Raichu

[OVERVIEW]

Raichu shines as one of the fastest Fake Out users in VGC, setting itself apart from other Fake Out users with the use of Encore. Raichu can use Fake Out and Encore to disrupt many of the opponent's potential plans to deal with it and its partner. Using Protect to avoid Fake Out will only put the opponent in a worse position thanks to Encore. Raichu's Lightning Rod can also patch up a teammate's Electric weakness extremely well. Almost any Electric-type is going have a hard time facing a team with Raichu around. However, Raichu is extremely is frail and relies on Focus Sash to keep itself in the battle. Because Raichu's frailness doesn't give it many turns to stay alive, each turn is crucial and the plays you make can determine the outcome of the battle. Raichu also faces stiff competition as an Electric-type from the other Pokemon such as Thundurus and Rotom-W.

[SET]
name: Encore Support
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Encore
move 3: Thunderbolt
move 4: Protect / Hidden Power Ice
item: Focus Sash
ability: Lightningrod
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Fake Out is a great move for giving Raichu's teammate a free turn. Raichu is an especially good user of Fake Out due to its high Speed, allowing it to outpace the most common Fake Out user, Mega Kangaskhan. It also outspeeds one of the most common Quick Guard users, Terrakion. Encore is a great move to disrupt foes and works very well in conjunction with Fake Out. Protect is used by many Pokemon in VGC and locking foes into Protect leaves the them useless until they switch out.

Thunderbolt is a powerful, reliable STAB attack with very good neutral coverage. Hidden Power Ice can be used as a secondary attack to hit Pokemon such as Salamence and Landorus-T.

Set Details
========

Maximum investment in Special Attack and Speed allows Raichu to hit as hard and as quickly as possible. Because Raichu is frail, Focus Sash allows it to survive a single powerful attack. Keep in mind that base 110 is a crowded Speed tier, so Raichu will face many speed ties against Pokemon such as Mega Metagross and Gengar. Lightning Rod can easily patch up a teammate's weakness to Electric-types, and it's also great for avoiding Thunder Wave and completely shutting down Thundurus, which is one of the most common Pokemon in VGC. Lightning Rod also makes Raichu's offensive presence much better when it is activated.

Usage Tips
========

Raichu works well as a lead. Fake Out can immediately start opening up opportunities for Raichu's teammate, giving it a free turn to use a form of speed control such as Tailwind or a setup move such as Dragon Dance. After using Fake Out, Encore should be used when possible. Any time the foe uses Protect, it should be punished with Encore, and if it switches, hit the switch-in with the appropriate attacking move.

Keep in mind your opponent will play cautiously around Raichu. Most players know that they won't be able to use Protect around Raichu or won't be able to keep their Pokemon in after using Protect. Try to predict them accordingly.

Team Options
========

Water-types make for great teammates because they appreciate Raichu's Lightning Rod support to nullify their Electric weakness. Raichu works well on rain teams to preserve Politoed. Gyarados can set up Dragon Dance easily with the help of Fake Out. Azumarill can find more opportunities to use Belly Drum with Raichu's Fake Out support as well. Suicune is another great partner, as it can deal with Landorus-T easily, which Raichu normally has trouble with. Suicune can also set up Tailwind easier with Fake Out support.

Mega Charizard Y is a good teammate that makes use of the Lightning Rod support to negate its weakness as well. Because Charizard forces a lot of foes to use Protect thanks to it's strong offensive presence, Raichu's Fake Out and Encore support works really well with Charizard.

Mega Gengar is a good teammate because it can trap foes and create a Disable and Encore combination with Raichu, forcing foes to struggle when locked into their moves. With Mega Gengar, Raichu can effectively use Volt Switch to help with the flow of Perish Trap teams.

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

Air Balloon can be used over Focus Sash to deal with Landorus-T a bit better; use Landorus-T as a partner too, as it can use Earthquake beside Raichu for a turn or two. However, it's often unreliable because it can be popped.

Safety Goggles can be used because Amoonguss can be a big threat to Raichu, as it can redirect Thunderbolt and tank the attack easily. Redirecting Encore can be troublesome for Raichu as well. Safety Goggles allows Raichu to improve its match-up against teams with Amoonguss tremendously. Losing Focus Sash is not good for Raichu, however, and Safety Goggles is useless against teams without Amoonguss.

Raichu has good support moves if you're willing to give up the move slot for one. All of these moves are useful, but you will often have to drop Protect or another important move. Feint is a good move to help avoid a lot of 50/50 situations, as normally you would have to play around the foe's Protect and guess what the right play to make would be, but with Feint, you can just break the foe's Protect. However, Raichu already has Encore to punish Protect users, so Feint is less useful and you would normally only use it against Pokemon that outspeed Raichu's Encore. Nuzzle bypasses taunt and is a good move for spreading paralysis. Helping Hand is good for giving Raichu's teammate a damage boost and potentially pick up a crucial OHKO.

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

**Landorus-T**: Landorus-T is immune to Raichu's STAB moves and Choice Scarf sets outspeed Raichu and can OHKO it or bring it to its Focus Sash with a STAB Earthquake. Fake Out helps somewhat, but Landorus doesn't care about Encore.

**Amoonguss**: Amoonguss can redirect Raichu's moves with Rage Powder. It can also put Raichu to sleep with Spore while it tries to use Encore on something else. Amoonguss also doesn't care too much if it's locked into Rage Powder.

**Taunt**: Pokemon with Taunt, most notably Thundurus, shut down Raichu's ability to use Encore. Without Encore, Raichu loses a lot of its usefulness and foes can use Protect without worry.

**Mega Kangaskhan**: Mega Kangaskhan can quickly OHKO Raichu through its Focus Sash. It often doesn't carry Protect, so Encore is not very useful against it. Most Mega Kangaskhan won't use Fake Out against Raichu because Raichu outspeeds Mega Kangaskhan anyway, and Encore will likely be coming their way the next turn.
 
Last edited:
Cool stuff. Just a few things I'd like changed:

  • Mention Suicune under Water-type teammates. It likes Lightning Rod, deals with Lando-T super well, and can use Raichu's Fake Out to get up Tailwind.
  • I'd like Helping Hand to get some mention in other options. If you want, you can condense it, Nuzzle, and Feint into a big "these are useful support options, but Raichu doesn't have the space" mention.

Once that's done, I'm happy with the content here. QC 1/2.
 
Cool stuff. Just a few things I'd like changed:

  • Mention Suicune under Water-type teammates. It likes Lightning Rod, deals with Lando-T super well, and can use Raichu's Fake Out to get up Tailwind.
  • I'd like Helping Hand to get some mention in other options. If you want, you can condense it, Nuzzle, and Feint into a big "these are useful support options, but Raichu doesn't have the space" mention.

Once that's done, I'm happy with the content here. QC 1/2.
Implemented, thanks!
 

Jio

God is Good
is a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
Make sure to emphasize how well Azumarill and Raichu work together due to Fake Out, Encore, Lightning Rod granting Azumarill free belly drums. Also make a small mention of Volt Switch on Raichu when paired with Mega Gengar as it helps the flow of the Perish Trap strategy.

Otherwise looks solid QC 2/2
 
Make sure to emphasize how well Azumarill and Raichu work together due to Fake Out, Encore, Lightning Rod granting Azumarill free belly drums. Also make a small mention of Volt Switch on Raichu when paired with Mega Gengar as it helps the flow of the Perish Trap strategy.

Otherwise looks solid QC 2/2
Added this as well, will start writing this up later tonight.
 

Empress

33% coffee / 33% alcohol / 34% estrogen
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Add
Remove

Comment

[OVERVIEW]

Raichu shines as one of the fastest Fake Out users. Raichu sets itself in VGC, setting itself apart from other Fake Out users with the use of Encore. Raichu uses can use Fake Out and Encore to disrupt many of the opponent'(apostrophe)s potential plans to deal with Raichu and your other pokemon Pokemon. Using Protecting to avoid Fake Outs will only put the opponent in a worse position thanks to Encore. Raichu's has a great ability to support teams as well. Lightning Rod can also patch up an electric a teammate's Electric weakness extremely well. Almost any electric Electric-type is going have a hard team facing a team with Raichu around. However, Raichu is extremely is frail and relies on Focus Sash to keep itself in the battle. Since Raichu's frailness doesn't allow you give it many turns to stay alive, each turn is crucial and the plays you make could cost you can determine the outcome of the battle. Raichu also faces stiff competition as an Electric-type from the other good pokemon like Pokemon such as Thundurus and Rotoms Rotom-W.

[SET]
name: Encore Support
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Encore
move 3: Thunderbolt
move 4: Protect / Hidden Power Ice
item: Focus Sash
ability: Lightningrod Rod (The Smogon dex still thinks it's spelled like this)
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Fake Out is a great move for giving your partner pokemon an easier Raichu's teammate a free turn. Raichu is an especially good user of Fake Out due to it'(remove apostrophe)s high speed. It outspeeds Speed, allowing it to outpace the most common Fake Out user, Mega Kangaskhan. It also outspeeds one of the most common Guick Quick Guard users, terrakion Terrakion. Encore is a great move to disrupt the opponent's plays foes and works very well in conjunction with Fake Out. Protect is used by many pokemon Pokemon in the format VGC and locking them into that Protect leaves the pokemon foe useless until they switch out.

Thunderbolt is Raichu's best attack, it's STAB and electric has a powerful, reliable STAB attack with very good neutral coverage. Hidden Power Ice can be used as a secondary attack to hit pokemon like Pokemon such as Salamence and Landorus-T.

Set Details
========

Raichu is fully invested into it's Special Attack and Speed EVs. Raichu is too frail to make good use of any defensive spread and Focus Sash is enough of a defensive backbone. Maximum investment in Special Attack and Speed allows Raichu to hit as hard and as quickly as possible. As Raichu is frail, Focus Sash allows it to survive a single powerful attack. (hope I cleaned this up nicely) Raichu needs max speed to work as effectively as possible. Encore works best with great speed and Raichu can outspeed a good amount of common pokemon. (fluff) Keep in mind that 110 is a crowded speed Speed tier, so Raichu will face though, and you'll be facing many speed ties against pokemon Pokemon such as Mega Metagross and Gengar. Lightning Rod is Raichu's best ability and helps teams a lot. Lightning Rod can easily patch up a teammate's weakness to electric Electric-types. It's also great for avoiding Thunder Wave and completely shutting down Thundurus, which is one of the most common Pokemon in VGC. One of the most common pokemon in the meta, Thundurus, is shut down almost completely by Lightning Rod. This ability Lightning Rod also makes Raichu's offensive presence much better when it is activated.

Usage Tips
========

Raichu works well as a lead. Fake Out can immediately start opening up opportunities for your partner pokemon. It can give you an easier a teammate, giving it a free turn to use a form of speed control like such as Tailwind or a set(remove space)up move like such as Dragon Dance. After using Fake Out, Encore should be used as much as when possible. Any time your opponent protects the for uses Protect, it should be punished with encore Encore, and if it switches, or hurt their switch in after the next turn after they protect hit the switch-in with the appropriate attacking move. (I think this is what you were trying to say)

Keep in mind that your opponent will have to play cautiously around Raichu. Most players know that they won't be able to protect use Protect around Raichu or won't be able to stay in after they protect keep their Pokemon in after using Protect. Try to be a step ahead and take advantage of this, expect them not to protect or punish switch ins when they switch out after a protect. (Rephrase this please; I don't understand what it means and I don't know how to fix it.)

Team Options
========

Water-types make for great teammates with Raichu because they appreciate the Raichu's Lighnting Rod support to avoid nullify their electric Electric weakness. Raichu works well on rain teams to preserve Politoed. Gyarados is a good partner and can set up DD's Dragon Dance easiily with the help of Fake Out. Azumarill can find more opportunities to use Belly Drum with Raichu's Fake Out support as well. Suicune is another great parnter partner, as it can deal with Landorus-T easily, which Raichu normally has trouble with. Suicune can also set up Tailwind easier with Fake Out support.

Mega Charizard Y is a good teammate that makes use of the Lightning Rod support to negate it'(remove apostrophe)s weakness as well. Since Because Charizard forces a lot of protects foes to use Protect due to it'(remove apostrophe)s strong offensive presence, Raichu's Fake Out and Encore support works really well with Charizard.

Mega Gengar is a good teammate because it can trap the opposing pokemon, foes and creates a Disable and Encore combo combination with Raichu, forcing opponents foes to struggle when locked into their moves. With Mega Gengar, Raichu can effectively use Volt Switch as a move option to help with the flow of Perish Trap teams.

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

Air Balloon can be used over Focus Sash. It allows you to deal with Landorus-T a bit better and also allows you to use Landorus-T as a partner, as it use can Earthquake beside you Raichu for a turn or two. But because it can be popped, (AC) it's often unreliable.

Safety Goggles are a good item and often unexpected. can be used because Amoonguss can be a big threat to raichu since Raichu, as it can redirect Thunderbolts and resist them tank the attack easily. Redirecting encores Encore can also be troublesome for Raichu as well. Safety Goggles allows Raichu you to improve your its match-(AH)up against teams with Amoonguss tremendously. But losing sash Focus Sash is not good for raichu Raichu and goggles Safety Goggles are useless against teams without Amoonguss.

Raichu has good support moves if you're willing to give up the move slot for it one. All these moves are useful but you will often have to drop protect Protect or another important move. Feint is a good move to help avoid a lot of 50/50s situations (explain how they're 50/50 situations). But since raichu has encore to punish protects, feint is useful in a lot less situations Raichu already has Encore to punish Protect users, so Feint is less useful and you would normally only use it against pokemon Pokemon that would be outspeeding raichu's encore Raichu's Encore. Nuzzle bypasses Taunt and is a good untauntable move for spreading paralysis. It is a great form of permanent speed control. Helping Hand is good for giving your partner a big Raichu's teammate a damage boost and potentially picking up a crucial OHKOs.

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

**Landorus-T**: This is the The most prevalent pokemon Pokemon in the format, it's VGC, Landorus-T is immune to Raichu's STAB moves and scarf Choice Scarf sets outspeed Raichu and can OHKO it or bring it to its Focus Sash with a and have STAB Earthquake to KO raichu or bring it to sash. Fake outing Landorus Fake out helps somewhat, but it Landorus doesn't care about encore Encore.

**Amoonguss**: Amoonguss can redirect Raichu's moves with Rage Powder encores and thunderbolts. It can also spore raichu when you're trying to encore put Raichu to sleep with Spore as it tries to use Encore on something else. Amoonguss also doesn't care too much if it's encored locked into Rage Powder.

**Taunt**: Pokemon with taunt Taunt, most notably Thundurus, shut down Raichu's ability to encore use Encore. Without encore Encore, Raichu loses a lot of the strategy behind it its usefulness and opponents foes can protect use Protect without worry.

**Mega Kangaskhan**: Mega Kangaskhan can quickly OHKO Raichu through sash its Focus Sash. It often doesn't carry protect Protect so there is not much to do Encore is not very useful against it with encore. Most Mega Kangaskhan won't use fake out Fake Out against Raichus knowing an encore because Raichu outspeeds Kangaskhan anyway and Encore will likely be coming their way the next turn.

GP 1/2
 
Last edited:
Add
Remove

Comment

[OVERVIEW]

Raichu shines as one of the fastest Fake Out users. Raichu sets itself in VGC, setting itself apart from other Fake Out users with the use of Encore. Raichu uses can use Fake Out and Encore to disrupt many of the opponent'(apostrophe)s potential plans to deal with Raichu and your other pokemon Pokemon. Using Protecting to avoid Fake Outs will only put the opponent in a worse position thanks to Encore. Raichu's has a great ability to support teams as well. Lightning Rod can also patch up an electric a teammate's Electric weakness extremely well. Almost any electric Electric-type is going have a hard team facing a team with Raichu around. However, Raichu is extremely is frail and relies on Focus Sash to keep itself in the battle. Since Raichu's frailness doesn't allow you give it many turns to stay alive, each turn is crucial and the plays you make could cost you can determine the outcome of the battle. Raichu also faces stiff competition as an Electric-type from the other good pokemon like Pokemon such as Thundurus and Rotoms Rotom-W.

[SET]
name: Encore Support
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Encore
move 3: Thunderbolt
move 4: Protect / Hidden Power Ice
item: Focus Sash
ability: Lightningrod Rod (The Smogon dex still thinks it's spelled like this)
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Fake Out is a great move for giving your partner pokemon an easier Raichu's teammate a free turn. Raichu is an especially good user of Fake Out due to it'(remove apostrophe)s high speed. It outspeeds Speed, allowing it to outpace the most common Fake Out user, Mega Kangaskhan. It also outspeeds one of the most common Guick Quick Guard users, terrakion Terrakion. Encore is a great move to disrupt the opponent's plays foes and works very well in conjunction with Fake Out. Protect is used by many pokemon Pokemon in the format VGC and locking them into that Protect leaves the pokemon foe useless until they switch out.

Thunderbolt is Raichu's best attack, it's STAB and electric has a powerful, reliable STAB attack with very good neutral coverage. Hidden Power Ice can be used as a secondary attack to hit pokemon like Pokemon such as Salamence and Landorus-T.

Set Details
========

Raichu is fully invested into it's Special Attack and Speed EVs. Raichu is too frail to make good use of any defensive spread and Focus Sash is enough of a defensive backbone. Maximum investment in Special Attack and Speed allows Raichu to hit as hard and as quickly as possible. As Raichu is frail, Focus Sash allows it to survive a single powerful attack. (hope I cleaned this up nicely) Raichu needs max speed to work as effectively as possible. Encore works best with great speed and Raichu can outspeed a good amount of common pokemon. (fluff) Keep in mind that 110 is a crowded speed Speed tier, so Raichu will face though, and you'll be facing many speed ties against pokemon Pokemon such as Mega Metagross and Gengar. Lightning Rod is Raichu's best ability and helps teams a lot. Lightning Rod can easily patch up a teammate's weakness to electric Electric-types. It's also great for avoiding Thunder Wave and completely shutting down Thundurus, which is one of the most common Pokemon in VGC. One of the most common pokemon in the meta, Thundurus, is shut down almost completely by Lightning Rod. This ability Lightning Rod also makes Raichu's offensive presence much better when it is activated.

Usage Tips
========

Raichu works well as a lead. Fake Out can immediately start opening up opportunities for your partner pokemon. It can give you an easier a teammate, giving it a free turn to use a form of speed control like such as Tailwind or a set(remove space)up move like such as Dragon Dance. After using Fake Out, Encore should be used as much as when possible. Any time your opponent protects the for uses Protect, it should be punished with encore Encore, and if it switches, or hurt their switch in after the next turn after they protect hit the switch-in with the appropriate attacking move. (I think this is what you were trying to say)

Keep in mind that your opponent will have to play cautiously around Raichu. Most players know that they won't be able to protect use Protect around Raichu or won't be able to stay in after they protect keep their Pokemon in after using Protect. Try to be a step ahead and take advantage of this, expect them not to protect or punish switch ins when they switch out after a protect. (Rephrase this please; I don't understand what it means and I don't know how to fix it.)

Team Options
========

Water-types make for great teammates with Raichu because they appreciate the Raichu's Lighnting Rod support to avoid nullify their electric Electric weakness. Raichu works well on rain teams to preserve Politoed. Gyarados is a good partner and can set up DD's Dragon Dance easiily with the help of Fake Out. Azumarill can find more opportunities to use Belly Drum with Raichu's Fake Out support as well. Suicune is another great parnter partner, as it can deal with Landorus-T easily, which Raichu normally has trouble with. Suicune can also set up Tailwind easier with Fake Out support.

Mega Charizard Y is a good teammate that makes use of the Lightning Rod support to negate it'(remove apostrophe)s weakness as well. Since Because Charizard forces a lot of protects foes to use Protect due to it'(remove apostrophe)s strong offensive presence, Raichu's Fake Out and Encore support works really well with Charizard.

Mega Gengar is a good teammate because it can trap the opposing pokemon, foes and creates a Disable and Encore combo combination with Raichu, forcing opponents foes to struggle when locked into their moves. With Mega Gengar, Raichu can effectively use Volt Switch as a move option to help with the flow of Perish Trap teams.

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

Air Balloon can be used over Focus Sash. It allows you to deal with Landorus-T a bit better and also allows you to use Landorus-T as a partner, as it use can Earthquake beside you Raichu for a turn or two. But because it can be popped, (AC) it's often unreliable.

Safety Goggles are a good item and often unexpected. can be used because Amoonguss can be a big threat to raichu since Raichu, as it can redirect Thunderbolts and resist them tank the attack easily. Redirecting encores Encore can also be troublesome for Raichu as well. Safety Goggles allows Raichu you to improve your its match-(AH)up against teams with Amoonguss tremendously. But losing sash Focus Sash is not good for raichu Raichu and goggles Safety Goggles are useless against teams without Amoonguss.

Raichu has good support moves if you're willing to give up the move slot for it one. All these moves are useful but you will often have to drop protect Protect or another important move. Feint is a good move to help avoid a lot of 50/50s situations (explain how they're 50/50 situations). But since raichu has encore to punish protects, feint is useful in a lot less situations Raichu already has Encore to punish Protect users, so Feint is less useful and you would normally only use it against pokemon Pokemon that would be outspeeding raichu's encore Raichu's Encore. Nuzzle bypasses Taunt and is a good untauntable move for spreading paralysis. It is a great form of permanent speed control. Helping Hand is good for giving your partner a big Raichu's teammate a damage boost and potentially picking up a crucial OHKOs.

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

**Landorus-T**: This is the The most prevalent pokemon Pokemon in the format, it's VGC, Landorus-T is immune to Raichu's STAB moves and scarf Choice Scarf sets outspeed Raichu and can OHKO it or bring it to its Focus Sash with a and have STAB Earthquake to KO raichu or bring it to sash. Fake outing Landorus Fake out helps somewhat, but it Landorus doesn't care about encore Encore.

**Amoonguss**: Amoonguss can redirect Raichu's moves with Rage Powder encores and thunderbolts. It can also spore raichu when you're trying to encore put Raichu to sleep with Spore as it tries to use Encore on something else. Amoonguss also doesn't care too much if it's encored locked into Rage Powder.

**Taunt**: Pokemon with taunt Taunt, most notably Thundurus, shut down Raichu's ability to encore use Encore. Without encore Encore, Raichu loses a lot of the strategy behind it its usefulness and opponents foes can protect use Protect without worry.

**Mega Kangaskhan**: Mega Kangaskhan can quickly OHKO Raichu through sash its Focus Sash. It often doesn't carry protect Protect so there is not much to do Encore is not very useful against it with encore. Most Mega Kangaskhan won't use fake out Fake Out against Raichus knowing an encore because Raichu outspeeds Kangaskhan anyway and Encore will likely be coming their way the next turn.

GP 1/2
Thanks, got all this
 

dhelmise

everything is embarrassing
is a Site Content Manageris a Battle Simulator Administratoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Programmeris a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Top Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnus
Social Media Head
[OVERVIEW]

Raichu shines as one of the fastest Fake Out users in VGC, setting itself apart from other Fake Out users with the use of Encore. Raichu can use Fake Out and Encore to disrupt many of the opponent's potential plans to deal with Raichu and your other Pokemonit and its partner. Using Protect to avoid Fake Out will only put the opponent in a worse position thanks to Encore. Raichu's Lightning Rod can also patch up a teammate's Electric weakness extremely well. Almost any Electric-type is going have a hard teamime facing a team with Raichu around. However, Raichu is extremely is frail and relies on Focus Sash to keep itself in the battle. SincBecause Raichu's frailness doesn't give it many turns to stay alive, each turn is crucial and the plays you make can determine the outcome of athe battle. Raichu also faces stiff competition as an Electric-type from the other Pokemon such as Thundurus and Rotom-W.

[SET]
name: Encore Support
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Encore
move 3: Thunderbolt
move 4: Protect / Hidden Power Ice
item: Focus Sash
ability: Lightningrod
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Fake Out is a great move for giving Raichu's teammate a free turn. Raichu is an especially good user of Fake Out duser thanks to its high Speed, allowing it to outpace the most common Fake Out user, Mega Kangaskhan. It also outspeeds one of the most common Quick Guard users, Terrakion. Encore is a great move to disrupt the foes and works very well in conjunction with Fake Out. Protect is used by many Pokemon in VGC and locking them into Protect leaves the foefoes into Protect leaves the them useless until they switch out.

Thunderbolt is a powerful, reliable STAB attack with very good neutral coverage. Hidden Power Ice can be used as a secondary attack to hit Pokemon such as Salamence and Landorus-T.

Set Details
========

Maximum investment in Special Attack and Speed allows Raichu to hit as hard and as quickly as possible. AsBecause Raichu is frail, Focus Sash allows it to survive a single powerful attack. Keep in mind that base 110 is a crowded Speed tier, so Raichu will face many speed ties against Pokemon such as Mega Metagross and Gengar. Lightning Rod can easily patch up a teammate's weakness to Electric-types. I, (AC) and it's also great for avoiding Thunder Wave and completely shutting down Thundurus, which is one of the most common Pokemon in VGC. Lightning Rod also makes Raichu's offensive presence much better when it is activated.

Usage Tips
========

Raichu works well as a lead. Fake Out can immediately start opening up opportunities for Raichu's teammate, giving it a free turn to use a form of speed control such as Tailwind or a setup move such as Dragon Dance. After using Fake Out, Encore should be used when possible. Any time the foe uses Protect, it should be punished with Encore, and if it switches, hit the switch-in with the appropriate attacking move.

Keep in mind your opponent will play cautiously around Raichu. Most players know that they won't be able to use Protect around Raichu or won't be able to keep their Pokemon in after using Protect. Try to predict them accordingly.

Team Options
========

Water-types make for great teammates because they appreciate Raichu's Lighntning Rod support to nullify their Electric weakness. Raichu works well on rain teams to preserve Politoed. Gyarados can set up Dragon Dance easily with the help of Fake Out. Azumarill can find more opportunities to use Belly Drum with Raichu's Fake Out support as well. Suicune is another great partner, (AC) as it can deal with Landorus-T easily, which Raichu normally has trouble with. Suicune can also set up Tailwind easier with Fake Out support.

Mega Charizard Y is a good teammate that makes use of the Lightning Rod support to negate its weakness as well. Because Charizard forces a lot of foes to use Protect duethanks to it's strong offensive presence, Raichu's Fake Out and Encore support works really well with Charizard.

Mega Gengar is a good teammate because it can trap foes and create a Disable and Encore combination with Raichu, forcing foes to struggle when locked into their moves. With Mega Gengar, Raichu can effectively use Volt Switch to help with the flow of Perish Trap teams.

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

Air Balloon can be used over Focus Sash to deal with Landorus-T a bit better and also; (Add Semicolon) use Landorus-T as a partner too, as it can use Earthquake beside Raichu for a turn or two. ButHowever, it's often unreliable because it can be popped, it's often unreliable.

Safety Goggles can be used because Amoonguss can be a big threat to Raichu, as it can redirect Thunderbolt and tank the attack easily. Redirecting Encore can also be troublesome for Raichu as well. Safety Goggles allows Raichu to improve its match-up against teams with Amoonguss tremendously. But lLosing Focus Sash is not good for Raichu, (AC) however, (AC) and Safety Goggles areis (Think of it as "Absorb Bulb is useless," not "Absorb Bulb are useless") useless against teams without Amoonguss.

Raichu has good support moves if you're willing to give up the move slot for one. All of these moves are useful, (AC) but you will often have to drop Protect or another important move. Feint is a good move to help avoid a lot of 50/50 situations, as normally you would have to play around their foe's Protect and guess what the right play to make would be but with feint, (AC) but with Feint, (AC) you can just break the foe's Protect. ButHowever, (AC) Raichu already has Encore to punish Protect users, so Feint is less useful and you would normally only use it against Pokemon that outspeed Raichu's Encore. Nuzzle bypasses tTaunt and is a good move for spreading paralysis. Helping Hand is good for giving Raichu's teammate a damage boost and potentially pick up a crucial OHKO.

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

**Landorus-T**: The most prevalent Pokemon in VGC, Landorus-T is immune to Raichu's STAB moves, (AC) and Choice Scarf sets outspeed Raichu and can OHKO it or bring it to its Focus Sash with a STAB Earthquake. Fake Out helps somewhat, but Landorus-T doesn't care about Encore.

**Amoonguss**: Amoonguss can redirect Raichu's moves with Rage Powder. It can also put Raichu to sleep with Spore aswhile (sounds better) it tries to use Encore on something else. Amoonguss also doesn't care too much if it's locked into Rage Powder.

**Taunt**: Pokemon with Taunt, most notably Thundurus, shut down Raichu's ability to use Encore. Without encoreEncore, (AC) Raichu loses a lot of its usefulness and foes can use Protect without worry.

**Mega Kangaskhan**: Mega Kangaskhan can quickly OHKO Raichu through its Focus Sash. It often doesn't carry Protect, (AC) so Encore is not very useful against it. Most Mega Kangaskhan won't use Fake Out against Raichu because Raichu outspeeds Mega Kangaskhan anyway, (AC) and Encore will likely be coming their way the next turn.
GP 2/2
 
[OVERVIEW]

Raichu shines as one of the fastest Fake Out users in VGC, setting itself apart from other Fake Out users with the use of Encore. Raichu can use Fake Out and Encore to disrupt many of the opponent's potential plans to deal with Raichu and your other Pokemonit and its partner. Using Protect to avoid Fake Out will only put the opponent in a worse position thanks to Encore. Raichu's Lightning Rod can also patch up a teammate's Electric weakness extremely well. Almost any Electric-type is going have a hard teamime facing a team with Raichu around. However, Raichu is extremely is frail and relies on Focus Sash to keep itself in the battle. SincBecause Raichu's frailness doesn't give it many turns to stay alive, each turn is crucial and the plays you make can determine the outcome of athe battle. Raichu also faces stiff competition as an Electric-type from the other Pokemon such as Thundurus and Rotom-W.

[SET]
name: Encore Support
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Encore
move 3: Thunderbolt
move 4: Protect / Hidden Power Ice
item: Focus Sash
ability: Lightningrod
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Fake Out is a great move for giving Raichu's teammate a free turn. Raichu is an especially good user of Fake Out duser thanks to its high Speed, allowing it to outpace the most common Fake Out user, Mega Kangaskhan. It also outspeeds one of the most common Quick Guard users, Terrakion. Encore is a great move to disrupt the foes and works very well in conjunction with Fake Out. Protect is used by many Pokemon in VGC and locking them into Protect leaves the foefoes into Protect leaves the them useless until they switch out.

Thunderbolt is a powerful, reliable STAB attack with very good neutral coverage. Hidden Power Ice can be used as a secondary attack to hit Pokemon such as Salamence and Landorus-T.

Set Details
========

Maximum investment in Special Attack and Speed allows Raichu to hit as hard and as quickly as possible. AsBecause Raichu is frail, Focus Sash allows it to survive a single powerful attack. Keep in mind that base 110 is a crowded Speed tier, so Raichu will face many speed ties against Pokemon such as Mega Metagross and Gengar. Lightning Rod can easily patch up a teammate's weakness to Electric-types. I, (AC) and it's also great for avoiding Thunder Wave and completely shutting down Thundurus, which is one of the most common Pokemon in VGC. Lightning Rod also makes Raichu's offensive presence much better when it is activated.

Usage Tips
========

Raichu works well as a lead. Fake Out can immediately start opening up opportunities for Raichu's teammate, giving it a free turn to use a form of speed control such as Tailwind or a setup move such as Dragon Dance. After using Fake Out, Encore should be used when possible. Any time the foe uses Protect, it should be punished with Encore, and if it switches, hit the switch-in with the appropriate attacking move.

Keep in mind your opponent will play cautiously around Raichu. Most players know that they won't be able to use Protect around Raichu or won't be able to keep their Pokemon in after using Protect. Try to predict them accordingly.

Team Options
========

Water-types make for great teammates because they appreciate Raichu's Lighntning Rod support to nullify their Electric weakness. Raichu works well on rain teams to preserve Politoed. Gyarados can set up Dragon Dance easily with the help of Fake Out. Azumarill can find more opportunities to use Belly Drum with Raichu's Fake Out support as well. Suicune is another great partner, (AC) as it can deal with Landorus-T easily, which Raichu normally has trouble with. Suicune can also set up Tailwind easier with Fake Out support.

Mega Charizard Y is a good teammate that makes use of the Lightning Rod support to negate its weakness as well. Because Charizard forces a lot of foes to use Protect duethanks to it's strong offensive presence, Raichu's Fake Out and Encore support works really well with Charizard.

Mega Gengar is a good teammate because it can trap foes and create a Disable and Encore combination with Raichu, forcing foes to struggle when locked into their moves. With Mega Gengar, Raichu can effectively use Volt Switch to help with the flow of Perish Trap teams.

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

Air Balloon can be used over Focus Sash to deal with Landorus-T a bit better and also; (Add Semicolon) use Landorus-T as a partner too, as it can use Earthquake beside Raichu for a turn or two. ButHowever, it's often unreliable because it can be popped, it's often unreliable.

Safety Goggles can be used because Amoonguss can be a big threat to Raichu, as it can redirect Thunderbolt and tank the attack easily. Redirecting Encore can also be troublesome for Raichu as well. Safety Goggles allows Raichu to improve its match-up against teams with Amoonguss tremendously. But lLosing Focus Sash is not good for Raichu, (AC) however, (AC) and Safety Goggles areis (Think of it as "Absorb Bulb is useless," not "Absorb Bulb are useless") useless against teams without Amoonguss.

Raichu has good support moves if you're willing to give up the move slot for one. All of these moves are useful, (AC) but you will often have to drop Protect or another important move. Feint is a good move to help avoid a lot of 50/50 situations, as normally you would have to play around their foe's Protect and guess what the right play to make would be but with feint, (AC) but with Feint, (AC) you can just break the foe's Protect. ButHowever, (AC) Raichu already has Encore to punish Protect users, so Feint is less useful and you would normally only use it against Pokemon that outspeed Raichu's Encore. Nuzzle bypasses tTaunt and is a good move for spreading paralysis. Helping Hand is good for giving Raichu's teammate a damage boost and potentially pick up a crucial OHKO.

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

**Landorus-T**: The most prevalent Pokemon in VGC, Landorus-T is immune to Raichu's STAB moves, (AC) and Choice Scarf sets outspeed Raichu and can OHKO it or bring it to its Focus Sash with a STAB Earthquake. Fake Out helps somewhat, but Landorus-T doesn't care about Encore.

**Amoonguss**: Amoonguss can redirect Raichu's moves with Rage Powder. It can also put Raichu to sleep with Spore aswhile (sounds better) it tries to use Encore on something else. Amoonguss also doesn't care too much if it's locked into Rage Powder.

**Taunt**: Pokemon with Taunt, most notably Thundurus, shut down Raichu's ability to use Encore. Without encoreEncore, (AC) Raichu loses a lot of its usefulness and foes can use Protect without worry.

**Mega Kangaskhan**: Mega Kangaskhan can quickly OHKO Raichu through its Focus Sash. It often doesn't carry Protect, (AC) so Encore is not very useful against it. Most Mega Kangaskhan won't use Fake Out against Raichu because Raichu outspeeds Mega Kangaskhan anyway, (AC) and Encore will likely be coming their way the next turn.
GP 2/2
done.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top