Pikachu (Super Smash Flash 2)

Pikachu is a playable veteran character in Super Smash Flash 2. He is one of the characters in added in v0.8 of the SSF2 Demos, alongside other characters such as Donkey Kong and Yoshi. His sprites are completely custom and based on his appearance in the main Super Smash Bros. games.

Pikachu is currently ranked 3rd on the current tier list; a big leap from his 7th position last demo (his tier position is close to his 1st place position in Super Smash Bros.). This is due to his extremely fast attacks, giving him good combo ability on the ground and in the air, with amazing finishers to end combos. Pikachu also has fantastic throws; its forward and back throws set up edgeguarding situations, its up throw aids in combos, and its down throw can chain grab almost the entire cast at low percentages up to around 30-40%, and fast-fallers infinitely. He also possesses a great projectile in Thunder Jolt and multiple methods to recover; this, combined with his small frame, makes Pikachu much trickier to KO than one might think.

However, Pikachu is not flawless; even though he might be tricky to KO, he is KOed relatively fast when attacks land due to his light weight. He also has fast falling speed for his weight class, making him more vulnerable to low-percent chain grabs than other light characters, as well as poor reach in his attacks, forcing him to get up close to start combos (although this is remedied by his Thunder Jolt approaches). Regardless, Pikachu's strengths overwhelm his flaws and make him the top tier character he is represented as in the current metagame.

Attributes
Pikachu is a small, but fast and agile fighter. Pikachu has good mobility with having the fourth fastest dashing speed in the current demo (tied with ) and can perform Quick attack cancel to move around the battlefield which gives Pikachu excellent approach options. It has a good projectile in Thunder Jolt which is very flexible, covers long distances and has good priority while it can also help set up combos. Pikachu has kill moves in its forward smash, Thunder (when the bolt of lightning hits Pikachu it produces a shockwave that deals strong knockback and using the move when the opponent is close to the upper blast line which is called thunder spiking), Skull Bash and its neutral aerial. Pikachu has a great grab game with three of its four throws being able to chain grab most of the cast. Its forward and down throw can chain grab most of the cast from mid-high percentages with its up throw being able to chain grab big characters and fast fallers. It's down throw can zero-to-death chain grab fast fallers like and  to high percentages, then up smash them and follow up with thunder. Pikachu has one of the best recoveries in the game with Skull Bash being used as horizontal recovery option and Quick Attack can be used in different directions(it can go up twice which gives Pikachu one of the best vertical recovery moves in the game). Pikachu has good combo ability with most of attacks being able to flow into each other. Its slow falling speed makes it less susceptible to combos and chain grabs then in the main Smash Bros. games.

However, Pikachu suffers from poor reach in the majority of its attacks which leaves it vulnerable to characters with disjointed hitboxes (ex. and ). Due to its light weight and slow falling speed makes Pikachu easy to KO. Most of Pikachu's KO moves are close to its body which means it needs to be close to the opponent in order to KO them.

Ground Attacks

 * Standard attack: Headbutts continually. 2% per hit
 * Side tilt: Kicks forward out in front of him with both legs. 10%
 * Forward smash: Produces electricity with his cheeks. Pikachu charges a bolt of electricity in front of him, causing a lot of knockback when released. Uncharged: 14% Fully Charged: 20%
 * Up tilt: Swings tail in an arc above itself. 7%
 * Up smash: Flips very fast, attacking with its tail. Uncharged: 13% Fully Charged: 19%
 * Down tilt: Does a quick, low tail whip. 7%
 * Down smash: Discharges electricity while spinning. Uncharged: 11% Fully Charged: 13%
 * Dash attack: Bashes target with it's head like a mini Skull Bash.. 9%

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral aerial: Spins in a ball. Decent knockback and power. 10%
 * Forward aerial: An electric drill-like move forward. 7%.
 * Back aerial: Spins like a disc and hits multiple times. Four hits for 1% each last one deals 2%.
 * Up aerial: Swings tail while flipping forward. 8%
 * Down aerial: An electric drill-like move downward. 11-12%

Grabs & Throws

 * Grab: Grabs the enemy with both hands.
 * Pummel: Zaps the enemy. All hits do 1%.
 * Forward throw: Places opponent on back and electrocutes them forward. can chain grab. 8%
 * Back throw: Tumbles with opponent back and throws them back. 9%
 * Up throw: Headbutts opponent upward. Can chain grab, but easy to DI out of. 10%
 * Down throw: Slams on top of opponent. Can chain grab. 10%

Other

 * Ledge Attack: Backflip kick. 8%
 * 100% Ledge Attack: None.
 * Floor attack: Swings its body and tail around. 5%

Misc.

 * Entrance: Pops out of a Pokéball.
 * Taunts:
 * Standard: Waves with both hands and says "Pika!".
 * Side: Topples on one leg, as if dizzy and says "Pika!".
 * Down: Same as Side.
 * Idle poses:
 * Scratches his ear.
 * Looks around.
 * Fanfare: Pokémon Victory Theme from Super Smash Bros. Melee
 * Wins: Does a 720 backflip, then spins around and looks happily at the camera.
 * Loses: Claps.

Trivia

 * Occasionally, when Pikachu is chosen in a match, a glitch in his entrance animation will not allow him to appear for the rest of the match. This also applies to Target Test and is probably part of a set of glitches with the four new characters introduced in demo v0.8.