Olimar (SSB4)

This article is about Olimar's appearance in Super Smash Bros. 4. For other uses, see Captain Olimar and Pikmin (species).

Olimar in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Pikmin
Other playable appearance	in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	End of Day
Tier	C (27)

Olimar (ピクミン＆オリマー, Pikmin & Olimar) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. His return to the series was announced on July 12th, 2013 via SSB4's official website, which made him the first character revealed after the initial E3 2013 reveal of SSB4. Olimar's reveal also occurred one day before the Japanese release date of Pikmin 3.

Olimar is currently ranked 27th out of 58 on the tier list, placing him in the upper portion of the C tier. This is a significant drop from his top-tier placement in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, where he was ranked 3rd out of 38. As in Brawl, Olimar's Pikmin possess an impressive level of utility: they grant him respectable KO and damage racking potentials, as Olimar can use them to deal direct and/or indirect damage via his standard moves, and by having the Pikmin latch onto opponents via Pikmin Throw, respectively. The Pikmin also grant him a potent grab game, as they make each of his grabs disjointed, and allow him to easily start combos with his down throw. Lastly, Winged Pikmin grant Olimar a maneuverable, flight-based recovery, which makes them vastly superior to the tether-based recovery move Pikmin Chain.

However, Olimar's active Pikmin count has now been halved from six to three, which severely weakens the camping strategies he relied on in Brawl. The Pikmin themselves have also been weakened in a few, yet noticeable ways: Red, Yellow, Blue and Purple Pikmin have lower hit points (which is further compounded by them and White Pikmin dying faster while separated from Olimar), while all types of Pikmin have lowered overall damage outputs and somewhat flawed artificial intelligence. Olimar himself retains his slow overall mobility, with his aerial mobility in particular making him easy to juggle despite his status as a lightweight. Additionally, his offense is still burdened by slow attack speed and an over-reliance on Pikmin.

Despite retaining his flaws and gaining new ones, Olimar has nevertheless attained decent representation in competitive play and has fared better than other characters that were formerly well-renowned in Brawl, such as Falco and King Dedede.

Attributes

Olimar is a lightweight with overall slow mobility, with his air acceleration being his only above average attribute. Olimar's playstyle is almost identical to how it was in Brawl due to retaining a large portion of his moveset and animations, although some moves have been slightly modified. Much like in his home series, Olimar himself has extremely meager offensive prowess and must rely on instructing his multicolored Pikmin to remedy this glaring flaw. As a result, almost all of Olimar's moves involve Pikmin, and thus they can end up being useful or useless depending on whether or not he has Pikmin. When he has Pikmin, Olimar possesses arguably one of the most unique playstyles in the game, due to Pikmin acting as both projectiles and separate characters, much like how Luma functions alongside Rosalina.

When used correctly, the Pikmin provide noticeable and effective benefits: they can easily rack up high amounts of damage in short periods of time, they grant Olimar largely disjointed grabs due to Pikmin running out to grab opponents at any time, they can carry various items back to Olimar as they run back to him much like in their home series, and they can also help with camping or halting approaches. Additionally, each type of Pikmin provides unique and useful effects. His special moves are also heavily dependent on Pikmin, but they are all beneficial nonetheless. Pikmin Throw enables Olimar to hinder approaches or, with Purple Pikmin, even stop them outright. Pikmin Order reorganizes his Pikmin for the proper situation at hand and grants him armor to help alleviate his light weight. Lastly, Winged Pikmin provide a long-distanced and maneuverable recovery that makes Olimar more difficult to KO compared to other lightweights, yet they also allow him to attack while carrying him.

With all things considered, Olimar has one of the most damaging playstyles among the cast, as he is able to KO nearly all opponents in a short period when his Pikmin are utilized wisely. For example, Pikmin Throw allots him a large array of options for offense, as it can both zone and get opponents to KO percents quickly; when the thrown Pikmin are not shaken off, they can rack up 10%-30% in a matter of seconds, forcing opponents to carefully calculate their approach. He can also have up to three Pikmin at a time in his lineup, which, despite its aforementioned halving since Brawl, can be hard for an opponent to keep track of, especially with each color boasting unique attributes. He can also KO early with his relatively fast and very powerful smash attacks; some, such as up smash, are able to KO with Purple Pikmin as early as about 60%. Also, with his largely disjointed grab range, he can disrupt the movements of both quick characters and roll spammers, also being having an excellent shield grab. His air game is also quite powerful: up aerial is able to easily juggle or even KO outright near the upper blast line, forward aerial is useful for approaching and edgeguarding, back aerial is also useful for edgeguarding, and down aerial is able to meteor smash. However, Pikmin can also double as a drawback: since they are now treated as projectiles, they can be reflected, which can sometimes hinder Olimar's offense against characters with moves of this sort.

However, Olimar does have noticeable flaws. One of Olimar's greatest weaknesses is that he struggles against fast characters, such as Sonic and Captain Falcon. As Olimar is a slow character, they can easily catch up and punish Olimar if he tries to retreat to pluck more Pikmin. They can also easily kill Olimar's Pikmin, especially Sonic, whose Spin Dash can kill off any attached Pikmin in one or two hits. As Olimar needs his Pikmin to have a respectable offensive presence, Olimar must play very safely against these characters. Olimar also has poor aerial mobility, as his slow falling and air speeds make him easy to juggle and, when combined with his light weight, to KO. Not to mention all of his directional aerials have the crippling flaw of low priority, making it impossible to combat edgeguarders who are attacking with an aerial or up special. Another severe flaw he has is his over-reliance on Pikmin, much like in his home series. Without any Pikmin, Olimar's smash attacks, up, down, back, and forward aerials, grabs and side special will simply do nothing, which significantly harms his neutral game due to them being his most effective attacks. This also leaves Olimar with a total of six attacks that deal damage: his neutral attack, tilt attacks, dash attack and neutral aerial, with his forward tilt being his only KOing option that does not use Pikmin. Due to this, it is crucial that Olimar has at least one Pikmin with him at all times.

Olimar has a few beneficial custom moves. Hardy Pikmin Pluck makes all types of Pikmin more durable at the cost of being plucked slower. Sticky Pikmin Throw has each Pikmin deal less damage and cover less distance when thrown, but they stay latched on for much longer and deal damage at a faster rate. True to its name, Tackle Pikmin Throw makes Red, Yellow, Blue and White Pikmin function like Purple Pikmin by tackling opponents instead of latching onto them. Mighty Winged Pikmin have reduced total travel distance, but the distance is not affected by the amount of Pikmin that Olimar is carrying. Lastly, Order Tackle has all latched on Pikmin deal damage upon being recalled, which gives Olimar another way to deal damage.

Overall, Olimar still retains many of his considerable strengths in spite of their nerfs, and has even had some traits buffed, mostly in regard to his damage output. While his potential damage output was reduced, a smart player can overcome this, especially with the new mechanics for keeping track of Pikmin, making Olimar a much more reliable character for the player. His recovery has also been completely revamped for the better, which many agree has helped to alleviate his other changes. Early in the metagame, Olimar was thought to be one of the worst characters, yet dedicated mains such as Dabuz, ImHip, Angbad, Myran, and Logic have shown that, as in Brawl, he is still a very capable character who retains a very high learning curve.

Changes from Brawl

Olimar has been nerfed in the transition from Brawl to SSB4, with the most glaring nerf being the halving of his Pikmin count from six to three. As a result, this hinders his general damage output, particularly his potential damage output, as well as his camping potential. However, he also received slight buffs in some areas to compensate. The most noticeable buff Olimar received was to his recovery, as Winged Pikmin largely outclass Pikmin Chain. His smash attacks using Purple Pikmin have become even more potent, and he has retained most of the options he had in Brawl. However, these changes do not nearly compensate for his most noticeable nerfs, which has led to him to be considered one of the characters to have been truly nerfed in the initial transition from Brawl, alongside King Dedede, Meta Knight, Falco, Marth and Jigglypuff. As a result, Olimar is still a viable character, albeit not to the degree as in Brawl.

Aesthetics

• Olimar's design is now a combination of his appearances in Pikmin 3 and Brawl. Olimar himself now has slightly tanned skin and his hair is more detailed. Additionally, his helmet now sports a whistle, while its antenna and collar are both a much darker shade of gray. The two seams around his space suit's waist each now feature six gray rivets, while two of his space suit's connectors are now blue and the third is red, rather than each of them being orange. The coloration of his space suit's life support system is slightly subdued, while its stripe is slightly more vibrant. Lastly, the coloration of the Hocotate Freight patches, his gloves and the trim on his boots are more vibrant, while the bands around his gloves are now gray, rather than black. The Pikmin have also been updated, with their proportions now being more in line with their appearances in Pikmin 3.
• Up and down taunts have updated sound effects, while side taunt now emits a sound effect.
• Pikmin have more limited cosmetics, as their leaves do not turn into buds or flowers. Additionally, if two or three Pikmin stand in the same spot in Olimar's lineup, it can produce odd results and make it difficult to tell which Pikmin will be used next. Lastly, their idle animations are all synchronized, presumably to avoid any unnecessary hardware strain.
• The Pikmin at the head of the line now has a player-colored arrowhead above it. This allows the player to better visualize which Pikmin will be used next.

Attributes

• Olimar is lighter (82 → 79).
• Olimar dashes faster (1.4 → 1.47).
• Olimar falls faster (1.3 → 1.35).
• Red, Yellow, Blue and Purple Pikmin have decreased hit points (9 HP → 8 (RY), 14 HP → 11 (B), 15 HP → 13 (P)). Pikmin separated from Olimar also die faster.
• White Pikmin have increased hit points (4 HP → 7).
• The maximum Pikmin count has been halved (6 → 3).
• Pikmin have flawed artificial intelligence and sometimes fly out of line if the player moves Olimar too quickly, leaving Olimar with no Pikmin in tow to perform attacks. This sometimes prevents combos from being performed effectively. However, this is considerably less prevalent in the version, as their flawed AI only occurs at edges.
• Pikmin are now plucked in a set cycle (Red → Yellow → Blue → White → Purple), rather than being random and based on terrain. While this means Olimar no longer has to depend on certain types of terrain to get certain Pikmin and all Pikmin are equally likely to appear, it also makes it less likely to have two or more of the same type at once.

Ground attacks

• Olimar has a new neutral attack, the first two punches of the Rocket Fist upgrade in Pikmin 2. Compared to the previous neutral attack, it deals less damage (15% → 6%-8%), but has more range.
• Olimar has a new forward tilt, the wind-up punch of the Rocket Fist upgrade in Pikmin 2. Compared to the previous forward tilt, it deals 5% more damage (6% → 11%) and has less ending lag (FAF 37 → 36). Unlike the previous forward tilt, it has KO potential.
• Forward tilt has more start-up lag (frame 9 → 15) compared to the previous forward tilt.
• Up tilt deals 3.4% less damage (11% → 7.6%) due to consisting of seven hits instead of eight.
• Down tilt's antenna hitbox has been removed, which decreases its overall damage output by 2% (8% → 6%).
• Down tilt has increased knockback, improving its combo potential.
• White Pikmin-based smash attacks deal more damage (9% (clean)/6% (mid)/3% (late) → 11.6%/8%/4.8% (forward), 9% (clean near)/7% (clean far)/5% (late) → 10.4%/8%/8.8% (up), 6% (clean)/4% (late) → 8.8%/7.2% (down)).
• Clean Red, Yellow and Purple Pikmin-based forward smashes deal more damage (15% → 17.4% (R), 13% → 14.5% (Y), 18% → 20.3% (P)).
• Clean Blue Pikmin-based forward smash deals 0.5% less damage (15% → 14.5%).
• Forward smash has decreased knockback, slightly hindering its KO potential.
• Forward smash has increased horizontal range.
• Forward smash no longer makes Pikmin fly off-stage. While this helps conserve Pikmin, this removes its gimping potential.
• Clean near and late Red Pikmin-based up smash deals more damage (15% (clean near)/12% (late) → 15.6%/13.2%).
• Clean near Yellow Pikmin-based up smash deals 1% less damage (14% → 13%).
• Clean near and clean far Blue Pikmin-based up smash deals less damage (15% (clean near)/13% (clean far) → 13%/10%).
• Clean far Red and Yellow Pikmin-based up smash deal 2% less damage (14% → 12%).
• Late Yellow Pikmin-based up smash deals 1% more damage (10% → 11%).
• Purple Pikmin-based up smash deals more damage (16% (clean near)/13% (clean far)/13% (late) → 18.2%/14%/15.4%).
• Up smash has decreased vertical range.
• Up and down smashes are faster.
• Red and Purple Pikmin-based down smashes deal more damage (13% (clean)/10% (late) → 13.2%/10.8% (R), 15% (clean)/12% (late) → 15.4%/12.6% (P)).
• Clean Blue Pikmin-based down smash deals 1% less damage (12% → 11%).

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial deals 4% less damage (12% → 8%) due to consisting of five hits instead of six.
• Red, Yellow, Blue and Purple Pikmin-based forward aerials deal less damage (15% → 10.2% (R), 12% → 8.5% (Y), 13% → 8.5% (B), 14% → 11.9% (P)).
• White Pikmin-based forward aerial deals 1.8% more damage (5% → 6.8%).
• Forward and back aerials are faster.
• Up aerial deals less damage (24% → 10.8% (R), 16% → 9% (Y), 22% → 9% (B), 9% → 7.2% (W), 22% → 12.6% (P)) due to consisting of one hit instead of seven.
• Up aerial's decreased hit count improves its juggling and KO potentials.
• Sweetspotted Red, Yellow, Blue and Purple Pikmin-based down aerials deal less damage (16% → 10.8% (R), 12% → 9% (Y), 13% → 9% (B), 13% → 12.6% (P)).
• Down aerial's sweetspot is harder to land.
• Down aerial is faster.

Throws/other attacks

• White Pikmin-based throws deal more damage (6% (forward, up, down)/7% (back) → 7% (forward)/9% (back)/8% (up)/7.8% (down)).
• Red and Blue Pikmin-based forward throws deal less damage (6% → 5.6% (R), 13% → 11.2% (B)).
• Red and Blue Pikmin-based back throws deal more damage (7% → 7.2% (R), 14% → 14.4% (B)).
• Back throw has decreased knockback, hindering its KO potential.
• Red, Yellow and Purple Pikmin-based up throws deal less damage (9% → 6.4% (R), 11% → 8% (YP)).
• Blue Pikmin-based up throw deals 0.8% more damage (12% → 12.8%).
• Up throw has decreased knockback. This improves its combo potential, but hinders its KO potential.
• Red Pikmin-based down throw deals 2.4% less damage (9% → 6.6%).
• Blue and Purple Pikmin-based down throws deal more damage (12% → 12.2% (B), 8% → 8.4% (P)).
• Olimar has a new edge attack, a punch from the Pikmin series. Compared to the previous edge attack, it deals less damage (8%/10% → 7%).

Special moves

• Pikmin Pluck has updated sound effects.
• Pikmin Throw has increased range. This improves its zoning potential, but also makes Pikmin more susceptible to being thrown off-stage.
• Pikmin Throw can now enable Pikmin to latch onto a Smash Ball and carry items to Olimar. Despite the latter feature's exclusivity, his alt. trophy in the version still mentions it.
• Olimar has a new up special, Winged Pikmin. Unlike Pikmin Chain, Winged Pikmin are a maneuverable, flight-based recovery that cover much more distance and allow Olimar to attack while they are carrying him, similarly to Wings of Icarus. This makes them much safer and much more versatile.
• Unlike Pikmin Chain, Winged Pikmin do not deal damage, are not a tether, and cover overall less distance if they are used consecutively. Compared to Pikmin Chain, Winged Pikmin are significantly less effective if Olimar has more Pikmin, which may require him to sacrifice them in order to prevent himself from being KO'd or self-destructing.
• Pikmin Order has decreased super armor frames (14 frames → 7), significantly hindering its safety.
• End of Day deals less damage (15% → 10% (ascent), 43% → 15% (Red Bulborbs), 15%/20% → 12%/10% (explosion)). End of Day's Hocotate Ship also has decreased knockback, hindering its KO potential.
• End of Day's Hocotate Ship's explosion has a larger hitbox.
• End of Day's Hocotate Ship can be maneuvered during its descent, similarly to a Warp Star.

Update history

Olimar has received a mix of buffs and nerfs from game updates. Update 1.0.4 made Pikmin Pluck unable to be edge-canceled and decreased the amount of damage that Red, Yellow, and Blue Pikmin deal when they latch onto opponents. To compensate for this, White Pikmin deal more damage when latched on and the latch time for all Pikmin was increased.

However, Olimar also significantly benefits from the changes to shield mechanics brought about by updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1. This is due to latched Pikmin becoming better at damaging an opponent's shield, while the low ending lag on his smash attacks makes them even less punishable on shield due to the increased shieldstun. As a result, Olimar is slightly better than he was during SSB4's initial release.

1.0.4

• Neutral, forward, and back aerials' landing lag decreased: 17 frames → 15.

• The Pikmin's safespot distance from Olimar has decreased (5 → 4), making them follow Olimar sooner.
  • However, there is also a shorter distance between the Pikmin's own safespots (5 → 4).
• All Pikmin except purple Pikmin run faster (40 → 60 (overall run speed), 2.4 (red/yellow/blue)/3 (white) → 3 (R/Y/B)/4 (W).
• Pikmin have increased follow distance (18 → 23) if they have to change direction.
• Pikmin follow the previous aerial velocity for a shorter period of time (15 frames → 8).
• Neutral, forward, and back aerials have less landing lag (17 frames → 15).
• Pikmin Pluck can no longer be edge-canceled.
• Red, Yellow and Blue Pikmin latched onto opponents deal less damage (1.3% → 1.1%).
• White Pikmin latched onto opponents deal more damage (2.6% → 3.7%).
• Purple Pikmin throw deal less damage (6.5% → 6%).
• Pikmin Throw's additional latch time has been increased (200 frames → 300).

1.0.6

• Fixed a glitch where reflecting Order Tackle would give the Pikmin a permanent power boost.

1.0.8

• Fixed a glitch where Pikmin Order no longer reverses from edge grabs.

Moveset

• All Pikmin-based moves and grabs use the next Pikmin in the line to perform the given attack. Upon performing a move, that Pikmin goes to the back of the line.
• Each Pikmin has respective multipliers that are applied to the damage output and knockback values of each Pikmin-based move:
  • R: Red Pikmin — 1.2x (attacks)/0.8x (throws)
  • Y: Yellow Pikmin — 1x (attacks and throws)
  • B: Blue Pikmin — 1x (attacks)/1.6x (throws)
  • W: White Pikmin — 0.8x (attacks)/1x (throws)
  • P: Purple Pikmin — 1.4x (attacks)/1x (throws)

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3% (early, clean arm), 4% (clean fist)	The two alternating punches of the Rocket Fist ability from Pikmin 2. Its knockback and very quick speed enables it to act as pseudo-jab cancel at low percents, which allows it to act as a set-up for a grab or start a tech-chase at high percents. Performing it repeatedly will slightly move Olimar forward.
			3% (arm), 4% (fist)
Forward tilt			11%	The wind-up punch of the Rocket Fist ability from Pikmin 2. It is fairly powerful for a tilt attack, as it KOs middleweights at 143% while near the edge. However, it is Olimar's only KOing option when he does not have any Pikmin, and has the highest amount of start-up lag out of his entire moveset due to coming out on frame 15.
Up tilt			0.6% (hits 1-6), 4% (hit 7)	A jumping twirl. Its minimal start-up lag makes it a useful follow-up from down tilt, a fast fallen neutral aerial, or down throw. It is also a decent anti-air attack.
Down tilt			6%	A sliding headbutt. It is a very useful combo starter due to its very minimal start-up and low base knockback. It can combo into itself (especially on fast-fallers), up tilt, smash attacks, and aerial attacks, depending on the opponent's DI. It can also interfere with an opponent's edge grab attempt, due to its hitbox going below the edge. Like neutral attack, performing it repeatedly will slightly move Olimar forward.
Dash attack			7% (hit 1), 4% (hit 2)	A cartwheel. It can combo into a string of up aerials from 0%-10%. Outside of this, its only other utility is functioning as a mix-up and approach option, as its high base knockback makes it unable to combo past very low percents, while its very low knockback growth makes it unable to KO at a reasonable percent.
Forward smash			R: 17.4% (clean), 12% (mid), 7.2% (late) YB: 14.5% (clean), 10% (mid), 6% (late) W: 11.6% (clean), 8% (mid), 4.8% (late) P: 20.3% (clean), 14% (mid), 8.4% (late)	Points forward to command a Pikmin to leap forward and perform a twirling tackle. Due to coming out on frame 11, it is the second fastest forward smash in the game. It is Olimar's second most damaging smash attack, as a Purple Pikmin-based forward smash KOs middleweights at 100% while near the edge. It also has a slight chance to trip opponents.
Up smash			R: 15.6% (clean near), 12% (clean far), 13.2% (late) YB: 13% (clean near), 10% (clean far), 11% (late) W: 10.4% (clean near), 8% (clean far), 8.8% (late) P: 18.2% (clean near), 14% (clean far), 15.4% (late)	Points upward to command a Pikmin to jump and perform a cartwheeling tackle. Like his other smash attacks, it has both decent start-up lag and impressive power, as a Purple Pikmin-based up smash KOs middleweights at 112% while near the opponent. However, it has the highest amount of start-up and ending lag out of his smash attacks, and it only KOs reliably while at point-blank range.
Down smash			R: 13.2% (clean), 10.8% (late) YB: 11% (clean), 9% (late) W: 8.8% (clean), 7.2% (late) P: 15.4% (clean), 12.6% (late)	Squats slightly and points to both of his sides to command two Pikmin to perform dashing tackles. If the opponent is close enough to Olimar, both Pikmin can hit the opponent, which can deal a total of 43% when using two Purple Pikmin. It has the lowest amount of start-up lag out of his smash attacks when not using Purple Pikmin, has minimal ending lag, and has a chance to trip opponents. However, due to being his least damaging smash attack, a Purple Pikmin-based down smash does not KO middleweights until 140% while near the edge.
Neutral aerial			1.5% (hits 1-4), 2% (hit 5)	A jumping twirl. It has impressive combo potential at any percent, as it can combo into up and down tilts, smash attacks, or a grab. However, this only occurs if its last hit does not connect, which can be done by having Olimar land before it concludes.
Forward aerial			R: 10.2% YB: 8.5% W: 6.8% P: 11.9%	Swings a Pikmin forward while holding its stem. A very reliable follow-up from down throw, and a useful edge-guarding option.
Back aerial			R: 12.96% YB: 10.8% W: 8.64% P: 15.12%	Swings a Pikmin backward while holding its stem. Olimar's most damaging aerial and a viable KOing option, a Purple Pikmin-based back aerial KOs middleweights at 127% while near the edge. However, it has the highest start-up lag out of his aerial attacks due to coming out on frame 10.
Up aerial			R: 10.8% YB: 9% W: 7.2% P: 12.6%	Twirls a Pikmin upward while holding its stem. A viable KOing option, a Purple Pikmin-based up aerial KOs middleweights at 115% while near the upper blast line. It is also tied with down aerial as his second most damaging aerial, but has a noticeable amount of landing lag.
Down aerial			R: 10.8% YB: 9% W: 7.2% P: 12.6%	Swings a Pikmin downward while holding its stem. Its sweetspot meteor smashes opponents and is located near the Pikmin's stem. It is tied with up aerial as his second most damaging aerial, but also has a noticeable amount of landing lag like up aerial.
Grab			—	Points forward to command a Pikmin to grab the opponent. White Pikmin have the longest ranged grabs, whereas Purple Pikmin have the shortest ranged ones.
Pummel			RYBP: 2% W: 4%	The Pikmin strikes the opponent with the top of its stem. When used with White Pikmin, its damage output is tied with Shulk's Buster-boosted pummel for the most damaging pummel in the game.
Forward throw			R: 5.6% YWP: 7% B: 11.2%	The Pikmin shoves the opponent away. It has no utility outside of dealing damage.
Back throw			R: 7.2% YWP: 9% B: 14.4%	The Pikmin swings backward and performs a body slam. It deals the most damage out of all of Olimar's throws.
Up throw			R: 6.4% YWP: 8% B: 12.8%	The Pikmin jumps up, turns upside down, and performs a modified piledriver. Although its knockback has been decreased since Brawl, it is still one of the strongest up throws in the game, as a Blue Pikmin-based up throw KOs middleweights at 170% on-stage, and KOs them at 153% on a platform.
Down throw			R: 1% (hit 1), 5.6% (throw) Y: 1% (hit 1), 7% (throw) B: 1% (hit 1), 11.2% (throw) W: 0.8% (hit 1), 7% (throw) P: 1.4% (hit 1), 7% (throw)	The Pikmin pins the opponent to the ground and then performs a jumping battering ram. A very useful combo starter, it can combo into neutral aerial from 0% to low percents, forward and back aerials from 0% to high percents, and up aerial from low to high percents. It can also combo into forward smash from 0% to low percents, albeit only against fast-fallers. One particularly notable combo is a Red Pikmin-based down throw followed by a Purple Pikmin-based back aerial, which is a true combo that KOs reliably while near the edge.
Floor attack (front)			7%	Punches in front of himself and then behind himself while getting up.
Floor attack (back)			7%	Headbutts in front of himself and then behind himself while getting up.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Headbutts in front of himself and then spins around to perform a double footed back kick behind himself.
Edge attack			7%	Throws a punch while climbing up.
Neutral special	Default	Pikmin Pluck	—	Plucks a Pikmin. It cannot be used in midair, and has noticeable ending lag if it is attempted in midair, or if no more Pikmin can be plucked.
	Custom 1	Hardy Pikmin Pluck	—	Pikmin take much longer to pluck, but have much more hit points and knockback resistance.
	Custom 2	Explosive Pluck	RYB: 8% W: 5% P: 10%	Pikmin take longer to pluck and they have less hit points, but each pluck causes an explosion.
Side special	Default	Pikmin Throw	R: 7.8% (thrown) YB: 6.5% (thrown) W: 5.2% (thrown) P: 6.5% RYB: 1.1% (latched) W: 3.7% (latched)	Throws a Pikmin, which latches onto opponents and damages them before falling off either after a certain time, or due to flinching. If the target cannot be latched onto, it simply deals damage. Purple Pikmin also simply tackle opponents due to their inability to latch onto anything.
	Custom 1	Sticky Pikmin Throw	R: 7.8% (thrown) YB: 6.5% (thrown) W: 5.2% (thrown) P: 9.1% RYB: 1% (latched) W: 2% (latched)	Thrown Pikmin deal less damage per hit, but hit faster and remain latched on longer, dealing more damage overall. However, the distance Pikmin are thrown is considerably shorter.
	Custom 2	Tackle Pikmin Throw	RYB: 5% W: 3% P: 8%	All thrown Pikmin act like Purple Pikmin and tackle opponents instead of latching onto them. Red, Yellow, Blue and White Pikmin deal less damage, but Purple Pikmin deal more damage.
Up special	Default	Winged Pikmin	—	Two Winged Pikmin carry Olimar around, enabling him to recover. While being carried, Olimar can attack, similarly to Wings of Icarus. Having more Pikmin and/or using the move consecutively decreases the Winged Pikmin's effectiveness. Olimar will also be rendered helpless after attacking while being carried.
	Custom 1	Winged Pikmin Jump	—	Functions like a traditional recovery by lacking the maneuverability in order to quickly lift Olimar upward a certain distance before falling. The Winged Pikmin also push away nearby opponents.
	Custom 2	Mighty Winged Pikmin	—	The distance traveled does not depend on Pikmin carried, but the Winged Pikmin follow a fixed distance regardless of the amount of Pikmin in tow.
Down special	Default	Pikmin Order	—	Blows his whistle to recall Pikmin and/or sort out their order in the line. It also grants super armor on frames 6-12.
	Custom 1	Order Tackle	RYB: 3% W: 2% P: 5%	Pikmin recalled deal damage, but it has a fair amount of ending lag.
	Custom 2	Dizzy Whistle	0.1% (hit 1), 1% (hit 2)	Deals damage and reverses opponents within the whistle's range, but has a noticeable amount of start-up lag.
Final Smash		End of Day	10% (launch), 10% (ascent), 15% (Red Bulborbs), 10% (descent), 12%/10% (explosion)	Jumps into the Hocotate Ship and launches into space, causing all nearby opponents to be buried. While the ship has left the stage, Red Bulborbs viciously assault opponents, inflicting steady damage. The Hocotate Ship finally crashes back down to the ground, dealing a considerable amount of damage and knockback to anyone caught in the explosion.

On-screen appearance

• Exits the Hocotate Ship and then plucks three Pikmin, after which the Hocotate Ship disappears in a puff of smoke.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Joyfully jumps in place three times.
• Side taunt: Lies down on the ground, rolls around as if basking in nature, and then gets up.
• Down taunt: Swings his hips.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Rubs his helmet with both hands.
• Moves his arms back and forward in a basic limber exercise.

Crowd cheer

Olimar	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Olimar! Olimar! Olimar!	Pik-min! Ol-i-mar!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Alph	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Alph! Alph! Alph!	Pik-min! Al-ph!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Victory poses

A remixed excerpt of Pikmin's title screen theme.

• Plucks a White, Blue and Purple Pikmin. The White Pikmin and Blue Pikmin bounce off Olimar's head, and then the Purple Pikmin squashes him onto the ground. Olimar's eyes will comically bulge outward upon being squashed before his expression returns to normal, whereas Alph will comically wince upon being squashed before his expression returns to normal.
• Performs a toe touching exercise while a Yellow Pikmin rests on the ground and a Red Pikmin looks around.
• Sways in place while a Red, Yellow, and Blue Pikmin run around him in a circle.

In competitive play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Olimar	1112	1311	1312	1212	2112
	2212	2211	2312	2131	3312

Notable players

Active

•  Angbad - Placed 49th at Apex 2015, 33rd at Paragon Los Angeles 2015, 25th at CEO 2016, and 33rd at EVO 2016.
•  CoCo
•  Dabuz - Placed 2nd at Apex 2015, 5th at EVO 2015, 3rd at CEO 2016, 1st at WTFox 2, 2nd at Super Smash Con 2016, 5th at The Big House 6, 1st at Aftershock 2016, 7th at GENESIS 4, 1st at Smash Valley, and 4th at Frostbite 2017.
•  GreenBeast - Placed 13th at Smash 'N' Splash and 7th at Midwest Mayhem.
•  ImHip - Placed 9th at Final Battle, 17th at Paragon Los Angeles 2015 and 2GGC: GENESIS Saga, and 33rd at 2GGC: Midwest Mayhem Saga and 2GGC: Civil War. Ranked 15th on the SoCal Power Rankings.
•  Krow - Placed 2nd at Full Bloom 2, 25th at Midwest Mayhem 3, and 17th at Midwest Mayhem 4. Ranked 5th on the Indiana Power Rankings.
•  Logic - Placed 9th at Smash 'N' Splash, 33rd at CEO 2015, 25th at Super Smash Con 2015, 7th at PAX Prime 2015, 9th at Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo, 49th at EVO 2016 and Super Smash Con 2016, and 17th at Royal Flush. Formerly ranked 15th on the MD/VA Power Rankings.
•  Myran - Placed 5th at Paragon Los Angeles 2015, 33rd at Apex 2015, 25th at CEO 2015, 33rd at CEO 2016, 25th at Frostbite 2017, and 17th at Frame Perfect Series 2.
•  Shuton - Considered the best Olimar player in the world. Placed 1st at Shulla-bra VII, 9th at Umebura S.A.T., 1st at Hirosuma 5 and Shulla-bra VIII, 3rd at Sumabato 14, 1st at Sumabato 15, 5th at Frostbite 2017, and 13th at 2GGC: Civil War. Ranked 4th on the JAPAN Power Rankings.
•  Soulimar
•  Syco

Inactive

•  Rich Brown

Tier placement and history

Like in Brawl, Olimar's placing in SSB4 was one of the most contentious among the cast. At first, players would deem his nerfs as being too harsh for him to even be assessed as a mid-tier character, with some even considering him to be a bottom-tier character. This perception would remain intact for several months until players soon started to demonstrate Olimar's retained strengths, with professionals like Dabuz, ImHip, Shuton and Soulimar achieving good tournament results. As a result, Olimar was ranked 24th on the first tier list.

However, Olimar's tournament representation and results have never been as bountiful as other characters'. To reflect this, he dropped 30th on the second tier list. After Dabuz and Shuton brought about slight improvements to Olimar's results, he rose to 27th on the third and current tier list. Nevertheless, Olimar's current tier placement is a somewhat debatable, largely thanks to Shuton placing 5th at Frostbite 2017.

Trophies

Olimar

A veteran spaceship pilot for Hocotate Freight, Captain Olimar partners with Pikmin in Smash Bros. to help him in battle. Olimar is much stronger when he's got Pikmin with him, so keep them plucked and good to go. Pikmin abilities are based on their color—learn what each is best at!

Captain Olimar, veteran Hocotate Freight astronaut, joins forces with Pikmin again in this game to take on the world. Olimar isn't much of an attacker without Pikmin by his side, so you should always keep some ready. Pikmin have different abilities depending on their colour, so learn how they work to use them effectively!

: Pikmin (12/2001)

: Pikmin 2 (08/2004)

Olimar (Alt.)

Pikmin aren't just good for attacking, you know. For example, when you throw them, they can pick up items on their way back. Only items that aren't very heavy, though! Also, if there's someone charging or shooting at you, a well-timed Pikmin throw can stop them in their tracks!

Pikmin aren't just good for attacking, you know. For example, when you throw them, they can pick up items on their way back. Only items that aren't very heavy, but still! Also, if there's someone charging or shooting at you, a well-timed Pikmin throw can stop them. Just don't forget to replace your Pikmin when they're gone!

: Pikmin (12/2001)

: Pikmin 2 (08/2004)

End of Day

On the planet Olimar is investigating, the native creatures become extra violent at night, forcing him to retreat to orbit every evening. His Final Smash works the same way: night falls and Olimar takes to the sky, leaving his foes to the mercy of the wildlife below. Olimar returns when dawn breaks and you can adjust his less-than-safe landing!

On the planet of the Pikmin, the native creatures get quite violent come nightfall, so Olimar retreats into orbit every evening. That's how his Final Smash works, too: Olimar takes off in his trusty Dolphin^[sic], then in comes the beasties to take care of the other fighters. When Olimar returns, make sure he touches down, er...safely!

• 

  Classic (3DS)

• OlimarAllStarTrophy3DS.png

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  End of Day

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• A Battle of Scale: A tiny Olimar must defeat a giant Bowser.
• All-Star Battle: Brawl: Olimar is one of the opponents fought in this event. All of the opponents debuted in Brawl.
• The Big 7650!: As Pac-Man, the player must use his Final Smash, Super Pac-Man, on three Olimars within 15 seconds.

Co-op Events

• Poisonous Planet: Olimar and Samus must defeat two giant Charizard in a Stamina Battle before their own health is depleted due to being flowered.
• Solidarity: Olimar and Rosalina & Luma must defeat Mario and Luigi and then defeat Bowser and Bowser Jr.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.
• Visiting Onett: Ness and Villager must defeat Olimar, Kirby, Meta Knight, Fox, Falco, and Rosalina & Luma. All of the opponents are outer space-based characters.

Alternate costumes

Instead of alternate color schemes, half of Olimar's alternate costumes consist of Alph, one of the three playable characters from Pikmin 3.

Gallery

• 

  Olimar in the Nintendo Direct from April 8th, 2014.

• 

  Alph's official art.

• 

  Olimar's amiibo.

• 

  The Pic of the Day revealing Olimar's return to the series and commemorating Pikmin 3's Japanese launch.

• 

  Olimar using his forward smash on Mario in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

• 

  Olimar alongside Link in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

• 

  Olimar dashing with his Pikmin.

• 

  Using his forward smash with a Red Pikmin on Fox.

• 

  Using his back aerial with a White Pikmin on Mega Man.

• 

  Using his down smash with Red and Purple Pikmin on Pit and Link.

• 

  Red, Yellow and White Pikmin.

• 

  Olimar dashing away from Bowser while the spirit of a deceased Blue Pikmin is visible.

• 

  Olimar falling.

• 

  Pikmin looking up at Kirby.

• 

  Using his side taunt.

• 

  Pikmin alongside a prone Mega Man.

• 

  A closeup of a Yellow Pikmin, Olimar's whistle, and his space suit's Hocotate Freight patch.

• 

  Using his forward smash alongside Wii Fit Trainer's forward smash.

• 

  Alongside Sonic and a Hocotate Bomb.

• 

  Olimar dashing with his Pikmin.

• 

  Using Winged Pikmin, his new up special.

• 

  Alph alongside a couple of Pikmin whose models have become meshed due to a rare glitch.

Trivia

• Because Olimar's placement in All-Star Mode is based on his own debut rather than that of Alph (whose debut in Pikmin 3 came twelve years after Olimar's debut in Pikmin), Alph will be misplaced chronologically during All-Star Mode if he appears in Olimar's place. The same applies to Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings.
• Olimar's All-Star trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS is highly similar to his pose in his official artwork for Brawl.
• Olimar is the only character who does not use his official alt. trophy when he is faced in rounds 4-5 in Classic Mode in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Instead, he uses Alph's trophy.
• In Pikmin 3, Alph does not ride the Hocotate Ship, but rather the S.S. Drake. In SSB4, he uses the Hocotate Ship for his on-screen appearance and Final Smash, regardless.
• Olimar and Alph have different expressions when they are hit. Olimar's eyes comically bulge out, something he commonly does in Pikmin 2, whereas Alph winces.
• Olimar is the only character to have only one special move in his default moveset that deals damage.
  • He is also the only character to have a special move (Winged Pikmin in his case) that lacks any damage-dealing custom versions.
• In the European version of End of Day's trophy, it mistakenly says that Olimar pilots the S.S. Dolphin during it. However, he actually pilots the Hocotate Ship during End of Day.