Olimar (SSB4)

This article is about Olimar's appearance in Super Smash Bros. 4. For other uses, see Captain Olimar and Pikmin (species).

Olimar in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Pikmin
Other playable appearances	in Brawl in Ultimate
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	End of Day
Tier	C (21)

Olimar (ピクミン＆オリマー, Pikmin & Olimar) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. His reappearance to the series was announced in a Director's Room Miiverse post on July 12, 2013, which also commemorated Pikmin 3 being released in Japan on the following day. Alph (ピクミン＆アルフ, Pikmin & Alph), one of the three leaders in Pikmin 3, was revealed as an alternative character in a Director's Room Miiverse post on September 11, 2014.

Like in Brawl, Olimar is completely silent, rather than being voiced by Kazumi Totaka like he is in the Pikmin series, while Hajime Wakai's portrayal of Pikmin from Pikmin 2 is once again repurposed for Red, Blue, Yellow, White and Purple Pikmin. Winged Pikmin are voiced by Atsuko Asashi, using voice clips recycled from Pikmin 3. Alph, despite having his own unique voice in Pikmin 3, is also completely silent as well in SSB4, much like Olimar is.

Olimar is ranked 21st out of 58 on the tier list, placing him at the top of the C tier. This is a significant drop from his top-tier placement in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, where he was ranked 3rd out of 38. As in Brawl, Olimar's signature Pikmin possess an impressive level of respective utility: they grant him respectable KO and damage-racking capabilities, which is further supplemented by Olimar's solid frame-data, as Olimar can make usage of them to deal direct and/or indirect damage via his standard movesets, and by possessing the Pikmin latch onto opponents via Pikmin Throw, respectively.

The Pikmin also grant Olimar a potent grab game: each of them function as disjointed grabs; White Pikmin-based pummel is tied with Shulk's Buster-boosted pummel as the most damaging in the game; Blue Pikmin-based up throw is a viable KOing option at high percents; and Red Pikmin-based down throw is a very reliable combo starter even at high percents. Lastly, his new up special move, Winged Pikmin, functions as a maneuverable, flight-based recovery that can be performed regardless of whether or not Olimar has Pikmin equipped, which makes them vastly superior to Pikmin Chain's tether recovery.

However, Olimar's active Pikmin count has now been halved from six to three due to the limitations to Nintendo 3DS' hardware, which considerably weakens the camping strategies he relied on in Brawl. The Pikmin themselves have also been weakened in a few, yet noticeable ways: Red, Yellow, Blue, and Purple Pikmin have less hit points, which is further compounded by them and White Pikmin dying faster while separated from Olimar. Each kind of Pikmin have also had the majority of their damage outputs lowered, and suffer from somewhat flawed artificial intelligence. Olimar also retains his slow overall mobility; his aerial mobility is especially problematic, as it renders him susceptible to juggling despite his light weight, and causes him to flounder against speed demons, such as Sonic and Fox. By extension, Olimar suffers from poor endurance: the combination of his light weight and low gravity leaves him vulnerable to early KOs, which is further pronounced by the loss of momentum canceling and the introduction of rage. Finally, his offense is still burdened by slow attacking speed and an over-reliance on Pikmin.

Overall, despite his retained and newfound weaknesses, Olimar has still achieved impressive representation and results at all levels of competitive play, thanks to dedicated smashers, such as Dabuz, Shuton, Gomakenpi, and Myran.

Attributes

Olimar is a small and floaty lightweight with overall slow mobility. In turn, he has a slow walking speed, below average dashing and falling speeds, his air speed is the fourth slowest, and is tied with Peach for the fourth lowest gravity. However, his air acceleration and traction are both above average, while his jump and double jump are both average. Olimar's playstyle is almost identical to how it was in Brawl: he has retained the overwhelming majority of his moveset and animations, yet some moves have been slightly modified. Much like in his home series, Olimar's extremely meager offensive prowess forces him to be reliant on instructing his multi-colored Pikmin to withdraw this glaring flaw. As a result, almost all of his moveset involves Pikmin; this, in turn, can result in his moveset being useful or useless depending on whether or not he has Pikmin. When Olimar has Pikmin, he possesses arguably one of the most unique playstyles in the game, thanks to the Pikmin functioning as both projectiles and separate characters, much like how Luma functions alongside Rosalina.

When used correctly, the Pikmin provide noticeable and effective benefits: they can easily rack up high amounts of damage in short periods of time, they grant Olimar disjointed grabs by running out to grab opponents when choosing to grab, they can carry various items back to Olimar as they run back to him much like in their home series, and they can also help with camping or hindering approaches. Additionally, each kind of Pikmin provides unique and useful effects. Olimar's special moves are also heavily dependent on Pikmin, but they are all beneficial nonetheless. Olimar's Pikmin also function as both disjointed hitboxes and projectiles in a variety of his moveset, granting Olimar some of the longest range relative to his size, as well as one of the best camping and spacing abilities in the game.

Pikmin Throw enables him to hinder approaches or, with a Purple Pikmin, even stop them outright if not shielded. Pikmin Order reorganizes his Pikmin for the proper situation at hand, and thanks to it briefly granting super armor, it can even allow Olimar to briefly tank an attack in spite of his light weight. Lastly, Winged Pikmin are very versatile: they provide a long-distanced and maneuverable recovery that makes Olimar more difficult to KO compared to his fellow lightweights, yet they also allow him to attack while they are carrying him.

With all things considered, Olimar has one of the most damaging playstyles among the cast, as he is able to KO nearly any character in a short period with wise usage of his Pikmin. For example, Pikmin Throw allots him a large array of options for offense, as it can both zone and get opponents to KO percents quickly; when the thrown Pikmin are not shaken off, they can rack up 10%-30% in a matter of seconds, forcing opponents to carefully plan their approach. Olimar can also have up to three Pikmin at a time in his lineup, which, despite its aforementioned halving since Brawl, can be hard for an opponent to maintain track of, especially with each color boasting unique attributes. Despite being a lightweight, his smash attacks are fairly quick and, while using Red and Purple Pikmin, boast impressive power.

Olimar's disjointed grab range also enables him to disrupt the movements of quick characters or roll-spammers. When combined with his above-average traction, this also grants him an excellent shield grab. Olimar's aerial game is also quite powerful: neutral aerial is a reliable combo starter when SHFF'd; up aerial is useful for juggling, and can even KO outright while near the upper blast line; forward aerial is useful for approaching and edge-guarding; back aerial is useful for edge-guarding, and can even KO outright while near the edge or the left/right blast line; and down aerial is a powerful meteor smash against aerial opponents during its first frame. However, Pikmin can also double as a drawback: due to being treated as projectiles, they can be reflected, which can sometimes hinder Olimar's offense against characters with attacks of this sort.

However, Olimar has noticeable flaws. Chief among them is his slow mobility, which causes speed demons to easily outpace him, such as Sonic and Captain Falcon. As Olimar is a slow character, speed demons can easily catch up and punish him if he tries to retreat to pluck more Pikmin, while Olimar himself finds trouble approaching. In addition, Olimar's poor mobility also makes it difficult to create space to pluck more Pikmin, which is especially prevelant with speed demons. Due to all excluding White Pikmin having less hit points than in Brawl, Pikmin are also susceptible to dying faster. Similar to Kirby, Olimar is also burdened with poor aerial mobility, as his slow air and falling speeds make him easy to juggle and, when coupled with his light weight, to KO. The latter also becomes more prevelant with the existence of rage, since damaged opponents can send Olimar flying even further. Meanwhile, Olimar's poor endurance prevents him from gaining effective advantages of it. Furthermore, the latter is also another noticeable issue: Olimar is vulnerable to early KOs because of his light weight and floatiness. This is further compounded by his Pikmin-based aerials being burdened with low priority, which makes them extremely difficult to use against edge-guarders.

Another severe flaw is his over-reliance on Pikmin, much like in his home series. Without Pikmin in his lineup, Olimar's smash attacks, up, down, back, and forward aerials, grabs and side special will simply perform nothing, which drastically impairs his neutral game because of them being his most effective attacks. This also leaves Olimar with a total of six moves that deal damage: his neutral attack; tilt attacks; dash attack; and neutral aerial. This, in turn, is further compounded by his forward tilt being the only move out of these that has KO potential, although the move itself is burdened with noticeable lag. As a result, it is crucial that Olimar has at least one Pikmin with him at all times.

Lastly, some of Olimar's useful Pikmin-based attacks have certain drawbacks: his KOing options have very minimal KO potential while using White Pikmin; each of his grabs have noticeably shorter ranges while using Purple Pikmin; up throw has KO potential exclusively while using Blue Pikmin; down throw's combo potential is exclusively consistent at high percents while using Red Pikmin; and Winged Pikmin's recovering potential deteriorates upon consecutive usage and/or depending on the amount of Pikmin that Olimar carries.

Olimar has a few beneficial custom moves. Hardy Pikmin Pluck makes all kinds of Pikmin more durable at the expense of being plucked at a slower rate. Sticky Pikmin Throw depicts each Pikmin inflicting less damage and covering less distance when thrown, but they remain latched on for much longer and inflict damage at a faster rate. True to its name, Tackle Pikmin Throw makes Red, Yellow, Blue, and White Pikmin function like Purple Pikmin by tackling opponents instead of latching onto them. Mighty Winged Pikmin have less total traveling distance, but the distance is unaffected by the amount of Pikmin that Olimar is carrying. Lastly, Order Tackle has all latched on Pikmin deal damage upon being recalled, which grants Olimar another method to deal damage.

Overall, Olimar is a versatile and non-traditional zoner who still retains several of his considerable strengths in spite of their nerfs, and has even had some traits buffed, mostly in regard to his damage output. While his maximum potential damage output was reduced, a smart player can overcome this, especially with the introduced mechanics for maintain track of Pikmin, making Olimar a much more reliable character for the player. Olimar's recovery has also been completely revamped for the better, which is generally agreed to have alleviated his other changes. Early in the metagame, Olimar was thought to be one of the worst characters, yet dedicated mains such as Dabuz, ImHip, Angbad, Myran, and Logic have shown that, as in Brawl, he is still a very capable character who retains a very high learning curve.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Brawl

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Olimar was considered to be a top-tier character, typically being perceived as a top 5-to-top 3 character. This was primarily due to the effectiveness of his Pikmin: Olimar possessed six Pikmin available in his disposal, and they overall gave him incredible camping potential. Olimar could easily abuse his Pikmin Throw to restrain his opponents out due to the amount of Pikmin he could have out and even at close-ranged proximity, Olimar still possessed strong tools. His damage-output was exceptionally high, especially with certain Pikmin, his smash attacks were exceptionally effective, his aerials were powerful, he had a strong grab game with an exceptionally quick and long-ranged grab in addition to possessing combo and KO throws depending on the Pikmin equipped, and he even had a solid defensive option with Pikmin Order. Olimar also had rather respectable KO power, with his Purple and Red Pikmin (in some situations) being particularly powerful. While he did suffer from poor mobility, limited approaching options, a slew of multi-hitting attacks which could be avoided with SDI, and he had an extremely exploitable recovery, these weaknesses failed to impair Olimar too much. Altogether, these factors made Olimar an incredibly dominant character on-stage, making it exceptionally difficult for most of the cast to deal with Olimar. As a result, Olimar has naturally seen a mixture of buffs and nerfs in the transition to Super Smash Bros. 4, although due to his top-tier status in the previous game, he has been noticeably nerfed overall.

The most glaring downgrade includes the halving of his Pikmin, counting from six to three due to the limitations of the Nintendo 3DS' processing power. As a result, this drastically lowers his general damage output, as well as his camping potential, especially since Pikmin Throw deals less damage (especially with White Pikmin). Both Olimar and his Pikmin's endurance are also worse: as Olimar himself is lighter and his signature Pikmin (excluding White Pikmin) have less HP, and they die faster if they are separated from Olimar. The removal of meteor canceling also significantly hinders Olimar's endurance against meteor smashes, and the changes to hitstun canceling is considered a double-edged sword for Olimar: they indirectly removed momentum canceling, so this means Olimar is much more susceptible to early KOs and combos, with the latter being further pronounced by Olimar's aforementioned lighter weight and the introduction of rage, yet it also drastically improves Olimar's combo game as well, especially with his throws.

Olimar's smash attacks have seen various downgrades: they can all be reflected; forward smash has a shorter duration; and his down smash deals less knockback; up smash, however, has been nerfed the largest among all of Olimar's smash attacks: not only is it much laggier, possessing increased startup and much more ending lag, but it also suffers from decreased range and power, significantly hindering its utility. Olimar's aerial attacks also deal significantly less damage, with forward and down aerial, in particular, being significantly weaker. Olimar's grab game was also weakened: his grabs suffer from shorter duration, considerably less range to the point of no longer being the longest-reaching grabs in Smash 4, and his standing and dash grabs are significantly laggier, forcing Olimar to rely on his nerfed pivot grab more often, which is further compounded by Olimar's worse frame-data and damage-racking capabilities. His throws with Blue and especially Purple Pikmin are also weaker, which impairs his ability to KO opponents with his throws, especially relative to the cast. Lastly, Pikmin Order has significantly decreased super armor, hindering both its safety and overall versatility. Finally, Olimar's hurtbox is now modeled as a giant orb around him instead of being modeled as multiple hurtboxes around his virtual attire, thus making him drastically easier to hit and, most notoriously, shield stab, especially horizontally.

However, Olimar also received comparatively noticeable buffs, with his recovery being influenced the most: Winged Pikmin drastically outclasses Pikmin Chain for recovering: due to being much more versatile, and the universal removal of edgehogging heavily benefits Olimar. Olimar's White Pikmin have also been improved outside of Pikmin Throw: due to possessing more HP and most of Olimar's attacks with White Pikmin are stronger (although they are still mostly useless for attacking). The changes to both hitstun canceling and directional influence has also given Olimar greater combo potential with several attacks, such as down throw and his newfound up aerial, the latter of which is now a powerful juggling tool. Lastly, despite his overall damage output being reduced, a fair amount of Olimar's Pikmin attacks (primarily with Red and Purple Pikmin) deal more damage to counterbalance that.

Aside from Olimar's Pikmin, Olimar also heavily benefits from Smash 4's adjusted mechanics: although the removal of edge momentum shifting, in combination of the removal of glide tossing and DACUS has drastically hindered approaches (especially with items), including Olimar himself, Olimar still retains an excellent amount of approaching options, especially with Pikmin Throw and his aerial attacks, so his approach is hindered the least among all characters in the game. The universal growth to mobility also improves Olimar's approach. However, Olimar holds the dubious distinction of being the only character whose air speed remains intact, making it much slower relative to the cast. This is especially detrimental since other characters have received increases to their air speeds at varying degrees. The removal of meteor canceling compensates for Olimar's weakened meteor smash in his down aerial. The weakening of shields has improved Olimar's pressure and shield breaking capabilities against shields via his Pikmin-based attacks, while not compromising his own defensive game due to Olimar's respectable out of shield game and retaining his high traction. This is thanks to latched Pikmin becoming better at damaging an opponent's shield, while the low ending lag on his smash attacks makes them even less punishable on shield, thanks to the increased shieldstun. The introduction of frame canceling has further improved both the safety of Olimar's aerial attacks and approach, allowing it to compensate for the high landing lag on Olimar's aerial attacks. Finally, the introduction of rage drastically improves Olimar's KO power when equipping the right Pikmin for KOs, although this does not compensate for Olimar's reduced weight and the Pikmin's lowered HP.

Overall, while Olimar's recovery and mobility have been improved significantly, Olimar's other flaws were unaddressed and his strengths were significantly toned down, causing his flaws to be more detrimental. Despite this, Olimar has nevertheless retained most of his useful strengths from Brawl, in combination of maintaining notable buffs from SSB4's updates, thus remaining an above-average character. However, Olimar's buffs have failed to compensate for his more severe nerfs and the changes to the game's mechanics do not benefit Olimar as much as some other returning veterans, which has led to him to be considered one of the most nerfed characters during the initial transition from Brawl, alongside King Dedede, Meta Knight, Falco, Wario and Marth (during the initial release). As a result, Olimar is still a viable character, albeit not to the degree as in Brawl.

Aesthetics

• Olimar's design is now a combination of his traditional appearances in Pikmin 3 and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. His slightly smaller nose; helmet's whistle and gray collar; gloves' gray trims; and spacesuit's red and blue connectors are from Pikmin 3, whereas his spacesuit's rivets and three connectors are from Brawl. The aesthetic used in SSB4 has also resulted in Olimar's spacesuit being sleeker, and his boots' red trim; his life-support system's stripe; and his gloves and Hocotate Freight patches being more vibrant, as well as the antenna's light glowing more brighter.
• Olimar's white and green alternate costumes have been updated. The former's suit is now gray and its gloves are now blue, instead of both being white, while the latter's sleeves and boots are now green instead of white and red, respectively. Instead of receiving new alternate costumes, Alph makes an appearance as an alternate character, complete with his own respective alternate costumes.
• All taunts emit updated sound effects.
• The Pikmin's proportions are now significantly more in-line with their appearances in Pikmin 3.
• Pikmin now have more limited cosmetics, as their leaves do not turn into buds or flowers. Additionally, if two or three Pikmin stand in the same spot in Olimar's lineup, it can produce odd results and make it difficult to tell which Pikmin will be used next. Lastly, their idle animations are all synchronized, presumably to avoid any unnecessary hardware strain. This is not present in .
• The Pikmin at the head of the line now possesses a visual indicator in the form of a player-colored arrowhead above it. This allows the player to better visualize which Pikmin will be used next.

Attributes

• Olimar:
  • Olimar dashes faster (1.4 → 1.47).
    • Olimar's initial dash is significantly faster (1.4 → 1.6).
  • Olimar falls faster (1.3 → 1.35). This slightly improves his vertical endurance, but makes him slightly more susceptible to combos.
  • Olimar's gravity is higher (0.06 → 0.068).
  • Olimar's fast falling speed has been increased (1.82 → 2.16).
  • Olimar is lighter (82 → 79), worsening his endurance.
  • Instead of possessing multiple hurtboxes for each part of his body, Olimar now provides a single, hurtbox which is depicted as a giant orb around him. This gives him a bigger hurtbox around his body, making him easier to hit and shield stab, especially horizontally.
  • Rolls have less ending lag (FAF 33 → 30).
  • Rolls have less intangibility (frames 4-19 → 4-16).
  • Spot dodge has less intangibility (frames 3-20 → 3-17) and more ending lag (FAF 26 → 27).
  • Air dodge has less startup lag (frame 4 → 3) and ending lag (FAF 40 → 33).
  • Air dodge has less intangibility (frames 4-29 → 3-27).
  • The removal of meteor canceling drastically hinders Olimar's endurance against meteor smashes moreso than any other returning veteran besides Zero Suit Samus, due to him previously possessing one of the most lenient meteor cancel windows in Brawl. While it does also increase the reliability of his down aerial, the move's power has been significantly reduced to compensate.
  • The changes to aerial grab releases benefits Olimar as he is less susceptible to follow-ups out of an air release.
• Pikmin:
  • Due to the limitations of the Nintendo 3DS' processing power, the maximum Pikmin count has been halved (6 → 3). This significantly weakens his camping game and damage-racking capabilities.
  • Pikmin are now plucked in a set cycle (Red → Yellow → Blue → White → Purple), instead of being random and based on terrain. This means Olimar no longer has to depend on certain types of terrain in order to pluck certain Pikmin. However, this also makes it significantly less frequent to have two or more of the same kinds of Pikmin at once, especially when combined with the reduced maximum Pikmin-count.
  • Pikmin now have somewhat flawed artificial intelligence. As a result, they can potentially fly out of line if Olimar moves too quickly, which prevents combos or follow-ups from being performed effectively. However, this is significantly less prevalent in the version, as their flawed AI only occurs at edges.
  • The Pikmin's safespot distance from Olimar has decreased (6 → 4), making them follow Olimar sooner.
    • However, there is also a shorter distance between the Pikmin's own safespots (6 → 4).
  • All Pikmin have a greater overall run speed (40 → 60 (overall run speed), 2.4 (red/yellow/blue)/3 (white) → 3 (R/Y/B)/4 (W).
  • Pikmin have increased effort (5 → 4).
  • Pikmin have increased follow distance (20 → 23) if they have to change direction.
  • Pikmin follow the previous aerial velocity for a shorter period of time (15 frames → 8).
  • Pikmin have a larger teleport box size (20u → 24u), allowing Olimar to use his Pikmin based attacks from further away, if he is separated from his Pikmin.
  • All Pikmin, excluding White Pikmin, have decreased HP (9 (Red/Yellow)/14 (Blue)/15 (Purple) → 8 (R/Y)/11 (B)/13 (P)). Pikmin separated from Olimar also die faster.
  • White Pikmin have increased hit points (4 → 7).
  • All Pikmin have increased maximum walking/running speeds (2.4 (Red/Yellow/Blue)/3 (White)/1.5 (Purple) → 3 (R/Y/B)/4 (W)/1.7 (P)).
  • All Pikmin have increased walking/running acceleration (0.075 (Red/Yellow/Blue)/0.12 (White)/0.5 (Purple) → 0.1 (R/Y/B)/0.135 (W)/0.8 (P)).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Olimar's neutral attack has been redesigned: the Rocket Fist's one-two combo.
  • Neutral attack has a shorter duration (frames 4-7 (hit 1)/ 8-10 (hit 1 antenna)/4-6 (hit 2) → 4 (hit 1 clean)/5 (hit 1 late)/4-5 (hit 2)).
  • The first hit has increased set knockback (10 (base), 10 (set), 80 (scaling) → 0/(40/30/35)/80).
  • The first hit now provides a late hit, which deals more damage on Olimar's fist (3% → 4%).
  • The first hit transitions into the second hit sooner (frame 8 → 6).
  • The farmost-hitbox now launches opponents vertically (361° → 80°), allowing it to connect more consistently into the second hit.
    • However, this also remove's the farmost-hitbox's ability to lock.
  • The first hit has smaller hitboxes (4u/4u → 2.5u/3u (clean)/2.5u/3.5u (late)) and it now consists of static-hitboxes, which overall do not reach as far as the previous hitboxes.
  • The first hit's antenna-hitbox has been removed, which, in turn:
    • Reduces its maximum damage output (5% → 4%).
    • Reduces its range, especially vertically.
    • However, this prevents Olimar from being stuck in hitlag before being able to perform the second hit. When combined with the move transitioning sooner along with its increased knockback, this means it is no longer possible for the opponent to shield the second hit if Olimar lands the move at closer proximity.
  • The second hit deals less damage (5% → 4%/3%) without full compensation on its knockback scaling (75 → 80).
  • The second hit launches opponents at a less favorable angle (361° → 45°).
  • The second hit has smaller hitboxes (4u/4u/2.5u → 2.5u/3.5u) and it now has static hitboxes which overall do not reach as far as the previous hitboxes.
    • This also means that the move can no longer hit opponents behind Olimar.
  • The second hit's antenna-hitbox has been removed, which, in turn:
    • Greatly reduces its maximum damage output (10% → 4%).
    • Reduces its range, especially vertically.
• Forward tilt:
  • Olimar possesses a new forward tilt: the Rocket Fist's wind-up punch. Olimar remains still while performing the punch.
    • This makes it a safer spacing tool.
    • However, this also significantly reduces its range.
  • Forward tilt has less ending lag (FAF 38 → 36).
  • Forward tilt deals much more damage (6% → 11%) without full compensation on its knockback (15 (base), 130 (scaling) → 35/97), significantly improving its KO potential.
  • Forward tilt now consists of a pair of extended hitboxes, which overall cover more horizontal distance relative to Olimar than the previous hitboxes.
    • However, the move is also no longer disjointed due to its new animation.
  • Forward tilt has more startup lag with a much shorter duration (frames 9-18 → 15 (clean)/16-17 (late)).
  • Forward tilt has smaller hitboxes (5u/5u/5u → 3.5u/2.2u).
    • In addition to this, the larger, further-reaching hitbox is only active for the first frame, further reducing the move's range during its later frames.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt's looping hits' left-side hitbox now launches opponents towards Olimar (70° → 120°). When combined with the weakening of SDI, this allows up tilt to connect more consistently, especially if the opponent is behind Olimar.
  • Up tilt has more ending lag (FAF 40 → 44).
  • The looping hits deal less damage (1% → 0.6%).
  • Up tilt now only consists of five looping hits instead of seven, which in turn:
    • Shortens its duration (frame 6/8/10/12/14/16/18/20 → 6/8/10/12/14/16), which also further increases the move's ending lag, along with its longer total duration.
    • Reduces its damages, especially when combined with each individual hit's lower damage (11% → 7.6%).
  • The looping hit's head-hitbox is smaller (5.5u → 5u) and the antenna-hitbox has been removed, significantly reducing the move's vertical range, although the head-hitbox has decreased set knockback (30 → 20) to partially compensate.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt's antenna-hitbox has been removed, which in turn:
    • Shortens its duration (frames 6-12/16-22 → 6-12).
    • Reduces its maximum damage output (8% → 6%).
    • Reduces its range, especially vertically.
    • However, this also means that Olimar can no longer suffer from additional hitlag by landing the antenna-hitbox, preventing the move from sustaining more ending lag in some situations.
  • Down tilt has a longer animation (29 frames → 37), increasing the amount of time Olimar cannot walk backwards after performing it.
  • The changes to hitstun canceling and DI improve down tilt's combo potential.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack's first hit has a longer duration (frames 8-9 → 8-10).
    • However, this also makes it more difficult to connect both hits.
  • Dash attack has more ending lag (FAF 35 → 38).
  • Dash attack has smaller hitboxes (6.5u/4u (hit 1)/5.2u/3.3u (hit 2) → 3.5u (both) and the nearest-hitbox has been removed.
• All of Olimar's smash attacks can now be reflected, hindering their reliability against certain characters, especially against those with reflectors.
• Forward smash:
  • When forward smash is performed on a vertical slope, Pikmin now fly parallel to the slope, instead of directly into it.
  • Forward smash no longer causes Pikmin to fly off edges unless it is initiated close to an edge. This makes it safer to utilize Pikmin near ledges, but hinders their ability to hit opponents below platforms or off-stage.
  • Forward smash without Purple Pikmin has a much shorter duration (frames 11-15 (clean)/16-22 (mid)/23-47 (late) → 11-14/15-20/21-29).
    • Purple Pikmin-based forward smash also has a shorter duration overall (frames 11-15 (clean)/16-20 (mid)/21-25 (late) → 11-14/15-19/20-24).
• Red Pikmin:
  • The clean hit deals more damage (15% → 17.4%) and knockback (10 (base), 96 (scaling) → 30/86), improving its KO potential.
  • The mid-hitbox deals slightly more knockback (20 (base), 90 (scaling) → 33/86).
  • The late hit deals less damage (9% → 7.2%) without full compensation on its knockback (20 (base), 90 (scaling) → 33/86).
• Yellow Pikmin:
  • The clean and mid-hitboxes deal more damage (13% (clean)/9% (mid) → 14.5%/10%).
  • Yellow Pikmin-based forward smash deals more knockback (10 (base), 96 (scaling) → 33/94 (clean), 20/90 → 33/94 (mid/late)), improving its KO potential, especially the clean hit when combined with its increased damage.
  • Yellow Pikmin-based forward smash has smaller hitboxes (6.5u (clean)/5.5u (mid)/5u (late) → 5u/3.75u/3.75u).
• Blue Pikmin:
  • Blue Pikmin-based forward smash deals more knockback (10 (base), 96 (scaling) → 33/94 (clean), 20/90 → 33/94 (mid/late)), improving its KO potential.
  • The clean and mid-hitboxes deal less damage (15% (clean)/11% (mid) → 14.5%/10%).
• White Pikmin:
  • White Pikmin-based forward smash deals more damage (9% (clean)/6% (mid)/3% (late) → 11.6%/8%/4.8%) and knockback (10 (base), 80 (scaling) → 33/94 (clean), 15/80 → 33/94 (late)).
• Purple Pikmin:
  • The clean hit deals more damage (18% → 20.3%) without full compensation on its knockback (20 (base), 95 (scaling) → 33/84), improving its KO potential.
    • When combined with the weakening to shields, this significantly improves Purple Pikmin-based forward smash's shield pressuring potential.
  • Purple Pikmin-based forward smash now launches opponents horizontally (70° → 361°), now matching the other variants of forward smash.
  • The mid-hitboxes and especially the late hit deal less damage (16% (mid)/13% (late) → 14%/8.4%) and knockback (20 (base), 95 (scaling) → 33/84), hindering their KO potential.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash's animation has changed: Olimar only points up once instead of twice.
  • Up smash has more startup lag (frame 8 → 12).
  • Up smash has much more ending lag (FAF 33 → 56), removing its follow-up potential and greatly hindering its safety.
  • Pikmin gain less vertical momentum from up smash (3.5 → 2.8), resulting in the Pikmin not jumping as high or as quickly.
  • The removal of DACUS significantly hinders up smash's approaching potential.
  • Up smash without Purple Pikmin has a slightly shorter duration (frames 8-9 (clean)/10-12 (mid)/13-19 (late) → 12-13/14-16/17-22).
  • The clean sweetspot (7u (red/blue/white)/9u (yellow)/6.5u (purple) → 6u (R/B/W/P)/7u (Y)) and late hit (6u (red/blue/white)/8u (yellow)/5.5u (purple) → 5u (R/B/W/P)/6.25u (Y)) have smaller hitboxes.
• Red Pikmin:
  • The clean sweetspot and late hit deal more damage (15% (clean sweetspot)/12% (late) → 15.6%/13.2%).
  • The clean sweetspot and late hit have decreased knockback scaling (90 → 83 (clean)/78 (late)), hindering their KO potential despite their increased damage.
  • The clean farmost-hitbox deals less damage (14% → 12%) and has decreased knockback scaling (87 → 74), greatly hindering its KO potential.
• Yellow Pikmin:
  • The late hit deals more damage (10% → 11%), without full compensation on its knockback scaling (90 → 85).
  • The clean hit deals less damage (14% (near)/12% (far) → 13%/10%). The sweetspot's knockback scaling was only marginally increased to compensate (90 → 91) while the sourspot's was decreased (90 → 81), hindering its KO potential, especially the farmost-hitbox.
• Blue Pikmin:
  • The clean hit deals less damage (15% (near)/13% (far) → 13%/10%). The sweetspot's knockback scaling was only marginally increased to compensate (90 → 91) while the sourspot's was decreased (90 → 81), hindering its KO potential, especially the farmost-hitbox.
  • The late hit has lower knockback scaling (90 → 85).
• White Pikmin:
  • White Pikmin-based up smash deals more damage (9% (clean sweetspot)/7% (clean sourspot)/5% (late) → 10.8%/8%/8.8%). The clean hit has increased knockback scaling (90 → 91), without full compensation on the late hit's knockback scaling (90 → 85), improving its KO potential.
  • The clean farmost-hitbox has lower knockback scaling (90 → 81), slightly hindering its KO potential despite its increased damage.
• Purple Pikmin:
  • Purple Pikmin-based up smash has a longer duration (frames 8-9 (clean)/10-12 (mid)/13-16 (late) → 12-13/14-16/17-22), now matching the other variants.
  • Purple Pikmin-based up smash deals more damage (16% (clean sweetspot)/13% (clean sourspot/late) → 18.2%/14%/15.4%).
  • Purple Pikmin-based up smash deals less knockback (50 (base), 100 (scaling) → 50/(81/72) (clean), 40/100 → 50/76 (late)), hindering its KO potential despite its increased damage.
• Down smash:
  • Pikmin will now always fly off edges after down smash is performed, as opposed to only happening if Olimar is very close to an edge.
  • Down smash has a lower bonus trip chance (40% → 20%) although due to its angle remaining unchanged, this does not affect the move.
• Red Pikmin
  • Red Pikmin down smash deals more damage (13% (clean)/10% (late) → 13.2%/10.8%).
  • Red Pikmin down smash deals less knockback (30 (base), 97 (scaling) → 32/81 (clean), 22/95 → 25/81 (late)), hindering its KO potential despite its increased damage.
• Yellow Pikmin:
  • The late hit deals more damage (8% → 9%) without full compensation on its knockback (10 (base), 100 (scaling) → 25/89), improving its KO potential.
  • Yellow Pikmin down smash has smaller hitboxes (6u/6u → 5.625u/5.625u).
  • The clean hit deals less knockback (30 (base), 100 (scaling) → 32/89).
• Blue Pikmin:
  • The clean hit deals less damage (12% → 11%) and knockback (30 (base), 100 (scaling) → 32/89).
  • The late hit deals less knockback (10 (base), 100 (scaling) → 25/89).
• White Pikmin:
  • White Pikmin down smash deals more damage (6% (clean)/4% (late) → 8.8%/7.2%) without full compensation on its knockback (30 (base), 100 (scaling) → 32/89 (clean), 10/100 → 25/89 (late)), improving its KO potential.
• Purple Pikmin:
  • Purple Pikmin down smash deals more damage (15% (clean)/12% (late) → 15.4%/12.6%).
  • The clean hit has a longer duration (frames 10-12 → 10-13), now matching the other variants.
  • The late hit launches opponents at a lower angle (28° → 0°), allowing it to lock and trip opponents.
  • Purple Pikmin down smash deals less knockback (30 (base), 100 (scaling) → 32/72 (clean), 10/100 → 0/72 (late)), greatly hindering its KO potential despite its increased damage and the late hit's lower launch angle.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have longer animations (41 frames (neutral/forward)/48 (back)/34 (up)/51 (down) → 53/51/57/42/59), increasing the amount of time Olimar cannot grab ledges after performing an aerial.
• Olimar and his opponent now suffer from the 1.5x hitlag multiplier caused by electric attacks (rather than just the opponent), giving all of his Yellow Pikmin-based aerials more ending lag upon connecting.
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial has more ending lag (FAF 42 → 54).
  • Neutral aerial has smaller hitboxes, especially the final hit (4.5u/3.5u/3.5u/4.5u → 3.5u/2.5u/2.5u/3.5u (loop hits), 9u/8u/8u/9u → 5u/4u/4u/5u (final hit)).
  • The loop hits deal less damage (2% → 1.5%).
    • However, their knockback was not compensated, making them connect slightly more reliably at higher percents, especially when combined with the weakening of SDI.
  • Neutral aerial now only has four loop hits instead of five which in turn reduces its damages, especially when combined with each individual hit's lower damage (12% → 8%).
  • The changes to hitstun canceling/DI improve neutral aerial's combo potential after landing with the move.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial now uses one extended hitbox which covers the Pikmin rather than three normal hitboxes.
    • This hitbox is larger than any of the hitboxes used on the previous non yellow Pikmin variants of forward aerial (3.7u/3.2u/2.7u → 4.4u).
  • Forward aerial no longer deals extra shield damage (1 → 0).
• Red Pikmin:
  • Red Pikmin-based forward aerial deals much less damage (15% → 10.2%) and knockback (25 (base), 88 (scaling) → 32/82), greatly hindering its KO potential.
• Yellow Pikmin:
  • Yellow Pikmin-based forward aerial has a shorter duration (frames 7-10 → 7-9), now matching the other variants.
  • Yellow Pikmin-based forward aerial deals much less damage (12% → 8.5%) with it only seeing a slight increase to its base knockback (25 → 32), significantly hindering its KO potential.
• Blue Pikmin:
  • Blue Pikmin-based forward aerial deals much less damage (13% → 8.5%) with it only seeing a slight increase to its base knockback (25 → 32), significantly hindering its KO potential.
• White Pikmin:
  • White Pikmin-based forward aerial deals more damage (5% → 6.8%) and has higher base knockback (25 → 32), improving its KO potential.
• Purple Pikmin:
  • Purple Pikmin-based forward aerial deals less damage (14% → 11.9%) and knockback (25 (base), 90 (scaling) → 32/81), significantly hindering its KO potential.
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial now uses one extended hitbox which covers the Pikmin rather than three normal hitboxes.
    • This hitbox is larger than any of the hitboxes used on the previous non yellow Pikmin variants of forward aerial (3.7u/3.2u/2.7u → 4.2u).
    • This also means that the move no longer has a weaker sourspot, making it more consistent.
  • Back aerial no longer deals extra shield damage (1 → 0).
• Red Pikmin:
  • Red Pikmin-based back aerial deals marginally less damage compared to its previous sweetspot (13% → 12.96%).
  • Red Pikmin-based back aerial deals slightly more knockback (20 (base), 91 (scaling) → 30/90).
• Yellow Pikmin:
  • Yellow Pikmin-based back aerial has a shorter duration (frames 10-14 → 10-13), now matching the other variants.
  • Yellow Pikmin-based back aerial has a smaller hitbox (5.5u/5u/4.5u → 5.2u).
  • Yellow Pikmin-based back aerial deals less damage compared to its previous sweetspot (12% → 10.8%).
  • Yellow Pikmin-based back aerial deals more knockback (20 (base), 91 (scaling) → 30/98), improving its KO potential despite its lower damage.
• Blue Pikmin
  • Blue Pikmin-based back aerial deals less damage compared to its previous sweetspot (13% → 10.8%) without full compensation on its knockback (20 (base), 91 (scaling) → 30/98).
• White Pikmin:
  • White Pikmin-based back aerial deals more damage (5% → 8.64%) and knockback (20 (base), 91 (scaling) → 30/98) compared to its previous sweetspot.
• Purple Pikmin:
  • Purple Pikmin-based back aerial deals more damage (13% → 15.12%) and knockback (20 (base), 91 (scaling) → 30/88) compared to its previous sweetspot.
• Up aerial:
  • Olimar has a new up aerial: he swings a Pikmin directly above him, with the move now consisting of a single hit.
    • This makes the move much more consistent, and it has more knockback than the final hit of the previous forward aerial on all variants.
    • However, this makes the move much easier to out prioritise as since there is only one hitbox, the move can no longer beat trades with its later hitboxes.
    • This also gives the move an overall shorter duration, despite it no longer having gaps between its hitboxes (frame 8/10/12/14/16/18/20 → 8-15).
    • This also gives the move more ending lag as its total duration was unchanged.
  • Up aerial launches opponents at a higher angle compared to the previous final hit (76° → 95°).
  • Up aerial now only consists of one much smaller extended hitbox which is now positioned directly above Olimar due to the new animation (7.5u (hits 1-6 red/blue/white/purple)/10u (hits 1-6 yellow/hit 7 red/blue/white/purple)/13u (hit 7 yellow) → 4u (R/B/W/P)/5u (Y)), drastically reducing its range.
• Red Pikmin:
  • Red Pikmin-based up aerial deals drastically less damage (3% (hits 1-6/6% (hit 7)/24% (total) → 10.8%).
    • However, its knockback was not fully compensated compared to the previous final hit (70 (base), 90 (scaling) → 50/84), significantly improving its KO potential.
• Yellow Pikmin:
  • Yellow Pikmin-based up aerial deals much less damage (2% (hits 1-6/4% (hit 7)/16% (total) → 9%).
    • However, its knockback was not fully compensated compared to the previous final hit (70 (base), 110 (scaling) → 50/92), significantly improving its KO potential.
• Blue Pikmin:
  • Blue Pikmin-based up aerial deals drastically less damage (3% (hits 1-6/4% (hit 7)/22% (total) → 9%).
    • However, its knockback was not fully compensated compared to the previous final hit (70 (base), 110 (scaling) → 50/92), significantly improving its KO potential.
• White Pikmin:
  • White Pikmin-based up aerial deals much less damage (1% (hits 1-6/3% (hit 7)/9% (total) → 7.2%).
    • However, its knockback scaling was not fully compensated compared to the previous final hit (110 → 92), significantly improving its KO potential.
• Purple Pikmin:
  • Purple Pikmin-based up aerial deals much less damage (3% (hits 1-6/4% (hit 7)/22% (total) → 12.6%).
    • However, its knockback was not fully compensated compared to the previous final hit (70 (base), 110 (scaling) → 50/82), significantly improving its KO potential.
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial's meteor smashing hitbox without Yellow Pikmin is slightly larger (3.5u → 3.7u) and it is now extended.
  • Down aerial can no longer meteor smash grounded opponents.
  • Down aerial's non-meteor smashing hitbox now uses one extended hitbox rather than two normal hitboxes.
    • For Non-Yellow Pikmin variants, this hitbox is the same size as the previous aerial only non meteor smash hitbox, giving it a larger hitbox against grounded opponents (3.8u → 4.6u).
    • However, this also gives it less horizontal range against aerial opponents.
  • Down aerial has a shorter duration (frames 9-11 (clean), 12-19 (late) → 9/10-15).
    • However, its late hit no longer consists of drastically weaker hitboxes, with the move just losing its meteor smash hitbox instead. This makes the move much stronger during frames 12-15 of its duration regardless of the Pikmin used.
  • Down aerial's non-meteor smashing hitbox launches opponents at a higher angle (361° → 50°).
  • Down aerial no longer deals extra shield damage (1 → 0).
• Red Pikmin:
  • The clean hit deals much less damage (16% → 10.8%) and knockback (30 (base), 100 (scaling) → (10/30)/91), drastically hindering its KO potential.
    • However, the move also deals more damage (7% → 10.8%) and much more knockback (10 (base), 70 (scaling) → 30/91) during frames 12-15 of its duration.
• Yellow Pikmin:
  • The clean hit deals less damage (12% → 9%) and knockback (30 (base), 100 (scaling) → (10/30)/99), greatly hindering its KO potential.
    • However, the move also deals more damage (6% → 9%) and much more knockback (10 (base), 70 (scaling) → 30/99) during frames 12-15 of its duration.
  • The meteor smashing hitbox is smaller (5u → 4.625u).
  • The non meteor smash hitbox is larger, especially against grounded opponents (5.5u/4.5u → 5.75u).
• Blue Pikmin
  • The clean hit deals much less damage (14% → 9%) and knockback (30 (base), 100 (scaling) → (10/30)/99), greatly hindering its KO potential.
    • However, the move also deals more damage (6% → 9%) and much more knockback (10 (base), 70 (scaling) → 30/99) during frames 12-15 of its duration.
• White Pikmin
  • The clean hit deals less damage (8% → 7.2%) and knockback (30 (base), 100 (scaling) → (10/30)/99), hindering its KO potential.
    • However, the move also deals more damage (4% → 7.2%) and much more knockback (10 (base), 70 (scaling) → 30/99) during frames 12-15 of its duration.
• Purple Pikmin:
  • The clean hit deals much less damage (14% → 12.6%) and knockback (30 (base), 100 (scaling) → (10/30)/89), significantly hindering its KO potential.
    • However, the move also deals much more damage (6% → 12.6%) and knockback (10 (base), 70 (scaling) → 30/89) during frames 12-15 of its duration.

Throws/other attacks

• Grabs:
  • All grabs have less startup lag (frame 11 → 10).
  • White Pikmin-based grabs have a larger grabbox (3u → 3.5u).
  • All grabs have shorter durations (frames 11-25 → 10-19).
  • Standing and dash grabs have more ending lag, especially standing grab (FAF 30 (standing)/40 (dash) → 50/53).
  • Red, Yellow and especially Blue Pikmin-based grabs have considerably reduced range. Their standing and pivot grab ranges in particular have been reduced to the point that they only reach about as far as Olimar's purple Pikmin grabs did previously.
  • White and Purple Pikmin-based grabs have reduced range (especially the former), albeit to a lesser extent than the other colours (although White Pikmin-based grabs overall have noticeably less range than Olimar's Red/Yellow Pikmin-based grabs in Brawl).
• Pummel:
  • Pummel has a larger hitbox (4u → 4.4u).
  • Pummel has more startup lag (frame 10 → 11).
  • Olimar now suffers from hitlag when pummeling his opponent, giving pummel more ending lag.
  • Yellow Pikmin-based pummel now has an electric effect. This gives it more hitlag (4 frames → 7) which along with the previous change, gives it considerably more ending lag.
• Forward throw:
  • Olimar releases opponents from forward throw later (frame 4 → 8) with its total duration compensated (FAF 32 → 36).
• Red Pikmin:
  • Red Pikmin-based forward throw deals less damage (6% → 5.6%).
  • Red Pikmin-based forward throw deals more knockback (60 (base), 50 (scaling) → 65/60).
• Yellow Pikmin:
  • Yellow Pikmin-based forward throw deals more knockback (60 (base), 50 (scaling) → 65/60).
• Blue Pikmin:
  • Blue Pikmin-based forward throw deals less damage (13% → 11.2%) and knockback (30 (base), 85 (scaling) → 65/60) considerably hindering its KO potential, especially from far distances.
• White Pikmin:
  • White Pikmin-based forward throw deals more damage (6% → 7%) and knockback (60 (base), 50 (scaling) → 65/60).
• Purple Pikmin:
  • Purple Pikmin-based forward throw deals less knockback (60 (base), 90 (scaling) → 65/60).
• Back throw:
  • Olimar releases opponents from back throw later (frame 7 → 13) and it has a longer total duration (FAF 36 → 40).
    • However, its total duration was not fully compensated, giving it less ending lag.
• Red Pikmin:
  • Red Pikmin-based back throw deals more damage (7% → 7.2%) and knockback (48 (base), 52 (scaling) → 50/60).
• Yellow Pikmin:
  • Yellow Pikmin-based back throw deals more knockback (48 (base), 52 (scaling) → 50/60).
• Blue Pikmin:
  • Blue Pikmin-based back throw deals more damage (14% → 14.4%).
  • Blue Pikmin-based back throw deals less knockback (30 (base), 85 (scaling) → 50/60), considerably hindering its KO potential despite its increased damage.
• White Pikmin:
  • White Pikmin-based back throw deals more damage (6% → 9%) and knockback (48 (base), 52 (scaling) → 50/60).
• Purple Pikmin:
  • Purple Pikmin-based back throw deals less knockback (48 (base), 90 (scaling) → 50/60).
• The removal of chain grabbing has hindered up and down throw's damage-racking potential.
• Up throw:
  • Olimar releases opponents from up throw later (frame 27 → 32) and it has more ending lag (FAF 42 → 50).
  • Up throw has increased base knockback (55 → 80). When combined with the previous change, this hinders up throw's combo potential at lower percents.
• Red Pikmin:
  • Red Pikmin-based up throw deals less damage (9% → 6.4%) without full compensation on its knockback (55 (base), 72 (scaling) → 80/65). This hinders its KO potential while also not improving its combo potential due to the throw's higher base knockback/ending lag.
• Yellow Pikmin:
  • Yellow Pikmin-based up throw deals less damage (11% → 8%) without full compensation on its knockback (55 (base), 72 (scaling) → 80/65). This hinders its KO potential while also not improving its combo potential due to the throw's higher base knockback/ending lag.
• Blue Pikmin:
  • Blue Pikmin-based up throw deals more damage (12% → 12.8%).
  • Blue Pikmin-based up throw deals less knockback (55 (base), 72 (scaling) → 80/58), hindering its KO potential (despite its increased damage) while also not improving its combo potential due to the throw's higher base knockback/ending lag.
• White Pikmin:
  • White Pikmin-based up throw deals more damage (6% → 8%) and knockback (55 (base), 72 (scaling) → 80/65), improving its KO potential.
    • However, this also hinders its combo potential.
• Purple Pikmin:
  • Purple Pikmin-based up throw deals less damage (11% → 8%) and knockback (55 (base), 100 (scaling) → 80/65), greatly hindering its KO potential. It is no longer the strongest up throw in the game or even the strongest version of Olimar's up throw.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw's hitbox has more startup lag (frame 15 → 23 (red/yellow/blue/white)/22 (purple)).
  • Olimar now suffers from hitlag when down throw's hitbox connects. This means that Olimar now freezes for a short amount of time after the hitbox connects, giving it more ending lag.
  • The hitbox with non-Purple Pikmin has a longer duration (frames 15-18 → 23-30).
  • Olimar releases opponents from down throw much later (frame 19 → 31 (red/yellow/blue/white)/26 (purple)) and it has a longer total duration (FAF 36 → 42).
    • However, its total duration was not fully compensated with red, blue and white Pikmin, even considering Olimar now suffering from hitlag. This gives these variants of the throw less ending lag and improving their combo potential.
    • In the case of Yellow and Purple Pikmin, however, its total duration was overcompensated, giving these variants more ending lag, especially with Purple Pikmin.
  • The changes to hitstun canceling/DI considerably improves down throw's combo potential at higher percents.
• Red Pikmin:
  • Red Pikmin-based down throw deals less damage (9% → 6.6%).
    • However, its knockback was not compensated. When combined with the throw's lower ending lag and the changes to hitstun canceling/DI, this greatly improves its combo potential beyond low percents.
• Yellow Pikmin:
  • The hitbox is larger (7u → 9.45u).
• Blue Pikmin:
  • Blue Pikmin-based down throw deals more damage (11% → 11.2%) and has higher knockback scaling (40 → 60).
    • However, these changes also hinder down throw's followup potential at higher percents, while also still being too weak to KO at realistic percents.
• White Pikmin:
  • The hitbox deals less damage (1% → 0.8%).
  • White Pikmin-based down throw deals more damage (6% → 8%).
    • However, its knockback was not compensated, hindering its followup potential at higher percents.
• Purple Pikmin:
  • The hitbox deals more damage (1% → 1.4%).
  • Purple Pikmin-based down throw has less knockback scaling (100 → 60). When combined with the changes to hitstun canceling/DI, this greatly improves its combo potential despite its increased ending lag.
    • However, this also greatly hinders its KO potential, no longer being a viable KO throw at very high percents.
• Floor attacks:
  • The second hit of both floor attacks have less startup lag (frame 16 → 15).
  • Floor attacks have less ending lag (FAF 50 → 46).
  • Floor attacks deal more damage (6% → 7%) and shield damage (1 → 8) per hit, without full compensation on their knockback scaling (50 → 48).
  • Floor attacks launch opponents at a higher angle (361° → 48°).
  • Floor attacks have less intangibility (frames 1-29 (front)/1-27 (back) → 1-21).
  • Floor attacks have a shorter duration per hit (3 frames → 2).
  • Floor attacks now use one extended static hitbox rather than multiple normal hitboxes attached to Olimar's body, which covers less range overall.
• Back floor attack:
  • Back floor attack now starts in front of Olimar rather than from behind.
  • Back floor attack has more startup lag (frame 15 → 16).
• Edge attack:
  • Olimar has a new edge attack, a punch from the Pikmin series.
  • As with other edge attacks, edge attack no longer has set knockback (110 (set), 100 (scaling) → 90 (base)/20).
  • Edge attack has more intangibility (frames 1-15 → 1-16).
    • However, there is a longer period of time where Olimar is vulenrable before the hitbox comes out (1 frame → 2).
  • Edge attack has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 17-21 (clean)/22-23 (late) → 19-21).
  • Edge attack deals less damage (8% → 7%).
  • Edge attack now only has one static extended hitbox, rather than two hitboxes attached to Olimar as he jumps up, followed by three normal static hitboxes once he lands. This hitbox has less range than the previous late hit, in addition to the move also having much less vertical range.
  • As with other edge attacks, edge attack now always launches opponents in the direction Olimar is facing, removing its ability to set up edgeguards.
• Trip attack:
  • Trip attack deals more shield damage (1 → 8) per hit.
  • Trip attack now has transcendent priority.
  • Trip attack has less intangibility (frames 1-8 → 1-7).
  • Trip attack now uses one extended hitbox rather than multiple normal hitboxes, which decreases the move's range overall.

Special moves

• Pikmin Pluck:
  • Using Pikmin Pluck while near the edge will no longer propel Pikmin over the edge, significantly improving its reliability when used near edges.
  • Pikmin Pluck's speed is now consistent regardless of the terrain, making Olimar pluck Pikmin faster on rocky, dirty, metallic and icy terrains.
    • However, this also makes Olimar pluck Pikmin slower on cloth terrains.
  • Pikmin Pluck has updated sound effects.
  • Pikmin Pluck can no longer be edge canceled to laglessly pluck Pikmin.
• Pikmin Throw:
  • Pikmin Throw can now enable Pikmin to latch onto a Smash Ball and carry items to Olimar.
  • Pikmin Throw's additional latch time has increased (200 frames → 300).
  • Pikmin Throw has a larger hitbox when thrown with non purple Pikmin (4u (red/blue/white)/5.5u (yellow) → 4.5u/5.625u).
  • Yellow Pikmin Throw has a larger inert collision box to latch onto opponents (7u → 7.5u).
  • Purple Pikmin Throw now has a hitbox against boss enemies which deals more damage (6% → 9.1%), is larger (2.2u → 4.5u) and deals more knockback (60 (base), 50 (scaling) → 40/90).
  • Pikmin fly off of the opponent much faster once they have finished attacking the opponent (0.6 → 1.3). This makes them fly further after but also makes them land later, giving them more lag.
  • Pikmin Throw deals less damage when thrown without Purple Pikmin (9% (red)/7% (yellow/blue)/6% (white) → 7.8%/6.5%/5.2%), with Red Pikmin throw also having decreased knockback scaling (100 → 92), hindering its effectiveness against boss battles.
  • Pikmin Throw deals less damage when latched (2% (red/yellow/blue)/6% (white) → 1.1%/3.7%). This significantly reduces its damage racking potential, especially with white Pikmin.
    • When combined with Olimar's reduced maximum Pikmin count, this significantly hinders Pikmin Throw's damage-racking and camping potential, in addition to making the move more committal to use overall.
• Winged Pikmin:
  • Olimar has a new up special, Winged Pikmin. Unlike Pikmin Chain which was a tether recovery, Winged Pikmin is a maneuverable, fuel-based recovery. Winged Pikmin can cover significantly more distance, it can be controlled and Olimar can cancel it by using an aerial (similarly to Robo Burner, with the exception of Olimar being put into free-fall after using an aerial).
    • Altogether, these traits combined with the removal of edge-hogging make Winged Pikmin a significantly safer, more versatile and less predictable and exploitable recovery move compared to Pikmin Chain.
  • Compared to Pikmin Chain, Winged Pikmin are more effective when Olimar has less Pikmin, and less effective when he has more Pikmin.
    • Because of this, Olimar can more safely use Pikmin Throw while recovering to offensively challenge his opponent, as it will now improve his up special's recovering potential rather than reducing it.
  • Unlike Pikmin Chain, Winged Pikmin lacks a hitbox, preventing it from being useable as a long-ranged anti-air or as a powerful stage spike option.
  • Winged Pikmin no longer auto-cancels before Olimar enters free-fall, making it riskier to land with.
• Pikmin Order:
  • Pikmin Order's super armor has much more startup lag with a much shorter duration (frames 2-16 → 6-12), significantly hindering its safety.
  • Pikmin Order's animation has slightly changed. Olimar's hand no longer goes through his helmet when he whistles.
    • This new animation is longer, especially the aerial version (35 frames → 39 (grounded)/45 (aerial), increasing the amount of time Olimar cannot grab ledges after using the move.
• End of Day:
  • End of Day slows down time more (4x → 5x) and for a longer period of time (30 frames → 40) when it is activated.
  • End of Day has much less startup lag (frame 19 → 6) due to both the more severe time slowdown and the hitbox coming out sooner.
  • End of Day now has a separate hitbox against aerial opponents for its liftoff which launches opponents vertically (250° → 90°), allowing it to link into the ascent hitbox.
    • However, this hitbox also has significantly decreased set knockback (400 → 100) which along with its angle change, hinders its effectiveness against opponents offstage.
  • The grounded liftoff hitbox has drastically higher set knockback (400 → 1500) and it launches opponents at a more favorable angle (250° → 270°), burying them for much longer.
  • The ascent deals less damage (15% → 10%) without full compensation on knockback, hindering the upper hitbox's KO potential.
  • The ascent has smaller hitboxes (20u/20u → 17u/17u).
  • The Bulborbs deal much less damage (43% (total) → 15%).
  • The Hocotate Ship can now be maneuvered during its descent, similarly to a Warp Star.
  • The falling hit deals more knockback (60 (base), 100 (scaling) → 70/105).
  • The landing hit deals much less damage (20%/15% → 12%/10%) without full compensation on the sweetspot's knockback (50 (base), 100 (scaling) → 65/140), slightly hindering its KO potential.
  • The landing hit's sourspot deals more knockback (50 (base), 100 (scaling) → 85/125) and it launches opponents at a more favorable angle (45° → 361°).
  • The landing hit has smaller hitboxes (33u/33u/75u → 25u/25u/60u).

Update history

Olimar has received a mixture of buffs and nerfs from game updates, but was slightly buffed overall. Update 1.0.4 made Pikmin Pluck unable to be edge-canceled and decreased the amount of damage that Red, Yellow, and Blue Pikmin deal when latching onto opponents. To compensate for this, White Pikmin deal more damage when latched on, and the latching time for Red, Yellow, Blue, and White Pikmin has increased.

However, Olimar also drastically benefits from the changes to shielding mechanics brought about by updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1. This is thanks to latched Pikmin becoming better at damaging an opponent's shield, while the low ending lag on his smash attacks makes them even less punishable on shield, thanks to the increased shieldstun. As a result, Olimar is marginally better in comparison to during SSB4's initial release.

1.0.4

• The Pikmin's safespot distance from Olimar has decreased (5 → 4), making them follow Olimar sooner.
  • However, there is also a shorter distance between the Pikmin's own safespots (5 → 4).
• All Pikmin except purple Pikmin run faster (40 → 60 (overall run speed), 2.4 (red/yellow/blue)/3 (white) → 3 (R/Y/B)/4 (W).
• Pikmin have increased follow distance (18 → 23) if they have to change direction.
• Pikmin follow the previous aerial velocity for a shorter period of time (15 frames → 8).
• Neutral, forward, and back aerials have less landing lag (17 frames → 15).
• Pikmin Pluck can no longer be edge-canceled.
• Red, Yellow and Blue Pikmin latched onto opponents deal less damage (1.3% → 1.1%).
• White Pikmin latched onto opponents deal more damage (2.6% → 3.7%).
• Purple Pikmin throw deal less damage (6.5% → 6%).
• Pikmin Throw's additional latch time has been increased (200 frames → 300).

1.0.6

• Forward smash deals less knockback (30 (base)/92/101/90 (scaling red/(yellow/blue/white)/purple) → 33/(86/94/84).
• Up smash has less knockback scaling (86/79/82 (red clean near/clean far/late)/94/86/90 (yellow/blue/white clean near/clean far/late)/84/77/81(purple clean near/clean far/late) → 83/74/78 (R)/91/81/85 (YBW)/81/72/76 (P)).
• Down smash deals less knockback (30/22/0 (base/late (red/yellow/blue/white/late (purple))/89/97/78 (scaling red/(yellow/blue/white)/purple) → (32/25 (RBYW)/32/0 (P)/(81/89/72).
• Pummel now has transcendent priority.
• Pikmin can no longer be seen immediately when plucked out of the ground (frame 1 → 2).
• Order tackle can no longer be reflected when the Pikmin return to Olimar.
  • As a result, this fixed a glitch where reflecting Order Tackle would give the Pikmin a permanent power boost.
    • This hinders Order Tackle's utility in doubles, as Olimar can no longer attach Pikmin to a Fox holding out a Reflector, return the Pikmin and have the Pikmin deal over 999% damage and OHKO opponents when used as an attack.

1.0.8

• Fixed a glitch where Pikmin Order no longer reverses from ledge grabs.

Moveset

• All Pikmin-based moves and grabs involve the next Pikmin in the line to perform the given attack. Upon performing a move, that Pikmin goes to the back of the line.
• Each Pikmin follows a general set of rules for their attacks:
  • Red Pikmin deal more damage for attacks (around 1.2x damage for most attacks), but less for throws (around 0.8x damage). Their attacks have a flame effect.
  • Yellow Pikmin have larger hitboxes (around 1.25x larger for most hitboxes). Their attacks have an electric effect.
  • Blue Pikmin have more damaging throws (around 1.6x damage).
  • White Pikmin have minimal power in attacks (around 0.8x damage for most hitboxes), but have significantly longer grab and toss range and deal more latching damage. Their grab-related attacks have a darkness effect.
  • Purple Pikmin have high power in damage (around 1.4x damage for most hitboxes) and knockback, but have minimal range for ranged attacks.

For a gallery of Olimar's hitboxes, see here.

		Name	Damage						Description
			Olimar	Red	Yellow	Blue	White	Purple
Neutral attack			3% (arm), 4% (fist)	—	—	—	—	—	The Rocket Fist's one-two combo. It has very minimal start-up and ending lag, average knockback growth, and its second hit launches at 45°. Altogether, these traits enable it to act as a very reliable pseudo-jab cancel, with follow-ups including a grab at low percents, and Pikmin Throw or a dash grab at medium percents. These traits also make it capable of starting a tech-chase at high percents. Performing it repeatedly will also slightly move Olimar forward.
			3% (arm), 4% (fist)	—	—	—	—	—
Forward tilt			11%	—	—	—	—	—	The Rocket Fist's wind-up punch. It is powerful for a tilt attack, thanks to its decent damage output and high knockback growth. It KOs middleweights at 132%/120% (3DS/Wii U) while near the edge of Final Destination. Due to it hitting on frame 15, however, it is very punishable and has the highest amount of start-up lag out of his entire moveset. In addition, it is Olimar's only KOing option when he does not have any Pikmin.
Up tilt			0.6% (hits 1-6), 4% (hit 7)	—	—	—	—	—	A jumping twirl. It hits on frame 6, has decent vertical range, and hits multiple times, with its last hit possessing very high knockback growth. Altogether, these traits make it a decent anti-air attack, while the final hit can KO middleweights at around 182% on Final Destination with high rage.
Down tilt			6%	—	—	—	—	—	A sliding tackle. It hits on frame 6, and has very low base knockback, very high knockback growth, and minimal ending lag. Altogether, these traits make it a reliable combo starter at low to medium percents. It can combo into itself (especially on fast-fallers), up tilt, smash attacks, and aerial attacks, depending on the opponent's DI. It can also interfere with an opponent's edge grab attempt, thanks to its hitbox being capable of going below the edge. Like neutral attack, performing it repeatedly will slightly move Olimar forward.
Dash attack			7% (hit 1), 4% (hit 2)	—	—	—	—	—	A cartwheel. It can function as a mix-up, as it is able combo into up aerial at 0%-10%. However, its second hit's minimal damage output, high base knockback, and low knockback growth collectively make it unable to combo past minimal percents, or KO at reasonable percents.
Forward smash			—	17.4% (clean), 12% (mid), 7.2% (late)	14.5% (clean), 10% (mid), 6% (late)	14.5% (clean), 10% (mid), 6% (late)	11.6% (clean), 8% (mid), 4.8% (late)	20.3% (clean), 14% (mid), 8.4% (late)	Points forward to command a Pikmin to leap forward and perform a corkscrew tackle. Due to it hitting on frame 11, it is the second fastest forward smash in the game. It is also Olimar's most damaging smash attack, has minimal ending lag, and boasts impressive power even while using Yellow or Blue Pikmin. Clean Purple Pikmin-based forward smash KOs middleweights at 80%/73% (3DS/Wii U) while near the edge of Final Destination. It also has a slight chance to trip opponents. However, it only KOs reliably while using Red, Yellow, Blue, and Purple Pikmin at close range.
Up smash			—	15.6% (clean near), 12% (clean far), 13.2% (late)	13% (clean near), 10% (clean far), 11% (late)	13% (clean near), 10% (clean far), 11% (late)	10.4% (clean near), 8% (clean far), 8.8% (late)	18.2% (clean near), 14% (clean far), 15.4% (late)	Points upward to command a Pikmin to jump and perform a cartwheeling tackle. Due to hitting on frame 12, it has decent start-up lag for a smash attack. It also boasts impressive power even while using Yellow or Blue Pikmin. Clean near Purple Pikmin-based up smash KOs middleweights at 94%/87% (3DS/Wii U) from anywhere on Final Destination. However, it has the highest amount of start-up lag out of his smash attacks, and its 33 frames of ending lag is the highest out of his smash attacks. In addition, it only KOs reliably while using Red, Yellow, Blue, and Purple Pikmin at point-blank range.
Down smash			—	13.2% (clean), 10.8% (late)	11% (clean), 9% (late)	11% (clean), 9% (late)	8.8% (clean), 7.2% (late)	15.4% (clean), 12.6% (late)	Squats slightly and points to both of his sides to command two Pikmin to perform dashing tackles. Due to it hitting on frame 10, it has decent start-up lag for a smash attack. It also has a chance to trip opponents and, if the opponent is close enough to Olimar, both Pikmin can hit them. Clean Purple Pikmin-based down smash KOs middleweights at 124%/114% (3DS/Wii U) while near the edge of Final Destination. Due to being his least damaging smash attack, however, it has lower KO potential compared to forward/up smashes. In addition, its Purple Pikmin-based late hit has much less knockback and a noticeably shorter duration.
Neutral aerial			1.5% (hits 1-4), 2% (hit 5)	—	—	—	—	—	A jumping twirl. It is a reliable combo starter at low to high percents when SHFF'd, as it can combo into neutral attack; up/down tilts; down smash; and a grab. As a non-Pikmin attack, it's Olimar's only aerial that does not lose all trades. However, it lacks KO potential like his other aerials.
Forward aerial			—	10.2%	8.5%	8.5%	6.8%	11.9%	Grabs a Pikmin by its stem and swings it downward in front of himself. It is a very reliable follow-up from down throw, and is useful for approaching when SHFF'd or for edge-guarding.
Back aerial			—	12.96%	10.8%	10.8%	8.64%	15.12%	Grabs a Pikmin by its stem and swings it upward behind himself. It is Olimar's most damaging aerial, and a viable KOing option with Red or Purple Pikmin. Purple Pikmin-based back aerial KOs middleweights at 111%/101% (3DS/Wii U) while near the edge of Final Destination. Due to it hitting on frame 10, however, it has the highest start-up lag out of his aerials.
Up aerial			—	10.8%	9%	9%	7.2%	12.6%	Grabs a Pikmin by its stem and twirls it upward. It is tied with down aerial as his second most damaging aerial, and is a viable KOing option. Purple Pikmin-based up aerial KOs middleweights at 105%/97% (3DS/Wii U) while near the upper blast line of Final Destination. However, it has a noticeable amount of landing lag.
Down aerial			—	10.8%	9%	9%	7.2%	12.6%	Grabs a Pikmin by its stem and swings it downward. It is tied with up aerial as his second most damaging aerial. It is also a meteor smash, but only against aerial opponents and during its first frame. However, it has a noticeable amount of landing lag.
Grab			—	—	—	—	—	—	Points forward to command a Pikmin to grab the opponent. The Pikmin function as disjointed grabs, and Olimar's overall grab range varies depending on the Pikmin used. White Pikmin have the longest range, and notably grant Olimar the fourth longest ranged standing grab in the game. Red, Yellow, and Blue Pikmin grant him the sixth longest ranged standing grab in the game. Lastly, Purple Pikmin have the shortest range, but nevertheless grant Olimar the tenth longest ranged standing grab in the game.
Pummel			—	2%	2%	2%	4%	2%	The Pikmin strikes the opponent with its stem. It has average speed, but when used with White Pikmin, its damage output is tied with Shulk's Buster-boosted pummel for the most damaging pummel in the game.
Forward throw			—	5.6%	7%	11.2%	7%	7%	The Pikmin shoves the opponent away. It is Olimar's least useful throw, as its only utility consists of dealing damage.
Back throw			—	7.2%	9%	14.4%	9%	9%	Olimar and the Pikmin turn around and the Pikmin performs a body slam. It deals the most damage out of all of Olimar's throws and launches at 45°. These traits make it capable of KOing while using Blue Pikmin, and decent for setting up an edge-guard at high percents with non-Blue Pikmin. Blue Pikmin back throw KOs middleweights at 161% while near the edge of Final Destination in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
Up throw			—	6.4%	8%	12.8%	8%	8%	The Pikmin jumps up, turns upside down, and performs a modified piledriver. Although its knockback has decreased since Brawl, it is still one of the strongest up throws in the game while using Blue Pikmin. Blue Pikmin up throw KOs middleweights at 157%/146% (3DS/Wii U) from anywhere on Final Destination.
Down throw			—	1% (hit 1), 5.6% (throw)	1% (hit 1), 7% (throw)	1% (hit 1), 11.2% (throw)	0.8% (hit 1), 7% (throw)	1.4% (hit 1), 7% (throw)	The Pikmin pins the opponent to the ground and then jumps to perform a downward battering ram. It is Olimar's best combo starter, especially while using Red Pikmin. Red Pikmin down throw can combo into neutral aerial at 0% to low percents; forward and reverse aerial rushed back aerials at 0% to high percents; and up aerial at low to high percents. One particularly notable combo is a Red Pikmin down throw followed by a Purple Pikmin back aerial, which is a true combo that KOs reliably while near the edge. Red Pikmin down throw can also combo into forward tilt and forward smash at 0% to low percents, albeit only against fast-fallers. Yellow, Blue, White, and Purple Pikmin can also perform these combos, but their combo potential wanes considerably past medium percents because of their throw damage being much higher than the Red Pikmin's.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	—	—	—	—	—	Punches in front of himself and then behind himself while getting up.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	—	—	—	—	—	Headbutts in front of himself and then behind himself while getting up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	—	—	—	—	—	Headbutts in front of himself and then spins around to perform a double-footed back kick behind himself.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	—	—	—	—	—	Throws a punch while climbing up.
Neutral special	Default	Pikmin Pluck	—	—	—	—	—	—	Plucks a Pikmin. It cannot be used in midair, and has noticeable ending lag if it is attempted in midair, or if no more Pikmin can be plucked.
	Custom 1	Hardy Pikmin Pluck	—	—	—	—	—	—	Pikmin have much more hit points and knockback resistance, but take much longer to pluck.
	Custom 2	Explosive Pluck	—	8%	8%	8%	5%	10%	Each pluck detonates an explosion, but Pikmin take longer to pluck and have less hit points.
Side special	Default	Pikmin Throw	—	7.8% (thrown), 1.1% (latched)	6.5% (thrown), 1.1% (latched)	6.5% (thrown), 1.1% (latched)	5.2% (thrown), 3.7% (latched)	6%	Throws a Pikmin, which latches onto opponents and damages them before falling off either because of flinching, the opponent's damage, or being killed. In regard to the opponent's damage, a Pikmin's latch duration decreases when the opponent's damage increases, even when undisturbed. When undisturbed, Pikmin can stay latched on for a maximum of 6 seconds (360 frames) from 0%-49%; a maximum of 5 seconds (300 frames) from 50%-99%; a maximum of 4 seconds (240 frames) from 100%-149%; a maximum of 3.5 seconds (210 frames) from 150%-349%; and a maximum of 1 second (60 frames) from 350%-999%. Due to the Purple Pikmin's inability to latch onto anything like in their home series, they will instead deal damage on contact. On a related note, if the target cannot be latched onto, any non-Purple Pikmin simply deal damage.
	Custom 1	Sticky Pikmin Throw	—	7.8% (thrown), 1% (latched)	6.5% (thrown), 1% (latched)	6.5% (thrown), 1% (latched)	5.2% (thrown), 2% (latched)	9.1%	Pikmin hit faster and remain latched on longer. However, the distance Pikmin are thrown is considerably shorter, and latched Pikmin deal less damage per hit.
	Custom 2	Tackle Pikmin Throw	—	5%	5%	5%	3%	8%	All thrown Pikmin act like Purple Pikmin and tackle opponents instead of latching onto them. Red, Yellow, Blue, and White Pikmin deal less damage, but Purple Pikmin deal more damage.
Up special	Default	Winged Pikmin	—	—	—	—	—	—	Two Winged Pikmin carry Olimar around. Winged Pikmin's effectiveness is dependent on both the amount of Pikmin that Olimar has, and the frequency of its usage. Having no Pikmin in tow allows them to travel almost across the entirety of Final Destination, one Pikmin in tow allows them to travel over 80% of Final Destination, two Pikmin in tow allows them to travel slightly over 50% of Final Destination, and three Pikmin in tow allows them travel over less than 50% of Final Destination. In regard to frequency, it takes approximately 3 seconds (180 frames) for Winged Pikmin to be able to travel the same distance again after the conclusion of the initial usage. Olimar can also use his aerial attacks while being carried, similarly to Wings of Icarus. However, doing so will render him helpless immediately after the conclusion of the aerial.
	Custom 1	Winged Pikmin Jump	—	—	—	—	—	—	Functions like a traditional recovery by lacking the maneuverability in order to quickly lift Olimar upward a certain distance before falling. The Winged Pikmin also push away nearby opponents.
	Custom 2	Mighty Winged Pikmin	—	—	—	—	—	—	The distance traveled does not depend on Pikmin carried, which is less than the default's max distance.
Down special	Default	Pikmin Order	—	—	—	—	—	—	Blows his whistle to recall Pikmin and/or sort out their order in the line. It also grants super armor on frames 6-12.
	Custom 1	Order Tackle	—	1%	1%	1%	3%	5%	Pikmin recalled deal damage as they travel, but the whistle has a fair amount of ending lag.
	Custom 2	Dizzy Whistle	0.1% (hit 1), 1% (hit 2)	—	—	—	—	—	Deals damage and reverses opponents within the whistle's range, but has a noticeable amount of start-up lag.
Final Smash		End of Day	10% (launch), 10% (ascent), 0.125% (Red Bulborbs), 10% (descent), 12%/10% (explosion)						Jumps into the Hocotate Ship and launches into outer space, which buries any nearby opponents. While the ship has left the stage, Red Bulborbs attack opponents to steadily inflict damage; they deal damage every frame for 120 frames (2 seconds), dealing up to 15%. The Hocotate Ship then descends from outer space, and explodes upon crash landing onto the stage. Its KO potential has significantly worsened since Brawl, but it is still fairly strong, as its most damaging explosion is strong enough to KOs middleweights at 70% while near the edge of Final Destination in the 3DS version. Although its least damaging explosion deals slightly less damage, it has significantly less knockback. The Hocotate Ship can also be maneuvered during its descent, similarly to a Warp Star. However, it is actually possible for Olimar to inadvertently self-destruct if he descends towards the lower blast line.

Stats

Stats	Weight	Dash speed	Walk speed	Traction	Air friction	Air speed	Air acceleration	Gravity	Falling speed	Jumpsquat	Jump Height	Double jump Height
Value	79	1.4 – Initial dash 1.47 – Run	0.9	0.06	0.015	0.82	0.01 – Base 0.07 – Additional	0.068	1.35 – Base 2.16 – Fast-fall	5	33.5 - Base 16.191645 - Short hop	33.5

Announcer calls

The announcer also calls the Pikmin in the Japanese, Chinese, and Korean versions.

Olimar

• English

• Japanese/Chinese/Korean

• French

Alph

• English

• Japanese/Chinese/Korean

• French

On-screen appearance

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

Taunts

• Up taunt: Joyfully jumps in place three times.
• Side taunt: Lies down on the ground, rolls around as if basking in nature, and then gets up.
• Down taunt: Swings his hips.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Rubs his helmet with both hands.
• Moves his arms back and forward in a basic limber exercise.

Crowd cheer

Olimar	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Olimar! Olimar! Olimar!	Pik-min! Ol-i-mar!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Alph	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Alph! Alph! Alph!	Pik-min! Al-ph!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Victory poses

A remixed excerpt of Pikmin's title screen theme.

• Plucks a White, Blue, and Purple Pikmin. The White Pikmin and Blue Pikmin bounce off Olimar's head, whereas the Purple Pikmin squashes him onto the ground. Olimar's eyes will comically bulge outward upon being squashed before his expression returns to normal, whereas Alph will comically wince upon being squashed before his expression returns to normal.
• Performs a toe touching exercise while a Yellow Pikmin rests on the ground and a Red Pikmin looks around.
• Sways in place while a Red, Yellow, and Blue Pikmin walk around him in a circle.

In competitive play

Tier placement and history

Like in Brawl, Olimar's placing in SSB4 was one of the most contentious among the cast. At first, players would deem his nerfs as being too harsh for him to even be assessed as a mid-tier character, with some even considering him to be a bottom-tier character. This was primarily due to SSB4's adjusted and quicker mechanics combined with Olimar’s camping game being toned down, and his strengths being unrecognized at the time. This perception would remain intact for several months until players soon started to demonstrate Olimar's retained strengths, with professionals like Dabuz, ImHip, Shuton, and Soulimar attaining high placings. As a result, Olimar was ranked 24th on the first tier list.

Although his competitive prospects and placings were accelerating, Olimar's rare usage negatively stood out compared with other high-tier characters. To reflect this, he dropped 30th on the second tier list. As before, representatives such as Dabuz and Shuton continued to defeat top players at high-level tournaments and achieve great placings. These demonstrations allowed Olimar to achieve 27th and then to 21st on the third and fourth tier lists, respectively. Although he was not dominating as he was in Brawl, Olimar has nevertheless managed to achieve solid success despite the quicker mechanics and the dominance of the DLC characters, especially Corrin and Bayonetta.

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Olimar	1112	1311	1312	1212	2112
	2212	2211	2312	2131	3312

Notable players

Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the PGR 100, which recognizes the official top 100 players in Super Smash Bros. 4 of all time.

•  Angbad - Placed 25th at CEO 2016; 33rd at Paragon Los Angeles 2015 and 33rd at EVO 2016; and 49th at Apex 2015.
•  Coco - Placed 2nd at Combo Breaker 2015 and 13th at The Big House 5 in doubles play. Formerly ranked 7th on the Michigan Power Rankings.
•  Dabuz (#4) - The best Olimar player in the United States and one of the two best ones in the world. Placed 1st at WTFox 2, Aftershock 2016, and Smash Valley; 2nd at Apex 2015 and Super Smash Con 2016; 3rd at CEO 2016; 4th at Frostbite 2017; 5th at EVO 2015 and The Big House 6; and 7th at GENESIS 4.
•  Gomakenpi - The best Olimar player in the Midwest. Placed 9th at Chronicles of Olympus II and 33rd at Midwest Mayhem 11. Also ranked 12th on the Michigan Smash 4 Power Rankings. Has taken a set off of Marss.
•  GreenBeast - Placed 7th at Midwest Mayhem and 13th at Smash 'N' Splash.
•  ImHip - Placed 9th at Final Battle; 17th at Paragon Los Angeles 2015 and 2GGC: GENESIS Saga; and 33rd at 2GGC: Midwest Mayhem Saga and 2GGC: Civil War. Ranked 15th on the SoCal Power Rankings.
•  Klaatu - Placed 17th at 2GGT: Abadango Saga; 25th at 2GGC: Greninja Saga; and 33rd at 2GGT: Mexico Saga and 2GGT: ZeRo Saga.
•  Krow - Placed 2nd at Full Bloom 2; 17th at Midwest Mayhem 4; and 25th at Midwest Mayhem 3. Ranked 5th on the Indiana Power Rankings.
•  Logic - Placed 7th at PAX Prime 2015; 9th at Smash 'N' Splash and Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo; 17th at Royal Flush; 25th at Super Smash Con 2015; 33rd at CEO 2015; and 49th at EVO 2016 and Super Smash Con 2016. Formerly ranked 15th on the MD/VA Power Rankings.
•  Myran - Considered one of the best Olimar players in the world. Placed 5th at Paragon Los Angeles 2015; 17th at Frame Perfect Series 2 and 2GGC: Nairo Saga; 25th at CEO 2015 and Frostbite 2017; and 33rd at Apex 2015 and CEO 2016.
•  Rich Brown - Formerly a Olimar main before switching to Mewtwo. Placed 13th at Paragon Los Angeles 2015, 17th at Final Battle, and 25th at Apex 2015 with solo Olimar.
•  Shuton (#23) - The best Olimar player in the world. Placed 1st at Sumabato 15; 3rd at Sumabato 14 and 2GGC: West Side Saga; 5th at Frostbite 2017; 9th at Umebura S.A.T.; and 13th at 2GGC: Civil War. Ranked 4th on the JAPAN Power Rankings.
•  Syco - Placed 25th at Midwest Mayhem 6: SoCal Invasion and Naifu Wars: World War 1. Ranked 6th on the Ohio Power Rankings.

Trophies

3DS Classic Mode trophy

Wii U Classic Mode trophy

Olimar

A veteran spaceship pilot for Hocotate Freight, Captain Olimar partners with Pikmin in Smash Bros. to help him in battle. Olimar is much stronger when he's got Pikmin with him, so keep them plucked and good to go. Pikmin abilities are based on their color—learn what each is best at!

: Pikmin (12/2001)

: Pikmin 2 (08/2004)

Captain Olimar, veteran Hocotate Freight astronaut, joins forces with Pikmin again in this game to take on the world. Olimar isn't much of an attacker without Pikmin by his side, so you should always keep some ready. Pikmin have different abilities depending on their colour, so learn how they work to use them effectively!

: Pikmin (06/2002)

: Pikmin 2 (10/2004)

3DS All-Star Mode trophy

Wii U alternate trophy

Olimar (Alt.)

Pikmin aren't just good for attacking, you know. For example, when you throw them, they can pick up items on their way back. Only items that aren't very heavy, though! Also, if there's someone charging or shooting at you, a well-timed Pikmin throw can stop them in their tracks!

Pikmin are good for more than attacking, you know. For example, when you throw them, they can pick up small items on their way back to you, or latch onto containers to break them open! Also, if there are opponents charging or shooting at you, well-timed Pikmin Throws can stop them in their tracks!

: Pikmin (12/2001)

: Pikmin 2 (08/2004)

Pikmin aren't just good for attacking, you know. For example, try throwing them at boxes. They'll grab them and drag them in for you, hitting enemies along the way. Also, if there's someone charging or shooting at you, a well-timed Pikmin-throw can stop them. Just don't forget to replace your Pikmin when they're gone!

: Pikmin (06/2002)

: Pikmin 2 (10/2004)

End of Day trophy

End of Day

On the planet Olimar is investigating, the native creatures become extra violent at night, forcing him to retreat to orbit every evening. His Final Smash works the same way: night falls and Olimar takes to the sky, leaving his foes to the mercy of the wildlife below. Olimar returns when dawn breaks, and you can adjust his less-than-safe landing!

On the planet of the Pikmin, the native creatures get quite violent come nightfall, so Olimar retreats to orbit every evening. That's how his Final Smash works, too: Olimar takes off in his trusty Dolphin,^[sic] then in come the beasties to take care of the other fighters. When Olimar returns, make sure he touches down, er...safely!

3DS Alph trophy

Wii U Alph trophy

Alph

Alph is a young explorer who crashed on the planet PNF-404. As the engineer of the S.S. Drake, he feels responsible for finding the missing crew and the ship after the crash. Waking up in a pond, Alph quickly encounters a tiny creature—it's a Pikmin!

: Pikmin 3 (08/2013)

A member of the crew that crash-landed on PNF-404. This young engineer is separated from the rest of his team during landing, but as an engineer, he's just as worried about their ship, the SS Drake. While looking for his crewmates and ship, Alph encounters some strange yet helpful little creatures...

: Pikmin 3 (07/2013)

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• A Battle of Scale: A tiny Olimar must defeat a giant Bowser.
• All-Star Battle: Brawl: Olimar is one of the opponents fought in this event. All of the opponents debuted in Brawl.
• The Big 7650!: As Pac-Man, the player must use his Final Smash, Super Pac-Man, on three Olimars within 15 seconds.

Co-op Events

• Poisonous Planet: Olimar and Samus must defeat two giant Charizard in a Stamina Battle before their own health is depleted via flowering.
• Solidarity: Olimar and Rosalina & Luma must defeat Mario and Luigi, and then defeat Bowser and Bowser Jr.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.
• Visiting Onett: Ness and Villager must defeat Olimar, Kirby, Meta Knight, Fox, Falco, and Rosalina & Luma. All of the opponents are outer space-based characters.

Alternate costumes

Instead of alternate color schemes, half of Olimar's alternate costumes consist of Alph, one of the three leaders from Pikmin 3.

Gallery

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  Olimar in the Nintendo Direct from April 8th, 2014.

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  Olimar's amiibo.

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  The Pic of the Day revealing Olimar's return to the series and commemorating Pikmin 3's Japanese launch.

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  Olimar using a White Pikmin-based forward smash on Mario in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

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  Olimar alongside Link in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Olimar dashing.

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  Using a Red Pikmin-based forward smash on Fox.

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  Using a White Pikmin-based back aerial on Mega Man.

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  Using a Red and Purple Pikmin-based down smash on Pit and Link.

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  Red, Yellow, and White Pikmin.

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  Olimar dashing away from Bowser while the spirit of a deceased Blue Pikmin is visible.

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  Olimar falling.

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  White, Blue, and Yellow Pikmin looking up at Kirby.

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  Using his side taunt.

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  White, Red, and Purple Pikmin alongside a supine Mega Man.

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  A closeup of a Yellow Pikmin, Olimar's whistle, and his space suit's Hocotate Freight patch.

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  Using his forward smash alongside Wii Fit Trainer's forward smash.

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  Alongside Sonic and a Hocotate Bomb.

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  Using Winged Pikmin, his new up special.

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  Alph alongside a Red, Blue, and Yellow Pikmin. Due to a glitch, the latter two Pikmin's models have become meshed.

Trivia

• Because Olimar's placement in All-Star Mode is based on his own debut instead of Alph's, whose debut in Pikmin 3 occurred twelve years after Olimar's debut in Pikmin, Alph will be misplaced chronologically during All-Star Mode if he appears in Olimar's place. The same applies to Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings.
• Olimar's All-Star trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS is highly similar to his pose in his official artwork for Brawl.
• Olimar is the only character who does not use his official alt. trophy when he is faced in rounds 4-5 in Classic Mode in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Instead, he uses Alph's trophy.
• Although Alph travels in the S.S. Drake in Pikmin 3, he instead travels in the Hocotate Ship for his on-screen appearance and Final Smash because of his status as an alternate costume.
• Olimar and Alph have different expressions when they are hit. Olimar's eyes comically bulge out, which he commonly does in Pikmin 2 upon being surprised, whereas Alph winces.
• Alph was intended to be promoted from an alternate costume to a clone of Olimar, much like Dr. Mario, Dark Pit, and Lucina, however he was left as an alternate costume presumably due to time constraints.
• Olimar is the only character to have only one special move in his default moveset that deals damage.
  • He is also the only character to have a special move (Winged Pikmin in his case) that lacks any damage-dealing custom versions.
• In the European version of End of Day's trophy, it mistakenly says that Olimar pilots the S.S. Dolphin during it. However, he actually pilots the Hocotate Ship during End of Day.
• Despite Pikmin Throw's ability to make thrown Pikmin bring items to Olimar being exclusive to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, his alt. trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS mentions it regardless.
• Olimar's render in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS's character select screen is slightly altered, as all three Pikmin are brought closer to Olimar to fit them into the icon. He, along with Rosalina & Luma and Duck Hunt, is the only one to have edited renders in the game.
  • Of the three, he is the only veteran.