Do not compare our grab to tether grabs. It is not a tether grab. It is essentially Yoshi's grab with more lag. Tether grabs have a larger grabbox and sit longer than our grab. I will say with all my passion as a PAC-MAN main that Samus and ZSS have better grabs then ours. Also remember that grabs for them can lead to incredible strings, and have follow ups. What do we have? A combo out of down throw that depends on if the opponent techs or jumps out of down throw. Essentially, there isn't as much reward for attempting to grab compared to those other characters. Keep in mind I am talking about PAC-MAN with default moves, which is what I play with and have the most knowledge and experience with.
Z-Dropping is useful when the situation presents itself. Moreso, when I know I can get the fruit off of a shield or by picking it up without being punished. Having to z-drop a fruit, throw it at the person and predict them to shield just so I can try to get a grab off them doesn't sound like the best option to me, and honestly looking at it through the perspective of the opponent sounds pretty telegraphed. May I also remind everyone that the opponent can grab a z-dropped item with the Z button, airdodge, or attack as well. PAC-MAN's essential game doesn't revolve around getting grabs, however not having this option makes it bad for him just for an option to have on the spot, not something to setup only to get a down throw as a reward.
Pikachu is annoying for everyone, but is more annoying for others, including us. No, I haven't played a specific Pikachu, but I've played plenty of different ones. Nair isn't a safe counter to quick attack, Quick Attack sadly has more priority and to have the timing down for constant frame-perfect nairs against constant quick attacks sounds quite stressful. Playing patient is the optimal strategy, but the opponent doesn't always allow us to play patient, especially Pikachu, who is faster than us on ground and air, and constantly is on top of us the entire match (Or at least that's what a good Pikachu does). PAC-MAN can definitely hold his ground against Pikachu. Like with what I've said before, he can hold his ground, but winning the matchup is a struggle, plain and simple. It isn't being pessimistic, or negative, or dissing on PAC-MAN, it is just what the matchup is and how the game was designed. Analyzing and maining a character means we have to acknowledge when we have something in the disadvantage, and with a character like Pikachu, there is objectively obstacles that are very difficult for PAC-MAN. Mario and Luigi can kill us with a single down smash or up smash, but we have to make a setup for our kill against them. Is that being pessimistic, or looking at the game with giving respect to our opponent, and realizing that that's how things are in the game?
I will defend myself and say yes, I may be pessimistic in some areas and it may sound exaggerated based on everyone's experiences. But I will say, is that looking in this direction is necessary, and realizing that the flaws we have do hurt us. I myself have also stated I have defended PAC-MAN positively. I don't main PAC-MAN because I love finding things to complain about in a video game, I do it because it is necessary to discuss in a game where other characters simply have better options than us in the meta. Having the option to grab (without setups) is something that will always limit us in the meta unless it gets magically patched to either be really good and lagless, or we get a normal grab like everyone else. PAC-MAN isn't by any means bad, but there's things I personally wish he could have, so it would be more fun of an experience as to someone who solely enjoys playing this character. I could make an entire post of what I think PAC-MAN would need to be more viable, but that might be taken as a pessimistic and negative comment about PAC-MAN, so I guess I won't. This is a place for people to express opinions and thoughts on PAC-MAN, and I for one respect every comment, whether it be positive, negative or neutral.
