Pika Q&A/FAQ Thread: Ask a Quick Question, Get a Quick Answer!

[Thor]

I just reread the intro... some notable quotes (for their dubiousness or my lack of understanding)...[these are somewhat paraphrased]

Q: Who is the best Pikachu player?
A: Anther

Um... I <3 Anther but he's not been around for awhile... should that be updated to ESAM? [No offense Anther]

Most of the pros play with tap jump on

Do they? I thought most turned it off (M2K excepted of course)... and ESAM said tap jump off better... yeah... should that be changed?

Hardest MUs (no order) - GnW, Diddy Kong, Marth, and Olimar

The chart currently says (I think) GnW is even and Lucario is -1 (or are both of these wrong?) - also shouldn't ICs be on that list? Also here's a real question: Besides having the longest tripping animation in the entire game, what makes Diddy bad for us? I feel like if we had CF's animation (the shortest) it would be even but somehow I think it's more than making it easy for Diddy to capitalize on his nanners.

Meta Knight and Snake are the best secondaries for Pikachu. Other good choices are DDD, Marth, Wario, Donkey Kong, and Falco.

All of the "other good choices" have no fun against ICs... but the first two are fine (and maybe Marth is). Should I look to the MU chart for why these are good choices?

*stuff about stages*

Is there a thread that explains why these stages are good/bad for Pika? I haven't seen one...

----

For those who can't be bothered to read this mess...

Some of the stuff in the intro might be changed to reflect 2013, why is Diddy bad for us (besides ridiculously long tripping animation), is there somewhere that I can understand why certain stages are good/bad for Pikachu?

 

[Ookami Hajime]

How do you counter or at least try to get close to a ZSS armor pieces and how do you counter a Marth player sharking platforms with uair?

ZSS: I personally run up shield or I don't approach until they're off the stage. There's always the thought of working on your item play. Make those zero suits throw off their own pieces!
Marth: Shield and ditch the platform while he's in the animation of u-air. First opportunity to get off, take it.

I just reread the intro... some notable quotes (for their dubiousness or my lack of understanding)...[these are somewhat paraphrased]

-Anther vs ESAM is a common debate and I personally think they're both great players. I'll say no more than that on that particular matter~

-Tap jump is preference =I

-My brother is a Diddy main so I can kind of see the annoying part of playing the character. The trip animation itself is a hassle to get around. Bananas are an AMAZING stage control item and Pikachu is limited for how he can get around the screen quickly and efficiently while they're on stage. QAC isn't the best option if you might slip.

-I don't agree with this completely.

-There is probably a thread for that somewhere maybeee

 

[Thor]

I think they are both great players too. But unless I'm mistaken Anther has been out of the scene awhile - I don't know if that would be a reason to change the current top Pikachu to ESAM or leave as is (Anther also mentioned getting back into the game so maybe this will be a moot point in like a month - I can hope!).

Thanks for the point about Diddy - I don't QAC enough but I can see why it would mess up Pika's movement. I'm used to just stealing the bananas, but that's easier said than done so this clears it up for me.

Falco has to be just as campy as Pikachu (if not more so) to deal with ICs, DDD is like -3, DK has like one safe move (bair, if that) and is -2, but I'll admit I was misinformed about Wario [my bad, I apologize]. Also, are ICs not that bad (and is G&W harder than Lucario? I'm unfamiliar with both and was looking at the MU chart which isn't always accurate)? I thought ICs were one of the harder -1 (like, around Marth difficulty), but maybe I'm wrong about that. Beyond the Wario thing I'm not sure what you disagree with, but I'd like to learn.

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I'm having problems with wall-jumping - in some practice on Yoshi's, when I try to wall jump just jumping off or whatever, I can do it most of the time (we'll say like ~80%). But I'm somewhere around 0 for 75 in double-jumping off, skull bashing below the ledge, and trying to wall-jump. Do I just suck or are there problems walljumping after skull bash? (I tested it on sample stage hole and don't think I was able to walljump there either) I'd like to know for recovery purposes on Yoshi's. And to wall-jump, I've been holding into the ledge until the spyglass and trying the jump (so that I know lag has ended), trying right away, trying on-screen after lag has ended (I think), and other methods, but have yet to wall-jump successfully after a skull bash but lacking a jump - anyone have an idea what's going on?

 

[TheGrunyan]

In my opinion, Ice Climbers is our second hardest matchup, after Olimar. Pikachu doesn't have a lot of tools to deal with them.
I find Lucario to be a harder matchup than Game and Watch. Especially if you can tech his downthrow and SDI his bair.

 

[Ookami Hajime]

Anther's been going to almost every tournament in his state for the last 2 months, I believe, therefore I think he can be considered "back in the scene". I'm not sure what else I can tell you about that, haha

Diddy =I Yup. Don't play with items if the other player is better than you with them. But they're great is you know how to use them. Pika has an excellent glide-toss and you can forward throw glide-toss into an u-smash when they trip~

I sub-main ICs and the match up is definitely not even but I personally don't think it's horrible like DK or Dedede status (I've never seen Falco play an ICs before to be honest). Clever down smashes separate the climbers and pikachu has a very easy time gimping them and keeping them on the edge if he can get them off. As I said, though, it is not close to even. Pikachu is relatively easy to chain grab and he has to get moderately close in order to deal damage or get them away from each other.
G&W isn't all that difficult so long as you don't t-tjolt too much and stay clear of his lame disjointed hitboxes. That's the main thing he has over us.

Yo guys, by the way, I'm gonna start a youtube channel with my friends where we'll be uploading a lot of matches. Are any of you guys interested in seeing any of those?

 

[Hoenn]

If diddy has a banana in hand, Can't you just walk up and sheild? (I said walk because you can still sheild while in your walking animation)
If someone here has any questions about Olimar, just ask me... I know that pika-oli matchup like the back of my hand
Illinois is flooded with olimars lol

 

[Ookami Hajime]

Well, smart diddy's don't just throw them at you. If you walk up shield, a lot of them throw the banana down and go for a grab instead.
I've never played an extremely elite Olimar before so if you have any tips on how to approach him in general I'd really appreciate it =)

 

[Player -0]

Wall Jump no work?

You ARE pushing away from the wall to wall jump right? Not up?
I wall jump by pushing to the wall until I'm hugging it and then pushing away from the wall. I believe you have to be facing the wall to wall jump too.

 

[Hoenn]

Well, smart diddy's don't just throw them at you. If you walk up shield, a lot of them throw the banana down and go for a grab instead.
I've never played an extremely elite Olimar before so if you have any tips on how to approach him in general I'd really appreciate it =)

When I play olimars I usually stay ducked and down tilt him when I go in, Sometimes I add in a quick dash grab to mix it up a bit... once pikachu gets in... The hell for olimar starts... Make sure the end result of the grab puts them in the air above you...
That way you make the most of it when you actually do get in
Try to also know their pikmin lineup and the trajectory at which the pikmin will be thrown...
If they have white pikmin in the front of their lineup, then GET YOUR BUTT IN THERE since just about everything pikachu does beats white pikmin lol

 

[Ookami Hajime]

Haha, I see.
How do you deal with him if he has multiple purple pikmin? Same approach with more caution?

 

[Thor]

You ARE pushing away from the wall to wall jump right? Not up?
I wall jump by pushing to the wall until I'm hugging it and then pushing away from the wall. I believe you have to be facing the wall to wall jump too.

Yes? I'm only having trouble doing it out of a skull bash without a jump - like I said I can wall-jump most of the time when not coming out of skullbash and I tried it with skull bash a few times, went back to without it to make sure I was doing it right, and after like 100 tries I haven't wall-jumped after a skull-bash on Yoshi's once yet (but have done it without skull bashing plenty of times).

Also if we SH dair to approach Olimar and he usmashes while our hitbox is out (the dair itself is active and not during startup/cooldown), what happens? Do we get hit or is there a clank [or does it clank with only certain Pikmin?]? Does fair have the same properties in this regard too? And what do we use to knock off pikmin? (fair, dair, nair, bair, maybe uair, jab, dmash all work I think... is one best?)

And I take it dtilt has better range than I credit it for? Does only fsmash have more range throughout Pika's moveset?

 

[Ookami Hajime]

Yes? I'm only having trouble doing it out of a skull bash without a jump - like I said I can wall-jump most of the time when not coming out of skullbash and I tried it with skull bash a few times, went back to without it to make sure I was doing it right, and after like 100 tries I haven't wall-jumped after a skull-bash on Yoshi's once yet (but have done it without skull bashing plenty of times).

Also if we SH dair to approach Olimar and he usmashes while our hitbox is out (the dair itself is active and not during startup/cooldown), what happens? Do we get hit or is there a clank [or does it clank with only certain Pikmin?]? Does fair have the same properties in this regard too? And what do we use to knock off pikmin? (fair, dair, nair, bair, maybe uair, jab, dmash all work I think... is one best?)

And I take it dtilt has better range than I credit it for? Does only fsmash have more range throughout Pika's moveset?

I don't think you can wall jump after the skull bash if you don't have a jump. (I don't see why you would need to in most situations because Pika's recovery is amazing)
I u-air pikmin and I think olimar u-smash beats out f-air and d-air, at least I'm sure with purple and yellow pikmin.
Down tilt is amazing <3

 

[Thor]

I don't think you can wall jump after the skull bash if you don't have a jump. (I don't see why you would need to in most situations because Pika's recovery is amazing)

I was just bored and turned my Wii on and practiced wall-jumping some and then this issue came up which is why I asked - you're right that I don't have a need to in any situation I can think of, I just wanted to know about how that worked or if it meant I was messing up wall-jumps.

So... is there new Anther footage or do the tourneys he's been going to recently not record stuff? [It's fine either way, I just want to know what to search besides "SSBB Anther Pikachu".]

 

[FSLAR]

Anther was at Youmacon, I don't recall all of his matches but I know he showcased the R.O.B. match up pretty well, three stocking Chibo and generally being ahead most of the time.

 

[Ookami Hajime]

I was just bored and turned my Wii on and practiced wall-jumping some and then this issue came up which is why I asked - you're right that I don't have a need to in any situation I can think of, I just wanted to know about how that worked or if it meant I was messing up wall-jumps.

So... is there new Anther footage or do the tourneys he's been going to recently not record stuff? [It's fine either way, I just want to know what to search besides "SSBB Anther Pikachu".]

Ah, I see. And yeah, he's right. Did you subscribe to clashtournaments? Either way, Anther played very well against chibo at youmacon.
(I got that youtube channel up, guys)

 

[Anther]

I vote Esam! Here's the match Ookami's talking about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4Mtq66NgoE =p. I think he just over thought my options throughout the first match. =p

 

[Angiance]

Well, the wall kick can be used for super clever mixes.

 

[Mr.Pikachu]

Can anyone help me with my pikachu? I win alot with my that I play with a lot, but with my other friends I can't really seem to win and I'm getting frustrated...

 

[Angiance]

Anther IS Pikachu. @Mr.Pikachu: got any vids of you playing?

 

[Mr.Pikachu]

Only like one I think. My friend recorded it. Other than that I don't know how else to record videos. I was rusty at the time in most parts of the video.

 

[Angiance]

That's unfortunate...however, give me something specific and I'll give advice. Ex. edgeguarding, zoning, etc.

 

[AtneyB]

Other than that I don't know how else to record videos.

Just ask there
http://smashboards.com/threads/we-record-your-replays-helpers-welcome.233863/
Yoshq can't do it currently tho

 

[Mr.Pikachu]

I mostly have trouble QAC'ing. Maybe it's because of wifi I'm not really sure, but it's hard to QAC for me because I usually mess up the input to a downward right/left angle and end up getting the lag of QA on the ground. The MOST problematic situation for me is getting the kill when I'm 1-2 stocks down. I play a Ness player a lot of the times and I can't force him to approach and he NEVER really approaches. He waits until I approach and he fishes me out using PKT. Is there a certain amount of times a pikachu player should use nair for his stock because I use uair>nair a lot.

 

[Ookami Hajime]

I mostly have trouble QAC'ing. Maybe it's because of wifi I'm not really sure, but it's hard to QAC for me because I usually mess up the input to a downward right/left angle and end up getting the lag of QA on the ground. The MOST problematic situation for me is getting the kill when I'm 1-2 stocks down. I play a Ness player a lot of the times and I can't force him to approaqch and he NEVER really approaches. He waits until I approach and he fishes me out using PKT. Is there a certain amount of times a pikachu player should use nair for his stock because I use uair>nair a lot.

Nothing wrong with using n-air a lot if you're not saving it for a kill or something. How do you usually approach him?

 

[Mr.Pikachu]

Nothing wrong with using n-air a lot if you're not saving it for a kill or something. How do you usually approach him?

I try to SH fair or try to use QAC againsts him, but I end up having lag from QAC'ing to the ground. BF, I have the weirdest problems. I just hate platforms. SV is fine but BF I have to SH Tjolt and I usually FH them. other than that I use Tjolt to punish him when he uses PSI magnet.

 

[Player -0]

I try to SH fair or try to use QAC againsts him, but I end up having lag from QAC'ing to the ground. BF, I have the weirdest problems. I just hate platforms. SV is fine but BF I have to SH Tjolt and I usually FH them. other than that I use Tjolt to punish him when he uses PSI magnet.

You use THUNDERJOLT to punish him when he uses PSI MAGNET?
What?

 

[Ookami Hajime]

Don't use QAC as an approach because as good as it seems, it's not a safe approach at all. Do you ever try run up shield? Run up shield can lead to a good grab to put him in an odd position. F-air is a pretty good option. Try not to t-jolt too much against Ness and don't SH t-jolt.
Are you only playing online? What are your main problems when it comes to executing QAC?

You use THUNDERJOLT to punish him when he uses PSI MAGNET?

What?

I think he means that he baits the Psi magnet with t-jolts and punishes the ending lag, haha

 

[[FBC] ESAM]

There is no end lag of magnet...he can do any shield option out of it...

 

[Angiance]

@Mr.Pikachu: QA in button lag is difficult, practice until it's adjusted. KOing for us requires conditioning, or setups. Our top 3 KO methods are probably Rising N-Air offstage, Frontside of U-Tilt > Thunder/Jump Thunder, and Ground Trap: Charging F-Smash. Other KO methods would be U-Airing an opponent that's hanging onto the ledge, since it'll stage spike, or fastfalling a Thunder onstage after U-Air in an attempt to land grounded T2, or (while on SV's platform) sliding pivot grab > B-Throw (if it's close to the blastzone.) Dashing up and shielding is great approaching since our OoS game is so deadly; QAC is dependant on the opponent as an approach; Dashing up > RAR U-Air is a good approach. U-Air > N-Air is good, but try U-Air/U-Air x2 > Fastfall (for condtioning the opponent into ground traps), or U-Air > B-Air, etc.

 

[Ookami Hajime]

Hmm, you're right. That's one thing that shows why I don't think t-jolting the PK children in general is a good idea.

 

[Mr.Pikachu]

It's just so hard to approach his Ness not just because of PSI magnet, but mainly because he waits me out and doesn't rush in for me to punish. Sorry, I'm not very good at matchups and I try to change my playstle, but then I go back to my original playstyle. I'm just really used to camping.

 

[Mr.Pikachu]

@Mr.Pikachu: QA in button lag is difficult, practice until it's adjusted. KOing for us requires conditioning, or setups. Our top 3 KO methods are probably Rising N-Air offstage, Frontside of U-Tilt > Thunder/Jump Thunder, and Ground Trap: Charging F-Smash. Other KO methods would be U-Airing an opponent that's hanging onto the ledge, since it'll stage spike, or fastfalling a Thunder onstage after U-Air in an attempt to land grounded T2, or (while on SV's platform) sliding pivot grab > B-Throw (if it's close to the blastzone.) Dashing up and shielding is great approaching since our OoS game is so deadly; QAC is dependant on the opponent as an approach; Dashing up > RAR U-Air is a good approach. U-Air > N-Air is good, but try U-Air/U-Air x2 > Fastfall (for condtioning the opponent into ground traps), or U-Air > B-Air, etc.

Yea but this Ness fishes out a lot of grabs so I don't know if dash>shield is going to work as often

 

[Angiance]

Practice your close range game, and please try and get us a replay so we can give more accurate advice.

 

[Ookami Hajime]

It's just so hard to approach his Ness not just because of PSI magnet, but mainly because he waits me out and doesn't rush in for me to punish. Sorry, I'm not very good at matchups and I try to change my playstle, but then I go back to my original playstyle. I'm just really used to camping.

Try spacing your down tilt and f-air really well to hit him without getting in his range =o
Eventually, he'll probably approach. If he doesn't, then so long as you have the percent lead, it's your turn to wait him out.

 

[Reth92]

I think his Fair has more priority and outranges most of pika's moveset.

anyone knows how to deal with lucario? a friend came and I got whooped and I haven't seen any matches of pika vs lucario.

 

[Angiance]

This MU is mainly using our quick movement speed to get in, since Lucario's range is long. Once we're in we need to land as many hits as possible before resetting the spacing; make the most out of breaking Lucario's zone.

 

[Ookami Hajime]

Sorry, I meant Ness's grab range.
I haven't played many Lucario players so I'm kind of at a loss there too

 

[[FBC] ESAM]

Fair is transcendent, but priority doesn't exist in brawl.

 

[Angiance]

It's true that priority isn't an actual in-game property, but it IS a term/system we use for simple understanding of what works and crap.

 

[[FBC] ESAM]

If it doesn't exist the term shouldn't be used. Call it by what actually makes it good, not some made-up term that doesn't have a meaning