Chinese Treasure

Tentacool
National Victreebel - Tentacool (#72) - Tentacruel Johto Qwilfish - Tentacool (#162) - Tentacruel Hoenn Crobat - Tentacool (#66) - Tentacruel
General
Japanese name	メノクラゲ - Menokurage
Stage	Basic
Evolves from	None
Evolves to	Tentacruel
Generation	First
Biological
Species	Jellyfish Pokémon
Type	Water Poison
Height	2 ft 11 in (0.9 m)
Weight	100.0 lb (45.5 kg)
Pokédex color	Blue
Shiny color	The blue part of its body turns silver.
Ability	Clear Body or Liquid Ooze
Signature attack(s)	Poison Sting
Video game statistics
Tentacool at Wikibooks Pokédex

Tentacool (メノクラゲ/Menokurage in Japanese, also called Tentacool in French and Tentacha in German) is a fictional character of the Pokémon franchise.

Name Origin

Tentacool's name is a variation on the word tentacle. The "-cool" suffix may refer to its being of the Water-type, and the fact it prefers water of that particular temperature. In the English translation, Tentacool was originally going to be called Jilly.

Appearance

Tentacool's appearance is based on the jellyfish. It has a light blue, bell-shaped gelatinous body, with two eyes and a pair of brown tentacles. It has a small red gem-like structure in the place where its forehead would be and two larger such "gems" on its sides.

Biology

Tentacool is an aquatic Pokémon, drifting aimlessly wherever the ocean waves and currents take it. It usually ends up in shallow waters, where it may be accidentally caught in the fishing lines of anglers. A more unfortunate development for the Tentacool is to end up on the shoreline and get stuck on the beach when low tide comes. Tentacool's body is largely composed of water, so if it is kept out of the sea for too long it will shrivel up and risk death from dehydration unless it is reintroduced to water on time.

Tentacool has two main weapons. The first is its toxic feelers, located at the tips of its tentacles. It uses them to stab anything it touches with stinging acid. Coupled with its excellent camouflage in the water, Tentacool can often remain undetected by swimmers right up to the moment it stings them. The second is its mysterious beams. Tentacool's gelatinous, watery body absorbs sunlight and refracts it within, producing beam energy it shoots from its clear, crystal-like eyes.

In the video games

Tentacool is available in all Pokémon games so far except for Pokémon Colosseum. In each of these games, it is extremely common in almost every single body of water. Its high frequency of appearance easily rivals that of Rattata's or Zubat's

Tentacool has decent speed and special attack and excellent special defense, with the rest of its stats being low. It learns many moves which affect attributes, such as Screech, Barrier or Bubblebeam. Usually its evolved form Tentacruel is used in battle, but Tentacool may also prove effective by poisoning the opponent and trapping it with Wrap. Hopefully, Tentacool's high defenses will enable it to survive until the opponent succumbs to the poison. However, this can be very annoying when you want to leave a battle with a wild one.

In the animé

Tentacool was featured in episode #19 (Tentacool and Tentacruel). Large groups of Tentacool were plaguing the Porta Vista resort and the resort's owner, the aptly named Nastina, was looking for Tentacool exterminators. Team Rocket was assigned the job, but only mananged to send the Tentacool into a rampage. With the intervention of Ash and his friends the conflict was resolved and the Tentacool returned peacefully to sea.

References

Books

• Barbo, Maria. The Official Pokémon Handbook. Scholastic Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0439154049.
• Loe, Casey, ed. Pokémon Special Pikachu Edition Official Perfect Guide. Sunnydale, CA: Empire 21 Publishing, 1999. ISBN 130206151.

Websites

• Bulbapedia
• Pokémon Forever
• Pokémon UK
• PsyPoke
• Serebii.net