What it does
Electro Shot works in two phases:
Outside rain: Turn 1 charges (raises the user's Special Attack by one stage). Turn 2 fires at full power. The SpAtk boost from charging applies to the Turn 2 damage calculation, so you trade an action for a boosted hit.
In rain: The charging phase is entirely skipped. Turn 1 fires at full power, and the Special Attack boost still happens in the same turn. You get the STAB-level attack output and the +1 Special Attack all in one turn, no action sacrificed.
Electric-type hits Water and Flying super-effectively. Grass and Dragon resist. Ground is immune — zero damage, no exceptions.
In doubles, Electro Shot is a single-target move — full damage without the ×0.75 spread reduction. Between high base power, +1 SpAtk at time of fire (in rain), and potential further boosts, the single-hit damage is among the highest in the Electric-type.
Who runs it
Archaludon at 92% usage — signature move. Dragon/Steel-type, so Electric isn't STAB, but the base Special Attack combined with rain-accelerated firing and the guaranteed SpAtk boost still adds up to serious damage output.
The team structure for Archaludon almost always includes a rain setter — Drizzle from Politoed or a Pokémon using Rain Dance with Damp Rock to extend duration. The rain turns Electro Shot from 'sometimes two turns' into 'every turn on demand.'
How to use it
Without rain, Electro Shot costs two turns per use — nearly always suboptimal in doubles. The correct build is one where rain is reliably available so the two-turn version rarely or never happens.
The Special Attack boost accumulates on consecutive uses (up to +6 cap). In sustained rain with multiple turns of Electro Shot, the damage climbs each turn until the ceiling is reached — a Pokémon that's been charging multiple turns is genuinely scary.
Ground-types are a full stop. Not just 'resisted' — immune, zero damage. Check the opponent's team before committing Archaludon to a matchup against a Ground-type.
Tips & strategy
Rain control is the main external risk. If the opponent switches the weather to sun or sandstorm, the next Electro Shot requires a charge turn, burning a rain turn and an action simultaneously. Weather leads on the opposing side are the priority target.
Water-types take super-effective Electric damage and often appear in rain-opposing teams — Electro Shot hitting a Water-type in rain is doubly efficient: the rain is what enables quick firing, and the target takes 2× damage. The loop is tight.