Pikachu Secondary Discussion!
This is complete! Under each character, I have four sections. The first section has matchup ratios between the proposed secondary and pikachu's hard matchups. The second section describes the matchups, how they do in tourneys, and the learning curve. The third section contains a brief synopsis about the character. It describes the character a bit and draws similarities and differences between that character and pikachu. The fourth section contains a link to two useful threads: A Guide to the character, and The character's matchup thread.
This is divided into two sections: A secondary and specialdary section. Under the secondary section, there are four characters that are recommended secondaries for pikachu, based on their matchups against pikachu's counters. Under the specialdary section, there is only one character as of now, but that character will counter matchups that pikachu may or may not have trouble with. Those matchups are listed as 50:50 with pikachu, but they can be a pain for pikachu, so these specialdaries can hard counter those matchups.
We are NOT finished discussing. I will keep this updated as we go through matchups and as our metagame develops. Also, I would like to add some more characters to the specialdaries section.
Here's a poll of the pikachu community as to what pika's best secondaries are: Pikachu Secondary Poll
I personally recommend the secondaries in this order:
1. MK
2. Snake
3. DK
4. ZSS
Secondaries:
Snake:
The Stats:
vs Marth (55:45)
vs MK (45:55)
vs G&W (60:40)
vs ROB (40:60)
Snake has been voted by the pikachu community as the best seconadary for pikachu. Snake beats G&W really, really bad, he goes fairly even with Marth and MK, and he gets countered by ROB and DDD. Pikachu can handle DDD easily, but they both seem to have a bit of trouble with ROB, which is the only hole in this defense. However, That is not a huge problem, since a MK counter is very vital, due to MK's popularity at tournaments, and since ROBs are far less common than MK's.
Playing Snake will teach you to utilize your tilts, to optimize your return to the stage, and to properly react out of your shield. Snake is a brute powerhouse with tilts that do 21% and an aerial that does 28%. He has multiple kill moves, but his most used (and easiest to land) kill move is his utilt, kill midwieghts the in the lower 100's. The problem with learning Snake is he has very slow aerials, which is almost unbearable for pikachu players, who tend to rely on aerials more than tilts. Snake also has a high learning curve, which implies he takes a long time to master.
Useful Threads:
Snake Matchup Thread
Into the Fray - A Snake Survival Guide
DK:
The Stats:
vs Marth (50:50)
vs MK (45:55)
vs G&W (50:50)
vs ROB (50:50)
DK is theoretically our best secondary (excluding MK), with no bad matchups between him and pikachu. He goes even with all of pikachu's bad matchups, which leaves no counters for this team. He doesn't take too long to learn, which is a plus. DK goes even with MK, which is the closest you are going to get to an MK counter.
I don't know much about DK. I do know that he has a really good bair, long ranged tilts, and a great grab game. DK can greatly help Pikachu out, but they are very different. Pikachu is a fast, nimple combo'er with an annoying projectile and an amazing recovery, while DK is rather large, clumsy, and projectileless, and has a terrible vertical recovery, but with many powerful kill moves. They do have similarities however. Both have good aerials, a good grab game, and reliable kill moves.
Useful Threads:
DK Matchup Thread
DK: 101 A Primer for Newcomers
Zero Suit Samus:
The Stats:
vs Marth (50:50)
vs MK (45:55)
vs G&W (45:55)
vs ROB (60:40)
ZSS goes even, or has a slight disadvantage against Marth, MK, and G&W. There are some board discrepancies on the matchup ratios, but they are fairly accurate (+ or - 5 points). ZSS beats out ROB, but she goes near even with MK, which is really important in tournaments. ZSS has a HUGE learning curve. It takes a long time to get accustomed to her moves, recovery, and playstyle.
ZSS has incredible range on her moves, and she has huge stun on her dsmash and neutral b, which allows her to pull off some nice combos. However, the thing I can't stand about ZSS is that she doesn't have reliable kill moves. Her main kill moves are side b and bair, both which doesn't kill until well past 120%. Contrary to popular belief, she is not easily gimped. Her nice second jump, down b, and up b boost will usually ensure her recovery back to the stage.
Useful Threads:
ZSS Matchup Thread
ZSS Guide
Meta Knight
The Stats:
vs Marth (65:35)
vs MK (50:50)
vs G&W (60:40)
vs ROB (60:40)
MK is...well MK. He destroys all of pikachu's hard matchups. He beats out all Marth, G&W, ROB by at least 60-40. He goes even with himself, which may present a problem at tourneys, since an MK main will usually beat an MK secondary. However, if you get good enough at MK dittos, you may be able to beat MKs at tourneys. MK is really easy to learn, so if you need a quick fix for your bad matchups, MK is your man.
MK has fast lagless attacks, an amazing gimping game, a great grab games, a godly recovery, extremely reliable kill moves. There's hardly anything wrong with MK, but the problem is that almost everyone who goes to tourneys have tons of MK matchup experience. I don't feel that I need to say much about MK, since everyone already knows a lot about him.
Useful Threads:
Victory is My Destiny - A Guide to Meta Knight
Meta Knight's Revenge - The Official MK Matchup Thread
Specialdaries:
Marth:
The Stats:
vs Marth (50:50)
vs MK (35:65)
vs G&W (55:45)
vs ROB (50:50)
* vs Falco (60:40)
Marth goes even or has a slight advantage against G&W and ROB. He gets beat by MK pretty badly, but Marth is a good Falco counter. If you have trouble with Falco as pikachu, I recommend that you pick up Marth. All of pikachu's ideal secondaries get countered by Falco. The Snake:Marth matchup ratios always have the advantage in Snake's favor, but a good Marth can out space and out prioritize Snake with Marth's disjointed hitboxes. I think this matchup is fairly even, so it goes down to the skill of the player. Marth against Snake is usually better than MK against Snake, since Snakes are designed to fight MKs.
Marth teaches you to space properly. Marth and Pikachu share many similar characteristics: They both love their fair, fsmash has similar range, dtilt is often used as a spacing too. Dolphin Slash and Dancing Blade OoS is way too good for Marth. DB also refreshes marth's moveset as well. My problem with marth, besides getting killed by MK, is that its hard to land kill moves. Tipper fsmash kills at 70 or 80%, but its incredibly hard to land that. Untipper fsmash, dsmash, usmash, utilt, and his other kill moves don't kill until 120% at least.
Useful Threads:
Marth Matchup Thread
A List of Marth Guides