Pichu
Introduction:
Pichu is the lightest character in the game, even lighter than Jigglypuff. Pichu is also the 6th fastest faller, making him a light fastfaller, a very scary combination for both players. On one hand, fast fallers are known to be combo-heavy and being able to put out moves faster than any other type of character. On the other however, they're prone to being combo'd due to fall speed, and then killed early due to low weight, and Pichu is no exception. He's got combo trees for days, arguably the deepest combo game in Ultimate, and is known for dying incredibly early, especially due to the caveat of self-damage he has. With this self-damaging mechanic, he should always be the aggressor.
Strengths:
1. Small Hurtbox
Pichu's hurtbox is one of the smallest in the game, meaning some moves will straight up miss and get punished, where they would otherwise hit almost every other character. Pichu's small size allows Pichu to "live longer" by means of avoiding attacks instead of taking the hit. You can use moves that hit below/start from below like Chrom f-tilt, which actually starts from below and rises up to the mid height, or using characters of a similar size, like Olimar. The thing about his approaches however is that aside from grab, he'll be using SH n-air, f-air, or b-air, meaning he won't be grounded and will be able to dodge very low moves like Meta Knight d-tilt for example, so having a move that can cover the grounded option of grab and the aerial option of an aerial will help protect you from his advances, like again, Chrom f-tilt. However, speaking of his advances...
2. Intricate and Effective Punish Game
Pichu has an insane punish game, that can start from a multitude of moves, including d-tilt, u-tilt, d-throw, u-throw, u-air, drag-down f-air, drag down b-air, and n-air, as well as a slew of finishers like d-air, down-b, and his smash attacks, with d-smash and u-smash having very solid confirms. Against a good Pichu, it'll be very difficult to guess which move he's going to use next, as multiple options means more DI mixups and coverages. DI'ing all of his possible options is very difficult, so preventing them from happening is much better, unless you know which combo they're going for due to how well you know the player, so stuffing out his approaches is the key to beating him in the neutral and preventing upwards of 50-70% off one hit, or even death. His kill confirms are also very solid, with b-air drag down -> u-smash/d-smash killing off the top or the side respectively at decent percents, u-throw -> down-b can kill very early depending on location/where Pichu is facing, as the launch direction is based on where Pichu is looking, and with raw f-smash/f-smash from a jab lock, which is actually incredibly strong. Speaking of jab locks, Pichu and Pikachu are synonymous with jab lock combos, and Ultimate is no exception. With their fast speed, quick jabs, and low angled moves, they can punish jab locks very well, especially with both of their f-smashes having great knockback. Make sure you hit techs against them, as a Pichu player will not hesitate to jab -> walk to push you further to the ledge -> jab -> f-smash to kill at 70% at the ledge.
Pichu's edgeguarding is also very good. Thunder Jolt is able to cover diagonally and below the ledge due to it's wall clinging properties, his d-air can spike/send in awkward angles, and his f-tilt, d-smash, and f-smash can all 2-frame, with varying degrees of success depending on the character (f-smash works great on DK). In this case, recovering low can be very dangerous, as Pichu can TJ you by sticking it to the wall, and can use f-air and b-air for drag downs, and d-air for spikes, which can beat most recoveries. He's also able to cover high recoveries by using down-b, and can 2-frame at the ledge or straight up f-smash you if you recover at the ledge. Mixing up your recovery by going high and then airdodging towards the ledge can help save you at times, but it's all about doing different things to trick the Pichu player.
3. Thunder Jolt Approaches
Pichu can cover his approaches with Thunder Jolt, forcing a defensive option that he can immediately punish. If you shield, he'll grab. If you jump, he'll shark you with u-airs or straight up catch you out with a f-air and put you offstage. If you roll, you'll either still get hit or end up rolling right into him. If you try to clank with it with a move, he'll punish the endlag. However, clanking with the move can extend the hitbox's active frames, meaning he might be hit by the move itself if he rushes in. If you have a character that can quickly reflect, like Mewtwo's side-b, or a chargeable projectile like, Mewtwo, Lucario, and Samus/Dark Samus neutral b, then you'd be able to hit Pichu while he tries to wait for your defensive option. If you are without these options, might be limited, but that doesn't mean you're completely out. You could parry the projectile, as parrying projectiles was recently buffed by reducing the endlag, and then counterattack, or you could jump over the Jolt for an attack, depending on your character. However, jumping over it can be reacted to and even beaten by accident, so be wary. Parrying is not as hard as it may seem when parrying projectiles, and even moves if their predictable, so I highly recommend practicing it.
4. Recovery
Pichu's got a pretty great recovery. Trading Pikachu's hitboxes for extra range, he'll be able to recover from distances further than almost any other character, aside from helicopter recoveries like King K. Rool and Piranha Plant. It's got a ton of options in terms of distance, can help him get back on stage, and is hard to edgeguard if they don't spam the same option. However, it's lack of hitboxes means you can contest it off the stage. If they constantly go for ledge, moves with very long active frames can block it from the ledge, such as Dr. Mario and Luigi down-b, the former being able to kill Pichu at mid percents in this situation. It's also punishable if they use it on stage, so 9/10 they'll be going for a platform if they can with it, making it easier to realise. Pichu's recovery will always be hard to edgeguard, but knowing the up-b angle patterns is important to having a chance.
5. Great Frame Data
Across the board, Pichu's got very good frame data. His jab is frame 2, f-tilt is frame 5, u-tilt and d-tilt are frame 7, d-smash is frame 8, u-smash is frame 9, his n-air is frame 3, u-air is frame 4, and he can SH autocancel most of his aerials. His FAF is also very low on his normals, allowing him to string combos incredibly quickly in different orders. His Thunder also has very low FAF, allowing him to quickly cover above him and then punish if they dodge it by going lower, as well as being able to use it as a finisher, as it comes out on frame 9 a the cloud.
5. Great Frame Data
Across the board, Pichu's got very good frame data. His jab is frame 2, f-tilt is frame 5, u-tilt and d-tilt are frame 7, d-smash is frame 8, u-smash is frame 9, his n-air is frame 3, u-air is frame 4, and he can SH autocancel most of his aerials. His FAF is also very low on his normals, allowing him to string combos incredibly quickly in different orders. His Thunder also has very low FAF, allowing him to quickly cover above him and then punish if they dodge it by going lower, as well as being able to use it as a finisher, as it comes out on frame 9 a the cloud.
Weaknesses:
1. Lightweight
Pichu is the lightest character in the game. A solid smash attack at 70-90 will kill Pichu, if the location is neutral or advantageous for the killer. Coupled with self-damaging, Pichu can die very early into the match if he gets caught out with something strong.
2. Lack of Range
Pichu can get beat out by longer disjoints like swords to prevent him from getting in. His longest range move is f-tilt, which he can't access in the air. Keeping him in the air with long range can prevent him from getting in with his combos.
Playing Against Pichu in the Neutral
Pichu will almost always be playing aggressive, so polish up your defensive game. Know all of your characters options in terms of resetting neutral, snuffing approaches, avoiding Jolt, counter-attacking, OOS options and practice parrying. Beating Jolt comes down to avoiding it while also avoiding his f-air, grab, n-air, u-air shark, or b-air. Jumping backwards avoids them, but it also puts you in a corner, allowing Pichu to push advantage. Moves that are active for a while and clank with Jolt are able to hit Pichu as he comes in, as the frames are delayed as they hit the Jolt, and reactivate afterwards, once Pichu is in. Parrying is also good, as you can counterattack right after. Dashbacking is ill-advised, as the Jolt will follow you.
Punishing Pichu
Pichu is a light fastfaller. He can get combo'd decently well due to his fall speed, and will die very early to death combos/reads. Practice combos on Pichu to maximize damage and make his self damage even more risky. Kill confirms are tricky on Pichu, as he can keep self damaging to get out of the percent ranges, so picking a character with a kill throw can help secure kills with less risk of him getting out of those certain percents. Edgeguarding Pichu is based around long-lasting hitboxes that allow you to cover the edge and reset the edgeguarding situation, as Pichu has not hitbox on his up-b. Moves like Luigi Cyclone can cover the ledge for a long time and catch Pichu out. Ledgetrapping can be difficult due to his up-b mobility, but it mostly boils down to-will he up-b onto the stage or onto a platform. Ledgetrapping does allow you to kill him very early however.
Recommended Matchups:
1. Snake
Snake is a heavily defensive character. Focusing on a mix of turtling and zone-trapping, he's able to set up strong defenses with Grenade and C4's, as well as controlling space with U-smash, Nikita, Grenade, C4, and u-tilt. Snake's Grenades can force a lot of trades, which Pichu does not want at all, allowing him to rack up rage due to his heavyweight status, as well as rack up damage on Pichu, making an u-tilt early in the game spell out death for Pichu. He's also able to recovery against Pichu very well, mitigating Pichu's strong edgeguarding.
Playing the neutral game for Snake is focusing on a strong defense with Grenades and C4 to cover approaches/risky commitments and trading via explosives and CQC. Snake can live and kill like a heavy without the huge body frame, as well as having a good recovery and defensive game that allows him to live longer than other heavies. You could toss Grenades around and plant C4 at chokepoints and stay low by crouching, avoiding shorthop and allowing you to counter attack with dash attack when he whiffs n-air, or you could stay on a platform with a Grenade or two nearby to prevent Jolt approaches, and then box him with d-tilt, cross up with dash attacks, and use grab to build percent, reset neutral, or to put him in an uncomfortable situation due to nearby Grenades/C4. Using moves like d-tilt and u-tilt will prevent you from getting low-profiled by Pichu.
Snake is a very neutral based character. He isn't however without a strong punish game. U-tilt kills at around 80-90%, meaning a whiff'd aerial can mean death with u-tilt or turnaround u-tilt if you crawl under his SH and can react to the cross-up. Having Grenades laying around can force Jolts or trades, both of which only make Pichu easier to kill. Avoid his SH approaches with your very low crouch/crawl, and contest Jolt with Grenades. Edgeguarding consists of Nikita, while ledgetrapping is also very solid since you can cover the platforms with C4 and set Grenades around the ledge. He's not a combo character, but still has great setups with C4 stickies and his many deadly explosives.
Snake Pros to Study:
Ally: After a rocky start in Ultimate, Ally has recently been going through a tear with his Snake, his former Brawl main, with a win at Pound 2019 and 2nd at Battle of BC 3, taking sets off ESAM, Captain Zack, Captain L, Myran, and Dabuz.
Salem: Former Smash 4 Bayo and now Ultimate Snake main, Salem's been making waves with a win at Ultimate Gamer Miami, and 3rd and 5th at Ultimate Nimbus and Pound 2019, respectively. He's got wins over MK Leo, Mr. E, MuteAce, ANTi, ZD, Stroder, and K9sbruce.
MVD: Brawl Snake and Smash 4 Diddy Kong, MVD won the first Smash Ultimate major at Don't Park on the Grass, along with placings like 4th at Smash Conference United and 13th at Genesis 6, giving him wins over ESAM, Captain L, JTails, SDX, MuteAce, Myran, and Dath.
Mr. R: Top Brawl Marth and Smash 4 Sheik, Mr. R did not enter often for the beginning of Ultimate's career, especially on the national scale. Afterwards, however, he began entering tournaments with a slew of characters, one of them being Snake, who he used to place 9th at Collision 2019 and 3rd at Expand Gong 4, taking sets off NAKAT and Nicko with his secondary.
2. Olimar
Olimar is a zone/bait and punish character, able to keep Pichu's approaches at bay with f-smash and Yellow Pikmin. Yellow Pikmin is especially an amazing tool. The extra range not only competes with Pichu, they're immune to electric attacks, namely, Jolt, meaning it's great for covering Jolt approaches. Pichu's goal is to get in and combo you before the self-damage and lightweight kills itself essentially, so being able to stall the match longer and forcing him to play at your pace can delay his combos and increase his %, allowing you to end stocks much earlier, so walling out Pichu with long range Yellow Pikmin and threatening f-smash/side-b poke is your best game plan.
To cover Pichu's approaches, pivot f-smash his Jolt and pivot grab his aerials. In the neutral, you're best played defensively, unless you're at a stock deficit. Having Pichu approach you will force him to use self-damage to approach, whether it be with f-air, f-tilt, or Jolt approaches, and otherwise you can beat and/or threaten him with f-smash/Yellow Pikmin moves. If they switch to a more grounded based game with d-tilts and grabs, you should be able to wall him out due to his poor range. Take note of whether the Pichu is going for grounded options vs. aerial options.
Punishing Pichu boils down to Olimar bnb's, but when trying to punish up-b, knowing where Pichu prefers to go (platforms, past you on stage, the ledge), can help you predict and take stocks with Purple Pikmin. Conversely, Pichu has a ton of options against you offstage and punishing your up-b. Thunder, D-air, and dragdown B-air/regular B-air are all viable options against you. Pichu can also cover high recoveries with Thunder, so it's best to just go low, which is even better if you have no Pikmin. Mix up your recovery with Olimar's up-b options and his aerials out of up-b.
The Best Olimar's to Watch:
Dabuz: Brawlimar with a Smash 4 Olimar secondary turned Ultimate Olimar main. Has high placings like 4th at Genesis 6, 5th at Pound 2019, and 2nd at Smash Ultimate Summit, alongside strong set wins over Tweek, Samsora, Light, Nairo, VoiD, Zackray, Cosmos, ZD, and Glutonny. Considered one of 3 best Olimar players in Smash history.
Shuton: Japanese Olimar diehard since Brawl. Has won/placed high in Japanese nationals such as 1st and 2nd at Umebura SP 1 and 2, as well as placing high in NA nationals such as 4th at Frostbite 2019 and a win at 2GG: Prime Saga. He has set wins over MK Leo, Zackray, Nairo, Light, Cosmos, kameme, Tea, and Nietono.
Myran: NA Olimar diehard since Brawl. Has placed high in tournaments such as 7th at Smash Conference United, 9th at Genesis 6, 3rd at Frosbite 2019, 3rd at Ultimate Gamer Miami, and a 2nd place finish at Pound 2019. Despite being lesser known than the other two, he quickly changed that at Pound 2019, and has taken sets off the likes of Light, Shuton, WaDi, and K9sbruce.
3. Lucina
Lucina's sword allows her to keep Pichu out, as well as contest with Jolt. Instead of shielding Jolt, f-air can both break through it and delay the active frames long enough to hit Pichu. However, if the Pichu simply waits out the f-air, he can punish the endlag for some major damage, so it's all about reading his approaches/patience. Instead of f-airing, you can also just jump over, or shield and then up-b OOS. Make sure not to repeatedly use one strategy to avoid getting mixed up.
Playing the neutral game for Snake is focusing on a strong defense with Grenades and C4 to cover approaches/risky commitments and trading via explosives and CQC. Snake can live and kill like a heavy without the huge body frame, as well as having a good recovery and defensive game that allows him to live longer than other heavies. You could toss Grenades around and plant C4 at chokepoints and stay low by crouching, avoiding shorthop and allowing you to counter attack with dash attack when he whiffs n-air, or you could stay on a platform with a Grenade or two nearby to prevent Jolt approaches, and then box him with d-tilt, cross up with dash attacks, and use grab to build percent, reset neutral, or to put him in an uncomfortable situation due to nearby Grenades/C4. Using moves like d-tilt and u-tilt will prevent you from getting low-profiled by Pichu.
Snake is a very neutral based character. He isn't however without a strong punish game. U-tilt kills at around 80-90%, meaning a whiff'd aerial can mean death with u-tilt or turnaround u-tilt if you crawl under his SH and can react to the cross-up. Having Grenades laying around can force Jolts or trades, both of which only make Pichu easier to kill. Avoid his SH approaches with your very low crouch/crawl, and contest Jolt with Grenades. Edgeguarding consists of Nikita, while ledgetrapping is also very solid since you can cover the platforms with C4 and set Grenades around the ledge. He's not a combo character, but still has great setups with C4 stickies and his many deadly explosives.
Snake Pros to Study:
Ally: After a rocky start in Ultimate, Ally has recently been going through a tear with his Snake, his former Brawl main, with a win at Pound 2019 and 2nd at Battle of BC 3, taking sets off ESAM, Captain Zack, Captain L, Myran, and Dabuz.
Salem: Former Smash 4 Bayo and now Ultimate Snake main, Salem's been making waves with a win at Ultimate Gamer Miami, and 3rd and 5th at Ultimate Nimbus and Pound 2019, respectively. He's got wins over MK Leo, Mr. E, MuteAce, ANTi, ZD, Stroder, and K9sbruce.
MVD: Brawl Snake and Smash 4 Diddy Kong, MVD won the first Smash Ultimate major at Don't Park on the Grass, along with placings like 4th at Smash Conference United and 13th at Genesis 6, giving him wins over ESAM, Captain L, JTails, SDX, MuteAce, Myran, and Dath.
Mr. R: Top Brawl Marth and Smash 4 Sheik, Mr. R did not enter often for the beginning of Ultimate's career, especially on the national scale. Afterwards, however, he began entering tournaments with a slew of characters, one of them being Snake, who he used to place 9th at Collision 2019 and 3rd at Expand Gong 4, taking sets off NAKAT and Nicko with his secondary.
2. Olimar
Olimar is a zone/bait and punish character, able to keep Pichu's approaches at bay with f-smash and Yellow Pikmin. Yellow Pikmin is especially an amazing tool. The extra range not only competes with Pichu, they're immune to electric attacks, namely, Jolt, meaning it's great for covering Jolt approaches. Pichu's goal is to get in and combo you before the self-damage and lightweight kills itself essentially, so being able to stall the match longer and forcing him to play at your pace can delay his combos and increase his %, allowing you to end stocks much earlier, so walling out Pichu with long range Yellow Pikmin and threatening f-smash/side-b poke is your best game plan.
To cover Pichu's approaches, pivot f-smash his Jolt and pivot grab his aerials. In the neutral, you're best played defensively, unless you're at a stock deficit. Having Pichu approach you will force him to use self-damage to approach, whether it be with f-air, f-tilt, or Jolt approaches, and otherwise you can beat and/or threaten him with f-smash/Yellow Pikmin moves. If they switch to a more grounded based game with d-tilts and grabs, you should be able to wall him out due to his poor range. Take note of whether the Pichu is going for grounded options vs. aerial options.
Punishing Pichu boils down to Olimar bnb's, but when trying to punish up-b, knowing where Pichu prefers to go (platforms, past you on stage, the ledge), can help you predict and take stocks with Purple Pikmin. Conversely, Pichu has a ton of options against you offstage and punishing your up-b. Thunder, D-air, and dragdown B-air/regular B-air are all viable options against you. Pichu can also cover high recoveries with Thunder, so it's best to just go low, which is even better if you have no Pikmin. Mix up your recovery with Olimar's up-b options and his aerials out of up-b.
The Best Olimar's to Watch:
Dabuz: Brawlimar with a Smash 4 Olimar secondary turned Ultimate Olimar main. Has high placings like 4th at Genesis 6, 5th at Pound 2019, and 2nd at Smash Ultimate Summit, alongside strong set wins over Tweek, Samsora, Light, Nairo, VoiD, Zackray, Cosmos, ZD, and Glutonny. Considered one of 3 best Olimar players in Smash history.
Shuton: Japanese Olimar diehard since Brawl. Has won/placed high in Japanese nationals such as 1st and 2nd at Umebura SP 1 and 2, as well as placing high in NA nationals such as 4th at Frostbite 2019 and a win at 2GG: Prime Saga. He has set wins over MK Leo, Zackray, Nairo, Light, Cosmos, kameme, Tea, and Nietono.
Myran: NA Olimar diehard since Brawl. Has placed high in tournaments such as 7th at Smash Conference United, 9th at Genesis 6, 3rd at Frosbite 2019, 3rd at Ultimate Gamer Miami, and a 2nd place finish at Pound 2019. Despite being lesser known than the other two, he quickly changed that at Pound 2019, and has taken sets off the likes of Light, Shuton, WaDi, and K9sbruce.
3. Lucina
Lucina's sword allows her to keep Pichu out, as well as contest with Jolt. Instead of shielding Jolt, f-air can both break through it and delay the active frames long enough to hit Pichu. However, if the Pichu simply waits out the f-air, he can punish the endlag for some major damage, so it's all about reading his approaches/patience. Instead of f-airing, you can also just jump over, or shield and then up-b OOS. Make sure not to repeatedly use one strategy to avoid getting mixed up.
In the neutral, you want to block Jolts via parrying/shielding, to where you would up-b OOS, you can f-air the Jolt, extending the hitbox duration and allowing you to hit Pichu at the same time, or you can jump over the Jolt -> f-air for the counterattack. Staying unpredictable can help against the offensive mixups. However, dashback shouldn't be used against Jolt, as it just gets you hit. If Pichu likes getting in really close with the Jolt, you can even counter the Jolt and hit Pichu with it. Aggressively, d-tilt is an incredible move that hits Pichu's height and has great damage/knockback, however allows them to SH aerial you instead. Personally, I opt for landing f-air, but you should in general go for d-tilt for grounded approaches, and otherwise for aerials. Having Pichu above you is a very good position, as his only contesting option against you is to Agility to the ground and hope you're far away enough or don't punish properly.
A cheesy way to punish Pichu's who spam Jolt -> aerial is f-smash, as it breaks Jolt and can kill Pichu, so using this while he's in the corner can make him nervous and default into Jolt -> aerial. Punishing moves on shield is mostly up-b OOS, but be careful if they read it, as it sets up into combos well for them. Edgeguarding against Pichu should be covering the ledge with moves like n-air that last a while, allowing you to catch Agility to the ledge and still make it back on stage for a punish if they go for the platform/on stage. Ledgetrapping is just watching out for jump -> aerial/Jolt/up-b, all punishable with an f-smash read.
MK Leo: Contention for best in the world, mains Lucina, Ike, and Wolf. Leo's phenomenal spacing, mixed with his aggressive style, allows him to cover a ton of options at the safest distance possible with Lucina, further accentuating his ledgetrapping game. Wins at multiple majors and over most of the top Ultimate players.
Nairo: Using Lucina as a secondary/pocket, he's been able to take a ton of names with the character. Normally a Palutena main with a popular Ganondorf secondary, Nairo is one of the most consistently dominant players in Smash history. Used Lucina to garner 2nd place finishes at Glitch 6 and Collision 2019, as well as taking sets over Light and ZD.
ProtoBanham: A top Japanese Lucina, with placements such as 4th at Umebura SP 3 and 2nd at Umebura Japan Major 2019, giving him wins over Cosmos, Tea, Choco, Raito, and Abadango.
A cheesy way to punish Pichu's who spam Jolt -> aerial is f-smash, as it breaks Jolt and can kill Pichu, so using this while he's in the corner can make him nervous and default into Jolt -> aerial. Punishing moves on shield is mostly up-b OOS, but be careful if they read it, as it sets up into combos well for them. Edgeguarding against Pichu should be covering the ledge with moves like n-air that last a while, allowing you to catch Agility to the ledge and still make it back on stage for a punish if they go for the platform/on stage. Ledgetrapping is just watching out for jump -> aerial/Jolt/up-b, all punishable with an f-smash read.
MK Leo: Contention for best in the world, mains Lucina, Ike, and Wolf. Leo's phenomenal spacing, mixed with his aggressive style, allows him to cover a ton of options at the safest distance possible with Lucina, further accentuating his ledgetrapping game. Wins at multiple majors and over most of the top Ultimate players.
Nairo: Using Lucina as a secondary/pocket, he's been able to take a ton of names with the character. Normally a Palutena main with a popular Ganondorf secondary, Nairo is one of the most consistently dominant players in Smash history. Used Lucina to garner 2nd place finishes at Glitch 6 and Collision 2019, as well as taking sets over Light and ZD.
ProtoBanham: A top Japanese Lucina, with placements such as 4th at Umebura SP 3 and 2nd at Umebura Japan Major 2019, giving him wins over Cosmos, Tea, Choco, Raito, and Abadango.
Stage Select:
Triplat stages can cause Pichu some grief. The platforms make it difficult for them to set up Jolt, as sometimes it clings to the platforms and messes up the flow of his approaches, as they stop his landing, allowing it to be slower and/or more telegraphed, as well as briefly placing him above you, allowing you to charge him and shark him under the platform. If he jumps forward after Jolting to avoid the platform, he's still in the lag while being close to you, allowing you to counterattack quicker and set up a juggle situation. So, that means Pichu's best stages are FD, Kalos, and PS.
Summary:
In summation,
- Zone
- Polish up defensive options like parrying and your OOS
- Force him to trade/spam self-damage
- Keep long, more active hitboxes near the ledge when edgeguarding
- Utilize long disjoints and/or projectiles in neutral, and find which moves beat Jolt
- Favor triplats over FD/Kalos/PS
- GLHF
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Changelog:
- May. 29/2020 - Updated Twitter handle
- May. 29/2020 - Updated Twitter handle
