Pikachu (SSBB)

Pikachu in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Universe	Pokémon
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in SSB4
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Volt Tackle
Tier	B (8)

Unveiled at E3 2006, Pikachu (ピカチュウ, Pikachu) is a character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In the E3 2006 trailer, Pikachu didn't show its Final Smash like Mario, Kirby, and Link did. Visually, Pikachu has barely changed at all from its Melee design, only being larger and touched up slightly. It retains all of its moves from Melee.

It is currently in the B Tier and holds 8th position. This makes Pikachu closer to its original top tier status in Super Smash Bros., where it is ranked 1st place, as opposed to its A Tier status in Melee, where it is ranked 10th place. It is currently the highest-ranked character in Brawl that has appeared in all three Super Smash Bros. games at the time of Brawl's release, and the highest-ranked in the Pokémon series. Pikachu has decent KOing power (though it can rely on Thunder in some situations), quick overall speed, very good recovery with many options as well as being unpredictable, good edgeguarding game with a quick and powerful neutral aerial and tricks that allow it get to the edge quickly, and a good grab and throw game (having two chaingrabs). Brawl's new physics have also helped it a lot; Pikachu is harder to combo, its grab range is no longer the shortest, its Thunder is not as laggy, and it gained various new tactics such as Quick Attack cancelling. Pikachu also has strong momentum cancelling abilities, with its up aerial and Skull Bash being very useful in this particular aspect. In addition, Pikachu has a great defensive game, with its QACs being very useful for avoiding pressure, escaping certain situations, and playing mindgames. It also possess one of the best spot dodges in the game along with Link, Falco, Yoshi, and Toon Link. It also has useful OoS moves such as up smash and neutral aerial. However, it has a relatively weak air game, placing it at a disadvantage against characters with particularly powerful air games, such as Marth. It also has subpar range in most of its attacks, with its best finishers having hitboxes close to its body, or in the case of its forward smash, the furthest hitbox is much weaker than the closest, making good spacing an all-around threat to Pikachu, as well as making it more difficult to land its better finishers. Regardless, Pikachu still has great matchups, including being the only character with an even matchup against Meta Knight on the BBR's matchup chart (though this matchup is highly disputed, with most players believing Meta Knight to win the matchup, which is additionally better supported by results), and some strong tournaments results. However, despite its high position in the American tier list, it is much lower in the Japanese tier list, where it is placed 22nd.

Attributes

Pikachu's most salient feature, as with its appearances in previous Smash Brothers games, is its speed. Pikachu also has good specials, excellent smash attacks, decent tilts, the ability to crawl (although Pikachu retracts its tail over its body when it crawls backwards, which allows it to be hit by projectiles that normally would not hit it while crawling forward), fairly useful throws, very good recovery, and is able to wall jump. Pikachu is a fairly small target, but this comes at the price of being the 5th lightest character, tied with Meta Knight (making it easily be knocked off-stage by a strong smash attack) and having the smallest shield in the game (making both shield stabbing and shield breaking easy).

Pikachu's best game is played on the ground, at a medium range. Its forward tilt has very low range but its knockback is not bad for a tilt. Up tilt is very fast and launches opponents into the air, while the down tilt can trip them on the first hit. The ground is where Pikachu's smash attacks can be used to the fullest. Pikachu's up smash is one of the fastest in the game, with decent power to boot, and is excellent for KOs while its down smash locks the opponent for multiple hits if not SDI'd, functioning as a panic button of sorts for close encounters. Both of these smashes produce powerful vertical knockback, and can be followed by Thunder for a Star KO (called Thunderspiking) - this is very useful against floaty characters, especially ones with bad air dodges, most notably Peach. Down smash can also counter stale-move negation due to having multiple hits, but one drawback is that it can be SDI'd out of. The forward smash is a good tool for edgeguarding and KOs off the side. All of its smashes, however, have poor range like most of its other moves, with the forward smash having a very weak sourspot at the tip.

Thunder Jolt is Pikachu's neutral special move, and is a useful move to keep most opponents at bay, as well as forcing them in the air. Thunder Jolt is a ground-hugging projectile, meaning opponents can't escape it by ducking or crawling. If it is used in the air, it travels diagonally towards the ground. It can also travel up walls, along ceilings, and below the edge, meaning that it can knock edgehoggers off the edge (this can also be done if Pikachu is high enough when recovering). Skull Bash and Quick Attack are both good recovery techniques, although Skull Bash is easily punishable by edgeguarders, able to be stopped by certain projectiles (such as Waddle Dee Throw), and requires charging time, but it can knock edgehoggers off the ledge. Edgeguarding Pikachu is difficult due to its recovery being unpredictable, as Quick Attack can be aimed in two different directions, giving Pikachu many ways of returning to the stage. Quick Attack also opens options for mindgames, by confusing opponents about Pikachu's actions. The most common form of this is QAC (Quick Attack cancel), allowing Pikachu use any special or aerial move after. On stages like Smashville, if a platform is offstage, this can be done off the platform easily. However, QAC is mainly used for approaching, as it allows Pikachu to quickly dash towards the opponent while attacking. It is also possible to aim Quick Attack diagonally towards the edge, and grab it, if Pikachu is at the right distance. Pikachu's most well known move is Thunder, which is one of its best KO moves, KOing reliably at around 100% if the opponent is hit by Pikachu while the move is being used. The bolt itself can also Star KO with the aforementioned Thunderspiking technique. Pikachu can also use Thunder just off the ledge so it covers the area just to the side of the ledge offstage, which is very difficult for characters with linear recoveries to break through, but not very effective against characters with long, safe recoveries such as Meta Knight and Jigglypuff, while also being dangerous if done too low. Pikachu needs to watch out for anyone who has a reflector move, as if the bolt is reflected, the knockback is dealt to Pikachu. Also, if two or more characters reflect the Thunder, it will cause Pikachu to jump to 100-500%, KOing it instantly (however, this is obviously never seen in singles matches and is rarely ever seen in doubles matches due to the difficulty of pulling it off, meaning it is a negligible disadvantage).

Pikachu's aerials are its weakest area, despite having one reliable aerial KO move. Its forward aerial is weak in damage but can carry momentum through, whereas its neutral aerial is slightly stronger, but negates all momentum, and causes Pikachu to fall during the move; however it is a reliable finisher, especially when offstage or out of a QAC, and can be used in combos. Up aerial is extremely weak and has lost its semi-spike properties from Melee, but can be used as a juggling tool, and is decent in short combos, such as following into a nair, either straight after or after a midair jump. Down aerial and back aerial are laggy when they hit the ground, but all of the down aerial's landing lag can be avoided if it is used at the start of a short hop, or autocanceled. The down aerial has two hits plus an extra hitbox if Pikachu hits the ground, and is a decent finisher, particularly offstage, but not as powerful as the neutral aerial.

Pikachu has two throws that are possible to chaingrab with - forward and down throws. Its forward throw works as a running chaingrab that can rack up damage and counter stale-move negation due to having multiple hits, while the down throw is a standing chaingrab that works reliably against the majority of the cast, with the exception of floaty characters. It can also easily be followed with an up smash, which can lead into a Thunderspike - Pikachu can use the down throw chaingrab as a zero-to-death combo on the space animals and Captain Falcon by chaingrabbing until a high enough percentage, then an up smash followed by a Thunderspike. Pikachu's back throw can easily set up to an edgeguarding chance, as it moves a considerable distance backward with the opponent while performing the throw. Up throw is another move that launches opponents into the air - at higher percentages, it launches most characters high enough to follow up with a Thunder, but against characters that are floaty and/or have high air speed, this is easy to escape.

Other tips for Pikachu are to maintain good DI and tech skills, as well as good dodging skills. Pikachu's great movement speed and QAC makes it imperative to keep moving and to always seek the high ground on stages with platforms.

Changes from Melee to Brawl

Pikachu was buffed from Melee to Brawl.

• Pikachu is generally harder to combo and much less vulnerable to chaingrabs.
• Noticeably better survivability, with up aerial and Skull Bash being usable as momentum cancelling moves as well.
• Approach is significantly better, due to the new Quick Attack Cancel technique allowing it to quickly approach while being able to attack and/or jump.
• Grab has significantly more reach.
• Can now wall jump.
• Down smash's final hit is much stronger, and the first few hits are harder to SDI out of (though still easy).
• Neutral aerial is more powerful and can reliably KO under 150%, giving Pikachu a reliable aerial KO option.
• Back aerial deals stronger knockback, as well as now being a multi-hit attack, rather than one hit.
• Up aerial is a slightly better juggler.
• Forward and down throws can now be used as chaingrabs, with the former working on the majority of the cast, and the latter being usable as a 0-death combo on some characters when finished with a Thunderspike.
• Thunder has less ending lag (making it much less punishable) and is stronger, both the shockwave around Pikachu and the thunderbolt itself. Additionally, the slower falling speeds in the game increases its KO capacity when used as a Thunderspike.
• Skull Bash charges longer and travels longer.
• Forward smash is weaker, especially the non-sweetspot hitboxes.
• Up smash is significantly weaker, going from the strongest up smash in Melee to one of the weakest in Brawl.
• Up aerial deals slightly weaker knockback, and the semi-spike portion of the move has been removed.
• Quick Attack can not go up twice any longer.

Graphically, Pikachu's proportions have been altered slightly, and its tail now has thickness. Its colouring has also been slightly softened. Pikachu has a few new sounds, which sound slightly "bouncy".

Moveset

Ground attacks

Normal

• Neutral attack - Quick headbutt. Can be held, or just pressed. 2% damage each hit. It may also cause tripping and it has a disjointed, invisible hitbox like Snake's forward tilt and up tilt. Best used against an opponent when they are next to a wall to rack up very high damage. It can also damage stage elements (such as the statues in Castle Siege) rapidly to refresh Stale-move negation. Has a start-up of 2 frames. Pikachu´s fastest move.
• Dash attack - Bashes target with its head like a mini Skull Bash. Laggy in completion, easily shield grabbed, and is hard to followup, although its knockback means that it can get opponents offstage for an edgeguard if needed. 7% damage. Hits on frame 5-16.

A down tilt used to set up a wall of Thunders offstage to edgeguard.

• Forward tilt - Sticks both feet forward. Almost nonexistent range. If it is used right next to the opponent, it knocks them backwards behind Pikachu. 10%, 9%, or 8% damage depending on angling (more damage when angled higher). Hits on frame 5-10.
• Up tilt - Swings tail in an arc above itself, good for juggling fast fallers. Hits on frame 7-13. Does 7%, 6%, or 5% damage depending on what part hits.
• Down tilt - Does a quick, low tail whip. Can attack and hit twice, first tripping and then knocking away if the user taps fast enough. If used near the edge and Pikachu does a short hop or full jump backwards, it will be able to use Thunder in the correct position to start a wall of Thunders as an edgeguarding technique. 7% damage. Start-up on frame 7 and it ends on frame 9.

Smash attacks

• Forward smash - Pikachu charges bolt of electricity in front of it, causing a lot of knockback when released (it has the 5th highest base knockback but the 7th lowest knockback scaling). If Pikachu uses or charges its side smash with a battering item, it will have a straight face. If it does so with a Smash Ball, its face takes on an evil expression. The further away Pikachu's opponent is, the less damage and knockback it does. Does 20% on frames 15-17, 17% on frames 18-20, or 14% damage on frames 21-22. The hitboxes extend on frames 18 and 21. Has some starting lag (frame 15) and minimal ending lag.
• Up smash - Flips very fast (start-up on frame 9), attacking with its tail. It deals 14%/13% on frames 9-10 (more damage closer to Pikachu), 11% on frames 11-12, and 7% on frames 13-16. A great followup to a down throw. Powerful vertical KOer, despite being nerfed from Melee. This can combo into Thunder for a Star KO - called Thunderspiking.
• Down smash - Spins on the floor and releases electricity. 2% for 6 hits and 3% on the last, allowing a total of 15% damage if all hits connect. A good move for racking up damage, and a powerful vertical finisher, but it is not too hard to SDI out of it before the final hit. If the opponent flies directly up after a Down Smash, Thunder can quickly be used for a reliable Star KO. Almost no starting lag (frame 6, being its fastest smash attack) and some ending lag. An amazing panic option move for spacing. Helps with Stale-move negation because of its multiple hits.

Other

• Ledge attack- Does a somersault that hurts opponents. 8% damage.
• Over 100% ledge attack- Kicks up then whacks opponents with its tail. 10% damage.
• Floor attack- Does a sweeper kick. 6% damage.
• Trip attack- Does a sweeper kick with its tail. 5% damage.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial - Spins in a ball. Decent knockback and power. Extremely fast, having a start-up of 3 frames, giving the ability of breaking combos. It does have some landing lag however, and it still has hitboxes while on the ground. KOs most characters at 130%. Does 12% damage clean (frames 3-5) and 6% late (frames 6-25). Pikachu's best aerial KO move and a reliable edgeguarder.
• Forward aerial - An electric drill-like move forward. Lags on the ground but still sets up for a grab or down smash. Does 2% on the first 4 hits and 3% on the last, with the last hit having minimal knockback. Start-up on frame 10.
• Back aerial - Spins like a disc and hits multiple times. First hit on frame 4. Does 1% damage for 7 hits and 4% on the last, as well as 4% if it hits the ground. Good for chasing opponents DI. Very high aerial lag and landing lag.
• Up aerial - Swings tail while flipping forward. Very weak attack. Certain tail frames send opponent away at an angle good for gimping at high percentages. The move is useful for juggling, and can be used in a RAR. Does 6% or 5% on frames 3-4, or 5% or 4% on frames 5-8 (more damage closer to Pikachu). Best used to push opponents off in aerial combat. Has almost no KOing potential. Hits on frame 3-4.
• Down aerial - An electric drill-like move downward. Has hitboxes while on the ground, like the nair, and to a higher extent. Does 12% damage in the air, and an extra 4% if it lands when not autocancelled. Both hits can be combined to deal up to 16% damage. Lags on contact with ground, but if done at the start of a short hop, Pikachu will land during the autocancel frames. Has horizontal knockback. Hits on frame 14-26.

Grabs & throws

• Pummel - Shocks opponent. Fairly quick. 2% per hit. Best if used rhythmically because of slight afterlag. Hits on frame 3.
• Forward throw - Places opponent on back and electrocutes them forward. Can chain throw almost all characters. 10% damage total. Good for countering stale move negation because it hits multiple times.
• Back throw - Tumbles with opponent back and throws them back. 9% damage. Unlike other throws, Pikachu actually moves a considerable distance with the opponent before throwing.
• Up throw - Headbutts opponent upward. Can combo with Thunder. 10% damage total.

Chaingrab on Fox

• Down throw - Slams on top of opponent. Can chain throw certain characters. Has a 0-death on Fox if Pikachu finishes with an up smash, and a Thunderspike if that doesn't KO. This can also be performed against other characters such as Falco, Wolf, Captain Falcon, and Sheik (for the former two, a fresh d-throw must be used at 20%, which can be reached with two f-throws and a pummel). On some characters, Pikachu can perform a 0-death combo by using down throw, up tilt, footstool jump into Quick Attack lock (with QAC) and jab lock repeatedly close to the ledge ending with a forward smash. This combo can be escaped with proper SDI. 10% total.

Special moves

Pikachu's special moves

Neutral special	Thunder Jolt
Side special	—	Skull Bash
Up special	Quick Attack
Down special	Thunder
Final Smash	—		Volt Tackle

Taunts

Up: Pikachu creates rings of electricity around it, saying "Piiiiiii!"

Down: Pikachu rolls on its back and says "Pikaaaahh!".

Side: Turns to the camera, waving both paws and says "Pika, Pika!" (updated version of taunt from Smash 64 and Melee) - its mouth is open wider when facing left.

Idle poses

• Scratches one of its ears
• Looks left and right

Cheer

File:Pikachu Cheer NTSC Brawl.ogg

Pikachu's NTSC and PAL cheer

Pika Pika Pikachu!

Brawl manual description

Everyone's favorite Pokémon is nimble and has several potent electrical attacks.

In competitive play

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

Pikachu's matchup spread, according to the current SWF matchup chart, has the sixth highest unweighted rank, the sixth highest total, and the fifth highest weighted total. Pikachu has overall very favorable matchups. Pikachu is countered by one character, soft countered by four, has five even matchups, soft counters ten, counters twelve, and hard counters four. Pikachu is notable for being the only character in the game to have an even matchup against Meta Knight, though there has been much dispute over this and many think the matchup is actually in Meta Knight's favor. Pikachu tends to have a strong advantage against characters who it can chain throw with its down throw - it notably counters Fox, Wolf, Sheik and Falco due to their extremely fast falling speed acceleration, which makes them unable to escape the chain throw until KO percents, like most characters can; Pikachu can 0-death Fox, Sheik, and Captain Falcon using its down throw, and it can perform a similar 0-death on Wolf and Falco if Pikachu performs a fresh down throw at 20% if the down throws are buffered. Pikachu also does well against characters who it can easily outspeed and outmaneuver using QAC. Pikachu tends to have trouble against characters who can easily beat it in the air, and characters whose playstyle forces Pikachu to fight in the air, such as Olimar, Ice Climbers, Lucario, Diddy Kong and Marth.

Notable players

See also: Category:Pikachu professionals (SSBB)

•  Anther
•  ESAM
•  Hayase
•  K Prime
•  NinjaLink
•  PikaPika!
•  Z

Tier placement and history

Since the first tier list, Pikachu has always been a high tier character. The first tier list put it at 12th place, and since then, it has risen slightly, currently being at 8th place at the top of high tier. Pikachu's rise was mainly due to its huge number of techniques being discovered, with ESAM being credited for many of them, and its positive matchups. Despite its high tier placing in the North American Smash Back Room tier list, Pikachu isn't very common in tournaments compared to other top/high tier characters, and it ranks significantly lower on the Japanese tier list, with ESAM currently being the only Pikachu player who places very high at national tournaments.

Role In The Subspace Emissary

Pikachu is first seen when Samus, in her Zero Suit, enters a lab on the Isle of the Ancients. She finds that Pikachu is having its electric energy drained by a device, and uses her Plasma Whip to break the glass encasing Pikachu. With their common goal of revenge on the Subspace Army, they infiltrate the Research Facility to find Samus' Power Suit.

Pikachu in the SSE

After going through the first area of the Research Facility, Zero Suit Samus and Pikachu discover a monitor room, and learn the location of Samus' Power Suit.

They then traverse another section of the Research Facility. They cross a bridge to reach the Power Suit. When Samus approaches the Suit, she and Pikachu are ambushed by two Shadow Bug clones of her Power Suit. After defeating them, Samus regains her Power Suit, and after defeating a small R.O.B. Squad, travel through the last area of the Facility. Later, the duo almost exit the Research Facility, but are then confronted by Ridley, who brutally damages Samus by dragging her across the wall. Pikachu uses Thunder on Ridley to stop him. Samus falls back down onto the platform, her Power Suit damaged, but working, while Ridley, enraged by Pikachu's electric shock, roars at them. The two then fight and defeat Ridley. After defeating Ridley, Pikachu and Samus leave the facility and notice a pair of R.O.B.s carrying a Subspace Bomb. They prepare to enter the Subspace Bomb Factory.

They infiltrate the Ancient Minister's base, and eventually enter a large room, with him, an army of R.O.B.s, and a great number of Subspace Bombs on racks behind them. They prepare to fight him but pause, noticing that Ancient Minister is looking down as if he's sad.

As they stare at his sorrowing, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Captain Falcon and Olimar and his Pikmin break into the same room. DK smashes the doors open with his fists, and the four barge into the room. They also want to attack the Ancient Minister, but a hologram of Ganondorf appears. He commands the R.O.B. Squad to activate the remaining Subspace Bombs. The Ancient Minister tries to stop the Squad as their leader, but Ganondorf forces them to mindlessly attack the Ancient Minister using a reprogramming device. As the Ancient Minister sulks in flames, the brainwashed R.O.B. squad starts to take the Subspace Bombs off the racks. Ganondorf laughs at the Ancient Minister's despair, and sends the Subspace Army to distract the fighters. Auroros fly towards the group, but the Ancient Minister fires energy beams at them before they get near the fighters. The Ancient Minister reveals itself to be a R.O.B. himself, the lead R.O.B, and joins the five other heroes in fighting the Subspace Army. After they defeat the Subspace Army, the heroes attempt to detach the R.O.B. squad from the Subspace Bombs. Captain Falcon throws the R.O.B.s, Samus uses her Grapple Beam, while Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong use sheer force. Nothing detaches the R.O.B.s from the Subspace Bomb. The lead R.O.B. attempts to get them to willingly detach, and two members of the Squad respond, apparently unable to detach themselves. The R.O.B. looks down in despair, and Captain Falcon calls his Falcon Flyer so they can escape. After descending through the Subspace Bomb factory escape tunnel, full of members of the Subspace Army, they escape on the Falcon Flyer. Meta Ridley chases them down with the intent of revenge on Samus and Pikachu. They fight his mechanically enhanced form on top of the Flyer, and defeat it. Pikachu and the rest of the group then join the ground heroes and Halberd Battleship heroes, and help them out throughout the rest of the adventure.

Unfortunately, when these characters reach Subspace, Tabuu turns everybody, including Pikachu, into trophies using the terrible Off Waves. However, thanks to the efforts of King Dedede, Luigi and Ness, the characters are revived, Pikachu included. Once they regroup with the trophies that Kirby and the others revived, they set off to enter The Great Maze. When they approach Tabuu, Sonic appears and saves them from his Off Waves. They then finally defeat Tabuu, and returned the Subspace Bomb-ed portions of the World of Trophies back to their original places, except the Isle of the Ancients, which Pikachu and the rest look on at in triumph.

Playable appearances

• The Research Facility (Part I)
• The Research Facility (Part II)
• The Subspace Bomb Factory (Part I)
• The Subspace Bomb Factory (Part II)
• Entrance to Subspace
• The Great Maze (if rescued in Subspace (Part I)

Exclusive stickers

• Barkle (tail attack +32)
• Blathers (tail attack +7)
• Bowser Jr. (tail attack +25)
• Chaos (arm/leg attack +10)
• Chihuahua (tail attack +12)
• Deoxys (slash attack +10)
• Entei (fire attack +20)
• Fairy (tail attack+7)
• Goldeen (leg attack +4)
• Groudon (flame resistance+ 14)
• Gulpin (elecric attack + 16)
• Jigglypuff (body/spin attack+31)
• Jirachi (arm/leg attack+7)
• Meowth (slash attack +5)
• Metagross (launch resistance +23)
• Mew (body/spin attack +4)
• Moltres (flame attack +20)
• Pikachu (electric attack +33)
• Pokémon trainer (arm/leg attack +13)
• Rogue The Bat (tail attack +10)
• Spitz (tail attack +12)
• Stafy (tail attack +7)
• Staryu (direct attack +3)
• Togepi (body/spin attack +11)
• Torchic (fire attack +8)
• Weavile (slash attack +5)

Alternate costumes

Pikachu's alternate costumes in Brawl

Trophy

Pikachu's trophy is obtained by clearing Classic Mode as Pikachu.

Pikachu's trophy in Brawl

Description

A Mouse Pokémon. Its lightning-bolt tail and round cheeks are its trademarks. When danger draws near, it uses tiny electric pouches within its cheeks to discharge electricity. When it's really fired up, it unleashes thunderbolts on its rivals. It's said to recharge when it's sleeping. It evolves into Raichu.

: Pokémon Red/Blue

: Pokémon Diamond/Pearl

Trivia

• Some of Pikachu's new attributes, such as wall-jumping and its goggle costume were previously held by Pichu in Melee; additionally, Pikachu can traditionally only learn Volt Tackle if it evolved from a Pichu in breeding. The Smash community has frequently joked about these similarities, with some jokes speaking about how the Pikachu in Brawl is actually an evolved form of the Pichu from Melee.
• By the time Brawl was released, gender differences were introduced in the Pokémon games. Female Pikachu have a heart-shaped indent on their tails, while the one in Brawl doesn't, enforcing the common assumption that the Pikachu in Brawl is male.
• Pikachu has the least amount of palette swaps in Brawl, which is 4.
  • Because of this, if all four players are Pikachu, they won't be able to change its color.
• Pikachu, Samus, Fox, Diddy Kong, and Lucas are the only characters in the Subspace Emissary to fight more than 2 bosses (excluding boss re-creations in the Great Maze). Pikachu can be chosen to fight Ridley at The Research Facility Part II, Meta Ridley at The Subspace Bomb Factory (Part II), and as well as Tabuu in the final battle at Tabuu's Residence if it is rescued in Subspace (Part I).
• Pikachu's AI has a reputation of being a candidate for the best AI of any character in the game, on par with Luigi's. While the common consensus is that CPU Luigi has the superior AI, it has been observed that level nine Pikachu will almost always win against most level nine CPUs under tournament rules, and will win more often than not against every other level nine CPU, including level nine Luigi.
• Pikachu, Zelda, and Snake are the only characters in the game where all three of their taunts temporarily make a held item disappear.
• This is the only Smash game where Pikachu's party hat is absent.

External links

• Pikachu's page at Smash Bros. DOJO!!.
• Pikachu Character Guide at SWF
• Pikachu's hitbox size of each of its moves
• Pikachu's Moves - History Behind Super Smash Bros. Brawl, by CrappyCaptureDevice