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

[Ookami Hajime]

He has QAC, but he can't jump out of it. He just lands without the lag, from what I've tried

 

[Player -0]

He has QAC, but he can't jump out of it. He just lands without the lag, from what I've tried

Then you can just jump after the no lag. That sounds actually like a buff to Pikachu. QAC to grab, think of the pressure options lol. How does it work? Is it like Pichu's perfect agility in Melee?

 

[Ookami Hajime]

No, not quite, haha.
It's not LAGLESS, it's just not like that crouching animation from QA'ing into the ground in melee. It's basically the same as QA'ing into the ground in brawl without inputting a jump =(
Also, with further analysis, it does seem to be only the cloud that spikes ouo

On the bright side, there's some other pretty cool stuff. Apparently you can crouch out of dashes/runs now and immediately input attack. That basically means you f-tilt right out of a run and you can do the same with f-smash. Running to the left and then f-tilting to the right looks like really cool as well as a remarkable spacing tool. Plus pikasliding is still a mechanic in the game so yay~

Take a look!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaFeIVfTqBg

 

[Player -0]

That's super laggy though from what I remember :l

Pikachu's F-Smash looks really awkward.

 

[Ookami Hajime]

In comparison to Melee, it's not very laggy ._.

And yes, yes it does lol
I like it though.
I heard SDI isn't a thing anymore. I didn't really get bit by too many multi-bit moves so I didn't get to try it.

 

[Hoenn]

If you're going to say something like that that you have to explain :l

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HZRwWN7lHc

 

[Angiance]

Okay, since alt specials are a thing, let's discuss Pikachu's possible alt specials

My ideas

Thunder
Alt 1: T1 becomes weaker, cloud doesn't spike, but T2 gets stored for later use if T1 hits pika; the next input of down B would release T2 In about, 9 frames I guess

Alt 2: inputting down B will set the thunder cloud as a trap, the thunder cloud will shoot T1 as soon as an opponent gets close to being under it, and goes away after being triggered twice; pressing down B after setting the cloud will make it dissappear, and a new one would appear where Pikachu is

Quick Attack
Alt 1: QA loses it's hitbox, but becomes lagless and has invincibility on start up

Alt 2: QA loses range, but gains a hitbox with fixed diagonally-upward knockback capable of smooth combos; can be jumpcancelled, even in the air; only has one input; start up would be 5 frames

Skullbash
Alt 1: startup would be 7 frames, recovery would be 10 frames; charging is gone; Pikachu jets forward with an electric skullbash that has multiple hits and a vacuum effect upon hit confirm, very good combo attack; it'd look a SH F-Air from a dashjump in Melee

Alt 2: upon inputting side b, pikachu will auto charge to full power; during the charge Pikachu would have super armor, and a wind effect in front to pull in close opponents; upon release the explosion deals heavy damage to close opponents; Skullbash's hitbox would be large, disjointed, and does not stop
Pikas forward momentum upon hit confirm; endlag would be 50 frames (maybe too many frames?)

Come up with ideas y'all, it's fun!

 

[Pikabunz]

Okay, since alt specials are a thing, let's discuss Pikachu's possible alt specials

My ideas

Thunder
Alt 1: T1 becomes weaker, cloud doesn't spike, but T2 gets stored for later use if T1 hits pika; the next input of down B would release T2 In about, 9 frames I guess

Alt 2: inputting down B will set the thunder cloud, the thunder cloud will shoot T1 as soon as an opponent gets close to being under it, and goes away after being triggered twice

Quick Attack
Alt 1: QA loses it's hitbox, but becomes much faster and has invincibility on start up

Alt 2: QA gains a combo capable launch hitbox, and a lagless ground cancel, but only has one input

Skullbash
Alt 1: startup would be 7 frames, recovery would be 10 frames; charging is gone; Pikachu jets forward with an electric skullbash that has multiple hits and a vacuum effect upon hit confirm, very good combo attack; it'd look a SH F-Air from a dash in Melee

Alt 2: upon inputting side b, pikachu will auto charge to full power; during the charge Pikachu would have super armor, and a wind effect in front to pull in close opponents; upon release the explosion deals heavy damage to close opponents; Skullbash's hitbox would be large, disjointed, and does not stop
Pikas forward momentum upon hit confirm; endlag would be 50 frames (maybe too many frames?)

Come up with ideas y'all, it's fun!

You should probably take this to the Smash 4 Pikachu boards, you can even start a new thread on it.

 

[Angiance]

You're right -.-;

 

[Ookami Hajime]

I think those ideas are good ^^
And I'm so happy to see that QAC is in the game after all! The description of the video stated the timing is much different from brawl, but the fact that it is still in the game is great!

 

[Angiance]

QAC let's us have pyscho mobility and we cherish is like gold, but this...

QA Alt 2: QA loses range, but gains a hitbox with fixed diagonally-upward knockback capable of many smooth combos; can be jumpcancelled, even in the air; only has one input; start up would be 5 frames

Don't you think it'd be awesome to combo like that? It'd be so sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet~

 

[Ookami Hajime]

It sounds pretty amazing.

Do any of you have any personal kill set ups that you find viable with Pikachu? Set ups you don't ever see from Top Pikachu players?

 

[Hoenn]

D-tilt (Low DI and missed tech) QAC lock is one, not very reliable, but one none the less

Tbh, that is probably the best question we could have. If we could improve pika's kill options, pikachu would way better. LIKE WAY better.
I feel like it's in the realm of possibility too, pikachu is still under-developed IMO

 

[Ookami Hajime]

Oh, that's a cool idea =o

And Pikachu has plenty of unexplored options. Maybe it would be wise to have a full-on discussion about it?

 

[Player -0]

I still think QA to platform cancel is the future for Pika on SV.

 

[Hoenn]

Yeah, I feel like our kill options are a bigger probelem, we should all discuss this

 

[hell-dew]

i find killing with chu is by far his hardest thing for me granted its become a lot less hard when i got a bit better but its still tough. one thing i respect about esams chu he more often then not scores the kill pretty cleanly.

 

[1PokeMastr]

Just read people's air/ spot dodges and hit them with a whopper.

 

[Hoenn]

A lot of smart players won't fall for the air dodges

 

[Angiance]

Jab > U-Smash, from a perspective, is a frame 2 KO option at 130+%

The frontside of U-Tilt links into Thunder very well

T2 is slightly weaker than Charged Skullbash, has a big hitbox, has invincibility on it's first few frames, and has a short recovery; y'all should practice coditioning the opponent to get hit by it

ALSO, D-Tilt is great for making the opponent jump, which helps land F-Smash for the KO

 

[Ookami Hajime]

So it was really funny how I was practicing with my brother yesterday and actually landed the d-tilt-->QA lock very solidly. Without a tech, it truly does connect easily.
I believe that clever landing traps are one of the best ways to kill with Pikachu. U-tilt/smash and them jump up for them to bait an air dodge passed you. Fall with them and f-smash.

People also often try to air dodge past you after getting hit by several u-airs and that's another good way to trap their landing.

 

[Angiance]

Yes, yes. U-Air can reliably control the opponent's movements, like D-Tilt; both are EXTREMELY important when the opponent reaches critical damage

To kill your prey you must first trap them, eliminate their escape routes, etc.

 

[Ookami Hajime]

It's true; Pikachu wins the game of bait and punish by irritating the opponent. Pikachu does so enough to bait out really dumb defensive options sometimes and he's quick enough to capitalize on them.

 

[Hoenn]

I feel like that's a problem though. What if the person has disciplined themselves to not air dodge into pikachu.
I personally have lots of pikachu experience due to my state having 7 or something pikachu mains.
I never air dodge into pikachu regardless of how much pressure I am under.
Am I missing something? If they jump away and pick an aerial to zone you out, or react to you, what do you do?



As far as jab goes. I know that Jab's hitstun and trip rate are increased with higher damage. Is it ever possible to jab slow enough for you to be able to both react to the trip AND not be super vulnerable?

 

[Angiance]

Well, it's not about catching an AD, it's about catching the landing. Even if they don't AD, we still enough of a zone using U-Air that we are given a pretty good idea where they will go.

Our dash/BPG/Crawl and a few of of our attacks allow us to go under other attacks in certain instances, if the opponent is crazy enough to try an aerial AFTER we began pressure, they're likely to get their tail pulled (punished from behind).

Jab is a "Gambler's Attack," and isn't ever truly safe to use. Like, from an optimistic perspective, it IS a frame 2 attack that deals 20+ damage; from a pessimistic perspective it IS far too punishable to be legitimate.

 

[Hoenn]

I'm not really understanding. Whenever a pikachu tries to Uair me at high percent, I won't care about Uair.
You can't kill me with Uair.
If I'm above pikachu, he won't really get many Uair follow-ups at low percent either.
What am I really being threatened by?


Thunder Jolt onto their shield and Nair if they drop it.
http://youtu.be/RUmLRt8oJNA?t=3m45s
If they roll behind you to avoid it, you should be able to get an Utilt if you read it
Roll away is an auto win because they gave up stage control
Utilt should also over spot dodge, but so would Fsmash I think
I don't know if MK would have the shuttle loop Oos in that situation

 

[Ookami Hajime]

U-air is still just as, if not more, dangerous at high percents. It still sets up for landing traps and serves the same purpose. The main difference is that now that they're at kill percent, there is a higher chance that they'll die from said landing trap.

 

[Hoenn]

I'd rather take Uairs until I know that it is safe to land at higher percents.
Uair will probably never take a stock off someone

Would you rather
A: Take some damage (Won't matter if you are at kill percent since anything will kill you anyway) and reset the situation?
B: Choose an option that risks you losing a stock?

 

[Pikabunz]

They can hit you with nair instead if you're expecting another uair.

 

[Ookami Hajime]

But that's not the best logic to go off of because if you're saying that you'd rather get hit by u-air continuously and that you WILL take them, eventually, they might just throw out a n-air, which will kill you. It's a guessing game and when guessing wrong cost you a stock, it's not a bad idea to seek a faster way to the ground rather than waiting it out until they get an even better opportunity to kill.

 

[Hoenn]

That is true, when I play MK nobody ever does that to me. Never really thought about that.
I am kind of questioning why MK "wins" the matchup
Can anyone explain the ground game vs meta knight? Like the general neutral game? Isn't that why he wins?

Run up shield beats: Ftilt(mixup) Fair Dtilt Dsmash Tornado Shuttle loop. Full hop aerials don't beat us completely as they are now above us.
What beats run up shield? Grab and Fsmash

If MK starts Ftilting, We can SDI out before the 3rd hit to win a free Fsmash


My point is, Do we really lose this matchup because of ground game?
I mean, Pikachu does have the kill options from landing traps that were mentioned earlier.
and since pikachu's falling speed AND aerial mobility are both higher than MK's we get some major juggling advantages

 

[Ookami Hajime]

I think match up charts state Pikachu vs MK is even now.

 

[Hoenn]

I can now see why lol
I thought it was a general consensus that it MK's favor.

 

[Ookami Hajime]

Pikachu gets around some of MK's strong points and has a good chain grab on him. According the charts, Pikachu is the character that isn't at a disadvantage to MK.

 

[Angiance]

U-Air is thrown out with the intent of controlling the opponent's movement, and can be purposefully whiffed; Pika would U-Air > Fastfall, and attempt to punish the landing

 

[Hoenn]

Does anyone here think that we could make it pikachu's favor?

 

[Pikabunz]

That won't happen.

 

[Hoenn]

I don't like that pessimism...
It may not likely happen, but that doesn't mean it can't

 

[Ookami Hajime]

Well, he's saying that because MK literally has every tool he needs as a character. Pikachu breaking the title of "even" was a huge accomplishment; Pikachu doesn't have enough tools to be an overall advantageous character against MK.

 

[Hoenn]

Well, he's saying that because MK literally has every tool he needs as a character. Breaking the title of even was a huge accomplishment; Pikachu doesn't have enough tools to be an overall advantageous character against MK.

I mean not at the current moment.
Our character isn't fully developed.
I don't even think meta knight is fully developed