Is Raikou Good in Diamond & Pearl Playthrough?
Transfer-only Electric legendary from Johto. AbilityPressure doubles PP consumption. If imported, Raikou outpaces Luxray and outspeeds most of the E4. Handles Crasher Wake and Aaron. One of the strongest Electric imports, but postgame-only.
Raikou trades roughly evenly with 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 has the type edge here and should clean up Fantina's team.
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.
Bertha's team hits Raikou's weaknesses hard.
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 has the type edge here and should clean up Mars's team.
Raikou resists most of Jupiter's coverage and hits back hard.
Raikou has the type edge here and should clean up Saturn's team.
Raikou trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Trade
Raikou cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four.
Recommended Moves
- After Gardenia
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Veilstone Game Corner
- TM68NormalGiga ImpactPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Game Corner
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Department Store
- LV 29ElectricSparkPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- LV 50ElectricThunder FangPower 98Accuracy 95%PP 15
- LV 57ElectricDischargePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 71ElectricThunderPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 10
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
- LV 78PsychicCalm MindPower —Accuracy 100%PP 20
How to Get Raikou in Diamond & Pearl
Raikou is not part of the Sinnoh roster, so the thunder beast has no encounter in Diamond or Pearl. Migrating one through Pal Park from a Gen 3 game is the way to add it to your team.
Raikou cannot be caught in the wild in Diamond & Pearl, but you can still get it via these paths:
Catch in the wild and trade from these games:
Then trade to Diamond & Pearl.
Also Obtainable In:
Pokemon transfers only go forward through generations, never backward. Direct cross-gen trades aren't supported.
How to Get Shiny Raikou in Diamond & Pearl
Raikou cannot be caught in Diamond or Pearl, so its shiny has to come from HeartGold or SoulSilver, where it roams Johto, and be traded over. See every game where Shiny Raikou can be hunted
Crown/GAMESTP/WIN2011 shiny Raikou Lv30
Shiny Raikou Evolution
Does Not EvolveRaikou 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 |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Raikou Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Raikou
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
DP Raikou Best Moveset
115 Sp. Atk and 115 Speed are an elite offensive combination for an Electric type. The moveset fires off special Electric attacks before almost anything can respond, and coverage options handle Ground types that try to block it. MoveCalm Mind pushes the damage higher when there's a safe turn to boost.
Best Build
Raikou best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed
Special Setup Sweeper Moveset
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Ice
- Aura Sphere
- Calm Mind
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Without TMs, Raikou's movepool is bare bones. With them, you get coverage across 7 types on top of Zap Cannon and Thunder for STAB. The natural kit handles basics, but TMs are doing the real work.
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
34 of 37 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Transfer Moves
Event Moves
Base Stats
It is said to have fallen with lightning. It can fire thunderbolts from the rain clouds on its back.
Raikou Event Distributions
In Diamond & Pearl, Raikou is available through a handful of Mystery Gift event distributions rather than as a regular giveaway.
The Legendary Trio of Johto!HeartGoldSoulSilverDiamondPearlPlatinumAlways shiny
The Legendary Pokemon I Chose: RaikouHeartGoldSoulSilverDiamondPearlPlatinumAlways shiny
Shiny Legendary Pokemon RaikouHeartGoldSoulSilverDiamondPearlPlatinumAlways shiny
Raikou Diamond & Pearl Guide
Raikou isn't catchable in Diamond & Pearl. Catch one in HeartGold or SoulSilver, then trade it to Diamond & Pearl.
In Diamond & Pearl, use Raikou as a sweeper. Special attacks are the main output. It outspeeds most threats, Thunderbolt is the primary attack.
For Diamond & Pearl, build your team around Gyarados. These have the highest co-usage rates with Raikou in competitive formats. They cover each other's weaknesses.
For Diamond & Pearl, run Rash on Raikou. +Sp. Atk is what matters, and the -Sp. Def cut doesn't hurt this set. Fits the sweeper role.
Game Availability
Raikou has appeared in 17 games since Gold & Silver, spanning 8 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 7Let's Go
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
Explore
Where to go next after Raikou.
Keep playing · Diamond & PearlDiamond & Pearl Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Diamond & Pearl Tier List