After The Pokémon Company made the maddening decision to put Mega Raichu X in Pokémon Champions’ trailers and then not in the game itself at launch, both the X and Y variants of Raichu’s Mega Evolution are coming to the battle simulator tonight when the new season launches alongside the mobile version. However, because Champions only lets you use one Pokémon per species on your team, you can’t use both in one battle. So let’s break down the strengths and weaknesses of both Mega Raichu forms so you can figure out which is best for your team.
How do I get Mega Raichu X and Y in Pokémon Champions?
Pokémon Champions is giving every player a Raichu and the Raichunite X and Y stones from June 17 to September 2. You can get all three by checking your mailbox. Then you can give your brand-new Raichu (or one you already have) either stone for them to Mega Evolve during battle. However, these will only work for a Kantonian Raichu, not the Electric/Psychic-type Alolan regional variant. So you’re essentially choosing between four different variations of Raichu in Champions.
Mega Raichu X
Raichu’s Superman-flying X variant is the physical attacker of the duo. Its lightning-shaped tails and chonky paws all help it propel itself forward for strong punches, kicks, and tail whips, and you can see that in its base stat spread:
- HP: 60
- Attack: 135
- Defense: 95
- Sp. Atk: 90
- Sp. Def: 95
- Speed: 110
At a glance, Mega Raichu X is a strong physical hitter with respectable defenses, speed, and special attack. It’s certainly not the best in its class, but it’s a really solid all-rounder compared to the Y version that we’ll get to in a bit. So while you can make your Mega Raichu X a strong physical attacker, it’s also not left without options if you want to go the special route. This is especially true because it gets the ability Electric Surge, which actually makes special moves a pretty viable option as well with the right specs. Electric Surge activates Electric Terrain once Raichu Mega Evolves, which boosts the power of electric-type attacks and prevents Pokémon touching the ground from falling asleep. By default, all of Mega Raichu X’s electric moves, physical and special alike, are powered up by 30 percent. In fact, one of its most powerful options is the special attack Rising Voltage, which doubles in strength when used on Electric Terrain.
But why would you use that instead of Volt Tackle, Raichu’s signature attack, a physical move that would be more powerful after the Electric Terrain boost? Unfortunately, the attack has a pretty sizable drawback in recoil damage, which will knock off one third of the damage Raichu does to its target from its own health. So yeah, a good Volt Tackle could absolutely wreck an enemy, but Raichu has relatively low HP, so it doesn’t have a lot of juice in that particular tank before it’s knocked itself out. Wild Charge and Thunder Punch are also some decent physical electric moves, but they don’t quite reach the damage capabilities of Rising Voltage on Electric Terrain.
That’s not to say you should just forgo all physical moves in favor of special ones. Raichu has enough good physical options worth taking up a move slot, such as Play Rough to deal with the inevitable Garchomps that will be sprouting up to deal with these electric rats. So the lesson here is that Raichu X can be a physical sweeper, but has enough to work with that it can reliably flex in the moment. Couple that with some good support moves like Fake Out, Encore, and even Volt Switch to get out of bad matchups, and you’ve got yourself a good but maybe not great all-rounder.
Where Mega Raichu X may start to become really dominant is as a support Pokémon if/when Champions adds Violet’s futuristic Paradox Pokémon, each of whom have the Quark Drive Ability that powers up their highest stat when played on an Electric Terrain, but it remains to be seen if they’ll be joining the game anytime soon. Hell, maybe they show up in the update tonight and I have to update this post immediately. But until then, its Electric Surge ability is good for countering Pokémon that use sleep-inducing attacks, and can bolster any other electric moves your team has.
Mega Raichu Y
The Pikachu-shaped Mega Raichu Y is certainly more specific in its use cases, but if you plan accordingly, it can be one of the most devastatingly powerful members of your team. It cranks up Raichu’s special attack to a whopping 160 base stat and gives it a 130 base speed so it can move more quickly than a lot of the roster. However, it comes at the expense of it being very frail.
- HP: 60
- Attack: 100
- Defense: 55
- Sp. Atk: 160
- Sp. Def: 80
- Speed: 130
You can try to balance this out by dumping points into Raichu’s defenses or HP, as its speed and special attack are so high you probably won’t need to dump more points in them to get value, but by and large, Mega Raichu Y is a glass cannon and its Ability, while incredibly useful, doubles down on that by also giving the form a major weakness. No Guard means any move Raichu uses will hit with 100-percent accuracy, but any attack that targets it will also land. So the crux of Mega Raichu Y’s success lies in whether it can land attacks before it’s hit with something that could take it out almost immediately. There are several ways to protect Raichu in double battles, such as redirect moves like Follow Me that will cause an enemy to target one Pokémon over another, but whatever you do, Mega Raichu Y is just as vulnerable as it is powerful.
The upside is that Mega Raichu’s perfect accuracy makes it a force to be reckoned with. It has access to some powerful but low-accuracy moves like Zap Cannon, which usually only hits half the time, but it does a lot of damage and guarantees paralysis on its target. Raichu can also use Focus Blast, another powerful but often risky move, without worrying about it missing and throwing off your plan, which can cover a lot of Pokémon that are weak to fighting-type moves. Mega Raichu Y hits hard, but it takes hits just as easily, so if you’re going to run one on your team, make sure you’ve got Pokémon that can protect it, whether it be through diverting attacks or raising defenses like Wide Guard to keep any pesky Earthquakes away.
Is there any reason not to Mega Evolve Raichu?
Surprisingly enough, base Raichu actually got more useful in the wake of its Mega Evolutions, as its Lightning Rod ability will absorb any incoming electric attacks, including any Zap Cannons that Mega Raichu Y sends your way. This will also increase its special attack by a stage each time it takes an electric attack, but it will still be as frail as Mega Raichu Y, so be careful.
These are just general overviews of both Mega Raichus, but it’s entirely possible that new Pokémon added to the Champions roster could add new layers to them we haven’t thought of yet. For now, which one best suits your needs will depend on your team, but they both have their uses, and every player is going to get handed one when they log in for the next few months, so expect to see the electric rats running around the battlefield for a while.
