This thread is being made to discuss the competitive potential of Pikachu and share all the combos/ set-ups/ tricks/ techniques I’ve discovered from maining Pikachu.
Pikachu is actually considered in the top 3 with Diddy Kong and Sheik according to Zero and Mew2king.
The following is a general outline for the ways I use Pikachu’s moveset. I’d like to see what everyone thinks are the most effective strategies when using Pikachu competitively.
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Update: More tech/combos
Fast fall forward air into grab can be very hard to escape. After an opponent is hit by the forward air they will end up in various vulnerable positions depending on which hitbox of the forward air hit last. It should also be mentioned that up tilt and forward tilt are good followups as well if they are out of range of a grab. (I was trying to keep this short but I can add more explanation if anyone's interested)
Forward air is also a great followup out of an up air. The following builds off the above technique and is used as a great combo extender.
After an up air you can use forward air without double jumping to pull the opponent down to the ground. Using the technique above allows you to get a grab or up tilt after the forward air. This means Pikachu can combo an opponent into the air and extend that combo by pulling the opponent back down to the ground to be grabbed.
Because this isn’t normally a true combo it is possible for the opponent to air dodge and have the forward air miss. In most situations it seems hard for the opponent to get a punish if this happens. I’ve also been considering that even if they air dodge the forward air, it’s still possible to get a followup such as an up tilt or grab directly after the air dodge. I’m pretty sure this is a frame trap if you land on a higher platform than from where you initially jumped. I’m not as sure about this but it might be possible for a frame trap if the falling speed of the opponent is right.
Any input as to whether or not this can be used as a frame trap would be appreciated.
The techniques above I discovered on my own but didn’t use nearly as much until I got the feedback from Emuchu and Angiance, so thanks.
Up throw true combos into up air at low percents. At less than 10% up throw is often much easier true combo into up air than down throw is. For some reason I didn't mention this earlier but Thunder can B-reverse which is a great edge guarding tool.
I went to my first tournament recently and everyone I played quickly learned to di after my throws and began to habitually air dodge as well. Knowing someone was likely going to air dodge after an up throw or down throw allowed me read the air dodge and follow up the throws with an aerial or a thunder without having to combo.
Recovery
It's best to use Skull Bash sparingly as a recovery move because it can be easily interrupted. Quick attack is the better recovery move. To avoid being edge guarded it helps to aim the first dash of quick attack down below the stage, then aim the second dash of quick attack at the ledge.
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Everything time I mention a true combo with Pikachu I mark it with stars ***.
Thunder(down-b)
Basics: The cloud has a spike hitbox which sends the opponent down to be hit by the extra powerful hitbox that results from the lightning hitting Pikachu’s body. Jumping into a down-b makes Pikachu get hit by the lightning faster.
***Up throw combos into down-b at around 95%-110% if the opponent doesn’t di. At around 130% up throw then jump/double jump combos into down-b (in this situation it’s possible to react to the opponent’s di and still pull off the combo).
***Up smash combos into down-b at around 80% if you react to the opponent’s di.
Neutral B
Neutral B should almost always be performed in the air so Pikachu has a movement option during the ending lag of the attack. Full hopping with a neutral b allows Pikachu to follow the thunder jolt and force the opponent to react to the thunder jolt opening them up for a grab, aerial, or a quick attack.
Neutral B can also B-reverse (press the opposite direction Pikachu is facing right after pressing B in midair).
Quick Attack
If an opponent sees the quick attack startup and is in a position to block, they will block. They will almost always block because quick attack is way faster than most attacks. It is best if Pikachu does not hit an opponent's shield on the second part of the attack because it makes for an easy punish. Instead play mind games by constantly quick attacking safely around them (maybe even get a positional advantage) or just into the ground if they aren’t too close.
Quick attack is a great option for getting in on characters zoning with projectiles. Pikachu can jump over projectiles then quick attack behind the opponent (this avoids any other hitboxes that might be in front of the opponent) and use the second part to actually hit the opponent.
***The second part of quick attack has enough knock back (at around 50%-70% and greater) to true combo into an up air, neutral air, or sometimes an up tilt.
Up Tilt Combos
***Up tilt combos into up tilt, up air, and neutral air fairly easily. Against Fox it’s actually possible true combo 6 up tilts together into 2 up airs resulting in an 8 hit combo dealing a total of 40 damage (not accounting for staleness).
Air Game
Unless the opponent is in the air already the first step into exercising Pikachu’s air game is to get a grab and then either down throw into up air or just up throw depending on percentage.
***Down throw true combos into an up air.
Up air is very fast with very little ending lag and can lead to frame traps. It deals only 5 damage.
***Up air true combos into another up air and sometimes a third Up air (sound familiar?).
Neutral Air is a great combo finisher/ followup attack. Neutral air is a good option because it deals 8 damage and it comes out fast. However it does have some ending lag afterward.
***Up air can true combo into neutral air.
Forward air can be good for spacing as it is fast and has low landing lag.
***Up air also combos into either forward air or back air depending on positioning and percentage.
I pretty much only use back air after an up air if the situation’s right. Oddly side B has no startup time when inputted right after the end of a back air.
Down Air? I’m not sure what to think of down air. It seems good but I just don’t when to use it.
Grab game
Forward throw does the most damage and can sometimes follow it up with a dash attack.
Back throw starts killing the lighter characters at the edge of the stage at around 140%.
Back throw and forward throw are also both useful to get the opponent off the stage.
Down throw and up throw have already been mentioned above.
Kill Power
A commonly percieved weakness of Pikachu would be a lack of kill power. While this is true to some extent Pikachu has more kill power than most people seem to think. Combo setups into down-b are solid kill options. Forward smash and up smash can get kills with a little rage and a hard read. Offstage gimping is where Pikachu makes up for this lack of normal kill power.
Gimping
Pikachu can cover a lot of options off stage. A well timed back air or neutral air offstage can score a kill fairly easily against a lot of characters if they’re recovering low. This kind of off stage gimp potential can cause an opponent to opt to recover high rather than low. If an opponent is recovering high Pikachu can catch them with a down-b.
Defensive Options
Pikachu has a lot of options for interrupting an opponents approach. Camping with neutral b forces the opponent to approach with their shield or approach by jumping.
Using quick attack and neutral B safely to harass your opponent is a great way to make them over commit to something that can be punished.
Running away is a very effective defensive option. Quick attacking safely away from the opponent stops the opponent from gaining a positional advantage.
Pikachu is actually considered in the top 3 with Diddy Kong and Sheik according to Zero and Mew2king.
The following is a general outline for the ways I use Pikachu’s moveset. I’d like to see what everyone thinks are the most effective strategies when using Pikachu competitively.
********************************
Update: More tech/combos
Fast fall forward air into grab can be very hard to escape. After an opponent is hit by the forward air they will end up in various vulnerable positions depending on which hitbox of the forward air hit last. It should also be mentioned that up tilt and forward tilt are good followups as well if they are out of range of a grab. (I was trying to keep this short but I can add more explanation if anyone's interested)
Forward air is also a great followup out of an up air. The following builds off the above technique and is used as a great combo extender.
After an up air you can use forward air without double jumping to pull the opponent down to the ground. Using the technique above allows you to get a grab or up tilt after the forward air. This means Pikachu can combo an opponent into the air and extend that combo by pulling the opponent back down to the ground to be grabbed.
Because this isn’t normally a true combo it is possible for the opponent to air dodge and have the forward air miss. In most situations it seems hard for the opponent to get a punish if this happens. I’ve also been considering that even if they air dodge the forward air, it’s still possible to get a followup such as an up tilt or grab directly after the air dodge. I’m pretty sure this is a frame trap if you land on a higher platform than from where you initially jumped. I’m not as sure about this but it might be possible for a frame trap if the falling speed of the opponent is right.
Any input as to whether or not this can be used as a frame trap would be appreciated.
The techniques above I discovered on my own but didn’t use nearly as much until I got the feedback from Emuchu and Angiance, so thanks.
Up throw true combos into up air at low percents. At less than 10% up throw is often much easier true combo into up air than down throw is. For some reason I didn't mention this earlier but Thunder can B-reverse which is a great edge guarding tool.
I went to my first tournament recently and everyone I played quickly learned to di after my throws and began to habitually air dodge as well. Knowing someone was likely going to air dodge after an up throw or down throw allowed me read the air dodge and follow up the throws with an aerial or a thunder without having to combo.
Recovery
It's best to use Skull Bash sparingly as a recovery move because it can be easily interrupted. Quick attack is the better recovery move. To avoid being edge guarded it helps to aim the first dash of quick attack down below the stage, then aim the second dash of quick attack at the ledge.
********************************
Everything time I mention a true combo with Pikachu I mark it with stars ***.
Thunder(down-b)
Basics: The cloud has a spike hitbox which sends the opponent down to be hit by the extra powerful hitbox that results from the lightning hitting Pikachu’s body. Jumping into a down-b makes Pikachu get hit by the lightning faster.
***Up throw combos into down-b at around 95%-110% if the opponent doesn’t di. At around 130% up throw then jump/double jump combos into down-b (in this situation it’s possible to react to the opponent’s di and still pull off the combo).
***Up smash combos into down-b at around 80% if you react to the opponent’s di.
Neutral B
Neutral B should almost always be performed in the air so Pikachu has a movement option during the ending lag of the attack. Full hopping with a neutral b allows Pikachu to follow the thunder jolt and force the opponent to react to the thunder jolt opening them up for a grab, aerial, or a quick attack.
Neutral B can also B-reverse (press the opposite direction Pikachu is facing right after pressing B in midair).
Quick Attack
If an opponent sees the quick attack startup and is in a position to block, they will block. They will almost always block because quick attack is way faster than most attacks. It is best if Pikachu does not hit an opponent's shield on the second part of the attack because it makes for an easy punish. Instead play mind games by constantly quick attacking safely around them (maybe even get a positional advantage) or just into the ground if they aren’t too close.
Quick attack is a great option for getting in on characters zoning with projectiles. Pikachu can jump over projectiles then quick attack behind the opponent (this avoids any other hitboxes that might be in front of the opponent) and use the second part to actually hit the opponent.
***The second part of quick attack has enough knock back (at around 50%-70% and greater) to true combo into an up air, neutral air, or sometimes an up tilt.
Up Tilt Combos
***Up tilt combos into up tilt, up air, and neutral air fairly easily. Against Fox it’s actually possible true combo 6 up tilts together into 2 up airs resulting in an 8 hit combo dealing a total of 40 damage (not accounting for staleness).
Air Game
Unless the opponent is in the air already the first step into exercising Pikachu’s air game is to get a grab and then either down throw into up air or just up throw depending on percentage.
***Down throw true combos into an up air.
Up air is very fast with very little ending lag and can lead to frame traps. It deals only 5 damage.
***Up air true combos into another up air and sometimes a third Up air (sound familiar?).
Neutral Air is a great combo finisher/ followup attack. Neutral air is a good option because it deals 8 damage and it comes out fast. However it does have some ending lag afterward.
***Up air can true combo into neutral air.
Forward air can be good for spacing as it is fast and has low landing lag.
***Up air also combos into either forward air or back air depending on positioning and percentage.
I pretty much only use back air after an up air if the situation’s right. Oddly side B has no startup time when inputted right after the end of a back air.
Down Air? I’m not sure what to think of down air. It seems good but I just don’t when to use it.
Grab game
Forward throw does the most damage and can sometimes follow it up with a dash attack.
Back throw starts killing the lighter characters at the edge of the stage at around 140%.
Back throw and forward throw are also both useful to get the opponent off the stage.
Down throw and up throw have already been mentioned above.
Kill Power
A commonly percieved weakness of Pikachu would be a lack of kill power. While this is true to some extent Pikachu has more kill power than most people seem to think. Combo setups into down-b are solid kill options. Forward smash and up smash can get kills with a little rage and a hard read. Offstage gimping is where Pikachu makes up for this lack of normal kill power.
Gimping
Pikachu can cover a lot of options off stage. A well timed back air or neutral air offstage can score a kill fairly easily against a lot of characters if they’re recovering low. This kind of off stage gimp potential can cause an opponent to opt to recover high rather than low. If an opponent is recovering high Pikachu can catch them with a down-b.
Defensive Options
Pikachu has a lot of options for interrupting an opponents approach. Camping with neutral b forces the opponent to approach with their shield or approach by jumping.
Using quick attack and neutral B safely to harass your opponent is a great way to make them over commit to something that can be punished.
Running away is a very effective defensive option. Quick attacking safely away from the opponent stops the opponent from gaining a positional advantage.
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