Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon have already ushered in a new era of competitive play. With the introduction of Alolan forms, totem guardians, and the newest abilities on their Pokémon, the tierlists of both Smogon and this League will undoubtedly go through a paradigm shift. The real question isn't how the game will change, but rather how it won't. Today I'd like to discuss one of the more interesting new forms to be introduced. The Alolan Raichu, which I will simply refer to as Psychu, is a lovable Pokémon that fits the stereotypical Hawaiian image. But what chance might it stand in competitive play?

Let's take a look at the typing first. With the added Psychic typing, Psychu has traded some weaknesses for some resitances and a new STAB. While I can't quite make a judgement on whether or not that is worthwhile quite yet, I can list the pros and cons of such a change. Due to this new typing, Psychu now has four weaknesses, being Ground, Bug, Ghost, and Dark. In exchange, it can now hit Fighting and Poison types for super effective damage along with Flying and Water types. It would also imply either Psychu gets to learn Psychic, Psyshock, Zen Headbutt, or perhaps a new signature move with the Psychic type. Maybe even both, for all we know. …show more content…
It can only be assumed that Psychu will inherit this same movepool with perhaps an added Psychic STAB. While there is a possibility of an entirely new movepool, unlike some of the other new forms, this Alolan exclusive has had a very small change. I doubt they'd edit the entire Pokémon for one small thing. Also, the Z-move that Psychu does (which is named Stoked SparkSurfer) is extremely fascinating and undoubtedly