Olimar (SSBB)

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

“	A veteran spaceman who teams up with Pikmin to fight!	”
—Brawl instruction manual

Olimar in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Universe	Pikmin
Other playable appearance	in SSB4
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	End of Day
Tier	A+ (3)

Olimar, also known as Pikmin & Olimar (ピクミン＆オリマー Pikumin & Orimā) is a playable character from the Pikmin series in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Olimar's fighter design in Brawl is collectively comprised of Captain Olimar himself, the main character of Pikmin, as well as his band of polychromatic Pikmin, coming in red, blue, yellow, purple, and white. Olimar is very weak on his own, and needs Pikmin to do smash attacks, most aerial attacks, and all throws. Each Pikmin has different effects for certain attacks. When Olimar plucks some Pikmin, they will all have a leaf on their head. After a certain period of time, their leaf will change into a bud, and later into a flower. All Pikmin are unaffected by Bumpers. In the original Pikmin games, Olimar is actually only 4 centimeters tall (including antenna), so his size is increased for Brawl. Olimar is one of the only characters in the game to have no voice at all, but in Pikmin games, he is shown to have a voice which he announces his name and various grunts.

Olimar ranks 3rd on the current tier list, putting him in the A+ tier. He has one of the best damage racking abilities in Brawl, with his throws, up aerial, forward aerial, and Pikmin Throw being able to deal damage very quickly, and strong KO power without compensating much speed; all of his smashes and his Pikmin-based aerials are powerful when used with Red, Blue, and especially Purple Pikmin. Olimar's grabs are among the farthest-reaching in the game, and all four of his throws can KO when used with Blue and/or Purple Pikmin. Olimar also possesses a strong camping game and can use his long-ranged Pikmin attacks to create a wall that is very difficult for characters such as Donkey Kong to get through; the various types of Pikmin Olimar can use also makes him relatively unpredictable, with the type advantages of each Pikmin allowing for some advantages in some matchups. Olimar's biggest weakness, however, is his terrible recovery (one of the worst recoveries in the game) that is easily edgehogged and provides terrible distance if he does not have many Pikmin with him, as well as relatively poor approach options, due to his limited air and ground speeds, and susceptibility to juggles, pressure, and edgeguarding (which combines with his terrible recovery to give him very poor survivability). These disadvantages put him at even matchups against the likes of many characters who can approach in the air effectively, such as Peach and Ness. However, Olimar has very strong matchups against most characters (possessing only three disadvantageous ones), and has achieved very strong tournament results.

Attributes

Olimar is a unique character. All but six of his attacks rely on Pikmin to perform, each with unique characteristics and suitability to each type of move. As such, it is difficult to quantify the effectiveness of any particular class of Olimar's moves. In general, the Pikmin can do severe damage if not dealt with, they can block certain moves to halt approaches or recoveries (like Ike's Quick Draw and Ness' PK Thunder), they can allow some of Olimar's attacks to continue even if he is hit, and they can combine to become a long tether. In addition, if Pikmin are ordered correctly, Olimar can have powerful throws (using Blue Pikmin), the longest grab range in the game (White or Blue), great aerials (Red, Yellow, and Purple), extremely damaging and powerful smash attacks (Purple), and a highly-damaging projectile in Pikmin Throw (White). Olimar generally has quick, long-lasting attacks, including his useful down aerial meteor smash, and he is one of the smallest characters in the game, a factor that when combined with his Pikmin Order's launch resistance makes KO'ing Olimar not a small task. He can also be very difficult to approach if wielding many Pikmin. Finally, Olimar's primary three Pikmin (Red, Yellow and Blue) are each immune to certain types of attacks (fire, electricity, and water respectively), making them more difficult to deal with in certain matchups.

At his purest, Olimar is about damage. Aside from Purples, all his Pikmin can be continuously thrown at the opponent until they are up close, constantly racking up the damage, while Olimar has two Pikmin-less moves capable of sucking in the opponent for more damage in his up-tilt and neutral-air. Pikmin Throw can be the most damaging projectile in the game should the opponent be indifferent or occupied (one White Pikmin can do up to 36% damage when the target starts with low percent and does not knock it off). Also note that Olimar's forward smash, side special, and grab all look similar, making it difficult to tell what he is doing. He can continuously guard himself with long-lasting/reaching moves for the opponent to run into, in their hurry to stop having Pikmin assault them. Olimar is arguably the best shield-grabber in the game, with his grab range being fantastic on all Pikmin except Purples; the range is good enough to make up for the slight lag of the grab as opponents are occasionally too far away to take advantage of the grab attempt (unless they've sidestepped). Olimar is excellent at popping the opponent into the air for aerial damage with his fast, deceptively-ranged (in front) up-smash, best performed with a Yellow Pikmin for max range. From there, he has a long-lasting up-air which serves as both a superb defence above him, as well as an excellent way to harass opponents returning to the ground, and it cancels quick enough to throw up another up-air, an up-smash, or a Pikmin Chain should they be more to the front of Olimar. Like Falco, even good players can count on a good Olimar taking the first 50% or so of a stock without a problem, especially if down tilt, Olimar's best setup move regardless of percent, hits.

Olimar's not bad at KO'ing, either. Rarely can an opponent facing an Olimar predict which Pikmin is coming next, or how, so surprise Purple smashes or Red aerials can cause serious problems. Forward smash in particular is deadly, due to its range, power (especially with a Purple), and how difficult it is to punish, while a Purple up smash can KO in the 80%'s if fresh (while players would prefer to use the up smash early and often for spacing puropses, they will attempt to save it for surprise KOs in doubles). Blue Pikmin horizontal throws, along with Purple Pikmin vertical throws, are also cause for concern due to their KO'ing ability.

Though he has significant strengths, he does have his drawbacks. Olimar is completely dependent on Pikmin for his smashes, grabs, specials, and four of five aerials, so having no Pikmin in his lineup results in him only having 6 damaging attacks, leaving him in serious trouble. This problem is heightened as Olimar loses all his Pikmin when he is KO'd, making him predictable for the first few seconds of every stock (save for the first) because most Olimar players will most likely use their invincibility frames for plucking Pikmin instead of attacking. All Pikmin (excluding Blue ones) drown in water deep enough to swim in, which can make him vulnerable when fighting on stages such as Jungle Japes and Summit. As Olimar does not perform grabs himself, he does not gain launch resistance from them (only the grabbing Pikmin does) and so he cannot grab through opponents' attacks, unlike all other characters. He is also a very light and floaty character; his floatiness causes him to be easy to juggle for most characters, especially since his aerials have unusual priority rules that hamper his ability to counter other aerials, and his neutral air (his only non-Pikmin air attack) is not designed for defense. His mobility is also slow, both in the air and on the ground. Olimar players must also learn what each Pikmin are capable of and must adapt to each one, especially in the middle of a fight - a careless or inattentive Olimar player may miss a sure KO if a Purple smash or grab is out of range or a White Pikmin is used to attack by mistake. Combined with needing to pay attention to Pikmin that do unexpected things due to randomness or glitches, this gives him an extremely high learning curve.

Olimar's biggest problem is his abysmal recovery. Although his double jump is decent, he has poor air speed and relies on a tether recovery. As a result, he is at the mercy of edge hogging, and because the move puts him into the helpless state he must attempt to throw Pikmin to fend off an opponent trying to do so before he attempts to grab the edge - and since the length of his tether is based on how many Pikmin are in his line, this can make the problem worse by hurting how far away he can grab the edge from. It also means that, should the opponent manage to get Olimar down a few Pikmin, he will have much fewer options when put off the stage and have a good chance at being gimped (despite his slightly wider meteor cancel window). Olimar is also on the low end of the weight scale, which reduces the time needed for his recovery weakness to assert itself.

On the whole, Olimar is a highly technical character whose extreme learning curve is rewarded with a very strong moveset and unpredictability. New players will struggle with his unusual mechanics, but those with astute Pikmin micromanagement can turn Olimar into a veritable powerhouse.

Pikmin types and effects

	Health	Attributes
File:Pikmin 080111b.jpg	9	Red Pikmin are the basic offensive Pikmin. They deal the most damage for all regular attacks with the second-highest knockback. Reds are also immune to damage caused by flame hitboxes; they will simply eat the attack and continue their current action - since many characters can use fire, this makes them valuable as pseudo-outprioritizers for many matchups and allows Olimar to toss them straight through flammable enemy projectiles. Red Pikmin themselves deal fire damage for most of their attacks. Their biggest downside is their weakness to water; they die almost immediately upon landing in swimmable water, unlike other Pikmin. Red Pikmin are more likely to appear from cloth and sand floors, while they are less likely to appear from snow and ice (and cannot be plucked from shallow water at all).
	9	Yellow Pikmin deal average damage, with their main asset being their range - all Yellow hitboxes are bigger than their non-Yellow counterparts. Yellow Pikmin are also immune to electric attacks, allowing them to safely block a PK Thunder or Charge Shot, and produce electricity upon contact with other opponents during an attack (complete with more freeze frames). Combined with their increased hitbox size, this makes them easier to space with. When thrown, Yellow Pikmin will travel slower than other Pikmin and move in a pronounced arc. Depending on the terrain, this can make it easier or harder to connect with. Yellow Pikmin have no particular disadvantages, making them a useful type of Pikmin. They are more likely to appear from metallic or sandy floors, while they are less likely to appear from snow and ice.
	14	Blue Pikmin have more health than other Pikmin (second to Purple Pikmin), while most of their attacks deal slightly below-average damage. On the other hand, they have the longest grab range, and their throws deal very high knockback, KO'ing at medium percentages. Blue Pikmin are immune to water-effect attacks as well as drowning; any non-Blue Pikmin will drown if left swimming for more than one second. As a result, knocking Olimar into the water of stages such as Delfino Plaza or Pirate Ship will effectively delete all non-Blues from his lineup and make his attacks a bit more predictable for a while. Blue Pikmin are more likely to appear from water-based surfaces (snow, ice, clouds, water itself), while they are less likely to appear from sandy or brick floors.
	4	White Pikmin have very low health (the lowest of all Pikmin) and deal minimal damage for most attacks; connecting with a White smash or aerial produces a feeble noise and knockback that generally can't KO below 200%. On the other hand, when used to pummel or when thrown, they deal a lot of poison damage, significantly more than any other Pikmin. When thrown, White Pikmin travel very fast and very far, making them easy to toss off the edge unexpectedly but often easier to hit opponents with. They also have slightly higher movement speed than other Pikmin, so they do not fall out of Olimar's lineup as often. White Pikmin typically appear half as often as the basic three, although they are more common when pulled from snow or clouds.
	15	Purple Pikmin are the rarest Pikmin, appearing 0.4 times as often as the basic three on most terrains. They are also very slow; they sometimes lag behind Olimar and fall out of his lineup, and they don't travel very far when thrown, sent for a grab, or used in a smash attack. On the upside, they provide highly damaging attacks (second to Red Pikmin, and only for some attacks), have the most health of all Pikmin, have very good up and down throws, and deal the most knockback. Purple Pikmin do not latch onto opponents when thrown, they simply ram into them and deal damage; this mixup can halt opponents attempting to run through Pikmin spam. Purple Pikmin are more likely to appear from metal, brick, or grate floors and are generally seen as the most useful Pikmin by the community.

Moveset

All of Olimar's Pikmin-based moves and grabs use the next Pikmin in the line to perform the given attack, and the knockback and damage are dependent on the Pikmin type. That Pikmin then goes to the back of the line.

Ground attacks

Normal

• Neutral attack - Olimar headbutts twice, but hits three times. The antenna on his head deals slight damage, but not knockback. 15% damage (the last 10% is on the final hit, which connects with opponents in front of, above and behind Olimar, in that order). Start-up of 4 frames.
• Dash attack - Olimar does sort of a tripping cartwheel. Does 11% damage. Primarily vertical knockback. Hits on frame 8 to 34-45.
• Up tilt - Olimar jumps a little and spins in place, hitting multiple times. The last hit has significant knockback. Similar to his neutral aerial. Does 11% damage total. Higher priority than his up smash. Start-up of 6 frames.
• Forward tilt - Olimar kicks both legs forward, falling to the ground. Inflicts 6% damage and decent knockback at higher percentages. Hits on frame 9.
• Down tilt - Olimar does a headbutt along the ground and gains slight distance. Does 8% damage. Minimal knockback, combos well into up-tilt/smash early on, and is an excellent setup move at higher percentages. Hits on frame 6. Helmet antenna will do 2% damage and knockback if it connects by itself.

Smash attacks

• Forward smash - Throws a Pikmin in front of him, it deals damage and knockback, rather than latching on, having great knockback if the Pikmin is purple. Hits on frame 11 to 47 frames. A weak hit will occur if the Pikmin connects as it falls, making this move good for edge-guarding, but the Pikmin will die if thrown off the edge. Red Pikmin: 15% uncharged, 21% fully charged. Blue Pikmin: 15% uncharged, 21% fully charged. Yellow Pikmin: 13% uncharged, 18% fully charged. White Pikmin: 9% uncharged, 12% fully charged. Purple Pikmin: 18% uncharged, 25% fully charged.
• Up smash - Tosses a Pikmin a short distance in to the air. Olimar's fastest smash (hitbox out on frame 8), has surprising forward range. Possesses huge knockback when it's a purple Pikmin, being able to KO at 54% when fully charged. Red Pikmin: 15% uncharged, 21% fully charged. Blue Pikmin: 15% uncharged, 21% fully charged. Yellow Pikmin: 14% uncharged, 19% fully charged. White Pikmin: 9% uncharged, 12% fully charged. Purple Pikmin: 16% uncharged, 22% fully charged.
• Down smash - Throws out Pikmin a short distance to either side (uses the next two in order). Has no vertical knockback, making it useful against heavyweights and/or characters with short horizontal recovery (i.e. Ganondorf or Marth). The player can actually hit with both Pikmin if the opponent is in the middle. Hits on frame 10. Red Pikmin: 13% uncharged, 18% fully charged. Blue Pikmin: 12% uncharged, 16% fully charged. Yellow Pikmin: 11% uncharged, 15% fully charged. White Pikmin: 6% uncharged, 8% fully charged. Purple Pikmin: 15% uncharged, 21% fully charged.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial - Olimar spins in place, hitting multiple times. The last hit has moderate knockback. Inflicts 12% total. Start-up of 7 frames.
• Forward aerial - Smacks a short range with a Pikmin. Hits on frame 7. Swings in an arc. Red Pikmin: 15%, Blue: 13%, Yellow: 12%, White: 5%, Purple: 14%.
• Back aerial - Similar to the forward aerial, only behind Olimar and more of a horizontal arc. Will deal a powerful blow to enemies close in front of Olimar in the first few frames. Start-up of 10 frames. Red: 13%, Blue: 13%, Yellow: 12%, White: 5%, Purple: 13%.
• Up aerial - Throws a Pikmin a short distance over his head (multi-hit, with the last hit having some knockback). Ideal KO move when used with a red Pikmin. Hits on frame 8 and it ends on frame 44 to 50 (depending on the Pikmin). Long duration helps pursuing airdodges. Red: 24%, Blue: 22%, Yellow: 16%, White: 9%, Purple: 22%.
• Down aerial - Thrusts a Pikmin under himself. Short ranged. Hits on frame 9-16. The first few frames can spike being strongest the red Pikmin and weakest the white Pikmin, but the sweet spot for spiking is diagonally below Olimar. Red: 16%, Blue: 14%, Yellow: 12%, White: 8%, Purple: 14%.

Grabs & throws

Olimar himself does not do grabbing and throwing, instead he has the next Pikmin in order dash forwards and do the grabbing and throwing for him (this is an extended grab). All Pikmin except for Purple Pikmin have decent grabbing range, with the White, Blue and Red Pikmin having the longest grab range in the game. All his grabs have a start-up of 11 frames.

• Pummel - Pikmin attacks with headbutt. Red Pikmin and White Pikmin deal their respective damages. Most damaging pummel in the game when the white Pikmin is used. Red: 2%, Blue: 2%, Yellow: 2%, White: 4%, Purple: 2%.
• Forward throw - Pikmin leaps into the air, latches onto the opponent, and then pushes itself off. With Blue Pikmin, it is one of the strongest forward throws in the game in terms of knockback. When Purple Pikmin is used, it can KO at high percentages, though it is slightly weaker than Blue Pikmin. Red: 6%, Blue: 13%, Yellow: 7%, White: 6%, Purple: 7%.
• Back throw - Pikmin latches onto opponent and jumps backwards while slamming them into the ground. One of the strongest back throws in the game when it's a blue Pikmin. Red: 7%, Blue: 14%, Yellow: 9%, White: 7%, Purple: 9%.
• Up throw - Pikmin leaps into the air (while holding opponent), turns the opponent upside-down, then slams them into the ground. With the purple pikmin, it is by far the strongest up throw in the game, being even able to star KO under 125%. It is overall the second strongest throw in the game (only Ness's back throw is stronger). When Blue Pikmin is used, it can KO at high percentages, though it is slightly weaker than Purple Pikmin. Red: 9%, Blue: 12%, Yellow: 11%, White: 6%, Purple: 11%.
• Down throw - Pikmin slams opponent on ground, then jumps quite high, to jump on top of opponent. Can be used to chaingrab fastfallers and heavyweights, like King Dedede (best done with Blue Pikmin). Red: 9%, Blue: 12%, Yellow: 8%, White: 6%, Purple: 8%.

Special moves

Olimar's special moves

Neutral special	Pikmin Pluck
Side special	Pikmin Throw
Up special	Pikmin Chain	Winged Pikmin
Down special	Pikmin Order
Final Smash	End of Day

Taunts

Up: Jumps joyfully as if he had gained a new part for the Dolphin. Similar to the Ice Climbers' up taunt.
Side: Lays down on the ground as if he were asleep, then rolls over and gets up. Similar to Pikachu's down taunt.
Down: Plants feet and spins his hips twice.

Cheer

Olimar's NTSC and PAL cheer

Pik-Min! (high female voices) O-Li-Mar! (low male voices)

In Competitive play

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

Notable players

See also:Category:Olimar professionals

• Brood
• Dabuz
• Denti
• Logic
• Nietono
• Rich Brown

Tier placement and history

Shortly after Brawl's release, Olimar was ranked 18th place in middle tier. However, as Olimar's strong damage-racking capabilities were realized, along with his camping ability and disproportionately high KO power, Olimar rose to 10th-11th in high tier by the next tier list, maintaining a similar position for three years. After years of Olimar players such as Rich Brown, Brood, Nietono, and Dabuz doing very well at high-level tournaments such as MLG DC 2010, Apex 2010, and Apex 2012, Olimar was bumped up to 2nd place right underneath Meta Knight in April 2012. Olimar is currently ranked 3rd on the tier list, after Meta Knight and the Ice Climbers, and has a reputation for being one of the most frustrating characters to deal with; as a result, some Olimar players such as Denti and Logic are among the most disliked players in the community.

Role in the Subspace Emissary

Olimar in the SSE.

Captain Olimar's Pikmin are attacking a huge R.O.B. (even the Purple Pikmin are latched on to the Giant R.O.B., unlike in the game where they slam on to the enemy); however, they are so weak they do no damage. The R.O.B. simply spins around, and all the Pikmin that were on him fly in all directions. Most of them die. Captain Olimar starts shivering in fear at the huge robot. A red Pikmin walks up to Olimar and taps him on the side. Olimar turns around and the red Pikmin points out the Blue Falcon speeding their way. Captain Falcon jumps out of the Blue Falcon and then Falcon Punches the huge robot right in the face. The R.O.B. then falls back destroyed. Captain Falcon lands back on the ground while doing a slide similar to the Falcon Kick. However, while he is sliding on the ground, he accidentally hits the remaining Pikmin and kills all of them except the red one next to Olimar. Captain Falcon just stands there, striking a pose while Captain Olimar just watches as the wind blows a leaf by. Olimar and Captain Falcon decide to team up to fight the Subspace Army.

Upon reaching the edge of the Isle of Ancients, they witness Diddy Kong attacking some Primids and rescuing Donkey Kong. Captain Falcon and a reluctant Olimar then decide to join forces with the Kongs, and upon reaching them, the Primids return with backup. Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Captain Falcon, and Olimar manage to fight them off before they see off Falco Lombardi, who had helped Diddy in bringing him to the large Cargo that DK was held on.

Olimar and his Hocotate Ship Outside the Ancient Ruins.

The Cargo takes Olimar and his crew inside the Subspace Bomb Factory, and they begin to move through it. They eventually find the Ancient Minister, along with Pikachu and Samus. A hologram of Ganondorf suddenly appears and commands the R.O.B.s in the room to detonate the Subspace Bombs in the room so he could create a large enough hole in space to fit a Subspace Gunship through. The Ancient Minister reveals himself to be the leader of the R.O.B.s and helps the other heroes defeat the Subspace underlings that Ganondorf sent out. Olimar, along with R.O.B. and the rest, escapes from the island before it is sucked into Subspace. All of the heroes then unite to take down the Subspace Gunship and enter Subspace. Olimar contributes by putting his ship, the Hocotate Ship, at the heroes disposal. His excellent piloting allows him to avoid the huge ship's turrets until Kirby destroys it. Unfortunately, Olimar and the others were doomed to be turned into trophies by Tabuu.

However, hope comes in the form of King Dedede, who created some badges that revive trophies into the original fighter. Olimar and others are rescued by Dedede and his team consisting of Luigi, Ness (and Kirby). With everyone revived, they are able to take down Tabuu and save the world.

Olimar can perform a glitch with Pikmin Throw in the Great Maze. In the Halberd stage with the elevator, if one throws Pikmin down the hole after one destroys the blocks, they will be stuck in spinning mode and eventually die unless one hits the other bomb blocks.

In SSE, in the first cutscene with Olimar there are no White Pikmin on the Giant R.O.B. In fact, only two White Pikmin appear in the entire SSE.

Playable appearances

• Outside the Ancient Ruins
• The Subspace Bomb Factory (Part II)
• Entrance to Subspace
• The Great Maze (if rescued in Subspace (Part I)

Costumes

Olimar's alternate costumes in SSBB

Trophy

Olimar's trophy is obtained by clearing Classic Mode with Olimar.

Olimar's trophy in Brawl

Description

Veteran spacefarers in the employ of Hocotate Freight. After crash-landing on an enigmatic planet, Olimar met the mysterious beings known as Pikmin. He enlisted their aid to find his spaceship parts and help him escape. Once home, he found his employer on the verge of bankruptcy. He was sent back to the Pikmin world with his partner, Louie, to repay the company debt.

Trivia

• In the Home-Run Contest, Olimar will only pluck Purple Pikmin.
• As soon as Olimar's tether latches onto a ledge, Olimar will hold his arms out in a "T" (blind position), the position used by game producers while designing characters.
• If Olimar gets hit, his eyes pop out (a reference to Pikmin 2).
• When giant or tiny, Pikmin's voices do not change pitch while being thrown or when they die, although they do change when Olimar plucks them.
• Olimar holds the world record for Level 1 Target Smash (3.86 seconds).^{[citation needed]}
• Olimar, Samus, R.O.B., and Mr. Game and Watch are the only characters that do not talk or make vocal noises in Brawl.
  • In addition, Olimar is the only character to not make a noise when Star KO'd or defeated in Stamina Mode (although Pikmin voices are heard).
• When Olimar loses in a Stamina match, his Pikmin do not die, but instead stand around Olimar.
• Olimar is tied with Sonic for highest increase in a tier list (Olimar rose to 10th from 18th from the 1st Tier List to the 2nd).
• Olimar is the only playable character in Brawl that there is not a sticker of.
• If Pikmin are away from Olimar for too long, the Pikmin will start blinking and after a few seconds, they will automatically die, which is a reference to when Olimar leaves the planet for night, where any Pikmin will die if left behind.
• Olimar, Diddy Kong, Captain Falcon, King Dedede and Ike are the only characters to use their Final Smash in the Subspace Emissary; Olimar uses his ship to fly into Subspace.
• In the SSE, Olimar's Pikmin count is reset to 3 every time he spawns (either through someone else's fall or walking through a door).

External links

• Combo video by Magzillas
• Pikmin & Olimar's page at the Smash Bros. DOJO!!
• Olimar Character Guide at SWF
• Olimar Community