What sets Electabuzz apart from the crowd is its excellent Speed, which coupled with its acceptable offensive stats makes it an effective mixed late-game cleaner. Thunderbolt is the STAB move of choice, with good neutral coverage as well as useful super effective coverage on bulky Water-types. For the second moveslot, a Hidden Power of your choice can be employed in order to hit certain targets. With Hidden Power Grass, you can hit Pokemon who are immune to Electabuzz's STAB, such as Rhyperior, Lanturn, and Quagsire, super effectively, usually making it the best choice. Hidden Power Ice, on the other hand, achieves much more general coverage, with the combination of Thunderbolt + Hidden Power Ice hitting almost every Pokemon in the game for neutral damage.
Electabuzz suffers from being perpetually compared to Manectric on all counts since they share the same ability, same typing, same Speed, and similar movepools, though Manectric has slightly higher Special Attack to Electabuzz's slightly higher Attack. While Manectric is certainly a more accomplished special sweeper, Electabuzz has a number of moves that give it an advantage in certain situations. The most notable of these is Cross Chop, which with minimal investment 2HKOes standard 252 Defense Calm Chansey, who is the most prominent special sponge in UU and Manectric's greatest nemesis. If you run Hidden Power Ice, however, it may be worth your while to run Focus Blast, a stronger special attack that can OHKO Steelix and offensive Rhyperior. In the last slot, Psychic is necessary if you chose Hidden Power Grass in order to strike Venusaur, who otherwise walls Electabuzz. If you chose any other Hidden Power, then Substitute is an excellent choice to allow Electabuzz to scout, ease prediction on the switch, and avoid status afflictions.
If you don't like Cross Chop's accuracy, there are a number of alternatives available. Focus Punch pairs well with Substitute and can OHKO Calm Chansey after Stealth Rock damage and 2HKO 252 HP Registeel, but is useless if you don't have a Substitute up. Low Kick is stronger against Registeel but fails to 2HKO Chansey. Toxic is also an option to increase residual damage on walls such as Donphan and Uxie, making them more easily worn down over time. Charge Beam can be used in the hope that it will grant Electabuzz a Special Attack boost. Hidden Power Fire is also an option, as it provides coverage against Steelix and Grass-types. The EVs are fairly straightforward sweeping EVs, while a 29 HP IV is advised to allow a maximum of 11 uses of Life Orb rather than 10.
It is necessary to weaken Electabuzz's common responses, most notably Registeel and Steelix (if you lack Hidden Power Fire or Focus Blast), if you want it to clean up. If they lack Shed Shell, both can be trapped by Magneton and Dugtrio. However, you must be wary, as Earthquake and Iron Head from either will do significant damage to Magneton and Dugtrio, respectively. For a more general response, a bulky Water-type is your best shot at taking down Steelix and other Ground-types, and a strong Fire- or Fighting-type can deal with Registeel. Lacking Hidden Power Fire, Ice, or Psychic leaves Electabuzz vulnerable to Venusaur, so Registeel can be a useful ally to deal with it and other specially oriented threats. However, using Registeel with Electabuzz comes at the expense of creating a large Ground-type weakness for your team.
Another useful partner to consider is Venusaur itself, whose STAB moves gain super effective coverage on Ground- and Grass-types, the most common types in UU that resist Electabuzz's STAB. Venusaur is also useful for taking care of such foes as Donphan, Tangrowth, Lanturn, and Quagsire, since all of them give Electabuzz trouble depending on what Hidden Power it is running. Other Pokemon to watch out for include those who have very high defensive stats and no weaknesses to the moves Electabuzz commonly carries. This overall category is serviced adequately by wallbreakers; Absol and Drapion both have STAB Night Slash and Pursuit to deal with the Psychic- and Ghost-types while Blaziken's powerful Fire Blast will weaken Uxie and Arcanine. Weezing makes for another good partner as it is a fairly solid stop to most Grass-, Fighting-, and Ground-types, while also having excellent defensive synergy with Registeel.
