Is Electabuzz Good in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Playthrough?
Brilliant Diamond gets Elekid in the Underground. Electivire via Electirizer trade is a top-tier Electric-type. Even without the trade, Electabuzz handles Wake, Byron, and Cynthia's Milotic with Thunderbolt. Great BD pickup.
Elekid trades roughly evenly with Roark's team.
Elekid trades roughly evenly with Gardenia's team.
Elekid trades roughly evenly with Maylene's team.
Elekid has the type edge here and should clean up Crasher Wake's team.
Electabuzz has the type edge here and should clean up Fantina's team.
Electabuzz has the type edge here and should clean up Byron's team.
Electivire has the type edge here and should clean up Candice's team.
Electivire trades roughly evenly with Volkner's team.
Electivire has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Electivire trades roughly evenly with Bertha's team.
Electivire has the type edge here and should clean up Flint's team.
Electivire has the type edge here and should clean up Lucian's team.
Electivire has the type edge here and should clean up Cynthia's team.
Electabuzz cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four. Alternatively, transfer the pre-evolution and level it up to Lv 30.
Most players are ready to trade before reaching Candice.
How to Get Electabuzz in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
A trade step sits in Electabuzz's 3-stage chain from Elekid. The step cards below map each stage with catch locations and evolution methods. Elekid shows up at moderate rates, so the starting catch is the easy part.
How to Obtain Electabuzz in BDSP
The path to Electabuzz starts with Elekid at Lv. 16-63 via walking encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.
Step 1Catch ElekidGlacial CavernLv.16-63CaveBrilliant DiamondRate 10%Unique encounterDazzling CaveLv.58-63CaveBrilliant DiamondPost-gameStargleam CavernLv.58-63CaveBrilliant DiamondPost-gameWhiteout CaveLv.58-63CaveBrilliant DiamondPost-game
Step 2Electabuzz ✓
Step 3Evolve into Electivire
Electabuzz Weakness
Ground moves hit Electabuzz for super-effective damage. Not many exploitable gaps in the Electric typing defensive chart. Electabuzz's special bulk (base 85 Sp.Def) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Ground |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Electric, Flying, Steel |
What is Electabuzz Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Electabuzz
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Landorus's Rock Slide hits Electabuzz for 45-52%.
 Landorus Ground | B | |
Recommended Build AbilitySheerforce ItemLife Orb NatureNaive Moves
Damage vs Electabuzz View Landorus builds →Rock Slide45-52% | ||
Electabuzz Evolutions
Electabuzz connects Elekid to Electivire in this chain. At least one evolution here needs a trade. So far, Sp.Atk got the biggest boost (+30 from Elekid). The final form adds another 50 stats on top. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Electabuzz to get Elekid eggs using 39 partners from the Humanshape egg group. Notable egg moves include Cross Chop, Dynamic Punch, Feint and 3 more.
BDSP Electabuzz Best Moveset
Immune to sleep through hidden AbilityVital Spirit with Electric TermStab at 95 Sp. Atk and 105 Speed. The moveset has special pace but fell from C-tier as the format demanded more power from that Speed tier. One evolution from Electivire where 123 Attack takes the physical route instead.
Best Build
Electabuzz best EVs are HP and Speed
Screens Setter Moveset
- Ice Punch
- Light Screen
- Thunderbolt
- Magnet Rise
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Without breeding, Electabuzz misses out on Cross Chop and Dynamic Punch. That's 6 egg moves adding depth that the base kit lacks. STAB comes from Thunder and Thunderbolt, with coverage across 7 types rounding things out.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Half of all blackouts occur when this Pokémon appears at power plants and eats electricity.
Electabuzz Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Guide
At 490 BST, Electabuzz is firmly in pre-evolution territory. Evolve it into Electivire before bringing it to any serious fight.
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, watch for Rhydon (Ground) when using Electabuzz. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Only 1 weakness means fewer dedicated counters to worry about. Electabuzz's base 105 Speed lets it outpace many threats and strike first, which matters more than trying to tank hits.
No. Electabuzz only evolves into Electivire through a real trade. There is no in-game alternative in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. Trade needs a Game Boy Advance link cable and a second GBA running another Gen 3 game (FireRed, LeafGreen, Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald). Trade Electabuzz to a friend, then have them trade it back. The 2026 Switch re-release supports the same trade through local wireless on the Pokemon Center 2F Wireless Club, with no cables required. The Electirizer must be held during the trade. Bring one over from a sibling Gen 3 game if needed.
Static has a 30% chance of paralyzing attacking Pokémon on contact. That's the one you want on Electabuzz. Vital Spirit is the hidden ability. Niche, but it has its uses.
Electabuzz is a mixed attacker with base 83 Attack and 95 Sp. Atk. Enough bulk to take a hit or two, too. Speed tells the real story. Base 105 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. Fits the pivot role.
Game Availability
Present since Red & Blue, Electabuzz appears in 21 games spanning 10 generations. Gen 1 originals like Electabuzz have the longest track record of availability in the series.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves