My heated RANT towards Raichu

It seems like everyone assumes that Raichu gets no love, is underrated, ignored, and forever in Pikachu's shadow. In the eyes of GameFreak and TPC, yes this is partially true. However I DISAGREE as the community treats and praises Raichu like the second coming of the messiah worthy of receiving special treatment. And I think it's perfectly-rated as it is:

Here are the few reasons:

  1. Raichu already has an alternative form, which is the Alolan variant.
  2. Among the 16 Pokemon to receive Signature Z-Moves Alolan Raichu was one of them. What about the other Alolan Variants? They received none!
  3. Ignoring the comparison to heavily marketed Pikachu. I believe that Raichu has a lot of merchandise compared to most Gen 1 Pokemon as well as most electric Pokemon from each generation. 
  4. Because of Pikachu’s mascot status, Raichu is safe from Dexit although there's a chance that the Pikachu line isn't safe from a potential Legends Unova game which I’d be surprised about considering Unova does not have the Pikachu line (Not talking about Z-A btw).
  5. Because of the iconic Surfing Pikachu, the Pikachu line can learn Surf in newer generations, which is a great coverage move which Raichu can learn. 
  6. Because the Pikachu family allows its evolutionary lines to keep their hats, therefore Raichu has a lot of variants in Pokemon Go.
  7. I disagree with people wanting Gorochu to happen. Why do Raichu fans say this? That is going to make Raichu more of a middle child than it already is. I’d say give it a Mega Evolution instead.
  8. So about Raichu fans wanting Light Ball to work for it, I’m not opposed to this because it would make up for Pichu's weak stats. But it would definitely hurt the reception of Pikachu’s evolutionary line because it would be the only non-legendary line that received special treatment. Also Raichu would be a menace.
  9. Raichu is extremely good in competitive double battles as a supporter with moves like Fake Out, Nuzzle, Volt Switch, Electroweb etc. In singles, it struggles outclassed by many electric Pokemon but I’d say its stats are good enough for in-game playthroughs. 

I know Raichu got shafted in spinoffs such as Unite and Pokken and even missed out on G-Max form. But seriously if everything went right for Raichu then the Pikachu line would be seriously the most spoiled line in the series ruining public perception.

Also I do not stand against Pikachu slander. Like come on he’s the mascot and going to be promotional material in such a way of form. It's tough to say it but I prefer Pikachu over Raichu which is the hottest take among longtime Pokemon fans especially on Reddit. And besides Raichu gets A LOT of love and attention solely by being known in Pikachu’s shadow. Take a look at reddit threads on “which pokemon is overrated” and you can get your answer. But I do agree that Raichu deserved better by giving him at least a Mega form and at least being a playable character in a spinoff game.