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 Heavy-Duty Boots is the standard set.

What is Raikou weak to?

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.

What is the best ability for Raikou?

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.

What role does Raikou play in battle?

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.

What are the best moves for Raikou?

In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, run Thunderbolt, Scald, Volt Switch, and Calm Mind on Raikou. Thunderbolt is the most common pick at 25% usage. Thunderbolt provides reliable STAB damage.

Raikou - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Special

Sweeper

BTier

115Speed · Fast

Stats & Training

Raikou's built around special offense. Sp. Atk leads the charge, Defense pays for it. Near-impossible to catch, worth 3 Sp. Atk and Speed EVs. Follows a slow 1.25M XP grind.

Base Stats

Pseudo

HP90

Attack85

Defense75

Sp. Atk115

Sp. Def100

Speed115

Total580

Details

Catch Rate

Legendary3 / 255

Growth Rate

Slow1.25M XP

Height1.9 m

Weight178.0 kg

Base XP261

Abilities

PressurePopular

Increases the PP cost of moves targetting the Pokémon by one.

Inner FocusHAPopular

Prevents flinching.

EV Yield

HPAtkDefSpA+1SpDSpe+2

Strong Speed training target

Pokedex Entries

It is said to have fallen with lightning. It can fire thunderbolts from the rain clouds on its back.

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.

Raikou Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Ground
0.5x (Resist)	Electric, Flying, Steel

Type ChartGood

1Weak

3Resist

0Immune

Score+1

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Ground

½xResist

Electric Flying Steel

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

None

STAB (2)

Water Flying

How to Beat Raikou in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl (Best Counters)

In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Runerigus's Poltergeist hits Raikou for 45-53%. Garchomp threatens a KO with Earthquake (130-153%).

Runerigus GroundGhost	S
Recommended Build AbilityWanderingspirit ItemLeftovers NatureCareful Moves Stealth Rock PoltergeistSTAB HazeUtility Will O Wisp Damage vs Raikou Poltergeist 45-53% View Runerigus builds →
Garchomp DragonGround	A
Recommended Build AbilityRough Skin ItemLeftovers NatureJolly Moves EarthquakeSTAB Swords Dance Scale Shot Stealth Rock Damage vs Raikou Earthquake 2x 130-153%KO View Garchomp builds →

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Evolution

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

No Evolution

#243RaikouDoes not evolve

Breeding

Unavailable

Undiscovered egg group

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Raikou Best Moveset

Water coverage is what separates a good sweep from a wasted boost. After Calm Mind, Raikou threatens a wide range with max Sp. Atk and Speed EVs and Heavy-Duty Boots backing every hit.

Best Build

Experimental

Ability

Inner Focus

Item

Heavy Duty Boots

Best Nature for Raikou

Timid+SPE

Raikou best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed

EVs

SpA

SpD

Spe

Special Setup Sweeper Moveset

ThunderboltSTAB
ScaldCoverage
Volt SwitchSTAB
Calm Mind

Recommended Teammates

ScizorDecent

Moves

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.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Charge

D——20Electric

Lv 1

Extreme Speed+2

S801005Normal

Lv 1

Leer

D—10030Normal

Lv 1

Quick Attack+1

D4010030Normal

Lv 1

Thunder Shock

—4010030Electric

Lv 6

Spark

—6510020Electric

Lv 12

Bite

D6010025Dark

Lv 18

Calm Mind

S——20Psychic

Lv 24

Roar-6

C——20Normal

Lv 30

Thunder Fang

C659515Electric

Lv 36

Howl

D——40Normal

Lv 42

Crunch

C8010015Dark

Lv 48

Extrasensory

C8010020Psychic

Lv 54

Discharge

S8010015Electric

Lv 60

Reflect

C——20Psychic

Lv 66

Rain Dance

C——5Water

Lv 72

Thunder

B1107010Electric

Lv 78

Zap Cannon

C120505Electric

TM Moves

TM83

Bulldoze

D6010020Ground

TM04

Calm Mind

S——20Psychic

TM57

Charge Beam

C509010Electric

TM93

Cut

—509530Normal

TM28

Dig

C8010010Ground

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM58

Endure+4

C——10Normal

TM42

Facade

D7010020Normal

TM70

Flash

——10020Normal

TM68

Giga Impact

C150905Normal

TM15

Hyper Beam

B150905Normal

TM23

Iron Tail

C1007515Steel

TM16

Light Screen

C——30Psychic

TM17

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM77

Psych Up

C——10Normal

TM18

Rain Dance

C——5Water

TM33

Reflect

C——20Psychic

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM05

Roar-6

C——20Normal

TM100

Rock Climb

—908520Normal

TM98

Rock Smash

D4010015Fighting

TM37

Sandstorm

D——10Rock

TM49

Scald

S8010015Water

TM30

Shadow Ball

B8010015Ghost

TM34

Shock Wave

C60—20Electric

TM82

Sleep Talk

C——10Normal

TM78

Snarl

C559515Dark

TM96

Strength

—8010015Normal

TM90

Substitute

A——10Normal

TM11

Sunny Day

C——5Fire

TM87

Swagger

D—8515Normal

TM25

Thunder

B1107010Electric

TM73

Thunder Wave

S—9020Electric

TM24

Thunderbolt

S9010015Electric

TM43

Volt Switch

S7010020Electric

Egg Moves

Raikou doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Raikou can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Raikou in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

Raikou doesn't appear in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. Transfer it from Gold, Crystal, or Ultra Sun 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 found in:

Gold Crystal FireRed HeartGold Ultra Sun

Raikou 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 Heavy-Duty Boots 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, Scald, Volt Switch, and Calm Mind on Raikou. Thunderbolt is the most common pick at 25% 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

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