Hisuian Electrode in PvP: Under The Lights

Hello again, fellow PvPers! Time for another deep dive PvP analysis!

So I’m still slogging through Johto Cup “Nifty Or Thrifty” meta/budget analysis, and also Sacred Fire and Magical Leaf analysis, so let’s not waste any time and dive right in on the new, unique Electrode from Hisui!

HISUIAN ELECTRODE STATS & MOVES

Electrode (Hisuian) ElectricGrass

Great League Stats

Attack Defense HP
123 (122 High Stat Product) 130 (131 High Stat Product) 113 (116 High Stat Product)

(Highest Stat Product IVs: 1-14-14, 1499 CP, Level 26.5)

Ultra League Stats

Attack Defense HP
160 160 142

(Assuming 15-15-15 IVs, 2430 CP at Level 50)

So the only note I really have on the stats is that they are slightly different than regular Electrode. Hisuian has very slightly higher Attack and Defense and the same HP, which means that in formats where it hits the CP cap (like Great League), it will usually end up having very slightly “worse” overall PvP stats, with a little more Attack and a little less HP than K-Trode. In Ultra League, where it tops out below 2500 CP, it’s very slightly better since it gets closer to 2500 CP (2430 at Level 50) than does Kanto Electrode (only 2373 CP).

The really interesting discussion is instead the typing. Hisuian Electrode (and H-Voltorb) arrives as the only Electric/Grass type in the entire franchise (other than the Electric/everything Rotom), much less just Pokémon GO. That makes it an Electric that is NOT weak to Ground damage, a Grass that is not weak to Flying, and a Pokémon that resists Grass, Steel, Water, and double resists Electric damage. On the downside, it’s left with the other standard Grass vulnerabilities to Fire, Ice, Bug, and Poison. So a mixed bag, to be sure.

Fast Moves

  • Thunder ShockElectric type, 1.5 DPT, 4.5 EPT, 1.0 CoolDown
  • TackleNormal type, 3.0 DPT, 2.0 EPT, 0.5 CD

So here the trouble begins. Thunder Shock is a fine PvP move, no doubt, with the second-highest energy generation in the game (tied with Mud Shot, Psycho Cut, and more recently Poison Sting, and trailing only Lock-On with its insane 5.0 EPT). There are Pokémon — lots of them! — that would do anything for a move like that. The problem is simply this: compared to the Volt Switch that drug Kanto Electrode (and Galvantula and Ampharos and others) up to PvP prominence, Thunder Shock looks far less ideal. Volt Switch generates a bit less EPT, though still far above average (4.0 EPT), but deals literally TWICE as much damage (3.0 DPT). It’s a far better move. So even though, in a vacuum, Thunder Shock looks (and truly is) quite good in the grand scheme of things, there’s a reason that anything that has both Shock and Volt Switch (thinking the Raichus) opts for the latter now… and any Electric that doesn’t have Volt Switch wishes desperately that it did.

There are two other fast moves that H-Trode gets in Pokémon Legends Arceus that I want to mention, though I won’t go into much detail on them until later. Spark (2.0 DPT, 4.0 EPT) is typically called an inferior fast move, and compared to Thunder Shock and especially Volt Switch, you can understand why. After all, it’s the move that Kanto Trode was stuck with for a long while, and it held it back from emerging at all until along came Volt Switch. But I think people judge it a little too harshly. After all, it works fine on things like Magnezone, Lanturn, and Probopass. It’s workable, and may have been so with H-Trode too.

The other move is Magical Leaf (Grass, 3.3 DPT, 3.3 EPT). Not only would this have made H-Trode truly unique as compared to Kanto Electrode (and every other Electric out there, really), but Leaf is an above average move in every respect that would have been interesting to see. Perhaps we will after it’s officially introduced to the game with Celebi soon.

Okay, tangent over. The move H-Trode actually DOES have that we want to use is Thunder Shock. I mean, with Tackle being the only other option, do we really have a choice? So noting that this means the charge moves become vitally important, let’s see what we’ve got to work with….

Charge Moves

  • Wild ChargeElectric type, 100 damage, 45 energy, Decreases User Defense -2 Stages
  • SwiftNormal type, 60 damage, 55 energy
  • Energy BallGrass type, 90 damage, 55 energy, 10% Chance to Decrease Opponent Defense -1 Stage

I really don’t know why they bothered with Swift at all. The only things that resists H-Trode’s Electric and Grass moves are Grass and Dragon, and it’s such an underpowered move that, even when resisted, Trode’s other moves still deal more damage than Swift. In short: it’s a move you will never want to have.

Okay, so that gets the simple details out of the way: we clearly want to roll with Wild Charge and Energy Ball.

Now, let’s roll our sleeves up and get dirty.

Because this isn’t as simple an analysis as it might at first appear. You could just throw out the standard 1v1 shielding matchups — like this — and call it a day. I will confess, during a busy evening of soccer practice for my kids and the hustle and bustle of a standard busy evening, this was all I had the time to really do yesterday when the stats and moveset first came to light. And oftentimes that DOES give a general sense of how good — or not — something is likely to be in PvP. But as thankfully seems to be the case here, that is NOT the whole story. It gets better for Hisuian Electrode. Not world-shattering, meta-breaking kind of better, but better enough to likely be worth something in PvP after all.

Even I get it wrong sometimes. Hell, I probably get it wrong more often than even I think I do, as some are quick to point out. I am far from flawless, and with the sheer volume of material I’ve put out over the years — 315 analysis articles and counting! — unfortunately mistakes are made, things are missed, just below the surface of where I stop digging, despite my best efforts to be 100% comprehensive and accurate. Snap judgements can get one into trouble, and I am most certainly no exception.

So I’ll say it: my initial, surface level assessment of Hisuian Electrode was a disservice to it, and to you, dear readers. So… let’s get this right.

Hisuian Electrode
Hisuian Electrode

GREAT LEAGUE

That initial sim I mentioned above has some flaws. And it starts and mostly ends with Wild Charge.

Wild Charge is undeniably a very, very good PvP move. 100 damage for only 45 energy is insane. It’s SO good that only two other moves in the game match it. One is Close Combat, which like Wild Charge compensates for its awesome power (2.22 Damage Per Energy!) by slashing the user’s Defense by two full stages, a crippling nerf. The other move that deals 100 damage for 45 energy is Frenzy Plant, still the most powerful Community Day exclusive move for the starters. Wild Charge is as good… though its a true double-edged sword with that devastating Defensive nerf. I know most all of us have been on BOTH sides of that move and know all about its high risk/high reward potential. It is a truly game-altering move that can seal victory for either side depending on when it’s used.

And therein lies the issue. Used too much, and/or at the wrong time, it can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and such is the case in some of those sims. The above wins/losses shows that Hisuian Electrode still does most of what you’d ask of an Electric type, AND still manages to beat things like Toxicroak and Shadow Machamp, AND things other Electrics suffer against like U-Stunfisk and Whiscash. That’s the good. The bad is that H-Trode — on paper, at least — is unable to beat Azumarill, Jellicent, and Dewgong, three things you would hope any good Electric or Grass could accomplish. So here’s the good news: H-Trode actually can beat them with smart, heads-up play.

  • Azumarill is the easiest to show: all it requires is forgoing Wild Charge and just going straight Energy Ball. No muss, no fuss. Unless you KNOW Azu doesn’t have the energy to reach Ice Beam, you simply cannot throw a Wild Charge, as the self-nerf makes Ice Beam incredibly lethal. Without the nerf from WC, Azu’s Ice Beam deals less than 70 damage… still a lot, but something you can tank. With the -2 Defense from WC, that same Ice Beam now deals over 100 damage. Good luck tanking that. You can’t. Azumarill needs about a three Bubble energy lead to flip it if you just keep your cool and stick with Energy Ball.
  • Jellicent is a little trickier, but still a very realistic win for H-Trode. Here you DO usually need the power of Wild Charge, as you don’t have time to get in three charge moves as you do versus Azumarill if you get baited into shielding Bubble Beam. (Though if you DO sniff out the Bubble Beam and shield Jelli’s closing move, things obviously get much simpler.) But assuming you DO unfortunately shield the Bubble Beam (there’s no shame in it, my friend… we’ve ALL been there), you path to victory is throwing your own “bait move” (Energy Ball) to get a shield, and then letting them throw Shadow Ball first (scary, I know, but if YOU throw first then the nerfing of WC does you in), and then finishing it with a couple more Thunder Shocks and a Wild Charge to cap it off. It’s close, and requires some pretty precise timing, but it DOES work. And yes, it even works against scary Ice Beam too. Close, though! 🥶 If you somehow know it’s not running Bubble Beam at all, then things become much, much easier and straightforward.
  • Dewgong CAN be had, but I’ll be honest, it requires some luck. If it was a straight up match with Icy Wind not being a debuff move, you could win straight Energy Ball. Unfortunately, with the nerf to your own Attack that comes with Icy Wind, even when shielded, Dewgong can survive a second Energy Ball (or even Wild Charge!). IF you find yourself in this spot, throw Energy Ball as your first charge move, and if you get the debuff from Ball, you have a very straightforward path to victory and should stay in. If not, time to swap out, as you’re going to fall short no matter what you do.

It’s also worth noting how many agonizingly close losses H-Trode suffers. Even without any tricky manoeuvring, Hisuian Electrode leaves all of the following with 10 HP or less: Ferrothorn, Sableye, Umbreon, Cresselia, and Mew, and gets many others down quite low as well. Just look at what happens when we give Electrode a single Thunder Shock’s worth of energy lead… now Azu is a cinch, and Swampert, Walrein, Registeel, Altaria, Greedent, and Hypno all potentially flip to wins. With two Thunder Shocks of energy, Jellicent no longer requires any trickery, and Cofagrigus and even (Air Slash) Tropius pop up as potential wins.

Also well worth pointing out is what a monster Hisuian Electrode is with shields down. As mentioned earlier, Volt Switch not being an option as it for Kanto Trode is unfortunate, as it puts all the pressure on winning with charge moves and greatly reduces farm down potential. With no shields in the way, obviously that’s much less of an issue. In a way, this is the exact opposite of Kanto Electrode, which is a bit more reliable with shields up but falls quite flat with shields down (even with Hyper Beam).

So, as much as I will continue to pine for Volt Switch H-Trode (which I know won’t and can’t happen until perhaps a future Home update 😭), it’s really not quite as bad as I first thought. Just takes a little digging to find the diamonds in the rough, right?

What about those other fast moves I mentioned though? Well at least on the surface, it somehow actually looks… better than Thunder Shock? It cannot outrace Whiscash, Machamp, or Unovan Stunfisk like Thunder Shock can, but it DOES get to “easier” wins over Azumarill and Mew, and manages to beat Umbreon, Sableye, and Froslass too. What’s going on here? Put simply: it’s the cumulative fast move damage making the difference. Take Froslass for example. With either Spark or Thunder Shock, the best path to victory is charging up two Wild Charges and firing them in close succession, getting a shield with the first and then hopefully landing the second for the win, all while leaving Froslass with no chance to take advantage of your hobbled Defense. With Spark, Froslass is down to 80 HP by the time you reach this point, and the second Wild Charge is an instant KO. However, with the lighter-hitting Thunder Shock, Froslass has nearly 20 more HP leftover by the time you get to your pair of Wild Charges, thus surviving the second one and firing back its own killing charge move instead. Ooof. The same is true of Sableye (Spark + double Wild Charge means KO, Shock + double WC leaves Sableye alive to respond with its own Foul Play) and Umbreon (Thunder Shock cannot close the deal, while Spark has paths to victory). It may not look like much on paper, but all that extra Spark damage (compared to Thunder Shock, which has the same 2 turn cooldown, Spark deals one addititional damage per fast move in those matchups) adds up and makes the difference. I’m not saying Spark is a “better” PvP move than Thunder Shock, but sometimes that doesn’t matter.

As for Magical Leaf, most of what it can (more easily beat Dewgong, Azumarill, Stunfisk, Whiscash, and pick up an easy win against Swampert) and cannot do (fat Flyers Mandibuzz, Drifblim, and Noctowl all slip away) probably aren’t surprising, but it’s unique combination of above average damage and energy gain also bring in fun potential wins like Vigoroth, Obstagoon, Greedent, Cofagrigus, and Shadow Hypno… but also perhaps unexpected losses like Toxicroak (who resists Grass), Shadow Machamp, and Froslass.

Anyway, that was just a theoretical exercise, as H-Trode of course has Thunder Shock as its only viable fast move for the moment. Just know that IF it gets more down the line, there is no clear-cut “best”… all have merit!

ULTRA LEAGUE

So while I don’t know that I’d invest 296 XL Candy into something that doesn’t even hit 2500 CP, there are worse ideas. Once again, I’ll start by just throwing H-Trode’s 1v1 shielding record out there and letting you absorb that for a moment. It is NOT an impressive list in volume, but again, there IS more to say if you dig at it a little. Some absolutely massive names on there, including Talonflame, Empoleon, Registeel (one of few things that mostly laughs in the name of Zap Cannon by DOUBLE resisting it), Snorlax, Clefable and Charmtales, and of course most things Water, including Swampert. And also look at how many CLOSE losses there are. Once again, just a little extra energy coming in raises the win total significantly, adding such illustrious names as Umbreon, Scrafty, Obstagoon, Melmetal, Cofagrigus, Sylveon and others. Normally I don’t go too far down that rabbit hole, but many losses are SO close with even energy I felt compelled to check.

Also checked the shieldless and 2v2 shielding numbers, and they’re as good AND as bad as you’d probably expect. Take that for what it’s worth in deciding if H-Trode is right for you in Ultra League. At least it exceeds the performance of K-Trode at this level, so there’s that!

OTHER FORMATS…?

  • Apparently Hisuian Electrode IS eligible for the final days of Love Cup. But do you want it? It looks like a decent alternative to regular Electrode that’s been a very popular pick of late. H-Trode beats everything K-Trode can except Galarian Slowbro (no Foul Play to keep it on its toes) and Lickitung (though that one is WAY too close for comfort with K-Trode anyway), and picks up Trashadam more easily than does regular Trode. So in short: sure, you can use it!
  • Looking quite strong in The Silph Arena’s Guardian Cup! 👀
  • Decent enough in Little League formats too. Threatening a mix of things like Skarmory, Skorupi, Ducklett, Drifloon, Chinchou, Obstagoon, Vigoroth, Wooper, the great evil known as Chansey, and many others should be fun next time we get a crack at Little League!
  • And while I can’t simulate them at the moment, other formats like Holiday Cup should be fun to try it out in as well! Remember that it can be an Electric in formats that don’t specifically allow Electrics but DO allow Grasses, and vice versa, which could be quite sneaky!

TL;DR

So, let’s sum up!

  • Hisuian Electrode relies much more on charge move damage than does its Kanto cousin thanks to the drastic differences between Thunder Shock (H-Trode) and Volt Switch (K-Trode). Worse, having Wild Charge and its drastic self-nerf or the rather expensive Energy Ball as your only charge move options means you have to do some fancy manoeuvring to get some key wins (but at least you CAN still get them!) or swap out quick.
  • Hisuian Trode performs a little below Kanto Trode in Great League in standard 1v1 shielding, mostly due to the above point, but it DOES take advantage of its Grass side to beat stuff like Whiscash and Stunfisk (Unovan) that other Electrics simply fail against. Its performance DOES blow K-Trode out of the water with shields down, though.
  • Hisuian Electrode gets a little bigger than regular Electrode in Ultra League and generally outperforms it there. It’s still not an eye-popping performance, but it’s not completely crazy either.

Alright, that’s it for now! Gonna be a busy few days still ahead, with Johto Cup on the immediate horizon and Sacred Fire and Magical Leaf arriving shortly after. (Analysis for all of that already well underway. ✍️) But until next time, for more PvP tidbits, you can always find me on Twitter for regular PvP analysis nuggets, or Patreon.

Thanks as always to my PoGO buddies, local and around the world, for all their (and YOUR, dear reader) encouragement over the years. And special thanks (which I really should express more often) to PvPoke, my LONG-time, go-to simming resource. But as a reminder, while those simulations (and my analysis and attempt to explain and simplify them) are a very good start to the story, they are still just a start to give you a rough idea and get you on the path to your own further discovery! Run some simulations yourself, test with Hisuian Electrode yourself (perhaps during the upcoming unranked season!), and as always: please discuss! I always love to hear your feedback and any further points of discussion that come out of these deeper dives, and what discoveries YOU may have made on Hisuian Electrode already.

Stay safe out there, Pokéfriends. Catch you next time!

Author & tags

JRE47
JRE47
PoGO/PvP Investigative Journalist, GO Hub and Silph Arena/Road Contributor, amateur cook, author of 'Nifty Or Thrifty' and 'Under The Lights' article series and #PvPfacts!

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