New Pokémon players often underestimate the importance of Abilities. Stats and movesets are essential when looking for the strongest team members, but Abilities have a huge impact too. A great Ability can make an otherwise mediocre Pokémon a popular pick (Pelipper with Drizzle, for instance), while a terrible Ability can doom an otherwise super-strong Pokémon to obscurity (Slaking’s Truant, say).
Volt Absorb grants the holder immunity to Electric moves and restores its HP by a quarter when it’s hit by one. It’s certainly not the best Ability around, but it can be very useful offensively and defensively. We’ve ranked all nine Pokémon that have this Ability (including two new additions from Pokémon Sword and Shield, so look away now if you don’t want them to be spoiled).
9 Chinchou
Coming in at the bottom of the pile when it comes to Volt Absorb Pokémon, we have Chinchou. As it’s the only unevolved Pokémon with the Ability, it makes perfect sense that it’s going to be a little feeble. Adorable, yes, but Adorable isn’t a stat in the games and it won’t save Chinchou from being crushed into a sad, salty, defeated pulp in battle.
As is to be expected of an unevolved Pokémon, its base 75 HP is its only passable stat, with Speed not far behind at 67. It’s sorely lacking everywhere else.
8 Minun
The Cheering Pokémon, Minun, gains access to Volt Absorb as its Hidden Ability (its counterpart Plusle gets Lightning Rod instead). One of the very popular and generally sub-par ‘Electric rodents,’ Minun offers just about everything you’d expect of its group: it’s relatively fast, totally frail, and gets some nice supportive moves that it can’t really pull off most of the time.
Supportive Pokémon tend to be slow and defensive, allowing them to take a hit and pull off game-changing moves like Trick Room. Minun might be able to make something happen with a Focus Sash, but other than that it won’t usually be able to pull much off before being obliterated. Just a step above Chinchou.
7 Pachirisu
Speaking of Electric rodents, Pachirisu is up next and it’s a bit of a special case. In the competitive scene, it was usually about as welcome as Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Spike at a sunny summer pool party, but everything changed (well, briefly) when Se Jun Park included a Pachirisu in his 2014 Pokemon World Championships team (and proceeded to win).
Of course, Pachirisu had a niche role that it performed super well in Park’s specific team. Fans who saw this, though, began to use the little squirrel-‘mon in droves. Its stats are completely average-to-downright-bad, however, so the hype soon died down when others couldn’t really replicate the champion’s results. Still, it had its fifteen minutes of fame, and that’s worth seventh place.
6 Lanturn
Now we’re talking. Lanturn is the evolved form of Chinchou, and it’s a little more of a contender now it’s grown up a little. With its unique Water/Electric typing, it has a range of very useful moves available to it, such as Thunder Wave and the ever-fantastic Water STAB Scald. In the lower tiers, it has nicely rounded stats that allow it to tank hits well and even deal back some reasonable damage. It even has access to Water Absorb, which is another good alternative option in the right situation.
The issue is that Lanturn is still totally average all-around. In the Pokémon world, not specializing in any one area tends to mean that there’s always something that performs that team member's role better, so it’s often overlooked. Sixth place!
5 Jolteon
Now, Jolteon is a simple Pokémon with simple tastes. That whole tricky, status-inflicting lifestyle just isn’t what Jolteon is all about. This Pokémon just wants to do two things: hit very dang fast and relatively hard.
It’s most often seen with a Choice Specs or Choice Scarf, darting around with Volt Switch and putting some sizable dents in the opponent’s team in the process. It’s not the most strategic approach, perhaps, but it’s very effective and fits nicely in a range of teams. It doesn’t often get a lot of mileage out of Volt Absorb, but as a glass cannon, it appreciates the chance to switch in for free (just give it partners that tend to draw in Electric attacks). Next, we’re going to take a look at two new Galar Pokémon, so watch out if you don’t want to see them!
4 Arctozolt
As you’re surely aware, Pokémon Sword and Shield have just released. The games have proven controversial in the run-up to release, with the National Dex cuts and such, but the fact of the matter is that it’s a new Pokémon game. Millions of fans around the world are enjoying their journeys through Galar as we speak.
Along the way, of course, there are new Pokémon to collect. One of them is this curious creature: Arctozolt. A unique Electric- and Ice-type, it boasts a very effective STAB combination (one of the best in the entire series in terms of coverage) and the stats to back it up. Its middling 55 base Speed will require some support, though, especially as it has the potent new physical Electric move Bolt Beak (which hits for double damage if going before the opponent). Offering some new and interesting possibilities, it ranks just a little above Jolteon.
3 Dracozolt
Arctozolt’s counterpart, Dracozolt, isn’t very different. It’s Electric/Dragon instead, and its base stats are just slightly shifted around (it gains some Speed in exchange for a little Special Attack and Special Defense).
As such, it’s a little tough to choose between the two. It also boasts very powerful STAB moves, so it’s going to come down to your specific team’s needs (or the one you think looks better, that’s a 100% valid decision too). For our money, though, the Ice typing gives Arctozolt some key weaknesses that Dracozolt doesn’t have to contend with, so it just comes out on top.
2 Thundurus (Therian Forme)
There’s no denying that Thundurus is an absolute Force of Nature worthy of the name. It has wreaked havoc on the competitive scene in just about every format it’s been allowed in, with its great typing, stats, and power. The issue is, a lot of that potential is often lost.
Thundurus Incarnate tends to be much more popular, spreading Prankster-boosted Thunder Waves everywhere and generally making the opponent feel just a little worse about themselves. The sheer might of Thundurus Therian sometimes goes under-appreciated. With its base 145 Special Attack and 101 Speed (just trumping key opponents), it doesn’t need to spread status and be built defensively when it can just go all-out offensive so well. As with Jolteon, Volt Absorb can be nice for those Pokémon that need help getting in safely. A worthy runner-up, but we’d say the final Volt Absorb Pokemon just barely tops it.
1 Zeraora
Before Arctozolt and Dracozolt hit the scene, Zeraora was the newest Volt Absorb Pokemon on the block. The Thunderclap Pokémon made its debut in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.
This Mythical addition follows the hyper offensive tradition of many Volt Absorb holders: it’s very fast indeed (base 143 Speed) and has nice mixed offenses but doesn’t really want to tank many hits itself. With its Speed, versatility and devastating exclusive move Plasma Fists, Zeraora is our pick for the most powerful Pokémon with Volt Absorb.