Pikachu (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)


 * This article is about Pikachu's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Pikachu.

Unveiled at E3 2006, Pikachu (, Pikachū) is a character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Visually, Pikachu has barely changed at all from its Melee design, only being larger and touched up slightly. It has all of its moves from the first two games. It is currently in the A Tier and holds 9th position overall, making it much closer to its original Top Tier status in Super Smash Bros, where it was ranked first place; as opposed to its Low Tier status in Melee, where it is ranked sixteenth place. Pikachu's decent killing power, quick overall speed, good recovery and edge guarding, good chain grab, and Brawl's new physics have helped it a lot; Pikachu is not so easily comboed anymore, its grab range is no longer the shortest, its Thunder is not as laggy, and it's gained various new tactics such as Quick Attack Cancel.

Attributes
Pikachu's most salient feature, as with its appearances in previous Smash Brothers games, is its speed. Pikachu also has good specials, excellent smash attacks and tilts, the ability to crawl, moderate grabs, and is able to wall jump.

Pikachu's best game is played on the ground, at a medium range, where its smash attacks can be used to the fullest. Pikachu's up-smash is one of the fastest in the game, with decent power to boot, and is excellent for KO's while its down-smash holds for multiple hits and has a high priority, functioning as a panic button of sorts for close encounters. The side smash is a good tool for edgeguarding and KO's off the side.

As for specials, Skull Bash and Quick Attack are both good recovery techniques, although Skull Bash is easily punishable by edgeguarders, able to be stopped by projectiles (e.g. Waddle Dee Throw) and requiring charging time. Quick Attack also opens options for mindgames, by confusing opponents about Pikachu's actions. The most common form of this is QAC (Quick Attack Cancel), allowing Pikachu use any special or aerial move after. Thunder is Pikachu's most well known move. Opponents will expect it of you, but the move is still one of Pikachu's best kill moves, killing reliably at 100%. Thunder Jolt is Pikachu's neutral Special, and is a useful move to keep most opponents at bay, as well as forcing them in the air. Thunder Jolt is a ground-hugging projectile, meaning opponents can't escape it by ducking or crawling.

Pikachu's aerials are its weakest area. Fair is weak in damage but can carry momentum through; whereas Nair is slightly stronger, but negates all momentum, and causes Pikachu to fall during the move. Uair is extremely weak, but can be used as a semi-spike. Dair and Bair are laggy when they hit the ground, but all of the Dair's lag can be avoided if it is used at the start of a short hop.

Pikachu's grabs are possible to chain-grab with, in certain situations. Down and Forward throws are mostly used for this, while back throws easily set up to an edgeguarding chance. Up throws and up tilts can combine into a Thunder on certain characters.

Other tips for Pikachu are to maintain good DI and Tech skills, as well as good dodging skills. Pikachu's speed makes it imperative to keep moving and to always seek the high ground on stages with platforms. Since Pikachu's shield is the smallest in the game, Pikachu is so light, and Pikachu has poor range on most moves, all of these skills are necessary to avoid being hit and racking up damage.

Normal

 * Neutral Attack - Attacks with its head. Can be held, or just pressed. 2% damage each hit.
 * Dash Attack - Tackles. Laggy in completion. 7% damage
 * Strong Side - Sticks both feet forward. 9% damage
 * Strong Up - Swings tail in an arc above itself. 7% damage
 * Strong Down - Does a quick tail whip. Can attack twice first tripping and then knocking away if you press it fast enough. 7% damage

Smash Attacks

 * Side Smash - Pikachu charges bolt of electricity in front of it, causing a lot of knockback when released. Does 20% uncharged, but 28% charged.  The further away you are, the less damage it does.
 * Up Smash - Flips very fast, attacking with its tail. 13% uncharged, 19% charged. Great move to use after Down Throw.
 * Down Smash - Spins on the floor and releases electricity. 15% uncharged, 21% charged. Good move for racking up damage, and a reliable KO'er. If the opponent flies directly up after a Down Smash, Thunder can quickly be used for a reliable Star KO.

Other

 * Ledge attack- Does a somersault that hurts opponents. 8% damage.
 * Over 100% ledge attack- Kicks up then whacks opponents with its tail. 10% damage.
 * Floor attack- Does a sweeper kick. 10% damage.
 * Trip attack- Does a sweeper kick with its tail. 5% damage.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Air - Spins in a ball. Still has hitboxes while on the ground. 12% damage
 * Forward Air - An electric drill-like move forward. Lags on the ground. 8% if all 4 hits make contact.
 * Back Air - Spins like a disc and hits multiple times. Lags on the ground. 11% damage if all hits connect. Good for chasing your opponents DI, very good priority.
 * Up Air - Swings tail while flipping forward. Certain tail frames send opponent away at an angle. 6% damage
 * Down Air - An electric drill-like move downward. Has hitboxes while on the ground. 12% damage. Lags on contact with ground, can be lag canceled if done while rising.

Grabs & Throws

 * Pummel - Shocks opponent.
 * Back Throw - Tumbles with opponent back and throws them back.
 * Forward Throw - Places opponent on back and electrocutes them forward. Can chain throw almost all characters.
 * Up Throw - Headbutts opponent upward. Can combo with Thunder.
 * Down Throw - Slams on top of opponent. Can chain throw certain characters. Has a 0-death on Fox.

Taunts
Up: Pikachu creates rings of electricity around him, saying "Piiiiiii".

Down: Pikachu rolls on its back and says,"Pikaaaahh!".

Side: Turns to the camera, waving both paws and says,"Pika,Pika!"

Role In The Subspace Emissary
Pikachu is trapped in a Subspace lab, having its electric powers drained by a machine. Luckily, Zero Suit Samus, who secretly infiltrated the lab to find her Power Suit, finds and rescues the Pokémon. From this point onward, Pikachu tags along with Samus throughout the base of the Subspace Army. When Samus reaches the area with her Power Suit, she and Pikachu are ambushed by two Shadow Bug clones of her Power Suit. After defeating them, Samus regains her Power Suit, and the two continue traveling throughout the base.

Some time later, the duo are confronted by Ridley, who brutally damages Samus by dragging her across the wall. She is only saved by Pikachu's Thunder attack. The two must then fight Ridley. After defeating Ridley, Pikachu and Samus escape from the ruins and find a cave.

Later they are seen running in the Ancient Minister's base, eventually bumping into him and the R.O.B. Squad. They are about to fight him but suddenly notice the Ancient Minister looking down as if he's sad.

As they look at his sorrow, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Captain Falcon and Olimar find another entrance to the room they're in. DK smashes the doors open with his fists, and the four barge into the room. Suddenly, a hologram of Ganondorf commands the R.O.B. Squad to use the remaining Subspace Bombs and attack the Ancient Minister. Together with the Ancient Minister, who is revealed to be a R.O.B. himself, the six heroes fight the Subspace Army, they escape on the Falcon Flyer and fight Meta-Ridley on it. Pikachu then aids the heroes throughout the rest of the adventure.

Unfortunately, when the characters reach Subspace, Tabuu turns everybody, even Pikachu, into trophies. But, Luigi, Ness, and King Dedede saved Pikachu and the rest before setting off to defeat Tabuu once and for all!

Trivia

 * Pikachu's Wall Jump and Goggle costume were features of Pichu in Melee. In addition, Pikachu in the Pokemon series can only know Volt Tackle if they learned the move as a Pichu. These coincidences have led to theories that the Pikachu in Brawl is the evolved Pichu from Melee.
 * Since there is no dent in its tail (as female Pikachu have), the Pikachu in Brawl is male, despite being referred to as "it".
 * Pikachu holds the world record for Co-op Target Smash!! Level 3 with Fox (completed in 4.58 seconds), and Level 4 with Yoshi (completed in 4.81 seconds).
 * When Pikachu gets a Dragoon or a Warpstar, Pikachu rides it as if it were surfing. This comes from certain Pikachus given away at events and/or for finishing certain Pokémon games, knowing the usually-unlearnable move Surf; in the 3D Pokemon games, Pikachu rides a surfboard to use the move. (This in turn may come from the Pokemon anime.)
 * When Pikachu's Thunder is used in mid-air, it won't go through a falling block, yet when used on the ground it will.
 * Interestingly, in the games, Pokémon were only allowed Four Special moves, but in Brawl, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, and Lucario all have five special moves (including Final Smashes), thus breaking the limit of special moves, despite Jigglypuff's and Lucario's Final Smashes, and Pikachu's standard special, not being actual moves from the game.
 * If Pikachu is standing at the end of a main platform (e.g. Final Destination) with its back to the edge, if its shield breaks, hold the opposite direction Pikachu is facing on the control stick; Pikachu grabs the ledge and cancels the dizzyness.
 * If Pikachu uses or charges its forward smash with a battering item, it will have a straight face. If it does so with a Smash Ball, its face takes on an evil expression.
 * Like all characters, Pikachu's eyes glow when it has a Smash Ball. However, if it has a Smash Ball and its costume color is red, its eyes become red because of the color tint of its model (and even then, the color of its eyes in its default costume are still red). This also happens with Sonic to a lesser extent.
 * In the E3 2006, Pikachu didn't show its Final Smash like Mario, Kirby and Link did.
 * Coincidentally, Pikachu is the best character from the original Smash Bros. on Brawl's tier list.