__**General**__
**How do you play Pikachu**
Pikachu can function under many different playstyles, from aggressive rushdown to passive bait and punish, and just about everything in between. #bills_pc_resources has about all the info you need to get started with playing this character.

**Who does Pikachu lose to?**
Pikachu has a relatively strong matchup spread, but he still has his flaws. Pikachu generally struggles against characters with better range, lingering hitboxes, and a way to negate Thunder Jolt or abuse it themselves. Due to this, most people agree that Pikachu loses to Ness and Mr. Game & Watch. Other characters Pikachu often struggles with are Mario, Peach, Snake, Yoshi, and Lucas, among other characters.

**Who are notable Pikachu players?**
ESAM is the most well known and best Pikachu player in the world. Other notable players are DM, Kishiru, Enki, and Captain L.

**Is Pikachu's frame data located anywhere?**
All of Pikachu's frame data is documented in Micaelis's doc: <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/1/d/1tfCCrjQ7cowGHh48KX1_sepu2R-eyS23TSM9N2tC9mA/edit?usp=sharing>
It is also located on other websites: <https://ultimateframedata.com/pikachu.php>

**I can't talk in #oaks_lab, how can I talk in there?**
#oaks_lab is our channel for new ideas and discoveries for playing Pikachu. In order to talk in there, you need to have the Lab Pass role. So, if you have any ideas you wish to share, feel free to ping one of the active mods to get the role.

**What should I learn first?**
There's a lot of things to learn to play Pikachu effectively, but the most important thing is knowing your Quick Attack angles, and being able to effectively recover from nearly anywhere with different angles. One of Pikachu's greatest strengths is his edgeguarding and recovery, and you want to make as much use of that as possible.
If you have any other questions or want more specifics, feel free to ask us in #sunyshore_gym_meta. Being more specific will get you better answers, but we can still try to give you general tips.

__**Combos and Gameplay**__
**How does Uair work?**
Uair has two main hitboxes: the strong, early hit, and the weak, late hit. The early hit starts from behind Pikachu and goes above Pikachu, launching the opponent and slightly away from Pikachu. The late hit is in front and slightly above Pikachu, launching the opponent weakly in front of Pikachu. Both hits have their own separate combo potential.

**How do you use Quick Attack?**
Quick Attack is made up of two different bursts. The first burst can go in nearly any direction, while the second burst has to be aimed at least 45 degrees away from the first direction. Due to this, Quick Attack can't be done twice in the same direction. However, Pikachu can slide along the ground during Quick Attack, so Pikachu can appear to go twice horizontally along the stage. For example, say you want to go to the right, the first burst is aimed directly to the right, then the second burst is aimed down and to the right, to slide along the stage and move forward.

**How does Thunder work, and how do you not die while using Thunder offstage?**
Thunder is made up of two lighting bolts falling down and has three main hitboxes: the cloud, the bolt, and the explosion, also known as Blue Thunder. The cloud hitbox spikes the opponent near the beginning of each lightning bolt, which starts where the cloud spawns. The bolt launches the opponent up and slightly away, depending on which side the opponent gets hit on. Blue Thunder is the explosion that occurs when Thunder hits you. The opponent gets launched based on which side of Pikachu they get hit on. If they are on the right of Pikachu when they get hit, they get launched to the right, and the same applies to the left.
To use Thunder offstage without dying, you have to hit yourself with Thunder. You need to have little to no horizontal momentum while using Thunder in order to hit yourself. The most reliable way to do this is to double jump straight up, then Thunder.

**How do you do Nair loops?**
Nair loops are done from either a DThrow or UTilt, into a short hop Nair to drag the opponent down into another DThrow or UTilt. To do this, you have to do the DThrow or UTilt, then short hop, wait for a moment, then Nair before you reach the top of the short hop. Fastfall between the second and third hit, then either regrab for a DThrow or UTilt to do it again. Doing it from DThrow works from about 0-30%, while doing it with UTilt works from about 25-60%, depending on weight and fall speed.
ESAM's Nair loop video: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiQTuMJovz0>
DM's Nair loop video: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0dZoADEDNg>

**What other combos does Pikachu have?**
Pikachu has a fairly freeform combo game, with his main combo starters are DThrow and UTilt. Both of these can lead to more aerials, which works on most of the cast.
Other combo starters are Bair, Fair, and DTilt, especially if it trips.
- Bair > Bair/Uair
- DTilt > Grab/Dash Attack
- Fair > Fair/Uair
ESAM's DThrow combo video: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax15j-ETxPY>
DM's DThrow combo video: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAdRSonb0yg>

**How does Pikachu kill?**
Pikachu mainly kills through his great edgeguarding. Without it, he can somewhat struggle to get early kills. Despite that, Pikachu has a few kill options and confirms to end stocks.
- DTilt > Jab lock > FSmash
- UThrow/DThrow > Thunder
- Landing Nair > DSmash/USmash
- Landing Fair > Dash Attack
- Dash Attack
- UThrow