Pikachu discussion

[Cobrevolution]

it's not a "hard" matchup

work on sh double uair. i'm also not a pika player. if you want to just hang around by the edge utilting and dashing waiting for a grab do that too. there are a lot of ways to play pika. make up a style that suits you

 

[SuPeRbOoM]

I find that sh double uair to be a good defense against falcons when they try to approach you with grab or sh fair

what I do for approach is usually grab or reverse sh dair. SOMETIMES the 210/310 uair angle from the air works too if you extend it past the falcon when you know they're going to pivot back.

im not a pika player so take what you will

 

[Chaostatic]

OK! Thanks guys! I think my problem is that I use too much back air and not enough grab. I'll test this stuff out.

 

[MrMarbles]

OK! Thanks guys! I think my problem is that I use too much back air and not enough grab. I'll test this stuff out.

mixing up air attacks is good otherwise your opponent can get a rhythm on your approach. i like to use sh uair, dair, fair, bair, and sometimes nair along with lots of grab and i try to just be unpredictable with what i am going to use at any given time

 

[Chaostatic]

I just find that neutral airing or up airing at low damages doesn't produce enough hit stun so I end up getting grabbed or up smashed. That's why I'll go for back airs or down airs.

Idk maybe I'm doing something wrong lol. I like never approach with grab aha.

 

[MrMarbles]

I just find that neutral airing or up airing at low damages doesn't produce enough hit stun so I end up getting grabbed or up smashed. That's why I'll go for back airs or down airs.

Idk maybe I'm doing something wrong lol. I like never approach with grab aha.

you have to use them close to the ground so that u can immediately grab or usmash after the aerial. This is where good spacing comes in.

 

[Chaostatic]

Word. I find that one of my main flaws is that I do arials too early. I'll give it a try. Thanks!

 

[Chaostatic]

Calling all Pika players! I need your help!

What are some good uses of Fair?

Fair is pretty much nonexistent in my play style. Maybe that's a good thing though. IDK. What do you guys think? Is Fair any good? Should I be using it? Let me know. Thanks.

 

[Battlecow]

fair's good sometimes

especially at lower levels it's prii good if their di's bad (there are levels of bad too like "oh they'll take every hit" all the way to "they'll DI right the eff behind me after taking one hit and then eff me up")

The better you get the less useful it is, but you can always do stuff like hit them with just one really low hit and then jab-grab. If they're shielding at the edge of a plat fair their shield and they'll get pushed off->take one or two hits

 

[clubbadubba]

fair is extremely useful as an approach vs falcon in my experience vs high level players. When falcon is doing is dash dance thing on the ground a well timed/spaced fair can really catch him off guard and lead to something good if you can chase his DI. Try not to hit it to high up, only a few hits is best.

 

[MrMarbles]

fair's good sometimes

especially at lower levels it's prii good if their di's bad (there are levels of bad too like "oh they'll take every hit" all the way to "they'll DI right the eff behind me after taking one hit and then eff me up")

The better you get the less useful it is, but you can always do stuff like hit them with just one really low hit and then jab-grab. If they're shielding at the edge of a plat fair their shield and they'll get pushed off->take one or two hits

ya i find fair to be a good approach against people even with decent di. however there are some people who have smart enough and strong enough di to make it almost unusable

 

[clubbadubba]

I dunno I feel like as long as you don't hit it too many times it is fine. A$ has pretty sick DI and it works on him.

 

[Battlecow]

Ehhhhh it shouldn't. Just straight up fairing him for three hits? Nah, no one needs to take a punish after that and it can even put the pika in a kinda bad position

 

[MrMarbles]

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

pika shield break @2:22

discuss

 

[Sangoku]

Not legit, but great pressure.

 

[Battlecow]

ultra sick still that fair was smart

but yeh

by the way people should react harder to pika ditto edgeguarding (or edgeguarding vs pika in general)

like I can go for ledge or top plat on DL right? One of the most familiar situations, it's kind of like a 50/50 with a bunch of other stuff as well

BUT if you wait long enough you can usually force bad players (like me) to commit to one or the other (ie run into stage or defiantly stand at ledge) which frees up one option

ALTERNATELY in some sitches (esp with like falcon) you can cover both if you're patient

single up B is a good mixup

basically you gotta know when to commit and it's later and less often than u think if ur bad

 

[MrMarbles]

ultra sick still that fair was smart

but yeh

by the way people should react harder to pika ditto edgeguarding (or edgeguarding vs pika in general)

like I can go for ledge or top plat on DL right? One of the most familiar situations, it's kind of like a 50/50 with a bunch of other stuff as well

BUT if you wait long enough you can usually force bad players (like me) to commit to one or the other (ie run into stage or defiantly stand at ledge) which frees up one option

ALTERNATELY in some sitches (esp with like falcon) you can cover both if you're patient

single up B is a good mixup

basically you gotta know when to commit and it's later and less often than u think if ur bad

yeah i feel like it's especially important with pika ditto's. whoever has the better edgegaurding and/or recovering is probably gonna win. my recovering is pretty solid but my edgegaurding def needs. when i play against you i tend to commit to covering the edge too early and then u consistently make it safely to the top plat Dx. i need moar trickery and change ups

 

[S2rulL]

Thinking about picking up Smash64 and maining Rat, anything that should be considered essential viewing to learn other than Isai's Rat ditto vid?

 

[Sangoku]

I don't think there's anything in particular you should watch specifically. Just watch a lot of pika videos (isai, boom, kerokeroppi, gerson, gohan, etc.).

Do you intend to play online? That would be the fastest way to improve. If so you should play Jam (since I see you're in Europe) who's got one of the best pika in Europe.

 

[KeroKeroppi]

lmao i do not belong next to those players

 

[Sensei]

Everybody's got a pocket Pikachu. Train for a bit and model some behaviors of the top pika players and you're well on your way to catch them all (the honeys) after getting top 8

 

[Combo Blaze]

lmao i do not belong next to those players

YOU ARE THE BRIDGE!!!
Believe!!!!!!

 

[Sangoku]

lmao i do not belong next to those players

Yeah you're right.

S2rulL, don't watch kero's pika, you'll only develop bad habits.

 

[S2rulL]

Ahaha netplay, gotcha. Which is the more popular/better emu to use? Mupen64k or Project64?

 

[Combo Blaze]

PJ64 is more popular since you can use cheats in that to have items option, all characters, and all stages conveniently.

 

[MrMarbles]

Ahaha netplay, gotcha. Which is the more popular/better emu to use? Mupen64k or Project64?

theres talk of making a switch over to mupen but as of right now everyone plays on pj64k

 

[Olikus]

Or if your a real gentleman you play on console.

 

[Sangoku]

The most popular emu as of right now can be downloaded in the smash index.

 

[KoRoBeNiKi]

smashboards guy is looking for pikachu's f-smash hitbox.

 

[Pikki]

Hi guys I'm new to this forum. Happy to see so many pikachu players here!

I'm looking for tips playing pikachu against kirby, especially strategy playing at the edge.
I think I'm rather trained at edge guarding using Fsmash, or going out gimping with fair.

Problem is the Kirby user I am playing with, always uses its B to suck me in and fall together, often costing me one full stock where I am 0%.

Worse yet, when I am close to Kirby around the edge, it sucks me in and this is followed by an A to shoot me off the stage, then an Up B to send me right down to the hell…

These two strategies render my edge guarding useless. My USmash cannot catch up with the speed of Kirby's suction, and my FSmash has a distance limitation that gives Kirby's suction an advantage, not to mention that its suction cannot be shielded.

So, any ideas how to fight this tough battle?
Cheers!

 

[Sangoku]

Hi, welcome to the boards

You mention edgeguarding with fair, was it a typo? Fair is the only aerial of pikachu that isn't good for egeguard, because it's easily DI-able and more importantly, it has really weak knockback.

Now concerning your problem, you need to think and play smart. This sounds dumb and obvious, but it really is important. From what you describe, it looks like your Kirby opponent always (or very often) use his neutral B to counter edgeguard you. Keeping that in mind, next time you need to edgeguard him, you know he is going to use his neutral B. So you can simply go back on the stage a little to avoid it and since it's a slow move, Kirby will end up below the stage, where you can edgeguard him. You should try to extend this reasoning to everything. If you notice a habit of his, you then know he's going to do it again in the same situation and you can punish accordingly, even before he does it (since, again, you know he's going to do it).

Now Kirby's neutral B isn't really a threat, as Pikachu, with his great recovery) can go back on stage anyway.

For your second problem, again, since you know he's going to UpB right away, you should change your recovery timing. You should try delaying your second jump or even hold away for a little while, until he misses his UpB.

 

[Cobrevolution]

and if he's standing there holding B, you can't go near the front of his mouth or you get sucked in. so jump over him and dair/nair or throw a neutral B of your own to disrupt him.

if you get shot out while kirby is on stage, don't even jump if he's going to try and upb you. just upb yourself straight sideways to get past him.

 

[Pikki]

Hi, welcome to the boards

You mention edgeguarding with fair, was it a typo? Fair is the only aerial of pikachu that isn't good for egeguard, because it's easily DI-able and more importantly, it has really weak knockback.

Yea sorry my bad. It should be Neutral air. I use Nair when the opponent is descending and far away from the stage, and Fsmash when it is going up and is close enough to the stage. Thanks for the response!

and if he's standing there holding B, you can't go near the front of his mouth or you get sucked in. so jump over him and dair/nair or throw a neutral B of your own to disrupt him.

if you get shot out while kirby is on stage, don't even jump if he's going to try and upb you. just upb yourself straight sideways to get past him.

Yes basically the Kirby uses Neutral B every time he is off the stage when I am edge guarding. I can do nothing but watch him land safely on the stage. Even with a Dair or Nair, I get sucked in more than 90% of the time because of the way Kirby's suction works (you get sucked in regardless of the direction you target him).

As for the strategy against Kirby's edge guarding up B, I have figured out that doing a slant Up+R/L B followed by a R/L B can make it easier to dodge Kirby's attack. But the timing of doing this seems tighter than the usual Up+B -> R/L B. Still needs more practice…

One more thing is that with Pikachu's speed and combo, it is easy to get Kirby to high percentage, but Kirby with its Up B and neutral B, it is easier to kill its opponent with one single hit. Interesting to see these two characters fight with their own strengths and weaknesses.

Thanks guys for the quick response!

 

[Sangoku]

Judging by your answer, it seems like you're playing a really close circle of players and that seems to be detrimental to your playstyle and prevents you from improving. Why's that? Because you guys keep doing the same things over and over without realizing whether it works or not or whether it should work or not. I'm not trying to judge you or to blame you, since that's what happened to a lot of us who played the game before discovering online. Where are you from? I would suggest you give online play a try and/or try to meet with good players near you (if there is any).

Can you be more specific about Kirby recovering with neutral B? Is he above the stage or still offstage? If the former, then you shouldn't have let him go that far in the first place. If the latter, then if you stay faraway, the time his Up B finishes, he will be below the edge level and you have plenty of times coming back to the ledge to punish him. Here's a short example clip, tell me if it corresponds to what your opponent does.

Really, Kirby shouldn't get early kills on Pikachu with Up B and Neutral B, at least not on a regular basis (as a gimmick, I can't say it won't work once in a while). And Pikachu can always kill any opponent at high percent with a backthrow.

 

[S2rulL]

HOLY CRAP THIS CHARACTER IS SO MUCH FUN.

In all honesty, I was a little skeptical 'bout SSB64 and Pikachu but ohhh myyyy goddddd it's so much fun playing a top tier for a change.

 

[MrMarbles]

HOLY CRAP THIS CHARACTER IS SO MUCH FUN.

In all honesty, I was a little skeptical 'bout SSB64 and Pikachu but ohhh myyyy goddddd it's so much fun playing a top tier for a change.

welcome to the pikachu high life

 

[S2rulL]

Also, I just ****ing love Pikachu's animations in this game. They just seem so cool. And I love his bair, the way his stubby little legs just boot you in the face. It's just awesome.

 

[Sangoku]

Are you in the new European skype group?

I need more pika training! Especially with yoshi and fox.

 

[S2rulL]

I am not! My Skype is hfrqs2rull!

Also, pls remember that I'm new so... Be gentle :3

 

[Sangoku]

It's not really a pikachu question (more against pikachu), but it's been bothering me for too long. How is Pikachu's fair bad?
1) Don't DI: get wrecked
2) DI behind: get wrecked by the uair following
3) DI in front: you can only flee (if you try to attack him, you'll either end up in the fair again, or take the uair in the face)
4) Avoid it: get wrecked by the uair following

Yes, you've understood, this is a rant about pikachu. Everything he has seems so broken and spammable, it's really annoying.