4.5 Throws
Z while holding: This is the most useless attack ever. 1-2% to the opponent opposed to 1% to yourself. Not worth using in my opinion. GTFO
Fun Fact: Did you know there isn't anything funny about this at all?
F-throw/ Lighting Lameage:
Avoid this, except at really, really high percentages like 150%. That’s the only moment when this throw will actually throw him far enough to edgeguard well. Another bad thing: lot of self-damaging and little damage to the opponent. A bad throw, even the worst of his throws. If you're feeling lucky and skillful, give it a try though.
Fun Fact: Did you know some believe this to be an infinite against a wall? N00bs....
B-throw/ Dizzy Roll:
A powerful throw for throwing someone off the edge or comboing into a Nair. It usually sends the opponent far enough off the edge for some good edgeguarding.
Fun fact: Did you know the rolling involved in this attack is too good? Why? Even if your recovering opponent manages to land far on stage, you will still throw him off the edge NEAR the edge, starting over the whole process, continually making it harder for the opponent to recover. (LOL the fun fact description is longer than the actual move description, about 3 times as long now I've added this).
Up-throw/ I hate you attack:
A throw you can combo out of on any character at low percentages/on fastfallers at mid/high percentages. Usually this is used as a set-up for a combo with U-air, U-smash, Nair, Bair, Dair or Thunder. If the opponent DI’s to the left or right, you can jump after him to hit him with an aerial as soon as possible. Note that it's even capable of Chainthrowing.
Fun Fact: Did you know you can only chainthrow Foxes and Falcos who have bad DI with this move.
Fun Fact 2: Did you know you can chainthrow Falcon way easier than Fox and Falco with this move (DI included).
D-throw/ Humping devastation:
If your opponent is a fastfaller, he will always be able to tech it before you can follow up, so tech-chase him.
If your opponent is a floaty, isn't called Samus, Luigi or Peach, and doesn't DI this move right, it's time for follow ups like Upsmash or Nair.
Fun Fact: Did you know that when you D-throw them and F-smash immediately after, the last bolt of the F-smash will hit exactly if your opponent techs in place. Mindgames.
5. Pichu VS Pikachu
In this section, I'll compare their moves very shortly.
5.1 A-moves compared Neutral-A: Both quick moves. Both suck.
F-tilt: Pichu's has half the range Pika's has. Not really a difference in knockback.
D-tilt: Pichu’s has a little less range but they serve the same purposes. You’ll use Pichu’s more for edgeguarding.
U-tilt: Pichu's is probably more useful. Less lag too.
Dash Attack: They both suck and have LOTS of lag.
5.2 Special Attacks compared Neutral-B: Pichu does damage to itself with this move, unlike Pikachu. This move serves the same purpose for both Mice, but for Pikachu it has a tiny bit noticeable stronger knockback.
Side-B: For both mice, this move is mainly used as a recovery move. Pichu damages himself with this move. Pichu's Skullbash can be charged twice as long to travel about twice the distance, which is pretty pointless.
Up-B: Pikachu’s is less predictable and faster than Pichu’s. Pichu hurts himself using it. Pichu's is a lot more versatile though.
Down-B: Pichu’s doesn't use this as a KO move, mostly just to rack up damage. Pikachu on the other hand uses it for things like Thunderflipping (read pictish's guide).
5.3 Aerials compared Nair: Pichu's is better for knocking people of and comboing, and has less lag.
Fair: Both have set knockback and combo ability, but Pichu damages himself (again). Pichu also has little less range.
Bair: Pichu’s has less range but is equal in knockback. It’s IMO easier to get a Bair in you combo with Pichu than it is with Pika. Oh, and Pika's has a LOT more lag.
Dair: Both can hit twice. Pichu's is a lot more useful/faster and has less lag.
U-air: Pichu’s doesn’t semi-spike but only knocks almost straight up. Pichu’s also has less range (as expected). But you’ll use this attack more than you would as Pikachu, probably.
5.4 Smash Attacks compared F-smash: Pichu’s has a sweetspot based on timing and getting the opponent stuck in your multiple-hit electricity ball. Pikachu’s is about place and distance, because it’s sweetspot it the tip ball of electricity. If you manage to hit with the sweetspot, Pichu’s is noticeably stronger in terms of knockback, but Pikachu’s has twice as much range and is much easier to land. But still they have in common that they’re used for the same purpose.
D-smash: A lot of difference here. Pichu’s D-smash halfspikes, so it’s mainly used for edgeguarding. Pikachu’s on the other side is never used for edgeguarding but as a set-up. So there’s actually no real comparing here.
Up-smash: Well, Pichu’s is 6th strongest uncharged and Pikachu’s is 1st strongest uncharged. But anyways, it seems a little harder for Pikachu to get a hit with it.
5.5 Throws compared F-throw: Their f-throws both suck and Pichu’s even damages himself. Enough said.
B-throw: Both good throws for setting up edgeguarding.
U-throw: Both good set-ups for Nair and Bair, Pichu’s even for every aerial.
D-throw: Against floaty characters it’s a good set up for aerials. Some mid-weight characters can be chained. Basically the same purposes for both mice.
5.6 Technical stuff compared Wavedash: Pichu’s WD is a little shorter.
Grabbing Range: Believe it or not, but Pichu’s grabbing range is better than Pikachu’s.
Shorthop: It’s just as hard to shorthop with Pichu as with Pika. Both require a less than 4 frames button press.
Walljump: Pichu can, Pikachu can’t. Leaves me guessing why
probably because they had to give Pichu at least something Pikachu doesn't have.
6.1 KOing with Pichu. Pichu’s main KO moves are Nair, U-smash, D-smash, F-smash and Bair. Note that this is not about edgeguarding, but on-stage KO’s.
Nair: Outside of edgeguarding it's not quite the charming KO move you expect it to be, but we all know this attack is good. Most character won't die from a Nair until 120%.
Decent stuff.
U-smash: Being his strongest (and only XD) off-top killer move, you better use it. This move is among the strongest and most useful Up-smashes in the game. Anywhere around 100%, you will most likely get a KO out of it (also depending on how well the opponent DI’s but even then they got owned….). It's really hard to get this move in against a real pro, as there aren't that many leads for it. Don't rely on D-throw to Up-smash on floaties and U-throw to Up-smash on Fastfallers. These 2 are far from guaranteed combos. Your floaty opponent can usually just DI the D-throw away or attack you with a Nair before you can follow *cough* Luigi, Samus and Peach *cough* But sure, if you see the oppurtunity, go for it. The U-throw is easily DI-able, even against fastfallers. The most popular set-up it of course the almighty Up-tilt to Up-smash, probably because it works at a lot of different % and is very reliable. Also, the Up-air to Up-smash eats fastfallers for breakfast but is also applicable on certain floaties if there's a platoform above you. Another option is the Fair to Up-smash but a lot of character can break through Fair combos but it's a nice surprise attack.
D-smash: Pichu's Semi-spike. Not a reliable move at all for getting your daily KOs. Often people don't know what to expect from the D-smash and suddenly BAM theý're on the other side of the stage/got sent flying in the other direction they expected it to send them/airdodge to doom out of confusion/get an identity crisis. How do you hit this move? Yeah, Up-tilt leads to everything so why not D-smash. Again, extremely situational. This move's usefulness to get KOs (but not just that) really lies in it's 'WTF' factor and the sheer surprise of randomness. Use it sparingly .
F-smash: We all know this move's sweetspot can cause invalidation. I wouldn't rely on this move too much for KOs, but that's because the people I play with freaking always DI out of it before the sweetspot connects and punish me for it. This works for a while, but as soon as people catch on, it's usefulness drops bit by bit. That means, use it against people who aren't used to playing against Pichu, not against people who figured out most of Pichu's attacks and statistics. If you manage to hit it at +90% though, you'll most likely actually get a KO out of it. Use this when your opponent least expects it and keep the surprise factor combined with randomness alive.
Bair: The same I said for Nair could be said here as well.
You got it right. At high level play, Pichu is really limited when it comes to KOing on-stage. That's why edgeguarding exists, which happens to be one of the parts of gameplay Pichu is quite amazing at.
6.2 Edgeguarding with the Chu You knowz it.
Pichu has a lot of egdeguarding moves. The best thing is that all of these moves are actually reliable, which makes Pichu a beast at g|_|4R|>1|\|g t3|-| 3|>G3.
(guarding the edge, obviously)
F-smash: The real use of this move against experienced players is edgeguarding, where it's lack of range clearly less prevents you from using it. The disjointed hitbox really helps for outpriotizing recoveries, like Fox and Falco's. As I mentioned several times before, it's still possible to DI out of this move. How would you solve this? Of course, timing it so that only the last hit will connect is the solution. Think: why didn't trying to hit with just the last hit work on-stage and why does it suddenly work so well for edgeguarding. Simple: your opponent has way less options to choose from. Nobody would fall for that last hit only on-stage. While they're recovering, you forced them into a position in which you're a lot more free to influence when you want an attack to hit them, simply because they HAVE to go towards the stage to survive and make it back with only 1 or 2 moves to their possession. Just time your F-smash a little earlier so they only get hit by the last and most powerful spark. No way to DI out of THAT, so abuse it mofo. Of course, the Pichu surprise factor jumps in again. How many people actually know they can DI out of those sparks when playing Pichu for the first time and how many people will actually do it? As your opponent catches on, the timing for this move becomes harder. The difference with the non-edgeguard F-smash is though, that if you DO hit with all of the sparks and they DO DI out of it, they will just get themselves in the exact same narrow posistion (of being edgeguarding by this gaint yellow rat. What was his name again?) again, whilst when they DI out of your on-stage F-smash they can punish you. Understand it now?
D-tilt: This move's timing for edgeguarding is either trickier or just as tricky as the timing for the F-smash. It does screw over characters like Captain Falcon though, as they have absolutely no way to get around it (except for edgeteching at high %).
Try it out yourself, it's really not bad.
D-smash: Want an explanation? But first one thing, don't use this move as a replacement for F-smash or D-tilt. Say you're edgehogging a character like Sheik. You'll be forcing her on-stage by occupying the ledge. Characters like Peach would just crawl up the ledge and D-smash Sheik again to repeat the process. Marth would do the same to Sheik except with F-smash and Downthrow. When you're in this situation with Pichu, you'll do the exact same, except you're doing it with your own Downsmash. Seeing as lots of characters are edgeguarded this way, I recommend you learn to master this well.
Thunderjolt: This is a nice way to disrupt some recoveries, as the aerial knockback of this move is higher than it's ground knockback. Disrupt recoveries of characters like Fox, Falco, Marth, Luigi, Doc, Mario, Samus etc. It's also used to make your opponent mistime his Up-B, setting up for rape.
Then we have off-stage edgeguarding: we have Nair, Bair and Dair.
Nair: Picture a Falco charging Firebird in front of the edge and you're charging (as in running towards) the edge as Pichu. No time for F-smash, way too laggy now. No time for D-tilt, that won't hit him. Plant that Nair in his face instead. I think enough has been said for now.
Bair: Ledgehopped Bairs are fairly reliable. Good priority, wall of mouse. NO WEAK
Or use it as a replacement for Nair if you find that necessary.
Dair: Basically the same effect as Nair, but it KOs faster, has more priority and is a little laggier. Ledgehopped Dairs are also very nice. In my opinion, it ties with Nair for best aerial edgeguarding move.
6,3 Recovering with Pichu Recovering is an art too. Pichu has several tools for this, namely his Agility (Up-B) and Skull Bash (side-B).
Up-B: At least they gave him godly recovery. The fact that this move is so versatile in turn says it's unpredictable. To truly master sweetspotting with this move, you've got to practice a lot and know by instinct which ways to go when you're in certain position. This move has so much mixes of directions and travels such a long distance, it's hard to not get back to the stage. But of course, that's why edgeguarding exists, to keep you from recovering. As always, be creative and especially not predictable. You'll get KO'd before you know it if you don't. Make use of the 1 frame landing lag when you see the chance to do so, i.e. by abusing the platforms.I'll give you a high chance of coming back, when you've mastered this recovery.Watch out for ledges like the Battlefield one. They can screw you over real bad.
Side-B: This move will slightly help your recovery. For use when you're high up or wouldn't make it back with only your Up-B. NEVER use below the ledge.
Of course, getting to the ledge is one thing. After that you have to get on stage safely as well. Mindgames are the key. Mix it up and know what to do in situations.
So you're hanging on the ledge now. You have a lot of options from here.
Ledge Hop < 100%: This kind of ledge hops are relatively a safe option for most characters, so it applies to Pichu as well.
Ledge Hop > 100%: It's a bit like the < 100% one, just more invincibility frames and slower.
Ledge jump < 100%: I wouldn't say it's bad. It's not flawless either, so watch it. Invincibilty won't help you here. Use if you opponent doesn't expect it only.
Ledge jump > 100%: Basically the same as the above one but slower.
Ledge attack < 100%: Very situational. I never use it by instinct because it's so horrible, so if anybody can find some good use for it, tell me.
Ledge attack > 100%: Even worse than the other one. So pointless.
Ledge roll < 100%: I wouldn't advice this at all. It's not reliable and only usable if your opponent's reflexes are slow like mofos or he REALLY doesn't expect it and you predict some laggy move. Otherwise he will definitely punish you for it. Situational as well.
Ledge roll > 100%: Don't even think about it. Highly situational.
As you can see, the Ledge hops are definitely the best options. Don't forget all the other stuff is usable too though, so you won't become predictable.
These are only few of the options Pichu has to get on the ledge though. So let’s move on to the next ones :
Ledgedrop to double jump to Fair to fastfall to L-cancel to grab to begin a combo ^_^ or B-throw at higher percentages.
Ledgedrop to unpredictable Up-B. Costs you 4% damage at max though :/ 8% for cming back isn't that much fun.....
Ledgedrop to walljump to unpredictable Up-B recovery.
Ledgedrop to double jump to Nair to (L-cancel to combo on low percentages) get on stage fairly safely.
Ledgedrop to double jump to tricky C-sticked Bair (for better DI) to get on stage safely.
Ledgedrop to double jump to U-air, then immediately fastfall, L-cancel and jump after you opponent to Nair him off the edge and set up for edgeguarding.
Ledgedrop to double jump to Dair. One of your safest recoveries probably due to high priority.
Ledge wavedash (preferably in invincibilty frames).: Tough one to master but an excellent way to get on stage.
6.4 Defensive Ok, you can play either defensive or offensive. It depends on what you like, and how the situation is. For example: you're up against a Zelda at low percentage, so you play more offensive than defensive. If you're at 200% though, you ought to play more defensive. It’s like being a Ninja: being unpredictable, have lots of mindgames, and strike when your opponent is most vulnerable. Pichu = a Ninja, which means you have to watch what your opponent does and react to it really well .
Pichu lacks range. It means you have to get close to land a hit. He has to attack whenever the opponent is caught off-guard and whenever you see an opening. This is probably when your opponent suffers lag most of the time. Use many mindgames to trick your opponent into attacking and then whiffing, so you can counterattack right after and start some awesome maneuvre. I’ll give some examples: Your opponent comes in with an aerial. You WD back and F-smash while your opponent suffers lag. Or you Dashdance and Wavedash like a freak that’s outta control and watch your opponent’s movement very closely to predict what he’s going to do. You evade and attack or grab him to start a combo.
Once your opponent gets out of the combo on-stage, be even more unpredictable so you can find another opportunity to attack and combo the **** out of him.
Furthermore, avoid getting shieldgrabbed at all costs, because you can. If he shields and you try to land a Nair, Bair or Fair, make sure you land behind him, it’s not that hard.
If he rushes at you, and you shield, do not always try to shieldgrab because of sucky range. Instead, JC’d Up-smash is a good choice, and it can also lead into a combo or even kill. And the best part, it hits behind Pichu! So even if they land behind you, they’re dead too!
Finally, if you grab, JC the grab, as it gives you more range and less lag. Pichu needs all the range he can get.
6.5 Approach If you want to approach and play offensive as Pichu, do it carefully.
Firstly, let’s say you start the battle on FD and you and your opponent spawn each at another side of FD. Whether you have to approach him depends on which character you’re fighting against, but I’ll explain anyway.
If you approach through the air, use Nair most of the time. Nair’s priority > all. And as one of my own tactics, a C-sticked (so you can DI properly) Bair while rushing into your opponent in the air. This can be better than Nair because it doesn’t get weaker during the move. Here too, land behind if he shields to avoid getting shieldgrabbed.
Another way is via the ground. Pichu is really quick, has a fast WD, a far roll and can, because of that, play tricky mindgames while on the ground. Confuse your opponent and trick him, while you approach. If you get within his range, do Up-tilt, Up-smash or grab him to D/U-throw, then follow it up with another attack.
Of course, Pichu has his very own projectile, the Thunderjolt. A lot of people have different opinions about using this as an approach. And I say: Yes, it’s effectively as an approach. It aids Pichu more than it kills Pichu Why? Well, it does do the 1 % to yourself, but can do 6-10% to your opponent, which is good enough to be a worthy projectile for approaching. As for the approach itself, you can use it while shorthopping forward through the air to close in on your opponent in a safer way or use multiple to force your opponent to come towards you.
Suddenly Wavelanding into a smash is really tricky too. Learn to time a Waveland and you’ll be fine.
7. How Pichu owns and sucks: Advanced techs and stats. Here are the stats and techniques of Pichu:
Wavedash, how far does he slide and is it useful:
Pichu’s Wavedash is 22nd of the game in length, which may not sound that good. However, it's a really fast and confusing wavedash that is definitely capable of pulling some freakish mindgames. Use it sparingly, but not that sparingly.
L-cancelling, does Pichu have much lag on aerials:
As expected Pichu has little lag on all of his aerials. Still, he needs L-cancelling really badly for his combos. Make it a habit to L-cancel every aerial move at any time. It's required to play a good Pichu.
SHFFLing:
Shorthopping, you have 4 frames for that. Perform an aerial. Fastfall, tilt the control stick down. L-cancel, press L before landing. That makes a SHFFL. SHFFLing is essential. Pichu can’t survive without SHFFLing, for he has to be as fast as possible. SHFFLing is, of course, also a good way to set up for a combo, as it includes all things to make you a mofuggin fast ******* rat.
Grabbing Range:
He has 3rd worst grabbing range in the game, so he’s not very good at grabbing. Sometimes the range might surprise you though if you Jumpcancel it.
Airdodging:
Starting time is 4 frame, like almost any other character.
Time of Invincibility: 26 frames, from the 4th frame to the 29th frame.
Rolling:
His rolls are actually quite good, although I rarely use them myself. (Ignore me this time if you want, it’s because I got fed up with rolling so I never do it anymore.)
On both rolls, the back and forward rolls, Pichu is invincible for 16 of the 31 frames.
He has 4th best rolling distance on his forward roll and 5th best on his backward roll. Great, huh?
That comes to an average of 4th place in rolling distance.
Walljumping:
It’s always a good thing when a character is able to walljump.
Stopping from running:
If you stop from running without WDing or Dash-cancelling or something, it takes 26 frames for Pichu.
Turning around while running:
21 frames for Pichu, it is. Least in the game along with Pikachu and Sheik.
Walking Speed:
Pichu walking speed (the top speed) is 4th is the game, with an acceleration equivalent to Pikachu.
Running Speed:
Pichu has 6th best running speed in the game. Quite fast, if you ask me.
Falling Speed:
Pichu’s max falling speed is the same as that of Bowser and Pikachu. Bowser starts his fall quicker than both Pikachu and Pichu and Pikachu and Pichu start falling at the exact same frame.