Surf's up! Niantic has brought Alolan Raichu as a Pokemon Go raid boss. Get ready to hang ten and take home this tropical thunder rat!
Alolan Raichu Raid Basics
Alolan Raichu is an Electric/Psychic-type Pokemon, giving it some more weaknesses to take advantage of. It is a Level 3 raid which spawns at 16178 CP and will be catchable at anywhere from 1224-1531 CP. Its fast moves are Spark and Volt Switch (both Electric) while its Charge Moves are Wild Charge (Electric), Thunder Punch (Electric), and Psychic (...Psychic.)
Here are our recommendations for Pokemon you can bring to battle Alolan Raichu:
Tyranitar
Another raid, another chance for you to unleash the Tyranitar army. Bite and Crunch should be the moves you're using against Alolan Raichu in order to capitalize on its Dark-type weakness.
Gengar
We again capitalize on Alolan Raichu's Psychic-type weakness by bringing our Gengar to battle. Its vintage moveset of Shadow Ball and Shadow Claw will definitely lead to victory. Be wary of Psychic, as it will prey on Gengar's Poison typing.
Groudon
We now take advantage of Raichu's Ground-type weakness by bringing the Pokemon Ruby mascot himself, Groudon. Mud Shot and Earthquake under Sunny conditions will make short work of the surfing rodent.
Mewtwo
Mewtwo's Psycho Cut and Shadow Ball moveset will bring the pain to poor Alolan Raichu.
Strong Ground, Dark, Bug, or Ghost Type Pokemon
If you find your box a little devoid of legendaries and Tyranitars, then capitalize on Raichu's weaknesses. Its new Psychic typing does more harm than good, as you can bring more than just Ground types to deal super effective damage to the rat. Unfortunately, there's no double super effective type move in the game (yet) so you'll just have to settle for regular old super effective damage.
Solo
Trainers have been able to solo Alolan Raichu unlike its ghostly Alolan counterpart, Marowak. You will need a strong, high IV Tyranitar army or the above legendaries to be able to survive the encounter. However, trusting in your Pokemon (and mashing your poor device's screen enough) will seal the victory for you. If you're having trouble soloing the event, bring a friend or two with their own powerful Pokemon to make life easier.
Weather
Alolan Raichu will benefit from Rainy or Windy conditions and will be weather boosted as a result. You'll ideally want Sunny (Groundon) or Foggy (everyone else) conditions if you're looking for an easier time.
Shiny
No word yet of shinies, but let us know if you come across one!
Best of luck in all your Pokemon catching adventures! While you wait for an Alolan Raichu to spawn in your area, why not brush up on the newest gameplay addition to Pokemon GO, Lucky Pokemon!
