gallax
Smash Hero
Zero Suit Samus
General Discussion
Soon to Come
Pika's Advantages
1) Small- harder to hit
2) A better projectile
3) Awesome recovery
Pika's Disadvantages
1) Lightweight- easier to kill
2) Outranged
Strategy for Winning
Range and approaching
This match-up is weird for approaching. We have a better projectile that can be used better, but her projectile cancels out ours. but you can jump up and get the tjolf to hit over th blaster which is a good thing. Another good thing is that ZSS cannot move while usng her blaster. We can.
Also, ZSS has MUCH more range than pikachu. This will make actually getting inside to ZSS really difficult. Also, once you get inside, you have to worry about a 1 frame jab and a 4 frame u-tilt (which has deceptively large range, so watch out) Your Fair to u-tilt will help a lot in this matchup to get her off of the ground and above you (You should always try to get under her) ZSS will mostly try to Forward B close space to you, or just dash near you and dash attack. If you don't react OOS fast enough, ZSS will get a jab or u-tilt, which will lead to you being knocked away with jab (a good 8-9%) or above her (ZSS loves when her opponents are above her. QAC will get you basically nowhere against a good ZSS. U-tilt OOS wrecks QAC so hard its not even funny. Also, since for some reason QA makes your hitbox bigger than pikachu, you could get hit by D-smashes which starts the comboing (Will elaborate on comboes later)
Grabbing ZSS
ZSS CANNOT be chaingrabbed on a flat surface, she can Down-B out of it. However, you can get the F-throw to U-smash till about 20% (after throw) so you should rely on that for early %s. If you see a upward slant, CG her away, she can't down-b out of it. Neither players grabs can be utilized that effectively. D-throw comboes for ZSS don't really work, you can Airdodge out of them. However, watch for air chases that follow up with a uair and start the annoyingness of comboes.
****You can now buffer a dash to fthrow cg ZSS till around 47% damage*****
Her armor
At the beginning of every match, ZSS starts with 3 pieces of armor. Normally, the first 2 are thrown away, and she will use 1 piece to attack you with. The #1 priority for you is to GET THE ARMOR AWAY. ZSS players are determined by skill in their armor use. Countless times have I tried to use the armor back at my brother, but been punished for giving it back (1 stock deficit at the beginning of a match, imagine it) Her downward glide toss can be soo aggrevating because she can follow it up with a grab to back throw into it, or just use it as a distractionary technique and start comboing you. ALso, she may drop it above you and fall with an attack to add shield pressure. If the armor doesn't hit you or your shield, it remains a hitbox until it stops bouncing around. Beware and get that crap off of the level as fast as you can. The better the ZSS, the better the armor control and conservation.
ZSS + Combos
ZSS's comboability is 2nd to none in this game, she is THE BEST comboer. Her U-air, Up-b, Neutral B (Stun gun) D-smash (Stun SMash) all make her the best comboing character in brawl. A really basic, but deadly combo for ZSS is D-smash (x2) to fair. If both hits of the fair landed, you took around 45-50% fresh. THe main thing you will need to watch out for if you don't wanna get comboes it her D-smash, This leaves you stunned for about 1 1/3 seconds and allows ZSS to follow up with ANYTHING. A grab, u-tilt, Foward B, Bair, Down-b (will elaborate later)a 2nd D-smash to anything said above. After the D-smash you will pop out with stun time that you cannot airdodge out of, so you will get hit with bairs, fairs, or forward B. Pikachu's comboes on the other hand don't work too well on her because of her Down-B. It starts with invulnerability frames, and if you are persistent and go after her, she can use the attack and hit you for about 13% with decent knockback.
Hanging on the ledge
One thing that Zamus can do at the edge if you are hit with a D-smash is Down-B spike you. It is deadly at higher %s, and it happens to me a lot if I'm not at high enough %s for a bair or forward B to kill me. On stages like smashville and Battlefield, ZSS can also D-smash to stage spiked Bair, which can be VERY irritating.
Recovering versus ZSS
When recovering against ZSS, your best option is to go low. However, don't loiter on the ledges too long, or you will be smacked with some D-smashes. ZSS can't really edgeguard pikachu unless she jumps out and forward-Bs you near the magnifyer (It can happen, trust me) On the other hand, the ZSS will try to get to the level as high as possible. ZSS has the best tether recovery of all the characters in the game, and it is surprisingly hard to gimp her. Smart ZSS conserive their DJ and Down-b for near the end, and it can make gimping quite a task. Also, if you try to ledge hog, she can hit you with her up-b and bring you down with her, and maybe she will have the chance to grab it again. Also, she can Footstool you from her Down B if you are trying to ledgeguard her.
Killing
ZSS has pretty good recovery, gimping her in impossible but just plain edge hogging won't work. Only when her ONLY option is to Up B is she very easy to gimp but with her down B to foot stool and extended Up B jump (Similiar to Marth's side B, Luigi's tornado, etc) and just her plain good mid air jump she doesn't need to rely on Up B too much besides when its obvious you won't be there to edgehog. Side Note, Side B WILL tether onto the edge as well, so she'll be trying to hit you out with Side B and if she doesn't she'll grab the ledge. Just kill plain out anyways.
Pikachu is small so it makes it easier to dodge ZSS. Make sure you DI unpredictable out of stun so she doesn't always follow you, cause bair really hurts >_<..
Uair, bair, 2nd hit Fair, side B all have potential to kill. Its not super strong but for a light weight its **** good. Kills Pikachu by 110-120% Side B would kill but its more used for spacing so it doesn't kill till like 130-140% 2nd Hit fair is hard to land at higher percents since the first hit knocks anyone away too far.
Helpful Video's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtG3Es0vlUg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dC8sugbBBA
Overall Matchup
50:50
General Discussion
Soon to Come
Pika's Advantages
1) Small- harder to hit
2) A better projectile
3) Awesome recovery
Pika's Disadvantages
1) Lightweight- easier to kill
2) Outranged
Strategy for Winning
Range and approaching
This match-up is weird for approaching. We have a better projectile that can be used better, but her projectile cancels out ours. but you can jump up and get the tjolf to hit over th blaster which is a good thing. Another good thing is that ZSS cannot move while usng her blaster. We can.
Also, ZSS has MUCH more range than pikachu. This will make actually getting inside to ZSS really difficult. Also, once you get inside, you have to worry about a 1 frame jab and a 4 frame u-tilt (which has deceptively large range, so watch out) Your Fair to u-tilt will help a lot in this matchup to get her off of the ground and above you (You should always try to get under her) ZSS will mostly try to Forward B close space to you, or just dash near you and dash attack. If you don't react OOS fast enough, ZSS will get a jab or u-tilt, which will lead to you being knocked away with jab (a good 8-9%) or above her (ZSS loves when her opponents are above her. QAC will get you basically nowhere against a good ZSS. U-tilt OOS wrecks QAC so hard its not even funny. Also, since for some reason QA makes your hitbox bigger than pikachu, you could get hit by D-smashes which starts the comboing (Will elaborate on comboes later)
Grabbing ZSS
ZSS CANNOT be chaingrabbed on a flat surface, she can Down-B out of it. However, you can get the F-throw to U-smash till about 20% (after throw) so you should rely on that for early %s. If you see a upward slant, CG her away, she can't down-b out of it. Neither players grabs can be utilized that effectively. D-throw comboes for ZSS don't really work, you can Airdodge out of them. However, watch for air chases that follow up with a uair and start the annoyingness of comboes.
****You can now buffer a dash to fthrow cg ZSS till around 47% damage*****
Her armor
At the beginning of every match, ZSS starts with 3 pieces of armor. Normally, the first 2 are thrown away, and she will use 1 piece to attack you with. The #1 priority for you is to GET THE ARMOR AWAY. ZSS players are determined by skill in their armor use. Countless times have I tried to use the armor back at my brother, but been punished for giving it back (1 stock deficit at the beginning of a match, imagine it) Her downward glide toss can be soo aggrevating because she can follow it up with a grab to back throw into it, or just use it as a distractionary technique and start comboing you. ALso, she may drop it above you and fall with an attack to add shield pressure. If the armor doesn't hit you or your shield, it remains a hitbox until it stops bouncing around. Beware and get that crap off of the level as fast as you can. The better the ZSS, the better the armor control and conservation.
ZSS + Combos
ZSS's comboability is 2nd to none in this game, she is THE BEST comboer. Her U-air, Up-b, Neutral B (Stun gun) D-smash (Stun SMash) all make her the best comboing character in brawl. A really basic, but deadly combo for ZSS is D-smash (x2) to fair. If both hits of the fair landed, you took around 45-50% fresh. THe main thing you will need to watch out for if you don't wanna get comboes it her D-smash, This leaves you stunned for about 1 1/3 seconds and allows ZSS to follow up with ANYTHING. A grab, u-tilt, Foward B, Bair, Down-b (will elaborate later)a 2nd D-smash to anything said above. After the D-smash you will pop out with stun time that you cannot airdodge out of, so you will get hit with bairs, fairs, or forward B. Pikachu's comboes on the other hand don't work too well on her because of her Down-B. It starts with invulnerability frames, and if you are persistent and go after her, she can use the attack and hit you for about 13% with decent knockback.
Hanging on the ledge
One thing that Zamus can do at the edge if you are hit with a D-smash is Down-B spike you. It is deadly at higher %s, and it happens to me a lot if I'm not at high enough %s for a bair or forward B to kill me. On stages like smashville and Battlefield, ZSS can also D-smash to stage spiked Bair, which can be VERY irritating.
Recovering versus ZSS
When recovering against ZSS, your best option is to go low. However, don't loiter on the ledges too long, or you will be smacked with some D-smashes. ZSS can't really edgeguard pikachu unless she jumps out and forward-Bs you near the magnifyer (It can happen, trust me) On the other hand, the ZSS will try to get to the level as high as possible. ZSS has the best tether recovery of all the characters in the game, and it is surprisingly hard to gimp her. Smart ZSS conserive their DJ and Down-b for near the end, and it can make gimping quite a task. Also, if you try to ledge hog, she can hit you with her up-b and bring you down with her, and maybe she will have the chance to grab it again. Also, she can Footstool you from her Down B if you are trying to ledgeguard her.
Killing
ZSS has pretty good recovery, gimping her in impossible but just plain edge hogging won't work. Only when her ONLY option is to Up B is she very easy to gimp but with her down B to foot stool and extended Up B jump (Similiar to Marth's side B, Luigi's tornado, etc) and just her plain good mid air jump she doesn't need to rely on Up B too much besides when its obvious you won't be there to edgehog. Side Note, Side B WILL tether onto the edge as well, so she'll be trying to hit you out with Side B and if she doesn't she'll grab the ledge. Just kill plain out anyways.
Pikachu is small so it makes it easier to dodge ZSS. Make sure you DI unpredictable out of stun so she doesn't always follow you, cause bair really hurts >_<..
Uair, bair, 2nd hit Fair, side B all have potential to kill. Its not super strong but for a light weight its **** good. Kills Pikachu by 110-120% Side B would kill but its more used for spacing so it doesn't kill till like 130-140% 2nd Hit fair is hard to land at higher percents since the first hit knocks anyone away too far.
Helpful Video's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtG3Es0vlUg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dC8sugbBBA
Overall Matchup
50:50