Raichu

Meet Raichu, the Mouse Pokemon

Number 26 sits at the end of a three-stage line from Kanto: Pichu, then Pikachu, then Raichu. The typing is a single Electric, the abilities are Static and Lightning Rod, and nothing evolves past this point. The final step needs a Thunder Stone rather than a level.

There is also an Alolan form, added in Generation 7, which picks up a Psychic half and a completely different body shape. This page covers the standard version, since that is the one every regional dex in the series carries. The regional variant gets its own typing and its own matchups, and the two should not be planned for the same way.

One weakness and three resistances

Ground is the only type that does extra damage here. Electric, Flying and Steel all come back reduced. There is no immunity in the list, which for an Electric type is slightly unusual, because it cannot simply ignore an incoming attack type.

That single weakness is the whole defensive story, and it cuts both ways. A Ground move ends the conversation immediately, while everything else in the chart lands neutral or weaker, so Raichu survives a lot of fights it has no business surviving on raw bulk. One hole is easier to plan around than three, and every team that picks it up knows exactly which Pokemon to keep away.

Where the 485 points go

Speed is the reason to use it: 110 puts it ahead of almost everything in the dex, and on a Pokemon with 90 Attack and 90 Special Attack that first turn matters. Either attacking stat is usable, so sets do not have to be locked to one side.

The cost sits in the defensive columns. 60 HP, 55 Defense and 80 Special Defense mean it cannot take a real hit, and anything that survives its first attack is a problem. Raichu is built to move first and finish quickly, not to stay in a fight. Bring it in after something else has taken the opening hit and the weakness stops mattering.

Static and Lightning Rod

Static has a chance to paralyse anything that touches it, which turns a bad matchup into a slower one. Lightning Rod, the hidden ability, pulls Electric-type moves toward itself and converts them into a Special Attack boost, which makes an Electric opponent into free setup rather than a threat.

That reversal is the more interesting option of the two, but it needs the opponent to actually bring Electric moves. Against most teams Static does more work simply by existing, and either choice leaves the same thin defensive columns underneath. Ability selection here is about what the opponent is likely to do, not about which option is stronger on paper.

The Thunder Stone question

Pikachu becomes Raichu through a Thunder Stone, and that is the whole requirement. It is also why this Pokemon has an odd reputation: the middle stage is a franchise mascot, so a large share of players deliberately never use the item at all.

Mechanically there is no downside to evolving, only the loss of the smaller Pokemon. Raichu keeps the same typing, gains a much better stat line, and arrives ten levels earlier than most final forms in the series.

Team pages and the numbers

Line the squad up in the Pokemon Team Picker first, keep run rules in the Nuzlocke Team Builder if a faint is permanent, and hand the leftover slots to the Random Pokemon Picker.

The Pokemon Nature Chart covers the nature decision and the Pokemon IV Calculator shows what the stats actually work out to. Trivial calls can go to the Pokemon Wheel Spinner instead.

Then the extras: the Random Shiny Pokemon Generator for the hunt, Pokemon Shiny Odds to see what you are chasing, the Random Mega Pokemon Generator for big forms, and Who's That Pokemon for a guessing round.

How it plays at 110 Speed

Raichu wants a fight that lasts two turns. It moves first, hits with its better attacking stat, and leaves before the return damage lands. On a team it works as a lead or as a revenge killer brought in after something faints.

Ground types are the obvious answer to it and there is no way around that. Everything else has to accept the speed disadvantage, which is the only real advantage the Pokemon has and the reason it still shows up in older generations of team building.

Why the speed is worth the trade

A lot of fast Pokemon in this dex are unusable because they have no bulk and no damage. Raichu has 90 in both attacking stats, which is just enough to make the speed meaningful, and a single weakness that a team can cover around.

It is not a Pokemon that carries a team. It is a Pokemon that does one job well, and in the older games that job was often enough on its own. A fast Pokemon that hits acceptably hard is a useful thing to have in almost any generation. Speed is the cheapest form of advantage in Pokemon, and this is one of the least expensive ways to buy it.