How to Teach Volt Tackle to Pichu in Pokémon: 8 Steps

If you’ve ever looked at Volt Tackle and thought, “Yes, I would like my tiny mouse to become a living
lightning accident,” you’re in the right place. Teaching Volt Tackle to Pichu isn’t about TMs, Move Tutors, or
politely asking your Pichu to “try harder.” It’s a special, old-school Pokémon trick: you essentially have to
hatch a Pichu that already knows the move.

The good news: it’s totally doable in main-series games that support breeding. The bad news: it requires a specific
held item and a little setup. The funny news: you’ll probably end up running circles around a nursery worker or
making 37 sandwiches while staring into an egg basket like it owes you money.

Quick Reality Check: Why You Can’t “Just Teach It”

In the core Pokémon games, Volt Tackle is a special-case move for the Pikachu line. The standard way to obtain it is
not a TM, not a Move Reminder, and not a picnic “Mirror Herb” trick. The reliable method is:
breed so that the newly hatched Pichu knows Volt Tackle from birth.

Also, Volt Tackle hits like a truck: it’s a 120-power physical Electric move with a
10% chance to paralyze, but it deals recoil equal to 1/3 of the damage you inflict.
Example: if Volt Tackle does 90 HP damage, your Pokémon takes 30 HP recoil. Fun! (For you. Less fun for your health bar.)

Step 1: Confirm Your Game Supports the Method

Before you start item hunting, check which type of Pokémon game you’re playing:

• Main-series games with breeding (many generations, including modern titles) can hatch a Pichu with
  Volt Tackle using the Light Ball requirement.
• Games without breeding (certain spin-offs and specific mainline exceptions) won’t let you do the
  hatch method at allso Volt Tackle on Pichu may be impossible there.

If your game has a daycare/nursery system (or a modern equivalent where eggs appear), you’re typically good to go.
If it doesn’t produce eggs through breeding, you’ll need a different approachand for Volt Tackle, “different”
often means “not available.”

Step 2: Get the One Item That Makes This Possible: Light Ball

Light Ball is a held item associated with Pikachu that boosts its offenses in-battle (and, more importantly for us,
acts like the “secret password” for Volt Tackle breeding).

Common ways players obtain Light Ball

• Catch wild Pikachu: In many games, wild Pikachu can rarely hold a Light Ball (often cited around
  the “low single-digit percent” range, commonly 5%).
• Use item-stealing moves (when the game supports it): Moves like Thief or Covet
  can take a wild Pokémon’s held item if your thief Pokémon isn’t holding an item. In many core mechanics references,
  items stolen from wild Pokémon are kept after battle.
• Trade: If you have online trading or friends, this can be the fastest, least “I have become Pikachu’s
  full-time mugger” method.

Important note for modern games

Some older generations let you increase wild held-item odds with certain abilities (like Compound Eyes/Super Luck),
but in some newer entries those out-of-battle boosts may not apply the same way. If you’re playing a modern title,
don’t assume the “ability boost” trick still worksverify via your game’s current mechanics or community-confirmed behavior.

Step 3: Choose Your Parents (Yes, This Matters)

Your goal is simple: produce a Pichu egg. Most of the time, you’ll do that by breeding:

• Pikachu or Raichu + Ditto (easy, consistent)
• Pikachu + Pikachu (classic, also works)
• Raichu + a compatible partner in the same egg group (varies by game and egg groups)

Don’t overcomplicate it: Pikachu (or Raichu) + Ditto is the stress-free route in most modern games because you avoid
egg-group headaches and you don’t have to care about the partner species.

Step 4: Give the Correct Parent the Light Ball (No, “Knowing Volt Tackle” Isn’t Enough)

Here’s the big trap that confuses people: Volt Tackle is not passed down “normally” just because a parent knows it.
The special condition is that one of the parents must be holding a Light Ball when the egg is produced.

Checklist before you start producing eggs

• Make sure Light Ball is actually equipped on the correct parent (usually your Pikachu/Raichu).
• If you’re using Thief to farm the item, ensure your thief Pokémon is not holding any item.
• Remember: if you remove the Light Ball, future eggs won’t magically “remember” it was there earlier.

Think of Light Ball like a backstage pass. Without it, Volt Tackle does not get into the egg party.

Step 5: Start Breeding Using Your Game’s Egg System

If your game uses a Nursery/Day Care

1. Put your breeding pair in the Nursery/Day Care.
2. Move around / wait until an egg is produced (exact method varies by generation).
3. Collect eggs as they appear.

If your game uses a “Picnic-style” egg system

1. Put only the intended parents in your party to keep things clean.
2. Start a picnic and use food buffs (often “Egg Power”) to speed up egg production.
3. Check the egg basket periodically and collect the eggs.

Breeding systems vary by title, but your win condition stays the same: produce a Pichu egg while a parent is holding
Light Ball.

Step 6: Hatch the Eggs Efficiently (Because You Have a Life)

Now it’s cardio time. Hatching tips that generally help across generations:

• Keep a Pokémon with Flame Body or Steam Engine (or similar hatch-speed abilities
  in your generation) in your party if available.
• Use long, straight routes (or open areas) so you’re not constantly bonking into NPCs.
• Batch hatch: carry 5 eggs at a time plus your hatch-helper to reduce back-and-forth.

Pro tip: If your character looks like they’re training for a marathon, you’re doing it right.

Step 7: Verify Your Pichu Has Volt Tackle (Immediately)

As soon as the egg hatches:

1. Open the Pichu’s summary / moves screen.
2. Confirm Volt Tackle is in its move list.
3. If it’s missing, don’t keep hatching “just in case.” Fix the setup first.

If Volt Tackle is missing, check these first

• Was the parent holding Light Ball at the time the egg was created (not “later”)?
• Are you definitely producing a Pichu egg (not Pikachu, not something else)?
• Did you accidentally swap items or reorganize your party between eggs?

This is the moment where many players realize they’ve been breeding perfectly… just without the one requirement that matters.

Step 8: Decide What You’re Building (Cute Baby vs. Competitive Lightning Gremlin)

Once you have your Volt Tackle Pichu, you can keep it as-is for the novelty (and the comedy), or evolve it into a
serious battler.

Evolution plan

• Pichu → Pikachu: usually high friendship.
• Pikachu → Raichu: typically via Thunder Stone (regional forms may apply depending on game/region).

How Volt Tackle fits a real build

Volt Tackle is strongest when you can offset recoil or end fights quickly:

• High Attack nature and EVs (if your game supports EV training).
• Recoil management with healing options, smart switching, or avoiding unnecessary chip damage.
• If you evolve to Pikachu, remember Light Ball also boosts Pikachu’s offensive stats, turning Volt Tackle into
  a “hit-and-hope-your-opponent-calls-an-ambulance” option.

And yes, you can absolutely run Volt Tackle “just because.” Sometimes the best strategy is pure vibes plus electricity.

Common Mistakes (AKA: Why This “Didn’t Work” for Your Friend’s Cousin)

• Using Mirror Herb or normal egg-move passing and expecting Volt Tackle to transfer anyway.
• Equipping the Light Ball after collecting eggs (too late).
• Breeding the wrong result (not producing Pichu eggs).
• Item-stealing move fails because your thief Pokémon was holding an item.
• Assuming old tricks still apply (some ability boosts to held-item rates don’t behave the same in newer titles).

FAQ: Fast Answers for Fast Readers

Can Pichu learn Volt Tackle by TM or Move Tutor?

In the mainline games where this move is treated as a special-case inheritance, no. The consistent method is hatching
a Pichu that already knows it via the Light Ball breeding condition.

Do both parents need to be Pikachu?

Usually no. A common approach is Pikachu (or Raichu) + Ditto, as long as the egg result is Pichu and the Light Ball
condition is met.

Does a parent have to know Volt Tackle first?

Not necessarily. The special trigger is the Light Ball held item during egg creationnot simply having the move in a
parent’s moveset.

Is Volt Tackle worth it?

It’s a powerhouse with recoil. If you want maximum damage and you can manage the self-inflicted pain, it’s worth
considering. If you hate recoil, your Pokémon might prefer literally any other Electric move.

Bonus: 500+ Words of Player-Style Experience (Because This Is Always How It Goes)

Let’s talk about what the Volt Tackle journey feels like, because the mechanics are only half the story.
The other half is youstaring at your screen, wondering if you’ve accidentally entered a side career in egg logistics.

First comes the Light Ball hunt. On paper, it’s simple: “Find a Pikachu that’s holding one.” In practice, it’s a
montage. You spot a Pikachu. You engage. You win. No Light Ball. You spot another. Repeat. At some point you begin
to suspect the local Pikachu population is running a secret economy, and you’re not invited.

If your game supports item-stealing moves, you feel clever for about five minutesright up until you realize your
Thief user is holding an item, so Thief won’t steal anything. Then you feel less clever. You remove the item, go
back out, and try again. This time, it works, and suddenly you’re euphoric over obtaining a tiny orb that would be
completely irrelevant if you weren’t chasing one specific move for one specific baby Pokémon.

Next is the breeding setup. You carefully choose parents like a matchmaker. “You two will make a child who knows
Volt Tackle.” You equip the Light Ball. You double-check it. You triple-check it. You start producing eggs. If your
game uses a nursery, you run around like you’re late for an appointment you didn’t schedule. If your game uses a
picnic basket, you become the world’s most focused sandwich artisan. Egg Power? Absolutely. You don’t even care if
the sandwich looks like a science experiment. You just want eggs.

Then comes the hatching. You roll out with five eggs and a hatch-helper and begin your treadmill simulator.
Somewhere between hatch number three and hatch number nine, you start narrating your life choices. “I could be doing
literally anything else.” And yet, when the egg pops and the Pichu appears, the annoyance resetsbecause it’s adorable.

The funniest part is the moment you check the moves. If Volt Tackle is there, you feel like a genius, a champion,
a visionary. If it isn’t, you experience the five stages of grief in about eight seconds. Denial: “Maybe it shows up later.”
Bargaining: “Maybe the move list updates after I save.” Acceptance: “I forgot the Light Ball.” (It’s always the Light Ball.)

Finally, you get the right PichuVolt Tackle includedand now you have a tiny creature with the power to flatten
enemies and also itself. You take it into battle, click Volt Tackle, watch a huge chunk of the opponent’s HP vanish…
and then watch your own HP drop from recoil. And you know what? You still smile, because this is exactly what you
signed up for: maximum electricity, maximum drama, and a Pichu that’s basically a lovable hazard sign.