Smash Tips From Godot! Featuring: Pikachu!

[Godot]

Hey Guys! What's up? It's your big brother Godot here! In this thread, I will be sharing with you guy's character specific tips on strategies, combos, stage control and more. Today we will be talking about the Shining Mouse Pokemon, Pikachu!

Pika!

Pikachu is a fast character who has a mixed play style of Space Control and Rushdown. One major difference in this iteration of the game is that Large, Tanky Powerhouse characters like Bowser and Donkey Kong are actually A THREAT. Those characters might actually be dominant and be considered to be OP for a while, which isn't true at all. Pikachu has all the tools that you need to keep these big guys at bay. Remember to pick the right moment before you charge in and try going for the kill. Let's go over some of Pikachu's core and basic moves and have a better understanding of them so that you will know how to do so!

Thundershock (Neutral B ) :

Thundershock isn't different at all in this version of smash, it still has it's weird bouncy-ness to it. It is a decent tool for dealing with Mid Ranged fights and keeping people off of the stage. There isn't anything worth noting about this move except that it is mostly safe to spam over and over again.

Thunder (Down B ):

This move is really really different! Pikachu's thunder doesn't reach as high up or have nearly as much damage, knock back, or kill potential as previous iterations of the character. Throwing out Pikachu's Thunder now takes good strategy and skill... GASP.

It still functions as a decent overhead attack thing on stages with platforms, but everything else you know about the move is quite different. The Lightning Bolt itself isn't anything special, but the Thundercloud and the discharge animation Pikachu goes under when the Lightning his him are your main focal points on this character. The Discharge has Kill Potential and the Thundercloud "spikes" the opponent! It can be used as an anti air, but I personally found the Thunder Cloud spike to be most useful for chaining and performing combos. Which I will go into more detail about later.

Skull Bash (Side B ):

This move also seems to feel relatively unchanged. I personally found it to be more of a useful recovery than an actual attacking move. I often forget that it is even there.

Quick Attack (Up B ):

THIS is where it is at! Pikachu's Quick Attack is a fairly good recovery, but there is more usability of this move than just surviving. This special gives Pikachu an insane ground game! It is a great tool for helping Pikachu get from point A to point B crazy fast! Quick Attack also now can hit and stun the opponent for a short amount of time. You will want to practice using your Up B to launch pikachu side ways or diagonal in the direction that you want to go, and use the second dash animation to go straight into the ground. This is called a Quick Attack Cancel. Pikachu can use this technique to push aggression on the opponent, evade and get away from the opponent, or "get there first". Once you master this move, your Pikachu will be hella insane. Quick Attack Cancels require an Intermediate skill level to master.

Ground Game:

Pikachu controls space with his thunder shocks and pokes from a distance. He can also immediately snap into play with his quick attack cancels. He still has his super spammy Jab, but his tilts and throws are where it is at! His Forward Tilt is a decent poking tool, Pika can use this to attack his opponent at a safe distance. His down tilt also is decent at poking and sweeping shielding opponents. The down tilt also has the ability to trip the opponent, though not 100% guarentee'd. (pray to Hax) Take advantage of the Trip to set up your combos and juggles to get good damage! Lastly is Pikachu's gift from god up tilt. It has insane juggle and combo potential! At lower percentages you will be trying to hit the opponent with this move as much as possible.

Pikachu also has some pretty good grab and throw moves, my personal favorite is his up and down throw. His Down throw can set up combo and juggle opportunities at low percentages, or set up for Combos and KOs at higher percentages. His Up throw is decent for getting your opponent airborne, which I will go into later. His back throw is also decent for getting your opponent offstage, or get a cheap kill on walk off stages.

Lastly is Pikachu's Smash attacks and Dash attack. His Up Smash is good for combos and his down smash is good for punishing opponents. I actually found myself not wanting to use Pikachu's down smash all in this version of this game. Pikachu's Side Smash is one of his best methods of KO-ing the opponent, but landing it isn't always easy. Using it to punish someone who is offstage or tripped up by your down tilt often works pretty well. Lastly is Pikachu's dash attack. All I have to note is that it has a surprising amount of knock back. This move can get your opponent off the stage or even possibly KO them at surprising rates. I found myself relying on this attack to KO my opponent more than my smash attacks.

Air Game:

Pikachu's Air game is mostly around his combos. He has 4 good methods of getting people into the air to combo. His up tilt, up smash, up throw, and down throw. Pikachu can also quick attack cancel back into the ground when he is finished juggling or comboing people in the air. He can also use Quick attack to get back to the ground if he feels unsafe.

Pikachu has virtually no Kill power in the air, but all of his aerials have amazing combo potential.

Neutral Air is good for getting a good quick hit. It is also good for ending low percentage combos.

Up Air is a good Juggle tool for keeping your opponent in the air at higher percentages. When you land this attack raw, you can hit the opponent at least twice in succession.

Forward Tilt and Back Tilt are good for getting damage in and finishing air combos. I find myself using the back tilt the most, both attacks will actually lock your opponent into place and continuously damage them until Pikachu finishes the attack animation.

Last is his Down Tilt, I don't really have much to say about it. It seems decent to use, but it has nothing really special surrounding it that caught my attention. Whenever I am airborne with Pikachu, I am normally juggling people with my up tilt or finishing a combo with my Fair, Dair, and Nair. Pikachu is happiest when on the ground. He even smiles and everything!

Off Stage:

I didn't really see Pikachu having much of an off stage presence. I normally found myself just waiting for people to get back to the stage before I would start harassing them again. Attacking people off stage tended to feel risky with him. Especially since he has no good off stage attacks with the exception of his Back air. Pikachu's back air is good for dragging people off stage, but I don't find it reliable in the slightest bit. The attack is crazy risky and easy to dodge. If your opponent goes offstage, your best bet is to thundershock spam until they get back on.

COMBOS!:

Anyone that knows me knows that I love me some Combos! Smash is kinda weird though. In other fighting games, smash combos would be referred to as Resets. Before I go off topic, here are some combos and different ways to get a combo off of your opponent. Pro Tip: Pikachu's Down Tilt's Trip can be a god send for getting a combo opportunity.

Combo from Uptilt:

Pikachu can Land Raw Up Tilts once or twice. Once the opponent is airborne Nair at low percentages, Fair if the opponent DI's forward, Bair if the opponent DI's backward.

If your opponent is at high percentages, you can Up air to put them into a juggle state and give you the ability to harass them in the air.

Combo from Up Smash:

Same as above, but try using this attack at higher percentages instead. Up Smash also has decent kill power at higher percentages.

Combo from Down Throw:

Down Throw can be followed up with an up tilt immediately at lower percentages. Both with the tilt and without it, you can set up the same air opportunities from above. If your opponent is around 100% or kill percent. You can combo down throw into your Down B if you can read your opponent right. If you do this, it is a super stylish flashy KO move. Salty opponents may rage quit after being hit by this combo.

Combo from Up Throw:

Before I say Copy and Paste the above, one unique advantage Up Throw has is that at moderate percentages, you can combo it into Thunder and get a fair amount of damage on the opponent.

Lastly, Use Quick Attack Cancels to set up good combo opportunities. Or end your combos by Quick Attacking toward he ground, that way you can set up your next move immediately afterward.

That is all I have for today. But if you guy's have anything to add or ask, feel free to do so! This is Glorious Godot, signing out.

[Luke]

thx i guess