Is Pikachu Good in Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee Playthrough?
In Let's Go Pikachu, your partner Pikachu might be the single best Pokemon in the game. Boosted stats and exclusive moves covering Electric, Water, and Flying give it answers for Misty, Lorelei, and half of Lance's team on its own. In Let's Go Eevee, wild-caught Pikachu is just an average Electric-type that Jolteon outclasses.
Brock's typing presses Pikachu's defenses.
Pikachu has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Pikachu trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Erika's typing presses Raichu's defenses.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Koga'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.
Giovanni's team hits Raichu's weaknesses hard.
Raichu resists most of Lorelei's coverage and hits back hard.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Agatha's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Trace's team.
This is the Let's Go Pikachu team. In Let's Go Eevee, Trace brings Raichu Lv 57 in place of Jolteon Lv 57.
Gift
In Let's Go Pikachu, Pikachu is your starter Pokemon at Lv 5. Received from Professor Oak in Pallet Town at the start of the adventure.
Recommended Moves
- After Brock
- TMNormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Misty
- TMGroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10
- LV 21ElectricThunderboltPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Lt. Surge
- TMSteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15
- TMFightingBrick BreakPower 75Accuracy 100%PP 15
- TMNormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20
- LV 30ElectricThunderPower 165Accuracy 70%PP 10
- After Erika
- TMElectricThunder PunchPower 113Accuracy 100%PP 15
Evolve Pikachu to Raichu
Pikachu evolves into Raichu with a Thunder Stone. You can usually obtain this item before you reach Erika.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 26)
- LV 26ElectricThunder PunchPower 113Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Misty
- TMGroundDigPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 10
- After Lt. Surge
- TMElectricThunderboltPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 15
- TMNormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5
- TMSteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15
- TMFightingBrick BreakPower 75Accuracy 100%PP 15
- TMNormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Sabrina
- TMElectricThunderPower 165Accuracy 70%PP 10
How to Get Pikachu in Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee
A few locations for Pikachu with moderate rates across early-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.
2 locations to catch Pikachu
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Where To Catch Pikachu in Let's Go
Pikachu is where the line starts, caught through walking and gift encounters at Lv. 3+. The chain covers 1 catchable stage before reaching the final form.
- Step 2Evolve into Raichu
How to Get Shiny Pikachu in Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee
In Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee, the strongest route to a Shiny Pikachu is Catch Combo, which reaches about 1 in 274 at full boosts. Pick a method and tune your setup below to see live odds. Compare Shiny Pikachu odds across every game
Shiny Pikachu Gift
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee Shiny Pikachu Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Catch Combo at full boosts, about 1 in 274 on each try. Tune it below.
Catch Combo: Catch one species back-to-back. A Lure stacks on top of a 31-plus combo.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters |
|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 29 |
| 25%one in four | 79 |
| 50%coin flip | 190 |
| 90%very likely | 630 |
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.
Planning a longer hunt? Set up Pikachu in the Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee Shiny Odds Calculator to compare every method side by side.
Pikachu Weakness
Ground moves hit Pikachu for super-effective damage. 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 |
Pikachu Evolutions
Pikachu doesn't evolve by leveling. You'll need an evolution item to push it forward to Raichu. The evolved forms gain up to 165 total stats over Pikachu. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Let's Go Pikachu Best Moveset
Partner Pikachu changes everything. Exclusive moves like MoveZippy Zap (always crits, +2 priority) and MoveSplishy Splash (Water coverage) give the moveset tools nothing else in the format has. Regular Pikachu at 35 HP falls in one hit, but the Partner version hits harder and faster than the stats suggest.
Best Build
Pikachu Candy
Quick Candy+SPEHasty raises Speed and lowers Defense. Madam Celadon sets this nature when you pick Pink, then Yellow. It costs 10,000 Pokedollars and lasts for the rest of the day.
Candy for Pikachu
- Pikachu Candy
- Quick Candy
Quick Candy L
Quick Candy XL
Pikachu Candy raises every stat, but only Pikachu and Raichu can eat it. The stat candy that goes with Pikachu is Quick Candy (Speed), and any Pokemon can eat it; Quick Candy L needs level 30 and Quick Candy XL needs level 60 or higher.
Master Trainer
Ikue battles with one level 75 Pikachu that knows Slam, Toxic, Substitute and Reflect. It takes extra damage from Ground moves. Win to earn the Pikachu Master title. Find Ikue in Viridian Forest.
Moves List
Leveling does the heavy lifting. Pikachu picks up Thunderbolt and Thunder along the way, building toward a complete offensive set. TMs add Normal and Fighting coverage and more, but the foundation's already strong by then.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- 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.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM 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 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 19 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
This forest-dwelling Pokémon stores electricity in its cheeks, so you’ll feel a tingly shock if you touch it.
Pikachu Event Distributions
In Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee, Pikachu has been distributed through a modest set of Mystery Gift events.
Shiny Pikachu GiftMay 2019Let's Go PikachuLet's Go EeveeAlways shiny
Shiny Pikachu GiftLet's Go PikachuLet's Go EeveeAlways shiny
Game Availability
Since debuting in Red & Blue, Pikachu has appeared in 22 titles over 9 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 7Let's Go
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
Explore