| Pikachu in Super Smash Bros. 4 | |
|---|---|
 
| |
| Universe | Pokémon |
| Other playable appearances | in SSB in Melee in Brawl |
| Availability | Starter |
| Final Smash | Volt Tackle |
| Tier | A (5) |
Pikachu (ピカチュウ, Pikachu) is a playable starter character in Super Smash Bros. 4. It was confirmed on June 11th, 2013 during E3 2013 and was among the first wave of amiibo.
Ikue Ohtani voices Pikachu once again, albeit via recycled voice clips from Melee and Brawl.
Pikachu is currently ranked 5th on the tier list, placing it in the A tier and thus results in it being the second highest ranking high-tier character. This is a slight improvement from its ranking of 8th out of 38 in Brawl and continues its trend of being a high-tier character. This is thanks to its high speed, good combo ability, approach, and excellent recovery. Quick Attack and Thunder Jolt also helps its neutral game. However, it has notable weaknesses to balance this out, with its weak KO power and poor survivability with its low weight. This gives Pikachu a high learning curve and small high-level representation compared to other high-tier characters, but it has nonetheless seen notable tournament results mostly credited to ESAM.
The overall competitive community opinion of Pikachu has been volatile since the game's release; it was initially widely seen as an average character, then, mostly following impressive tournament showings by ESAM (including a brief period of retirement by the smasher adding to the "mystery" of Pikachu's potential), was seen as high as a top 3 character by players like ZeRo and ESAM himself, culminating in an extremely close Winners' Finals set at Super Smash Con between the two. In more recent times however, public opinion has swayed again, with many considering Pikachu's placement on the first official tier list to be far too high, due to metagame development, introduction of new top tier characters, balance updates, ESAM's inconsistent showings at major tournaments, as well as a dearth of results for Pikachu at national, regional, and even local levels of play. With patch 1.1.5, some of Pikachu's tougher matchups have seen nerfs, so its placement in the tier list continues to be argued over.
Attributes
Pikachu is a small, light, and agile character. Pikachu has fast dashing and walking speeds, moderate falling speed, above average gravity, below average air speed, and high air acceleration. It is also tied for the sixth lightest weight.
Perhaps Pikachu's greatest strength is its flexible approach. Quick Attack is an excellent mobility option, and due to its two-hit nature, it allows Pikachu to weave in and out of danger, and can be used to start combos. Quick Attack can also be ledge-cancelled, granting even faster movement with the aid of platforms. With this technique, Pikachu can chase opponents and keep up pressure without much risk to itself. Thunder Jolt is a useful projectile, and has good utility in zoning and forcing approaches. Pikachu can take advantage of its quick dashing and walking speeds, and these two attributes boost its approach even further.
Another advantage Pikachu has is its frame data. Most of its attacks come out in 10 frames or fewer, including its up smash, which is its strongest move. Combined with their low power, this quick attack speed gives Pikachu a formidable combo game. Up aerial can combo into itself and any other aerial. Up tilt can repeatedly chain into itself at lower percents, and its low knockback growth allows it to combo into aerials at higher percents. Down tilt has a chance to trip opponents, leaving them open to a grab. Pikachu's grab game is the centerpiece of its combo ability. Its forward throw can lead into a dash attack or up smash, while down throw launches opponents into the air right above Pikachu, setting them up for aerial combos and juggles. At very high percents, both down and up throws are capable of chaining into Thunder, KOing if the spiking hitbox is landed.
Finally, Pikachu possesses a superb recovery. Skull Bash, though linear and telegraphed, is chargeable and deals high knockback, and does not leave Pikachu helpless. Quick Attack can be angled in two consecutive directions, and along with its speed, this makes it very unpredictable and difficult to intercept, and is thus a favorable recovery option from virtually any position offstage. This contributes to an effective edge-guarding game. Though Pikachu's aerials are not particularly strong, it has the luxury of going far off-stage and challenging recovering opponents while still being able to recover itself.
However, Pikachu has notable flaws. It suffers from poor reach, as most of its attacks have hitboxes very close to its body, putting it at a disadvantage against sword-wielding characters, such as Meta Knight and Cloud. For a character of its speed, Pikachu's aerials have abnormally high landing lag, with its down aerial having an enormous 40 frames of landing lag, being tied for the highest of any aerial in the game. Combined with the previous point, Pikachu cannot efficiently use its aerials to approach and pressure (aside from forward aerial), leaving it susceptible to characters with capable aerial approaches, notably Sheik. Pikachu's damage output is among the lowest in the game, enforcing a heavy reliance on combos.
Even with its powerful combo game, it can take time for opponents to be brought to KO percents, where another issue is presented: Pikachu has significant trouble KOing. Its set-ups off of up and down throws into Thunder require reads and proper spacing and timing. Aside from these few situations, it has no reliable set-ups into its KO moves. Up smash has short reach and high ending lag, and is thus very punishable. Though it has good range, forward smash has noticeable start-up, and down smash is relatively weak; both have high ending lag, and the latter has short range. Pikachu's edge-guarding ability has its flaws: its aerials aren't very strong, and its neutral, forward, back and down aerials have long durations and small hitboxes.
Pikachu's most glaring flaw is its survivability. Its small size, low weight, and average falling speed make it difficult to combo; however, along with its relatively high gravity, these attributes leave it susceptible to KOs. The rage mechanic further exacerbates this problem, since Pikachu's opponents commonly survive to very high damages, while it cannot reliably take advantage of the mechanic as a result of its endurance. While its impressive recovery somewhat mitigates its survivability issues, Quick Attack is a difficult move to master. When using it for fast movement, inexperienced players can often veer offstage with it, or angle it the wrong way and miss the ledge entirely when recovering, causing Pikachu to fall helplessly and self-destruct.
Despite Pikachu receiving little benefit from customs, they still have their uses. Thunder Wave paralyzes grounded opponents, opening up opportunities for follow-ups at the cost of having much less range. Heavy Skull Bash moves and charges faster, and has immense power if used at point-blank range. Meteor Quick Attack reduces distance traveled, but as the name implies, the entire move is a meteor smash, with much higher knockback at the start of each warp. Quick Feet increases distance traveled and has more power as well, but it loses its unpredictability, as it only moves once. While Distant Thunder has more start-up and a much weaker discharge around Pikachu, it has more vertical range, much more power near the thundercloud, and cannot meteor smash. This allows for easier Thunderspiking, which restores most of its usefulness from Super Smash Bros..
Overall, Pikachu is a notably viable character, thanks to its mobility, attack speed, combo ability, and a versatile recovery. However, it has a high learning curve, largely due to the skill required for proper use of Quick Attack. Though it has noticeable flaws, its strengths mostly make up for them. While Pikachu has low tournament representation, with the efforts of a few dedicated mains such as ESAM, it has gained strong tournament results, although some resent its high tier placing due to ESAM being the only notable Pikachu main that can place well in tournaments in general and himself having inconsistent results when playing as Pikachu.
Changes from Brawl
Pikachu received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition to Smash 4. While Pikachu was directly nerfed, it has also been buffed significantly by the changes to hitstun. The removal of hitstun cancelling greatly aids its combo game, and gives it a few notable KO set-ups off of its throws, and its up smash has regained some of its lost power from Melee, and forward smash is stronger. The changes to ledge mechanics have boosted its already excellent recovery. Pikachu has also gained access to a new technique know as the Quick Attack Ledge-Cancel, which gives Quick Attack new mobility options when used with ledges and platforms. As many of its moves deal electric damage, it benefits from the increased shield-stun. A few of its moves have longer range, such as its forward tilt, dash attack, and down aerial, somewhat mitigating one of its more glaring issues.
However, Pikachu has also received significant nerfs. Quick Attack can no longer be cancelled into the ground, making it less flexible as an approach option, and the Quick Attack Ledge-Cancel does not fully compensate for this. Its already low damage output has been worsened, particularly its aerials. The removal of chain-grabbing has crippled Pikachu's grab game, as its forward and down throws can no longer be used to perform highly damaging chain-throws, and while it has gained new combos due to the changes to hitstun, they are nevertheless inferior to its lost chain-grabbing ability. Furthermore, its grab reach has been shortened.
Although Pikachu was a high-tier character in Brawl, some consider it to be even better in Smash 4, but there are also detractors who think Pikachu shouldn't be rated this highly in Smash 4's high-level play. Despite having a rather small playerbase in competitive play due to its very high learning curve and degree of technical skill required, Pikachu is still considered a notable force in the meta game thanks to players such as ESAM but whether or not Pikachu should be ranked as high as 5th or higher on the tier list is debatable among the Smash 4 competitive community due to its below-average representation compared to other high tier characters.
Aesthetics
Pikachu's appearance has been updated to match the latest Pokémon games, such as the Generation V and VI main series games and PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure and the most recent episodes in the Pokémon anime; its model has been altered, and continues the trend of being gradually less chubby with each additional appearance. Pikachu's coloration is also considerably brighter in comparison to its previous appearances.- Pikachu smiles more often when attacking.
- Pikachu is more bipedal and walks more slanted.
- Pikachu is now given grimacing expressions when grabbed or landed on the ground after being launched.
Attributes
Pikachu dashes faster (1.765 → 1.85325).
Pikachu jumps lower.- Pikachu falls faster (1.5 → 1.55).
Ground attacks
- Neutral attack has slightly more jab-lock potential.
- Neutral attack pushes away opponents rather than locking them and possibly has less ending lag.
- Neutral attack deals less damage (2% → 1.4%/1.2%/1%).
- Forward tilt and Dash Attack have longer range.
- Forward tilt has slightly increased start-up and a shorter hitbox duration (frame 5-10 → 6-8).
- Up tilt has much lower knockback growth, making it more useful for combos at a variety of percents.This makes up for the loss chain-grabbing.
- Up tilt has decreased damage potential (7%/6%/5% → 5%) and increased ending lag (frame 24 → 27).
- Down tilt has better combo potential and can now combo into aerials due to lower knockback.
- Down tilt has shorter reach and 1 less active frame, and deals less damage (7% → 6%).
- Dash attack now deals 10% sweestpotted, making the early hitbox much stronger, but 6% sourspotted, meaning the late hit is weaker, rather than dealing a consistent 7% throughout.
- Both sweetspotted and sourspotted Dash Attack have higher knock back.
- Dash attack is slightly slower (frame 5 → 6).
- Forward smash hits twice(on its early hit) and its clean hit has a larger hitbox, giving it more KOing potential. It also has 1 less frame of ending lag.
- Forward smash has reduced range and overall decreased damage potential (20% (early), 17% (clean), 14% (late) → 15% (early), 18% (clean), 12% (late).
- Forward smash's charging and attacking animation is slightly altered, where Pikachu stands on one of its hind legs while using the attack.
- Up smash is stronger. When fully charged, it deals 7% more damage (19.6% → 26.6%) and can now KO under 90% when sweetspotted. It is also capable of combos, punishing rolls and its late hit has slightly higher knockback.
- Up smash comes out 1 frame later, has 1 more frame of ending lag, and deals much less knockback if sourspotted in the very last few frames, where it also has less hitstun and is nearly useless.
- Down smash and forward smash are much harder to SDI out of.
- Down smash has slightly slower start-up and higher ending lag. It has one less hit, giving it decreased damage potential (15% → 13%) and making it weaker.
- Down smash's animation is slightly altered. Pikachu now spins around several times before clumsily ending on its rear while using the move.
Aerial attacks
- Neutral aerial (12%/6% → 8.5%/5.5%), forward aerial (11% → 9.8%), back aerial (11% → 8.6%), and up aerial (6%/5%/4% → 5%/4%) all deal less damage.
- Neutral aerial has slightly less ending lag (frame 40 → 39).
- Neutral aerial has shorter range and decreased hitbox duration (frame 3-25 → 3-20).
- Forward aerial connects more reliably, and the final hit is more powerful to the point where it has KOing potential off-stage, and it auto-cancels earlier (frame 35 → 32).
- Forward aerial has 1 less active frame and higher ending lag (frame 40 → 42).
- Back aerial has higher KOing potential, as all hits now connect better. It auto-cancels slightly earlier (frame 50 → 48), and has slightly less ending lag (frame 60 → 59).
- Back aerial has 5 fewer active frames.
- Up aerial has less ending lag (frame 28 → 27), giving it more combo potential, and has now received a hitbox that hits with slightly less knockback and a lower angle, almost entirely reverting it to its Melee form. It is also stronger, to where it can now almost KO at 170%.
- Up aerial is slower (frame 3 → 4) and deals slightly less shield damage.
- Down aerial's second hit has a longer range, with slightly higher knockback growth, and deals slightly more shield damage.
- Down aerial's first hit has higher knockback growth, making it harder to land both hits.
- Back and Forward aerial have some meteor capabilities, making them better edge-guarders.
Throws/other attacks
- Pikachu's grab and dash grab are faster.
- Pikachu's grabs have less range, though not as limited as in Melee.
- The global removal of chain grabbing has harmed Pikachu drastically, making it lose one of its best strategies from Brawl as well as significantly nerfing its damage racking game.
- Pummel (2% → 1.9%), up throw (10% → 4%), and down throw (10% → 8%) deal less damage.
- Pummel is faster and has a larger hitbox.
- Back throw has a more vertical launch angle, hindering its edgeguarding potential.
- Up throw is stronger, to where it can KO around 200%. The removal of hitstun cancelling allows it to combo into Thunder at high percents.
- The removal of hitstun cancelling makes down throw more useful for aerial follow-ups and combos, which are possible even at KO percents.
- Down throw has much higher knockback growth, weakening its follow-up potential at high percents, while it is still too weak to KO realistically.
- Front floor attack has less knockback.
- Back floor attack has more knockback to protect Pikachu overall. It also has more ground and less start-up.
Special moves
- Skull Bash travels farther when charged and can be charged like a smash attack.
- Skull Bash is weaker and has slightly more ending lag, making it more punishable.
- Skull Bash has a different charging position.
- Quick Attack has a new technique called Quick Attack Ledge Cancel, which can be used on ledges, moving platforms and tilting stages. The second warp of Quick Attack deals slightly more knockback.
- Quick Attack cannot be cancelled into the ground anymore, removing the possibility of the QAC technique. It also is slower, has more ending lag, and has less total distance.
- Thunder falls faster and has more combo potential and meteor smashes, despite being very difficult to edgeguard and combo at high percentage. The meteor smash hitbox can set up into shockwave hitbox around Pikachu, allowing Pikachu to have KO set-ups.
- Thunder has shorter vertical range, and more difficult to land, which when combined with the new hitbox, makes Thunderspiking very difficult to pull off, significantly reducing its usefulness. The shockwave hitbox around Pikachu is less powerful.
- Volt Tackle lasts slightly longer.
- Volt Tackle is slower, deals less damage and less knockback.
- A smaller, purple ball of electricity appears as a "cursor" of Volt Tackle, making it easier to understand and control.
Update history
Pikachu has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in updates. While update 1.0.4 buffed some of Pikachu's KOing options by increasing their power, it then received only direct nerfs afterwards. Update 1.0.6 standardized Pikachu's ledge grab animation, making it slower and effectively weakening its ledge-trumping ability, while update 1.1.0 removed Thunder Wave's ability to lock and thus its ability to zero-death in custom matches. 1.1.5 also removed a bug where Pikachu could ledge-cancel Quick Attack on both versions of Umbra Clock Tower. However, the changes on shield mechanics benefit its electric attacks, making them safer on shield due to their high hitlag, which is more noticeable with its forward Smash and Thunder's shockwave. Overall, Pikachu's potency in the metagame has not been reduced.
1.0.4
- Forward smash's knockback scaling increased: 65 → 73 (early), 100 → 102 (late).
- Skull Bash's knockback scaling has been slightly increased: 60 → 62.
- Thunder and Distant Thunder's knockback growth increased: 62 → 66.
1.0.6
- Ledge grab animation has been standardized, becoming slower as a result.
1.1.0
- Thunder Jolt and Thunder Wave's projectile hitbox angles have been altered to 0°.
- The angle change removes Thunder Wave's ability to lock.
1.1.5
- Quick Attack canceling has been removed on both the Ω form and regular version of Umbra Clock Tower, removing Pikachu's intricate infinite combos on that stage.
Thunder Jolt Glitch removed.
Moveset
| Name | Damage | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral attack | 1.4% (tip), 1.2% (mid), 1% (base) | A very quick headbutt with negligible damage and knockback. Can be used rapidly if the attack button is held, allowing it to deal more damage and potentially trip opponents. | ||
| Forward tilt | ↗ | 10% | Plants itself on its paws and kicks its hind legs in front of its body. The move deals increased damage when angled up, but has a chance to trip when angled down. KOs at around 110% near the edge. | |
| → | 9% | |||
| ↘ | 8% | |||
| Up tilt | 5% | Swings its tail above its body in an arc. A fast attack with low base knockback and growth, which can reliably set up into its aerials and itself. | ||
| Down tilt | 6% | Sweeps its tail in front of itself. It is very quick in terms of both start-up and ending lag and has a chance of tripping opponents. | ||
| Dash attack | 10% (clean), 6% (late) | A forward leaping headbutt. Very laggy and easily punished if whiffed, but has high knockback, allowing it to KO near the edge at very high percentages. | ||
| Forward smash | 15% (early), 18% (clean), 12% (late) | Rears back and then ejects an attached jolt of electricity from its cheeks while leaning forward. In terms of knockback, this move is far stronger when the opponent is hit by the inside portion of the jolt, and is weakest when hit with Pikachu's cheeks during start-up. | ||
| Up smash | 13% (clean tail), 14% (clean body), 11% (mid), 7% (late) | A quick backflip while using its tail to attack. This move is slightly stronger when hit close during start-up. | ||
| Down smash | 2% (hits 1-5), 3% (hit 6) | Spins around in place repeatedly whilst surrounded with electricity. A multiple hitting move with decent power, but punishable ending lag. | ||
| Neutral aerial | 8.5% (clean), 5.5% (late) | Curls up in a ball and performs a somersaulting tackle. Extremely fast start-up with good horizontal knockback, making it a good aerial finisher or a useful edge-guarding move. Can be auto-cancelled when performed alongside a non-fast-fallen short hop, though it has high landing lag otherwise. | ||
| Forward aerial | 1.7% (hits 1-4), 3% (hit 5) | Spins in a horizontal corkscrew while surrounded by electricity. The move consists of multiple hits, with the final one dealing decent horizontal knockback. The move has little landing lag, which can potentially set up into a grounded move or grab. This move has minor meteor capabilities due to most of its hits having the auto-link angle. | ||
| Back aerial | 0.8% (hits 1-7), 3% (hit 8), 4% (landing) | Performs multiple helicopter spins. The move consists of multiple hits, with the final one dealing decent knockback. Has high ending lag and very high landing lag if not used alongside a full hop. | ||
| Up aerial | 5%/4% (clean), 4% (late) | Swiftly swings its tail above itself in an arc. Extremely quick with low knockback, this move can combo into itself or set up into a neutral aerial. Can be auto-cancelled when performed alongside a fast-fallen short hop, though it has high landing lag otherwise. | ||
| Down aerial | 12% (attack), 4% (landing) | Spins in a downward corkscrew while surrounded by electricity. A lingering single hit with decent horizontal knockback, this move can be auto-cancelled from a short hop. If Pikachu lands during the attack's duration it causes a small shockwave to appear around it, which deals little damage at the cost of very high landing lag. | ||
| Grab | — | A quick, short-ranged grab. | ||
| Pummel | 1.9% | Zaps the opponent. A quick pummel. | ||
| Forward throw | 2% (hits 1-4), 2% (throw) | Places the opponent on its back and shocks them, sending them forward. A multiple hitting move, it can set up a dash attack, neutral aerial, or a dashing up smash at very low percentages. | ||
| Back throw | 9% | Performs a high-speed version of the Tomoe nage, a Judo throw. Appears very similar to the anime's depiction of Submission. Best used near the edge to put the opponent into an edge-guarding situation. | ||
| Up throw | 1% (hit 1), 3% (throw) | Places the opponent on its head, then headbutts them upward. Can be followed up by Thunder at high percentages, allowing for potential KOs, but DI can make this difficult. | ||
| Down throw | 3% (hit 1), 5% (throw) | Places the opponent on the ground, then jumps on them. Can be followed up with any aerial at lower percentages, and like up throw, can set up Thunder at high percents. | ||
| Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge |
— | — | ||
| Techs | — | — | ||
| Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front) |
7% | |||
| Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back) |
7% | |||
| Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip) |
5% | |||
| Edge attack Edge getups |
7% | |||
| Neutral special | Default | Thunder Jolt | 4.8% (ball), 6%/5% (jolt clean), 5%/4% (jolt mid), 4%/3% (jolt late) | Fires a jolt of electricity forward. Pikachu's main projectile, and a very useful move for keeping on-stage opponents at bay and threatening off-stage recoveries. Travels forward whilst bouncing along the ground, and can also travel up walls, below the edge, and along ceilings. If used in the air, it will travel downward diagonally instead. Disappears after about 3 seconds. |
| Custom 1 | Thunder Wave | 3%/1% (ball), 3%/1% (wave clean), 2% (wave late) | Very similar to the basic version. It is weaker and it lacks range, but can paralyze grounded targets. | |
| Custom 2 | Thunder Shock | 3% (ball), 10% (explosion) | Fires a ball of electricity almost horizontally, which disappears upon hitting the ground and does not bounce. | |
| Side special | Default | Skull Bash | 6% (uncharged), 22% (fully charged) | Charges and, when the special button is released, fires itself forward like a missile. When fully charged or close to fully charged, it has KO power. Primarily used as a recovery move, as it gains a lot of horizontal distance (especially when charged) and does not leave Pikachu helpless. On the ground, it has high landing lag and is very punishable. |
| Custom 1 | Shocking Skull Bash | 1.2% (loop), 3% (last) | Hits multiple times as it moves forwards, with the last hit launching the opponent. | |
| Custom 2 | Heavy Skull Bash | 15%/10%/5%/2% (uncharged), 32%/21%/10%/4% (fully-charged), 6%-0% (running) | Less travel distance but more damage near the start. If used (uncharged) to cancel reeling from an attack's knockback, the distance traveled nearly doubles, and Pikachu retains some forward momentum while falling after the move. | |
| Up special | Default | Quick Attack | 2% per warp | Moves at warp speed in two directions that can be selected via the control stick. Pikachu's main recovery move and a quick, unpredictable move at that. The second warp is optional, but if used, the direction must be at least 45° different than the first direction to work. Leaves Pikachu helpless when used in the air. |
| Custom 1 | Meteor Quick Attack | 2% | Each warp travels less distance, but has a meteor effect on foes in the air. Stronger knockback at the start of each warp. | |
| Custom 2 | Quick Feet | 5% | Travels farther than Quick Attack, but can only warp once. | |
| Down special | Default | Thunder | 6% (thunderbolt meteor), 8% (thunderbolt non-meteor), 15% (blast) | Causes a large thunderbolt to come down on itself. The move is laggy in general, though the shockwave around Pikachu does very high damage and knockback. The bolt itself does moderate vertical knockback, allowing the Thunderspiking technique, though this is very difficult to land. The move also has a meteor smash hitbox near the thundercloud that sends opponents straight down, allowing potential combos, though landing it in a favorable position for this is difficult. |
| Custom 1 | Thunder Burst | 2% (early), 15%/12% (clean) | Instead of bringing a thunderbolt down, Pikachu creates an electrical blast around itself as if the default version of the move had struck. Has slow start-up, but more knockback. | |
| Custom 2 | Distant Thunder | 13%/9%/5% (thunderbolt), 6% (blast) | The thundercloud starts higher up and does more damage. Has no meteor hitbox, but Thunderspikes much easier. | |
| Final Smash | Volt Tackle | 1% (collision), 8% (spark) | Pikachu transforms into a big blue ball of lightning and flies around the stage, charging through opponents. Pressing the attack button will cause the ball to spark out, causing significantly more damage and knockback. This Final Smash now has a "cursor" in the form of a smaller, purple ball allowing for easier control and aim. | |
On-screen appearance
- Emerges from a Poké Ball, then briefly surrounds itself in electric sparks.
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Taunts
- Up taunt: Huddles down and surrounds itself in electricity as if charging up, saying "Piiiii!"
- Side taunt: Faces the screen and waves twice with its left paw, then its right, saying "Pika Pika!"
- Down taunt: Rolls on its back, saying "Pikaaaaa!"
| Up taunt | Side taunt | Down taunt |
|---|---|---|
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Idle poses
- Scratches its right ear.
- Stands up straight, then looks right, and then left, twitching its ears.
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Crowd cheer
| English | Japanese | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheer | ||
| Description | Pi-ka-chu! | Pi-ka-chu! |
| Pitch | Group chant | Female |
Victory poses
- Twitches its ears, then scratches its right ear.
- Jumps up and somersaults while saying "Pi!", then spins around once before happily facing the camera. Its "character chosen" animation in Super Smash Bros.
- Lies sideways on the ground and sleeps, while saying "Piiika" drowsily.
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In competitive play
Official Custom Moveset Project
| Character | Custom sets available | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Pikachu |
1311 | 2311 | 2312 | 1312 | 1313 |
| 1331 | 2313 | 2331 | 3311 | 1321 | |
Notable players
Trophies
- Pikachu
Recognized the world over, Pikachu is an Electric-type Pokémon that stores energy in its cheeks for use in battle. In Smash Bros., Pikachu is a well-rounded fighter with speedy, powerful electric attacks. Quick Attack can be used twice in a row if two directions are input, one after another.
Pikachu is famous worldwide as the face of the Pokémon series. There's a lot of electricity stored in those rosy cheeks, and in this game, that allows for some devastating attacks, like Thunder Jolt. Tip: Input another direction after using Quick Attack to get a second burst. It's top-notch for recoveries!
: Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue (09/1998)- : Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition (10/1999)
- Pikachu (Alt.)
- Pikachu's Thunder Jolt fires off a ball of electricity that bounces across the stage, getting weaker as it travels. It does more damage to enemies in the air. The default down special, Thunder, causes a lightning strike that both shocks opponents and turns Pikachu invincible for a split second.
- Pikachu's Thunder Jolt fires off a ball of electricity that bounces across the stage, getting weaker as it travels. Airborne enemies will take extra damage from it and get launched further. The default down special, Thunder, causes a lightning strike that both shocks opponents and turns Pikachu invincible for a split second.
- : Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue (09/1998)
- : Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition (10/1999)
- Volt Tackle
- Pikachu's Final Smash turns its whole body into a powerful ball of electricity that darts around at high speed, tackling opponents. While Pikachu is charging around, press the attack button to unleash powerful sparks. There's also a little ball of light that flies ahead of Pikachu itself. Use that as a guide if Pikachu seems out of control!
- For Pikachu's Final Smash, it surrounds itself with a ball of electricity and darts around at high speed, tackling opponents. While it's charging around, press the attack button to unleash powerful sparks. You can also use little ball of light that flies ahead of Pikachu as a guide if it seems out of control!
Classic (3DS)
- PikachuAllStarTrophy3DS.png
Alt. (3DS)
Classic (Wii U)
Alt. (Wii U)
In Event Matches
Solo Events
- All-Star Battle: Regulars: Pikachu is one of the opponents fought in this event. All opponents are starters from the original Super Smash Bros. game.
- Fire-Type Frenzy: Pikachu appears as one of the opponents that Charizard must defeat.
- Pokémon Battle: Pikachu appears as an opponent that Greninja must defeat.
- When Lightning Strikes: The player controls a small Pikachu, and must defeat 3 giant Pikachu.
- Yellow Devils: As Mega Man, the player must defeat a giant Pikachu and Pac-Man, along with the Yellow Devil.
Co-op Events
- Pokémon Multi Battle!: Pikachu is one of the players' Pokémon to use, as well as being one of the opponents'.
- The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.
Alternate costumes
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Gallery
Pikachu's appearance during the Smash Direct.
Pikachu's amiibo.
Pikachu's appearance during E3 2013.
Pikachu using Thunder Jolt.
Pikachu uses Skull Bash.
Pikachu uses Thunder.
Pikachu waving at the camera.
Pikachu in the 3DS version of the game.
Mario, Pikachu, Bowser and Pit on a red plane in Wuhu Island.
Pikachu behind Mega Man.
Pikachu sitting.
Pikachu with Mega Man.
Behind Donkey Kong.
Pikachu using Thunder to meteor smash an aerial Bowser and follow up into its shock wave hitbox.
Trivia
- Pikachu is the only playable Pokémon in Super Smash Bros. 4 to not have a weakness to the type of another playable Pokémon.
- This is the first game in the series where Pikachu's teeth are visible. They can be seen when Pikachu is being grabbed by an opponent.
- When Pikachu is stunned, its eyes turn into swirls, much like when a Pokémon in the anime is knocked out.
- In the Pokémon series, Quick Feet, one of Pikachu's up special customs in SSB4, is an Ability instead of an actual move, in a similar vein to Victini's and Munchlax's Poké Ball effects. However, Pikachu does not legitimately have Quick Feet as an Ability.
- Pikachu's SSB4 artwork depicts it striking the same pose as its artwork from Smash 64, though it is no longer slouching to the side.
| Fighters in Super Smash Bros. 4 | |
|---|---|
| Veterans | Bowser · Captain Falcon · Charizard · Diddy Kong · Donkey Kong · Dr. Mario · Falco · Fox · Ganondorf · Ike · Jigglypuff · King Dedede · Kirby · Link · Lucario · Lucas · Luigi · Mario · Marth · Meta Knight · Mewtwo · Mr. Game & Watch · Ness · Olimar · Peach · Pikachu · Pit · R.O.B. · Roy · Samus · Sheik · Sonic · Toon Link · Wario · Yoshi · Zelda · Zero Suit Samus |
| Newcomers | Bayonetta · Bowser Jr. · Cloud · Corrin · Dark Pit · Duck Hunt · Greninja · Little Mac · Lucina · Mega Man · Mii Fighter (Mii Brawler · Mii Gunner · Mii Swordfighter) · Pac-Man · Palutena · Robin · Rosalina & Luma · Ryu · Shulk · Villager · Wii Fit Trainer |
