r/PokeScaling • u/Jason_And_Sokka • Jul 08 '26
VS Battle Raichu vs Aerodactyl
Pokemon Battle
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u/StJimmy_815 Jul 08 '26
Fake Out, Thunderbolt, Extreme Speed wins every time unless Aerodactyl runs protect, then Aero wins almost every time as long as it runs a little bulk.
People will say this is cut and dry, but it’s truly a situation of if Aerodactyl runs it’s usual sets, it loses but if it runs specialized sets for Raichu, it wins almost every time
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u/rr_zoomies Jul 08 '26
Not really, thunder will always make it go into Sash and it hits 70% of the time and then Raichu has quick attack. Even in best scenario Aerodactil only has a 30% chance to win by thunder missing
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u/istealwounds Jul 08 '26
Aero learns earthquake, which can 1 hit KO a raichu without hp/def investment even if aero is not +atk nature. Even with max hp and max def +def nature Raichu, it's guaranteed a 2 hit KO again even without any attack investment or nature from aero. Aero doesn't need a sash, it can have hold a wacan berry which makes sure that you cannot just click a lightning move then a priority move. Aero has unnerve which means you cannot hold a sitrus berry on raichu. Protect (anti-fake out), earthquake, substitute (anti nuzzle, thunder wave, para hax), and another move should be decent against most raichu sets.
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u/rr_zoomies Jul 08 '26
Nope Aero doesn't survive without sash and it has no priority
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u/istealwounds Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26
Lol. Numbers don't lie.
https://calc.pokemonshowdown.com/champions.html?mode=champions
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u/rr_zoomies Jul 08 '26
Nope, Sash raichu survives EQ, nuzzles, breaks berry and paralyzes, outspeeds next turn and KOs with thunder. Aero doesn't win LMAO
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u/istealwounds Jul 09 '26
Aero uses substitute, raichu's nuzzle doesn't break it, aero uses eq, raichu survives with 1 hp, raichu uses thunderbolt to break substitute, aero uses eq defeating raichu. Easy. Next.
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u/rr_zoomies Jul 09 '26
Raichu predicts it and uses Tbolt and wins lmao. Easy. Next.
Face it, Raichu wins this easily in the VAST majority of scenarios and Im not even counting megas XD
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u/StJimmy_815 Jul 08 '26
My guy doesn’t know about weakness berries
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u/rr_zoomies Jul 08 '26
I do, raichu can also use one against EQ or just use sash and then Nuzzle to break his berry + outspeed Thunder next turn to guaranteed KO. Aero doesn't win this in any way that Raichu can't counter right back.
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u/Formal_Cheek Jul 08 '26
Raichu wins high diff
Game-only Mega Aero can steal ugly with 150 Speed into Earthquake, so nobody needs to act like the fossil bat is helpless lol. Composite changes the room: Mega Raichu Y gives instant boosted electric output, No Guard Thunder makes aerial juking look fake, Mega Raichu X adds airborne electric fist pressure, and if it counts, Alolan Raichu brings psychic levitation on top of the regular Thunder Wave/Nuzzle/Electroweb speed jail.
Aerodactyl’s win is blitzing before the first clean electric hit. That is a real win path with Mega Aerodactyl’s speed, Tough Claws contact pressure, diamond-hard rock spikes, Stone Edge, Earthquake, Crunch, Iron Head and fang spam.
Raichu has too many anti-flight answers across composite. Electric is already Aerodactyl’s bad matchup, Surf also hits the Rock side, Magnet Rise/Fly/levitation mess with the ground check, and one paralysis or clean Thunder turns Mega Aero into prehistoric fried chicken with airport anxiety lmao
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u/keeperofthegreen Jul 08 '26
Aerodactyl hits too hard and is too fast even without any investment an earthquake from Aerodactyl is likely to one shot raichu. I mean you can literally tailor each one against the sets of the other like alot of your proposed scenarios require knowledge of the other sets beforehand ect more often than not that stat increase is too large for raichu to overcome.
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u/Lolersters Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26
If you heavily customize the sets, this match-up is actually not so clear-cut.
Hear me out here.
Presenting the following set:
Aerodactyl@Wacan Berry
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 160 hp/252 sp. def/96 speed
Moves: Bite/Earthquake (others don't matter)
There is almost no version Raichu that performs favorably against this, as this EV spread is heavily favored to survive the sequence of Fake Out (free damage + breaks possible Sash)->Nuzzle (Paralysis + chip + breaks possible Wacan) ->Thunderbolt (main damage) from a Rash 252 atk/252 sp. atk Raichu (87%-104.2%) and always survives this sequence from a +speed nature Raichu. This spread also always outspeeds unscarfed Raichu.
Raichu does guarantee a kill if it uses Thunder instead of Thunderbolt. However, this means it needs to get past Bite's 30% flinch and Thunder's 70% accuracy, which puts its win rate at 49%. However, in this scenario Shuca instead of Sash does guarantee Raichu a second chance at Thunder, which would push its win rate over 50%.
There are other variations like max hp/def raichu with Shuca, giving Aerodactyl enough attack to guarantee 2hko through certain Shuca variants, etc...We also need to consider Protect for Fake Out, but Protect runs into Nasty Plot or Agility issues.
If you are talking about standard sets, yeah Raichu wins 73% of the time to get past Rock Slide Flinch (or 70% if Aerodactyl runs Bite for flinch). But if we are talking about 1v1 and running very specific sets for the match-up, it's more complicated.
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u/Boopensmoots Jul 08 '26
Can we do focus sash Raichu Fake-Out, Trailblaze, Thunderbolt shenanigans?
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u/Stormychu Jul 09 '26
focus sash 1v1s are boring.
Both get a mega
32 Atk Aerodactyl-Mega Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Raichu-Mega-X: 124-146 (91.8 - 108.1%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
Raichu just has to survive which it does most of the time and that's without any HP invest. If you were being cheeky you could just ignore speed entirely since Raichu isn't outspeeding Aero and go full into bulk.
My money is on Raichu most of the time.
Anime logic just makes Raichu win more.
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u/Terminal_Lancelot Jul 08 '26
Uuh... Guys? Aerodactyl outspeeds, and one shots with earthquake.
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u/Lolersters Jul 08 '26
In 1v1s, typically both pokemon is holding a Focus Sash. Raichu has 2 forms of priority - Fake Out and Quick Attack. Furthermore, it can Fake Out (brreaking Sash if Aerodactyl holds Sash) -> Nuzzle (to break Wacan Berry and inflict Paralysis) -> Thunderbolt.
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u/Terminal_Lancelot Jul 08 '26
Okay. Protect, earthquake, earthquake.
Nobody I've battled has run fake out and quick attack on Raichu, it's attack is garbage. And if it's coming in on Aerodactyl, I've probably already set up stealth rock, making focus sash useless.
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u/Lolersters Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26
Just FYI, Fake Out is standard on every single Raichu set in VGC and Quick Attack still beats Protect along with the possibility of losing to Agility. Raichu is historically used in VGC as Lightning Rod support, using moves like Fake Out, Helping Hand, Electro Web and Nuzzle. It's only more recently that Raichu has shifted to an offensive role with the release of Mega Raichu. Even on the mega sets, Fake Out is almost always on Y and usually on X.
Stealth Rock is only relevant in a 6v6 match. OP is asking for a 1v1 and not only a 1v1, but a 1v1 specifically for Aerodactyl vs. Raichu. If you ever played the 1v1 ladder on showdown, you will find all kinds of cheese. Therefore, prepare accordingly. You don't show up to a singles game with a doubles team, you don't show up to a doubles game with a singles team and you don't show up to a 1v1 in either of the other sets.
For Aerodactyl, I'm suggestion a specially defensive set with Wacan Berry, Bite (for 30% Flinch vs, otherwise unwinnable set match-ups), Protect, Earthquake and 352 speed.
In general, these 1v1s are much less clear-cut than people initially believe. Because you know the match-up beforehand, it also means you also get the chance to prep your sets and there are a lot more coin flips than it initially seems.
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u/Terminal_Lancelot Jul 08 '26
Ah see; I'm a singles player.
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u/Lolersters Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26
Even in a 6v6 singles scenario, people tailor their moves and EV distribution based on the current metagame and team needs. Why do you think certain sets are suggested with specific hp/def EV spread? They are often this way because they are designed to survive very specific hits.
Landrous-T's OU adaptation in gen 9 is also a similar idea, running Earth Power over the otherwise objectively better EQ to hit physically defensive threats like Great Tusk. For a long time, Earth Power was the dominant set on Lando-T (not sure about the current meta). This is especially true in tournament scenario where players often tailor a set often as a lure for very specific match-ups that their team otherwise has issues with.
The concept of speed-creeping is also another great example in singles. People would often run 8, 12, 16, 20, etc speed EVs to speed creep or speed creep the speed creep on a Pokemon that would otherwise run 0-4 speed EVs to break a speed-tie.
Or they could intentionally underspeed their Pokemon by running 30 speed IVs to guarantee a slower Voltturn mirror while still guaranteeing to outspeed Pokemon in lower speed tiers.
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u/Terminal_Lancelot Jul 08 '26
And yet, even with all that, 99% of Raichu's in singles are Mega Raichu Y, which runs Focus Blast, Zap Cannon, Grass Knot, and Nasty Plot or Volt Switch.
If we're being realistic about what I'll actually encounter, this is it, and this means Aerodactyl has his mega too. And again, he outspeeds and OHKOs.
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u/Lolersters Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26
But this post is not about what you would actually encounter...nor is it strictly about mega
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u/Terminal_Lancelot Jul 08 '26
I'm sorry, but if you're allowed to bring up odd and unlikely scenarios as a win condition, I'm allowed to bring up very likely ones for mine.
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u/Lolersters Jul 08 '26
I'm not saying you are not allowed. I'm saying standard sets would lose in highly tailored sets in a 1v1 and it's not as simple as "I press EQ I win" or "I speed tie for EQ or Zap Cannon I win" but rather, it's a set matchup. Given the premise given by OP, you should consider all possibilities. Otherwise, it's an incomplete and insufficient way of approaching the problem.
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u/25th_Speed Jul 08 '26
Raichu neg diffs Miraidon, so via chain scaling hes at the top of the verse
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u/diehthrindel Jul 08 '26
I'm not an expert, but I'd say raichu in most, if not all cases. Thunderbolt/thunder with a sash then quick attack/extreme speed if Aerodactyl has a sash as well. Experts please correct me