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

[.K1]

wait....so its not possible to tech the shine on reaction? Ive tried over and over and over in training with a friend and Ive only gotten it once, but I think that was more anticipatory as opposed to reactive.

 

[N64]

Yeah, you pretty much have to predict it. The more you play against fox, the easier it is to recognize "oh, he's probably going to shine me here, and I can't avoid/shield it." So you can try to tech it.

 

[Laijin]

I'm just posting in this thread to express how much I miss playing N64 in tournament
Our Young Link x Pikachu sets were really fun.

edit: wtf dkuo I didn't know you played YL.

 

[oukd]

this isnt the yl thread man

 

[Laijin]

I meant Pikachu.
Typo.

 

[AXE 09]

You gotta admit though, Young Link is freakin baller :D
I love that kid.
But Pikachu is just too good

 

[oukd]

I meant Pikachu.
Typo.

lol
anyways to answer your question, i actually started with pika for a few months but sort of gravitated towards falco over time because he was more fun to play. pika is still one of my better chars though and i will still occasionally decide to go all pika at tourneys...and i usually perform about the same as i would with falco which is pretty funny to me

 

[FourStar]

Ok so for CC, break down what you have to do cuz Im really struggling. Also how do you SDI cuz i'm really iffy with SDIing with Pika but with marth and spacies i do it fine......

 

[N64]

Hey Laijin. Yeah, they were pretty interesting/fun matches.

FourStar, assuming you mean crouchcancelling, you just have to be on the ground and holding down on the control stick when you get hit. As long as you don't have too high a percent, you won't get knocked as far away and can potentially punish your opponent's move (or at least be in a better position). Pikachu probably benefits the most from this by CCing something, and then upsmashing if they're in front of you, or rising uair if they're behind.

I don't personally use any tricks for SDIing (others may have something specific), I just tap the stick in the direction i want to go right as i'm getting hit, and hope i get the timing right.

 

[oukd]

cc dsmash works too if you need an attack to come out faster
i think cc is less effective (or just goes away completely) when you're in the middle of another animation other than crouching. not sure on the specifics for that

sdi with pika is the same as any other character lol ~_~ maybe you just arent used to when opponents hit you as pika
for example with something like fox uthrow uair you might not be used to the fact that fox can jump pretty early and hit you earlier than other floaties

 

[FourStar]

yeah i get ***** by fox's Up throw to uair. but other than that i'm fine. although i can't SDI Doc's nair very well. its tricky for me especially since the move has a long hitbox (as in it lasts forever) and still kills. I don't know if its just me but I mess up playing against doc and mario.

 

[vanhuynh16]

You gotta admit though, Young Link is freakin baller :D
I love that kid.
But Pikachu is just too good

I have a question about quick attack, when you do it, do you just your control stick to the next direction for the 2 part of the quick attack? Or do you just flick for the 1st direction and flick again for the 2nd direction? It's so hard to get your angles! I'm trying to work on it though

 

[AXE 09]

I have a question about quick attack, when you do it, do you just your control stick to the next direction for the 2 part of the quick attack? Or do you just flick for the 1st direction and flick again for the 2nd direction? It's so hard to get your angles! I'm trying to work on it though

I actually just input the directions I want to go. No flicking the stick at all lol. So after I start to zip in the 1st direction, I move my control stick in the 2nd direction I want to go and hold it there until I start my 2nd zip.

 

[vanhuynh16]

I actually just input the directions I want to go. No flicking the stick at all lol. So after I start to zip in the 1st direction, I move my control stick in the 2nd direction I want to go and hold it there until I start my 2nd zip.

Ah I think I understand, so you kinda roll the control stick in the 2nd direction during the 1st zip right? Anyways thanks! Can't wait to see you at the next big tourneys!

 

[FourStar]

Oh since we're on the subjects of QAing. Axe how do you time the QA platform cancel on the top platform for stages like yoshi's, battlefield, fountain, and Dreamland?

 

[soju]

hey peepachus whats new

 

[FourStar]

hey wait your that one yoshi player from Nor Cal right?

 

[soju]

i never mained yoshi, always pikachu, guess ive been gone that long :B

But yes i am originally norcal

 

[PonderousSeal1on]

Lol this is going to be random as **** but I've been reading this from the BEGINNING (I'm that bored) and Mogwai King Bumy is a crazy *** **** isn't he?

1. Grab Ledge
2. Pikachu has to land
3. ??????????????
4. Profit

Sorry I fail at quoting OMG Avatar abridged is THE BOMB!!!! quoting 3 year old posts FTW

 

[oukd]

its ok, i read the whole thread too before i started posting

mogwai and n64 are responsible for the foundation of smash knowledge that i have today lol

 

[AXE 09]

Here's some Pikachu action for you guys lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHP5Ie11yic

 

[N64]

you make pika vs marth look like a 70-30 matchup. hate youuuuuu.

jk good stuffs.

 

[oukd]

goddamn ~_~

 

[PonderousSeal1on]

How does Pika do against Ganon? Sorry I ask this as a Ganondorf player xD I'm SO BAD AT PIKA, but trying to improve! What would be the most effective initiation (better term?) against Ganon, how much crap are you in if he tries to chain grab you, and what is Ganon's biggest weakness against Pika? Also, which of Ganon's moves should be avoided at all costs (besides the dair meteor, of course)?

 

[N64]

I think the pika v ganon matchup is pretty even. Pika can run circles around ganon, but ganon protects a large area around him and kills pika in like 3 solid hits. Nair is pika's best approach, similar to most of his matchups, and the main difficulty in using it is not trading with or getting hit by his fair (especially watch out for retreating fair). Pika pretty much never wants to be near ganon unless he is already comboing/techchasing ganon. Get in with nair, do a quick combo/techchase, then get the hell out when the combo is over. Jolts are pretty useful as its awkward for ganon to get around them and he doesn't have a quick move (besides perfectly spaced jab i think) that will nullify jolt.

Ganon's chaingrab isn't a particularly big deal. You should never really be on the ground next to him in the first place, and if he does grab you the chaingrab doesn't last for tooo long (compared to a few other chars).

Ganon's biggest weakness against pikachu is probably his slow movespeed and large body. He shouldn't be able to really catch pikachu, just try to control the area around him and maybe limit what space is available to pikachu. His recovery is pretty awful too, which pikachu punishes very well.

All of ganon's moves should be avoided heh. He hurrrrrrts, and you are just a frail little pikachu. Fair and bair are probably the most threatening, as they cover a good area, come out relatively quick, and do good damage.

 

[FourStar]

Honestly i feel like all MU's no matter what I guarantee you have to Nair and Uair to get in and rack up some damage.
Fair is used to interrupt Air Movement of other characters and maybe follow up with an Uair and Bair is to hit hard when trying to finish a combo or when reading a techroll on a platform.

These are personal things I've noticed with Pikachu. Am I missing anything or am I wrong on anything?

 

[BlindSpot]

Thinking about maining Pikachu, but would like to know first if he needs an alt or not to handle himself in a tournament. If so, what alt suits him well, and why?

 

[knightpraetor]

been playing pikachu for about two weeks now. and i'm trying to figure out, do i actually get any frame advantage if i hit a low fair on someone? this is probably a common question, and i know there isn't much stun on it, but how much? i was hoping i get 1-2 frame frame advantage, but I would like to know how much so that i'm not attempting things that should not be possible (even if my opponent lets me get away with it)

 

[oukd]

Thinking about maining Pikachu, but would like to know first if he needs an alt or not to handle himself in a tournament. If so, what alt suits him well, and why?

depends on your weaknesses, esp if theres a matchup here or there that you really cant stand

- i always suggest alt'ing fox or falco to cover all bases <_<
- itll be a lot easier for you to understand fox's playstyle than any of the other top tiers. plus fox is amazing overall
- you also want to identify what part of your play is weaker in specific MUs, and how your alt will cover that hole. very important especially with how subjective the top/high tier MUs can be with each other
- subjectivity said, falcon can specifically be a good alt vs peach/ics
then again, look at axe who usually doesnt rely on a secondary

been playing pikachu for about two weeks now. and i'm trying to figure out, do i actually get any frame advantage if i hit a low fair on someone? this is probably a common question, and i know there isn't much stun on it, but how much? i was hoping i get 1-2 frame frame advantage, but I would like to know how much so that i'm not attempting things that should not be possible (even if my opponent lets me get away with it)

i havent done the math on it but fair sux in neutral overall, on hit or on shield lol. pretty sure it gives the opponent advantage tbh but dont quote me on that

its alright vs airborne people though, can setup a tailspike pretty well

 

[iRobinhoood]

depends on your weaknesses, esp if theres a matchup here or there that you really cant stand

- i always suggest alt'ing fox or falco to cover all bases <_<

deplorable

 

[iRobinhoood]

Do we have any sort of advantage if Fox usmashes shield -> wd oos grab?

 

[OliClutch117]

I usually Nair Oos to punish a fox that has usmashed my shield.

 

[N64]

I believe you can indeed wd oos grab fox. Might not be right about that though. At the least, you should be able to just usmash oos him. Or nair oos as oliclutch mentioned.

 

[Captain Smuckers]

Do we have any sort of advantage if Fox usmashes shield -> wd oos grab?

I'm like 98% certain you can

have you come crawling back to pika?

 

[NJzFinest]

People probably ask this a lot, but how do you master Uair'ing ppl behind you and Uair'ing as a spike? I have no idea on how to time it. Every time I try to Uair-spike I save the opponent or send them upwards lol.

 

[N64]

In the first post of this thread: http://smashboards.com/threads/pikachu-information-dump.311185/ soju was awesome enough to compile a bunch of stuff pikachu dudes said. In the first spoiler, Axe explains uair's properties. A couple spoilers later I also explain it (with piactures from Seanson's hitbox data). Read both and see if either helps.

It's basically just about getting a feel for it. You have to be positioned in the right place at the right time so the uair hitbox contacts the enemy's hurtbox in the part of uair's swing that you want. If they're above you and slightly behind when it hits, they'll get reverse spiked. If they're above and slightly ahead of you when it hits, they'll get spiked.

 

[oukd]

to hit more reliably with rising uair, space it to hit with the root of the tail (although ranged tip rising works too, you increase the chance to hit with another trajectory)
to hit more reliably with spiking uair, space it to hit with the tip of the tail (although root spike works too, but harder to aim)

picture forward spike almost like spiking a volleyball

 

[FourStar]

AHHHH Dkuo and N64 have returned from the dead! LOL no one ever posts here anymore......

 

[oukd]

im always here lol

i dont post unless someone has a question that i can answer

 

[NJzFinest]

Thanks for the info guys!