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 partners while scattering sparks from its body. It climbs telephone poles to absorb electricity.

Fire Red / Leaf Green

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 III Type Chart
  • Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
  • Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
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 27 breeding partners from the Fairy egg group. Pass egg moves like Substitute, Wish 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
2moves
Breed With (best first)
raichuazumarilltogeticpikachuglaliejumpluffbreloommarillgranbulldelcattyroseliamawile

Best Build

No build content available for this Pokemon in Gen 3.

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

The level-up pool is slim, so TMs matter here. Plusle's Normal and Steel coverage all comes from technical machines, built on top of Thunder and Thunderbolt for same-type damage. Thunder and Iron Tail are the payoff moves.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Growl
10040Normal
Lv 4
Thunder Wave
10020Electric
Lv 10
Quick Attack+1
4010030Normal
Lv 13
Helping Hand+5
20Normal
Lv 19
Spark
6510020Electric
Lv 22
Encore
1005Normal
Lv 28
Fake Tears
10020Dark
Lv 31
Charge
20Electric
Lv 37
Thunder
1207010Electric
Lv 40
Baton Pass
40Normal
Lv 47
Agility
30Psychic

TM Moves

Src
TM45
Attract
10015Normal
TM32
Double Team
15Normal
TM42
Facade
7010020Normal
HM05
Flash
7020Normal
TM21
Frustration
10020Normal
TM10
Hidden Power
6010015Normal
TM23
Iron Tail
1007515Steel
TM16
Light Screen
30Psychic
TM17
Protect+4
10Normal
TM18
Rain Dance
5Water
TM44
Rest
10Psychic
TM27
Return
10020Normal
TM43
Secret Power
7010020Normal
TM34
Shock Wave
6020Electric
TM25
Thunder
1207010Electric
TM24
Thunderbolt
9510015Electric
TM06
Toxic
8510Poison

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Substitute
10Normal
Egg
Wish
10Normal

Tutor Moves

Src
Tutor
Body Slam
8510015Normal
Tutor
Counter-5
10020Fighting
Tutor
Double-Edge
12010015Normal
Tutor
Mega Kick
120755Normal
Tutor
Mega Punch
808520Normal
Tutor
Metronome
10Normal
Tutor
Mimic
10Normal
Tutor
Seismic Toss
10020Fighting
Tutor
Substitute
10Normal
Tutor
Thunder Wave
10020Electric

Plusle doesn't appear in FireRed & LeafGreen. Transfer it from Ruby, Emerald, or HeartGold to add it to your collection. Check the source games below for encounter details.

Plusle is not available as a wild encounter in this game.

Catch in the wild in:

Then trade to FireRed & LeafGreen.

Also found in:

  • 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.