Lt. Surge's Raichu

Lt. Surge's Raichu (Japanese: マチスのライチュウ Matis's Raichu) is Lt. Surge's main Pokémon in the and.

In the main series
Raichu appeared in Electric Shock Showdown, where it was responsible for brutally defeating many opponents, as the Pokémon Center started to get crowded. This happened before Ash entered the Vermilion Gym. Later during Ash's arrival, Lt. Surge sent it out to him and. Lt. Surge laughed at for not evolving Pikachu, thinking that evolved Pokémon are always better. This infuriated Ash and made Pikachu, also infuriated, want to battle Raichu.

In the, both sides started off with Thunder Shock, but Raichu's turned out to be more powerful, which weakened Pikachu drastically. Raichu then easily defeated Pikachu with a combination of and.

Ash returned to the Gym for a rematch after Pikachu was healed. He ignored Lt. Surge's advice on evolving Pikachu into a Raichu. In the rematch, Raichu was able to hit Pikachu with Body Slam but Pikachu was able to use two new attacks, and, which were both learned before the rematch, before being finished off. As Raichu evolved too fast, it never learned any speedy attacks. Pikachu took advantage of this by using his speedy attacks to confuse Raichu. Lt. Surge decided to cancel them by having Raichu use Thunderbolt on the field. However, Pikachu dodged it by using his tail. When Raichu was about to use Thunderbolt again, it ran out of electricity which gave Pikachu the upper hand. Pikachu finished Raichu off with his tail attack before Raichu made full contact with Take Down. As Ash eventually defeated Lt. Surge in a rematch, it proved to him that evolved Pokémon are not always better.

Raichu reappeared in a flashback in Pikachu's Goodbye when Ash was recalling the fun times he had with Pikachu, and in another one in Bad to the Bone, where Raichu was defeated in a Gym battle by Otoshi's. Both Raichu and Lt. Surge reappeared in another flashback in Pika and Goliath!.

Personality and characteristics
Raichu's attitude towards Ash's Pikachu almost completely mirrors Lt. Surge's attitude toward Ash. When they first meet Raichu, it doesn't have a high opinion of Pikachu. However, after being defeated, Raichu grows to respect him.

In Pokémon Origins
Raichu was seen briefly in File 2: Cubone, where it was used by Lt. Surge in his Gym battle against. However, it was defeated off-screen.

In the games
Raichu appears as Lt. Surge's Pokémon in all games he appears in. In, it is his only Pokémon, much as in the anime. In other games it is not his only Pokémon, but it is always present. Lt. Surge's Pikachu that he has in the games is also shown below, since Surge said in the anime that he obtained his Raichu as a Pikachu.

Traded to the undefined

Lt. Surge's Raichu debuted in Go for the Golbat during Surge's with.

In Raising Raichu, Raichu was used to battle the Masked Man. Later, when Surge encountered the Red Gyarados at the Lake of Rage, he used Raichu to power up his submarine's underwater laser. However, as the thawed wasn't willing to fight him, but instead trying to break another block of ice at the bottom of the lake, Surge ended up using the laser on the ice block, which turned out to contain some of the gears of  and, who had previously fought the Masked Man at the lake.

Raichu was also briefly seen in Hello, Lickitung, where Surge used his sharp tail as a warning for Morty to not to struggle against him, as well as in Yikes, It's Yanma!, where he was seen standing alongside Surge during the introduction of the Kanto and Johto Gym Leaders.



In the Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure manga
Lt. Surge's Raichu only appeared as a silhouette in Betting on the Name of the Strongest! along with its Trainer and the other Kanto Gym Leaders as one of the obstacles Jō must face.

In the TCG
Lt. Surge's Raichu has been depicted in in the TCG. The following is a list of cards involving either his Pikachu or Raichu.


 * Raichu also appears in the card Secret Mission (Gym Heroes 118).

Trivia

 * All of Lt. Surge's Pikachu and Raichu from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and Pokémon Stadium 2 have the exclusive move.
 * Raichu has an illegal move combination in Pokémon Stadium 2: Surf can only be obtained as a special move as a Pikachu from Pokémon Stadium, while can only be obtained by.

Related articles
Raichu de Lt. Surge Raichu du Major Bob Raichu di Lt. Surge マチスのライチュウ 马志士的雷丘