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

[Krysco]

Huh, so I've posted a single message here before. Can't imagine when. Probably back during my 'searching for a main' phase which is thankfully over. Anyways, posting here since it seems more active than the social thread and the directory thread only mentions a Skype group, not a Discord and I've seen mention in the social that Discord is where all the Pika talk takes place.

Q&A thread so here's my question: Does Sm4sh Pika play anything like Melee or Brawl Pika? I vividly remember having Pika as my secondary back in Brawl and he complimented my Wolf nicely (they combined only had 1 bad mu which was Diddy if you believe that Pika and MK was even). I've recently gone back to Melee and trying to be not garbage at it and after testing about half of the cast, I still definitely main Ganon in that game and Pichu is fun to use because he's Pichu but Pika is legitimately fun in that game too and while it doesn't mean much, he's my secondary in that game too.

In this game, I've hardly even used Pika. He lacks his Melee uair, his chaingrabs, QAC isn't as free as it was in Brawl and him having an amazing recovery isn't quite as impressive in this game since near everyone does and because of that, he has trouble killing since his wonderful edgeguarding is harder to pull off. I kinda just took a quick glance at Sm4sh Pika, saw he wasn't the same and pretty much never touched him. My cousin has a better Pika than me and he just uses Pika for fun.

I guess that partly answered my own question but what I'm trying to get at is that since I love using Pika in Melee and Brawl, I wanna see if I can love him in this game too. (Then again, I tried that with Ganon, Doc and Mario too and I don't enjoy those characters anywhere near as much as I did in previous games). Any tips on how Pika should be played? A link to a guide perhaps or even just some matches that I could study? I would ask this kinda thing in the CCI since I did the same thing for Zard there and it helped and it's thanks to some posters in the CCI that Roy is my secondary now but...that place doesn't tend to like Pika talk.

 

[Ninj4pikachu]

Esam has a pikachu guide and he is clearly the best smash 4 pika main

https://youtu.be/xf7VqACwG0I

He also has a guide on playing the neutral with pika, killing with pika, and a guide to quick attack all on his channel.

 

[A10theHero]

Huh, so I've posted a single message here before. Can't imagine when. Probably back during my 'searching for a main' phase which is thankfully over. Anyways, posting here since it seems more active than the social thread and the directory thread only mentions a Skype group, not a Discord and I've seen mention in the social that Discord is where all the Pika talk takes place.

Q&A thread so here's my question: Does Sm4sh Pika play anything like Melee or Brawl Pika? I vividly remember having Pika as my secondary back in Brawl and he complimented my Wolf nicely (they combined only had 1 bad mu which was Diddy if you believe that Pika and MK was even). I've recently gone back to Melee and trying to be not garbage at it and after testing about half of the cast, I still definitely main Ganon in that game and Pichu is fun to use because he's Pichu but Pika is legitimately fun in that game too and while it doesn't mean much, he's my secondary in that game too.

In this game, I've hardly even used Pika. He lacks his Melee uair, his chaingrabs, QAC isn't as free as it was in Brawl and him having an amazing recovery isn't quite as impressive in this game since near everyone does and because of that, he has trouble killing since his wonderful edgeguarding is harder to pull off. I kinda just took a quick glance at Sm4sh Pika, saw he wasn't the same and pretty much never touched him. My cousin has a better Pika than me and he just uses Pika for fun.

I guess that partly answered my own question but what I'm trying to get at is that since I love using Pika in Melee and Brawl, I wanna see if I can love him in this game too. (Then again, I tried that with Ganon, Doc and Mario too and I don't enjoy those characters anywhere near as much as I did in previous games). Any tips on how Pika should be played? A link to a guide perhaps or even just some matches that I could study? I would ask this kinda thing in the CCI since I did the same thing for Zard there and it helped and it's thanks to some posters in the CCI that Roy is my secondary now but...that place doesn't tend to like Pika talk.

Discord Link: https://discord.gg/DZkda3V
(For future reference, all character discord groups have their links here: http://smashcords.com/)
The Pikachu Discord is a really nice place so I definitely recommend visiting there whenever you need help.

Out of his previous versions, Pikachu is closest to his Brawl counterpart, but they're both still pretty different. If I were to describe Smash 4 Pikachu with one phrase, it'd be "jack of all trades, master of none". He can be played in a variety of styles: Aggressive/Rushdown, Pressuring, Bait & Punish, Campy, Timeout, etc. It's why you can see variations in how different Pikachu mains play; ESAM, Captain L, and Rideae, for example, all have clear distinctions in their playstyles. Unfortunately, Pikachu doesn't really excel in one particular style. Patient Campychu is best simply because defense-based styles are much more effective than offense-based styles in fighting games, but with human limitations and a game with Rage, even that has its limitations. (And it's also important to remember that picking the most optimal option every time is inherently sub-optimal). Thus, Pikachu's neutral often revolves around a combination of these styles. In my opinion, his most optimal style would be a defense-oriented base sprinkled with moments of aggression and different tactics to keep opponents on their toes. Mixups are very important to this style. This is further compounded by the fact that, although he has quite a bit of useful tools, he doesn't really have many safe options. His smaller range also hinders his space control. Thus, Pikachu needs to rely on his extensive kit, mixing it up a bit, to play neutral.
Getting the kill is definitely one of his weak points. He has good raw KO power and quite a few nifty setups, but there's no easy way to seal the stock. Every setup is flawed in some way. If a Pikachu knew all of his options to get the kill and the proper setup for the proper situation, it'd be better but the problem wouldn't completely ever go away.
If after hearing all this, you still want to give Pikachu a try, you're welcome to ask in the Pika Discord for help / more information. If not, that's okay too. Smash 4 Pikachu isn't really like Melee or Brawl Pikachu, so it'd be understandable if this new style doesn't match your interests.

 

[Krysco]

Discord Link: https://discord.gg/DZkda3V
(For future reference, all character discord groups have their links here: http://smashcords.com/)
The Pikachu Discord is a really nice place so I definitely recommend visiting there whenever you need help.

Out of his previous versions, Pikachu is closest to his Brawl counterpart, but they're both still pretty different. If I were to describe Smash 4 Pikachu with one phrase, it'd be "jack of all trades, master of none". He can be played in a variety of styles: Aggressive/Rushdown, Pressuring, Bait & Punish, Campy, Timeout, etc. It's why you can see variations in how different Pikachu mains play; ESAM, Captain L, and Rideae, for example, all have clear distinctions in their playstyles. Unfortunately, Pikachu doesn't really excel in one particular style. Patient Campychu is best simply because defense-based styles are much more effective than offense-based styles in fighting games, but with human limitations and a game with Rage, even that has its limitations. (And it's also important to remember that picking the most optimal option every time is inherently sub-optimal). Thus, Pikachu's neutral often revolves around a combination of these styles. In my opinion, his most optimal style would be a defense-oriented base sprinkled with moments of aggression and different tactics to keep opponents on their toes. Mixups are very important to this style. This is further compounded by the fact that, although he has quite a bit of useful tools, he doesn't really have many safe options. His smaller range also hinders his space control. Thus, Pikachu needs to rely on his extensive kit, mixing it up a bit, to play neutral.
Getting the kill is definitely one of his weak points. He has good raw KO power and quite a few nifty setups, but there's no easy way to seal the stock. Every setup is flawed in some way. If a Pikachu knew all of his options to get the kill and the proper setup for the proper situation, it'd be better but the problem wouldn't completely ever go away.
If after hearing all this, you still want to give Pikachu a try, you're welcome to ask in the Pika Discord for help / more information. If not, that's okay too. Smash 4 Pikachu isn't really like Melee or Brawl Pikachu, so it'd be understandable if this new style doesn't match your interests.

It's rather interesting how you consider Sm4sh Pika a 'jack of all trades, master of none' when I often see the same term used for Pit. Also rather interesting how you say Pika doesn't play like his Melee or Brawl self when Falco has the same issue although I feel that's a less severe issue for Pika. I checked out the 4 parts out so far of Esam's guide and I'll probably look up some matches of those 3 players you mentioned to see if there's any particular style Pika has that I like. I could see myself not being interested in Pika in this game even after I do some more research and give him a serious try since the same thing happened with my other favourite veterans . Despite that though, Ganon is my 5th best and Mario my 8th so while I may not enjoy them as much as previous games, I can still use them and Pika may be the same.

The biggest issue that I can see holding me back when it comes to Pika is his range despite that not being an issue for me in the previous two games. My top 4 characters all have good range and 3 of them have disjoints too . Might just be a coincidence but seeing as how I spent basically the first year and a half of this game's lifespan looking for a main, those being my top 4 seems to show that I care a lot more about having range in this game.

Thanks to you and Ninj4pikachu for the replies! I might see about joining the Pika Discord. Joined the M2 one when I first heard about it and I don't think I've said a word there. Haven't even bothered joining the ones for Ganon, Roy or Kirby.

 

[DeltaForce]

I am having trouble picking some characters to compliment my Pika. I play a Pikachu and a Meta Knight currently, and I am having trouble deciding if I should add RosaLuma to my list and drop Meta Knight, or use Rosa and don't drop any of my characters. My only doubts on this are that All three of these characters are considered "High Skill Characters" and I don't know if three is too many characters. I am also considering a cloud to add instead of Rosa Luma, and since he is a way easier character to learn I would not drop Meta knight. My Only issue with cloud is that his recovery does not fit my playstyle I like to go in deep and edgeguard and have a easlily mixed up recovery Cloud and Rosa have neither of this. Rosa has a better recovery and she has an alternate play style to my current characters so I am leaning towards her. Or you could tell me I don't need another character I just need to LEARN THE MATCHUPS. The ones I am specifically having trouble with are Luigi, Mario, G&W, Peach, and Villager.

 

[Ninj4pikachu]

I am having trouble picking some characters to compliment my Pika. I play a Pikachu and a Meta Knight currently, and I am having trouble deciding if I should add RosaLuma to my list and drop Meta Knight, or use Rosa and don't drop any of my characters. My only doubts on this are that All three of these characters are considered "High Skill Characters" and I don't know if three is too many characters. I am also considering a cloud to add instead of Rosa Luma, and since he is a way easier character to learn I would not drop Meta knight. My Only issue with cloud is that his recovery does not fit my playstyle I like to go in deep and edgeguard and have a easlily mixed up recovery Cloud and Rosa have neither of this. Rosa has a better recovery and she has an alternate play style to my current characters so I am leaning towards her. Or you could tell me I don't need another character I just need to LEARN THE MATCHUPS. The ones I am specifically having trouble with are Luigi, Mario, G&W, Peach, and Villager.

I too am a pikachu main in search of a good secondary for those very same match ups more or less. I ended up using pit. Pit has the spacing needed to keep out opponents like the plumbers and can go crazy deep for kills on the likes of villager. Very easy to pick up and a high tier character proven viable at nationals by earth. Hardest part will be mastering the arrows, but it's a worth while projectile once learned.

You want someone who can make up for pikachu's weaknesses so you want somone with spacing or zoning. I tried maining rosa like you but found her to be too much to learn on top of pika. I felt like I needed somthing more intuitive. Cloud is another great option for covering pika's bad MU's but as you stated the recovery isn't what we're used to.

 

[DeltaForce]

I too am a pikachu main in search of a good secondary for those very same match ups more or less. I ended up using pit. Pit has the spacing needed to keep out opponents like the plumbers and can go crazy deep for kills on the likes of villager. Very easy to pick up and a high tier character proven viable at nationals by earth. Hardest part will be mastering the arrows, but it's a worth while projectile once learned.

You want someone who can make up for pikachu's weaknesses so you want somone with spacing or zoning. I tried maining rosa like you but found her to be too much to learn on top of pika. I felt like I needed somthing more intuitive. Cloud is another great option for covering pika's bad MU's but as you stated the recovery isn't what we're used to.

My lonely issue with pit is it is very hard to mixup his recovery my Meta Knight Pika can do that bit character like pit and rosa can cover distance by there is no hit box making the extremely easy to gimp.

 

[Ninj4pikachu]

My lonely issue with pit is it is very hard to mixup his recovery my Meta Knight Pika can do that bit character like pit and rosa can cover distance by there is no hit box making the extremely easy to gimp.

Mmmmm with up B, side B, and having multiple jumps you should be able to mix up your recovery better than most with practice. Takes time to learn but pit has much better spacing than metal night and that's what pikachu really lacks. Not that meta knight isn't great. Just not as good at spacing

As for rosalina, I can easily wreck scrubs on for glory all day with her knowing her basics and being good. But an advanced player will still beat you unless you know her advanced stuff and as you pointed out, that requires way more effort to learn than pits top level play. Rosa is also a fantastic character. But she requires much more of a commitment to time and practice than pit would.

 

[DeltaForce]

My only dislike of Rosa is that she needs so much effort to learn and I don't want to dump that on me with already 2 high maintenance characters (Pika and MetaKnight) Cloud seems like a deccent option but when I play him the recovery throws me off. Mario is not bad but I don't feel like he covers matchups like Peach G&W and Luigi and the ditto very well, but he has gimp ability and better recovery that is hard to mess with

Pit I feel like is pretty darn easy to edgeguard because that if he uses his up b, first maybe you help help me but I swear it has a weird auto-snapping window and If he recovers low I can use a pika or mk bair to carry you a bit farther down and either gain free dmg or get a stock if the ledge spike is not teched and you die from it. Side B is not all that useful for recovery as far as I know it does snap to ledge until the animation is over and it can be easier to 2 frame. ultiple jups are very good and Mk already has that and he can use 3 different moves that all snap to the ledge (Drill Shuttle and Cape) most are pretty safe not including 2 frames and drill can be a bit weird with hurtboxes) Also using drill and shuttle can provide pressure from the ledge with some safe pokes that either make the opponent retreat us shield or dodge. Mk wins vs pit in recovery.

Pit has a better neutral that Mk and a reflector usually making opponents come to him, Mk does not have that. The real kicker comes when the opponent is in disadvantaged state Mk has some blistering combos that can do 50% and Pit has some deccent options they aren't near as good as Metaknights when the opponent is in disadvantaged state. Basically you could consider Pit safer that MK less risk less reward, MK is the opposite, high risk high reward.

Spacing-wise It may be in Pit's favor since the added range, but I think that (ok don't kill me I can't find any disjoint data if you could that would be great)Metaknight has superior disjoints which can give him an edge in spacing, not has good range though.

 

[Ninj4pikachu]

My only dislike of Rosa is that she needs so much effort to learn and I don't want to dump that on me with already 2 high maintenance characters (Pika and MetaKnight) Cloud seems like a deccent option but when I play him the recovery throws me off. Mario is not bad but I don't feel like he covers matchups like Peach G&W and Luigi and the ditto very well, but he has gimp ability and better recovery that is hard to mess with

Pit I feel like is pretty darn easy to edgeguard because that if he uses his up b, first maybe you help help me but I swear it has a weird auto-snapping window and If he recovers low I can use a pika or mk bair to carry you a bit farther down and either gain free dmg or get a stock if the ledge spike is not teched and you die from it. Side B is not all that useful for recovery as far as I know it does snap to ledge until the animation is over and it can be easier to 2 frame. ultiple jups are very good and Mk already has that and he can use 3 different moves that all snap to the ledge (Drill Shuttle and Cape) most are pretty safe not including 2 frames and drill can be a bit weird with hurtboxes) Also using drill and shuttle can provide pressure from the ledge with some safe pokes that either make the opponent retreat us shield or dodge. Mk wins vs pit in recovery.

Pit has a better neutral that Mk and a reflector usually making opponents come to him, Mk does not have that. The real kicker comes when the opponent is in disadvantaged state Mk has some blistering combos that can do 50% and Pit has some deccent options they aren't near as good as Metaknights when the opponent is in disadvantaged state. Basically you could consider Pit safer that MK less risk less reward, MK is the opposite, high risk high reward.

Spacing-wise It may be in Pit's favor since the added range, but I think that (ok don't kill me I can't find any disjoint data if you could that would be great)Metaknight has superior disjoints which can give him an edge in spacing, not has good range though.

If metaknight has such good spacing then why do you have trouble against Mario, luigi, and peach? They are pretty well know for having issues being spaced out also villager gets edgeguard hard by pit and metaknight but villager can have god like neutral, and pits helps for this...

I'm just saying for the specific MUs u said, pit wouldn't be a bad call... But cloud is also prolly better but I agree and can't stand bad recovery characters.

 

[DeltaForce]

Hey man I am not trying to drag but I never said that Meta Knight COULD have an EDGE in his actual spacing I never ever said that MK is good at spacing.
"Spacing-wise It may be in Pit's favor since the added range, but I think that (ok don't kill me I can't find any disjoint data if you could that would be great)Metaknight has superior disjoints which can give him an edge in spacing, not has good range though." I never said he has good range I just said his disjoints could give him an edge in the limited range he has. Please don't make a reply until you read my post.

I am not being negative about Pit I am merely stating the difference between Pit and MK from a perspective in which I look at in a character for a helpful addition to my Pikachu. I apologize if it came across that way but I repeat read my posts in detail before replying to my questions.

 

[Ninj4pikachu]

Hey man I am not trying to drag but I never said that Meta Knight COULD have an EDGE in his actual spacing I never ever said that MK is good at spacing.
"Spacing-wise It may be in Pit's favor since the added range, but I think that (ok don't kill me I can't find any disjoint data if you could that would be great)Metaknight has superior disjoints which can give him an edge in spacing, not has good range though." I never said he has good range I just said his disjoints could give him an edge in the limited range he has. Please don't make a reply until you read my post.

I am not being negative about Pit I am merely stating the difference between Pit and MK from a perspective in which I look at in a character for a helpful addition to my Pikachu. I apologize if it came across that way but I repeat read my posts in detail before replying to my questions.

Ok so I'm confused then, I don't understand how metaknight can have "superior disjointes" but not have as good of spacing or reach. Those to me are one in the same.

I get that mk is overall slightly better than pit, no argument there was just spitballing. I also feel villager may cover pika's MUs well. Plumbers don't like constantly approaching and It's you favor vs g&w and peach. Ledge traps are wicked fun one you learn them.

 

[DeltaForce]

Let me sum it up, I am saying MK has limited range I am just saying that his disjoints help him so it is not as bad as some people think

G&W is a bit weird his aerials a lot of the time outrange and out prioritize Pika's aerials and with a pretty good recovery he is hard to mess with, not to mention invincibility on his up-smash, I am not in any way saying that it is in his favor I am just saying it is a hard matchup for me to deal with.

Peach is interesting, her fair hits like a truck, so if you make one wrong move she has an easier time ending the stock. Her float cancels make it harder for me to get a QA in and with her turnips give me a hard time to approach. Again not necessarily in her favor but it is a hard matchup to deal with.

Luigi is a personal problem I just have issues with him in general, my real problem is freaking Mario :'( -_- I HATE MARIO, his aerials beat ours his cape screws jolt, his up smash just makes me cry, and if he gets a read on our QA when recovering you.....just......die!

Villager is someone that can give Pika a problem his projectiles beat jolt, his fair and bair are annoying, very hard to get a stock while edge guarding, he can pocket thunder and jolt. His nair breaks our strings. But he is fairly light and if Villy fairs and Pika is a deccent distance away Pika can fair and eat through the pellet since Pika's fair is disjointed. Just don't get too close though.

I did play a villager with my pika before switching to MK, I don't really feel the same way about Villy as a Pika secondary as you do, I personally did not feel like he covered the matchups for me. This is more of a personal thing but if you think Villager and Pit works for you go for it, I decided to suck it up and go cloud as a pocket along with my MK and Pika.

Ill make a second post later and link ESAM's video of Pikachu's matchups so you can take a look and you could look at the matchup chart as well, the video explains the chart so i would recommend watching it.

 

[Ninj4pikachu]

I actually believe this MU may be slightly in g&w favor. When I go up against a G&w I play really patient, because your right, he out spaces us hard. Fortunately for us, he is like the 2nd or 3rd lightest character, so what I like to do is tomahawk grab throughout the match in order to condition him and once he gets to like 90% ff fair>upsmash. It's true combo in some situations according to esam. I rely hard on this because as you stated we can't really kill him offstage due to his recovery.

Don't deal with enough good peaches to say much, though it heard esam speak of the MU. And say it's weird.

Luigi.... At least isn't as bad as Mario lol. The goal here is just stage control then edgeguard. Disadvantage sucks against luigi because his crazy combos, but I'm finding d tilt isn't bad for keeping the the likes of him and other stubby characters out. I don't over extend combos against the plumbers due to their frame 3 Nair.

As a pikachu I'll time out a damn Mario if I have to...

Villager I thought was a bad MU for pika until I realized how well pika can just deny villager the ledge. I stay dedicated to stage control.

 

[DeltaForce]

G&W I basically agree with what you say, I forgot about the ff fair up smash, Thanks for reminding me it is useful in this matchup. One thing you did not mention that I thought was worth discussing was if you ff fair what is to stop him from using that %$Y^&%$^ up smash with its stupid invincibility. That can make it hard. Though there is some lag and maybe if you bait it you could follow with a raw up smash, food for thought.

Villy is as easy as crap to edgeguard, but hard to take a stock. Pikachu in a lot of matchups needs to get an edgeguard kill to win the game. i.e. ESAM vs M2K Esam nearly lost some games even after gimping M2K's cloud. It was essential for ESAM to gimp him to win some of those games. That is what balances out the edgeguard ability against Villy. All in all I would say it is even. Villager's ledgetrap makes me cry, and his zero to death combo :'(.

A villager or a cloud covers the Peach matchup really well. Villager destroys Peach and Cloud simply out ranges her. Villager basically takes away her neutral with turnips and with his godlike neutral compared to Peach's in the first place forces her to approach and her approach options are pretty lackluster.

Luigi should not really be any trouble just keep stage control and spam the crap out of down tilt it is really good in this matchup. If you get grabbed do not airdodge YOU WILL DIE so just ...... don't. Do not let him corner you either. If he gets a critical and kills you just go cry in a corner :'(.

For Mario, I kind of just abandon Pika against him I feel it is beter to counter pick instead of play that kind of game. To counter him I play MK at least that is near a 50-50 matchup.

 

[homiedixon]

Part of this may be because I almost strictly play online, so it can be a bit more tricky to punish moves, but I'm having a lot of trouble against characters that have n-airs with big hitboxes that also autocancel at the end. The most common character that I'd run into that fits into the description would be Cloud. His SH takes 37 frames, and the nair ACs after frame 31.

A less common example would also be ROB. Though it doesn't start until frame 18, his nair goes from 18-32 and ACs after 33, which leaves basically no room to punish. These are both moves that also stuff QAs if you're trying to use that to get close.

 

[Ninj4pikachu]

Part of this may be because I almost strictly play online, so it can be a bit more tricky to punish moves, but I'm having a lot of trouble against characters that have n-airs with big hitboxes that also autocancel at the end. The most common character that I'd run into that fits into the description would be Cloud. His SH takes 37 frames, and the nair ACs after frame 31.

A less common example would also be ROB. Though it doesn't start until frame 18, his nair goes from 18-32 and ACs after 33, which leaves basically no room to punish. These are both moves that also stuff QAs if you're trying to use that to get close.

Well my best advice I can give you against those specific Nairs is just to run up and block. Try to get a shield grab or better yet sometimes you can go under them with pikachu's short stature and try for a pivot grab or pivot Fsmash.

 

[DeltaForce]

This is kind of funny but yesterday I was playing online and I was playing a Shulk who was doing something weird with his nair and I could not punish it for some reason. I don't have a capture card so I can't show it but is anyone else seen this in action? Can anyone tell me how to play against it or am I just not quick enough?

 

[Krysco]

If it's saved as a replay, there's an option to upload it to Youtube. Otherwise, if you want, you could send it to me and I could use my capture card. Also assuming we're talking about the Wii U version. Don't have a 3DS capture card though I do wanna get one.

As for the nair, my only guess would be mallc? Monado Art Landing Lag Cancel. Was he using nair then immediately doing other actions as soon as he landed?

 

[DeltaForce]

As far as I know he was not Mallc since he already had the speed monado on. He would shorthop nair and fastfall halfway through the move and his sword would be in front and below when he initiated the ff. he would use the as an approach and if he struck he would link into a fair and if percent was right he could wall of pain. Since the sword went below and front i tried to power shield and grab but I could seem to get there fast enough.

 

[Glitchy_]

How many different angles does Quick attack have?

16 (22,5 degree angle) or 12 (30 degree angle)?

I'm in training mode right now and can't figure it out ..

 

[Fox Is Openly Deceptive]

Hey guys, here in this match i did a triple jump thunderjolt, can anyone tell me how i did it? I didn't landed on a platform or something
Min 0:36
https://youtu.be/Nv1vlx5ICqQ

You did land on the platform. This is evident because Pikachu went through the ledge-drop animation.

Spoiler

View attachment 109257

Starting from ~0:37, advance the video frame-by-frame with the ">" key. You should see him go through that animation before the jump and Thunder Jolt.

Kind of random but you might be interested in knowing that this is in fact a triple jump of sorts, just slightly different to the ones I've been looking into recently but based on the same underlying mechanics. What you thought was the animation of Pika dropping through the platform was in fact just Pika flipping during/after using neutral-special. What happened was that the Pika just happened to get close enough to the ground (i.e. the platform in this case) during neutral special to replenish the DJ without actually landing (because you drifted over past the edge of the platform, essentially skimming it but never actually landing). You can recreate this yourself easily enough just as I did with a bit of patience or a frame skip setup. It might be something you'll want to look into as I can see this being pretty useful.

 

[vegeta18]

how many total possible angles are there for pikachu quick attack? and how do i do the ones outside of the 8 regular angles(ex. straight up, straight down, down+ left, up+right,etc)

 

[DeltaForce]

24 I think

 

[A10theHero]

how many total possible angles are there for pikachu quick attack? and how do i do the ones outside of the 8 regular angles(ex. straight up, straight down, down+ left, up+right,etc)

Given based Arthur's video, there are at least 9 angles in between each "gate" on the GameCube Control Stick. That means that there are at least 80 angles of QA (9 angles in between each of the 8 gates and then the 8 main angles). Keep in mind that it's possible that there are more angles.
As for your second question, I'm not 100% sure what you mean by that, but using these angles is just a matter of inputting QA and then quickly moving the Control Stick to the desired location.

 

[phi1ny3]

Is it possible to SDI Pika's dsmash? If so, how would one go about doing this?

 

[NL | STI]

I was playing since Smash 4 is out and I have an one question to his kill setup: Up-Throw -> Thunder. I know about DI and how I should react. However, according to ESAM facts (that is a true combo if you react fast enough and puts the input almost perfectly) I dont know how I should practise if I cant realise whether it was true or not. You know the training mode doesnt always the truth! I practise against a CPU level 5 and sometimes he DIs like a real player but I cant never know whether it was true or not. And I have no partner to check it. Any tips or I have to deal with it and pratice blind?

 

[Thyst]

What do you guys think of Greninja as a seconary to compliment Pika?

 

[ToonTwink101]

I raise this thread from the dead in the name of Mafia Pikachu.