How to Get Pikachu & Raichu in Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen

You can find Pikachu fairly early in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, but it’s rare, making it easy to overlook during your game. Also, Pikachu doesn’t evolve by gaining levels; you need a special item to evolve it.

This guide will show you exactly where to find Pikachu in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, and also where to get the Thunder Stone needed to evolve Pikachu into Raichu. Here’s how it works:

How to Get Pikachu in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen

Pikachu Location

Pikachu can be found in the following locations in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen:

  • Viridian Forest
  • Power Plant

Viridian Forest

You can find Viridian Forest just north of Viridian City. You’ll be able to enter after you deliver the package from the Viridian City Mart to Professor Oak in Pallet Town. Inside the forest, you have a 5% chance of encountering Pikachu, which will appear at levels 3 through 5.

Power Plant

Okay, so the Power Plant is south of the entrance to Rock Tunnel, right on Route 10. You can’t just walk there, though – you need to have HM03 Surf to get to it. Basically, from the Route 10 Pokemon Center, head north until you see a white fence. You’ll need to Surf across the river after going through the fence, and if you follow the river, you’ll run right into the Power Plant!

In the Power Plant, Pikachu has an encounter rate of 25% and appears at level 22-26.

Unlike some Pokémon, Pikachu isn’t limited to just one version of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. You can find and catch Pikachu in both games.

How to Evolve Pikachu into Raichu in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen

Thunderstone Location

In the Pokémon games FireRed and LeafGreen, Pikachu can evolve into Raichu by using a Thunderstone. You can find Thunderstones in two different ways within those games.

  • Celadon Department Store: The evolution stone shop on 4F sells Thunderstones for ¥2100 each.
  • Power Plant: There are two Thunderstones in the Power Plant in FRLG.
    • Thunderstone #1: In the northeast room, in the top right corner.
    • Thunderstone #2: In a hidden tile southeast of Zapdos, directly in front of the large machine. Use the Itemfinder to locate it if you’re having trouble.

Okay, so I finally got my hands on a Thunderstone! To evolve my Pikachu into a Raichu, I just need to make sure Pikachu is in my active party. Then, I open my Bag and go to the Items section. From there, I select the Thunderstone and then choose Pikachu. It’s super easy, and I can’t wait to see my Raichu!

Raichu doesn’t learn any new moves as it levels up. It only knows Quick Attack, Tail Whip, Thunder Shock, and Thunderbolt, and you can only teach it those moves after defeating the Elite Four by visiting a special NPC called the Move Reminder. This means if you evolve Pikachu into Raichu early in the game, it won’t gain any new moves naturally, so you’ll have to use Technical Machines (TMs) and Hidden Machines (HMs) to teach it different attacks. Keep this in mind when planning your strategy!

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2026-02-23 05:05