Is Pikachu Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
Available in Hoenn's Safari Zone, which opens late in the game. AbilityStatic paralyzes on contact, useful for catching. Pikachu's stats are still too low for serious Hoenn gym battles. Raichu is better but requires a Thunder Stone. Manectric is available locally and does the Electric job without the stone.
Roxanne's typing presses Pikachu's defenses.
Pikachu has the type edge here and should clean up Brawly's team.
Pikachu trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Pikachu has the type edge here and should clean up Flannery's team.
Pikachu trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.
Pikachu has the type edge here and should clean up Winona's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Tate & Liza's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Wallace's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Sidney's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Phoebe's team.
Raichu resists most of Glacia's coverage and hits back hard.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Drake's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Steven's team.
Catchable
Catch Pikachu in the Safari Zone (walking, Lv 25-27, rare).
Recommended Moves
- After Wattson
- TM34ElectricShock WavePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Wattson
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Rusturf Tunnel
- LV 26ElectricThunderboltPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Norman
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 115
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Norman
- LV 41ElectricThunderPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 10
- After Tate & Liza
- TM31FightingBrick BreakPower 75Accuracy 100%PP 15Sootopolis City
- After Wallace
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15Meteor Falls
Evolve Pikachu to Raichu
Pikachu evolves into Raichu with a Thunder Stone. You can usually obtain this item before you reach Tate & Liza.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 33)
- LV 33ElectricThunderboltPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Wattson
- TM34ElectricShock WavePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Wattson
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Rusturf Tunnel
- After Norman
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 10Lilycove Department Store
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 115
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- After Tate & Liza
- TM31FightingBrick BreakPower 75Accuracy 100%PP 15Sootopolis City
- After Wallace
- TM23SteelIron TailPower 100Accuracy 75%PP 15Meteor Falls
How to Get Pikachu in Ruby & Sapphire
Pikachu lives in exactly one place in Hoenn: the Safari Zone, where it shows up as a rare walking encounter around level 25. Outside that single zone, there is nowhere else to find it.
Wild Pikachu may be holding when caught:
Oran Berry (50% chance) A hold item that restores 10 HP in battle.
Light Ball (5% chance) A hold item that raises the SP. ATK of PIKACHU.1 location to catch Pikachu
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 6Where To Catch Pikachu in RS
- Step 1Breed Pichu from PikachuBREEDINGAvailableLeave Pikachu with a compatible partner at the Pokemon Day Care to receive a Pichu egg.
- Step 2Pikachu ✓or evolve from Pichu (Step 1)
- Step 3Evolve into Raichu
Bring the right balls: check Pikachu catch odds in the Ruby & Sapphire Catch Rate Calculator before you throw.
How to Get Shiny Pikachu in Ruby & Sapphire
Deep in the Safari Zone grass, Pikachu turns up only rarely in both games, so comb every field and check each one for a shiny. Compare Shiny Pikachu odds across every game
Shiny Pikachu Evolution
3 Forms
Ruby & Sapphire Shiny Pikachu Calculator
2 MethodsBoth methods here share the same odds, about 1 in 8,192 on each try. Pick whichever fits how you play.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
Breeding: Hatch eggs of this line; each egg rolls at the base shiny rate (no Masuda before Gen IV).
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 864-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 2,357-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 5,678-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 18,862-- | -- |
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.
Planning a longer hunt? Set up Pikachu in the Ruby & Sapphire 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 |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Pikachu Weak Against
Good
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 185 stats on top. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Pikachu to get Pichu eggs easily using 27 partners from the Fairy and Field egg groups. Notable egg moves include Bide, Charge, Double Slap and 4 more.
RS Pikachu Best Moveset
Held ItemLight Ball doubles Sp. Atk for strong MoveThunderbolt, and AbilityStatic has a 30%% chance to paralyze on contact. 90 Speed goes first against most of the mid-tier. Fragile at 35 HP, but the Light Ball damage is legitimate. One item carrying the entire competitive identity.
Best Build
Pikachu best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed
Special Sweeper Moveset
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Tackle
- Surf
- Hidden Power Grass
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Don't skip the egg moves. Pikachu picks up Bide and Charge only through breeding, and both fill gaps the natural movepool can't. STAB runs through Thunder and Thunderbolt while Normal and Fighting coverage and more 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
All 22 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Whenever PIKACHU comes across something new, it blasts it with a jolt of electricity. If you come across a blackened berry, it’s evidence that this POKéMON mistook the intensity of its charge.
This POKéMON has electricity-storing pouches on its cheeks. These appear to become electrically charged during the night while PIKACHU sleeps. It occasionally discharges electricity when it is dozy after waking up.
Pikachu Ruby & Sapphire Guide
- Where in the Ruby & Sapphire Safari Zone can I find Pikachu?
See the Locations section above for where to find Pikachu in Ruby & Sapphire.
Safari rules: You can only use Safari Balls. No battling. Two tactical items shift the catch/flee trade-off:
- Throw bait to keep Pikachu from fleeing (flee rate cut to 1/4) but it becomes harder to catch (catch factor halved).
- Throw a rock to make Pikachu easier to catch (catch factor doubled) but it flees twice as often.
- Each effect lasts 2-6 random turns; throwing one cancels the other.
Yes. Wild Pikachu in Ruby & Sapphire can hold Oran Berry (50%) or Light Ball (5%). Use Thief (TM46) or Covet to swipe the held item without affecting your catch chance. Quickest way to farm rare items like Oran Berry.
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.
Keep playing · Ruby & SapphireRuby & Sapphire Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Ruby & Sapphire Tier List