Pikachu (SSB4)

Pikachu in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Pokémon
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Volt Tackle

Pikachu (ピカチュウ, Pikachu) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. It retains its special moves of Thunder Jolt, Quick Attack, Thunder, and Skull Bash.

Changes from Brawl

Pikachu has been slightly nerfed overall from Brawl to SSB4. However, it is currently considered an even higher-tiered character than in Brawl, due to its remaining advantages relative to the cast.

Aesthetics

Pikachu's appearance has been updated to match the most recent Pokémon games (such as the Generation V and VI main series games and PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure) and the Pokémon anime episodes; its model has been altered, and continues the trend of being gradually less chubby with each additional appearance. Pikachu's colouration also considerably brighter in comparison to its previous appearances.

• Pikachu has new electrical sound effects.
• Pikachu smiles more often when attacking.
• Pikachu is more bipedal and walks more slanted.

Attributes

• Pikachu is lighter than he was in Brawl.
• Pikachu runs slower.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack is faster.
• Neutral attack is weaker.
• Forward tilt is faster and less ending lag.
• Forward tilt deals less damage and knockback.
• Up tilt has drastically less ending lag and much lower knockback scaling, making it more useful at lower percentages.
• Sweetspotted dash attack is much stronger.
• Sourspotted dash attack is more useful for finishing combos.
• Dash attack is significantly buffed in most matters from being Pikachu's 2nd worst attack in Smash 64 to being one of his best attacks in SSB4 .
• Forward smash is faster.
• Forward smash deal 2 hits and has a larger hitbox, which means more KO potential.
• Forward smash deals less damage and has more ending lag, and has slightly less range.
• Up smash is stronger. It can now KO under 90% when fully charged and sweetspotted.
• Up smash deals much less knockback if sourspotted in the very last few frames, where it also has less hitstun and is near useless.
• Up smash sourspot is more useful backwards.
• Up smash comes out 1 frame later.
• Down smash is much harder to SDI out of.
• Down smash has higher ending lag, deals less damage and is weaker.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial deals less damage when sweetspotted; it deals 8% as opposed to the 12% it dealt in Brawl, and less range.
• Forward aerial has reduced landing lag, and the final hit is more powerful to the point where it has KO potential offstage.
• Back aerial has higher KO potential.
• Back aerial deals less damage.
• Up aerial has less ending lag and has now received a hitbox that hits with slightly less knockback and a lower angle, almost entirely reverting it to its Melee form.
• Up aerial has more combo potential.
• Up aerial deals less damage and slightly less shield damage.
• Down aerial's first hit has higher knockback growth, making landing both hits harder.
• Down aerial's second hit has a longer range, with slightly higher knockback growth.
• Down aerial's second hit deals slightly more shield damage.
• Better air game overall.

Throws/other attacks

• Pikachu's grab and dash grab is faster.
• Pikachu's grabs have less range, though not as little as in Melee.
• The global removal of chain grabbing harmed Pikachu drastically, making it lose one of its best strategies from Brawl.
• Down throw appears to have higher knockback growth, limiting its followup options.
• Down throw is more useful for aerial followups and combos.
• Back floor attack has more knockback to protect Pikachu overall.
• Front floor attack has less knockback.
• Grab/dash grab has a slightly faster start-up.

Special moves

• Skull Bash travels farther when charged.
• Skull Bash is weaker and has slightly more ending lag, making it more punshisable.
• Skull Bash falls faster so it helps Pikachu reach the ground earlier.
• Quick Attack can not be cancelled into the ground anymore, removing the possibility of the QAC technique.
• Quick Attack has new technique called Quick Attack Ledge Cancel, which can be used on ledges, moving platforms and tilting stages.
• Second warp of Quick Attack deals slightly more knockback.
• Quick Attack is slower, has more ending lag, and has less total distance.
• Thunder has shorter vertical range, and is generally harder to hit with.
• Thunder was significantly nerfed. In addition to lower vertical range, it now has a meteor smash hitbox. While it can be used for combos, it's nearly useless for edgeguarding, while almost completely removing it's usefulness as a Thunderspike. It's hard to combo at high percentages as well.
• Thunder falls faster and has more combo potential and meteor smashes despite it being nerfed.
• Volt Tackle lasts slightly longer.
• Volt Tackle deals less damage and knockback.
• A smaller, purple ball of electricity appears at the "target point" of Volt Tackle, making it easier to understand and control.

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			1.4% (tip), 1.2% (mid), 1% (base)	Does a very quick headbutt with negligible damage and knockback. Can be used rapidly if the A button is held, allowing it to deal more damage and potentially trip opponents.
Forward tilt	↗		10%	Plants itself on its upper paws and kicks its lower paws in front of its body. The move has increased knockback when angled up, but has a chance to trip when angled down.
	→		9%
	↘		8%
Up tilt			5%	Swings its tail above its body in an arc. A very fast attack with low base knockback and scaling, which can reliably set up into its aerials.
Down tilt			6%	Sweeps its tail in front of itself. Is very quick in terms of both startup and ending lag. Has a change of tripping opponents.
Dash attack			10% (clean), 6% (late)	Jumps forwards, headbutting. Very laggy and easily punished if whiffed, but has high knockback, allowing it to KO near the edge at very high percentages.
Forward smash			15% (early), 18% (clean), 12% (late)	Rears back, then ejects an attached jolt of electricity from its cheeks while leaning forwards. In terms of knockback, this move is far stronger when hit inside the jolt, and is weakest when hit with Pikachu's cheeks during startup.
Up smash			13% (clean tail), 14% (clean body), 11% (mid), 7% (late)	A quick backflip while using its tail to attack. This move is slightly stronger when hit close during startup.
Down smash			2% (hits 1-5), 3% (hit 6)	Spins around in place repeatedly whilst surrounded with electricity. A multi-hit move with decent power but punishable ending lag.
Neutral aerial			8.5% (clean), 5.5% (late)	Curls up in a ball and repeatedly somersaults. Extremely fast startup with good horizontal knockback, making it a good aerial finisher or a useful edgeguarding move. Can be auto-cancelled when performed alongside a non fast-fell short hop, otherwise high landing lag.
Forward aerial			1.7% (hits 1-4), 3% (hit 5)	Does a constant forward aileron roll while surrounded by electricity. The move consists of multiple hits, with the final one dealing decent horizontal knockback. The first few hits have little landing lag, which can potentially set up into a grounded move or grab.
Back aerial			0.8% (hits 1-7), 3% (hit 8), 4% (landing)	Spins in a manner similar to its down smash, but without electrical effects. The move consists of multiple hits, with the final one dealing decent knockback. Has high ending lag and very high landing lag if not used alongside a full hop.
Up aerial			5%/4% (clean), 4% (late)	Swiftly swings its tail above itself in an arc. Extremely quick with low knockback, this move can combo into itself or set up into a neutral aerial. Can be auto-cancelled when performed alongside a non fast-fell short hop, otherwise some landing lag.
Down aerial			12% (attack), 4% (landing)	Does a constant downwards aileron roll while surrounded by electricity. A lingering single hit with decent horizontal knockback, this move can be auto cancelled in a short hop. If Pikachu lands during the attack's duration it causes a small shockwave to appear around him, which deals little damage at the cost of high landing lag.
Grab			—	A quick, short-ranged grab.
Pummel			1.9%	Zaps the opponent. A quick pummel.
Forward throw			2% (hits 1-4), 2% (throw)	Places the opponent on its back and shocks them, sending them forward. A multi-hit move. Can set up running up smashes and neutral aerials at very low percentages.
Back throw			9%	Does backwards somersaults with the opponent, then flings them behind itself. Best used near the edge to put the opponent into an edgeguarding situation.
Up throw			1% (hit 1), 3% (throw)	Places the opponent on its head, then headbutts them upward. Does not have many followup options and does low damage, with a down throw usually being a better option.
Down throw			3% (hit 1), 5% (throw)	Places the opponent on the ground, then jumps on them. Consists of multiple hits. Can set up neutral and up aerials at very low percentages.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%
Edge attack Edge getups			7%
Neutral special	Default	Thunder Jolt	4.8% (ball), 6%/5% (wave clean), 5%/4% (wave mid), 4%/3% (wave late)	Fires a jolt of electricity forward. Pikachu's main projectile, and a very useful move for keeping onstage opponents at bay and threatening offstage recoveries. Travels forward whilst bouncing along the ground, and can also travel up walls, below the edge, and along ceilings. If used in the air, it will travel diagonally down instead. Disappears after about 3 seconds.
	Custom 1	Thunder Wave	3%/1% (ball), 3%/1% (wave clean), 2% (wave late)	Very similar to the basic version. It is weaker, but can paralyze grounded targets.
	Custom 2	Thunder Shock	3% (ball), 10% (explosion)	Fires a ball of electricity almost horizontally, which disappears upon hitting the ground and does not bounce.
Side special	Default	Skull Bash	6% (uncharged), 22% (fully charged)	Charges and, when the B button is released, fires itself forward like a missile. When fully charged or close to fully charged, it has KO power. Primarily used as a recovery move, as it gains a lot of horizontal distance (especially when charged) and does not leave Pikachu helpless. On the ground, it has high landing lag and is very punishable.
	Custom 1	Shocking Skull Bash	1.2% (loop), 3% (last)	Hits multiple times at it moves forwards.
	Custom 2	Heavy Skull Bash	15%, 10%, 5%, 2%	Less travel distance but more damage near the start.
Up special	Default	Quick Attack	2% per warp	Moves at warp speed in two directions that can be selected via the control stick. Pikachu's main recovery move, and a quick, unpredictable move at that. The second warp is optional, but if used, the direction must be 45 degrees different than the first direction to work. Leaves Pikachu helpless when used in the air.
	Custom 1	Meteor Quick Attack	?%
	Custom 2	Quick Feet	?%
Down special	Default	Thunder	6% (bolt meteor), 8% (bolt non-meteor), 15% (blast)	Causes a large thunderbolt to come down on itself. The move is laggy in general, though the shockwave around Pikachu does very high damage and knockback. The bolt itself does moderate vertical knockback, allowing the Thunderspike technique, though this is very difficult to land. The move also has a meteor smash hitbox near the thundercloud that sends opponents straight down, allowing potential combos, though landing it in a favourable position for this is difficult.
	Custom 1	Thunder Burst	2% (early), 15%/12% (clean)	Creates an electrical blast around Pikachu as if the normal move had struck.
	Custom 2	Distant Thunder	13%/9%/5% (bolt), 6% (blast)	The thundercloud starts higher up and does more damage.
Final Smash		Volt Tackle	1% (collision), 8% (spark)

Update history

1.0.4

• Forward smash early hit knockback scaling: 65 → 73
• Forward smash late hit knockback scaling: 100 → 102
• Skull Bash (default) knockback scaling: 60 → 62
• Thunder (default) knockback scaling: 62 → 66
• Distant Thunder knockback scaling: 62 → 66

Trophies

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS trophy descriptions

Pikachu

Recognized the world over, Pikachu is an Electric-type Pokémon that stores energy in its cheeks for use in battle. In Smash Bros., Pikachu is a well-rounded fighter with speedy, powerful electric attacks. Quick Attack can be used twice in a row if two directions are input, one after another.

Pikachu (Alt.)

Pikachu's Thunder Jolt fires off a ball of electricity that bounces across the stage, getting weaker as it travels. It does more damage to enemies in the air. The default down special, Thunder, causes a lightning strike that both shocks opponents and turns Pikachu invincible for a split second.

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  Classic

• PikachuAllStarTrophy3DS.png

  Alt.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Pikachu's appearance during the Smash Direct.

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  Pikachu's amiibo.

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  Pikachu's appearance during E3 2013.

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  Pikachu using Thunder Jolt.

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  Pikachu uses Skull Bash.

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  Pikachu uses Thunder.

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  Pikachu in the 3DS version of the game.

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  Mario, Pikachu, Bowser and Pit on a red plane in Wuhu Island.

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  Pikachu behind Mega Man.

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  Pikachu sitting.

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  Pikachu along with a Luma, and Starfy.

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  Pikachu with Toon Link and Kirby

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  Pikachu with Mega Man.

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  Footstooling Donkey Kong.

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  Behind Donkey Kong.

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  Pikachu using Thunder to meteor smash an aerial Bowser and followup with an up smash.

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  Lucario, Charizard, Greninja, and Pikachu.