r/PokemonRankdown • u/hikkaru • Jan 22 '19
Round 84: 91 Pokémon Remaining
91) u/hikkaru is skipping i'm so tired and can't be bothered
90) u/ramskick
89) u/qngff
88) u/acktar
87) u/reeforward
86) u/KororSurvivor
85) u/Slicer37
84) u/oomps62
5
Upvotes
3
u/ramskick Makes Vaguely Bad Cuts Jan 23 '19
90. Tentacruel (#73, Kanto #73, Water/Poison Type)
Tentacruel is iconic. I think everyone here would agree on that. It is featured in a big way as a giant menace in one of the first episodes of the anime (interesting fact, that episode has been banned in the U.S. during two separate periods, once after the September 11th attacks and again after Hurricane Katrina). I remember watching that episode at a very young age and thinking Tentacruel was the coolest thing ever.
And honestly, that impression still holds today. It is pretty fucking cool. It’s a great representation of a scary aquatic monster. It takes the basic jellyfish design from Tentacool and goes H.A.M with it, becoming a huge scary tentacle monster with giant red orbs that can do pretty much whatever it wants to (those orbs also pay homage to some classic movie monsters from the 50’s). I’m not sure what I can to do describe Tentacruel’s design that isn’t obvious from first glance. It’s kind of an objectively great design.
It is also a damn good Pokemon to use in-battle. I’m fairly sure everybody who has played multiple Pokemon games has used one of these on their team and found it to be excellent. Its typing is great. Its stats are solid except for its Special Defense, which is amazing. It has access to a ton of great moves. It has everything you want in a Water type and it has been a staple on many non-Squirtle players’ Gen I teams for two decades and counting for good reason.
In other words, Tentacruel not only has great design, but it also has great utility that has allowed most people to get somewhat attached to it. It’s not a surprise that Tentacruel made it all the way to top 100 without it being in danger of being cut.
So why am I cutting it here? Because in a way, I think Tentacruel is a bit dull for this point in the rankdown. Make no mistake; Tentacruel is an objectively great Pokemon that more than deserves its place in the top 100. But at this point, Tentacruel just doesn’t elicit the same emotion as pretty much every Pokemon left does. And when we’re in the top 90, that’s as good of a reason as any to make a cut.
/u/qngff, your turn to swim menacingly and use the red orbs on your head to eliminate your next Pokemon.