Pichu (Super Smash Bros. Melee)

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
Universe	Pokémon
Availability	Unlockable
Tier	G (24)
Character Statistics
Number of Jumps	2
Can Wall Jump	Yes
Voice Actor
Voiced by	Satomi Korogi

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 24th 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 abysmal matchups (though it does has 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

Pichu is a character that falls under the archetype of being nimble, yet relatively weak; while faster and slightly stronger than Pikachu in some cases, its moveset generally consists of attacks that deal much lower damage and knockback than Pikachu or most other characters in the cast. Due to its high traction and average falling speed, Pichu has a rather short wavedash; additionally, its quick and low-lag aerials also give Pichu a good SHFFL, much like Pikachu's. As such, Pichu can easily maneuver around stages, with very low landing lag, a small frame and a rather fast dash, as well as decent jumping power.

One of Pichu's main advantages is its perhaps surprising power. While all its smash attacks are all of short range, all are unusually powerful considering Pichu's small frame. Its up smash and forward smash contain incredible power, being able to KO characters reliably at as little as 70 to 80 percent, while its down smash semi-spikes opponents and has invincibility frames. Pichu's Skull Bash also has surprising power and distance when charged; at full power, it deals a massive 39% damage and guarantees KOs at very low percentages, and the long distance traveled greatly aids in Pichu's recovery.

Professionals consider Pichu's neutral aerial to be the best tool in its arsenal, as it comes out very quickly and has very low ending and landing lag, especially when L-canceled. Pichu can approach enemies with neutral aerial, rack up respectable damage with long strings of it, and create psuedo-walls of pain if the player chooses to continue the strings off-stage. Aside from this, Pichu's up aerial allows it to juggle enemies into the air. Its other aerials are lackluster, but these two moves alone give Pichu quite a force in the air. Pichu also has decent throws; its forward and back throws can knock opponents off-stage or set up combos, while its up and down throws can chain throw fast fallers and tech chase characters respectively.

Pichu's greatest flaw, however, is its significant range problems. All of its best and most powerful attacks are very close to its body, making it tough for Pichu to KO or inflict damage easily (especially against characters with disjointed hitboxes), having only a handful of options for approaching enemies. Although Pichu does have access to two projectiles (Thunder Jolt and Thunder), both cause recoil damage and are easily telegraphed, making them unreliable and punishable if used excessively. Pichu's grab game is also heavily hampered by its short range, at the third shortest in the game, making it difficult for players to consistently take advantage of Pichu's decent throws. Many of Pichu's poorest matchups stem from it being unable to deal with individual moves of characters (such as Sheik's forward tilt or a large portion of Marth's moveset) because it lacks tools that have enough range to counter the attacks.

Additionally, Pichu suffers from the infamous recoil damage it receives from using almost any of its attacks involving electrical hitboxes. In several of Pichu's attacks, especially those that involve electricity, at least one percent of damage is directly inflicted onto it; using Agility to recover alone adds four percent to Pichu each time it is used. This recoil damage is especially crippling to Pichu; with the lowest weight in the game (being lighter than Jigglypuff) and average falling speed, Pichu's survivability is among the worst in the game, meaning that this recoil damage, coupled with damage inflicted by the opponents, can cause Pichu to be more easily KO'd than any other character in the game. Outside of making Pichu even easier to KO, the extra damage taken through recoil also reduces how long it can utilize crouch cancelling. In order for Pichu to avoid the significant drawbacks of recoil damage, players need to strike a proper balance between Pichu's electrical and non-electrical moves; as a benefit to Pichu, arguably Pichu's best KOing and comboing moves, such as its neutral aerial and up smash, do not use electricity, making recoil damage less of a problem if the player is careful enough not to use electrical moves, such as its forward smash and forward throw, too often.

Pichu's defensive game is also poor, with short tech rolls, rolling dodges, and a slow, short ledge roll, making it far easier for enemies to punish Pichu for attempting to dodge. Its shield is rather large for its size, however, making shield stabbing less of a problem for it. Furthermore, despite being a lightweight, Pichu is also quite vulnerable to combos (some of which are either infinite or zero-death, such as Ganondorf's chain throw) due to its abnormally high hitstun.

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. It's 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 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.
• Pichu's forward and back aerials deal less damage than Pikachu's.
• 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 lighting 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.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Pi-chu!	Piiii-chu!
Voices	Male	Female

Victory poses

Template:Victory/SSBM

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Melee Character Matchups

Avg.

In 1-P Mode

Classic Mode

In Classic Mode, Pichu can appear as an ordinary opponent, as an opponent in team battles alongside Pikachu or Kirby, as an opponent in a multi-character battle, as a metal opponent, or as an ally in a team and giant battle. In all of Pichu's appearances, it either appears on Pokémon Stadium (with Battle Theme playing) as a regular opponent, on Fountain of Dreams when teamed up with Kirby, or on Battlefield as a metal opponent.

In Adventure Mode

In Adventure Mode, Pichu can appear in Stage 7 on Pokémon Stadium, appearing alongside a team consisting of Pikachu and, if unlocked, Jigglypuff. Pichu's theme, Battle Theme can also play on the stage.

In All-Star Mode

In All-Star Mode, Pichu and its allies are fought on Fourside. Unlike normal gameplay, however, Battle Theme plays here.

In Event Matches

Pichu is featured in the following event matches:

• Event 48: Pikachu and Pichu: In this match, the player must fight against a team of two Pichus and one Pikachu. The goal is for the player to KO the two Pichus in the shortest time possible; Pikachu has infinite lives, while the player has two and the Pichus have one.
• Event 49: All-Star Match Deluxe: Pichu is the third opponent fought in this series of staged battles. The player's character battles it on the Pokémon Stadium stage with a stock of two while Pichu has one. With a timer of four minutes, the player must defeat it and the other five characters one-by-one with the overall time and damage: Dr. Mario, Falco, Young Link, Roy and Ganondorf.

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.

• Up & B: Agility
• Down & B: Thunder

Character Trophy

Smash Red

Smash Blue

Alternate Costumes

Pichu's alternate costumes in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Trivia

• It is worth noting that while Pichu has a taunt 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.
• 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

• Pichu Video List
• Pichu Player List