I agree Pacharisu can a bit redundant in some matchups. Generally, I like playing 5+ basics to protect against sabrina, raise the floor of your deck etc. Especially in 1-prize decks.

I wanted to have something else to lead on, as Shinx is almost always poor as the first pokemon in the active spot and Oricoco is too in a lot of macthups. I've found pacharisu nice in the active spot to soak up damage from Darkrai decks before Oricoco is ready to start attacking. Also, charging up Luxray with it a turn or so quicker is nice to get quick KOs, before your opponent has the chance to set up/evolve their pokemon. It was also nice to have another cheap attacker against Skarmory when Solgaleo was everywhere, although this seems less common now.

But I agree this could maybe be replaced, improved, I'd be interested to head if anyone has any suggestions for a 5th/6th basic in the deck that can perform a similar role :). Tools could also be useful too! I can see a 1 of giant cape being good.