Pikachu v1.1.1

Pikachu has a deceptively varied amount of options, with a total of four moves he can perform, true to his source, as well as a passive ability that can be a lifesaver in the right situation. That might sound daunting, but not to worry; Pikachu has an intuitive moveset, with moves that flow into one another seamlessly.

While flashy and powerful in its source games, Volt Tackle is far more simple in function here in SRB2. That isn’t to say it’s not powerful - in fact, its simplicity is what makes it so useful! While in the air, hold Jump to send yourself up and forward. You’ll keep moving up and forward, zapping anything in your way, until you release Jump, after which you’ll start falling again. You can start and stop Volt Tackle as many times as you want, but be careful - you only get one second total of it before you have to land and recharge. That might not sound like much, but it can get you shockingly far!

Inspired by a fellow member of his species who appeared in Super Smash Bros., Pikachu uses his famous Electric-type attack, Thunder, on himself! Press Spin, and a bolt of lightning will fall from above and strike Pikachu at characteristically quick speed. He won’t take damage from it, but anyone near him will get zapped by the resulting shockwave. Additionally, if he’s in the air, he’ll come rocketing down, plowing through fragile floors and multiplying the magnitude of any spring he bounces off of. It also makes for an effective airbrake - just make sure that there’s ground below your feet first!

Made famous by Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu partner, Iron Tail is a solid option for both combat and a quick burst of speed. Press Spin while holding Jump, and Pikachu will hold in place briefly, then catapult forward, whacking anything in his path with 50 pounds of solid tail! This move allows Pikachu to break spikes and fragile walls.

Thunder and Iron Tail are both activated with the Spin button, so it’s important to know the difference between the two. If you’re holding jump, you’ll launch forward with Iron Tail, but if you aren’t, you’ll go tumbling down with Thunder. Mixing them up can be a deadly mistake, so make sure you’re doing the one you mean to! It may not click immediately, but soon enough, you’ll get the hang of these two moves, and their use will feel like second nature.

Double Team is a bit disconnected from the rest of Pikachu’s moveset, but don’t underestimate how useful it can be in combat. Press Custom 1, and Pikachu will move back and forth quick enough to create an illusory double of himself! Anything that would hurt Pikachu while using Double Team will pass right through him harmlessly. In fact, if you time it just right, you can parry enemy attacks, turning their attack back on them!

True to his home games, Pikachu’s electric nature makes him resilient to electricity-based attacks. (Technically, he should also similarly resist Steel- and Flying-type attacks, but what counts as one of those in SRB2 is a bit less clear cut.) When Pikachu would be hurt by electricity, he’ll instead lose two rings and take no knockback. Note that this damage pierces through shields that aren’t resistant to electricity themselves.

Pikachu also comes with an array of music from Pokémon Black and Pokémon White, which will replace certain songs from the vanilla game when playing as him.

pikamusic - On/All, Jingles, or Off/None. Defaults to On. Determines whether or not music from the vanilla game will be replaced by custom music when playing as Pikachu. If this is set to Jingles, it will only replace jingles such as the Act Clear theme, rather than things like boss themes or powerup themes.

pikavoices - On or Off. Defaults to On. Whether or not Pikachu will play voice lines when doing things such as clearing a level or using his abilities.

pikareduceparticles - On or Off. Defaults to Off. Pikachu's moves use a lot of objects for their visual effects, so setting this to On will reduce those a bit, in case they're putting too much strain on your device, although certain moves won't look quite as nice with it on.

This mod was made mostly because I was shocked that it didn’t already exist, as far as I could tell. In my brief searches, the only Pikachu mods I could find were a character pack for SRB2Kart, an SRB2 Persona mod on GameBanana, and a few abandoned projects from the late 2000s. (Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, though!) I’d expect more love for the face of the biggest media franchise in the world, but I suppose it figures that PikaJade would be the one to finally bring him to reality. I decided I needed to do him as much justice as I could, which is why there’s so many little extra things in it. He probably deserves better than prerenders, but honestly, I don’t have the time, energy, or pixel art skill to make “proper” sprites for him (for reference, his dopey-looking life icon was the only sprite I did fully by hand), nor the money and patience to have someone else do it for me.