(ライチュウ in
Japanese ) is a
Fictional character of the
Pokémon franchise. It is the evolved form of
Pikachu , the most popular of all Pokémon, and thus enjoys some reflected popularity.
"Raichu" is probably a
Portmanteau , derived from "rai," meaning "thunder" in the Japanese language, and "chu," an
Onomatopoeia in the Japanese language for the squeak made by a mouse.
Raichu resembles a large, bipedal
Rodent . (The
Jerboa , a species of desert rodent, bears a strong resemblance to Raichu). It has orange fur, a tan underbelly, brown paws and yellow sacs on its cheeks. Its ears are large and pointed and it has a whip-like tail that ends in a yellow lightning bolt shape.
Like all Electric-type Pokémon,
Electricity features prominently in Raichu's life processes. Raichu absorbs electric charges from the environment as needed by either planting its tail in the ground or raising it in the air to gather electricity from the atmosphere. It then stores the accumulated charge in its cheek pouches, like its pre-evolved form
Pikachu .
Raichu's ability to contain electric currents is impressive; it is common for its electrical attacks to have a power of 10,000
Volt s, although record
Potential Difference s of up to 100,000 volts have been recorded. Even when not battling, Raichu's body exudes a weak electric charge that makes it
Luminescent in
Darkness and can give a nasty
Shock to anyone who touches it carelessly.
Raichu's attitude is partially dependent on the amount of electricity that courses through its body. The more electric power it stores, the more energetic it becomes. Its muscles are stimulated, a phenomenon especially noticeable in its ears, which stand straight up. At high doses of electricity, Raichu becomes unduly aggressive. As a safeguard against this, Raichu frequently calms itself down by discharging excess electricity using its tail as a
Ground . In the wild, this results in characteristic patches of scorched earth around a Raichu's nest. This is also seen in a newer discovered Pokémon,
Manectric , which is almost constantly discharging itself.
In the wild, Raichu can only be found in ''
Pokémon Red '' and ''
Blue '' in the Power Plant, Route 23 and the Unknown Dungeon. Raichu can also be obtained by using a Thunderstone on Pikachu in all of the
Pokémon Role-playing Games thus far except for ''
Pokémon Yellow ''. There, the only available Pikachu is the starter Pokémon and it rejects the Thunderstone, following
Ash Ketchum 's Pikachu's suit of refusing to evolve to prove itself. (Any Pikachu acquired through trading can still be evolved, however).
Like most Electric-type Pokémon, Raichu has very good speed and special attack, but poor defenses. Unusually enough, Raichu also has a high attack stat, giving it the potential to use physical attacks quite effectively. Although Raichu learns mostly Electric-type attacks on its own, it can also learn the useful moves Reflect and Light Screen, which can support it and its teammates. Technical Machines can further endow it with powerful physical moves like Double-Edge, Iron Tail or Focus Punch. Finally, if it has been evolved from the prize Pikachu of ''
Pokémon Stadium '', Raichu can use the Water-type Surf attack, which can give it the edge against its otherwise advantageous Ground-type opponents.
- Raichu was a rumored secret character for ), but it was soon discovered to be a hoax.
- Raichu was originally planned to evolve into something called Lightchu.
Raichu has made a fair number of guest appearances, usually as a Pokémon belonging to the trainer met in that episode. In such appearances, Raichu usually cooperates with
Ash's Pikachu and
Team Rocket usually abducts both. It appears in a Pikachu short called, "Pikachu's Vacation" where all of Ash's, Brocks, and Misty's pokemon go to a Pokemon day care. They run into a Snubbull, Marill, Cubone and a Raichu, who bully them for a while, but later become friends.
Raichu's most important appearance was as one of the Pokémon used by
Lt. Surge , the Gym Leader of
Vermilion City . Ash's
Pikachu was first beaten by Lt. Surge's Raichu, and it was given the option to evolve so that it could become powerful enough to stand a chance. However, Pikachu refused to evolve, intent on beating Raichu in its own way. Raichu's evolved status proved to be its undoing; Lt. Surge had evolved it too quickly and it had never learned the Speed and Agility attacks. Pikachu used that attack to run rings around Raichu, which was rendered powerless when it discharged all its electricity.
Other anime appearances include being of great importance in Episode 71: Lights Camera Quaktion, Episode 92: Stage Fight and Episode 141: Mild n' Wooly.
- VS'' (Basic, as Jasmine's Raichu), ''Pokémon ---VS'' (Basic, as Lt. Surge's Raichu), ''Expedition'', ''Skyridge'', ''EX Sandstorm'' (as Raichu EX), ''EX Team Magma vs. Team Aqua'', ''EX: Firered & Leafgreen'' and ''EX: Emerald'' (as Raichu EX). Shining Raichu's Thundersquall attack requires two Lightning energy and two Water energy. Notably, Dark Raichu was a "secret" card; it was not listed in official catalogues, and was numbered 87th from a set of 86.
Raichu also appears in the Chronicles movie, Legend of Thunder.
Since Raichu is the evolution of the very popular
Pikachu character, and since it is difficult to devolve a Pokemon, many people do not wish to initiate the evolution at all. While Raichu has some stronger abilities than
Pikachu , he lacks the asthetic appeal of Pikachu.
- Barbo, Maria. ''The Official Pokémon Handbook''. Scholastic Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0439154049.
- Loe, Casey, ed. ''Pokémon Special Pikachu Edition Official Perfect Guide''. Sunnydale, CA: Empire 21 Publishing, 1999. ISBN 130206151.
- Nintendo Power. ''Official Nintendo Pokémon FireRed Version & Pokémon LeafGreen Version Player’s Guide''. Nintendo of America Inc., August 2004. ISBN 193020650X
- Nintendo Power. ''Official Nintendo Pokémon Emerald Player’s Guide''. Nintendo of America Inc., April 2005. ISBN 1930206585
