Pikachu | Pokémon guide
It’s hard to be the most iconic video game character of all time, but I’d say Pokémon’s Pikachu has to be up there. Nintendo uses its face on most, if not all, of its marketing, and it represents the very concept of Pokémon games. This little guy can be found absolutely everywhere, but if you’re feeling embarrassed that you never took the time to learn about it beyond its figurehead status, then fear not, as we can help.
Pikachu is undeniably the most famous ‘mon in all of Pokédex, but if you need resources to catch it, go get some Pokémon Go codes or Pokémon Legends: Z-A mystery gift codes to stock up on Pokéballs and catch your perfect Pikachu.
Here’s everything in our Pikachu guide:
Here’s the key information you need to know about Pikachu:
| National Pokédex # | 0,025 |
| Type | Electric |
| Abilities | Static |
| Hidden ability | Lightning Rod |
| Gender ratio | Male – 50% Female – 50% |
| Catch rate | 190 (35.2%) |
| Egg groups | Field and Fairy |
| EV yield | Two speed |
Pikachu’s evolution
Pikachu is the middle evolution, evolving from Pichu when leveled up with high friendship and evolving into Raichu when exposed to a Thunder Stone. It can additionally evolve into Gigantamax Pikachu with the Gigantamax Factor.
Pikachu’s locations
Here are all the locations you can find Pikachu in each Pokémon game:
Gen 1 locations
| Red / Blue | Viridian Forest, Power Plant |
| Yellow | starter Pokémon from Professor Oak in Pallet Town |
Gen 2 locations
| Gold / Silver | Route 2 |
| Crystal | Route 2 (morning), Celadon Game Corner |
Gen 3 locations
| Ruby / Sapphire | Safari Zone |
| Emerald | Safari Zone |
| FireRed / LeafGreen | Viridian Forest, Power Plant |
| Colosseum | Japan only via Pokémon Colosseum Bonus Disc |
| XD | Trade |
Gen 4 locations
| Diamond / Pearl | Trophy Garden |
| Platinum | Trophy Garden |
| HeartGold / SoulSilver | Viridian Forest, Trade Pikachu in Saffron City |
Gen 5 locations
| Black / White | Poké Transfer, Event |
| Black 2 / White 2 | Poké Transfer, Event |
Gen 6 locations
| X / Y | Route 3, Santalune Forest, Friend Safari (Electric) |
| Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire | Safari Zone – Zone 1, won after the first Pokémon Contest |
Gen 7 locations
| Sun / Moon | Route 1, Hau’oli City’s SOS battle |
| Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon | Route 1’s SOS Battle, Heahea City Surf Association, Pikachu Valley via QR Scanner (Partner Cap Pikachu) |
| Let’s Go Pikachu / Let’s Go Eevee | Viridian Forest, starter Pokémon from Professor Oak in Pallet Town (Let’s Go Pikachu only) |
Gen 8 locations
| Sword / Shield | Route 4, Stony Wilderness, Rolling Fields, Giant’s Cap, Giant’s Mirror, Hammerlocke Hills, Lake of Outrage, Motostoke Riverbank’s Max Raid Battle, Meetup Spot (Gigantamax Factor) |
| Isle of Armor | Forest of Focus, Fields of Honor, Soothing Wetlands, Challenge Beach, Fields of Honor, Forest of Focus’s Max Raid Battle |
| Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl | Trophy Garden |
| Legends: Arceus | Obsidian Fieldlands – Nature’s Pantry, massive mass outbreaks; Crimson Mirelands – near Golden Lowlands; Cobalt Coastlands – Windbreak Stand; Alabaster Icelands – space-time distortions |
Gen 9 locations
| Scarlet / Violet | Areas One, Two, Three, and Four, Artazon, Tera Raid Battles (two or three-star only) |
| The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero | Kitakami Road, Apple Hills, Oni Mountain, Wistful Fields, Paradise Barrens, Kitakami Wilds, Timeless Woods |
| Legends: Z-A | Vert Sector 8, Wild Zones 3 and 6 |
Pikachu’s base stats
From Gen 7 onward, Pikachu’s base stats are as follows. As you level it up, these stats grow.
- HP – 35
- Attack – 55
- Defense – 40
- Sp. Atk – 50
- Sp. Def – 50
- Speed – 90
Pikachu’s type strengths and weaknesses
Even though Pikachu is the Electric Pokémon of all time, naturally, it can’t be perfect at everything, and has some types that it’s weaker and stronger against. Take a look below.
| Normal damage | Bug, Dark, Dragon, Fairy, Fighting, Fire, Ghost, Grass, Ice, Normal, Poison, Psychic, Rock, Water |
| Weak | Ground |
| Resistant | Electric, Flying, Steel |
| Immune | N/A |
Pikachu’s moveset
In the latest generation of Pokémon games, Pikachu can learn the following moves:
Level up moves (Scarlet/Violet)
| Level | Move | Type |
| One | Play Nice | Normal |
| One | Sweet Kiss | Fairy |
| One | Nuzzle | Electric |
| One | Nasty Plot | Dark |
| One | Charm | Fairy |
| One | Thunder Shock | Electric |
| One | Tail Whip | Normal |
| One | Growl | Normal |
| One | Quick Attack | Normal |
| Four | Thunder Wave | Electric |
| Eight | Double Team | Normal |
| 12 | Electro Ball | Electric |
| 16 | Feint | Normal |
| 20 | Spark | Electric |
| 24 | Agility | Psychic |
| 28 | Iron Tail | Steel |
| 32 | Discharge | Electric |
| 36 | Thunderbolt | Electric |
| 40 | Light Screen | Psychic |
| 44 | Thunder | Electric |
Level up moves (Legends: Z-A)
| Level | Move | Type |
| One | Tail Whip | Normal |
| One | Growl | Normal |
| One | Thunder Shock | Electric |
| One | Quick Attack | Normal |
| Seven | Thunder Wave | Electric |
| 12 | Nuzzle | Electric |
| 16 | Spark | Electric |
| 20 | Charm | Fairy |
| 25 | Thunderbolt | Electric |
| 30 | Charge | Electric |
| 35 | Light Screen | Psychic |
| 40 | Thunder | Electric |
| 45 | Volt Tackle | Electric |
Learnable TMs (Scarlet/Violet)
| Move | Type |
| Agility | Psychic |
| Alluring Voice | Fairy |
| Body Slam | Normal |
| Brick Break | Fighting |
| Charge | Electric |
| Charge Beam | Electric |
| Charm | Fairy |
| Dig | Ground |
| Disarming Voice | Fairy |
| Draining Kiss | Fairy |
| Eerie Impulse | Electric |
| Electric Terrain | Electric |
| Electro Ball | Electric |
| Electroweb | Electric |
| Encore | Normal |
| Endeavor | Normal |
| Endure | Normal |
| Facade | Normal |
| Fake Tears | Dark |
| Fling | Dark |
| Focus Punch | Fighting |
| Grass Knot | Grass |
| Helping Hand | Normal |
| Knock Off | Dark |
| Light Screen | Psychic |
| Nasty Plot | Dark |
| Play Rough | Fairy |
| Protect | Normal |
| Rain Dance | Water |
| Reflect | Psychic |
| Rest | Psychic |
| Reversal | Fighting |
| Sleep Talk | Normal |
| Substitute | Normal |
| Surf | Water |
| Swift | Normal |
| Take Down | Normal |
| Tera Blast | Normal |
| Thief | Dark |
| Thunder | Electric |
| Thunder Punch | Electric |
| Thunder Wave | Electric |
| Thunderbolt | Electric |
| Trailblaze | Grass |
| Upper Hand | Fighting |
| Volt Switch | Electric |
| Wild Charge | Electric |
Learnable TMs (Legends: Z-A)
| Move | Type |
| Agility | Psychic |
| Body Slam | Normal |
| Brick Break | Fighting |
| Charge Beam | Electric |
| Dig | Ground |
| Discharge | Electric |
| Double Team | Normal |
| Electroweb | Electric |
| Endure | Normal |
| Facade | Normal |
| Fake Out | Normal |
| Iron Tail | Steel |
| Light Screen | Psychic |
| Nasty Plot | Dark |
| Play Rough | Fairy |
| Protect | Normal |
| Reflect | Psychic |
| Skull Bash | Normal |
| Substitute | Normal |
| Surf | Water |
| Swift | Normal |
| Thunder | Electric |
| Thunder Punch | Electric |
| Thunder Wave | Electric |
| Thunderbolt | Electric |
| Trailblaze | Grass |
| Volt Switch | Electric |
| Wild Charge | Electric |
Egg moves
| Move | Type | Breed with |
| Charge | Electric | Mareep, Flaaffy, Ampharos, Plusle, Minun, Shinx, Luxio, Luxray, Blitzle, Zebstrika, Dedenne, Pawmi, Pawmo, or Pawmot |
| Disarming Voice | Fairy | Clefairy, Clefable, Jigglypuff, Wigglytuff, Espurr, Meowstic, Sylveon, Popplio, Brionne, Primarina, Indeedee, Lechonk, or Oinkologne |
| Fake Out | Normal | Meowth (any form), Persian (both forms), Perrserker, Nuzleaf, Shiftry, Mienfoo, Mienshao, Espurr, Meowstic, Impidimp, Morgrem, or Grimmsnarl |
| Flail | Normal | Dunsparce, Dudunsparce, Swinub, Piloswine, Mamoswine, Phanpy, Slakoth, Slaking, Zangoose, Cubchoo, Beartic, Komala, Cetoddle, or Cetitan |
| Present | Normal | Delibird |
| Tickle | Normal | Aipom, Ambipom, Minccino, or Cinccino |
| Volt Tackle | Electric | The Light Ball |
| Wish | Normal | Vaporeon or Leafeon |
That’s all there is for this legend. We’d say good luck finding it, but, well, you’ll see it everywhere – inside and outside of the game.
