2HKO many of them with its strong coverage options. Another good opportunity to bring Tentacruel onto the field is against opposing slow wallbreakers, such as Kangaskhan, Articuno, and Gyarados, looking to exploit a Resting Hypno or Vaporeon, as Tentacruel can immobilize them with Wrap before they get an opportunity to attack and regain momentum for its team. Tentacruel can also make good use of sleeping targets on the opposing team, such as Hypno or Omastar, attempting to burn sleep turns, as it can deal significant damage to them while they are asleep before immobilizing them with Wrap as they wake up, preventing them from retaliating or from healing off the damage with Rest. damage sustained during Rest.

Given such a versatile threat Tentacruel is, it synergizes very well with many common threats in the tier, as they largely seek to benefit from its presence rarther than vice versa. Sweepers like Dugtrio and Persian are good teammates for Tentacruel, as the safe switch provided by Wrap allows them to come onto the field safely, allowing them to preserve their health and avoid getting paralyzed by Thunder Wave&mdash;except in the case of Dugtrio due to its Ground-typing&mdash;in the case of for later in the game, or to continue getting mileage out of them even when at low health. In return, they threaten to 2HKO common Tentacruel answers like Kadabra and Electabuzz. Dugtrio in particular is noteworthy as it is immune to opposing Thunder Waves intended to cripple Tentacruel before punishing the opposition heavily with its STAB Earthquake, good coverage in Rock Slide and Slash, the threat of Substitute catching a switch from the opponent, and high crit rate due to its Speed. In return, Tentacruel outspeeds and threatens common Dugtrio answers like Tangela, Venusaur, Dragonite, Gyarados, Aerodactyl, and Kangaskhan, with Wrap immobilizing and wearing them down into Surf or Blizzard range. Hypno is another fantastic teammate for Tentacruel, coming into common Tentacruel answers like Kadabra and Electabuzz and forcing them to switch out, lest they get Paralyzed by Thunder Wave, which makes them easy pickings for slower physical attackers like Kangaskhan, Gyarados, and Dragonite to exploit, as well as prevents them from checking Tentacruel anymore thereafter. Hypno, when healthy, also checks less common Tentacruel answers like Persian and Aerodactyl very well with its strong Psychic and Thunder Wave. In exchange, Hypno benefits immensely from Tentacruel’s ability to answer Pokemon that heavily punish a resting Hypno—with strong physical attacks as Kangaskhan and Gyarados do, sleep-inducing moves as Venusaur and Tangela do, or setting up Agiliwrap as Dragonite does. (This wording seems very odd, albeit not incorrect. Consider using "from <name here" or something instead) Furthermore, Tentacruel’s fast Wrap benefits Hypno immensely, as it baits in Pokemon that Hypno checks, such as Electabuzz and Kadabra, before, crucially, letting Hypno switch into them without taking chip damage or paralysis on the way in. This makes Hypno significantly more threatening, as it now can remain a threat for longer before it needs to use Rest, gifting it more opportunities to make progress by firing off STAB Psychics or Thunder waves, while also preserving its health, allowing it to take an important attack later before crippling the assailant with damage or paralysis. (This seems to lean into "unrelated information" territory, consider cutting) Bulky Pokemon such as Kangaskhan, Gyarados, Vaporeon, Dragonite, and Dewgong, also make for effective Tentacruel teammates. As, ("As" is normally used to connect sentences in this context, consider a different preposition) while healthy, they can switch into some of Tentacruel’s common checks such as Persian or Dugtrio, ideally while they are immobilized by Tentacruel’s Wrap, and threaten the opposing team in return with strong attacks and the threat of paralysis. They are also are very adept at exploiting resting Pokemon, such as Hypno, Vaporeon, Omastar, and Dewgong, that switch into Wrap to burn sleep turns while taking relatively little damage from Tentacruel’s Wrap with their aforementioned strong attacks and, in the case of Dragonite, an opportunity to sweep with AgiliWrap. (Huh? Am I reading this wrong or does this seem to make no sense in the context of the sentence? Consider rewording) Of the aforementioned Pokemon, Dewgong and Vaporeon provide additional benefits to Tentacruel, as they both grant the Tentacruel user an additional Articuno counter, which allows Tentacruel to play more aggressively without as much risk of Articuno getting out of hand, and in the case of Dewgong, a freeze immunity, which allows Tentacruel to avoid taking as many Blizzards from an opposing Tentacruel and reduce the chances that it gets frozen. Tangela and Venusaur also make for very effective Tentacruel partners, as, while healthy, they answer Dugtrio, Persian, and Electabuzz, using the entry point to put an opposing Pokemon out of commission with Sleep Powder while providing additional value after sleeping an opponent, either with other support moves such as Bind and Stun Spore, as in Tangela’s case, a strong STAB Razor Leaf as in Venusaurs case, (While I process this fine given my native language's structure, I can see this being odd in the eyes of English speakers, as the "owner" is normally listed first. Again, not incorrect, but the wording may be weird to some) while also checking Dugtrio. Meanwhile, Tentacruel acts as a good answer to any Flying-types, such as Articuno, Dragonite, or Gyarados, that try to exploit Tangela and Venusaur’s lack of coverage moves. Lastly, Flying-type teammates such as the aforementioned Gyarados and Dragonite, but also Aerodactyl, Articuno, and Dodrio, can benefit Tentacruel by checking Dugtrio with their Earthquake immunity and strong attacks. Gyarados and Dragonite can switch into Dugtrio’s Rock Slide two times, barring an untimely critical hit, before Dugtrio can threaten to 2HKO them as they switch in. Aerodactyl and Dodrio are less sturdy answers to Dugtrio, only taking a single Rock Slide before Dugtrio can 2HKO them; (RC, ASC) however, they can threaten Kadabra fairly well when it is chipped. Aerodactyl’s high-Speed (RH) stat is particularly noteworthy as, excluding the uncommon Electrode, it is the only Pokemon in the tier that outspeeds Dugtrio, making it the only Pokemon that can revenge kill an unparalyzed Dugtrio without taking an attack in the process, outside of another Dugtrio winning the Speed tie. Its Normal resistance is also useful when facing Dugtrio, as Dugtrio commonly uses Slash as an early-game (AH) midground option when scouting its opponent’s team, which Aerodactyl takes very comfortably. Articuno is unable to switch into Dugtrio’s Rock Slide safely at all, being 2HKO’d from full health by it, however but, (very slight repetition on "however" and the use is a bit off, maybe this can work?) when above 58% health, it can force Dugtrio to switch out or get OHKO’d by its Blizzard if it can come in safely, such as on an Earthquake or from Tentacruel’s Wrap&mdash;and Dugtrio does not have a substitute up. (the positioning of this is very odd and I think you could maybe try to word it better)

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Surf
move 3: Wrap
move 4: Hyper Beam

[SET COMMENTS]

Set Description
=========

Swords Dance Tentacruel is a strong alternative to the standard Wrap Pivot set, trading the longevity and much of the mid-game long-term utility (I thought about this a lot and I think this is the exact wording we're looking for when discussing the set differences) that defines its standard Wrap Pivot set to become a surprising and effective late-game sweeper that can effectively break past bulkier Pokemon it normally struggles to break past on its own with, such as Vaporeon, Hypno, and opposing Tentacruel, which can also operate as a mid-game pivot as it the standard set does, albeit in a far more limited capacity not as liberally due to how punishing a miss can be; note that it cannot afford to run Rest. (more precise explanation) (also, consider bringing up that this set punishes opposing Tentacruel particularly hard, as that's where a lot of forced Rests come from) After one Swords Dance, Tentacruel’s Wrap deals around 6% per tick to bulky targets such as Hypno, Gyarados, Kangaskhan, and Vaporeon, turning it from a pivoting move that deals chip damage to a potent wallbreaking tool that quickly wears opposing Pokemon into KO range of either Surf or its boosted Hyper Beam, which are reliable KO options against bulky Pokemon once they are slightly below half health while leaving them are unable to retaliate, and forces the opponent to rely on Pokemon that outspeed Tentacruel and force it to switch to force it out, such as Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, or Persian. However, none of these Pokemon can reliably switch into Tentacruel, as Tentacruel’s boosted Hyper Beam can KO all of them after only a small amount of chip, or, in the case of Kadabra, (AC) Tentacruel’s boosted Hyper Beam is an OHKO, dissuading all of them from switching into Tentacruel. When using Swords Dance to attempt a sweep, ensure that it is being used against targets that are unable to status it or harm it, such as a sleeping target looking to burn some sleep turns against Tentacruel, or against a slower Pokemon looking to use a recovery move. Thus, it is important to recognise that this set profits from how opponents conventionally react to most Tentacruel sets. Furthermore, while more limited than its Wrap Pivot set, Swords Dance Tentacruel still brings a fair amount of midgame utility to the table, similarly utilizing its fast Wrap to position around the opponent and bring teammates onto the field. However, utilizing Swords Dance Tentacruel as a midgame pivot must be done with care as, without Rest, Tentacruel is unable to heal off any damage or status ailments it may be hit with as it comes onto the field or due to an untimely Wrap miss. (this was established earlier in your opener, and my edits made it clearer as well) In practice, this translates to Tentacruel relying on predicted switches as a means of coming onto the field in the middle of the game to pivot in a teammate. (This isn't quite right...it's still just as capable in many instances, it's just less consistent. I get what you're going for, but consider rewording this a bit. Something like "Due to this set's increased susceptibility to status, it can be more difficult to bring in, often relying on resisted attacks, fellow Wrappers like Dragonite, and good double switching" to be more clear. Go with your gut, though. Of course, since I trimmed some fat here, you'll want to reword accordingly.) Another notable, albeit uncommon way of utilizing Swords Dance Tentacruel, is as a mid-game (AH) wallbreaker, as it can exploit an opposing Tentacruel or Vaporeon attempting to wake up from Rest against your Tentacruel with Swords Dance before taking down one or two opposing Pokemon for its teammates to exploit. It is worth noting that Swords Dance Tentacruel is somewhat inconsistent by nature, due to Wrap’s imperfect accuracy, and even when set up in an optimal position, bad luck can cause Tentacruel’s sweep to fall flat on its face. (Frankly, this can apply to any Tentacruel set, waking it up from Rest is very difficult and a forced one is arguably a wincon for some teams. Keep in mind, it suffers from the same Dugtrio issues every Ground-weak Rest Pokemon has. Again, I get what you're going for, but this seems harsh.)

Consider noting that paralyzed teams just lose to this set.


Swords Dance Tentacruel is a fairly needy sweeper, relying on its teammates to force the opponent into positions where it can safely use Swords Dance, as well as paralyze or faint any Pokemon that could attempt to stop its sweep.
(Refer to my prior points, this is still a bit harsh. It's still got Wrap + STAB Surf, which are the tools that make it good. It's just got more risk attached. I wouldn't call the set that counters opposing Tentacruel "needy") As mentioned before, sleeping Pokemon looking to burn a turn or two of sleep make excellent teammates, hence Swords Dance Tentacruel pairs well with Pokemon that can put an opposing Pokemon to sleep, such as Haunter, Hypnosis Hypno, Venusaur, or Tangela. These four Pokemon also have defensive utility as well, with Haunter walling opposing Persian, Venusaur and Tangela checking opposing Dugtrio, Raichu, Electabuzz, and Persian which may attempt to stop Tentacruel's sweep, and Hypno crippling Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, and Persian, with Thunder Wave, allowing Tentacruel to sweep with Swords Dance unopposed. Seismic Toss Hypno is also an effective teammate for Swords Dance Tentacruel, as it can reliably force an opposing Hypno to use Rest with Seismic Toss, which gifts Tentacruel an excellent opportunity to use Swords Dance. Dugtrio and Persian are two excellent teammates for Swords Dance Tentacruel, as they can exploit opposing Kadabra, Electabuzz, and Raichu, attempting to stop Tentacruel from sweeping with Swords Dance, as well as clean up any remaining Pokemon on the opposing team after Swords Dance Tentacruel's assault. Kangaskhan and Dragonite also make for solid teammates for Tentacruel as they can reliably paralyze or KO Persian and Kadabra attempting to check Swords Dance Tentacruel.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

While Tentacruel has a variety of other options, they are generally discouraged due to them either being useful in very rare situations or because they increase the inconsistency of make Tentacruel less consistent, which many team compositions cannot afford. Hydro Pump can be used for increased damage output, but the accuracy and drop in PP are very noticeable in prolonged games. (Note relevant calcs, please, this is very important and I recall there being some crucial ones. You use this a lot, for one...) Ice Beam grants Tentacruel more PP for freeze wars, increasing its chances at winning them. However, the drop in damage output from Blizzard is drastic, notably failing to OHKO Dragonite and thus giving it the opportunity to set up AgiliWrap. Barrier can be run to make Tentacruel take less damage from the wide array of physical moves, dodging the 2HKO from Kangaskhan and Dugtrio’s Earthquake and allowing it to win the matchups; however, this fails to assist it against Persian, which can ignore the Defense boosts with Slash.

Mention that Blizzard can be used on the Swords Dance set if you're a bitch

Volk's suggestions and my opinions on them;

I have a few extra ideas for this section, take what you will:
  • Bubble Beam: It's quite weak, but the ~33% Speed drop is actually pretty useful in the ditto and against some Pokemon like Persian (though extra damage is probably better in this matchup). +1 to this, I believe pac experimented with it before and it actually worked out.
  • Double Edge: It can be used in place of Hyper Beam on the Swords Dance set. Hate this as it makes the set worse against Articuno, which is a dicey matchup as-is. You can probably go for it but strongly discourage it imo.
  • Mega Drain: This is surprisingly usable, though not super useful. Tentacruel can get a pretty good amount of health back with this move if it faces Vaporeon or Omastar. iirc this is also ok against Golem, but I also think we removed it during development at one point due to the calcs being a bit grim.
  • Toxic: It synergizes with Wrap so maybe it can punish switch-ins, but it might not be worth it as a lot of Tentacruel answers don't really mind Toxic (see Kadabra). Very much leaning towards saying no to this one, if you Tox Kadabra you're probably just straight-up losing the game.


Checks and Counters
===================

[The next bit was ripped straight from the old analysis, though it probably will be updated somewhat] (Volk covered this just fine)

**Paralysis Inducers**: Tentacruel is severely crippled by paralysis, and any fast threat that can inflict it, such as Kadabra, Raichu, or Electabuzz, can be a very pressing issue for it. The chance of full paralysis coupled with Wrap's accuracy leaves Tentacruel with a 63.57% chance to connect Wrap, sharply reducing Tentacruel’s efficacy as a pivot and as a sweeper. The Speed drop combined with this causes Tentacruel to be a significantly less effective pivot and leaves it vulnerable to slower threats like Hypno and Gyarados; Gyarados makes it much more difficult for Tentacruel to use Rest to heal up. Kadabra and Electabuzz, being faster than Tentacruel and possessing enough bulk to avoid a 2HKO from Surf, are capable of switching into Tentacruel directly and threatening it with Thunder Wave. However, it is often safer for the Kadabra or Electabuzz user to send in a Water-resistant Pokemon to bait Wrap and then switch either Pokemon into the locked-in move. Since Kadabra and Electabuzz are faster than Tentacruel, they can wait out the Wrap turns and threaten 2HKOs with their STAB moves. It should be noted, however, that a critical hit from Surf severely hurts Kadabra, forcing it to use Recover and letting the Tentacruel user switch to something like Hypno to maintain momentum and potentially spread status. Electabuzz and Raichu, on the other hand, still threaten to take Tentacruel down after a critical hit from Surf.

**Haunter**: Haunter has enough bulk to avoid a 2HKO from Tentacruel's STAB moves and won't take chip damage from Wrap, although it is still immobilized. Due to its strong Thunderbolt, Haunter can force Tentacruel out and make it waste Wrap PP. However, if Haunter has already been damaged, it may be forced to use Explosion instead. It should be noted that a Thunderbolt and subsequent Explosion from Haunter can KO Tentacruel, but low rolls from Thunderbolt can let it survive. If this happens, the next attempt to revenge kill Tentacruel should force it to switch out. Critical hits from Surf can deal severe damage to Haunter, however, likely forcing it to use Explosion regardless.

**Dugtrio**: Dugtrio is the second-fastest threat in the tier and can 2HKO Tentacruel with Earthquake. However, its fragility makes Surf a guaranteed OHKO, so Dugtrio is limited to a revenge killing role. Tentacruel should attempt to stay out of OHKO range, ideally being at 80% HP or more, but this is a tall order in many situations. Dugtrio’s speed and strong Earthquake can also allow it to stop a chipped Tentacruel from locking down its team with Wrap by coming in on its Wrap and waiting it out before KOing the Tentacruel with Earthquake, however, this is usually a last resort option as Dugtrio’s frailty can be punished heavily by many common Tentacruel teammates if they are reasonably healthy.

**Persian**: Persian is among the fastest threats in the tier and can threaten a reliable 2HKO with Slash against a Tentacruel at 90% or below. Unlike Dugtrio however, Persian has enough bulk to live a Surf, getting 2HKOed by it 36% of the time from full health, allowing it to threaten Tentacruel while remaining a flexible threat, as it can afford to take a hit in exchange for dealing significant damage to Tentacruel to enable a teammate without getting KOed in the process.

[CREDITS]

- Written by: [[Shellnuts, 491544], [pacattacc, 520967]]
- Earlier versions by: [[May, 236353], [Shellnuts, 491544], [Volk, 530877]]
- Quality checked by: [[May, 236353], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
 
Last edited:

Plague von Karma

Banned deucer.
Implement for QC 1/2, mostly grammar and some OO things. You used the wrong apostrophe throughout this, I did a find/replace job on it myself. You have a habit of using "however" where "but" or other interruptors would be grammatically correct, I've tried to help with this in the edits provided.

This work seems stellar, I'll let Volk handle Checks & Counters though.

I'm also glad to see you've come round on SDCruel~

[OVERVIEW]

Tentacruel is unquestionably the defining threat of RBY UU, shaping every facet of the tier and dictating the viability of many Pokemon. Access to Wrap combined with its incredible base 100 Speed tier gives it nigh-unmatched utility in nearly every game. Tentacruel's Wrap shapes the identity of RBY UU, defining offensive and defensive play in the tier, by immobilizing and chipping Pokemon and generating free switches during the immobilization. As an offensive tool, Tentacruel's Wrap puts immense pressure on defensive Pokemon by softening them up with chip damage that can even be compounded with Swords Dance, preventing them from healing over its duration, and most crucially, allowing for offensive teammates to come onto the field safely. As a defensive tool, Tentacruel's Wrap allows teams to regain the initiative by bringing Tentacruel in as slower wallbreakers such as Kangaskhan and Gyarados switch in, halting their momentum with Wrap and forcing them to switch, while also letting defensive Pokemon preserve their health as they too can be pivoted onto the field to answer offensive threats without incurring damage as they switch in.

The utility Tentacruel's Wrap provides already makes it a core part of the tier, shaping offensive and defensive play to an unrivalled extent, but that's only one of the many things Tentacruel offers to a team. With its base 120 Special&mdash;the second-highest in the tier&mdash;in addition to (technically incorrect emdash use otherwise iirc) access to STAB Surf and Hydro Pump, and good coverage with Blizzard, Tentacruel is an offensive behemoth, dealing significant damage to Kangaskhan, Omastar, Haunter, and Kadabra with its STAB moves, and hitting Dodrio, Dragonite, Venusuaur, and Tangela for significant amounts of damage with Blizzard, if it doesn't just OHKO them outright. This wide coverage when combined with Tentacruel's high Speed allows it to act as a revenge killer, a sweeper, and a wallbreaker. With Swords Dance, Tentacruel becomes a nigh-unwallable late-game sweeper, demolishing slower teams with Wrap, Hyper Beam, and Surf, with near impunity. With Rest and Tentacruel's fantastic Water typing, Tentacruel becomes a key defensive piece, checking Articuno, one of the most dangerous Pokemon in the tier, and answering the myriad of Surfs and Blizzards from the tier's many Water-types, such as Vaporeon, Gyarados, Omastar, and Dewgong.

Despite all these positives, Tentacruel does have some very notable flaws. Its Poison typing, while making it immune to Toxic, gives it a glaring weakness to Psychic- and Ground-type attacks, which makes it hard to switch Tentacruel into Pokemon like Hypno and Kangaskhan, and prevents it from staying in against Kadabra and Dugtrio, both of whom outspeed Tentacruel and heavily damage it with their STAB moves. Another notable weakness of Tentacruel is its physical frailty, which can allow threats such as Persian or Aerodactyl to force Tentacruel to switch out as well. Tentacruel is also severely crippled paralysis, as the Speed drop and chance to fully paralyze mid-wrap heavily impact its longevity. Lastly, Tentacruel's reliance on Rest to heal itself can be heavily punished by Psychic-types such as Kadabra and Hypno, Electric-types such as Raichu and Electabuzz, and physical attackers such as Kangaskhan, Dodrio, and Persian, and Dugtrio. However, even with these flaws, Tentacruel is the the tier's apex predator, with its utility and power making it a mandatory pick for competitive teams.

[SET]
name: Wrap Pivot What if we went with "The Great Dictator (Wrap Pivot)" for that reference while also making it more grandiose :3
move 1: Wrap
move 2: Surf
move 3: Blizzard
move 4: Rest

[SET COMMENTS]

Set Description
=========

This is Tentacruel's defining set, capable of extracting nigh-unmatched amounts of value at every stage of the game. With its strong STAB Surf and Blizzard, Tentacruel is a consistent offensive threat, capable of 2HKOing Kangaskhan, Persian, Tangela, Venusaur, Dodrio, and OHKOing Aerodactyl, Dugtrio, and Dragonite. Even against specially bulky targets like Hypno and Articuno, its Surfs take off roughly 30% of their health which can force an early Rest from Hypno—which a teammate like Kangaskhan, Dugtrio, Dodrio, Persian, or Dragonite can exploit—or chip Articuno enough to stop it from sweeping. This damage is accentuated by Tentacruel's fast Wrap, allowing it to immobilize and chip away at slower targets, preventing them from retaliating or healing any damage they may have incurred through the use of a healing move, while also allowing more offensively threatening teammates&mdash;such as Dugtrio, Articuno, Persian, and Kangaskhan&mdash;a safe entry point to come onto the battlefield to exploit the momentum and damage dealt by Tentacruel. Tentacruel's last move on this set is Rest for two main reasons; firstly, by running Rest, Tentacruel can heal off damage or any status conditions it may have been afflicted with, allowing it to remain an active presence in the game throughout the game. Secondly, by running Rest, Tentacruel can better leverage its respectable special bulk and resistances to Water and Ice-type attacks, allowing it to switch into the likes of Articuno, Vaporeon, Omastar, and itself consistently throughout a game, as well as significantly improving its performance when facing opposing Tentacruel.

Tentacruel is a very versatile Pokemon that can be used as the situation demands; it can be used as an offensive weapon and revenge killer with its Speed and consistent damage output, a defensive piece with its respectable special bulk, resistances, and Rest, and, as per the name of this set, it can be used as a pivot with Wrap to bring in its teammates. Getting Tentacruel onto the field safely as often as possible, as well as properly identifying whether using Wrap to deal chip and pivot in a teammate is worth risking a potential miss, or if it would be better for Tentacruel to fire off strong Surfs and Blizzards to break down the opposing teams defensive core, is vital to making the most of Tentacruel; however, you have to balance this with keeping Tentacruel healthy as an answer to Articuno and opposing Water-types such as Vaporeon, Dewgong, and opposing Tentacruel as well. Opposing Flying- and Grass-types switching onto the field to answer Dugtrio are two great opportunities to bring Tentacruel into play, as Tentacruel threatens to OHKO or 2HKO many of them with its strong coverage options. Another good opportunity to bring Tentacruel onto the field is against opposing slow wallbreakers, such as Kangaskhan, Articuno, and Gyarados, looking to exploit a Resting Hypno or Vaporeon, as Tentacruel can immobilize them with Wrap before they get an opportunity to attack and regain momentum for its team. Tentacruel can also make good use of sleeping targets on the opposing team, such as Hypno or Omastar, attempting to burn sleep turns, as it can deal significant damage to them while they are asleep before immobilizing them with Wrap as they wake up, preventing them from retaliating or from healing off damage sustained during Rest.

Given such a how versatile a threat Tentacruel is, it synergizes very well with many common threats in the tier, as they largely seek to benefit from its presence rarther than vice versa. Sweepers and wallbreakers like Dugtrio, Kangaskhan, Gyarados, and Persian are good teammates for Tentacruel, as the safe switch provided by Wrap allows them to come onto the field safely, allowing them to preserve their health and avoid getting paralyzed by Thunder Wave&mdash;except in the case of Dugtrio due thanks to its Ground-typing(RH)&mdash;in the case of for later in the game, or to continue getting mileage out of them even when at low health. (I think adding these in helps since they both absolutely want to come in safely and it also comes with having the Dugtrio TWave immunity make more sense to mention, feel free to tweak) In return, they threaten to 2HKO common Tentacruel answers like Kadabra and Electabuzz. Dugtrio in particular is particularly noteworthy as it is immune to opposing Thunder Waves intended to cripple Tentacruel (You mentioned this just now, remove this or the previous mention and tweak accordingly) before punishing the opposition heavily with its STAB Earthquake, good coverage in Rock Slide and Slash, the threat of Substitute catching a switch from the opponent, and high crit rate due to its Speed. In return, Tentacruel outspeeds and threatens common Dugtrio answers like Tangela, Venusaur, Dragonite, Gyarados, Aerodactyl, and Kangaskhan, with Wrap immobilizing and wearing them down into Surf or Blizzard range. Hypno is another fantastic teammate for Tentacruel, coming into common Tentacruel answers like Kadabra and Electabuzz, forcing them to switch out, lest they get paralyzed by Thunder Wave, which makes them easy pickings for slower physical attackers like Kangaskhan, Gyarados, and Dragonite to exploit, as well as prevents them from checking Tentacruel thereafter. Hypno, when healthy, also can act as a soft check to other common Tentacruel answers like Persian and Aerodactyl with its strong Psychic and Thunder Wave. In exchange, Hypno benefits immensely from Tentacruel's ability to answer Pokemon that heavily punish a resting Hypno with either strong physical attacks—as Kangaskhan and Gyarados do—sleep-inducing moves—as Venusaur and Tangela do—or setting up Agiliwrap—as Dragonite does. (This wording is extremely odd and difficult to follow, emdashes aren't often used this way and it seems like you want to fuse them with commas. I believe it's technically correct but the result text-wise is a bit strange, catch my drift?) Furthermore, Tentacruel's fast Wrap benefits Hypno immensely, as it baits in Pokemon that Hypno checks, such as Electabuzz and Kadabra, before, crucially, letting Hypno switch into them without taking chip damage or paralysis on the way in. Bulky Pokemon such as Kangaskhan, Gyarados, Vaporeon, Dragonite, and Dewgong, also make for effective Tentacruel teammates because, while healthy, they can switch into some of Tentacruel's common checks such as Persian or Dugtrio, ideally while they are immobilized by Tentacruel's Wrap, and threaten the opposing team in return with strong attacks and the threat of paralysis, from either Body Slam or Thunder Wave in the case of Dragonite. They are also are very adept at exploiting resting Pokemon, such as Hypno, Vaporeon, Omastar, and Dewgong, that switch into Wrap to burn sleep turns while taking relatively little damage from Tentacruel's Wrap. Of the aforementioned Pokemon, Dewgong and Vaporeon provide additional benefits to Tentacruel, as they both grant the Tentacruel user an additional Articuno counter, which allows Tentacruel to play more aggressively without as much risk of Articuno getting out of hand, and in the case of Dewgong, a freeze immunity, which allows Tentacruel to avoid taking as many Blizzards from an opposing Tentacruel and reduce the chances that it gets frozen. Tangela and Venusaur also make for very effective Tentacruel partners, as, while healthy, they answer Dugtrio, Persian, and Electabuzz, using the entry point to put an opposing Pokemon out of commission with Sleep Powder while providing additional value after sleeping an opponent with their utility moves and also checking Dugtrio. Meanwhile, Tentacruel acts as a good answer to any Flying-types, such as Articuno, Dragonite, or Gyarados, that try to exploit Tangela and Venusaur's lack of coverage moves. Lastly, Flying-type teammates such as the aforementioned Gyarados and Dragonite, but also Aerodactyl, Articuno, and Dodrio, can benefit Tentacruel by checking Dugtrio with their Earthquake immunity and strong attacks. Gyarados and Dragonite can switch into Dugtrio's Rock Slide two times, barring an untimely critical hit, before Dugtrio can threaten to 2HKO them as they switch in. Aerodactyl and Dodrio are less sturdy answers to Dugtrio, only taking a single Rock Slide before Dugtrio can 2HKO them; however, they can threaten Kadabra fairly well when it is chipped. Aerodactyl's high Speed stat is particularly noteworthy as, excluding the uncommon Electrode, it is the only Pokemon that can reliably revenge kill an unparalyzed Dugtrio without taking an attack in the process. Its Normal resistance is also useful when facing Dugtrio, as Dugtrio commonly uses Slash as an early-game midground option when scouting its opponent's team, which Aerodactyl takes very comfortably. Articuno is unable to switch into Dugtrio's Rock Slide safely at all, being 2HKO'd from full health by it, but, when above 58% health, it can force Dugtrio to switch out with its Blizzard if it can come in safely&mdash;such as on an Earthquake or from Tentacruel's Wrap&mdash;and if Dugtrio is not behind a substitute.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Surf
move 3: Wrap
move 4: Hyper Beam

[SET COMMENTS]

Set Description
=========

Swords Dance Tentacruel is a strong alternative to the standard Wrap Pivot set, trading the long-term utility that defines its standard Wrap Pivot set to become a surprising and effective late-game sweeper that can effectively break past bulkier Pokemon it struggles with, such as Vaporeon, Hypno, and opposing Tentacruel;&mdashpunishing them using Rest especially hard;&mdashwhich can also operate as a mid-game pivot as the standard set does, albeit not as liberally due to how punishing a miss can be; note that it cannot afford to run Rest over any of its other moves, as it would likely mean removing Hyper Beam or Surf, losing much of its offensive presence in the process and arguably becoming outclassed by Pinsir. (I can make a case for this on Discord if you want, it ends up just being faster which is cool but bleh) After one Swords Dance, Tentacruel's Wrap deals around 6% per tick to bulky targets such as Hypno, Gyarados, Kangaskhan, and Vaporeon, turning it from a pivoting move that deals chip damage to a potent wallbreaking tool that completely decimates paralyzed teams, quickly wearing opposing Pokemon into KO range of either Surf or its boosted Hyper Beam, which are reliable KO options against slower and bulkier Pokemon once they are slightly below half health while leaving them are unable to retaliate. (AP) if they are slower, This normally forces (separating run-on sentence) the opponent to rely on Pokemon that outspeed Tentacruel to force it out, such as Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, or Persian. However, none of these Pokemon can reliably switch into Tentacruel, as Tentacruel's boosted Hyper Beam can KO all of them after only a small amount of chip damage, or, in the case of Kadabra, Tentacruel's boosted Hyper Beam is an OHKO, dissuading all of them from switching into a boosted Tentacruel. When using Swords Dance to attempt a sweep, ensure that it is being used against targets that are unable to status it or harm it in a significant form, such as against sleeping targets looking to burn some sleep turns against Tentacruel, slower Pokemon looking to use a recovery move, or opposing Tentacruel looking to get a lucky freeze with Blizzard;&mdashthis is especially noteworthy endgame positions (one is pluralised, the other isn't, consider enhancing clarity) where Swords Dance Tentacruel dominates if it is reasonably healthy. Thus, it is important to recognise that this set profits from how opponents conventionally react to most Tentacruel sets. Due to this set's increased vulnerability to status, it can be more difficult to bring in onto the field than the Wrap Pivot set, often relying on resisted attacks, fellow Wrappers like Dragonite, and good double switching, to come onto the field safely. Another notable, albeit uncommon way of utilizing Swords Dance Tentacruel, is as a mid-game wallbreaker, as it can exploit an opposing Tentacruel or Vaporeon attempting to wake up from Rest against your Tentacruel with Swords Dance (odd placing and the prepositions seem to imply it well enough) before taking down one or two opposing Pokemon for its teammates to exploit. (doesn't seem to lead anywhere)

Swords Dance Tentacruel can be a challenging sweeper to use, often relying on its teammates to force the opponent into positions where it can safely use Swords Dance, as well as paralyze or faint any Pokemon that could attempt to stop its sweep. As mentioned before, sleeping Pokemon looking to burn a turn or two of sleep make excellent teammates set-up fodder, hence Swords Dance Tentacruel pairs well with Pokemon that can put an opposing Pokemon to sleep, such as Haunter, Hypnosis Hypno, Venusaur, or Tangela. These four Pokemon also have defensive utility as well, with Haunter walling opposing Persian, Venusaur and Tangela checking opposing Dugtrio, Raichu, Electabuzz, and Persian which may attempt to stop Tentacruel's sweep, and Hypno crippling Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, and Persian, with Thunder Wave, allowing Tentacruel to sweep with Swords Dance unopposed. Seismic Toss Hypno is also an effective teammate for Swords Dance Tentacruel, as it can reliably force an opposing Hypno to use Rest with Seismic Toss, most commonly at around half health, which gifts Tentacruel an excellent opportunity to switch in and use Swords Dance. Dugtrio and Persian are two excellent teammates for Swords Dance Tentacruel, as they can exploit opposing Kadabra, Electabuzz, and Raichu, attempting to stop Tentacruel from sweeping with Swords Dance, as well as clean up any remaining Pokemon on the opposing team after Swords Dance Tentacruel's assault. Kangaskhan and Dragonite also make for solid teammates for Tentacruel as they can reliably paralyze or KO Persian and Kadabra attempting to check Swords Dance Tentacruel. Another issue teams with Swords Dance Tentacruel often face is dealing with opposing Articuno and Tentacruel, as it cannot reliably switch into them over the course of the match due to its lack of Rest. Thus, teammates such as Vaporeon, Omastar, and Dewgong, that can switch into Articuno and Tentacruel, throughout the game can be good teammates.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

While Tentacruel has a variety of other options, they are generally discouraged due to them either being useful in very rare situations or because they make Tentacruel less consistent, which many team compositions cannot afford. Hydro Pump's (AA) increased power can be very appealing, as it allows Tentacruel to achieve a guaranteed 3HKO on Hypno, a near guaranteed 3HKO on Articuno, a guaranteed 2HKO on Persian, and a 2HKO against Kadabra 49.8% of the time; (ASC) however, the worse accuracy and drop in PP hold it are very noticeable in prolonged games and make Tentacruel a much less consistent threat. Ice Beam grants Tentacruel more PP for freeze wars, increasing its chances at winning them. However, the drop in damage output from Blizzard is drastic, notably failing to OHKO Dragonite and thus giving it the opportunity to set up AgiliWrap. Barrier can be run to make Tentacruel take less damage from the wide array of physical moves, dodging the 2HKO from Kangaskhan and Dugtrio's Earthquakes and allowing it to win the matchups; however, this fails to assist it against Persian, which can ignore the Defense boosts with Slash, which is one of the most popular physical attackers in the tier. (gives credence to mentioning it) Bubble Beam's 33.2% chance to drop the target's (AA) Speed can come in handy against opposing Tentacruel and Persian, however but in the vast majority of cases Surf's (AA) higher damage is preferred. Mega Drain can be nice when facing an opposing Omastar or Vaporeon, as it allows Tentacruel to gain a significant amount of health back, however in most other circumstances its not worth running. but its damage is otherwise middling and hurts its other matchups more than it helps. (clarity; you could maybe cite Golem or Dugtrio here as it does dent them on switch-in)

On the Swords Dance set, Tentacruel can opt to run Blizzard over Surf to guarantee an OHKO on Dragonite and deal more damage to Flying- and (Aerodactyl takes more from Surf, Articuno and Gyarados take neutral, this ends up being misleading; the only benefit is Dodrio and it's not that great honestly) Grass-types, however but the worse damage against neutral targets makes Surf the overall better option.
Tentacruel Surf vs. Mew: 117-138 (29 - 34.2%) -- 2.3% chance to 3HKO
Tentacruel Blizzard vs. Mew: 98-116 (24.3 - 28.7%) -- 99.5% chance to 4HKO
The damage against neutral targets is actually quite similar, so on its own, this isn't actually the most important reason, let's contexualise the problem. Surf is used more to secure the 2HKO on Persian and Kangaskhan, as well as guarantee the OHKO on Dugtrio, so we should mention this instead.


Checks and Counters
===================

[The next bit was ripped straight from the old analysis, though it probably will be updated somewhat] (Volk covered this just fine)

**Fast Paralysis Inducers**: Tentacruel is severely crippled by paralysis, and any fast threat that can reliably inflict it, such as Kadabra, Raichu, or Electabuzz, can be a very pressing issue for it. The chance of full paralysis coupled with Wrap's accuracy leaves Tentacruel with a 63.57% chance to connect Wrap, sharply reducing Tentacruel's efficacy as a pivot and as a sweeper. The Speed drop combined with this causes Tentacruel to be a significantly less effective pivot and leaves it vulnerable to slower threats like Hypno and Gyarados; Gyarados makes it much more difficult for Tentacruel to use Rest to heal up. Kadabra and Electabuzz, being faster than Tentacruel and possessing enough bulk to avoid a 2HKO from Surf, are capable of switching into Tentacruel directly and threatening it with Thunder Wave. However, it is often safer for the Kadabra or Electabuzz user to send in a Water-resistant Pokemon to bait Wrap and then switch either Pokemon into the locked-in move. Since Kadabra and Electabuzz are faster than Tentacruel, they can wait out the Wrap turns and threaten 2HKOs with their STAB moves. It should be noted, however, that a critical hit from Surf severely hurts Kadabra, forcing it to use Recover and letting the Tentacruel user switch to something like Hypno to maintain momentum and potentially spread status. Electabuzz and Raichu, on the other hand, still threaten to take Tentacruel down after a critical hit from Surf.

**Haunter**: Haunter has enough bulk to avoid a 2HKO from Tentacruel's STAB moves and won't take chip damage from Wrap, although it is still immobilized. Due to its strong Thunderbolt, Haunter can force Tentacruel out and make it waste Wrap PP. However, if Haunter has already been damaged, it may be forced to use Explosion instead. It should be noted that a Thunderbolt and subsequent Explosion from Haunter can KO Tentacruel, but low rolls from Thunderbolt can let it survive. If this happens, the next attempt to revenge kill Tentacruel should force it to switch out. Critical hits from Surf can deal severe damage to Haunter, however, likely forcing it to use Explosion regardless.

**Dugtrio**: Dugtrio is the second-fastest threat in the tier and can 2HKO Tentacruel with Earthquake. However, its fragility makes Surf a guaranteed OHKO, so Dugtrio is limited to a revenge killing role. Tentacruel should attempt to stay out of OHKO range, ideally being at 80% HP or more, but this is a tall order in many situations. Dugtrio's speed and strong Earthquake can also allow it to stop a chipped Tentacruel from locking down its team with Wrap by coming in on its Wrap and waiting it out before KOing the Tentacruel with Earthquake, however, this is usually a last resort option as Dugtrio's frailty can be punished heavily by many common Tentacruel teammates if they are reasonably healthy.

**Persian**: Persian is among the fastest threats in the tier and can threaten a reliable 2HKO with Slash against a Tentacruel at 90% or below. Unlike Dugtrio however, Persian has enough bulk to live a Surf, getting 2HKOed by it 36% of the time from full health, allowing it to threaten Tentacruel while remaining a flexible threat, as it can afford to take a hit in exchange for dealing significant damage to Tentacruel to enable a teammate without getting KOed in the process.

**Dodrio and Charizard**: While both of these Pokemon are reliably 2HKOed by Tentacruel's Surf and Blizzard, both Dodrio and Charizard speed tie Tentacruel and can deal significant amounts of damage to it with Hyper Beam and Earthquake respectively, allowing them to consistently threaten a KO against a a sufficiently weakened Tentacruel while at high health.

[note: i am probably going to lump the prior 3 into a section on fast physical attackers, just working on wording it better]

**Water-types**: Without Swords Dance, Tentacruel often struggles to break through opposing Water-types, such as Vaporeon, Gyarados, Dewgong, or opposing Tentacruel, on its own, as it has to rely on landing multiple Wraps in a row to break through them reliably or getting a lucky freeze from Blizzard, except against Dewgong, all while risking getting paralyzed by Body Slam or frozen by Blizzard.

**Hypno and Clefable**: While these two Pokemon don't switch into Tentacruel's Surf very well, when at high health they can be difficult for Tentacruel to break past with their high health and good special stats, requiring Tentacruel to land multiple Wraps in a row in order to break past these two, while they are able to cripple it in return with Thunder Wave if it misses.

[CREDITS]

- Written by: [[Shellnuts, 491544], [pacattacc, 520967]]
- Earlier versions by: [[May, 236353], [Shellnuts, 491544], [Volk, 530877]]
- Quality checked by: [[], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
 

phoopes

I did it again
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Overview:

This looks fantastic, extremely detailed and covers pretty much everything I can think of at a glance. There's just one grammatical thing I noticed.

Lastly, Tentacruel's reliance on Rest to heal itself can be heavily punished by Psychic-types such as Kadabra and Hypno, Electric-types such as Raichu and Electabuzz, and physical attackers such as Kangaskhan, Dodrio, and Persian, and Dugtrio.
I think you can cut an "and" at the end there.

Set Comments (The Great Dictator):

Before I even read this, I want to point out that the third "paragraph" takes up my entire computer screen. I think making it more reader-friendly by breaking it up into two, maybe even three paragraphs. Anyway, onto the actual content.

With its strong STAB Surf and Blizzard, Tentacruel is a consistent offensive threat, capable of 2HKOing Kangaskhan, Persian, Tangela, Venusaur, Dodrio, and OHKOing Aerodactyl, Dugtrio, and Dragonite.
I'd recommend separating this into the stuff that is guaranteed vs. the stuff that is only a chance. Because Kangaskhan and Persian are only chances at 2HKOs and Aerodactyl is only a chance at a OHKO, whereas the others are guaranteed. This could be a good chance to talk about how Wrap chip can turn these chances into guarantees though.

allowing it to remain an active presence in the game throughout the game.
This wording is a little weird.

allowing it to switch into the likes of Articuno, Vaporeon, Omastar, and itself consistently throughout a game, as well as significantly improving its performance when facing opposing Tentacruel.
By grouping in "itself" with Articuno, Vaporeon, and Omastar, and then saying "as well as... opposing Tentacruel," you're kind of repeating yourself. I'd remove the redundancy.

In return, Tentacruel outspeeds and threatens common Dugtrio answers like Tangela, Venusaur, Dragonite, Gyarados, Aerodactyl, and Kangaskhan, with Wrap immobilizing and wearing them down into Surf or Blizzard range.
You included Aerodactyl in a list of Pokemon that Tentacruel outspeeds here.

As for how to actually split up the paragraphs, I'd make a second paragraph starting with "Bulky Pokemon..." and a third paragraph starting with "Lastly, Flying-types..." If you disagree though it's not a huge deal.

Set Comments (Swords Dance):

This normally forces the opponent to rely on Pokemon that outspeed Tentacruel to force it out, such as Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, or Persian.
Raichu is a speed tie.

As a general thing for set comments, you pretty much hit on every Pokemon in UU being a good teammate for Tentacruel. And I think it's great that you thoroughly explain why each one works, but I feel like if someone reading this sees that everything else in UU is a good teammate for Tentacruel for various reasons, they won't really know how to build... maybe a section for suggested team compositions is a good idea? Or that might be going beyond the scope of one analysis. Hard to say, but something to possibly consider.

Other Options:

I'd get rid of the mention of Mega Drain. The other stuff I could maybe justify but I really can't see that one. Otherwise looks really good.

Checks and Counters:

For the Dugtrio section, a number I always keep in mind is 67.4%. That's the min roll of a Dugtrio Earthquake on Tentacruel, and I think it's worth mentioning.

I also agree that combining a few into "fast, physical attackers" is a good move.

For the Water-types section you can probably break that up into multiple sentences instead of having it be one sentence with multiple clauses.

^Same thing for the Hypno and Clefable section.

---

Overall not too many things to change considering the length of the analysis. Nice work!
 

Volk

Demonstrably alive.
is a Community Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon
Aw here it goes.

As a defensive tool, Tentacruel's Wrap allows teams to regain the initiative by bringing Tentacruel in as slower wallbreakers such as Kangaskhan and Gyarados switch in, halting their momentum with Wrap and forcing them to switch, while also letting defensive Pokemon preserve their health as they too can be pivoted onto the field to answer offensive threats without incurring damage as they switch in.
This sentence is still confusing to me. Like what is going on here? I switch to Tentacruel predicting my opponent will go to Kangaskhan or Gyarados? Like that does happen from time to time sure, but (1) this isn't really a consistent strategy or a staple of Tentacruel's game plan, (2) it's hard to call this a "defensive" motion, and (3) the latter half of this sentence (starting at "while") really shouldn't be a part of this sentence because it has little to do with the former. I'd rearrange this.

With its base 120 Special, which is tied for the the second-highest in the tier, in addition to STAB Surf and Hydro Pump, and good coverage with Blizzard, Tentacruel is an offensive behemoth, dealing significant damage to Kangaskhan, Omastar, Haunter, and Kadabra with its STAB moves, and hitting Dodrio, Dragonite, Venusuaur, and Tangela for significant amounts of damage with Blizzard, if it doesn't just OHKO them outright.
I'd say Surf or Hydro Pump, as you realistically wouldn't run both. With this change, you can probably drop the comma after "Hydro Pump." I'd also just break this up into two sentences as well, starting after "behemoth."

With Swords Dance, Tentacruel becomes a nigh-unwallable late-game sweeper, demolishing slower teams with Wrap, Hyper Beam, and Surf, with near impunity.
I'd still include something along the lines of "If it chooses to run Swords Dance..."

With Rest and Tentacruel's fantastic Water typing, Tentacruel becomes a key defensive piece, checking Articuno, one of the most dangerous Pokemon in the tier, and answering the myriad of Surfs and Blizzards from the tier's many Water-types, such as Vaporeon, Gyarados, Omastar, and Dewgong.
Also itself. Without a Tentacruel, checking Tentacruel is very difficult.

Lastly, Tentacruel's reliance on Rest to heal itself can be heavily punished by Psychic-types such as Kadabra and Hypno, Electric-types such as Raichu and Electabuzz, and physical attackers such as Kangaskhan, Dodrio, and Persian, and Dugtrio.
Drop the "and" before Persian.

[SET]
name: The Great Dictator (Wrap Pivot)
I have a significant distaste for quirky set names, especially considering UU players actually refer to this set as Wrap Pivot more often than anything else. I'm not going to fight you on this, but I would not keep this name.

Another good opportunity to bring Tentacruel onto the field is against opposing slow wallbreakers, such as Kangaskhan, Articuno, and Gyarados, looking to exploit a Resting Hypno or Vaporeon, as Tentacruel can immobilize them with Wrap before they get an opportunity to attack and regain momentum for its team.
This could be worded better, as it seems like Tentacruel can just haphazardly switch into these Pokemon and click Wrap. Outside of Articuno, it generally needs to predict the switch or come in after a different Wrap (like Dragonite). I won't say Tentacruel never switches into Gyarados and Kangaskhan, but both have Body Slam for paralysis and super effective moves, so switching in isn't easy at all.

Given how versatile a threat Tentacruel is, it synergizes very well with many common threats in the tier, as they largely seek to benefit from its presence rarther than vice versa.
I genuinely don't know what this means. I get even more confused after "vice versa" because I don't know which two elements you are swapping here. Also, you misspelled "rather."

Furthermore, Tentacruel's fast Wrap benefits Hypno immensely, as it baits in Pokemon that Hypno checks, such as Electabuzz and Kadabra, before, crucially, letting Hypno switch into them without taking chip damage or paralysis on the way in.
Depending on the state of the game and the set, this can net the Tentacruel/Hypno user a sleep as well.

Bulky Pokemon such as Kangaskhan, Gyarados, Vaporeon, Dragonite, and Dewgong, also make for effective Tentacruel teammates because, while healthy, they can switch into some of Tentacruel's common checks such as Persian or Dugtrio, ideally while they are immobilized by Tentacruel's Wrap, and threaten the opposing team in return with strong attacks and the threat of paralysis, from either Body Slam or Thunder Wave in the case of Dragonite.
I'd consider starting a new paragraph here just to break up the wall a little. You may also want to break this into two sentences.

Of the aforementioned Pokemon, Dewgong and Vaporeon provide additional benefits to Tentacruel, as they both grant the Tentacruel user an additional Articuno counter, which allows Tentacruel to play more aggressively without as much risk of Articuno getting out of hand, and in the case of Dewgong, a freeze immunity, which allows Tentacruel to avoid taking as many Blizzards from an opposing Tentacruel and reduce the chances that it gets frozen.
Something that this analysis absolutely needs to mention but currently ignores is that Tentacruel is a fairly common lead. I know lead Tentacruel is losing some popularity lately, but it is still very much a part of the UU metagame. I'd advise dropping an entire additional paragraph in this section addressing this very key aspect of Tentacruel's functionality. Why did I highlight these sentences you ask? Well, having a secondary Water-type Pokemon is generally a good rule of thumb to follow if you want to lead Tentacruel. It's by no means a commandment (and you should break it from time to time to avoid being too predictable), but I personally like to have a secondary Water-type Pokemon if I know my Tentacruel is going to enter the fray on Turn 1.

Tangela and Venusaur also make for very effective Tentacruel partners, as, while healthy, they answer Dugtrio, Persian, and Electabuzz, using the entry point to put an opposing Pokemon out of commission with Sleep Powder while providing additional value after sleeping an opponent with their utility moves and also checking Dugtrio.
These two also brutally punish Dugtrio if it tries to use Substitute while Tentacruel switches out.

Lastly, Flying-type teammates such as the aforementioned Gyarados and Dragonite, but also Aerodactyl, Articuno, and Dodrio, can benefit Tentacruel by checking Dugtrio with their Earthquake immunity and strong attacks.
A lot of these Pokemon also can check Kadabra in a pinch, which is nice. Though aside from Dragonite, you have to be careful as you will begin to develop a bit of a weakness to Electric-type Pokemon.

Meanwhile, Tentacruel acts as a good answer to any Flying-types, such as Articuno, Dragonite, or Gyarados, that try to exploit Tangela and Venusaur's lack of coverage moves. Lastly, Flying-type teammates such as the aforementioned Gyarados and Dragonite, but also Aerodactyl, Articuno, and Dodrio, can benefit Tentacruel by checking Dugtrio with their Earthquake immunity and strong attacks.
I feel like you oversell Tentacruel as a Gyarados answer quite a bit throughout this analysis. This matchup is honestly pretty awkward for Tentacruel and it isn't terribly likely to stick around for a while.

Swords Dance Tentacruel is a strong alternative to the standard Wrap Pivot set, trading the long-term utility that defines its standard Wrap Pivot set to become a surprising and effective late-game sweeper that can effectively break past bulkier Pokemon it struggles with, such as Vaporeon, Hypno, and opposing Tentacruel;&mdashpunishing them using Rest especially hard;&mdashwhich can also operate as a mid-game pivot as the standard set does, albeit not as liberally due to how punishing a miss can be; note that it cannot afford to run Rest over any of its other moves, as it would likely mean removing Hyper Beam or Surf, losing much of its offensive presence in the process and arguably becoming outclassed by Pinsir.
Please break this up.

Thus, teammates such as Vaporeon, Omastar, and Dewgong, that can switch into Articuno and Tentacruel, throughout the game can be good teammates.
You can just say, "Thus, Vaporeon, Omastar, and Dewgong make good partners." You can specify why, but you kind of state it in the previous sentence. The issue is the repetition of the word "teammates," so any fix that cuts that is fine.

Mega Drain can be nice to hit Omastar or Golem with, as it allows Tentacruel to gain a significant amount of health back, but its damage is otherwise middling and hurts its other matchups more than it helps.
The health recovery from Vaporeon is also pretty decent given its high HP stat.
Tentacruel Mega Drain vs. Vaporeon: 62-74 (13.3 - 15.9%) -- possible 7HKO
(8.5 - 10.1% recovered) <- That's like 3 whole Wraps!
Also, believe it or not, this is Tentacruel's strongest special attack here outside of Hydro Pump.

**Fast Paralysis Inducers**:
I know this section is called "Fast Paralysis Inducers," but I think the slow ones deserve a mention too. You can ignore Hypno and Clefable for now if you want because you cover it later or you can move the section here. The main ones I care about here are Dragonite and Tangela. While neither of these are great at the head to head, they both do tend to draw Tentacruel in, so catching it on the switch isn't impossible. They also can both punish a wake up from Rest just fine. Lastly, if Dragonite has used Agility, is may elect to use Thunder Wave over Wrap or whatever as well in some cases. Also, please at least name drop Electrode in here. Raichu also gets Agility, which is nice for cleaning up this matchup a bit.

[note: i am probably going to lump the prior 3 into a section on fast physical attackers, just working on wording it better]
Yeah, definitely do that. It will be much easier to follow that way and frankly, unless your name is "Tangela" or something like that, Charizard really shouldn't be headlining a check. It should get a passing mention. I'd also consider moving this just below "Fast Paralysis Inducers", making it the second set of checks overall. Finally, you missed Aerodactyl. While Aerodactyl does drop to a Surf, it is very notable for being able to pick off weakened Tentacruel. Certainly at least as notable as Charizard.

**Dodrio and Charizard**: While both of these Pokemon are reliably 2HKOed by Tentacruel's Surf and Blizzard, both Dodrio and Charizard speed tie Tentacruel and can deal significant amounts of damage to it with Hyper Beam and Earthquake respectively, allowing them to consistently threaten a KO against a a sufficiently weakened Tentacruel while at high health.
Dodrio can complicate this matchup a lot for Tentacruel because Dodrio has Speed control in Body Slam and Agility. This interaction can very swiftly enter Dodrio's favor if it found the opportunity to use Agility or Tentacruel gets paralyzed by the first Body Slam. Hyper Beam also just does a lot, being closer to Dugtrio's Earthquake than Kadabra's Psychic.

We'll call it there for now. I think once this is implemented, that'll be a QC, though I'd like to give it a final look. Cheers!
 
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Volk

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Let's hecking go.

Tentacruel's Wrap shapes the identity of RBY UU, defining offensive and defensive play in the tier, by immobilizing and chipping Pokemon and generating free switches during the immobilization. As an offensive tool, Tentacruel's Wrap puts immense pressure on defensive Pokemon by softening them up with chip damage that can even be compounded with Swords Dance, preventing them from healing over its duration, and most crucially, allowing for offensive teammates to come onto the field safely. As a defensive tool, Tentacruel's Wrap allows teams to regain the initiative by bringing Tentacruel in as slower wallbreakers such as Kangaskhan and Gyarados switch in, halting their momentum with Wrap and forcing them to switch, while also letting defensive Pokemon preserve their health as they too can be pivoted onto the field to answer offensive threats without incurring damage as they switch in.
I feel like this is a lot of words to convey not actually all that much information. Like the key points here are:
  • Both offensive and defensive strategy are built around Tentacruel in RBY UU.
  • Tentacruel can maintain momentum for the player by creating free switches for its teammates.
  • Tentacruel is inflict a fair amount of chip damage that can soften up teams for sweepers or just gradually eliminate slow teams.
These are the major points you want to hit here. Providing too many examples and special cases just makes for lengthy and confusing sentences. A lot of this information ends up repeated later, so I think you might want to stick to the highlights here in the Introduction and get to the specifics later on, most likely in the Set Details. Basically, you can boil this excerpt down a lot and still carry the same information.

Dealing significant damage to Kangaskhan, Omastar, Haunter, and Kadabra with its STAB moves, and hitting Dodrio, Dragonite, Venusuaur, and Tangela for significant amounts of damage with Blizzard, if it doesn't just OHKO them outright.
This is a fragment.

With Rest and Tentacruel's fantastic Water typing, Tentacruel becomes a key defensive piece, checking Articuno, one of the most dangerous Pokemon in the tier, and answering the myriad of Surfs and Blizzards from the tier's many Water-types, such as Vaporeon, Gyarados, Omastar, Dewgong, and itself.
I'd add a transition word like "meanwhile" at the start of this sentence to contrast Rest sets with Swords Dance sets, as the two moves aren't typically run together.

Tentacruel is also severely crippled paralysis, as the Speed drop and chance to fully paralyze mid-wrap heavily impact its longevity.
Add the word "by" after the word "crippled."

However, even with these flaws, Tentacruel is the tier's apex predator, with its utility and power making it a mandatory pick for competitive teams.
Maybe it's a nitpick, but I'd probably chuck a word like "essentially" after the word "it" because you can make a team without Tentacruel if you know what you are doing and who you are playing.

With its strong STAB Surf and Blizzard, Tentacruel is a consistent offensive threat, capable of 2HKOing Kangaskhan, Persian, Tangela, Venusaur, Dodrio, and OHKOing Aerodactyl, Dugtrio, and Dragonite.
I'd consider taking Persian out of this list as the 2HKO isn't guaranteed, and it actually is less likely to happen than not. Kangaskhan isn't a guaranteed 2HKO either, but it has about an 80% chance to pull it off.

This damage is accentuated by Tentacruel's fast Wrap, allowing it to immobilize and chip away at slower targets, preventing them from retaliating or healing any damage they may have incurred through the use of a healing move, while also allowing more offensively threatening teammates&mdash;such as Dugtrio, Articuno, Persian, and Kangaskhan&mdash;a safe entry point to come onto the battlefield to exploit the momentum and damage dealt by Tentacruel.
Okay, a few issues here. First, you got a bit of a dangling modifier that can be fixed by replacing "allowing" with "which allows." Second, I think you made a typo or something here, because I'm not sure how the targets are "incurring damage through the use of a healing move." Third, I'd start a new sentence after the word "move." Something like, "Additionally, Wrap allows more offensively..." and so on would be fine. This structure also makes it easier to drop the em dash messiness. Fourth, these incoming Pokemon can't "exploit the momentum... dealt by Tentacruel;" that doesn't make any sense. Considering Wrap Pivoting essentially is momentum in the context of RBY UU, I don't think you need to say Tentacruel provides momentum or anything like that, you can just cut it and say exploit the damage. You can add mention of a free switch again here, but that would be rather redundant, so I think damage is enough.

The improved matchup against opposing Tentacruel is especially important in endgames, as a Tentacruel without Rest is at a significant disadvantage in the mirror matchup.
While this is definitely true in a general sense (I told you to add it after all), I would add the word "typically" in there somewhere because it is a bit context-dependent. What I mean is that while Tentacruel with Rest will beat Tentacruel that are running some niche fourth move like Hydro Pump or Mega Drain or whatever, the situation will get tricky against Swords Dance Tentacruel depending on its exact set of moves and the current HP and status of both men o' war.

Of the aforementioned Pokemon, Dewgong and Vaporeon provide additional benefits to Tentacruel, as they both grant the Tentacruel user an additional Articuno counter, which allows Tentacruel to play more aggressively without as much risk of Articuno getting out of hand, and in the case of Dewgong, a freeze immunity, which allows Tentacruel to avoid taking as many Blizzards from an opposing Tentacruel and reduce the chances that it gets frozen.
It feels weird to leave Omastar out of this. You'll have to mention Omastar at the start of the paragraph for this sentence to still make sense, however.

Tangela and Venusaur also make for very effective Tentacruel partners, as, while healthy, they answer Dugtrio, Persian, and Electabuzz, using the entry point to put an opposing Pokemon out of commission with Sleep Powder while providing additional value after sleeping an opponent with their utility moves and also checking Dugtrio.
Wrap can also theoretically let these two in for free against something they can put to sleep, though this is much more realistic for Venusaur given Tangela's Speed. Also, you mention checking Dugtrio twice here; you can end the sentence after "utility moves."

This is commonly responded to by the opposing player switching to a Pokemon with paralysis that outspeeds or speed-ties Tentacruel such as Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, or Electrode, which put the Tentacruel user on a timer where they are forced to switch out earlier so they can get that safe switch to a teammate, usually Hypno, and avoid ceding initiative to the opposing player by allowing Wraps duration to end before they switch.
Just switching to one's own Tentacruel is also fairly common after the first Wrap connects with the lead on Turn 1.

When facing fast paralysis-inducing leads, such as Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, and Electrode, Tentacruel will be forced to switch to a teammate to avoid getting paralyzed. Thereby giving the opposing player a chance to paralyze something with Thunder Wave or predict the switch and bring in a Pokemon with a sleep-inducing move such as Haunter or Venusaur.
You can combine these two sentences with a comma.

Note that a near-identical scenario occurs if Tentacruel either misses a Wrap against the fast paralysis inducing lead as it switches onto the field, or it connects and Wraps duration ends before the Tentacruel switches out. Against opposing Tentacruel leads, Tentacruel can either attempt to freeze the opposing Tentacruel lead with Blizzard while dealing some nice chip damage, or use Wrap and pivot into a fast paralysis-inducing Pokemon of your own. [I will write something about lead Dodrio and Persian here, just working on formulating it] When leading with Tentacruel it can be beneficial to pair it with a second Water-type in the back to ensure you can take opposing Water- and Ice-type attacks in case Tentacruel gets chipped or compromised early on.
A few things here. First, "Wraps" should be "Wrap's." Second, am I only person who likes to click Surf in the lead ditto? I like the extra damage and accuracy, especially if I have something that can capitalize on that extra damage, like Dugtrio and Persian. Lastly, make sure you get something in for Dodrio and Persian in here. I think the general theory is to just attack unless you have an actual check on your team.

After one Swords Dance, Tentacruel's Wrap deals around 6% per tick to bulky targets such as Hypno, Gyarados, Kangaskhan, and Vaporeon, turning it from a pivoting move that deals chip damage to a potent wallbreaking tool that completely decimates paralyzed teams, quickly wearing opposing Pokemon into KO range of either Surf or its boosted Hyper Beam, which are reliable KO options against slower and bulkier Pokemon once they are slightly below half health while leaving them are unable to retaliate.
You've got an extraneous "are" at the end of this sentence.

On the Swords Dance set, Tentacruel can opt to run Blizzard over Surf to guarantee an OHKO on Dragonite and deal more damage to Grass-types, but this comes at the cost of a guaranteed OHKO on Dugtrio and a 2HKO on Persian and Kangaskhan, damage rolls that are often too valuable for Swords Dance Tentacruel to pass up on.
I'd specify "possible 2HKO on Persian and Kangaskhan."

The Speed drop combined with this causes Tentacruel to be a significantly less effective pivot and leaves it vulnerable to slower threats like Hypno and Gyarados; Gyarados makes it much more difficult for Tentacruel to use Rest to heal up.
Not sure why you pointed out Gyarados there at the end, as both Hypno and Gyarados are very good at threatening a paralyzed Tentacruel and keeping it from using Rest. You can probably just toss the bit after the semicolon.

However, it is often safer for the Kadabra or Electabuzz user to send in a Water-resistant Pokemon to bait Wrap and then switch either Pokemon into the locked-in move. Since Kadabra and Electabuzz are faster than Tentacruel, they can wait out the Wrap turns and threaten 2HKOs with their STAB moves. It should be noted, however, that a critical hit from Surf severely hurts Kadabra, forcing it to use Recover and letting the Tentacruel user switch to something like Hypno to maintain momentum and potentially spread status. Electabuzz and Raichu, on the other hand, still threaten to take Tentacruel down after a critical hit from Surf.
I'm not sure if this is necessarily better. Sure, Surf stings, but at least you are guaranteed to get a hit off. If you switch in and Wrap connects, Tentacruel can just bail out and you need to try to outplay that, which isn't always easy. However, this method comes with the benefit of enormous initiative in the event Wrap misses, which I think should be mentioned. Also, I don't see why Kadabra is forced to use Recover here. It can totally just take the chance and attack. After all, that is more or less what Electabuzz and Raichu must do here. It's weird, this sentence acts like Kadabra having Recover is somehow a disadvantage. Also, Electrode is dank and could get a mention somewhere in this section.

It should be noted that a Thunderbolt and subsequent Explosion from Haunter can KO Tentacruel, but low rolls from Thunderbolt can let it survive.
I'm assuming either move getting a low roll can nullify the KO, not just a low roll from Thunderbolt.

Unlike Dugtrio however, Persian has enough bulk to live a Surf, getting 2HKOed by it 36% of the time from full health, allowing it to threaten Tentacruel while remaining a flexible threat, as it can afford to take a hit in exchange for dealing significant damage to Tentacruel to enable a teammate without getting KOed in the process.
Cut "to enable a teammate."

While both Dodrio and Charizard are reliably 2HKOed by Tentacruel's Surf and Blizzard, they both speed tie Tentacruel and can deal significant amounts of damage to it with Hyper Beam and Earthquake respectively, allowing them to consistently threaten a KO against a a sufficiently weakened Tentacruel while at high health.
Oh hi Charizard. Might be nice to give these two some kind of introduction or transition phrase, as this just kind of appears here (this is especially true for Charizard who hasn't been mentioned yet and is a niche threat, making it's sudden inclusion is particularly jarring). This section should also mention Aerodactyl somewhere, as it is at least as good as Charizard at this job.

**Hypno and Clefable**: While these two Pokemon don't switch into Tentacruel's Surf very well, when at high health they can be difficult for Tentacruel to break past with their high health and good special stats, requiring Tentacruel to land multiple Wraps in a row in order to break past these two, while they are able to cripple it in return with Thunder Wave if it misses.

**Tangela and Dragonite**: While both Tangela and Dragonite are slower than Tentacruel and are 2HKOed and OHKOed by its Blizzard respectively, both of these Pokemon are very good at luring in Tentacruel and paralysing it as it switches in, which can cripple Tentacruel for the rest of the game. In addition, because these two Pokemon are slower than Tentacruel, they are able to act after it wakes up from Rest, paralysing it before it can retaliate and then pivoting to a more aggressive teammate with Bind or Wrap.
These two can probably be merged somehow, but I suppose they don't have to be.

Call it there for now. This is looking really quite good, but it still needs a fair amount of refining. I'd like to send this around one more time, but I think the next one will be the QC. Cheers!
 
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Shellnuts

Rustiest Player Around
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Implemented most of the feedback from this and anything from the prior one. I tried to fit in the feedback about distilling the information in the introduction with the earlier feedback about keeping the introduction as a broad overview of what Tentacruel's Wrap can do.

Sorry it took so long to do.
 

Volk

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Round 4, if my count is correct.

In addition, it can allow Tentacruel to regain the initiative for its team by switching onto the field as a slower target does, halting their momentum with Wrap and forcing them to switch.
"Forcing them to switch" is a bit strong, as some bulkier Pokemon and Haunter may be comfortable staying in against Tentecruel even though they are slower. You can change the wording or just end the sentence after "Wrap."

Tentacruel is also severely crippled by paralysis, as the Speed drop and chance to fully paralyze mid-wrap heavily impact its longevity.
Minor note, but I would say "utility" in place of or alongside "longevity."

Secondly, by running Rest, Tentacruel can better leverage its respectable special bulk and resistances to Water and Ice-type attacks, allowing it to switch into the likes of Articuno, Vaporeon, Omastar, and opposing Tentacruel, throughout a game.
I'd place particular emphasis on Articuno. Articuno is very difficult to check if you don't have Rest Tentacruel or an auxillary Water-type Pokemon. Articuno is also rather potent these days.

Getting Tentacruel onto the field safely as often as possible, as well as properly identifying whether using Wrap to deal chip and pivot in a teammate is worth risking a potential miss, or if it would be better for Tentacruel to fire off strong Surfs and Blizzards to break down the opposing teams defensive core, is vital to making the most of Tentacruel; however, you have to balance this with keeping Tentacruel healthy as an answer to Articuno and opposing Water-types such as Vaporeon, Dewgong, and opposing Tentacruel as well.
Replace "teams" with "team's." Also, the paragraph to which this sentence belongs has a fair amount of overlap with the previous paragraph. Maybe you can merge some parts?

Dugtrio is particularly noteworthy as it is immune to opposing Thunder Waves intended to cripple Tentacruel before punishing the opposition heavily with its STAB Earthquake, good coverage in Rock Slide and Slash, the threat of Substitute catching a switch from the opponent, and high crit rate due to its Speed.
Dugtrio also has one of the earliest knock-outs on Tentacruel, which makes it a good option to which you can pivot from the Tentacruel ditto.

In exchange, Hypno benefits immensely from Tentacruel's ability to answer Pokemon that heavily punish a resting Hypno, such as Kangaskhan, Gyarados, Venusaur, Tangela and Dragonite.
Add a comma after "Tangela."

They are also very adept at exploiting resting Pokemon, such as Hypno, Vaporeon, Omastar, and Dewgong, that switch into Wrap to burn sleep turns while taking relatively little damage from Tentacruel's Wrap. Of the aforementioned Pokemon, Dewgong, Omastar, and Vaporeon provide additional benefits to Tentacruel, as they both grant the Tentacruel user an additional Articuno counter, which allows Tentacruel to play more aggressively without as much risk of Articuno getting out of hand, and in the case of Dewgong, a freeze immunity, which allows Tentacruel to avoid taking as many Blizzards from an opposing Tentacruel and reduce the chances that it gets frozen.
You have a bit of semantic disagreement here. You introduce Dewgong, Omastar, and Vaporeon as Pokemon that bulky physical attackers may exploit and then go on to describe them as aforementioned partners. You can't say it like this because, when these Pokemon were first mentioned, they weren't identified as partners. It's a little hard to explain this issue, but if you read it over, I think you'll recognize the problem I'm describing.

Sometimes, the opposing player will switch to their own Tentacruel on Wrap to catch Tentacruel switching to a teammate that can exploit the fast paralysis-inducing Pokemon switching onto the field without leaving open the possibility of Wrap missing, or to bait Tentacruel into switching to their own fast paralysis-inducing teammate which they attempt to exploit by switching themselves.
I think this could be explained better. Maybe provide an example.

While Tentacruel is likely to win the matchup against lead Dodrio by using Blizzard, it only wins while avoiding being paralyzed about half the time, and it is almost always significantly weakened from the interaction, which can be very costly given how valuable Tentacruel is, and it is better to switch to a teammate that checks Dodrio, such as Omastar or Aerodactyl, if they are being used.
I don't really follow your situation here. If Tentacruel ends up paralyzed, isn't it just losing the exchange? Assuming Dodrio is always going Body Slam into Hyper Beam, I don't really see how Tentacruel can end up paralyzed and not also lose the matchup.

Tentacruel’s good speed tier and access to Wrap make it a common lead in RBY UU, outspeeding and locking down any slower lead, including Hypno, Haunter, or Venusaur, which allows a safe pivot to a teammate to capitalise on the immobilised lead or any teammates that the opposing player switches to, whenever the Tentacruel dictates. This puts the Tentacruel user at a significant advantage, as they have the initiative and control the pace of the game which allows them to pick the best moment to switch while chipping down the opposing team.
This paragraph could stress some strengths of lead Tentacruel more clearly. Just off the top of my head, I think it misses Sleepers as a possible pivot choice if your opponent is trying to stall out your Wraps or fish for a miss with a Pokemon like Hypno or Clefable.

These four Pokemon also have defensive utility as well, with Haunter walling opposing Persian, Venusaur and Tangela checking opposing Dugtrio, Raichu, Electabuzz, and Persian which may attempt to stop Tentacruel's sweep, and Hypno crippling Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, and Persian, with Thunder Wave, allowing Tentacruel to sweep with Swords Dance unopposed. Seismic Toss Hypno is also an effective teammate for Swords Dance Tentacruel, as it can reliably force an opposing Hypno to use Rest with Seismic Toss, most commonly at around half health, which gifts Tentacruel an excellent opportunity to switch in and use Swords Dance. Dugtrio and Persian are two excellent teammates for Swords Dance Tentacruel, as they can exploit opposing Kadabra, Electabuzz, and Raichu, attempting to stop Tentacruel from sweeping with Swords Dance, as well as clean up any remaining Pokemon on the opposing team after Swords Dance Tentacruel's assault.
Nitpick, but Tentacruel doesn't "sweep with Swords Dance," it sweeps with Swords Dance-boosted Hyper Beams (or Wraps).

Thus, teammates such as Vaporeon, Omastar, and Dewgong, that can switch into Articuno and Tentacruel, throughout the game can be good options.
I don't believe you need a comma after "Dewgong" or after "Tentacruel."

Due to its strong Thunderbolt, Haunter can force Tentacruel out and make it waste Wrap PP. However, if Haunter has already been damaged, it may be forced to use Explosion instead. It should be noted that a Thunderbolt and subsequent Explosion from Haunter usually will KO Tentacruel, however, Tentacruel can survive this if either Thunderbolt or Explosion is a low roll and neither is a critical hit. If this happens, the next attempt to revenge kill Tentacruel should force it to switch out.
Conversely, if Tentacruel is brought to around 70% health (which can be accomplished via Wrap, for example), Haunter can be pretty confident that it'll win the matchup, as Thunderbolt will always 2HKO from there.

While both Dodrio and Aerodactyl are reliably 2HKOed by Tentacruel's Surf and Blizzard, they both speed tie Tentacruel and can deal significant amounts of damage to it with Hyper Beam, allowing them to consistently threaten a KO against a a sufficiently weakened Tentacruel while at high health.
Uhh... what? I think this is a remnant of Charizard or something, as Aerodactyl definitely does not Speed tie Tentacruel. Also, the calcs are not super easy to understand. Surf will nearly always 2HKO Dodrio and has a small but realistic chance to OHKO Aerodactyl. Blizzard will 2HKO Dodrio and Aerodactyl.

Without Swords Dance, Tentacruel often struggles to break through opposing Water-types, such as Vaporeon, Gyarados, Dewgong, or opposing Tentacruel, on its own, as it has to rely on landing multiple Wraps in a row to break through them reliably or getting a lucky freeze from Blizzard, except against Dewgong, all while risking getting paralyzed by Body Slam or frozen by Blizzard.
Gyarados also typically packs a powerful Thunderbolt and/or Hyper Beam, which can brutally punish a miss or a paralyzed Tentacruel.

While these two Pokemon don't switch into Tentacruel's Surf very well, when at high health they can be difficult for Tentacruel to break past with their high health and good special stats, requiring Tentacruel to land multiple Wraps in a row to break past these two, while they are able to cripple it in return with Thunder Wave if it misses.
I think you left out the names of the Pokemon to which you're referring. I'm assuming you are talking about Hypno and Clefable here.

**Slow Paralysis Users**
There might be an argument to merge this with Water-types and create a "Bulky Pokemon" entry. An increasingly common strategy I've seen lately is stacking up multiple physically bulky Pokemon with threatening moves (paralysis or strong physical attacks) like Kangaskhan, Clefable, Pinsir, Hypno, Vaporeon, etc. and repeatedly switching between them until you exhaust Wrap PP or get a miss. You can pretty realistically mitigate the damage this way as Tentacruel won't ever really feel safe enough to attack. So it'll usually end up switching out, missing and getting punished, or just running out of PP without accomplishing too much. It's a more obscure route, but I've seen it be used to some success. We can talk about this more over Discord if you'd like (I'd like to go through this in more detail before it's implemented, assuming it is at all). It's pretty interesting as an approach.

I think I've kept you in suspense long enough. While I'd still like to hash out one or two details, I think I'm comfortable finally awarding this analysis a QC 2/2. Cheers and on to GP!
 
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Adeleine

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(AC)/(RC): Add/Remove Comma

[OVERVIEW]

Tentacruel is unquestionably the defining threat of RBY UU, shaping every facet of the tier and dictating the viability of many Pokemon. Access to Wrap combined with its incredible base 100 Speed gives it nigh-unmatched utility in nearly every game. Tentacruel's Wrap shapes the identity of RBY UU, defining offensive and defensive play in the tier, by immobilizing and chipping Pokemon and generating free switches during the immobilization. As an offensive tool, Tentacruel's Wrap puts immense pressure on defensive Pokemon by softening them up with chip damage, which can be further emphasized by the use of Swords Dance, preventing them from healing over its duration, and most crucially, allowing for offensive teammates to come onto the field safely. As a defensive tool, Tentacruel's Wrap pivot is crucial for allowing defensive Pokemon to remain healthy, allowing them to come onto the field and answer the many titans of the tier. In addition, it can allow Tentacruel to regain the initiative for its team by switching onto the field as a slower target does, halting their momentum with Wrap. tier. Wrap is useful on many Pokemon to wear down foes and gain momentum by pivoting while they're immobilized, but Tentacruel's many strengths accentuate these positives. Its high Speed and Wrap give it the advantage in most one-on-one interactions: against any slower foe, Tentacruel can just use Wrap and switch as the move expires, giving its team free chip damage and a free switch. Provided Wrap hits, this strategy has no good short-term counterplay: switching a faster Pokemon or Haunter into Wrap won't let it punish Tentacruel. Thus, Tentacruel is very hard to punish and drain momentum from overall, and it loves coming in as opponents also switch, which lets it exploit the resulting one-on-one interactions. Tentacruel also easily switches in on the tier's many Surfs and Blizzards from threats like Vaporeon and Articuno, alongside some other, rarer special attacks. With all these switch-in chances, Tentacruel gets on the field often, and since most Pokemon are slow and thus easy pickings for Wrap pivoting, Tentacruel is hard to force out too. Being in often and hard to remove, Tentacruel has many opportunities to actually use Wrap. Further, Tentacruel can afford to run Rest to stick around even longer. All this field presence, chip damage, momentum, and safe pivoting for offensive teammates lets Tentacruel immensely pressure defensive Pokemon. But further, not only does Wrap prevent defensive Pokemon from healing during its duration, but Tentacruel can run Swords Dance to emphasize this pressure even more. The utility Tentacruel's Wrap provides already makes it a core part of the tier. (this has meaningful changes from the version you saw; you should read it again and make any needed corrections)

The utility Tentacruel's Wrap provides already makes it a core part of the tier, shaping offensive and defensive play to an unrivalled extent, but that's only one of the many things Tentacruel offers to a team. Tentacruel's many positive attributes support its Wrap, but they also have their own critical applications. With its base 120 Special, which is tied for the second-highest in the tier, in addition to its STAB Surf or Hydro Pump and good coverage with Blizzard, Tentacruel is an offensive behemoth. Its STAB moves deal significant damage to Kangaskhan, Omastar, Haunter, and Kadabra, while hitting Blizzard hits Dodrio, Dragonite, Venusaur, and Tangela for significant damage with Blizzard, hard, if it doesn't just OHKO them outright. This wide coverage when combined with Tentacruel's high Speed allows it to act as a revenge killer, a sweeper, and a wallbreaker. If it chooses to run Swords Dance, Tentacruel becomes a nigh-unwallable late-game sweeper, demolishing slower teams with Wrap, Hyper Beam, and Surf (RC) with near impunity. Meanwhile, with Rest and Tentacruel's the fantastic Water typing, type, Tentacruel becomes a key defensive piece, checking piece. It checks Articuno, one of the most dangerous Pokemon in the tier, and answering answers the myriad of Surfs and Blizzards from the tier's many Water-types, such as Vaporeon, Gyarados, Omastar, Dewgong, and itself, is a defensive niche as well as an entry opportunity. Further, all the above niches and Wrap synergize with each other. Wrap chip damage bolsters Tentacruel's offensive pressure, and whenever Tentacruel comes in to exploit a positive offensive or defensive matchup, it gains another chance to use Wrap.

Despite all these positives, Tentacruel does have some very notable flaws. Its Poison typing, while making it immune to Toxic, gives it a glaring weakness to Psychic- and Ground-type attacks, which makes Psychic and Earthquake. These weaknesses make it hard to switch Tentacruel into Pokemon like Hypno and Kangaskhan, and they prevents it from staying in against Kadabra and Dugtrio, both of whom which outspeed Tentacruel and heavily damage it with their STAB moves. Another notable weakness of Tentacruel is its physical frailty, which can allow threats such as Persian or and Aerodactyl to force Tentacruel to switch out as well. Tentacruel is also severely crippled by paralysis, as the Speed drop and chance to fully paralyze mid-wrap for full paralysis mid-Wrap heavily impact its utility. Lastly, Tentacruel's reliance on Rest to heal itself can be heavily punished by Psychic-types such as Kadabra and Hypno, Electric-types such as Raichu and Electabuzz, and physical attackers such as Kangaskhan, Dodrio, Persian, and Dugtrio. However, even with these flaws, Tentacruel is the tier's apex predator, with its utility and power making it a mandatory pick for competitive teams.

[SET]
name: Wrap Pivot
move 1: Wrap
move 2: Surf
move 3: Blizzard
move 4: Rest

[SET COMMENTS]

Set Description
=========

This is Tentacruel's defining set, capable of extracting nigh-unmatched amounts of value at every stage of the game. With its strong STAB Surf and Blizzard, Tentacruel is a consistent offensive threat, capable of 2HKOing Kangaskhan, Tangela, Venusaur, Dodrio, and Persian, and Persian while OHKOing Aerodactyl, Dugtrio, and Dragonite. Even against specially bulky targets like Hypno and Articuno, its Surfs take off Articuno lose roughly 30% of their health which can force to its Surfs, possibly forcing an early Rest from Hypno&mdash;which a teammate like Kangaskhan, Dugtrio, Dodrio, Persian, or Dragonite can exploit&mdash;or chipping Articuno enough to stop it from sweeping. This damage is accentuated by Tentacruel's fast Wrap, which allows Tentacruel's fast Wrap accentuates this damage, allowing it to immobilize and chip away at slower targets, preventing them from retaliating or healing any damage they may have incurred through the use of a healing move. Additionally, Wrap allows even more offensively-threatening (added hyphen) teammates, such as Dugtrio, Articuno, Persian, and Kangaskhan, a safe entry point to come onto the battlefield to exploit the damage dealt by Tentacruel. Tentacruel's last move on this set is Rest for two main reasons; firstly, by running Rest, Tentacruel can heal off damage or any status conditions it may have been afflicted with, Rest gives it general longevity in the face of damage and status, allowing it to remain an active presence throughout the game. (I imagine this works? tinker if needed) Secondly, by running Rest, Tentacruel can better leverage its respectable special bulk and resistances to Water and Ice-type attacks, allowing it to switch Ice, switching into the likes of Articuno, Vaporeon, Omastar, and opposing Tentacruel (RC) throughout a game. The improved matchup against opposing Tentacruel is especially important in endgames, as a Tentacruel without Rest is typically at a significant disadvantage in the mirror matchup, as is the improved matchup against Articuno, as since it can be very difficult to check Articuno if you do not have Rest on Tentacruel or have a secondary Water-type that can help (if you mean "a secondary water type that can handle articuno on its own" or something like that, pls make that explicit, and possibly give an example such water-type and/or clarification) handle Articuno.

Tentacruel is a very versatile Pokemon that can be used as the situation demands; and flexible Pokemon; it can be used as an offensive weapon and revenge killer with its Speed and consistent damage output, a defensive piece with its respectable special bulk, resistances, and Rest, and, as per the name of this set, it can be used as and it can be a pivot with Wrap to bring in its teammates. Getting Tentacruel onto the field safely as often as possible is vital to making the most of it, as well as is properly identifying whether using Wrap to deal chip foes and pivot in a teammate is worth risking a potential miss, or if it would be better for Tentacruel to Tentacruel should fire off strong Surfs and Blizzards to break down the opposing team's defensive core, is vital to making the most of Tentacruel; however, core instead. However, you have to balance this pivoting and offense with keeping Tentacruel healthy as an answer to Articuno and opposing Water-types such as Vaporeon, Dewgong, and opposing Tentacruel as well. Opposing Flying- and Grass-types switching onto the field in to answer Dugtrio are two great opportunities to bring Tentacruel into play, as Tentacruel threatens to OHKO or 2HKO many of them with its strong coverage options. Blizzard. Another good opportunity to bring Tentacruel onto the field is against entry opportunity is while opposing slow wallbreakers, such as Kangaskhan (RC) and Articuno, as they switch onto the field on a Resting switch into a Hypno or Vaporeon asleep from Rest, as Tentacruel can immobilize them with Wrap before they get an opportunity to attack and regain momentum for its team. regain momentum with Wrap before they can retaliate. Tentacruel can also make good use of sleeping targets on the opposing team, foes, such as Hypno or and Omastar, attempting to burn sleep turns, as it can deal significant damage to them with Surf while they are asleep before immobilizing them with starting Wrap as they wake up, preventing them from retaliating or from healing off damage sustained during Rest.

Given how versatile a threat Tentacruel is, it synergizes very well with many common threats in the tier. Sweepers and wallbreakers like Dugtrio, Kangaskhan, Gyarados, and Persian are good teammates for Tentacruel, as the safe switch provided by Wrap allows them to come onto the field safely, allowing them to preserve enjoy Tentacruel's Wrap allowing them to switch in safely, preserving their health and avoiding getting paralyzed by Thunder Wave, allowing them to which in turn lets them come in later for another round of attacks. In return, they threaten to 2HKO common Tentacruel answers like Kadabra and Electabuzz. Dugtrio is particularly noteworthy, (AC) as it is immune to opposing Thunder Waves intended to cripple Tentacruel, (AC) before punishing the opposition heavily for trying with its STAB Earthquake, good coverage in Rock Slide and Slash, the threat of Substitute catching a switch from the opponent, and high critical hit rate due to its Speed. One especially good place to pivot Dugtrio onto the field in with Wrap (I imagine?) is against opposing Tentacruel, as it can KO Tentacruel extremely early with Earthquake. In return, Tentacruel outspeeds and threatens common Dugtrio answers like Tangela, Venusaur, Dragonite, and Kangaskhan, with Wrap immobilising immobilizing them and wearing them down into Surf or Blizzard range. Hypno is another fantastic teammate for Tentacruel, coming into common Tentacruel answers like Kadabra and Electabuzz (RC) and forcing them to switch out, lest they get paralyzed by Thunder Wave or put to sleep by Hypnosis, which Hypnosis. Either status makes them easy pickings for slower physical attackers like Kangaskhan, Gyarados, and Dragonite to exploit, as well as preventing them from checking Tentacruel thereafter. Hypno, when healthy, also can act as a soft check to soft check other common Tentacruel answers like Persian and Aerodactyl with its strong Psychic and Thunder Wave. In exchange, Hypno benefits immensely from Tentacruel's ability to answer Pokemon that heavily punish a resting Hypno, such as Kangaskhan, Gyarados, Venusaur, Tangela, and Dragonite. Furthermore, Tentacruel's fast Wrap benefits Hypno immensely, as it baits immensely by baiting in Pokemon that Hypno checks, such as Electabuzz and Kadabra, before, crucially, letting Hypno switch into them without taking chip damage or paralysis on the way in.

Bulky Pokemon such as Kangaskhan, Gyarados, Vaporeon, Dragonite, and Dewgong (RC) also make for effective Tentacruel teammates because, teammates. While healthy, they can switch into some of Tentacruel's common checks such as Persian or and Dugtrio, ideally while they are immobilised immobilized by Tentacruel's Wrap, and threaten the opposing team in return with strong attacks and the threat of paralysis, from either Body Slam or Thunder Wave in the case of Dragonite. They are also very adept at exploiting resting Pokemon, sleeping Rest users, such as Hypno, Vaporeon, Omastar, and Dewgong, that switch into Wrap to burn sleep turns while taking relatively little damage from Tentacruel's Wrap. Dewgong, Omastar, and Vaporeon also work well with Tentacruel, as they both grant also grants the Tentacruel user an additional Articuno counter, as do Omastar and Vaporeon, which allows Tentacruel to play more aggressively without as much risk of Articuno getting out of hand, and in the case of Dewgong, hand. Dewgong further has a freeze immunity, which allows Tentacruel to avoid taking as many Blizzards from an opposing Tentacruel and reduce the chances that it gets frozen. Tangela and Venusaur also make for very effective Tentacruel partners, as, while healthy, they answer Dugtrio, Persian, and Electabuzz, using the entry point to put an opposing Pokemon out of commission with Sleep Powder while providing additional value after sleeping an opponent land a crippling Sleep Powder before providing additional value with their other utility moves. Meanwhile, Tentacruel acts as a decent answer to any Flying-types, such as Articuno, Dragonite, or Gyarados, that try to exploit Tangela and Venusaur's lack of coverage moves.

Lastly, Flying-type teammates such as the aforementioned Gyarados and Dragonite, but also Aerodactyl, Articuno, and Dodrio, can benefit Tentacruel by checking Dugtrio with their Earthquake immunity immunities and strong attacks. Gyarados and Dragonite can switch into Dugtrio's Rock Slide two times, barring an untimely critical hit, before Dugtrio can threaten to 2HKO them as they switch in. Aerodactyl and Dodrio are less sturdy answers to Dugtrio, only taking a single Rock Slide before Dugtrio can 2HKO them; however, they can threaten Kadabra fairly well when it is chipped. Aerodactyl's high Speed stat is particularly noteworthy as, because, excluding the uncommon Electrode, it is the only Pokemon that can reliably revenge kill an unparalyzed Dugtrio without taking an attack in the process. Its Normal resistance is also useful when facing Dugtrio, as Dugtrio commonly uses Slash as an early-game midground option when scouting its opponent's team, which and Aerodactyl takes Slash very comfortably. Articuno is unable to switch into Dugtrio's Rock Slide safely at all, being 2HKOed from full health by it, but, when above 58% health, it can force Dugtrio to switch out with its Blizzard if it can come in safely&mdash;such as on an Earthquake or from Tentacruel's Wrap&mdash;and if Dugtrio is not behind a Substitute.

Tentacruel’s good Speed tier and access to Wrap make it a common lead in RBY UU, outspeeding and locking down any slower lead, including Hypno, Haunter, or Venusaur, which Venusaur. Wrap allows a safe pivot to a teammate to capitalise capitalize on the immobilised immobilized lead, (AC) or any teammates that the opposing player switches to, whenever the Tentacruel user dictates. For example, (AC) if your opponent switches to Clefable or Hypno and attempts to stall out Wrap PP PP stall Wrap or fish for a miss to paralyze Tentacruel, you can pivot such as switching to Venusaur or Haunter against them and put something on the opposing team to Sleep. to a teammate such as Venusaur or Haunter and put some foe to sleep. As another example, if your opponent leads Haunter and stays in to fish for a Wrap miss and put Tentacruel to sleep with Hypnosis, you can go to Dugtrio and threaten to OHKO it Haunter with Earthquake. This ability to pivot with Wrap puts the Tentacruel user at a significant advantage, as they have the initiative and control the pace of the game, (AC) which allows them to pick the best moment to switch while chipping down the opposing team. This is commonly responded to by the opposing player This advantage creates an intricate mindgame. Opponents commonly respond to this advantage by switching to a Pokemon with paralysis that outspeeds or speed-ties Speed ties Tentacruel such as Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, or Electrode, which put the Tentacruel user on a timer where they are forced to switch out earlier so they can get that safe switch to a teammate, usually Hypno, and avoid ceding the initiative to the opposing player by allowing Wraps duration to end before they switch. Sometimes, the opposing player will switch to their own Tentacruel to catch Tentacruel switching to a teammate that can exploit the fast paralysis-inducing Pokemon switching onto the field, such as Hypno or Dugtrio switching in with the expectation that Kadabra or Electabuzz comes onto the field, without leaving open the possibility of Wrap missing, or to bait Tentacruel into switching to their own fast paralysis-inducing teammate which they attempt to exploit by switching themselves. Electrode. These paralysis users pressure Tentacruel to quickly switch to a teammate, usually Hypno but possibly Dugtrio, before Wrap ends and the foe regains the initiative by freely threatening Tentacruel. If it hasn't started Wrap yet, Tentacruel may even hard switch instead of Wrap pivoting to avoid the risk of a Wrap miss. If Tentacruel hard switches, though, the opponent may predict this and, instead of bringing in a paralysis user, bring in their own Tentacruel to handle the incoming Hypno or Dugtrio. With the other Tentacruel possibly in play, the above mindgame starts again. The original Tentacruel user may predict the opponent bringing in their opposing Tentacruel, causing the original user to bring in their own paralysis inducer, but the opponent may respond with their own Hypno or Dugtrio to beat the paralysis user, and so on. (if i'm misunderstanding anything, correct it, but the original version was a run-on and overly unclear. if you correcting this would not be simple, we can talk) (also created paragraph break)

When facing fast paralysis-inducing leads, such as Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, and Electrode, Tentacruel will be forced to switch to a teammate to avoid getting paralyzed, thereby giving the opposing player a chance to paralyze something some Pokemon with Thunder Wave or predict the switch and bring in a Pokemon with a sleep-inducing move sleep inducer such as Haunter or Venusaur. Note that a near-identical scenario the same pressure to switch and cede initiative occurs if Tentacruel either misses a Wrap against the fast paralysis inducer as it switches onto the field, or it connects and Wrap’s duration ends before the Tentacruel switches out. switches in, or if Wrap connects but the Tentacruel doesn't switch out before it ends. Against opposing Tentacruel leads, Tentacruel can attempt to freeze the opposing Tentacruel lead go for a freeze with Blizzard while dealing some minor chip damage, use Surf to maximise the amount of chip damage dealt to the opposing Tentacruel to bring it into range for Dugtrio or Persian to KO sooner than Blizzard would maximize chip damage to more quickly bring the opposing Tentacruel into KO range for Dugtrio or Persian, or use Wrap and pivot into a fast paralysis-inducing Pokemon of your own. teammate. While Tentacruel is likely to win the matchup against lead Dodrio by using Blizzard, it only wins while avoiding being paralyzed paralysis about half the time, and it is almost always significantly weakened from the interaction, which can be very costly given how valuable Tentacruel is, and it is. It is better to switch to another (I imagine?) teammate that checks Dodrio, such as Omastar or Aerodactyl, if they are being used. The matchup against Persian is similar; (comma -> semicolon) Tentacruel is statistically more likely to win the one-on-one but will be significantly weakened in the process, (AC) which is undesirable in many circumstances. When leading with Tentacruel, (AC) it can be beneficial to pair it with have a second Water-type in the back, (AC) to ensure ensuring you can take opposing Water- and Ice-type attacks in case Tentacruel gets chipped or compromised by status (I imagine?) early on.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Surf
move 3: Wrap
move 4: Hyper Beam

[SET COMMENTS]

Set Description
=========

Swords Dance Tentacruel is a strong alternative to the standard Wrap pivot set, trading the long-term utility that defines its standard Wrap Pivot set some long-term utility to become a surprising and effective late-game sweeper that can effectively break past bulkier Pokemon it the standard set struggles with, such as with. These include Vaporeon, Hypno, and opposing Tentacruel;&mdashpunishing Tentacruel, with Swords Dance Tentacruel punishing them using Rest especially hard. This Tentacruel set also can operate as be a mid-game pivot, similarly to the standard set. However, it cannot play as liberally due to how punishing a Wrap miss can be; note that it cannot afford to run Rest over any of its other moves, as it would likely mean removing Hyper Beam or Surf, losing over Hyper Beam or Surf to recover from the resulting punishment, as it would sacrifice much of its offensive presence in the process and arguably becoming become outclassed by Pinsir. After one Swords Dance, Tentacruel's Wrap deals around 6% per tick turn to bulky targets such as Hypno, Gyarados, Kangaskhan, and Vaporeon, turning it transforming from a pivoting move that deals chip damage to a potent wallbreaking tool that completely decimates paralyzed teams, quickly wearing opposing Pokemon teams. Boosted Wrap quickly wears foes down into KO range of either Surf or its Tentacruel's boosted Hyper Beam, which are reliable KO options against slower and bulkier Pokemon once they are slightly below half health, (AC) while leaving them unable to retaliate. This process normally forces the opponent to rely on Pokemon that outspeed Tentacruel to force it out, such as Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, or and Persian. However, none of these Pokemon can reliably switch into Tentacruel, as Tentacruel's boosted Hyper Beam can KO all of them after only a small amount of chip damage, or, in the case of Kadabra, Tentacruel's boosted Hyper Beam is an OHKO, dissuading all of them from switching into a boosted Tentacruel. no chip damage at all. When using Swords Dance to attempt a sweep, ensure that it is being used Tentacruel sets up against targets that are unable to status it or harm it in a significant form, such as against significantly harm it, such as sleeping targets looking to burn some sleep turns against Tentacruel, Wrap, slower Pokemon looking to use a recovery move, or opposing Tentacruel looking to get a lucky freeze with Blizzard;&mdashthis mirror interaction (if you meant something besides that, pls clarify) is especially noteworthy in endgame positions, (AC) where Swords Dance Tentacruel dominates if it is reasonably healthy. Thus, it is important to recognise that this set profits from how opponents conventionally react to most Tentacruel sets. It is important to recognize that these setup opportunities stem from opponents expecting Tentacruel to run its standard, less offensive set; take advantage whenever opponents make that wrong prediction and think they can tolerate being passive towards Tentacruel. (i imagine?) Due to this set's increased vulnerability to status, it can be more difficult to bring in onto the field than the standard Wrap pivot set, often relying on resisted attacks, fellow teammate Wrappers like Dragonite, and good double switching (RC) to come onto the field safely. Another notable, albeit uncommon way of utilizing Swords Dance Tentacruel (RC) is as a mid-game wallbreaker, boosting its Attack against an opposing Tentacruel or Vaporeon attempting to wake up from Rest that's burning Rest sleep turns to punch a large hole in the opposing team.

Swords Dance Tentacruel can be a challenging sweeper to use, often relying on its teammates to force the opponent into positions where it can safely use Swords Dance, as well as needing them to paralyze or faint KO any Pokemon that could attempt to stop its sweep. As mentioned before, sleeping Pokemon looking to burn a turn or two of sleep make excellent set-up fodder, hence setup fodder; hence, Swords Dance Tentacruel pairs well with Pokemon that can put an opposing Pokemon to sleep, sleep inducers such as Haunter, Hypnosis Hypno, Venusaur, or and Tangela. These four Pokemon also have defensive utility against foes that may stop Tentacruel's sweep as well, with Haunter walling opposing Persian, Venusaur and Tangela checking opposing Dugtrio, Raichu, Electabuzz, and Persian which may attempt to stop Tentacruel's sweep, and Hypno crippling Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, and Persian (RC) with Thunder Wave&mdash;allowing Tentacruel to sweep with Swords Dance-boosted Wraps unopposed. Seismic Toss Hypno is also an effective teammate for Swords Dance Tentacruel, as it can reliably force an opposing Hypno to use Rest with Seismic Toss, most commonly at around half health, which gifts Tentacruel an excellent opportunity to switch in and use Swords Dance. Dugtrio and Persian are two excellent teammates for Swords Dance Tentacruel, as they can exploit opposing Kadabra, Electabuzz, and Raichu (RC) attempting to stop Tentacruel from sweeping with Swords Dance, as well as clean Tentacruel's sweep, as well as cleaning up any remaining Pokemon on the opposing team foes after Swords Dance Tentacruel's assault. Kangaskhan and Dragonite also make for solid teammates for Tentacruel as they can are solid to reliably paralyze or KO Persian and Kadabra attempting to check Swords Dance Tentacruel. Another issue teams with Swords Dance Tentacruel this set often face is dealing with opposing Articuno and opposing Tentacruel, as it Swords Dance Tentacruel cannot reliably switch into them throughout the match due to its lack of Rest. Thus, Teammates such as Vaporeon, Omastar, and Dewgong that can switch into Articuno and Tentacruel throughout the game can be good options.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

While Tentacruel has a variety of other options, they are generally discouraged due to them either being useful in very rare situations or because they make very situational or making Tentacruel less consistent, which many team compositions cannot afford. Hydro Pump's increased power can be very appealing, as it allows Tentacruel to achieve achieves a guaranteed 3HKO on Hypno, a near-guaranteed 3HKO on Articuno, a guaranteed 2HKO on Persian, and a 2HKO against Kadabra 49.8% of the time; however, the worse accuracy and PP are very noticeable in prolonged games and make Tentacruel a much less consistent threat.

Hyper Beam can be a nice option on the Wrap Pivot set, allowing Tentacruel to pick off opposing Kadabra switching into it at 60% health, while also as well as hitting opposing Tentacruel for around 33% (RC) and opposing Dewgong and Vaporeon for roughly 27%, all three of which 27%. All of the latter three can be tough for Tentacruel to break past on its own. However, outside of those damage rolls, Hyper Beam doesn’t do that much for Tentacruel while being Tentacruel, making it hard to justify running over one of its standard moves.

Ice Beam grants Tentacruel more PP for freeze wars, increasing its chances of winning them. However, the its drop in damage output from Blizzard is drastic, notably failing to OHKO Dragonite and thus allowing it to set up Agility for AgiliWrap. Barrier can be run to make Tentacruel take less damage from the wide array of physical moves, dodging the 2HKO from Kangaskhan's and Dugtrio's Earthquakes and allowing it to win the those matchups; however, this Barrier fails to assist it against Persian, which can ignore the Defense boosts with Slash, which it with Slash and is one of the most popular physical attackers in the tier. Bubble Beam's 33.2% chance to drop the target's Speed can come in handy against opposing Tentacruel and Persian, but in the vast majority of cases, Surf's higher damage is preferred. Mega Drain can be nice to hit Omastar or Golem with, as it allows Tentacruel to gain a significant amount of health back, but its damage is otherwise middling it otherwise has middling damage and hurts its other matchups more than it helps.

On the Swords Dance set, Tentacruel can opt to run Blizzard over Surf to guarantee an OHKO on Dragonite and deal more damage to Grass-types, but this comes at the cost of a guaranteed OHKO on Dugtrio and a probable 2HKO on Persian and Kangaskhan, damage rolls that are often too valuable for Swords Dance Tentacruel to pass up on.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Fast Paralysis Inducers**: Tentacruel is severely crippled by paralysis, and any fast threat that can reliably inflict it, Any paralysis inducer that outspeeds Tentacruel, such as Kadabra, Raichu, Electabuzz, or the rare Electrode, can be a very pressing issue for it. The chance of full paralysis coupled with Wrap's accuracy leaves Tentacruel with a 63.57% chance to connect Wrap, sharply reducing Tentacruel's efficacy as a pivot and as a sweeper. harming its pivoting and sweeping. The Speed drop combined with this causes Tentacruel to be a significantly less effective pivot further hinders its pivoting and leaves it vulnerable to slower threats like Hypno and Gyarados. Kadabra and Electabuzz, being faster than Tentacruel and possessing enough bulk to which avoid a 2HKO from Surf, are capable of switching can switch into Tentacruel directly and threatening it with Thunder Wave. This can come with a significant amount of They can create significant momentum if they switch into Tentacruel as Wrap misses. Even if Wrap hits, they can wait out the Wrap turns and threaten 2HKOs with their STAB moves. That being said, it can be beneficial for Kadabra or Electabuzz user to send in a Water-resistant Pokemon first to bait Wrap and then switch either Pokemon into the locked-in move, as to avoid the chance of Tentacruel landing a critical hit with Surf. Since Kadabra and Electabuzz are faster than Tentacruel, they can wait out the Wrap turns and threaten 2HKOs with their STAB moves. It should be noted, however, that a critical hit from Surf will deal at least 70% to Kadabra, Electabuzz, and Raichu, leaving them liable to being knocked out by another Surf or one of Tentacruel’s teammates. This is less problematic for Kadabra, as it can heal off the damage with Recover at the cost of allowing Tentacruel to switch to a teammate that threatens Kadabra such as Hypno. Electabuzz and Raichu however are permanently crippled by Tentacruel landing a critical hit with Surf, leaving them liable to getting picked off by Tentacruel’s Wrap if they try to wait out its duration. all these checks fear a critical hit Surf, which will deal at least 70%, letting another attack or a teammate KO them. Kadabra mitigates that risk with Recover, but using Recover lets its checks such as Hypno switch in. You can reduce the threat of Surf by switching a Water-resistant Pokemon into Tentacruel first, baiting it to lock into Wrap. This creates a switch-in opportunity for paralysis inducers, which can wait out the Wrap turns and threaten to cripple or break through Tentacruel. (if anything was misunderstood/misstated or anything important left out, edit as appropriate)

**Haunter**: Haunter has enough bulk to avoid a 2HKO from Tentacruel's STAB moves attacks and won't take chip damage from Wrap, although it is still immobilized. Due to its strong Thunderbolt, Haunter can force Tentacruel out and make it waste Wrap PP, usually winning the matchup when Tentacruel is below 73%, (AC) as Thunderbolt will 2HKO Tentacruel from there. However, if Haunter has already been damaged, it may be forced to use Explosion instead. It should be noted that a Thunderbolt and subsequent Explosion from Haunter usually, but not always, will KO Tentacruel, however, Tentacruel can survive this if either Thunderbolt or Explosion is a low roll and neither is a critical hit. If this happens, the next attempt to revenge kill Tentacruel should force it to switch out. Tentacruel from full health. (i imagine "full health" is true? also it felt pretty intuitive that an rk attempt post-Explosion would force a switch, but if i'm missing something here, lmk or add it in) Critical hits from Surf can deal severe damage to Haunter, however, in addition, likely forcing it to use Explosion regardless of Tentacruel's health. (if you meant something else, eg like "regardless of whether Tentacruel stays in", pls clarify)

**Fast Physical Attackers**: Fast physical attackers such as Dugtrio, Persian, and Dodrio (RC) are all reliable checks to Tentacruel, as they can abuse Tentacruel's mediocre Physical bulk and threaten beating or matching its Speed and exploiting its mediocre physical bulk to KO it from very high health. Dugtrio is the second-fastest threat in the tier and can 2HKO Tentacruel with Earthquake. However, Earthquake, but its fragility makes Surf a guaranteed OHKO, so Dugtrio is limited to a revenge killing role. Tentacruel should attempt is pressured to stay at 80% HP or more, out of Earthquake's OHKO range, ideally being at 80% HP or more, but this is a tall order in many situations. Dugtrio's Speed and strong Earthquake can also allow it to stop a chipped Tentacruel from locking down its team with Wrap by also let it halt the Wrap momentum of a chipped Tentacruel, coming in on its Wrap and waiting it out before KOing the Tentacruel with Earthquake; (comma -> semicolon) however, this is usually a last resort option, (AC) as Dugtrio's frailty can be punished heavily by many common Tentacruel teammates many common threats can heavily punish Dugtrio's frailty if they are reasonably healthy. Persian is among the fastest threats in the tier and can threaten a reliable 2HKO with Slash against a Tentacruel at 90% or below. Unlike Dugtrio, (AC) however, Persian has enough bulk to live a Surf, getting 2HKOed by it 36% of the time from full health, allowing it to threaten Tentacruel while remaining a flexible threat, as it can afford to take a hit in exchange for dealing significant damage to Tentacruel without getting KOed in the process. survive a Surf&mdash;and fairly often two&mdash;making it more flexible than Dugtrio in threatening and/or chipping Tentacruel without getting KOed. While both Dodrio and Aerodactyl are reliably 2HKOed by Tentacruel's Surf and Blizzard, they both match or exceed Tentacruel’s Speed and can deal significant amounts of damage to significantly damge it with Hyper Beam, allowing them to consistently threaten a KO against a a sufficiently weakened Tentacruel (give rough fraction or percentage estimate) while at high health. Dodrio can turn the matchup to its favour significantly improve the matchup if it manages to paralyze Tentacruel with a Body Slam or use Agility before Tentacruel comes onto the field, as a Body Slam followed by a Hyper Beam is guaranteed to KO Tentacruel.

**Water-types**: Without Swords Dance, Tentacruel often struggles to break through opposing Water-types, such as Vaporeon, Gyarados, Dewgong, or opposing Tentacruel, on its own, as it own. It has to rely on landing multiple Wraps in a row to feasibly break through them reliably or getting or get a lucky freeze from Blizzard, except against which won't even work for Dewgong, all while risking getting paralyzed by Body Slam, frozen by Blizzard, or eating a strong Thunderbolt or Hyper Beam from Gyarados.

**Slow Paralysis Users**: **Tangela and Dragonite**: While these two Pokemon don't neither switch into Tentacruel's Surf very well, when at high health they health, Tangela and Dragonite can be difficult for Tentacruel to break past with their high health and good special stats, requiring Tentacruel good special bulk. Tentacruel has to land multiple Wraps in a row to break past these two, while they are able to cripple it in return immediately with Stun Spore or Thunder Wave if it misses. While both Tangela and Dragonite are slower than Tentacruel and are 2HKOed and OHKOed by its Blizzard While Tentacruel outspeeds them and 2HKOes and OHKOes them with Blizzard, respectively, both of these Pokemon are very good at luring in Tentacruel and paralyzing it as it switches in, which can cripple Tentacruel for the rest of the game. In addition, because these two Pokemon are slower than Tentacruel, they can act after it wakes up from Rest, paralyzing it before it can retaliate and then pivoting to a more aggressive teammate with Bind or Wrap.

[CREDITS]

- Written by: [[Shellnuts, 491544], [pacattacc, 520967]]
- Earlier versions by: [[May, 236353], [Shellnuts, 491544], [Volk, 530877]]
- Quality checked by: [[May, 236353], [Volk, 530877]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [, ]]
 
Last edited:

Adeleine

after committing a dangerous crime
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at last

check 1 done

a lot of good stuff, and obv theres a lot to manage w an analysis like this, but biggest thing id keep an eye out for is compound sentences too long in length/clauses (and occasionally unclear in addition to that)

Dewgong, Omastar, and Vaporeon also work well with Tentacruel, as they both grant the Tentacruel user an additional Articuno counter, which allows Tentacruel to play more aggressively without as much risk of Articuno getting out of hand, and in the case of Dewgong, a freeze immunity, which allows Tentacruel to avoid taking as many Blizzards from an opposing Tentacruel and reduce the chances that it gets frozen.

This is commonly responded to by the opposing player switching to a Pokemon with paralysis that outspeeds or speed-ties Tentacruel such as Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, or Electrode, which put the Tentacruel user on a timer where they are forced to switch out earlier so they can get that safe switch to a teammate, usually Hypno, and avoid ceding the initiative to the opposing player by allowing Wraps duration to end before they switch.

Sometimes, the opposing player will switch to their own Tentacruel to catch Tentacruel switching to a teammate that can exploit the fast paralysis-inducing Pokemon switching onto the field, such as Hypno or Dugtrio switching in with the expectation that Kadabra or Electabuzz comes onto the field, without leaving open the possibility of Wrap missing, or to bait Tentacruel into switching to their own fast paralysis-inducing teammate which they attempt to exploit by switching themselves.

sometimes reading these sentences aloud, making sure to pause a bit on commas and not having those pauses when there arent commas, can be helpful for ensuring readability. ofc both having too many comma clauses and too few can both hinder readability
 

UT

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Appeals + C&C Lead
add remove conjecture
[OVERVIEW]

Tentacruel is unquestionably the defining threat of RBY UU, shaping every facet of the tier and dictating the viability of many Pokemon. Access to Wrap combined with its incredible base 100 Speed gives it nigh-unmatched utility in nearly every game. Tentacruel's Wrap shapes the identity of RBY UU, defining offensive and defensive play in the tier. Wrap is useful on many Pokemon to wear wears down foes and gains momentum by pivoting while they're immobilized, but and Tentacruel's many strengths accentuate these positives. Its high Speed and Wrap give it the advantage in most one-on-one interactions: against any slower foe, Tentacruel can just use Wrap and switch as the move expires, giving its team free chip damage and a free switch. Provided Wrap hits, this This strategy has no good short-term counterplay: switching a faster Pokemon or Haunter into Wrap won't let it punish Tentacruel. Thus, Tentacruel is very hard to punish and drain momentum from overall, and it loves coming in as opponents also switch, which lets it exploit the resulting one-on-one interactions Tentacruel, making it very hard to punish and gain momentum against Tentacruel.. Tentacruel also easily switches in on the tier's many Surfs and Blizzards from threats like Vaporeon and Articuno, alongside some other, rarer special attacks an example here would be neat, "like X". With all these switch-in chances, Tentacruel gets on the field often, and since most Pokemon are slower and thus easy pickings for Wrap pivoting, Tentacruel is hard to force out too. Being in often and hard to remove, Tentacruel has many opportunities to actually use Wrap. Further, Tentacruel can afford to run Rest to stick around even longer. All this field presence, chip damage, momentum, and safe pivoting for offensive teammates lets Tentacruel immensely pressure defensive Pokemon. But further Finally, not only does Wrap prevent defensive Pokemon from healing during its duration, but Tentacruel can run Swords Dance to emphasize this pressure even more. The utility Tentacruel's Wrap provides already makes it a core part of the tier.

Tentacruel's many positive attributes support its Wrap, but they also have their own critical applications. With its base 120 Special, which is tied for the second-highest in the tier, in addition to its STAB Surf or Hydro Pump, (comma) and good coverage with Blizzard, Tentacruel is an offensive behemoth. Its STAB moves deal significant damage to Kangaskhan, Omastar, Haunter, and Kadabra, while Blizzard hits Dodrio, Dragonite, Venusaur, Victreebel, and Tangela hard, if it doesn't just OHKO them outright. This wide coverage with Tentacruel's high Speed allows it to act as a revenge killer, a sweeper, and a wallbreaker. If it chooses to run Swords Dance, Tentacruel becomes a nigh-unwallable late-game sweeper, demolishing slower teams with Wrap, Hyper Beam, and Surf with near impunity. Meanwhile, with Rest and the fantastic Water type typing, Tentacruel becomes a key defensive piece. It checks Articuno, one of the most dangerous Pokemon in the tier, and answers the myriad of Surfs and Blizzards from the tier's many Water-types, such as Vaporeon, Gyarados, Omastar, Dewgong, and itself, is giving it a defensive niche as well as an entry opportunity. Further, all the above niches and Wrap synergize with each other. Wrap chip damage bolsters Tentacruel's offensive pressure, and whenever Tentacruel comes in to exploit a positive offensive or defensive matchup, it gains another chance to use Wrap.

Despite all these positives, Tentacruel does have some very notable flaws. Its Poison typing, while making it immune to Toxic, gives it a glaring weakness to Psychic and Earthquake. These weaknesses make it hard to switch Tentacruel into Pokemon like Hypno and Kangaskhan, and they prevents it from staying in against Kadabra and Dugtrio, both of which outspeed Tentacruel and heavily damage it with their STAB moves. Another notable weakness of Tentacruel is its physical frailty, which can allow threats such as Persian and Aerodactyl to force Tentacruel out as well. Tentacruel is also severely crippled by paralysis, as the Speed drop and chance for full paralysis mid-Wrap heavily impact its utility. Lastly, Tentacruel's reliance on Rest to heal itself can be heavily punished by Psychic-types such as Kadabra and Hypno, Electric-types such as Raichu and Electabuzz, and physical attackers such as Kangaskhan, Dodrio, Persian, and Dugtrio. However, even with these flaws, Tentacruel is the tier's apex predator, with its utility and power making it a mandatory pick just checking; is it actually on every team? or just the vast majority? if the latter, say "near-mandatory pick" for competitive teams.

[SET]
name: Wrap Pivot
move 1: Wrap
move 2: Surf
move 3: Blizzard
move 4: Rest

[SET COMMENTS]

Set Description
=========

This is Tentacruel's defining set, capable of extracting nigh-unmatched amounts of value at every stage of the game. With its strong STAB Surf and Blizzard Blizzard and STAB Surf, Tentacruel is a consistent offensive threat, capable of 2HKOing Kangaskhan, Tangela, Venusaur, Dodrio, and Persian while OHKOing Aerodactyl, Dugtrio, and Dragonite. Even specially bulky targets like Hypno and Articuno lose roughly 30% of their health to its Surfs Surf, possibly forcing an early Rest from Hypno&mdash;which a teammate like Kangaskhan, Dugtrio, Dodrio, Persian, or Dragonite can exploit&mdash;or chipping Articuno enough to stop it from sweeping. Tentacruel's fast Wrap accentuates this damage, allowing it to immobilize and chip away at slower targets, preventing them from retaliating or healing any damage they may have incurred. Additionally, Wrap allows even more offensively-threatening teammates, such as Dugtrio, Articuno, Persian, and Kangaskhan, a safe entry point to exploit the damage dealt by Tentacruel. Tentacruel's last move is Rest for two main reasons; firstly, Rest gives it general longevity in the face of damage and status, allowing it to remain an active presence throughout the game. Secondly, by running Rest, Tentacruel can better leverage its respectable special bulk and resistances to Water and Ice, switching into the likes of Articuno, Vaporeon, Omastar, and opposing Tentacruel throughout a game. The improved matchup against opposing Tentacruel is especially important in endgames end-games, as a Tentacruel without Rest is typically at a significant disadvantage in the mirror matchup, as is the improved matchup against Articuno, since it can be very difficult to check Articuno if you do not have Rest on Tentacruel or a secondary Water-type that can handle Articuno, such as Dewgong, Omastar, or Vaporeon.

Tentacruel is a very versatile and flexible Pokemon; it can be an offensive weapon and revenge killer with its Speed and consistent damage output, a defensive piece with its respectable special bulk, resistances, and Rest, and it can be a pivot with Wrap to bring in its teammates. Getting Tentacruel onto the field safely as often as possible is vital to making the most of it, as is properly identifying whether using Wrap to chip foes and pivot is worth risking a miss, or if missing space here Tentacruel should fire off strong Surfs and Blizzards to break down the opposing team's defensive core instead. However, you have to balance this pivoting and offense with keeping Tentacruel healthy as an answer to Articuno and opposing Water-types such as Vaporeon, Dewgong, and opposing Tentacruel as well. Opposing Flying- and Grass-types switching in to answer Dugtrio are two great opportunities to bring Tentacruel into play, as Tentacruel threatens to OHKO or 2HKO many of them with Blizzard. Another good entry opportunity is while opposing slow wallbreakers, such as Kangaskhan and Articuno, switch into a Hypno or Vaporeon asleep from Rest, as Tentacruel can regain momentum with Wrap before they can retaliate. Tentacruel can also make good use of sleeping foes, such as Hypno and Omastar, attempting to burn sleep turns, as it can deal significant damage with Surf while they are asleep before starting Wrap as they wake up, preventing them from retaliating or healing off damage sustained during Rest.

Given how versatile a threat Tentacruel is, it synergizes very well with many common threats in the tier. Sweepers and wallbreakers like Dugtrio, Kangaskhan, Gyarados, and Persian enjoy Tentacruel's Wrap allowing them to switch in safely, preserving their health and avoiding getting paralyzed by Thunder Wave, which in turn lets them come in later for another round of attacks. In return, they threaten to 2HKO common Tentacruel answers like Kadabra and Electabuzz. Dugtrio is particularly noteworthy, as it is immune to opposing Thunder Waves Thunder Wave intended to cripple Tentacruel, punishing the opposition heavily for trying with its STAB Earthquake, good coverage in Rock Slide and Slash, threat of Substitute catching a switch from the opponent, and high critical hit rate. One especially good place to pivot Dugtrio in with Wrap is against opposing Tentacruel, as it can KO Tentacruel extremely early with Earthquake. In return, Tentacruel outspeeds and threatens common Dugtrio answers like Tangela, Venusaur, Dragonite, and Kangaskhan, with Wrap immobilizing them and wearing them down into Surf or Blizzard range. Hypno is another fantastic teammate for Tentacruel, coming into common Tentacruel answers like Kadabra and Electabuzz and forcing them to switch out, lest they get paralyzed by Thunder Wave or put to sleep by missing space Hypnosis. Either status makes them easy pickings for slower physical attackers like Kangaskhan, Gyarados, and Dragonite, as well as preventing prevents them from checking Tentacruel thereafter. Hypno, when healthy, also can soft check other common Tentacruel answers like Persian and Aerodactyl with its strong Psychic and Thunder Wave. In exchange, Hypno benefits immensely from Tentacruel's ability to answer Pokemon that heavily punish a resting Hypno, such as Kangaskhan, Gyarados, Venusaur, Tangela, and Dragonite. Furthermore, Tentacruel's fast Wrap benefits Hypno immensely by baiting in Pokemon that Hypno checks, such as Electabuzz and Kadabra, before, crucially, letting Hypno switch into them without taking chip damage or paralysis on the way in.

Bulky Pokemon such as Kangaskhan, Gyarados, Vaporeon, Dragonite, and Dewgong also make for effective Tentacruel teammates. While healthy, they can switch into some of Tentacruel's common checks such as Persian and Dugtrio, ideally while they are immobilized by Tentacruel's Wrap, and threaten the opposing team space with strong attacks and the threat of paralysis, (comma) from either Body Slam or Thunder Wave in the case of Dragonite. They are also very adept at exploiting sleeping Rest users, such as Hypno, Vaporeon, Omastar, and Dewgong, that switch into Wrap to burn sleep turns while taking relatively little damage from Tentacruel's Wrap. Dewgong, (comma) also grants the Tentacruel user an additional Articuno counter, as do Omastar and Vaporeon, which allows Tentacruel to play more aggressively without as much risk of Articuno getting out of hand. Dewgong further has a freeze immunity, which allows Tentacruel to avoid taking as many Blizzards from an opposing Tentacruel and reduces the chances that it gets frozen. Tangela, Victreebel, and Venusaur also make for very effective Tentacruel partners, as, while healthy, they answer Dugtrio, Persian, and Electabuzz, using the entry point to land a crippling Sleep Powder before providing additional value with their other utility moves. Meanwhile, Tentacruel acts as a decent answer to any Flying-types, such as Articuno, Dragonite, or and Gyarados, that try to exploit Tangela, Victreebel, and Venusaur's lack of coverage moves.

Lastly, Flying-type teammates such as the aforementioned Gyarados and Dragonite, but also Aerodactyl, Articuno, and Dodrio, can benefit Tentacruel by checking Dugtrio with their Earthquake immunities immunity to Earthquake and strong attacks. Gyarados and Dragonite can switch into Dugtrio's Rock Slide two times, barring an untimely critical hit, before Dugtrio can threaten to 2HKO them as they switch in. Aerodactyl and Dodrio are less sturdy answers to Dugtrio, only taking a single Rock Slide before Dugtrio can 2HKO them; however, they can threaten Kadabra fairly well when it is chipped. Aerodactyl's high Speed stat is particularly noteworthy because, excluding the uncommon Electrode, it is the only Pokemon that can reliably revenge kill an unparalyzed Dugtrio without taking an attack in the process. Its Normal resistance is also useful when facing Dugtrio, as Dugtrio commonly uses Slash as an early-game midground option when scouting its opponent's team, and Aerodactyl takes Slash very comfortably. Articuno is unable to switch into Dugtrio's Rock Slide safely at all, being 2HKOed from full health by it, but, when above 58% health, it can force Dugtrio to switch out with its Blizzard if it can come in safely&mdash;such as on an Earthquake or from Tentacruel's Wrap&mdash;and if Dugtrio is not behind a Substitute.

Tentacruel’s good Speed tier and access to Wrap make it a common lead in RBY UU, outspeeding and locking down any slower lead, including Hypno, Haunter, or and Venusaur. Wrap allows a safe pivot to a teammate to capitalize on the space immobilized lead, or any teammates that the opposing player switches to, whenever the Tentacruel user dictates. For example, if your opponent switches to Clefable or Hypno and attempts to PP stall Wrap or fish for a miss to paralyze Tentacruel, you can pivot to a teammate such as Venusaur or Haunter and put some a foe to sleep. As another example, if your opponent leads Haunter and stays in to fish for a Wrap miss and put Tentacruel to sleep with Hypnosis, you can go to Dugtrio and threaten to OHKO Haunter with Earthquake. This ability to pivot with Wrap puts the Tentacruel user at a significant advantage, as they have the initiative and control the pace of the game, which allows them to pick the best moment to switch while chipping down the opposing team. This advantage creates an intricate mind space game. Opponents commonly respond to this advantage by switching to a Pokemon with paralysis that outspeeds or Speed ties Tentacruel such as Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, or Electrode. These paralysis users pressure Tentacruel to quickly switch to a teammate, usually Hypno but possibly Dugtrio, before Wrap ends and the foe regains the initiative by freely threatening Tentacruel. If it hasn't started Wrap yet, Tentacruel may even hard switch instead of Wrap pivoting to avoid the risk of a Wrap miss. If Tentacruel hard switches, though, the opponent may predict this and, instead of bringing in a paralysis user, bring in their own Tentacruel to handle the incoming Hypno or Dugtrio. With the other Tentacruel possibly in play, the above mind space game starts again. The original Tentacruel user may predict the opponent bringing in their opposing Tentacruel, causing the original user to bring in their own paralysis inducer, but the opponent may respond with their own Hypno or Dugtrio to beat the paralysis user, and so on. this metagame gives me a headache lol

When facing fast paralysis-inducing leads, such as Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, and Electrode, Tentacruel will be forced to switch to a teammate to avoid getting paralyzed, thereby giving the opposing player a chance to paralyze some Pokemon with Thunder Wave or predict the switch and bring in a sleep inducer such as Haunter or Venusaur. Note that the same pressure to switch and cede initiative occurs if Tentacruel misses a Wrap against the fast paralysis inducer as it switches in, or if Wrap connects but the Tentacruel doesn't switch out before it ends. Against opposing Tentacruel leads, Tentacruel can go for a freeze with Blizzard while dealing some minor chip damage, use Surf to maximize chip damage to more quickly bring the opposing Tentacruel into KO range for Dugtrio or Persian, or use Wrap and pivot into a fast paralysis-inducing teammate. While Tentacruel is likely to win the matchup against lead Dodrio by using Blizzard, it only wins while avoiding paralysis about half the time, and it is almost always significantly weakened from the interaction, which can be very costly given how valuable Tentacruel is. It is better to switch to another teammate that checks Dodrio, such as Omastar or Aerodactyl. remove space The matchup against Persian is similar; Tentacruel is statistically more likely to win the one-on-one but will be significantly weakened in the process, which is undesirable in many circumstances. When leading with Tentacruel, it can be beneficial to have a second Water-type in the back, ensuring you can take opposing Water- and Ice-type attacks in case Tentacruel gets chipped or compromised by status early on.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Surf
move 3: Wrap
move 4: Hyper Beam

[SET COMMENTS]

Set Description
=========

Swords Dance Tentacruel is a strong alternative to the standard Wrap pivot set, trading some long-term utility to become a surprising and effective late-game sweeper that can effectively break past bulkier Pokemon the standard set struggles with that expect to comfortably check it we generally avoid referencing other sets directly. These include Vaporeon, Hypno, and opposing Tentacruel, with Swords Dance Tentacruel punishing them using Rest especially hard. This Tentacruel set also can be a mid-game pivot, similarly to the standard set. However, it cannot play as liberally due to how punishing a Wrap miss can be; it cannot afford to run Rest over Hyper Beam or Surf to recover from the resulting punishment, as it would sacrifice much of its offensive presence in the process and arguably become outclassed by Pinsir but since it cannot afford to run Rest, a Wrap miss is often devastating, making mid-game pivoting risky. After one Swords Dance, Tentacruel's Wrap deals around 6% per turn to bulky targets such as Hypno, Gyarados, Kangaskhan, and Vaporeon, transforming from a pivoting move that deals chip damage to a potent wallbreaking tool that completely decimates paralyzed teams. Boosted Wrap quickly wears foes down into KO range of either Surf or Tentacruel's boosted Hyper Beam, which are reliable KO options against slower and bulkier Pokemon once they are slightly below half health, while leaving them unable to retaliate. This process normally forces the opponent to rely on Pokemon that outspeed Tentacruel to force it out, such as Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, and Persian. However, none of these Pokemon can reliably switch into Tentacruel, as Tentacruel's boosted Hyper Beam can KO all of them after only a small amount of chip damage, or, in the case of Kadabra, no chip damage at all. When using Swords Dance to attempt a sweep, ensure that Tentacruel sets up against targets that are unable to status it or significantly harm it, such as sleeping targets looking to burn some sleep turns against Wrap, slower Pokemon looking to use a recovery move, or opposing Tentacruel looking to get a lucky freeze with Blizzard;&mdashthis mirror interaction is especially noteworthy in end-game positions, where Swords Dance Tentacruel dominates if it is reasonably healthy. It is important to recognize that these setup opportunities stem from opponents expecting Tentacruel to run its standard, less offensive set; take advantage whenever opponents make that wrong prediction and think they can tolerate being passive towards Tentacruel. Due to this set's increased vulnerability to status, it can be more difficult to bring in than the standard Wrap pivot set, often relying on resisted attacks, teammate Wrappers like Dragonite, and good double switching to come onto the field safely. Another notable, albeit uncommon, comma way of utilizing Swords Dance Tentacruel is as a mid-game wallbreaker, boosting its Attack against an opposing Tentacruel or Vaporeon that's burning Rest sleep turns to punch a large hole in the opposing team.

Swords Dance Tentacruel can be a challenging sweeper to use, often relying on its teammates to force the opponent into positions where it can safely use Swords Dance, as well as needing them to paralyze or KO any Pokemon that could stop its sweep. As mentioned before, sleeping Pokemon looking to burn a turn or two of sleep make excellent setup fodder; hence, Swords Dance Tentacruel pairs well sleep inducers such as Haunter, Hypnosis Hypno, Venusaur, Victreebel, and Tangela. These four five Pokemon also have defensive utility against foes that may stop Tentacruel's sweep as well, with Haunter walling opposing Persian, Venusaur, Victreebel, and Tangela checking opposing Dugtrio, Raichu, Electabuzz, and Persian, and Hypno crippling Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, and Persian with Thunder Wave&mdash;allowing Tentacruel to sweep with Swords Dance-boosted Wrap unopposed. Seismic Toss Hypno is also an effective teammate for Swords Dance Tentacruel, as it can reliably force an opposing Hypno to use Rest, most commonly at around half health, which gifts Tentacruel an excellent opportunity to switch in and use Swords Dance. Dugtrio and Persian are two excellent teammates for Swords Dance Tentacruel, as they can exploit opposing Kadabra, Electabuzz, and Raichu attempting to stop Tentacruel's sweep, as well as cleaning clean up any remaining foes after Swords Dance Tentacruel's assault. Kangaskhan and Dragonite are solid to reliably paralyze or KO Persian and Kadabra attempting to check Tentacruel. Another issue teams with this set often face is dealing with Articuno and opposing Tentacruel, as Swords Dance Tentacruel cannot reliably switch into them throughout the match due to its lack of Rest. Teammates such as Vaporeon, Omastar, and Dewgong can switch into Articuno and Tentacruel throughout the game.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

While Tentacruel has a variety of other options, they are generally discouraged due to them either being very situational or making Tentacruel less consistent, which many team compositions cannot afford. Hydro Pump's increased power can be very appealing, as it achieves a guaranteed 3HKO on Hypno, a near-guaranteed 3HKO on Articuno, a guaranteed 2HKO on Persian, and a 2HKO against Kadabra 49.8% of the time; however, the worse accuracy and PP are very noticeable in prolonged games and make Tentacruel a much less consistent threat.

Hyper Beam can be a nice option on the Wrap Pivot set, allowing Tentacruel to pick off opposing Kadabra switching into it at 60% health, as well as hitting opposing Tentacruel for around 33% and opposing Dewgong and Vaporeon for roughly 27%. All of the latter three can be tough for Tentacruel to break past on its own. However, outside of those damage rolls, Hyper Beam doesn’t do that much for Tentacruel, making it hard to justify running over one of its standard moves.

Ice Beam grants Tentacruel more PP for freeze wars, increasing its chances of winning them. However, its drop in damage output from Blizzard is drastic, notably failing to OHKO Dragonite. Barrier can make Tentacruel take less damage from the wide array of physical moves, dodging the 2HKO from Kangaskhan's and Dugtrio's Earthquakes and allowing it to win those matchups; however, Barrier fails to assist it against Persian, which can ignore it with Slash and is one of the most popular physical attackers in the tier. Bubble Beam's 33.2% chance to drop Speed can come in handy against opposing Tentacruel and Persian, but in the vast majority of cases, Surf's higher damage is preferred. Mega Drain can be nice to hit Omastar or Golem with, as it allows Tentacruel to gain a significant amount of health back, but it otherwise has middling damage and hurts other matchups more than it helps.

On the Swords Dance set, Tentacruel can opt to run Blizzard over Surf to guarantee an OHKO on Dragonite and deal more damage to Grass-types, but this comes at the cost of a guaranteed OHKO on Dugtrio and a probable 2HKO on Persian and Kangaskhan, damage rolls that are often too valuable for Swords Dance Tentacruel to pass up on.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Fast Paralysis Inducers**: Any paralysis inducer that outspeeds Tentacruel, such as Kadabra, Raichu, Electabuzz, or the rare Electrode, can be a very pressing issue for it. The chance of full paralysis leaves Tentacruel with a 63.57% chance to connect Wrap, sharply harming its pivoting and sweeping. The Speed drop further hinders its pivoting and leaves it vulnerable to slower threats like Hypno and Gyarados. Kadabra and Electabuzz, which avoid a 2HKO from Surf, can switch into Tentacruel directly and threaten it with Thunder Wave. They can create significant momentum if they switch into Tentacruel as Wrap misses. Even if Wrap hits, they can wait out the Wrap turns and threaten 2HKOs with their STAB moves. That being said, all these checks fear a critical hit Surf, which will deal at least 70%, letting another attack or a teammate KO them. Kadabra mitigates that risk with Recover, but using Recover lets its checks such as Hypno switch in. You can reduce the threat of Surf by switching a Water-resistant Pokemon into Tentacruel first, baiting it to lock into Wrap. This creates a switch-in opportunity for paralysis inducers, which can wait out the Wrap turns and threaten to cripple or break through Tentacruel.

**Haunter**: Haunter has enough bulk to avoid a 2HKO from Tentacruel's attacks and won't take chip damage from Wrap, although it is still immobilized. Due to its strong Thunderbolt, Haunter can force Tentacruel out and make it waste Wrap PP, usually winning the matchup when Tentacruel is below 73%, as Thunderbolt will 2HKO Tentacruel from there. However, if Haunter has already been damaged, it may be forced to use Explosion instead. It should be noted that a Thunderbolt and subsequent Explosion from Haunter usually, but not always, will KO Tentacruel from full health. Critical hits from Surf can deal severe damage to Haunter, in addition, likely forcing it to use Explosion regardless of Tentacruel's health.

**Fast Physical Attackers**: Fast physical attackers such as Dugtrio, Persian, and Dodrio are all reliable checks to Tentacruel, beating or matching its Speed and exploiting its mediocre physical bulk to KO it from very high health. Dugtrio can 2HKO Tentacruel with Earthquake, but its fragility makes Surf a guaranteed OHKO, so Dugtrio is limited to a revenge killing role. Tentacruel is pressured to stay at 80% HP or more, out of Earthquake's OHKO range, but this is a tall order in many situations. Dugtrio's Speed and strong Earthquake also let it halt the Wrap momentum of a chipped Tentacruel, coming in on Wrap and waiting it out before KOing the Tentacruel with Earthquake; however, this is usually a last resort option, as many common threats can heavily punish Dugtrio's frailty if they are reasonably healthy. Persian can threaten a reliable 2HKO with Slash against a Tentacruel at 90% or below. Unlike Dugtrio, however, Persian has enough bulk to survive a Surf&mdash;and fairly often two&mdash;making it more flexible than Dugtrio in threatening and/or chipping Tentacruel without getting KOed. While both Dodrio and Aerodactyl are reliably 2HKOed by Tentacruel's Surf and Blizzard, they both match or exceed Tentacruel’s Speed and can significantly damge it with Hyper Beam, allowing them to consistently threaten a KO against a a sufficiently weakened Tentacruel below 62% while at high health. Dodrio significantly improve the matchup if it manages to paralyze Tentacruel with a Body Slam or use Agility before Tentacruel comes onto the field, as a Body Slam followed by a Hyper Beam is guaranteed to KO Tentacruel.

**Water-types**: Without Swords Dance, Tentacruel often struggles to break through opposing Water-types, such as Vaporeon, Gyarados, Dewgong, or opposing Tentacruel, on its own. It has to rely on landing multiple Wraps in a row to feasibly break through them or get a lucky freeze from Blizzard, space which won't even work for Dewgong, all while risking getting paralyzed by Body Slam, frozen by Blizzard, or eating a strong Thunderbolt or Hyper Beam from Gyarados.

**Tangela, Victreebel, and Dragonite**: While neither switch into Tentacruel's Surf very well, when at high health, Tangela, Victreebel, and Dragonite, can be difficult for Tentacruel to break past with their good special bulk. Tentacruel has to land multiple Wraps in a row to break past these three, while they are able to cripple it immediately with Stun Spore or Thunder Wave if it misses. While Tentacruel outspeeds them and 2HKOes and OHKOes them with Blizzard, respectively, both of these Pokemon are very good at luring in Tentacruel and paralyzing it as it switches in, which can cripple Tentacruel for the rest of the game. In addition, because these two Pokemon are slower than Tentacruel, they can act after it wakes up from Rest, paralyzing it before it can retaliate and then pivoting to a more aggressive teammate with Bind or Wrap.

[CREDITS]

- Written by: [[Shellnuts, 491544], [pacattacc, 520967]]
- Earlier versions by: [[May, 236353], [Shellnuts, 491544], [Volk, 530877]]
- Quality checked by: [[May, 236353], [Volk, 530877]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [UT, 523866]]

GP 2/2!



GP Team done
 

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