Raichu is a bipedal rodent Pokémon, though it typically moves on all fours. It's covered in dark orange fur with a white belly, brown-and-yellow curved ears, and yellow circular markings on its cheeks where its electric sacs are located. Its arms and feet have brown patches, and its signature long tail ends in a lightning bolt shape—chipped on females. Two horizontal brown stripes run across its back. Raichu gives off a weak electrical charge and glows faintly in the dark.
The tail is Raichu's electrical hub: it absorbs electricity from the atmosphere or ground and protects the Pokémon from its own high-voltage output. Raichu can store over 100,000 volts—enough to take down a Copperajah. When its sacs are fully charged, its ears stand straight up and its muscles become stimulated. Overcharge it, though, and it gets aggressive; to avoid this, Raichu discharges electricity into the ground through its tail, which is why you'll find scorched patches around its nest. Being an evolved form, Raichu is rarely found in the wild, and trainers often pass on evolving their Pikachu anyway since people prefer how it looks as Pikachu. There's also a mechanical downside: Raichu loses access to speed-based attacks it could learn as Pikachu. According to Pokémon Sleep data, Raichu sleeps while actively discharging electricity, driving its tail into the ground like a rod—dangerously electrifying anything nearby.
Alolan Form
Alola's regional variant has lighter coloring and softer features. Its eyes are blue with yellow markings underneath, and its ears are thicker and less pointed, with a spiral pattern inside. It keeps the white belly but adds white paw markings with bright yellow lines between the toes, plus white back stripes and a small white heel circle. The tail's lightning bolt has rounded edges. The big difference: Alolan Raichu can ride its tail like a surfboard using psychic power, floating through the air. Its cheek sacs still store electricity, but rubbing them releases a sweet smell along with a light shock—likely tied to its psychic abilities.
The origins were mysterious at first. Locals joked it ate too many of Alola's special sweet pancakes, but researchers think its diet overall, combined with the region's unique climate and weather, triggered the transformation. Alolan Raichu fires off star-shaped thunderbolts and goes by the nickname hodad. While native to Alola, it's occasionally spotted in the Terarium's Coastal Biome during rare mass outbreaks.
Evolution
Raichu is Pikachu's final evolution. In Alola, the regional form evolves from Pikachu and marks the end of the Pichu line in that region.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
