- This article is about Pikachu's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For other uses, see Pikachu.
“ | This fierce fighter uses electric moves like Thunder Jolt and Thunder. Pikachu Libre is one of the alternate costumes, and you can tell she's female by the shape of her tail. | ” |
—Description from the Super Smash Blog. |
Pikachu (ピカチュウ) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, representing the Pokémon series. It was revealed during the E3 2018 Nintendo Direct on June 12th, 2018. It is classified as Fighter #08.
Moveset[]
Attributes[]
- Pikachu is one of the lightest characters in the game (tied with the likes of Kirby, Mewtwo, Olimar, and Sephiroth). This plus its mobility make Pikachu one of the more nimble and agile fighters in the cast.
- Pikachu's Final Smash, Volt Tackle, has been reworked to become a Trapping finisher and is no longer freely controllable by the player.
- Pikachu can Wall jump and Crawl
General Moveset[]
- Note: The gifs used are not accurate representations of their standard knockback settings from 0%
Attack | Damage | Description |
---|---|---|
Jab - Headbutt | Near: 1.4% Mid: 1.2% Far: 1% |
Pikachu will repeatedly headbutt in rapid fashion. While it can jab lock, it cannot combo into itself like a Flurry Attack. Its hitbox is split into three, separating them by distance from the opponent. |
Grab & Pummel - Grab Electric Shock | Pummel: 1% | Grab: A one-armed grab. Pummel: Repeatedly shocks the opponent while headbutting. |
Edge Attack | 9% | An overhead swing of its tail. |
Front Floor Attack | 7% | Thrusts its legs forward, then spins and sweeps the ground as it gets up. |
Back Floor Attack | Sweeps the ground in a circular motion with its tail. | |
Trip Attack | 5% | |
Dash Attack - Running Headbutt | Full hit: 11% Late: 6% |
Lunges itself forward, acting as a battering ram. |
Aerials | ||
Neutral Aerial - Pikachu Shock | Hits 1-3: 1.8% Hit 4: 3.5% |
Rapidly emits pulses of electricity that hits 4 times. |
Up Aerial - Tail Chop | Full hit - Tail: 6% Tip: 5% Late hit: 4% |
An overhead swing of its tail that hits on either side of Pikachu. |
Forward Aerial - Electric Drill | Hits 1-5: 1.4% Hit 6: 4.8% |
A multi-hit attack where Pikachu will twirl its entire body horizontally while emitting electricity. |
Back Aerial - Glider | Hits 1-5: 1% Hit 6: 3.6% Landing hitbox: 4% |
A multi-hit attack where Pikachu spins horizontally while its arms and legs are spread out. It can drag opponents downwards and has a landing hitbox. |
Down Aerial - Electric Screw | Clean hit: 13% Late hit: 12% Landing hitbox: 4% |
Aims its body straight down as it twirls. A clean hit can Meteor Smash. It also has a landing hitbox. |
Tilts | ||
Up Tilt - Tail Attack | 5% | An overhead swipe from its tail. Can be used as a combo starter. Functions similarly to Fox's Up Tilt. |
Forward Tilt - Double-Footed Kick | Angled up: 10% Angled down: 8% Straight forward: 9% |
Thrusts both of its legs forward, both of which are electrified. It can be angled; the downward angle can Semi-spike. |
Down Tilt - Tail Sweep | 6% | Sweeps the ground in front of it while lying down. |
Throws | ||
Up Throw - Heading | First hit: 3% Second hit: 5% |
Thrusts the opponent upwards and launches them further with an upward headbutt. |
Forward Throw - Electric Throw | Hits 1-5: 2% | A multi-hit throw. Thrusts the opponent on top of its body and shocks them. |
Back Throw - Submission | 9% | Rolls backwards with the opponent and launches them with tomoe nage (a throw technique in judo). Similar to Ken's Hell Wheel. |
Down Throw - Hip Press | 5% | Drops the opponent on the ground and performs a senton wrestling throw. Can be used as a combo starter. |
Smash Attacks | ||
Up Smash - Tail Somersault | Clean hit: 11% Late hit: 7% Early - |
A variation of its Up Tilt, though now Pikachu swings its tail in the opposite direction and leaps during the motion. |
Side Smash - Thundershock | Clean hit: 18% Early hit: 15% Late hit: 12% |
Stretches its body forward to fire off a large ball of electricity. Most of the power and damage of the attack is concentrated on the center of the ball. |
Down Smash - Electric Flower | Hits 1-5: 2% Hit 6: 3% |
Spins itself and its electrified tail on the ground |
Special Moves[]
Pikachu's Special Moves | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
64 | Melee | Brawl | 3DS/Wii U | Ultimate | |
Standard Special | Thunder Jolt | ||||
Side Special | — | Skull Bash | |||
Up Special | Quick Attack | ||||
Down Special | Thunder | ||||
Final Smash | — | Volt Tackle |
On-screen appearance[]
Pikachu will be released from a Poké Ball.
Idle Poses[]
Taunts[]
- In its Up Taunt, it will say "Piii..." as it charges up.
- In its Side Taunt, it will say "Pika Pika!" to the player.
- In its Down Taunt, it will say "Pikaaaaa" as it rolls on the ground.
Victory Screens[]
- Left: Backflips, spins, and faces the screen with a happy expression. This resembles its "character chosen" animation in Super Smash Bros.
- Up: Looks up with a surprised expression as its ears perk. It then scratches its right ear and smiles.
- Right: Sleeps while muttering "Piii...ka."
Aesthetic[]
- To match with the general aesthetic of Ultimate, Pikachu's overall color scheme is much more muted. Some of its animations and positioning have also been altered compared to past Super Smash Bros. games to make him face the screen more. It is also more expressive, now noticeably scowling and frowning in certain animations.
- During all of its electric attacks, Pikachu's red cheeks will flash with light.
Classic Mode: I Choose You![]
In its route, Pikachu battles against the rest of the playable Pokémon on various Pokémon stages, with only Poké Balls spawning during the matches. Excluding Mewtwo, the opponents are ordered by their National Pokédex number. The route is named after Ash Ketchum's signature catchphrase in the Pokémon anime, which is also the title of the series' first episode and the 20th movie, as well as the tagline for the franchise on most merchandise. The song "Road to Viridian City - Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue" will play during the end credits.
Clearing Pikachu's route allows it to unlock any of the following in order: Villager, Shulk, R.O.B., Mega Man, Isabelle, Mr. Game & Watch, and Pichu.
Round | Opponent | Stage | Music | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Pokémon Trainer | Saffron City | "Pokémon Gym/Evolution - Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue" | |
2 | Jigglypuff (x6) | Pokémon Stadium 2 | "Road to Viridian City - Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue" | The six Jigglypuff team may reference the fact that a trainer can only have six Pokémon in their team in the games. |
3 | Pichu (x2) | Prism Tower | "Pokémon Gold / Pokémon Silver Medley" | The match references the Pikachu & Pichu animated short film. |
4 | Lucario | Spear Pillar | "Battle! (Dialga/Palkia) / Spear Pillar" | |
5 | Greninja | Kalos Pokémon League | "Battle! (Wild Pokémon) - Pokémon X / Pokémon Y" | |
6 | Incineroar | Pokémon Stadium | "The Battle at the Summit!" | |
7 | Bonus Stage | |||
Final | Mewtwo, then Master Hand | Final Destination | "Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue Medley" (against Mewtwo)
"Master Hand" (against Master Hand) |
A Maxim Tomato will spawn after defeating Mewtwo. |
Role in World of Light[]
Pikachu was among the fighters that were summoned to fight the army of Master Hands.
During the opening cutscene, Pikachu was present on the cliffside when Galeem unleashed his beams of light. During the attack, Pikachu can be seen being vaporized while running away, inadvertently letting Sonic get captured as well as he was slowing down trying to save it. As a result, it was imprisoned with the rest of the cast except for Kirby.
It can be rescued in an island in The Light Realm that can only be accessed by a current from a waterfall. The spirit of Esna must also be fought before rescuing Pikachu.
Fighter Battle[]
No. | Spirit | Type | Power | Stage | Song |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
05 | 3,300 | Pokémon Stadium (Omega Form) | "Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue (Melee)" |
Palette Swaps[]
Default |
Based on its appearance from recent Pokémon games. |
---|---|
Red |
Wears Red's hat. Pikachu's fur color also changes to look like a Shiny Pikachu or a nicknamed Pikachu in Pokémon Stadium. |
Green |
Wears Brenden's headband as he appeared in Pokémon Emerald. Pikachu's fur is one of the possible colors of a nicknamed Pikachu in Pokémon Stadium. |
Yellow |
Based on the hat the male protagonist Ethan wears in HeartGold and SoulSilver. |
Blue |
Wears the blue party hat from the first Super Smash Bros. and Melee. |
Purple |
Wears the default hat of the male protagonist Calem from Pokémon X and Y. |
Female |
A female Pikachu, as identified by her heart-shaped tail. Also wears Moon/Selene's Casual Cap from Sun and Moon. |
Libre |
Pikachu Libre from Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire and Pokkén Tournament. |
Gallery[]
Video[]
Trivia[]
- Pikachu's render pose resembles its front-facing sprite in the Generation III Pokémon games.
- Additionally, its stock icon resembles the promotional logo for Pokémon's 20th Anniversary.
- World of Light marks Pikachu's first and only time being an Unlockable character.
- Pikachu's render from the E3 Demo of Ultimate used its in-game model rather than the official artwork. It shares this oddity with Mario, Link, and Villager.
- Pikachu's costume of it wearing blue goggles from Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U is now transferred to Pichu, who previously had it in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
- With the inclusion of Pikachu Libre, Pikachu is the only member of the Original 12 to change characters and gender in its palette swaps.
[]
· Fighters | |
---|---|
Veterans | Bayonetta · Bowser · Bowser Jr. · Captain Falcon · Cloud · Corrin · Dark Pit · Diddy Kong · Donkey Kong · Dr. Mario · Duck Hunt · Falco · Fox · Ganondorf · Greninja · Ice Climbers · Ike · Jigglypuff · King Dedede · Kirby · Link · Little Mac · Lucas · Lucario · Lucina · Luigi · Mario · Marth · Mega Man · Meta Knight · Mewtwo · Mii Fighters (Mii Brawler · Mii Gunner · Mii Swordfighter) · Mr. Game & Watch · Ness · Olimar · Pac-Man · Palutena · Peach · Pichu · Pikachu · Pit · Pokémon Trainer (Charizard · Ivysaur · Squirtle) · R.O.B. · Robin · Rosalina & Luma · Roy · Ryu · Samus · Sheik · Shulk · Snake · Sonic · Toon Link · Villager · Wario · Wii Fit Trainer · Wolf · Yoshi · Young Link · Zelda · Zero Suit Samus |
Newcomers | Banjo & Kazooie · Byleth · Chrom · Daisy · Dark Samus · Hero · Incineroar · Inkling · Isabelle · Joker · Kazuya · Ken · King K. Rool · Min Min · Piranha Plant · Pyra/Mythra · Richter · Ridley · Sephiroth · Simon · Sora · Steve · Terry |