Raichu
Mouse Pokémon
Its tail discharges electricity into the ground, protecting it from getting shocked.
Base Stats
Type Effectiveness
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Details
Sprites
Competitive
Strategy Overview
Raichu will never achieve stardom in NU, but it is still a decent special sweeper with an intriguing niche. It sits at a great Speed tier that allows it to outspeed non-Choice Scarf Haunter and Sawsbuck and tie with Charizard. Encore combined with Nasty Plot means it can force switches, disrupt the opposition, and sweep. Its ability Lightning Rod allows it to nab Special Attack boosts, and Raichu can use that in conjunction with Encore to potentially lock the opposing Pokemon into an Electric-type attack, giving it a further boost, as well as even more opportunities to set up. However, keep in mind that it will be walled depending on its moves and that it is easily revenge killed, so don't expect it to sweep teams consistently.
Competitive data from Smogon University via data.pkmn.cc