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Throughout the many generations of Pokemon, one archetype of monster seems to be a consistent addition among almost every generation. This is the iconic Pikachu clone, an electric rodent Pokemon that may not be the best in terms of stats but usually sports cute and iconic designs.
With so many of these types of creatures released over the years, it can be fun to look back at all of the knock-offs of the franchise's mascot. Some of these creatures have even made some reputable appearances throughout the game's competitive scene or have shown some promising potential.
NOTE: Parts of this article are subjective and reflect the writer's views.
Ranking all of Pokemon's Pikachu clones from weakest to strongest
7) Plusle and Minun
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Since Plusle and Minun are almost exactly the same and serve a similar purpose in the game, they have been grouped together for this entry. Originally added to the franchise to help players understand the new double battle mechanics at the time, these creatures are really only useful when battling alongside each other.
These little guys do get some credit for being the partners of the player characters in the first Pokemon Ranger game, one of the Pokemon titles that deserves a remake, but they are nothing special beyond this.
6) Emolga
While the electrically charged flying squirrel does get some credit for being quite the annoyance during the gym fight with Elesa in Pokemon Black and White, Emolga still falls short, even when compared to the other Pikachu clones.
While the Electric and Flying typing does suit it well, only having two weaknesses, it still lacks the stats to deal with anything meaningful in the mid to late-game stages of a playthrough. Plus, it is incredibly frustrating to be searching for Audino when grinding for EXP, only to find an Emolga instead.
5) Dedenne
Dedenne gains the benefits of being a Fairy-type in the generation where they were overpowered for casual and competitive play. This does not mean Dedenne was a metagame superstar by any means, but it did far better on the average player's playthrough party, thanks to this.
While a player could realistically take a Dedenne all the way to Pokemon X and Y's post-game, it is still incredibly frail and lacks the potent attacking power of other Electric-types a player could find.
4) Morpeko
Morpeko is the first decent Pikachu clone on this list. Thanks to Morpeko's high attack and speed stats, it can be a heavy hitter in the early and mid-game stages of a playthrough. Morpeko also possesses a potent signature attack in Aura Wheel, which has a 110 base power and changes between Dark and Electric-type damage depending on the form Morpeko is in.
While Morpeko is definitely much better than the previous entries, it still has its fair share of problems. Aura Wheel is learned fairly late into its level-up table, and it still lacks the proper base stat total of a creature truly worth using. This is especially true when Toxtricity makes a much better Electric-type for a playthrough, and its base form can be obtained much earlier than Morpeko.
3) Togedemaru
Togedemaru has an interesting history of trying to be used competitively during its debut generation but ultimately fell short after the release of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. Its popularity among the competitive community was thanks to its Iron Barbs ability, which pairs greatly with the Rocky Helmet item.
While being part-Steel is normally a good thing for many Pokemon, it ends up harming Togedemaru due to its primary Electric typing sharing a Ground weakness with the Steel element. Its signature move, Zing Zap, is also fairly decent.
2) Pawmi line
Pawmi is unique from the rest of the Pikachu clones because it is the only one, as of writing, that can evolve. Pawmot, Pawmi's final form, is quite the decent battler. Thanks to it having several stages of evolution, it scales incredibly well at various stages of the game, meaning it is more than capable of becoming a permanent team member.
While this makes the Pawmi line great for a playthrough, it performs a bit iffy in competitive play. Since it is still a Pikachu clone, it is meant to be played as a fragile glass cannon, so it has the stats to reflect this.
1) Pachirisu
While many would argue that Pachirisu is one of the worst Pikachu clones, followers of the competitive scene would beg to differ. Used on the team of Se Jun Park during the 2014 Pokemon World Championship, Pachirisu was arguably the most important creature on this professional player's team. This is due to its access to the moves Super Fang, Nuzzle, and Follow Me.
While the common player will get nowhere near the value out of Pachirisu as Se Jun Park did, it is hard to argue that this little squirrel is not the pinnacle of Pikachu clones when it is literally the only world champion among the archetype.
