Quick Attack Ledge Cancels

Got lazy about posting this, but decided I probably should. Most people know about Pikachu's ability to quick attack to the ledge, and have maybe accidentally done variations on it. I did some testing awhile ago and had a video made that shows the different ways pikachu can use quick attack with the ledge. Also Im not going to spend much time making this post look pretty, maybe later, but if anyone feels up to the task go for it.

Heres the video, but you might want to read this thread to know what youre watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjmuTs6Qc6Q

All QA's are done for a 45 degree angle. Position for everything needs to be adjusted for different angles. This can also be done from the air. And for those that leave you off in the air, you will have a double jump even if youve used it.

Perfect Ledge Cancel
Pikachu QA's to the ledge and the QA is canceled while you are offstage, allowing you to do anything from that position. Directional input and holding has no affect on this. This requires a specific position and angle, meaning while you can do it from multiple places you have to adjust the angle. You know youve done a perfect ledge cancel because pikachu will face towards the stage.

You see this at :10 in the video, the very first one. As I said its very specific and therefore difficult to do. The most important thing to note is its position for the angle.

Ledge Snap Cancel
Pikachu QA's to the ledge and snaps immediately onto it. The requirement for this is that it is done in the range prior to the perfect ledge cancel and you CANNOT hold onto the analog stick. If you do hold onto the analog stick youll freefall and SD.

You see this one at :13. Given the wide range you have to do this its not too difficult.

Regular Ledge Cancel
Pikachu QA's towards the ledge, and the QA is Canceled. Directional input and holding have multiple affects on this. The requirement for this is that it is done after the range you would perfect ledge cancel, and before you are unable to reach near the ledge with a quick attack. As I said directional input, holding, and even the range and aerials have an effect on this, so I will cover them

1)In the first range pikachu will end up offstage. However unlike perfect ledge canceling, if no input is made then pikachu will snap to the ledge. If you holding away, fastfalling, or doing an aerial or b move however will prevent him from grabbing the ledge. You can also do a QAC from this position offstage.

Examples are between :18 and :34. I only show what happens when you hold away, and then when you do nothing. But you can do any of the stuff mentioned above to not grab the ledge. The range for this is fairly wide too so its not that hard.

2)In the second range, pikachu will remain slightly onstage. If you do nothing as far as directional input it will simply act as a normal QA. If you hold away from the ledge however , he will move offstage without experiencing normal stage landing lag.

Examples after :55, and at 1:05 an example of doing the same thing but not holding offstage. I mess up a few times in the video, but the range for this again is fairly large so its not too difficult to do.

Warning: One thing you may have noticed is that in a regular ledge cancel, a very useful variation requires you hold away or down from the stage to prevent a ledge snap, while in a ledge snap cancel holding away causes you to plummet to you death. At a set angle the ranges are pretty clear, but it is still good to exercise caution. However there are also two ways to avoid this; the first is to simply use an aerial, b move, jump, etc. for the regular ledge snap cancel. A uair finishes quickly so it can be used to avoid grabbing the ledge, and allow you to keep the analog stick at neutral in the event you accidently do ledge snap. Another better method is to return the analog stick to neutral, then hold offstage. Requires some quick hand movement, but it is very doable. Again this will allow you to fall away from the ledge on a regular ledge cancel, while snapping onto it with a ledge snap cancel.

And a final warning. Ledge snap will not remove an opponent from the ledge, if they are invincible, or if you are the max distance for the ledge snap. Instead youll just free fall to death. However if they are no invincible and the hitbox for QA is still there, it will knock them off.

Uses?: Well theres a bunch of potential things that would take too much time to write up. Just use your imagination. Edge guarding is pretty obvious. Experiment with different angles and places to try it. Heres a few examples of interesting places to start it from.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEPDSJe4UwY

I've always messed around with this, but it's so hard to apply it in a real match. I've gotten down the QA ledge snap consistently, but not the ledge cancel.

Cool write-up Tag!
I can somewhat do the ledge snap consistently but that cancel looks like a monster ;;
Those videos are really nice and its great that you provided timing in the descriptions

Thank you.

If I accidently snap instead of cancel it usually makes little difference so Ill just try for it unless its an important match. I think its best use for now is to just do an aerial or jolt, its also a lot easier. Eventually you just get a feel for the distances. I dont have a hard time on FD because Im so used to the distances now, but with angles that arent 45 and stages not FD I find its hit or miss. However I definitely feel like the more I do it the more consistent I become. I tend to forget about it in matches though, lol.

Basically if you think it has a use, practice makes perfect!

With canceling though I do stress to always always return to neutral first. You have plenty of time to make any of the inputs to avoid the ledge no matter where you are because he floats for a brief moment before he grabs it.

btw wiscy try this for the regular ledge cancel. Go to the spot in the video where I do it, and once you start to quick attack just mash A. Im sure youll get it! The range is sort of big so if you snap then move backwords, and if you land on stage move forward until you do it. Just remember its for 45 degrees only.

i talked to another pika main about dis[about a month back] n he didnt think it'd be that safe to use in a heated match

Its not really unsafe. As I stressed if you return to neutral the worst that could happen is you end up on the ledge.

The Truth! said:

Its not really unsafe. As I stressed if you return to neutral the worst that could happen is you end up on the ledge.

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Good read, but uhh.. Its not really unsafe, but it is unsafe when you don't really know the points of the stage where you can qa to.

Obviously you dont want to land on stage and be punished, that shouldnt be hard at all. But the most likely scenario for a messed up ledge cancel is if you QA and accidently grab the ledge, you'll end up invincible on the ledge. Generally the worst is a missed opportunity, although that can be bad too so its good to practice!

it's very very very useful, seriously

master it and use it

note: and the plattform canceling with QA?
note 2: you can use it offstage for grab the ledge in any angle. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPe_xsB7iGs 00:16

@FZ good point, thats the way I memorized BF

I didnt write about platform cancels because I havent tested them as much, and I wanted to emphasize the way ledge cancels were different. I may add info on them to the OP later. Heres a quick unedited write up I made about them. It was also talked about briefly in the PBR.

If you fall through a platform as your QA ends, you appear to be able to cut down on some of the landing lag. Simply holding down will cause you to normal fall. To fast fall you must press down again after you start to pass through.

However, if you do a c-stick (maybe normal) aerial if any kind you will fast fall. To not fast fall, you need to let go of down before you do the aerial, which may be done as soon as you start to pass through the platform.


QA will also lose all of its lag if the QA ends at the edge of the platform. It must end slightly before the platform ends, if it happens as or after the platform ends he will end up in freefall. Holding or not holding onto a direction has no affect, and lag occurs as if it were a QAC. Most likely its a variation on QAC than ledge canceling.

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IMO their best use would be to fall through/platform cancel then aerial. Im sure you can probably find/imagine other uses for it, but sadly its limited by that silly landing lag. There also might be other ways to platform cancel QA with aerials, but I need to do more testing.

Quick side note: Ill add it when Im less lazy but you do get the QA lag from regular ledge cancel and ledge snap IF you use the full length of QA1. Im not sure about Perfect Ledge Cancel but I assume while its similar to snap; since youre using the full length you will get the lag.

This seems very useful and can't wait to test it but, it seems easy to practice like most ATs. Though, I don't think it would be easy applying it into battle considering you can get attacked while using QA. But, I guess if you're a VERY good distance away, it seems possible. Thanks alot for notifying all Pikachu's of this!

You can do the stage's perfect ledge cancel in any distance, at the platforms works different.