Pikachu

General
Pikachu (ピカチュウ, Pikachū) is an Electric-Type Pokémon and one of the most famous creatures of the Pokémon media. It is the Pokémon #25 of the National Pokédex. It is a playable character in Super Smash Bros Crusade.

Changes from Brawl to Crusade

 * Reduced KO power on many moves
 * Thunder has decreased range and kill power, making it an unreliable move to kill and to approach with
 * Approaching ability significantly reduced due to decreased range on every single of his moves
 * Thunder Jolt is significantly slower and almost every character can outrun it, and it's size is smaller making it easy to avoid.
 * Now has a weak ground game because his terrible range
 * Quick Attack has significantly less distance and has decreased speed, while also losing it's cancel
 * The Crusade physics affect Pikachu negatively.
 * Increased hitstun makes him easy to combo and chain-grab

Attributes


Pikachu holds the dubious distinction of being the lowest ranked character in the tier list, placed 36th in the H tier. He has terrible range in every attack, no reliable kill moves, low kill power in Thunder, No chain-grabs and terrible recovery. Consequently, Pikachu is hit hard by the impact of the Crusade physics, resulting in abysmal matchups.

Pikachu's most salient feature, as with its appearances in previous Smash Brothers games, is his speed. Pikachu also has good specials, excellent smash attacks, tilts and moderate grabs. Pikachu is a fairly small target, but this comes at the price of being the 4th lightest character (making him 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, where its 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 holds for multiple hits and has a high priority, functioning as a panic button of sorts for close encounters. The side 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.

Pikachu is notable in Crusade to be almost completely different then his Brawl counterpart. Pikachu is unable to chain-grab reliably like in Brawl and his range is shorter then it currently was in all the appearances in the Smash series. Pikachu's kill power is decreased and Thunder has significantly decreased kill power and range. Pikachu is also unable to Quick Attack Cancel and has worse recovery.

Pikachu's main problem is his abysmal ability to approach and being one of the easiest characters in the game to KO due to his significant lightweight. His Thunder Jolt is very slow and almost every character can outrun it. Quick Attack is now useless for approaching due to its shorter distance so it has to rely on Skull Bash (which is most reliable way to approach) but it is very predictable and very easy to shield.

Overall, Pikachu is a far weaker character than he was in any Smash game to date. His severe nerfs in Crusade and the huge negative impact received by the Crusade physics made Pikachu a really bad character.

Pikachu's Normal Moves
Jab Side Tilt Up Tilt Down Tilt Neutral Air Forward Air Up Air Down Air Back Aerial
 * A very quick headbutt attack that can be repeated in rapid succession. Deals 2% damage per hit. It is tied for the fastest Jab on startup in SSBC with Mario, Luigi, Kirby, and Zero Suit Samus's Jabs.
 * Pikachu turns and kicks forwards with both legs. It's a fast move that moves Pikachu forwards slightly. 7% damage.
 * A quick upwards tail swipe that pops enemies up into the air to allow for juggling. Deals 6 - 7% damage dependnig on when and where the tail hits the target. This move has a great hitbox for anti-air attacks.
 * Pikachu turns and delivers a low kick imbued with electricity that launches foes at a low angle when sweetspotted. Deals 10% damage when it hits from a far distance and 7% otherwise. It makes a solid finisher due to the fact that opponents can not easily recover from the low knockback angle.
 * A quick spinning tackle attack that deals 11% in its initial frames, and 6% later. It has a 5-frame startup and a long active hitbox, making it highly effecttive as a Sex Kick. This is Pikachu's all-purpose aerial move, posessing a decent hitbox and good KO potential.
 * Pikachu spins sideways while surrounded by electricity, hitting adversaries up to 6 times. Deals 2% with the first 5 hits and 3% with the last for up to 13% total damage. It has a quick startup and its multi-hit properties allow it to link into some moves upon an L-cancelled landing. The final hit has moderate 40-degree angled launch power.
 * An upwards somersault, resulting in an overhead tail attack. It deals 8% damage if it hits early and 6% later. It launches foes at a roughly vertical trajectory in its initial frames and a horizontal angle in its later frames. This is Pikachu's primary combo-friendly aerial and its fastest overall aerial, with 4 frames of startup and 25 frames of duration.
 * Pikachu spins while facing downwards, surrounded by electricity. It deals 14% damage initially with high knockback, and 10% later. Upon landing, Pikachu may also deal 3% to nearby targets. This attack makes a solid finisher, but it is a tad slow, especially in comparison to Pikachu's other air moves. It also carries some heavy ending lag, so L-cancelling is important.
 * Pikachu turns and does a quick reverse kick with solid power. It deals 12% damage and enough knockback to make it as viable a finisher as Down Air. It has a bit a recovery lag at the end, making it punishable, but it should be reserved for punishes and combos anyway as the safer, more useful Neutral Air should be used in most other cases. Still, it's a great way to guarantee a KO during a punish or combo because of its low-angled knockback.