Q&A Ask about Pikachu! Hosted by Axe and N64! feat. dkuo!

[N64]

so i've been harping on it lately, but it's still on my mind

just look at dat initial hitbox compared to pikachu's hurtboxes. It's sooo goooooood.

Also good luck to AXE and Chad at MLG!

 

[mynameisdog4]

Axe is in the Champion bracket from the open bracket. Chad lost to Okami and is in losers right now. He can still make it :D

 

[N64]

so that uair -> fall immediate nair from axe in his (i think) second match vs hax that led to an ftilt and then edgeguard kill made me audibly gasp. That nair->ftilt was soooooo gooooooood.

Also lets go Pikachad! Make bracket! gogogo

 

[mynameisdog4]

so that uair -> fall immediate nair from axe in his (i think) second match vs hax that led to an ftilt and then edgeguard kill made me audibly gasp. That nair->ftilt was soooooo gooooooood.

Also lets go Pikachad! Make bracket! gogogo

I almost died on that last game when the chaingrab -> Up Smash was a weak hit

 

[Aquachu]

Wow, Axe is really killing it. Close set with PPMD, and even beat the likes of M2K and Hax. Loving the character more and more every time i watch him :D

 

[itsbme]

Yeah, i was so happy when i heard axe beat mew2king. Axe makes pikachu look broken. I love this game.

 

[N64]

holy **** axe. You proved me wrong. It can be done.

 

[Palmerfan]

Axe is making pikachu looking like a top tier right now... beating one of the best Sheiks AND the best puff main in the world in the same tournament?!?!

 

[mynameisdog4]

Axe you are a magician. Not even game 5.

 

[mynameisdog4]

Also is falling dair legit on Puff? I saw him do it a lot, but it seems unsafe. He mostly did it on shield and only of FD.

 

[N64]

It's decent, and he spaced them well. The horizontal hitbox is pretty good and jiggs doesn't have much to contest it directly (her uair is likely to trade, and trading pika dair with jiggs uair is totally fine), so hbox would have to dodge->bair. Also damaging jiggs is really important in the matchup, since pika's normal ways of killing (juggling and edgeguarding) just don't work on jiggs 90% of the time, so hitting dairs is valuable.

Also it comes out slow but actually recovers pretty fast once it's out, so if you're falling anyways and they don't have something to beat it (i.e. fox uair, marth uair) then it's a decent risk/reward. I don't remember seeing him do it on hbox's shield much, that's generally not a good idea. Would have to see the specific situations to comment further.

 

[Aquachu]

Yeah, That match was so intense! Basically beat a top 5 player without Pikachu's trademark edgeguard/gimping. Axe certainly has the prospect of reaching very far now :o

 

[N64]

Grabbing my hype popcorn and sitting in my hype chair for some hype axe vs m2k.

Edit: Good try axe, were some close matches. I am still floored you took your first set from hbox!

 

[Palmerfan]

I really think that this tournament had some of the best pika play of all time, amazing job axe!

 

[ramenchu]

Axe did so well this weekend, god damn! Making the Sheik/Jiggs matchup look even. My heart was pounding during the Hbox set lol

 

[itsbme]

5th with Pikachu. Never thought i'd see the day. So happy for Axe. I think he's going to be one of the Smash Gods soon.

 

[festizzio]

That uair -> thunder kill on Hungrybox...that's the dream man. Axe played so amazingly well this tournament. I hope we get to see a lot more of him this summer! He's killing it!

 

[Palmerfan]

Is axe going to CEO next weekend?

 

[Cassio]

You guys shouldve seen the PP vs Axe set. Game 4 was super super last hit (he wouldve won the set), and after he 3-stocked PPs Marth on FD he said hed never met anyone as good at a matchup as Axe's pika was against Marth.

Also got to meet dkuo and pikachad for the first time, was pretty awesome!

Thoughts on jiggs; trading hit for hit damage wise works really well in your favor. Jiggs cant really expect to gimp pika and killing him outside rest can take a long time.

 

[dkuo]

yea i didnt really talk to you a lot this weekend axe but HOOOLYYY FUKKKKKKKKKK

good stuff dude

and yeah, meeting chad and cassio was cool
cassio beat me in a pika ditto lol

 

[mynameisdog4]

Haha dkuo is Toph talking about you here? http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=CtMqSb2-g7w#t=445

 

[dkuo]

http://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/c...his_is_the_reason_why_everyone_should/cii3mgt

 

[ChivalRuse]

Axe makes Pikachu seem better than he is. Like you watch Axe and Pikachu seems godlike. Then you play him and you're like "this character sucks. Lemme play Fox instead".

 

[N64]

Axe is really good at making pikachu look like he doesn't have weaknesses, or they are very minor, I will agree.

 

[AXE 09]

Guys;

Last weekend was just amazing. I feel incredible, you have no idea lol.

I've been practicing like crazy, so I was very happy that it all paid off and took me as far as it did.

I'm still practicing a lot and I'll keep trying to rise to the top, so stay tuned cuz there's more to come!!

I just wanna say thank you all for your support. I need as much as I can get

 

[Stake]

I love people who push low tiers like axe and amsa, you inspired me to play Pika as well :D.

 

[Bones0]

If I'm up-Bing to the ledge within range of the first half of quick attack, is it faster to do the the second input straight downward than not at all?

 

[N64]

If i'm understanding your question correctly, then yes, if the first half would end above the ledge at all. Passing the ledge at a downward angle will 'snap' you to the ledge (as long as you aren't holding down while you pass it), while ending upB above the edge hangs you there for a very short moment before you start to fall.

 

[Spyro]

Axe makes Pikachu seem better than he is. Like you watch Axe and Pikachu seems godlike. Then you play him and you're like "this character sucks. Lemme play Fox instead".

Yeah, Axe's movement is so good, it's always a joy to watch him play.

 

[Bones0]

If i'm understanding your question correctly, then yes, if the first half would end above the ledge at all. Passing the ledge at a downward angle will 'snap' you to the ledge (as long as you aren't holding down while you pass it), while ending upB above the edge hangs you there for a very short moment before you start to fall.

What about if the first half ends directly on the ledge? I feel like I was able to go straight down and release the stick before it started, but I couldn't tell if that was faster than just doing the first half alone.

Also, what do you guys like to use fair for? It seems like it has very little stun and isn't useful vs. grounded opponents (seems especially bad vs. CCing). Can I combo airborne opponents with something like fair -> uair or fair -> DJ nair?

 

[dkuo]

theres a little flippy animation before falling starts so i think its still a little slower. youd have to do some tas stuff though to really be sure

and fair isnt very useful vs grounded players lol. sometimes you can get fair grab if people get scared and put up their shield but you usually just get grabbed
fair into aerial comboing does work out pretty well but remember they arent "real" combos

 

[N64]

Yeah, if the first part of upB lands directly at the edge, then the difference is pretty negligible. Don't know which would be faster, but it's not really noticable (and not doing the second part would be safer execution-wise).

I like fair occasionally as an air-to-air or for certain edgeguard situations. The main benefit of fair (imo) is it allows you to move through somebody while keeping them mostly in place. It can set up well for doublejump rising uair, which could then potentially extend your combo (or at least give you positional advantage). You can also use it to techchase on platforms sorta. Like, uthrow someone at a percent where they would have to tech on the platform, then full hop fair and it lasts long enough to likely catch standing tech and techroll in one direction (if you follow/space well), or catch them if they don't tech. This will keep them close and you can probably get a grab off it.

Just know that for many situations, nair will be better. Fair has almost no stun, a pretty meh hitbox, and gives the opponent multiple opportunities to smashDI.

 

[Magnawolf]

What do you think is the most important thing to focus on when playing CPUs?

 

[dkuo]

focus on execution instead of fighting the cpu

 

[Palmerfan]

As dkuo said, execution is key. If you want to practice short hops, wavelands, shield drops, whatever, make sure you can do it 100% of the time VS cpus, or else you wont be able to do it in a real match.

 

[ChivalRuse]

F-air is only used for flashy gimps haha!

 

[Stake]

What do you think is the most important thing to focus on when playing CPUs?

Why....lol no offense but that seems sort of pointless.

F-air is only used for flashy gimps haha!

And I though it was good for gimps :C, I am new to pikachu though, I actually started using him because of Fair against spacies B-up and the tail spike. It is just so fun.

 

[ChivalRuse]

I think he means when training with CPUs.

It's good for working on combos and tech skill. Helps you get a feel for different characters' weight and percentage factors.

 

[Kim Steinbach-Reif]

This may not be a direct question about Pikachu but rather an issue I need to figure out regarding Pikachu.

Recently I've been switching characters and played Captain Falcon for variations, and I wonder if I should keep him as a secondary of some sort (and Pikachu as main) or drop him for now and focus fully on Pikachu. Now you will say "Play the one that's the most fun" but I don't want to have a secondary if it doesn't really benefit me, atleast not unless I'm good with one character.

To the question: Is there any matchup that Falcon is good at than Pikachu may not be? Can he be used instead of Pikachu versus some specific matchups? If not I may aswell try and become a good Pikachu player and then pick him up again or some other character.

TL;DR Is Captain Falcon better in any matchups than Pikachu is?

 

[Palmerfan]

Falcon has a pretty winnable matchup vs jiggs and an alright matchup vs ICs, so he goes great with Pika. I'd keep him around. You should definitely learn how to fight every matchups with pika though, as it will make you a better player overall. Just know that unless you're axe, you probably won't win top level matches vs jiggs/ICs.