|
-
Static
- Enemies' contact moves can paralyze them.
|
Statistics
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
60
|
- |
261 |
324 |
- |
| Atk |
90
|
194 |
216 |
279 |
306 |
| Def |
55
|
131 |
146 |
209 |
229 |
| SpA |
90
|
194 |
216 |
279 |
306 |
| SpD |
80
|
176 |
196 |
259 |
284 |
| Spe |
100
|
212 |
236 |
299 |
328 |
Raichu got a few new useful moves in DP, and one of them is Nasty Plot. Unfortunately, Raichu is frail, so setting up a Nasty Plot might not be easy. Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Ice provide excellent coverage as nothing in UU aside from Lanturn resists that combination of attacks—Encore is recommended to catch non-attacking Pokémon off-guard, giving Raichu some much-needed time to set up, however, Grass Knot works as an alternative to hit those Water/Ground-type Pokémon and is also your strongest move against Steelix.
Life Orb and Focus Sash are both viable items for this set. Life Orb provides a nice boost to your attacks while Focus Sash almost ensures you will always get off a Nasty Plot.
Raichu’s decent Speed and Special Attack make it a good candidate for Choice Specs. As stated in the previous set Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Ice provide excellent coverage. Grass Knot helps deal with Quagsire, Lanturn and Gastrodon and will easily 2HKO Steelix and Aggron.
With the previously mentioned three moves Raichu can sometimes run into difficulty against Probopass, Bastiodon and Clefable. This is where Raichu’s final move Focus Blast comes in to play. A Choice Specs boosted Focus Blast will OHKO Bastiodon and Probopass and easily 2HKO Clefable. Prediction is key with this set as Raichu is capable of dealing good damage to an opposing team and makes quite a good hit and run attacker.
Something of a surprising set, especially if your opponent's first instinct is to go to Clefable or Probopass. Volt Tackle is the primary option here as it is Raichu’s strongest physical Electric attack, but the recoil as well as the 25% you lose from Substitute may be offsetting to some, so the weaker ThunderPunch is listed as an alternative. Encore can be useful to assist your setup, but Grass Knot will be handy against Pokémon like Quagsire and Gastrodon, who will otherwise wall you with ease.
Other Options
Tickle could be useful when predicting physical attackers. Thunder Wave could be good against certain switch-ins like Altaria. Surf shouldn't really be bothered with as Raichu’s other moves offer enough type coverage to make Surf unnecessary and at the moment, the only Surf Raichu are Hardy natured. Wish is useful for healing your team but Raichu is too frail to have much success with it. Hidden Power Ground is usable on the Nasty Plot set for the ability to better handle Lanturn, Probopass, and Camerupt.
EVs
Raichu is rather frail defensively, so it would be best to just work on your offense and Speed. Although an offense boosting nature is suggested on account of Raichu's merely "good" offensive stats, a Speed boosting is viable to outrun all base 90 and 95 Speed Pokémon.
Opinion
Raichu is a cool Pokémon, with a good movepool and decent stats, but don't expect it to sweep entire teams. Its frailty and lack of useful resistances are a major hindrance in that respect.
Counters
Probopass and Bastiodon function well as counters to the Nasty Plot and Choice Specs sets, 2HKOing Raichu with Earth Power and Earthquake respectively and possibly even Paralyzing with Thunder Wave in Probopass’ case, but both have to be careful of Focus Blast on the Choice Specs sets. Clefable, Grumpig and Hypno work well against the Choice Specs set albeit Focus Blast in Clefable’s case but all three have to be weary of the Nasty Plot set as it could prove problematic to take out Raichu before it takes out them. Altaria can take on any set without Hidden Power Ice and OHKO with an Earthquake but should still be wary of boosted Thunderbolts.
