The beetle was an item?!?!?? DANG IT!!! They're not even trying to make them different!! WHY!!?!?!?!?

Considering how little brawl changed from melee, it isn't surprising. There are a number of buffs plus Pit had two of his specials changed and Bowser is a lot more mobile and has a drop kick

And I'm grateful for those changes, I am. But one of the biggest complaints in Brawl was the clones. Fox, Falco, Wolf were all basically the same. Ganon not using more of his TP attacks. And Toon Link was just a shorter Link with a small difference.

With this version they could've used regular link to play like his SS self, while Toon Link could've been like classic Link. Instead......ugh.

"Pikachu's Thunder now starts off with a thundercloud that deals a Meteor Smash! From left to right, you can see this combo starting with Pikachu throwing the opponent upward, Meteor Smashing with the lightning strike, and then directly attacking. Foes can dodge, of course, so the attack won't hit consistently, but when it does, it sure feels good!"

Looking forward to pulling off that combo since Pikachu was my second best character in Brawl.

The new style for Pikachu's Thunder raises some questions:
1. Can Pikachu be hurt while it throws someone up?
a. If so, will the thunder attack stop
b. Or will it be like Ike's special move: aether(?) and Dedede's special move Up + B where he takes damage but the attack continues until it is over?

2. If Pikachu isn't able to throw anyone up, will the thunder cloud still work? Similar to how Cpt. Falcon's special move: Up + B doesn't work if it doesn't connect in Melee and perhaps Brawl

3. When Pikachu throws a foe up, can the foe be knocked away from the thunder coming down (a bomb dropping down on foe from the sky before the thunder cloud strikes

4. Will Pikachu remain invincible a few frames after the thunder attack ends? If I remember correctly, in Brawl he does stays invincible and the game shows this through the animation of him being charged with electricity (and twirling?) a few frames after thunder ends.

Hopefully Sakurai goes over this. Personally I hope 1 B happens and Pikachu's thunder cloud still appears if he doesn't throw anyone up

What you see in the picture is Pikachu doing Up-Smash, Down-B, then Up Smash again. My guess is that the move will be very similar in function but instead of launching characters up and sideways, it'll smash them down to the ground. This is going to make off edge Down-Bs, very deadly indeed.

Pretty sure thunder is going to control the same way as it has in Brawl. You press down b and it summons a cloud the lightning strikes directly below. Now, it has more of a meteor strike effect but the cloud appears to be a bit lower. So it won't throw people up but down. Sakurai is discussing a pretty good combo that's now better because of the stronger meteor strike effect. 

@Astro and Truck: Whoa, I totally read that update wrong. Thanks for clarifying it with me! But yeah a meteor smash for thunder extremely hazardous off stage. Pikachu also has a great recovery move and jump height to get back on stage and this will encourage players to jump off stage and use thunder purposefully.

" Hello fighters! I'll assist you with fresh-picked fruit from my town!♪"

Congratulations on your appearance Isabelle! I also have another important announcement. On 4/8, at 3 PM PST (8/4 11 PM UK time), we'll be airing a Super Smash Bros. Direct!! There will be all kinds of info about the new Smash Bros. games on this simultaneous global stream that will be delivered "directly" to you, so don't miss it! You'll be able to watch the stream from the official site (www.smashbros.com).