Is Pichu Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Baby Electric available through breeding or events. AbilityStatic for contact paralysis. Friendship evolves into Pikachu. Neither form is strong enough to earn a permanent slot when Ampharos and Jolteon exist in the same game.
Falkner's Pokemon outpace and outclass Pichu here.
Bugsy's Pokemon outpace and outclass Pichu here.
Pichu trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Morty's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Chuck's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Jasmine's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Raichu resists most of Will's coverage and hits back hard.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Catchable
Catch Pichu in Ilex Forest (interact, Lv 30, limited). Requires Pikachu-colored Pichu in party. Bring the event Pikachu-colored Pichu to Ilex Forest to encounter the Spiky-eared Pichu.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 30)
- LV 30ElectricThunder ShockPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 30
- After Bugsy
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Game Corner
- TUTORNormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Ilex Forest
- After Morty
- TM57ElectricCharge BeamPower 75Accuracy 90%PP 10Olivine City
- After Jasmine
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15Prize for defeating Jasmine
- TM43NormalSecret PowerPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Lake of Rage
- TM10NormalHidden PowerPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 15Lake of Rage
Evolve Pichu to Raichu
Pikachu evolves into Raichu with a Thunder Stone. You can usually obtain this item before you reach Morty.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 19)
- LV 19ElectricThunderboltPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Bugsy
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM52FightingFocus BlastPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM28GroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10National Park
- After Whitney
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Hiker on Route 42
- After Chuck
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Chuck
- After Jasmine
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15Prize for defeating Jasmine
How to Get Pichu in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Pichu is not a wild encounter. The single in-game one is the Spiky-eared Pichu in Ilex Forest, and reaching it means bringing a special Pikachu-colored Pichu along, so most players just breed a Pikachu for a normal one.
Wild Pichu may be holding when caught:
Oran Berry (5% chance) It may be used or held by a Pokemon to heal the user by just 10 HP.1 location to catch Pichu
Badge 2How to Obtain Pichu in HGSS
The line opens with Pichu at Lv. 30 via fixed encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.
- Step 2Catch or Evolve into PikachuViridian ForestLv.4-7GrassRate 6%Morning/dayViridian ForestLv.4GrassRate 5%NightSaffron CityIn-game tradeLimitedTrade for (give Pikachu)or evolve from Pichu (Step 1)
- Step 3Evolve into Raichu
How to Get Shiny Pichu in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Pichu hatches from Pikachu, so run the Masuda Method with a foreign parent for a shiny of its own. Compare Shiny Pichu odds across every game
Shiny Pichu Evolution
3 Forms
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Pichu Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Soft Reset: Save in front of a static, gift, or legendary encounter, then reset until it sparkles.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
For time estimates and charm math, open the HeartGold & SoulSilver shiny odds calculator with Pichu already selected.
Pichu Weakness
Pichu is weak to Ground. Few weaknesses and 3 resistances make the typing clean. Just 1 weak spot to worry about, which keeps teambuilding straightforward.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Ground |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Electric, Flying, Steel |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Pichu Weak Against
Good
Pichu Evolutions
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. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
HGSS Pichu Best Moveset
Baby Electric type at 20 HP and 15 Defense. AbilityStatic can paralyze on contact, but nothing survives contact at these stats. Friendship evolves it into Pikachu, where the moveset starts to matter.
Best Build
Pichu best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Sweeper Moveset
- Volt Tackle
- Fake Out
- Return
- Hidden Power Ice
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Egg moves make a real difference. Pichu gets Bide and Charge exclusively through breeding, filling gaps that TMs and level-up can't touch. Normal and Steel coverage and more rounds out the picture alongside Thunder and Thunderbolt.
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
All 18 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It is not yet skilled at storing electricity. It may send out a jolt if amused or startled.
Despite its small size, it can zap even adult humans. However, if it does so, it also surprises itself.
Pichu HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
Pichu is a static encounter at Johto Ilex Forest in HeartGold & SoulSilver. Pichu appears at level 30. Prerequisite: Requires Pikachu-colored Pichu in party. Save before the encounter. These one-shot Pokemon don't respawn if you knock them out or run out of Poke Balls.
For HeartGold & SoulSilver, you can run Pichu through the first few routes without issues. 205 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Pikachu as fast as you can.
Game Availability
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.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GSDebut
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 7Let's Go
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
Explore