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

[Insightful]

Pika Kill confirms? Pika's optimal combos?

What percent can pika kill with his attacks? Does anyone have this legitly memorized. Just asking (if not I'll do research on it myself and post them)

 

[Pikabunz]

His kill confirms are uthrow > thunder and fair > usmash can work on some characters. As for optimal combos and kill percents, that's all different for every character. The stage and the amount of rage you have affect this too, so it's hard to make a list for it.

 

[Insightful]

His kill confirms are uthrow > thunder and fair > usmash can work on some characters. As for optimal combos and kill percents, that's all different for every character. The stage and the amount of rage you have affect this too, so it's hard to make a list for it.

Hmm I will definitely research this as I am learning Pika. Maybe I'll make an informational guide for it too once I've figured everything out.

Btw how is U throw>Fair a kill confirm?

 

[Insightful]

Since Nair is Pika's best option out of sheild, is it okay to abuse it every time you're coming out of sheild, or if predictable can it be punished quite easily?

 

[Coro_]

Since Nair is Pika's best option out of sheild, is it okay to abuse it every time you're coming out of sheild, or if predictable can it be punished quite easily?

In my experience nair on shield is somewhat hard to punish and if you move it up and away (as long as you don't fastfall it) I think it's pretty safe. Depends on opponent's character though.

 

[Thor]

Since Nair is Pika's best option out of sheild, is it okay to abuse it every time you're coming out of sheild, or if predictable can it be punished quite easily?

Any action done every time is punishable [barring true combos after a hit confirm – if you fthrow someone at 0%, dash attacking them immediately is not only fine to do every time, it’s not possible for people to punish or avoid unless you mess up]. That said, Pikachu’s nair is still his best out of shield tool, so you’ll find yourself using it a lot. But if you’re getting punished for it, you should try other things. One thing to keep in mind is that you can SH nair OoS and fullhop nair OoS – fullhop nair is generally better if you’re not sure if your attack will be blocked, for example when contesting Sheik fair on shield [fullhop nair is harder to punish on shield in general], but this isn’t always true, since you can retreat or crossup with SH nair as well and be grounded again with no lag after the shorthop.

 

[Insightful]

I've been trying to practice the things i see Esam do in For Glory and for some reason I still can't do the mediocre things such as U-Air and then follow someone's DI with Nair. Any tips for practicing combos in general? Should I be doing this in training mode instead?

 

[Coro_]

I've been trying to practice the things i see Esam do in For Glory and for some reason I still can't do the mediocre things such as U-Air and then follow someone's DI with Nair. Any tips for practicing combos in general? Should I be doing this in training mode instead?

I'd say play against real people, since people tend to DI in all sorts of different directions, eventually you'll get a feel to be able to follow up your combos well.

 

[Insightful]

I've been trying to practice the things i see Esam do in For Glory and for some reason I still can't do the mediocre things such as U-Air and then follow someone's DI with Nair. Any tips for practicing combos in general? Should I be doing this in training mode instead?

Ah ok, thats what i've pretty much been doing. Nothing but For Glory but I read somewhere that FG is a horrible mode to practice in which is why I was unsure. Once I can learn to follow opponent's DI and actually combo, my Pika shouldn't be too bad. The rest would just be a matter of playing haha. I totally suck with his aerial combo's though

 

[Chocoboko]

Is footstooling useful for Pikachu when used on-stage? I noticed nair connects after footstool against some larger characters (Charizard).

 

[Shaymin slicker]

What are some lock set ups for Pika?

 

[A10theHero]

What are some lock set ups for Pika?

With platforms, jab can force a tumble, and then you can proceed with the lock.
Other good options include: SHAC Dair (at mid to high percents), Down Tit (at high percents), and Nair (at mid percents). In my opinion, SHAC Dair is the best of these three.
A very situational one that I've used a few times in the past is Up Tilt near the ledge when your opponent doesn't have their invincibility. My Smash Corner actually showed this setup in his video on Jab Locking.

 

[Pikabunz]

With platforms, jab can force a tumble, and then you can proceed with the lock.
Other good options include: SHAC Dair (at mid to high percents), Down Tit (at high percents), and Nair (at mid percents). In my opinion, SHAC Dair is the best of these three.
A very situational one that I've used a few times in the past is Up Tilt near the ledge when your opponent doesn't have their invincibility. My Smash Corner actually showed this setup in his video on Jab Locking.

I forgot about that utilt one from the ledge; that's kind of cool. There are some set-ups you can do with platforms like using dthrow or utilt to pop them up just above a platform and if they don't tech it, you can "jab lock" with a single hit of fair.

 

[Parisienne]

Hey lads, new guy here with a question. I must say, this question is asked a lot but all the answers I have seen for it have been weird, almost as if there is opinion but no fact. I am of course talking about the U-throw thunder. I want my options, and my opponent's options literally set out for me in stone, explained slowly for dumb dumbs like me so I can get it going.

Here is what I have gathered so far;

At X percent towards one side of the stage, I can throw my opponent into a GUARANTEED thunder provided I catch their DI correctly.

My opponent has 3 options to DI, and can not air dodge/anything(?) my thunder, has to take it if I guess right? I am under the impression that there is one option for each of my opponents and no way to cover multiple, so a 1/3 guess.

DI towards me: If I think my opponent will do this I d throw and buffer full hop thunder.
No DI: Harder to condition of the 3, but full hop thunder is the answer.
DI Away: Uthrow buffer dash, turn around full hop thunder?

Now, the first two options I believe I have right. I was playing locally and caught a player DI'n in to me and my thunders worked fine. What about when they DI away? I can't seem to get it right. Any advice?

Also if I up throw and see them DI towards me, any options?

Any advice would be helpful, I almost feel as if there is no definitive guide towards this technique.

 

[A10theHero]

Hey lads, new guy here with a question. I must say, this question is asked a lot but all the answers I have seen for it have been weird, almost as if there is opinion but no fact. I am of course talking about the U-throw thunder. I want my options, and my opponent's options literally set out for me in stone, explained slowly for dumb dumbs like me so I can get it going.

Here is what I have gathered so far;

At X percent towards one side of the stage, I can throw my opponent into a GUARANTEED thunder provided I catch their DI correctly.

My opponent has 3 options to DI, and can not air dodge/anything(?) my thunder, has to take it if I guess right? I am under the impression that there is one option for each of my opponents and no way to cover multiple, so a 1/3 guess.

DI towards me: If I think my opponent will do this I d throw and buffer full hop thunder.
No DI: Harder to condition of the 3, but full hop thunder is the answer.
DI Away: Uthrow buffer dash, turn around full hop thunder?

Now, the first two options I believe I have right. I was playing locally and caught a player DI'n in to me and my thunders worked fine. What about when they DI away? I can't seem to get it right. Any advice?

Also if I up throw and see them DI towards me, any options?

Any advice would be helpful, I almost feel as if there is no definitive guide towards this technique.

Alright, I'll try to help:
1) The easy one:
If your opponent does not DI the up throw, you can get a guaranteed Thunder (even if you need to jump).
If you grab and quickly throw them upwards, not giving them enough time to react much, you could still get the kill this way even without conditioning.

2) When they DI Right or Left:
You just have to dash, then during Pikachu's 4 frame jumpsquat, input Thunder and back, and if you do this fast enough, they do not have enough time to air dodge. Alternatively, if you think they will air dodge, you can bait it out and then Thunder (though of course this is not guaranteed).

3) Down Throw:
If you are absolutely certain that they will try to DI behind you, then you should definitely use this instead of up throw. Keep in mind that it works at later percents then up throw so you might not need to jump with down throw like you would with up throw at certain percents.
In my opinion, the best use of down throw is when you grab them near the ledge with Pikachu facing offstage. If they don't DI or try to DI towards the stage, you can get them with Thunder. If they DI away, your opponent forfeits a lot of stage control and can potentially be edgeguarded.

That's basically it. Did this help somewhat?

 

[Parisienne]

This is the best definition of the options I have seen so far, thanks.

I need a bit of advice with the running thunder input also, I seem to be bad at it.

I do a kinda down back and full hop down B, pika turns around full hops and the thunder connects with me near the peak of my jump.

 

[Insightful]

Tips for Pika vs Captain Falcon?

 

[A10theHero]

This is the best definition of the options I have seen so far, thanks.

I need a bit of advice with the running thunder input also, I seem to be bad at it.

I do a kinda down back and full hop down B, pika turns around full hops and the thunder connects with me near the peak of my jump.

From what it sounds like, I think you're doing it right--I'm kinda having a hard time imagining it, sorry.
What is the problem? Are your opponents still able to airdodge out? If so, then you just need to practice the inputs more so you can execute it as fast as possible.

Tips for Pika vs Captain Falcon?

Crouching and Down Tilt are great in this matchup. Captain Falcon is a fastfaller so combo him as much as you can. He has a terrible disadvantage state, so try and get him offstage; that's where you can rack up a lot of damage and get kills.
Captain Falcon has a great neutral so if you keep simply resetting to neutral, you'll be playing to his advantage.

 

[Parisienne]

Nah, I just have not got the motion memorised in muscle memory. I wanted to make sure my fresh mind was getting it right. I'm new to the character so I'll learn most in my early days and I want that setup. My Pika performs nicely but as a previous Ganondorf main, I want SOMETHING that packs that punch! Thanks for your help, I will get the motions I have in mind down. I know how to condition and follow DI, so I should be good. Cheers!

 

[Wishes And Sunshine]

What are the edgeguarding techniques Pikachu can use?

 

[A10theHero]

What are the edgeguarding techniques Pikachu can use?

Tons of different things:

When your opponent's back is to the ledge, you can use jab to push them off. Try and follow this up with a bair stage spike.

If you wanna stay on the stage, you can shoot Thunder Jolt. Either jump and send a Thunder Jolt through the air or simply use Thunder Jolt and let it move down the ledge.

For characters that can't sweetspot the ledge like and , you can use Down Smash.

You can also do an onstage bair. (Watch ESAM perform it here) Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I believe you can do an onstage bair if you walk up and then input a bair before you fall off the ledge.

Jumping and inputting a B-reverse Thunder is also an option--it can cover high, mid, and low recoveries.

If your opponent is recovering high, you can also try and spike them with Thunder.

At a midlevel, Nair, Fair, and Dair are good options.

If they're recovering low, Dair, Bair, Thunder Jolt down the stage, and, if you can get the read, dropping down to hit them with the blue aura when Pikachu is struck by Thunder are pretty good options.

You could also Quick Attack Cancel on the ledge and hit them with a Nair as soon as they try to grab the ledge to stage spike them as well. (Only attempt this when you've practiced your Quick Attack Cancels a lot.)

Finally, here's two very situational ones:
If your opponent is on the ledge with no invincibility, you can:

• Jump and hit them with a Thunder. Sometimes you can combo it into another Thunder offstage. (I don't know what the conditions are. I saw ESAM practicing it on stream. I haven't tried it myself because I have a broken arm.)
• Hit them with the hitbox of up tilt in front of Pikachu and then get a jab lock if they miss the tech (which they most likely will.)

Alright, I think I covered mostly everything. Hope this helps!

 

[Wishes And Sunshine]

Thanks a ton, mate.

 

[Insightful]

Suggestions for ways of getting better without playing online? I honestly feel like Pikachu is a horrible character to play online because he's so technical and I'm tired of losing to people that I know that I'm 100% better than just because of technical flaws. Is there a way to improve offline without going to tournaments for the time being?

This makes me so frustrated, it's unimaginable. Plus I feel like I'm not progressing

 

[Ya Boy Evee]

Suggestions for ways of getting better without playing online? I honestly feel like Pikachu is a horrible character to play online because he's so technical and I'm tired of losing to people that I know that I'm 100% better than just because of technical flaws. Is there a way to improve offline without going to tournaments for the time being?

This makes me so frustrated, it's unimaginable. Plus I feel like I'm not progressing

Play a character that isn't technical based. Lag does affect frame specific inputs, especially with pika. This is quite basic but, Fundamentals of a fighting game is more important than execution, it doesn't matter what u play because with good fundamentals, you'll be able to come out on top no matter how bad the match up is. Let's take Axe's pikachu for an example, finishing top 8 in genesis 3 in melee, using pikachu regarded as the lower tier characters and having to come on top of many foxes, shieks, falcon etc. I suggest to pick up a slower character, like marth, ganon etc, to learn about spacing, reading, predicting. With a character with less options, u can focus more on your opponent and even with lag it does not severely affect your ability to predict/read what's he/she's gonna do. Pika has so many options and i see people tend to focus on using their options to outplay their opponent instead of What Options Does He have. (Which is I think crucial when playing a match up which isnt in your favour.) ^^

 

[A10theHero]

So I had a random thought late at night and checking the frame data suggests it *might* actually work, but I'm coming here to post the idea and see what people think.

Two important sources for this [most of the data for this stuff is here]: http://kuroganehammer.com/smash4/pikachu *and* http://kuroganehammer.com/smash4/sheik

So we [should] all know by now about Sheik's amazing 50/50 with dthrow at high percents. Yes, it stops working if we reach like 170%, but let's focus on that critical zone of about 110% to 140% [give or take, rage dependent and stage dependent], where she has a frame 5 uair and a frame 36 Vanish. As we all [hopefully] know, immediate uair loses only to airdodging almost instantly [too fast to react for the most part, although sometimes you can rely on cues like an immediate double jump to try to time an airdodge], and the threat of uair killing is usually high, while Vanish loses to a jump away OR a delayed airdodge, but will usually kill you for immediately or almost immediately airdodging [you can try re-airdodging, but the timing is such for Sheik that hitting the not-very-large 8-frame window happens quite consistently].

However, an option I've never seen people try is Thunder. For those who don't know, the cloud spawns frame 2, meaning the bolt WILL come down if Pikachu does Thunder for more than 1 frame. However, the kicker is that Thunder is invincible frames 34-44. What does this mean?

If stuff works the way I *hope* it does [haven't tested yet, either with someone or in tournament]:

- Sheik dthrows us
- We thunder
- They either uair or Vanish
- If they uair, Thunder will *hopefully* interrupt the uair, saving us from the part with the KB (the final hit), and also launch her upwards [which might actually KO her if she's at high enough percents, but certainly leaves her in an undesirable position]
- If they Vanish, the Thunder hits us, and because we have a 10-frame window to protect ourselves for 3-frames [34-44 vs 36-38 for Vanish], there's a decent chance [given how the timing hopefully works out] that we just don't get hit with Vanish because the Thunder's invincibility protects us.

NOW, this DOES lose to a delayed uair [I think, more on that below] or someone reading the Thunder and punishing it (I've often nair'd out of it and been told it ends deceptively early, but that endlag exists], but even then, we'll have fallen some distance (probably) due to Thunder not hitting Pikachu for a little over half a second, which means we're further from the blastzone, extending how long we live against uair, and we also have a nice, powerful hitbox covering us for a few frames that make the punish a bit riskier than they'd like.

I'm not saying this works, but the numbers suggest it is very promising. Any input or feedback is appreciated - I'm probably going to test this myself, but someone confirming this works would be fantastic, and someone explaining why this fails would be appreciated [disappointing, but appreciated]. If it does work, then it adds a whole new element to the 50/50 that beats any immediate options, and also serves as a way to make uair kill later [via falling farther before getting hit with uair], meaning the 50/50 should work for a shorter time period...

Spoiler: Crazy talk?

So was anyone able to test this out and see if it worked or not?

 

[Thor]

So was anyone able to test this out and see if it worked or not?

It seems like something that would work marvelously against ROB, who only has one powerful KO off the top option. From what I could tell, Pikachu fell kinda far the few times I tried it, so I'm not sure it properly protects us against Vanish, but I'm not sure. If someone actually looked into it, that'd be great, but from the few times I tried it, it wouldn't work very well.

Where it *might* work is at the high end of the 50-50, where you can barely squeeze a double jump but the uair will still clip us - then you could double jump thunder and we'd break out of uair, but avoid the Vanish because of the jump + Vanish hitbox reduction + thunder popping us up a bit higher. I don't think it works at the middle of the 50/50 window from what I can tell though.

 

[vegeta18]

how hard is pikachu to pick up as a character? I am a rosalina main considering a few secondaries and pikachu is definitely one of them. One of the biggest things turning me away from picking him up is that people often say that you should main pikachu or not play him since if he is just a secondary it will be hard to play him well since hes such a hard character. I consider myself to be pretty good with tech skill though, what do you guys think? if not pikachu im probably gonna try cloud or mario who seem a bit easier to play as

 

[Jterr]

So apparently Pikachu can quick attack cancel on Umbra Clock Tower (Omega).. Esam made a video about it, pretty ridiculous. You can't quick attack cancel to the right, only to the left
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcWTSbCsN0o

 

[A10theHero]

how hard is pikachu to pick up as a character? I am a rosalina main considering a few secondaries and pikachu is definitely one of them. One of the biggest things turning me away from picking him up is that people often say that you should main pikachu or not play him since if he is just a secondary it will be hard to play him well since hes such a hard character. I consider myself to be pretty good with tech skill though, what do you guys think? if not pikachu im probably gonna try cloud or mario who seem a bit easier to play as

It'd be better if you main him, and I would recommend that, but having him as just a secondary is not impossible. I mean, NAKAT mains Ness but he still has Pikachu as a secondary. And he does pretty well with Pika. In the end, it's up to you. Choose whoever covers your Rosa matchups you don't like and make sure it's someone you enjoy playing as. If you do decide to pick up Pikachu, we'll try and help you out here if you've got questions.

So apparently Pikachu can quick attack cancel on Umbra Clock Tower (Omega).. Esam made a video about it, pretty ridiculous. You can't quick attack cancel to the right, only to the left
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcWTSbCsN0o

I know right? That's pretty interesting.
Correct if I'm wrong, but it appears that you don't have a question. For that reason, I would recommend posting this in the social thread since this thread is mainly for questions and answers. In addition, you can hopefully get some discussion going on in there.

 

[Jterr]

It'd be better if you main him, and I would recommend that, but having him as just a secondary is not impossible. I mean, NAKAT mains Ness but he still has Pikachu as a secondary. And he does pretty well with Pika. In the end, it's up to you. Choose whoever covers your Rosa matchups you don't like and make sure it's someone you enjoy playing as. If you do decide to pick up Pikachu, we'll try and help you out here if you've got questions.


I know right? That's pretty interesting.
Correct if I'm wrong, but it appears that you don't have a question. For that reason, I would recommend posting this in the social thread since this thread is mainly for questions and answers. In addition, you can hopefully get some discussion going on in there.

alright, my bad sorry

 

[A10theHero]

alright, my bad sorry

No need to apologize!

 

[Shaymin slicker]

Any tips on the Bayonetta and Pikachu MU?

 

[A10theHero]

Any tips on the Bayonetta and Pikachu MU?

I haven't played many Bayonettas but here's what I've got so far:
Bullet arts can pester our SH Aerial approaches. So crouching/crawling and Down Tilt are really useful in this matchup.
As you could probably guess, DI is really important. As far as I can tell, I don't think they've found anything guaranteed on us, so DIing away or using Thunder to interrupt her strings are useful. If you're on a stage with platforms, depending on your spacing, it might actually help to DI towards the platforms to escape her combos. Bayonetta's side special only goes diagonally upwards so if you're near a platform ~horizontally, you should DI towards it.
Shield is also pretty strong in this matchup because, again, she's slow and also, she doesn't get much off of a grab. Down Tilt seems to be her main combo starter and that can be shielded and punished relatively easily.
Watch out for Witch Time of course.
If someone else has experience against Bayonetta, please share your insights too and correct me if I said anything wrong! I don't wanna spread misinformation! '~'

Edit: Coro just let me know that Bayonetta can angle her side special downwards diagonally as well. So this means that you can set up a mixup situation with where you decide to end up.
Edit: Bayonetta's throws only have frame perfect follow-ups, however, her forward throw is a ~kill throw, so you have to be wary of that at higher percents. So at lower percents: Not getting grabbed > getting grabbed > getting combo'd

 

[vegeta18]

It'd be better if you main him, and I would recommend that, but having him as just a secondary is not impossible. I mean, NAKAT mains Ness but he still has Pikachu as a secondary. And he does pretty well with Pika. In the end, it's up to you. Choose whoever covers your Rosa matchups you don't like and make sure it's someone you enjoy playing as. If you do decide to pick up Pikachu, we'll try and help you out here if you've got questions.

Besides his quick attack recovery and qa cancels is there anything else thats particularly hard about him? cuz i have pretty good tech skill so i can do most his stuff like short hop dairs without the landing lag and perfect pivot tilts and stuff.

 

[A10theHero]

Besides his quick attack recovery and qa cancels is there anything else thats particularly hard about him? cuz i have pretty good tech skill so i can do most his stuff like short hop dairs without the landing lag and perfect pivot tilts and stuff.

I guess the three closest things are killing with up throw to thunder, jab locking, and onstage bairs. If your opponent DIs the up throw, you have to follow their DI and input back and Thunder during Pikachu's jumpsquat frames. This can be difficult if you're unsure which direction they'll input, if they DI at all. So you have to be good at reading. And with jab locks, you just need to know percents and what move you could potentially jab lock with in a given situation. Finally, with onstage bairs, it's basically inputting bair before you walk off a ledge, making the bair occur onstage with the lingering hitbox being useful as an edgeguarding tool. Those are the hardest things to master. Just don't forget that with QACing, you've got a few applications to practice such as ledge cancel nairs. And you need to know what platforms/parts of a stage you can QAC on.
In my opinion, the tech is not what's hardest about Pikachu. It's knowing when to pressure and when to retreat. Whether you should approach or play campy. Thinking about which option you should use, where could you potentially set up an edgeguarding situation, what of your plethora of edgeguarding options would work best, etc. Things like that.
Being a small character is a blessing and a curse. Sure the contorting of your hurtbox has its advantages, but with Pikachu, mistakes can be more costly. He's not as rewarding as other top/high tier characters for the effort put in and that dissuades people from playing as him. You need to think of mixups and such with other characters too but, again, your mistakes are more costly and the effort put in will be much more than for, say, Sheik. If you're willing to put up with this, then welcome to the family. Otherwise, it might be better to pick an easy-to-pick-up character like Cloud. You could focus more on improving as your main and not have to worry as much about such things when playing your secondary. I dunno. I'm rambling now. The choice is up to you, man.

 

[jmjb]

why does esam always use FAir in the blastzones? whenever he gets smashed away, he uses fair in the blastzones, and it makes no sense cause you'll die sooner if you use FAir that deep. yet I see him do it all the time now.. anybody have any clue why? he does it literally every time.

 

[A10theHero]

why does esam always use FAir in the blastzones? whenever he gets smashed away, he uses fair in the blastzones, and it makes no sense cause you'll die sooner if you use FAir that deep. yet I see him do it all the time now.. anybody have any clue why? he does it literally every time.

Probably because of this:

http://smashboards.com/threads/hurtbox-shifting-instant-momentum-cancel.423544/

However, Pikachu's Fair actually makes him get KO'd one percent earlier.
Maybe ESAM didn't know that.

 

[Coro_]

I haven't played many Bayonettas but here's what I've got so far:
Bullet arts can pester our SH Aerial approaches. So crouching/crawling and Down Tilt are really useful in this matchup.
As you could probably guess, DI is really important. As far as I can tell, I don't think they've found anything guaranteed on us, so DIing away or using Thunder to interrupt her strings are useful. If you're on a stage with platforms, depending on your spacing, it might actually help to DI towards the platforms to escape her combos. Bayonetta's side special only goes diagonally upwards so if you're near a platform ~horizontally, you should DI towards it.
Shield is also pretty strong in this matchup because, again, she's slow and also, she doesn't get much off of a grab. Down Tilt seems to be her main combo starter and that can be shielded and punished relatively easily.
Watch out for Witch Time of course.
If someone else has experience against Bayonetta, please share your insights too and correct me if I said anything wrong! I don't wanna spread misinformation! '~'

Minor thing, Bayo's side b can in fact be angled diagonally downward, so watch out for that.

 

[A10theHero]

Minor thing, Bayo's side b can in fact be angled diagonally downward, so watch out for that.

Alright then. So Bayonetta either has to angle it upwards diagonally or downwards diagonally to continue the combo if we DI like that. A 50/50 situation is still pretty good I guess.
Thanks for letting me know!

 

[Megamang]

ESAM is probably Fairing due to brawl habits. I still do it, even though I haven't touched brawl in years. Something about it being directly tied to survival makes it sort of a panic/reactive thing, so it deeply cemented in my gaming psyche =B