My tactics

[Veng]

Can anyone tell me if these are any good? I read the pikachu guide and I had so many conflictions with it because it made no sense.

Like when it said his Dair is good for recovering opponents that NEED to use there recovery? all that does is give vertical hitstun and lets them use there recovery again.

just an example.

But this is my mind games that ive come up with.

Approaching. when the match starts I usually just short hop spam or spam bolts ( B ) racks up a good 15% if your opponent doesnt shield every one of them, if they do its an easy Fsmash or Dsmash.

I also like to run towards them, short hop bolt then grab > U throw > Down b ( thunder ) it works for an easy low % KO.

For ledge guarding I try to ju mp off then DI back and thunder it might not hit but it sure as hell limits the opponent/and or pisses them off. I also try to jump off then double bolt but usually for a whole match ill only do one or the ot her, I need to work on that.

A HUGE part of my game is spamming the bolts, my friends get MISERABLY ANGRY and it racks up quiet a bit of damage against foxes or people who have wide range attacks that space, because if you spam it, there gonna come to you and when that happens its a Dmash or Fsmash for me usually.

Opponents coming from the air I usually have the hardest time with, I tend to Fair or Bair which doesnt get very far with a marth using dair or fair heck they could DI then ko wtih a dolphin flash if i was high %


I feel so limited with pikachu now, are my tactics good? i kinda wanna switch to marth or sheik but.. i dono

 

[M15t3R E]

First off, don't diss the guide. The guide is well-written and very insightful.
Dair most certainly is a useful move against recovering opponents, as is Nair and Thunder. Dair will send the opponents off vertically but oh so slightly, while pushing them horizontally farther from the stage by a substantial distance.

Onto the spamming of Thunderjolts. And they are jolts, not bolts. Easy mistake. Anyhow, I used to spam those too. Now, I use it only for approaching about half the time, and sometimes I use its hitstun to create an opening for a grab or combo on the opponent. I commend you for already figuring out how to use it to grab. That's good.
Learn from us how to perform QAC combos and the mindgames it will produce can more than suffice for your frequent thunderjolt strategy.

Don't use grab-->up-throw-->Thunder until the opponent is at least 80%. That's my advice to you after using that combo countless times. Maybe a little less % if the opponent is a major lightweight.

Save your d-smashes for punishing rolling opponents or when your opponent lands behind you. Pro-tip: Save your f-smashes for your killing move. Trust me.

I like to do one of three things each time an opponent is coming down from the air- I sometimes try to QAC-->Thunder them. Sometimes I let them land, after which I immediately run up to them and grab 'em. Or I may meet them in the air diagonally down-left or down-right from them and u-air them. All are fairly safe strategies.

Let me reiterate because it probably wasn't made clear enough: Learn from us how to use Pikachu's QAC and you'll instantly become much greater than you could have imagined.

Well, I hope my input has helped you. Stick around the Pikachu discussion area, incorporate our tips into your games, and challenge us soon.
Lastly, watch Anther videos =P
I promise you'll begin to feel anything but limited with the yellow electric mouse.

 

[Muhznit]

Fun fact, Mister E: There's no move in Pokemon called "Thunderjolt". Only Thundershock, Spark, Thunderbolt, Thunder, and Zap Cannon are suitable things to call Pikachu's best projectile.

 

[M15t3R E]

Yes, that is true. But there is a thunder jolt in Brawl. So says Smash Dojo.
So for more advice, refer to similar threads and definitely check out this extensive Pikachu video library which will show you how to deal with many match-ups using Pikachu: http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=140872

 

[Roller]

I do.

Ok, first of all. DON'T SPAM JOLTS. Only time you might need that is vs olimar or maybe pit, basically, someone else who spams projectiles.

You mentioned you like to rack up damage vs foxes with Tjolt. I'm sorry to say that you have no idea how to play vs fox. Lucky for you, that is extremely easy to correct. Pikachu can chaingrab fox to 74% if you start at 0 using the D-throw, u don't even need to move, just hit grab, grab, grab, etc, timed appropriately, practice that. If your opponent doesn't know to use fox's shine to get out (most don't and just try to dodge out) then you can actually get them up to 104% from the Dthrow chain. In addition to the D-throw chain there is an Fthrow chain which can allow you to go clear across Final Destination with them. Sometimes I mix the 2 up a bit to throw off their timing for trying to escape.

Fox is hands down pikachu's BEST matchup.

Another thing you can do vs fox is demenstrated in this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BV839DT0j5E

however first you need to learn how to QAC which is MANDATORY for being a decent pikachu main. If you are having trouble with it ask someone more experienced to help you out.

It is important that you learn all the characters you can Chaingrab, both with down and Forward throws and practice doing them. They can be very handy.

Also, Fast falling Fair is your best friend, you can follow it up by a Dsmash, Usmash, or grab.

Full hopped Tjolts are better than short hops, unless there are low panels like on battlefield.

d-throw to U-tilt to U-air to short hopped fair is a nice little combo, as is simply D-throw to Usmash.

That's all the advice I have for now.

Hope I helped. =)



LEARN TO QAC

 

[Veng]

I do.

Ok, first of all. DON'T SPAM JOLTS. Only time you might need that is vs olimar or maybe pit, basically, someone else who spams projectiles.

You mentioned you like to rack up damage vs foxes with Tjolt. I'm sorry to say that you have no idea how to play vs fox. Lucky for you, that is extremely easy to correct. Pikachu can chaingrab fox to 74% if you start at 0 using the D-throw, u don't even need to move, just hit grab, grab, grab, etc, timed appropriately, practice that. If your opponent doesn't know to use fox's shine to get out (most don't and just try to dodge out) then you can actually get them up to 104% from the Dthrow chain. In addition to the D-throw chain there is an Fthrow chain which can allow you to go clear across Final Destination with them. Sometimes I mix the 2 up a bit to throw off their timing for trying to escape.

Fox is hands down pikachu's BEST matchup.

Another thing you can do vs fox is demenstrated in this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BV839DT0j5E

however first you need to learn how to QAC which is MANDATORY for being a decent pikachu main. If you are having trouble with it ask someone more experienced to help you out.

It is important that you learn all the characters you can Chaingrab, both with down and Forward throws and practice doing them. They can be very handy.

Also, Fast falling Fair is your best friend, you can follow it up by a Dsmash, Usmash, or grab.

Full hopped Tjolts are better than short hops, unless there are low panels like on battlefield.

d-throw to U-tilt to U-air to short hopped fair is a nice little combo, as is simply D-throw to Usmash.

That's all the advice I have for now.

Hope I helped. =)



LEARN TO QAC

First of all, his chain grab on Fox only goes to 74%, second you cant shine out of it. Come back when you know things for sure.

 

[smaci92]

First of all, his chain grab on Fox only goes to 74%, second you cant shine out of it. Come back when you know things for sure.

dude. you asked people for help, and roller wrote like an essay to help...and he's being maining pika wayy longer than you have...and all you say to him is "come back when you know things for sure." Like com'on...he definately taught me some stuff from that post

 

[Van Jones]

First of all, his chain grab on Fox only goes to 74%, second you cant shine out of it. Come back when you know things for sure.

Wow. I just read that. I wouldn't have even responded to your other post if I had read this one first.

 

[Muhznit]

I'm sorry to say that you have no idea how to play vs fox. Lucky for you, that is extremely easy to correct.

...


Fox is hands down pikachu's BEST matchup.

...

however first you need to learn how to QAC which is MANDATORY for being a decent pikachu main. If you are having trouble with it ask someone more experienced to help you out.

My, my, a little over-aggressive and arrogant, aren't we Rollerking? The guy's new to maining Pikachu. There's no need to imply that he's a complete idiot for not knowing WHY you can't spam "Jolts" against a Fox, which you failed to indicate in your post. (Hint: The Reflector, his Down+B.)

Also, Fox, Pikachu's best matchup? Pfft. *Fights Olimar on Pirate Ship, sending him into the water repeatedly* GG, Rollerking.

Finally, QAC is not mandatory for a "decent" Pikachu. You act like all of smashboards is purely bent on tournement play only. Fun Fact: People play Brawl for ENJOYMENT and fun. (ZOMG WTF.) He can have a "decent" Pikachu without QAC. QAC's just DESPARATELY NEEDED for tournement-level play. Even then, I don't see Anther using it that much.

Now, for my 0.02 USD consisting of my tactics. I should warn you, this is about 3 months old or so, and I have changed up my style a bit. A lot of it's still valuable, however.

•I once QAC->Dair'd to kill a Diddy standing near the edge of Delfino, then QAC->Sweetspot'd Thunder to kill the Lucas about to PK freeze me.
•For every Pit, Snake, Metaknight, and every other "high-flying recovery" character that I've faced, I'd Dash->Grab the edge, then Drop, Jump, and Thunder to gimp their recovery. If they avoided it, then I QAC from the Edge Thunder into another on the actual stage
•Big Heavyweights like Bowser, Dedede and DK FEARED Fair->D Smash and QAC->Nair.
•I mix my Full-hop Thunderjolts into a Dash->Up Smash or Dash->Side B approach.
•The only spikes that killed me were when I was spiked too far into water or couldn't sweetspot a ledge. (**** you, Summit.)
•It was almost impossible to gimp my recovery. A Skull bash aimed at just the right angle would hit the guy thinking I was going for the ledge, then I would grab said ledge as if to mock him. I could sweetspot a ledge from the bottom of the stage, even in narrow holes like on Super Mario World. Hell, I would laugh at the Ike charging Eruption at the edge, then make my way under the stage to the other side.
•Finally, the taunt. The down taunt, of all things. It agitates noobs to no end to see pikachu dodge Pit's unguided arrows, Fox's blaster, and a few miscellaneous attacks. Or against slightly more serious players, I'll crawl under, predict the "combo breaker" and catch them with Down Tilt.


OH! Before I forget. inb4Postcount-basedSuperiorityspeech. hehe.

 

[Roller]

Ok, first I am going to reply to Veng. I specifically said that you can CG fox with the Dthrow to 74% just like you said. Next I said that you can CONTINUE past the 74 up until around 100% IF they don't know that they can shine out at that point. You seem to not be able to comprehend what I am saying. 0-74% on the fox cg CAN NOT be shined out of, HOWEVER you can continue after that point and it is then where they CAN shine out (if they know to).

You basically supported what I had said and then told me to leave...

cool beans.



The next part of this post is intended for Muhznit

I assumed he would realise that the reflector was why you don't spam jolts, as you said, I wouldn't want to assume he's an idiot. (though after his last post...)

next, You have got to be kidding if you think Olimar is Pika's best matchup. I don't know a single person who would agree with that out of all the pika mains on these boards. Many consider the matchup to be even, some to be slightly favored to Oli. (I believe it's even)

You can not possibly think it is easier to fight an Oli than someone you can CG to 74% no problem, OR QAL easy as pie(once you learn how).

Also, That one stage might help pika vs oli, but only a fool would base a character matchup on one stage which is a Counter Pick in tourneys at best.

Next, I understand that people play it purely for fun, I used to play melee that way. However a decent pikachu would mean one that is about par in skill level. Only people who try competitively get to that skill level because people who play for fun have no reason to get on forums and ask how to do advanced techniques to pwn their friends, because someone playing purely for fun wouldn't care too much about being the best. If you want to be decent you need to learn a good number of ATs for pika. people who play for fun usually don't, meaning that they are going to be below par. They can still have fun, but in comparison to other players of pika, they are still below the average.

 

[Van Jones]

Ok, first I am going to reply to Veng. I specifically said that you can CG fox with the Dthrow to 74% just like you said. Next I said that you can CONTINUE past the 74 up until around 100% IF they don't know that they can shine out at that point. You seem to not be able to comprehend what I am saying. 0-74% on the fox cg CAN NOT be shined out of, HOWEVER you can continue after that point and it is then where they CAN shine out (if they know to).

You basically supported what I had said and then told me to leave...

cool beans.



The next part of this post is intended for Muhznit

I assumed he would realise that the reflector was why you don't spam jolts, as you said, I wouldn't want to assume he's an idiot. (though after his last post...)

next, You have got to be kidding if you think Olimar is Pika's best matchup. I don't know a single person who would agree with that out of all the pika mains on these boards. Many consider the matchup to be even, some to be slightly favored to Oli. (I believe it's even)

You can not possibly think it is easier to fight an Oli than someone you can CG to 74% no problem, OR QAL easy as pie(once you learn how).

Also, That one stage might help pika vs oli, but only a fool would base a character matchup on one stage which is a Counter Pick in tourneys at best.

Next, I understand that people play it purely for fun, I used to play melee that way. However a decent pikachu would mean one that is about par in skill level. Only people who try competitively get to that skill level because people who play for fun have no reason to get on forums and ask how to do advanced techniques to pwn their friends, because someone playing purely for fun wouldn't care too much about being the best. If you want to be decent you need to learn a good number of ATs for pika. people who play for fun usually don't, meaning that they are going to be below par.

The man is money. I agree with him on everything he just said.

Please, do not come in and ask someone for help and then completely disrespect that person after they help you. That is a noob move.

 

[Muhznit]

You can not possibly think it is easier to fight an Oli than someone you can CG to 74% no problem, OR QAL easy as pie(once you learn how).

Also, That one stage might help pika vs oli, but only a fool would base a character matchup on one stage which is a Counter Pick in tourneys at best.

Next, I understand that people play it purely for fun, I used to play melee that way. However a decent pikachu would mean one that is about par in skill level. Only people who try competitively get to that skill level because people who play for fun have no reason to get on forums and ask how to do advanced techniques to pwn their friends, because someone playing purely for fun wouldn't care too much about being the best. If you want to be decent you need to learn a good number of ATs for pika. people who play for fun usually don't, meaning that they are going to be below par. They can still have fun, but in comparison to other players of pika, they are still below the average.

Alright, then. How about Ganondorf? While crouching, a large amount of his ground moves can't hit you (Jab; Sparta Kick; Down+B; hell you can even crouch under the Warlock Punch!) Not to mention that D-Smash easily outprioritizes Ganon's Thunderstorming and the guy can be CG'd with Foward Throw up to 60%, according to the Sticky. Also I should mention that Ganondorf has NO projectiles or Reflector. If that's not a relatively one-sided fight, I don't know what is.

Also, you make too many generalizations. I'm playing purely for fun. I just want to kick ***. I've gone through all of SSE on Intense, figuring out the best sticker combinations for several characters. (Intense Galleom doesn't last a minute against Snake now). I've played with items, trying to figure out the best ways to use each (Fun Fact: Best way to grow a hothead is to throw it into Thunder then F-Smash it as it lands. Just watch out for reflectors.) and found quirks for nearly every stage Pikachu can use to his advantage. Advanced Techniques and detailed analysis of moves aren't strictly for competitive players. They're for anyone with a thirst for power or desire to learn the intracate inner workings of THE GAME. If it weren't for the QAC, I'd still be failing horribly at maining Lucas, really.

I don't think you really know the mindset of us gamers that "play for fun".

 

[Veng]

First of all, im sorry to rollerking, VERY GOOD advice and i appreciate. Second THANK YOU EVERYONE ive been int he pika chat and ive very much improved and actually got some recorded videos of some great matches.

/end thread

 

[Stealth Raptor]

I also disagree on fox being the best matchup for pika. at least fox can combo pika. it would have to be either ganon or falcon that is pikas best matchup. neither can really do much against pika.

 

[Van Jones]

*Bear's Falcon disagrees with your statement.*

 

[Stealth Raptor]

We can always try it again......

 

[neji32]

Can anyone tell me if these are any good? I read the pikachu guide and I had so many conflictions with it because it made no sense.

Like when it said his Dair is good for recovering opponents that NEED to use there recovery? all that does is give vertical hitstun and lets them use there recovery again.

just an example.

But this is my mind games that ive come up with.

Approaching. when the match starts I usually just short hop spam or spam bolts ( B ) racks up a good 15% if your opponent doesnt shield every one of them, if they do its an easy Fsmash or Dsmash.

Yea most people approach with tjolts, as for the fsmash, Dsmash thats good for you but if the opponent was smart they wouldnt fall for it. Like i would never fall for that, i would sheild and punish

I also like to run towards them, short hop bolt then grab > U throw > Down b ( thunder ) it works for an easy low % KO.

Who would really fal for that at low percents. Again this is easily avioded. All they have to do is DI

For ledge guarding I try to ju mp off then DI back and thunder it might not hit but it sure as hell limits the opponent/and or pisses them off. I also try to jump off then double bolt but usually for a whole match ill only do one or the ot her, I need to work on that.

that was in the guide to, its called like the thunder wall and you can do it up to 3 times though imo its only useful twice
Yea bolting them while there off is also known

A HUGE part of my game is spamming the bolts, my friends get MISERABLY ANGRY and it racks up quiet a bit of damage against foxes or people who have wide range attacks that space, because if you spam it, there gonna come to you and when that happens its a Dmash or Fsmash for me usually.

YEa, pretty much every pika spams jolts

Opponents coming from the air I usually have the hardest time with, I tend to Fair or Bair which doesnt get very far with a marth using dair or fair heck they could DI then ko wtih a dolphin flash if i was high %

you take marth to the ground, i have some vids of me fighting a good one but its not smart to spam jolts on them

I feel so limited with pikachu now, are my tactics good? i kinda wanna switch to marth or sheik but.. i dono

There sorta good but as you explained, you dont add combos to your play