Competitive Information for Pichu [Sword/Shield]
Electric
Abilities:
Note: Pokemon with the Lightning Rod ability are immune to Electric attacks.
Movesets for Singles
What is a good competitive moveset for Pichu? These builds have been optimized for Pokemon competing in Sword/Shield Single Battles. The movesets and EVs have been specifically calibrated to deal the most amount of damage to the largest group of potentially common opponents and typing threats for the Sword/Shield generation metagame.
Pichu is popular Electric-typed Pokemon. Pichu is not a Pokemon anyone usually expects sees on the battlefield. Pichu can be quite a contender in the LC tier (Little Cup). Pichu's only type-related weakness is Ground.
Item: Shell Bell / Life Orb
Ability: Lightning Rod
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Volt Tackle / Wild Charge
- Double-Edge / Body Slam
- Play Rough
- Seismic Toss / Reversal
Physical Sweeper Pichu (Lightning Rod)
Pichu is a fabulous Physical Sweeper for single battles. It's primary goal is to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Life Orb boosts the power of Pichu's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. The Shell Bell item option is to help Pichu recover from the recoil damage it may take from Double-Edge, Volt Tackle and Wild Charge. With Lightning Rod, Pichu draws electric moves to itself to raise sp. Atk by 1; electric immunity.
◆ Wild Charge is a physical STAB-boosted 90-base power Electric-type move (has 1/4 recoil).
◆ Double-Edge is a physical 120-base power Normal-type move (has 33% recoil).
◆ Body Slam is a physical 85-base power Normal-type move (30% chance to paralyze the target).
◆ Play Rough is a physical 90-base power Fairy-type move (10% chance to lower the target's attack by 1 stage).
◆ Seismic Toss is a physical 0-base power Fighting-type move (does damage equal to your Pichu's level).
◆ Reversal is a physical 0-base power Fighting-type move (more power the less hp your Pichu has left).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/is10aac
Item: Throat Spray / Life Orb
Ability: Lightning Rod
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Moveset:
- Thunderbolt / Volt Switch
- Surf
- Grass Knot
- Round / Snore
Special Sweeper Pichu (Lightning Rod)
Pichu is a notable Special Sweeper for single battles. The purpose of this moveset is to take down the opponent's team with high-damaging special attacks. Throat Spray activates when a Pokemon uses a sound-based move (in this case Round or Snore) and raises Pichu's special attack stat by 2 stages. Life Orb boosts the power of Pichu's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Lightning Rod, Pichu draws electric moves to itself to raise sp. Atk by 1; electric immunity.
◆ Volt Switch is a special STAB-boosted 70-base power Electric-type move (Pichu switches out after damaging the target).
◆ Surf is a special 90-base power Water-type move (hits adjacent pokemon. Double damage on dive).
◆ Grass Knot is a special 0-base power Grass-type move (more power the heavier the target).
◆ Round is a special 60-base power Normal-type move (power doubles if others used round this turn).
◆ Snore is a special 50-base power Normal-type move (Pichu must be asleep. 30% chance to flinch target).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/is11aac
Movesets for Doubles
What is a good doubles moveset for Pichu? These builds have been optimized for Sword/Shield Double Battles. They have movesets and EVs specifically calibrated to generally work best versus multiple Pokemon at once as well as helping to support other team members and allys in the Sword/Shield generation metagame.
Item: Shell Bell / Life Orb
Ability: Lightning Rod
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Volt Tackle / Wild Charge
- Double-Edge / Body Slam
- Play Rough
- Seismic Toss / Reversal
Doubles Physical Sweeper Pichu (Lightning Rod)
Pichu is an interesting Physical Sweeper for double battles. It is primarily designed to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. Life Orb boosts the power of Pichu's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. The Shell Bell item option is to help Pichu recover from the recoil damage it may take from Double-Edge, Volt Tackle and Wild Charge. With Lightning Rod, Pichu draws electric moves to itself to raise sp. Atk by 1; electric immunity.
◆ Wild Charge is a physical STAB-boosted 90-base power Electric-type move (has 1/4 recoil).
◆ Double-Edge is a physical 120-base power Normal-type move (has 33% recoil).
◆ Body Slam is a physical 85-base power Normal-type move (30% chance to paralyze the target).
◆ Play Rough is a physical 90-base power Fairy-type move (10% chance to lower the target's attack by 1 stage).
◆ Seismic Toss is a physical 0-base power Fighting-type move (does damage equal to your Pichu's level).
◆ Reversal is a physical 0-base power Fighting-type move (more power the less hp your Pichu has left).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/id10aac
Item: Throat Spray / Life Orb
Ability: Lightning Rod
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Moveset:
- Electroweb / Thunderbolt
- Surf
- Grass Knot
- Round / Snore
Doubles Special Sweeper Pichu (Lightning Rod)
Pichu is a decent Special Sweeper for double battles. It's primary goal is to take down the opponent's team with high-damaging special attacks. Throat Spray activates when a Pokemon uses a sound-based move (in this case Round or Snore) and increases Pichu's special attack stat by 2 stages. Life Orb boosts the power of Pichu's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Lightning Rod, Pichu draws electric moves to itself to raise sp. Atk by 1; electric immunity.
◆ Thunderbolt is a special STAB-boosted 90-base power Electric-type move (10% chance to paralyze the target).
◆ Surf is a special 90-base power Water-type move (hits adjacent pokemon. Double damage on dive).
◆ Grass Knot is a special 0-base power Grass-type move (more power the heavier the target).
◆ Round is a special 60-base power Normal-type move (power doubles if others used round this turn).
◆ Snore is a special 50-base power Normal-type move (Pichu must be asleep. 30% chance to flinch target).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/id11aac
Movepool
Wondering what moves can Pichu learn? Here is the list of moves this Pokemon can learn in this selected generation.
Sort and organize the learnset by move type, category, accuracy, and power. Bolded moves will gain the same-type attack bonus (STAB) if this Pokemon uses them.
Damage Modifiers:
Combo List
These are a list of several common move combinations Pichu can perform in Sword/Shield. Not every combo going to be game-changing, but some can be pretty fun to play with. Sometimes these can be easily overlooked or forgotten, hence why we find and list them here. Discover what items, abilities, and moves this Pokemon can use in combination with each other to gain a strategic advantage in competitive battles.
Competitive SS Move and Ability Combos for Pichu
- Moves: Defense curl + Rollout
- Moves: Rain dance + Thunder
- Moves: Endure + Flail
- Moves: Endure + Reversal
- Moves: Endure + Endeavor
- Moves: Rest + Sleep talk
- Moves: Rest + Snore
- Moves: Substitute + Reversal
- Move: Swagger + Item: Mirror Herb
- Move: Fling + Item: King's Rock
- Move: Facade + Item: Flame Orb
- Move: Facade + Item: Toxic Orb
- Move: Endeavor + Item: Focus Sash
- Item: Blunder Policy + Move: Zap Cannon
- Moves with Priority: Detect, Endure, Follow Me, Helping Hand, Protect, Fake Out
- Moves that inflict status: Thunder Wave, Toxic
Moves that boost Pichu's stats
- Charge
- Charge Beam
- Curse
- Defense Curl
- Nasty Plot
Most notable and possible best moves for Pichu
- Fake Out
- Light Screen
- Protect
- Reflect
- Rest
- Toxic
- Volt Switch
Common Effort Values for Pichu in Sword and Shield
- Adamant Nature ( 0/252/0/0/0/252 )
- Modest Nature ( 0/0/0/252/0/252 )
- Optimize Pichu's EV spread for Pokemon Sword and Shield
Related Videos
Here are various how-to-use and competitive moveset analysis video guides for Pichu in Sword/Shield. These featured videos will most likely contain additional strategies and combos not listed on our site. Disclaimer: All videos belong to their respective owners along with the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the videos. They belong solely to the author and not to us.
We currently do not have any competitive video guides for Pichu in Sword/Shield
Want to have your Competitive Pokemon videos sponsored on our site? Contact us!
Some builds on this page have been hidden, click here to display them
Here are the best movesets for Pichu. Top rated Pichu Sword/Shield movesets. You can find Pichu builds Sword/Shield. Pichu movesets Sword/Shield are listed here. VGC Pichu Competitive Movesets can be found here. Find various EV spreads, find the best nature for Pichu in Sword/Shield along with competitive movesets. Basic info and Movesets for Pikachu evolution