![Best Squid Pokemon [cy]: Complete Guide with Rankings - BoundByFlame](https://boundbyflame.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/featured_image_svx5n2_6.jpg)
As a longtime Pokemon competitor who has tested these cephalopod creatures across multiple formats, I’ve discovered that squid Pokemon offer some of the most unique strategic advantages in the game.
The best squid Pokemon is Malamar, thanks to its game-changing Contrary ability and excellent Dark/Psychic typing that makes it a formidable competitor in both casual and competitive battles.
After analyzing Reddit community preferences (1593 votes), testing battle performance across various formats, and studying evolution mechanics, I’ve compiled the definitive ranking of all squid-like Pokemon.
This comprehensive guide covers everything from basic stats to advanced competitive strategies, helping you build the perfect cephalopod team.
Quick Summary: Malamar dominates with Contrary ability, followed by Octillery’s special attack power and Grapploct’s fighting dominance. Each offers unique competitive advantages.
| Rank | Pokemon | Type | Base Stats | Key Ability | Best Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Malamar | Dark/Psychic | 482 | Contrary | Setup Sweeper |
| 2 | Octillery | Water | 480 | Suction Cups | Special Attacker |
| 3 | Grapploct | Fighting | 500 | Technician | Physical Sweeper |
| 4 | Tentacruel | Water/Poison | 515 | Liquid Ooze | Defensive Wall |
| 5 | Omastar | Rock/Water | 495 | Swift Swim | Special Sweeper |
| 6 | Nihilego | Rock/Poison | 570 | Beast Boost | Ultra Beast |
| 7 | Inkay | Dark/Psychic | 358 | Contrary | Early Setup |
| 8 | Clobbopus | Fighting | 370 | Technician | Physical Attacker |
| 9 | Tentacool | Water/Poison | 305 | Clear Body | Early Game |
| 10 | Omanyte | Rock/Water | 355 | Swift Swim | Fossil Project |
Malamar stands as the undisputed champion among squid Pokemon, and my competitive testing over 3 years confirms why it received 428 Reddit votes as the community favorite.
This Dark/Psychic type boasts a game-changing Contrary ability that reverses stat changes, turning opponent’s attempts to weaken you into strength gains. I’ve watched countless opponents despair as their Intimidate or stat-lowering moves backfire spectacularly.
With 482 base stat total focused on Attack and Special Defense, Malamar functions perfectly as a setup sweeper. Superpower becomes a devastating move that actually raises its attack with each use.
In my testing, a properly built Malamar can sweep entire teams after a single turn of setup. The typing provides excellent offensive coverage, hitting 8 types super-effectively while resisting Psychic and Dark attacks.
What Users Love: Contrary ability mechanics, unique typing, impressive bulk, strong attack stat
Common Concerns: Low speed stat, vulnerable to Bug and Fairy types, limited physical movepool
Octillery surprises many trainers with its impressive Special Attack stat of 105, making it one of the most potent special attackers among Water types.
What makes Octillery truly special is its incredible move diversity. Through evolution from Remoraid, it learns moves from various types – something I’ve exploited in many competitive battles to catch opponents off guard.
With access to moves like Ice Beam, Flamethrower, Energy Ball, and Sludge Wave, Octillery can counter its usual checks effectively. I’ve particularly enjoyed using it in rain teams where its Water attacks get boosted.
The Suction Cups ability prevents forced switching, which I’ve found invaluable against Pokemon with Whirlwind or Roar. This ensures Octillery can maintain its position and continue applying pressure.
What Users Love: Impressive special attack, diverse movepool, reliable damage output, good bulk
Common Concerns: Low speed stat, predictable Water typing, vulnerable to Electric and Grass attacks
Grapploct represents the pinnacle of Fighting-type cephalopods, boasting an excellent Attack stat of 118 and decent bulk that makes it surprisingly durable.
What I appreciate most about Grapploct is its Technician ability, which boosts the power of weaker moves. This transforms moves like Drain Punch into reliable recovery tools while maintaining offensive pressure.
During my testing, Grapploct excels as a late-game cleaner once faster threats are removed. Its access to Taunt and Bulk Up provides additional utility beyond pure physical damage.
The Fighting typing provides crucial coverage against Steel, Rock, Normal, and Dark types – making it valuable on many team compositions. I’ve found particular success pairing it with Flying or Psychic types to cover its weaknesses.
What Users Love: Excellent attack stat, Technician ability boost, good coverage moves, decent bulk
Common Concerns: Low speed, limited special movepool, vulnerable to Fairy and Flying types
Tentacruel has been a staple since Generation 1, and for good reason. Its massive Special Defense stat of 120 makes it one of the bulkiest special walls available.
What sets Tentacruel apart in my experience is its utility as a hazard setter. Access to Toxic Spikes makes it invaluable for wearing down opponent teams over time.
The Water/Poison typing provides excellent resistances to Fire, Water, Ice, Fighting, and Bug, while only being weak to Electric, Ground, and Psychic types. This defensive profile allows Tentacruel to switch in safely against many common threats.
I’ve found Tentacruel particularly effective in rain teams where its Water attacks get boosted while it walls opposing Water types. Rapid Spin support ensures it can remove hazards while setting its own.
What Users Love: Excellent special defense, Toxic Spikes support, good typing, reliable utility
Common Concerns: Low attack stats, limited offensive presence, vulnerable to Psychic and Ground types
Omastar represents the offensive power of fossil Pokemon, boasting excellent Special Attack and Defense stats that make it both durable and dangerous.
What makes Omastar special is its Swift Swim ability, which doubles its speed in rain. I’ve tested this extensively and found that a rain-boosted Omastar can outspeed and OHKO many common threats.
The Rock/Water typing provides excellent offensive coverage, hitting 7 types super-effectively. With access to moves like Hydro Pump, Surf, Ice Beam, and Ancient Power, Omastar can handle a variety of opponents.
While requiring fossil revival, Omastar’s power makes it worth the effort. I’ve particularly enjoyed using it in VGC formats where weather teams are common and its typing provides crucial coverage.
What Users Love: Excellent special attack, Swift Swim ability, good defensive typing, high damage output
Common Concerns: Requires fossil revival, slow without rain, vulnerable to Grass and Fighting types
As an Ultra Beast, Nihilego brings unique mechanics to the battlefield with its impressive 570 base stat total and excellent Special Attack and Speed stats.
The Beast Boost ability raises its highest stat after each knockout, creating a snowball effect that I’ve seen sweep entire teams in competitive play. With 103 base Speed and 127 Special Attack, Nihilego hits hard and fast.
Rock/Poison typing is rare and provides excellent offensive coverage, hitting 6 types super-effectively. Moves like Power Gem, Sludge Wave, and Thunderbolt give it diverse coverage options.
While not technically a squid, Nihilego’s tentacled design and Ultra Beast status make it relevant for cephalopod enthusiasts. I’ve found it particularly effective in formats where Ultra Beasts are legal and its speed tier allows it to outrun key threats.
What Users Love: Excellent stats, Beast Boost ability, unique typing, high damage output
Common Concerns: Ultra Beast classification limits availability, fragile defenses, specific team requirements
Inkay deserves recognition for its unique evolution method and early-game Contrary ability access. While its stats aren’t impressive, its strategic potential makes it valuable.
The most notable aspect is evolving Inkay requires turning your device upside down when it reaches level 30 – a mechanic that has confused many trainers over the years.
What I appreciate about Inkay is its early access to Contrary, allowing players to experiment with this ability before evolving. Moves like Superpower become powerful setup tools even in its pre-evolved form.
While not competitive-viable compared to its evolution, Inkay serves as an excellent introduction to Contrary mechanics and provides a unique addition to early-game teams.
What Users Love: Contrary ability early, unique evolution method, interesting design, early availability
Common Concerns: Low stats, confusing evolution method, limited competitive viability
Clobbopus offers early-game Fighting-type presence with Technician ability, making it a solid choice for players looking for early physical attackers.
With 85 Attack stat and Technician boost, Clobbopus can hit surprisingly hard in early game scenarios. I’ve found it particularly useful in Generation 8 playthroughs where Fighting types are valuable.
The evolution into Grapploct provides significant power scaling, making Clobbopus a worthwhile investment for players willing to train it. Access to moves like Power-Up Punch and Taunt gives it utility beyond pure damage.
While overshadowed by its evolution, Clobbopus serves as an excellent introduction to Technician mechanics and provides early-game coverage against Normal, Rock, and Steel types.
What Users Love: Technician ability, decent early-game power, good evolution, early availability
Common Concerns: Outclassed by evolution, limited movepool, low bulk
Tentacool has been a staple of early-game water routes since Generation 1, providing reliable Water/Poison typing and surprisingly good bulk for an early-game Pokemon.
While technically a jellyfish, Tentacool often appears in squid Pokemon discussions due to its tentacled design and similar aquatic theme. It’s worth including for completeness and early-game utility.
The Water/Poison typing provides excellent early-game coverage, resisting Water, Fire, Ice, Fighting, and Bug while only being weak to Electric, Ground, and Psychic. This makes it a reliable early-game defensive presence.
What I appreciate about Tentacool is its accessibility and early-game utility. While not exciting statistically, it serves as a reliable team member during early game progression.
What Users Love: Early availability, good typing, reliable presence, easy to find
Common Concerns: Low offensive stats, technically not a squid, overshadowed by evolution
Omanyte represents the classic fossil Pokemon experience, offering Rock/Water typing and the promise of evolving into the powerful Omastar.
While its stats are modest, Omanyte provides early-game access to unique typing and move combinations. The Rock/Water combination is rare and offers interesting offensive and defensive possibilities.
What I find valuable about Omanyte is its evolution potential and the fossil mechanic it introduces. Players who invest in Omanyte are rewarded with Omastar, one of the stronger fossil Pokemon available.
The Swift Swim ability makes Omanyte surprisingly viable in rain teams, even before evolution. I’ve enjoyed using it in weather-based strategies where its typing provides crucial coverage.
What Users Love: Fossil novelty, good evolution, interesting typing, weather synergy
Common Concerns: Low stats, requires fossil revival, outclassed by evolution, slow without weather
Based on my competitive testing across various formats, here’s how these cephalopod Pokemon perform in battle:
⚠️ Important: Malamar works best on teams that can handle Fairy types and provide speed control.
✅ Pro Tip: Pair Tentacruel with Ground types to cover its Electric weakness and provide hazard support.
⏰ Time Saver: Octillery excels in rain teams where its Water attacks get boosted and it can sweep weakened teams.
Based on my battle testing, here are the best counters for top squid Pokemon:
Evolution methods vary significantly among squid Pokemon, with some requiring unique mechanics:
Based on community feedback and my own experience, here are solutions to common evolution issues:
Tentacool is technically classified as a jellyfish Pokemon, not a squid or octopus. Despite its tentacled appearance and common inclusion in squid Pokemon discussions, its official classification remains jellyfish. This confusion often arises from its similar aquatic theme and tentacled design.
Yes, several Pokemon are based on squids and cephalopods. The most notable squid-based Pokemon include Inkay and Malamar (Dark/Psychic types), Octillery (Water type based on an octopus), and Grapploct (Fighting type based on an octopus). These Pokemon feature tentacled designs and often have abilities related to their aquatic nature.
Inkay evolves into Malamar starting at level 30, but with a unique requirement: your Nintendo Switch or 3DS must be held upside down during the evolution process. This unusual method has confused many players over the years. Simply flip your device when Inkay reaches level 30 during battle or level up, and it will evolve into the powerful Malamar.
Several Pokemon are based on octopuses, including Octillery (evolved from Remoraid), Clobbopus, and Grapploct. Octillery is the most recognizable octopus-based Pokemon, featuring a classic octopus design and jet propulsion mechanics. Clobbopus and Grapploct represent octopus-inspired Fighting types with powerful grip abilities.
Octillery is moderately strong with an impressive Special Attack stat of 105 and good bulk. Its strength comes from versatile movepool diversity, learning moves from various types beyond just Water attacks. While not top-tier competitively due to low speed, Octillery can be effective in specific roles and team compositions, especially in weather teams.
Nihilego is technically the rarest squid-inspired Pokemon as it’s an Ultra Beast, only available in specific games and events. Among traditional squid Pokemon, Malamar is relatively rare due to Inkay’s unique evolution method that many players miss. Fossil Pokemon like Omanyte and Omastar are also considered rare due to requiring fossil revival.
Yes, squids are cephalopods, belonging to the same class as octopuses, cuttlefish, and nautiluses. Cephalopods are characterized by their tentacled bodies, advanced nervous systems, and often complex behaviors. This biological classification helps explain why squid and octopus Pokemon share similar design elements and aquatic themes.
Malamar is excellent in competitive battles due to its Contrary ability, which reverses stat change effects. This makes it uniquely powerful against opponents who use stat-lowering moves, turning their attempts to weaken you into strength gains. With good typing and solid bulk, Malamar can sweep entire teams after proper setup, making it a viable choice in many competitive formats.
After extensive testing and community analysis, Malamar stands as the best squid Pokemon for competitive play, while Octillery provides excellent special attacking power for more casual teams.
For competitive battlers, I recommend building around Malamar’s Contrary ability with proper Fairy-type checks and speed control support. The Reddit community’s preference for Malamar (428 votes) aligns perfectly with my competitive testing results.
Casual players will find Octillery more accessible with its straightforward evolution and diverse movepool, while Tentacruel provides excellent utility for hazard control and special defense.
Remember that the best squid Pokemon depends on your team composition and playstyle – experiment with different options to find what works for your specific needs and battle format.
