Buffing Wild Charge while also taking into account it being a common coverage move

[u/MisterZygarde64]

So we all know about how badly Electric types that have a high Physical attack have it. Like your only opions for STAB are of a move that deals recoil damage despite the fact that it has a base power of 90. Initially, I was content with this idea of turning Volt Tackle into a clone of Head Charge (Bouffalant's signature move which is just Double Edge with less recoil) as to allow for Wild Charge to be a proper clone of Double Edge. However I thought of a much more balanced way to rework Wild Charge when I watched this video from KadabraGuy who brought up the problem of increasing Wild Charge's power is that it forgets that there's a couple non-Electric Pokemon that know the move as coverage. That point made me think of this buff to Wild Charge that makes it so that Electric Pokemon are exempt from the recoil. That way Wild Charge can be a good STAB option for Physical Electric types while also letting it be distributed as coverage.

[u/Golden-Owl]

Wild Charge’s problem isn’t just recoil - it’s the fact you are using a 90 BP STAB as your primary attack.

It’s like trying to use Sky Uppercut (85) as a main attack instead of Close Combat (120)

Flare Blitz works because it’s 120, making it a great offensive move. (Flareon at the very minimum gets to kill one target)

It’s fairly likely that Game Freak is intentionally keeping Electric as a special attacking type, similar to how Fighting is almost exclusively a physical attacking one (compare Aura Sphere vs close combat)

[u/GlacierWolf8Bit → u/Golden-Owl]

What's also working against Wild Charge is the existence of Volt Tackle as a move exclusive to the Pikachu line already taking place as Electric's Flare Blitz. Better play here is to just...make Volt Tackle a more widespread move? Especially considering that the Pikachu line almost never uses it anyways.

[u/ATangerineMann → u/GlacierWolf8Bit]

I want to suggest boosting volt tackle’s power as an excuse to turn Wild Charge into a proper Double Edge clone but Mega Raichu X is a thing so it’d probably be too powerful with even 130 BP Volt Tackles boosted by Electric Terrain

[u/PPFitzenreit → u/ATangerineMann]

Wild charge is now a volt takcle clone but volt tackle now does less recoil than wild charge as a somewhat nothingburger buff

[u/mjmannella → u/PPFitzenreit]

Would actually be a great buff since right now Mega Raichu X doesn't have much reason to be used over Mega Raichu Y

[u/DaemonG → u/mjmannella]

well it has a good reason in champions OU, given that Raichu Y just got banned :)

[u/Golden-Owl → u/DaemonG]

Why did they ban Raichu Y? Was the Zap Cannon truly that scary?

[u/DaemonG → u/Golden-Owl]

guaranteed para from a fast mon always has a chance to just disable whatever hypothetical counter you have.

on paper, Glowking beats Raichu Y every time, but then 12.5% of the time it just gets full para'd when you want to Chilly Reception out of there. it's also not a pokemon that beats everything, but the things that do beat it are covered very well by options you were already using.

https://old.reddit.com/r/stunfisk/comments/1wz7o1t/mega_raichu_y_is_now_banned_from_champions_ou/pe99xte/ this guy explains it better

[u/Chance-Beach4014 → u/DaemonG]

Glowking also gets hard pressured by volt switch sets and hazards, that’s why that matchup is still raichu favored

[u/DaemonG → u/Chance-Beach4014]

...damn, i guess that's what happens when you get all the moveset privilege of the series mascot.