Is Raichu Good in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Playthrough?
Raichu is fine but the late availability kills it. If you transfer one in early, the speed and reusable TM Thunderbolt make it useful against Wake, Byron, and Cynthia's Milotic.
Pichu trades roughly evenly with Roark's team.
Gardenia's typing presses Pichu's defenses.
Pichu trades roughly evenly with Maylene's team.
Pichu trades roughly evenly with Crasher Wake's team.
Pichu trades roughly evenly with Fantina's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Byron's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Candice's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Volkner's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Bertha's team hits Raichu's weaknesses hard.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Flint's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Lucian's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Catch Pikachu on Trophy Garden (walking, Lv 18, uncommon).
You can usually obtain this item before you reach Byron.
How to Get Raichu in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
You're catching Pichu first, not Raichu. Pichu appears at solid rates in the encounters below. The step cards map the full 3-stage chain with evolution methods between each stage.
How to Obtain Raichu in BDSP
To get Raichu, start by catching Pichu through walking encounters at Lv. 16-18. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.
Step 1Catch PichuTrophy GardenLv.16GrassRate 30%MorningTrophy GardenLv.16GrassRate 10%
Step 3Raichu ✓
Raichu Weakness
Type-wise, Raichu takes extra damage from Ground. Not many exploitable gaps in the Electric typing defensive chart. Lightning Rod grants an additional Electric immunity, reshaping the matchup chart. Raichu's special bulk (base 80 Sp.Def) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Ground |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Electric, Flying, Steel |
What is Raichu Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Raichu
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Landorus's Rock Slide hits Raichu for 53-62%.
 Landorus Ground | B | |
Recommended Build AbilitySheerforce ItemLife Orb NatureNaive Moves
Damage vs Raichu View Landorus builds →Rock Slide53-62% | ||
Raichu Evolutions
Raichu evolved from Pichu's chain using an evolution item. It's a non-standard trigger, so check the details below. Breed this form to get Pichu eggs (quick to hatch). The evolution from Pichu pushed Raichu to 485 total stats. Sp.Atk saw the largest single gain at +55. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Raichu to get Pichu eggs easily using 35 partners from the Fairy and Ground egg groups. Notable egg moves include Charge, Disarming Voice, Electric Terrain and 8 more.
BDSP Raichu Best Moveset
Dropped from C-tier despite the Gen 6 Speed buff pushing it to 110 and hidden AbilityLightning Rod adding Electric immunity with Sp. Atk boosts. The moveset has 90/90 offenses at that Speed, but Electric TermStab alone can't carry against the format's bulkier threats. The tools stacked up; the competition stacked faster.
Best Build
Raichu best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed
Special Sweeper Moveset
- Thunderbolt
- Surf
- Focus Blast
- Encore
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The egg pool carries weight here. Charge and Disarming Voice aren't available any other way for Raichu, and they meaningfully change what it threatens. Stack those on top of Thunder and Thunderbolt for solid options.
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
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It turns aggressive if it has too much electricity in its body. It discharges power through its tail.
It can loose 100,000-volt bursts of electricity, instantly downing foes several times its size.
Raichu Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Guide
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Raichu looks average on paper at 485 BST. But Lightning Rod is why it sees play. Build around that and it pulls its weight. C-Tier pivot on our tier list. Thunderbolt with Focus Sash is the standard set.
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Raichu's biggest threats include Golem (Ground), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Only 1 weakness means fewer dedicated counters to worry about. Raichu's base 110 Speed lets it outpace many threats and strike first, which matters more than trying to tank hits.
Raichu gets Lightning Rod and Static. But Lightning Rod is the one that matters. It's the centerpiece of every viable set. Build around that.
Raichu is a special attacker with base 90 Sp. Atk. Speed tells the real story. Base 110 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. Fits the pivot role.
For Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, the core moveset is Thunderbolt, Surf, Focus Blast, and Encore. Thunderbolt leads at 0% usage. Thunderbolt provides reliable STAB damage.
Game Availability
Available since Red & Blue, Raichu appears in 23 games spanning 10 generations. Beyond its original form, it gained an Alolan form in Generation 7.
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 7SMAlolan
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
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