It’s not quite a wavedash, but it’s likely the closest thing to Melee’s much-loved mechanic that we’re going to see in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS.
A perfect pivot allows characters to turn quickly in place through the proper canceling of a dash with the flick of the stick in the opposite direction. As the name implies, this maneuver requires perfect execution in order to perform, but the payoff makes it worth programming into muscle memory.
Why’s it so useful? Well, lots of reasons. If an attack is performed during the pivot, that attack will gain directional momentum and allow for a sort of sliding attack to come out. This works for specials as well as tilts and smashes; you can even perform a perfect pivot grab. This sort of slide can be used for everything from positioning to baiting to allowing punishes that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.
As with everything else, the slide distance out of a perfect pivot varies from character to character, with Captain Falcon having the longest range and Jigglypuff having the shortest.
For more details including practical application examples, as well as a full list of perfect pivot slide distances, check out the video below.
Source: My Smash Corner via Smash Boards