What it does
Static triggers when the holder is hit by a contact move — physical attacks that involve direct contact. The attacker has a 30% chance of being paralyzed. Paralysis cuts Speed by half and adds a 12.5% chance each turn to skip action entirely (Champions rules reduced the skip chance from 25% to 12.5%). Paralysis persists until cured by an item or moves like Heal Bell.
Non-contact moves — most special attacks, Earthquake, ranged physical moves — do not trigger Static. If the opponent is hitting you with Flamethrower or Air Slash, Static doesn't apply.
30% in competitive play means: don't plan around it, but don't dismiss it. Over three contacts it triggers roughly once. When it does, a Speed-dependent Pokémon losing half its Speed is a big deal.
Who runs it
Stunfisk (70%) leads adoption here. It's a defensive Pokémon that stays in the field for many turns, accumulating more opportunities to trigger Static. Its Ground/Electric typing also gives it immunity to Electric moves, letting it absorb contact physical hits without fear of a super-effective response. Emolga (48%) is fast and Electric/Flying — Static is a probability punch against physical attackers it faces. Raichu (2%) usually runs Lightning Rod for doubles synergy. Pikachu (9%) has limited competitive use in Champions. Manectric (2%) generally prefers Intimidate. Bellibolt (2%) sees low adoption overall.
How to use it
The main use is simple: keep the Static holder in front of physical attackers and let the probability work. No active play required. With Stunfisk's bulk, you can sustain in the field long enough to make multiple contacts happen.
When Static triggers, the Speed cut on a fast physical attacker can flip the speed order for the rest of the match — suddenly a Pokémon that was outspeeding you is slower. That's when a paralyzed opponent starts making suboptimal choices about staying in or switching.
Tips & strategy
Don't bank on Static to save a difficult matchup. The 30% is not guaranteed and building a strategy around it going off is unreliable. Use it as a passive bonus — a chance to get lucky against a fast physical attacker.
Pairing Static with Thunder Wave gives you two paralysis vectors on the same Pokémon or team. Thunder Wave guarantees paralysis; Static adds random probability on top. The combined lines raise the overall chance a physical contact attacker ends up slowed.
Electric-type opponents are immune to paralysis, so Static is completely dead against them. Know which opponents this affects before relying on it.