
Is Pikachu Good in Red & Blue Playthrough?
Catchable in Viridian Forest, and Electric typing is useful early since Water-types show up everywhere. Pikachu itself is fragile though. One bad hit and it's done. Evolving into Raichu with a Thunder Stone makes it much more usable, but you lose the chance to learn some moves naturally. Worth keeping if you evolve it at the right time.
Brock's typing presses Raichu's defenses.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Giovanni's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Lorelei's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Agatha's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Catchable
Catch Pikachu in Viridian Forest (walking, Lv 3-5, rare).
Recommended Moves
- LV 9ElectricThunder WavePower —Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- After Lt. Surge
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Vermilion Gym Leader Lt. Surge
- TM05NormalMega KickPower 120Accuracy 75%PP 5Celadon Department Store
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM09NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20Silph Co.
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- LV 43ElectricThunderPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 10
How to Get Pikachu in Red & Blue
Only two places hold wild Pikachu: rare in Viridian Forest and common in the Power Plant. The Viridian sightings are famously thin, so most players wait for the Power Plant later on.
2 locations to catch Pikachu
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Where To Catch Pikachu in RB
Pikachu is where the line starts, caught through walking encounters at Lv. 3-24. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.
Step 2Catch or Evolve into RaichuPower PlantLv.33-36FloorBlueRate 5%Cerulean Cave - B1FLv.64CaveRate 10%Cerulean Cave - 1FLv.53CaveRate 4%or evolve from Pikachu (Step 1)
Bring the right balls: check Pikachu catch odds in the Red & Blue Catch Rate Calculator before you throw.
Pikachu Weakness
Ground moves hit Pikachu for super-effective damage. Few weaknesses and 2 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 |
- Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
- Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
- Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
What is Pikachu Weak Against
AvgPikachu Evolutions
You'll evolve Pikachu into Raichu the traditional way. This Electric type doesn't breed despite having a chain ahead. The evolved forms gain up to 175 total stats over Pikachu. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
RB Pikachu Best Moveset
90 Speed and 50 Special mean MoveThunderbolt exists but doesn't hit hard. No way to boost Pikachu's output in this generation. Electric attacks from a stat line that Raichu improves in every way. Evolve with a Thunder Stone.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Thunderbolt
- Surf
- Thunder Wave
- Quick Attack
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Level-up moves are just the starting point for Pikachu. TMs unlock Normal and Fighting coverage and turn a straightforward STAB kit around Thunder and Thunderbolt into something with actual range.
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 22 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
When several of these POKéMON gather, their electricity could build and cause lightning storms.
Pikachu Red & Blue Guide
For Red & Blue, you can run Pikachu through the first few routes without issues. 310 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 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
Where to go next after Pikachu.