Thunderbolt (move)
From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.
| Thunderbolt 10まんボルト 100,000 Volts | ||||||||||||
| A strong electric blast is loosed at the foe. It may also leave the foe paralyzed. | ||||||||||||
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Battles
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Target
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Availability
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Super Contests
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Thunderbolt (Japanese: 10まんボルト 100,000 Volts) is a damage-dealing Electric-type move introduced in Generation I.
Contents |
Effect
Generation I
Thunderbolt does damage and has a 9.8% chance of paralyzing the target.
Thunderbolt can't paralyze a target that has a Substitute or already has a major status ailment.
Generation II and beyond
Same as above, but with a 10% chance of paralysis instead.
Learnset
Generation I
By leveling up
| # | Pokémon | Type | Level | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 025 | 
| Pikachu | Electric | 26Y | |
| Bold indicates a Pokémon which gets STAB from this move. Italic indicates a Pokémon whose evolution or alternate form gets STAB from this move. | |||||
By TM24
Generation II
By leveling up
| # | Pokémon | Type | Level | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 025 |
| Pikachu | Electric | 26 | |
| 026 | 
| Raichu | Electric | -- | |
| 125 | 
| Electabuzz | Electric | 47 | |
| 239 | 
| Elekid | Electric | 41 | |
| Bold indicates a Pokémon which gets STAB from this move. Italic indicates a Pokémon whose evolution or alternate form gets STAB from this move. | |||||
By breeding
| # | Pokémon | Type | Father | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 179 | 
| Mareep | Electric | Pikachu, Raichu | |
| Bold indicates a Pokémon which gets STAB from this move. Italic indicates a Pokémon whose evolution gets STAB from this move. *Indicates Pokémon that can only learn the move through chain breeding. | |||||
By move tutor
In Pokémon Crystal
Generation III
By leveling up
| # | Pokémon | Type | Level | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 025 |
| Pikachu | Electric | 26 | |
| 026 |
| Raichu | Electric | -- | |
| 125 |
| Electabuzz | Electric | 47 | |
| 239 |
| Elekid | Electric | 41 | |
| Bold indicates a Pokémon which gets STAB from this move. Italic indicates a Pokémon whose evolution or alternate form gets STAB from this move. | |||||
By TM24
Generation IV
By leveling up
| # | Pokémon | Type | Level | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 025 |
| Pikachu | Electric | 26 | |
| 026 |
| Raichu | Electric | -- | |
| 125 |
| Electabuzz | Electric | 43 | |
| 239 |
| Elekid | Electric | 37 | |
| 466 | 
| Electivire | Electric | 43 | |
| Bold indicates a Pokémon which gets STAB from this move. Italic indicates a Pokémon whose evolution or alternate form gets STAB from this move. | |||||
By TM24
In the anime
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| Koffing | Pikachu | Electivire | Delcatty |
| The opponent is hit by a bolt of lightning from the the user. | |||
| Pokémon | Method | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| User | First Episode Used In | Notes | |
| Pikachu
| It releases a powerful bolt of lightning which zaps the opponent. | ||
| Ash's Pikachu | Showdown at Pewter City! | Debut | |
| Ritchie's Sparky | A Friend In Deed | None | |
| Pokémon League entrance exam instructor's Pikachu | The Ultimate Test | None | |
| Raichu
| It releases many powerful bolts of lightning which zap the opponent. | ||
| Lt. Surge's Raichu | Electric Shock Showdown | None | |
| Katrina's Raichu | Lights, Camera, Quack-tion! | None | |
| Electabuzz
| Electabuzz releases powerful bolts of lightning from its horns. | ||
| Kas Gym Leader's Electabuzz | Showdown at Dark City | None | |
| Unknown Trainer's Electabuzz | Pikachu Re-Volts | None | |
 Magneton
| Magneton's magnets glow yellow or white and a powerful bolt of electricity is released from them. | ||
| Unknown Trainer's Magneton | Mewtwo Strikes Back | None | |
| Ethan's Magneton | Get Along, Little Pokémon | None | |
 Magnemite
| Magnemite releases a powerful bolt of electricity from its magnet tips. | ||
| wild Magnemites | Pikachu Re-Volts | None | |
| Ethan's Magnemite | Get Along, Little Pokémon | None | |
 Jolteon
| Jolteon releases a powerful bolt of electricity from its body. | ||
| Unknown Trainer's Jolteon | Pikachu Re-Volts | None | |
 Persian
| Persian's eyes glow yellow. Then, it releases a powerful bolt of electricity from its body which zaps the opponent. | ||
| Unknown Trainer's Persian | The Mandarin Island Miss Match | None | |
 Starmie
| Starmie spins around and releases a powerful bolt of lightning which zaps the opponent. | ||
| Rudy's Starmie | Misty Meets Her Match | None | |
 Delcatty
| It releases a powerful bolt of lightning which zaps the opponent. | ||
| Dr. Abby's Delcatty | Delcatty Got Your Tongue | None | |
 Linoone
| It releases a powerful bolt of lightning which zaps the opponent. | ||
| Tokin | Showdown At Linoone! | None | |
| Electivire
| It releases a powerful bolt of lightning which zaps the opponent. | ||
| Gary's Electivire | Home Is Where the Start Is! | None | |
 Koffing
| It releases a powerful bolt of lightning which zaps the opponent. | ||
| Someone's Koffing | Tag! We're It...! | None | |
 Nidoking
| It releases a powerful bolt of lightning which zaps the opponent. | ||
| Paul's Nidoking | DP128 | None | |
Trivia
- In some copies of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, using Thunderbolt or Thunder may freeze the game during the animation sequence. This may be rectified by turning off the battle animations.
- Another, less harmful variation also exists, which causes that the sound of the attack gets stuck in a loop and plays as long as the game is turned on, even after the battle is over.
- In the console games, Thunderbolt is shown going straight forward to the foes' Pokémon, while in the handheld games it is shown going straight down. This was most likely done to prevent confusion with Thunder.
- Because of Pikachu's early mastery of this move in the anime, it is by far one of the most used moves throughout the entire series, being used since even the earliest episodes. However, such episodes would also use moves simply called "Electric attack" or even "lightning" attack.
- Both ThunderShock and Thunderbolt were translated to Portuguese as "Choque do Trovão".
In other languages
- Brazilian Portuguese: Choque do Trovão, sometimes Relâmpago
- French: Tonnerre
- German: Donnerblitz
- Italian: Fulmine (Superfulmine in the anime)
- Norwegian: Tordenkile
- Spanish: Rayo (Impactrueno in Latin American dub)
- Korean: 10만볼트 shipman bolt
- Dutch: Bliksemstraal
| Variations on the move Flamethrower | |
|---|---|
| Flamethrower | Ice Beam | Surf | Thunderbolt |
| Generation I TMs | |
|---|---|
| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | |
| Generation I HMs | |
| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | |
| Generation III TMs | |
|---|---|
| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | |
| Generation III HMs | |
| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | |
| Generation IV TMs | |
|---|---|
| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | |
| 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | |
| 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | |
| Generation IV HMs | |
| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | |
| This move article is part of Project MoveDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each move. |
