Thunder, Rain and Lightning - A Perfect Storm (Raichu + Azumarill core analysis)

Previously, I focused on the heavy half of this adorable duo, but now, I'm gonna dive deep into why Raichu is Totally Viable and a perfect partner for Pikablu. Let's get one thing straight off the bat though: I don't expect anything I say here to be the optimal moveset or strategy, not at all. I'd rather put my thoughts on why my version works out, so hopefully others can take inspiration from it and come up with new sets.

In my opinion, there are so many different builds for Raichu, and I've experimented with quite a few of them, but the one I've had most success with (even if it can be a bit boring for me) is this:







Ur worst nitemare (Raichu) @ Focus Sash 
Ability: Lightning Rod 
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe 
Naive Nature 
- Fake Out 
- Protect 
- Encore 
- Volt Switch


As you can see, the EV spread is a pretty standard 252/252/4, this is mostly because I'm not investing any specific amounts into a stat so that it can tank a certain move or take a specific amount of damage - Raichu, in my opinion, isn't that great for bulk (although I have experimented a little bit with that, and I might talk about it later on). I'm mostly just maxing out the stats that this specific Raichu needs to be a speedy hitter.

I like to take advantage of Raichu's insane speed stat, and use him as my go-to Fake Out user. You might have noticed Incineroar being hugely prevalent in any doubles format as The Fake Out user - but with Raichu's high speed that's been boosted by its Naive nature, it means I can Fake Out the Fake Out. It's great!

Lightning Rod is also an incredibly useful ability to have when Azumarill is your partner, as it redirects all Electric attacks to Raichu meaning one of Azumarill's glaring weaknesses is taken care of. The Focus Sash is also a highly useful item, because Raichu is pretty fragile, and any move that could cause Raichu to get OHKO'd instead leaves it hanging on with 1 HP - and sometimes that's all you need.

Pretty much every move, ability, and EVs that I put on Raichu are so that it can be the best possible support for Azumarill, on its own he can be a pretty annoying thorn in any team's side too, but for me, he works best when he's helping his buddy.

That's not to say that I don't have a game plan for Raichu either - that's why Encore and Volt Switch are there for. Encore is a move that forces the target Pokemon to repeat whatever move they last used for the next three turns. Not so ideal if the last used move was Earthquake, but when it's Protect? Hell. Yeah. Now you have a Pokemon that is essentially useless for a couple turns so you're free to damage them whichever way you like, I like to Volt Switch on whoever is the best option, which not only gets a hit in, but I also get to switch in a Pokemon for free! Hence the 'switch' in the name.

This is called Pivoting, and it's something I like to take advantage of in my teams. I like to have two Pivots, one is almost always Raichu, and the other is normally a much more bulkier Pokemon that has access to U-Turn as a move (it does the same thing as Volt Switch, but it's a Bug type move instead). So, when I've Fake Outed, Encore'd and Volt Switched my fragile little Raichu into a much tougher Pokemon, I can U-Turn that when the going gets rough and start the Fake Out, Encore, Switch all over again. It's not a hard and fast rule at all, and sometimes I keep Raichu on for the whole match, or most of it, but in those tricky situations, this is how I like to get out of them.

And of course, we have Protect as always, because sometimes you just need to keep it alive for just that little bit longer.

Now for where these two mons synergise, well I already mentioned how Lightning Rod helps Azumarill. I have a pretty basic flowchart for how these two are supposed to work most of the time.

1. Raichu use Fake Out on whoever is the biggest threat on the field - Causing that mon to not be able to move
2. Azumarill uses Belly Drum - Maxing out its Attack
3. Azumarill uses Aqua Jet - a move that normally has a tiny amount of power but is always guaranteed to go first - and hopefully OHKOs or gets close to that
4. Raichu finishes off whatever Azumarill couldn't with a Volt Switch and leaves for safety

Of course, this doesn't always work, but I've pulled it off enough times for it to be called Reliable. But I hope that this small analysis gave a little bit of an insight into how someone could be approaching teambuilding for Double Battles - It's all about that Synergy.