Online Competition I Choose 'Chu!

ichoosechu.png


After the goofy Magikarp format last time...

It would be more based if Pichu was required.
Looks like you got your wish.

3v3 singles, only Pichu, Pikachu, and Raichu (including Alola form) are allowed.
Species clause applies, so the only way to fill out a "full" team is by using all three of them, and you only get to run one variant of Raichu, not both. It doesn't mention hats on Pikachu, but knowing the way format rules are coded, it's almost certainly going to be allowed to use that as your Pikachu representative, since the dex number is still 25.
Given that Lightning Rod will be all over the place, expect a conspicuous absence of electric moves despite being a Pikachu-centered format.

The battle window runs from August 12-14 (starts the evening of the 11th in the US).
 
Do we know if extremespeed pikachu is allowed? Probably not, as it's a transer move...

With dynamax allowed, I think the major threats will be Dig (both Pikachu and Raichu) and Psychic-stab from Raichu-A,. The latter has the advantage of not caring about Shuca Berry or Air Balloon.

I think a major move in this comp will be Endure. All three mice learn it, and can use it to waste dynamax turns. Pichu, in particular, is terrible stat-wise, but with a sash and endure, it can waste 2 turns of dynamax. It can also use electric terrain to activate Surge Surfer on Raichu-A.

Hyper beam is also interesting for the speed drop, and Fake out will provide chip and break sashes, but you don't wanna fake out into dynamax.
 
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Extreme Speed was an event move last available in gen 5, so that has to be wiped if you want to use it in competitions here, and then (unlike some former event moves like Surf) there's no way to get it back.
 
:sm/pikachu-gmax:
I wonder how he's going to perform. Light Ball boosting Max Quake makes Pikachu the strongest of all the avaible Pokémon. But it cannot hold Air Balloon / Shuca Berry

Pikachu-Gmax @ Light Ball
Ability: Lightning Rod
- Dig
- Quick Attack
- Endure
This is the base I'm wondering right now. Quick Attack as it serves for a priority move, quickly popping balloons, and Max Strike. Maybe Giga Impact is better, but I'll leave this in the air right now. Endure is a funny move, but I don't see it being very useful.

:sm/raichu: :sm/raichu-alola:
The root of the format is going to be which Raichu form you choose. I'll be running A-Raichu as it was the favorite of a friend that passed away (Rest in Peace, Krystal. This format is for you)

This is where Air Balloon comes into play. There are many scenarios, but I think the best one is running bulky Raichu with enough Speed to outspeed -1 252+ Raichu.

:raichu: Raichu looks solid because it shuts down Electric-type moves from A-Raichu, not allowing it to proc. Surge Surfer

:raichu-alola: Has access to a Psychic-type STAB, turns into Max Mindstorm which of course will (most likely) 2HKO all Pikachu / Raichu.

Sing? I think Sing could be funny, if you run a weird Scarf set, so you always outspeed and have a 55% chance of winning the game.

Thief? Thief turns into Max Darkness. Another way to deal with A-Raichu

:sm/pichu:
Useless rat (I'm using screens)
 
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:sm/pikachu-gmax:
I wonder how he's going to perform. Light Ball boosting Max Quake makes Pikachu the strongest of all the avaible Pokémon. But it cannot hold Air Balloon / Shuca Berry
252 Atk Pikachu Max Quake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Pikachu: 336-396 (159.2 - 187.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Pikachu Max Quake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Raichu: 268-316 (102.6 - 121%) -- guaranteed OHKO

light ball is a bait
 
Pichu is of course, unviable.

:sm/pikachu-gmax:
I wonder how he's going to perform. Light Ball boosting Max Quake makes Pikachu the strongest of all the avaible Pokémon. But it cannot hold Air Balloon / Shuca Berry

Pikachu-Gmax @ Light Ball
Ability: Lightning Rod
- Dig
- Quick Attack
- Endure
This is the base I'm wondering right now. Quick Attack as it serves for a priority move, quickly popping balloons, and Max Strike. Maybe Giga Impact is better, but I'll leave this in the air right now. Endure is a funny move, but I don't see it being very useful, as just like the Jump! Magikarp competition, not Dynamaxing T1 is throwing

:sm/raichu: :sm/raichu-alola:
The root of the format is going to be which Raichu form you choose. I'll be running A-Raichu as it was the favorite of a friend that passed away (Rest in Peace, Krystal. This format is for you)

This is where Air Balloon comes into play. There are many scenarios, but I think the best one is running bulky Raichu with enough Speed to outspeed -1 252+ Raichu.

:raichu: Raichu looks solid because it shuts down Electric-type moves from A-Raichu, not allowing it to proc. Surge Surfer

:raichu-alola: Has access to a Psychic-type STAB, turns into Max Mindstorm which of course will (most likely) 2HKO all Pikachu / Raichu.

Sing? I think Sing could be funny, if you run a weird Scarf set, so you always outspeed and have a 55% chance of winning the game.

Thief? Thief turns into Max Darkness. Another way to deal with A-Raichu

:sm/pichu:
Useless rat
Sorry, didn't realize the format was a 3v3. Thought it was just a 1v1, but most of my points still stand
 
So does the bring 6 pick 3 principle already apply species clause before team preview (meaning you can only bring 3 pokemon despite the max technically being set to 6), or is species clause not applied until the selection so you could bring both raichu's and then pick which one you want to use at team preview?
 

Theorymon

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honestly I wonder if offensive Pikachu is even worth it if you're running offensive Raichu, since I'm pretty sure LO Max Quake Raichu still blasts this format anyways! It might make sense of there's a reason to use a bulkier Raichu though.

Anyways looking at Raichu vs Alolan Raichu, the only way to nerf special moves is Light Screen, compared to how Pichu might totally run Charm to help suicide set up something, so Alolan Raichu's Psychic STAB could actually really come in handy here!
 
honestly I wonder if offensive Pikachu is even worth it if you're running offensive Raichu, since I'm pretty sure LO Max Quake Raichu still blasts this format anyways! It might make sense of there's a reason to use a bulkier Raichu though.

Anyways looking at Raichu vs Alolan Raichu, the only way to nerf special moves is Light Screen, compared to how Pichu might totally run Charm to help suicide set up something, so Alolan Raichu's Psychic STAB could actually really come in handy here!
You can use Eerie Impulse, but only Original Raichu gets that, and only Alola Raichu is a plausible target for it because everything else can have Lightning Rod.
 
This definitely looks like it's going to revolve around Raichu. I'm having a hard time seeing Pikachu do a whole lot if it doesn't Dynamax, but I still feel like whichever Raichu form you're using is the better choice for it.

I'm thinking I might try and see how investing in some bulk on Raichu works. I don't think completely neglecting Speed is a good idea, though.

Anyways looking at Raichu vs Alolan Raichu, the only way to nerf special moves is Light Screen
Well, apart from Eerie Impulse... there's always Max Quake.
 
1659093821707.png


Seeing what Pichu does this competition is going to be interesting. And by interesting I mean it's just going to be like a focus sash or endure + custap disruption bot to stall out Dynamax. Psyshock might also be the go to for Raichu-A this competition since you bypass light screen and Max Quake boosts and also just that people might be picking Charm over Reflect on supportive stuff.

I think I might be going insane because honestly Magic Room of all attacks doesn't seem that bad. It's going to look like that house in Cerulean City with all the Digs going around, and a bunch of Balloons and Shucas are probably coming out on top of Pichu's janky items. Somehow getting up a Magic Room with A-Chu without a Reflect or Charm happening might just cleave through an entire team. The problem is doing that without dying or sacrificing your Raichu...
 

Eve

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Been playing and theorycrafting this a bit, it's a very cute format at a very fitting time.

:ss/raichu:
The ruler of the format and your wincon in most games. This should be where your Dynamax goes the vast majority of the time too, for reasons explained in Pikachu's section. Air Balloon or Shuca Berry Raichu is hard to remove outright, letting it deal substantial damage while safe from taking much in return, while Life Orb Raichu will easily OHKO even opposing DMax Raichus with Max Quake after a tiny bit of prior damage. Max Strike is important to keep in mind for both- it can help set up the opposing Raichu to be slower and KOed the next turn.
Raichu @ Air Balloon / Shuca Berry
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dig
- Fake Out
- Quick Attack
- Body Slam / Giga Impact
Raichu @ Life Orb
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dig
- Fake Out / Body Slam / Brick Break / Giga Impact
- Quick Attack
- Endure / Protect


:ss/raichu-alola:
So what does this friend do? Well, if you can get Electric Terrain set up with one of its kids (probably with Pichu) and possibly also break an Air Balloon (probably with Pikachu), Alolan Raichu can proceed to mercilessly rip the opponent apart with uncontested super-fast Life Orb Max Quakes. Takes more careful positioning than regular Raichu but the payoff is immense and reliable, so it's definitely worth it. Giga Impact just outright 2HKOes opposing Dynamaxed Raichu regardless of item which can allevitate mind games, especially if they go for the Max Quake and proceed to get outsped. Substitute may allow you to punish a predicted Endure or Protect, Fake Out is nice general utility, and Sing can steal a game from a preserved Air Balloon Raichu. No, Psychic is not worth it, unless you wanna try some gimmicky set that sets up Max Mindstorm, Endures down to 1HP, activates Salac Berry and then sweeps with Flail. I thiiiink that's probably not optimal.
Krystal (Raichu-Alola) @ Life Orb
Ability: Surge Surfer
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty / Naive Nature
- Dig
- Giga Impact
- Quick Attack / Fake Out / Sing
- Substitute / Fake Out / Sing

:ss/pikachu:
DO NOT DYNAMAX THIS! At least, not usually. Dynamaxing a Pokemon that is just outsped and OHKOd is probably not gonna serve you well, especially if your opponent hasn't used their own Dynamax yet. Save it for Raichu, who's plenty strong enough, especially with Life Orb, and can outspeed and potentially not die instantly thanks to Air Balloon. Pikachu is usually something I throw in versus Pichu, especially to anti-Reflect with Brick Break, or use as a nice tool for breaking Air Balloons or picking off the opponent lategame with strong priority. I wonder if Life Orb Raichu teams could make use of a more defensive Pikachu somehow.
Pikachu-Gmax @ Light Ball
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Dig
- Fake Out
- Quick Attack
- Brick Break / Encore / Endure

:ss/pichu:
This mouse is very annoying. I think Sash is by far the best item because it means you can reactively throw Pichu in on the second turn of an opponent's Dynamax and safely stall out the remaining turns. I'd never drop any of the bottom three moves, but there's a bit of consideration between Charm and Encore for support, and Flail for getting stuff into good ranges- for example, a maximum power Flail puts DMax Raichu into range of your own Air Balloon Raichu's Max Quake, OHKOs Pikachu, and puts DMax Pikachu into range of your own Pikachu's Fake Out or Quick Attack.
Pichu @ Focus Sash
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Encore / Flail / Charm
- Endure
- Fake Out
- Reflect

Here are some relevant calcs for people to keep in mind:
Air Balloon Raichu
252 Atk Raichu Max Strike (Fake Out) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dynamax Raichu: 64-76 (23.7 - 28.1%) -- 91.3% chance to 4HKO
252 Atk Raichu Max Quake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dynamax Raichu: 186-220 (68.8 - 81.4%)

Life Orb Raichu
252 Atk Life Orb Raichu Max Quake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dynamax Raichu: 242-286 (89.6 - 105.9%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO

Life Orb Raichu-A
252+ Atk Life Orb Raichu-Alola Max Quake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Dynamax Raichu-Alola: 268-317 (99.2 - 117.4%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Raichu-Alola Max Quake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Dynamax Raichu: 250-296 (92.5 - 109.6%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Raichu-Alola Max Strike vs. 0 HP / 8 Def Dynamax Raichu: 146-172 (54 - 63.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Pikachu
252 Atk Light Ball Pikachu Fake Out vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Raichu: 43-51 (31.8 - 37.7%) -- 89.1% chance to 3HKO
252 Atk Light Ball Pikachu Fake Out vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Raichu-Alola: 46-55 (34 - 40.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Light Ball Pikachu Fake Out vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Pikachu: 53-63 (48.1 - 57.2%) -- 92.6% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Light Ball Pikachu Fake Out vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Pichu: 90-106 (94.7 - 111.5%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO

Flail Pichu
252 Atk Pichu Flail (200 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Pikachu: 115-136 (104.5 - 123.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Pichu Flail (200 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Raichu-Alola: 99-117 (73.3 - 86.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Pichu Flail (200 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Raichu: 92-109 (68.1 - 80.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Have fun!
 
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Maybe a Ketchum Cup where you only use pokemon Ash used would be interesting in a doubles context (this includes his nfe pokemon as well). But hey, at least we have this
 
Eviolite Pikachu optimal???????
:blobthinking::blobthinking::blobthinking::blobthinking::blobthinking::blobthinking:
It CAN tank a Max quake from Life orb raichu with a good amount of defense investment

252 Atk Life Orb Raichu Max Quake vs. 128 HP / 62 Def Eviolite Dynamax Pikachu: 177-211 (70.2 - 83.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Plus T1 Guard into T2 Max Move into T3 Guard is still strong imo

BUT hat pika isn't compatible w/eviolite sadly ; w ;
 
Move tier list:
Dig: Your only way to hit opposing chus super effectively. Max Quake is also just a good move in general.
Fake Out: Free chip damage, pops Air Balloons. Always a good move to have.
Protect: Scouts out opposing Digs and lets you take a Max Quake sometimes.
Body Slam: A solid attack to throw around outside of Dynamax. Max Strike is also key to dealing with opposing Raichu.
Giga Impact: Gives you a brutally powerful Max Strike and can net you a game-winnng KO.
Reflect: Physical attacks are everywhere, so neutering them is useful. Unlike Charm, this can't be removed by switching out.
Charm: Forces switches and cripples opposing mons, especially when paired with Reflect.
Quick Attack: Picks off weakened opponents and lets you pop Air Balloons for free.
Substitute: Good for scouting and stalling.
Brick Break: Breaks Reflect and Light Screen, and is another good move to spam out of Dynamax. Max Knuckle can also be pretty scary.
Psyshock: I prefer running this over Psychic on Alolan Raichu. It's not as powerful in Dynamax, but it can help against opposing Raichu since they actually have pretty good Sp.Def. It also bypasses the Sp.Def boosts from Max Quake.
Endure: Usually just delays the inevitable, but it's good for burning Dynamax turns and berry strats.
Flail: Pichu's best bet at doing actual damage.

Nasty Plot: Boosting isn't too important in this meta and special attacks aren't too common, but Alolan Raichu can use this really well.
Calm Mind: Helps you deal with opposing special attackers, but isn't as effective at boosting yourself up.
Psychic: Gives you a stronger Max Mindstorm but can be hampered if the opponent has too many Max Quake boosts.
Feint: Breaks Protect which is cool, but it's not as strong as Quick Attack.
Light Screen: Helps you deal with special attackers, but those aren't exactly common.
Hyper Beam: Use this over Giga Impact if you're running special Alolan Raichu.
Electric Terrain: If you're running Alolan Raichu and you're opponent isn't, this can lead to an easy sweep. If you're both running Alolachu then there's no point in using this until the opposing Alolachu is gone.
Sing: Annoying af but inaccurate.
Wish: Useful if you can actually get a wish off, but you're running three frail electric rats. Good luck.
Aglity: Circumvents Max Strike Speed drops and helps you win Speed ties. I've used this on Raichu to some success.
Play Rough: Can potentially lower opponents' Attack, which is handy in a meta with Max Quakes and Strikes everywhere. Max Starfall gets rid of Electric Terrain, which helps against Alolachu.
Expanding Force: Shitty Psychic without terrain but crazy strong with it or in Dynamax.
Draining Kiss: Gives you recovery without relying on Wish, but is pretty weak.
Iron Tail: Gives you Max Steelspike which is cool, but outside of Dynamax it's dogshit since everything resists Steel.
Mega Kick: Pikachu doesn't get Giga Impact so this is the next best thing. Accuracy sucks but you can use it without recharging and still have a powerful Max Strike.
Double Team: fuck you

Electric-type moves: Everything has Lightning Rod besides Alolachu, which still resists Electric.
Surf: Only useful in Alolachu dittos, and even there you can just Max Strike.
Reversal: Have fun being walled by Alolachu lol
Attract: Super annoying but super inconsistent.

This is all just from my experience, from stuff I've either seen or used myself. Pretty fun format, but I wish we could use transfer moves (namely Magnet Rise, Toxic and Endeavor).
 
I think Mega Kick on Pikachu is actually a pretty good idea because it has a good chance of OHKOing non-Dynamax Raichu and always OHKOs non-Dynamax Raichu-A if it hits, thus compressing moveslots:

252 Atk Light Ball Pikachu Mega Kick vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Raichu-Alola: 136-161 (100.7 - 119.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Light Ball Pikachu Mega Kick vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Raichu: 127-150 (94 - 111.1%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO

About the only places where Dig is better than Mega Kick are its accuracy and its ability to OHKO Dynamax Raichu when it is Max Quake when Mega Kick's Max Strike won't, but face it, Dynamax Pikachu is getting shredded by even Dynamax Raichu-A:

4 Atk Life Orb Raichu-Alola Max Quake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Dynamax Pikachu: 221-263 (100.4 - 119.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Raichu-Alola Max Quake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Dynamax Pikachu: 220-260 (100 - 118.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

...and if you're pressing Dig and not Max Quake, you will lose games to Protect and Substitute.

Shame the Raichus actually need Dig to get those OHKOs.
 
Since everybody is using Lightning Rod and as such nobody uses Electric-type moves 'especially since the whole roster resists these moves anyway), I wonder if Static could be viably used on some of the 'Chus instead? Seems reactionary at first glance but being able to just para something could be valuable!
 
Pancake (Pichu) @ Light Clay
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 220 Def / 52 SpD
Careful Nature
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Protect
- Flail / Reversal
:sm/pichu: BRICK BREK IS CRING!!
My favorite Pichu set right now. It's the only way I find to give the team utility.
There's not much you can do to Pikachu / Raichu damage cauculations, so I just calculated it to survive Choice Specs Uprorar crit from Pichu (yup)

I think Protect is crucial (on all Pokémon) right now because of Dig.

I'm unsure on which Pikachu set is optimal, if it's offensive or not.

I think Mega Kick on Pikachu is actually a pretty good idea because it has a good chance of OHKOing non-Dynamax Raichu and always OHKOs non-Dynamax Raichu-A if it hits, thus compressing moveslots:

252 Atk Light Ball Pikachu Mega Kick vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Raichu-Alola: 136-161 (100.7 - 119.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Light Ball Pikachu Mega Kick vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Raichu: 127-150 (94 - 111.1%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO

About the only places where Dig is better than Mega Kick are its accuracy and its ability to OHKO Dynamax Raichu when it is Max Quake when Mega Kick's Max Strike won't, but face it, Dynamax Pikachu is getting shredded by even Dynamax Raichu-A:

4 Atk Life Orb Raichu-Alola Max Quake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Dynamax Pikachu: 221-263 (100.4 - 119.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Raichu-Alola Max Quake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Dynamax Pikachu: 220-260 (100 - 118.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

...and if you're pressing Dig and not Max Quake, you will lose games to Protect and Substitute.

Shame the Raichus actually need Dig to get those OHKOs.
I personally prefer Body Slam. It trades off the capacity of OHKOing both Raichu for consistency.

Eviolite Pikachu optimal???????
:blobthinking::blobthinking::blobthinking::blobthinking::blobthinking::blobthinking:
It CAN tank a Max quake from Life orb raichu with a good amount of defense investment

252 Atk Life Orb Raichu Max Quake vs. 128 HP / 62 Def Eviolite Dynamax Pikachu: 177-211 (70.2 - 83.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Plus T1 Guard into T2 Max Move into T3 Guard is still strong imo

BUT hat pika isn't compatible w/eviolite sadly ; w ;
Pichu is better off dead then alive. Giving it Eviolite makes it "harder" to remove from play and giving your Pikachu / Raichu a safe switch.

Been playing and theorycrafting this a bit, it's a very cute format at a very fitting time.

:ss/raichu:
The ruler of the format and your wincon in most games. This should be where your Dynamax goes the vast majority of the time too, for reasons explained in Pikachu's section. Air Balloon or Shuca Berry Raichu is hard to remove outright, letting it deal substantial damage while safe from taking much in return, while Life Orb Raichu will easily OHKO even opposing DMax Raichus with Max Quake after a tiny bit of prior damage. Max Strike is important to keep in mind for both- it can help set up the opposing Raichu to be slower and KOed the next turn.
Raichu @ Air Balloon / Shuca Berry
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dig
- Fake Out
- Quick Attack
- Body Slam / Giga Impact
Raichu @ Life Orb
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dig
- Fake Out / Body Slam / Brick Break / Giga Impact
- Quick Attack
- Endure / Protect


:ss/raichu-alola:
So what does this friend do? Well, if you can get Electric Terrain set up with one of its kids (probably with Pichu) and possibly also break an Air Balloon (probably with Pikachu), Alolan Raichu can proceed to mercilessly rip the opponent apart with uncontested super-fast Life Orb Max Quakes. Takes more careful positioning than regular Raichu but the payoff is immense and reliable, so it's definitely worth it. Giga Impact just outright 2HKOes opposing Dynamaxed Raichu regardless of item which can allevitate mind games, especially if they go for the Max Quake and proceed to get outsped. Substitute may allow you to punish a predicted Endure or Protect, Fake Out is nice general utility, and Sing can steal a game from a preserved Air Balloon Raichu. No, Psychic is not worth it, unless you wanna try some gimmicky set that sets up Max Mindstorm, Endures down to 1HP, activates Salac Berry and then sweeps with Flail. I thiiiink that's probably not optimal.
Krystal (Raichu-Alola) @ Life Orb
Ability: Surge Surfer
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty / Naive Nature
- Dig
- Giga Impact
- Quick Attack / Fake Out / Sing
- Substitute / Fake Out / Sing

:ss/pikachu:
DO NOT DYNAMAX THIS! At least, not usually. Dynamaxing a Pokemon that is just outsped and OHKOd is probably not gonna serve you well, especially if your opponent hasn't used their own Dynamax yet. Save it for Raichu, who's plenty strong enough, especially with Life Orb, and can outspeed and potentially not die instantly thanks to Air Balloon. Pikachu is usually something I throw in versus Pichu, especially to anti-Reflect with Brick Break, or use as a nice tool for breaking Air Balloons or picking off the opponent lategame with strong priority. I wonder if Life Orb Raichu teams could make use of a more defensive Pikachu somehow.
Pikachu-Gmax @ Light Ball
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Dig
- Fake Out
- Quick Attack
- Brick Break / Encore / Endure

:ss/pichu:
This mouse is very annoying. I think Sash is by far the best item because it means you can reactively throw Pichu in on the second turn of an opponent's Dynamax and safely stall out the remaining turns. I'd never drop any of the bottom three moves, but there's a bit of consideration between Charm and Encore for support, and Flail for getting stuff into good ranges- for example, a maximum power Flail puts DMax Raichu into range of your own Air Balloon Raichu's Max Quake, OHKOs Pikachu, and puts DMax Pikachu into range of your own Pikachu's Fake Out or Quick Attack.
Pichu @ Focus Sash
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Encore / Flail / Charm
- Endure
- Fake Out
- Reflect

Here are some relevant calcs for people to keep in mind:
Air Balloon Raichu
252 Atk Raichu Max Strike (Fake Out) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dynamax Raichu: 64-76 (23.7 - 28.1%) -- 91.3% chance to 4HKO
252 Atk Raichu Max Quake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dynamax Raichu: 186-220 (68.8 - 81.4%)

Life Orb Raichu
252 Atk Life Orb Raichu Max Quake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dynamax Raichu: 242-286 (89.6 - 105.9%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO

Life Orb Raichu-A
252+ Atk Life Orb Raichu-Alola Max Quake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Dynamax Raichu-Alola: 268-317 (99.2 - 117.4%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Raichu-Alola Max Quake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Dynamax Raichu: 250-296 (92.5 - 109.6%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Raichu-Alola Max Strike vs. 0 HP / 8 Def Dynamax Raichu: 146-172 (54 - 63.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Pikachu
252 Atk Light Ball Pikachu Fake Out vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Raichu: 43-51 (31.8 - 37.7%) -- 89.1% chance to 3HKO
252 Atk Light Ball Pikachu Fake Out vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Raichu-Alola: 46-55 (34 - 40.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Light Ball Pikachu Fake Out vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Pikachu: 53-63 (48.1 - 57.2%) -- 92.6% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Light Ball Pikachu Fake Out vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Pichu: 90-106 (94.7 - 111.5%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO

Flail Pichu
252 Atk Pichu Flail (200 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Pikachu: 115-136 (104.5 - 123.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Pichu Flail (200 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Raichu-Alola: 99-117 (73.3 - 86.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Pichu Flail (200 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Raichu: 92-109 (68.1 - 80.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Have fun!
Bestie, just reminding you the format is kind of broken and A-Raichu cannot learn sing (I know, I learned the hard way as well)
 
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