Pikmin Throw

Pikmin Throw (, Throw Pikmin) is Olimar's side special move.

Overview
When used, Captain Olimar throws a at an enemy, who then latches onto the enemy and slowly racks up damage, similar to the effects of Lip's Stick. Different Pikmin have different effects when thrown. The move should be used to repel incoming opponents that are charging at Olimar while he is throwing Pikmin (latched-on Pikmin do not cause an enemy to flinch, and so they can continue attacking normally). This may force opponents to have to take time to knock the Pikmin off.

Pikmin can be reflected back at Olimar, in which case, they will stick to him. The player can simply use Pikmin Order to get them off if this happens.

The less damage the opponent has, the longer time the Pikmin will latch on. Also, Pikmin are unable to latch onto Subspace Emissary enemies; they will instead deal damage as they pass through. A strong attack should be substantial to not only shake off the Pikmin, but usually also kill them, provided that the hitbox covers the part of the character model that the Pikmin has latched onto. Pikmin will not be shaken off by an attack they are immune to (trying to Falcon Punch a Red Pikmin off one's body will have no effect). In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, attacking a latched Pikmin will always cause the attacker to suffer 16 extra frames of hitlag, regardless of whether the Pikmin is killed or not. This, in turn, extends the attacker's hitbox duration, allowing them to catch the Olimar player unawares, should they be too hasty to react to the attacker's option.

In Super Smash Bros. 4, Olimar can now use his Pikmin to get items from afar, although this is exclusive to the Wii U version and returned in Ultimate. Olimar can throw the Pikmin where the item is and the Pikmin will carry the item back to Olimar for him to use. The Pikmin will drop the item at Olimar's feet and the player has to manually pick up the item. They can latch onto and destroy items like the Beetle, even after Olimar picks them up. Among items Pikmin won’t bring back to Olimar are Bob-ombs, Uniras, Soccer Balls, Grass, Warp Stars, Super Mushrooms, Poison Mushrooms, Lightning, Golden Hammers, Mr. Saturns, Cuccos, Sandbags, Super Stars, Smash Balls, heavy items, and completed Daybreaks.

Number of Pikmin attacks
After a Pikmin (excluding Purple Pikmin) latches onto an opponent, the total number of times the Pikmin will attack depends on the opponent's percentage of damage. In Brawl and SSB4 all types of Pikmin will attack the opponent a set number of times depending on their percentage of damage. In Ultimate the number of attacks varies with both the opponent's percentage of damage and the type of Pikmin thrown.

Attack cycle
In SSB4 and Ultimate:


 * Red/Blue Pikmin attack once every 36 frames.
 * White Pikmin attack once every 38 frames.
 * Yellow Pikmin attack once every 40 frames.

The attack cycle is only interrupted if the Pikmin is hit, or if the opponent is put into hitlag by an attack.

Piklag
Starting in SSB4, Pikmin that are latched onto an opponent apply 2 frames of hitlag every time they attack. This helps Olimar overcome his slow maneuvrability by slowing down an opponent's actions with Pikmin, making their approach more reactable in the process. As Olimar does not suffer hitlag during his smash attacks and throws, Piklag also extends the window of time in which he can perform a combo; for example, in Ultimate, Olimar's second jab can confirm far more easily through Piklag, as well as perform more elaborate drag-down combos with.

During hitlag, a Pikmin's attack cycle normally stops with the opponent; with attacks that possess electric properties, however, a Pikmin will ignore the extra hitlag and continue their attack cycle. This makes Yellow Pikmin excellent abusers of Piklag, as all of their attacks cause enough hitlag to trigger Piklag at least once whilst the opponent suffers hitstun, furthering its combo-enabling potential.

Glitches
There is a glitch where when fighting a boss, throwing the Pikmin at it may have some Pikmin hit it, while 1 or 2 Pikmin latch on then fall down. The Pikmin that latched on the boss will never get to hit.

If a player throws some types of Pikmin into a certain area (like Red, Blue, and White Pikmin towards the blocks in Green Greens or Mushroomy Kingdom stage 1-2), the Pikmin will get stuck and spin on, then soon die. The player cannot whistle them back.

Stickmin
Stickmin is a glitch in Super Smash Bros. 4 discovered by Guimodas which results in the Pikmin at the front of Olimar's line being attached to his hand. The Pikmin will remain attached for as long as the player wishes, which can lead to many curious effects and situationally useful tricks. Stickmin can be executed by using Pikmin Throw once in the air, then again on the same frame that Olimar is landing on the ground (Stickmin demonstration on YouTube). There are several setups which accommodate the timing required for this glitch, the first one discovered being to jump, buffer Olimar's forward aerial, and buffer Pikmin Throw twice.

A Stickmin remains subject to all the rules of Olimar's Pikmin lineup; it maintains its position in the queue even though it remains attached to Olimar's hand. If Olimar uses it to attack, it will execute the attack while still stuck; this generally reduces the attack's range, but in return, the attack is placed in a location the opponent is unlikely to expect. If Olimar uses an action that grabs the Stickmin, it will be freed and return to normal. This includes Olimar's directional aerials, Pikmin Throw, and Winged Pikmin. Note that this only applies if the Stickmin is the one grabbed; Olimar can use aerials with his other Pikmin without freeing the Stickmin. It is possible for Olimar to have two Stickmin at once, though the utility of this technique is generally low.

Attacks make by a Stickmin have minimal range compared to their normal execution, making them impractical for many situations. But there are some specific cases where it becomes advantageous: It should also be noted that holding a Stickmin means it cannot lag behind Olimar and fall out of his lineup, a problem that Purples tend to have.
 * 1) Down smash. If the Stickmin is on the same side of Olimar as the move's second Pikmin, the area where both can hit the opponent at once is much larger.
 * 2) Down throw. All of Olimar's throws release the opponent closer to Olimar when executed by a Stickmin, but down throw is the most useful case, allowing combos to last to much higher percents.
 * 3) Edgeguarding with up smash. The hitbox of a Stickmin's up smash is behind and below Olimar and lasts for a fair amount of time, making it a powerful way to cover most opponents attempting to grab the edge.

Bigmin
Bigmin is a glitch in Ultimate involving Olimar's Pikmin and Mother Brain. To perform the glitch, Mother Brain needs to be summoned from an Assist Trophy by Olimar's opponent. While Mother Brain is growing, Olimar must use Pikmin Throw on the Mother Brain as it expands. If done correctly, the Pikmin will increase in size along with Mother Brain as it expands (Bigmin demonstration on YouTube). This glitch is only cosmetic, and the Pikmin will return to normal size when they come off of Mother Brain.

Customization
Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:


 * 1) Pikmin Throw: Default.
 * 2) Sticky Pikmin Throw: Pikmin do slightly less damage per hit, but will stay latched onto opponents for longer and attack faster, thus dealing more damage overall. However, Pikmin are not thrown as far.
 * 3) Tackle Pikmin Throw: As said in the description, all non-purple Pikmin now act like purple Pikmin, by ramming into opponents and dealing damage.

Origin
In , if Olimar is unable to direct the Pikmin to something, he could alternatively throw them to what he wanted them to interact with. Thrown at enemies, the Pikmin will damage them. Most Pikmin types attack by clinging onto enemies and hitting them repeatedly with their stems, but a few types instead slam into enemies without normally clinging on, like Purple Pikmin. Due to not being very strong by themselves, the key to the Pikmin's power was to overwhelm enemies with large numbers of them. Often, throwing Pikmin onto a creature's back is a safer alternative, not only avoiding attack but sometimes dealing additional damage or even killing weaker enemies outright. Additionally, differently colored Pikmin have different traveling arcs: Yellow Pikmin can be thrown the highest, whereas Purple Pikmin are thrown in a straight line and, at the apex of the throw, slam on the ground.

Trivia

 * In Brawl, Pikmin Throw does not change pitch upon Olimar growing or shrinking.
 * In SSB4 and Ultimate, Yellow Pikmin make a unique sound with smash attacks and Pikmin Throw.
 * From SSB4 onwards, Pikmin Throw is Olimar's only special move that deals damage.