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

[Megamang]

Its safe relative to his smashes; you probably won't get smashed for f-tilting unless you are facing a character with a phenomenal smash move or you do it terribly/get read hard. I just mean you should learn when it does kill, so that you can switch from f-smash fishing to f-tilt fishing, because when f-tilt will kill (160%ish by the ledge, no rage.. i'd say? Idk, i feel it out per matchup/stage) there isn't much reason to use f-smash (some characters smashes are safe on block... pika not so much)

 

[homiedixon]

How are you supposed to cancel your forward momentum when trying to catch people with a jumping thunder? I just naturally started doing the B reverse Thunders off stage, but I'd say that 8/10 of the kills I actually land with that move are from the bolt knocking them beyond the top blastzone. I can land the attack fairly often, but I almost never get the full effect from Thunder connecting with Pikachu.

 

[Uncle Honey]

Going by the frame data, ftilt has more lag than dtilt, but comes out a frame faster. They both have relatively the same range on the ground with dtilt have an added bonus of shrinking our hurtbox. They both can be used to jab lock and jab lock setup at similar percents. Really, I'm just trying to decide which is the better poke. Something to stuff approaches, cover my landing after an aerial, etc.

 

[The Legendary Big Boss]

To be honest, I find myself using Pikachu's d-tilt more. It is a quick and efficient poke. When I use f-tilt, it is usually during a pivot or after my d-tilt becomes stale.

 

[Armistice]

Is there a way to make your Quick Attacks into the ground lag more than usual? Like holding sheild to buffer a roll or something. Because I feel like I am lagging at the end of my QA whereas when I watch higher level pikas like ESAM they just jump or run right out of it immediately

Also I'm not talking about lcancels, just like glancing the ground as an approach option or a get away option

 

[Soul.]

No, I don't think so. There is no way to make QA lag more than the usual lag it has.
Only thing that comes close to that is RCO lag. Lingering hitboxes will hit Pikachu as it is using QA*, and unless it does an action before landing it'll receive a lot more lag than usual.

*That is, of course, if the opponent's character has an attack with a lingering hitbox. Aside from that QA will have its normal lag.

 

[Angiance]

U Uncle Honey
D.Tilt has way more horizontal reach than F.Tilt; F.Tilt has way more vertical reach than D.Tilt

 

[Megamang]

Additionally, dtilt is very safe because it has a first actionable frame of 19, while hitting on frame 7 or 8. This means most OOS arent fast enough to hit you if you shield, and you can actually be frame even on shields if they're stuck in shield lock frames. You can also dtilt again, or really most ground options. Agaisnt those with slow grabs, i like dtilt into rapid jab on shield.

Ftilt can be done from a run which is nice. If you are at high percent with your back to the ledge and you predict a roll, run by into ftilt their back can launch them over the ledge... pikas favorite place

 

[M15t3R E]

I rarely find myself using forward tilt. Feel like we have better options instead of that; if I use the move I probably input the wrong moves. It has its uses, but eh, down tilt is one of our better ones.

Can forward tilt do something on the ledge?

I use it frequently when they are at higher percents after a FF fair. Too few people do this. It can kill at reasonable percents, especially with rage.

 

[Angiance]

F.Tilt is only really useful if it is setup for-pretty good move to combo into though, thanks to it's 10% damage

 

[NobleClamtasm]

Don't know if this has been asked before, but is Pikachu's Uthrow -> follow the DI -> to thunder confirm guaranteed? I've tried it in training mode, and it registers as a combo, but against actual players they always seem to airdodge out of the Uthrow. I've been trying both the RAR and the double jump method. Am I just not doing it fast enough?

Also, is it possible to land the thunder in reaction to their DI, or do you have to predict it? I've been told that you can just react to it.. but I don't even think that's possible (maybe I'm just bad). Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Pikabunz]

For uthrow to thunder to be guaranteed, your opponent needs to be at a high percent and you need to be really fast with your rar thunder. The percent range is about 100-120 depending on character weight.

I doubt anyone can react to their DI and get a guaranteed thunder consistently. So you have to guess where they're going to DI.

 

[Thor]

OK I read up on shield stuff. I have some questions.

- What options are safe on shield now? Give me everything you know of please, and any supporting numbers if you have them (I saw some but didn'the know what to make of them). Dtilt? Fair? Rapid jabs? (For the purposes of shield safety, I'love say not shieldgrabable by Sheik/Pikachu/Fox is safe, via spacing or simple frame data or a combination... so out of range to avoid a shieldgrab or drop shield dash grab are both safe). Are there moves that are JUST BARELY not safe (ex: -10 or less) that are still tough to punish?

- I know fair is 10 frames safer (dunno how it was before), but how do I do a fair? SHFF? SH AC? SH and do a delayed fair? SH fair and fast fall later on? Something else? Is it only safe (or safest) if I do retreating fair? Is the last hit safe on shield (should a retreating fair still hit the last hit or not)? Should I aim to hit the last hit or not at all? Is it never safe but retreating fair avoids grab range, or can it be safe from nearly all punishes?

Any answers are appreciated, though if only one part is answered and then people move on I will likely re-ask the parts that went unanswered.

 

[Megamang]

From what i understand you want to land on the first frame that fair autocancels after hitting with the whole move. You then have a one frame advantage on shield droppers and -6 on oos users. So a perfect oos grab can get you, space to avoid that. Really quick upb counters can probably get you, but can be baited and punished hard with fadeaway FF fairs.

 

[Thor]

From what i understand you want to land on the first frame that fair autocancels after hitting with the whole move. You then have a one frame advantage on shield droppers and -6 on oos users. So a perfect oos grab can get you, space to avoid that. Really quick upb counters can probably get you, but can be baited and punished hard with fadeaway FF fairs.

So I need to time a fastfall doing a SH fair whIle hitting the whole move? Learn it by practice I guess... is it known how much worse it is to not land all of the move (ex: fade out of range so the final blow misses)?

So I can horizontally space around shieldgrabs, that'a not just a fantasy I have. Something else to work on (although I was before).

And are other moves safe on shield? Dtilt seems safe but I don'the want to jump the gun, and I don't think most other moves are safe but I am unsure... SH AC dair?

 

[Pikabunz]

You can either ff the sh fair or delay the the fair when you sh it.

You can easily space away after hitting with fair to avoid shield grabs.

Dtilt is just as safe as an auto canceled fair as long as you're outside their grab range. Sh dair can be really safe if you hit with the later frames of it. Even if you hit with the initial hitbox frame it's still fairly safe as long as you retreat with it afterwards.

 

[Megamang]

If they start immediately dropping shield to try and punish AC dairs, you can fastfall it so the landing hitbox gets them. Its pretty great for making them afraid to punish since pika has deadly follow ups on grounded opponents.

 

[Uncle Honey]

Dance trotting pikachu. How do? I can do it fine with the easy characters (Marth, Mac, Falc). Tips wanted from people who struggled and figured out what they were doing wrong.

 

[Coro_]

Dance trotting pikachu. How do? I can do it fine with the easy characters (Marth, Mac, Falc). Tips wanted from people who struggled and figured out what they were doing wrong.

Pika does a huge flying pounce when he foxtrots, so he has a pretty wide dance trot IIRC, it may have limited use.
That said, you can hear for the whoosh of his landing and take that as the cue to either foxtrot or reverse into a dance.
Visual cue, I think about when his front paws hit the ground?

 

[Soul.]

Changing the speed on training to 2/3 helps. Not sure how helpful can it be to you but it did wonders to me. I mean I couldn't dance trot before, but after trying that out I now get it

 

[Pikabunz]

Dance trotting pikachu. How do? I can do it fine with the easy characters (Marth, Mac, Falc). Tips wanted from people who struggled and figured out what they were doing wrong.

The easiest way is to just wait 15 frames after each trot to input another. If you want buffered trots like with Mac or Marth, then you gotta use quick flicks of the control stick when you input a trot. If you hold forward for too long when inputting the trot, then it won't buffer correctly.

 

[Uncle Honey]

Thank you, guys. Hopefully I can get it later.

 

[iVoltage]

So I've been missing out on dair, I know nothing about its uses or how to ac it. Can somebody please fill me in?

 

[Coro_]

It's a decent crossup move across shield, to do it just short hop and dair.
Esam's tip on it is 'if you're not getting it and is slamming into the ground just do it faster (his Deal With It: Quick Attack video, I believe)

 

[iVoltage]

It's a decent crossup move across shield, to do it just short hop and dair.
Esam's tip on it is 'if you're not getting it and is slamming into the ground just do it faster (his Deal With It: Quick Attack video, I believe)

How fast? I've done it as fast as I possible can with no luck.

 

[Coro_]

I dunno, I can't do it consistently myself either =w=;
Esam just says 'literally just do it faster', so I'll take his word for it

 

[Uncle Honey]

Dair is good for gimps when the opponent is below the stage. It's a risky aerial to put out if the opponent is above or on the same horizontal plane as you. This move is also good if you have applied character hitbox knowledge (e.g. Dair can gimp Ryu's sideb if you approach from above its hitbox when bair and fair don't work). Dair is good for jablock setups at around 55-80% depending on weight and rage. At the upper end of that range, 70-90%, dair can setup a jablock on a platform depending on the stage. Dair is good for roll and spotdodge reads and if ac, is a good shield pressure option (note: shield pressure, NOT approach option. Dair is terrible approach horizontal approach option because the main hitbox is obviously below pika).

I can't think of anything else important right now. Summary is that dair is possibly the least used aerial in the neutral and is benefitted most when used to press an advantage or force a reaction from the opponent.

How fast? I've done it as fast as I possible can with no luck.

Pretty fast. In order to get it, I have to flick my thumb across X/Y > A. You only have a few frame after the initial jump animation to input the dair otherwise it won't ac. If pika isn't already doing the dair animation while rising on the jump, you are too slow. For practice, just hold down on the analog the entire time.

 

[Pikabunz]

Dair must be inputted before you leave the ground. If you have tap jump on, try flicking the control stick up and the c-stick down at near the same time.

 

[Soul.]

How should we use QA when someone shields? Given that it's 7 frames safer with the patch I was just thinking about this.

...that's only if those uses exist lol

 

[Uncle Honey]

How should we use QA when someone shields? Given that it's 7 frames safer with the patch I was just thinking about this.

...that's only if those uses exist lol

This question likely deserves it's own thread for development "QA on shield follow/mixups" or something since I doubt too many of us know for sure yet. Not to mention half of us are at big house.

I did lab a bit tonight, though. QA2 is still unsafe on shield if you land near your opponent and even when you space it decently if the character has a fast punish (sheik dash atk). I predict that it won't change our options by much; simply make the things we already do safer. QA1 and QA2 are still negative on shield, so theoretically it won't give us any offensive options.

 

[Angiance]

QA is a terrible offense anyways, and is only useful for evasive maneuvers

 

[Uncle Honey]

QA is a terrible offense anyways, and is only useful for evasive maneuvers

Actually, I am indecisive about making a thread on this but I suppose I'll simply post it here.

http://www.twitch.tv/gooshigaming/v/18693402 05:01:30

Is that QA>uair>thunder a DI trap if the opponent DIs toward the stage or up/toward the stage, as most people would around that percent? Esam was clearly fishing for it before he nailed it. It looked pretty legit as a string and I have been able to recreate that scenario myself and it seems to work, though using a turbo controller to spam a direction and air dodge inputs while I try it are less than ideal practice tools.

 

[Thor]

QA is a terrible offense anyways, and is only useful for evasive maneuvers

I disagree in at least two MUs... with some tight spacing [I've got it sorta down but sorta not], you can Quick Attack THROUGH Mario and Luigi's Fireballs [you clank the hitbox out but you take no damage and keep moving with QA hitboxes], making it an insane burst option to punish a predictable fireball. QA can often lead to utilt, and you know where this goes, although this is percent dependent [I haven't labbed it but I almost always expect it to work at about 40% on a character, earlier on floaties like Jiggs].

QA can also be useful in punishing a Falcon who whiffs a raptor boost moving away from you [if he expected a cross-up roll or something], a Sheik who accidentally throws a burst grenade [or just throws a really stupid one], or other situations that can come up. I wouldn't state it should be Pikachu's default offensive option, given how a SH nair can stuff it out, but it is a great punish tool if they do something laggy at distance, and it's a decent mixup tool as well.

 

[M15t3R E]

QA is a terrible offense anyways, and is only useful for evasive maneuvers

You couldn't be further from the truth. I hope that no Pikachu player takes your comment to heart.
Back in the early Brawl days I was an advocate of well-timed usage of QA for offense when no one else was and I was scorned for it. That was until the likes of Anther and ESAM started displaying its usefulness. Been waiting for an apology for years. Now in SSB4, it is even safer and leads to even more setups! I'll be damned if I let you or anyone else stunt Pikachu's metagame by exclaiming such nonsense now as you just said.

 

[Angiance]

Quick Attack is an okay mix up, yes-but as a general offense?...hahaha, no. If you believe it is a good general offense then you're obviously a low grade Pikachu.

Do you all even realize how easy it is to hit Pikachu out of Quick Attack? Every Pikachu I fight enjoys Quick Attack, but I always U.Smash them out of it, or shield it and then grab or apply a read punish of some sort PLUS Quick Attack doesn't actually true combo until higher percents-you can actually airdodge the follow up or jump away, or if the percent is low enough you can Shield before the followup

Now, as I said earlier, Quick Attack is an amazing mobility/defensive action-100% the best recovery in the game and allows one to repostion themself safely so as to reset the neutral

 

[Uncle Honey]

Quick Attack is an okay mix up, yes-but as a general offense?...hahaha, no. If you believe it is a good general offense then you're obviously a low grade Pikachu.

Do you all even realize how easy it is to hit Pikachu out of Quick Attack? Every Pikachu I fight enjoys Quick Attack, but I always U.Smash them out of it, or shield it and then grab or apply a read punish of some sort PLUS Quick Attack doesn't actually true combo until higher percents-you can actually airdodge the follow up or jump away, or if the percent is low enough you can Shield before the followup

Now, as I said earlier, Quick Attack is an amazing mobility/defensive action-100% the best recovery in the game and allows one to repostion themself safely so as to reset the neutral

Further, pikachu's hurtbox is extended during qa. In other words: don't spam.

 

[Angiance]

You think I'm unaware of that?

 

[Uncle Honey]

You think I'm unaware of that?

Of course not. You're an intelligent player and I'm agreeing with you; only summarizing what you said in 20 words or less.

 

[Angiance]

Very well then, carry on

 

[M15t3R E]

When you use quick attack, be sure to bear in mind their general response to it. You may find some opponents who can punish it better than others. However, you don't even need to use it sparingly in most cases. With the new safer mechanics of the recent patch there is plenty of hitstun at all percents to follow up with a u-tilt and sometimes with a bair. Be sure to use it sometimes across the stage towards the opponent after sending them a good distance away to allow you to continue the pressure and intimidation factor. There is obviously nothing unsafe about this manner of utilizing QA and it really does work. I QA through opponents often actually, online and in tournament. But I don't use it in some sort of discernable pattern so I'm hit out of it almost never. Here and there I'll even use QA towards them and back to my original position when safe to do so to sort of bait them and keep them guessing about it. That's all there is to using it effectively.
You Pikas can see how I use it in my videos found in the link of my sig.