Question

Thunder or Thunderbolt for Raichu?

Answer 1

I think Thunderbolt is a better all-around option. 95 Damage plus STAB combined with 100 Accuracy is excellent. Thunder gives you more power, but that 30% chance of a miss can cause you to lose games that you could have won with Thunderbolt.

If you are going for a rain team, definitely go for Thunder because the 100 accuracy in rain and 120 BP plus STAB is awesome. But for an all-around regular team, Thunderbolt is your best shot.

Comments

Thunderbolt does 90 damage, not 95

Answer 2

Personally, unless you have something that makes Thunder hit all the time, I prefer Thunderbolt because it has decent damage and it hits all the time.
Hope this helps:)

Comments

Thank you!

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Thunderbolt doesn't hit all the time because the opponent might use double team

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thunder hits always in rain

Answer 3

Weeeeeell... let's think.

Thunder makes the most incredible of incredible damage, but only hits 7 out of 10 times. So it's a 30% chance it will miss. That's pretty high, yet possible.

Thunderbolt is a move that always hits, but does 95 damage.
Imagine adding the two moves' accuracy and damage together:

Thunder = 120 + 70 = 190
Thunderbolt = 95 + 100 = 195

Yes, Thunderbolt wins, but as much as my inner-self wants to scream Thunderbolt, I actually go for the opposition.
I have had my history with Thunder, and most of the times I've used it, it has hit.
What I did was that I taught my Ampharos Shock Wave and Thunder, so if Thunder is always missing I can hit them with Shock Wave. Substituting Shock Wave with Thunderbolt, and that's a great technique right there! (But it wastes half of your moveset D:)

I would personally recommend Thunder, because if all goes well, your opponent will be begging for mercy. However, I'd recommend a back up move, in case your luck isn't very 'lucky'. Shock Wave, or Thunderbolt are good options.

Sorry about the wall of text, I do this a lot. xD
Hope I helped somehow :)

Comments

Thanks! I might use both moves. :D

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Even though it has been a few years, I wanted to let you know you should take the expected value if you wanted to calculate this... Hence the expected value for thunder is 0.70 * 120 = 84 while the expected value for thunderbolt is 1.00 * 95 = 95. This means thunderbolt gives a higher damage output over time.

Answer 4

If you have a lot of x accuracy's you should get thunder or try a wide lens that'll help too

Answer 5

If you're running Rain Dance on your Raichu or another Pokemon, or you have it holding a Wide Lens, I'd go with Thunder. If not, Thunderbolt is the better choice personally due to its higher accuracy.

Answer 6

It is your choice. If your going for power Thunder would be the way to go. Thunderbolt has better accuracy but you lose some power. Whether your looking for power or accuracy it is your choice. I prefer thunderbolt.

Answer 7

Note that this Answer is updated for gen 7

Thunderbolt has 95 Base Power with 100% Accuracy + paired with STAB is a good move to have on Regular and Alolan Raichu. If Your going for a rain team then Thunder is your best bet because normally thunder has that 70% Accuracy but in the rain, it has 100% Accuracy and along with 120 Base Power and STAB.

Possible Movesets:

Raichu @ Focus Sash
Ability: Lightning Rod
Evs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 Hp
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)

• Nasty Plot
• Focus Blast
• Thunderbolt
• Hidden Power (Ice)

Raichu-Alola @ Aloraichium Z
Ability: Surge Surfer
Evs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 Hp
Modest Nature (+SpA, -Atk)

• Psychic/Psyshock
• Focus Blast
• Thunderbolt
• Hidden Power (Ice)

Rain Team:

Raichu @ Life Orb
Ability: Lightning Rod
Evs: 252 Spe / 252 SpA / 4 Hp
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)

• Thunder
• Grass Knot
• Focus Blast
• Surf/Hidden Power (Water)

Raichu-Alola @ Focus Sash
Ability: Surge Surfer
Evs: 252 Spe / 252 SpA / 4 Hp
Modest Nature (+Spe, -Atk)

• Thunder
• Nasty Plot/Focus Blast
• Psychic/Psyshock
• Surf/Hidden Power (Water)