Raichu vs Pikachu

[Carz0]

Hi friends!

 

So I have heard always about Pikachu holding a lightball being better than a Raichu without any hold items.

 

However, what about the Raichu stats improvements -specially its speed- and moveset? And what about a Raichu holding a good item such as Life Orb?

 

Pikachu relies on his speed in order to kill and not to get OHKO, wouldn't Raichu make it better than him? (Specially if its EV/Nature are speed-focused)

 

Here's a comparison of both pkmn stats.

 

Pikachu stats:

HP: 35

Attack: 55

Defense: 40

Sp. Atk: 50

Sp. Def: 50

Speed: 90

 

Raichu stats:

HP: 60

Attack: 90

Defense: 55

Sp. Atk: 90

Sp. Def: 80

Speed: 110

 

So... will always Pikachu be better? THANKSFRIENDS

[Guest Verdy]

Raichu is faster and have more survivability, pikachu with lightball does do more damage but if it can't deal with the pokemon in one sweep, it dies in one hit. :Angry:

 

pikachu is forced to use lightball while raichu has many other item options for more survivability and such :y:

[Gawerty]

On the same spectrum, think of this - you use Thunder with a lightball pikachu, and thunder with a raichu, the move will do a ton more damage with pikachu, but if it misses, you die. Basically a glass cannon, you do the same move with Raichu, it does less damage, and it misses, you probably have the chance to survive depending on the move used against you because of the increased base stats.

 

In this case, Raichu would be better; however if you need that glass cannon who can be used as fodder or as an ace, then Pikachu would be your bet. It's a toss up and really up to personal preference. It really depends on the case as well.

[Alice69anna]

215298 So... will always Pikachu be better? THANKSFRIENDS

one boss need pika lvl100 to fight, so pika is better :y:

[Carz0]

thanks for replies!

 

i guess a good raichu would need to be raised as a pichu for nasty plot anyway :(

[Demmyale]

To be honest with you, neither of them are that good either way compared to most other pokemon. A lot of pokemon can do what they can do 10 times better, but if you honestly just love the pokemon then pikachu with light ball is better because it deals more damage. While raichu is a little faster and can take more damage, it would just be smarter to have the pikachu for the bosses that require him and most of the time the boss's pokemon aren't insanely fast to outspeed a fully trained pikachu.