Pichu (SSBU): Difference between revisions

{{s|wikipedia|Satomi Kōrogi}}, Pichu's voice actress from the ''Pokémon'' anime and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'',  reprises her role with new voice clips. In addition, the 'spiky-eared' variant of Pichu (who appears as a playable character in ''Ultimate'' via Pichu's [[Alternate costume (SSBU)#Pichu|alternate costumes]]) is also voiced by Kōrogi rather than {{s|wikipedia|Shoko Nakagawa}}, who originally voiced the aforementioned 'spiky-eared' variant in the ''Pokémon'' anime's twelfth movie, ''[[bulbapedia:M12|Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life]]''.

Pichu is ranked 55th out of 82 on the current tier list, placing it in the B- tier. This is a significant improvement over its low tier placement in ''Melee'', where it was ranked 22nd out of 26. Pichu boasts good combo ability and great KO power, with its fast [[falling speed]] aiding in its combo potential. It is also very hard to hit due to its small hurtbox and good mobility.

However, Pichu is hindered by critical flaws. Its biggest flaw is being the [[weight|lightest]] character in the game. This combined with it taking [[recoil]] damage when using [[electric]] moves makes Pichu a "glass cannon" and can be KO'd earlier than any other character. Its fast falling speed makes it more susceptible to combos despite being so light.

Pichu's representation in tournaments has changed throughout ''Ultimate''{{'}}s metagame. At launch, Pichu was often seen as a contender of the best character in the game thanks to the drastic buffs it received, such as greatly reduced recoil damage and a fast [[forward tilt]] that can KO opponents around 100%, which led to a large playerbase spearheaded by {{Sm|VoiD}} and {{Sm|Nietono}}. However, [[List of updates (SSBU)#3.1.0|update 3.1.0]] gave Pichu major nerfs, making it more of a high-risk, high-reward character and leading many to deem it inferior to Pikachu. Despite this, Pichu continues to see moderate success from dedicated mains, most notably {{Sm|NaetorU}}.

Pichu is a character of extremes. As a clone of Pikachu, many of its attributes are similar, such as its even smaller size and quick mobility, though with a few noticeable differences. Pichu is the [[weight|lightest]] character in the game, has fast [[walk]]ing and above average [[dash]]ing speeds with average [[traction]], above average [[jump]]ing force, average [[air speed]] but being tied for the ninth highest [[air acceleration]], and fast [[falling speed]] while being tied for the fifth highest [[gravity]]. However, it has the lowest [[fast fall]] multiplier in the game, causing its fast-falling speed to be average. Overall, these attributes give Pichu a slightly slower grounded approach than Pikachu, make its aerials not [[autocancel]] as easily and makes it more vulnerable to combos, but also gives it a much faster ground-to-air and air-to-ground approach, making its mobility as reliable as Pikachu's own.

The primary difference between Pichu and Pikachu is the former's [[recoil damage]] on its [[electric]]ity-based attacks. All of Pichu's attacks with an electric effect ([[forward tilt]], [[forward smash|forward]] and [[down smash]] attacks, [[forward aerial|forward]], [[back aerial|back]] and [[down aerial]]s, [[forward throw]], and all special moves except {{b|Thunder|Pokémon}} if the lightning bolt doesn't strike Pichu) deal recoil damage to itself, which makes it less feasible for Pichu to overuse these attacks. To compensate for this, many of Pichu's electric attacks have either increased damage, knockback (in some cases both), or versatility. This makes it less feasible for Pichu to overuse these attacks in situations that would require their use for best results, as it could put it in a spot where the opponent may even KO Pichu with a strong enough move. Conversely, it increases the reward Pichu would receive if it can land said moves, and due to these moves increasing Pichu's percentage, this means Pichu can make effective use of [[rage]] to KO an opponent with more ease, provided it can survive long enough.

Much like Pikachu, all of Pichu's moveset aspects are solid overall, possessing very fast frame data overall and great utility throughout its moveset. An example of this is its incredibly capable aerial game. [[Neutral aerial]] is Pichu's fastest [[out of shield]] option, on top of not having much ending or landing lag, making it a viable edgeguarding option. Forward aerial deals the highest damage of Pichu's aerials and has very strong combo potential, while only having decent recoil damage. Up aerial, while being Pichu's least damaging aerial, also retains very strong vertical combo capabilities. Down aerial is Pichu's main move to [[meteor smash]], and the late hit also lasts for a long while, making it another great edgeguarding tool, while also having only decent recoil damage. Finally, back aerial deals less damage than forward aerial, but is also Pichu's strongest aerial, a very good edgeguarding tool, only has decent recoil damage like its forward and down aerials, and plays a major component on Pichu's looping combos; by repeatedly performing a full jump while using a back aerial and comboing into a tilt attack (most notably up tilt) to repeat the process, Pichu can [[zero-to-death combo]] the opponent, though the timing for each move is very strict.

Pichu's main (but not sole) ways to set up the opponent into its strong aerial game consist of its [[up tilt|up]] and [[down tilt]]s, and [[up throw|up]] and [[down throw]]s: both tilts are excellent combo starters, with down tilt even comboing into aerials at very high percentages, while up and down throw allow Pichu to pummel the opponent for more damage due to them being followed up from a grab; up throw is also infamous for comboing into Thunder for a reliable KO set-up. This gives Pichu a strong combo game, with many ways to start, extend or end combos much like Pikachu, though due to its moves' nature, Pichu's combo game is usually shorter-lived in exchange for raw damage.

Aside from its up and down tilts, in regards to its grounded game, it also has some interesting and useful options: forward tilt trips opponents at low percentages, can 2-frame, and has above average power at high percentages, making it a very useful set-up tool. Forward smash has the highest power of its standard moveset, lasts for a long while and, due to its multi-hit nature, can KO at an even lower percentage. [[Up smash]] is a decent anti-air that leaves Pichu's ears [[intangible]], though it lacks in power. On the other hand, Pichu's [[neutral attack]] is mainly used for locking opponents due to its very weak knockback, and [[dash attack]]'s is mostly used as a fast punish option and its low power can actually allow it to combo, though it can be risky. Its grab game is also decent - while its grabs are short-ranged, they are very fast and have the lowest ending lag in the game. As mentioned above, up and down throws have useful combo potential, with down throw usually reserved for horizontal combos, whereas up throw leads into vertical combos and can lead into Thunder as a KO set-up. Meanwhile, forward throw is Pichu's strongest throw, barely KOing at realistic percentages near the edge, which makes it a passable kill throw.

Pichu's special moveset is also varied and versatile. [[Thunder Jolt]] is a useful projectile that can reliably pressure an opponent's shield, on top of dealing low knockback and high damage (especially if started in the air). Its low ending lag also allows it to set-up into Pichu's moves if it lands during its last frames of activity. Thunder is Pichu's other projectile, though the lightning bolt itself doesn't deal much damage. As such, its primary purpose is to use the cloud's meteor smash properties to combo opponents into the shockwave part of the move when the bolt strikes Pichu - this deals the most damage to Pichu out of all its moves if this happens, so it should be used sparingly. [[Skull Bash]] and [[Agility]] serve as Pichu's recovery moves, and give it an amazing, long-distanced and unpredictable recovery - of the two, Agility deals high recoil damage if both dashes are used, but nevertheless travels an incredibly long distance and is very unpredictable due to each dash being able to be inputted in multiple directions, potentially making Pichu very hard to properly edgeguard or 2-frame. Skull Bash, on the other hand, is mostly used to extend Pichu's recovery, but it also ties in as part of Pichu's "glass cannon" playstyle as it can be charged; unlike Pikachu's own version, Pichu's fully charged Skull Bash deals immense knockback when fully charged, this being Pichu's strongest option out of a shield break.

Thanks to Pichu's attributes, one of its key strengths is its playstyle versatility - depending on the situation, it can make use of its moveset to adapt and play accordingly. Pichu's great mobility, compact size and useful projectile give it an impressive neutral game and make it slippery, allowing it to play defensively, by virtue of using a bait-and-punish oriented playstyle that allows it to avoid the opponent's attacks and gradually poke at them or outright break through their offense. However, if the situation arises, Pichu can nevertheless play very aggressively, as it also has one of the best advantage states in the game by virtue of its raw damage, excellent frame data and impressive combo ability, allowing it to pressure the opponent into commiting and retaliating accordingly, and almost all of its aerials have some sort of edgeguarding potential, which can quickly lead into a lost stock.

In spite of these strengths, Pichu still has a myriad of critical flaws, some of which are shared with Pikachu, but much more pronounced; the most notable of these is its immense frailty. While its offstage survivability is incredible thanks to its recovery's long distance and unpredictability, it has an awful survivability overall due to its ludicrously low weight, resulting in it being very easily KO'd off of a stray hit as long as the move is decently strong, and the existence of rage further pronounces this issue. Its very fast falling speed and gravity also leave it pretty vulnerable to combos (although its neutral air can remedy this issue), meaning that Pichu can also be easily put in KO percentage from one or two combos. Adding insult to injury, the recoil damage Pichu suffers from using its electric attacks can rack up very quickly if it overuses said moves, which is a flaw no other character has at the level of Pichu (some characters have only one move that can deal recoil damage), and can potentially throw it into a much more devastating position if it happens. As a result of all these issues, in spite of its excellent recovery and great mobility, Pichu's disadvantage state is poor, and if Pichu isn't able to KO the opponent, they can easily turn the tables on it, which can easily and quickly lead to a lost stock just as Pichu can potentially and quickly end one.

Another of Pichu's most notable flaws is that while its very small size results in it being slippery, it also results it in having deceptively short range (much shorter than Pikachu), requiring it to be pretty close to the opponent in order to rack up damage, which can be risky. Pichu's mobility, very quick frame data and useful projectile in Thunder Jolt can help remedy this, but the prevalence of many characters with faster mobility and/or disjoints can still give it trouble at approaching, and Thunder Jolt's recoil damage makes it unfeasible for Pichu to keep the opponent away for too much, forcing it to approach and further exacerbating its range issues, despite its reliable moveset. Furthermore, despite its moveset's higher consistency in regards to power, Pichu's range issues mean it can often have difficulty landing its otherwise powerful KO moves and set-ups, as the former aren't disjointed (with the sole exception, forward smash, still having short range), and the latter are very limited, possessing only up throw to Thunder at mid-high and high percentages, and down tilt to down aerial near the edge at mid-percentages. Pichu's edgeguarding ability, while respectable, pales in comparison to Pikachu's due to its attributes resulting in Pichu not having as much air time as Pikachu can, though this is slightly mitigated by its moves' stronger knockback.

Lastly, although its moveset is versatile, a few of Pichu's attacks still lack some notable kind of utility. Down smash, although covering on both sides of Pichu, has unremarkable range, deals recoil damage and unlike Pikachu, sends at a disappointing angle for KOing, with its higher power compared to Pikachu failing to compensate. Forward throw can have difficulty at KOing the opponent at realistic percentages due to the fact Pichu will usually find itself using it to set-up an edgeguard, whereas back throw's sole purpose is shared with forward throw.

Overall, like Pikachu, Pichu is best described as a quintessential glass cannon but sacrifices weight and attack range for more power and speed. While Pikachu can control the neutral game more aggressively and has more flexibility in its combos, Pichu is able to function in a variety of playstyles that range from a defensive, bait-and-punish oriented playstyle to a more aggressive, rushdown oriented one whenever it is needed. However, Pichu's atrocious endurance and recoil damage means that an aware opponent can dominate Pichu just as easily as it can also dominate the opponent. While both characters have similar playstyles, they differ significantly in execution, as Pichu's recoil damage requires the player to make very mindful use of their resources at hand. Regardless, Pichu's pros notably outweigh its cons, and even after the nerfs it received in game updates, Pichu is considered a very solid character in competitive play, with a dedicated playerbase consisting of players such as {{Sm|Nietono}}, {{Sm|VoiD}}, {{Sm|RFang}}, {{Sm|NAKAT}}, and {{Sm|Blacktwins}}, and it has amassed some strong tournament results in tournament play.

**{{change|Up smash is an upward arcing headbutt, similar to Mario's up smash, whereas Pikachu's is a tail flip. This means that the hitbox starts behind Pichu and moves forwards, whereas Pikachu's starts in front and moves backwards.}}

Since its absence from previous installments, Pichu was infamous for being by far the worst clone character in ''Melee'' due to its status as an intentional "joke character", largely due to its very low weight, recoil damage and vulnerability to chain grabbing, giving it among the worst matchups in the game and leading to its bottom-tier placement and low tournament representation. Most likely as a result of this, Pichu has been significantly buffed in its transition to ''Ultimate'', making it the most buffed among all characters transitioning from ''Melee''.

Pichu's recoil damage has been somewhat toned down from ''Melee'', making its [[electric]]al attacks less of a detriment to use. Its mobility has overall improved as well, as its [[walk]]ing, [[dash]]ing and [[air speed]]s have increased, and its [[air acceleration]] has increased substantially. It can also [[crawl]] now, enabling Pichu to approach more easily while being able to dodge certain projectiles. Pichu also benefits from the weakening of [[SDI]], as its multi-hit attacks are much more reliable. On another note, while its endurance is still the worst in the game as it is lighter than even {{SSBU|Jigglypuff}}, its weight was nevertheless increased, allowing it to survive a little bit longer.

The changes to the engine's mechanics help Pichu as well. The weakening of [[SDI]] makes its multi-hit moves harder to escape and thus much more consistent, and the changes to [[air dodge]]s make it safer to use one to escape combos and give it one of the fastest in the game. The implementation of [[rage]], coupled with its small stature, allows Pichu to make use of it thanks to its electric moves' high knockback, in addition to said attacks' recoil damage indirectly putting it out of range of KO setups it would've otherwise suffered from.

Despite the many buffs it received, Pichu also received a few nerfs. Some of its strongest kill options, such as its forward and up smashes, have been significantly weakened in terms of knockback, while its neutral aerial, previously considered by many to be its best move, has also been weakened in both its damage output and knockback. Pichu can also no longer chaingrab with its up throw, greatly reducing its damage-racking potential against fast-fallers. Its grounded attacks are also less effective for edgeguarding, as its down tilt, down smash and dash attack now send opponents at a much higher angle.

Additionally, more of Pichu's moves (most notably its forward tilt and back aerial) use electricity, meaning that more of its moves cause recoil damage; while this allows Pichu to build up rage more easily compared to other fighters, it allows Pichu to be KOed even more quickly, which is further compounded by its atrocious weight and fast-falling speed making it vulnerable to combos, despite its small hurtbox. Lastly, despite the benefits it gains from rage, the introduction of the mechanic causes Pichu's survivability to be ironically slightly worse than before, as characters can make use of it to turn the tables on Pichu should it fail to KO the foe at a relatively low percentage.

Overall, Pichu is no longer an intentional "joke character" like in ''Melee''; instead, it is now a very polarized glass cannon, akin to a min-maxed version of {{SSBU|Pikachu}}. It has a stronger punish and edgeguarding game, but less range on average, a less reliable recovery and more committal options; moreover, none of its buffs have alleviated some of its glaring weaknesses, with the biggest being its fragility. Game updates have also slightly nerfed Pichu overall, and optimizations to several characters have resulted in it not performing as well as on release. Nevertheless, Pichu's buffs greatly outweigh its nerfs, and it has drastically improved compared to ''Melee'', being one of the most buffed characters in the transition to ''Ultimate''.

Possibly due to its dominating status in competitive play during the early metagame of ''Ultimate'', Pichu was noticeably nerfed in game updates. Although its pummel was slightly buffed in update {{SSBU|2.0.0}}, it received several nerfs in update {{SSBU|3.1.0}}. Pichu's hurtbox is larger, forward smash has more ending lag, its infamously strong forward tilt has less knockback scaling, and almost all of its recoil-inducing attacks deal more recoil damage, noticeably worsening its already abysmal endurance.

Update {{SSBU|11.0.0}} reversed some of these nerfs, changing the amount of self damage Pichu does with some of the attacks that were affected in 3.1.0. On top of that, its ear hurtboxes received intangibility during the strong hit of its neutral aerial, making it a slightly safer option in the air.

Overall, Pichu fares considerably worse than it did when ''Ultimate'' launched. While Pichu is still far stronger than its ''Melee'' iteration, the nerfs it received has led to its tournament representation and results to noticeably decline and Pichu is now generally considered to be a mid-tier character at best.

In contrast to its ''Melee'' counterpart, where it is considered one of the worst characters in the game, Pichu was commonly viewed as one of, if not, the best characters in the game in the early metagame. This is due to its small size and powerful KO moves, which included back air, {{b|Thunder|Pokémon}}, and its infamous forward tilt. These strengths allowed Pichu to have a strong player base, with players such as {{Sm|VoiD}}, {{Sm|NAKAT}}, {{Sm|Nietono}}, and {{Sm|Captain L}} performing spectacularly on a national level.

However, patch {{SSBU|3.1.0}} increased its size and nerfed the power of its forward tilt, while increasing the amount of recoil on some of its moves. In addition to more people learning how to play the matchup, many players considered Pichu to be inferior to {{SSBU|Pikachu}}, and as a result its results declined, with several of its best players either dropping the character (Captain L) or relegating it to either a co-main or secondary (VoiD). Although future patches reverted some of the nerfs, it failed to change most player's opinions on the character; with continuously declining results both during and after the [[COVID-19|COVID-19 pandemic]], most people currently view Pichu as a mid-tier character, ranking 55th on the first and current tier list. Nevertheless, Pichu is considered significantly more viable than its previous iteration.