Pikachu (SSB)

Pikachu in Super Smash Bros.
Pikachu
Universe	Pokémon
Other playable appearances	in Melee in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Starter
Tier	S (1)

Pikachu (ピカチュウ, Pikachū) is a starter character in Super Smash Bros. This character is notable for its fast aerials, good edgeguarding ability, and amazing recovery. As it is a versatile character with negligible weaknesses, a player opposing a Pikachu should never rush straight at the opponent, as its aerials are deadly and are good for countering.

It is currently ranked number one in its own S tier on the SSB64 tier list (similar to Meta Knight, who also owns a tier for himself at the top of the Brawl tier list), for solid attack power, good combo-ability, and undoubtedly the best recovery in SSB64. All of this leads to very favourable matchups; Pikachu is one of only four characters in the entire Smash Bros. series to have no disadvantageous matchups (along with Fox, Falco and Meta Knight), and it remains the only one in the series to have no even matchups either. This doesn't mean Pikachu is immaculate, as it is a lightweight character (being moderately vulnerable to KOs off the top of the screen), can be easy to combo, and has limited tech options. Pikachu also has two certain matchups that are virtually even (being 55-45), but these depend on stage choice.

Attributes

File:Pikachuending.jpg

Pikachu's ending picture in Super Smash Bros.

Pikachu is a small, very quick character with fast moves, a great recovery, great finishers, a projectile, disjointed hitboxes, great comboing and edgeguarding abilities, and an exceedingly powerful back throw. One of the main reasons why Pikachu is number one on the tier list is due to it having by far the best and in many ways the only hard to edgeguard recovery in Smash 64. Pikachu's edgeguarding abilities are the best in the game because two of its aerials (back and up) have disjointed hitboxes, and its aerials have above average power, especially its back and neutral aerial. Going too far offstage while edgeguarding is also not too risky for Pikachu due to its very long recovery. However, Pikachu lacks a meteor smash, unlike most other characters.

Pikachu has a variety of specials. Its Thunder Jolt is a relatively underused attack, but it can be useful potentially for edge guarding and camping. Quick Attack is by far the best recovery move in Smash 64 - as well as traveling a huge distance, it can also allow Pikachu to escape certain situations, and it can be extended so Pikachu does not lose its momentum after the second warp. If used perfectly, Pikachu has the ability to stall on the ledge infinitely, and it will be invulnerable due Quick Attack's invincibility frames. Pikachu's down special, Thunder, is a very powerful move that can be used as a finisher, but it is most notable for the Thunderspiking technique - which involves using it when the opponent is near the upper blast line for a Star KO. This is performed easiest with an up smash.

Pikachu has among the best and most versatile combo ability in the game. It has four great combo starters: up tilt, up aerial, neutral aerial, and down aerial. It also has the second fastest air speed in the game to compliment its combo ability. Its up tilt can be used to combo into itself from low to mid/mid-high percentages, or just about any other move (including a grab). It can start a combo, and can even lead into a KO move such as an up smash followed by Thunder, a grab then a back throw, or a back aerial to set up an edgeguard. The up tilt can also be followed by another up tilt for shield pressure. Its attacks, most notably its forward smash and back aerial, have strange hitboxes, with the forward smash being an excellent finisher, but being very slow compared to Pikachu's other moves. Its combo ability is accentuated by its Thunderspiking ability, as explained above. Due to quick, strong aerials, Pikachu's shield pressure is commonly considered to be the third or fourth best in the game, behind Fox, Kirby, and possibly Captain Falcon.

Isai performing the Greenhouse combo

A well known Pikachu combo is the Greenhouse combo, created by Isai. It can only be performed in the "Tent" section of Hyrule Castle. This example shows Pikachu using multiple up tilts, then a back throw to knock the opponent into the wall, then a back aerial so they bounce off the green wall towards Pikachu, then an up smash followed by a Thunderspike. Pikachu can also use multiple forward and back throws at the wall before using the up tilt.

Overall, Pikachu has excellent matchups and beats the majority of the characters in the game, with only a few even or close to even matchups. The main ones are Fox on Hyrule Castle and Captain Falcon on Dream Land. Every other matchup is at least 60-40 in Pikachu's favour.

The problems Pikachu faces are small, but still noticeable. It is moderately easy to combo, along with the fact it is light weight, despite usually being able to get out of bad situations with Quick Attack. Its up special, despite its invincibility frames and wonderful range, leaves Pikachu vulnerable if it simply warps onto the stage from above the edge due to its ending lag. Even if it is used to escape from situations, it can also leave Pikachu vulnerable if the opponent has a fast enough dashing speed so that they can reach Pikachu before it can act. If one can get over these small issues, Pikachu will be a huge asset.

Moveset

Pikachu's aerial attacks

Pikachu in the SSB instruction booklet.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		{{{neutralname}}}	2%	{{{neutraldesc}}}
Forward tilt		Side Kick	10%	Pikachu stands on its two hands and kicks its two feet forward.
Up tilt		Vertical Tail Lash	9%-11%	Does a tail whip upwards.
Down tilt		Tail Sweep	12%	A tail sweep, which is normally used against walls to combo into u-smash (Greenhouse combo) against certain character's recoveries (Fox, Captain Falcon, Samus, etc.)
Dash attack		Sliding Headbutt	9%-12%	Does a running headbutt while falling onto the ground. Barely used, can be used for finishing occasionally. Very laggy and predictable, along with leaving Pikachu easy to shield grab, making its usefulness questionable.
Forward smash		Thunder Jolt	14%-18%	Can be slightly aimed up or down but barely. Pikachu releases a short jolt of electricity from its cheeks. The electrical effect is in 2-D.
Up smash		Flip	14%-18%	Pikachu flips itself and moves its tail from front to back, hitting nearby opponents. A powerful vertical KO move.
Down smash		Break Dance	10%-16%	Does a spinning breakdance attack on the floor. Has two hits.
Neutral aerial		Aerial Kick	9%-14%	Pikachu sticks out its foot for a few seconds. An easily definable sex kick. Usually Pikachu's third best aerial outside of possibly vs. Samus and Luigi where it is a bit more useful. Somewhat disjointed but not that much.
Forward aerial		Aerial Thunder Jolt	3% per hit	Does a drill-like move forward, surrounded by electricity. 7 hits at a rate of 3% per hit, a combo starter or finisher. All the hits are awkward to connect, and the finishing hit isn't very strong, especially compared to Pikachu's other aerials. The speed of the move slows as the foe is zapped. Commonly considered to be Pikachu's third worst move as it is easy to SDI out of. One of its two aerials that is not heavily disjointed.
Back aerial		Back Kick	10%-11% (Sour Spot) 15%-16% (Sweet Spot)	Pikachu kicks behind itself, its small foot getting slightly larger for a short second. Powerful finisher, great for edgeguarding.
Up aerial		Upwards Tail	8%-10%	A flipping upwards tail swing. Knockback angle depends on area of tail. A very versatile move, being considered the best up aerial in Smash 64 (along with Captain Falcon's uair), and possibly the best aerial.
Down aerial		Downward Joit	10%-13%	Does a drill-like like move downward, surrounded by electricity. Knocks opponents horizontally.
Grab			—
Forward throw		Spin Throw	9%-12%	Pikachu grabs the foe, flips and releases them.
Back throw		Electric Throw	14%-18%	Pikachu puts the foe on its back and releases electricity. Very powerful and probably the best throw for KO'ing in the game outside of Donkey Kong's b-throw. This throw would later become its forward throw in future Smash Bros. iterations, but a much weaker variant.
Forward roll Back roll		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			6%	Kicks on both sides and gets up.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			6%	Kicks on both sides and gets up.
Edge attack (fast) Edge getups (fast)		Quick Flip Kick	6%	Is evenly good with other ledge attacks outside of Fox's and Donkey Kong's where it is considered worse.
Edge attack (slow) Edge getups (slow)		Slow Tail Flip	6%	Slowly gets up and whips its tail.
Neutral special		Thunder Jolt	6%-10%	Shoots a sphere of electricity diagonally downwards and when it hits the ground, it will turn into a wave. The projectile will wrap around corners, and will snake along walls and ceilings if the corners are not too sharp and the jolt lives for long enough.
Up special		Quick Attack	0%	Moves in two directions at warp speed. The directions can be controlled with the Control Stick, with the second warp being optional, though the direction of second warp must be at least 45 degrees different than the direction of the first warp. This is easily the best recovery move in the game due to the huge distance it covers, and the invincibility frames. Deals no damage.
Down special		Thunder	12% (Bolt) 28% (Near Pikachu)	Pikachu drops a bolt of lightning from the sky causing slight vertical knockback to any opponent in the bolt's way. Upon hitting the user, a large shockwave is created with stronger knockback than the lightning itself.

Taunt

• Turns to its left, stands on tiptoes, lowers its tail, waves its arms four times, and looks to its left then to its right, accompanied by it saying "Pika Pika!" (the "a" is much longer in the second "Pika").

In Competitive play

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. (N64) Character Matchups

Avg.

Notable players

See also: Category:Pikachu professionals

• Gerson
• Isai

Useful Techniques

Extended Quick Attack

Pikachu's already long up special move can be extended even farther by letting the analog stick snap back to neutral position before the end of the second warp. This could also be used on the first warp, either on its own or followed by the second warp, but the latter runs a high risk of missing the second warp.

Thunderspiking

This technique involves launching the opponent to the top of the screen and using Thunder for a Star KO. The easiest way to perform this is to use an up smash.

Jab grab

A technique that allows Pikachu to instantly get a grab while abusing the shield stun of its jab.

Description

From the Game

Pikachu
Mouse PKMN
Height 1'4"
Weight 13 lbs
When several of these Pokémon gather, their electricity could cause lightning storms.
(Pokédex excerpt)

Works:

• Pokémon (GB)

From the Instruction Booklet

This popular Pokémon has become so famous that these days, everyone knows its name. Pikachu's electricity attacks are a real shock to any opponent.

Costumes

File:Alt-pikachu.jpg

Pikachu's changeable clothing in SSB

Trivia

• Pikachu is one of the two characters in the game to lack a spike, along with Link.
• Most of Pikachu's static and electric effects are rendered in 2-D due to technical limitations.