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

[oukd]

heh it seems that insanecarzyguy is still reading the pika boards since he commented on diske's video on youtube.

 

[Diske]

Welcome to the Pika boards :D

I decided to write a little bit about your match. Granted I'm not the voice of authority here so if anyone disagrees with something I wrote feel free to point it out. This is more of an exercise for myself than anything, but I think this might be helpful.
[COLLAPSE="Diske vs AB"]overall the biggest thing you probably want to work on is to learn to conserve your 2nd jump on stage more often - you almost always doublejump forward (most of the times with an uair) to reset your position after getting hit/comboed (ie 0:18, 0:27 0:34 1:07 1:29 1:35 2:43 just to name a few) and a lot of times you end up getting punished for it. even though you're trying to gain back control with your jump, you're actually putting yourself in a position where you can be easily juggled/ko'd because you lose control of your falling trajectory + pikachu's low aerial horizontal velocity. teching/wiggling out of stun is safer simply because you retain your 2nd jump and you aren't stuck above your opponent without your doublejump. there are cases where it's safe to use it on stage though (2:11) as long as your opponent isn't in a position to punish it. (the reason i pointed this out is because i used to have the same problem. i still do it out of reaction sometimes >_< I used to use it because I didn't know you could just wiggle out of tumble and that was the only way i knew how to exit tumbling frames)

additionally, you'll want to focus on when to approach. you want to assess that your approach will be safe or have a good follow-up before going in. you should be looking for openings and poking holes in your opponent's playstyle rather than forcing an opening.

Some smaller points:
0:12 - see that point where you tried to punish his platform tech with your doublejump uair? unless your timing is insanely accurate, it's really hard to techchase with uair because hitbox window is so small (only 6 frames) making it easy to shield. an early nair here would have been better since it lasts longer (26 frames) meaning you could do it almost half a second early and still guarantee putting a hitbox on his first vulnerable frame (think meaties in traditional fighters). in this case you saw his roll so you could mash out a nair on reaction right after your first uair and it would have most likely hit. also in this specific case it would have been safer to not use a rising aerial in case he shields your punish attempt, which he did and probably tried to punish you for it since he put his shield down right after - as i said earlier, being above an opponent without your second jump is one of pika's most dangerous positions. if you fell to the bottom you would have still successfully put pressure on him with a falling aerial (even if he shielded it) plus you would be under a falcon on a platform which is a lot more advantageous of a position.

0:15 - always assume your opponent will react to you approaching them when they're on the ground. it's pretty easy to use getup attack invincibility on reaction to avoid someone attacking you when you're on the ground. if he did a getup attack you would have been punished for your hasty usmash (or it would have clashed, not sure...)

1:15 - don't charge in with a nair if falcon is just doing stationary nairs, it will usually hit you before you're even close to falcon. approach with nair when your opponent is vulnerable or off-guard, but nairing against someone being defensive

1:56 - i liked this :D putting a jolt on falcon on his getup frame. i'm going to keep this in mind.
[/COLLAPSE]Err yea. Hope that's helpful.

Man this was incredibly helpfull, is like, some of the things you mentioned I noticed them already, but I couldn't find a safe way to do them, I'll try to put in practice on saturday :D
Just a question, What's exactly wiggle? Is like the way to get out of the tumble? you know, shake side to side the analog so you stop rolling in the air. If it is it, what should I do after that? fastfall, an aerial? because that's like my biggest fear, being airbone unable to do anything with pika. Hope you can help me

So Diske, I watched your match.

Aggressive Pikachu, I love that :D I think I'm an aggressive Pikachu too so I can relate

Make sure you Jump Cancel those grabs, it helps a lot and it makes it a LOT easier to chaingrab and you take less of a risk every time you grab =) Make sure to watch out for those Falcon Forward B's, I did notice they were getting you.

On the plus side, I love how you do Nair on his shield -> SH Uair =) I've been trying to do that lately too just to try it out cuz I'm not sure if it would be better than doing a full jump or not lol.

Anyways, keep up the good work! Looking forward to seeing more of this aggro Pika =)

Jump cancel pika's grab is one of the hardest and least consistently things that i can do on a match, I don't know why, but do it (at least for me) is really hard. I mean, I can do it always with fox, or mario, but with pika I screw it almost every time, I don't know if anyone suffered this too, or something.
I have a question for you too, How do you know when to grab on a chaingrab with your opponent doing DI? I can do the chaingrab with no DI, but when DI'ed, I can't get close enought to them for grabbing. You read the DI so they can't get away or am I losing something?

 

[indigestible_wad]

Fox's jc grab is the same as pikachu's. The problem is in your mind. Just think of it like fox and soon you'll be doing it right.

Chaingrabbing is completely reaction based. You have to know when you are free to input a dash after your throw animation. If you see them moving in any direction, you run in that direction.

 

[AXE 09]

Just a question, What's exactly wiggle? Is like the way to get out of the tumble? you know, shake side to side the analog so you stop rolling in the air. If it is it, what should I do after that? fastfall, an aerial? because that's like my biggest fear, being airbone unable to do anything with pika. Hope you can help me


I have a question for you too, How do you know when to grab on a chaingrab with your opponent doing DI? I can do the chaingrab with no DI, but when DI'ed, I can't get close enought to them for grabbing. You read the DI so they can't get away or am I losing something?

When you're tumbling on the air after your hitstun ends, you are able to stop your tumbling animation and enter the regular falling animation. If you play against Lvl 9 cpus, they do this like all the time if they're not off stage. To do it, you just hit Forward then Back on the control stick, like a quick dash dance. This helps you in a few ways.

1) You will land on your feet, and not have to tech (or miss a tech), so as soon as you land on the floor you can dash, grab, attack, etc.

2) You can airdodge, which is extremely useful. If you don't have your double jump and your tumbling, and you're about to get hit by an attack, wiggle out and airdodge to avoid the attack. This situation comes up pretty often so I think it's important to learn this.

3) You can grab the edge a little bit earlier. This situation doesn't come up very often but it does happen sometimes, and if the situation arises, you'll be glad you learned this technique.

Those are the only 3 advantages I can think of at the moment lol.



To chaingrab, YOU HAVE TO JC GRAB. Actually tbh I'm not sure if you can chaingrab without JC grabbing unless they're at a decently high percent. When you JC grab, your grab comes out earlier and you slide a bit when you grab. So definitely practice that Jump Cancel grab. I feel that's very important for Pika players to learn, cuz his regular dash grab is noticeably slower and just worse lol.

Chaingrabbing is purely reaction based (at least it SHOULD be. I don't think it's very difficult to react to which way they DI. You have a pretty decent amount of time to react). If you can JC grab, you should be able to chain grab.

I personally use X/Z to JC grab. My best friend uses Up/Z. The important thing is just to press Z before you leave the ground after inputting a jump. You pretty much press them at the same time, except you just press jump VERY SLIGHTLY before Z. I highly recommend practicing this until it becomes as natural as wavedashing

 

[DerfMidWest]

lol I had trouble JC grabbing once...
You gotta press the jump right before the grab...
your hand is kinda like a little clamp lol.

 

[Spyro]

Jump cancel pika's grab is one of the hardest and least consistently things that i can do on a match, I don't know why, but do it (at least for me) is really hard.

Don’t feel bad, I still sometimes mess up wavedashing to edgehog and I loss the stock and I have no idea why I still do that sometimes (and I've known about competitive smash since 09 lol).

 

[DerfMidWest]

axe, wtf is happening in your new sig...

 

[Spyro]

axe, wtf is happening in your new sig...

It is a combo from this match http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLyHN3z85CY

 

[DerfMidWest]

oh ok, it makes sense when it isn't small as hell lol.

 

[AXE 09]

LOL yeah the quality definitely isn't that great hahaha. How can I make a better quality one?

 

[Spyro]

I have no idea how you can improve the quality cause I do not know how to do those little video things .
I’ve been practicing shield dropping but I can do it very consistently. Do you think that shield drops are going to improve Pikachu’s shield game somewhat?

 

[oukd]

If you really want a high quality gif, you'll have to rip the video and re-export it from photoshop or another program. Although, I kind of like how it skips every other frame so it looks like fox is just floating there XD

I always shield drop without meaning to...I feel like it can be incorporated for positional advantage. Maybe shield drop uair an opponent who's pressuring you on the platform?

 

[DerfMidWest]

shield drop uair is nice, i'm not too good at shield dropping in actual play though :\

as for the better quality, as dkuo said, you'd have to reexport it using photoshop at a higher quality.
do 1200 pixels per inch >:D

 

[indigestible_wad]

Axe, how do you jab that fast? Do you do anything special or is it just tapping your thumb really fast?

 

[AXE 09]

Shield dropping... I feel like it could definitely help when shielding on a plaatform. Just an example: if Marth has you trapped on a side platform and Utilts your shield, you could immediately drop through and Nair/Uair/Anything lol. But I think that's something that could be applied to any character. If you could shield drop whenever you wanted to, I think it could be useful in certain situations. I'm definitely not consistent enough with it to use it confidently.

Axe, how do you jab that fast? Do you do anything special or is it just tapping your thumb really fast?

Haha well I actually just tap my thumb really fast lol. If I'm gonna be jabbing for longer than about 3 seconds though, I'll move my left thumb to the A button and alternate pressing A with both thumbs. If I do it that way, I can jab just as quickly except I can endure for like a full minute. If I just use 1 thumb, I can only endure for like 4 or 5 seconds prolly at full speed.

For those jabs in my match vs Shiz, I only used 1 thumb lol.

And Dkuo and Aesir, thank you for that .gif info I think I'll try doing that when I get the time.

 

[Jolteon]

Shield dropping is the future.

:king:

 

[Sapphire Dragon]

YES PLEASE post it post it post it! :D

Totally did it. Here it is for your reading pleasure. :D Unfortunately I had to focus on the technical details of how a combo video is made, but I made sure to put some AXE love in the conclusion. Hope you enjoy! :D

[collapse=The AXE Effect]The AXE Effect

In the video game community, there are many talented people who can make some of the most imaginative and unique creations. One of these creations, a “combo video,” is a video compilation of a player’s best attack combos that usually lead to the defeat of another player. In the video “The AXE Effect” by V3ctorMan, several factors(what are?) combine to make this video an example of the perfect combo video. To make a combo video, tournament organizers record game matches and edit them into clips, then they combine the best clips into a video with background music that syncs with the attack moves. This makes the video not only entertaining to watch but also a showcase of both the featured player’s skill and the video creator’s talent.

The very first part of any combo video is the introduction, or intro. Intros differ widely among videos and really depend entirely on the creator’s personality. Common intros include animated text with the name of the video and the creator with a black background. However, if the creator is more experienced, he or she will make a much more detailed and skillful intro with many visual elements. These kinds of intros can include tiny clips, a picture, or just a much fancier version of the common intro. For “The AXE Effect,” V3ctorMan produced a very professional intro, including more textual information and a streaming line of clips that eventually led into the first one. This is a very stylish intro and one that is rarely seen, as this is the mark of a very talented and professional combo video maker. Another way to determine if the video is a professional work is to analyze not only the types of songs they use, but also the way the music is arranged.

The music used is usually of a techno style, and rarely has words or dialogue in it. Depending on how long the video is and how many songs would fit into the final version, different types of songs are used. For example, if it is a long video, three songs could be used. These include a fast, catchy song to start, a slower and more paced song in the middle, and another fast song at the end for excitement. This order makes the video much more memorable because of the way the songs catch interest, continue it, then leave excitement at the end. If it was a shorter video, the video can have one or two songs. Typically, if a video is short enough for only one song, the song will be fast and exciting. Interest is key, and fast songs accentuate gaming. Things can get much more complicated, though, if the song has to have two songs but cannot fit three. In this case, more searching needs to be done for songs that are slow at the start and then become catchy at the end. The first song will always be fast, but the second song must slow down to give more variety and uniqueness to the video. In “The AXE Effect,” V3ctorMan chooses three songs that include a fast song, a slower song, and then another fast song at the end. This was appropriate because of the length of the video, and the songs all come together very well. His choices of songs with a similar style keep the video very interesting throughout the entire length. All in all, choosing songs is a tricky process, but what requires even more concentration is the syncing of the songs to the player’s gaming clips.

Clip syncing is relatively easy in some regard, but it requires a good compilation program and a focused mind. The songs have their own specific beats, and putting the clips together in a way that accentuates those beats can be a very challenging process. The clips must be watched several times in order to figure out where to put them on a timeline. Depending on the song chosen and the game clips available, this can be the most time consuming part of the creation. Because of the timing of the moves in the game and the relative slowness of music in some parts of the songs, de-syncing can happen easily, and must be watched out for. Many moments can be synced, including the points that moves hit and the times that the opponents are knocked out. For this part of the video, V3ctorMan decides to focus on syncing the times that opponents were defeated, and positions the clips around an intense point of the song (usually a single beat) that marks the defeat of the other player. This makes the video more vivid and makes that moment stand out to the viewer most, maintaining their excitement. Although there were times where these moments were de-synced, that is to be expected, as combo videos that have no de-syncing are few and far in between. He did a better job than most, however, and was able to work with the clips that he did have.

Clips, the visual part of the video, are the most diverse part of the video. These clips are the main feature and are chosen from many of a player’s recorded matches. They are generally very limited, as most matches go back and forth between players and do not feature only one player dominating the scene. The clips are picked from the few times in matches where one player is able to get multiple hits on the other, and usually is able to defeat them. Their move combos vary widely, but in the case of a very skilled player with lots of experience, they can follow a general pattern. In AXE’s combo video, V3ctorMan uses several clips with common patterns in the fast parts of the song, and then uses different combinations for the slower song in the middle and the faster song at the end. He carefully puts similar clips in certain patterns so that the clip where the player was defeated would sync with the right spot in the song. The choosing of clips also depends on the style of the player- if the player is playing aggressively, those clips will go with the fast songs, but if the player is playing defensively, those clips will go in the slower song. AXE is usually a very aggressive player so there were many common combinations in the clips with the fast songs, but there was much more variety in the clips with the slow songs. V3ctorMan made the best choices for the clips that he used, and he organized them in a style that was both interesting and thrilling to watch.

In conclusion, this combo video is an example of one of the best. Featuring a clever intro, a skillful composition, and a personalized ending, the video is truly a thrill to watch. Few videos can combine these three elements in the way that V3ctorMan has, and he devised the project in a way that makes it a feature among combo videos. For a truly great combo video, however, the player also has to be good. AXE is one of the most skilled players of Pikachu in Super Smash Bros. Melee in the country, and his combo video shows his vast expertise in the game. Together, AXE and V3ctorMan were able to create a truly exhilarating video in which all aspects are of quality, and they made it both pleasurable and exciting to watch.[/collapse]

 

[Spyro]

A long read but definitely a good one and was well worth the read, good stuff Sapphire Dragon .

 

[DerfMidWest]

Axe, how do you jab that fast? Do you do anything special or is it just tapping your thumb really fast?

what you might want to try if you're having trouble pushing the button quickly is using the Z button to continue the jab. My trigger finger isn't very quick, but I used to try to mess around with that as an alternative to using the A button (since I've got lead thumbs too xP )

for awhile I tried alternating Z and A but I'm not very consistent with that and I usually mess up more often.

also, my current method is tilting my controller sideways, resting it on my left knee, stiffining my thumb and then making my hand twitch, rather than my thumb.

but that hurts my hand a lot. Its sore for like 5 minutes afterwards xP

 

[oukd]

never thought of using Z for jabbing...but I imagine there's too much resistance on the button for easy jabbing to begin with. personally I just use my thumb, you don't have to have it come out frame-perfect if your goal is only to trap your opponent on the edge...

and damn sapphire, you should write vectorman a recommendation to launch his career for Combo Video Production lol

out of curiosity, do you guys find it easier (as pika) playing against fox or falco? i preferred playing vs fox when I started because I had no idea how to deal with lasers/pillars, but after getting used to falco's pressure (aka after maining falco) it seemed a lot easier to fight falco than to deal with fox's speed + his uthrow/uair stuff. fox can space against everything pika dishes out so well while falco is just easier to catch in general...but people tell me otherwise. <_<

 

[Diske]

At least for me, it's really hard to fight against a non-lasering falco. lol

 

[N64]

I like fox better personally, it feels easier to get in on him and escape some of his pressure. Vs falco it becomes an obstacle course to get anything done, and his combos can be kinda painful. Fox kills me earlier, but falco just makes me feel helpless while whitling away at me. Both are jerks though!

 

[iRobinhoood]

Axe or N64 how do you guys hold the controller? Pics plz <3 and saying default I still have no idea what that would mean lol

 

[soju]

._. theres different ways of holding the controller? I mean i know theres the little claw grip but i dont see anyone who uses that

And hey the pikachu boards are active again :D I'll post some matches up soon

And that little 2 thumb thing for the jab sounds interesting, i might test it out but im pretty confident that i can last for a good 20 seconds full speed single thumbed >:3

 

[DerfMidWest]

there are multiple ways of holding the controller lol. I enjoy watching peoples' hands while they play at tournaments, I've seen a few kinda weird ways of holding the controller.

mostly for spacey players though :\
usually everybody holds it the same though.

also, falco is harder. because he has lasers and a dair.

 

[oukd]

I guess I'm the only person who finds Fox's speed more obnoxious than Falco's pressure...

While we're on the subject of holding your controller: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUiwBd2xGaM (granted, he's playing Project M...but still)

 

[Spyro]

While we're on the subject of holding your controller: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUiwBd2xGaM (granted, he's playing Project M...but still)

LOL that's awesome; I've never seen someone play with the controler upsidedown

 

[soju]

i never noticed it, guess i dont pay attention to hands much, never needed to switch around for any characters except maybe DJ caneling shenanigans with yoshi

 

[AXE 09]

Axe or N64 how do you guys hold the controller? Pics plz <3 and saying default I still have no idea what that would mean lol

Unfortunately I can't upload any pics right now lol. But... idk how else to describe how I hold my controller other than standard haha.

I use X to jump, R to airdodge/L-cancel, and L only to shield. I don't do anything unique like claw, or hold my controller any different than the average person. The only time I hold my controller weird is if I rapid jab for more than 4 or 5 seconds, which I explained in my last post lol.

Soju 20 seconds is a long time, so heck yeah! Props lol. If I try to go for 20 seconds, my jabs won't be as quick or consistent as they were for the first 5 seconds.

I know I could probably do jabs at full speed consistently for about 10 seconds or so, but if I do, then my thumb gets pretty tired and stiff, and I won't be able to play as well. So I just needed to find a way to have longer endurance and not get tired so I can play the rest of the match without being sloppy lol.

Sapphire Dragon thank you so much for posting that!!!!! I'll show it to Vman

I personally find Fox more difficult to fight than Falco. Fox just feels so much more unpredictable and has so much speed to approach or retreat whenever he wants. It's so scary to whiff an attack vs him cuz he has the speed to punish it. I hate his Uthrow Uair lol.

When I fight Falco, I feel like it's just like a pattern or something. It seems easier to predict him and punish him for me, but that might just be because I have 10000x experience vs him and not nearly as much experience vs Fox. AZ is such a Falco state lol. I just understand Falco's patterns a lot better, I'm pretty confident in powershielding his lasers, and idk.... he just seems so much more predictable to me I guess lol. I understand when I can attack out of his shield pressure and when I can't.

Who's all going to Apex?

 

[oukd]

I'm going :D Axe, I need to rematch you and hopefully not get 7-stocked like at P5...I got slightly better I promise >_>

 

[Spyro]

I can’t go cause I have no money, I have school, etc.

 

[N64]

i hold the controller normal style. yeah. Jump with control stick(abnormal), short hop and jumpcancel with x, uh shield with R, wavedash and L-cancel with L. Taunt with control pad.
I rapid jab one handed, by rocking the controller against my thumb.

Not going to Apex. Also no monies.

 

[indigestible_wad]

never thought of using Z for jabbing...but I imagine there's too much resistance on the button for easy jabbing to begin with. personally I just use my thumb, you don't have to have it come out frame-perfect if your goal is only to trap your opponent on the edge...

It's always possible to remove the spring from the z button.

That guy who plays with the controller upside-down has got to be left handed. I can't imagine a right handed person doing that.

 

[DerfMidWest]

lol i play like that sometimes for the lolz.
but I can't imagine playing like that normally.
I get used to it being upside down, but pressing L/R/Z hurts after awhile.

 

[iRobinhoood]

I have come to the conclusion that I feel much more comfortable clawing with pikachu then holding it regular. When I play fox however, I play regular = D

 

[Captain Smuckers]

I was the only person I saw playing pikachu at Rom4, New York needs more pika

 

[DerfMidWest]

Its true, there is not much Pika anymore.

 

[AXE 09]

While I was watching the stream, I heard a Pikachu playing in the background. Maybe that was you? Lol

 

[N.A.G.A.C.E]

axe's pikachu sense was tingling

 

[Sapphire Dragon]

axe's pikachu sense was tingling