Melee Science: Axe the lonely Pikachu

It’s the character breakdown you have been waiting for. This week Daniel “Tafokints” Lee is taking a look at Jeffrey “Axe” Williamson and his mastery of Pikachu.

[@Vclox]

In the same way with Axe, aMSa is the only Yoshi in top 100. Would love to see a Yoshi video.

[@laughinghyena888]

Thecavegame he's gonna say the same thing.

[@Vclox]

Even better for a video to ask why there are not as many in NA then :3

[@palmid7564]

Personally I think that's partially due to the fact that they don't usually compete for money in Japan so there's no real pressure in picking any character, there's absolutely nothing on the line and so there's no pressure in picking up a relatively better character. And this is PART of why the metagam tends to differ.

[@bobalujr]

Yoshi and Pikachu are really hard I think they just take a lot of time to learn and master which means people who choose to main them have to be committed longer to a single character which is hard to do. Most people who choose either of these two will either only play casually or switch off to a perceived top tier because its just easier. I used to not respect people that did this but I've gotten so close to switching sooo many times I can't blame them anymore, its fucking tough. Still don't forgive leffen though his yoshi woulda been sick if he stuck with it and I think we would have solved the peach match up even sooner, thankful for aMSa and Shippu though seriously.

[@sourcesymbiosismetamorphis2228]

Thumbed this up. It'd be a very interesting video.

[@hi-jt7uj]

tafos public speaking has improved 100x. i first noticed it at royal flush, props to him for putting in the effort. it has definitely paid off

[@pizzashark7067]

You would comment on a video featuring Axe. Respect.

[@hi-jt7uj]

lol, i just respect tafo's grind

[@GraphiteBlimp27]

Yea, I respect so greatly how he realized his role and influence in the community, and put the effort into improving his public speaking for the good of the community!

[@IndicaEuphora]

Axe is such a cool and humble dude. I used to know him when he used to work at a Walgreens in Litchfield Park, AZ. I remember one day we were talking about smash (mind you this was 2013 or so, way after G1) and he seriously told me he was a dedicated LINK main.. Didn't even mention that he already made a name for himself in the pro scene, or that he was actually on some next-level shit with pikachu Upon finding out recently that Axe is that same dude from that quiet walgreens.. just mind blowing lol

[@Stupidiusity]

I can't believe you guys mentioned PikaChad and DJ Nintendo, but didn't talk about our senpai Anther :(

[@isaacwoodman4289]

Well chad and anther aren't top 100 and DJ mainly uses Fox with his Pikachu being a one time per tournament kinda deal,

[@rangermike5571]

Clerk pikachad was top 100 in 2013 or whatever

[@isaacwoodman4289]

Ranger Mike 2013 was 4 years ago, Chad's basically inactive

[@strawhats100]

Ranger Mike or N64

[@Stupidiusity]

Anther was high level before Axe and he's still the second best Pikachu out there, yet nobody seems to notice it. He beat n0ne at Summit last year.

[@master_productions]

Axe is a legend. He pretty much invented all of pikachus combos and techniques all by himself and stayed loyal to the character.

[@TheDudeSmashTrash]

Axe is hands down my favorite player. I'd say he's mastered Pikachu more than any of the higher ranked players have mastered their characters (except probably Armada and Peach).

[@leoff9842]

TheDudeSmashTrash He has mastered pikachu better than Ash has, that's for sure.

[@WillOfDavy]

aMSa too

[@cruzssbm]

TheDudeSmashTrash I disagree, he's mastered the game but he's really un optimal with pikachu

[@dddmemaybe]

cruz peterson I mean if you can space the uair to hit on the right hitbox, attack at the right time and angle for the opponent, up-b properly, and know how to combo every character, you can't get much more optimal without resorting to an extreme degree of camping.

[@cruzssbm]

dedede I mean I can do that, quite well, and it can get far better than that

[@aegisofthegrail5888]

I'd love to see Dr. Mario. Doc is a character who is usually put above characters like Luigi and Yoshi on tier lists, but there are no notable Doc mains, let alone in the top 100 (at least, since Shroomed dropped him). Why do people still say Doc is good when no top players use him?

[@Link24a]

Cuz doc is essentially invalidated but sheik by way of playstyle so there's not much purpose for him. Luigi and yoshi are far more unique so whole while they're not great they at least have a purpose

[@leagueofminecraft6964]

Swankeaboo but no1 is dope 420 like the doc man

[@dirediredocs]

^

[@Unholyzyx]

For the longest time, Shroomed played Doc, so I would imagine that's why he's still ranked as high as he is.

[@japanrocksgousa]

Aegis of the Grail your first mistake was putting him above luigi

[@dirediredocs]

Can we see some Dr. Mario?

[@viviblorp]

Dire, Dire, Docs Ha luv your name dude, very witty

[@dr_rl123]

That is a beautiful name my friend.

[@MilesAway]

I choked on my gummy bear that is a wonderful name.

[@indolentsloth6285]

People like this always make me wonder how good they would be if they mained meta picks.

[@littlemisseevee2309]

depends, part of his success might just be because hes natural with pika so he might not make a strong say.. falco, though most people dev a playstyle around both their preference and their character, for instance I play balanced defense and aggression with ganon in smash 4, my pref though is to play the patient game if I can afford to and am not on adrenalin high or against say villager, so who can say how well axe would be if he put similar time into top tiers

[@schapengamesnl]

LittleMissEevee if axe mained fox and trained good hè would probably be one of the best players in the game , axe is probably the most technical player

[@scs44444]

@@littlemisseevee2309 kinda funny you picked falco cuz that's his strongest secondary except maybe YL or ICs

[@MrBrotherbaer]

These are such high quality videos with great content. I love Tafo!!

[@cabooses1fan]

Tafo is like the Jeff kaplan of melee. He's an amazing on camera person, and he speaks in a very calm, understanding manner. I hope yahoo and Tafo keep doing these videos for the smash community. Team beer dog.

[@Tselel]

The logical next step in this series would be Amsa or Abate with Yoshi and Luigi. Great stuff, Tafo and Yahoo. Keep it up.

[@TrebleWing]

That was a great follow up to the hungrybox - jigs video. I would like to eventually see some vids explaining the specific downfalls of the lower mid and low tier characters. Could be a good chance to highligh people that have done well with them. Like Saus for link, Axe for young link, BizaroFlame for Gannon, DjNintendo for Bowser, Green Ranger for DK, etc...

[@SlutForInstantNoodles]

Literally only subscribed to this channel for Tafo videos

[@EmeraldZion]

AnimeAddict dude just save the smash Bros playlist and tick the bell on it and it will tell you whenever a smash video is uploaded/added to the playlist.

[@SlutForInstantNoodles]

OH shit I never knew you could do that for individual playlists, thanks!

[@cross25011990]

Hey Tafo. I really like your videos. They are pretty interesting. Keep on doing that. hope to see more of them :)

[@Tquo]

Solid vid Tafo. I think your cadence and delivery in this was the best I've seen from you.

[@samembury1676]

Oh how times have changed

[@mikehawk8385]

No mention of Anther smh tafo He outplaced Axe at big house 6

[@kifkif7117]

Mike Hawk yeah anther is good, he could get top 100 if he focused on melee imo

[@Heyim18bro]

i can shit on anther so i'd be smh if he did

[@LazyLee]

suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure

[@mikehawk8385]

stfu dumbass anther would kick your shit in

[@shortyboymoran483]

Mike Hawk Is that why no one knows who that irrelevant pikachu main is?

[@Campaign2024]

Axe isn't a Pikachu master; he's a Pikachu artist. It's one thing to become so proficient at a character, you play them like water flowing through a river and having to take lead and the inventing of their entire metagame.

[@wizzalamaru8794]

Tafo, can you make a video based on Pay Outs, how sponsors work with Players and why compared to other fighting games, why Melee players get payed less than Smash 4 players? (Only a 1 grand difference at Evo 2016)

[@wizzalamaru8794]

not only smash 4 but also SFV and Killer Instinct

[@1braker]

F0REVER UNREAL GAMING those games get more money because their developers/publishers donate to the pots. Especially SF because EVO is part of the Capcom Cup circuit, and then you have MK and KI with a world cup circuits as well

[@wizzalamaru8794]

Acegamer ohhhhh that makes sense. Damnet Nintendo

[@axelalexk2]

Smash 4 probably gets more money at EVO because it has more entrants. More entrants = bigger prize pool.

[@gamerdavid115]

Axel Alexzander I wouldnt really say that smash 4 gets more money because of entrants( at least in EVO) but rather because of novelty, when the next smash game hits, most of the top players will move along, and that wont be the case with melee

[@evansundermeyer5684]

You should make a video discussing the different playstyles that can exist for the same character, like how you mentioned that lucky, leffen, sfat, and mike haze all play fox in unique ways

[@kianovatandoost7847]

OMG AT 1:40 M2K WAS SOOO SHOCKED BY THAT EDGE CANCAL LMAOOOO

[@murdey]

Doc is by far my favorite melee character, would love to see a video on him

[@jackfrost884]

I'd like to see young-link discussed. Axe has shown he has potential, it would be cool to hear his opinion on him. Also Armadas young-link. PS Ganon would be cool.

[@comfyasf]

Could you do a video going over the various play styles of top players with the same main? For example have a section about fox players, one for marth players, sheik players etc. Captain falcon comes to mind too because you can watch Wizzrobe play and his play style is so drastically different than like n0ne or s2j

[@draconitix1157]

he won't be alone for long

[@mackenzieweninger8431]

Lmao I swear DJ Nintendo has literally all the characters as secondaries. I've seen clips of him playing so many different things.

[@djentlee9064]

Hey guys This is Daniel Lee on melee science and today we're gonna talk about Peak Chu in our character analysis

[@comeonandslam420]

Anther is still a Pikachu god, he just plays more PM than Melee now.

[@rwsh6536]

Tafo spread some knowledge on Luigi. He's gotta be the most underated viable character. You never hear about him but he's basically C. Falcon but a little worse. He has a very beatable recovery and in general dies way easier than people would like. But, he has a lot of potential in neutral because of his movement capability (via different length wavedashes) and absurdly good hitboxes on nearly all his moves (some of the best disjointed hitboxes in the game). Plus, his punish game is easily comparable to a top tier character's punish. He crushes anything that falls faster than Peach on hit and for floaty matchups (even though Peach and Puff body luigi in the MU overall) he has the kill power to end stocks, a problem that many non top 8 characters don't have an answer too (such as samus). Luigi aint great but he's just a little worse than samus if you ask me.

[@scepkile]

The problem is straight up that not enough people play pika. Newer players who want a fast and flashy character will pick up a spacie or falcon for obvious reasons without even being aware of pika's presence

[@DiabetoDan]

Would love to see an analysis of why Doc has dropped out of the spotlight since Shroomed stopped playing him, and an analysis of Doc's potential in general.

[@LinkandSheik]

I only subbed for Tafo. Keep up the great work.

[@dazbones6288]

Would love to see a video on Luigi and Abate and/or Eddy Mexico.

[@StealthNinja4577]

Pikachu is my main. Took 3 years of losses to get 1 1v1 win on sheik. Not really competitive since we weren't dash dancing or wave dashing but it was still better than average play. Between the skill difference and the character it takes a while to learn and improve mostly trying to stay alive and come up with approaches.

[@chrisdhespollari4815]

Do an episode on Luigi or Yoshi, considering their representation at top play is slim to none. In the Top 50, the only Luigi main is Abate, and the only Yoshi is of course aMSa

[@coachmetro4860]

Axe is half the reason I watch mele

[@SolidBren]

Pikachu is definitely good, but most people don't choose him, because other characters are easier to learn and are a lot more rewarding.

[@jonahmanning309]

Hey Tafo great blurb. Your body language and cadence are a lot more fluid and natural looking. Can you consider a video on Luigi; with focus on the difference and similarities between Abate and Plup?

[@KemicalKiddMUSIC]

pikachu the last dope axe FeelsBadMan

[@GladRichGirl]

tafo is just so fun to listen to , his demeanor and all. But god damn that camera pose / recording exposure is hitting him hard. he'll probably get a lot better at it quick enough but shits p good right now hahahhahaa.

[@darkphoenix2]

Pikachu and Samus should be switched on the tier list

[@foxlight270]

How about a video on "viability" as a whole. Like, what it takes for a character to be viable and what makes some characters totally unviable?

[@Techmunk77]

Could I see a video exploring bowser? I would love to hear your thoughts on if there is any promise there.

[@juantheguardian]

I see the Mario Meta on the rise. Please, would you peeps be willing to post a video discussing this phenomena?

[@herbmaaster]

if you want to play pikachu, play pikachu.

[@Nikkerman]

He finally did it

[@_Shinzou_]

Yoshi :O

[@rangermike5571]

Pikachad FeelsBadMan

[@capsuh]

I will be a pikachu main starting today

[@crymz3n]

#QuestionForTafo What does it take to become a smash god?

[@pippincovington1348]

Crimzen CCS beat all the current gods, win EVO

[@crymz3n]

but how does one become a rap god?

[@WusigiDr1]

Do a video on captain falcon and maybe even the 20GX movement! And people in it and not in it.

[@SIMIFU]

The red yoshi.

[@patoa3481]

Can you do a video on Mario or Luigi? Players like Abate and A Rookie have proven to beat top 100 players I want to know/see their limits

[@lestacilo]

Patooo 10/10 YESSSSSS A ROOKIEEEE

[@rangermike5571]

I mean koopa is also hella good with Mario

[@McInovation]

Don't forget tiny weedle man

[@Reminiscable]

Axe is my fifth favourite player.

[@TheDustyWilk]

imo, Young Lnk and Link are also untapped characters. even tho they both get punished really badly off of misspaced neutral approach options, they also have insane punish games and some interesting and (at a high level of play) gimp + gimmicks as well as some unexplored techs (like Links reaction techchase and yLinks bomb drop kill setups) I feel like they could succeed at a relatively high leval of play with a super dedicated and technically sound player ( ie axe or j666 or that one german link main who's tag i forgot.) also s/o to axe for being one of the most inspiring players of all time

[@cheshc00]

awesome!

[@MrDanjg4]

Tafo I swear I'm trying to bring out pikachu's potential, I just suck though and am relatively new to the scene

[@bennyp915]

I'd like for you to make a video about young link, i think he' s still far from fully explored and optimized, with *slightly* more top player history (axe, armada) He's worth talking about at least

[@toyotagaming]

Axe is awesome

[@Anna-vx2pe]

Pikachu mains represent!

[@Pavel7918]

0:52 "Pikachu"

[@furynovaa664]

What about Luigi ? I would like to see one too

[@viniciusairton5731]

Dr Mario or Yoshi would be nice. I can only list 2 players of each character

[@vvav]

I like playing Pikachu in casuals, but it's really hard to make the character do any of the things that Axe does. It's unfortunate that there aren't nearly as many guides for Pikachu tech skill as there are for Fox. It's just easier to pick up Fox when everyone better than you can probably give you tips on playing Fox better, but very few people can give you advice on Pikachu.

[@Astronaughty03]

Next video can we explore whether or not Kirby is actually a Ditto and is Yoshi a Pokémon?

[@Wannabechefguy]

Mr. SavesTheWorld This isn't GameTheory... :^)

[@KINGOFGUITAR2101]

Can u make a video on Mario I feel like he has a lot of untapped potential

[@Paulnthony2]

Time for Amsa's Yoshi.

[@RafaelGonzalez-dc6pt]

Tafo I really want that you talk about Yoshi please

[@applelover09]

I'd like you to explain peach/ARMADA

[@bigtoblerone8446]

I would like to play young link dittos with Axe (^^)

[@turkey6960]

falcon pls

[@alexwillis7980]

lonely young link too

[@vicctretamaj]

Next you should talk about if Kirby truly is the worst character... if so then why does he have Triple R?

[@SendFoodz]

the same video could be made for esam in Smash 4

[@rubiconcrossing4480]

Do Falcon next!!

[@mrbluesky9543]

Young Link!

[@Trelastname]

Dr. Mario next!

[@letmeinidiots]

Talk about characters with stale metas like ganon and why you think they've died off

[@noahhelstrom8824]

Doc?

[@garrett6389]

I never understood why people said Pika was bad when the down smash is probly one of the strongest moves in the game.

[@Namnam54]

1 good move doesn't matter if he can't fucking approach : )

[@jrnoobzero]

How come no one ask if Elegant and Axe are related

[@Link24a]

No one really plays Pikachu cuz everything he can do fox can do just as well or better with few exceptions

[@presidentevil9951]

When will you do best player for each and every character in Super Smash Bros Melee? Just Like ZeRo did for Smash 4?

[@shotonc1851]

Doc and mario

[@MrAnonymoose]

Since he's so skilled technically, do you think he'd find more success if he switched characters?

[@sunblockquestionmark]

He used to play falco I'm tourni a lot. Way back in 2009-2010. It was nuts.

[@DrPepperDERF]

Ganondorf!

[@axelalexk2]

DK video please! Is he possibly viable at top level at certain MUs?

[@liger1491]

Duck and Kira both think DK Samus is even, and he does decent versus Peach and Marth imo

[@synthvaporwave1768]

Please do Peach and Armada

[@j0hnpang]

Amsa's Yoshi please!

[@maroxybind9356]

Yoshi video totally. Really weird and unexplored character that give a lot of advantage at the high level cause no one has played a good yoshi unless you played amsa

[@chris-tx2sw]

Hey Ima pikachu main !

[@Tmathh]

anther is pretty good

[@crodsix]

Young Link! (:

[@wrestlingexplosion6724]

Dr.mario

[@canids4401]

Yoshi please!

[@SHABANGHN]

abate?

[@C4GeneralF]

A video on the viability of Luigi would be dope, though

[@jamiecal11]

SHABANG he doesn't deserve a video at all. Plup is the best Luigi. And besides, this video is about a unique player being way better than the rest at that character, same with Hbox. Abate is fine but not exactly special either.

[@strawhats100]

JebaJebaJemeh I wish Abate would learn how to shield drop. He's limiting himself by not opting to do so and only relying on platform wavedash/vudu dash movements.

[@Benjamin-xr1ef]

Eddie Mexico is a thing.

[@jamiecal11]

strawhats100 I can't say I follow him that closely but I see what you mean. Shield dropping is a must in this day and age.

[@moisesventura9489]

Why is the Falco breed dying off?

[@lududelubin3011]

Young Link