Pikachu

Page 1
Background Info
Costumes
Moves List
-Weak Attacks
-Recovery Attacks
-Taunt
-Strong Attacks
-Running Attack
-Smash Attacks
-Throws
-Aerial Attacks
-Special Attacks





Background Info

If you were a kid or teenager during the late 1990s or the early 2000s, or if you are a parent to the group above, then you'll probably know who Pikachu is. For those who never watch TV or venture outside their houses, Pikachu is a yellow mouse like creature that can use electrical attacks. Pikachu is the most famous Pokemon of all and is cute as a button. Some would say he is too cute for his own good. For those who don't know what Pokemons are, here's an explanation. Pokemons are a bunch of anime monsters created by some Japanese guy and owned by Nintendo used to trick little kids (and their parents) into giving them money. At the time of writing, Pokemon has passed its prime and not many people give a damn any more.
In Smash, Pikachu is quick and nimble, like he is on the TV series. He is however about several times larger than he is in the TV series. On TV compared to his trainer, Pikachu is probably a bit over one foot in height. In Smash, Pikachu is about three fifth the height of big Captain Falcon, who is probably around 6 feet tall. This means Pikachu is over three feet. Whoa, you get to play with a giant Pikachu. Anyways Pikachu has a lot of electric based attack, like he has on TV and he can jump and recover pretty well.
Personal Stage: Saffron City
Personal Symbol: A PokeBall
Entrance: Pikachu comes out of his Pokemon and on to the stage.
Character choosing: Pikachu somersaults backwards in the air several times, lands and spins around to pose.

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Costumes

C up: The original Pikachu everyone has come to love or hate.
C left: Pikachu with a green birthday hat (cone shaped) and... a green hue on his body?! Yikes, Pikachu doesn't look that well. Probably ate something bad at his birthday party. Must get him to a PokeCentre quickly. This is the green team costume.
C down: Pikachu with a blue birthday hat. Awww... so cute. This is the blue team costume.
C right: Pikachu with a red birthday hat and a red hue on his body. Looks like Pikachu spent too much time in the sun and got baked. This is the red team costume.

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Moves List

Weak Attack

Buttons: A
Damage: 2%
KKT score: No power
Startup: Fast
Duration: Short
Recovery: Fast
Reach: Medium Short
Flight Path: None
Description: Pikachu lowers his head and pokes forward with his skull. This move is very fast and can almost match the speed of the infinite combos. Shouldn't the Pikachus wearing the cone hats do more damage? Their heads are more pointy after all. Against taller characters, it looks like Pikachu is poking at their crotch. Okay, that may not be appropriate for all readers, but it's true. Just take a look at it.
My Opinion: This weak combo won't kill in real combat, but it is not completely useless. It's almost fast enough to be an infinite combo, so Pikachu can use it to trap people against the wall. I don't see any other good uses for this move.
Rating: 1.5 out of 5

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Recovery Attack 1

Buttons: When lying back to the floor, press A
Damage: 6%
KKT score: none, constant power
Startup: Fast
Duration: Short
Recovery: Fast
Reach: Medium Short
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Pikachu supports himself with his right arm and then spins to the right, sweeping in front and behind himself with both feet before getting up. Pikachu is invincible when he does this.
My Opinion: Not much to say about this really, since its your only attack option when lying on the floor facing up. Can get Pikachu back on offense if you manage to hit an opponent. Useful for clearing people who happen to stand too close for their own good.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Recovery Attack 2

Buttons: When lying face down on the floor, press A
Damage: 6%
KKT score: none, constant power
Startup: Fast
Duration: Short
Recovery: Fast
Reach: Medium Short
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Pikachu gets on his feet and pokes his head forward to get rid of anyone in front of him. He will then turn to the left with his head extend out to hit anyone behind him. He will turn back to the front and get into ready position. Pikachu is invincible when he does this.
My Opinion: It's Pikachu's other recovery attack. It happen less often than the first recovery attack since most of the time victims of hard hits will lie face up.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Edge Attack 1

Buttons: When hanging on the edge with damage lower than 100%, press A
Damage: 6%
KKT score: none, constant power
Startup: Fast
Duration: Short
Recovery: Fast
Reach: Medium Short
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Pikachu will flip himself on to the stage kicks forward with the left foot in one smooth motion. Pikachu is invincible when he does this.
My Opinion: Edge attacks can save lives, if you can time them. This attack can get edge guarders out of the way and therefore save Pikachu from danger. Use it only if no one's around or the edge guarder is standing close to the edge. Experienced players will stand a bit away from the edge if you (as any character) manages to hang on to it, so you need to evaluate the situation before you use the edge attack.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Edge Attack 2

Buttons: When hanging on the edge with damage over 100%, press A
Damage: 6%
KKT score: none, constant power
Startup: Slow
Duration: Short
Recovery: Medium fast
Reach: Medium Short
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Pikachu will slowly pull himself on to the stage, stand up, and turns to left so that his tail hits the opponent in front. Pikachu will only turn half a circle and then turn back to his original position and gets ready to do another move. Pikachu is invincible when he does this.
My Opinion: This is slower and has a shorter reach than the low damage edge attack, but it's the only edge attack Pikachu has. Use the same guidelines as above to use this move.
Rating: 2 out of 5

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Taunt

Buttons: L when on the ground
Startup: Fast
Duration: Medium Short
Recovery: Fast
Description: Pikachu turns to the left, tip toes and waves his arms while yelling "Pika Pika!" in a cheerful way.
My Opinion: This a pretty good taunt. You can easily notice the animation and the sound is annoying, which is all the better for pissing off your opponents.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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Handstand Kick

Buttons: Tilt stick sideways + A on the ground. You can tilt the control stick slightly so that the kick angles a bit up or down.
Damage: 10%
KKT score: 155%
Startup: Fast
Duration: Short
Recovery: Fast
Reach: Medium
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Pikachu turn to the left so that his butt faces forward and he'll do a hand stand and kick with both legs. He'll then rotate to the left back to his original orientation.
My Opinion: This move is pretty quick, but it's kind of useless since it is very weak. Don't bother using this move.
Rating: 2 out of 5

Forward Tail Sweep

Buttons: Tilt stick downward + A on the ground
Damage: 12%
KKT score: 116%
Startup: Fast
Duration: Short
Recovery: Medium Fast
Reach: Medium
Flight Path: Horizontal
Description: Pikachu turns to his right once around and sweep anybody in front of him at the ankle with his lightning shaped tail while Pikachu is in a crouching position.
My Opinion: This move actually isn't bad. The power is pretty good for a strong attack and the flat launch angle can make it difficult for people to come back. It's a bit faster than Pikachu's down smash so it's an okay alternative if Pikachu doesn't have enough time to do the down smash.
Rating: 3 out of 5.

Tail Tap

Buttons: Tilt stick upward + A on the ground
Damage: 11%
KKT score: star finish at 157%
Startup: Fast
Duration: Short
Recovery: Medium Fast
Reach: Medium
Flight Path: Straight up or close to it
Description: Pikachu turns to the right and gets on all fours. He will then swing his tail to the left to tap anyone in front of him on the head.
My Opinion: This move is pretty weak, even for a strong attack. It's only slightly faster than Pikachu's up smash in terms of speed, but it's a lot weaker. However, when used correctly, this moves can be used to juggle people from the ground due to the speed and low power. You can also set up an up smash with this move.
Rating: 3 out of 5

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Running Headbutt

Buttons: A while running
Damage: 12%
KKT score: 155%
Startup: Fast
Duration: Medium
Recovery: Medium Slow
Reach: Medium Long
Flight Path: Regular
Description: During a run, Pikachu turns his face to the left and dives forward head first, headbutting people in their stomach or face.
My Opinion: This move is actually a bit weaker than I expected to be, but you'll have to use it no matter what to take advantage of Pikachu's quick foot speed. At least it's better than the ones certain other characters have as their running attacks.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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Spark

Buttons: Smash sideways + A while on the ground.
Damage: 18%
KKT score: 73%
Startup: Medium Slow
Duration: Medium Long
Recovery: Medium
Reach: Long
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Pikachu either yells "Pika!" or "Chu!" and electricity will spring from his body, forming a white spark in front of the Pokemon. Pikachu will then extend the spark forward for a considerable distance and then pull the spark back. Anyone who touches the spark will get fried by a few thousand volts of electricity and sent flying and showing their bones to the crowd (really, you can see the victim's x rays when they get hit by electrical attacks).
My Opinion: This smash is a bit slow for hand to hand combat, but it is one of the best edge guarding moves out there. Pikachu can extend the spark for a considerable distance off the edge and the move lasts a pretty long time, so there is a good chance the recovering character will get caught by the spark. The spark also has a lot of priority since it's a big ball of electricity. Because the move lasts so long, a lot of times people actually roll into Pikachu and get caught by the smash. You can easily hit mulitple enemies with this move, but just be aware of the not so great startup and recovery times for this smash.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Spinning Kick

Buttons: Smash down + A while on the ground
Damage: 16%
KKT score: 61%
Startup: Medium Fast
Duration: Medium Short
Recovery: Medium Fast
Reach: Medium Short
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Pikachu yells "Pika!" and gets on support himself with the left arm and sweeps forward with both legs, usint the arm as a pivot point. After the forward sweep, Pikachu will very quickly roll to the right so he faces the same way he was before. He changes to his right arm and sweeps backwards with both feet before getting up. The important thing to remember is that Pikachu didn't just spin once around. He actually changed the way he faced in the middle of the move so that he always faces the same way during the smash. The forward hit is stonger than the backward hit.
My Opinion: This smash doesn't look all that impressive, but according to KKT, it is the most powerful down smash for killing people over the sides. It has the same power as Kirby's infamous lunge kick, which means it's very powerful indeed. This is only the forward hit though, since the backward hit is much weaker in comparison. This smash is pretty good overall, but the reach is kind of short, so Pikachu misses a lot of times. It will get Pikachu some KOs, but I never found it to be as good as Kirby's lunge kick.
Rating: 4 out of 5

Tail Flip

Buttons: Smash up + A while on the ground
Damage: 18%
KKT score: Star finish at 73%
Startup: Medium Fast
Duration: Medium Short
Recovery: Medium
Reach: Medium
Flight Path: Straight up
Description: Pikachu yells "Pika!" and flips backwards, hitting anyone in front, above and even behind him with his tail.
My Opinion: This is another one of those flipping up smashes (Fox and Kirby also have flipping up smashes.) The power of this smash is pretty good, but not as powerful as Fox' flip kick or the headbutts. Like all flip smashes, this smash can hit all around Pikachu, but again, flip smashes give off partial hits and are not easy to time correctly. Pikachu can only deliver full hits to people in front and above, not behind himself, and it's easiest to get the person in front with a full hit. Overall this smash isn't bad, but isn't great either.
Rating: 4 out of 5

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Flip Toss

Buttons: Grab (press R or Z + A) while on the ground, then push stick forward, press A, press R, or wait for a few seconds.
Damage: 12%
KKT score: 107%
Startup: Fast
Duration: Short
Recovery: Fast
Reach (of Pikachu's grab): Short
Flight Path: Regular
Description: This is quite an acrobatic throw. Pikachu will grab the opponent, then do a forward flip on top of the opponent while holding on to the opponent with his left hand. The momentum of the flip let Pikachu toss the opponent away.
My Opinion: This is an okay throw. Power is about the same as most forward throws and the speed is pretty quick. Pikachu has one of the fastest grabs in the game, so throw people whenever you can.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Shock Throw

Buttons: Grab (press R or Z+A) while on the ground, then push stick backward
Damage: 18%
KKT score: 65%
Startup: Fast
Duration: Short
Recovery: Fast
Reach (of Pikachu's grab): Short
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Pikachu grabs the opponent, flips the victim on to his back and gives the person some shock treatment. The shock will send the victim flying very far away.
My Opinion: This throw is tied with a few other throws as the most powerful throw in the game. This is a great throw and combined with Pikachu fast grab, makes this throw a formidable weapon in Pikachu's arsenal. This throw will score a number of kills for Pikachu.
Rating: 5 out of 5

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Jump Kick

Buttons: A or R while in the air
Damage: 14%
KKT score: 103%
Startup: Fast
Duration: Medium
Recovery: Medium
Reach: Medium Short
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Pikachu sticks his right foot out in mid air to kick anyone in front of him.
My Opinion: This kick is about the same as the other neutral kicks. Power is medium, speed is pretty fast and the reach is a bit short. If Pikachu wants to knock someone out in front of him, use this or the downward air attack since his forward air attack is a drill.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Electric Drill

Buttons: A or R + push stick forward in the air
Damage: 3% times up to 7 hits
KKT score: can't test accurately. I estimate it will kill at about 200%.
Startup: Fast
Duration: Medium (lasts pretty long if it hits someone)
Recovery: Medium
Reach: Medium
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Pikachu flies forward like a missile (head first) and corkscrews to the left several times in the air. Anyone caught in the drill will be shocked multiple times and sent flying a little bit away.
My Opinion: This is pretty good move for the function of raising an opponent's damage up. It seems to suck people into the drill pretty easily. It's doubtful that you can get all the hits every time but chances are you'll at least get like 4 hits to do 12% damage which isn't too bad. Pikachu can also use this drill to buffer into another air move. This works well with his up A or down A air attacks.
Rating: 4 out of 5

Backward Kick

Buttons: A or R + push stick backwards in the air
Damage: 16%
KKT score: 88%
Startup: Fast
Duration: Medium Short
Recovery: Medium
Reach: Medium
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Pikachu turns to his left and kicks backwards with his left foot. He will roll once around in the air before he can do another move.
My Opinion: This move is about the same as the other backward power hits in the game, except that this kick is slightly stronger than most other backward power kicks. It's a pretty good moves that can get Pikachu some KOs. Experienced players can jump out and to finish off a recovering opponent with this move.
Rating: 4 out of 5

Aerial Tail Flip

Buttons: A or R + push stick upwards in the air
Damage: 10%
KKT score: 151%
Startup: Fast
Duration: Medium Short
Recovery: Medium Fast
Reach: Medium
Flight Path: 45 degrees.
Description: Pikachu flips forward in the air, hitting anyone around him with his tail.
My Opinion: This move isn't that good, since it's weak and knocks people off in a weird direction. It's not completely useless, since it is pretty fast and can be used as a part of an aerial combo, plus the hit zone is big. Not as good as some ofPikachu's other aerial moves, but it's useful for getting a few hits.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Electric Headbutt

Buttons: A or R + push stick downwards in air
Damage: 13%
KKT score: 108%
Startup: Fast
Duration: Medium Short
Recovery: Medium
Reach: Long
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Pikachu corkscrews to the left several times with his head pointing downwards. Pikachu will fall very fast if he is falling and will hit the ground head first if the distance between him and the ground is short. Even though this looks like a drill move, it only delivers one hit.
My Opinion: This is kind or like Link's downward stab in the sense that this move actually knocks people sideways. Compared to Link's stab, this move lasts shorter, does less damage, has less power and priority, but starts and ends quicker. Even though, the priority of this move is pretty good and it is a fast move, so Pikachu wil probably strike first when he and an opponent attack at the same time. Since Pikachu is a good jumper, experienced players will jump out at enemies trying to come back and use this move to knock them even further. For this purpose, don't do this move when Pikachu is falling since he will fall very fast. Do the move during the rising part of Pikachu's jump and he won't fall much at all.
Rating: 4.5 ouf of 5

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Thunder Jolt

Buttons: B
Damage: 10% if opponent is right in front of Pikachu. 7% for the bolt only.
KKT score: over 300%
Startup: Medium Fast
Duration: Short
Recovery: Medium Slow
Range: Long
Flight Path: Regular
Description: Pikachu will yell "Pikachu!" and lunge forward slightly, releasing an electrical bolt. The bolt will bounce on the ground and crawl on vertical surfaces. If done in the air, the bolt will be a ball of electricity that falls downward diagonally. If the ball touches the ground, it will become the bouncing bolt.
My Opinion: Personally, I don't find this move to be too useful. The only thing I use it for is to hit people when they are not paying attention and rate of fire is a bit slow even for pegging people. It does crawl along the ground which is good for some arenas with vertical walls. Overall, this is a so-so move but it could be better, namely a faster firing rate.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Quick Attack

Buttons: Push stick up + B, then immediately move the control stick in the direction you want Pikachu to move. To perform a double Quick Attack, push up B and quickly push the control stick in two different directions.
Damage: None
KKT score: None since this move isn't really an attack.
Startup: Fast
Duration: Medium Short (this refers to how long the move lasts, since there is no hit phase)
Recovery: Slow (not until Pikachu gets hit or lands on the ground)
Reach: None
Flight Path: None
Description: Pikachu will quickly "teleport" from the place he is at right now to somewhere else in the direction of the player's choosing. Pikachu can "teleport" twice during one quick attack and that will move him a very long distance away from the spot at which he started.
My Opinion: The move is called Quick Attack, but this move isn't really an attack at all. It is, however, the best recovery move in the game. A double quick attack will move Pikachu very far and enables him to come back from almost all hits that doesn't kill him out right. The Quick Attack can also get Pikachu out of tight spots so he could have a breather. Unlike other recovery moves, the Quick Attack is also nearly impossible to intercept, giving Pikachu a good chance to make it back on to the stage. The Quick Attack isn't the easiest move to use. It takes a lot of practice to be able to easily use the double Quick Attack. This is a great recovery move that will save Pikachu many times if done right.
Rating: 4 out of 5. It's the best recovery move in the game, but you can't be used to deal damage. 5 out of 5 if rated only as a recovery move.

Thunder

Buttons: Push stick down + B
Damage: 12% for the bolt, 16% for the electrical field
KKT score: 60% if both hits connect
Startup: Slow
Duration: Medium Long if the bolt hits Pikachu. Short if the bolt doesn't.
Recovery: Slow
Reach: Very long for the bolt, medium for the electrical field.
Flight Path: Regular for the electrical field, steep diagonal for the bolt.
Description: Pikachu will yell "Pika!" in a very deep voice and call down a thunder bolt from the skies above. The bolt will extend from the top boundary right down to the highest piece of ground under it. The bolt can't pass throught platforms. If the bolt strikes Pikachu, a blue electrical field will form around the Pokemon. Anyone who happens to be near Pikachu at the time will become shishcabob and fly really far.
My Opinion: Thunder is a weird move. It can be classified as both a projectile and a close range attack since there's two parts to the move. Anyways, the bolt itself is quite weak but the blue field is smash attack strength. The bolt can be used to damage people in the air or standing on a platform above Pikachu. It can sort of juggle people in the air, but you have to have great timing to do so. Another popular use for the bolt is to combo with Pikachu's up smash. The smash sends the vicitm up high and the thunder bolt will send the victim even higher, sometimes giving the victim the necessary push to send the person over the vertical boundary for a star KO. The electrical field of course is used to knock people far away, but it's hard to hit people with the field because the move is so slow and at many places Pikachu can't get the bolt to hit himself. Its best use is to seperate people in a close fight. Get Pikachu to jump into the fight and perform Thunder a bit before he gets into the middle. If you time it right, the bolt will hit Pikachu before anything else hits him and the electrical field will hit everybody else in the fight. Thunder is a special move with special uses, but it's definitely not used for close combat.
Rating: 4 out of 5.

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