Q&A Pikachu Q&A Thread (Ask a Quick Question, Get a Quick Answer)

[~Radiance~]

Nice work tc. Yea pika can be odd. He plays with his speed to be tricky and is heavy on punishing due to bad range. Dtilt Is a staple spacing tool along with fsmash. It really takes time but over time you'll get the hang of it and his odd play style

 

[ZTD | TECHnology]

Indeed. I'm just not used to this. I typically main, far less mobile, punishing types. But I'm not deterred at all. And then when I lost the other old school players are like"Really, you lost?". Ugh lol. All this means is that I need to put more work in. Tomorrow will be the bigger event. 100% Pikachu. I'll post back tomorrow with my results.

 

[M15t3R E]

Oh a brighter note, myself, another local Pika main and Anther were teamed up for a 3 v 3 side event and we dominated it. Didn't drop a game lol. Triple Pika = win.

I'm glad you learned a lot through your experience. You'll do much better if you cast away those doubts next time.
Man oh man, I have to say I'm jealous that you had a Pikachu triple threat team to shock the competition. I'd love to do that.

 

[ZTD | TECHnology]

Well I tried my hardest and did terribly. 33rd out of 63 entrants. I was outplayed simply put. Feeling incredibly discouraged now. Unsure of where the mental block comes from. I don't want to just stop but this weekend overall, while informative, hurt a lot.

It's the worst feeling when you know what to do and it doesn't translate in tournament. I guess what also sucks is that all of the other Brawl players who came into this game and so much better than me now. At my peak in Brawl, I was good. Now I play like a scrub and its an awkward feeling.

 

[Angiance]

@ ZTD | TECHnology
Pikachu in combat takes a whoooooooooooooooooooooole lot of consistant creativity, work, and smartly placed hitboxes, so it's just some'n ya gotta train yourself for.

It is an incredibly respectable thing that you stayed Pikachu, so don't beat yourself up over it man *hugs*

 

[JayWon]

Esam, bro you did an amazing job tonight. There's no need to explain how ****ing bull**** Diddy is. Just **** that ****. I share the frustration while watching. But anyways, I only see you getting exponentially better next tournament!
Sakurai better nerf the **** out of Diddy 1.0.5.

 

[ZTD | TECHnology]

My video capture card is being shipped. Soon I'll be able to make videos and commentate on them. Can't wait.

 

[Soul.]

Haven't been here for a while...
Hey Pika mains, good new----

No, we're not getting this unfortunately.

Anyways, uh, anyone tried out down throw to NAir?

 

[jimm]

Is Lucina a hard counter to Pikachu? It really feels like it. I've put in 10x the hours of this guy and he never played Lucina before but Pikachu is my secondary, not my main.

I don't think I did much gravely wrong besides that bad forward lunge at the beginning.

 

[Golden Sun]

They should really make custom moves allowed online, Im interested in Pikachu and want to main him, but people like me have a tough time using his up-B, now im sure theirs a ton of people here who try and make it to the ledge but don't react quick enough to do the quick attack twice, thus only using one and falling down, that's why I don't use him at all, people can take advantage of that.
If custom moves were allowed online(just the special moves, no equipment) then of course the 3rd(forgot the name, but its one giant jolt up, the same height as both quick attacks going up but just one time) move would be perfect for people like me to use him.

 

[Angiance]

There is a great deal of benefit to be had by mastering Quick Attack, just practice it. It takes time, but you'll get it

 

[Soul.]

Is Lucina a hard counter to Pikachu? It really feels like it. I've put in 10x the hours of this guy and he never played Lucina before but Pikachu is my secondary, not my main.

I don't think I did much gravely wrong besides that bad forward lunge at the beginning.

I really don't think she is a hard counter. Pika has the tools to beat Lucina lol.
Also as Angiance said, mastering Quick Attack takes time, but it's worth practicing.

 

[M15t3R E]

Is Lucina a hard counter to Pikachu? It really feels like it. I've put in 10x the hours of this guy and he never played Lucina before but Pikachu is my secondary, not my main.

I don't think I did much gravely wrong besides that bad forward lunge at the beginning.

No.
The first thing I see wrong with your gameplay that would give you the competitive edge if you were doing it is to be constantly moving. You should never remain stationary for more than a second while your opponent is anywhere near you. I'm serious.
Hopefully I can get some videos uploaded with my good friend who is a competent Sheik player. The two of us are constantly darting around the field so fast you'd think it is an episode of DBZ. Should record those vids soon enough.

 

[ZTD | TECHnology]

Is Lucina a hard counter to Pikachu? It really feels like it. I've put in 10x the hours of this guy and he never played Lucina before but Pikachu is my secondary, not my main.

I don't think I did much gravely wrong besides that bad forward lunge at the beginning.

0:12: You used Back Throw. Why? You could have easily have had a free follow up from Down-Throw. The bigger issue here is that you used Back Throw and let her land on the stage for free.

0:18: Running into an opponent when they're at a totally neutral position and are just sitting there waiting for you = you getting punished hard. Which is exactly what happened here. This would have been a QA opportunity.

0:20 Lucina Fairs into your shield and fairs into you. You could have punished her with anything. Instead, you roll away and get Down Smashed for it.

0:32 Lucina charges Down Smash from a distance. You could have dashed in just outside her ranged and punished. Or you could have used Quick Attack for a setup. Instead, you chose the weakest option: T-Jolt.

0:35 Continuous grounded T-Jolt usage from mid range is very risky and not very rewarding at all. Since you committed to a second ground T-Jolt, Lucina was able to Fair you, chase you, Dash Attack you and then Fair you again. That's a lot of damage to take for a simple mistake.

0:46 An example of why you need to really practice Quick Attack. You could have been punished for that easily.

0:52 Take note of how Lucina keeps Down Smashing. Why is this happening? Because the player has downloaded your roll habit.

1:05 That Counter should have been punished.

1:22 Dem rolls. You rolled into her. -_-

1:37 Mix up your T-Jolt usage. The best type of T Jolt is mixed up. Aerial T-Jolts can allow for some nice follow ups. Also never underestimate the usefulness of T-Jolts ability to hug platforms.

1:48 Rolled and ate another Down Smash.

1:52 Practice QA and that should never happen to you.

2:06 to 2:10 You could tell the Lucina was waiting for you to commit to something so she could punish you with something. Pikachu being below someone should be an extremely advantageous situation for the Pikachu, not the other player.

2:19 That could have been a QA punish > possible follow up.

2:27 to 2:29 You had her on the edge and you just sat there and T-Jolted. Why? When you get someone off stage you need to be all in their video. Aggressive edgeguarding one of the most important aspects of our damage/kill game. A Pikachu should be aiming to never let their opponent back on the stage for free.

2:49 Rolled into Lucina and ate a Forward Smash.

2:56 That makes two stocks you lost to not knowing how to control QA.



Leading into what Mister E said, you're stationary too long. You're basically trying to play the same game against a character who has superior hitboxes and launching power compared to you. Of course its gonna feel like a hard counter. You're not playing Pikachu the way Pikachu needs to be played. Learn your frame data and your opponents. You'll find Pikachu can sneak hits in a lot of situations you may not think is possible. His moveset is very fast and requires assertive, strong play at times. The sitting and waiting game doesn't work because of his lack of range. You also really need to learn Quick Attack. Its your recovery, one of your best approaches and one of your best setups. Practicing it is essential to the well being of your Pikachu. You also just need to get familiar with his moveset on a more basic level as well. Also, stop rolling so much. You're getting ***** for that.

Hope this helped.

 

[jimm]

0:12: You used Back Throw. Why? You could have easily have had a free follow up from Down-Throw. The bigger issue here is that you used Back Throw and let her land on the stage for free.

0:18: Running into an opponent when they're at a totally neutral position and are just sitting there waiting for you = you getting punished hard. Which is exactly what happened here. This would have been a QA opportunity.

0:20 Lucina Fairs into your shield and fairs into you. You could have punished her with anything. Instead, you roll away and get Down Smashed for it.

0:32 Lucina charges Down Smash from a distance. You could have dashed in just outside her ranged and punished. Or you could have used Quick Attack for a setup. Instead, you chose the weakest option: T-Jolt.

0:35 Continuous grounded T-Jolt usage from mid range is very risky and not very rewarding at all. Since you committed to a second ground T-Jolt, Lucina was able to Fair you, chase you, Dash Attack you and then Fair you again. That's a lot of damage to take for a simple mistake.

0:46 An example of why you need to really practice Quick Attack. You could have been punished for that easily.

0:52 Take note of how Lucina keeps Down Smashing. Why is this happening? Because the player has downloaded your roll habit.

1:05 That Counter should have been punished.

1:22 Dem rolls. You rolled into her. -_-

1:37 Mix up your T-Jolt usage. The best type of T Jolt is mixed up. Aerial T-Jolts can allow for some nice follow ups. Also never underestimate the usefulness of T-Jolts ability to hug platforms.

1:48 Rolled and ate another Down Smash.

1:52 Practice QA and that should never happen to you.

2:06 to 2:10 You could tell the Lucina was waiting for you to commit to something so she could punish you with something. Pikachu being below someone should be an extremely advantageous situation for the Pikachu, not the other player.

2:19 That could have been a QA punish > possible follow up.

2:27 to 2:29 You had her on the edge and you just sat there and T-Jolted. Why? When you get someone off stage you need to be all in their video. Aggressive edgeguarding one of the most important aspects of our damage/kill game. A Pikachu should be aiming to never let their opponent back on the stage for free.

2:49 Rolled into Lucina and ate a Forward Smash.

2:56 That makes two stocks you lost to not knowing how to control QA.



Leading into what Mister E said, you're stationary too long. You're basically trying to play the same game against a character who has superior hitboxes and launching power compared to you. Of course its gonna feel like a hard counter. You're not playing Pikachu the way Pikachu needs to be played. Learn your frame data and your opponents. You'll find Pikachu can sneak hits in a lot of situations you may not think is possible. His moveset is very fast and requires assertive, strong play at times. The sitting and waiting game doesn't work because of his lack of range. You also really need to learn Quick Attack. Its your recovery, one of your best approaches and one of your best setups. Practicing it is essential to the well being of your Pikachu. You also just need to get familiar with his moveset on a more basic level as well. Also, stop rolling so much. You're getting ***** for that.

Hope this helped.

Very helpful and detailed, thank you

I've tried followup combos on multiple characters, seems difficult. I'll have to get it down eventually.

2:06 probably could've been thunder maybe?

2:27 I get the feeling jumping after Lucina off-stage would be a bad idea because of her sword reach, do you feel otherwise?

 

[ZTD | TECHnology]

Very helpful and detailed, thank you

I've tried followup combos on multiple characters, seems difficult. I'll have to get it down eventually.

2:06 probably could've been thunder maybe?

2:27 I get the feeling jumping after Lucina off-stage would be a bad idea because of her sword reach, do you feel otherwise?

No problem.

2:06 You had a few options there. If you wanted to try to put him in a worse situation you could have jumped and Faired, Naired or Uair here. Uair would have been less risky but the other two options would have yielded a better situation if you hit her out of her Double Jump. It depends on your comfort level reading your opponent. Alternatively, you could have just waited for them to land with Fair, shield it and grab.

Thunder would have too much of a commitment. You were under the platform as well and there's no reason why the opponent would need to move into you. Getting into position for Thunder would have been risky. If you missed you would have gotten punished.

And at 2:27, I would have at least Full Hopped my Thunder Jolt because you could still produce a hitbox (or two) while moving toward the opponent. If one of those T Jolts hit, you'd be in position to apply pressure.

 

[SFA Smiley]

Hey Pika mains I got some nuggets of gold for you guys

https://gfycat.com/CleanDisgustingBlackpanther - Esam doing dumb things
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6uhuDjcDwA - The match where that originates from/ Pikachu vs Wario matchup stuff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGXYAgqrnwM - ESAM vs Slayerz / Pikachu vs Peach high level stuff

Also don't forget to get your subscribe on =)

 

[Soul.]

Lol, that FAir string on Wario was hilarious.
Mr. Saturn fest in the last video. xD

 

[M15t3R E]

Hey Pika mains I got some nuggets of gold for you guys

https://gfycat.com/CleanDisgustingBlackpanther - Esam doing dumb things
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6uhuDjcDwA - The match where that originates from/ Pikachu vs Wario matchup stuff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGXYAgqrnwM - ESAM vs Slayerz / Pikachu vs Peach high level stuff

Also don't forget to get your subscribe on =)

Uploaded today I see! Thank you very much. Gotta get my own videos uploaded as I have some competent Sheik, Diddy, and Shulk players around me.
The more I watch ESAM's gameplay the more I strongly believe that he and I tend to make the same exact choices at the same moments and that therefore, dare I say, we are near equal in skill.

 

[ZTD | TECHnology]

Oooh new ESAM footage.

Thank you.

 

[Soul.]

Hmm, I wonder if I should separate the Q&A stuff and make it a thread of its own. Is it a good idea?

 

[M15t3R E]

Hmm, I wonder if I should separate the Q&A stuff and make it a thread of its own. Is it a good idea?

Personally I feel it is fine how it is. People will tend to ask a question in a new thread or a thread other than the Q&A thread anyway. This is a good hub to chat and answer questions in one local place.

 

[Soul.]

Personally I feel it is fine how it is. People will tend to ask a question in a new thread or a thread other than the Q&A thread anyway. This is a good hub to chat and answer questions in one local place.

Mhm...yeah, you're right. I'll leave it as it is. Won't do any changes unless it is necessary.

 

[M15t3R E]

Mhm...yeah, you're right. I'll leave it as it is. Won't do any changes unless it is necessary.

It was actually a good idea from the start that you recognized that we could use one thread to serve as the social and Q&A thread.

 

[Soul.]

It was actually a good idea from the start that you recognized that we could use one thread to serve as the social and Q&A thread.

Yeah. I actually thought it would be better this way. Too bad these boards are somewhat desolate, though. It's kinda like the Falco subforum. I dunno what else could I do. Perhaps make an "all-in-one" thread with all the useful ones, but that's for another discussion lol. There aren't a lot of useful threads right now, so it seems pointless to make one.

 

[M15t3R E]

Yeah. I actually thought it would be better this way. Too bad these boards are somewhat desolate, though. It's kinda like the Falco subforum. I dunno what else could I do. Perhaps make an "all-in-one" thread with all the useful ones, but that's for another discussion lol. There aren't a lot of useful threads right now, so it seems pointless to make one.

I would absolutely love if all of the character boards, especially this one, would be much more active. Not sure how to make that happen.

 

[Soul.]

I would absolutely love if all of the character boards, especially this one, would be much more active. Not sure how to make that happen.

I dunno man. If only people were interested in maining Pika. I'm really not sure.
I check this thread often to see if there are replies.

 

[Budget Player Cadet_]

Is Lucina a hard counter to Pikachu? It really feels like it. I've put in 10x the hours of this guy and he never played Lucina before but Pikachu is my secondary, not my main.

I don't think I did much gravely wrong besides that bad forward lunge at the beginning.

Beyond the "learning the character" stuff that TC went into detail about earlier, I think one thing you really need to watch is your rolls. Is your main way of moving around the stage rolling? If so: you're doing it wrong. Stop that. It does not work offline; a good player will watch you do that a few times and then start destroying you for it.

Also, pet peeve: grounded TJolt. Don't do it. Ever. Shorthop/Fullhop TJolt is just as fast, has a far larger area of influence, and allows you to try to get out of the way if they start rushing you.

 

[Meccs]

Just popping in to say Pikachu has got to be the most underrated character in 4 right now, and I feel like it's just because not a lot of people play him, and I'm not sure why that is. Feel like it's the same situation from Brawl.

He's my secondary, but I've basically spent 95% of my time playing Ness because I'm just so happy he's finally good. I have to start practicing Pika more, since I've only used him in a couple friendlies so far but I've done well which has me hopeful. He's a lot of fun and I look forward to learning a lot about him from this board, so hopefully I can have a good enough Pika to use in tournies.

Also, he has the best alts in the game. Though 'Gold's Hat' Pika is his best overall alt.

 

[JayWon]

Check out Zero playing Pikachu on For Glory if you haven't done so already! Compared to ESAM, Zero doesn't do all the fancy advanced tricks Pikachu can do but you can still see just how effective Zero is able to utilize Pikachu's basic toolkit in a very overwhelming manner!

Holy crap the juggles!

Anyways, Zero mentions that he believes Pikachu is a hidden top tier character, definitely Top 3. He mentions no one knows just how good he is and thus root for Pikachu since he's the "underdog" against the current top tiers and he's just so cute. Esam believes Pikachu is Top 1!

How would you feel if eventually in the future Pikachu's potential is finally acknowledged and it is indeed known by everyone Pikachu is indubitably a Top Tier (potentially #1 best) character? How would you feel if everyone starts to have a "pocket pikachu" and playing Pikachu is seen as a tier *****? Though I'd assume it wouldn't be as bad as diddy since diddy requires no effort, and even though Pikachu may be extremely good, Pikachu still does have to work very hard.

Any general thoughts related to Pikachu's future?


____
Just other things,
Background information about me: I'm just a casual, I only play For Glory (70% win rate), no tournaments. But holy **** Pikachu has so many options at EVERYTHING-- Edgeguarding, approaching, punishing, grab follow ups, juggles, getting back on stage. SO SO SO MANY OPTIONS! Like... a simple thing like approaching with thunder jolt + [the many many options] just gives off SO much nonstop pressure! Sometimes when I play people on For Glory I sense just how overwhelmed they must feel from the constant pressure, especially when they think they finally have a break and some space but BAM in your face quick attack follow ups.. and I feel bad lol.

For example (IF YOU HAVENT SEEN THIS DEFINITELY WATCH IT!)

This isn't me playing but look how helpless Ganondorf is the majority of the time. Holy crap did you see the offstage game of Pikachu in the second game?

And I also feel bad sometimes when I am able to go ridiculously deep and make it back with so safely with quick attack lol.

 

[Soul.]

So.
http://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/2t0p5n/ct_esam_on_twitter_might_as_well_say_it_im/
What does this mean for Pikachu? inb4 it's low tier (I'm only kidding lol)

 

[skiboots]

Hey guys, working on my Pikachu in Smash 4 and brand new to Smashboards.

From watching ESam I notice he does a DAir but is able to do a move directly out of it (almost looks like he is cancelling the ending hit of the move).

Could anyone elaborate on how this is done?

Thanks y'all!

 

[Soul.]

Hey guys, working on my Pikachu in Smash 4 and brand new to Smashboards.

From watching ESam I notice he does a DAir but is able to do a move directly out of it (almost looks like he is cancelling the ending hit of the move).

Could anyone elaborate on how this is done?

Thanks y'all!

Hi, welcome to Smashboards / the Pikachu boards. What you're talking about is a short hop autocancelled down aerial.
In order to perform it, you must short hop and use down air at the peak of the short hop. Doing this can be tricky because you might use a normal down aerial, so it takes practice. Perhaps you could try it out in the Training mode.

For example (IF YOU HAVENT SEEN THIS DEFINITELY WATCH IT!)

This isn't me playing but look how helpless Ganondorf is the majority of the time. Holy crap did you see the offstage game of Pikachu in the second game?

And I also feel bad sometimes when I am able to go ridiculously deep and make it back with so safely with quick attack lol.

Oh my, that Pika is good. Ganondorf was helpless as Pika kept racking up damage. This character's offstage game is so good. That Ganondorf comeback though.

 

[Golden Sun]

I hate how most Pikachu users who spam thunder shock think they're "good" and when they jump and thunder shock you, they try and get close, even when you shield all of them, they come up and pivot grab you, that long range is disgusting, facing Pikachu is hard with a Kirby, I couldn't find any openings since Pikachu doesn't have that much lag on his aerials, and when he does have lag on them, they're very little, that you cant even punish them for it.

 

[Budget Player Cadet_]

I hate when people complain about things they lose to and call it cheap. Fair is unsafe on block. Bair is super unsafe on block. Nair is really unsafe on block. Dair is not safe on block. I'm not sure if uair is safe on block but if you can't anti-air a few falling uairs, I can't help you. Yeah, pika's fast. Obnoxiously so. But his range is actually kinda awful. Throw out some aerials to stuff his approach, find your way around the jolts, and you should be fine.

Speaking of obnoxious matchups: Yoshi and Link. I have no idea what to do with either. Link's projectiles are phenomenally annoying and his jab seems to stuff most approaches (and lead into nasty followups); Yoshi is basically ungimpable and seems to win pretty much on range alone. Any advice for either?

 

[Golden Sun]

I hate when people complain about things they lose to and call it cheap. Fair is unsafe on block. Bair is super unsafe on block. Nair is really unsafe on block. Dair is not safe on block. I'm not sure if uair is safe on block but if you can't anti-air a few falling uairs, I can't help you. Yeah, pika's fast. Obnoxiously so. But his range is actually kinda awful. Throw out some aerials to stuff his approach, find your way around the jolts, and you should be fine.

Speaking of obnoxious matchups: Yoshi and Link. I have no idea what to do with either. Link's projectiles are phenomenally annoying and his jab seems to stuff most approaches (and lead into nasty followups); Yoshi is basically ungimpable and seems to win pretty much on range alone. Any advice for either?

Some of Kirby's attacks have lag startups, which is hard for fast players like Sheik and Sonic, but what can I do if I cant short hop dair or bair when he's approaching? Im a Kirby newbie, but don't answer that question, answers wont be in if its not in the Kirby thread :]

 

[Soul.]

I really don't know about Link. His projectiles are annoying, his jab is annoying, everything about him is annoying.
What we can do is play defensively, I guess. Obviously Pika can combo Link for days but with his "good" rolls and projectiles (correct me if I'm wrong), it's going to be hard for Pika to approach.
Yoshi is another story because massive buffs.

 

[Golden Sun]

I hate when people complain about things they lose to and call it cheap. Fair is unsafe on block. Bair is super unsafe on block. Nair is really unsafe on block. Dair is not safe on block. I'm not sure if uair is safe on block but if you can't anti-air a few falling uairs, I can't help you. Yeah, pika's fast. Obnoxiously so. But his range is actually kinda awful. Throw out some aerials to stuff his approach, find your way around the jolts, and you should be fine.

Speaking of obnoxious matchups: Yoshi and Link. I have no idea what to do with either. Link's projectiles are phenomenally annoying and his jab seems to stuff most approaches (and lead into nasty followups); Yoshi is basically ungimpable and seems to win pretty much on range alone. Any advice for either?

Really? I thought Yoshi goes over Link, Yoshi can easily throw out eggs while Link is shielding, not to mention Link is very heavy offstage, but his recovery doesn't go as far(hookshot is the better option), better than brawl atleast, but if they use hookshot, its easy to go offstage and dair them, there recovery wont work since it goes low, but if they use there up-b, then you can also dair onto them, but not sure if you get hit on top, but then again, Yoshi's dair does go down far a bit for a hitbox

Just dodge a lot of Link's attack with spotdodge, they'll have to approach one way or another. Most of Yoshi's moves can break through Link(shorthop bair), but the best way I overcome a link with a Yoshi is shorthop nair, take advantage of Yoshi's shield, its probably one of the most mistaken one, im not sure but I feel like its more hard to see when they're going to shield or get out of it, not to mention Yoshi can easily dsmash out of it, but im not a Yoshi expert at all lmao, I hope the Yoshi thread has something to go against a link good.

 

[Budget Player Cadet_]

I meant I have trouble with Pikachu vs. Yoshi and Pikachu vs. Link. I hope Yoshi bodies Link, because the Link matchup seems like a careful footsie issue, whereas the Yoshi matchup is just a mess of stupid parries and crap.

 

[Soul.]

Pretty sure Yoshi destroys Link. Between eggs, DAir and all the other stuff Yoshi has, I think he wins that matchup.
But then again, this is a Pikachu thread, so the main focus is Pikachu itself. Perhaps the Link matchup is all about predicting.