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1 vote
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I just can't decide between Tentacruel and Sharpedo -

CONS AND PROS

Tentacruel Or [Tentacool] is found at Dewford Town early, it learns Bubblebeam but Poison Type sucks. For Sharpedo it is available after you get a Good Rod or a Super Rod both Carvanha and Tentacool evolve at Level 30 that means I'm stuck with a Carvanha or a Tentacool and clearly Tentacool has a Base Stat Total of - 335 while Carvanha has only 305 but still Tentacool sucks, it has decent speed and good SpDef but the rest of its stats suck, but Tentacruel actually has good stats but God I don't want to be stuck with a weak jellyfish 'till Level 30. But It's worth it I guess suprisingly, A jellyfish has a Base Stat Total of - 515 and a shark has only - 460 but still Water/Dark is so good it destroys the twins, Phoebe, Drake, and other bosses. But still they're both good I can't decide.

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poison type is great! just see my mono poison team on showdown
You've got four options

Tentacruel
Sharpedo
Walrein
Gyrados

I normally do dedicated hm slaves, so I almost always take Magikarp, but tentacruel is a strong second.

3 Answers

3 votes
 
Best answer

Tentacruel:

  • Available very early (Dewford Town, as you said)
  • Too useful against Flanerry, (you already said), there is no other mons other than Marill or Numel (Camerupt if you can evolve, which I wouldn't recommend) who can excel against Flannery.
  • Specially Defensive
  • Moderate 80 SpA (it is good enough)
  • Not-so-good movepool, but what do you need other than Surf / Waterfall / Dive?
  • Until it gets to lvl 25 (when it gets bubble beam), it's moves are really weak, so you have to use an Exp Share (Given by the Pokénav owner after delivering the parcel) to level it up.
  • Not good Atk stat.

Sharpedo:

  • Skyrocketing 120 Atk, but unable to use them properly. 95 SpA is not bad, infact better than 80 SpA.
  • Too useful against Tate and Liza, and Phoebe. But isn't available b4 Flannery.
  • Fully offensive, might struggle against defensive threats, since it is too frail.
  • Uses Crunch, Surf and Ice Beam to its full extent, but has 4 moveslot syndrome (can't place Both Waterfall and Dive). You'll need another HM Slave who can learn either of them.
  • Slightly slower than Tentacruel.

Overall, I'd say you can use Tentacruel instead of Sharpedo, as it is available early. If you seriously need a twins and Phoebe counter, I'd recommend you to get an Absol, cause, due to access of Swords Dance, it can sweep all of those who are slower than Absol (All of Tate and Liza's and Phoebe's are). Btw it is Shadow Ball, not Crunch which is Absol's primary move in gen 3.

Tentacruel

Tentacruel
Ability: Liquid Ooze / Clear Body
- Surf
- Waterfall
- Dive / Sludge Bomb
- Ice Beam

Absol

Absol
Ability: Pressure
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Ball
- Strength / Return
- Iron Tail / Aerial Ace

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Why do you use slash and not strength or return? Also I recommend teaching sludge bomb to Tentacruel because a lot of Pokemon resist both water and ice.
I agree on the absol set, but for the tentacruel set, I would just shift to any other mon who can take on water or ice types. Tentacruel mainly acts as a HM slave here, cause you need all the HMs to complete the game. Still I would add that as an option.
I think it's better to keep the battling Pokemon and HM slaves separate, so you can make sure all your experience goes to battlers and not HM slaves.
3 votes

Let's see:

Tentacruel
Tentacruel

Pros:
Impressive SpD, which means it can tank Electric and Grass well, since said types are both Special-only prior to Generation 4
Pretty quick, allowing it to outspeed
A really great HM Holder
Found very early

Cons:
Not that great in battles
Overall stats outside of SpD and Speed is not that great

Sharpedo
Sharpedo

Pros:
Well rounded offensive and speed stats, with 120/95/95 respectively
Pretty fast and quite the tough cookie if trained enough
Decently utilizes STABs with a decent 95 base SpA

Cons:
Slower than Tentacruel by a mile
Found a little later as a Carvanha
Fishing isn't the best thing to search Mons' for in Gen 3
While it decently utilizes its' STABs, its still not optimal


In conclusion, I suggest Tentacruel the best. While not the best in brawls, it can be a good HM utilizer outside of battles, where HMs are a key to the main game.

Tentacruel
Tentacruel @ Any
Recommended Nature(s): Modest (+SpA -Atk)
Ability: Clear Body/Liquid Ooze
- Surf
- Waterfall
- Any HM/Move
- Any HM/Move
.
.
However, there are certainly another option that you can use:

Walrein
Walrein @ Any
Recommended Nature(s): Timid (+Spe -Atk) / Modest (+SpA -Atk)
Ability: Thick Fat
- Ice Beam/Blizzard
- Surf/Hail
- Any HM/Move
- Any HM/Move

Walrein is found a little later than the two previous options, but it is quite worth it. It has a decent defensive and HP spread, and can utilize its STABs well. Found as a Spheal in Shoal Cave.

Hope I helped!

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Yes You Surely Helped. Thanks A Lot :)
2 votes

If you need a Pokemon which you can get in early game go with tentacool tentacool will also help against brawly and Flannery

If you have patience wait for a super rod in mossdeep city and sharpedo as much better ability and it will destroy the 7th gym but tentacruel will get destroy in 7th gym

Tentacruel has base stats of 515

Sharpedo has base stats of 460

At the end I will give the edge to tentacruel it has higher base stats and sharpedo is a physical attacker but both dark and water type are special in gen 3

And tentacruel can also take more hits

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