Pikachu (SSBB)

This article is about Pikachu's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Pikachu.

Pikachu
Pikachu
Universe	Pokémon
Appears in	SSB SSBM SSBB
Availability	Starter

Unveiled at E3 2006, Pikachu (ピカチュウ, Pikachū) is a character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Visually, Pikachu has barely changed at all from its Melee design, only being larger and touched up slightly. It has all of its moves from the first two games.

Event Matches

• Event 8: Go! Triple Finish!- The player controls Pikachu in the Pokémon Stadium 2 stage, pitted against a Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard. No trainers are present, so no switching occurs.
• Event 10: All-Star Battle Regulars- Choosing any character, the player takes on the "original eight" fighters, two at a time.
• Event 12: Sleeping in the Eggs- The player controls Yoshi and has to use Egg Lay on Kirby and Pikachu simultaneously. [1]

Co-Op Event Matches

• Co-Op Event 2: Master the Pokémon Tag Battle- Pokémon Trainer and Pikachu vs. another Pokémon Trainer and Pikachu on Pokemon Stadium 2.
• Co-Op Event 21: The True All-Star Battle- The player chooses any character and take on the entire roster on Battlefield.

Role In The Subspace Emissary

A Pikachu is trapped in a Subspace lab, having its electric powers drained by a machine. Luckily, Zero Suit Samus finds and rescues the Pokémon. From this point onward, Pikachu tags along with Samus throughout the base of the Subspace Army. When Samus reaches the area with her Power Suit, she and Pikachu are ambushed by two Shadow Bug clones of her Power Suit. After defeating them, Samus regains her Power Suit, and the two continue traveling throughout the base.

Some time later, the duo are confronted by Ridley, who brutally damages Samus by dragging her across the wall. She is only saved by Pikachu's Thunder attack. The two must then fight Ridley. After defeating Ridley, Pikachu and Samus escape from the ruins and find a cave.

Later they are seen running in the Ancient Minister's base, eventually bumping into him and the R.O.B. Squad. They are about to fight him but suddenly notice the Ancient Minister looking down as if he's sad.

As they look at his sorrow, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Captain Falcon and Olimar find another entrance to the room they're in. Suddenly, a hologram of Ganondorf commands the R.O.B. Squad to use the remaning Subspace Bombs and attack the Ancient Minister. Together with the Ancient Minister, who is revealed to be a R.O.B. himself, the six heroes fight the Subspace Army, they escape on the Falcon Flyer and fight Meta-Ridley on it. Pikachu then aids the heroes throughout the rest of the adventure.

Changes From Melee to Brawl

• Forward and Down Smash longer ranged.
• Up Aerial deals more damage. However, the knockback has been reduced.
• Body size is slightly bigger.
• Thunder attack comes down from a higher point than before, and with almost no delay. The lightning can also can pass through platforms within the first half of its range from the top.
• Pikachu can now wall-jump.
• Attacks appear to have more damage and knockback
• Back Air can hit multiple times.
• Blue and Green costumes have changed (Blue is now goggles which was Pichu's blue costume in Melee, and Green is now a headband).
• Quick Attack is faster, longer, and less delayed.
• Up smash has been weakened significantly.
• Neutral Air has more knockback.

Attributes

Pikachu is a good character with fast running speed. All of Pikachu's tilts are very quick and easy to execute. Pikachu's smashes are great, Up Smash is very quick and one of the most powerful, it's Down Smash sucks opponents in and has multiple hits, and Pikachu's Forward Smash has wide range with a disjointed hitbox. Be aware though, Pikachu's Forward Smash may be powerful, but it has a high start up time. Pikachu also has great specials, like its down special which is incredibly powerful but be cautious, as opponents like Zelda can reflect Thunder with Nayru's Love, causing a lot of knockback to Pikachu. Thunder Jolt, Pikachu's neutral special move, is a decent groundhugging projectile thats is fast and spammable. Skullbash and Quick Attack are good recovery options and when combined, leave Pikachu a high chance of making it back to the stage. Pikachu's aerial arsenal is great as well, Pikachu's Up Aerial can semi-spike and gimp some characters recoveries. And when done out of a short hop, Forward Aerial and Neutral Aerial can be a big threat. But be aware, most of Pikachu's Aerials are laggy when complated. Pikachu has the ability to Crawl as well as Wall Jump. A problem though is that Pikachu is the 4th lightest of all the characters, as well as having a small shield size and very poor grab range. But if a Pikachu user can avoid those problems, then Pikachu will be a very big threat.

Moveset

Ground Attacks

Normal

• Neutral Attack - Attacks with its head. 2% damage
• Dash Attack - Tackles. Laggy in completion. 7% damage
• Strong Side - Nicknamed "Mega Kick". Sticks both feet forward. 9% damage
• Strong Up - Swings tail in an arc above itself. 7% damage
• Strong Down - Does a quick tail swipe. Can attack twice first tripping and then knocking away if you press it fast enough. 7% damage

Smash Attacks

• Side Smash- Releases a ball of electricity, connected to Pikachu by electrical wires. 20% uncharged but does 28% if charged
• Up Smash - Flips very fast. 13% uncharged, 19% charged.
• Down Smash - Spins on the floor and releases electricity. 15% uncharged, 21% charged.

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral Air - Spins in a ball. Still has hitboxes while on the ground. 12% damage
• Forward Air - An electric drill-like move forward. Lags on the ground. 8% if all 4 hits make contact.
• Back Air - Spins like a disc and hits multiple times. Lags on the ground. 11% damage if all hits connect.
• Up Air - Swings tail while flipping forward. Certain tail frames send opponent away at an angle. 6% damage
• Down Air - An electric drill-like move downward. Has hitboxes while on the ground. 12% damage

Grabs & Throws

• Pummel - Shocks opponent.
• Back Throw - Tumbles with opponent back and throws them back.
• Forward Throw - Places opponent on back and electricutes them forward. Can chain throw almost all characters
• Up Throw - Headbutts opponent upward.
• Down Throw - Slams on top of opponent. Can chain throw certain characters

Color Changes

Pikachu's color changes slightly change the tone of its fur, but most noticeably puts a colored object on its head.

• Red (Wears a cap that resembles that of the playable trainer from the original GB Pokémon game)
• Green (Wears a bandanna resembling that of the male playable trainer from the Emerald version of Pokémon Advance)
• Blue (Wears swimmer trainer class goggles)

Special Movements

Taunts

Up: Charge Crouches and emits electricity.

Side: Waves with one hand, then the other, saying "Pika, Pikaaa!" in each direction (same as in Melee and SSB).

Down: Lies on the floor, yawns a drawn out "Pi-kaaaa" while stretching and stands up.

On-Screen Appearance

Appears from a Poke Ball, and emits electricity from its cheeks.

Idle Stance

• Scratches ear.
• Stands up high and looks around while wiggling its ears, possibly in reference to what Ash's Pikachu does in the anime to sense things.

Victory Pose

Victory Theme: Pokemon Red/Blue Main Theme

• Sleeps
• Ears perk, scratches left ear
• Backflip, aerial spin an inch off the ground, and says "Pika Pikaaaaaa!"

Wii Remote Choice

Says "Pikaaa!"

Credits Music

• The Pokémon Center

Trivia

• Pichu, in Melee, was able to jump off of walls. With Pichu's absence in Brawl, Pikachu can now perform the same feat. One of Pikachu's alternate costumes also features the goggles that were available for Pichu in Melee. In addition, Pikachu can only know Volt Tackle if they learned the move as a Pichu. These coincidences have led to joke theories that the Pikachu in Brawl is the evolved Pichu from Melee.
• Also, Pikachu is the only character in Brawl to have four costumes, while other characters have five or six (or, in Wario's case, twelve).
• In Brawl, Pikachu is heavier than Squirtle, but in the Pokémon universe, Squirtle is heavier.
• Skull Bash can be used as a recovery move, if used at the right time.

External Links

• Pikachu's page at Smash Bros. Dojo!!.