Pichu (SSBU)

Pichu; in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
	;
Universe	Pokémon
Other playable appearance	in Melee; ; ;
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Volt Tackle
Tier	C+ (53)

This article is about Pichu's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For the character in other contexts, see Pichu.

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 film, Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life.

Pichu is ranked 53rd out of 82 on the current tier list, placing it in the C+ 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 aiding in its combo potential. It is also very hard 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 taking recoil damage when using electric moves makes Pichu 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 seen as a contender for 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 many to deem it inferior to Pikachu. Despite this, Pichu continues to see moderate success from dedicated mains, most notably NaetorU and Yone_pi.

How to unlock[edit]

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[edit]

Pichu is a character of extremes. As a clone of Pikachu, many 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, has fast walking and above average dashing speeds with average traction, above average jumping force, average air speed but being tied for the ninth highest air acceleration, and fast falling speed while being tied for the fifth highest gravity. However, it has the lowest fast fall multiplier in the game, causing its fast-falling speed to be average. Overall, these attributes give Pichu a slightly slower grounded approach than Pikachu, make its aerials not autocancel 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 smash attacks, forward, back and down aerials, forward throw, and all special moves except 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, many 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 use for best results, as it could put it in a spot where the opponent may even KO Pichu with a strong enough move. 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 use of rage to KO an opponent with more ease, provided it can survive long enough.

Much like Pikachu, all of Pichu's moveset aspects are solid overall, possessing very fast frame data overall and great utility throughout its moveset. An example of this is its incredibly capable aerial game. Neutral aerial is Pichu's fastest out of shield option, on top of not having much ending or landing lag, making it a viable edgeguarding option. Forward aerial deals the highest damage of Pichu's aerials and has very strong combo potential, while only having decent recoil damage. Up aerial, while being Pichu's least damaging aerial, also retains very strong vertical combo capabilities. Down aerial is Pichu's main move to meteor smash, and the late hit also lasts for a long while, making it another great edgeguarding tool, while also having only decent recoil damage. Finally, back aerial deals less damage than forward aerial, but is also Pichu's strongest aerial, a very good 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.

Pichu's main (but not sole) ways 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 many ways to start, extend or end combos much like Pikachu, though due to its moves' nature, Pichu's combo game is usually 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 tool. Forward smash has the highest power of its standard moveset, lasts for a long while and, due to its multi-hit nature, can KO at an even lower percentage. 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 mainly used for locking opponents due to its very weak knockback, and dash attack is mostly used as a fast punish option and its low power can actually allow it to combo, though it can be risky. Its grab game is also decent - while its grabs are short-ranged, they are very fast and have the lowest ending lag in the game. As mentioned above, up and down throws have useful combo potential, with down throw usually 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 kill throw.

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 moves 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 smash properties to combo opponents into the shockwave part of the move when the bolt strikes Pichu - this deals the most damage to Pichu out of all its moves if this happens, so it should be used sparingly. Skull Bash and Agility serve as Pichu's recovery moves, 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 very hard to properly edgeguard or 2-frame. Skull Bash, on the other hand, is mostly used to extend Pichu's recovery, but it also ties in as part 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 option out of a shield break.

Thanks to Pichu's attributes, one of its key strengths is its playstyle versatility - depending on the situation, it can make use 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.

In spite of these strengths, Pichu still has a myriad of critical flaws, some of which are shared with Pikachu, but 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 its ludicrously low weight, resulting in it being very easily KO'd off of a stray hit as long as the move is decently strong, and the existence of rage further pronounces this issue. Its very fast falling speed and gravity also leave it pretty vulnerable to combos (although its neutral air can remedy this issue), meaning that Pichu can also be easily put in KO percentage from one or two combos. Adding insult to injury, the recoil damage Pichu suffers from using its electric attacks can rack up very quickly if it overuses said moves, which is a flaw no other character has at the level of Pichu (some characters have only one 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, in spite of its excellent recovery and great mobility, Pichu's disadvantage state is poor, and if Pichu isn't able 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 very small size results in it being slippery, it also results it in having deceptively short range (much shorter than Pikachu), requiring it to be pretty close to the opponent in order to rack up damage, which can be risky. Pichu's mobility, very quick frame data and useful projectile in Thunder Jolt can help remedy this, but the prevalence of many characters with faster mobility and/or disjoints can still give it trouble at approaching, and Thunder Jolt's recoil damage makes it unfeasible for Pichu to keep the opponent away for too much, forcing it to approach and further exacerbating its range issues, despite its reliable moveset. Furthermore, despite its moveset's higher consistency in regards to power, Pichu's range issues mean it can often have difficulty landing its otherwise powerful KO moves and set-ups, as the former aren't disjointed (with the sole exception, forward smash, still having short range), 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 not having as much air time as Pikachu can, though this is slightly mitigated by its moves' stronger knockback.

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 KOing, 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 usually 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 but sacrifices weight and attack 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 needed. 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 very mindful use of their resources at hand. When mastered, however, a skilled Pichu can potentially end stocks in a fingersnap before they can end its own.

Differences from Pikachu[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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. ^[1]
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. ^[2]
- 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[edit]

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).
- It grants intangibility to Pichu's ears during the clean hit.
- 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.^[3]

Throws and other attacks[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Since its absence from previous installments, Pichu was infamous for being developed as an intentional "joke character" in Melee. Its very low weight, recoil damage and vulnerability to chain grabbing gave it very poor matchups and led to its bottom-tier perception. Most likely as a result of this, Pichu has been significantly buffed in its transition from Melee to Ultimate.

Pichu's mobility has overall improved; its walking, dashing and air speeds, as well as its air acceleration, have been increased, and it can now crawl, enabling Pichu to approach more easily while being able to dodge certain projectiles. Pichu's combo game is noticeably more varied as a result of its improved mobility, many of its ground moves and some of its aerials dealing less knockback and/or sending at more desirable angles, and its multi-hit moves being significantly more consistent due to the weakening of SDI. Its weight was also increased, allowing it to survive for longer, though its endurance is still the overall worst in the game. Agility also travels a slightly longer distance, significantly improving its offstage survivability.

Despite the many buffs it received, Pichu also received a few nerfs. Some of its strongest kill options, such as its forward and up smashes, have been significantly weakened in terms of knockback, while its neutral aerial, previously considered by many to be its best move, has also been weakened in both its damage output and knockback. 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 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.

Pichu's recoil damage has seen some noticeable changes. Some of its electric attacks deal reduced recoil damage (forward smash, forward aerial, pummel, Thunder Jolt and Agility), making these moves less of a detriment to use; particularly, forward aerial is a less commital attack and its pummel is much more useful for racking up damage. Conversely, down aerial, Skull Bash and Thunder's shockwave hitbox deal more recoil damage (though down aerial's landing hit deals less damage to compensate), making them riskier to use. Additionally, more of Pichu's moves now have an electric effect, namely its forward tilt, down smash and back aerial; as a result, both their KO power and risk have been generally increased. In bulk, Pichu's moves generally deal less recoil damage than in Melee, allowing it to utilize them more frequently, with down aerial's newfound meteor smash hitbox compensating for its higher risk, and it has many more KO options as a result of them receiving an electric effect. However, its higher abundance of electric attacks and dearth of regular moves generally compensates for the lower recoil Pichu's other moves inflict; moreover, Thunder is a riskier KO option, and while a fully charged Skull Bash's extreme power compensates for its recoil, the uncharged version is now more polarizing as a recovery move.

Aside from the changes to SDI, the changes to the engine's mechanics are both benefitial and detrimental to Pichu, but were beneficial overall. The changes to stale-move negation make its multi-hit moves deal consistent damage as opposed to less damage, which makes its forward smash, forward aerial, back aerial and down smash (the latter two now being multi-hit moves) more reliable for racking up damage and KOing. The removal of edgehogging in favor of ledge trumping and the changes to air dodges make Pichu much harder to edgeguard and thus improves its survivability, while Pichu can now use an air dodge to escape combos, sporting one of the fastest in the game; however, they also make it slightly harder for Pichu itself to edgeguard opponents, forcing it to KO them through raw power more often. The removal of chain grabbing significantly improves Pichu's endurance at low percentages, no longer being as much of an easy victim to unavoidable damage into a KO, but it also means it can no longer chaingrab with its up throw, hindering its damage-racking potential against fast-fallers (though its improved combo game compensates for this). Finally, the implementation of rage, coupled with its small stature, allows Pichu to make highly effective use of it thanks to its electric moves' high knockback, in addition to said attacks' recoil damage indirectly putting it out of range of KO setups it would've otherwise suffered from, but it also makes its endurance at higher percentages just as atrocious as in Melee should it fail to KO the opponent.

Overall, Pichu is no longer an intentional "joke character" like in Melee; instead, it is now a very polarized glass cannon, akin to a min-maxed version of Pikachu. It has a drastically stronger punish game, more varied KO options, many of its moves deal generally less recoil damage, and it retains its excellent frame data, but it also has less range on average and thus a more commital approach. Pichu's buffs additionally fail to completely alleviate its glaring weaknesses, with the biggest being its fragility, despite its higher weight and improved survivability. Game updates have also nerfed Pichu, and 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 heavily improved compared to Melee, being one of the most buffed characters in the transition to Ultimate.