In DP, Light Ball doubles Pikachu's Attack as well as its Special Attack, making a physical set viable on him. This particular Pikachu is NOT walled by the likes of Blissey and Snorlax, in fact doing a significant number against the two with Brick Break. Volt Tackle is made even more potent by the fact that Pikachu has a slightly higher Attack than Special Attack, but the recoil could kill you very quickly, even without your opponent's help.
This set gives good coverage against most big threats, including Rhyperior, Swampert, Garchomp, and Tyranitar, not to mention numerous other Water-types. Blissey and Snorlax wall it too easily, though.
This set is probably the easiest to set up for a sweep. If you're ballsy with your prediction, you can switch Pikachu in on a setup move and then Encore it, rendering them defenseless and you free to Substitute. Then you get a free turn to cause electric mayhem. Other OptionsThe reason there is no Nasty Plot set listed above is because Pikachu is like a UU Deoxys-A. It doesn't have time to set up and attack. It needs to get started attacking right away, or else it's going to go down to the next hit. Encore and Substitute are the two exceptions that can keep Pikachu alive and shocking. Surf sounds really cool, but unfortunately any legit Surfing Pikachu comes from Pokémon Battle Revolution, and all of those are Hardy natured (and female). Grass Knot is more powerful against the likes of Tyranitar and Rhyperior anyway. However, Surf hits the likes of Camerupt and Steelix much harder. Focus Punch can be an excellent option over Brick Break on the physical set. If Pikachu gets a Sub up on the switch, it's going to OHKO an incoming Blissey\Snorlax. You might be contemplating an Adamant\Modest nature for the extra attack power. Don’t. Pikachu needs all the Speed it can get, especially when that extra speed can help it outspeed Adamant Garchomp and non-Speed-boosted Salamence. Quick Attack or Fake Out can stop things like Reversal/Flail users. EVsPikachu should ALWAYS max Special Attack and Speed on a special set. The reason I put the remaining 6 EVs in Defense instead of HP is because with those 6 EVs in HP, Pikachu's HP total becomes 212, which is divisible by four. This means Pikachu will only be able to Substitute three times instead of four. This is assuming that Pikachu has a 31 HP IV, but chances are your Pikachu—if it's in-game—doesn't have it. You will need to calculate your Pikachu's HP and then determine whether it should have those 6 EVs in HP or not. Ideally, Pikachu should have an odd-numbered HP—this also rounds down damage from Stealth Rock or Spikes. OpinionIf you’re a trainer with some serious balls, Pikachu is the rat for you. He can be hard to switch into battle carefully, but the payoff can be huge. A Pikachu sweep is amazing to behold. CountersBlissey and Snorlax can take any hit a purely special Pikachu can dish out, although Snorlax will eventually fall with Spikes support. Actually, the Pikachu trainer should be watching out for things like Weavile and Dugtrio, who will make sure Pikachu doesn’t survive to 'bolt again. The smart Pikachu trainer should always try to keep a Substitute up as a safeguard against this. |
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