Pichu (SSBU)

Pichu in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Pokémon
Other playable appearance	in Melee
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Volt Tackle
Tier	B- (55)

Pichu (ピチュー, Pichu) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It was confirmed alongside Jigglypuff and the rest of the returning roster on June 12th, 2018 during E3 2018. While Pichu remains a close clone of Pikachu, it is not classified as an Echo Fighter. As such, Pichu is classified as Fighter #19.

Satomi Kōrogi, Pichu's voice actress from the Pokémon anime and Super Smash Bros. Melee, reprises her role with new voice-clips. In addition, the 'spiky-eared' variant of Pichu (who appears as a playable character in Ultimate via Pichu's alternate costumes) is also voiced by Kōrogi rather than Shoko Nakagawa, who originally voiced the aforementioned 'spiky-eared' variant in the Pokémon anime's twelfth movie, Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life.

Pichu is ranked 55th out of 82 on the current tier list, placing it in the B- tier. This is a significant improvement over its low-tier placement in Melee, where it was ranked 22nd out of 26. Pichu boasts good combo ability and great KO power, with its fast falling speed assisting in its combo potential. It is also difficult to hit due to its small hurtbox and good mobility.

However, Pichu is hindered by critical flaws. Its biggest flaw is being the lightest character in the game. This, combined with it receiving recoil damage when performing electric-based attacks, characterizes Pichu as a "glass cannon" and can be KO'd earlier than any other character. Its fast falling speed makes it more susceptible to combos despite being so light.

Pichu's representation in tournaments has changed throughout Ultimate's metagame. At launch, Pichu was often considered a contender of the best character in the game thanks to the drastic buffs it received, such as greatly reduced recoil damage and a fast forward tilt that can KO opponents around 100%, which led to a large playerbase spearheaded by VoiD and Nietono. However, update 3.1.0 gave Pichu major nerfs, making it more of a "high-risk, high-reward" character and leading most of the community to deem it inferior to Pikachu. Despite this, Pichu continues to receive moderate success from dedicated mains, especially from NaetorU.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Pichu being the 34th character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Pikachu or any character in its unlock tree, being the last character unlocked after Mr. Game & Watch.
• Have Pichu join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Pichu must then be defeated on Pokémon Stadium 2. In World of Light, it is fought on the Ω form of Prism Tower.

Attributes

Pichu is a character of extremes. As a clone of Pikachu, several of its attributes are similar, such as its even smaller size and quick mobility, though with a few noticeable differences. Pichu is the lightest character in the game, along with possessing fast walking and above-average dashing speeds with slightly above-average traction, above-average jumping force, average air speed, and being tied for the 9th-highest air acceleration, along with a fast falling speed while being tied for the 5th-highest gravity. However, it has the lowest fast falling multiplier in the game, causing its fast-falling speed to be average. Overall, these attributes give Pichu a slightly slower grounded approach in comparison to Pikachu, prevent Pichu's aerials from auto-canceling as easily and makes it more vulnerable to combos, but also gives it a much faster ground-to-air and air-to-ground approach, making its mobility as reliable as Pikachu's own.

The primary difference between Pichu and Pikachu is the former's recoil damage on its electricity-based attacks. All of Pichu's attacks with an electric effect (forward tilt, forward and down smashes, forward, back and down aerials, forward throw, and the rest of Pichu's special moveset excluding Thunder if the lightning bolt doesn't strike Pichu) deal recoil damage to itself, which makes it less feasible for Pichu to overuse these attacks. To compensate for this, several of Pichu's electric attacks have either increased damage, knockback (in some cases both), or versatility. This makes it less feasible for Pichu to overuse these attacks in situations that would require their usage for best results, as it could put it in a spot where the opponent potentially has the advantage to even KO Pichu with an attack that possesses enough power. Conversely, it increases the reward Pichu would receive if it can land said moves, and due to these moves increasing Pichu's percentage, this means Pichu can make effective usage of rage to KO an opponent with more ease, provided it can survive long enough.

Much like Pikachu, all aspects of Pichu's moveset are solid overall, possessing exceptional frame-data overall and great utility throughout its moveset. An example of this is Pichu's excellent aerial game. Neutral aerial is Pichu's fastest out of shield option, on top of lacking much ending and/or landing lag, making it a viable edgeguarding option. Forward aerial deals the highest damage of Pichu's aerials and has fantastic combo potential, while only possessing decent recoil damage. His up aerial, while being Pichu's least damaging aerial, also retains powerful vertical combo capabilities. Down aerial is Pichu's primary means to meteor smash, and the late hit also lasts for a long while, making it another great edgeguarding tool, while also possessing only decent recoil damage. Finally, back aerial deals less damage than forward aerial, but is also Pichu's strongest aerial, an excellent edgeguarding tool, only has decent recoil damage (like its forward and down aerials), and plays a major component on Pichu's looping combos; by repeatedly performing a full jump while using a back aerial and comboing into a tilt attack (most notably up tilt) to repeat the process, Pichu can zero-to-death combo the opponent, though the timing for each move is very strict. As a cherry on top, all of Pichu's aerials are capable of auto-canceling out of a short hop.

Pichu's primary (but not sole) methods to set up the opponent into its strong aerial game consist of its up and down tilts, and up and down throws: both tilts are excellent combo starters, with down tilt even comboing into aerials at very high percentages, while up and down throw allow Pichu to pummel the opponent for more damage due to them being followed up from a grab; up throw is also infamous for comboing into Thunder for a reliable KO set-up. This gives Pichu a strong combo game, with several methods to begin, extend or end combos in a comparable manner of Pikachu, though due to its moveset's nature, Pichu's combo game is typically shorter-lived in exchange for raw damage.

Aside from its up and down tilts, in regards to its grounded game, it also has some interesting and useful options: forward tilt trips opponents at low percentages, can 2-frame, and has above-average power at high percentages, making it a very useful set-up or KOing tool at the edge at later precentages. Forward smash possesses the highest power of its standard moveset, lasts for a long while and, due to its multi-hitting nature, can KO at an even lower percentages. Up smash is a decent anti-air that leaves Pichu's ears intangible, though it lacks in power. On the other hand, Pichu's neutral attack is primarily useful for locking opponents due to its minimal knockback, and Pichu's dash attack is often useful as a quick punish option and its low power can actually allow it to combo, though it can be risky, while its high power at later precents make it a decent burst killing option when combined with its quick startup lag. Pichu's grab game is also decent - while its grabs are short-ranged, they are extremely quick and possess the lowest ending lag across the entire cast in the game. As mentioned above, up and down throws have useful combo potential, with down throw typically reserved for horizontal combos, whereas up throw leads into vertical combos and can lead into Thunder as a KO set-up. Meanwhile, forward throw is Pichu's strongest throw, barely KOing at realistic percentages near the edge, which makes it a passable KO throw. While much weaker than forward throw in terms of power, back throw can set up edgeguards and KO at high precents while Pichu has rage.

Pichu's special moveset is also varied and versatile. Thunder Jolt is a useful projectile that can reliably pressure an opponent's shield, on top of dealing low knockback and high damage (especially if started in the air). Its low ending lag also allows it to set-up into Pichu's attacks if it lands during its last frames of activity. Thunder is Pichu's other projectile, though the lightning bolt itself doesn't deal much damage. As such, its primary purpose is to use the cloud's meteor smashing properties to combo opponents into the shockwave-part of the move when the bolt strikes Pichu - this deals the most damage (and recoil damage) to Pichu out of the rest of its moveset upon occurence, so it should be used sparingly. Skull Bash and Agility serve as Pichu's primary means of recovery, and give it an amazing, long-distanced and unpredictable recovery - of the two, Agility deals high recoil damage if both dashes are used, but nevertheless travels an incredibly long distance and is very unpredictable due to each dash being able to be inputted in multiple directions, potentially making Pichu difficult to properly edgeguard or 2-frame. Skull Bash, on the other hand, is mostly useful for extending Pichu's recovery, but it also ties in as a contributor of Pichu's "glass cannon" playstyle as it can be charged; unlike Pikachu's own version, Pichu's fully charged Skull Bash deals immense knockback when fully charged, this being Pichu's strongest punishing option out of a shield break.

Thanks to Pichu's attributes, one of its key strengths is its playstyle's versatility - depending on the situation, it can make usage of its moveset to adapt and play accordingly. Pichu's great mobility, compact size and useful projectile give it an impressive neutral game and make it slippery, allowing it to play defensively, by virtue of using a bait-and-punish oriented playstyle that allows it to avoid the opponent's attacks and gradually poke at them or outright break through their offense. However, if the situation arises, Pichu can nevertheless play very aggressively, as it also has one of the best advantage states in the game by virtue of its raw damage, excellent frame-data and impressive combo ability, allowing it to pressure the opponent into commiting and retaliating accordingly, and almost all of its aerials have some sort of edgeguarding potential, which can quickly lead into a lost stock.

Disregarding his strengths, however, Pichu is still burdened with a myriad of critical flaws, some of which are shared with Pikachu, albeit much more pronounced; the most notable of these is its immense frailty. While its offstage survivability is incredible thanks to its recovery's long distance and unpredictability, it has an awful survivability overall due to being the game's lightest character, resulting in it being extremely easily KO'd off of a stray hit as long as the move boasts enough power, moreso in comparison to any other character. The existence of rage further pronounces this issue, since heavily damaged can easily finish a stock off Pichu by landing a few strong hits or even a single devastating hit. Meanwhile, Pichu's terrible endurance prevents it from benefiting from its own rage. Its quick falling speed and high gravity also leave it quite vulnerable to combos (although its neutral aerial can remedy this issue), meaning that Pichu can also be easily put in KO percentage from a single or a pair of combos. Adding insult to injury, the aformentioned recoil damage Pichu suffers from using its electric-based attacks can rack up very quickly if it overuses said attacks, which is a flaw no other character possesses at the level of Pichu (some characters have only a single move that can deal recoil damage), and can potentially throw it into a much more devastating position if it happens. As a result of all these issues, despite its excellent recovery and great mobility, Pichu's disadvantage state is poor, and if Pichu lacks the ability to KO the opponent, they can easily turn the tables on it, which can easily and quickly lead to a lost stock just as Pichu can potentially and quickly end one.

Another of Pichu's most notable flaws is that while its minimal size results in it being slippery and difficult to hit, it also results it in possessing deceptively short range (much shorter than Pikachu), requiring it to remain at close-ranged quarters to the opponent in order to rack up damage and/or land hits, which can be risky. Pichu's mobility, exceptional frame-data and useful projectile in Thunder Jolt can assist in offsetting this, but the prevalence of speed demons with drastically improved mobility and/or disjoints can still give it trouble at approaching, as Pichu's poor range results in it struggling against characters who excel in range (such as Mr. Game & Watch and Marth), and Thunder Jolt's recoil damage makes it unfeasible for Pichu to restrain the opponent for too much, forcing it to approach and further exacerbating the issues within Pichu's range, despite its reliable moveset. Furthermore, despite its moveset's increased consistency in regards to power, Pichu's lack of range means it can often have difficulty landing its otherwise powerful KO options and set-ups, as the former lacks disjointed hitboxes (with the sole exception, forward smash, still falling short in terms of range for a disjoint), and the latter are very limited, possessing only up throw to Thunder at mid-high and high percentages, and down tilt to down aerial near the edge at mid-percentages. Pichu's edgeguarding ability, while respectable, pales in comparison to Pikachu's due to its attributes resulting in Pichu lacking as much aerial time as Pikachu can, though this is slightly mitigated by its moveset's increased power.

Lastly, although its moveset is versatile, a few of Pichu's attacks still lack some notable kind of utility. Down smash, although covering on both sides of Pichu, has unremarkable range, deals recoil damage and unlike Pikachu, sends at a disappointing angle for leading to KOs, with its higher power compared to Pikachu failing to compensate. Forward throw can have difficulty at KOing the opponent at realistic percentages due to the fact Pichu will typically find itself using it to set-up an edgeguard, whereas back throw's sole purpose is shared with forward throw.

Overall, like Pikachu, Pichu is best described as a quintessential glass cannon, albeit sacrificing endurance and range for more power and speed. While Pikachu can control the neutral game more aggressively and has more flexibility in its combos, Pichu is able to function in a variety of playstyles that range from a defensive, bait-and-punish oriented playstyle to a more aggressive, rushdown-oriented one whenever it is required. However, Pichu's atrocious endurance and recoil damage means that an aware opponent can dominate Pichu just as easily as it can also dominate the opponent. While both characters have similar playstyles, they differ significantly in execution, as Pichu's recoil damage requires the player to make extremely mindful usage of their resources at hand. Regardless, Pichu's strengths considerably outweigh its weaknesses, and even after the nerfs it received in the game's updates, Pichu is considered a dominant character in competitive play, with a dedicated playerbase consisting of players such as Nietono, VoiD, RFang, NAKAT, and Blacktwins, and it has amassed some strong tournament results in tournament play.

Differences from Pikachu

As in Melee, the primary difference between Pichu and Pikachu is the former's electric attacks all inflict recoil damage. Many of Pichu's attributes, such as its mobility and significantly lighter weight, differ from those of Pikachu. In addition, most of Pichu's attack and non-attack animations were given slight adjustments and overhauls in order to differentiate them from Pikachu's; for example, all of Pichu's smash attack charging animations are now completely different from Pikachu's. Almost all of Pichu's moves are also functionally different, such as down tilt or neutral aerial, making it even more unique. However, unlike previous clones, Pichu was not given many new unique moves to differentiate it from Pikachu, as the only fully unique moves it has are its forward tilt, up smash, neutral aerial, and edge attack.

All of these differences give Pichu more pronounced strengths and weaknesses when compared to Pikachu.

Pichu is capable of killing more reliably than Pikachu at earlier percentages. Some of its attacks also deal more damage than Pikachu's, but the only ones with a significant difference are its back aerial and the aerial version of Thunder Jolt. Otherwise, the damage output between the two is largely the same or with only a 1–2% difference, while some of Pikachu's attacks, like its dash attack, up aerial, and Thunder, are stronger than Pichu's. Regardless, this makes Pichu's KOing ability and damage-racking game superior to Pikachu's overall, despite the latter being shorter-lived compared to Pikachu's.

Pichu's frame data is also better on average, with its biggest advantages being on its forward tilt, down smash, and Thunder. However, there are some attacks like back aerial and Skull Bash where Pichu's frame data is worse, and only Pichu's up and down aerials autocancel in a short hop, whereas all of Pikachu's aerials can do so. Additionally, with the exception of neutral aerial, almost every other attack in Pichu's moveset has inferior range to Pikachu's equivalent attacks, including all of its tilts and smash attacks, its up aerial and Thunder.

Pikachu and Pichu's combo games are very different, with Pikachu's being much more diverse, but Pichu's being shorter lived in exchange for more damage. Pichu does not have access to Pikachu's neutral aerial, which is an incredible combo tool, and Pichu cannot chain four back aerials into each other at low percents to immediately start an edgeguard. Pichu's down throw has less advantage and stops being a combo tool earlier, and its forward aerial has less advantage and hits two times less, making it worse for dragdown combos. It also lacks Quick Attack as a combo starter and its up aerial does not have the weak hit that Pikachu's does, making it impossible to perform up aerial bridges that can carry opponents to the blast line with Pichu. Both Pikachu and Pichu have loops that use their neutral or back aerials respectively, but Pikachu's version works on more characters, is more resilient to SDI and is less situational, whereas the only advantage Pichu's version has is that it can rarely transition into a KO immediately. It also deals more damage per loop, but this is not very important as Pikachu can do more loops than Pichu in a row, making the total damage output roughly the same. However, there are some upsides to Pichu's combo game over Pikachu's: its up tilt and up aerial combo for longer, and it has more combos into Thunder to take stocks. Down tilt is also a significantly better combo starter due to its frame data and launch angle, but it has mediocre range, making it difficult to use.

Finally, Pichu is extremely light and is a fast-faller with high gravity, which notoriously makes it much easier to combo and KO. Its recoil damage, while slightly toned down compared to Melee, further exacerbates Pichu's already bad survivability.

Aesthetics

• Pichu's on-screen appearance, idle animations, taunts and victory poses are all different from Pikachu's.
• In general, almost all of Pichu's animations are either slightly or completely different than Pikachu's. This includes Pichu's attacking and non-attacking animations.
  • Common animations such as air dodge, back roll, and backflip are all different.
  • Other miscellaneous animations (such as Home-Run Bat swing, sleeping, stunned, using shooting items, etc) are also different.

Attributes

• All of Pichu's electrical attacks inflict recoil damage.
• Pichu runs slower than Pikachu (2.039 → 1.892).
• Pichu's traction is lower than Pikachu's (0.132 → 0.11), making it harder for Pichu to punish out of shield.
• Pichu's rolls travel less distance than Pikachu's.
• Pichu's wall jump grants much less height than Pikachu's, going from the third best to the sixth worst.
• Pichu's air speed is faster than Pikachu's (0.957 → 1.029).
• Pichu falls much faster than Pikachu (1.55 → 1.9). However, its fast falling speed is only very slightly faster (2.48 → 2.5).
  • The difference between Pichu's falling speed and fast falling speed is much lower than Pikachu's (increase: 60% → 31.579%), which makes it more predictable when landing and gives it fewer options in the air.
• Pichu's gravity is much higher then Pikachu's (0.095 → 0.14).
• Pichu is significantly lighter than Pikachu (79 → 62). Combined with its high falling speed and gravity, this notoriously makes Pichu much easier to combo and KO than Pikachu.
• Pichu's ears have a larger hurtbox than Pikachu's, which means it is slightly easier to hit a standing Pichu than a standing Pikachu.
  • Pichu is also taller than Pikachu when crouching and crawling. This means Pichu cannot crouch under some projectiles and attacks, like Wolf's Blaster, whereas Pikachu can.
• Due to Pichu's higher falling speed and gravity, its air dodges have less ending lag than Pikachu's (neutral: FAF 51 → 43; directional: FAF 85 → 71 (side), 110 → 89 (up), 70 → 60 (down)).
• Pichu's ears are intangible during its shielding and shield dropping animations.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Neutral attack has one frame less ending lag (FAF 18 → 17).
  • It deals more knockback (12/18 base/20/30 scaling → 10/20/60/60), which causes it to hit less often before being pushed out of range or pushing the opponent off an edge.
  • It has less horizontal range due to having two hitboxes instead of three.
  • It does not have a sweetspot or a sourspot, which means it deals less damage when close to the opponent, but more damage when farther away from the opponent (1.4%/1.2%/1% → 1.2%).
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt consists of two kicks, one after the other, in an upward arcing motion whereas Pikachu's is a two legged kick.
  • Forward tilt deals more knockback (15 base/100 scaling → 5/130), KOing around 5% earlier than the upwards angled variant of Pikachu's version.
  • It has less startup lag with a significantly longer duration (frames 6-8 → 5-12) and less ending lag (FAF 30 → 25).
  • It always causes the opponent to trip at low percents.
  • It cannot be angled, making it near impossible to hit aerial opponents.
  • It deals consistent and less damage (10% (angled up)/9% (unangled)/8% (angled down) → 8%).
  • It causes recoil damage (1%).
  • It has less horizontal range.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has less ending lag (FAF 27 → 24).
  • It deals less knockback (40 base/120 scaling → 32/105) and sends at a more vertical angle (105° → 95°), which combined with the previous change improves its combo potential.
  • Its middle hitbox is smaller, reducing its general range (hitbox sizes: 2.0u/3.8u/3.5u → 2.0u/2.8u/3.6u). This also means that a few characters, like Kirby, can crouch under Pichu's version, but not under Pikachu's.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt has more base knockback (12 → 40), less knockback scaling (100 → 50) and sends at a vertical angle instead of using the Sakurai angle (361° → 80°/100°), which makes it a significantly better combo starter, but removes its edgeguarding and locking potential as well as its ability to trip.
  • It has more range below Pichu, making it easier to 2-frame opponents with.
  • It has less horizontal range.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack has one frame less ending lag (FAF 36 → 35).
  • It has an additional hitbox on Pichu's torso, making it more likely for the attack to clank instead of losing to other attacks.
  • It has a longer hitbox duration (frames 6-8 (clean)/9-12 (late) → 6-9/10-15).
  • It has smaller hitboxes on the head (5.0u/4.0u → 4.6u/3.0u).
  • It does not have a shieldstun multiplier of 1.8×, making it less safe on shield despite having one frame less of ending lag.
  • The clean hit deals less damage (11% → 8%).
    • The above 2 changes result in less shield pushback, allowing it to cross up shields.
  • The clean hit deals less knockback (70 base/88 scaling → 60/100), while the late hit has less base knockback (100 → 60), but more knockback scaling (50 → 80). This allows for the move to combo more reliably, but greatly reduces its KO potential.
  • The clean hit sends at a more vertical angle (60° → 70°). This makes it better for combos.
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash strikes multiple times instead of once. This causes it to deal less damage (12% → 8%) but more knockback if the opponent gets hit by the attack late.
  • It does not have an early or late hit, causing it to consistently deal the maximum possible knockback.
  • It has a longer hitbox duration (frames 15-29 → 16-33). The total duration is identical, effectively reducing its ending lag.
  • The last hit deals more knockback (60 base/75 scaling → 68/123), KOing around 10% earlier than the sweetspot of Pikachu's version.
  • It has slightly more startup lag (frame 15 → 16).
  • It causes recoil damage (2%).
  • It has significantly less horizontal range.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash is an upward-arcing headbutt, similar to Mario's up smash, whereas Pikachu's is a tail flip. This means that the hitbox starts behind Pichu and moves forwards, whereas Pikachu's starts in front and moves backwards.
  • It does not have a mid or late hit, causing it to consistently deal the maximum possible damage and knockback.
  • Pichu's ears are intangible while the move's hitboxes are active.
  • It has less startup lag (frame 10 → 9).
  • It has a large hitbox on Pichu's head and a smaller one on its torso instead of three small hitboxes, giving it more range in front of Pichu.
  • It deals less knockback (50 base/89 scaling → 40/15 base/85 scaling), making it KO nearly 20% later than Pikachu's sweetspot and about 10% later than the middle sourspot.
  • It has less range above and behind Pichu.
  • It has a significantly shorter hitbox duration (frames 10-17 → 9-11), which also causes it to have two frames more ending lag despite the shorter total duration (FAF 45 → 41).
• Down smash:
  • Down smash has significantly less ending lag (FAF 66 → 51).
  • Pichu is intangible for 4 frames, starting 1 frame before the hitboxes come out.
  • It deals more damage if all hits connect (13% → 14%) and the last hit deals more damage (3% → 8%), increasing its KO potential despite having lower knockback values (51 base/192 scaling → 45/150).
  • It causes recoil damage (1.3%).
  • It hits one time less with the same duration, which means the rehit rate is slower. This makes it easier to escape the attack by using DI to go down and teching on the ground.
  • It takes longer to hit enemies behind Pichu than those who are in front of it, whereas Pikachu has better range in both directions that is always completely covered.
  • It has less range below Pichu, making it harder to hit enemies at the ledge, even with the final hit.
  • Pichu moves slightly forward and then backward while using its whole body to attack, unlike Pikachu, who stays in place and uses its tail.
  • It uses a large extended hitbox. Combined with Pichu's movement, this gives it noticeably more horizontal range and allows it to cover a wider area compared to Pikachu's version.
  • The final hit sends at a more vertical angle (37° → 50°).
    • This causes it to KO earlier from center stage and across the stage, but later from near the edge and makes it less desirable for edgeguarding.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial is a somersaulting cartwheel, whereas Pikachu's is an electrical charge. It does not have an electric hitbox and only hits once.
  • Due to being a single hit, it deals more damage than the final hit of Pikachu's version (3.5% → 7%), and thus, it has more knockback.
  • Unlike Pikachu's neutral aerial, its hitbox is extended and moves along with Pichu, giving it more range and better coverage around it despite the hitbox being smaller (5.5u looping hits, 6.0u final hit → 4.0u).
  • It has a longer hitbox duration (frames 3-22 → 3-9 (clean), 10-27 (late)), reducing its ending lag by four frames despite the longer total duration (FAF 39 → 40).
  • It has less landing lag (9 frames → 7).
  • Due to its horizontal launch angle, single-hit nature, and higher power, it is significantly more effective at edgeguarding.
  • It cannot be used to perform the dragdown combos, loops and kill setups that Pikachu can do with its neutral aerial due to its single hit.
  • It deals less damage (8.9% → 7% (clean), 5% (late)).
  • It does not auto-cancel in a short hop due to Pichu's higher gravity and faster fall speed.
• Forward aerial:
  • Every hit of forward aerial deals the same damage, whereas Pikachu deals less damage with the first hits, but more with the last hit.
  • Its loop hits connect more reliably due to using the autolink angle (35°/310°/60°/290° → 366°) and having a lower SDI multiplier (1.3× → 1×).
  • It deals more damage if all hits connect (11.8% → 14%).
  • It has two large hitboxes covering Pichu's entire body for all hits instead of four small hitboxes for the looping hits and a slightly disjointed large one on the head and a smaller one at the torso for the final hit.
  • The final hit has a lower hitlag multiplier (1.5x → 1x), making it harder to SDI/DI strategically.
  • It hits two fewer times with the same duration, which means that the rehit rate is slower and dragging opponents down with it is harder.
  • It causes recoil damage (1.5%).
  • The last hit deals less damage (4.8% → 3.5%) with more base knockback but less knockback scaling, (40 base/154 scaling → 55/140), causing it to have overall less knockback and reducing its KO potential, but making it better for combos and racking up damage when combined with it higher damage output.
  • It does not auto-cancel in a short hop due to Pichu's higher gravity and faster fall speed, reducing its combo potential and safety.
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial deals significantly more damage if all hits connect (8.6% → 12.5%).
  • It has a longer duration (frames 4-25 → 5-31).
    • However, the attack hits as often as Pikachu's version, which means the rehit rate is slower. This makes escaping the attack easier, but allows it to drag opponents down more easily for edgeguarding and combos.
  • It has an electric hitbox and therefore causes recoil damage (1.5%).
  • It has more startup (frame 4 → 5) and ending lag (FAF 44 → 55).
  • It does not have a landing hitbox, hindering its safety, but making it easier to follow up when landing with the move.
  • It does not auto-cancel in a short hop due to Pichu's higher gravity and faster fall speed, reducing its combo potential and safety.
  • The last hit deals less damage (3.6% → 2.5%), but has significantly more base knockback (40 → 70) and launches at a lower angle (45° → 42°), which increases its KO potential, but reduces its combo potential at low to mid percentages.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial has less landing lag (14 frames → 11).
  • It deals consistent damage instead of having a clean and a late hit, but also deals less damage (6%/5% (clean), 4% (late) → 4%).
  • It has less range, due to only possessing 2 hitboxes instead of 3, and them being smaller (4u/5u/4u → 2.8u/3.6u).
  • It deals less knockback (50 base/113 scaling → 70/70), which alongside its lower damage increases its combo potential, but reduces its KO potential.
  • It sends at a more vertical angle (68° (clean), 55° (late) → 80°), making it easier to combo, especially into Thunder, but also removing the up air bridges Pikachu can do at mid percents.
• Down aerial:
  • Pichu's ears are intangible during the first 4 frames down aerial is active, but are exposed for the remainder of the attack and point downwards rather than fold back like in its forward aerial, making them more vulnerable.
  • Its clean hit has a longer duration with the late hit having a shorter duration instead (frames 14-15 (clean)/16-26 (late) → 14-17/18-26).
  • Its late hit has more knockback scaling (84 → 100), improving its KO potential.
  • Its late hit has an additional hitbox on Pichu's torso instead of only having a hitbox on the head. The head hitbox is also bigger and more disjointed.
  • It causes recoil damage (1.5% (aerial hitbox), 0.5% (landing), total: 2%).
• Comparison of Pichu's loops (with back aerial) and Pikachu's loops (with neutral aerial):
  • Pichu deals more damage per loop.
  • Pichu's loops are more situational, because they can only be started in a full hop and are completely impossible near platforms, whereas Pikachu can start them in a short hop and guarantee them after a grab or up tilt, while still being able to do a few loops even with platforms nearby.
  • SDI has a bigger effect on Pichu's back aerial than on Pikachu's neutral aerial, which makes it significantly easier to escape Pichu's loops than Pikachu's. This also means Pikachu can do more loops in a row than Pichu without the opponent falling out.

Throws and other attacks

• Grabs:
  • All grabs have less startup (frame 7/10/11 (standing/dash/pivot) → 6/8/9) and ending lag (FAF 37/45/40 → 32/40/37).
  • Standing grab has slightly less range (hitboxes: 4.0u → 3.3u (grounded opponents), 2.0u → 1.65u (aerial opponents)).
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals more damage (1% → 1.4%).
  • It has more hitlag (12 frames → 14), slightly increasing its duration.
  • It causes recoil damage (0.1%).
  • Its hitbox is smaller (7.0u → 4.7u) and closer to Pichu (offset: X: 0/Y: 9/Z: 9 → 0/8.2/8.6), making it harder to hit bystanders.
  • It knocks bystanders upwards instead of away (angle: 361 → 80)
• Forward throw:
  • Forward throw's final hit deals much more damage (2% → 6%) with base knockback not fully compensated (55 → 45), causing it to KO at high percents. The move also deals more total damage (10% → 12%).
  • Forward throw's collateral hitbox is smaller (6.72u → 5.5u) and closer to Pichu (offset: X: 0/Y: 12/Z: 4.8 → 0/8.5/4.7), making it harder to hit bystanders with.
    • However, due to the hitbox being lower down, it is easier to hit short fighters at point blank range.
  • It causes recoil damage (0.8%).
• Back throw:
  • Back throw has less base knockback (85 → 75), reducing its KO potential, to the point of being almost entirely absent.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw has significantly less knockback scaling (129 → 45), allowing it to combo into Thunder at very high percents much better, but also removing its KO potential by itself.
  • The first hit deals more damage (3% → 5%), increasing its total damage (8% → 10%).
  • The first hit has a lower hitlag multiplier (1.6x → 1x), making the throw execute faster.
  • The collateral hitbox is smaller (5.5u → 4.7u), making it harder to hit bystanders.
  • It has more base knockback (48 → 90), reducing its combo potential at low percents.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw deals more damage (5% → 8%).
  • The throw itself deals less damage (5% → 4%), reducing its knockback growth and allowing it to combo for longer, despite a slightly lower launch angle (83˚ → 80˚).
  • It releases the opponent much earlier due to not inflicting hitlag (frame 38 → 26) and has comparatively more ending lag (FAF 52 → 47). This makes it harder to DI, but also noticeably reduces its combo potential.

Special moves

• Thunder Jolt:
  • Thunder Jolt deals more damage (6%/5%/4% → 7%/6%/5% (grounded), 4.8% → 10% (aerial)) and consistent damage to both grounded and aerial opponents.
    • However, its negative shield damage is higher (-2.5/-2/-1.5 → -3/-2.5/-2 (grounded), -1.9 → -4.5 (aerial)), causing it to not deal more shield damage despite the increased damage.
  • It has more base knockback (18 → 25 (grounded), 35 → 50 (aerial)), improving its edgeguarding potential and allowing it to be used for tech-chasing if initiated in the air.
  • Its projectiles are bigger (3.0u/1.8u → 4.0u/3.0u (grounded), 3.0u → 4.0u (aerial)).
  • It has one frame less startup lag (frame 19 → 18).
    • However, its total duration is identical, giving it one frame more ending lag.
  • It causes recoil damage (0.7%).
  • Grounded Thunder Jolts travel faster, which makes them harder to avoid, but also makes it harder to follow behind them for added pressure.
  • Grounded Thunder Jolts bounce closer to the ground, which makes it impossible to crouch beneath them, but also reduces their vertical range, which makes jumping above them less of a commitment.
  • Aerial Thunder Jolts move at a more downwards angle (-58˚ → -64˚), and travels faster (speed 2 → 2.4).
• Skull Bash:
  • Skull Bash deals much more damage when fully charged (21.4% → 33%).
  • It has altered knockback (40 base/78 scaling → 15/90), improving its KO potential
  • It takes significantly longer to fully charge (80 frames → 150).
  • It has more ending lag in the air (FAF 75 → 87) and on hit (FAF 22 → 26).
  • It deals less damage when uncharged (6.2% → 4%) and when the smash input is used (10% → 7.87%).
  • It causes recoil damage (1.8%).
  • Pichu's ears stick out while flying, making it somewhat exposed.
  • The move has a smaller hitbox (4u → 3.2u), reducing its range.
  • Due to the hitbox using the electric effect, it deals more hitlag, making it easier to DI.
  • It travels a significantly longer distance. While this makes it better for recovery and allows it to hit opponents from further away, it also makes edgeguarding with it much riskier when coupled with its higher ending lag, as Pichu is more likely to self-destruct if it misses.
• Agility:
  • Agility travels a longer distance (55u (first)/49.5u (second) → 66.4u/59.76, total 104.5u → 126.16u).
  • It does not have a hitbox and therefore inflicts neither damage nor knockback, removing a burst option and combo starter from Pichu's arsenal and making its recovery less safe. It also travels slower (speed: 11 → 8.3), further reducing its safety.
  • It causes recoil damage (0.9% (first zip), 1.4% (second zip), total: 2.3%).
• Thunder:
  • Cloud:
    • Thunder's cloud has less startup lag (frame 13 → 9).
    • It has a bigger hitbox (6.0u → 7.0u).
    • The cloud appears closer to Pichu (y offset: 105 → 100).
    • It uses weight-independent knockback.
    • The bolt travels faster (speed: 4 → 4.9), making the spiking hitbox less likely to connect into the discharge due to not having its knockback compensated.
  • Lightning Bolt:
    • Thunder's lightning bolt has less startup lag (frame 13 → 9).
    • It deals less damage (8% → 4%) with no compensation on knockback.
    • It launches at a higher angle (70° → 94°) and uses weight-independent knockback. However, this does not aid in its combo or juggling potential due to its high ending lag and lower knockback.
    • It travels faster.
      • This makes it harder to react to.
      • If the lightning bolt hits Pichu, its hitbox has a shorter duration.
      • If the lightning bolt misses Pichu, the bolt will disappear on the ground more quickly, giving it more ending lag, despite the FAF being identical.
      • Creating a wall with the lightning bolt for edgeguarding is less effective.
  • Discharge:
    • Thunder's discharge has less startup lag (frame 34 → 26) with identical ending lag, shortening its duration (FAF 75 → 67).
    • It deals slightly less damage (15% → 14%).
    • It causes considerable recoil damage (3.5%).
    • It has a smaller hitbox (13.0u → 11.0u). This also makes it harder to hit enemies at the ledge with it.
    • It has more base knockback (70 → 90), but lower knockback scaling (77 → 65), causing it to KO earlier from near the edge, but later from center stage. Pikachu's Thunder starts dealing more knockback than Pichu's at 75%.
    • It always sends the opponent in the direction Pichu is facing. This makes it more reliable, but also means using DI correctly to survive longer against it is easier.
• Volt Tackle:
  • Volt Tackle deals more damage (1.5% → 1.6% (loop), 20% → 21% (final)) and knockback.
  • Volt Tackle causes massive recoil damage (0.45% (charge loop), 0.2% (attack loop), 3.5% (final), total 12.4%).

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Melee

Since its absence from previous installments, Pichu was infamous for being considered by far the worst clone in Melee due to its status as an intentional "joke character," largely due to its catastrophic endurance, recoil damage and vulnerability to chain grabbing, giving it among the worst matchups in the game and leading to its bottom-tier placement and low tournament representation. Most likely as a result of this, Pichu has been drastically buffed in its transition to Ultimate, making it the most buffed among all characters transitioning from Melee.

Pichu's recoil damage has been somewhat toned down from Melee, making its electrical attacks less of a detriment for usage. Its mobility has overall improved as well, as its walking, dashing and air speeds have increased, and its air acceleration has increased substantially. It can also crawl now, enabling Pichu to approach more easily while being able to dodge certain projectiles. Pichu also benefits from the weakening of SDI, as its multi-hitting attacks are much more reliable. On another note, while its endurance is still the worst in Ultimate as it is lighter than even Jigglypuff, its weight was nevertheless increased, allowing it to survive a little bit longer.

The changes to the engine's mechanics in Ultimate universally benefit Pichu as well. The aforementioned weakening of SDI makes its multi-hitting moves harder to escape and thus much more consistent, and the changes to air dodgeing mechanics make it safer to perform one to escape combos and give it one of the fastest in the game. The implementation of rage, coupled with its small stature, allows Pichu to benefit from it thanks to its electric attacks' high knockback, in addition to said attacks' recoil damage indirectly putting it out of range of KO setups it would have otherwise suffered from.

Despite the several buffs it received, Pichu also received a few nerfs. Some of its strongest KO options, such as its forward and up smashes, have been significantly weakened in terms of knockback, while its neutral aerial, previously considered by most of the community to be its best move in Pichu's entire kit, has also been weakened in both its damage output and knockback. The removal of chain grabbing in SSB4 and Ultimate removes Pichu's chain grab with its up throw, greatly reducing its damage-racking potential against fast-fallers. Its grounded attacks are also less effective for edgeguarding, as its down tilt, down smash and dash attack now send opponents at a much higher and undesirable angle.

Additionally, more of Pichu's attacks (examples being its forward tilt and back aerial) emit electricity, meaning that more of its moves cause recoil damage; while this allows Pichu to build up rage more easily in comparison to the other fighters, it allows Pichu to be knocked out even more quickly, which is further compounded by its atrocious weight and fast-falling speed making it vulnerable to combos, despite its small hurtbox. Lastly, despite the benefits it gains from rage, the introduction of the aforementoned mechanic causes Pichu's survivability to be ironically slightly more prevelant than before, as heavily damaged characters can make usage of it to turn the tables on Pichu should it fail to KO its opponent at a relatively low percentage.

Overall, Pichu is no longer an intentional "joke character" like in Melee; instead, it is now a quintessential and polarized glass cannon, akin to a min-maxed version of Pikachu. It has a stronger punish and edgeguarding game, but less range on average, a less reliable recovery and more committal options; moreover, none of its buffs have alleviated some of its glaring weaknesses, with the biggest being its fragility. Ultimate's updates have also slightly nerfed Pichu overall, and various optimizations to several characters have resulted in it not performing as well as on release. Nevertheless, Pichu's buffs greatly outweigh its nerfs, and it has drastically improved compared to Melee, being one of the most buffed characters in the transition to Ultimate.

Aesthetics

• Pichu's design and proportions have changed. It has thicker arms, rounder cheek spots, a thinner torso, smaller eyes, and a more oval-shaped head. Its ears are more narrow, and its black portions are thicker. Its feet are less detailed, and its eyes are brown instead of navy blue. Additionally, due to the aesthetic used in Ultimate, Pichu's model has a more subdued color scheme. Due to these changes, Pichu matches its appearances in the more recent Pokémon titles.
• Pichu faces the foreground at an angle, instead of facing directly forward. In addition, it always faces the screen regardless of which direction it turns, causing all of its animations to be mirrored.
• All of Pichu's non-attack animations are unique to the character.
• Pichu has a new idle animation where it wobbles left to right, and an idle pose where it looks back to twitch its tail.
• Pichu is much more expressive. Like Pikachu, its eyes become swirls when dazed, a detail derived from the Pokémon anime from when a Pokémon faints. It also looks angry during many of its moves, such as specials or grabbing an opponent. Pichu also has squash and stretch in its animations, giving it a more bouncy feel than in Melee.
• Pichu has been updated with universal features introduced in Brawl and SSB4.
  • Pichu has an on-screen appearance, a Boxing Ring title, a Palutena's Guidance conversation, and an up taunt. Its left-facing taunt from Melee has been moved to its side taunt, and its right-facing taunt has been moved to its down taunt.
    • Pichu only jumps once, and wiggles twice for its side and down taunt, compared to Melee's four, and uses different voice clips for both taunts, akin to other characters.
  • Pichu has received five new alternate costumes, increasing its total to eight. Its blue and red costumes no longer have it wear a scarf, while its green costume has been removed entirely.
    • One of Pichu's alternate costumes features the one-of-a-kind, "spiky-eared" Pichu variant seen in the Pokémon anime's twelfth movie, Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life and Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.
  • Pichu uses various voice clips for any move between any tilt attack, its dash attack, and any aerial attack. Additionally, it always uses specific clips for each of its smash attacks.
  • Pichu has a secondary KO scream, a voice clip when jumping, and a voice clip when emerging from underwater.
• Like Pikachu, Pichu's cheeks flash white when it uses electric attacks.
• Pichu no longer appears to sleep while crouching, most likely due to its ability to crawl.
• Pichu has a new victory animation where it discharges electricity and briefly faints (similar to its new taunt), then gets up and winks at the camera; this replaces the animation from Melee where it jumps and claps with its feet. Its other two victory animations from Melee are updated with new expressions and ending poses, and Pichu has voice clips for all of its victory animations.
• Pichu now stands on the ground while clapping instead of sitting.

Attributes

• Pichu can crawl, much like Pikachu. This allows for an easier approach while dodging projectiles.
• Pichu walks faster (1.24 → 1.302).
• Pichu runs much faster (1.72 → 1.892), although it is slower relative to the cast, now being the 25th fastest out of 78 characters in Ultimate compared to the 5th fastest out of 26 characters in Melee.
  • Pichu's initial dash is faster (1.8 → 1.98).
• Pichu's traction is slightly higher (0.1 → 0.11).
• Pichu's air speed is higher (0.85 → 1.029).
• Pichu's air acceleration is much higher (0.05 → 0.1), going from being the 12th highest out of 26 characters to the 9th highest out of 78 characters.
• Pichu is heavier (55 → 62), which improves its horizontal survivability, though it still remains the lightest character in the game.
• Pichu's gravity is higher (0.11 → 0.14).
• Due to the introduction of the gravity penalty for knockback, Pichu sustains more knockback especially since it has above average gravity. Additionally, the changes to knockback physics have made Pichu's vertical endurance even worse than it was in Melee despite its increased weight (being the worst in the game).
• Forward roll has less ending lag (FAF 32 → 29).
• Forward roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-19 → 4-14).
• Back roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-19 → 4-15) and has more ending lag (FAF 32 → 34).
• Spot dodge has more startup (frame 2 → 3) and ending lag (FAF 23 → 25).
• Air dodge has less startup (frame 4 → 2), making it better for escaping combos. Due to its altered mechanics, it also no longer causes helplessness, and allows Pichu to sweetspot edges with directional air dodges.
• Air dodge grants less intangibility (frames 4-29 → 2-26 (neutral), 2-19 (directional)), and due to the altered mechanics, directional air dodges have more landing lag (10 frames → 11-19) and are significantly less effective for wavedashing.
• With the implementation of rage, Pichu's self-inflicted damage can gradually increase its launching power, and also keep itself out of kill confirm percentages. Conversely, Pichu's status as the lightest character in the game means it will not be able to survive very well at percentages which allow it to take advantage of rage, and will also die sooner against an opponent who has high rage.
• The removal of chain grabs immensely aids Pichu's endurance and longevity.
  • However, this also removes some chain grabs Pichu was capable of performing on fast-fallers.

Ground attacks

• The increased shieldstun for ground attacks makes Pichu's slightly to moderately safer on shield, especially its tilt attacks.
• Neutral attack:
  • Neutral attack has less ending lag (FAF 22 → 17) and it can be looped by holding the attack button.
  • It deals less damage (2% → 1.2%).
  • It deals more knockback (7 base/50 scaling → 10/20 base/60 scaling), hindering its ability to chain into itself.
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt has a different animation, where Pichu kicks in an upward arcing motion rather than straight forward, and electricity comes out of its legs.
  • It has less ending lag (FAF 30 → 25).
  • It has more range.
  • It always trips opponents at low percents.
  • It deals less base knockback but significantly more knockback scaling (10 base/100 scaling → 5/130), giving it KO potential at high percents.
  • It has a shorter duration (frames 5-14 → 5-12).
  • It has an electric effect and therefore causes recoil damage (1%).
  • It can no longer be angled.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt deals less knockback (20/25 base/120 scaling → 32/105), improving its combo potential but hindering its KO potential.
  • It deals less damage (6% → 5%).
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt deals less damage (7% → 6%).
  • It has a shorter duration (frames 7-9 → 7-8).
  • It sends opponents at a vertical angle (35° → 80°/100°) and deals less knockback (12 base/100 scaling → 40/50), making it a potent combo starter but removing its edgeguarding and tech chasing potential.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack has noticeably less ending lag (FAF 50 → 35).
  • It deals more knockback (40 base/70 scaling → 60/100 (clean), 60/80 (late)).
  • It has more startup lag and a shorter duration (frames 5-16 → 6-15).
  • The late hit deals less damage (8% → 6%).
  • It sends opponents at a more vertical angle (361° → 70°), reducing its edgeguarding potential, but improving its combo potential combined with the decreased ending lag.
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash's hits connect more reliably: their angles have been altered (0°/20°/180° → 366°/20°), and they have a reduced hitlag (0.3x) and SDI multiplier (0.5x), on top of the weakened SDI from Melee to Ultimate.
  • The final hit deals more damage (6% → 8%), and the looping hits deal consistent damage due to changes to stale-move negation, increasing the total dealt (14.74% → 18%).
  • It has more ending lag (FAF 51 → 54).
  • The final hit deals less knockback (90 base/140 scaling → 68/123), hindering its KO potential despite its increased damage.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash has intangibility on Pichu's ears while its hitboxes are active.
  • It deals less damage (16% → 14%).
  • It deals drastically less knockback (50/40 base/105 scaling → 40/15 base/85 scaling), which alongside its lower damage significantly hinders its KO potential, going from one of the strongest up smashes in Melee to one of the weakest in Ultimate.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash hits multiple times instead of once.
  • It deals more damage (13% → 1.5% (loop hits), 8% (final), 14% (total)) if all hits connect.
  • The final hit deals more knockback (30 base/70 scaling → 45/150), KOing at around 125% from center stage, compared to the single hit in Melee KOing at around 170% under the same circumstances.
  • Pichu moves forward and backwards during the attack and the hitbox is extended, increasing its horizontal range.
  • All hits now have transcendent priority.
  • It has more startup lag (frame 7 → 8).
  • It sends at a more vertical angle (160° → 50°) that is less desirable for edgeguarding, no longer being a semi-spike.
  • It has an electric effect and therefore causes recoil damage (1.3%).

Aerial attacks

• All aerials except back aerial have less landing lag (12 frames → 7 (neutral), 15 → 12 (forward), 18 → 11 (up), 26 → 22 (down)). However, due to the removal of L-canceling, their landing lag is not fully compensated.
• The decreased shieldstun for aerial attacks makes Pichu's less safe on shield compared to their L-canceled versions in Melee.
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial deals less damage (12%/9% → 7%/5%) without full compensation on knockback (clean: 18 base/100 scaling → 20/112, late: 0/100 → 0/112).
  • It has a slightly shorter duration (frames 3-10/11-28 → 3-9/10-27).
  • It has an altered animation: Pichu performs a frontflipping cartwheel instead of a somersault, and attacks with its head instead of its tail.
  • The hitbox is extended and follows Pichu as it spins around, giving it more range and better coverage around it.
  • Pichu's ears are intangible during the clean hit (frames 3-9).
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial causes considerably less recoil damage (4% (1% per hit) → 1%).
  • It deals significantly more damage (2% → 3.5% (per hit); 7.46% → 14% (total)).
  • The first three hits deal less set knockback (30 → 20), use the autolink angle (361° → 366°), and have a lower hitlag multiplier (0.5x), which alongside the weakening of SDI allows them to connect much more reliably.
  • The last hit no longer deals set knockback (30 set/100 scaling → 55 base/140 scaling), making it safer on hit and granting it KO potential at high percents.
  • The last hit has a shorter duration (frames 22-24 → 22-23).
  • The last hit has a different launch angle (361° → 45°).
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial hits multiple times instead of once.
    • The loop hits use the autolink angle (367°), allowing them to drag opponents down for combos.
  • It has less ending lag (FAF 60 → 55).
  • It deals more damage if all hits connect (9% → 2% (hits 1-5), 2.5% (last); 12.5% (total)).
  • The last hit deals more knockback (20 base/100 scaling → 70/160), launches at a lower angle (361° → 42°), and always sends opponents towards Pichu's back, greatly improving its edgeguarding ability.
  • It auto-cancels earlier (frame 50 → 38).
  • It has more startup lag (frame 4 → 5).
  • It has an electric effect and therefore causes recoil damage (1.5%).
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial deals less knockback (100 base/60 scaling → 70/70), improving its combo potential.
  • It has slightly less ending lag (FAF 28 → 27).
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial has a clean hit that deals more damage (12% → 13%) and meteor smashes opponents (361° → 270°), greatly improving it edgeguarding and onstage combo abilities.
  • Pichu's ears are intangible during the clean hit.
  • It auto-cancels earlier (frame 38 → 32), doing so at the peak of a short hop.
  • The landing hit no longer deals set knockback (30 set/100 scaling → 50 base/100 scaling).
  • The clean hit deals less knockback (20 base/100 scaling → 16/86), hindering its KO potential onstage.
  • Using the move in the air causes more recoil damage (1% → 1.5%), but landing with it causes less (1% → 0.5%).

Throws and other attacks

• Grabs:
  • Standing and dash grab have less startup lag (frame 7 → 6 (standing), 11 → 8 (dash)).
  • Standing grab has more range.
  • Dash grab has slightly less ending lag (FAF 41 → 40).
  • Standing grab has slightly more ending lag (FAF 31 → 32).
  • When grabbing, Pichu swipes one hand sideways, instead of grabbing overhead like Pikachu. Pichu also no longer rolls over after performing a dash grab.
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals more hitlag (4 frames → 14), but has less startup (frame 3 → 1) and significantly less ending lag (FAF 25 → 6), shortening its duration.
  • It causes significantly less recoil damage (1% → 0.1%).
  • It deals less damage (3% → 1.4%).
• The removal of chain grabbing combined with the changes to knockback significantly hinders forward throw, up throw and down throw's damage racking potential.
• All throws except forward throw no longer have an electric effect.
• Forward throw:
  • Forward throw deals more damage (2% → 1.5% (loop hits), 2% → 6% (throw), 9% → 12% (total)) with no compensation on knockback, making it a viable KO option near the edge.
  • It causes less recoil damage (1% → 0.5%).
  • It no longer has any hitlag, executing faster as a result.
  • Its first four hits are slower (frame 10, 14, 18, 22 → 11, 15, 19, 23), and it releases the opponent faster (frame 29 → 27) with its total duration unchanged. This slightly hinders its combo potential.
• Back throw:
  • Back throw releases the opponent faster (frame 30 → 26), with its total duration unchanged. This increases its ending lag and shortens the distance Pichu moves back before throwing, making it less effective for setting up edgeguards, while still giving the opponent enough time to DI.
  • Its speed is no longer weight-dependent.
  • It has a different animation.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw releases the opponent faster (frame 20 → 15) and has less ending lag (FAF 44 → 36), improving its combo potential from low to mid percents.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw releases the opponent faster (frame 20 → 19) and has less ending lag (FAF 48 → 40), improving its combo potential from low to mid percents despite its increased knockback.
  • The first hit has more startup (frame 12 → 14).
  • It deals less damage (5% (hit 1 and throw) → 4%; 10% → 8% total) and has significantly increased knockback scaling (38 → 100), hindering its combo potential at high percents, while still lacking KO potential.
• Floor attacks:
  • Due to the introduction of tripping in Brawl, Pichu has received a floor attack after tripping.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack deals more damage (8% → 9%).

Special moves

• Thunder Jolt:
  • Thunder Jolt has less ending lag (FAF 58 → 52).
  • It causes less recoil damage (1% → 0.7%).
  • The grounded version has increased base knockback (10 → 25 (grounded opponents)/13 (aerial opponents)).
  • Pichu can no longer fast fall or control its trajectory while using the move.
  • The grounded version deals less damage on its later frames (7% → 7% (clean), 6% (mid), 5% (late)).
• Skull Bash:
  • When it hits an opponent, Skull Bash causes Pichu to bounce back in an animation with significantly less lag, making it safer to use.
  • It deals less damage (5%-39% → 4%-33%).
  • It causes more recoil damage (1% → 1.5%).
• Agility:
  • Agility travels a longer distance.
  • It causes less recoil damage (1%/3% → 0.5%/1%).
  • It has less ending lag when used into the ground.
  • It has an angle indicator to telegraph Pichu's trajectory. This may help prevent missed directional inputs, but makes Pichu's movement more predictable.
• Thunder:
  • Thunder meteor smashes targets hit near the cloud (94° → 270°), much like Pikachu's version from Smash 4 onward, dealing more damage (4% → 6%) and leading into the shockwave.
  • The shockwave deals more damage (13% → 14%) and has more knockback scaling (60 → 65), allowing it to KO at around 110% from center stage.
  • If the Thunder hits Pichu, it will rise a bit, helping its recovery.
  • The shockwave causes more recoil damage (3% → 3.5%).
  • The lightning bolt no longer hits multiple times.
  • Thunder passes through the stage. While this lets Pichu use it as a close range attack under platforms and such, it also means Pichu can hurt itself doing so.
  • The lightning bolt has different knockback values (80 base/55 scaling → 74/60).
  • The electricity discharged when the lightning strikes Pichu is yellow rather than blue and has Pichu flash with a dark tint.
• Pichu has a Final Smash, Volt Tackle, which is nearly identical to Pikachu's: it has Pichu dash quickly around the stage at different angles while surrounded in a ball of electricity, then launching opponents with an electric blast at the end of the move as the ball disappears. It also causes massive recoil damage, unlike Pikachu's version of the move.

Update history

Potentially due to its dominating status in competitive play during the early metagame of Ultimate, Pichu was significantly nerfed in game updates. Although its pummel was slightly buffed in update 2.0.0, it received several big nerfs in update 3.1.0. Pichu's hurtbox is larger, forward smash has more ending lag, its infamously strong forward tilt has less knockback scaling, and almost all of its electric attacks deal more recoil damage, noticeably worsening its already abysmal endurance.

Update 11.0.0 buffed Pichu by reversing some of the nerfs it received in update 3.1.0, changing the amount of recoil damage Pichu receives with some electric attacks. On top of that, its ear-hurtboxes received intangibility during the strong hit of its neutral aerial, making it a slightly safer option in the air.

Overall, Pichu fares much worse than it did when Ultimate launched. While Pichu is still far stronger than its Melee iteration, the nerfs it received has led to its tournament representation and results to drastically decline and Pichu is now generally considered to be a high/mid-tier character at best in comparison to its top-tier status after release.

2.0.0

• Pummel deals less hitlag (15 frames → 14), shortening its duration.

3.0.0

• Thunder Jolt deals less shield damage (1 → -3/-2.5/-2 (grounded, clean/mid/late), -4.5 (aerial)).
• Pichu's aerial hitstun and landing animations have been changed so its body does not shift as much, which causes certain multihit attacks (e.g. Dancing Blade, Peach's dash attack, Shulk's forward smash and more) to connect more reliably against it.

3.1.0

• Pichu has a larger hurtbox, now covering most of its ears.
• Pichu's full shield is bigger. This makes it less likely for Pichu to get shield poked, but also makes it easier to hit the shield to apply pressure to it.
• Forward tilt has less knockback scaling (150 → 130).
  • This also allows it to trip opponents at a wider percent range.
• Forward smash has more ending lag (FAF 50 → 54).
• All electrical moves except for pummel and Volt Tackle cause more recoil damage. While this allows it to build up rage faster, it mostly worsens its already poor survivability and makes it easier to KO.
  • Forward tilt: 0.7% → 1%.
  • Forward smash: 1.5% → 2%.
  • Down smash: 0.8% → 1.3%.
  • Forward aerial: 1% → 1.5%.
  • Back aerial: 1% → 1.5%.
  • Down aerial: 1% → 1.5% (aerial hitbox).
  • Forward throw: 0.5% → 0.8%.
  • Thunder Jolt: 0.4% → 0.7%.
  • Skull Bash: 1.5% → 1.8%.
  • Agility: 0.6% → 0.9% (first zip), total: 2% → 2.3%.
  • Thunder: 3% → 3.5%.

7.0.0

• Overall shield size has been increased.

10.1.0

• Forward smash's last hit's hitbox is larger (5.3u → 5.8u), with its vertical displacement compensated (Y-offset: 4.7 → 5.2). This allows it to connect better from the looping hits.

11.0.0

• Neutral aerial makes Pichu's ears intangible during the clean hit (frames 3-9).
• The recoil damage on several of Pichu's moves was reduced. These changes revert the recoil increase applied with update 3.1.0 for those moves, with the exception of Agility, which has less recoil than before 3.1.0.
  • Forward smash: 2% → 1.5%.
  • Forward aerial: 1.5% → 1%.
  • Forward throw: 0.8% → 0.5%.
  • Skull Bash: 1.8% → 1.5%.
  • Agility: 0.9% (zip 1)/1.4% (zip 2) → 0.5%/1%, total: 2.3% → 1.5%.

Moveset

• Pichu can crawl.
• Pichu can wall jump.

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

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		Headbutt (ずつき)	1.2%	Performs a quick headbutt. Possesses similar properties as Pikachu's jab, though it can link a few more hits before pushing the opponent out of range. It also inflicts less shieldstun and has one frame less ending lag. While it has minimal startup lag by coming out on frame 2 and can jab lock, it cannot combo into itself easily due to opponents falling out of the move easily when spammed and being able to punish Pichu for the move. Pichu's other moves, such as down tilt or dash attack, are better options since Pichu lacks a finisher for its jab.
Forward tilt		Double-Footed Sweep (りょうあしばらい)	8%, 1% recoil	Plants itself on its upper paws and performs a left-legged horse kick vertically in front of itself, and then performs a right-legged horse kick. It has minimal startup lag (comes out on frame 5) and ending lag, yet it is one of the strongest forward tilts in Ultimate, KOing middleweights at around 128% near the edge of Final Destination, making it one of Pichu's most viable KOing options in its kit. Can make opponents trip at low percents. The hitbox lasts surprisingly long, as Pichu kicks with one foot before kicking with the other, and while the second hitbox is smaller, it is not a sourspot. Cannot be angled as it could in Melee.
Up tilt		Tail Attack (しっぽアタック)	5%	An overhead tail swipe, beginning from behind Pichu. An excellent combo starter, comboing into itself at low percents and into Pichu's aerials at medium to high percents. It is a great combo tool, but its short range prevents it from being a viable anti-air.
Down tilt		Tail Sweep (あしばらい)	6%	Sweeps its tail in front of itself while crouching. It has good horizontal reach and minimal ending lag, making it somewhat spammable. Unlike Pikachu's down tilt, Pichu's down tilt is also useful for leading to combos due to its minimal knockback scaling and vertical launching angle, comboing into an up tilt at low to medium percents, or an aerial even at very high percents.
Dash attack		Running Headbutt (ジャンプずつき, Jump Headbutt)	8% (clean), 6% (late)	A battering ram. The early hitbox deals moderate damage and good knockback, allowing it to KO middleweights around 163% on Final Destination. It also has a fairly low startup lag (frame 6), and the early hitbox lasts deceptively long. Additionally, it is relatively safe on shield due to its ability to cross-up shields, although it can still be punished by quick out-of-shield options, and the clean hitbox must be landed against a shielding opponent in order to cross them up. However, the late hitbox lacks KO potential at reasonable percents, and the move's high ending lag prevents either hit from comboing. Less ending lag, albeit less shieldstun compared to Pikachu's dash attack. It also has an hitbox on Pichu's torso.
Forward smash		Thundershock (ショートでんげき, Electrical Short)	2% (hits 1-5), 8% (hit 6), 2% recoil	Rears its head back before leaning forward, launching a short jolt of electricity from its cheeks. It comes out on frame 16, the slowest start-up among all of Pichu's smash attacks. Unlike Pikachu's forward smash, Pichu's forward smash is multi-hitting and lacks sourspots and/or sweetspots. It also boasts more strength and less ending lag relative to the hitbox's duration, which gives it more reliability and safety compared to Pikachu's. However, it has less range. The final hit is one of the strongest forward smashes in Ultimate, being able to KO Mario at 80% at the edge of Final Destination. Additionally, it has low ending lag (16 frames), which gives it good safety on shield.
Up smash		Headbutt (ヘッドバット)	14%	An upward-arcing headbutt. Pichu's ears become intangible throughout the hitbox's active duration. Due to hitting on frame 9, it is disproportionately quick for a smash attack. It is a decent anti-air tool with pseudo-disjointed range due to Pichu's ears being intangible while the hitbox is active, similar to Mario's up smash. Due to its power being drastically lowered since Melee, however, it is now Pichu's weakest smash attack and possesses rather mediocre power for a smash attack, KOing Mario effectively starting at around 126% on Final Destination. In addition, its high ending lag makes it risky and punishable without wise usage.
Down smash		Electric Flower (ねずみはなび, Mouse Fireworks)	1.5% (hits 1-4), 8% (hit 5), 1.3% recoil	Discharges electricity while spinning around, shocking opponents in the process. It is tied with Pichu's up smash for dealing the second-highest damage out of all its smash attacks, dealing up to 14%. It KOs middleweights around 89% at the edge of Final Destination with no DI. Compared to Pikachu's down smash, it has much less ending lag and boasts more strength, but it is easier to DI and is worse for edgeguarding due to its heightened angle, which causes it to KO slightly later, KOing middleweights at around 106% at the edge of Final Destination with good DI. It has the least startup out of all its smash attacks, coming out on frame 8, but its 27 frames of ending lag make it punishable if performed unwisely. As well as up and forward smashes, neutral aerial can combo into this move to confirm a KO. Pichu also gains invincibility at frames 7-10.
Neutral aerial		Pichu Spin (ピチュースピン)	7% (clean), 5% (late)	An aerial cartwheel. It has the properties of a sex kick. It is a quick out of shield option and, when compared to Pikachu's, it is more effective for KOing and possesses more range and less ending lag. If landing the clean hitbox, it can KO middleweights at around 158% at the edge of Final Destination without rage. It is one of Pichu's most versatile tools in its kit; being useful for breaking out of combos due to its almost nonexistent startup (frame 2), and a minimal amount of ending lag (12 frames). It is notorious for its ability to be fast-falled to drag the opponent down and extend combos, and being a very quick out-of-shield option at frame 2. It can be fast-falled to combo into all of its tilts, a grab, and a smash attack due to its minimal ending lag. It auto-cancels in a short hop, although is slightly safer when not auto-canceled, possessing 2 less frames of landing lag compared to Pikachu's.
Forward aerial		Electric Drill (でんげきドリル)	3.5% (hits 1-4), 1.5% recoil	Spins forward with an electrically charged head, shocking opponents. It has moderate startup lag (frame 10) and hits 4 times. Possesses low landing and ending lag (15 frames), making it an effective spacing option. Unlike Pikachu's forward aerial, it covers Pichu's whole body and utilizes the autolink angle, connecting better in comparison. It deals impressive damage (up to 14%, if all the hits connect) and combo into itself at low percents, while also being good for edgeguarding and leading to a wall of pain at lower precents. The multiple hits and long duration make it an effective short hopped aerial to pressure the opponent's shield and potentially shield poke. Due to its lenient amount of ending lag, it is an excellent combo and edgeguarding option and can combo into grab sometimes, or connect into a dash attack to KO at higher percents.
Back aerial		Electric Glider (グライダー)	2% (hits 1-5), 2.5% (hit 6), 1.5% recoil	Spins around horizontally in a skydiver position while infusing electricity in a similar fasion of Pichu's down smash, hitting multiple times. Can combo at low percentages and edgeguard at higher percents, like Pichu's forward aerial. It has miniimal startup lag, coming out on frame 4 with a long active duration, relatively low ending lag (24 frames) and can hit all around Pichu. However, it is burdened with poor range, only hitting opponents close to Pichu. To compensate, it is a great edgeguarding tool at high precents while being a useful combo starter at low percents. Additionally, the final hit boasts incredible power for an aerial attack of its kind, as it KOs middleweights at around 126% at the edge of Final Destination.
Up aerial		Tail Chop (しっぽはたき)	4%	An overhead tail swipe, beginning from behind Pichu. Extremely fast, coming out on frame 4, with minimal ending lag (17 frames) as it auto-cancels with less landing lag compared to Pikachu's up aerial and is interruptible at frame 27. It is useful for juggling or comboing into itself and other aerials, or into Thunder at certain percentages.
Down aerial		Electric Screw (でんげきスクリュー)	13%, 4% (landing), 1.5% recoil after startup, 0.5% recoil landing (can land before startup)	Performs an electricity-infused barrel roll downwards. Possesses the capability to meteor smash opponents during the clean hit, which has a generously long duration (four frames), and, although with strict timing, it can auto-cancel in a short hop. Pichu's ears become intangible for the entire duration of the clean hit (frames 14-17). The late hit has good coverage in Pichu's body. It has low ending lag with 23 frames of vulnerability, but it is the highest of Pichu's aerials. Like Pikachu's, it also has a landing hitbox.
Grab		Grab (つかみ)	—	Leans forward and reaches out single-handed. Possesses a range of approximately Pichu's body width, being somewhat short-ranged. Due to possessing the lowest amount of ending lag across the cast and extremely quick startup (frame 6), however, Pichu's grabs are the fastest in the game.
Pummel		Grab Electric Shock (つかみでんきショック)	1.4%, 0.1% recoil	Shocks the opponent. It has above-average power and moderate speed.
Forward throw		Electric Throw (でんきなげ)	1.5% (hits 1-4), 6% (throw), 0.8% recoil	Places the opponent on its back and shocks them by infusing electricity onto them, launching them forward. Pichu's strongest throw, as it starts KOing middleweights at around 153% near the edge of Final Destination. Aside from KOing, it is also effective at starting edgeguards.
Back throw		Submission (じごくぐるま, Hell Wheel)	9%	Rolls backward before launching the opponent with a tomoe nage, a judo throw. Pichu's second-strongest throw, but it drastically pales in terms of power compared to Pichu's forward throw, as it starts KOing middleweights at around 181% at the edge of Final Destination. It is excellent for setting up edgeguards, as it has high base knockback and the animation means opponents near the center will end up being launched near the edge. It is potentially based on Submission, a Fighting-type move that Pikachu could learn in Generation 1 games.
Up throw		Heading (ヘディング)	5% (hit 1), 5% (throw)	Heaves the opponent onto its head and headbutts it upwards. A good combo throw at lower precentages. Can infamously combo into Thunder, making it a reliable finisher between medium and high percents. However, in comparison to Pikachu's up throw, it has drastically less power, which prevents it from KOing at realistic precentages, but gives its KO setup with Thunder much more consistency compared to Pikachu.
Down throw		Hip Press (ヒッププレス)	4% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Plants the opponent on the ground and performs a senton. A good combo starter comboing into all of Pichu's aerial attacks from low to medium percents, allowing Pichu to easily start combos.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Spins in a full rotation to sweep with its tail at both sides.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Spins in a full rotation to sweep with its tail at both sides.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Thrusts its tail on both sides of itself while getting up.
Edge attack Edge getups			9%	Performs a cartwheel and flicks its tail out while climbing up.
Neutral special		Thunder Jolt	7% (short distance), 6% (medium distance), 5% (long distance), 10% (air), 0.7% recoil	Pichu's primary projectile. Fires a jolt of electricity forward. Compared to Pikachu's, it is quicker, bigger and stronger. It also travels forward while bouncing along the ground, and can also travel up walls, below the edge, and along ceilings, making it a strong edgeguarding and 2-framing tool. If performs in the air, it will travel diagonally down instead and will deal more damage. Disappears after around 3 seconds. It is useful for gimping certain recoveries. Deals less damage the farther it travels. A versatile projectile, as it deals good damage and moves quickly, assisting Pichu in controlling the neutral game. When it hits the stage or a platform, it sticks to it, looping across it until its lifespan is over or it hits the bottom of a soft platform. This allows Pichu to run alongside it to approach, cover several grounded options, and assit it in getting out of the corner.
Side special		Skull Bash	4% (uncharged), 7.8% (uncharged smash input), 33% (fully charged), 1.8% recoil	Charges up before launching forward at a high velocity. It can be charged up to increase damage, knockback, and distance. Useful for horizontal recovery and can sweetspot the ledge, but leaves Pichu vulnerable due to being fairly slow, and the hitbox being within its hurtbox. If inputted like a smash attack, it immediately starts with some charge. When fully charged or close to full charged, it boasts high KO power and disproportional damage output. The move can also have utility to extend Pichu's recovery, though it does endure some lag. Compared to Pikachu's Skull Bash, Pichu's Skull Bash deals more damage and covers more distance at full charged, but deals less damage without charge, require a longer time to fully charge, inflicts recoil damage and has more ending lag.
Up special		Agility	0%, 0.9% recoil (warp 1), 1.4% recoil (warp 2)	Pichu's primary means of recovery. Zips overhead at high speeds. It can be angled; if angled in a different direction after the first time it is performed, Pichu will use it again. It covers great distances and can be unpredictable with correct usage, but Pichu goes into helplessness after using it. In comparison to Pikachu's Quick Attack, Agility travels at a farther distance. However, it lacks damage and Pichu suffers recoil damage.
Down special		Thunder	14% (shockwave), 4% (thunderbolt), 6% (thunderbolt meteor), 3.5% recoil	Calls down a bolt of lightning from the sky. If the bolt strikes Pichu, it will create an electric explosion around itself, dealing massive knockback and granting Pichu intangibility for 10 frames. If an opponent is struck near the top of the bolt or at the cloud, they are launched down into Pichu and will get hit by the discharge as well; otherwise, they are launched upwards. Possesses high ending lag if the bolt doesn't strike Pichu. The thunderbolt becomes active on frame 9, but there is a long gap before the discharge, and thus, it is easy to attack Pichu before the thunderbolt hits it and is very vulnerable to counters. The projectile comes out on frame 2, and can be useful for breaking combos. The beginning of the bolt has a meteor effect and deals more damage than the rest of the bolt. When the bolt hits Pichu, a shockwave is generated and has excellent KO potential. In comparison to Pikachu's Thunder, Pichu's Thunder has less startup, but deals less damage and knockback overall and causes recoil damage. The thunderbolt travels faster than Pikachu's, giving it both positives and negatives: this makes it easier to land, but Pichu will be more vulnerable.
Final Smash		Volt Tackle	0.3% (6 hits during startup), 1% (initial hit), 1.6% (loop), 21% (launch), 3.2% recoil (startup), 0.2% recoil (loop), 3.5% recoil (launch)	Surrounds itself with electricity before dashing forwards. If it connects, Pichu will barrage the opponents caught with repeated strikes in this form before launching them with a powerful electric blast. If the dash misses, Volt Tackle finishes early. It causes a large amount of recoil damage, but is compensated by possessing increased overall power in comparison to Pikachu's Volt Tackle.

Stats

Stats	Weight	Dash speed	Walk speed	Traction	Air friction	Air speed	Air acceleration	Gravity	Falling speed	Jumpsquat	Jump Height	Double jump Height
Value	62	1.98 – Initial dash 1.892 – Run	1.302	0.11	0.0075	1.029	0.01 – Base 0.09 – Additional	0.14	1.9 – Base 2.5 – Fast-fall	3	36.75 - Base 17.43 - Short hop	36.02

Announcer call

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• English/Japanese/Chinese

On-screen appearance

• Jumps out from a Poké Ball and waves both hands in the air with joy before landing, yelling "Pichu!" in the process (the same voice-clip heard in Pichu's side taunt).

• 

  Pichu's on-screen appearance

Taunts

• Up taunt: Charges up with electricity, similar to Pikachu's up taunt, but falls back dazed when finishing.
• Side taunt: Jumps up and waves at the camera, yelling "Pichu!" This was its left-facing taunt in Melee.
• Down taunt: Squirms around on the ground, saying "Pichu!" This was its right-facing taunt in Melee.

• 

  Pichu's up taunt.

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  Pichu's side taunt.

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  Pichu's down taunt.

Idle poses

• Turns around and looks at its tail, twitching it.
• Looks around itself excitedly while twitching its ears.

• 

  Pichu's first idle pose.

• 

  Pichu's second idle pose.

Crowd cheer

	Cheer (English)	Cheer (Japanese/Chinese)	Cheer (Italian)	Cheer (Dutch)	Cheer (French)
Cheer
Description	Pi - chu!	Pichu!	Pi - chu! *claps 3 times*	Pi - chu!	Pi - chu! Pi - chu!

	Cheer (German)	Cheer (Spanish)	Cheer (Russian)	Cheer (Korean)
Cheer
Description	Pi - chu! Pi - chu! Piiiiii!	Este Pichu! Este Pichu! E! E!	Pichu! Pichu!	Pi - chu!

Victory poses

• Left: Cheers twice (facing to the right first and the left second), jumps thrice while spinning, and poses while fist pumping with its left hand, chanting "Pichu, Pichu!"
• Up: Jumps three times, with the third jump, which is done while spinning, being higher than the first two. While in midair, Pichu waves both of its arms. After landing, Pichu raises both of its arms and arches towards its left side. During the pose, Pichu chants "Pi-Pi-Pichu!" in sync with each jump.
• Right: Charges electricity, causing itself fall over, dazed, then stands up and winks while scratching its head while smiling.

A small excerpt of the title theme of Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green Versions, a track which would go on to become the Pokémon main theme and the title theme for the entire series.

• 
• 
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In competitive play

Tier placement and history

In contrast to its Melee counterpart, where it is considered one of the worst characters in the game, Pichu was commonly considered one of the best characters in the game in the early metagame, if not the game's absolute strongest fighter in Ultimate. This is due to its small size, quick mobility and powerful KO potential, with most of its KO options including back aerial, Thunder, and its infamous forward tilt. These strengths allowed Pichu to have a strong playerbase, with players such as VoiD, NAKAT, Nietono, and Captain L performing spectacularly on a national level.

However, patch 3.1.0 increased its size and nerfed the power of its forward tilt, while increasing the amount of recoil on almost all of its electric attacks. In addition to progressively more players learning how to play the matchup, several players considered Pichu to be inferior to Pikachu, and its representation and results ended up declining as a result, with several of its best players either dropping the character (Captain L) or relegating it to either a co-main or secondary (VoiD). Although patch 11.0.0 reverted some of those nerfs, it failed to change most players' opinions on the character. However, Pichu's strengths and received buffs have prevented players from switching their opinions of considering Pichu a fairly strong competitive threat, similar to Pikachu; with continuously declining results both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the community currently considers Pichu to be a solid high-tier or mid-tier character at best, ranking 55th on the first and current tier list. Nevertheless, Pichu is still widely considered to be drastically more viable than its Melee iteration.

Most historically significant players

See also: Category:Pichu players (SSBU)

•  Blacktwins - One of the best Pichu players in Canada but has since also picked up Pyra and Mythra. Placed 2nd at Rising Stars at EGLX 2019, 3rd at LAN ETS 2020, 9th at Shine 2019, 17th at Let's Make Moves Miami, and 25th at The Big House 9. Ranked 5th on the Smash Canada Rankings Ultimate.
•  Mossan - One of the best Pichu players in Japan. Placed 4th at Karisuma SP 5, 7th at Sumabato SP 10, 13th at both Karisuma SP 8 and Maesuma TOP 2, and 17th at Umebura SP 6 with wins over players such as DIO, Kuro, and ProtoBanham.
•  NaetorU - Currently the best Pichu player in the world. Placed 7th at COLOSSEL 2022, 9th at both VCA 2021 and 95 Kings of Fields 2, 13th at Glory 2.0, and 25th at Double Down 2022 with wins over players such as MkLeo, Kola, and Bloom4Eva.
•  NAKAT - One of the best Pichu players in the world during the early metagame. Placed 7th at Smash 'N' Splash 5, 13th at Umebura SP 3, 17th at Get On My Level 2019, and 33rd at both GENESIS 6 and Frostbite 2019. Ranked 26th on the Spring 2019 PGRU.
•  Nietono - Formerly the best Pichu player in the world. Placed 1st at Umebura SP 3, 3rd at Maesuma TOP 8, 9th at both Umebura Japan Major 2019 and Frostbite 2020, and 17th at Kagaribi 5 with wins over players such as kameme, Kome, and Lea. Ranked 27th on the Fall 2019 PGRU.
•  RFang - One of the best Pichu players in the United States during the early metagame. Placed 3rd at 2GG: Grand Tour - South Carolina, 7th at The Big House 9, 17th at Smash 'N' Splash 5, and 25th at MomoCon 2019 with wins over players such as Light, moxi, and WaDi. Ranked 45th on the Fall 2019 PGRU.
•  Rideae - Placed 5th at both GatorLAN Fall 2019 and GatorLAN Spring 2020, 13th at Come to Papa 3, and 17th at both DreamHack Atlanta 2019 and CEO Dreamland 2020 with wins over players such as RFang, Sonido, and ChocoTaco. Ranked 3rd on the Tampa Power Rankings.
•  VoiD - The best Pichu player in the world during the early metagame but has since relegated the character to a secondary. Placed 1st at Super Splat Bros and SoCal Chronicles, 2nd at GENESIS 6, and 9th at Let's Make Moves with wins over players such as Nairo, Shuton, and Zackray. Ranked as high as 9th on the Spring 2019 PGRU.
•  Yetey - The best Pichu player in Europe during the early metagame. Placed 1st at Schism 3, 2nd at BOILINGPOINT BRAWL, 5th at Valhalla II, 9th at VCA 2019, and 13th at Ultimate Fighting Arena 2019 with wins over players such as Flow, Greil, and Larry Lurr. Ranked being ranked 25th on the European Smash Rankings.
•  yuzu - One of the best Pichu players in Japan; now using it as a secondary to his Rosalina & Luma. Placed 4th at EGS Cup, 9th at Karisuma SP 2, 13th at Maesuma TOP 4, 25th at Sumabato SP 4, and 33rd at Umebura Japan Major 2019.

Classic Mode: Lightweight Fracas

Pichu's congratulations screen.

Pichu fights against opponents that are lightweights like itself, on stages that take place in the sky.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Jigglypuff	Pokémon Stadium 2	Pokémon Center - Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue
2	Squirtle	Peach's Castle	Road to Viridian City - Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue	Squirtle's Pokémon Trainer is absent.
3	Mr. Game & Watch	Skyworld	Underworld
4	Olimar	Pilotwings	Light Plane (Remix)
5	Kirby and Meta Knight	Skyloft	Butter Building (for 3DS / Wii U)	This battle is a free-for-all.
6	Mewtwo	Prism Tower	Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue Medley
Bonus Stage
Final	Master Hand	Final Destination	Master Hand (Less than 7.0 intensity) Master Hand / Crazy Hand (Intensity 7.0 or higher)	On intensity 7.0 and higher, Crazy Hand fights alongside Master Hand.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Pichu has Pokémon Gold / Pokémon Silver Medley accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

Finding Pichu in World of Light

Although Pichu has been absent from the opening cutscene of World of Light, it was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (sans Kirby) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.

To access Pichu, the player must enter the Power Plant sub-area and reach it on a platform using two Zapfish, where it can then be challenged and recruited.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
19		Pichu	Attack	7,500	Prism Tower (Ω form)	Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue Medley

Spirit

Pichu's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Pichu has been unlocked. Unlocking Pichu in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Its Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with its artwork in Ultimate.

• 

  410. Pichu

In Spirit Battles

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music
468		Ampharos	Pokémon Series	•Giant Pichu		4,500	Prism Tower (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Zap Floor	•The floor is electrified •The enemy is giant	Pokémon Gold / Pokémon Silver Medley
507		Rotom	Pokémon Series	•Pichu ×2		3,800	PictoChat 2 (Battlefield form)	•Item: Lightning	•The enemy's electric attacks have increased power	Battle! (Wild Pokémon) - Pokémon Diamond / Pokémon Pearl
541		Dedenne	Pokémon Series	•Pichu		2,000	Pokémon Stadium 2 (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Zap Floor	•The floor is electrified •The enemy favors neutral specials •Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Dedenne)	Battle! (Wild Pokémon) - Pokémon X / Pokémon Y
554		Togedemaru	Pokémon Series	•Pichu Team ×4		1,500	Prism Tower	•Item: Unira	•The enemy favors down specials •Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Togedemaru) •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Battle! (Wild Pokémon) - Pokémon Sun / Pokémon Moon
744		Fronks	WarioWare Series	•Tiny Pichu Team ×4		1,900	WarioWare, Inc. (hazards off)	N/A	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle	Mike's Song
805		Yellow Pikmin	Pikmin Series	•Tiny Pichu Team ×12 (10 HP)		4,100	Garden of Hope (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Zap Floor	•The floor is electrified •Stamina battle •The enemy favors neutral air attacks	Main Theme - Pikmin (Original)
1,045		Zapfish	Splatoon Series	•Pichu Team ×4		2,500	Prism Tower (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Zap Floor	•The floor is electrified	Octoweaponry
1,334		Great Sabrecub	DRAGON QUEST Series	•Pichu (60 HP) •Giant Pikachu (120 HP)		2,900	Gaur Plain (Ω form)	•Item: Soccer Ball	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Stamina battle •The enemy shields often	Marching through the Fields

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
782		Chaotix	Sonic The Hedgehog Series	•Sonic •Pichu •King K. Rool		1,600	Windy Hill Zone	•Invisibility	•The enemy is invisible	Sonic Heroes	Charmy Bee

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Pichu's amiibo.

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  Pichu's fighter card.

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  Pichu's unlock notice.

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  Artwork of all playable Pokémon characters and Poké Ball Pokémon, as posted by the official Pokémon Twitter account.

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  Taunting in Great Bay.

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  Taunting on Green Greens.

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  Using its up smash next to Mewtwo on Spear Pillar.

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  Pichu using its up smash on Wario on Pilotwings.

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

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  Using a Rocket Belt with Pikachu in Mario Galaxy.

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

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

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  Pichu taunting at Ryu failing to perform a Hadoken.

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  Pichu sleeping next to Zelda on Tortimer Island.

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  With Pikachu and Alolan Raichu on Yoshi's Island.

Trivia

• Pichu and Young Link share the longest gap between playable appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series, with seventeen years between Melee and Ultimate. This has been noted by both of their Super Smash Bros. blog's "Today's Fighter" descriptions.
• Pichu, Dr. Mario, and Young Link are the only non-Echo Fighters who are full clones.
• One of the poses Pichu strikes in its new taunt resembles its trophy from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
  • Pichu can also be seen with a similar pose in the panoramic artwork.
• Pichu is the only veteran absent from SSB4 to be absent from the full group artwork version of the box cover.
• Pichu is the only veteran who is unaffected by the new universal 3-frame jumpsquat; in Melee, its jumpsquat animation also took three frames to complete.
• Pichu's fast fall provides the smallest change to its falling speed when compared to any other fighter. It increases its fall speed by only 31.579%, compared to the usual 60%.
• One of Pichu's alternate costumes is the Spiky-eared Pichu from Arceus and the Jewel of Life and Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. Being one of a kind, the Spiky-eared Pichu is female, making it the only one of Pichu's alternate costumes with an implicit gender.
  • Ultimate also marks the first 3D appearance of Spiky-eared Pichu.
  • For unknown reasons, unlike other characters represented through alternate costumes, such as Alph, the Koopalings, and even Pikachu Libre, Spiky-eared Pichu does not have an obtainable Fighter Spirit of her own.
  • Similar to Pikachu, who, among the Original 12, is the only one to technically be considered a completely different character via two of its alternate costumes, Pichu is also the only character among Melee's newcomers that can be considered a completely different character via one of its costumes (That being the spiky-eared variant, which is confirmed to be female).
• As of Ultimate, Pichu is the only character in any game who receives damage while using their Final Smash (excluding characters that affords free movement and be attacked during their Final Smash, such as Ice Climbers and Inkling).
  • In a Stamina match, Pichu cannot be KO'd by its Final Smash, as its HP will never go below 0.1 while the Final Smash is active.
  • Because of this, Pichu is the only character that can take damage from all of its special moveset, in both Melee and Ultimate.
• Spiky-eared Pichu's damage meter portrait protrudes to the right the most out of every fighter.
• Pichu is the only Pokémon character absent in Pokémon Trainer's Classic Mode route.
• Despite fighting lightweight characters, Fox, Pikachu, Sheik and Zero Suit Samus are absent from Pichu's Classic Mode route.
• Discounting fighters who do not make an appearance in any spirit battles, Pichu, Banjo & Kazooie, and Daisy are the only fighters who do not possess an Ace or Legend-type spirit in spirit battles.
• Interestingly, Pichu's Ultimate artwork is used for the Junior tab on the Pokémon TV app.