Pokemon Unite Pikachu Guide and Build

The best guide on how to play and build Pikachu in Pokemon UNITE for Nintendo Switch and Mobile devices. Read on to find out everything about Pikachu including the best builds, Held and Battle items, move sets, as well as some general tips!

Pikachu is an icon of the entire Pokemon franchise, so it’s no wonder it was added quite early in the game’s lifecycle. It is quite an effective Attacker Pokemon, especially against players who don’t know the proper way to handle this Pikachu in a fight. Pikachu’s weekly win rate tends to hover around 50%, but despite being so balanced, this Pokemon CAN be quite deadly.

This guide will let you in on a few tricks you can pull with Pikachu, as well as which builds to run, to maximize your win rate with this Pokemon. Stick around and find out if Pikachu is the character for you!

Is Pikachu Good in Pokemon Unite?

Pikachu’s early-game kit is among the best in the game because of its stuns and rapid damage. Indeed, Pikachu is a great Attacker that can achieve easy kills when necessary, yet it is still advised that you concentrate on Wild Pokemon throughout the early game.

Electroweb is one of Pikachu’s basic, unupgraded moves, and it is capable of incapacitating a single victim which is worth its weight in gold in the early game. When an opponent extends too far, they become an easy target thanks to this ability. Alternatively, you may deploy Electroweb to slow down opponents chasing you when you are in danger.

Early on in the game, Thunder Shock deals a fair amount of damage. You won’t need to do much targeting to trigger the move because it is of the sure-hit kind. Use it to put pressure on your opponents or last hit Wild Pokemon to steal it from the opposing side and prevent them from gaining experience points.

Despite Pikachu’s huge damage potential, it is also a bit of a glass cannon that can be easily killed. Therefore, it’s crucial that you fight alongside others such as Defenders who can shock any intruders that approach and engage you in combat. By making up for their lack of range, Pikachu will be able to help large Pokemon like Snorlax or Slowbro secure kills.

Pikachu has a variety of powerful, long-ranged stun attacks at its disposal. Depending on the play style you want to use, one move can be the ideal choice. You may easily kite and poke adversaries safely at the edge of Pikachu’s attack range before stunning them and dispatching them with an Electro Ball or Thunder due to the attack range’s size.

Pokemon Unite Pikachu Best Build

Pikachu’s passive ability is Static. Pikachu paralyzes all enemies nearby when receiving damage. Paralyze slows its victims and reduces their Attack Speed for a moment. This ability goes on a 30s cooldown after it’s triggered. Pikachu’s basic attacks become boosted every three attacks and deal additional damage whilst also applying the paralyze status effect to any enemies hit.

The first move Pikachu gains is Thunder Shock. With this, Pikachu releases electricity to a designated area, damaging enemies in the radius, and also applying the paralyze status effect to all enemies hit.

Move 1 Upgrade Options

The first upgrade option for move 1 is Electro Ball, a sure-hit attack. With this, Pikachu hurls an electric orb at the targeted enemy, damaging and paralyzing all enemies in a small radius around the target upon impact. It also deals bonus damage based on the enemy’s missing HP.

The other upgrade option for move 1, Thunder is an AoE attack instead. Pikachu drops a thunderbolt storm at a designated area, damaging enemies in the radius in a couple of waves over a couple of seconds.

Both of Pikachu’s offensive moves are perfectly viable. However, the one you pick will depend greatly on the Move 2 Upgrade you want to choose and you, therefore, need to plan ahead. We will cover this more in the next section.

Move 2 Upgrade Options

Moving on, we have the second move which is Electro Web, which sees Pikachu shoot out a web projectile that stuns all enemies that it hits for a couple of seconds.

The first upgrade option for move 2 is Volt Tackle, which is a sure-hit hindrance move. Pikachu charges the targeted enemy, becoming unstoppable, damaging, and throwing the target in the air. The second upgrade is Thunderbolt. Pikachu attacks with a strong electric blast at a designated area; damaging and stunning enemies in the area.

The two most viable combinations of moves for Pikachu are either Electro Ball and Volt Tackle or Thunder + Thunderbolt. Electro Ball and Volt Tackle have a higher win rate and are the premier combination for damage and crowd control. However, Thunder and Thunderbolt are not that far behind and are still greatly viable. The latter is way better at controlling the battlefield, thus it is more useful in team fights.

Pikachu’s Unite Move

Pikachu gains Thunderstorm at level 9. It makes Pikachu briefly unstoppable and summons bolts of lightning in a radius around it. The first strike targets all enemy players in the radius and the next 3 strikes target a single random enemy player in range.

Targets that are struck by bolts are dealt damage and they also emit damage zones that can hurt their allies in a small area around them. Enemies in the area of multiple bolts during the first strike are only damaged once. All moves can be used during this Thunderstorm.

Pikachu’s Best Skill Loadout

The best Pikachu loadout is pairing Electro Ball with Volt Tackle. This loadout offers the best damage output and crowd control that Pikachu can pretty much achieve in Unite.

Best Held Items for Pikachu in Pokemon Unite

The Energy Amplifier and Muscle Band combo is a great way to improve Pikachu’s already solid damage, making it that much deadlier in a fight. Throw in a Buddy Barrier to increase Pikachu’s almost non-existent survivability so you can hit your enemies with your big damage before you go down. Check out our Pokemon Unite Item Guide for more details on the best held items to use.

Best Battle Items for Pikachu in Pokemon Unite

The best option for Pikachu’s battle item in Pokemon Unite is the Eject Button. Without this Pikachu does not have any mobility options, and bundled with the fact that it is a very fragile Pokemon, you will become an easy target. Eject Button is a great way to disengage when the enemy pressure is too much for you to handle. Check out our Pokemon Unite Item Guide for more details on the best battle items to use.

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