Is Pikachu Good in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Playthrough?
Pikachu shows up in the Trophy Garden after the National Dex, which is postgame. By then your team is fully built. The Sinnoh game gives you Luxray and Magnezone for Electric coverage far earlier.
Pichu trades roughly evenly with Roark's team.
Gardenia's typing presses Pichu's defenses.
Pichu trades roughly evenly with Maylene's team.
Pichu trades roughly evenly with Crasher Wake's team.
Pichu trades roughly evenly with Fantina's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Byron's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Candice's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Volkner's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Bertha's team hits Raichu's weaknesses hard.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Flint's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Lucian's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Catch Pikachu on Trophy Garden (walking, Lv 18, uncommon).
Catch Pichu on Trophy Garden (walking, Lv 16, common).
You can usually obtain this item before you reach Byron.
How to Get Pikachu in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
A few locations for Pikachu with moderate rates across mid-game routes. The sort toggle below swaps between best odds and earliest access, so you can approach it based on where you are in the game.
Where To Catch Pikachu in BDSP
To get Pikachu, start by catching Pichu through walking encounters at Lv. 16-18. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.
Pikachu Weakness
Ground moves hit Pikachu for super-effective damage. Few weaknesses and 3 resistances make the typing clean. Lightning Rod grants an additional Electric immunity, reshaping the matchup chart.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Ground |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Electric, Flying, Steel |
What is Pikachu Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Pikachu
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Excadrill can KO Pikachu with Earthquake (363-427%).
 Excadrill GroundSteel | B | |
Recommended Build AbilitySandrush ItemLeftovers NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Pikachu View Excadrill builds →Earthquake 2x363-427%KO Rapid Spin61-72% | ||
Pikachu Evolutions
Sitting between Pichu and Raichu, Pikachu is part of a chain that requires an evolution item. Not your typical level-up setup. So far, Speed got the biggest boost (+30 from Pichu). The final form adds another 165 stats on top. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Pikachu to get Pichu eggs easily using 35 partners from the Fairy and Ground egg groups. Notable egg moves include Charge, Disarming Voice, Electric Terrain and 8 more.
BDSP Pikachu Best Moveset
Fell from C-tier since the original Gen 4 despite gaining hidden AbilityLightning Rod that absorbs Electric moves for Sp. Atk boosts. 90 Speed helps, but 55 Attack and 50 Sp. Atk behind 35 HP leave the moveset too thin to compete. The tools improved; the stats never did.
Best Build
Pikachu best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Sweeper Moveset
- Thunderbolt
- Iron Tail
- Quick Attack
- Surf
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Don't skip the egg moves. Pikachu picks up Charge and Disarming Voice only through breeding, and both fill gaps the natural movepool can't. STAB runs through Thunder and Thunderbolt while coverage across 8 types adds range.
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
It lives in forests with others. It stores electricity in the electric sacs on its cheeks.
If it looses crackling power from the electric sacs on its cheeks, it is being wary.
Pikachu Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Guide
For Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, you can run Pikachu through the first few routes without issues. 320 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Raichu as fast as you can.
Game Availability
Since debuting in Red & Blue, Pikachu has appeared in 23 titles over 10 generations. Along the way, it received a Gigantamax form in Generation 8, keeping it relevant across different competitive metas.
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 8SwShGigantamax
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