Osgiliath
Smash Apprentice
Hey everyone,
This is a bit of information I found out about a day or two ago. Since this is way after the thread about this particular matchup, I wanted to make sure everyone read this. If the author of the thread wants to add this in there please by my guest.
A very important technique to us Pika players is Shielding an attack and counter-attacking quick with a Down Smash, Grab, or Up Smash; however, when facing Falco players I discovered something a little dis-heartening.
When Falco dashes towards you and uses his Running A and you shield to set him up with some lag to counter-attack, more and more Falcos are discovering that they can immediately Up Smash our block attempt. The sad thing to this is that the move is without lag. I'm not sure what they have to do to perform the move, I just know that they can do it and that this could lead into some serious mind game problems for Pikachu.
What mind games? Alright, a Falco player now has two options when his Running A is blocked. They can immediately go into an Up smash, or wait a second as if the he did have lag to cancel and then gain a free attack on us. The reason I say free attack is because I and most Pikachus have been used to immediately counter-attacking out of a shield block, BUT facing this new threat, our first instinction would be the shield just a bit longer to block the upsmash. Well what if the time we chose to block an upsmash was a time where Falco did not attempt to attack us? He now has the possibility to go for a 100% connect grab or to hope we let down our shield to counter-attack so that he may unleash something more deadly, maybe a shine into some forsaken combo.
The only was I have been able to block this is, don't shield block his Running A. This by far is the easiest of all choices, you can simply roll, jump, or run. One that is a bit harder is to keep the same technique; however, you must be on your toes to get ready for a shield grab. This requires timing, and a little bit of a 6th sense to predict your opponent's move. This of course is harder to do, but still within the power of our character. The last thing to do is to avoid shielding all together, but to actually just counter with a Down Smash. I haven't generated a list but I do know that Pikachu's Down Smash has a good amount of priority over MOST of the other character's Running A attacks. Of course not against any sword users. He mainly has priority with this move if the opponent has to make physical contact with his body, such as Pikachu, Mario, Sonic, etc.
Well, hopes this helps. For all of you who don't know me, though I'm not as popular as Anther, I have been playing Pikachu since 64. I was with him during Melee (though he sucked) an I'm still with him in Brawl. What I'm trying to say is, I know what I'm talking about....
Happy Hunting my fellow Pika users!
Osgiliath
This is a bit of information I found out about a day or two ago. Since this is way after the thread about this particular matchup, I wanted to make sure everyone read this. If the author of the thread wants to add this in there please by my guest.
A very important technique to us Pika players is Shielding an attack and counter-attacking quick with a Down Smash, Grab, or Up Smash; however, when facing Falco players I discovered something a little dis-heartening.
When Falco dashes towards you and uses his Running A and you shield to set him up with some lag to counter-attack, more and more Falcos are discovering that they can immediately Up Smash our block attempt. The sad thing to this is that the move is without lag. I'm not sure what they have to do to perform the move, I just know that they can do it and that this could lead into some serious mind game problems for Pikachu.
What mind games? Alright, a Falco player now has two options when his Running A is blocked. They can immediately go into an Up smash, or wait a second as if the he did have lag to cancel and then gain a free attack on us. The reason I say free attack is because I and most Pikachus have been used to immediately counter-attacking out of a shield block, BUT facing this new threat, our first instinction would be the shield just a bit longer to block the upsmash. Well what if the time we chose to block an upsmash was a time where Falco did not attempt to attack us? He now has the possibility to go for a 100% connect grab or to hope we let down our shield to counter-attack so that he may unleash something more deadly, maybe a shine into some forsaken combo.
The only was I have been able to block this is, don't shield block his Running A. This by far is the easiest of all choices, you can simply roll, jump, or run. One that is a bit harder is to keep the same technique; however, you must be on your toes to get ready for a shield grab. This requires timing, and a little bit of a 6th sense to predict your opponent's move. This of course is harder to do, but still within the power of our character. The last thing to do is to avoid shielding all together, but to actually just counter with a Down Smash. I haven't generated a list but I do know that Pikachu's Down Smash has a good amount of priority over MOST of the other character's Running A attacks. Of course not against any sword users. He mainly has priority with this move if the opponent has to make physical contact with his body, such as Pikachu, Mario, Sonic, etc.
Well, hopes this helps. For all of you who don't know me, though I'm not as popular as Anther, I have been playing Pikachu since 64. I was with him during Melee (though he sucked) an I'm still with him in Brawl. What I'm trying to say is, I know what I'm talking about....
Happy Hunting my fellow Pika users!
Osgiliath
