- This article is about Pichu's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee. For the Pokémon in other contexts, see Pichu. Also, for information about the character of whom Pichu is a clone, see Pikachu.
Pichu (ピチュー, Pichū) is a Pokémon character in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Pichu is the "baby" form of Pikachu, and it is also recognized as being a smaller, lighter, and faster clone of Pikachu in Melee.
Pichu is currently ranked 22nd in the tier list, the lowest ranked clone character. This is due to the fact that it has poor range, most people can easily chain throw it despite it being small and being the lightest character in the game (which is another huge flaw), and it takes damage from its own attacks, resulting in having the worst matchup spread in the game (though it does have even matchups against Yoshi, Bowser, and Kirby).
How to unlock[]
- Clear the event "Legendary Pokémon".
- Play 200 Vs. Mode matches.
Pichu is fought on Pokémon Stadium, with the track Battle Theme playing.
Attributes[]
Artwork from Sumabura ken!!
The most noticeable thing about Pichu is its tiny frame: Pichu is the lightest and smallest character in Melee, even lighter than Jigglypuff and Mr. Game & Watch. While this enables it to evade attacks rather well, it flies farther than anyone else when it is hit. It is also easily comboed despite its light weight, due to the long amount of hitstun it suffers.
Being small hurts its range greatly: its physical attacks, while possessing good priority, have extremely poor range. Pichu needs to get very close to do damage, which is a very dangerous place for any character to be. It also has the shortest forward, backward, and tech/ledge roll in the game. Its grab hitbox is the third smallest in the game, another problem. On the upside, its grabs set up many chain throws or combos.
Its electrical attacks help out slightly with range, but each one comes with a catch: Pichu takes damage on using the attack. Simply put, if an electrical hitbox (or that of its non-electric Special Move, Skull Bash) connects with Pichu, it takes "recoil" damage, anywhere from 1-4%. This adds up quickly, as Pichu is lighter than any other character.
This doesn't mean Pichu doesn't have its advantages, though: its KOing power is unusually solid, with three strong smashes and many options to build up damage. Pichu also has the highest item boost in the game, becoming much stronger with any item. Its recovery is very good, it can chaingrab fast fallers with its Up Throw, and it can also tech-chase several characters with its Down Throw. Pichu has two solid projectiles in its Neutral and Down Special Moves (Thunder Jolt and Thunder) and an effective SHFFL. As expected, Pichu is rather agile, and it has a shorter landing lag than any other character.
In the end, Pichu is an inferior version of Pikachu, but it has some qualities that may make it worth a look. It has a better grab game, smaller size, and slightly faster movement.
Differences from Pikachu[]
Pichu is drastically worse than Pikachu, and for many reasons.
Pichu takes recoil damage for all of its electric attacks, its range is among the worst, and some of its attacks hit multiple times, allowing the opponent to SDI out of it. Its pros are not enough to compensate its cons and is among one of the worst characters in Melee.
Aesthetics[]
Pichu's idle animations, taunt, and victory poses are all different from Pikachu's.
Attributes[]
- Pichu can wall jump, aiding its recovery.
- All of Pichu's electrical attacks (except for its up, down and back throws) inflict recoil damage.
- Pichu is significantly lighter than Pikachu, giving it a much lower survivability.
- Most of Pichu's attacks are generally weaker.
- Pichu's dashing speed is unusually slower than Pikachu's.
- Pichu is slightly smaller than Pikachu, making it more difficult to hit, but also reducing its range.
Ground attacks[]
- All of Pichu's tilts have shorter reach than Pikachu's.
- All three of Pichu's smash attacks deal less damage and have less reach than Pikachu's.
- Forward smash strikes multiple times instead of once, and can therefore be SDI'd out of before the final blow connects.
- Pichu's up smash is completely different; it hits the opponent with its head.
- Pichu's down smash can semi-spike and has higher knockback.
- Pichu's down smash has one hit and it's non-electrical.
- Due to its angle, down smash can't combo and is incapable of racking up damage.
Aerial attacks[]
- Pichu's forward and back aerials deal less damage than Pikachu's.
- Pichu's up aerial can more easily combo into itself on fast-fallers.
- Pichu's up aerial doesn't have semi-spike capabilities, reducing its gimping potential.
- Down aerial is stronger and deals more damage.
- Forward and down aerial deals more recoil damage than it's other attacks.
Grabs and throws[]
- Grab range is slightly longer than Pikachu's, although it is still one of the shortest in the game.
Special moves[]
- Skull Bash can be charged for a longer period of time, is more powerful when fully charged, and travels a longer distance than Pikachu's.
- Skull Bash has more ending lag than Pikachu's.
- Pichu's Agility is slower than Pikachu's Quick Attack, cannot travel as far, and inflicts neither damage nor knockback.
- Pichu's Agility can go in more directions than Pikachu's Quick Attack.
- Thunder deals less damage than Pikachu's and is a multi-hit move (hitting up to 4 times), allowing opponents to Smash DI out of the move.
- Thunder has a vertical knockback angle unlike Pikachu's.
Moveset[]
| Image | Name | Damage | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral attack |  |
2% | Pichu delivers a quick headbutt at the enemy. Can be done repeatedly by mashing the A button. | ||
| Forward tilt | ↗ |  |
9% | Pichu stands on both hands and kicks both feet forward. This attack can be aimed up or down. | |
| → | 8% | ||||
| ↘ | 7% | ||||
| Up tilt |  |
6% | Pichu crouches and whips its tail in an arc over its body. | ||
| Down tilt |  |
7% | Pichu spins around on the ground and attacks with its tail. | ||
| Dash attack |  |
8% | Pichu leaps forward to attack enemies with a headbutt. Has noticeable ending lag. | ||
| Forward smash |  |
2% (hits 1-5), 6% (hit 6), 2% (recoil) | Pichu leans forward and shocks the opponent with a jolt of electricity from its cheeks. | ||
| Up smash |  |
16% | Pichu attacks with an upwards headbutt. | ||
| Down smash |  |
13% | Pichu quickly spins in place. Pichu is invulnerable during the early part of the animation. | ||
| Neutral aerial |  |
12% (clean), 9% (late) | Pichu curls up and somersaults in the air. | ||
| Forward aerial |  |
2% (hits 1-4) with 1% recoil for every hitbox | Pichu spirals forward in the air while emitting sparks from its cheeks. This attack hits multiple times. | ||
| Back aerial |  |
9% | Pichu spins horizontally multiple times in the air. This attack has relatively high ending and landing lag. | ||
| Up aerial |  |
4% | Pichu strikes upwards with its tail while doing a flip. | ||
| Down aerial |  |
12%, 4% (landing) (1% recoil for both the attack & landing) | Pichu spirals towards the ground while emitting electricity from its cheeks. Creates a shockwave when landing that can hurt nearby opponents. | ||
| Grab |  |
— | |||
| Pummel |  |
3% (pummel), 1% recoil | Pichu shocks the opponent with electricity. | ||
| Forward throw |  |
2% (hits 1-4), 2% (throw), 1% recoil | Pichu places the opponent on its back and electrocutes them before launching them away. | ||
| Back throw |  |
9% | Pichu flips backwards and performs multiple somersaults before launching the opponent away. | ||
| Up throw |  |
5% (hit 1), 5% (throw) | Pichu throws the opponent upward and attacks with a headbutt. | ||
| Down throw |  |
5% (hit 1), 5% (throw) | Pichu drops the opponent onto the ground and jumps on top of them. | ||
| Floor attack (front) |  |
6% | Pichu attacks with a headbutt on both sides while getting up. | ||
| Floor attack (back) |  |
6% | Pichu delivers a sweepkick attack that hits on both sides. | ||
| Edge attack (fast) |  |
8% | Pichu climbs onto the stage and attacks nearby enemies with a kick. | ||
| Edge attack (slow) |  |
6% | Pichu slowly gets back on the stage and attacks by whipping its tail. | ||
| Neutral special |  |
Thunder Jolt | 7% (ground), 10% (aerial), 1% recoil | Pichu fires off a jolt of electricity that bounces along the ground. The projectile can climb up walls, ceilings, and even go below the stage. Pichu will fire the projectile downwards when used in the air. The projectile disappears after 3 seconds. | |
| Side special |  |
Skull Bash | 5-39%, 1% recoil | Pichu blast forward while performing a spiral headbutt. Charging this move increases its range and damage. Compared to Pikachu's version, Pichu's version takes longer to fully charge and deals recoil damage to Pichu. | |
| Up special |  |
Agility | 1% (recoil warp 1), 3% (recoil warp 2) | Pichu swiftly moves in two different directions which can be directed with the control stick. After inputting the first dash, you have to wait slightly to input the second dash. | |
| Down special |  |
Thunder | 4% (bolt hits 1-4), 17% (blast), 3% recoil | Pichu summons a cloud that shoots down a bolt of lightning that deals multiple hits towards anyone who comes in the bolt's path. If the bolt hits Pichu, Pichu will send out a shockwave that's stronger than the bolt itself. | |
Taunt[]
Note: Just like Captain Falcon, Pichu's taunt will be different depending on which side it is facing, but both taunts finish at the same time and have the same IASA frames, unlike Captain Falcon.
- Left: Jumps up and down four times, chanting "Pichu!"
- Right: Lies on the ground and cuddles around, chanting "Pichu!"
Idle poses[]
- Jumps while looking side to side.
- Leans slightly forward while looking side to side for a slightly longer duration, twitching its ears while doing so.
Matchups[]
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Trophy descriptions[]
In addition to the normal trophy about Pichu as a character, there are two trophies about it as a fighter, unlocked by completing the Adventure and All-Star modes respectively with Pichu on any difficulty:
- Pichu
- A Tiny Mouse Pokémon identifiable by its big ears. Pichu evolves into Pikachu. It's not very skilled at storing up electrical energy and will sometimes discharge it if jarred. Although it's small, it has enough electrical power to give even an adult quite a shock. It's often startled by its own power.
- Pokémon Gold & Silver [10/00]
- Pichu (Smash Red)
- Compared with Pikachu, Pichu is a tad more nimble and a little more difficult to hit. Those are the only two advantages, however, and since Pichu damages itself when it uses electrical attacks, it's best suited for handicapped matches. Even though Pichu's tough to catch, it's easy to throw its tiny frame great distances.
- B: Thunder Jolt
- Smash B: Skull Bash
- Pichu (Smash Blue)
- Pichu is the lightest character in Super Smash Bros. Melee., and it's top of the class in weakness, too! For Pichu, it's all about scampering here and there to pick up items that will help it survive. The first warp in Agility causes 1 point of damage to Pichu, and the second causes 3, so try to limit the number of times you use the move.
Alternate Costumes[]
Pichu's alternate costumes in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Trivia[]
- It is worth noting that while Pichu has a taunt in Melee, Pichu can't learn the move Taunt in the Pokémon games.
- When Pichu crouches, it falls asleep. This is clear because its eyes are closed and bubbles come out of its mouth, similar to when Jigglypuff uses Rest, although Pichu will awake instantly when the player presses any other button.
- Oddly, on the Fountain of Dreams stage, when Pichu crouches the reflection shows Pichu with it's eyes open, this is likely a developer oversight.
- Other than Super Smash Bros. Melee, or by using Volt Tackle, Pichu had never been hurt by using electrical attacks in other games, although they could faint from overuse of their electricity, as seen in the third Pokémon movie.
- Pichu is the only Melee newcomer not returning to Brawl to not have any data to be playable in the game (excluding Young Link, who was replaced with Toon Link).
- In All-Star Mode, Fourside is Pichu and its allies' home stage. This might be a reference to the Pikachu Short Pikachu & Pichu, where Ash's Pikachu meets the Pichu Brothers in a large and unnamed city.
- Pichu ducks lower when holding the Super Scope.
- Pichu cannot learn Skull Bash or Agility in the Pokémon games.
- Pichu along with Roy, Mr. Game & Watch, and Donkey Kong are the only characters in Melee to have an attack that damages themselves.
- Kirby also can hurt himself when he swallows Pichu and Roy and uses their attacks.
- When Pichu uses the Cloaking Device, all recoil damage is negated while under its effect, but not when under the effect of the Starman.
- Pichu and Mr. Game & Watch were the only characters to ever be lighter than Jigglypuff.
- Due to Pichu's ability to utilize Volt Tackle in Super Smash Bros. Melee, which the Pikachu in said game could not perform, and Pikachu from Super Smash Bros. Brawl having the same move, it is theorized that the two games' Pikachu are, in fact, different Pokémon, and that Pichu "grew up" and evolved into the Pikachu seen in Brawl.
External links[]
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