Is Raikou Good in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Playthrough?
Ramanas Park catch in Brilliant Diamond. Postgame Electric legendary with excellent Speed and Sp. Atk. Would've been amazing against Wake and Byron during the story. Arrives too late.
Raikou has the type edge here and should clean up Roark's team.
Raikou trades roughly evenly with Gardenia's team.
Raikou has the type edge here and should clean up Maylene's team.
Raikou has the type edge here and should clean up Crasher Wake's team.
Raikou resists most of Fantina's coverage and hits back hard.
Raikou has the type edge here and should clean up Byron's team.
Raikou has the type edge here and should clean up Candice's team.
Raikou has the type edge here and should clean up Volkner's team.
Raikou has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Raikou trades roughly evenly with Bertha's team.
Raikou has the type edge here and should clean up Flint's team.
Raikou has the type edge here and should clean up Lucian's team.
Raikou trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
How to Get Raikou in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
Raikou doesn't appear in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. Transfer it from Gold & Silver, Crystal, or Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon to add it to your collection. Check the source games below for encounter details.
Raikou is not available as a wild encounter in this game.
Also Obtainable In:
Pokemon transfers only go forward through generations, never backward. Direct cross-gen trades aren't supported.
Raikou Weakness
Raikou's Electric typing leaves it vulnerable to Ground. Its Electric typing keeps the defensive matchups simple. Raikou's special bulk (base 100 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 Raikou Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Raikou
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Garchomp can KO Raikou with Earthquake (130-153%).
 Garchomp DragonGround | S | |
Recommended Build AbilityRough Skin ItemLeftovers NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Raikou View Garchomp builds →Earthquake 2x130-153%KO | ||
Raikou Evolutions
You can't breed Raikou or evolve it into anything else. This Electric legendary packs 580 stats and doesn't need a chain to be relevant. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
BDSP Raikou Best Moveset
Dropped from A-tier as 115 Sp. Atk at 115 Speed behind Electric TermStab lost ground to faster and stronger alternatives. AbilityPressure doubles PP cost, and hidden AbilityInner Focus blocks flinching. The moveset hits fast and clean but B-tier because the offensive numbers that once led the field now fall short of the format's top attackers.
Best Build
Raikou best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed
Special Setup Sweeper Moveset
- Thunderbolt
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Aura Sphere
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Raikou develops a solid moveset just through leveling. Thunder and Zap Cannon show up naturally, and the progression handles both STAB and utility without leaning on TMs for the core attacks.
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 is said to have fallen with lightning. It can fire thunderbolts from the rain clouds on its back.
Raikou Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Guide
For the Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl meta, At 580 BST, Raikou is built different. We rank it B-Tier. As a Legendary Pokemon, the raw stats back up the reputation. Best used as a sweeper. Thunderbolt with Leftovers is the standard set.
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, watch for Rhydon (Ground) when using Raikou. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Only 1 weakness means fewer dedicated counters to worry about.
Pressure increases the PP cost of moves targetting the Pokémon by one. That's the one you want on Raikou. Inner Focus is the hidden ability. Niche, but it has its uses.
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Raikou fills the sweeper role. It's a special attacker with base 115 Sp. Atk. Base 115 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. And it's enough bulk to take a hit or two.
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, run Thunderbolt, Calm Mind, Scald, and Aura Sphere on Raikou. Thunderbolt is the most common pick at 0% usage. Thunderbolt provides reliable STAB damage.
Game Availability
Raikou has appeared in 17 games since Gold & Silver, spanning 9 generations. As a Legendary, it's typically a one-per-save encounter tied to the story or post-game content.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GSDebut
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 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