Special
Balanced
405Average
95Moderate
DTier

Don't let the raw stats fool you. Lightning Rod redirects Electric moves and boosts its Sp. Atk, and that completely changes the math for Plusle. Only weak to Ground. Part of the Gen 3 roster. Sits at a decent but contested Speed tier.

Everything pushes toward special damage here. Plusle's Speed does the work, Defense pays the price. But you're still getting 1 Speed EV per KO. Easy to catch, on a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats
405Above
HP60
C
Attack50
D
Defense40
D
Sp. Atk85
C
Sp. Def75
C
Speed95
B
Total405
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Plusle yields +1 Spe
HPAtkDefSpASpDSpe+1
Details
Catch200EasyMedium Fast1M XP0.4m / 1'04"4.2kg / 9.3 lbs142Base XP
Pokedex Entries

It cheers on friends with pom-poms made of sparks. It drains power from telephone poles.

Diamond / Pearl

Plusle Weakness

Good

Plusle's Electric typing leaves it vulnerable to Ground moves. Not many exploitable gaps in the Electric typing defensive chart. Lightning Rod grants an additional Electric immunity, reshaping the matchup chart. Plusle's special bulk (base 75 Sp.Def) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.

Gen IV Type Chart
  • Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
  • Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
4xCriticali
None
2xWeaki
¼xResisti
None
0xImmunei
STAB (2)i
1Weak
3Resist
1Immune
Scorei+1
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesVulnerable
Abilities
PlusIncreases Special Attack to 1.5× when a friendly Pokémon has plus or minus.
Lightning RodHARedirects single-target electric moves to this Pokémon where possible. Absorbs Electric moves, raising Special Attack one stage.
Lightning Rod grants Electric immunity

No evolution chain to worry about here. Plusle is a standalone Pokemon with a decent partner pool for breeding through one egg group. Eggs come out average hatch time.

How to Evolve

No Evolution
Plusle
#311Plusle
Does not evolve
Breeding
Very Easy

Breed Plusle easily with 35 breeding partners from the Fairy egg group. Pass egg moves like Sing, Substitute, Sweet Kiss and 1 more to offspring.

Egg Groups
Fairy
Gender
50.0%50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
4moves
Breed With (best first)
togekissmanaphyraichuazumarilltogeticpachirisupikachuroseradeglaliefroslassjumpluffbreloom

Best Build

No build content available for this Pokemon in Gen 4.

Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.

The natural movepool does the job, but Sing and Substitute from the egg pool give Plusle something extra. Pair those with Thunder and Thunderbolt for STAB and Normal and Dark coverage and more for reach, and the kit fills out nicely.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Growl
10040Normal
Lv 3
Thunder Wave
10020Electric
Lv 7
Quick Attack+1
4010030Normal
Lv 10
Helping Hand+5
20Normal
Lv 15
Spark
6510020Electric
Lv 17
Encore
1005Normal
Lv 21
Fake Tears
10020Dark
Lv 24
Copycat
20Normal
Lv 29
Swift
6020Normal
Lv 31
Fake Tears
10020Dark
Lv 35
Charge
20Electric
Lv 38
Thunder
1207010Electric
Lv 42
Baton Pass
40Normal
Lv 44
Agility
30Psychic
Lv 48
Last Resort
1301005Normal
Lv 51
Nasty Plot
20Dark

TM Moves

Src
TM45
Attract
10015Normal
TM78
Captivate
10020Normal
TM57
Charge Beam
509010Electric
TM32
Double Team
15Normal
TM58
Endure+4
10Normal
TM42
Facade
7010020Normal
TM70
Flash
10020Normal
TM56
Fling
10010Dark
TM21
Frustration
10020Normal
TM86
Grass Knot
10020Grass
TM10
Hidden Power
6010015Normal
TM23
Iron Tail
1007515Steel
TM16
Light Screen
30Psychic
TM83
Natural Gift
10015Normal
TM17
Protect+4
10Normal
TM18
Rain Dance
5Water
TM44
Rest
10Psychic
TM27
Return
10020Normal
TM43
Secret Power
7010020Normal
TM34
Shock Wave
6020Electric
TM82
Sleep Talk
10Normal
TM90
Substitute
10Normal
TM87
Swagger
9015Normal
TM25
Thunder
1207010Electric
TM73
Thunder Wave
10020Electric
TM24
Thunderbolt
9510015Electric
TM06
Toxic
8510Poison

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Sing
5515Normal
Egg
Substitute
10Normal
Egg
Sweet Kiss
7510Normal
Egg
Wish
10Normal

Tutor Moves

Plusle can't learn any Tutor moves

Transfer Moves

Src
Gen 3
Body Slam
8510015Normal
Gen 3
Counter-5
10020Fighting
Gen 3
Defense Curl
40Normal
Gen 3
Double-Edge
12010015Normal
Gen 3
Dynamic Punch
100505Fighting
Gen 3
Mega Kick
120755Normal
Gen 3
Mega Punch
808520Normal
Gen 3
Metronome
10Normal
Gen 3
Mimic
10Normal
Gen 3
Seismic Toss
10020Fighting

Finding Plusle at moderate rates takes patience. 2 spots are available in mid-game routes, but the rate difference between them matters. Lock in the top one from the sorted list below.

Best Locations

Trophy Garden - Daily Pokemon
PearlGrassLv.16-18RareMidForest
CHALLENGING
Trophy Garden - Daily Pokemon
DiamondGrassLv.16-18RareMidForest
CHALLENGING
  • Plusle looks average on paper at 405 BST. But Lightning Rod is why it sees play — build around that and it pulls its weight. D-Tier on our tier list.

  • Watch for Swampert (Ground) when using Plusle. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Only 1 weakness means fewer dedicated counters to worry about.

  • Plusle doesn't evolve and has no evolutionary line. It's a Electric-type Pokemon with a 405 base stat total.

  • Plusle gets Lightning Rod and Plus. But Lightning Rod is the one that matters — it's the centerpiece of every viable set. Build around that.

  • Plusle is a special attacker with base 85 Sp. Atk. But the speed tells the real story — base 95 Speed is workable — faster than some, slower than many.

  • Plusle appears in 14 games, including Ruby & Sapphire, FireRed & LeafGreen, and Emerald.

Debuting in Ruby & Sapphire, Plusle appears in 14 games across 7 generations. A reliable presence in a solid number of games, typically found through wild encounters.