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

[redfeatherraven]

If you guys think that's best then go for it. I vote on Red making the thread.

Consider it done, sir. Give me a little while to craft it.

[EDIT]: It's up.

 

[isaiah :)]

should this thread be a little more organized?

 

[Soul.]

What do you mean by organized.

 

[isaiah :)]

What do you mean by organized.

like shouldn't we take questions that may be frequently asked (meaning questions that make sense to ask) and have them on top so people wont have to skim +20 pages

or ask an old question

 

[Soul.]

like shouldn't we take questions that may be frequently asked (meaning questions that make sense to ask) and have them on top so people wont have to skim +20 pages

I'll see what I can do. May take a while.
I could use some help though.

 

[isaiah :)]

well questions like "how do you QAC? and what is QAC?" have been asked before

 

[Kaladin]

I feel like the most common things could be covered by a list of setups and simple techs.

 

[Soul.]

lol I suck at writing stuff. If I ever do this it might not make sense at all, leading to misinformation. Eh.
I'll try I guess... idk

 

[isaiah :)]

do it in spoilers

 

[Kaladin]

@ Soul. You should just quote posts in the OP. No need to write anything original.

 

[Angiance]

...except most people won't want anything nore than to ask a question in their own words

 

[isaiah :)]

...except most people won't want anything nore than to ask a question in their own words

hmm, was that necessary?

 

[Angiance]

...sure....

 

[isaiah :)]

...sure....

you really know how to suck the unity out of community huh?

 

[Angiance]

Yeah-whatever

 

[Thor]

you really know how to suck the unity out of community huh?

Yeah-whatever

Angiance proving he's really good at this answering questions business - no nonsense, just straight, concise answers!

I struggle to punish Yoshi's dash attack on my shield - do I just drop shield turn and dash grab, should I try to QA into him and do something off that, or what? The QA usually seems to get me nothing, and I sometimes I just miss the dash grab, so am I doing it wrong or do these not work for some reason [and then what does work if these options don't]?

 

[Angiance]

Just unshield, turn around, and start a close range neutral

 

[Soul.]

alright, just making sure this is good.
Feel free to correct me.

Spoiler

Questions that have been answered a million times
General:

Is this character hard to master?
Basically, yes. Most of its MUs are even, so you have to outplay your opponent to win. To play this character competitively, you'll need to learn a fair share of combos and techniques. You'll spend a lot of time in the lab (aka Training) figuring out how its moves work and how to use them.
Pikachu is a good character, but it has its pros and cons, namely its light weight and lack of range.

Best Pikachu?
N/A

Hardest MUs?
N/A

Best stages?
N/A

Good secondaries?
N/A

Gameplay:
What are QAC and QALC?
Quick Attack canceling, often abbreviated as QAC, is a technique usable by Pikachu in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U. It involves using Quick Attack on a flat surface (or dropping in a soft platform) to cancel the lag of the momentum.
In Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U, QAC can no longer be done in flat surfaces. The best stage to practice this technique is Smashville, as its moving platform will let you do it again, again and again. To QAC, all you need to do is use Quick Attack and jump right after.
QALC is simply ledge canceling Quick Attack on a stage. It can be done in platforms, too.

What are Pikachu's best custom moves?
Thunder Wave and Heavy Skull Bash. Thunder Wave lets you set up combos and KOs depending on the percent; Heavy Skull Bash is a strong, frame 15 move that gives Pikachu another way to KO at extremely early percents. It can be used to take a stock early on the match after a jab lock, or it can be used to frame trap. If you use the move just like a Smash Attack (i.e.: smashing the Control Stick/Circle Pad and press B), it will charge faster.

What are the pros and cons of having the C-Stick set to Attack rather than Smash Attack and vice versa?
Having your C-Stick set to Attack instead of Smash Attack makes you have more freedom in movement. Having it in Smash Attack restricts your movement if you use both the Control Stick/Circle Pad and C-Stick at the same time.
Smash is usually the better choice as you can perfect pivot forward smash (although situational) as an example. You really don't gain anything by using Attack on the C-Stick.

What's the momentum glitch?
If Pikachu uses Heavy Skull Bash while in hitstun, it will fly farther.

What is Jab Locking and how do you perform it with Pika?
When an opponent hits the ground after an attack and doesn't tech it, you can go up to them and jab them 3 times. After that, the game forces them to automatically get up. During this time, you can charge up a forward smash or Heavy Skull Bash and get a good hit on them while they're vulnerable. A lot of Pikachu's attacks can set up this situation, such as SH DAir and NAir being examples.

What is the method to autocancel SH DAir?
Press X and down A at the same time. Alternatively, you can press the Control Stick/Circle Pad up and the C-Stick down to do it.

Is spamming bad?
Yes. Your opponent will find a pattern and you'll end up losing. New Pikachu try to spam Thunder Jolt, Thunder and down smash when there is no need to. Most, if not all of Pikachu's moves have a use, so make the best use of them.

 

[Angiance]

It's a Q/A: anyone who comes here, is (go figure) here to ask a quick question; they aren't going to read some crap they can easiky find eslewhere

 

[Soul.]

You think you know everything but that's not the way how things work my friend.
What I posted was basically what people ask the most. No need for anger.

 

[Angiance]

I'm not angry, I'm speaking truth-it is you that is angry

 

[Soul.]

Not even angry in the slightest.
We can't do anything without you disagreeing with everything 24/7 just because you want everything to be your way.
I'm just going to ignore further posts and not derail this thread.

 

[Angiance]

Kay-kay~♡♡♡

 

[Pikabunz]

Angiance, those are the frequently asked questions. Those are there to prevent people from asking the most common questions over and over again. It's not hurting anyone to have those in the OP. People are still free to ask whatever they want on here.

Also stop with these one liner posts that contribute nothing. That's considered spam. We don't need any of that in the Q&A thread.

 

[Angiance]

Excuse me? Spam? I'm replying to a statement written by someone-by definition, "Spam" is to >mindlessly< repeat an action; I assure you, just like this post, any of my posts are not mindless

Thank you, have a nice day♡

 

[Pikabunz]

...sure....

Yeah-whatever

Kay-kay~♡♡♡

Stop with these types of responses. I consider this spam and I don't care about your definition of spam. This is a forum, not a chat room. Make your posts more meaningful and try to stay on topic. If you can't say anything without making a meaningless post then it's best not to say anything at all.

 

[Angiance]

Okay, at least I'm bringing a bit of life to these dead boards-mad much? Ha? Please...get off me </3

Further more: I will NOT be told what I can and cannot type in response to someone, when I am not even saying anything vulgar. You've no power over my words-you got a problem with me -replying- to people, then I don't know what to tell you...

 

[Pikabunz]

We don't need you bringing life to these boards. It's already pretty lively. And you can respond to people if you want, but if it's one-liner meaningless spam, I'm infracting it.

Also, if you have any further complaints, PM me instead of posting here.

I want to keep this thread dedicated to asking and answering questions about Pikachu in Smash 4.

 

[isaiah :)]

Excuse me? Spam? I'm replying to a statement written by someone-by definition, "Spam" is to >mindlessly< repeat an action; I assure you, just like this post, any of my posts are not mindless

Thank you, have a nice day♡

exactly, you're being hypocritical right here, by the definition you used, you are mindlessly attack each thread with negative posts in repeated action, and i can assure you that putting down other's opinions just because you have a superiority complex doesn't make any of your posts more mindful then the rest of the community.

 

[Angiance]

Get on my level♡♡♡

 

[Thor]

Get on my level♡♡♡

...I think this kind of post is what Pikabunz was talking about...

@ Soul. best Pikachu is ESAM [for video watching, etc. - if someone wanted to see cool Pikachu stuff, I'd direct them to his footage, and he has done well vs top players.]

I'm hoping at some point someone digs into the frame data and finds the nitty-gritty of how exactly QAC works later on, since sometimes I seem to slide down the slope as I use it, but that might be my imagination [and a guide on it later on would be sweet, since it's slightly less straightforward than Brawl's.]

And does Angiance's suggestion mean I shouldn't actually punish Yoshi dash attack, but rather just reset to neutral then? Guess I gotta be more proactive against it [predict it with SH dair or something].

 

[Angiance]

Yes, because if Yoshi's Dash Attack hits your shield, you can then drop it in 3 frames, turn towards him, and be in cqc neutral-elsewise it is just readiing his Dash Attack and countering

 

[Thor]

Yes, because if Yoshi's Dash Attack hits your shield, you can then drop it in 3 frames, turn towards him, and be in cqc neutral-elsewise it is just readiing his Dash Attack and countering

Wait, so shield drop lag in this game is 3 frames? In Brawl I thought it was 7... so is it shortened [that is, 3 in Smash 4, 7 in Brawl], is my Brawl knowledge wrong, or what?

 

[Angiance]

On this game there is an odd mechanism: if your shield gets hit and you drop it after said hit, the lag is reduced by 4 frames from 7

 

[Soul.]

...I think this kind of post is what Pikabunz was talking about...

@ Soul. best Pikachu is ESAM [for video watching, etc. - if someone wanted to see cool Pikachu stuff, I'd direct them to his footage, and he has done well vs top players.]

I'm hoping at some point someone digs into the frame data and finds the nitty-gritty of how exactly QAC works later on, since sometimes I seem to slide down the slope as I use it, but that might be my imagination [and a guide on it later on would be sweet, since it's slightly less straightforward than Brawl's.]

Got it. I'll edit it later. Thanks for reminding me.
I'm not really sure about footage though. I guess it could be possible... maybe?

 

[Thor]

Got it. I'll edit it later. Thanks for reminding me.
I'm not really sure about footage though. I guess it could be possible... maybe?

By "Footage" I just meant that if someone was like, "Who should I watch on Youtube to see good Pikachu play", I'd tell them to type "ESAM Smash 4" into the search bar and pick a few videos.

 

[LumpyGravy]

So, back air. What determines the direction they go flying in from the knockback of the last hit? From messing around in training, it seems like they most often go in the direction opposite of your momentum, but that isn't consistently the case.

 

[Angiance]

@Lumpy Gravy
I believe they have the ability to DI in the direction they wish to fly, buy you can counter that DI by moving in the direction they are DI'ing

 

[isaiah :)]

Got it. I'll edit it later. Thanks for reminding me.
I'm not really sure about footage though. I guess it could be possible... maybe?

first video link should be ESAM V M2K, he was amazing against diddy, even if he lost, overall it was a great match

 

[Angiance]

No, because that is a false representation of the current patch