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Pika's aerials

Linkmus

Smash Rookie
Joined
Sep 28, 2008
Messages
22
Location
Nijmegen, Netherlands
I was wondering in what situation a Pika player would prefer Nair over any other aerial. I've checked a couple of matches of other players but for some reason Nair never really fits into a situation, just because Fair and Bair are simply longer-lasting. Obviously Nair is good for edgeguarding and such, but is it of any use in 'standard' aerial combat?

Also, what exactly is the purpose of Uair?
 

1337-Zero

Smash Ace
Joined
Jul 4, 2008
Messages
796
Location
:noitacoL
Um...I'm new to pika too so maybe I can learn a couple of things. I usually use Nair as a kill move as well as an edgegaurd because of its high horizontal knockback. It's also useful for finishing a D-throw chaingrab. As for Uair, I use that for racking up damage because of its very small amount of knockback.
But hey, welcome to SmashBoards Linkmus!
 

K 2

Smash Lord
Joined
Jul 17, 2008
Messages
1,920
Location
Tennessee
Nair is really good for a kill move. Fair is usually a better move for approaching, since the it has long range and a longer lasting hitbox. Nair is mainly used for edgeguarding, but one common use for it is QAC -> nair.
 

Kitamerby

Smash Hero
Joined
Aug 9, 2007
Messages
5,729
Location
Las Vegas
Fair is a nice combo move, and works to hit people in front of you when you're airborne (duh) You can fastfall it before the final hit to chain it into some ground moves like dtilt, ftilt, dsmash, or maybe even Usmash if you're lucky. It's a good approach, too.

Bair is priority central, and does some nice damage. Some people also think you may be able to gimp people with crappy recoveries by dragging them offstage with this. It can only be done laglessly if you full hop it.

Uair is combo city! You can chain uair into uair into uair over and over again, and finish it off with a Nair if you'd like. It has low knockback, so it's perfect for this. Oh, and the semispike at the tip of the tail is gone, sadly. ;-;

Dair is nice, but is usually people's least-used aerial for some reason. It does 12%, which is VERY nice, in one hit (so no SDI out of Bair or Fair), and has a nice knockback angle (almost a semi-spike) with some pretty respectable knockback. I think the fact that it auto-fastfalls if used not during a jump (many people c-stick their aerials) is a bit of a turn-off, despite it's excellent potential to be a great gimper. Also, it has a TON of priority, and can be autocanceled by short-hopping and doing the Dair right as you leave the ground, which makes it a potentially AWESOME approach! :D Also, you can QAC directly into the landing hit of this for 4% and some okay knockback. It's the only aerial that can be done this way.

Nair is probably Pikachu's best aerial. It may not have a ton of priority, but it's FAST FAST FAST. It's nearly instant to come out (which makes it great to use as a finisher to a Uair juggle), and is a sex kick. If you hit on the first frame (you gotta be super close and right next to them basically as you press the button), you'll get LOTS of knockback! I'm talking KO potential, folks! I forgot how much damage it does, but it's pretty respectable. Even if you hit with the weak hit, you still have enough knockback in it to probably gimp or get away before they can hit you back. It's also an incredible move to perform out of the QAC ( and is probably the best aerial to QAC into). Also, because of its INCREDIBLE knockback, it's a very good move to edgeguard with!
 

Muhznit

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Apr 10, 2008
Messages
455
Location
404...
Fun fact: Bair (often said to be Pika's worst Aerial) comes out faster than both Fair AND Nair.

And it CAN gimp.... sorta. Go to 2:30 of this vid to see how I got a kill with it.

All of Pikachu's aerials can have zero lag when used correctly:

Fair: Use it any way you need, pretty much. It chains into ANYTHING.
Bair: Use it INSTANTLY as you full-hop it to avoid any lag.
Uair: Can't be used instantly out of a short hop (it turns into a U Smash for some reason), but there is a short timeframe it can be used in a shorthop with no lag.
Dair: Use instantly during a short hop.
 

Zylar

Smash Ace
Joined
Sep 21, 2008
Messages
688
Location
In your homez, playing your Wiiz.
If I'm on the edge and they are approching me, I like to fall down jump up and forward while doing a fair. Now if their damage is up and they have enough knockback to go some distance then I quickly follow up with a sliding dair (Dash, jump, dair so that the dair moves horizontally and stays a pika's height away from the ground). The dair covers a lot of room that way and even if you miss the shock hitwaves during the landing make it kinda hard to punish, at least I never got punished ... yet...
 

Veil2222

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Mar 5, 2008
Messages
204
I use Nair and Bair out of shield a lot to punish bad spacing/timing, as many have said Nair can be a good kill move if you can't land Utilt/Usmash > Thunder combo for whatever reason.
 
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