Kirby Matchup

Kirby



General Discussion

Soon to Come

Pika's Advantages

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Pika's Disadvantages

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Strategy for Winning

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Helpful Video's

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Overall Matchup

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this is a matchup between similar characters. both have good combos, though kirby has better ones. both are small and light. both are fast but pika is faster. both can kill but kirbys are a little stronger and more reliable.

Kirby is a good character, relying on a powerful grab game at low percent, racking as much as 50 damage up on heavies. thankfully, i have confirmed this, with SDI, pika can escape after the uair following the fthrow. it requres near perfect SDI but it can be done. if you dont SDI they can either fthrow - uair - fsmash or fthrow - uair - reverse utilt - bair. both hurt but arent devastatng. after that kirby has some good priority moves that he can use for spacing and damage racking. once he gets into the kill zone, kirby has a bunch of options. the first thing to noe about kirby is his absurd gimp game. dair to footstool off the edge is a killer. pika CAN recover from that if kirby doesnt grab the ledge. what you should know is that a good pika should never get trapped like that. if yousee them setting it up go around them. on stage they have that rediculous fsmash, which even with good DI kills pika 110-120. its easy to see coming but its pretty fast. their other main kill move is the hammer. on the ground its a very slow move, but kills soooo low. they also can use the aerial hammer. it hits twice, wth the second one being stronger (i believe) this also kills low. watch for kirbys to hop away then use the hammer right back onto you. also kirby has the kirbycide. dont chase a kirby off stage. pikas cant do much anyway, so running off the edge is begging to get sucked in. if you do you are dead.

For pika he needs to focus on getting those low damage combos in while he can. after that he needs to outspace kirby. watch for those high priority bairs and punish if they space badly. once they get up high utilt/usmash to thunder is a big friend in this matchup. thats all i have for now. now i will wait for kawaii bunny to flesh it out from a kirbys perspective. i would call it somewhere between 50-50 to 55-45 pika.

50-50, or maybe a very very slight advantage in Pikachu's favor. That advantage is purely because of Pikachu's ability to camp if he has to.

Pikachu's advantages:

Has a few attacks with VERY long range (FSmash, FTlit, DTilt, etc.). Attacking with good spacing is very important when fighting Kirby. If you don't space yourself well, you'll probably get grabbed combo'd at a low percentage.

Thunder jolt is very important. Playing keep away against Kirby works well.

Pikachu can kill Kirby very easily with his most reliable kill moves.

Kirby's advantages:

The grab combo can work very easily on Pikachu because of his fall speed. Don't get grabbed, Pikachu. D:

BAir spacing is a killer. IIRC, BAir out prioritizes Thunder Jolt making it hard for Pikachu to get in, sometimes.

Kirby can gimp, very easily. Pikachu should not be recovering predictably or he will be gimped.

Kirby can take your power.

If you're at about 90% and you get FSmashed, good luck keeping that stock. FSmash is destructive. Pikachu being lightweight doesn't help.

50-50 matchup IMO. Both have very good tools to beat each other, so the match can go either way. You'll almost never see a Pikachu vs Kirby match go the same way back to back because of the unpredictability of the matchup.

Ahh kirby, the pink fluffball of doom.

THe main thing Kirby players will do at low %s is try to grab combo you. THis combo is F-throw, uair, reverse U-tilt...and idk what passed that. However, because of Pikachu's light-weight nature, it is possible to get out after the uair. If you DI with both sticks up right when they hit you, you can jump out of it. This will help TREMENDOUSLY seeing as comboing is one of the things that kirby players use to destroy other characters. FOr pikachu, you can still do basic FF Fair u-tilt to uair to whatever. So, while pikachu can get out of kirby's main comboes (Remember, you will still get hit by D-throw to utilt, and F-throw to uair, but that is it) pikachu can still combo decently well.

In this matchup, you should stay away as long as possible. Kirby has no projectile at the start of a match, and you have longer range attacks. Keep kirby at bay with your F-tilt, D-tilt, and T-jolts. The minute he gets into you, the match completely changes. Hell, if kirby gets close, try to QAC away and keep spamming. Just watch out kirby doesn't get your power, because Kirby T-jolts are more effective than pikachu's. With kirby's multiple jumps, it can be VERY irritating to get near him, and even then it is a hard fight.

Once the fight is in close quarters, your best options are to SHFF fairs to u-tilts and combo him. Do not do many laggy attacks against kirby because he will definitely punish you with his plethora of strong attacks, or get you off the cliff (will elaborate on this a little later) Kirby's like using D-tilt to trip you (It's pretty fast so be watchful of it) and then they can grab you and harass you.

In the air, this matchup all depends on positioning. If you are behind kirby, you will lose, becasue kirby's bair outprioritizes nearly everything you have! If you are in front of kirby, you will most likely win since Pikachu's fair > Kirby's fair, and pikachu's Uair > Kirby's fair. If you are below kirby, be watchful of his Dair. It is a multihit attack and keeps you in stun-time for quite a while, and i don't remember whether or not the kirby can F-smash you afterwards. Kirby's will almost never use their nair, for it is pretty bad. It had decent range, but ****ty knockback, and they have much better aerials at their disposal. Also, if you are below kirby, always be watchful of his Down-B, the rock attack. It packs a punch and will kill you at around 100-110%.

Off the level, kirby has the clear advantage. He can keep you off the level with his Bair, and it can be really troublesome to get around it. Also, if he sees that you are below him, he can FF a dair to footstool, getting him a near guaranteed kill at any %s, so be afraid, be VERY afraid. Thunder guarding works pretty well against Kirby, so use it when they are off the level, but don't get too predictable with it or they can just wait it out with his multiple jumps. Don't try to hit him out of his up-b, for it has lots of priority and it is extremely hard to do so. Hopefully you will get lucky and hit him with the blue part of thunder when they are off the level, killing them at 60%, but don't get used to killing them like that, its very rare.

In killing, Kirby clearly has the advantage. Although both are lightweight, Kirby's feet stole ganondorfs power, and make it insanely strong. F-smash will kill you at 105% or less, D-smash at about 120%, and U-smash at about 120%. Kirby also has his hammer, which when used in the air, swings twice with devastating results. Be very careful when you are at high %s pikachu's, you will need to get all the damage you can get on them. Also, bair will kill you off the level at about 90% fresh, and rock will kill you at no more than 105%. The most reliable way to get a kill on Kirby is FF fair U-tilt thunder, which will kill him at about 80% from the beginning of that little string. F-smash is very hard to hit kirby with, but if it does, it will kill at about the same time kirby's will (if it's sweetspotted). Nair will kill off the level at about 110%, and blue part of thunder will kill at 70%. However, Kirby's killing moves are much easier to land on pikachu, which is the main thing that gives him the edge.

I say this matchup is dead even or 55-45 in pikachu's favor, only because he can camp. Kirby has his advantages, and pikachu has his, and it makes for a very interesting matchup

kprime.....*shakes fist*

50-50.

This is gonna be a really weird matchup. You guys can camp us to hell and back, but if we eat you, we'll camp you to hell and back...twice. Our bair is gonna be important (lol when isn't it). Like Kawaii said, you can't get grabbed. A lot of what Kawaii said, actually... s/he said everything I can think of...

Here's our summary of the match-up:

It came out 50 :: 50 even.

MK26 said:

Overview:
That little annoying rat returns to the fight for the third time, and he may be returning to his Smash 64 glory days! With his ground-hugging Thunder Jolt and air-controlling Thunder, Pikachu can play keep-away and camp with the best of them. He has all the hallmarks of a small, light high tier: quick attacks to combo and keep you on your toes; a long-reaching, effective recovery; and (perhaps, most importantly) a fair amount of power to back it all up. Don't forget, Kirby is in High Tier as well, for much the same reason. This is a fairly even fight, so it will come down to skill, knowledge, and possibly some dumb luck if you want to win.

Pros+Cons:
+Great all-around moveset, both on ground and in air
+Very high-powered, effective smashes
+Two long-range recovery moves are difficult to gimp
+Several damage-racking aerials
-Very light
-Most ranged attacks are more effective up close

Watch out for:
F- and U-smash - Pika's two main killers, the smashes kill to the side and up, respectively. They are fairly quick, on both startup and cooldown, and very powerful even when uncharged.

D-smash – Much like ROB's, this D-smash is a GTFO move. However, it is fairly easy to DI out of, so don't forget to mash up if you get caught in it.

U-throw – Pikachu players' favourite throws on characters they cannot chaingrab. It is a good setup for their aerial game, as well as comboing into Thunder.

N-air – Pikachu's strongest single-hit aerial, as well as his primary aerial killer.

U-air – Quick combo move, as well as a good juggler.

Thunder Jolt – Too spammable for its own good.

Thunder – Very fast, opportunity for low-percent kills if he knocks you high, can hit you out of your Down-B before you finish transforming, can QuACk (see below)

Quick Attack Cancel (QuACk) – Basically, Pikachu QAing into the ground. Pika can use any aerial out of the bounce he gets, or simply ram you with Quick Attack repeatedly. Also can be canceled into Thunder, which just so happens to be equal parts annoying and effective. To counter, spam a quick attack that hits from all sides (B-air does the job nicely).

How to win:
Copy his Neutral-B – I usually leave this for the “Spit out or Swallow?” section, but it's just that important. Copy his Thunder Jolt and spam it. But spam it smartly, or he'll find a way around it.

Find a way around his Neutral-B spam – Jump over them, cancel them with your attacks, or powershield.

Use Final Cutter – It both cancels and counters your opponent's Jolts, as well as give him a projectile (with transcending priority) to worry about. Also, it's useful as a surprise counter if you can predict the Pikachu's approach.

Take to the air – This is your territory. Stick here and your fortunes will improve.

Spit out or Swallow?
Are you kidding? One of the matchups where I will not hesitate to say swallow. Absolutely no reason not to, and it's not like you'll trick a Pika into a Kirbycide and expect to get back to the stage while he falls to his doom.

What NOT to do:
Get overwhelmed by Special spam – If he spams any of his specials, be sure to stay calm. Sometimes simply putting pressure on your opponent will force him to mess up. However, don't get predictable with your response, or he'll take advantage.

Get hit by Thunder – It's very embarrassing. And it kills earlier than you can say Kirby F-smash.

Stages (in order of priority):
Luigi's Mansion – “His only bad level”
Beside the Mansion, your best bet is to go with stages you feel good with. Pikachu has much the same advantages as Kirby does, including Brinstar and Rainbow Cruise
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Corneria – Much too easy to KO upward with Thunder. Ban it.
Final Destination/Smashville/Pokemon Stadium 1– Good Pikachu counterpicks. Watch out for them, and don't counterpick them

Synopsis:
All in all, Kirby and Pikachu are very similar. They're both quick, light characters that can both combo and pack a punch; that's why they're where they are on the tier list. Also, neither has any inherent advantage on the other, so it's simply a man vs. man matchup, not a character trying to overcome another character. Keep your wits about you, play cautious, and steal his thunder (literally, not necessarily figuratively). Good luck, and may the best man win.

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actualy as both me and esam have pointed out we can di out of the gonzo combos at the uair. it isnt that powerful against us.

yes the grab to uair can be DI'd out of so you cant get a second one off.

Also, editing from the kirby synopsis, pikachu's normally hate u-throw, it sends you too far. But, we do it every once in a while because if you odn't DI it we can get a thunder.

juss watch out for his BAIRS and the KIRBYCIDE plz dont be stupid and fall for the kirbycide :D

Someone mentioned out camping Kirby, but I've met some pretty campy Kirby players. They will shield camp to grab you or just stay to one side and use cutter, which can be quite annoying '~.~

And yes, they will spam bair.

Best thing I've found to do is space everything just right and kill the little air machine with normal smashes or thunder once he's at high percent. He's not easy to gimp, but he is light.

I almost took a match off of Chudat with my Pikachu by camping a hell of a lot, I'm pretty sure he hadn't played a pikachu before though

IC3R said:

Wow, this isn't nearly as heated a debate as with the Ganon boards...

So it's pretty simple:

1. Both characters are light, but have good KO power;
2. Pikachu and Kirby are good at spamming projectiles (granted Kirby already stole one);
3. They both function well on the ground and in the air;
4. Both characters have decent recovery, are somewhat difficult to gimp;
5. They are good at edgeguarding and gimping themselves; and
6. They are so **** cute!!! ^__^

It's basically a 50 :: 50 match. Pikachu and Kirby are very simliar characters, believe it or not.

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Maybe that's why a lot of Pikachu players secondary Kirby.

Stealth Raptor said:

that rediculous fsmash, which even with good DI kills pika 110-120.

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Probably 90-100 depending on where you are on the stage.

But if people are calling Kirby's Fsmash ridiculous (which it seems EVERYBODY that doesn't main Kirby says) then I hope they are calling Snake's uptilt super-mega-insanely ridiculous. That's all I have to say about that.

Pika_Cam said:

Maybe that's why a lot of Pikachu players secondary Kirby.

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Maybe that's why a lot of Kirby players secondary Pikachu.

O_o




Anyway....everything's already been said. Some nooby threads you see quite often in the Kirby boards are "what are the best Copy powers for Kirby?"

And you usually see stuff like Falco's lasers, ROB's laser, Samus' Charged Shot, Falcon's Punch "because he sounds cool lawl"

But now that I think of it, yes, Pikachu's is absolutely one of THE BEST powers to copy.

In all honestly, I would go so far as to say that it's 55-45 Pikachu's advantage against regular Kirby, and 55-45 Kirby's advantage when he has Pikachu's power.

So overall, I believe this is one of the most even matchups in the game. 50-50


...I hate Thunder @_@

Well....Kirbys fsmash is ridiculous, it KO's at low percentages
also, with kirby copying pikachus power, players will spam the crap out of it.

but also, sweet spotting thunder can kill kirby att around 60 or even less depending on where you ar at.
but , it is much easier to fsmash then to sweet spot thunder.

i would say 55-45 Kirbys advantage

50-50 or slight advantage for pika IMO.
The vast majority of the matchup knowledge as well as the do's and dont's have been covered in the first 3 posts. I think (and I saw it somewhere) Nair breaks the Fthrow combo but the kirby may have been slow in getting in his Uair. Watch out for the ocasional and super situational Dtilt trips because that means a Fsmash is coming up. I hope this contributes a little to the discussion.

Main thing to watch out for is the Fsmash. Thats Kirby's main kill move and if that doesn't work he'll probably try to kill with Bair. Thats just my general Kirby experience.

supermario27mx said:

Watch out for the ocasional and super situational Dtilt trips because that means a Fsmash is coming up.

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Dtilt trip isn't actually "super situational". I'm pretty sure it trips your opponent about 1/2 the time.

iSpiN said:

Thats Kirby's main kill move and if that doesn't work he'll probably try to kill with Bair. Thats just my general Kirby experience.

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Actually, bair will probably be too stale to KO. Their are a lot of matches where Kirby's gonna use bair a lot, and this is one of them. Bair will cancel out thunder jolt, so it'll be extremely stale. Then, if we're lucky, we're gonna eat you and camp to hell and back. If we don't or we lose a life, it's gonna be back to bair.