Editing Olimar (SSBU)

|tier = B+

|ranking = 33

As in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'' and ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'', Hajime Wakai's portrayals of the Pikmin from ''{{iw|pikipedia|Pikmin|game}}'' and ''{{iw|pikipedia|Pikmin 2}}'', as well as Atsuko Asahi's portrayals of the Winged Pikmin from ''{{iw|pikipedia|Pikmin 3}}'', were repurposed for ''Ultimate'', while both Olimar and Alph remain fully unvoiced.

Olimar is ranked 33rd out of 82 on the current [[tier list]], placing him in the B+ tier. This is a slight drop to his placement in ''SSB4'', where he was ranked 21st out of 54, and it is his lowest placement in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series to date.

Olimar is a small, floaty, [[Weight|lightweight]] character. He has the 33rd slowest [[dash]]ing speed, 8th slowest [[air speed]], 32nd highest air acceleration (tied with {{SSBU|Duck Hunt}} and {{SSBU|Inkling}}, among others), very low [[gravity]], low [[traction]] (tied with {{SSBU|Diddy Kong}}), below-average [[falling speed]], and above-average [[jump]] height. Due to these attributes, Olimar has below-average mobility for the most part.

What sets Olimar apart from a majority of the cast is that his stronger attacks do not come from him. Instead, he utilizes Pikmin to perform [[disjoint]]ed attacks and function as projectiles to attack opponents from a distance during his smash attacks, most of his aerial attacks, and his side special move. Olimar starts off with 3 Pikmin at the start of each battle, and can have up to 3 at any given point. Each Pikmin has their own [[hit points]], and will die if they receive too much damage or fall into a blast zone. Pikmin are obtained in a specific order: [[pikipedia:Red Pikmin|Red]], [[pikipedia:Yellow Pikmin|Yellow]], [[pikipedia:Blue Pikmin|Blue]], [[pikipedia:White Pikmin|White]] and [[pikipedia:Purple Pikmin|Purple]], then back to Red. {{iw|pikipedia|Winged Pikmin}} also appear via Olimar's up special move, although they lack hurtboxes and hit points like the other Pikmin.

[[Pikmin Pluck]], Olimar's neutral special move, enables him to gain Pikmin when used on any solid surface in the event he has less than 3 Pikmin available. It is very laggy when used in air, but is somewhat quick on the ground and is best used if spaced out. [[Pikmin Order]], Olimar's down special move, can be used to quickly call all Pikmin back. It is a very quick and efficient cycling tool for getting to a desired Pikmin that has already been plucked. It also grants [[super armor]] during its first few frames, although this can be risky to use as a strictly defense measure due to the super armor's minimal amount of frames. It will function as a combo breaking move in dangerous situations as well.

Olimar's side special move, [[Pikmin Throw]], boasts excellent utility and is his primary damage-racking option. Olimar throws his Pikmin forward. The thrown Pikmin, except for Purple, cling to the target and deal elemental damage over time. Purple Pikmin don't cling to opponents and instead deal a single strong hit as they are in the air. If they don't land on a target, they become miniature, independent hurtboxes that run back toward Olimar. When clinging to the opponent, they can be killed or damaged by certain moves, such as a down smash that covers the user in a hitbox. However, this can be used to an advantage, as the Pikmin can be used to block certain moves such as [[Charge Shot]], even when clinging to {{SSBU|Samus}}. Pikmin Throw can also be used to get rid of unneeded or less useful Pikmin to get to a desired one if a different one needs to be plucked.  

Neutral attack is a {{iw|wikipedia|one-two combo}} that is quick overall, and is best suited for low percent set-ups into down tilt, a grab, and Pikmin Throw or if used for [[jab lock]]ing. Forward tilt is a wind-up punch that is laggy overall and his slowest tilt attack. However, it possesses respectable power that makes it useful for creating space and, more notably, it is his only non-Pikmin attack that can KO at reasonable percents. Up tilt is a simple spinning hop that is best suited as an anti-air move, yet can also set be followed up with an up aerial at low percents if the opponent fails to DI properly. Down tilt is Olimar's most useful tilt attack: it is a lunging tackle that can start combos at varying percents, [[2 frame punish]] reliably, function as a pseudo-crawl, and is his best spacing option in most scenarios thanks to its quick start-up.

Olimar's throws are disproportionately powerful for a character of his size, specifically while using blue Pikmin. Up throw is a reliable KO move above approximately 130% with blue Pikmin (having very high base knockback) and can potentially set up juggling scenarios, while down throw reliably combos into forward aerial at low to medium percents and Pikmin Throw at higher percents, meaning that he can get very large amounts of damage off of a grab. Both forward and back throws can kill at ledge at about 130%, and also can set up edgeguards and ledgetraps. (Note: Blue Pikmin drastically increase the knockback and damage of throws. White Pikmin increase the range of the grab itself, while Purple Pikmin lower grab range. Red Pikmin make throws deal decreased knockback, making them more useful for combos starting from a grab.)

Olimar's below-average dashing and air speeds also make him susceptible to rushdown-oriented fighters overwhelming him while he's in a disadvantage state. This, in turn, is further compounded by his aforementioned difficulty at escaping a disadvantage state without Pikmin. Finally, Olimar's zoning capabilities are severely hindered by characters with a reflector, as Olimar's side special is both a projectile and his primary damage-racking move. On top of that, all of Olimar's smash attacks do damage solely through the use of Pikmin as projectiles, making a reflected smash attack potentially deadly, even at low percents.

Overall, Olimar is a versatile zoner who has an unorthodox manner of fighting involving the management of his Pikmin. Due to his poor disadvantage and his need for careful cycling and management of his Pikmin, he generally cannot afford to be reckless in his play.

Olimar was buffed overall in his transition from ''SSB4'' to ''Ultimate'', with several aspects of his core playstyle being buffed and further improved by ''Ultimate''{{'}}s universally adjusted mechanics.

Each Pikmin's various attributes have been improved. Red and Purple Pikmin deal more damage on average, Blue Pikmin's throw strength has been drastically improved, White Pikmin deals even more damage when latched to an opponent via [[Pikmin Throw]], and all aerial attacks that involve Pikmin have more range, especially Yellow Pikmin, which improves their usage on spacing. These changes further strengthen Olimar's already respectable damage output and zoning abilities. In addition to this, all of Olimar's Pikmin-based aerials now have [[transcendent priority]], which allows Olimar to trade moves much more safely than in ''SSB4'', which eliminates one of his most ultimate flaws from that game.

However, Olimar received some slight nerfs. At the cost of their stronger attributes, Pikmin are even easier to KO in general; they have slightly lower HP, are now left vulnerable to attacks if Olimar gets hit with a move with enough high knockback move, they can be hit by moves that Olimar already shielded or perfect shielded, and dead Pikmin temporarily becomes the active Pikmin in Olimar's squad upon their death. The former two changes make it harder for Olimar to keep his Pikmin alive, forcing to replenish them more often, while the latter two changes worsen Olimar's consistency for punishing opponents.

Olimar's [[down throw]] launches opponents at a more horizontal angle, making follow-ups less reliable. In exchange for longer range, Olimar's grabs tend to have more ending lag, making them riskier to throw out. His recovery also became less abusable as a result of the travel distance of his up special, [[Winged Pikmin]], being further reduced with consecutive use, as well as its regeneration time being slower. Despite his faster mobility, Olimar now possesses one of the slowest [[initial dash]]es in the game, due to other fighters' initial dashes getting far more substantial buffs than his. Finally, Olimar's hurtbox is larger vertically, making it easier to hit him.

Overall, Olimar's oppressive damage output and camping abilities have been improved further, though this comes in exchange for Pikmin's fragility becoming even more pronounced than before and Olimar himself being more susceptible to punishment. He has also received some noticeable nerfs in game updates, which have notably affected his viability. While these nerfs aren't enough to outweigh his buffs, and Olimar is considered to be improved in comparison to in ''SSB4'', he performs similarly effective in relation to the returning cast.

Olimar received a mix of buffs, nerfs and glitch fixes via game updates, but was noticeably nerfed overall. Update {{SSBU|2.0.0}} fixed an infamous glitch which allowed Pikmin to double the strength of the spirit multiplier, causing attacks with his Pikmin to deal massive amounts of damage under the right circumstances. However, he received a glitch in this same update that caused all of his smash attacks to no longer increase in damage while being charged. While this glitch was fixed in update {{SSBU|3.0.0}}, this update also introduced another glitch that causes reflected Pikmin to inflict damage onto himself after they've returned to him, leading to the possibility of unintentional self-destructs caused by Olimar using moves that boast a great amount of KO power. The changes made to the shield mechanics in this same update also harmed him by making his smash attacks less safe on perfect shield. In addition, like with many other projectiles, his forward smash and Pikmin throw now deal less shield damage, although the amount of shieldstun went unchanged.

Update {{SSBU|3.1.0}} was, by far, the update that nerfed Olimar the most. The size of Olimar's hurtbox has been enlarged, making him easier to hit even while shielding. His forward and up smashes had their ending lag increased, with the former smash attack also having its clean hitbox harder to land due to its duration being shortened. This same update also noticeably reduced the [[Winged Pikmin]]'s overall travel distance when they are used consecutively, hampering his recovery. However, update {{SSBU|4.0.0}} undid update 3.1.0.'s nerf to his clean forward smash's duration.

Due to Olimar's strongest traits being toned down, he is considered to be significantly worse than he was at the launch of ''Ultimate''.  

|utiltdesc=A jumping twirl. Hits multiple times, with its last hit having a deceptively large disjoint. Altogether, these traits make it a decent anti-air attack.

|fairdesc=Grabs a Pikmin by its stem and swings it downward in front of himself. Due to its range, and speed, it is one of Olimar's best moves for walling and aerial combat as the Pikmin used acts as a sword for the duration of this move, giving this move great range relative to Olimar's size. Due to its low landing lag, it is also very good for combos at low percents, as well as being safe on shield if spaced well. In addition, it can also KO if used with Red or Purple Pikmin. Lastly, it is a very reliable follow-up from down throw, and is useful for edgeguarding.

|bairdesc=Grabs a Pikmin by its stem and swings it upward behind himself. It is Olimar's most damaging aerial. Due to its low landing lag, it is also very good for combos at lower percents, as well as being safe on shield if spaced well. This move has great range for a character of Olimar's size, due to the Pikmin used acting similarly to a disjointed hitbox for the duration of this move. It can also KO at reasonable percents if any non-White Pikmin are used. However, it has the highest start-up lag out of Olimar's aerials, though the start-up is still reasonable compared to most other back aerials of its kind.

|uairdesc=Grabs a Pikmin by its stem and twirls it upward. The move comes out decently fast and lasts for a very long time, as well as the move having transcendent priority, making it very hard to out-space this move making it very good for juggling and combos, at low percents it can chain into itself or other aerials bar down aerial.  It is tied with down aerial as his second most damaging aerial, and is a viable KOing option with any non-White Pikmin. However, it has a noticeable amount of landing lag.

|dairdesc=Grabs a Pikmin by its stem and swings it downward. It is tied with up aerial as his second most damaging aerial. This move gives Olimar a very good way to escape juggling due to the long lasting hitbox and the amount of downward range that it gives Olimar, the Pikmin act as a pseudo disjoint in this move as well as all of Olimar's other Pikmin involved aerials, making it very hard to challenge the move during its active hitbox frames. The move can also KO at higher percents if used with Red or Purple Pikmin. It is also a [[meteor smash]], but only against aerial opponents and during its first frame. In addition, the move's very long lasting hitbox can also two frame punish at edges. However, it has a noticeable amount of landing lag.

|grabdesc=Points forward to command the lead Pikmin to grab the opponent, with the other Pikmin following. The Pikmin function as [[Grab#Tether grabs|disjointed grabs]], and overall grab range varies depending on both the number of Pikmin present, and the lead Pikmin. White Pikmin have the longest range, followed by Red, Yellow and Blue (which are all tied for 2nd), and Purple (with the shortest range). With 3 Pikmin present, and the lead being a White Pikmin, this grab has the longest range in the game. However, the more Pikmin used to perform the grab, the more ending lag it has. It resembles the group move from the ''Pikmin'' series.

|pummeldesc=A [[wikipedia:Knifehand strike|knifehand thrust]]. Fast but weak.

|usdesc=Two {{iw|pikipedia|Winged Pikmin}} carry Olimar around. The Winged Pikmin's effectiveness is dependent on the frequency of their usage, as well as the amount of Pikmin that are alive and close. In regard to frequency, it takes ≈3 seconds (180 frames) for Winged Pikmin to be able to travel the same distance again after the conclusion of the initial usage. Aerial attacks can also be used while being carried, similarly to [[Robo Burner]]. However, doing so will render Olimar [[helpless]] immediately after the conclusion of the attack.

*Exits the Hocotate Ship and then plucks a trio of Pikmin, after which the Hocotate Ship disappears in a puff of smoke.

*'''Left:''' Performs a toe touching exercise while a {{iw|pikipedia|Yellow Pikmin}} rests on the ground and a {{iw|pikipedia|Red Pikmin}} looks around, waving its arms, and occasionally jumping.

*{{Sm|Candle|USA}} - The best solo-Olimar in the world in 2024. Aside from several high placements and victories at Midwest regionals, they have also placed highly at several majors despite infrequent appearances outside of their region, including 17th at {{Trn|Get On My Level X}} and 25th at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2023}}. In addition, they are known for their proficiency in the {{SSBU|Steve}} matchup, having a positive record over {{Sm|Onin}} and defeating {{Sm|acola}} at the {{Trn|SMFN Invitational}}.

*{{Sm|Dabuz|USA}} - The second-best Olimar player of all-time, playing the character as either a co-main or secondary for his {{SSBU|Rosalina & Luma}}, and was a top 10 player from 2019 to mid-2022. He came close to winning many majors while using Olimar, including {{Trn|Albion 4}}, {{Trn|Low Tide City 2021}}, and {{Trn|Crown 2}}.

*{{Sm|Myran|USA}} - One of the best Olimar players in the early metagame, ranking 13th on the [[Spring 2019 PGRU]] thanks to high major placements such as 2nd at {{Trn|Pound 2019}} and 3rd at {{Trn|Frostbite 2019}}. His performance has since declined following Olimar's nerfs in update 3.1.0, although he has still seen some strong runs on occasion, including 5th at {{Trn|GENESIS 8}} and 7th at {{Trn|CEO 2021}}.

*{{Sm|Noi|Japan}} - The second-best Olimar player in Japan who came to prominence in the post-online metagame, playing the character alongside {{SSBU|Pokémon Trainer}}. He regularly places highly at Japanese events, notably 9th at {{Trn|Kagaribi 4}}, {{Trn|DELTA 4}}, and {{Trn|DELTA 5}}. Internationally, he made his debut by placing 13th at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2023}}. His beat placement was ranking 74th on the [[OrionRank 2022]].

*{{Sm|Shuton|Japan}} - The best Olimar player of all-time, playing the character alongside {{SSBU|Pyra}} and {{SSBU|Mythra}} and has been a consistent top 10 player since 2019. He is the only Olimar player with majors wins, most notably winning {{Trn|2GG: Prime Saga}} and {{Trn|EVO Japan 2020}} with solo-Olimar.

*{{Sm|Tsubotsubo|Japan}} - One of the best Olimar players in Japan in 2021 and 2022, playing the character alongside {{SSBU|Joker}}. He first came to prominence in late-2021, with strong placements such as 7th at {{Trn|Wave 2}}, 13th at {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 8}}, and 17th at {{Trn|Pound 2022}}, ultimately ranking 91st on the [[OrionRank Mid-Year 2022]]. However, his performance had always been inconsistent and he has yet to be ranked globally since.

*{{Sm|uame|Japan}} - The best solo-Olimar player in Japan since 2023. He is best known for winning {{Trn|DELTA 7.5}} and {{Trn|Yokohama BaySmash Big 1}}, defeating {{Sm|Toriguri}} in the former event. Although less consistent at majors, he still notably placed 13th at {{Trn|Seibugeki 17}} and 17th at both {{Trn|Kagaribi 11}} and {{Trn|Seibugeki 15}}.

 

In the early metagame, Olimar was widely considered a contender for the best character in ''Ultimate'', alongside others like {{SSBU|Peach}} and {{SSBU|Pichu}}. Olimar received several improvements to his moveset compared to his ''SSB4'' iteration, including stronger throws, a quick [[Pikmin Pluck]], and less lag on his smash attacks—especially his up smash. This, along with Olimar's increased speed, made him a more potent character both offensively and defensively. As a result of these strengths, players such as {{Sm|Dabuz}}, {{Sm|Shuton}}, and {{Sm|Myran}} achieved solid results with Olimar and consistently placed in top 8 at several tournaments.

 

Subsequent updates, especially 3.0.0 and 3.1.0, impaired Olimar both directly and indirectly. These updates nerfed Olimar's smash attacks and made them less safe on shield, while [[Pikmin Throw]] dealt less shield damage. The nerfs led to a decline in Olimar's playerbase, with Myran's success waning and Dabuz reintroducing {{SSBU|Rosalina & Luma}} as a secondary. Although Shuton continued to perform well with Olimar as his sole main up and into the online metagame, he nevertheless adopted {{SSBU|Pyra}} and {{SSBU|Mythra}} as co-mains alongside Olimar, due to the introduction of several DLC characters who became more prominent in the metagame and boasted tools to deal with Olimar. All of these events led to the perception of Olimar's viability undergoing a significant downturn, which was reflected in his placement on the first tier list; although he was ranked 28th and thus posited as a high tier, it was nevertheless a far cry from his initial, widely viewed top-tier position in the early metagame.

 

The post-online metagame saw the rise of several new Olimar players, most notably {{Sm|Noi}} and {{Sm|Tsubotsubo}} in Japan. However, these Olimar players often had co-mains or secondaries that they also used, in this case {{SSBU|Pokémon Trainer}} and {{SSBU|Joker}}, respectively. In addition, the new solo Olimar players, most notably {{Sm|MFA}} and {{Sm|Candle}}, were either less consistent or had a smaller presence on a national scale. When coupled with the rise of other characters initially ranked below Olimar, the second tier list saw him slide down to 33rd, now ranking in the B+ tier as an upper mid-tier character.

|3||{{CharHead|Kirby|SSBU|hsize=20px}} and {{CharHead|King Dedede|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||[[Dream Land]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Kirby|Planet Popstar}}''||This battle is a free-for-all, and Kirby and King Dedede will primarily target each other.

*Olimar's (and Alph's) official artwork resembles {{iw|pikipedia|Brittany}}'s pose in her ''Pikmin 3'' artwork (the same one used for her spirit), albeit flipped.

**Similarly Olimar isn't in a single spirit battle in World of Light because Alph is used instead.

*Excluding the Mii Fighters, Olimar and {{SSBU|Steve}} are the only fighter to have an alternate costume of a different character beyond a gender swap in the same pose as his default costume.

*Olimar's helmet can be detached under certain circumstances. This is particularly noticeable during [[Gates of Hell]]'s animation if the game is slowed down.

*As of update 2.0.0, if Olimar's Pikmin latch onto something and it changes size with them still latched on, they will change their size too. This is most noticeable with Mother Brain, though Super and Poison Mushrooms will also do this as long as they are applied by the character the Pikmin are latched onto.

*Excluding DLC fighters, Olimar is tied with {{SSBU|Dark Pit}} as the fighter featured in the least amount of spirit battles, with both only appearing in 5.