- This article is about Pikachu's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For the character in other contexts, see Pikachu.
Pikachu (ピカチュウ, Pikachu) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It was confirmed on June 12th, 2018. Pikachu is classified as fighter #08.
As in SSB4, Ikue Ōtani's portrayals of Pikachu from Melee and Brawl were repurposed for Ultimate.
Despite being a high tier character in Super Smash Bros. 4 (ranked 15th out of 55 characters), Pikachu has been noticeably buffed during the transition to Ultimate. Its overall speed has been increased and most of its moves have much less ending and landing lag, increasing Pikachu's combo potency. Its most significant buff is its altered neutral air and down air, the former now acting like Mewtwo's neutral air and having combo potential, and the latter obtaining the ability to meteor smash which gives it two different attacks that have better hitboxes and better kill power which were some of its biggest weaknesses in Smash 4. Back air auto-canceling in a short hop and sending in a consistent direction make it possible to combo the attack into itself at low percents and send people off stage in one interaction, which can immediately cause a KO against characters with bad recoveries. Its kill power was also improved due to many moves dealing more knockback, like dash attack, forward air, up air, down smash and Thunder. Pikachu also greatly benefits from Ultimate's mechanics as it makes its already incredible and oppressive edgeguarding even more terrifying as it is no longer possible to airdodge through Thunder.
However, Pikachu is not without its nerfs, the most significant being the increased startup and ending lag on its grabs and the altered knockback of up throw, which worsens its combo potential with Thunder. The removal of Quick Attack cancelling also reduces its mobility.
Pikachu also still suffers from its weaknesses: lack of range, no setups for its KO moves, bad general endurance due to being one of the 10 lightest characters and having above average gravity and falling speed and inconsistent KO ability due to possessing sourspots on its smash attacks or attacks with below average power. It also is hindered by the buffs to swordfighters and the additional fighters with disjointed range, giving it new tough matchups.
Despite that, Pikachu's buffs have made it even more of a potent fighter than in Smash 4, which has led to many professionals such as Samsora and ESAM putting it as a top tier character. In fact, Mew2King and ZeRo went as far as to put Pikachu as the single best character in the game. However, it's debatable if it deserves the top tier status.
Aesthetics[edit]
 Like all veterans returning from Smash 4, Pikachu has a more subdued color scheme, more closely resembling its appearance in recent mainline Pokémon games.- Pikachu is more expressive. It now appears angry during many attacks. It also has a new angry expression.
- Pikachu now faces the foreground at an angle, instead of facing directly forward. In addition, it always faces the screen regardless of which direction it turns, causing all of its animations to be mirrored.
- Pikachu's cheeks flash white when it uses electric attacks.
- Pikachu only waves once during its side taunt, shortening its duration. Down taunt is also faster.
- For its side taunt, the voice clip duration of the second "Pika" has been shortened; now cutting off prematurely.
- Two new costumes featuring the female Pikachu design, which has a heart-shaped tail, have been added. These replace its goggles and Choice Band costumes from SSB4.
Attributes[edit]
 Like all characters, Pikachu's jumpsquat animation now takes 3 frames to complete (down from 4).- Pikachu walks slightly faster (1.24 → 1.302).
- Pikachu runs faster (1.85325 → 2.039).
- Pikachu's initial dash is faster (1.8 → 1.98).
- Pikachu's air speed is slightly higher (0.9118 → 0.957).
- Pikachu's traction is significantly higher (0.0596 → 0.132), now being the fourth highest in the game.
 Forward roll has more ending lag (FAF 27 → 29).- Back roll grants more intangibility (frames 4-14 → 4-15).
- Back roll has more ending lag (FAF 27 → 34).
- Spot dodge has more startup (frame 2 → 3).
- Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 2-25 → 2-26).
- Air dodge has significantly more ending lag (FAF 31 → 51).
Ground attacks[edit]
- Neutral attack:
- Neutral attack has less ending lag (FAF 22 → 18).
- It deals less knockback (10/9/8 base/45 scaling → 12/18 base/20/30 scaling). Combined with the increased traction across the cast, this allows Pikachu to connect more hits against opponents before they are pushed out of range.
- Forward tilt:
- Up tilt:
- Up tilt has an altered animation, with Pikachu scooting its backside up to hit with its tail. This causes it to have less range behind Pikachu, but more range in front of Pikachu.
- Because of this, it can no longer hit opponents hanging at the ledge.
- Down tilt:
- Down tilt has an altered animation, with Pikachu's tail standing more upright at the end.
- Dash attack:
- Dash attack has significantly less ending lag (FAF 50 → 36).
- It has gained a shieldstun multiplier of 1.8×. Combined with its reduced ending lag and the increased shieldstun for ground attacks, this makes it much safer on shield, with the clean hit being only barely punishable by a shield grab.
- The clean hit deals more damage (10% → 11%) with knockback scaling not fully compensated (90 → 88), improving its KO potential.
- Its hitboxes have a shorter duration (frames 6-9 (clean)/10-16 (late) → 6-8/9-12).
- It has a higher hitlag multiplier (1.2× (clean), 1× (late) → 1.5×).
- Forward smash:
- All portions of forward smash have more horizontal range during their latest active frames (Z offset: 9.2 → 11.2 (early), 15.6 → 18.6 (clean), 23 → 25 (late)).
- The early hit has a shorter duration, which causes the clean and late hits to be active earlier, and the late hit has a longer duration (frames 15-17 (early)/18-20 (clean)/21-22 (late) → 15-16/17-19/20-29).
- Forward smash has more ending lag (FAF 49 → 54).
- The clean hit and the late hit during its latest active frames have a smaller hitbox (4.1u → 3.6u (clean), 5.2u → 4u (late)).
- The clean hit has less base knockback during its first frame (60 → 50), making its KO ability less consistent.
- Up smash:
- Up smash's early hit has a longer duration, with the late hit having a shorter duration instead (frames 10-11 (early)/12-13 (clean)/14-17 (late) → 10-12/13-14/15-17).
- Down smash:
- Down smash's looping hits have a lower SDI multiplier (0.8× → 0.5×) and launch opponents closer to Pikachu (170° → 178°), allowing them to connect more reliably.
- The last hit always sends in the direction Pikachu is facing, and launches at a more horizontal angle (50° → 37°), improving its KO and edgeguarding potential.
- The last hit has slightly less base knockback (55 → 51), but more knockback scaling (190 → 192).
Aerial attacks[edit]
- All aerials have less landing lag (24 frames → 9 (neutral), 15 → 12 (forward), 30 → 18 (back), 24 → 14 (up), 40 → 22 (down)).
- Neutral aerial:
- Pikachu has a new neutral aerial: an electric surge around itself that hits multiple times, similar to Mewtwo's neutral aerial.
- Neutral aerial has a longer duration (frames 3-5 (clean)/6-20 (late) → 3-6, 9-12, 15-18, 21-22) with its total duration is unchanged, reducing its ending lag.
- The first three hits use the autolink angle (367°). This allows Pikachu to drag opponents down with the move and combo into many of its ground attacks, which is further complemented by its lower landing lag.
- The last hit launches at a more vertical angle (361° → 60°). Combined with its multi-hit nature, this improves its combo potential.
- It deals more damage if all hits connect (8.5% (clean), 5.5% (late) → 1.8% (hits 1-3), 3.5% (hit 4); 8.9% total).
- It has smaller hitboxes (7.0u → 5.5u (looping hits), 6.0u (last hit)).
- It auto-cancels later (frame 35 → 37), though it can still auto-cancel in a short hop.
- Due to it hitting multiple times, the launching hit deals less damage (8.5% → 3.5%) with knockback not fully compensated (30 base/104 scaling → 50/140), losing its KO potential at realistic percentages.
- It has a lower hitlag multiplier (1× → 0.8×).
- Forward aerial:
- Forward aerial hits six times instead of five and deals more damage if all hits connect (1.7% (hits 1-4), 3% (hit 5) → 1.4% (hits 1-5), 4.8% (hit 6); total: 9.8% → 11.8%).
- It has lower hitlag multipliers (0.7× → 0.5× (looping hits), 2.2× → 1.5× (last hit)), making it harder to SDI out of.
- The looping hits have different angles (74°/280° → 35°/310°/60°/290°), allowing them to connect better.
- The last hit deals less base knockback (50 → 40), but has more knockback scaling (150 → 154), which alongside its higher damage output improves its combo and KO potential.
- It has slightly more startup lag (frame 10 → 11).
- However, its total duration is unchanged, giving in one frame less ending lag.
- The hits' timings have been altered (frames 10-12, 14-16, 18-20, 22-24, 26 → 11-25 (rehit rate: 3), 27).
- Back aerial:
- Back aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 48 → 38), allowing it to auto-cancel in a short hop.
- The last hit always sends behind Pikachu, making it easier to combo and edgeguard with.
- The last hit has less knockback scaling (180 → 160), increasing its combo potential, but reducing its KO potential.
- It hits six times instead of eight with its damage compensated (0.8% (hits 1-7), 3% (hit 8) → 1% (hits 1-5), 3.6% (hit 6)) and its animation has been sped up.
- This drastically reduces its ending lag (FAF 59 → 44).
- However, this shortens the duration of its hitboxes (frames 4-33 → 4-25).
- It has an altered ending animation, with Pikachu spreading out its limbs while in a more upright position.
- Up aerial:
- Up aerial's clean hit deals more damage (5%/4% → 6%/5%) with no compensation on knockback, allowing it to KO at high percents.
- Down aerial:
- Down aerial has gained a clean hit during its first two active frames, which deals more damage (12% → 13%) and meteor smashes opponents (361° → 270°), with knockback not fully compensated (20 base/84 scaling → 16/86). This allows it to start combos onstage and improves Pikachu's edgeguarding ability.
Throws and other attacks[edit]
- Grabs:
- Standing grab has a larger hitbox (3.1u → 4u), giving it more range despite having a shorter Z offset (8.1 → 7.9).
- Dash grab has less range (Z offset: 9.8 → 9).
- All grabs have more startup (frame 6/8/9 (standing/dash/pivot) → 7/11/12) and ending lag (FAF 28/35/33 → 37/45/40).
- Pikachu grabs the opponent with one hand instead of two.
- Pummel:
- Pummel deals more hitlag (3 frames → 12), but has less startup (frame 3 → 1) and significantly less ending lag (FAF 16 → 6), slightly shortening its duration.
- It deals less damage (1.9% → 1%).
- When pummeling, Pikachu headbutts the victim as well instead of just using electricity.
- Forward throw:
- Forward throw no longer has any hitlag, executing faster as a result.
- Back throw:
- Back throw releases the opponent faster (frame 31 → 26), with its total duration unchanged. This increases its ending lag and shortens the distance Pikachu moves back before throwing, making it less effective for setting up edgeguards, while still giving the opponent enough time to DI.
- The throw's speed is no longer weight-dependent.
- Up throw:
- Up throw deals more damage (1% → 3% (hit 1), 3% → 5% (throw), 4% → 8% total) with knockback scaling not fully compensated (150 → 129), granting it KO potential at around 170%.
- The first hit deals knockback to bystanders, rather than simply damaging them, making the move safer to use in doubles play.
- Its increased knockback reduces its combo potential, especially into Thunder.
- Down throw:
- Down throw inflicts 9 frames of hitlag on the opponent upon release. While making it easier to react to, this noticeably improves its combo potential.
- The first hit is coded to disappear on the same frame it comes out. As a result, the throw deals less damage (8% → 5%) and no longer hits bystanders, but oddly enough, Pikachu and the thrown opponent still experience hitlag from the first hit.
- It launches at a slightly more vertical angle (80° → 83°).
- Edge attack:
- Edge attack deals more damage (7% → 9%).
- It has increased intangibility (frames 1-20 → 1-25).
- It has more ending lag (FAF 54 → 56).
Special moves[edit]
- Thunder Jolt:
- Thunder Jolt has less ending lag (FAF 58 → 52).
- It has less base knockback (25 → 18 (grounded), 45 → 35 (aerial)).
- It has negative shield damage (0 → -2.5/-2/-1.5/-1 (grounded), -1.9 (aerial)).
- Skull Bash:
- Skull Bash deals marginally more damage when uncharged (6.1714% → 6.2%) and has more knockback scaling at all charges (62 → 78).
- It has less ending lag it if doesn't hit an opponent (FAF 81 → 75).
- If the move hits an opponent, it causes Pikachu to bounce back in a recoil animation with much less ending lag (FAF 45 → 22), even if the opponent shields it, making it safer to use.
- Quick Attack:
 Quick Attack no longer has RCO lag.- Pikachu's body no longer stretches as much during the move, which means opponents cannot hit Pikachu by attacking the space above it.
- Quick Attack cancelling is no longer possible, hindering Pikachu's approach options, especially from the ledge.
- It has an angle indicator to telegraph Pikachu's trajectory. This may help prevent missed directional inputs, but makes Pikachu's movement more predictable.
- Thunder:
- Thunder's discharge has more knockback scaling (66 → 77), improving its KO potential.
- The meteor smash at the cloud deals set knockback (74 base/60 scaling → 55 base/125 set/60 scaling), allowing it to connect more consistently into the discharge.
- When struck by the bolt, Pikachu glows a bright yellow while flashing a dark tint.
- Volt Tackle:
- Volt Tackle involves Pikachu dashing forward quickly while surrounded by a ball of electricity. If this initial attack connects, Pikachu traps the opponent in place and speeds around the stage at different angles, racking up damage before launching opponents with an electric blast at the end of the move.
- Volt Tackle is easier to control, requiring only a single button press rather than having to control Pikachu's slippery movement.
- Pikachu can no longer chase down opponents if the initial attack misses, and may self-destruct if initiated too close to the edge.
Update history[edit]
Even though Pikachu is widely considered a top tier, it has been further buffed by game updates. However, these buffs are very minor, only increasing its grab range slightly and speeding up its pummel.
 2.0.0
- Pummel deals less hitlag (14 frames → 12), shortening its duration.
3.0.0
- Thunder Jolt has received negative shield damage (0 → -2.5/-2/-1.5/-1 (grounded), -1.9 (aerial)).
3.1.0
- Standing grab has more range (hitboxes: 3.1u → 4.0u (against grounded opponents), 1.55u → 2.0u (against aerial opponents)).
Moveset[edit]
Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.
| |
Name |
Damage |
Description
|
| Neutral attack
|
Headbutt |
1.4% (near), 1.2% (mid), 1% (far) |
Quickly headbutts forward. Has minimal startup lag (frame 2) and low cooldown, making it spammable and combo into itself easily. Can lock.
|
| Forward tilt |
↗
|
|
10% |
An electrified double kick performed from the baby freeze, a variation of the freeze breakdancing move. It deals more damage when angled upward, and the lower angles semi-spike. Deals moderate knockback; the unangled version KOs Mario around 155% at the edge of Final Destination.
|
| →
|
9%
|
| ↘
|
8%
|
| Up tilt
|
|
5% |
An overhead tail swipe, starting from behind Pikachu. An excellent combo starter, comboing into itself at low percents and into Pikachu's aerials at low to mid percents. A powerful juggling tool. Has moderate startup lag, however, as it does not hit opponents in front of Pikachu until frames 9-10, depending on their size.
|
| Down tilt
|
|
6% |
Lays down and sweeps its tail in front of itself. Has long horizontal reach and low lag, making it somewhat spammable. Can trip at low percents.
|
| Dash attack
|
Running Headbutt |
11% (clean), 6% (late) |
A battering ram. The early hitbox deals solid damage and good knockback, allowing it to KO middleweights around 135% on Final Destination. It also has fairly low startup lag (frame 6), and the early hitbox lasts deceptively long. However, the late hitbox has no KO potential at any reasonable percent, and the high ending lag prevents either hit from comboing.
|
| Forward smash
|
|
15% (early), 18% (clean), 12% (late) |
Rears its head back before leaning forward and releasing a large orb of electricity in front of it, leaving a trail of electricity. The early hit comes out on frame 15, the clean hit on frame 17 and the late hit on frame 20. The center of the ball deals the most damage and knockback, having high horizontal KO potential. The trail deals the second most damage and the least knockback, and the tip deals the least damage and second most knockback. Has good range, with a hitbox the close to the size of Pikachu. The uncharged sweetspot KOs Mario around 80% at the edge of Final Destination, although the early hit doesn't KO until 105% and the late hit until 100%, giving the attack several sourspots and making it very inconsistent. Also has a long duration and noticeable ending lag, making it punishable if shielded or dodged.
|
| Up smash
|
|
14% (early, body), 13% (early, tail), 11% (clean), 7% (late) |
An overhead tail swipe. Unlike Pikachu's up tilt, it starts in front of it and has good vertical KO potential. The early hit comes out somewhat quickly (frame 10) and lasts until Pikachu's tail goes above it, after which the clean hit lasts until the tail goes behind it. The early hit's sweetspot is located on Pikachu's body, and is very difficult to land outside a shield break punish. The early sweetspot KOs middleweights around 115% on Final Destination, while the early sourspot KOs around 125%. The late hit, however, deals minimal damage and knockback.
|
| Down smash
|
Electric Flower |
2% (hits 1-5), 3% (hit 6) |
Charges its tail with electricity before spinning it around, shocking opponents. Has the least damage potential out of all its smash attacks, dealing only 13%. It KOs middleweights around 95% at the edge of Final Destination and deals good horizontal knockback. Also has the least start-up out of all its smash attacks, coming out on frame 8, but its 42 frames of ending lag makes it very punishable if used poorly.
|
| Neutral aerial
|
|
1.8% (hits 1-3), 3.5% (hit 4) |
Poses while charging itself with electricity, shocking nearby opponents. Hits 4 times. One of Pikachu's most versatile tools; it is useful for breaking out of combos due to its very fast startup (frame 3), can combo into itself offstage at very low percent, can be used to drag down opponents for edgeguarding offstage, or for comboing into jab, up tilt, forward tilt, down tilt, grab, or even up smash. Autocancels in a short hop.
|
| Forward aerial
|
|
1.4% (hits 1-5), 4.8% (hit 6) |
Spins its forward with an electrically charged head, shocking opponents. Moderate startup lag at frame 11 and hits 6 times. Has low landing lag, making it an effective spacing option, but has very small looping hitboxes and does not use the autolink angle. The multiple hits and long duration make it an effective aerial for SHFFing.
|
| Back aerial
|
Glider |
1% (hits 1-5), 3.6% (hit 6), 4% (landing) |
Spins around horizontally, hitting multiple times, with a pose at the end to launch foes. Very fast, coming out on frame 4, but it's below average knockback doesn't make it reliable for KOing until very high percents and has terrible range, only covering Pikachu's limbs. At such it's more useful for combos. Can drag down opponents, and has a landing hitbox. It has 18 frames of landing lag, however.
|
| Up aerial
|
|
6% (clean, tail), 5% (clean, tip), 4% (late) |
An overhead tail swipe, starting from behind Pikachu. A good combo starter, comboing into itself and other aerials at low percents. Has low horizontal knockback.
|
| Down aerial
|
Electric Screw |
13% (clean), 12% (late), 4% (landing) |
Points down and spins its head downwards, launching opponents. The clean hit is a powerful meteor smash, while the late hit has good horizontal knockback. Has a landing hitbox. However it has 22 frames of landing lag.
|
| Grab
|
|
— |
Reaches out. Pikachu will have a scared look if it misses. Pikachu's grab is fast, but has low range.
|
| Pummel
|
|
1% |
Headbutts the opponent, shocking them with electricity.
|
| Forward throw
|
|
2% (hits 1-5) |
Lays the opponent on its tail and shocks them. Has little utility outside of racking damage.
|
| Back throw
|
|
9% |
Rolls backwards before launching the opponent. Very good for setting up edgeguards, as it has high base knockback and the animation means opponents near the center will end up being launched near the edge, but it is unimpressive as a KOing option as it only starts KOing middleweights around 165% at the edge of Final Destination.
|
| Up throw
|
|
3% (hit 1), 5% (throw) |
Heaves the opponent onto its head and headbutts it upwards. A good low percent combo throw. Has decent knockback growth, making it Pikachu's best KOing throw.
|
| Down throw
|
|
5% |
Lays the opponent on the ground and performs a senton. A good combo starter comboing into every aerial except down aerial reliably from low to mid percent, allowing Pikachu to start chains.
|
| Floor attack (front)
|
|
7% |
Spins its tail around itself while getting up.
|
| Floor attack (back)
|
|
7% |
Spins its tail around itself while getting up.
|
| Floor attack (trip)
|
|
5% |
Spins its tail around itself while getting up.
|
| Edge attack
|
|
9% |
Swings its tail in an overhead arcing motion while climbing up.
|
| Neutral special
|
Thunder Jolt |
6% (clean), 5% (mid), 4% (late), 4.8% (aerial) |
Shoots a ball of electricity. A very useful projectile, as it deals good damage, moves quickly, and can be used repeatedly. When it goes over the edge, it sticks to the platform it's on, looping around until its lifespan is over or it hits the bottom of a soft platform. This property allows it to be used to annoy opponents trying to recover by using it near the edge and hitting them when they attempt to grab it.
|
| Side special
|
Skull Bash |
6.2% (uncharged), 10% (uncharged smash input), 21.4% (fully charged) |
Charges up before launching forward at a high velocity. Can be charged to increased damage, knockback, and distance. Useful for horizontal recovery, as it has a hitbox protecting it, high horizontal distance, and can sweetspot the ledge. Can also be used to punish shield breaks due to its high knockback when charged; however, it has high ending lag. If inputted like a smash attack, it immediately starts with some charge.
|
| Up special
|
Quick Attack |
2% (hit 1), 3% (hit 2) |
Zips upward at high speeds, dealing damage to opponents on contact. Can be angled; if angled in a different direction after the first time it is used, Pikachu will use it again. It covers great distance and can be unpredictable if used well, but it leaves Pikachu helpless. It's also an approach option, however in this case it can be predictable and it is unsafe on shield. Pikachu also cannot use the Quick Attack canceling tecnique anymore.
|
| Down special
|
Thunder |
15% (shockwave), 8% (thunderbolt), 6% (thunderbolt meteor) |
Calls down a bolt of lightning from the sky. If the bolt strikes Pikachu, it will create an electric explosion around itself, dealing massive knockback and granting Pikachu intangibility for 10 frames. If an opponent is struck near the top of the bolt, they're launched down into Pikachu; otherwise, they're launched upwards. Has high endlag if the bolt doesn't strike Pikachu.
|
| Final Smash
|
Volt Tackle |
0.3% (6 hits during startup), 1% (initial hit), 1.5% (loop), 20% (launch) |
Surrounds itself with electricity before dashing forwards. If it connects, Pikachu will barrage the opponents caught with repeated strikes in this form before launching them.
|
Emerges from a Poké Ball, then briefly discharges electricity around itself.
- Up taunt: Charges up its cheeks with electricity and glares at the screen, saying "Piii..."
- Side taunt: Waves at the screen with one paw, yelling "Pika Pika!"
- Down taunt: Lies on the ground, curls and rolls around, saying "Pikaaa...!"
- Scratches its right ear.
- Stands up straight, then looks right, and then left, twitching its ears.
Pikachu's first idle pose
Pikachu's second idle pose
- Left: Backflips and spins (its "character chosen" animation in Super Smash Bros.).
- Up: Ears perk, scratches its right ear.
- Right: Sleeps.
A small excerpt of the title theme of Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green Versions, a track which would go on to become the Pokémon main theme and the title theme for the entire series. In competitive play[edit]
Notable players[edit]
Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the Spring 2019 PGRU, which recognizes the official top 50 players in the world in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from February 1st, 2019 to July 7th, 2019.
 Captain L (#50) - Considered the best Pikachu player in Canada and one of the best ones in the world. Placed 7th at Battle of BC 3 and 25th at MomoCon 2019 with mostly Pikachu. Has wins over Fatality, Mr E, and WaDi. DM - The best Pikachu player in the northeast. Placed 7th at Overclocked Ultimate, 9th at Return to Subspace 2, and 33rd at Frostbite 2019. He has defeated Light. Ranked 7th on the New England Ultimate Power Rankings and 2nd on the Massachusetts Smash Ultimate Power Rankings. Enki - The best Pikachu player in Europe. Placed 1st at DreamHack Tours 2019 and 17th at Albion 4.- ESAM (#16) - The best Pikachu player in the world. Placed 1st at Battle of BC 3, 2nd at Don't Park on the Grass 2018, 5th at Combo Breaker 2019, 7th at GENESIS 6, and 13th at Glitch 6. Ranked 1st on the Oklahoma Ultimate Power Rankings. Has wins over Nairo, MkLeo, and Tweek.
 Escurridizo - The best Pikachu player in Argentina. Played 1st at Waveshine 19 and 2nd at Waveshine 22. Kishiru - The best Pikachu player in Japan. Placed 17th at Umebura Japan Major 2019, 25th at Umebura SP 3, and consistently places top 16 or top 8 at Toryumon Kiwami tournaments.- Rideae - Placed 13th at Come to Papa 3 and 17th at Smash Conference United.
 Pikachu's congratulations screen. Pikachu fights against other Pokémon on various Pokémon stages. The title is a reference to Ash Ketchum's signature catchphrase in the Pokémon anime, which doubles as the title of the first episode and the 20th movie.
Note: A Maxim Tomato appears after defeating Mewtwo in the final round.
Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Pikachu has Road to Viridian City - Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue accompany the credits.
Character unlock tree[edit]
Pikachu's Classic Mode character unlock tree includes the following characters in order:
- Villager
- Shulk
- R.O.B.
- Mega Man
- Isabelle
- Mr. Game & Watch
- Pichu
Each character can be unlocked by clearing Pikachu's Classic Mode, or the Classic Mode of any preceding character, if all preceding characters have been unlocked. Once all the above characters are unlocked, clearing Classic Mode with any of them will default to Mario's character unlock tree, starting with Sonic.
 Finding Pikachu in World of Light Pikachu was among the fighters summoned to the cliffside to fight an army of Master Hands.
During the opening cutscene, Pikachu was present when Galeem unleashed his beams of light. While attempting to run away, Pikachu was noticed by Sonic, who slowed down for Pikachu in an attempt to save it. However, both of them were vaporized and placed under Galeem's imprisonment along with the rest of the fighters, except for Kirby.
Pikachu can later be found stuck on an island that can only be accessed by falling into the current of a waterfall, then the player must confront the spirit of Esna before they can battle to awake it.
Fighter Battle[edit]
Pikachu's Fighter Spirits can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. They are also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Pikachu in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As Fighter Spirits, they cannot be used in Spirit Battles and are purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.
Additionally, Pikachu makes an appearance in a few Support Spirits.
In Spirit battles[edit]
As the main opponent[edit]
| Spirit
|
Battle parameters
|
| No.
|
Image
|
Name
|
Series
|
Enemy Fighter(s)
|
Type
|
Power
|
Stage
|
Rules
|
Conditions
|
Music
|
| 46
|
|
Mouser
|
Super Mario series
|
•Pikachu 
|
|
2,000
|
Mushroom Kingdom II (Battlefield form)
|
•Item: Bob-omb
|
•The enemy is easily distracted by items
•The enemy starts the battle with a Bob-omb
|
Boss Theme - Super Mario Bros. 2
|
| 73
|
|
Honey Queen
|
Super Mario series
|
•Giant Pikachu 
|
|
3,300
|
Mario Galaxy
|
•Item: Beehive
|
•Timed Stamina battle
•The enemy is giant
|
Gusty Garden Galaxy
|
| 160
|
|
Zinger
|
Donkey Kong Country series
|
•Pikachu
|
|
1,800
|
The Great Cave Offensive (Ω form)
|
•Item: Unira
|
•The enemy's throwing-type items have increased power
|
Stickerbush Symphony
|
| 308
|
|
Little Mouser
|
Yoshi series
|
•Pikachu 
|
|
1,700
|
Yoshi's Island
|
•Item: Throwing Types
|
•The enemy's throwing-type items have increased power
•The enemy has increased move speed
|
Flower Field
|
| 332
|
|
Rick
|
Kirby series
|
•Pikachu
•Kirby 
|
|
4,100
|
Green Greens
|
•Hazard: Ice Floor
|
•The floor is frozen
•The enemy starts the battle with a Fire Flower
•The enemy has increased move speed
|
Planet Popstar
|
| 349
|
|
Moley
|
Kirby series
|
•Giant Pikachu
|
|
2,200
|
The Great Cave Offensive (Battlefield form)
|
•Item: Pitfall
|
•The enemy is giant
|
Squeak Squad Theme
|
| 427
|
|
Alolan Raichu
|
Pokémon series
|
•Pikachu 
|
|
4,100
|
Tortimer Island (Battlefield form)
|
•Hazard: Zap Floor
|
•The floor is electrified
•Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Alolan Raichu)
|
Battle! (Trainer) - Pokémon Sun / Pokémon Moon
|
| 555
|
|
Mimikyu
|
Pokémon series
|
•Pikachu
|
|
3,700
|
Luigi's Mansion
|
•Sudden Damage
|
•You take serious damage
•Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Mimikyu)
|
Main Theme - Luigi's Mansion (Brawl)
|
| 556
|
|
Tapu Koko
|
Pokémon series
|
•Pikachu 
|
|
9,600
|
Temple (Battlefield form)
|
•Hazard: Zap Floor
|
•The floor is electrified
•The enemy's electric attacks have increased power
•Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Tapu Koko)
|
Battle! (Island Kahuna)
|
| 562
|
|
Detective Pikachu
|
Pokémon series
|
•Pikachu Team (×4)
|
|
4,100
|
Gamer (Book stacks layout, hazards off)
|
N/A
|
•Defeat the main fighter to win
•Timed battle
|
Shop
|
| 881
|
|
Elec Man
|
Mega Man series
|
•Pikachu
|
|
4,400
|
Wily Castle (Battlefield form)
|
•Hazard: Zap Floor
|
•The floor is electrified
•The enemy's electric attacks have increased power
•Stamina battle
|
Guts Man Stage
|
| 1,046
|
|
Great Zapfish
|
Splatoon series
|
•Giant Pikachu
|
|
9,800
|
Prism Tower (Ω form)
|
•Hazard: Zap Floor
|
•The floor is electrified
•The enemy's electric attacks have increased power
•The enemy is giant
|
Splattack! (Remix)
|
| 1,198
|
|
Reporter & Wrestler
|
Rythm Heaven series
|
•Pikachu
|
|
4,100
|
Boxing Ring (Battlefield form)
|
•Assist Trophy Enemies (Yuri Kozukata)
•Easy to Launch
|
•You are easy to launch
•Hostile assist trophies will appear
|
Title Theme - Punch-Out!! (Wii)
|
| 1,298
|
|
Partner Pikachu
|
Pokémon series
|
•Pikachu 
•Mii Brawler  (SSB T-shirt)
|
|
8,000
|
Saffron City
|
•Sudden Final Smash
•Item: Poké Ball
|
•The enemy will suddenly have a Final Smash when the enemy's at high damage
•The enemy's electric attacks have increased power
•Stamina battle
|
Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue (Melee)
|
| 1,309
|
|
Morgana
|
Persona series
|
•Pikachu
•Incineroar 
|
|
11,500
|
Mementos
|
•Hazard: Heavy Wind
|
•Defeat the main fighter to win
•Dangerously high winds are in effect after a little while
•Reinforcements will appear during the battle
|
Last Surprise
|
As a minion[edit]
| Spirit
|
Battle parameters
|
Inspiration
|
| No.
|
Image
|
Name
|
Series
|
Enemy Fighter(s)
|
Type
|
Power
|
Stage
|
Rules
|
Conditions
|
Music
|
Character
|
| 295
|
|
Gandrayda
|
Metroid series
|
•Dark Samus 
•Pikachu 
|
|
1,800
|
Frigate Orpheon
|
N/A
|
•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle
|
Multiplayer - Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
|
Gandrayda's electric powers
|
| 340
|
|
Kracko
|
Kirby series
|
•King Dedede 
•Pikachu (×2)
|
|
3,500
|
Skyworld (clouds only)
|
N/A
|
•Defeat the main fighter to win
|
Boss Theme Medley - Kirby Series
|
Kracko's lightning attack, or various enemies summoned by Kracko (e.g. Waddle Doos)
|
| 482
|
|
Raikou, Entei, & Suicune
|
Pokémon series
|
•Greninja 
•Incineroar 
•Pikachu
|
|
9,900
|
Suzaku Castle
|
•Hazard: Lava Floor
|
•The floor is lava
|
Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue Medley
|
Raikou
|
| 734
|
|
Dribble & Spitz
|
WarioWare series
|
•Wario 
•Pikachu
|
|
4,000
|
Saffron City
|
•Uncontrollable Speed
|
•All fighters move faster and can't stop quickly after a little while
•The enemy favors side specials
|
WarioWare, Inc.
|
Spitz
|
| 1,306
|
|
Phantom Thieves of Hearts
|
Persona series
|
•Joker 
•Pikachu
•Captain Falcon 
•Zero Suit Samus 
•Chrom 
•Sheik 
|
|
13,300
|
Mementos
|
•Sudden Final Smash
•Item: Daybreak Parts
|
•The enemy will suddenly have a Final Smash when the enemy's at high damage
•Reinforcements will appear during the battle
|
Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There
|
Morgana
|
| 1,334
|
|
Great Sabrecub
|
DRAGON QUEST Series
|
•Pichu 
•Giant Pikachu
|
|
2,900
|
Gaur Plains (Omega form)
|
•Item: Soccer Ball
|
•Defeat the main fighter to win
•Stamina battle
•The enemy shields often
|
Marching through the Fields
|
Great Sabrecat
|
Gallery[edit]
Artwork of all playable Pokémon characters and Poké Ball Pokémon, as posted by the official Pokémon Twitter account.
Character Showcase Video[edit]
- This is the first time Pikachu was not the first Pokémon character to be explicitly announced for a new Smash title, with Mewtwo being confirmed before it.
- Pikachu's pose in its official artwork resembles its front sprite in the Generation III Pokémon games.
- In the E3 demo of the game, Pikachu's portrait used its in-game model as opposed to its official artwork. This was also the case with Link, Mario and Villager.
- Pikachu's alternate costume featuring goggles has been removed and returned to Pichu, who was the original owner of said palette swap in Melee.
- Pikachu, in comparison to the other starters, has the least amount of characters in its unlock tree, having only seven characters as opposed to the standard eight.
- Pikachu and Pokémon Trainer are the only characters to face Mewtwo, with Master Hand as their final boss in their Classic Mode.
- Due to its new Pikachu Libre skin, Pikachu is now the only member of the Original 12 to change sex between costumes, as well as the first of the Original 12 to technically be a different character in one of its costumes (while characters like Link and Captain Falcon have costumes resembling distinct characters before like Fierce Deity Link or Blood Falcon, clear differences show them to not be the real thing, such as maintaining the same body underneath their clothes or a difference in shoes).
|
|
