Gen 2 Pikachu (UU) [DONE]

[dawnbuster]

[OVERVIEW]
Pikachu is the mascot of Pokemon and glass cannons alike. With Light Ball, few Pokemon on traditional offense teams are able to reliably switch into it. It threatens the tier's numerous Water- and Flying-types, and, unlike other Electric-types like Ampharos, it has Surf to 2HKO Ground-types like Nidoqueen and Piloswine. Pikachu's Speed is quite good too, surpassing threats such as Qwilfish, Kabutops, and Gyarados while tying with Mr. Mime. As a result, Pikachu is one of the scariest Pokemon to give free turns, possibly only being outdone in this regard by the dominant Scyther. However, its atrocious bulk leaves it taking heavy damage from almost every attack and OHKOed by any STAB Earthquake. While Pikachu is very powerful, it can fail to significantly damage threats like Hypno, Chansey, and Ampharos, which can threaten it in return. It faces competition from other, more reliable Electric-types such as Electabuzz, which has much better bulk and Speed. Pikachu‘s reliance on Light Ball also means Thief completely ruins it, and, while its Speed is good, it's slower than threats like Dodrio, Scyther, and Haunter. Pikachu is inconsistent, but it is still capable of destroying teams.

[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Thunderbolt / Thunder
move 3: Surf
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Swagger / Sing
item: Light Ball

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Substitute makes use of Pikachu's good Speed and punishes foes for using Sleep Talk or trying to pivot around Pikachu's attacks. Thunderbolt gives consistent damage and threatens Flying- and Water-types such as Scyther, Slowbro, Slowking, Blastoise, and Qwilfish. Alternatively, Thunder is incredibly powerful and has a chance to OHKO Slowbro, 2HKO Mr. Mime, and even 2HKO Hypno after Spikes, but its lower accuracy combined with Pikachu's fragility makes it quite risky. Surf crucially 2HKOes the very common Nidoqueen as well as Piloswine and Sandslash, three usually big roadblocks for Electric-types. Hidden Power Ice hits Grass-types such as Bellossom, Victreebel, and Vileplume, which otherwise wall Pikachu. Swagger synergizes very well with Substitute and other status conditions from teammates, letting Pikachu potentially break through certain foes it normally struggles to. Sing is also an option, and it can be game changing if it hits a foe such as Chansey or Quagsire, but it does have very poor accuracy. Pikachu is tough to switch in, often requiring carefully switching in on double switches or non-attacking moves.

Team Options
========
Pikachu is generally tough to fit onto teams due to its flaws and inability to break through certain foes. Its best fit is on offensive teams. Nidoqueen is a very good partner for Pikachu, as it can switch into and threaten most of Pikachu's usual checks such as Chansey and Ampharos, while Pikachu can threaten Water-types that trouble Nidoqueen. Spikes support from Qwilfish is also very useful, maximizing the pressure Pikachu exerts. Other powerful offensive Pokemon such as Scyther, Mr. Mime, and Haunter work with Pikachu to overwhelm opponents and fit well on offensive teams. In addition, Mr. Mime can cripple one of Pikachu's answers with Thief or Hypnosis, while Haunter can remove one of Pikachu's checks with Explosion. Rapid Spin support from Blastoise or Graveler is useful for removing Spikes, seeing as Pikachu can't hold Leftovers and will get worn down quickly by Substitute. Light Screen and Reflect support brings Pikachu into battle more easily, so Pokemon such as Hypno work well with it. Pikachu's bulk means it's not a good option for switching into STAB Surf from Water-types, so Pokemon that can come in and threaten them such as Mr. Mime, Ampharos, and Bellossom make good choices.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Encore is a very useful option for stopping setup sweepers and providing useful utility in general with Pikachu's good Speed, but it is unfortunately illegal with both Surf and Substitute. Pikachu can change its Hidden Power type, with Hidden Power Fire hitting Magneton hard and Hidden Power Grass OHKOing Quagsire, but these are usually less useful than Hidden Power Ice due to lower DVs and losing out on heavy damage against Gligar and Jumpluff. Thunder Wave can be used to spread paralysis, but Pikachu should largely be used to attack, and you're better off using a better paralysis spreader such as Jumpluff or Hypno. Pikachu can run Attract over Swagger; it should change its gender to female, since most Pokemon are male for higher Attack DVs. Unfortunately, this makes Attract fail against Nidoqueen and Chansey.

Checks and Counters
===================
**Ampharos**: Ampharos completely walls Pikachu thanks to its resistance to Thunder and great bulk, and it's also able to set up Light Screen for its teammates to switch into Pikachu more easily. It also runs RestTalk most of the time, meaning Sing won't do much to it.

**Specially Bulky Pokemon**: Chansey's huge special bulk makes it a very reliable Pikachu answer, and it can threaten Pikachu with Present. Chansey does have to be careful of a potential Sing, though. Hypno has a low chance of being 3HKOed by Pikachu's Thunderbolt, and it can either set up Light Screen or cripple Pikachu with Thunder Wave. Hypno is potentially 2HKOed by Thunder after Spikes, though, and Pikachu can break through variants without RestTalk.

**Ground-types**: Quagsire solidly checks Pikachu as long as it's not running the uncommon Hidden Power Grass, since Quagsire is a Ground-type not weak to Surf and OHKOes Pikachu in return. However, it is crippled by Sing. Nidoqueen, Sandslash, and Piloswine are also able to pivot in and OHKO Pikachu with Earthquake, but they are all 2HKOed by Surf. Generally, Ground-types don't have the longevity to check Pikachu long term with Spikes up.

**Grass-types**: Bellossom, Vileplume, and Victreebel resist Thunder and Surf and can threaten Pikachu with status and their attacks, but they are shaky checks due to their weakness to Hidden Power Ice. Jumpluff can ruin Pikachu with paralysis or sleep and use Encore to disrupt it before and after it uses Substitute, but it's hit very hard in return and is less consistent at switching in than other Grass-types.

**Thief**: Pikachu relies entirely on Light Ball to be viable, so Thief from Pokemon such as Mr. Mime, Scyther, and Electabuzz invalidates it.

**Faster Pokemon**: Pokemon such as Dodrio, Scyther, and Haunter don't want to switch into Pikachu, but they make effective revenge killers. Dodrio almost OHKOes Pikachu with Double-Edge, Scyther deals heavy damage with Hidden Power Ground, and Haunter can hit hard with Psychic while also threatening an OHKO with Explosion, or Destiny Bond if Pikachu is behind a Substitute. Electrode and Electabuzz resist Pikachu's Electric-type attacks and threaten it in return, with Electrode notably being able to set up Light Screen and threaten an OHKO with Explosion.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Holly, 508601]]
- Quality checked by: [[Earthworm, 12510], [Century Express, 234737]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [CryoGyro, 331519]]

 

[Century Express]

Hide

[OVERVIEW]

Pikachu is the mascot of Pokemon as well the mascot of glass cannons. With Light Ball, Pikachu has an incredibly high Special Attack of 396, which makes it a difficult Pokemon to wall for most of the tier. Few Pokemon on traditional offense teams are able to reliably switch into it. It threatens the tiers numerous Water- and Flying-types with its STAB Electric-moves, and unlike other Electric-types like Ampharos, it has Surf to 2HKO Ground-types like Nidoqueen and Piloswine. Pikachu’s Speed is quite good too, outspeeding threats such as Qwilfish, Kabutops, and Gyarados, while speed tying with Mr. Mime. Pikachu is not without major downsides, though, as its bulk is atrocious and leaves it almost OHKOd by a vast majority of the tier. While Pikachu is very powerful, it can fail to do much damage to threats like Hypno, Chansey, and Ampharos with Thunderbolt, all of whom can threaten it in return. It faces competition from other, more reliable Electric-types, such as Electabuzz who has much better bulk and Speed. Pikachu‘s reliance on Light Ball also means its completely ruined by Thief, and while its speed is good, its not able to outspeed threats like Dodrio, Scyther, and Haunter. Pikachu is inconsistent because of this, but in the right scenario, it is capable of destroying teams.

- Nailed it, brilliant Overview

[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Thunderbolt / Thunder
move 2: Surf
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Sing
move 4: Substitute
item: Light Ball

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Pikachu is a good user of Substitute, as its Speed is good while a good way of beating Pikachu being to pivot around its attacks. Thunderbolt is consistent damage and threatens Water-types such as Slowbro, Slowking, Blastoise, and Qwilfish, as well as Flying-types such as Scyther, while Surf crucially 2HKOs the very common Nidoqueen, who is a big roadblock for Electric-types Surf's super-effective damage against Piloswine and Sandslash should be highlighted here. Hidden Power Ice hits Grass-types such as Bellossom, Victreebel, and Vileplume, who otherwise wall Pikachu. Sing is also an option, and can be game changing if it hits a foe such as Nidoqueen, but it does have very poor accuracy i'd mention Sing mainly as a move to cripple Chansey and Quagsire, instead of Nidoqueen. Pikachu is tough to switch in, and often requires carefully switching in on double switches or non attacking moves to get in safely and cause some damage.

- As you noticed, I put Thunder as a slash, so in the Thunder(bolt) description, you can mention / compare mainly: Thunderbolt's higher accuracy and safe OHKO benchmarks against its super-effective targets, and Thunder's raw power against important targets (clean OHKO against Slowbro, 2HKO vs. Mr. Mime and 3HKO vs. Hypno). For this reason, I believe Thunder should be removed from OO.

- Substitute's purpose needs a description here. I'd highlight that Substitute facilitates prediction in advantageous match-ups, and provide more opportunities to take advantage of Sleep Talk users.

Team Options
========

Pikachu is generally tough to fit onto teams due to its flaws and inability to break through certain foes. Its best fit on hyper offense type teams (IMO i'd nitpick Offensive teams, instead of HO). Nidoqueen is a very good partner for Pikachu, as it can switch in and threaten most of Pikachu's usual checks such as Chansey and Ampharos, while in return Pikachu can threaten Water-types that trouble Nidoqueen. Spikes support from Qwilfish is also very useful, maximising pressure exerted from Pikachu. Other powerful offensive Pokemon such as Scyther, Mr. Mime, and Haunter make good partners, trying to overwhelm the opponents threats and fitting well on off teams. Rapid Spin support from Blastoise or Graveler is also useful for removing Spikes, seeing as Pikachu can’t hold Leftovers and will get worn down quickly, especially in conjunction with Substitute. Light Screen and Reflect support is also useful, as it allows Pikachu to come into battle easier, so Pokemon such as Hypno work well in this role. Pikachu’s bulk means its not a good option for switching into Water-types, so Pokemon that can come in and threaten them such as Mr. Mime, Ampharos, and Bellossom make good choices.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Encore is a very useful option for stopping setup sweepers and having useful utility in general with Pikachu’s good Speed, but it is unfortunately illegal with both Surf and Substitute, which will leave Pikachu worse off against Ground-types and not have the benefits of Sub. Thunder is an incredibly powerful option, notably having the chance to 2HKO Hypno after Spikes, but its lower accuracy combined with Pikachu's bulk make it very risky. Thunder Wave can be used to spread paralysis, but Pikachu should largely be used to attack, and your better off using a better paralysis spreader such as Jumpluff and Hypno. Pikachu could run a RestTalk set to shrug off status and have better longevity but will lose out on a crucial coverage move and Pikachu doesn’t really have the bulk to run RestTalk effectively. Looking good, but don't forget to mention HP Grass as an option to threathen Quagsire.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Ampharos**: Ampharos completely walls Pikachu thanks to its typing and great bulk, while also being able to setup Light Screen for its teammates to switch into Pikachu easier. I'd add more examples such as: Electric+resistance & enough bulk to consistently wall its coverage options, and its role as a Sleep Talk user, ensuring that Sing Pikachu won't get past through it.

**Specially Bulky Pokemon**: Chansey’s huge special bulk make it a very reliable Pikachu answer, while it can threaten Pikachu with Present. Chansey does have to be careful of a potential Sing, though. Hypno has a low chance of being 3HKOd by Pikachu's Thunderbolt, and can either setup Light Screen or cripple Pikachu with Thunder Wave. Hypno is potentially 2HKOd by Thunder after Spikes though, and variants without RestTalk are capable of being broken through.

**Ground-types**: Quagsire counters (i'd change this part to a check or hard check - Quagsire loses a lot of momentum if Sing hits, and it can technically lose depending of the amount of Sleep turns) Pikachu as long as its not running the uncommon Hidden Power Grass due to being a Ground-type not weak to Surf while OHKOing Pikachu in return. Nidoqueen and Piloswine are also fine checks, but they are both 2HKOd by Surf. Nidoqueen can also be potentially ruined by Sing. Don't forget to mention Sandslash as a check too - I think it's worth to mention that all of the Ground-types don't have enough longevity to check Pikachu consistently, especially with Spikes support.

**Thief**: Pikachu relies entirely on Light Ball to be viable, and if its stolen by Thief from Pokemon such as Mr. Mime, Scyther, or Electabuzz. then Pikachu loses essentially all of its attacking power and use in general. Oh yeah, give a special emphasis to Electabuzz, since it resists Pikachu's main STAB, and it's not weak against any Pikachu's coverage options.

**Faster Pokemon**: Pokemon such as Dodrio, Scyther, and Haunter don’t want to switch into Pikachu, but make effective revenge killers. Dodrio almost OHKOs Pikachu with Double-Edge, Scyther deals heavy damage with Hidden Power Ground, and Haunter can Thief Pikachu, or hit hard with Psychic. Mention Electrode here, it resists Pikachu's main STAB, can use Light Screen to tank Pikachu's powerful moves, and Explosion to reliably OHKO it.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Reeece, 508601]]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]][/]

 

[Earthworm]

Swagger certainly deserves a spot in OO at least, and I would argue that it deserves a slash with Sing and HP Ice. It functions quite similarly to Sing in that it offers Pikachu an opportunity to bypass foes that should normally beat it by stopping them from attacking. I was thinking about suggesting Attract too, but given that two of the Pokemon you might want to use it against are 100% female and many others will be male, I'm a bit sceptical about it. Swagger's probably better.

Sing has 55 acc and only works against unstatused foes (you can't sleep a sleeping RestTalk Hypno or a paralysed Chansey, for example). The chance of it succeeding against these foes is 55% on a given turn. If they predict it and switch and it hits, you can't use it again due to Sleep Clause. Swagger has 90 acc and prevents foes from attacking 50% of the time, giving it a 45% chance of working. However, it synergises extremely well with Substitute and existing status inflictions, meaning it is much better at helping Pikachu beat RestTalk users for example.

I personally prefer Swagger over Sing because of the very good synergy with paralysis and the matchup against RestTalkers. Not sure how everyone else feels about it though, so I will concede if others prefer to list the other moves first.

HP Fire's probably worth an OO mention for the extra damage against Mag. Losing the massive damage against Jumpluff admittedly sucks, though.

Grass-types probably should be mentioned in checks & counters, even if they're shaky.

 

[Century Express]

I didn't thought about Swagger from this viewpoint (e: abusing multiple 50% + 33% / 66% odds, especially with Substitute) depending of the Sleep Talker of choice. Gotta admit the few times when I faced this Pikachu variant, I always felt like it was a legitimate threat. I think the 3rd slot choice is fine any of with any of: HP Ice / Sing / Swagger or HP Ice / Swagger / Sing. Personally, I think HP Ice is alright as the 1st slot. Sing and Swagger probably belong in the same level, mainly because both have a higher amount of risk / reward, as opposed to HP Ice's consistency vs. Bellossom and extra damage vs. Jumpluff.

I see Attract as an OO, for similiar reasons mentioned in your post - the main issue probably lies in the opponent's preferences, like using Male Pokémon with 0 Atk Effort points on purpose to bluff the possibility of a Physical moveset (e: Curse Hypno, SD Bellossom) thus invalidating Attract's consistency; at least Sing and Swagger hit a wider range or targets.

 

[Earthworm]

Nice job with this, looking good, just a few minor nitpicks.

[OVERVIEW]
Pikachu is not without major downsides, though, as its bulk is atrocious and leaves it almost OHKOd by a vast majority of the tier.

I think this is slightly off. Pikachu is usually bulky enough to withstand one hit from things that don't have Earthquake or a very powerful physical STAB attack.

I think it ought to be mentioned that Pikachu is one of the scariest Pokemon in the game to give free turns to (second to Scyther maybe), and that it is at its strongest when it can threaten a KO on an important foe, as this causes the opponent to make a difficult decision (risk Pikachu using Substitute and getting two powerful hits off against a teammate, or attack to prevent Pikachu from getting a Substitute but potentially sacrificing the important Pokemon). This could go in the overview or the set description.

Team Options
========
Other powerful offensive Pokemon such as Scyther, Mr. Mime, and Haunter make good partners, trying to overwhelm the opponents threats and fitting well on off teams.

Some more detail here about how Mr. Mime can cripple Pikachu's checks and Haunter can take them down with Explosion would be good.

Pikachu’s bulk means its not a good option for switching into Water-types, so Pokemon that can come in and threaten them such as Mr. Mime, Ampharos, and Bellossom make good choices.

Maybe slightly adjust this to say "STAB Surf from Water-types".

I also recommend mentioning paralysis support in the team options section (e.g. Hypno and Mr. Mime).

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Pikachu can change up its Hidden Power type, with Hidden Power Fire hitting Magneton hard and Hidden Power Grass OHKOing Quagsire, but these are usually less useful than Hidden Power Ice.

It would be a good idea to specify why Hidden Power Ice is preferred (minimal DV loss, heavy damage against Jumpluff / Gligar).

Attract works similar to Swagger, but is largely inferior considering it only really works on Nidoqueen and Chansey.

The point of Attract would be to change Pikachu's gender to Female, which it can do without much cost because it has no physical attacks and doesn't need Hidden Power that badly (and switching to female only requires an Attack DV reduction). The fact it can't use Attract against these always-female foes is problematic though.

Pikachu could run a RestTalk set to shrug off status and have better longevity but will lose out on a crucial coverage move and Pikachu doesn’t really have the bulk to run RestTalk effectively.

Have you tried this? Curious about how well it will work. I'm guessing not well since Hypno can 2HKO it with Psychic...

Checks and Counters
===================
**Ground-types**: Quagsire hard checks Pikachu as long as its not running the uncommon Hidden Power Grass due to being a Ground-type not weak to Surf while OHKOing Pikachu in return. However, it is crippled by Sing. Nidoqueen, Sandslash, and Piloswine are also fine checks, but they are all 2HKOd by Surf. Generally, Ground-types don’t have the longevity to check Pikachu in the long term with Spikes up.

I'm not sure if I would call any of these last three "fine checks". It may be better to say they can pivot into Electric-type moves, survive one Surf, and OHKO Pikachu in return. Pikachu runs Substitute to punish these antics though.

QC 1/2 when done.

 

[Century Express]

On C&C, i'd just make these descriptions a little more detailed:

Hide

Grass-types: Victreebel and Bellossom's descriptions are very accurate, but Jumpluff's descriptions should be a bit more detailed in my eyes. I'd give more details about Jumpluff's pros & cons - superior Speed and access to disrupting moves are obviously Jumpluff's best traits (plus, Sleep / Stun and Encore are very useful to disrupt Pikachu before and after a Substitute, respectively), but it's not a consistent switch-in against Pikachu's main STAB, as opposed to other Grass-types.

Thief: On a second thought, i think it's better to move Electabuzz's extra description to Faster Pokémon.*

Faster Pokémon: We should try to remove every Thief reference here, to avoid redundancy*. Scyther and Dodrio descriptions are alright, but Haunter's description should have more details (Haunter's Explosion's safe OHKO against Pikachu deserve a mention, and so does Destiny Bond, as a emmergency move against a Pikachu behind a Substitute). Electabuzz's details should stay close as possible to Electrode's description, because unlike the aforementioned examples, these Pokémon actually are decent Pikachu switch-ins.

* There are a few cases where Thief / Faster Pokémon have the same examples (e: Electabuzz, Haunter, Scyther are appropriate Pokémon for both criteria). I believe we should try to keep Thief's descriptions simple as possible (just like you did!), and save the details on Faster Pokémon, and that's why I believe Electabuzz's reference should be more appropriate here.

I'll give another quick check, and try QC this analysis ASAP, after you implement these changes.

 

[dawnbuster]

Oops forgot to post here I implemented both changes yesterday but I implemented both posts.

 

[Century Express]

Awesome!

QC 2/2

 

[Adeleine]

Add/Fix Remove Comment
(AC)/(RC): Add/Remove Comma

Hide

[OVERVIEW]

Pikachu is the mascot of Pokemon as well the mascot of glass cannons. With Light Ball, Pikachu has an incredibly high Special Attack of 396, which makes it a difficult Pokemon to wall for most of the tier. Few Pokemon on traditional offense teams are able to reliably switch into it. It threatens the tier's (added apostrophe) numerous Water- and Flying-types with its STAB Electric-type moves, and, (AC) unlike other Electric-types like Ampharos, it has Surf to 2HKO Ground-types like Nidoqueen and Piloswine. Pikachu’s Speed is quite good too, outspeeding surpassing threats such as Qwilfish, Kabutops, and Gyarados (RC) while speed tying with Mr. Mime. As a result, Pikachu is one of the scariest Pokemon to give free turns to in GSC UU, possibly only being outdone in this regard by the dominant Scyther. Pikachu is not without major downsides, though, as its bulk is atrocious and However, its atrocious bulk leaves it taking heavy damage from almost every attack and OHKOed by most STAB Earthquakes. While Pikachu is very powerful, it can fail to do much damage to threats like Hypno, Chansey, and Ampharos with Thunderbolt, (either just delete or do "with its attacks", whichever is more appropriate) all of whom which can threaten it in return. It faces competition from other, more reliable Electric-types (RC) such as Electabuzz, (AC) who which has much better bulk and Speed. Pikachu‘s reliance on Light Ball also means its completely ruined by Thief, and Thief completely ruins it, and, while its Speed is good, it's (added apostrophe) not able to outspeed threats like Dodrio, Scyther, and Haunter. Pikachu is inconsistent because of this, but in the right scenario, it is still capable of destroying teams.

[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Substitute (moved sub up to slot 1 bc you name the set after it and you discuss it first in set description. you can keep it at slot 4 if you want, but you'll have to move the set description commentary on substitute near the bottom.)
move 2: Thunderbolt / Thunder
move 3: Surf
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Swagger / Sing
item: Light Ball

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Pikachu is a good user of Substitute, as its Speed is good, (AC) while and a good way of beating Pikachu being is to pivot around its attacks. Substitute also takes advantage of Sleep Talk users. (the "facilitates prediction" part of this moved sentence may already be covered by the earlier stuff about sub helping pikachu's weakness to pivoting around its attacks. That's why i didn't include that part. However, feel free to re-include or tinker it if desired.) Thunderbolt is gives consistent damage and threatens Water-types such as Slowbro, Slowking, Blastoise, and Qwilfish, as well as Flying-types such as Scyther. Alternatively, Thunder is an incredibly powerful option (RC) notably having the that notably has a chance to OHKO Slowbro, 2HKO Mr. Mime, and even potentially 2HKO Hypno after Spikes, but its lower accuracy combined with Pikachu's bulk makes it quite risky compared to Thunderbolt. Surf crucially 2HKOes the very common Nidoqueen as well as Piloswine and Sandslash, two (just to make sure, you didn't mean "three" by chance to reference nidoqueen as well?) usually big roadblocks for Electric-types. Hidden Power Ice hits Grass-types such as Bellossom, Victreebel, and Vileplume, who which otherwise wall Pikachu. Swagger synergies synergizes very well with Substitute and other status conditions from teammates, (slight clarity i assume is correct?) letting Pikachu potentially break through certain foes. Sing is also an option, and it can be game changing if it hits a foe such as Chansey or Quagsire, (AC) but it does have very poor accuracy. Substitute facilitates prediction and can take advantage of Sleep Talking opponents. Pikachu is tough to switch in, and it often requires carefully switching in on double switches or non-attacking (added hyphen) moves to get it in safely and cause some damage.

Team Options
========

Pikachu is generally tough to fit onto teams due to its flaws frailty (I imagine this is what you mean? lmk or change if this feels inadequate) and inability to break through certain foes. Its best fit is on offensive type teams. Nidoqueen is a very good partner for Pikachu, as it can switch into and threaten most of Pikachu's usual checks such as Chansey and Ampharos, while in return Pikachu can threaten Water-types that trouble Nidoqueen. Spikes support from Qwilfish is also very useful, maximising pressure exerted from Pikachu. maximizing the pressure Pikachu exerts. Other powerful offensive Pokemon such as Scyther, Mr. Mime, and Haunter make good partners, trying to overwhelm the opponents threats and fitting well on off teams. work with Pikachu to overwhelm opponents and also fit well on offensive teams. (I imagine "work with Pikachu" is right?) In addition, Mr. (added period) Mime can cripple one of Pikachu's answers with Thief or Hypnosis, (AC) while Haunter can remove one of Pikachu's checks with Explosion. Rapid Spin support from Blastoise or Graveler is also useful for removing Spikes, seeing as Pikachu can’t hold Leftovers and will get worn down quickly, especially in conjunction with Substitute. Light Screen and Reflect support is also useful (RC) as it allows Pikachu to come to bring Pikachu into battle easier, more easily. so Pokemon such as Hypno work well in this role. with it. Pikachu’s bulk means it's (added apostrophe) not a good option for switching into STAB Surf from Water-types, so Pokemon that can come in and threaten them such as Mr. Mime, Ampharos, and Bellossom make good choices.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Encore is a very useful option for stopping setup sweepers and having providing useful utility in general with Pikachu’s good Speed, but it is unfortunately illegal with both Surf and Substitute, which will leave Pikachu worse off against Ground-types and not have the benefits of Substitute. Pikachu can change up its Hidden Power type, with Hidden Power Fire hitting Magneton hard and Hidden Power Grass OHKOing Quagsire, but these are usually less useful than Hidden Power Ice due to lower DVs and losing out on heavy damage against Gligar and Jumpluff. Thunder Wave can be used to spread paralysis, but Pikachu should largely be used to attack, and your you're better off using a better paralysis spreader such as Jumpluff and or Hypno. Pikachu can change its gender to Female and run Attract over Swagger, although it fails against Nidoqueen and Chansey, two Pokemon Attract would be useful vs. run Attract over Swagger; it should change its gender to female, since most Pokemon are male for higher Attack DVs. Unfortunately, this makes Attract fail against Nidoqueen and Chansey, two Pokemon it would be useful versus. (after talking with earthworm, added a bit more clarity)

Checks and Counters
===================

**Ampharos**: Ampharos completely walls Pikachu thanks to its Electric-typing resisting resistance to Thunder and great bulk, while also being and it's also able to set up (was "setup") Light Screen for its teammates to switch into Pikachu easier. more easily. It also runs RestTalk most of the time, meaning Sing won’t do much to it.

**Specially Bulky Pokemon**: Chansey’s huge special bulk makes it a very reliable Pikachu answer, while and it can threaten Pikachu with Present. Chansey does have to be careful of a potential Sing, though. Hypno has a low chance of being 3HKOed by Pikachu's Thunderbolt, and it can either set up (was "setup") Light Screen or cripple Pikachu with Thunder Wave. Hypno is potentially 2HKOed by Thunder after Spikes, (AC) though, and Pikachu can break through variants without RestTalk are capable of being broken through.

**Ground-types**: Quagsire hard checks Pikachu as long as it's (added apostrophe) not running the uncommon Hidden Power Grass, (AC) due to being since Quagsire is a Ground-type not weak to Surf while OHKOing and OHKOes Pikachu in return. However, it is crippled by Sing. Nidoqueen, Sandslash, and Piloswine are also able to pivot in and OHKO Pikachu with Earthquake, but they are all 2HKOed by Surf. Generally, Ground-types don’t have the longevity to check Pikachu in the long term with Spikes up.

**Grass-types**: Bellossom, Vileplume, and Victreebel resist Thunder and Surf and can threaten Pikachu with status and their attacks, but they are shaky checks due to their weakness to Hidden Power Ice. Jumpluff can ruin Pikachu with paralysis or sleep and use Encore to disrupt it before and after a it uses Substitute, but it's (added apostrophe) hit very hard by Pikachu in return and less consistent at switching in than other Grass-types.

**Thief**: Pikachu relies entirely on Light Ball to be viable, and if its stolen by so Thief from Pokemon such as Mr. Mime, Scyther, or Electabuzz. then Pikachu loses essentially all of its attacking power and use in general. and Electabuzz immediately removes its usefulness.

**Faster Pokemon**: Pokemon such as Dodrio, Scyther, and Haunter don’t want to switch into Pikachu, but they make effective revenge killers. Dodrio almost OHKOes Pikachu with Double-Edge, Scyther deals heavy damage with Hidden Power Ground, and Haunter can hit hard with Psychic while also threatening an OHKO with Explosion, (AC) or Destiny Bond if Pikachu is behind a Substitute. Lastly, Electrode and Electabuzz resist Pikachu's Electric-type attacks and threaten it in return, with Electrode notably being able to set up (was "setup") Light Screen and threaten an OHKO with Explosion.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Reeece, 508601]]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [, ]]

1/2

 

[dawnbuster]

Add/Fix Remove Comment
(AC)/(RC): Add/Remove Comma

Hide

[OVERVIEW]

Pikachu is the mascot of Pokemon as well the mascot of glass cannons. With Light Ball, Pikachu has an incredibly high Special Attack of 396, which makes it a difficult Pokemon to wall for most of the tier. Few Pokemon on traditional offense teams are able to reliably switch into it. It threatens the tier's (added apostrophe) numerous Water- and Flying-types with its STAB Electric-type moves, and, (AC) unlike other Electric-types like Ampharos, it has Surf to 2HKO Ground-types like Nidoqueen and Piloswine. Pikachu’s Speed is quite good too, outspeeding surpassing threats such as Qwilfish, Kabutops, and Gyarados (RC) while speed tying with Mr. Mime. As a result, Pikachu is one of the scariest Pokemon to give free turns to in GSC UU, possibly only being outdone in this regard by the dominant Scyther. Pikachu is not without major downsides, though, as its bulk is atrocious and However, its atrocious bulk leaves it taking heavy damage from almost every attack and OHKOed by most STAB Earthquakes. While Pikachu is very powerful, it can fail to do much damage to threats like Hypno, Chansey, and Ampharos with Thunderbolt, (either just delete or do "with its attacks", whichever is more appropriate) all of whom which can threaten it in return. It faces competition from other, more reliable Electric-types (RC) such as Electabuzz, (AC) who which has much better bulk and Speed. Pikachu‘s reliance on Light Ball also means its completely ruined by Thief, and Thief completely ruins it, and, while its Speed is good, it's (added apostrophe) not able to outspeed threats like Dodrio, Scyther, and Haunter. Pikachu is inconsistent because of this, but in the right scenario, it is still capable of destroying teams.

[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Substitute (moved sub up to slot 1 bc you name the set after it and you discuss it first in set description. you can keep it at slot 4 if you want, but you'll have to move the set description commentary on substitute near the bottom.)
move 2: Thunderbolt / Thunder
move 3: Surf
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Swagger / Sing
item: Light Ball

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Pikachu is a good user of Substitute, as its Speed is good, (AC) while and a good way of beating Pikachu being is to pivot around its attacks. Substitute also takes advantage of Sleep Talk users. (the "facilitates prediction" part of this moved sentence may already be covered by the earlier stuff about sub helping pikachu's weakness to pivoting around its attacks. That's why i didn't include that part. However, feel free to re-include or tinker it if desired.) Thunderbolt is gives consistent damage and threatens Water-types such as Slowbro, Slowking, Blastoise, and Qwilfish, as well as Flying-types such as Scyther. Alternatively, Thunder is an incredibly powerful option (RC) notably having the that notably has a chance to OHKO Slowbro, 2HKO Mr. Mime, and even potentially 2HKO Hypno after Spikes, but its lower accuracy combined with Pikachu's bulk makes it quite risky compared to Thunderbolt. Surf crucially 2HKOes the very common Nidoqueen as well as Piloswine and Sandslash, two (just to make sure, you didn't mean "three" by chance to reference nidoqueen as well?) usually big roadblocks for Electric-types. Hidden Power Ice hits Grass-types such as Bellossom, Victreebel, and Vileplume, who which otherwise wall Pikachu. Swagger synergies synergizes very well with Substitute and other status conditions from teammates, (slight clarity i assume is correct?) letting Pikachu potentially break through certain foes. Sing is also an option, and it can be game changing if it hits a foe such as Chansey or Quagsire, (AC) but it does have very poor accuracy. Substitute facilitates prediction and can take advantage of Sleep Talking opponents. Pikachu is tough to switch in, and it often requires carefully switching in on double switches or non-attacking (added hyphen) moves to get it in safely and cause some damage.

Team Options
========

Pikachu is generally tough to fit onto teams due to its flaws frailty (I imagine this is what you mean? lmk or change if this feels inadequate) and inability to break through certain foes. Its best fit is on offensive type teams. Nidoqueen is a very good partner for Pikachu, as it can switch into and threaten most of Pikachu's usual checks such as Chansey and Ampharos, while in return Pikachu can threaten Water-types that trouble Nidoqueen. Spikes support from Qwilfish is also very useful, maximising pressure exerted from Pikachu. maximizing the pressure Pikachu exerts. Other powerful offensive Pokemon such as Scyther, Mr. Mime, and Haunter make good partners, trying to overwhelm the opponents threats and fitting well on off teams. work with Pikachu to overwhelm opponents and also fit well on offensive teams. (I imagine "work with Pikachu" is right?) In addition, Mr. (added period) Mime can cripple one of Pikachu's answers with Thief or Hypnosis, (AC) while Haunter can remove one of Pikachu's checks with Explosion. Rapid Spin support from Blastoise or Graveler is also useful for removing Spikes, seeing as Pikachu can’t hold Leftovers and will get worn down quickly, especially in conjunction with Substitute. Light Screen and Reflect support is also useful (RC) as it allows Pikachu to come to bring Pikachu into battle easier, more easily. so Pokemon such as Hypno work well in this role. with it. Pikachu’s bulk means it's (added apostrophe) not a good option for switching into STAB Surf from Water-types, so Pokemon that can come in and threaten them such as Mr. Mime, Ampharos, and Bellossom make good choices.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Encore is a very useful option for stopping setup sweepers and having providing useful utility in general with Pikachu’s good Speed, but it is unfortunately illegal with both Surf and Substitute, which will leave Pikachu worse off against Ground-types and not have the benefits of Substitute. Pikachu can change up its Hidden Power type, with Hidden Power Fire hitting Magneton hard and Hidden Power Grass OHKOing Quagsire, but these are usually less useful than Hidden Power Ice due to lower DVs and losing out on heavy damage against Gligar and Jumpluff. Thunder Wave can be used to spread paralysis, but Pikachu should largely be used to attack, and your you're better off using a better paralysis spreader such as Jumpluff and or Hypno. Pikachu can change its gender to Female and run Attract over Swagger, although it fails against Nidoqueen and Chansey, two Pokemon Attract would be useful vs. run Attract over Swagger; it should change its gender to female, since most Pokemon are male for higher Attack DVs. Unfortunately, this makes Attract fail against Nidoqueen and Chansey, two Pokemon it would be useful versus. (after talking with earthworm, added a bit more clarity)

Checks and Counters
===================

**Ampharos**: Ampharos completely walls Pikachu thanks to its Electric-typing resisting resistance to Thunder and great bulk, while also being and it's also able to set up (was "setup") Light Screen for its teammates to switch into Pikachu easier. more easily. It also runs RestTalk most of the time, meaning Sing won’t do much to it.

**Specially Bulky Pokemon**: Chansey’s huge special bulk makes it a very reliable Pikachu answer, while and it can threaten Pikachu with Present. Chansey does have to be careful of a potential Sing, though. Hypno has a low chance of being 3HKOed by Pikachu's Thunderbolt, and it can either set up (was "setup") Light Screen or cripple Pikachu with Thunder Wave. Hypno is potentially 2HKOed by Thunder after Spikes, (AC) though, and Pikachu can break through variants without RestTalk are capable of being broken through.

**Ground-types**: Quagsire hard checks Pikachu as long as it's (added apostrophe) not running the uncommon Hidden Power Grass, (AC) due to being since Quagsire is a Ground-type not weak to Surf while OHKOing and OHKOes Pikachu in return. However, it is crippled by Sing. Nidoqueen, Sandslash, and Piloswine are also able to pivot in and OHKO Pikachu with Earthquake, but they are all 2HKOed by Surf. Generally, Ground-types don’t have the longevity to check Pikachu in the long term with Spikes up.

**Grass-types**: Bellossom, Vileplume, and Victreebel resist Thunder and Surf and can threaten Pikachu with status and their attacks, but they are shaky checks due to their weakness to Hidden Power Ice. Jumpluff can ruin Pikachu with paralysis or sleep and use Encore to disrupt it before and after a it uses Substitute, but it's (added apostrophe) hit very hard by Pikachu in return and less consistent at switching in than other Grass-types.

**Thief**: Pikachu relies entirely on Light Ball to be viable, and if its stolen by so Thief from Pokemon such as Mr. Mime, Scyther, or Electabuzz. then Pikachu loses essentially all of its attacking power and use in general. and Electabuzz immediately removes its usefulness.

**Faster Pokemon**: Pokemon such as Dodrio, Scyther, and Haunter don’t want to switch into Pikachu, but they make effective revenge killers. Dodrio almost OHKOes Pikachu with Double-Edge, Scyther deals heavy damage with Hidden Power Ground, and Haunter can hit hard with Psychic while also threatening an OHKO with Explosion, (AC) or Destiny Bond if Pikachu is behind a Substitute. Lastly, Electrode and Electabuzz resist Pikachu's Electric-type attacks and threaten it in return, with Electrode notably being able to set up (was "setup") Light Screen and threaten an OHKO with Explosion.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Reeece, 508601]]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [, ]]

View attachment 3630151/2

Oh and ALSO implemented this, ready for second GP!

 

[CryoGyro]

GP 2/2

Hide

[OVERVIEW]

Pikachu is the mascot of Pokemon as well the mascot of glass cannons and glass cannons alike. With Light Ball, Pikachu has an incredibly high Special Attack of 396, which makes it a difficult Pokemon to wall for most of the tier. Few Pokemon it's difficult to wall; few Pokemon (raw stat numbers don't mean much if you aren't a total calc nerd) on traditional offense teams are able to reliably switch into it. It threatens the tier's numerous Water- and Flying-types with its STAB Electric-type moves, and, unlike other Electric-types like Ampharos, it has Surf to 2HKO Ground-types like Nidoqueen and Piloswine. Pikachu’s Speed is quite good too, surpassing threats such as Qwilfish, Kabutops, and Gyarados while speed tying with Mr. Mime. As a result, Pikachu is one of the scariest Pokemon to give free turns to in GSC UU, possibly only being outdone in this regard by the dominant Scyther. However, its atrocious bulk leaves it taking heavy damage from almost every attack and OHKOed by all STAB Earthquakes any STAB Earthquake. While Pikachu is very powerful, it can fail to do much damage to significantly damage threats like Hypno, Chansey, and Ampharos, all of which can threaten it in return. It faces competition from other, more reliable Electric-types such as Electabuzz, which has much better bulk and Speed. Pikachu‘s reliance on Light Ball also means Thief completely ruins it, and, while its Speed is good, it's not able to outspeed slower than threats like Dodrio, Scyther, and Haunter. Pikachu is inconsistent because of this, but it is still capable of destroying teams.

[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Thunderbolt / Thunder
move 3: Surf
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Swagger / Sing
item: Light Ball

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Pikachu is a good user of Substitute, as its Speed is good, and a good way of beating Pikachu is to pivot around its attacks. Substitute also takes advantage of Sleep Talk users. (is it a good way in the first place if sub is a staple move?) Substitute makes use of Pikachu's good Speed and punishes foes for using Sleep Talk or trying to pivot around Pikachu's attacks. Thunderbolt gives consistent damage and threatens Flying- and Water-types such as Scyther, Slowbro, Slowking, Blastoise, and Qwilfish, as well as Flying-types such as Scyther. Alternatively, Thunder is an incredibly powerful option that notably incredibly powerful and has a chance to OHKO Slowbro, 2HKO Mr. Mime, and even 2HKO Hypno after Spikes, but its lower accuracy combined with Pikachu's bulk frailty makes it quite risky. Surf crucially 2HKOes the very common Nidoqueen as well as Piloswine and Sandslash, three usually big roadblocks for Electric-types. Hidden Power Ice hits Grass-types such as Bellossom, Victreebel, and Vileplume, which otherwise wall Pikachu. Swagger synergizes very well with Substitute and other status conditions from teammates, letting Pikachu potentially break through certain foes. (such as?) Sing is also an option, and it can be game changing if it hits a foe such as Chansey or Quagsire, but it does have very poor accuracy. Pikachu is tough to switch in, and it often requires requiring carefully switching in on double switches or non-attacking moves to get it in safely and cause some damage.

Team Options
========

Pikachu is generally tough to fit onto teams due to its flaws and inability to break through certain foes. Its best fit is on offensive teams. Nidoqueen is a very good partner for Pikachu, as it can switch into and threaten most of Pikachu's usual checks such as Chansey and Ampharos, while in return Pikachu can threaten Water-types that trouble Nidoqueen. Spikes support from Qwilfish is also very useful, maximizing the pressure Pikachu exerts. Other powerful offensive Pokemon such as Scyther, Mr. Mime, and Haunter work with Pikachu to overwhelm opponents and also fit well on offensive teams. In addition, Mr. Mime can cripple one of Pikachu's answers with Thief or Hypnosis, while Haunter can remove one of Pikachu's checks with Explosion. Rapid Spin support from Blastoise or Graveler is also useful for removing Spikes, seeing as Pikachu can’t hold Leftovers and will get worn down quickly, (comma) especially in conjunction with by Substitute. Light Screen and Reflect support is also useful to brings Pikachu into battle more easily. so Pokemon such as Hypno work well with it. Pikachu’s bulk means it's not a good option for switching into STAB Surf from Water-types, so Pokemon that can come in and threaten them such as Mr. Mime, Ampharos, and Bellossom make good choices.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Encore is a very useful option for stopping setup sweepers and providing useful utility in general with Pikachu’s good Speed, but it is unfortunately illegal with both Surf and Substitute. Pikachu can change up its Hidden Power type, with Hidden Power Fire hitting Magneton hard and Hidden Power Grass OHKOing Quagsire, but these are usually less useful than Hidden Power Ice due to lower DVs and losing out on heavy damage against Gligar and Jumpluff. Thunder Wave can be used to spread paralysis, but Pikachu should largely be used to attack, and you’re better off using a better paralysis spreader such as Jumpluff or Hypno. Pikachu can run Attract over Swagger; it should change its gender to female, since most Pokemon are male for higher Attack DVs. Unfortunately, this makes Attract fail against Nidoqueen and Chansey, two Pokemon it would be useful versus.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Ampharos**: Ampharos completely walls Pikachu thanks to its resistance to Thunder and great bulk, and it's also able to set up Light Screen for its teammates to switch into Pikachu more easily. It also runs RestTalk most of the time, meaning Sing won’t do much to it.

**Specially Bulky Pokemon**: Chansey’s huge special bulk makes it a very reliable Pikachu answer, and it can threaten Pikachu with Present. Chansey does have to be careful of a potential Sing, though. Hypno has a low chance of being 3HKOed by Pikachu's Thunderbolt, and it can either set up Light Screen or cripple Pikachu with Thunder Wave. Hypno is potentially 2HKOed by Thunder after Spikes, though, and Pikachu can break through variants without RestTalk.

**Ground-types**: Quagsire hard solidly checks Pikachu as long as it's not running the uncommon Hidden Power Grass, since Quagsire is a Ground-type not weak to Surf and OHKOes Pikachu in return. However, it is crippled by Sing. Nidoqueen, Sandslash, and Piloswine are also able to pivot in and OHKO Pikachu with Earthquake, but they are all 2HKOed by Surf. Generally, Ground-types don’t have the longevity to check Pikachu long term with Spikes up.

**Grass-types**: Bellossom, Vileplume, and Victreebel resist Thunder and Surf and can threaten Pikachu with status and their attacks, but they are shaky checks due to their weakness to Hidden Power Ice. Jumpluff can ruin Pikachu with paralysis or sleep and use Encore to disrupt it before and after it uses Substitute, but it's hit very hard by Pikachu in return and is less consistent at switching in than other Grass-types.

**Thief**: Pikachu relies entirely on Light Ball to be viable, so Thief from Pokemon such as Mr. Mime, Scyther, and Electabuzz immediately removes its usefulness invalidates it.

**Faster Pokemon**: Pokemon such as Dodrio, Scyther, and Haunter don’t want to switch into Pikachu, but they make effective revenge killers. Dodrio almost OHKOes Pikachu with Double-Edge, Scyther deals heavy damage with Hidden Power Ground, and Haunter can hit hard with Psychic while also threatening an OHKO with Explosion, or Destiny Bond if Pikachu is behind a Substitute. Lastly, Electrode and Electabuzz resist Pikachu's Electric-type attacks and threaten it in return, with Electrode notably being able to set up Light Screen and threaten an OHKO with Explosion.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Reeece, 508601]]
- Quality checked by: [[Earthworm, 12510], [Century Express, 234737]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [, ]]

 

[dawnbuster]

GP 2/2

Hide

[OVERVIEW]

Pikachu is the mascot of Pokemon as well the mascot of glass cannons and glass cannons alike. With Light Ball, Pikachu has an incredibly high Special Attack of 396, which makes it a difficult Pokemon to wall for most of the tier. Few Pokemon it's difficult to wall; few Pokemon (raw stat numbers don't mean much if you aren't a total calc nerd) on traditional offense teams are able to reliably switch into it. It threatens the tier's numerous Water- and Flying-types with its STAB Electric-type moves, and, unlike other Electric-types like Ampharos, it has Surf to 2HKO Ground-types like Nidoqueen and Piloswine. Pikachu’s Speed is quite good too, surpassing threats such as Qwilfish, Kabutops, and Gyarados while speed tying with Mr. Mime. As a result, Pikachu is one of the scariest Pokemon to give free turns to in GSC UU, possibly only being outdone in this regard by the dominant Scyther. However, its atrocious bulk leaves it taking heavy damage from almost every attack and OHKOed by all STAB Earthquakes any STAB Earthquake. While Pikachu is very powerful, it can fail to do much damage to significantly damage threats like Hypno, Chansey, and Ampharos, all of which can threaten it in return. It faces competition from other, more reliable Electric-types such as Electabuzz, which has much better bulk and Speed. Pikachu‘s reliance on Light Ball also means Thief completely ruins it, and, while its Speed is good, it's not able to outspeed slower than threats like Dodrio, Scyther, and Haunter. Pikachu is inconsistent because of this, but it is still capable of destroying teams.

[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Thunderbolt / Thunder
move 3: Surf
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Swagger / Sing
item: Light Ball

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Pikachu is a good user of Substitute, as its Speed is good, and a good way of beating Pikachu is to pivot around its attacks. Substitute also takes advantage of Sleep Talk users. (is it a good way in the first place if sub is a staple move?) Substitute makes use of Pikachu's good Speed and punishes foes for using Sleep Talk or trying to pivot around Pikachu's attacks. Thunderbolt gives consistent damage and threatens Flying- and Water-types such as Scyther, Slowbro, Slowking, Blastoise, and Qwilfish, as well as Flying-types such as Scyther. Alternatively, Thunder is an incredibly powerful option that notably incredibly powerful and has a chance to OHKO Slowbro, 2HKO Mr. Mime, and even 2HKO Hypno after Spikes, but its lower accuracy combined with Pikachu's bulk frailty makes it quite risky. Surf crucially 2HKOes the very common Nidoqueen as well as Piloswine and Sandslash, three usually big roadblocks for Electric-types. Hidden Power Ice hits Grass-types such as Bellossom, Victreebel, and Vileplume, which otherwise wall Pikachu. Swagger synergizes very well with Substitute and other status conditions from teammates, letting Pikachu potentially break through certain foes. (such as?) Sing is also an option, and it can be game changing if it hits a foe such as Chansey or Quagsire, but it does have very poor accuracy. Pikachu is tough to switch in, and it often requires requiring carefully switching in on double switches or non-attacking moves to get it in safely and cause some damage.

Team Options
========

Pikachu is generally tough to fit onto teams due to its flaws and inability to break through certain foes. Its best fit is on offensive teams. Nidoqueen is a very good partner for Pikachu, as it can switch into and threaten most of Pikachu's usual checks such as Chansey and Ampharos, while in return Pikachu can threaten Water-types that trouble Nidoqueen. Spikes support from Qwilfish is also very useful, maximizing the pressure Pikachu exerts. Other powerful offensive Pokemon such as Scyther, Mr. Mime, and Haunter work with Pikachu to overwhelm opponents and also fit well on offensive teams. In addition, Mr. Mime can cripple one of Pikachu's answers with Thief or Hypnosis, while Haunter can remove one of Pikachu's checks with Explosion. Rapid Spin support from Blastoise or Graveler is also useful for removing Spikes, seeing as Pikachu can’t hold Leftovers and will get worn down quickly, (comma) especially in conjunction with by Substitute. Light Screen and Reflect support is also useful to brings Pikachu into battle more easily. so Pokemon such as Hypno work well with it. Pikachu’s bulk means it's not a good option for switching into STAB Surf from Water-types, so Pokemon that can come in and threaten them such as Mr. Mime, Ampharos, and Bellossom make good choices.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Encore is a very useful option for stopping setup sweepers and providing useful utility in general with Pikachu’s good Speed, but it is unfortunately illegal with both Surf and Substitute. Pikachu can change up its Hidden Power type, with Hidden Power Fire hitting Magneton hard and Hidden Power Grass OHKOing Quagsire, but these are usually less useful than Hidden Power Ice due to lower DVs and losing out on heavy damage against Gligar and Jumpluff. Thunder Wave can be used to spread paralysis, but Pikachu should largely be used to attack, and you’re better off using a better paralysis spreader such as Jumpluff or Hypno. Pikachu can run Attract over Swagger; it should change its gender to female, since most Pokemon are male for higher Attack DVs. Unfortunately, this makes Attract fail against Nidoqueen and Chansey, two Pokemon it would be useful versus.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Ampharos**: Ampharos completely walls Pikachu thanks to its resistance to Thunder and great bulk, and it's also able to set up Light Screen for its teammates to switch into Pikachu more easily. It also runs RestTalk most of the time, meaning Sing won’t do much to it.

**Specially Bulky Pokemon**: Chansey’s huge special bulk makes it a very reliable Pikachu answer, and it can threaten Pikachu with Present. Chansey does have to be careful of a potential Sing, though. Hypno has a low chance of being 3HKOed by Pikachu's Thunderbolt, and it can either set up Light Screen or cripple Pikachu with Thunder Wave. Hypno is potentially 2HKOed by Thunder after Spikes, though, and Pikachu can break through variants without RestTalk.

**Ground-types**: Quagsire hard solidly checks Pikachu as long as it's not running the uncommon Hidden Power Grass, since Quagsire is a Ground-type not weak to Surf and OHKOes Pikachu in return. However, it is crippled by Sing. Nidoqueen, Sandslash, and Piloswine are also able to pivot in and OHKO Pikachu with Earthquake, but they are all 2HKOed by Surf. Generally, Ground-types don’t have the longevity to check Pikachu long term with Spikes up.

**Grass-types**: Bellossom, Vileplume, and Victreebel resist Thunder and Surf and can threaten Pikachu with status and their attacks, but they are shaky checks due to their weakness to Hidden Power Ice. Jumpluff can ruin Pikachu with paralysis or sleep and use Encore to disrupt it before and after it uses Substitute, but it's hit very hard by Pikachu in return and is less consistent at switching in than other Grass-types.

**Thief**: Pikachu relies entirely on Light Ball to be viable, so Thief from Pokemon such as Mr. Mime, Scyther, and Electabuzz immediately removes its usefulness invalidates it.

**Faster Pokemon**: Pokemon such as Dodrio, Scyther, and Haunter don’t want to switch into Pikachu, but they make effective revenge killers. Dodrio almost OHKOes Pikachu with Double-Edge, Scyther deals heavy damage with Hidden Power Ground, and Haunter can hit hard with Psychic while also threatening an OHKO with Explosion, or Destiny Bond if Pikachu is behind a Substitute. Lastly, Electrode and Electabuzz resist Pikachu's Electric-type attacks and threaten it in return, with Electrode notably being able to set up Light Screen and threaten an OHKO with Explosion.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Reeece, 508601]]
- Quality checked by: [[Earthworm, 12510], [Century Express, 234737]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [, ]]

Did, this is now ready for upload!

 

[Earthworm]

Uploaded.