The Pokemon series has 18 typings for its more than 1000 Pokemon to da𒁃te. Of the typings, one of the 🍸original and most popular is the Electric-Type. Electric-Type Pokemon make up around 88 entries in the Pokédex. It is also the typing of the series mascot, Pikachu. With such a powerful force in this typing, it can be tough for some to counter it.
After all, Electric-Type Pokemon are some of the most resistant in the series. They have few weaknesses and resist a fair b🌸it of types at the same time. On the other hand, they are matched by a somewhat low number of Pokemon they are super effective against. In most cases, when you face off against an Electric-Type Poke🐼mon, chances are you’ll be in for a neutrally damaging battle.
This is because only a single typing — Ground — is super effective against Electric. That is quite impressive, matched by the fact that only Electric, Grass, Dragon, and Ground are resistant or immune to its attacks. Me🅷anwhile, it takes less damage from Electric, Steel, and Flying. What balances it out is the two lone typings it is dominant against: Water and Flying.
Overall, Electric may not be as powerful as some other typings but it is one of the most balanced. Here are some stꦕrategies that you can use to help you out when you are taking on these generally fast and effective Electric foes.
Option 1: Shut down its power with a weakness
First off, your best option up against an Electric-Type Pokemon is its sole weakness: Ground. If you roll up with a G𒈔round Pokemon, you’ll be able to not only deal some super effecജtive damage against the Electric-Type Pokemon but be immune to any of its Electric attacks.
This means in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, going up against one of the Gym Leader Iono’s Pokemon like Bellibolt means you are better off using a Pokemon like Clodsire. 🌱Or even ♏a fellow Electric-Type Pokemon like Sandy Shocks that has Ground moves.
What you’ll need to worry about is that many Electric-Type Pokemon have extremely high Speed stats. This makes them generally go first in battle. While it is possible to try and combat this with a fast Pokemon of your own, few Ground Pokemon are♏ capable of this. Most are quite slow, in fact.
This means that you’ll want a Pokemon that is bulky enough to withstand whatever attacks the Pokemon has, so you can knock it out in one hit on the next turn. If you have both Special Attack and Physical Attack moves,🤪 that would be even better, as 𒉰it’s split when it comes to which of the two defensive stats Electric-Type Pokemon generally have.
Option 2: Avoid being a conductor
The other method of going about taking down an Electric-Type Pokemon is to have something that is able to resist its ♏strengths. Of course, you don’t want anything that is a Water or Flying-Type since those are the only two types that Electric Pokemon can take advantage of with super-effective damage.
But you also might want something that resists or is entirely immune to paralysis. This is a frustrating status effect that Electric moves can inflict, which has a decent chance of preventing you from making a move every turn. In this case, you may want to tackle an Electric Pokemon with another Electric if you have a Ground-Type attack or strong neut🌄rally damaging move.
Electric Pokemon are the only ones immune to paralysis, with the exception of Grass-Types that can avoid some spore-based ones. Alternatively, you could use a Dragon-Type Po🐈kemon since it resists some Electric d🎐amage and usually has a wide enough move pool to combat against an Electric Pokemon.
Option 3: Consider its secondary typing
Another option is to consider the second typing of the Electric-Type Pokemon. Less than half of all Electric-Type Pokemon are single-types. This is one typing t🌠hat benefits a lot from a secondary one and is quite common. As such, most of the weaknesses and strategies for defeating an Electric-Type Pokemon come from its secondary typing.
Take Pawmot again, for example. Because of its extra Fighting-Type, it is also weak to Psychic and Fairy, in addition to the expected Ground. Or the Violet box art legendary, Miraidon, with its extra weaknesses to Ice, Dragon, and Fairy. This opens up the doorway for many more strategies than would normally be possible against a pur🌸e Electric-Type Pokemon.
This is e💯specially true when up against a Pokemon like Kilowattrel, which is Electric and Flying. That Flying-Type addition means that it is now immune to Ground, which would normally be y𒈔our go-to super-effective typing. Now, you have to plan ahead and use Ice or Rock if you want to take down this swift-moving bird.
As you can see, the Eꦗlectric-Type Pokemon are quite varied and flexible. You’ll wan💃t to keep on your toes and think of all possible scenarios ahead of time if you want to be dominant in your battles.
Option 4: Rely on certain Pokemon abilities
You could snuff the power out of Electric-types using Pokemon with abilities like Lightning Rod, Motor Drive, and Volt Absorb. For the most part, these abilities are shared by Electric Pokemon, but Lightning Rod is the except༺ion.
The Rhyperior line naturally learns Lightning Rod, despite 🌌not being Electric. This allows you to both nullify Electric moves and set up your own Ground-type moves at the same time. If that isn’t an option, you can even fight fire with fire, or﷽ Electric in this case.
You can use an Electric-type Pokemon like Pawmot, Pachirisu, Kilowattrel, Jolteon, and others that have access to the Volt Absorb abiliꦺty. If an Electric-type enemy foolishly hits you with an Electric move, you’ll be healed for damage. You can then use neutral-damage moves, such as Fighting or Fire, to knock out your opponent.
Option 5: Exploit defensive options
While this is more in the competitive territory, it’s always good to know�� if the opponent’s Pokémon is more susceptible to Sp. Atk or normal Atk dam🌳age.
For example, some popular Pokémon would be Raging Bolt or Miraidon. Both have a double-type pairing, so ma♎ke use of Option 3, but also take note of defensive stats.
Raging Bolt is more even between Sp. Def and Defense, so you can go for either one here, though Sp. Def is slightly 🐟less in terms of stats. However, Miraidon has a significantly lower Defense stat compared to its Sp. Def stat, so you want to ideally use Atk moves.
Knowing what a Pokémon’s weaker defensive stat is will go such a long way. Even if you need to pull up a guide to see what you may be going up against, those few points be𝔍tween Sp. Def and normal Defense can be the difference betwe🔯en knocking an opponent’s Pokémon out or not.
Option 6: Set up a diverse party
Adding onto Option 5, it’s always good to use Pokémon of different type꧟s and stats. If you have a team that has all physical moves, they may not do so well against others that have high Defense﷽ stats.
Having a mix between Sp. Atk and physical Attackers can keep your opponents guessing what you might do next. In some cases too, having some kind of defensive backup can throw ꦦtheir game off.
Option 7: Counter with held items and switching
Say you have a Pokémon at your partyꦛ that🐓 has a Lightning Rod or something to nullify the damage caused by an upcoming electric move. That can go a long way to either force your opponent to also switch or play more defensively.
In ✨a case like this, you can get a good setup going, like using Spikes or Stealth Rock to get some passive damage between switches or knockouts. If your opponent starts to use power-up abilities, that’s your chance to wither them down.
Alternatively, if you know you have some obvious Electric weaknesses or not the greatest counters, you can always give your Pokémon a held item like a Wacan Berry to mitigate some damage or a Ce𝓡ll Battery to up your attack power after being hit.
Option 8: Pay attention to Tera Types
With Tera Types flipping a lot of what we have been used to in Pokémon games, you can be blindsided by what type your opponent may Terastallize to. T🌺his is why it is important to have a diverse cast of Pokémon in your team so you can still possibly counter whatever your opponent throws at you.
Published: Feb 8, 2025 09:13 am