Typing Review: An Overview of Electric Types for Raids in Pokemon Go

The current top Electric Type attackers in the game are already outlined in our Best Attackers by Type list, linked above, so we recommend that you take a look at that to get a better list-breakdown, but these are the current candidates that we'll be working with in this article:

As a type, Electric is actually really secure, overall. While it only hits Water and Flying for Super Effective damage, it tends to top the DPS charts whenever we build a Raid Guide for either of those types. It already has all of its Mega Evolutions released (2 total, tied with Ice for the least), and both are actually pretty useful in their own right, with Mega Manectric scoring great DPS while Mega Ampharos sports better bulk and a useful sub-typing while looking objectively fabulous while on the field. And its top attackers are actually surprisingly accessible when compared to many other types, with the Raid-attainable Xurkitree rivaling all of the top Shadows.  Overall, this is probably one of the most user-friendly types for players to build a team for... so long as Xurkitree is currently in rotation. 

The biggest issue with Electric Types tends to be the fact that they're a bit frail. This is helped out by the fact that Electric's only weakness is Ground, and select Pokemon have high er bulk and/or a useful sub-Typing that can rectify the issue, like Zekrom or Shadow Magnezone, but if you're trying to build an Electric team that tops the DPS charts, then it's probably not going to stay on the field for an extremely long time. Of course this can definitely be an acceptable strategy, I mean just look at Dragon Types and their constant desire to bite things that want to bite them back for Super Effective damage for proof of this, but it's definitely worth mentioning.

Either way, Electric is a surprisingly strong type, and Pokemon weak to it are fairly common-sight despite the fact that it's only Super Effective against only two types. Honestly, it helps that those two types represent around 1/4 of all Pokemon in existence. 

The Primal Advantage

One easily overlooked advantage to Electric Types is their synergy with Primal Kyogre, as this legendary titan provides deeper value than what's apparent on the surface.

Simply having Primal Kyogre active in your party, not just on the field, will grant a boost to all Water, Electric, and Bug Types utilized by your team mates, meaning Electric can potentially enjoy a perpetual boost if one member of your Raid Group brings a Primal Kyogre along for the ride. And Primal Kyogre is particularly advantageous here due to the fact that it can moonlight in Electric Type damage in Thunder, and it provides additional XL Candy in Water Type raids due to technically being considered a Water Type Mega itself!

As of the publishing of this article, we currently have access to 15 different Electric Type attacks, divided into 6 Fast Moves and 9 Charged Moves.

The Good Moves

The really good Electric Type Fast Moves are Thunder Fang and Thunder Shock, standing at the forefront as the damage-dealing and energy-generating Fast Moves of choice, respectively. Any Electric Type Pokemon would love to have these moves. Moving down from the top-tier picks and close to the border, we have Spark. This is still a legitimately good move, and some strong Electric Type attackers can utilize it really well. They'd rather have Thunder Fang or Thunder Shock, but Spark is fine.

The current king of the Electric Type Charged Moves is Fusion Bolt, as it hits like a truck and is the main reason that Zekrom currently sits as high as he does on our charts, though its extremely limited potential distribution limits it as an objective move. A fairly close second is Wild Charge, which is the Electric Type move that any Electric Type lacking a Signature Move aspires to someday have added to their moveset. Finally, we have Thunderbolt, which is sort of the standard "good" Charged Move, sitting in line with moves like Flamethrower, Ice Beam, and Psychic.

The Bad Moves

For bad Fast Moves, we have to start with Volt Switch. While definitely serviceable, it's always a worse option than what we've covered above due to its stupidly long damage window, which basically turns off a player's ability to dodge. This would be fine if it was a damage-dealing juggernaut, but Thunder Fang is just better than Volt Switch in every way. It's not objectively bad, but it's definitely not a move that most players would get excited to see on a strong Electric Type attacker. Down the line we have the move that Niantic loves to slap onto Pokemon that they don't know what to do with; Charge Beam. This is another "serviceable" move, but the DPS drop when compared to the "good" section starts to become pretty noticeable at this point. Hidden Power (Electric) finishes off the list, and this move barely exists. It's the worst Electric Type move, and you will never get it on the Pokemon that you actually want it on, so it's barely even a move at all.

Going to get a bit controversial here, but our first "bad" Electric Type Charge move is Techno Blast (Shock).  "But Techno Blast sims around Wild Charge", I hear you say. "How can it be a bad move when it's better than Thunderbolt?", I hear you ask. Well, in this case, the devil's in the details. Technoblast, in all of its various forms, can only be utilized by Genesect. Like, we don't even have a main-series event move where another Pokemon technically could learn it, it's only Genesect. And Genesect is not making waves in the Electric Type meta! As such, Techno Blast (Shock) is chained to the "bad" section despite being good on paper due to the fact that it will never see genuine Raid utility despite being a great move in-and-of itself. Next up is Zap Cannon and Discharge, both of which fall into the "serviceable" section. A Pokemon that uses these moves has to be good despite having them, rather than good because they have them. Take Xurkitree for example: this Pokemon would absolutely love to have even Thunderbolt as a Charged Move, but it still tops our lists with Discharge because that's just how stupid-strong it is! From here we get into the  legitimately "bad" moves, with Thunder and Thunder Punch both being a bit of a curse on any Pokemon forced to utilize them, while Parabolic Charge is just "no".

Currently Unreleased Electric-Type Pokemon

Currently Unreleased Electric-Type Moves

• Aura Wheel*
  • Morepeko 
• Bolt Beak*
  • Dracozolt, Arctozolt
• Bolt Strike*
  • Zekrom, Victini (Fire/Psychic Type)
• Buzzy Buzz*
  • Eevee (Let's Go Eevee)
• Charge
• Double Shock*
  • Pawmot
• Eerie Impulse
• Electric Terrain
• Electrify**
  • Heliolisk
• Electro Ball
• Electro Drift*
  • Miraidon
• Electro Shot*
  • Archaludon
• Electroweb
• Ion Deluge
• Magnet Rise
• Magnetic Flux
• Nuzzle
• Overdrive*
  • Toxtricity
• Pika Papow*
  • Pikachu (Let's Go Pikachu)
• Plasma Fists*
  • Zeraora
• Rising Voltage
• Shock Wave
• Thunder Cage*
  • Regieleki
• Thunder Wave
• Volt Tackle*
  • Pikachu, Raichu, Alolan Raichu
• Wildbolt Storm*
  • Thundurus - Incarnate, Thundurus - Therian
• Zing Zap**
  • Togedemaru
• Zippy Zap*
  • Pikachu (Let's Go Pikachu)

*: Signature Move
**: Formerly a Signature Move

The Non-Threats

Aside from the Pokemon that aren't fully evolved, we can rule out Pincurchin, Boltund, Bellibolt, Kilowattrel, Silvally, and the various Rotom formes, as they all have very little potential to really rule this meta if only due to their low attack and/or lack of moveset potential.

Other unlikely candidates are Dracozolt, Arctozolt, Pawmot, and Toxtricity. While they do have Signature Moves, their stats are too low in comparison to other Electric Types to be likely threats. And while it's possible that Niantic could go out of the way to give them insanely powerful moves, none of them stand as super-popular Pokemon that would push Niantic in that direction, most likely. Amazingly, even Iron Hands, a Pokemon known for its sheer offensive power in the Main Series, falls a bit flat here and likely won't be super viable outside of an unprecedented Shadow forme. Even Sandy Shocks falls a bit short of being listed in the following sections given the fact that its best possible moveset puts it around Shadow Magneton in terms of DPS. No, not Magnezone, Magneton.

For Signature Moves that probably won't pan out in the future (if we get them at all), we have Aura Wheel, Bolt Beak, Double Shock, Electrify, Overdrive, and Zing Zap. The Pokemon associated with these moves, current or future, most likely won't get enough power from them to make major waves in raids.

The Existing Threats

Pokemon in this section have already been released into Pokemon Go, but their future is still bright. Due to moveset updates or other bonuses, they have the potential to rise on the list to varying degrees.

Note that we may treat select unreleased Mega Evolutions and alternate formes as Existing Threats, where applicable, due to their base-formes already existing in-game.

The Future Threats

These are the Pokemon that we don't currently have in-game, but have the potential to join our Top Attackers by Type list if Niantic does them justice. Note that this list won't necessarily order Pokemon according to their potential, as we will take likelihood of a good implementation into consideration as well.

The Looming Shadows

The obvious threat here is Shadow Zekrom. We have precedent for box legends getting the Shadow treatment with Mewtwo (no, it's not a box legend, but its stats fall in-line with them), Lugia, and Ho-oh, meaning this dragon of ideals may very well take the top Electric Type spot forever, especially if if gets a powerful Bolt Strike like we've already covered. Shadow Thundurus - Therian Forme is a less likely threat given its lower output at base, but it would still be a strong contender for best Electric Type, especially if given a strong Wildbolt Storm. However, if we go even deeper into speculation, Shadow Xurkitree may very well overshadow everything else, though we don't have any precedent for shadow Ultra Beasts currently.

Moving on, Shadow Vikavolt, Shadow Toxricity, Shadow Tapu Koko, Shadow Kilowattrel, Shadow Regieleki, and Shadow Thundurus - Incarnate all have the potential to be really good options as well, especially if a few of them get moveset updates like outlined above, but they're not super likely to take the top spot. 

Going into deep speculation, Shadow Miraidon could be amazing given the right moveset, and Shadow Iron Thorns could also be really good. Stepping down from them, Shadow Iron Hands and Shadow Sandy Shocks could be genuinely good as well, though not great.

The Gigantamax Factor

While not extremely likely, it's possible that Niantic could release the Dynamax/Gigantamax system first introduced in Generation 8/Galar into Pokemon Go. For those unaware, this system turns Pokemon giant, gives them new/overpowering moves, and grants a tremendous HP boost while active. And while the release of this feature isn't super likely, we thought it best to at least list the possible candidates with unique formes just to cover all bases, so these are all of the Electric Type Pokemon with a Gigantamax forme:

• Gigantamax Pikachu
• Gigantamax Toxtricity

Electric has been a great type since Zapdos and Raikou first took the field, and that's unlikely to change. Electric will probably always be seen as the DPS option in most raids that call for it, as the top Electric Type Pokemon and moves are still genuinely great to this day. We do have some chance for a shake-up in the future, but overall Electric seems to be a pretty safe type in terms of being future-proof, with most of the biggest threats being moveset updates to existing Pokemon or new Shadows.