Question

Why is Alolan Raichu in RUBL in Gen 8 when it was PU in Gen 7?

Comments

Reverse power creep!
Jk, likely rising voltage and electric terrain combos making it outspeed everything and ohko lots with specs

---

I should note its back in PU. Again
 We got past ubers in uu since cworn tundra, so what did we expect

---

Correction: Alolan Raichu is in PUBL. :P

---

Wait did it just get banned or are my eyes dead
I swear it said pu

Answer 1

Reverse power creep!
Jk, likely rising voltage and electric terrain combos making it outspeed everything and ohko lots with specs
commented 10 minutes ago by ☆SleepyDreepy☆

Yes, this is probably one of your best bets.

Pincurchin being introduced would certainly help Alolan Raichu due to Rising Voltage and Surge Surfer, so you don't need to push it into a tier with Tapu Koko to use its ability properly, unless you'd like to set up Electric Terrain with the move itself as opposed to Electric Surge. A Terrain Extender also exists now, so Raichu has more turns to Rising Voltage + Surge Surfer sweep.

Also note that Heavy-Duty Boots have been introduced, allowing Alolan Raichu to pivot with Volt Switch without taking Stealth Rock / Spikes damage. Life Orb sets and even Choice Specs sets are popular, due to Surge Surfer making it extremely fast and both items boosting its power.

Alolan Raichu also gets Nasty Plot, yeah, I know that it got Nasty Plot in Gen 7, just pointing out that on Life Orb / Heavy-Duty Boots sets Nasty Plot is a great option.

Hope this helps! :)

Comments

And Grass Knot too.

---

thanks

---

no problem! :)

Answer 2

Raichu-Alola after gaining access to Rising Voltage has accelerated both its sweeping and wallbreaking capabilities. Under electric terrain, Raichu undercuts all revenge killing attempts while having the raw power to 2HKO nearly the entire tier. With Steelix moving up to UU, Surf is no longer as necessary as it was before, allowing Raichu to use Grass Knot to break mons such as Gastrodon that once served as counters. Its extremely limited offensive and defensive counter play has been deemed far too overpowered for the tier to handle. As a side note: the reason we chose to ban Raichu is because we make bans that focus on eliminating the abuser first. If Electric Surge continues to cause problems outside of Raichu-Alola, we may consider a more sweeping ban in the future and may undo the Raichu ban following said decision.

source