~Radiance~
Meow-Meow, Choco-Chow
Pika Sliding, an in Depth Tutorial!
How to do this son of a gun
So have you ever wanted to space with Pikachu, yes, SPACE with Pikachu? You may be thinking, FZ you are crazy, surely there is no true way to space well with Pikachu, all he has is dtilt and fsmash. Well those two moves are all you need to space like a god **** marth.
So pika sliding, the AT we are gonna be talking about here, utilizes one of pikas best spacing tools, his dtilt.
So as you may or may not know pika sliding is an advanced tech that….well as the title says SLIDES you. To do this technique, all you have to do is perform a dtilt, then hold back on the control stick. If done right you should see pika move backwards faster than normal.
Some common errors that many people tend to make deal with the timing on holding back. Alota times I see people holding back after dtilt is over, but it is much easier to just hold back DURING the dtilt animation. So to get it to work easily, just do a dtilt and while the animation of pikas adorable tail going in a circle commences just hold back.
An easy way to check if you are doing it right is to try the same thing with your other tilts. If you do an utilt and hold back you will get no backwards momentum, but you will definitely see the difference when doing the same thing with a dtilt if you did It correctly.
Congratulations! You can now pikaslide
What moves can I do out of pikasliding?
Well, just about any!
The first thing to talk about is which moves you will be using with pikasliding, and I mean which moves you will be using that are PRACTICAL.The first and most useful move you can use out of pikasliding is..
*Fsmash*
Fsmash will give you the best spacing options out of any attack you can do out of dtilt. To do this, simply dtilt, hold back and when u start moving after dtilt ends, smack forward on the c stick (assuming you are using smash stick) fsmash will give you a good amount of backwards momentum, and you will get the most out of your slide when using fsmash as a spacing tool. If done correctly you should see pikas slide and fsmash at the same time, which makes this an invaluable spacing tool when you are forced to play a ground game against an opponent.
Don’t forget that fsmash can also be charged, but if u charge it like you would normally, your slide will stop! If you want to charge the fsmash you want to let yourself move back a little more from your slide, then simply press c stick forward and slide your index finger across z to charge it.
Play around with it for a bit and you will definitely see how fsmash is a great option out of pikasliding. Some instances in which it becomes an invaluable tool include:
.Pressuring someone who is shield grab happy. If you pika slide after dtilting someone’s shield and fsmash you will get away from the grab and actually be able to punish their wiffed grab that they thought was going to land.
.Punishing rollers. Anyone who likes to roll can be made quick work of by fsmashing out of the slide. If you read the roll and let yourself slide enough, you can get further than their roll and be dirctley behind them, which typically lands the fsmash on them at pikas sweetspotted cheeks.
.general spacing. If you just want space and are feeling pressued, fsmash will make sure that they gtfo. you get so much momentum off of your slide that it is very hard to be punished, even tho its pikas fsmash.
*Usmash*
Usmash has less practicality than fsmash, a lot less actually. The reason im mentioning it is because I mainly want to talk about using sliding on lucario.
Lucarios roll, unlike others, will get him too far away from you to be able to get enough momentum to punish him if he rolls after your dtilt, but usmash will get him. If you fsmash the opposite way that you are facing, you wont move back while u fsmash, youll stay in place. You can fsmash AFTER the slide but u cant slide and fsmash at the same time in the opposite direction, plus v lucario u wont be able to get the cheekspot on your fsmash. Fsmash only works if you are fsmashing in the SAME DIRECTION you are facing b4 the pika slide happened. This is why usmash can stop problem lucario rolls. Usmash, unlike fsmash, can be used in the opposite direction. So u can actually bait a lucario to roll after dtilt and just hold back to start your slide, then usmash in the opposite direction. Try it out, its easy and it’s a good mixup! This can be used on other rollers as well, just this is a good tool to use on lucario since his roll is so absurd.
And finally
*jolts*
Jolts can be made somewhat useful thru pika sliding because you obtain backward momentum by the slide. Because of this, you can dtilt, pikas slide, then fh a jolt which will automatically obtain you backward momentum as you jump up, making it safe and easier to get a jolt off when you feel pressured. To see the momentum on the jump just dtilt and jump as the dtilt ends, there is NO NEED TO HOLD BACK to get the momentum for the hop, it come automatically.
Is this AT really worth it? I don’t know if ill ever use it
The answer to this is yes. As a Pikachu main you know better than anyone (cept for wa wa warrrrio mains) that our range is horrid, and spacing with pika aint no walk in the pokepark. With pikasliding, Pikachu has a more reliable way to put distance between him and his opponent. Fsmash ensures that if the if the dtilt hit a shield, you WILL be moved back far enough to have it act as a spaced smash. Jolts can be utilized more safely with pikasliding as well. In all honesty, the only time you are really going to be using pikasliding is in combination with fsmash to space, or just to get away when you feel your tilt was not spaced right. Many people are unaware of this skill pika has tho, so it is usually safe to fsmash out of it. This techinique is in my opinion one of pikas coolest and most useful ATs to have. It literally allows pika to space while on the ground, and will hopefully allow many of you to start spacing well when pikas is forced to play grounded.
It should also be noted that it is not wise to pika slide after every downtilt. A downtilt that does NOT hit a shield or spot dodge and is far away from an opponent can lead you to being punished if you fsmash due to its cooldown time. As any other move goes, it has to be used in the right place at the right time, but if utilized properly, pika sliding can become one of your greatest ally’s in the war against having crap range.
Here is a video explaining just how pika sliding works and what it looks like
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qnr7P5Ms9A0
I hope that this has been helpful for many of you who did not know how to pikaslide, or who did know but were curious as to how to practically use it.
Now let’s go out there and show people how much of a spacing game pika really has!
~Lawrence Segrue (Forever Zero to many)
EDIT: one improtant note, if you are pikasliding at high percents BE CAREFUL because if you arent spacing it great or a move that outspaces you gets thrown at you, YOU WILL ALREADY BE DI'ing DOWN AND THIS COULD CAUSE YOU TO DIE!!!
be extra careful about how and when you pika slide, it should be used as a mixup and a read for rollers, not something you do on shields all the time.
dont be predictable
dont be hasty
__________________
