Who still plays competitively?

[Cassio]

This is for anyone serious about improving their pikachu in brawl and those who can help.

Even though we have the coolest social thread on the boards, I know theres a few decent pikas around who perform pretty well or are trying to improve. After talking to Z this weekend I found it to be pretty handy to have another competitive pika to talk to, so itd be handy if we could start gathering and talking as well as helping each other with a dedication to improving (for anyone at any level).

So yeah, post in here and maybe say a bit about yourself (where your from, etc.) and your pika (i.e. strenghts, weaknesses, MU knowledge, things you want to improve, etc.) and Ill keep track of people. If you know someone that doesnt post on these boards but fits the description please submit them.

Temporary Chat: http://xat.com/highvoltageclan

Competitors:

Birdman - Conneticut
Volt Storm - Japan
Phoenix Lord - New Jersey
Nicholas - Pennsylvania
Cam - Alabama
AtenyB - France
Biggy - Georgia
ElNoNombreHombre - Pennsylvania
Captain L - British Columbia
Auto - SoCal
Moolish - Florida
SSZ7 - Florida
Stealth Raptor - Kansas
Gunnermaniac - Louisiana
PZ - Georgia
Leaf. - Texas
Luckay - Maryland
K Prime - Texas
Lamb - Nova Scotia
Shurikan - Ohio
Twigz - Carribean
Mercy - Georgia
Cassio - SoCal
N-Gage - SoCal
Emily - SoCal

 

[Lovecraft]

Well, I guess I shall start this show.

I'm a fairly new Pikachu (about 2 months) main but not new to Pikachu, before I mained D3 and seconded Pika, then slowly discovered that I just had more fun and enjoyed Pika's speed much more than D3.

Strengths? I'll go with CGs because of the prior knowledge about buffering grabs with D3. Definitely not gonna say I never drop a grab, but when I focus I'm pretty consistent.

Weaknesses? *starts writing laundry list* A lot of it is being impatient, and being too aggressive. Oh, and I have a really bad habit about falling into enemies.

I'm from New England, Connecticut to be precise. Matchups I'm very familiar with are: Falco, Fox, G&W, and ZSS. All are played by members of our crew who I see almost on a weekly basis.

What to improve? As I mentioned before, playing a bit more campy, transition into a more patient Pika.

So there.

 

[~automatic]

I'd be serious about Brawl if the game wasn't so silly.

 

[Volt_Storm_7]

Guess I'll try my part.
Been playing pikachu from the start of this game. Originally lived in California before Japan. Didn't play competitively until my friend showed me GameFAQs, where most started. Then I started to become interested in competitive play and here I am now, close to becoming best in Japan.

I am an aggressive and strategic pikachu that uses everything on the stage for recovery and knows most things for pikachu. My only problem is I always forget to grab when I have the chance. I am familiar with most MUs and I cause upsets no matter what. Surprisingly, I'm not very good at falco because I sometimes miss the grab buffers by accident. ICs because ,well, its a cg monster.
Improvement? Grabs. period.

 

[Phoenix Lord']

I play competitively, but I'm no good at analyzing myself.

 

[Cassio]

No problem, you dont have to write anything I just want to get everyone.

In socal theres:
myself
N-gage
Doll
maybe chookie

 

[Nicholas1024]

Alright, I'm around the Pennsylvania area, and though I've never had the chance to do much offline, I do practice a ton on wifi (and my connection is pretty good, so minimal lag. )

Anyway, as far as strengths goes, I know Pika's move set inside and out, since I've played him effectively from Brawl's release. I also keep an eye out for my opponent's habits, and I've gotten fairly good at punishing them.

Regarding weaknesses, although my reads are fairly good, my matchup experience comes from trial and error, so I don't always know the best way to punish stuff (although by this point I have a fairly solid grounding in most match ups...), and if I'm the one being read, I'm going to get massacred. I also have a tendency to die to something really dumb roughly once a game. (Sometimes it's suicide, sometimes it's stuff like random Snake F-smash catching your spot dodge, etc. My personal "favorite" would have to be when I failed QA with 3 seconds left and a 20% lead.) I really don't know why that tends to happen, it just does. :/

My other weakness would be that I have trouble using Pikachu's down throw CG. Granted, it's wi-fi, but still... also have a bit of trouble doing D-throw to N-air.

The MU's I'm familiar with really depend on what you mean by "familiar". I know a really good player who more or less plays half the cast, (and I've picked up half of top tier for secondaries at one point or another, but at the moment I'm using Marth and Snake for that duty), so I have at least a basic grounding in the tricks most characters have.

As for MU's I'm bad at or personally hate...
Ness (I've gotten better at this one, but his back throw is just so dumb... It doesn't help that I'm bad at SDI'ing the side B, which means I take 20% damage + grab. Plus he has a magnet, that's always stupid.)
Olimar (self explanatory, there's never a good way to approach him.)
Fox/Falco/Wolf (anyone who would play them against Pika knows the matchup inside and out. Without the CG it's even, I'm not remotely reliable with said CG, and don't know the match ups that well. Plus, I hate it when people can shut down my T-jolts.)
MK (Despite playing this matchup fairly often on the ladder and reading about it a lot, I'm not sure it's even. Esam vs MK might be even, but my pikachu has some definite trouble.)
DDD (I have no idea what to do against him, waddle dees stop T-jolts, and he can shield grab EVERYTHING. Plus I have to out-damage him 2-1 to actually kill the guy.)

 

[*Cam*]

I still play competitively. Going to a tourney this weekend.

 

[AtneyB]

I don't play competitively with Pikachu anymore...

Why should I do that if I can play MK ?

Actually I just didn't play him very often so I wasn't confident enough to select him in tourney (~80% of my matches were with MK).

But recently I've seen the matches Esam vs Reflex/Leon and I won't say it gave me the hope I was waiting for but, I may reconsider my opinion on playing the rat a bit more

Weaknesses : I don't know MUs very well/I'm not good at chain grabbin/I definitely can't play safe/I'm not Esam/I play MK

Strengths : none.

 

[Scatz]

Tag, you trying to get back into smash competitively?

Also, why don't you guys try to get the Xat/Skype going again?

Anyways, in my state, there's:

Me
Mercy
possibly two other Pikas.

I wouldn't know the two randoms cause I've barely been to any tourneys recently. I sort of go Pika when I'm doing better with him, but lately, my Yoshi's been the one to let me take on top players/place here.

If you wanna talk with me, hit me up on Skype/AIM. I'm there most of the times when I'm at home.

 

[ElNoNombreHombre]

Alright, I'm around the Pennsylvania area

Cool, another PAkachu. Just moved back home to PA (greater Philadelphia area [or greatest Philadelphia area]) from WA.

IRL stuff has kept me from participating in as many tournaments as I would like (February especially). Too bad I came back mostly as I left it, pretty much nothing. I'm considering starting up something once I get settled down here to remedy that (and streaming it too, if I can swing a decent Internet connection. I streamed a lot of the GameClucks Brawl tournaments, if I were actually decent at the game I woulda commentated it so it'd be something worth watching, rather than just being the first Brawl streamer who actually knew what he was doing and could actually make it look good with a good framerate and audio that didn't hurt your ears).

+ I've had people comment on my spacing. One person even said I space "like a Marth."
- That comment was in reference to my Pikachu.
+ I can/have commit(ed) lots of the scattered information about Pikachu to memory (or know where to look it up quickly and retain what I read).
- I'm terrible about actually being able to use any of it.
+ When I want to, I am extremely patient (actually had a double JV-4 stock timeout draw happen in a wifi tournament once because the opposing falco only shot lasers).
- I'm pretty sure this has led to a very reactive playstyle--I've been told I like to stand around a lot (I think this is mostly figurative, but it could be literal).

 

[Jimmyfosho]

Pittsburgh is better.

 

[KayLo!]

Don't play anymore, BUT:

Cool, another PAkachu. Just moved back home to PA (greater Philadelphia area [or greatest Philadelphia area]) from WA.

For reals? We should hang out sometime. I live in the West Oak Lane section of Philly. Just outside of Germantown.

 

[Captain L]

Captain L! The West Coast Canadian Pika! (as opposed to Lamb, the east coast Canadian Pika)

I'm from British Columbia, farthest I've traveled is 3 hours for some tournaments in Washington. My strengths are that pressure doesn't get to my head, and actually makes me play way better. I have a very patient playstyle and I'm comfortable with smartly camping jolts for an entire game if I think that is the best route to victory. My biggest glaring weakness is that I tend to hit peoples' shields when they're at high percents, instead of just grabbing them. I'm working on that though, and it's helping my game big time.

Matchup-wise, I think I'm one of few Pikachus who has legitimate yoshi experience. I also have to play rob a lottttt for some reason, he's shockingly over-represented in my region. My region also has a flakey ban on MK right now, but we're waffling on that and will probably have him legal for the next monthly. This is mostly cause we're a small community, and one of the mk mains said he would only come if mk was legal and he'd bring two friends, which would basically increase attendance by 20% so we thought it was a good idea. There are some very strong pro-ban voices in my area though.

I used to struggle vs Asa's olimar and get 3 stocked over and over again in bracket. I'm absolute trash vs olimar. He moved to Hawaii though so I get free rides to grand finals now. Unfortunately all this does is hide my complete inability to approach olimar. Sometimes I try camping and just end up taking 40% from pikmin for every jolt I catch him with. Planking works for me sort of, but I get no offense from it and burn through the LGL in no tmie.

I also have an okay amount of mk experience, cause the closest smasher to me (~30 min drive) plays mk, so we'll just practice with eachother occasionally (haven't in a while though).

I haven't done anything too notable in my smash career, though I beat bl4dew1se's marth 2-0 once in losers (he 2-0'd me in winners) and took a game from f3lix in losers finals. I also have won the last three locals I've entered, but there's a regional (qualifier for impulse) coming up that I hope to place well in. Oh I also struggle vs G&W and a very good G&W player is coming from Alberta. I've never had any luck against him, but I hope I can take him this time!

so yeah that's all


Edit: and I've tried a couple times to pick up a secondary (Wolf, Peach) and they always end up being beyond terrible. I've been putting some effort into ICs recently by request of Big D, but what'll likely happen is I'll get 3 stocked first time I pull them out in a friendly and then just ragequit.

2nd Edit: my squirtle is pretty good, I'd probably use him if we ever did a 1 stock event

 

[Nicholas1024]

I've actually played pikachu since Brawl came out, I just don't actively post on these boards much and there isn't an active tourney scene nearby for me to get into. It'd be awesome if you actually started up some tourneys nearby.

 

[SupaSairentoZ7℠]

For me it'd be easier to know my weaknesses once I enter a tournament.

 

[~automatic]

No problem, you dont have to write anything I just want to get everyone.

In socal theres:
myself
N-gage
Doll
maybe chookie
~auto. Kind of. I guess.

Fixed.

 

[Cassio]

Yeah Bigs this is the first and maybe last real chance Ill have the ability to compete seriously, so Ill see what I can do.

Editted the first post. Feel free to update your posts as well. Also like Scatz suggested Im going to try and get either the xat, skype, or some chat client going again so we can start talking. Lemme know what yall prefer, but for now lets go with xat since its the easiest to get started with. Ill link it here and in the OP:
http://xat.com/highvoltageclan

What hours are people generally online and willing to chat? Ill try to be on in the evenings. Im also able to play anyone through wifi, I have a pretty good connection with anyone whos connection isnt poor. Once we get a chat up and running we can start figuring out how we can make all of us better.

Auto Im going to add you I can just take you off late if you decide you dont care.

 

[Lovecraft]

I can do anything between 2:15 pm, and 2:00 am.

 

[Moolish]

I wanna be in! Haven't played Brawl in a while and I would like to improve.
I've played Pikachu since the beginning of Brawl, yes. Actually hung out around here a few years back.
Competitively? Hmm. it'd be nice to get into tournaments, though the lack of any and my inability to go out into the real world and attend offline tournaments limits me to online.
Which is cool too.

... skills? Me? NOTHING.
Haven't played Brawl in a gazillion years, man.
I do remember that I sidestepped too much and couldn't actually get a kill in.
... and I sucked against ROB. Man. I hated that guy.

Let's see.. well overall my playstyle isn't really, uh.. as "calculated". I don't think too much behind my actions. I haven't really had any serious critique so I don't know what my strengths/ weaknesses are -- I'm, uh, aggressive, but that may be both a good thing and a bad thing.

Assuming I do get added to the list... anytime between 4pm and.. probably 9 or even 10pm EST -- it really just depends on the day.

 

[~automatic]

Auto Im going to add you I can just take you off late if you decide you dont care.

Cool.

Also, I barely ever get to attend anything anymore so it's kinda hard to be enthusiastic about playing like most SoCal people are. I do go to smashfests at Terry's or Soid's and attend local stuff if possible. I'm not completely out of action.

 

[Cassio]

Alright auto and awesome moo.

Were in the xat now btw, so yall should come.

 

[Stealth Raptor]

Stealth Raptor hailing from kansas, the best state in the midwest :D

i play a bait game, try to move in and out of range to bait a response and punish. my strengths are a good reading ability, good tech skill, good spacing and mixups. i can be super patient, but sometimes i am too patient. im kinda weak at adapting, not so much as knowing how or when to adapt but applying it in my playstyle. i can see things, but making my ****ing hands do what i want them to do has frustrated me. as i live in kansas, even though we have some very good players, my matchup knowledge is weak as we dont have a large base of players. im really bad at the marth and ICs matchup, though im making strides in the marth matchup.

 

[Gunnermaniac]

Gunnermaniac, or Gunner for short here!

I main Pika in Louisiana, and recently made our PR. I started trying to play brawl competitively January 2011 (Where I entered my first tourney and got last :D). I'm originally from shreveport, where myself and 3 other friends found about about smashboards, and decided to take the game seriously. The only problem was we were the only players in the city, and the nearest tournies were a 4 hour drive away (Baton Rouge).

So we practiced everyday. We watched youtube videos by day, and read long smashboards threads we couldn't possibly understand yet by night (frame data doesn't mean anything to someone who doesn't understand the game) During this time I watched the entire Anther vs M2K set, and after seeing all of pikachu's quick attack shenanigans, I knew I had to learn them. That's when I really became a Pika main...

Anyway, we all moved to Baton Rouge for college, and that's when I really got into the competitive scene (I think I've mised like 2 tournaments since I moved here). I play at least an hour a day with either my roomate, or other smashers I've since met here. Since then I have come to hate two characters above all: Diddy and Sonic. Our state has 2 really good sonics, and several good diddy's.

So here I am now, 8th on my state's PR (Likely to be 5-7 when we dish a new one out), and still trying to improve. I love Pikachu, and I want to continue to improve with him. Any help is much appreciated!

 

[Cassio]

Great, cool seeing the new pikas around here .

Captain L I saw you in the chat but youd already left. We got quite a few people, I think around 5-12 PM on weekdays will probably be the peak hours.

 

[Nicholas1024]

Yeah, it was fun seeing people around and playing some friendlies with Cassio; I definitely needed practice in the MK matchup.

By the way, even though you dominated me for the most part, there were a couple habits I noticed about your play. Whenever you were knocked to the ground and missed a tech, you'd usually get up in place. I wasn't in position to punish that a lot of the time, but a better player might dash and up smash or QAC to N-air. You also used the same reverse shuttle loop edeguard a lot (although it was working often enough, so...), and I was able to somewhat consistently shield grab your D-airs when you landed with them.

Anyway, hope to play some more soon, it's good to get consistent practice with someone new.

 

[PZ]

I am interested in this but don't play competively...just wifree.:<

 

[Leaf.]

I guess you can put me down as still playing.

 

[Luckay4Lyphe]

Still play, next tourney wont be for a month tho

 

[Pikabunz]

I haven't really been active since Apex, but I still play competitively. I plan on coming back to the wifi time chamber to get better again and also help some of you guys out.

 

[Phoenix Lord']

I haven't played since Apex either, haha. So sad.

 

[Stealth Raptor]

i play weekly, just wish it was more then the same five people every week lol

 

[Phoenix Lord']

What I would give to have 5 different people to play every week, col

 

[Stealth Raptor]

what i would give to live in one of the most active smashb regions

 

[Phoenix Lord']

Same here, bro.

 

[Pikabunz]

Just play wifi. It's really not that bad once you get used to the input delay. You can pretty much practice any MU on wifi.

 

[Stealth Raptor]

i would if my internet hadnt turned into the rotting pile of garbage it is now. you know as well as i do i like wifi, but my hands are tied atm

 

[Phoenix Lord']

Perhaps I'll give it a go someday.

 

[Cassio]

^agree with everything said about wifi. I think every successful pika has used wifi to improve in on way or another.

To the guy named Zero_'something' that was in the xat the other day, are you still here? Check back in xat again sometime.

Also lets try and get the xat going again this evening. Ill be on around 6-10 PST. I updated the OP with more people.

Lastly feel free to use this thread to discuss anything about pikachu competitively as a character, as a community, or your personal pika. Ill add more myself later.

 

[Syko_Lemming]

I still play competitively. Ranked 7th in NS, but that'll change when the next PR's are released.