Raichu is a bipedal, rodent-like Pokémon. Raichu is covered in dark orange fur with a white belly. Its bifurcated ears are brown on the outside, yellow on the insides, and end in a distinctive curl. There is a circular yellow marking on each cheek where its electric sacs are, and it has a triangular, dark brown nose. Its arms and feet have patches of brown fur at the end, and the soles of its long feet are tan with a circular orange pad in the center. On its back are two horizontal brown stripes. Its long, thin tail has a lightning bolt-shaped end. This lightning bolt is chipped on females. Raichu exudes a weak electrical charge from its body and glows slightly in the dark.
Raichu's tail is used to gather electricity from the atmosphere, or it can be planted in the ground to search for electricity. It also protects Raichu from its high-voltage power. Raichu can store over 100,000 volts of electricity, enough to knock out a Copperajah. If Raichu's sacs are fully charged, its ears will stand straight up, and its muscles will become stimulated. However, it will become aggressive if it has stored too much electricity and stress. To prevent it from reaching this state, it discharges electricity through its tail into the ground. This leads to scorched patches near its nest. Being the result of evolution via Evolution stone, Raichu is rarely found in the wild, though they can be found in forests and woodlands. The main reason Raichu is rarely seen with Pokémon trainers is because people prefer the look it had as Pikachu. As revealed in the Pokémon the Series episode Electric Shock Showdown, Raichu is not capable of learning speed attacks upon evolving and can only learn them when they're still Pikachu. As shown in Pokémon Sleep, Raichu is known to sleep while discharging electricity, and a long tail is planted into the ground like a rod. It can electrocute anyone who comes near it while sleeping.[1]
Raichu and its pre-evolved forms are the only known Pokémon capable of learning the move Volt Tackle.
Forms
Alolan Raichu are rarely seen on the ground, preferring to float on their tails—typical hodad behavior
Raichu has a regional form: Alolan Raichu.
In Alola, Raichu has lighter coloring and more rounded features. Its eyes are blue with yellow half-circles along the bottom. It has large yellow ears with an inner spiral toward the base and brown on the inside. These ears are thicker and less pointed than a standard Raichu's ear. In addition to its white belly, Alolan Raichu has white markings on its paws with bright yellow lines between its digits. The stripes on its back have also turned white, and there is a small, white circular marking on each heel. The lightning bolt-shaped tip of its tail has rounded edges. By collecting its psychic power in its tail, it can ride it like a surfboard and float in the air. While its cheek sacs are still used to store electricity, rubbing them releases a sweet aroma while also getting a light shock. This is also thought to be connected to its Psychic abilities.
Alolan Raichu's origins were initially a mystery at the time. The people of Alola suggested it ate too many sweet and fluffy pancakes,[2] especially those made with a secret Alolan recipe. However, researchers believe the change is related to Alolan Raichu's diet in general. It is also believed the weather and climate of the Alola region played a role in the transformation. Alolan Raichu is capable of unleashing star-shaped thunderbolts. It is also known by the name hodad. While normally found in Alola, it was been seen in the Coastal Biome of the Terarium during rare Mass outbreak events.
Alolan Raichu is the only known Pokémon capable of using the Z-Move Stoked Sparksurfer. It is also the only known Pokémon that can have Surge Surfer as an Ability.
Evolution
Raichu evolves from Pikachu and is the final form of Pichu.
In Alola, Raichu has a regional form that evolves from Pikachu and is the final form of Pichu in the Alola region.
(For specifics on this Pokémon's Evolution in the games, refer to Game data→Evolution data.)
Main series
Major appearances
In Electric Shock Showdown, Lt. Surge has a Raichu that defeated Ash's Pikachu with its sheer power during Ash's Gym battle. After unsuccessfully discussing the prospect of evolution with Pikachu to match Raichu's power, Ash used a strategy relying on Pikachu's speed to defeat Raichu during a rematch the next day.
In Gotta Catch a What?!, a female Pikachu that was newly caught by Goh evolved into Raichu by using a Thunder Stone.
Other
In Pikachu's Vacation, a Raichu caused trouble for Pikachu and his friends at the Pokémon Theme Park, alongside a Marill, Snubbull, and Cubone.
In Lights, Camera, Quack-tion, Katrina decided to use her Raichu, nicknamed Raichie, in the Cleavon Schpielbunk film "Pokémon in Love".
In Stage Fight!, Kay's Raichu was a part a stage show that featured "talking" Pokémon, but it had stage fright and was very timid around others due to an incident where it startled Kay with its electricity when they first met. Raichu eventually gained back its confidence around Kay and helped defeat Team Rocket.
In Mild 'n Wooly, Ellen commonly used a Raichu to round up a herd of Mareep with its Thunderbolt.
In Cooking Up a Sweet Story, Abigail's missing Pikachu was revealed to have evolved into a Raichu when it returned.
A Raichu appeared in Pika and Goliath!, under the ownership of Sho, who sought to have possession of one Pokémon each from the Pikachu evolutionary line. It battled Ash's Pikachu twice in that episode, with Raichu being victorious the first time and Pikachu triumphing during the rematch.
In Camping It Up!, the Pokémon Summer Academy lent a Raichu to Ash for training. It has a very skittish Raichu for its students.
In Flint Sparks the Fire! and The Fleeing Tower of Sunyshore!, Volkner has a Raichu that is his main battling Pokémon. Raichu briefly reappeared again alongside Volkner during the ending credits of Zoroark: Master of Illusions.
A female Raichu debuted in Good Friends, Great Training!, under the ownership of Tierno. She reappeared in Valuable Experience for All!, where Tierno used her in his battle against Ash along with Wartortle, battling Pikachu and Goodra, but they were both eventually defeated. Raichu later battled Sawyer, defeating Aegislash before being recalled after fighting Slurpuff. Raichu later battled Sceptile but soon lost.
In Racing to a Big Event!, Nina used an Alolan Raichu during the Pokémon Pancake Race, where it tied second place with Pikachu. It has since made further appearances in Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon.
In Battle Royal 151!, Hau used an Alolan Raichu during the Battle Royal round of the Manalo Conference. It helped reached its Trainer the Top 16 position. In Battling Besties!, it battled Samson Oak and his Alolan Exeggutor and won.
In Destination: Coronation!, Visquez used a Raichu to defeat a Trainer's Hypno. In Ash's match, Raichu went up against Ash's Pikachu, but Ash withdrew Pikachu and sent out Gengar in his place where the Shadow Pokémon managed to defeat Raichu.
In Gotta Catch a What?!, multiple Pikachu evolved into Raichu using the Thunder Stones they had dug up.
Minor appearances
In School of Hard Knocks, a Raichu appeared on a teapot.
In Pokémon Fashion Flash, a Raichu was at Scissor Street.
In The Battling Eevee Brothers, a Raichu was a guest at the evolution party in Stone Town.
A Trainer's Raichu appeared in Mewtwo Strikes Back.
In The Power of One, multiple Raichu sensed the disturbance caused by Lawrence III.
In Pokémon Double Trouble, a Raichu was working out at the Kumquat Gym.
In Tricks of the Trade, a Raichu was at the Pokémon Swap Meet in Palmpona.
In Beauty and the Breeder, a Pokémon Breeder's Raichu participated in the Pokémon Beauty Contest.
In The Legend of Thunder!, a Raichu was one of the Electric Pokémon that were lured by the "Miracle Crystal" that Attila and Hun were using. Raichu tried to hit the robot controlled by Attila to save the other Pokémon from being kidnapped, but his attack ricocheted off.
In As Clear As Crystal, a Raichu was affected by a crystal that gave a lake the ability to heal Electric-type Pokémon.
A Raichu appeared in Brock's demonstration in A Bite to Remember, where it evolved from a Pikachu.
A Coordinator's Raichu appeared in Lessons in Lilycove.
In Deceit and Assist, a Coordinator's Raichu participated in the Hoenn Grand Festival.
In Sticking With Who You Know!, a Raichu fell in love with a Squirtle due to the effect of Professor Kodama's machine.
Three Raichu appeared in Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!
A Raichu appeared in Clemont's demonstration in To Catch a Pokémon Smuggler!, where it evolved from a Pikachu using a Thunder Stone.
In Alola, Kanto!, a Raichu appeared in a fantasy, while another was found by Sophocles at Professor Oak's Laboratory, after which Togedemaru began running circles around it.
A Trainer's Alolan Raichu appeared in A Young Royal Flame Ignites!.
In The Shape of Love to Come!, an Alolan Raichu was approached by Rapp, who found it cute.
In I Choose Paradise!, a Trainer's Alolan Raichu was at the Pokémon Paradise Resort.
In From Z to Shining Z!, a Trainer's Raichu watched the battle between Ash's Pikachu and Tapu Koko.
A Trainer's Alolan Raichu appeared in That New Old Gang of Mine!.
A Trainer's Raichu appeared in Take My Thief! Please!.
A Trainer's Alolan Raichu appeared in Curtain Up! Fight the Fights!, It's... Champion Time!, and Whittle While You Work!.
A Raichu appeared in Distant Blue Sky!.
Pokédex entries
| Episode
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Pokémon
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Source
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Entry
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| EP014
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Raichu
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Ash's Pokédex
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Raichu, a Mouse Pokémon of the Electric element. Raichu is the evolved form of Pikachu. It can shock with more than 100,000 volts, enough to render a Dragonite unconscious.
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| Episode
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Pokémon
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Source
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Entry
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| PK01
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Raichu
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Dexter
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Raichu, the evolved form of Pikachu. Pikachu and Raichu are both Mouse Pokémon of the electric variety. Combined voltage approaching shockingly dangerous levels.
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| Episode
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Pokémon
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Source
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Entry
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| XY065
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Raichu
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Serena's Pokédex
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Raichu, the Mouse Pokémon and the evolved form of Pikachu. Raichu's tail functions as a ground and releases electricity into the surface, which keeps it from shocking itself.
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| Episode
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Pokémon
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Source
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Entry
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| SM013
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Raichu
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Rotom Pokédex
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Raichu, Alola Form. The Mouse Pokémon. An Electric and Psychic type. Raichu manipulates electricity with its mind, and its psychic powers allow it to use its tail as transportation.
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| Episode
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Pokémon
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Source
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Entry
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| JN018
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Raichu
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Goh's Rotom Phone
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Raichu, the Mouse Pokémon. An Electric type, and the evolved form of Pikachu. As Raichu's body fills with electricity, its demeanor becomes more aggressive.
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Pokémon Origins
Red battled Lt. Surge's Raichu in File 2: Cubone.
Other
In File 1: Red, a Raichu was one of the Pokémon seen in Professor Oak's introduction.
GOTCHA!
A Raichu briefly appeared in GOTCHA!, under the ownership of Lt. Surge.
Pokémon Adventures
Major appearances
Lt. Surge has a Raichu, which was first seen in Silph Co. in Go for the Golbat. However, it never participated in battles until fighting the Masked Man in his Mahogany Hideout, where it helped Surge break in and seemingly backed the mastermind into a corner, until his Houndour called upon dozens of wild Houndour to thwart Surge, instead. The former Team Rocket triad member barely escaped with his life after having many of his Electrode self-destruct.
Minor appearances
A Raichu appeared in The Last Battle XIII as one of the Pokémon sent to participate in the fight in Ilex Forest.
A Raichu appeared at the Battle Pike in Moving Past Milotic.
The Battle Tower rented a Raichu, which was stolen by Guile Hideout in The Final Battle VII. It reappeared in The Final Battle IX.
Volkner has a Raichu, which he used it in his battle against Platinum in Encountering Elekid.
A Raichu appeared in Out-Odding Oddish, under the ownership of a Pokéathlon participant.
Pokédex entries
| Manga
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Chapter
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Entry
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| Pokémon Adventures
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PS139
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When the electricity accumulated in Raichu's cheeks reach a maximum, its ears will become pointed.*
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Pokémon Pocket Monsters
A Raichu appeared in Clefairy Evolves... At Last?!.
Blue has a Raichu, which he used to battle Red in The Pokémon Banana League (Part 1).
Pocket Monsters DP
A Raichu appeared in PMDP16.
Magical Pokémon Journey
- Main article: Sandy's Raichu
A Raichu appears in Raichu's Best Friend. The ghost of a Trainer named Sandy wishes to be reunited with her old friend Raichu.
Pokémon Zensho
Satoshi had a Pikachu that chose to evolve into a Raichu to help him defeat the Elite Four in PZ10.
Pokémon: Yeah! I Got Pokémon!
A Raichu appeared in GDZ21.
A Raichu appeared in GDZ23.
Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure
- Main article: Lt. Surge's Raichu
Lt. Surge's Raichu only appeared as a silhouette in JBA5 along with its Trainer and the other Kanto Gym Leaders.
Pokémon Journeys
Visquez's Raichu debuted in Destination: Coronation!. It reappeared in a flashback in Toughing It Out!.
- Main article: Lt. Surge's Raichu
Lt. Surge's Raichu appeared in a fantasy in Toughing It Out!.
- No other Pokémon has the same type combination as Alolan Raichu.
- In Pokémon Red and Blue, there is a Scientist at the Pokémon Lab in Cinnabar Island who will trade a Raichu for an Electrode. If the player talks to him after the trade, he will mention that the Raichu evolved, which is not possible. This mistake was due to the original translation of the script of the Japanese Blue (in which this person traded a Graveler for a Kadabra) rather than that of Pokémon Red and Green. This error was corrected in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, as the script was re-translated.
- Raichu's FireRed and Sun Pokédex entries discuss Raichu's electricity being able to knock out an Indian elephant. In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, this is changed to Copperajah, which is based on the Indian elephant.
- This is also the only Pokédex entry in Legends: Arceus to mention a Pokémon not obtainable in Hisui.
- Several Pokédex entries claim Raichu can discharge up to 100,000 volts. However, its Stadium entry claims it can only discharge up to 10,000 volts. This is likely a translation error due to the way numbers are read in Japanese, where 100,000 literally reads "ten ten-thousands".
- Although Pikachu is the first partner Pokémon of Pokémon Yellow, it is not possible to directly evolve it into Raichu in the game, and must be traded in from Red and Blue. This inability to evolve Pikachu is a reference to Ash's Pikachu in Pokémon the Series.
- Raichu and its pre-evolved form both share their category with Rattata, Raticate, Sandshrew, Sandslash, Pawmi, and Pawmo. They are all known as the Mouse Pokémon, though Rattata and Raticate were originally called the Rat Pokémon prior to Generation III.
- Raichu is the 26th Pokémon in both the National Pokédex and Alola Pokédex in Pokémon Sun and Moon.
- Alolan Raichu is the only regional form Pokémon to have a Z-Move exclusive to it.
- Raichu is the most common Pokémon found amongst rivals, being used by five of them.
- Alolan Raichu is the only Alolan form available in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet that can only be obtained by transferring from other games, outside of Poké Portal News events.
Concept and development
Raichu and Alolan Raichu were designed by Atsuko Nishida.[3] The concept of Alolan Raichu came from Masafumi Nukita, which also involved writing its Pokédex entries.[4]
Raichu originally had an evolved form named "Gorochu" (Japanese: ゴロチュウ Gorochū), which would have had two horns and fangs.[5][6] Ken Sugimori stated that while there was nothing wrong with its appearance, it was nonetheless omitted from Pokémon Red and Green, as the staff found that the game balance was better without it, and the limited game space meant that some Pokémon originally designed to evolve twice were changed to evolve only once.[7]
Origin
Raichu's legs and long tail resemble those of a jerboa or kangaroo rat.
Alolan Raichu may be based on the concept of surfing Pikachu and the sport of surfing itself, which originated in Hawaii (the inspiration for the Alola region), as well as the hodad concept of being a fake surfer; hodad is referred to as another name for Alolan Raichu in its Pokédex entry in Pokémon Ultra Sun. Its design and Psychic typing may have been influenced by Puka, a surfing Pikachu that appeared in Pokémon the Series which had psychic powers and blue eyes. In the Pokémon Stadium series, Colosseum, XD, and Battle Revolution, Raichu rides on its tail when using the move Surf.
According to Ken Sugimori, he asked Atsuko Nishida to design Alolan Raichu since she was the one who had worked on the original Raichu design. Nishida insisted that Raichu "has always been cuter than people might think", and designed Alolan Raichu to emphasize Raichu's cuteness; in particular, she designed it with the motif of bread. The in-game lore of people believing that its evolution is induced by eating pancakes was added afterward to play up the concept.[3] The fact that Alolan Raichu was designed after bread may have also inspired the sweet fragrance it can release from its cheeks, as well as the look of its paws which resemble whipped cream decorations, cream puffs, or baozi.
Name origin
Raichu may be a combination of 雷 rai (thunder) and チューチュー chūchū (onomatopoeia for the squeak of a mouse).
Gold Leaf (100%)
Oran Berry (5%)
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For other sprites and images, please see Raichu images on the Bulbagarden Archives.
