Pichu (SSBU)

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Pichu in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Pokémon
Other playable appearance	in Melee
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Volt Tackle

“	Pichu is back after 17 years! Pichu's electric attacks have greater range and do more damage than its other attack types – but they also damage Pichu.	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Pichu (ピチュー, Pichu) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It was confirmed on June 12th, 2018. Pichu's voice actress from Melee and the Pokémon anime, Satomi Kōrogi, reprises her role with new voice clips.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Melee

NOTE: SmashWiki is not speculative. Please refrain from adding detailed data values derived from pre-release gameplay footage, such as the E3 demo. Such data (damage values, launch trajectories, frame data, etc.) are subject to change before the official release.

Like in Melee, Pichu damages itself when using electric attacks. It is not labeled as an Echo Fighter, but it is unknown to what extent it has been decloned.

Aesthetics

• Pichu's design and proportions now match the latest games in the Pokémon franchise. Its colors are more subdued than they were in Melee.
• Pichu is much more expressive. Like Pikachu, its eyes become swirls when dazed, a detail derived from the Pokémon anime from when a Pokémon faints. It also looks angry when dashing. Pichu also now has squash and stretch in its animations, giving it a more bouncy feel than in Melee.
• Many of Pichu's attacks now have new animations differing from its moveset in Melee.
• Pichu has a new idle animation where it wobbles left to right then looks back to twitch its tail.
• Pichu has a new taunt akin to Pikachu's up taunt, except it humorously becomes dizzy afterwards.
• Pichu has a taunt reminiscent to one of its Melee taunts where it jumps up happily but now only jumps once rather than four times.
• Pichu's other taunt now has it close its eyes.
• Two of Pichu's alternate costumes return from Melee, the goggle costume and the ribbon costume (both returning without the neck scarf).
• Pichu gains 5 new costumes in Ultimate: one where it is wearing a Team Aqua Bandana, one where it is wearing a Team Skull Bandana, one is the Spiky-eared Pichu, one wearing a white flower (similar to Jigglypuff's), and one wearing a Focus Band.

Attributes

• Pichu can now crawl. This allows for an easier approach while dodging projectiles.
• With the implementation of rage, Pichu's self-inflicted damage can now gradually increase its launching power, and also keep itself out of kill confirm percentages.
• The removal of chain grabs immensely aids Pichu's endurance and longevity.

Ground attacks

• Forward tilt has a different animation, is able to trip opponents, and also has more range.
• Forward tilt now has an electric effect, thus dealing 0.7% recoil damage to Pichu.
• {{nerf|Up Tilt now deals 5.7%, down from 6%
• Dash attack has noticeably less endlag.
• Dash attack is slightly buffed. Now dealing 8.4% instead of 8%.
• Forward smash's hits connect more reliably than in Melee, where it could be SDI'd out of before the finishing hit.
• Forward smash only deals 1.5% in recoil, down from 2% in Melee.

Aerial attacks

• Forward aerial does considerably less recoil damage to Pichu, down from 4% in Melee.
• Back aerial now has an electric effect, causing recoil damage to Pichu.
• Down aerial is now capable of meteor smashing opponents.

Throws/other attacks

• When grabbing, Pichu swipes one hand sideways, instead of grabbing overhead like Pikachu.
• Grab range has been increased.

Special Moves

• Thunder Jolt only deals 0.4% in recoil, down from 1%.
• Skull Bash causes Pichu to bounce back when it hits an opponent, making it safer to use. However, it makes it slightly less safe as a recovery, as opponents can jump into Skull Bash to push Pichu backwards.
• Agility's first warp only does about .6% in recoil, and the second warp does 1.4%, with a combined 2% recoil damage to Pichu, down from 4% in Melee. Agility also travels farther.
• Thunder meteor smashes targets hit high above Pichu and can drag them down into the launching hit, as with Pikachu's version of the move.
• Like with Pikachu's Thunder, the electricity discharged when the lightning strikes Pichu is now yellow rather than blue and has Pichu flash with a dark tint, and doesn't cry if struck.
• Pichu now has a Final Smash, Volt Tackle, which is similar to Pikachu's: it has Pichu dash quickly around the stage at different angles while surrounded in a ball of electricity, then launching opponents with an electric blast at the end of the move as the ball disappears. It also causes recoil damage.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Pichu's amiibo.

• 

  Taunting in Great Bay.

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  Taunting on Green Greens.

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  Using its up smash next to Mewtwo on Spear Pillar.

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  Pichu using its up smash on Wario on Pilotwings.

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  Pichu using its Final Smash, Volt Tackle, on Mega Man on Pokémon Stadium.

• 

  Using a Rocket Belt with Pikachu in Mario Galaxy.

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  With multiple Pichu, Pikachu, and Incineroar on Paper Mario.

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  A dazed Pichu next to Rosalina in The Great Cave Offensive.

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  Pichu taunting at Ryu failing to perform a Hadoken.

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  Pichu sleeping next to Zelda on Tortimer Island.

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  With Pikachu and Alolan Raichu on Yoshi's Island.

Character Showcase Video

<youtube>9ZD89yfBCyE</youtube>

Trivia

• Pichu and Young Link share the longest gap between playable appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series, with seventeen years between Melee and Ultimate.
  • This has been noted by both of their Super Smash Bros. blog's "Today's Fighter" descriptions.
• One of the poses Pichu strikes in its new taunt resembles its trophy from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
• Pichu is the only veteran absent from SSB4 to not appear in the full group artwork version of the box cover.
• Pichu is the only veteran who is unaffected by the new universal 3-frame jumpsquat; in Melee, its jumpsquat animation also took three frames to complete.
• One of Pichu's alternate costumes is the Spiky-eared Pichu from Arceus and the Jewel of Life and Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. Being one of a kind, the Spiky-eared Pichu is female, making it the only one of Pichu's alts with a definitively known gender.