For the FireRed & LeafGreen meta, At 580 BST, Raikou is built different. We rank it B-Tier. As a Legendary Pokemon, the raw stats back up the reputation. Best used as a sweeper. Thunderbolt with Leftovers is the standard set.

What is Raikou weak to?

In FireRed & LeafGreen, watch for Rhydon (Ground) when using Raikou. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Only 1 weakness means fewer dedicated counters to worry about.

What is the best ability for Raikou?

Pressure increases the PP cost of moves targetting the Pokémon by one. That's the one you want on Raikou. Inner Focus is the hidden ability. Niche, but it has its uses.

What role does Raikou play in battle?

In FireRed & LeafGreen, Raikou fills the sweeper role. It's a special attacker with base 115 Sp. Atk. Base 115 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. And it's enough bulk to take a hit or two.

What are the best moves for Raikou?

In FireRed & LeafGreen, run Thunderbolt, Calm Mind, Hiddenpowergrass, and Substitute on Raikou. Thunderbolt is the most common pick at 25% usage. Thunderbolt provides reliable STAB damage.

Raikou - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Special

Sweeper

BTier

115Speed · Fast

Stats & Training

Raikou's built around special offense. Sp. Atk leads the charge, Defense pays for it. Near-impossible to catch, worth 3 Sp. Atk and Speed EVs. Follows a slow 1.25M XP grind.

Base Stats

Pseudo

HP90

Attack85

Defense75

Sp. Atk115

Sp. Def100

Speed115

Total580

Details

Catch Rate

Legendary3 / 255

Growth Rate

Slow1.25M XP

Height1.9 m

Weight178.0 kg

Base XP261

Abilities

PressureTop Pick

Increases the PP cost of moves targetting the Pokémon by one.

Inner FocusHANot in game

Prevents flinching.

EV Yield

HPAtkDefSpA+1SpDSpe+2

Strong Speed training target

Pokedex Entries

This POKéMON races across the land while barking a cry that sounds like crashing thunder.

Raikou Weakness

Raikou's Electric typing leaves it vulnerable to Ground. Its Electric typing keeps the defensive matchups simple. Raikou's special bulk (base 100 Sp.Def) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.

Raikou Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Ground
0.5x (Resist)	Electric, Flying, Steel

Type ChartGood

1Weak

3Resist

0Immune

Score+1

Gen III Type Chart

Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Ground

½xResist

Electric Flying Steel

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

None

STAB (2)

Water Flying

How to Beat Raikou in FireRed & LeafGreen (Best Counters)

In FireRed & LeafGreen, Cloyster's Explosion hits Raikou for 61-72%. Charizard deals 50-59% with Fire Blast.

CloysterThreatens with Spikes, walls physical sets WaterIce	B
Recommended Build AbilityShellarmor ItemLeftovers NatureTimid Moves SpikesHazard Explosion SurfSTAB Rapid Spin Damage vs Raikou Explosion 61-72% Surf 27-32% Rapid Spin 12-15% View Cloyster builds →
MiloticRecovers with Recover, wears down with Toxic, walls special sets Water	B
Recommended Build AbilityMarvelscale ItemLeftovers NatureBold Moves RecoverRecovery SurfSTAB ToxicUtility RefreshUtility Damage vs Raikou Surf 30-36% View Milotic builds →
Charizard FireFlying	B
Recommended Build AbilityBlaze ItemLeftovers NatureHasty Moves Fire Blast Hidden Power Grass SubstituteUtility Focus Punch Damage vs Raikou Fire Blast 50-59% View Charizard builds →
Blastoise Water	C
Recommended Build AbilityTorrent ItemLeftovers NatureBold Moves SurfSTAB Rapid Spin Ice Beam RoarUtility Damage vs Raikou Surf 29-34% Rapid Spin 11-13% Ice Beam 19-23% View Blastoise builds →
Misdreavus Ghost	C
Recommended Build AbilityLevitate ItemLeftovers NatureCalm Moves Perish Song Mean Look RestRecovery Thunderbolt Damage vs Raikou Thunderbolt 9-10% View Misdreavus builds →

FireRed & LeafGreen Evolution

You can't breed Raikou or evolve it into anything else. This Electric legendary packs 580 stats and doesn't need a chain to be relevant. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

No Evolution

#243RaikouDoes not evolve

Breeding

Unavailable

Undiscovered egg group

FireRed & LeafGreen Raikou Best Moveset

utility options is what separates a good sweep from a wasted boost. After Calm Mind, Raikou threatens a wide range with max Sp. Atk and Speed EVs and Leftovers backing every hit.

Best Build

Highly recommended

Special Setup Sweeper

Ability

Pressure

Item

LeftoversSUSTAIN

Best Nature for Raikou

Timid+SPE

Raikou best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed

EVs

SpA

Spe

Special Setup Sweeper Moveset

ThunderboltSTAB
Calm Mind
Hidden Power Grass
SubstituteUtility

Recommended Teammates

SalamenceDecent

DugtrioDecent

TyranitarDecent

Moves

Without TMs, Raikou's movepool is bare bones. With them, you get Dark and Normal coverage and more on top of Thunder and Thunderbolt for STAB. The natural kit handles basics, but TMs are doing the real work.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Bite

D6010025Dark

Lv 1

Leer

——10030Normal

Lv 11

Thunder Shock

—4010030Electric

Lv 21

Roar-6

C——20Normal

Lv 31

Quick Attack+1

D4010030Normal

Lv 41

Spark

C6510020Electric

Lv 51

Reflect

D——20Psychic

Lv 61

Crunch

A8010015Dark

Lv 71

Thunder

B1207010Electric

Lv 81

Calm Mind

S——20Psychic

TM Moves

TM04

Calm Mind

S——20Psychic

HM01

Cut

—509530Normal

TM28

Dig

—6010010Ground

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM42

Facade

D7010020Normal

HM05

Flash

——7020Normal

TM21

Frustration

——10020Normal

TM10

Hidden Power

—6010015Normal

TM15

Hyper Beam

B150905Normal

TM23

Iron Tail

C1007515Steel

TM17

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM18

Rain Dance

C——5Water

TM33

Reflect

D——20Psychic

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM27

Return

D—10020Normal

TM05

Roar-6

C——20Normal

HM06

Rock Smash

—2010015Fighting

TM37

Sandstorm

———10Rock

TM43

Secret Power

—7010020Normal

TM34

Shock Wave

—60—20Electric

HM04

Strength

—8010015Normal

TM11

Sunny Day

C——5Fire

TM25

Thunder

B1207010Electric

TM24

Thunderbolt

S9510015Electric

TM06

Toxic

C—8510Poison

Egg Moves

Raikou doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Tut

Tutor

Body Slam

C8510015Normal

Tutor

Double-Edge

C12010015Normal

Tutor

Mimic

———10Normal

Tutor

Substitute

A——10Normal

Tutor

Thunder Wave

C—10020Electric

FireRed & LeafGreen Raikou Locations

Raikou tops out at low spawn rates across 2 locations in endgame routes. The encounters below are sorted by rate so you can see exactly what you're working with.

Best Locations to Catch Raikou in FireRed & LeafGreen

Roaming Kanto

LeafGreenGrass Lv.50

LimitedPost

Post-Team Rocket on Five Island (with Squirtle

Roaming Kanto

FireRedGrass Lv.50

LimitedPost

Post-Team Rocket on Five Island (with Squirtle

Raikou Guide

For the FireRed & LeafGreen meta, At 580 BST, Raikou is built different. We rank it B-Tier. As a Legendary Pokemon, the raw stats back up the reputation. Best used as a sweeper. Thunderbolt with Leftovers is the standard set.
In FireRed & LeafGreen, watch for Rhydon (Ground) when using Raikou. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Only 1 weakness means fewer dedicated counters to worry about.
Pressure increases the PP cost of moves targetting the Pokémon by one. That's the one you want on Raikou. Inner Focus is the hidden ability. Niche, but it has its uses.
In FireRed & LeafGreen, Raikou fills the sweeper role. It's a special attacker with base 115 Sp. Atk. Base 115 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. And it's enough bulk to take a hit or two.
In FireRed & LeafGreen, run Thunderbolt, Calm Mind, Hiddenpowergrass, and Substitute on Raikou. Thunderbolt is the most common pick at 25% usage. Thunderbolt provides reliable STAB damage.

Game Availability

Raikou has appeared in 17 games since Gold & Silver, spanning 9 generations. As a Legendary, it's typically a one-per-save encounter tied to the story or post-game content.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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