Pichu is a baby Pokemon from Gen 2 — it can't hold its own in battle yet. The payoff is Raichu, which is where the real competitive value lives. Worth raising if you need one on your team. Only weak to Ground.
Speed and Attack carry most of Pichu's stat budget. Defense's the obvious dump stat. Common in the wild and yields 1 Speed EV. Follows a medium-fast 1M XP curve.
Pichu stores electricity in the sacs on its cheeks but discharges it inadvertently when agitated or excited. Being yet immature, the Pokémon’s handling of electricity is rather inept.
Pichu Weakness
GoodPichu is weak to Ground-type moves. Few weaknesses and 3 resistances make the typing clean. Lightning Rod grants an additional Electric immunity, reshaping the matchup chart.
This is the baby stage. Pichu grows into Pikachu by leveling up. Want more? Breed the adults. Baby Pokemon sit in the Undiscovered egg group. Evolving adds up to 280 stat points total.
How to Evolve
Focus Sash guarantees Pichu survives one hit from full HP. That's enough to deal early damage and fire off Nuzzle before going down. Lightningrod and max Sp. Atk and Speed EVs maximize first-turn impact.
Best Build
Legends: Arceus uses different battle mechanics.
Competitive build content is not applicable for this game. Select a main series game for builds.
A solid spread overall. Pichu gets Volt Tackle and Thunder for same-type damage alongside Normal and Steel coverage. It won't blow anyone away, but it doesn't leave you stuck either.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Pichu starts showing up in mid-game routes at decent spawn rates across 3 encounter spots. The list below is sorted so you can pick what fits your current progress without scrolling through everything.
Best Locations
Walking encounters at walking across 3 spots for Pichu. Sorted by progression so you can see what's reachable at your current point in the game.
Pichu is meant to evolve into Pikachu. At 205 BST, the stats aren't there for competitive play yet. Pre-evolution Pokemon rarely hold up against fully evolved threats.
Pichu's biggest threats include Golem (Ground), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Only 1 weakness means fewer dedicated counters to worry about.
Pichu evolves into Pikachu by leveling up. Pichu is the base form in a 4-stage evolutionary line.
Lightning Rod is what you want on Pichu. Every competitive set worth running is built with that ability in mind. The alternatives (Static) work on paper but Lightning Rod is what makes Pichu worth using.
At base 60 Speed, it won't be moving first often. On offense, Pichu is a mixed attacker — base 40 Attack and 35 Sp. Atk. Defensively? Fragile — can't afford to take many hits.
Pichu appears in 19 games, including Gold & Silver, Crystal, and Ruby & Sapphire.
Available in 19 titles since its debut in Gold & Silver, Pichu spans 8 generations of Pokemon games. It's accessible through catching or hatching as a base form in most mainline games.
- Gen IY
Yellow - Gen IRB
Red & Blue - Gen IIGSDebut
Gold & Silver - Gen IIC
Crystal - Gen IIIRS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen IIIFRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen IIIE
Emerald - Gen IVPt
Platinum - Gen IVHGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen IVDP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen VBW
Black & White - Gen VB2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen VIXY
X & Y - Gen VIORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen VIIUSUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen VIISM
Sun & Moon - Gen VIILGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen VIIISwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen VIIIPLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen VIIIBDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen IXSV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen IXLZA
Legends: Z-A