
Is Pikachu Good in Yellow Playthrough?
Your starter in Yellow. Pikachu follows you around and refuses to evolve with a Thunder Stone, so you're locked into base stats for the entire game. Electric handles Misty and every Water trainer along the way, but Brock is immune and the low defenses make physical hits dangerous. Carries through mid-game on type coverage alone, then falls behind at the E4 where opponents demand more power than Pikachu can deliver.
Brock's typing presses Raichu's defenses.
Raichu resists most of Misty's coverage and hits back hard.
Lt. Surge's typing presses Raichu's defenses.
Erika's typing presses Raichu's defenses.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Blaine's team.
Giovanni's team hits Raichu's weaknesses hard.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Lorelei's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Raichu has the type edge here and should clean up Agatha's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Raichu trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Pikachu is available as a starter at Lv 5.
- LV 8ElectricThunder Wave—90%20
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody Slam85100%15
- LV 26ElectricThunderbolt135100%15
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull Bash130100%10
- TM10NormalDouble-Edge120100%15
- LV 41ElectricThunder16570%10
- After Koga
- TM09NormalTake Down9085%20
- After Giovanni
- TM05NormalMega Kick12075%5
How to Get Pikachu in Yellow
Pikachu is handed to you at Pallet Town. No encounter rates or random spawns involved, so there's nothing to grind. Check the location details below for the exact conditions to trigger it.
How to Obtain Pikachu in Y
Step 1Pikachu ✓Pallet TownLv.5Gift from NPCRate 100%Starter choice
Step 2Evolve into Raichu
Pikachu Weakness
Ground moves hit Pikachu for super-effective damage. Few weaknesses and 2 resistances make the typing clean. Just 1 weak spot to worry about, which keeps teambuilding straightforward.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Ground |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Electric, Flying |
- Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
- Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
- Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
What is Pikachu Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Pikachu
Pikachu Evolutions
You'll evolve Pikachu into Raichu the traditional way. This Electric type doesn't breed despite having a chain ahead. The evolved forms gain up to 175 total stats over Pikachu. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Y Pikachu Best Moveset
The franchise mascot with 55 Attack and 50 Special behind the moves. MoveThunderbolt chips from a Special stat that Raichu improves to 90. Speed at 90 means going first, but every hit lands as small damage. Thunder Stone is the answer.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Thunderbolt
- Surf
- Thunder Wave
- Quick Attack
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Level-up moves are just the starting point for Pikachu. TMs unlock Normal and Fighting coverage and turn a straightforward STAB kit around Thunder and Thunderbolt into something with actual range.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It keeps its tail raised to monitor its surroundings. If you yank its tail, it will try to bite you.
Pikachu Yellow Guide
For Yellow, you can run Pikachu through the first few routes without issues. 310 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Raichu as fast as you can.
Game Availability
Since debuting in Red & Blue, Pikachu has appeared in 23 titles over 10 generations. Along the way, it received a Gigantamax form in Generation 8, keeping it relevant across different competitive metas.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut

Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS

Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS

Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG

FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP

Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS

HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW

Black & White - Gen 5B2W2

Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY

X & Y - Gen 6ORAS

Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM

Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM

Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE

Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwShGigantamax

Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV

Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW

Winds & Waves