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Character Matchups & Strategies

gallax

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Pikachu's Character Matchups & Strategies

It is time for a new beginning. This matchup guide has been going on for a while. This means that matchups have changed and still evolving. I will attempt to keep these updated as much as possible, but i will need your help. When you read a matchup and you realize that something is outdated or needs to be re-written, post it and i will make a note to get to it and fix it ASAP. To access the matchup guide for any character, you need to click on the link below the character you are trying to review.

We have an awesome guide and an awesome template with matchup numbers and ratios to look at. Remember that the numbers are relative to each other. The ratios are character specific. If you have any problems with it, then please be sure to write it somewhere for me to see.

Matchup Ratios

The new chart can be found here: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=254597

Links to Specific Character MU threads:

Bowser

Captain Falcon

Diddy Kong

Donkey Kong - written by Ussi

Falco

Fox

Ganondorf

Ice Climbers

Ike

Jigglypuff

Kirby

King Dedede - written by ESAM

Link

Lucario

Lucas

Luigi

Mario

Marth

Meta Knight

Mr. Game and Watch

Ness

Peach

Pit

Pokémon Trainer

Olimar

R.O.B.

Samus

Sheik

Snake

Sonic

Toon Link

Wario - written by ESAM

Wolf

Yoshi

Zero Suit Samus - written by ESAM and Ussi

Zelda

Special Thanks

Thank you, everyone, for your contribution to the matchups threads and your outstanding responses.

Credit to Kitt22 for making such an awesome chart.
 

PkTrainerCris

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Good idea! im glad im the first poster!! :p, well lets get it started
Advantages: pikachus Tjolt can be really annoying for a sonic player, because he doesnt have how to handle well against a proyectile, not sure if his spin charge or his spin dash is canceled by Tjolt, gotta check out that. Thunder is a great problem for the sonics who love staying in the air, and pikachus range beats sonics, aside taht thanks to pikachus speed his speed wont be a big problem for us
Disadvantages:sonic is a little faster than pikachu, and if you are not quick enough this can give you some trouble, but its not that bog deal.The principal problem here is that pikachu is so light, that one of sonics biggest troubles(lack of ko potential) dissapears in this matchup, and he can ledgeguard your quick attack easisly with his fasta and high priority aerials, his aerials also can psh you to QAC less than you wolud do against other oponents
 

Tenki

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o_O that's weird. most people usually start off with more worthy opponents, like Snake or MK :p

It's a weird misconception that it's harder to KO someone based on weight, and for characters like MK and Sonic, that they need higher %'s to kill people. They rack up damage pretty fast when certain moves connect, so getting the % to kill isn't usually a problem, but rather, landing the finishing moves, which takes practice and slight bits of mind gaming/setups.

The projectile itself (tjolt?) is easily avoided via jumps, springs, homing attack... w/e. Sonic's side-B has invincibility frames in close range that can allow him to bypass the projectile and counter you while you're still shooting. The beginning of Sonic's down-B has enough priority to clang cancel with a tjolt sometimes, but it could be placement based too, I guess. I'm pretty sure I did a dash attack or spindash that went under the bounce a few times lol.

Dsmash and any electric-aura attacks pose problems for Sonic (eh, think of touching a live wire?) since he attacks with his body for the most part (= his priority issues), but his tilts/smashes do outrange Dsmash and Thunder, so it's a matter of waiting til the attack dies down. Sonic can also stutterstep fsmash to 'outrange' Pikachu's fsmash.

Thunder will take care of sloppy spring jumps, though most Sonic players don't use springs offensively.

that's all I can say for a move-for-move matchup. I can't say anything gameplay wise because I don't believe I've fought a good Pikachu player 1v1 yet.
 

gallax

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Questions for consideration?

1.) Should you play more offensively or defensively against sonic? why?

2.) It seems to me as if sonic's game is more based on a few things b/c he has no priority. Sonic players intend to disrupt your momentum/gameplay and try and force you into a mistake. Since he has no priority the main objective is to rack up damage then get out of range of the opponent, using his speed as an advantage. Agree or disagree?

3.) Do you feel pika has any disadvantges in this matchup?

IMO:

1.)When i play sonic i tend to be more aggressive than defensive. When i go on the defense is when i either see sonic charging up his spin moves or when he comes shooting at me from the other side of the stage. I mostly use spotdodging to elude his neutral B(b/c it homes) in order to make miss me and usually hit the ground which can turn into an easy dsmash or grab. Rolldodgeing is useful for gettting in close to sonic and using a smash. you can't really chase sonic so the idea is to let him get close then you become aggressive.

3.) a disadvantage that i think pika has against sonic is when sonic is in the air(ex. after using the spring). sonics dair pierces through any airiel that pika may have to counter it. the only reliable move that i use is the thunder when he is above me. it is easy to predict, but if the sonic user knows anything about sonic they will use the dair at a level where when it hits the ground the move will no zero lag time which leads into sonic getting away most of the time. overall i think pika has a disadvantage i the air. dont get me wrong the fair and the the dair are good moves. the dair has good knockback if sonic gets to close and the fair can be used when the airiel games stays close to the ground. but i prefer to keep the match on the ground.
 

plasmid

Smash Apprentice
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I don't ever really play vs sonic, so I can't say for sure, but this is my best guess.
To answer your #2, as much as a Sonic may want to attempt this, full hop thunder jolts would make it hard for him to run up quickly and attack, and at the same time they allow you to retreat or advance as you wish. I don't think Sonic is much of a problem for Pika.

I don't think that the disadvantage you stated in 3 really is that bad though, in the worst case scenario, you fail to juggle him. IDK if this is a problem for you, but I tend to play a more ground based game. Sonic never gives me problems, although I don't play vs him much so I could be wrong.
 

TehBo49

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Questions for consideration?

1.) Should you play more offensively or defensively against sonic? why?
I always play aggressively. Sonic's overall playstyle is aggressive. If you can play more aggressive than him, it forces him to play defensively & Sonic isn't very good at being defensive due to the lack of a projectile, priority, & range.

2.) It seems to me as if sonic's game is more based on a few things b/c he has no priority. Sonic players intend to disrupt your momentum/gameplay and try and force you into a mistake. Since he has no priority the main objective is to rack up damage then get out of range of the opponent, using his speed as an advantage. Agree or disagree?
Agreed. Sonic makes up for his low priority by spacing his attacks. He's likes to play a hit & run offensive. This can be stopped with a strong defensive strategy or a better offense.

3.) Do you feel pika has any disadvantges in this matchup?
His only real disadvantage is a slower running speed which isn't that big of a problem. This matchup is in Pika's favor IMO.
 

Roller

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I play defensively spamming T jolts when they are far away, and QuACing into them a lot. Fast falling bair is good and fast falling fair into Dsmash is pretty effective vs them. Don't try too many running grabs vs him because I'm pretty sure his outprioritizes.
 

neji32

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I beat sonics alot=) I might be able to help with this.

most sonics approach with there forward B to up air combo. Pika can stop this with his D smash. D smash is sonics weakness actually, anytime your near him, D samash him. When hes in the air, try for a Fair or thunder if possible. If your knocked off the stage, its smartest to recover as quickly as possiblt because sonics Fair has huge priority and is deadly. Your forward B stops all of sonics spin moves so dont be afraid to use it. Sonics homing attack can be countered by a timed up smash or sometimes thunder. sonics aerials beat yours so try and keep it a ground game. I dont QAC for this mstch up cause theres not really any need. Pikachus D smash gives him complete advantage, Fair>D smash gets it done for me
 

gallax

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i think that we have some great info about the sonic matchup. if there are no objections i think we should move onto another opponent. i recently saw a post about a TL, so the next charcter matchup will be Toon Link!

What are some of your main concerns about TL? What are some things you've encountered and started doing against TL?
 

plasmid

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First of all, 3 days isn't a week, but because it was Sonic, I guess we just had a really fast week. Wow lame joke.

For TL though, I have more of a question, can Pika out-spam TL?
 

TehBo49

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It depends. Arrows can be outspammed but boomerang goes through thunderjolt (I think). What I do is approach with thunderjolt which means he'll be trying to block those while you can punish him. Don't just run straight at him though. He outranges you, so either force him to approach or pressure him into a bad position. Once you get him off the stage, he's not that hard to deal with.
 

VEC

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TL is a *****, His aerials >>Pika and his ground game is good also
 

gallax

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TL can span his double arrow along with his boomerang(which does cancel the tjolt). outspamming is kinda difficult due to TL having more projectiles. my main prob with fighting a TL is the inability to punish mistakes. his range keeps me away and when i get close his bair is deadly, and getting below him is kinda scary. a well timed thunder is always helpful though.
 

Dream Land Works

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First off, glad to see one of these started here. This really needed to be done because it is a better way to get an overall view for matches instead of a bunch of people just talking about random characters and nothing getting accomplished.

General Discussion of Character: Toon Link is a very good character who can be either a quick combo character or a camper. Pikachu and a lot of characters need to take Toon Link seriously, but understand that he can be dealt with.

Pika's Advantages:

1) Pikachu has a faster running speed.
2) Quick Attack Cancel can be used to approach campers.
3) Quick Attack Cancel can be used to dodge projectiles.
4) Pikachu has specials that can kill.
5) Toon Link has a slow and punishable grab.
6) Toon Link's Dair is very easy to punish.
7) Pikachu has a better recovery than Toon Link.

Pika's Disadvantages:

1) A better projectile game than Pikachu.
2) Toon Link has a better aerial game than Pikachu.
3) Toon Link can tether recovery.
4) Toon Link's sword gives him more range.
5) Toon Link has a spike.
6) Can block your projectiles with his boomerang.

General Strategies:

To stop the shield from getting in the way of Thunder Jolt, just jump before using them, his shield in his hand can not block these. Try to avoiding staying in the air too much of the match because Toon Link has better aerials than Pikachu. Approach with midair Thunder Jolts and dodge or quick attack around Link's bombs or boomerangs that he throws why you are approaching him. Fighting in close combo on the ground in usually the better option when fighting Link. Also, if you can see Toon Link is about to use his forward smash, try rolling behind him and then using Forward Smash on Link. Dair can be punished with anything by just rolling away from the attack then following up with an attack of your own. When you get Toon Link off the stage, generally you want to attack with jumping Thunder Jolts, aerials, or Thunder and keeping him as horizontally away from the stage as possible then Quick Attack to the ledge where you can ledgehog until Toon Link dies. Up Smash to Thunder also works well against Toon Link due to him being floaty. If Toon Link tries to use Bair, perfect shield and then follow up with a grab.
 

gallax

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a couple things that i notice when fighting TL is that when he starts his fsmash it has a little knockback. trying to rolldodge around his second is difficult and dangerous for pika players. i mainly shield or roll away. another thing about his fsmash is that by the time he gets done swinging and you are in range and TL can already shield or dadge anything you throw at him.


question: is TL good/fair/horrible at his horizontal recovery?

I think that he can use his bombs to give him another jump (i think). plus his tether is good if he gets close to the stage.

question 2: does pika's fsmash outrange TL fsmash?

Another thing that i would suggest doing more against a TL is the dsmash. when you get in close i think the dsmash is more useful at higher percentages. grabbing should also be used more imo at lower percentages.

P.S. The short week with sonic was due to sonic being an easy matchup. I don't think that much more could be said about sonic. If someone has anything else to add they can just post it and i will add it if people agree.
 

Dream Land Works

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Q1) Toon has a good recovery overall and Up B can give enough time for a bomb to explode so you can use another bomb after that and another Up B until you get back up. Thus is why you have to get Toon Link as away from the stage as possible and keep him away. Or KO him with Thunder (jumping out then using your second jump to stop horizontal momentum then use Thunders that hit Pikachu), Nair, or Uair.

Q2) If you are combinding both strikes of Forward Smash with Toon Link then Toon's F-Smash is longer. If you are just counting the first or second strike then Pikachu has longer reach with his Forward Smash. Also Pikachu can hit Toon Link DURING Toon Link's F-Smash with his own F-Smash even if Pikachu should get hit in the very next frame (1 or 2 frames before getting hit) because of how fast Pikachu's smashes come out. It was funny, I tested this in training mode and Pikachu actually can get hit while doing the Forward Smash, but Pika doesn't really get knocked back, just a hit stun animation, and takes no damage while Toon Link gets hit as if he were regulary hit with a F-Smash.
 

gallax

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my roommate mains TL and we are about even, but it seems to me that he wins by waiting me to attack. TL can bomb pika with 3 projectiles and pika can only do the tjolt(which can be stopped by the boomerang). he gets into this mode where he waits for me to attack then dodges, then attacks me when im open. he always does this with TL. it is the most annoying playstyle ever. we get into this standoff sometimes when we play b/c i refuse to go over there and he never attacks. i end up provoking him to go on the offensive. when he does this i tear him apart. anyone else have this prob?
 

Pikachu247

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my roommate mains TL and we are about even, but it seems to me that he wins by waiting me to attack. TL can bomb pika with 3 projectiles and pika can only do the tjolt(which can be stopped by the boomerang). he gets into this mode where he waits for me to attack then dodges, then attacks me when im open. he always does this with TL. it is the most annoying playstyle ever. we get into this standoff sometimes when we play b/c i refuse to go over there and he never attacks. i end up provoking him to go on the offensive. when he does this i tear him apart. anyone else have this prob?
Yea one of my friends mains TL and I have been playing against him a lot lately. He was constantly beating me until i started just being smarter about spacing (rolling away from his attacks and quickly punishing him). What works best for me is if I am offensive yet defensive at the same time. Just be offensive enough to provoke him, then play defensively when he starts attacking you, then quickly punish him. Mind games are pretty huge in this match-up I feel.
 

Ekoix.exe

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Toon Link

General Discussion of Character:pikachu has an large advantage from my eyes against TL.

Pika's Advantages: Much better projectile.
Toon link has an extremley harder time setting Pikachu up for combo's
Toon Link is extremely easy to edge guard against with a backwards thunder off platform (Thunder as your moving backwards)
Toon Link has an extremely punishable grab and forward smash (If he slashes twice)
Thunder>Dair
Pikachu's attack range>Toon Link
Pikachu's Air game is much better then TL. TL has horrific side and back aerials, He shouldn't be able to abuse you with his up or down aerials.
Pikachu benefits much more from short hopping and if the height of the shorthop is watched, you should be able to avoid TL's neutral A's
Thinking of an earlier post regarding the boomerang, You should be using Tjolt from mid air so you can approach him for tjolt-fairs

Pika's Disadvantages:Edge hogging does not work in any circumstances (Toon Links recovery and midair bombs will **** you)
Pikachu, being light, if fully hit by TL's fmash, will experiance instant pain and most probably death.
Toon Link has a disjointed hit box, However, Pikachu's Fsmash's range should suffice. Be careful using your Dsmash, not to say don't abuse it, just down spam it carelessly.

General Strategies: If it turns into a camp war, You will win. Pikachu I would safely say, has an extreme advantage here. As long as you keep up with the TL's strategy you can safely whittle him down to insanity then procede to FINISH HIM

If Toonlink tries to abuse his bair, return to projectile pressuring him.

Helpful Video's:

More to come as I think of it.

EDIT:Looking at an above post, I seriously have to say I disagree with #1 and #2
 

gallax

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Toon Link

General Discussion of Character:pikachu has an large advantage from my eyes against TL.

Pika's Advantages: Much better projectile.
Pikachu's Air game is much better then TL. TL has horrific side and back aerials, He shouldn't be able to abuse you with his up or down aerials.

If Toonlink tries to abuse his bair, return to projectile pressuring him.
I have to disagree with these statements. pika tjolt can be canceled by a boomerang and TL can send many more projectiles out than pika in a given amount of time and they can do more damage than the tjolt.

TL's bair is one of his best moves. it is widely known to avoid the bair as much as possible. his fair isn't that bad at all too. if TL does get below you his uair has great knockback and it dangerous. i dont worry about the uair that much though since its easy to get around. when fighting TL i try and keep it on the ground as much as possible. pika's air game<TL's air game.

IMO: Pikachu has a small disadvantage vs. Toon Link. It mostly comes down to who is the better smasher. Do you pika players agree or disagree with my opinion?
 

Dream Land Works

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I agree that Pikachu has a disadvantage, but I don't think it is small enough to just say it comes down to who the better player is. Toon Link has an advantage in spots that are pretty big in Pikachu's fighting style, but Pikachu has some tools that Toon Link has a hard time with like Pikachu's unique edgeguarding tactics. It really comes down to who can exploit their advantages over the other character more quickly in the match, but with Pikachu's aerials and projectile not being on par with T. Link, it is harder for Pikachu to use his advantages.
 

gallax

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I agree that Pikachu has a disadvantage, but I don't think it is small enough to just say it comes down to who the better player is. Toon Link has an advantage in spots that are pretty big in Pikachu's fighting style, but Pikachu has some tools that Toon Link has a hard time with like Pikachu's unique edgeguarding tactics. It really comes down to who can exploit their advantages over the other character more quickly in the match, but with Pikachu's aerials and projectile not being on par with T. Link, it is harder for Pikachu to use his advantages.
ok. this needs to be debated. how big of an advantage does TL have over pika?

also, thank you for agreeing that pika's airiels/project.< TL' airiels/projectiles.

PIKA PLAYERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i need everyone to take part in this. if only 3 or 4 people are actually responding to this then this matchup thread will be a little biased. please post your thoughts pika community. i can see that you are looking at this by how many viewings it has gotten. and i thank everyone so far who has helped. i appreciate your input greatly. and so does everyone else who reads this thread.
 

Ekoix.exe

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I still feal that Pika's projectile game is better as you can be approaching at the same time while as TL has a delay set on his boomerang. Hense for your projectiles are putting more pressure on him. Possibly as I have not much expereriance with TL, his Air game is slightly better, but Pika has Down B to discourage TL from being over head to much.
 

gallax

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could somebody please sticky this?

what do people think about TL? should we move on to the next character or should we keep discussing? no one is really posting anything on this anymore so is it time to move on?
 

gallax

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alright pika players! this week's character up for discussion is FALCO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm gonna work on the TL matchup and it should be up by the end of today or tomorrow but it will be up soon. if i could get some feedback on the matchups that would be great. if there is something that you do or dont like about what ive said then please feel free to post you criticisms.

so falco...who is he? he is apart of the laylat trio and is considered at the moment the best of the three and the hardest for pika to play. so what does the pika community think about falco?
 

Roller

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alright pika players! this week's character up for discussion is FALCO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm gonna work on the TL matchup and it should be up by the end of today or tomorrow but it will be up soon. if i could get some feedback on the matchups that would be great. if there is something that you do or dont like about what ive said then please feel free to post you criticisms.

so falco...who is he? he is apart of the laylat trio and is considered at the moment the best of the three and the hardest for pika to play. so what does the pika community think about falco?
His CG-->spike is a *****, but of course you can cg him as well. Plus he can't just spam lasers all day because we have projectiles to. I like to primarily approach falco from above, either slight left or slight right.

Crawling up to him is both funny and effective because you go below his lasers so you are untouchable.(I know everyone already knew that...)
 

gallax

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His CG-->spike is a *****, but of course you can cg him as well. Plus he can't just spam lasers all day because we have projectiles to. I like to primarily approach falco from above, either slight left or slight right.

Crawling up to him is both funny and effective because you go below his lasers so you are untouchable.(I know everyone already knew that...)
hahaha. totally true about the lasers. but i always seem to get hit by the first laser after crouching. does that happen to anyone else? also, question about pika's cg. at what percent does can falco get out? i think its around 35% but im not sure.

i also like to approach falco from above to. a great combo that i like is the FF fair> grab/dsmash. pika bair and nair are really useful in this matchup too. the most annoying thing against fighting falco is the fast dodging into grabs and fsmashes and also his shine. the shine can stop both the tjolt and the thunder. the shine also gets pika away from him and allows falco to space well.

the fair can be a good damage racker against pika and pika's lightweight makes it easier for falco to KO pika. overall i am not really sure who has the advantage yet.

But if i had to say if there is any advantage i this matchup i would definately have to say that falco has the advantage in this matchup.
 

gallax

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hey i found this btw on the falco thread on what they do against pikachu. this is basic though.



If I may, I will try my best to summarize this discussion on pikachu. *clears throat* Here I go. Blad01 please edit!

Behavior: Pikachu will tend to avoid lasers with full jumps covering enough distance to get in range for attack. Will use skull bash and QAC to recover and punish spiking falcos. Pikachu will use Fsmash to out prioritize your attacks.

His scaring moves:
-B moves: His thunder can cause enough damage and at times KO you. Pikachu will utilt in a thunder combo
-Quick attack: Although not a koing move it can help pikachus cover large distances in the blink of an eye opening up a venue of combos and deadly attacks.
-Fsmash: This attack can out prioritize most of falcos attacks, stun, and have huge knockback.
-Dsmash: Very dangerous move and can rack up damage easily

How to win?

Stay in range of a ftilt. In this manner you can cause enough knock back with ftilt. If you stay within this range you can also use your reflect for jolting pikachus, causing damage from the reflected jolt and the shine. Baiting pikachus in using thunders and punishing it with shine You can easily DI from the last of dmash and his throws. DI up for D throws and DI "away" for up throws. Never rolls towards a pikachu because of the threat of eating a full on Dsmash. Remember keep your spacing and stay in range of an ftilt. Aside from the ftilt and shine this range allows you to play aggressive and use Nair. In this range, pikachus aerial attacks can all be punished because of the landing lags leading to chaingrabs at low percentage or even a DLX cancel. When it comes time to kill the pikachu your best friend will be Bair since pikachus use skullbash to punish spiking falcos.


P.S. Thanks to whoever sticked this!
 

Ekoix.exe

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"Falco"

General Discussion of Character:

Pika's Advantages:
-Pikachu can duck Lazers with ease.
-Pikachu being the quick pile of awesome he is, shouldn't be able to be chain grabbed to a dair spike off edge. Even if he is, a quick attack will fix that. (Possibly I'm being stupid, you might be able to be chained to 45% so watch out for this)
-Falco's reflecter is abit harder to use against Pika's Tjolt if pikachu is air spamming it.
-Power shielding Falco's smashs lead to a chaingrab for Pikachu
-Did I mention DOWNSMASH?
-Disjointed hitbox's>Falco
-(Joke) He's a bird, Shock him to death.
-You've got better taunts.
-Your Fair is amazing against him. Short hop it foward and move backwards. (Jump - Fair - Make pikachu move backwards with fair in midair.)
- Do NOT engage in an aerial game with Falco, As much as your's rocks, His is meant for punishing.


Pika's Disadvantages:
-Thunder can be rofl reflected by a well timed reflect.
Being the Lightweight Pika is, Falcos Dsmash and Fsmash really punish Pika
Most of Pika's Aerials are extremly punishable by Falco

General Strategies:
Do NOT use Bair, You will DIEEEE
Do NOT use Dair unless your perfectly sure he a)Will not shield it b)Can't avoid it
Do PUNISH with DOWNSMASH
Do SHORTHOP and FAIR then move BACKWARDS
Do CHAINGRAB
Do TAUNT
Do NOT be predictable with your QUACKING or Regular Quick attacks
Do NOT try to abuse Skull Bash
Do THUNDER edge gaurd if the situation is gaurenteed to kill Falco if he attempts a reflect.
Do NOT Spam THUNDER
Do USE SKULL BASH SITUATIONALLY

Helpful Video's:

More to come
 

Roller

Smash Legend
Joined
Mar 21, 2008
Messages
13,137
Location
Just follow the grime...
Do PUNISH with DOWNSMASH
Do SHORTHOP and FAIR then move BACKWARDS
Do CHAINGRAB
Do TAUNT
Do NOT be predictable with your QUACKING or Regular Quick attacks
Do NOT try to abuse Skull Bash
Do THUNDER edge gaurd if the situation is gaurenteed to kill Falco if he attempts a reflect.
Do NOT Spam THUNDER
Do USE SKULL BASH SITUATIONALLY
These are all valid things to keep in mind. Taunting can really piss the hell out of people, especially if you do it and they weren't even going to die.

Obviously don't thunder spam.

Dsmash is just as good as ever vs falco, definately don't be shy about using it.

I completely agree with thunder edgeguarding when they are about to use up or side B to recover. HOWEVER don't do it when they can reflect and live to tell the tale.

Spamming skullbash especially using it as a primary recovery is just asking to get a charged Fsmash to the face.

Obviously if your QuACing gets predictable you WILL be punished.

Fair is a beast, especially in the way he said to use it. Though fastfalling fair into a Dsmash takes away virtually all of a full shield, so that is usefull as well.

EDIT: Next week Fox?
 

Ekoix.exe

Smash Ace
Joined
Jun 10, 2008
Messages
567
Location
Auspiciously close to NoobCake
These are all valid things to keep in mind. Taunting can really piss the hell out of people, especially if you do it and they weren't even going to die.

Obviously don't thunder spam.

Dsmash is just as good as ever vs falco, definately don't be shy about using it.

I completely agree with thunder edgeguarding when they are about to use up or side B to recover. HOWEVER don't do it when they can reflect and live to tell the tale.

Spamming skullbash especially using it as a primary recovery is just asking to get a charged Fsmash to the face.

Obviously if your QuACing gets predictable you WILL be punished.

Fair is a beast, especially in the way he said to use it. Though fastfalling fair into a Dsmash takes away virtually all of a full shield, so that is usefull as well.

EDIT: Next week Fox?
QFT

Uhm, As a side note,
DO **** his recoverys as you can ALWAYS predict where he's going to go.
DO Edge hog
DO NOT Off edge gaurd unless you feal its completely safe to. Seriously, You will regret it if you muck up.
DO NOT allow him to taunt faster
DO NOT become to aggresive, Its tempting, but know when to back up.
 

Tagxy

Smash Lord
Joined
Oct 10, 2007
Messages
1,482
Little known fact, you can duck below Falco's shine. If you think theres a hint that he might do it, prepare to duck. It's quick, and it gives you more mobility then shielding or spot dodging.

ALSO, Falcos reflector only does damage as it goes out. So as soon as it passes by you're free to have your way with him until the reflector returns to him. Falcos love to use their reflectors if you get in close to them, so make sure you watch out and punish them for it.

Also, you can duck below his lasers, but if you start to crawl about 75% of the time they will hit you, so wait to move when theres a break in shooting or if he jumps while he shoots.
 

krehz

Smash Ace
Joined
Feb 10, 2008
Messages
618
Location
MI, USA
o_O that's weird. most people usually start off with more worthy opponents, like Snake or MK :p

It's a weird misconception that it's harder to KO someone based on weight, and for characters like MK and Sonic, that they need higher %'s to kill people. They rack up damage pretty fast when certain moves connect, so getting the % to kill isn't usually a problem, but rather, landing the finishing moves, which takes practice and slight bits of mind gaming/setups.

The projectile itself (tjolt?) is easily avoided via jumps, springs, homing attack... w/e. Sonic's side-B has invincibility frames in close range that can allow him to bypass the projectile and counter you while you're still shooting. The beginning of Sonic's down-B has enough priority to clang cancel with a tjolt sometimes, but it could be placement based too, I guess. I'm pretty sure I did a dash attack or spindash that went under the bounce a few times lol.

Dsmash and any electric-aura attacks pose problems for Sonic (eh, think of touching a live wire?) since he attacks with his body for the most part (= his priority issues), but his tilts/smashes do outrange Dsmash and Thunder, so it's a matter of waiting til the attack dies down. Sonic can also stutterstep fsmash to 'outrange' Pikachu's fsmash.

Thunder will take care of sloppy spring jumps, though most Sonic players don't use springs offensively.

that's all I can say for a move-for-move matchup. I can't say anything gameplay wise because I don't believe I've fought a good Pikachu player 1v1 yet.
Ummmm ya i don't know about anyone else, but as pikachu i have no problem taking out Metaknight or Snake..........and if u wanna fight me I would be happy to oblige :) just PM me and I will give u my FC
 

gallax

Smash Hero
Joined
Apr 2, 2008
Messages
5,641
Location
Orlando(UCF), Fl
ok. i believe falco is done. time to move on! this week's charcter is........MARTH!

give me a little bit for the falco matchup to be complete. there's a lot of good info. it should be up by tomorrow night at the latest.
 
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