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

[[FBC] ESAM]

Either way, it is irrelevant since we DO have the CG, so don't theorycraft with that Bull ****

 

[Syko_Lemming]

Completely random piece of information, and nearly useless: the shockwave from pikachu landing on the ground with his dair, it never stales. It does 4% no matter how many times you hit it.

 

[Pikabunz]

I did not know that. :o

 

[[FBC] ESAM]

That mean it doesn't refresh our moves. Not worth it.

 

[Gadiel_VaStar]

That mean it doesn't refresh our moves. Not worth it.

Nah it still refreshes other moves, it just does 4% everytime.

 

[[FBC] ESAM]

You tested? Logically, if something doesn't stale it isn't going into the stale move queue, hence it doesn't refresh moves either.

 

[Pikabunz]

I can test that later.

 

[Stealth Raptor]

most definitely if it doenst stale it doesnt refresh. must be an article instead of a normal hitbox, interested info though i wouldnt ever use dair shockwave to refresh lul

 

[Pikabunz]

Confirming that dair doesn't stale and it doesn't refresh other moves. Same with the landing hitbox of bair.

 

[Stealth Raptor]

Interesting. Well good to know at least :D

 

[Zee725]

anyone ever try buffering stuff when you scar a ledge with QAC? Is it effective/possible/am I making any sense?

 

[Volt_Storm_7]

anyone ever try buffering stuff when you scar a ledge with QAC? Is it effective/possible/am I making any sense?

Buffering what?

 

[ThunderSt0rm]

What is scarring a ledge and how do you do it with Pika?

 

[Syko_Lemming]

That has to be pretty much the most useless piece of information for pikachu anyone has ever ran a test to figure out.

Related question: is it possible to time QA > dair shockwave so that you can hit lucario in the ending lag of his fsmash?

 

[Volt_Storm_7]

Quick Attack is 15 frames and dair's hit frame starts on 1-3 (forgot which), so you probably can, it would have to be timed correctly, but the most likely answer is no, you cannot.

 

[Syko_Lemming]

Quick Attack is 15 frames and dair's hit frame starts on 1-3 (forgot which), so you probably can, it would have to be timed correctly, but the most likely answer is no, you cannot.

so you probably can

but the most likely answer is no, you cannot.

Thanks for clearing that up.

I'll find out later tonight if nothing else.

 

[Cassio]

I swear this works in practice. If they miss with fsmash, walk forward a little bit (or stutter step) and charge a spaced fsmash. If they toss out an attack, let go and hit them. If they spot dodge, wait till its done and hit them. If they shield, keep charging until you either see them do something or itll push them far enough away. The one thing that can beat this is if Lucario rolls right away since he'll end up in back of pika no matter how well spaced, although if you can trick them into rolling from stepping forward while doing nothing its a really nice position for pika to be in.

This works on other characters too esp if their roll doesnt take them behind pika like lucarios.

 

[Luckay4Lyphe]

What if they jump

 

[Nordal]

And we have a winrar!

 

[Leaf.]

And we have a winrar!

 

[Cassio]

Shielding or rolling backwards are better defensive options methinks, I meant forward roll is their only offensive punish. They shouldnt be able to hit you from a jump if you space well.

 

[Nicholas1024]

Since I've gotten all of three replies to this in the social thread, I suppose I'll post it here.

Hey, would people be interested in contributing to and/or reading a thread kinda like this, except for Pika? http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=315099

For those too lazy to click on the link, I mean basically a compilation of important matchup tips and other stuff that Pikachu players SHOULD know, but often don't (both character-specific stuff, and more general things). Normally I'd be content with matchup threads, but since ours has run its course and the ETA for more BBR matchup summaries seems to be sometime between a month from now and never, I feel like this might help Pika mains improve.

For example, I personally tend to do rather well with mind games and such against characters I know well, but when faced with something I haven't played, even when I know the basics of the character, I have trouble because I don't know what exactly I can punish, and what they have that's safe when shielded/avoided. Seriously, you'd be surprised at how many times a guy can die to Jigglypuff's rollout (a great example of something that's easy to deal with once you know what to do, but very deadly until then.)

(And a later post that has a somewhat clearer explanation of what I'm after)

I'll read anything that helps me improve.

That said, two questions.

One, the thread you linked has a lot more general stuff than MU stuff, but you sound like you're looking more for a MU setup. Which are you focusing on?

Two, and most importantly, what's the proposed thread bringing to the table that hasn't already been brought? Not saying it wouldn't be doing so, mind, but for it to thrive and be a good resource, it's got to pull its weight, so it's best to answer that question early.

Spoiler

Hey, don't give me that look. I pull my weight in classy conversation.

It'd be a mixture of both. General pikachu info including some of the most common mistakes to avoid (spamming F-smash, anyone?) and things you might not be aware of. (For instance, D-throw to full hop N-air is a true combo up to 50% or so IF you dash-jump. A guaranteed 20% out of grab is nice, and yet I had no idea about that until I randomly came across KPrime's video on the subject.) The more character-specific stuff would be similar to a matchup thread, but IMO there's one key difference. You see, IIRC matchup threads usually stall out because they run into a matchup or series of match ups nobody knows much about and just sit there being useless. By doing it this way people can contribute immediately to the match ups they know, and simultaneously learn more about the ones they don't. Also, since it's a tips and tricks thread, there's also room for tips about mid-level play stuff that's important to know despite being a sub-optimal option and not often used at top level. (The classic example would be punishing MK's tornado and shuttle loop. The best MK's will never use these moves except when they're completely safe or almost so, and so punishing them isn't a huge factor in matches between ESAM and someone like M2K. However, mid-level MK's will quite happily spam those things all day, and if you don't know exactly what to do in response to them, you'll take a beating that could have been easily avoided.)

 

[Célja]

When doing the d-throw chaingrab on Fox/Falcon, what's the best option afterwards?

Also what is the maximum percentage you can chaingrab to? I want to say 100%, but I'd rather hear it from a Pika main.

 

[Luckay4Lyphe]

Best options are usmash and nair. If you can buffer correctly, pika can footstool to qa lock them and charged fsmash or thunder for the kill

 

[Leaf.]

Something funny to do (might call it cheap) is to look at how they are going to DI your hit, if they are attempting to DI a n-air, hit with upsmash, and if they are attempting to DI upsmash, hit with n-air. If they are simply mashing rapidly(don't even have to look to hear that), end it a throw early to catch them off-guard.

 

[PZ]

I like ftilt after any cg anytime anyday<3

 

[EthereaL]

Something funny to do (might call it cheap) is to look at how they are going to DI your hit, if they are attempting to DI a n-air, hit with upsmash, and if they are attempting to DI upsmash, hit with n-air. If they are simply mashing rapidly(don't even have to look to hear that), end it a throw early to catch them off-guard.

"Something some people call cheap is to read your opponent."

Sorry, I couldn't help but throw that jab in there.

Anyway.

So, I've lately been playing Brawl more (I'm a melee troubador myself, so go easy on me if I spout well-known brawl rhetoric). Decided to main Pikachu.

Firstly, wow. Pikachu's QAC is ridiculously good, on so many levels.

Anyway, we were practicing in training mode. Could anyone explain to me the reasoning behind these events (the first two...the last is just a question, haha)?

1. Snake on the ledge (that was out of invincibility frames). He let go, going for a DJ back to stage. I nair'd him, connecting with the latter half of Pikachu!'s attack, and got a spike. He didn't bounce off the stage, and his DI was downward-left at a 45~35 degree angle (assuming straight down is 0...and numbers increase clockwise).

2. I QA'd off of the ledge diagonally down (I was holding on to it), then back up at slightly more of an angle, "catching" myself on the ledge. All lag was cancelled, and I ended up standing on the stage.

3. Is QAC top platform > QA ledgecancel second platform > QAC back to the original platform possible at Battlefield? It would make for absolutely insane platform control, but for some reason I can't get it down :/

Any help would be awesome

 

[[FBC] ESAM]

1. No idea

2. That just happens. It's a fancy version of light-stepping, but on the stage. Kinda godlike

3. It might be possible, but it would be REALLY difficult to do with any sort of consistency due to the fact that you would have to do a double input for both of the QAs since you can't just go through platforms with QA in that sense.

 

[EthereaL]

1. So, I can't duplicate the tailspike...huh. Glitch, or just unknown specific frame-data, do you think?

2. Oh, okay. How do you do it? I mean, if it can be done once it can be perfected

3. Hm...okay. I don't think the consistency is an issue (again, if it can be done once...). I'll keep trying.

Edit: QAC > QA ledgecancel > QAC on the initial platform is possible, not that hard either. Just had to get the timing down!

 

[infiniteV115]

Is it just me, or can Pikachu get off the ledge faster than..like, every other character in the game?

 

[[FBC] ESAM]

Pikachu gets off the ledge faster than..like, every other character in the game (besides tether characters) by 12 frames. He also has 12 less frames of invulnerability as a trade-off, which makes it somewhat difficult to ledgehog people.

 

[infiniteV115]

Ah, I see. Thanks.

****, Pikachu's so good, but mine is so bad.

 

[AtneyB]

Is there a thread with the list of all the characters and % for the Dthrow to Nair thing ?
I don't remember if it does exist or not.

 

[[FBC] ESAM]

I don't think so, but you can assume its from ~25%-whenever they fall out which is more weight dependent.

 

[AtneyB]

Ok and does it work with the FH only ?

Edit : I meant the Dthrow with buffered dash + Nair

 

[Pikabunz]

It can work with a SH too, but you should always FH as it works at a wider range of percents than the SH. On the more floaty characters, you will need to buffer a dash before you FH nair.

 

[AtneyB]

Aaaaaalright ty guys.

 

[Z'zgashi]

So guys, I was watching some random replay and I saw this guy like, teleport through SV with Pika and I was like, wtf, what the hell was that?! I watched it like, 5 times and I still have no idea, but I think it has something to do with Quick Attack.

So wtf is it and how do I do it lol.

 

[[FBC] ESAM]

It would be nice if you linked the video...

 

[Pikabunz]

This?
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