[OVERVIEW]
Raichu has a niche in UU as an Electric-type that can threaten Ground-types like Golem thanks to its access to Surf. The combination of Surf and STAB Thunderbolt gives it excellent coverage and sweeping potential that can be difficult for many teams to handle. In addition, Raichu's Speed allows it to tie with the ever-present Tentacruel, as well as Dodrio. On top of that, the 19.53% critical hit rate its base Speed provides makes it surprisingly powerful offensively. It can further increase this Speed while invalidating the Speed drop from paralysis thanks to Agility, which comes with the added bonus of outspeeding Dugtrio. Furthermore, Raichu is quite customizable, possessing a wide movepool with moves like Body Slam and Seismic Toss to make use of.
However, Raichu is physically frail, taking significant damage from threats like Dodrio, Persian, and Kangaskhan. In fact, it's not uncommon to see Raichu get KOed by their STAB Hyper Beams from around 80%. This fragility notably comes into play against Dugtrio, which can KO it consistently with Earthquake if it's taken even a minute amount of damage. It's not stellar on the Special end either, with threats like Tentacruel, Vaporeon, Hypno, and Kadabra all claiming 3HKOs on it with their STAB attacks. This has a negative effect on its offenses as well, with its Thunderbolt only 3HKOing Vaporeon and occasionally missing the OHKO on Gyarados. Raichu also competes heavily with Electabuzz for a place on teams, which has higher Speed than tier-king Tentacruel without the need to boost.
[SET]
name: Agility Sweeper
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Surf
move 3: Thunder Wave
move 4: Agility / Body Slam
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Thunderbolt and Surf provide Raichu with nigh-unresisted coverage, making it challenging to counter once it's in safely. Thunder Wave gives Raichu ample opportunity to spread paralysis for its teammates, which can be helpful for forcing out faster threats like Persian and Tentacruel. Agility enables Raichu to double its Speed, making it difficult to revenge kill or pin down with Wrap. This is very important, as, in RBY, boosting Speed allows Raichu to ignore the Speed drop from paralysis. However, Body Slam can be used instead to paralyze threats like Dugtrio switching in and beat physically frail Pokemon like Kadabra.
Raichu wants to set up Agility to sweep through weakened teams, and it should be kept healthy so Dugtrio cannot KO it after surviving Surf. As such, Raichu does best mid- or late-game. While setting up can be difficult in RBY UU at times, Raichu has a decent amount of freedom to set up Agility, as it can afford to take a hit if Dugtrio is absent or unable to survive Surf. Forcing out Pokemon like Omastar, which can't handle Raichu's coverage, can also allow Raichu to set up. Sleeping Pokemon can be fairly useful for Raichu to set up against; however, bulkier Pokemon like Hypno may be difficult if the sleep was induced by Rest, as Raichu can't KO it before it wakes up.
Raichu tends to find points of entry through Wrap pivots like Tentacruel, ensuring safety from physical attacks. However, it can switch into weaker special attackers if necessary, as well as more passive Pokemon using recovery moves. Thanks to its Speed and coverage, it also makes a good revenge killer, especially after an Explosion, which usually softens up a threat for Raichu to consistently threaten the KO. On the flip side, Raichu's Speed can let it switch in on opposing Wrap, though with repeated switches it may take enough chip damage to enter KO range for strong physical attacks. This only gets worse if the Wrap user pivots out to a counter. Ergo, switching into Wrap even a few times severely limits Raichu's ability to take hits and check threats, so this risk should only be taken if heavy-hitting physical attackers like Dugtrio have been accounted for or removed, or if Raichu can reliably threaten to KO the Wrap user. Raichu finds itself on teams that benefit from its ability to check Rock- and Ground-types that threaten teammates like Dodrio and Persian, making them effective lures for said Rock- and Ground-types.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Raichu's customizable nature gives it a fair amount of room to explore alternative options without much opportunity cost. However, Thunderbolt and Surf should never be dropped, as they are what allow it to perform well in the tier. If using Agility, Hyper Beam is quite desirable for closing out games against Pokemon like Hypno and Kadabra, which may come in to try and stop a sweep. It serves as Raichu's single best option against opposing Electric- and Grass-types, dealing surprisingly high damage to them and enabling it to break through. Seismic Toss is another appealing option, allowing Raichu to fight Grass-types like Tangela and Venusaur and Electric-types like Electabuzz and opposing Raichu. Surf tends to deal more damage to other Pokemon, though, making Seismic Toss a bit more specific in utility. Thunder has a significant enough damage difference to net Raichu near-guaranteed 2HKOs on Persian, Kangaskhan, Tentacruel, and Vaporeon and an OHKO against Dodrio, but the inconsistency makes it difficult to recommend, especially considering Raichu's fragility. Substitute can be used to give Raichu an opportunity to scout and spread paralysis without needing to predict. It has the added benefit of letting Raichu safely fish for critical hits and full paralysis. It also makes Raichu an even better Dugtrio lure, letting it fish for a critical hit from Surf to OHKO it or paralysis from Body Slam without taking massive damage.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Grass-types**: Tangela is one of the few Pokemon in the tier that resists Raichu's Thunderbolt + Surf combination, and, as a result, Raichu can't do much to it. The only way for Raichu to win is through Seismic Toss, but even then, Tangela's Stun Spore will paralyze Raichu and put it into an awkward position. Tangela will usually use Raichu as setup fodder thereafter, picking up Growth boosts or using it to pivot out with Bind. While less common, Venusaur is also a large threat to Raichu's success, resisting everything thrown at it while threatening with Sleep Powder or a 3HKO with Razor Leaf. In addition, it's only 4HKOed by Seismic Toss, which is, unfortunately, Raichu's best bet at trying to win.
**Strong Physical Attackers**: Raichu is extremely frail on the physical side, and there are threats in RBY UU that are well equipped to exploit this. Kangaskhan and Dodrio can KO Raichu from well above half HP with Hyper Beam, meaning all Raichu can do is threaten them with Thunder Wave if it's at full HP. Furthermore, Persian can revenge kill Raichu from half HP with Slash if it hasn't set up Agility. On the flip side, Raichu can fight back hard against all of these threats; none of them want to switch into Thunder Wave, Dodrio falls to Thunderbolt if it's taken any amount of damage, and Kangaskhan takes heavy damage from any special hit. As a result, while Raichu is very threatened by these Pokemon, they really don't want to switch into it.
**Dragonite**: Dragonite can shrug off Thunder Wave with its own Agility and KO Raichu with Hyper Beam from 68.7% onwards. This can be facilitated through Wrap, which gradually chips Raichu into KO range; at minimum, it takes five Wrap uses for Raichu to be placed in Hyper Beam range. Raichu can't deal much damage to Dragonite at all, with Thunderbolt dealing less than 30%. As a result, Raichu is forced out.
**Hypno**: Hypno can take Raichu's attacks quite well by virtue of its excellent special bulk. This, combined with Thunder Wave and the power of Psychic, enables it to check Raichu well. However, it can only check Raichu from full HP, as, otherwise, it's very possible for Raichu to break through with critical hits. Alternatively, Raichu can use Hypno as setup fodder for Agility if it has used Rest, especially if brought in on the turn Hypno uses it, but it needs multiple critical hits to break through in this scenario. Furthermore, it risks paralysis and heavy damage in the process.
**Electric-types**: Raichu tends to struggle against opposing Electric-types, as they take mediocre damage from Surf while resisting Thunderbolt. Electabuzz tends to win one-on-one with Seismic Toss while being faster and threatening with paralysis. Opposing Raichu may also be equipped to win against your own depending on the set, with moves such as Seismic Toss and Hyper Beam further complicating matters for the electric rodent.
**Dugtrio**: Raichu can't stomach Dugtrio's Earthquake if it's taken any amount of damage, and Dugtrio's 23.4% critical hit rate makes it an even more decisive matchup. However, if Raichu has set up Agility or if Dugtrio is switching in, Dugtrio has to risk getting hit with Surf, which 2HKOes it. Dugtrio has a lot of trouble beating Raichu if it's been paralyzed prior to the interaction as well, as it's 2HKOed by full health Raichu's Surf when it can't utilize its Speed. Body Slam is also a risk for Dugtrio, potentially paralyzing it and allowing Raichu to take it out if it's taken damage prior.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Plague von Karma, 236353]]
- Quality checked by: [[Sevi 7, 505149], [Volk, 530877]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073], [Finland, 517429]]
Raichu has a niche in UU as an Electric-type that can threaten Ground-types like Golem thanks to its access to Surf. The combination of Surf and STAB Thunderbolt gives it excellent coverage and sweeping potential that can be difficult for many teams to handle. In addition, Raichu's Speed allows it to tie with the ever-present Tentacruel, as well as Dodrio. On top of that, the 19.53% critical hit rate its base Speed provides makes it surprisingly powerful offensively. It can further increase this Speed while invalidating the Speed drop from paralysis thanks to Agility, which comes with the added bonus of outspeeding Dugtrio. Furthermore, Raichu is quite customizable, possessing a wide movepool with moves like Body Slam and Seismic Toss to make use of.
However, Raichu is physically frail, taking significant damage from threats like Dodrio, Persian, and Kangaskhan. In fact, it's not uncommon to see Raichu get KOed by their STAB Hyper Beams from around 80%. This fragility notably comes into play against Dugtrio, which can KO it consistently with Earthquake if it's taken even a minute amount of damage. It's not stellar on the Special end either, with threats like Tentacruel, Vaporeon, Hypno, and Kadabra all claiming 3HKOs on it with their STAB attacks. This has a negative effect on its offenses as well, with its Thunderbolt only 3HKOing Vaporeon and occasionally missing the OHKO on Gyarados. Raichu also competes heavily with Electabuzz for a place on teams, which has higher Speed than tier-king Tentacruel without the need to boost.
[SET]
name: Agility Sweeper
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Surf
move 3: Thunder Wave
move 4: Agility / Body Slam
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Thunderbolt and Surf provide Raichu with nigh-unresisted coverage, making it challenging to counter once it's in safely. Thunder Wave gives Raichu ample opportunity to spread paralysis for its teammates, which can be helpful for forcing out faster threats like Persian and Tentacruel. Agility enables Raichu to double its Speed, making it difficult to revenge kill or pin down with Wrap. This is very important, as, in RBY, boosting Speed allows Raichu to ignore the Speed drop from paralysis. However, Body Slam can be used instead to paralyze threats like Dugtrio switching in and beat physically frail Pokemon like Kadabra.
Raichu wants to set up Agility to sweep through weakened teams, and it should be kept healthy so Dugtrio cannot KO it after surviving Surf. As such, Raichu does best mid- or late-game. While setting up can be difficult in RBY UU at times, Raichu has a decent amount of freedom to set up Agility, as it can afford to take a hit if Dugtrio is absent or unable to survive Surf. Forcing out Pokemon like Omastar, which can't handle Raichu's coverage, can also allow Raichu to set up. Sleeping Pokemon can be fairly useful for Raichu to set up against; however, bulkier Pokemon like Hypno may be difficult if the sleep was induced by Rest, as Raichu can't KO it before it wakes up.
Raichu tends to find points of entry through Wrap pivots like Tentacruel, ensuring safety from physical attacks. However, it can switch into weaker special attackers if necessary, as well as more passive Pokemon using recovery moves. Thanks to its Speed and coverage, it also makes a good revenge killer, especially after an Explosion, which usually softens up a threat for Raichu to consistently threaten the KO. On the flip side, Raichu's Speed can let it switch in on opposing Wrap, though with repeated switches it may take enough chip damage to enter KO range for strong physical attacks. This only gets worse if the Wrap user pivots out to a counter. Ergo, switching into Wrap even a few times severely limits Raichu's ability to take hits and check threats, so this risk should only be taken if heavy-hitting physical attackers like Dugtrio have been accounted for or removed, or if Raichu can reliably threaten to KO the Wrap user. Raichu finds itself on teams that benefit from its ability to check Rock- and Ground-types that threaten teammates like Dodrio and Persian, making them effective lures for said Rock- and Ground-types.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Raichu's customizable nature gives it a fair amount of room to explore alternative options without much opportunity cost. However, Thunderbolt and Surf should never be dropped, as they are what allow it to perform well in the tier. If using Agility, Hyper Beam is quite desirable for closing out games against Pokemon like Hypno and Kadabra, which may come in to try and stop a sweep. It serves as Raichu's single best option against opposing Electric- and Grass-types, dealing surprisingly high damage to them and enabling it to break through. Seismic Toss is another appealing option, allowing Raichu to fight Grass-types like Tangela and Venusaur and Electric-types like Electabuzz and opposing Raichu. Surf tends to deal more damage to other Pokemon, though, making Seismic Toss a bit more specific in utility. Thunder has a significant enough damage difference to net Raichu near-guaranteed 2HKOs on Persian, Kangaskhan, Tentacruel, and Vaporeon and an OHKO against Dodrio, but the inconsistency makes it difficult to recommend, especially considering Raichu's fragility. Substitute can be used to give Raichu an opportunity to scout and spread paralysis without needing to predict. It has the added benefit of letting Raichu safely fish for critical hits and full paralysis. It also makes Raichu an even better Dugtrio lure, letting it fish for a critical hit from Surf to OHKO it or paralysis from Body Slam without taking massive damage.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Grass-types**: Tangela is one of the few Pokemon in the tier that resists Raichu's Thunderbolt + Surf combination, and, as a result, Raichu can't do much to it. The only way for Raichu to win is through Seismic Toss, but even then, Tangela's Stun Spore will paralyze Raichu and put it into an awkward position. Tangela will usually use Raichu as setup fodder thereafter, picking up Growth boosts or using it to pivot out with Bind. While less common, Venusaur is also a large threat to Raichu's success, resisting everything thrown at it while threatening with Sleep Powder or a 3HKO with Razor Leaf. In addition, it's only 4HKOed by Seismic Toss, which is, unfortunately, Raichu's best bet at trying to win.
**Strong Physical Attackers**: Raichu is extremely frail on the physical side, and there are threats in RBY UU that are well equipped to exploit this. Kangaskhan and Dodrio can KO Raichu from well above half HP with Hyper Beam, meaning all Raichu can do is threaten them with Thunder Wave if it's at full HP. Furthermore, Persian can revenge kill Raichu from half HP with Slash if it hasn't set up Agility. On the flip side, Raichu can fight back hard against all of these threats; none of them want to switch into Thunder Wave, Dodrio falls to Thunderbolt if it's taken any amount of damage, and Kangaskhan takes heavy damage from any special hit. As a result, while Raichu is very threatened by these Pokemon, they really don't want to switch into it.
**Dragonite**: Dragonite can shrug off Thunder Wave with its own Agility and KO Raichu with Hyper Beam from 68.7% onwards. This can be facilitated through Wrap, which gradually chips Raichu into KO range; at minimum, it takes five Wrap uses for Raichu to be placed in Hyper Beam range. Raichu can't deal much damage to Dragonite at all, with Thunderbolt dealing less than 30%. As a result, Raichu is forced out.
**Hypno**: Hypno can take Raichu's attacks quite well by virtue of its excellent special bulk. This, combined with Thunder Wave and the power of Psychic, enables it to check Raichu well. However, it can only check Raichu from full HP, as, otherwise, it's very possible for Raichu to break through with critical hits. Alternatively, Raichu can use Hypno as setup fodder for Agility if it has used Rest, especially if brought in on the turn Hypno uses it, but it needs multiple critical hits to break through in this scenario. Furthermore, it risks paralysis and heavy damage in the process.
**Electric-types**: Raichu tends to struggle against opposing Electric-types, as they take mediocre damage from Surf while resisting Thunderbolt. Electabuzz tends to win one-on-one with Seismic Toss while being faster and threatening with paralysis. Opposing Raichu may also be equipped to win against your own depending on the set, with moves such as Seismic Toss and Hyper Beam further complicating matters for the electric rodent.
**Dugtrio**: Raichu can't stomach Dugtrio's Earthquake if it's taken any amount of damage, and Dugtrio's 23.4% critical hit rate makes it an even more decisive matchup. However, if Raichu has set up Agility or if Dugtrio is switching in, Dugtrio has to risk getting hit with Surf, which 2HKOes it. Dugtrio has a lot of trouble beating Raichu if it's been paralyzed prior to the interaction as well, as it's 2HKOed by full health Raichu's Surf when it can't utilize its Speed. Body Slam is also a risk for Dugtrio, potentially paralyzing it and allowing Raichu to take it out if it's taken damage prior.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Plague von Karma, 236353]]
- Quality checked by: [[Sevi 7, 505149], [Volk, 530877]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073], [Finland, 517429]]
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