
Is Raikou Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
Not native to Hoenn. Trade from Colosseum. AbilityPressure doubles PP drain. One of the fastest Electric-types in Gen 3 with strong Special. If imported, Raikou outspeeds almost everything in RS and handles Winona, Wallace, and Glacia. The Colosseum import makes it rare but powerful.
Raikou trades roughly evenly with Roxanne's team.
Raikou has the type edge here and should clean up Brawly's team.
Raikou trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Raikou has the type edge here and should clean up Flannery's team.
Raikou trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.
Raikou resists most of Winona's coverage and hits back hard.
Raikou has the type edge here and should clean up Tate & Liza's team.
Raikou has the type edge here and should clean up Wallace's team.
Raikou has the type edge here and should clean up Sidney's team.
Raikou has the type edge here and should clean up Phoebe's team.
Raikou resists most of Glacia's coverage and hits back hard.
Raikou trades roughly evenly with Drake's team.
Raikou trades roughly evenly with Steven'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 Brawly
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Mauville Game Corner
- After Wattson
- TM34ElectricShock WavePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Wattson
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Rusturf Tunnel
- After Norman
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- LV 41ElectricSparkPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- LV 61DarkCrunchPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15
- LV 71ElectricThunderPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 10
- LV 81PsychicCalm MindPower —Accuracy 100%PP 20
How to Get Raikou in Ruby & Sapphire
Hoenn fields its own legendary trio, so Raikou does not roam here and only arrives by trade. Its catch rate of 3 made it a brutal chase back in its home game.
Raikou cannot be caught in the wild in Ruby & Sapphire, but you can still get it via these paths:
Obtain and trade from these games:
Then trade to Ruby & Sapphire.
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 Ruby & Sapphire
Raikou's roam only begins in FireRed or LeafGreen, where beating Team Rocket on Five Island with Squirtle as your starter sets it loose across Kanto, so hunt the shiny there and trade it over. See every game where Shiny Raikou can be hunted
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 |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Raikou Weak Against
GoodRaikou 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
RS Raikou Best Moveset
115 Sp. Atk at 115 Speed fires MoveThunderbolt with top-tier power and initiative. AbilityPressure doubles opponent PP usage. MoveCalm Mind boosts Sp. Atk and Sp. Def for sweep setup. MoveRest plus MoveSleep Talk sustains. Held ItemLeftovers recovers. Fast Calm Mind Electric attacker.
Best Build
Raikou best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed
Special Setup Sweeper Moveset
- Thunderbolt
- Calm Mind
- Hidden Power Grass
- Substitute
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Without TMs, Raikou's movepool is bare bones. With them, you get Dark and Normal coverage and more on top of Thunder and Thunderbolt 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
All 25 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
RAIKOU embodies the speed of lightning. The roars of this POKéMON send shock waves shuddering through the air and shake the ground as if lightning bolts had come crashing down.
Raikou Ruby & Sapphire Guide
Raikou isn't catchable in Ruby & Sapphire. Catch one in FireRed or LeafGreen, then trade it to Ruby & Sapphire.
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.
