Pichu (Super Smash Flash 2)

Pichu is a veteran unlockable character in Super Smash Flash 2. He was revealed at Day 4 of Super Smash Con 2017. Pichu's sprites are completely custom-made and are based on its appearance in . Pichu's voice clips come from .
Pichu is currently placed 27th of B tier in the current tier list. Pichu has very powerful attacks, with his smash attacks KOing opponents reliably under 75%, down aerial being a strong meteor-smash, all of his aerials great for racking up damage, his electricity in most of his attacks dealing high knockback, being very effective at dodging attacks, and his small hurtboxes allowing him to easily evade various attacks from other characters. His side special and down special are very strong, with the former capable of KOing opponents below 90% if fully charged, and the latter KOing opponents below 60%. A special trait of Pichu unique to Super Smash Flash 2 is that, after it reaches 50% damage, it will enter a fatigued state called Discharge, where its special moves become stronger and/or gain new traits: Electro Ball paralyzes the opponent for a much longer time, is stronger and propels Pichu upwards, Agility produces an electric vortex after each dash, and goes significantly farther, but cannot be charged.
Despite these strengths, Pichu possesses a few notable flaws. He is the second-lightest character in the game, lighter than his already-lightweight counterpart . Pichu also has electricity that deals recoil damage in many of his attacks. Pichu's main gimmick is that for every electric attack it uses, it damages itself. This in tandem with its extreme lightweight status means that Pichu is very easy to KO and that makes its survivability terrible. It also has problems with range, as various moves like his grab, up smash, down smash have overall underwhelming range, allowing characters with disjointed hitboxes to keep him away from the stage. In addition, none of his throws tend to KO until very high percentages.
== Attributes ==
Pichu is notable for being a short, lightweight character who has some typical attributes, his dashing speeds are averagely good, while his jumping speeds are good, and walking speeds and falling speeds are tied with Pikachu, but his grab has somewhat small range. Pichu is even smaller and faster than Pikachu, as said previously. He can dash cancel to move even faster than , giving him overwhelmingly good approach options.
Pichu is fairly an unorthodox character in terms of playstyle, a character that only focuses fighting with electricity. Pichu has good KO moves in his smash attacks, down aerial, which is a strong meteor-smash, and his electricity in most of his attacks dealing high knockback. He is also very effective at dodging various attacks by other characters, due his small hurtboxes that allows him to easily evade various attacks from other characters, giving opponents severe problems with range to Pichu. His side special and down special are very strong on the opponents, with the former having ability to KO opponents below 90% if fully charged up, and the latter KOing opponents below 60%. If Pichu reaches 50% damage, it will enter a fatigued state, called Discharge. In this state, his special moves increases their strengths or gain new traits: Electro Ball paralyzes the opponent for an extended period, is stronger and propels Pichu upwards, Agility produces an electric vortex after each dash and instantly travels the length of its max charge.
However, with his small hurtbox also comes a very severe problem with range. Pichu must get way too close to the opponent in order to profit off his quick attacks. Combined with the fact that most of his moves are reverse disjointed, Pichu ends up having lots of good approach options, but still having issues with winning the neutral game. Pichu is also the second lightest character in the game, weighting 74 units, beaten only by 's weight of 72 units.
Overall, Pichu is described as a "glass cannon", having a high KO potential in most of his attacks while being very vunerable himself by being easily KO'd due to his extremely light weight. He is also held back by his electricity causing recoil damage, his fatigued state called Discharge severly weakening his side special and some of his other attacks having short range.
== Moveset ==
=== Ground attacks ===
Attack 	Description 	Damage	Recoil damage
Neutral attack	Performs an extremely quick headbutt. 	 	rowspan="5"
Forward tilt 	Plants itself on its upper paws and swipes its tail at his opponents. 	8% 	
Up tilt 	Swipes its tail above its body in an arc. 	9% 	
Down tilt 	Swipes its tail in front of itself. 	8% 	
Dash attack 	Jumps and headbutts forward. 	8% 	
Forward smash 	Emits a small jolt of electricity from its cheeks that hits multiple times. In its Discharge state, the range and knockback of the move is increased.	 	
Forward smash 	Emits a small jolt of electricity from its cheeks that hits multiple times. In its Discharge state, the range and knockback of the move is increased.	 	
Forward smash 	Emits a small jolt of electricity from its cheeks that hits multiple times. In its Discharge state, the range and knockback of the move is increased.	 	
Forward smash 	Emits a small jolt of electricity from its cheeks that hits multiple times. In its Discharge state, the range and knockback of the move is increased.	 	
Forward smash 	Emits a small jolt of electricity from its cheeks that hits multiple times. In its Discharge state, the range and knockback of the move is increased.	 	
Forward smash 	Emits a small jolt of electricity from its cheeks that hits multiple times. In its Discharge state, the range and knockback of the move is increased.	 	
Up smash 	Headbutts upwards. 	 	rowspan="3"
Up smash 	Headbutts upwards. 	 	
Down smash 	Quickly spins in place. 	 	
=== Aerial attacks ===
Attack 	Description 	Damage	Recoil damage
Neutral aerial	Curls up in a ball and somersaults in the air. 	 	rowspan="2"
Neutral aerial	Curls up in a ball and somersaults in the air. 	 	
Forward aerial	Does a barrel roll in the air, emitting sparks from its cheeks which envelop its entire body. 	 	
Forward aerial	Does a barrel roll in the air, emitting sparks from its cheeks which envelop its entire body. 	 	
Back aerial 	Quickly spins in a disc-like motion. 	 	rowspan="3"
Back aerial 	Quickly spins in a disc-like motion. 	 	
Up aerial 	Swiftly swings its tail above itself in an arc. 	5% 	
Down aerial 	A stall-then-fall. Spins horizontally while emitting sparks from his cheeks, like 's down aerial, but sends at a meteor angle. Has a landing hit.	 	
Down aerial 	A stall-then-fall. Spins horizontally while emitting sparks from his cheeks, like 's down aerial, but sends at a meteor angle. Has a landing hit.	 	
Down aerial 	A stall-then-fall. Spins horizontally while emitting sparks from his cheeks, like 's down aerial, but sends at a meteor angle. Has a landing hit.	 	
=== Grab and throws ===
Attack 	Description 	Damage 	Recoil damage
Grab 	Grabs the opponent with both paws. Extremely bad range. 	colspan="2"	
Pummel 	Electrocutes the opponent with its cheeks. 	2% 	0.5%
Forward throw	Places the opponent on its back and shocks them, sending them forward. 	 	
Forward throw	Places the opponent on its back and shocks them, sending them forward. 	 	
Back throw 	Dashes behind the opponent and bashes them away with its rear. 	9% 	rowspan="3"
Up throw 	Tosses the opponent upwards and follows that up with an upwards headbutt.	5% 	
Down throw 	Tosses the opponent on the ground, then body-slams them. 	5% 	
=== Other attacks ===
Attack 	Description 	Damage
Floor attack	Gets up and headbutts both sides of itself. 	5%
Ledge attack	Quickly does a cartwheel and attacks with its foot.	6%
=== Special moves ===
Special move 	Name 	Description	Description 	Damage	Recoil damage
Neutral special move	Electro Ball 	Normal 	Launches a weak sphere of electricity that paralyzes opponents. 	7% 	3%
Neutral special move	Electro Ball 	Discharge 	Launches a somewhat big sphere of electricity that paralyzes opponents for a long time. 	7% 	4%
Side special move 	 	Normal 	Launches itself forward to headbutt opponents in the way. Can be charged. 	 	
Side special move 	 	Normal 	Launches itself forward to headbutt opponents in the way. Can be charged. 	 	
Side special move 	 	Discharge 	Launches itself at an extremely high speed and strongly headbutt opponents nearby. Can not be charged. 	13% 	
Side special move 	 	Discharge 	Launches itself at an extremely high speed and strongly headbutt opponents nearby. Can not be charged. 	13% 	
Up special move 	Agility 	Normal 	Dashes up to two times at lightning-fast speeds. 	 	
Up special move 	Agility 	Normal 	Dashes up to two times at lightning-fast speeds. 	 	
Up special move 	Agility 	Discharge 	Dashes up to two times at lightning-fast speed releasing bursts of electricity in between dashes, similar to Poké Ball Pichu's Thunder Wave. 	 	
Up special move 	Agility 	Discharge 	Dashes up to two times at lightning-fast speed releasing bursts of electricity in between dashes, similar to Poké Ball Pichu's Thunder Wave. 	 	
Up special move 	Agility 	Discharge 	Dashes up to two times at lightning-fast speed releasing bursts of electricity in between dashes, similar to Poké Ball Pichu's Thunder Wave. 	 	
Up special move 	Agility 	Discharge 	Dashes up to two times at lightning-fast speed releasing bursts of electricity in between dashes, similar to Poké Ball Pichu's Thunder Wave. 	 	
Up special move 	Agility 	Discharge 	Dashes up to two times at lightning-fast speed releasing bursts of electricity in between dashes, similar to Poké Ball Pichu's Thunder Wave. 	 	
Down special move 	 	Normal 	Pichu spawns a lightning bolt directly from above, falling on Pichu. If it connects with Pichu, a second, strong hit will occur and Pichu will receive recoil damage. The entire lightning bolt is capable of sending opponents downwards, making it useful for edgeguarding.	 	5%
Down special move 	 	Normal 	Pichu spawns a lightning bolt directly from above, falling on Pichu. If it connects with Pichu, a second, strong hit will occur and Pichu will receive recoil damage. The entire lightning bolt is capable of sending opponents downwards, making it useful for edgeguarding.	 	5%
Down special move 	 	Discharge 	Pichu spawns a lightning bolt above him. If it connects with Pichu, an extremely strong hit will occur and Pichu will get sent upwards in tumble state, allowing for infinite recovery in some situations. 	 	5%
Down special move 	 	Discharge 	Pichu spawns a lightning bolt above him. If it connects with Pichu, an extremely strong hit will occur and Pichu will get sent upwards in tumble state, allowing for infinite recovery in some situations. 	 	5%
Final Smash 	Electric Terrain	rowspan="2"	Delivers a massive electric attack to continuously damage opponents and itself, leaving the terrain with static electricity afterwards for a short time. 	 	
Final Smash 	Electric Terrain	 	Delivers a massive electric attack to continuously damage opponents and itself, leaving the terrain with static electricity afterwards for a short time. 	 	
=== Misc. ===
Misc. 	Description 	Description 	Description
On-screen appearance	Pops out of a Poké Ball. 	Pops out of a Poké Ball. 	Pops out of a Poké Ball.
Taunts 	Neutral 	Slaps its butt thrice while saying "Pichu!" 	
Taunts 	Side 	Emits electricity from the ground. It also takes 10% recoil damage. 	
Taunts 	Up 	Jumps up and waves both hands. 	
Taunts 	Down 	Rolls around on the floor. 	
Idle pose 	Moves its ears while standing up. While in its Discharge state, it instead lifts its ears up and weakly produces electricity.	Moves its ears while standing up. While in its Discharge state, it instead lifts its ears up and weakly produces electricity.	Moves its ears while standing up. While in its Discharge state, it instead lifts its ears up and weakly produces electricity.
Victory theme 	A short excerpt from the title screen of . 	A short excerpt from the title screen of . 	A short excerpt from the title screen of .
Victory pose 	Hops three times while kicking around, then jumps and poses. 	Hops three times while kicking around, then jumps and poses. 	Hops three times while kicking around, then jumps and poses.
== Changes and revisions ==
Pichu did not get many changes, as he was very recently added to the game, patch-wise. However, he still got some major changes, which will be listed below:
*
*
== Gallery ==
=== Costumes ===
== Artwork ==
SSF2 Pichu (early).png|Pichu's early artwork, used from Beta 1.1 to Beta 1.3.
=== Screenshots ===
TiredPichuSSF2.png|Pichu's idle animation during Discharge, achieved after it hits 50% damage.
Pichu (SSF2) 1.png|Pichu attacking with its forward tilt while stands still on Lake of Rage.
Pichu (SSF2) 2.png|Pichu crouching, centered to and on WarioWare, Inc..
PPichuTaunt.png|Pichu and taunting on Nintendo 3DS.
Pichu 3.png|Pichu and Pikachu standing next to on Lake of Rage.
Ball - Pichu.png|Ball version.
=== Misc. ===
SSF2 - Classic mode - Pichu.png|Pichu's congratulations screen on Classic mode.
SSF2 - All-Star mode - Pichu.png|Pichu's congratulations screen on All-Star mode.
Pichu has been Unlocked.png|Pichu's unlock screen.
ChallengerApproachingPichuSSF2.png|Pichu's "Challenger Approaching" screen.
PichuUnlocked.png|Pichu being revealed at Super Smash Con 2017.
Splash screen - Pichu.png|Pichu's splash screen, from his introduction trailer.
== Trivia ==
*Pichu is the first character that was originally implemented as a Poké Ball character to become a playable character.
**Out of the three characters to ascend from being item-only characters to becoming playable (the other two being and ), Pichu is the only one to do so in the same version that it was introduced as a non-playable character.
**However, as confirmed by the devs, both the playable Pichu and the Poké Ball Pichu can appear at the same time.
*Pichu, like Pikachu, is confirmed to be a male Pokémon.
*Despite its gimmick, Pichu only has two moves that actually damage itself in the actual games.
*Pichu is the only character in the game that has four taunts, referencing how he also had one more taunt than the other fighters in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
*Pichu, , and are also the only characters that can self-heal from damage. In Pichu's case, via crouching for some time.
*Having to deal 172% damage on Pikachu in order to meet Pichu is a reference to the latter's National Pokédex number.
*Pichu, alongside , Jigglypuff, and are the only characters that don't clap for the winner of a match.
*Pichu, like and , was sprited solely by Steven.
*Pichu's unlock stage was changed possibly due to the computer player's tendency to self-destruct on Lake of Rage.
*Prior to Beta 1.2, Pichu utilized voice clips from its appearance in .
== External links ==
*Pichu's introduction video
*Pichu's unused trailer cutscene
Category:Bonus characters
Category:First-party characters
Category:Unlockable characters
Category:Veteran characters
Category:Super Smash Flash 2
Category:Super Smash Flash series