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Make Your Move X - Congratulations winners! MYMXI start date OCTOBER 10TH!

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Nicholas1024

Smash Lord
Joined
Mar 14, 2009
Messages
1,075
Sora:
Well, I'm afraid this doesn't really measure up to the standard of Color Sonic. The play style more or less comes down to trapping the opponent in magnets and nailing them with the jab/forwards aerial, which I'm afraid isn't much of one in today's MYM. However, it's not all bad. The magnet itself is an interesting idea, but it's ruined by just being way too strong, you can just freeze them in place with a magnet and spam at them with the fireballs for zero risk, easy reward. Similarly, gravity has some neat ideas, but just making the stage icy isn't much of a point (with the blizzard interactions), and as a gimping tool it's again too strong, completely blocking off an area of the stage to the opponent for a fairly long time. Also, there's still some generic attacks that don't really have much of a point in the move set... the throws for instance. Just focus on a larger play style and try to integrate it into as many moves as possible in the set to progress from here, I look forward to seeing more from you.
 

ForwardArrow

Smash Ace
Joined
Aug 17, 2011
Messages
502
Hoppip


Hoppip is a grass-flying type Pokemon, originally appearing in Pokemon Gold and Silver. It’s an incredibly small, light pokemon with a tendency to float on breezes. It’s one of those pokemon you get early in the game and should probably ditch the moment a decent grass type shows up, but will hold you over in the early game while you wait for one.

Stats

Weight: 0.5
Fall Speed: 1
Size: 2
Movement: 2
Traction: 7
Aerial Movement: 9
Jumps: 20

Hoppip is quite the lightweight, even easier to KO than Jigglypuff. He will often find himself dying at half the percents that would KO Mario. He is also slow on the ground, and rather small. His aerial movement on the other hand is downright absurd, literally capable of over 20 jumps in the air before he runs out. He is also fairly quick moving through the air, making him far more suited to flight than the ground.


Specials

Neutral Special: Cotton Spore

Hoppip begins creating a small cotton spheres in front of him, about half the size of a pokeball. Tapping the input creates 3, but holding it down creates a whopping 16 spores per second. The spores do nothing on their own, but can be blown away if a player uses an attack nearby. If a spore comes in contact with a foe, it will stick to them, causing a very slight decrease in that characters fall speed.

While an individual cotton spore does little to your opponents fall speed, if several land on them (say 30 or so), that characters fall speed will be greatly reduced, to the point they fall even slower than Hoppip. In fact, it may become perfectly possible just to juggle the opponent up to the top blast zone. Hoppip can have a maximum of 60 spores out at a time, and spores detach from an opponent whenever they attack.


Side Special: Stun Spore

Hoppip claps its hands together, creating a cloud of yellow dust the size of Kirby. The dust appears directly in front of Hoppip, then descending at the rate of one Kirby height per second, disappearing when it touches the ground. If a grounded opponent touches the cloud, it will interrupt their current attack and stun them for a brief instant. If an aerial opponent enters a cloud, they will be unable to attack and have halved aerial movement speed. This attack can be used as a deterrent on the ground due to its low lag, and also as a way to trap an aerial opponent attempting to return to the ground.


Up Special: Poison Powder

In a manner very similar to the previous move, Hoppip claps his hand and creates a cloud of purple dust the size of Kirby. Touching the dust deals 5% per second but no knockback or flinching, and it descends about 1.5x as fast as the Side Special clouds. This move also serves as an annoying aerial trap that racks opponent’s damage, but is fairly useless on the ground because of how fast it disappears and the lack of hitstun.

No his Up Special does not serve as a recovery. When you can literally reach the top blast zone from the stage just by jumping, you do not need another recovery move.


Down Special: Irritating Powder
This move creates yet another Kirby sized cloud, this time a red cloud. The cloud causing frequent flinching while the opponent is in contact, but no damage. In addition, when an opponent manages to escape the cloud, they will still flinch once every 3 seconds. They will only flinch the 3 times unless they contact another cloud, in which case the count is removed. The cloud descends at the same rate as poison powder, but it can be used as a ground based deterrent.

Standards

Neutral A: Wing Flap

Hoppip bats forwards with it’s wings, dealing 2% and flinching knockback. This move is disapointingly slow for a jab, but it blows your spores and clouds around, preferably at the opponent.

Forward Tilt: Bound
Hoppip leaps forwards about twice Bowser’s length, dealing 6% and low knockback to anyone who comes in contact with him. If he lands in a cloud, the cloud will disperse into two smaller clouds with the same properities. In addition, you can also tap A to cancel the jump in midair, allowing you to start knocking your opponent upwards if you just hit them or escape into the air.


Up Tilt: Spin
Hoppip spins it’s leaves around, dealing 4% and flinching knockback to nearby opponents. The attack doesn’t do much on it’s own, but if you use it repeatedly Hoppip begins building momentum. After 4 uses of this attack in a row, Hoppip will launch about 2 stage builder blocks into the air, carrying the opponent along with him. This is a rather nice way to bring the opponent along into a cloud, or maybe even multiple different clouds.


Down Tilt: Absorb
Hoppip points both of his leaves forwards, the leaves glowing bright green. If an opponent touches the leaves, they are dealt 5% and a flinch, with Hoppip healing 2%. The attack is fast enough so it serves as a decent way to poke your opponent, but does little else.


Dash Attack: Burst of Wind
Hoppip jumps into the air, dealing 5% to nearby enemies and putting them in prone, before going into a glide. This puts Hoppip about a stage builder block above the ground, giving you yet another trick for getting into the air.


Smashes

Forward Smash: Giga Drain
Upon using or releasing this attack, Hoppip pulses green, dealing 14%-24% and knockback the KOs at 160%-75%. This also heals Hoppip for half the damage dealt, and has above average lag on both ends. This mostly serves as a last ditch way to punish an opponent, if gimping them off the top does not seem like a good idea.

Up Smash: Bullet Seed
Hoppip fires between 4-7 seeds above him in a row, depending on charge, with each seed dealing 2% and slight upwards knockback. The seeds are fired twice Ganondorf’s height into the air. This attack is also slightly laggy, but it’s a wonderful way to stall a foe while a cloud falls on top of them.

Down Smash: U-Turn
With little lag, Hoppip jumps in a looplike motion, similar to Meta-Knights Up Special. This deals 7%-13% and high fixed knockback. After the attack, he lands where he was standing with average lag. Like your Forward Tilt, you can cancel this in midair by pressing A.


Aerials

Neutral Aerial: Spin
Hoppip spins in midair, dealing 6% and low upwards knockback. This move is very fast, and will serve as your main way to juggle the opponent higher and higher into the air. It has decent range due to the leaves counting as hitboxes as well.


Forward Aerial: Whirling Breeze

A small blast of wind pushes Hoppip twice Bowser’s length forwards, him doing a loop about halfway through. This deals no damage but drags along clouds and foes with several spores attached to them.You can use this to get your foe in the midst of all your terrible effects before finishing them off.


Back Aerial: Kick
Hoppip kicks backwards a short distance with low lag, dealing 7% and low knockback. This move is also fast and mostly for racking up the opponents damage, but it helps with sideways gimps or Fair-based suicide KOs.


Up Aerial: Headbutt

Hoppip bucks upwards, dealing 9% and medium upwards knockback. This is your best way to get your opponent off the very top, so you don’t get gimped by surprise while you are dragging your opponents upwards. However, it is somewhat slower than the Nair and has worse range, making it awkward in some situations where the Nair would be more effective.


Down Aerial: Downwards Kick
Hoppip kicks below him, dealing 8% and a weak spike. This seems rather counterproductive considering you want to move the foe upwards, but if you have the foe floating beneath the stage it’s rather easy to spam the back aerial on them against a wall to get their damage up, and with high percents this can work as a decent spike.

Grab

Hoppip cannot actually grab while he’s on the ground, and he reaches downwards with this move. He can use this in the air however. When Hoppip grabs on the foe, he will carry them around in a manner similar to Donkey Kong’s Forward Throw. However, your ability to move around is based on the amount of cotton attached to the foe. If there’s almost none, the foe will just fall if in the air or stand still while on the ground.

However, this move gets a bit more useful when you have a few more spores attached to the foe. Hoppip can now fly around as he normally could, carrying the opponent along with him. He won’t be able to jump quite as well unless the opponent is covered in spores, but once they are it is fairly easy to drag them into your clouds…

If an opponent that you have grabbed falls off the blast zone, you are also KOed. If it’s the last stock for both players, the opponent will be the one who wins.

Final Smash

Spore Eruption

For his final smash, Hoppip will fire a massive cloud of Stun Spore into the air, going up to the top of the stage and being the size of Giga Bowser. This does not, however, get rid of the Smash Aura, as you still have two more uses of this attack. The second use will be Poison Powder and the third will be Irritating Powder. Use these massive powder clouds to weaken your foes while you swoop in to ruin their day.

Playstyle

So as you can probably already tell, Hoppip wants to get his opponent covered in cotton, and then drag them off into the air with him. This is not exactly easy, simply because the foe can shake the spores off by attacking, so you need to constantly barrage the opponent with those things.

The clouds serve as a decent way to help you put spores onto the opponent, more so Stun Spore and Irritating Powder than Poison Powder. While the opponent is stunned or flinching, you can easily pile some cotton spores onto them. The cotton spores also make it easier to keep opponents in the clouds, so once you have a few spores on it will be much easier to stack on the rest. Various moves of yours can be used to push the foe into the clouds as well.

Once the opponent has a fair number of Spores on them, you want them in the air with you. There are various ways to do this, the main way being your Grab. Against foes with good anti-air game, you may want to use you Up Tilt or Forward Tilt instead. That said, once the enemy is up in the sky, you have plenty of options to torment them. You can place clouds beneath them to help you push them back up if they knock off enough spores. You can use your Nair and Uair to push your opponent up into the sky, eventually even off the blast zone for the KO. You can also drop clouds on them to hinder their attempts to stop you. You want to avoid getting too close to the blast zone, however, as a stray attack can mean a KO against you.

If necessary, there are fallback plans that Hoppip can use. You can use your grab or Forward Aerial for suicide KOs while you are ahead, which can often be easier to pull off than a KO off the top of the screen. You can also push the opponent under the ledge and spam bair to accumulate huge damage on the foe, and spike them to their demise. Lastly, the Forward Smash works as a last resort KO, as bad as it may sound.

Naturally, Hoppip has it’s share of weaknesses as well. His ground game isn’t quite fast enough to justify his complete lack of power, and the only way to KO the opponent without gimping them is Giga Drain, which is hard as hell to land. Your also extremely lightweight, and oftentimes you will find you just get hit by a smash attack and die. Nonetheless, Hoppip is a potentially dangerous foe and hard to outmatch in the air.
 

Nicholas1024

Smash Lord
Joined
Mar 14, 2009
Messages
1,075
Hoppip:
Have you been lurking around here? Because this set is extremely impressive for a first try, and holds up decently even when compared to some vet sets. Floating the opponent with dozens of Cotten spores and juggling them to the top blast zone is a cool idea, and I'm more inclined to forgive the generic attacks when they're an important part of his game (like the N-air). There are some rough spots around the edges (for example the specials could use more detail, and 20 jumps could kill a match via stalling), but this is a very promising start to moveset making. Great job here.
 

Smady

Smash Master
Joined
Apr 29, 2007
Messages
3,306
Location
K Rool Avenue
First things first, Sora's header picture is broken. You need this for the moveset to count, so get on that. The set starts off strongly enough – I found stuff like the gravity in combination with the ice to be a nice interaction in particular and there are plenty of interesting ways to pressure your opponent through the use of pulling them in, especially in combination with those approaching aerials. The standards and throws, though, do drag the moveset down a good bit – the standards basically just allowing for deeper options in terms of range [mostly close-range] and the throws simply being for spacing. It would have been far better to make use of these inputs for more tools to take advantage of the opponent's decreased traction and Sora's constantly being airborne. Nevertheless, it's a unique twist on pressuring solely because of that frenetic recovery in combination with stuff like the gravity and magnet, but it could be a lot deeper.

I'd actually say what is good about this set trumps Colours Sonic, being far more focused, but you still have a ways to go in terms of becoming better focused. As said, you should have focused more attention on the gravity and magnets, and a lot of the moves still have an oddity about them with the writing. It's not really about length, but substance – you'd benefit from not listing out all the individual charge times, as that takes up a majority of the space on longer moves [simply say that a move does this-this damage and hits from this-this depending on charge time]. That, and I think after Colours Sonic, you're still going for a too well-rounded feel – Sora tries to have all of these generic versatility options, mostly through his standards and throws, which could easily be replaced by moves that help out his unique playstyle. So while overall I'd say the set is worse than Colours Sonic, it's still a markable improvement over everything before that.

Lets open this Malzahar comment by saying that the final smash is one of the worst I've ever seen. Generic summon who has no moveset? Boo this man! With that behind us... As I've become accustomed to in this Make Your Move with your projects, the set has lots of very interesting ways to shut down an opponent and make them play to Malzahar's tune – what makes it better than all of those other movesets is that it does feel a lot more natural. Impairing a foe's movement with a stab in the back, stopping them in place with the grab and prone abuse with the minions are all very unique and great ideas to bring to the table. What's sort of awkward is how you never really take advantage of the portals sans the up aerial and they are reduced to more of a zoning tool. Of course, there's plenty of other cool things going on at the same time and zoning tools work to Malzahar's playstyle, but it does feel odd that they mostly function as a KO mechanic.

What holds the set back the most for me, though, is that it revolves around some odd criteria with some of the more important moves. The big offender here being voidling master, summoning a new monster every four moves... I'm not sure if this is in-character or pulled right from League of Legends, but it seems very awkward. Plus some of the moves suffer from the rush – a couple of the smashes feel out of place and though the grab game is great as an input, it also feels weird and I can imagine you being able to work throws into that concept – just press the grab input again and a direction to initiate throws. Saying that, though, a large majority of the moves work fine and they flow together quite naturally, with Malzahar coming off as non-flowcharty and able to shut down approaches and create an almost depressing outlook for an opponent, effectively from any point in the match.

Rocket Raccoon is probably your best yet, Smashbot. Its ideas are relatively fresh and mostly just from that neutral special you have plenty to play with, where Raccoon is spamming rockets at his own peril, while shutting down his opponent or creating obstacles to block said spam. It's a bit of an awkward writing style, though – try to talk more about playstyle in the future, as opposed to sectioning off minor details, as you could put a lot of that detail in just the first sentence. That aside, though, it's also by far your best execution of a playstyle. Raccoon's animal friends operate as well-balanced distractions, either holding them down or blocking them off from an avenue of attack on Raccoon. By itself, this isn't too interesting, but mixed in with the rockets and Baron Von Roolenstein's orbs of electricity, it becomes a very niche and fresh take on self-damage and preservation. Really, the only big error is that there are a lot of weird things going on, with many loose ends that aren't taken advantage of [tripping, shutting down ending in a simple frame advantage, etc]. Though I think when you improve your writing style, you should be able to expand on these sorts of inputs more and this set is still pretty good.

I wouldn't say Sakurai is as good as your best this contest, Kupa, but I still like it for what it does well. The tilting of the stage for some shenanigans is definitely very fun and locking an opponent to the stage and pressuring them from above makes for some surprisingly natural flow with Sakurai's great traction helping him to remain on top. Of course, it does get a bit prop-y – but it's a Sakurai set, so you really couldn't complain about that too much. It's also a bit simplistic and meshes together a few tame concepts like with the Wobbuffets, the urine [which is similar to Pennywise's blood] and so on... it's definitely weird and a quite bizarre to imagine in Smash. Though this also works to its favours – I love all the references, of course, in what is a really funny writing style and also how it is reminiscent of some of your earlier work like YTP Robotnik. Considering Sakurai's original set was from around that time too and how in-character the set is, it does become downright nostalgic in reading value. While certainly you don't do full justice to slanting the stage, you still do admirably while never sacrificing anything from the character himself – very fun read and I'd still say a decent enough set.

I'm not some chess champion by any means – I regularly play too offensively and become short-tempered going into long matches. But Chess Man isn't at all what I'd expect out of an original character based on chess. The set-up feels incredibly awkward compared to the game it's mimicking – having the “king” as Chess Man placing his pieces wherever he likes, then moving them around in specific ways. This part is the one closest to how I imagine chess, but the fact that he's just using them as weapons eliminates much of the strategy and duplicity involves from having the same set-up in each match. Combined with how a lot of the set-up here feels very drab and that inputs have you moving around the inputs anyway, I feel the set would have been better if Chess Man had simply spawned with his chess pieces all at once rather than having to summon them. I also dislike how he can simply replace pieces or destroy old ones to create the same piece anew, when it chess a large part of strategy is preserving your army intact while attacking or defending.

What I did like about the set was how you indeed pulled off the individual pieces very well and were able to pull off that sense of spacing, allowing for some clever placing where pawns start to entrap an opponent and pressure them into the way of a stronger unit. It's clever, if simple stuff, allowing you to in a very roundabout way position your pawns so that they play a small, but impertinent role. That, and some of the interactions you had with the checking and moving in the king in the endgame were clever, alluding to strategies in the famed game. The set is dragged down by these really bad input choices, though, denying the character of about six moves in all and doing weird things like putting the summoning moves on aerials and having all of these wacky interactions on inappropriate inputs. As I said to you in the chat, I don't see the reason for doing this and I could have imagined an easier way around a simple lack of inputs than this, particularly when you're missing as many as you are and could easily bring a lot of moves together that concern a certain type of piece. Nevertheless, an imaginative and intriguing set.

As always, Smashbot, you go after an irresistibly limited character with Pyro in terms of potential, but here you invite too many of the tropes from his home game into Smash, in a Sakurai-like way [the moveset, not the person] and this is especially true with the multitude of props. That would be fine, but it doesn't really add up to all that much in the end. Pyro is basically just wanting to set his opponent on fire while chasing them down and constantly being held back by his ammunition waning. He could have really done with some more interesting ways to revive his ammunition or to help him when he's running low, instead of just some more general approaching options. What I do like, though, is that as usual you get imaginative with the inputs to prevent them from being absolute filler and it does feel like a set for a Pyromaniac at least. Your writing style also seems to be improving, if only because of the moves being simpler.

Astoundingly active, Smashbot. Zoroark's next up and it is a pretty good set too, though I would say it's not as good as Rocket Raccoon. The moves all work well enough together – I like the playstyle of creating illusions and trickery in general to try and pressure your foe into making a false move. It's very in-character, while also making use of some more simplistic attacks like the dark pulse and other more rushdown-y moves in simply getting out a lot of hitboxes to add to the chaos, and the likelihood that an opponent will run into your attacks within that confusion. This stays within relative control of Zoroark, as he has plenty of ways to leave the opponent guessing where he is, without stepping over the mark with multiple duplicates or anything like that. Like Pyro, I actually felt the writing style was also improving: little by little from Raccoon, it's becoming more manageable [I wouldn't harp on about it, but this is probably what is keeping your sets from being read by some commenters].

While I do lavish praise on those areas of the set, what is bad is the standard fare in Pokemon movesets – input placement and Pokemon syndrome. The moves flow well enough into the playstyle, but you have to have a degree of prejudice when selecting moves for a Pokemon, lest it be out-of-character [which for Pokemon, is very frowned upon, as they're easy to make in-character]. So moves like incinerate, grass knot and rock smash – which Zoroark doesn't learn naturally – definitely clog up the moveset. That, and projectiles on aerial inputs and weird stuff in the throws, which could have easily replaced those moves with more Pokemon syndrome, are quite bad. Of course, you couldn't possibly have known all of this and after all the previewing you did in the chat room, you'd think someone would have pointed it out. Either way, it's another solid playstyle, though always keep amping up the playstyle and toning down the detail in future projects.

Omastar is expectedly very clever and paints the picture of a snail perfectly. There are few Pokemon sets that go this far in creating such a great characterisation and one which was probably more gross for me as a read than The Count back in the day purely for that pummel. This on top of plenty of intelligent inputs to add to this – I actually would place the bubble below the grab game in terms of my favourite parts of the set. What I actually found to be the more awkward inputs was when you tried to put in any Pokemon moves at all, oddly enough – having built up this rather realistic image of a snail. Nevertheless, they all fit in well enough and worked into an interesting playstyle based around his goop, unique defensive systems and one of the better KO mechanics worked into a grab I've seen. What obviously is a downer, though, is the missing aerials and indeed, there are some moves that just spread around the goop in rather trivial ways. Overall, very fun set and great to see you back, Agi.

Kabutops is quite awesome when creating his waterfalls, that's for sure – I love the way you work with the flowing water and create, like Omastar, a unique way for Kabutops to impair his opponents movement while remaining perfectly unaltered. It's a stroke of genius to simply throw out rocks to create walls from which water can cascade down, on top of the smart use of rain dance that takes advantage of a downfall. Combined with the pits, it all is very refreshing indeed, though I can honestly have seen you getting more than combos out of such a great concept. As far as combos go, they are similarly simple and effective and even serve a purpose, making them far better than the usual generic rushdown, but still, I feel like there was some wasted potential amongst all of the inputs used there. That was actually second in my mind as a negative to some of the more awkward inputs, like the down special [which should really have been the pit digging] and moves affecting all the water at once, which seemed silly when he's apparently trying to combo them off the side of the stage. Both of these fossil Pokemon sets stand up very well to scrutiny and have a lovely sense of compatibility together, though, both being really good.

Hoppip is a good enough newcomer set to make you think you're actually a veteran in disguise! Is that you, Darth Meanie? A wonderfully simplistic playstyle of simply juggling a lighter foe in the air and using your aerial grace to your advantage is perfectly in-character for Hoppip, while its moves also gives it a nice edge in range while attacking. There's nothing really to complain about, except for maybe just trying to be a bit more ambitious with some of the inputs. However, it's hard to complain about the detail or how ineffectual the playstyle is when it's also so in-character for Hoppip. Best newcomer set ever!
 

BKupa666

Barnacled Boss
Moderator
Joined
Aug 12, 2008
Messages
7,788
Location
Toxic Tower
OMASTAR
While Smady pointed out how fitting Omastar's mechanics were for his snail-esque characterization, I'd like to applaud you for making his mechanics fit both his character -and- his playstyle. His slime brings opponents down to his sluggish speed, while his shell mechanic actually makes knockback a -good- thing for spacing and defensive purposes, which I'm fairly certain is a first. As you might expect, I also very much enjoy the grab being the horrific centerpiece of the set, as it very much motivates opponents to watch out for his spike traps and other stunners (D-Tilt, D-Smash). The set does seem to lose a bit of steam as it starts to build Omastar into an offensive character, when he seems quite content to be a slow-paced character based around bringing opponents down to his level. Not that this is a deal-breaker...Omastar's 'steam' was quite high to begin with. Sets like these make me wish you made more for me to read, agi.

Kabutops/Hoppip to follow...

Edit: The contest deadline has beene extended to September 10th, to ensure MYMers heading back to school late will be able to take advantage of the time off to contribute extra movesets to the thread.
 

Davidreamcatcha

Smash Ace
Joined
Feb 9, 2011
Messages
629
Moveset Preview Man lives on...

5 MINUTE MOVE MAN


5 Minute Move Man, born August Eighth 2011, is an orca that doesn't like people messing with his *****es and *****s.

Specials

Down Special: Elephant Cage

5 Minute Move Man causes a cage containing an angry elephant to pop out of the ground in front of him. The elephant stays in the cage unless 5 Minute Move Man breaks it, upon which it will run towards the foe at Bowser's dash speed and use one of the two following attacks against them. The Elephant has 10% stamina and Tycoon can have 5 out at a time. Tycoon can also ride the elephant by using his down aerial while above, having access to his jab, up tilt, forward tilt, up smash and forward smash but having no control over his movement.

Elephant Attack One: Protective Dirt

In real life, Elephants cool themselves off by hurling dirt on themselves which then cools to make a protective sunscreen. Placing its trunk on the ground, the Elephant quickly scrapes up some dirt and tosses it on itself. This takes about .20 seconds to perform, with anyone who is hit by the dirt that hits in front of the Elephant and across its back, takes multiple light hits of 1% damage. The dirt then lingers on the Elephant's back, being able to be knocked off by any attack at this time. After another five seconds during which the elephant can move and attack, it cools, to form a shield alongside the elephant's top. While the elephant would normally be ***** by aerial attacks, the dirt covers it to prevent it from taking damage, hitstun and knockback from attacks that would hit its back. The dirt has 20% stamina, that can be removed by attacking its back. Dirt's effect can not stack.

If the Elephant squirts the ground in front of him, it will turn the dirt in front of him into mud. If the elephant uses this move to toss that mud onto his back with this move, it hardens after the 5 second period into something of an armor. The armor can take up to 8% before cracking and falling off, having the same benefits as Dirt but far less durable. Thanks to the hardening, the Elephant's already massive weight is increased, making him a bit more durable. Dirt and Mud cannot stack on each other. If 5 Minute Move Man is on the Elephant when he does this, he will get covered in dirt, making him taking damage.

Elephant Attack 2: Rampage

Full speed ahead! The elephant rears up onto its hind legs for the opening lag, then hurtles forward. The attack is clearly telegraphed, but the elephant rushes forward at high speed (think Sheik) for as long as you hold down the button, its trunk swinging beneath its front legs. It will stop if it reaches a hole or anything sticking out of the ground, of course. Naturally, the elephant's whole body is a hitbox, dealing 15% in the center of the head and 2-6% on the back and tail.

If the foe is caught in a grab box beforehand, the elephant can regrab them and use this. They'll be trampled repeatedly, dealing heavy damage every second and up to 30% if you're charging from one end of the stage to the other.

Neutral Special: UFO

5 Minute Move Man summons his UFO from the top blast zone, it coming down to his location at Sonic's dash speed. 5 Minute Move Man can board and get out of the UFO at will, and it moves about at Captain Falcon's dash speed with 5 Minute Move Man inside it - with horrible traction/turning lag making it about as difficult to control as Pikachu's Final Smash. Hitting the foes with the sides of the saucer does damage based off momentum, up to 10% at max speed after a second of going in one direction, and the UFO reflects all projectiles. If you go fast enough to tilt the UFO, you can cause the side of the UFO to dig into the dirt if you're grounded as it goes, shooting up mass projectiles that deal 3% and flinching. The UFO has 40 stamina and runs out of fuel in 10 seconds.

Pressing B while inside the saucer will cause it to abduct whatever is underneath it - the UFO must be at least 2 Ganons above whatever it intends to abduct so you can't just hover directly over something. The abduction beam sucks foes up into the saucer at the speed of Jigglypuff's falling speed and is as wide as Bowser, reaching all the way to the ground. The UFO can still move horizontally while it has the abduction beam out, but not vertically, able to move to catch foes trying to escape the beam, and his elephants can also assist him in this endeavor. If the UFO successfully sucks the foe up, it's an insta KO. The UFO can also suck up elephants to carry them around, allowing 5 Minute Move Man to drop them on foes.

Side Special: Whip Crack

Removing Indiana Jone's whip from hammerspace, 5 Minute Move Man cracks it in front of him. The whip has the range of a battlefield platform, and is a self-admitted spacing tool. Getting hit by any part of the whip deals 10% damage, but getting hit by the tip of the whip deals 15% and stuns the foe for a whole 1.5 seconds, allowing 5 Minute Move Man to get away from potential danger so he can hide behind his elephants.

One of the key uses of this move relies in interactions, however. If 5 Minute Move Man hits one of his rapid elephants with his whip, they take 10% damage and are instantly angered, dealing double damage and knockback due to tard rage. This status lasts for about 10 seconds, before the elephants is forced to stop to puke on the ground due to sweating and running, taking 3 seconds to due so. The puke is a generic trap that lasts for 10 seconds, meaning he wants to overwork his elephants to the fullest extent. If anyone approachs the puke, they are disgusted and immediately dash in the other direction, meaning they will likely dash into another elephants.

Up Special: Raging Whirlpool

5 Minute Move Man points forward, causing Barnacle Boy to swim away from 5 Minute Move Man and dogpaddle through the air as though it were water. Barnacle Boy has free movement ala Pit's Up Special and can swim freely at Bowser's dash speed for 5 seconds. If Barnacle Boy grabs the ledge, 5 Minute Move Man immediately swims after him, allowing him to recover even if he is in the blast zone, but he is incredibly gimpable as he swims upwards, and him being KOed counts as a KO for the both of them.

If Up Special is pressed again, Barnacle Boy stops wherever he is and begins spinning in a circle, creating a tornado. When the input is pressed again, he stops spinning and the tornado moves forward at Sonic's dash speed, causing opponents to be spun along with it until it disappears after traveling 3 Battlefield Platforms. Things such as your elephants and Jaws can be put into it to increase damage, 5 Minute Move Man being able to put an unlimited amount of them within.

Grab-Game

Grab - Preparatory

Professor 5 Minute Move Man reaches forward in this simple, functional grab. Once he has his foe in his clutches, a see-through box appears around them, and they'll be unable to move as 5 Minute Move Man twirls his moustache and ponder how best to solve the problem before him. He has access to four different puzzles into which he can place the foe.

Back Throw - Copycat

5 Minute Move Man starts walking forward, whereupon the player takes control of him and can move but not use attacks. After one second, the foe emerges from his cage and must try to imitate 5 Minute Move Man's movements; to make it easier, a pale copy of 5 Minute Move Man continues to retrace his steps. Until they get it right (approximated of course) the foe will take 3% per second and be unable to move beyond the limits of the space where 5 Minute Move Man moved.

Up Throw - Fountain

The foe is launched up, up, up... right into the top corner of the stage, where they remain suspended as air seems to radiate from the bottom of the stage holding them up. This too is an invisible maze; by tilting his controller, 5 Minute Move Man can choose the thin space through which the foe can drop without being held up by the air. Until they maneuver successfully through this unstable passage, they'll continue to be suspended in midair.

Forward Throw - Panel Cage

The opponent's box suddenly expands, becoming big enough to fit two Ganondorfs standing on each other's shoulders and three Bowsers across. 5 Minute Move Man must enter nine inputs in sequence Behind the foe appear nine panels, set cascading across one another and secretly matching the nine inputs of 5 Minute Move Man, one by one across by row. The foe must enter the inputs in correct order - each time he gets it wrong, it quickly resets to the first one. How will they escape this puzzle? Only 5 Minute Move Man can help!

Down Throw - Rat Maze

5 Minute Move Man takes control of an invisible cursor, which he can use to "draw" an invisible maze; it starts from the center of the foe's invisible box (the edges of which, until that moment invisible, suddenly vanish) and can go out in any directions. The cursor moves quickly and 5 Minute Move Man has seven seconds, so you can design a relatively complex maze with chambers and extra passages. It has to end in open air, however, although you can make false exits by doubling back on your cursors.

Aerials

Neutral Aerial: Evil? Evil! EVIIIIIIIILLLLLLLL!

5 Minute Move Man says evil three times in the same manner as the attack name. You can angle 5 Minute Move Man during the first two times he says it, the start lag, then just as he starts saying it the third time he runs 3 platforms in the chosen direction at double his regular air speed, defying gravity. Anybody who comes into contact with him takes 8% and okay at best knockback.

If the foe actually shows any display of evil to 5 Minute Move Man during the starting lag by attacking him, they'll find that he's superarmored. This attack will cause 5 Minute Move Man to leap straight into the main attack and final screaming of "evil", powering it up by triple and causing him to move twice as far. That said, the move has bad ending lag and the regular charge if 5 Minute Move Man is not attacked is out-prioritzed by anything.

Forward Aerial: Super Saucer

Instead of using it for the Up Special, 5 Minute Move Man gets to hop in his super special saucer and fly forwards in his fair! He can control his horizontal movement just fine, but cannot move up nor down for the move's 4 second duration. Ramming the foe has the obvious effect, and the fact that the saucer can deflect blows makes this special a nice safe recovery.

Unfortunately, it seems as though the saucer has a non-regenerating stamina of 50%, and when that is depleted, the Saucer explodes, sending 5 Minute Move Man upwards a fair distance (KOing him at 80%), but also sending anyone nearby off the side of the screen for an early, explosive KO. If you try to use this after the saucer has exploded, the wreck moves half as fast, and offers no protection from attacks.

Back Aerial: Stone Edge

5 Minute Move Man stands still, crouching a little as long as BAir is held (even though it's hard to tell). Upon releasing BAir, 5 Minute Move Man launches himself forward, using his rock to ram the foe. The longer the charge, the farther he shoots forward. During the charge period, 5 Minute Move Man has super armor, and takes half damage from any attack. Use this when a foe approaches to punish them.

Down Aerial: Suction Cups

5 Minute Move Man spreads his feet out, before performing a stall and fall downwards. Anyone caught underneath him now has 5 Minute Move Man stuck to their head and takes 10% damage. While 5 Minute Move Man is on their head, he can use his libary of attacks meaning he can hit them with a few of his low hitting attacks, and when he jumps the character will stick to his feet. The character must damage themselves with 10% damage to knock him off.

If 5 Minute Move Man lands on the stage, he tethers himself to it. This makes him incredibly difficult to knock off, as he'll stick to the stage.

Up Aerial: Irate Squid

Taking his pent-up rage from all those years dealing with Spongebob and Patrick, 5 Minute Move Man puts his fists to his sides, angrly scrunches his face and screams down at the ground as he actually hovers from the force: "YOU BARNACLE HEAD!!!!", before calming back down and resuming normal aerial movement.

Hitting 45* downwards and with a massive disjointed hitbox the size of a Spacey reflector below him, the noise will paralyze foes in it's range. However, it trades utility for damage here as said scream will inflict a painful 12% on foes.

Standards

Jab: Missile

5 Minute Move Man makes a gun motion with his hands, as his hand turns a bright yellow. After the startup phase is over, 5 Minute Move Man recoils and fires a bright yellow, Bowser-sized missile at the foe. This deals 15% damage and good knockback to the foe, in addition to traveling at Sonic's dash speed. 5 Minute Move Man can float about freely during startup.

Whenever your missiles are out on the field, 5 Minute Move Man can hold jab to make a grabbing motion, pulling backwards. Doing this causes missiles to fly back to him, retaining all damage properties and speed properties and dragging foes, Jaws, elephants and various other minions to you.

Forward Tilt: Gremlin Latch

5 Minute Move Man chomps onto the character dealing 4%. While very fast, if he misses he will fall over on his face into prone. Upon biting the character, 5 Minute Move Man will latch onto the character, doing 1% to the foe every quarter second. 5 Minute Move Man can move around the foe’s body at a quarter of Ganon’s dashing speed with 3D controls, and the character must hit 5 Minute Move Man with a hitbox on that specific part of them to knock 5 Minute Move Man off. If the hitbox is their entire body, then the attack must deal at least 15% if 5 Minute Move Man is at 0%, 1% less for each 10% 5 Minute Move Man has on him. Spotdodging counts as an attack involving the foe’s back/stomach that deals 5% for the purposes of this move, seeing not everybody has attacks involving those areas.

While 5 Minute Move Man can hop off the foe whenever he wishes by pressing B, 5 Minute Move Man can also chomp down hard on whatever body part he’s on by pressing A, dealing another immediate 4% and causing the foe to be unable to use attacks involving that body part for 3 seconds. If he bites their legs/equivalent, they will trip.

Up Tilt: Firing His Lasers

5 Minute Move Man pauses in place for half a second, before releasing blue streams of light from his fingers to the ground (he floats a Mario above the ground). Opponents who come into contact with a laser take multiple hits of 1% and are pushed into the ground multiple times, releasing them in their prone state. Once the laser moves off their hurtbox, the opponent remains shocked for a second or more, depending on damage, with an electric aura surrounding them. Of course, 5 Minute Move Man's lasers can extend into the background to hit dodging characters, making the move quite dangerous at close range. This can also hit your minions as well, doing no damage to them though.

Of course, 5 Minute Move Man can do more than just generically fire these projectiles...by directing the lasers around, he can drag opponents directly into his hand, giving him essentially a free grab. He can also drag opponents into an offstage position, where his slamming spikes are much more potent. Finally, his lasers can drag opponents down into his elephants or puke.

Down Tilt: Dun... Dun!

5 Minute Move Man adjusts some sort of device on his wrist, and a small beeping is heard. Nothing else happens... for the moment. A few seconds later, though, the opening notes of the timeless Jaws theme are heard. The stage's default music slowly fades away, replaced by the crescendoing music we're all so familiar with. As the music's intensity increases, so too does Jaws's anxious pacing back and forth in the ground. I guess he's a land shark?

A second input of this move causes Jaws to clamp up, dealing 25% with high knockback. Jaws does have a mind of his own, and you can expect him to do this at random. He will disappear when the music fades away, unable to be resummoned for a good minute or until 5 Minute Move Man loses a stock.

If Jaws comes into contact with one of your elephants, Jaws will bite the elephant, causing it to run forward at Sonic's dash speed as a high priority hitbox that deals 20% damage and high knockback to the foe.

Dash Attack: Diamond Shell

A helix of glimmering energy forms around 5 Minute Move Man as he folds his arms across his chest. Any momentum he'd previously built up continues to carry him forward regardless. Contact with the energy surrounding him deals 8% and minor knockback, and 5 Minute Move Man slows down slightly with each time he bumps into a foe or a trap. This starts with low lag but has heavy wind-down. 5 Minute Move Man can drag foes or minions across the stage with this, leading to his aerial game or spacing them into traps.

Smashes

Up Smash: Banana Juicer

5 Minute Move Man snaps his hand if he has one. All of his elephants on the stage immediately become banana goo - being dragged toward the place where 5 Minute Move Man's other hand would be and dragging players that they are currently dragging along with them, forcing them into 5 Minute Move Man's grab as his hand reforms with them in it. With the hand already out, 5 Minute Move Man instead uses his other hand, pointing at the nearest opponent before it splutters into banana juice and flies at them at Sonic's dashing speed. After 2.0 seconds - or when the banana juice reaches the opponent - the juice reforms into the elephants, surrounding the foe if they are enveloped by the goo. Pressing the up smash again causes these elephants to become juice again and travel back to the hand's space - allowing you to immediately re-grab an opponent surrounded by elephants. There is only 0.5 seconds of cooldown on the move, making it a very fast re-grab.

Forward Smash: Man Eating 5 Minute Move Man

Despite not eating meat, 5 Minute Move Man is one of the most savage of all animals as it crushes even crocodiles in its' mighty jaws, as those 5 Minute Move Mans at Retro Studios can tell you. For the move, 5 Minute Move Man chomps down with a grab hitbox that deals 15%, and once the foe is grabbed the foe takes no damage per second and can still attack, but only with attacks involving the half of them that's sticking out of 5 Minute Move Man's mouth. If they can cause 5 Minute Move Man 5%, it will let go of them. 5 Minute Move Man, however, can violentely flail the foe around in his mouth, dealing 5% additionally every time he knocks them against the ground. He can potentially juggle the foe partially out of his mouth to get the foe's hitboxes away from him before devouring them further, even, but cannot get more than half of their body in his mouth.

After the foe exits 5 Minute Move Man's mouth, they are completely covered in 5 Minute Move Man drool. This drool causes them to have 10x the normal chance of tripping (Considering the regular chance is so low), and causes them to be grossed out around 5 Minute Move Man, increasing the lag of all of their attacks directly next to it by 30%. Foes need to stand idle for 2 seconds to get the drool off, and while that's not hard for foes to do seeing 5 Minute Move Man is so slow it gives 5 Minute Move Man some proper time to set up some minions.

Down Smash: Spindash

5 Minute Move Man curls up into a spiked metal ball of death during the charging phase, before going to flatten foes - he moves significantly slower than Sonic does in his spin dash at only 60% of the speed, but if he comes into contact with anybody he will impale them on his spikes, dealing 10-20% immediately and doing 3% each time the foe is knocked against the ground. Once 5 Minute Move Man comes to a stop, the foe is dropped off of his spikes into prone. Obviously an excellent way to bring the foe across the stage, and if used close to the edge it can even bring a foe off-stage to begin 5 Minute Move Man's gimping game.

If this move is used when 5 Minute Move Man is running, he won't charge up the attack at all and will impale his spikes into the ground, causing his momentum to slow as he digs his spikes into the ground. This deals far more damage to the foe if they get caught on their spikes as he drags them, 10% initially and 6% per half second as he drags them, and lets him control more specifically where he places them. This makes 5 Minute Move Man like being at the edge even more, as outside his gimping game if his back isn't to the edge he can use this to survive to higher percents.

Final Smash

Big Macs:
5 Minute Move Man laughs a hearty laugh as he strokes his viking beard as though he were masturbating it. Suddenly, he faces the screen and performs a Wario Waft-like motion, creating a highpowered fart that deals 20% damage and high knockback to anyone who is nearby. But, that's not all! As 5 Minute Move Man rockets from the force of his fart, Big Macs spawn on stage, falling from 5 Minute Move Man's
mouth
onto the stage. The Big Macs create a giant pile of greasy meat that is as tall as a Giant Bowser, lingering in the background. From here, 5 Minute Move Man can walk over to the pile of meat and use his jab against it, increasing his health every time he bites. Also, he can attack it to spread a wave of big macs across the stage, damaging foes as they turn into the hamburgers seen in capsules. The big macs disappear after 20 seconds.
 

ForwardArrow

Smash Ace
Joined
Aug 17, 2011
Messages
502
Hoppip:
Have you been lurking around here? Because this set is extremely impressive for a first try, and holds up decently even when compared to some vet sets. Floating the opponent with dozens of Cotten spores and juggling them to the top blast zone is a cool idea, and I'm more inclined to forgive the generic attacks when they're an important part of his game (like the N-air). There are some rough spots around the edges (for example the specials could use more detail, and 20 jumps could kill a match via stalling), but this is a very promising start to moveset making. Great job here.
Yes I have been lurking in the thread, I've been watching you guys since MYM2. I think I have a problem. But anyway, glad to see you liked it. As for your criticism, the specials probably did need more detail, I suppose I never was good at explaining myself.

Hoppip is a good enough newcomer set to make you think you're actually a veteran in disguise! Is that you, Darth Meanie? A wonderfully simplistic playstyle of simply juggling a lighter foe in the air and using your aerial grace to your advantage is perfectly in-character for Hoppip, while its moves also gives it a nice edge in range while attacking. There's nothing really to complain about, except for maybe just trying to be a bit more ambitious with some of the inputs. However, it's hard to complain about the detail or how ineffectual the playstyle is when it's also so in-character for Hoppip. Best newcomer set ever!
That's some high praise there, I'm starting to worry that I'll develop an ego from all this.

Anyway, I should probably make myself useful and comment a few movesets while I'm here.

Zoroark
The concept of the illusions is one of the better executions of invisibility I've seen, using charge moves and the like to convince your opponent you are somewhere you're not. Some of the interactions with the illusions are also pretty cool, and it gives him something of a playstyle. That said, I feel the moveset does not really flow into anything other than standard Brawl character with some enhanced mindgame potential. In addition, some of the moves seem awkwardly powerful or weak(Back Throw seems like an infinite on just about everyone, the Down Tilt is WAY too good at KOing for it's speed, and the Down Throw is just about useless) and you can often drone on for too long on each move and make the moveset boring to read through. That said, I love some of your ideas and think there is a lot of potential here.

Omastar
While normally covering the stage with slime while walking across it incredibly slowly would be an ineffective strategy, Omastar manages to make it work with his incredible variety of defenses. The other side of his game, using Bubble and retreating into your shell to move around more quickly and utilize your smashes from your perch on the Bubble is similarly clever and well done. I don't really think they work together all THAT well, but it adds a bit to his game that he's able to switch between them in and of itself. It also seems that the grab is a bit too slow to me, considering he basically has to land it to KO. Three-fourths of a second is around the lag on a Falcon Punch, which is hard as heck to actually hit someone with. Regardless of that, that's mostly numbers adjusting and otherwise the set is very well done.

Kabutops
Unlike the previous two sets, I really don't have anything to complain about here. This set is fantastic, using rain dance to make it difficult to grip on the edge, and the comboing the opponent off to make sure they can't recover. That would be cool alone, but some of the tricks with mud shot and scald are also fantastic, giving him a surprisingly multi-layered playstyle. To top it off, the set is a simple, easy read and flows almost perfectly into Brawl while still managing to be as clever as some of the top sets this contest. Excellent work here, this might actually be my favorite set so far this contest.
 

KingK.Rool

Smash Lord
Joined
Nov 26, 2005
Messages
1,810
We're all gentlemen here, yes?

Hoppip - Since you've been lurking for so long, you'll know what I mean when I say that this set is very Warlordian; you take a simple concept, KOing the foe off the top of the screen, and a simple trap, the clouds of pollen, and you grow it out in various and sometimes unexpected directions from there. It's all very elegant, particularly in attacks like that delightful NAir (which is the farthest thing from generic). I'm most intrigued by Hoppip when he's sort of gently pushing the opponent all around the stage, because as written his aerials certainly allow him to carry the airborne foe all around its outer edges and even, on stages like Smashville and Battlefield, directly under it.

How well-suited this is for Hoppip is beyond reproach. It's one of the only non-Magikarp Pokemon to learn Splash! (Maybe even the only one, outside of baby Pokemon and Feebas.) Even the Giga Drain feels a bit too hardcore for Hoppip, but it's just one moment in what's otherwise a set with consistent and very well-imagined characterization.

The main way this differs from your everyday Warlord set is in readability and conciseness; it's like Warlord Lite. It's dietary - very good for you! A light set and unambitious, and so all the more suited to its subject. Well done.
 

tirkaro

Smash Champion
Joined
Jun 24, 2006
Messages
2,808
Location
but a pig in the sun

ちょっと。。。。










ちょっと。。。。。。!
















チェ----------------------ン!!!!!


Chen is a little bugger from Bkub's 東方 comics. She doesn't have much input on anything, as made clear by her silent nature. Who knows what she really thinks.


:nifty:STATS, NOTES, 'N' STUFF:nifty:

Size- 3/10
Ground Speed- 2/10
Air Speed- 2/10
Attack Speed- 8/10
Weight- 2/10
Jumping- 6/10


SPECIAL THING 1- NO RUNNY

Chen cannot run at all. Instead, she has to take paces with her rather slow walk, about on par with Kirby's. You'd think she'd be fast since she's a cat and all, but I don't think she feels like running too much. You should understand.


SPECIAL THING 2- OUT OF THE BAG

When Chen escapes a grab, she turns into a small cat for 4 seconds. This cat cannot be hit at all, but she can't hit anyone as a cat as well.





:nifty:SPECIALS:nifty:


NEUTRAL B- BICYCLE

Chen hops on a bicycle that moves slightly faster than her walking speed. (But still pretty slow.) While also being nice to roam around with, you can also press the A button while riding it to HONK HONK your horn! Any opponent within a 1 SBB radius of a honked horn will be stunned for 1 whole second. Weeeee.
And as you would expect, running over someone with the bike deals damage. That's 5% damage and small knockback to be precise. Though you can bring the payload up a bit with the help of a certain other move...
Bad news is that getting on and off the bike takes .6 seconds. Please bike responsibly.



DOWN B- BLACK CAT OF ILL OMEN

Chen takes .7 seconds to make that pose as seen above. Right when that happens, the opponent finds themselves with a sudden stroke of bad luck. One of these 4 unfortunate events will be exacted upon the opponent, no matter how far away or close Chen is. When faced against this move, your best bet is to either dodge whatever comes your way, or hit Chen out of it.

1. ARROW- A single stray arrow from Erin's bow will hit the opponent right in the head for 4% damage and slight flinching. This cannot be dodged whatsoever.
2. PITFALL- The opponent will suddenly find themselves stuck in a pitfall, and will take 5% damage as a result. It's hard to dodge, but you should be able to avoid it if you move quickly enough in the opposite direction
3. SOUP POT- One of Ran's soup pots will suddenly fall from the heavens and whack the foe on the head. This does 8% damage and some knockback, but can be dodged if you're on your toes enough.
4. BOB-OMB- That's right, an exploding bob-omb will spawn right above the opponent's heads. This is very rare to get, but the constant threat of one is sure enough to keep the foe panicking.

Once again, you can execute this move from anywhere on the stage, so a Chen player might spam this move a lot to constantly pressure the opponent from afar.



UP B- JUMPER

With the offscreen assistance of Yukari Yakumo, along with fast cat reflexes, Chen can teleport anywhere on the screen at any given time. This is done by moving the analog stick in a general direction once a pair of fast-moving crosshairs go on-screen after Chen disappears. After .7 seconds, Chen will teleport directly to that location. (Or the closest free area, if you landed your crosshairs on a solid object.) This is even easier if you're playing with a Wii U controller, as all you have to do is touch a location on the touchscreen.
However, Chen has about .8 seconds of starting and cooldown lag when this move is exacted, and can only do this one time whilst in the air(She goes into a recovery state after all), so be sure to be crafty.


SIDE B- SMACK

Chen moves her arm back and charges up a smacking attack, which she can hold indefinitely. Once you let go of your little red button, Chen lets out a mighty smack from her paw-like hands. This smack deals 8% damage, has high priority, and sets the opponent right on the ground. Very little ending lag too.
However, another use of this move is to deflect projectiles. If a projectile hits Chen while in this "charging" state, she'll automatically use this attack to slap the projectile to the ground.



:nifty:STANDARDS:nifty:


NEUTRAL A- PICHUU~N

Chen sneezes, obviously with a completely straight face. Thus, this has little lag time. Any foe within a 2 SBB radius of Chen's sternutatious activities will find themselves catching a sneeze as well. This makes them stop for a moment and Ker-choo for .6 seconds, leaving them completely open. Also, it looks kinda funny.




DASHING A- ERRYDAY I'M HUSTLIN'

While "dashing," Chen starts rolling on the ground at a speed about the same as the bike, but slowly starts to cool down after 1 second. Any person who makes some kind of touchy contact with Chen in this state gets their foot bitten. And trust be, that kinda hurts; It deals 8% damage and leaves the foe holding their foot for .6 seconds, possibly leaving them open for another combo attack. You should never be in the way of a hustlin' Chen.


FORWARD TILT- MURDEROUS INTENT

Chen glares at the opponent. If said opponent is somehow 1 Battling Field platformy length across Chen's eyes, they fall asleep for a bit, with the slightly less effectiveness than Jigglypuff's sing. It may not seem like much, but being asleep near Chen is quite deadly. Really, don't get hit by this attack. Why? Because running over a sleeping opponent with the bike has a different effect than usual...


It's a 1-hit KO.


UP TILT- FLIPPERS

Chen takes out a pair of Rice paddies which she uses to flip things. This "flipping" attack has high priority, little startup, and some slight cooldown. She sticks the paddies in front of her and uses her stubby arms to flip the opponent's hat (or some other thing the opponent is wearing. Even one's entire face in the case of Kirby). While in this "flipped" state, the opponent's controls are reversed for 4 seconds, as to make sure they don't try any funny business. After those seconds are up, their stuff becomes un-flipped, hopefully learning their lessons in the process.


DOWN TILT- Whacha gonna do?


All you need to know is that this is a counter move. With the exact same properties as Marth's counter, except it also counters grabs, when Chen is hit in a counter state, none other than The Highest Judge of Paradise Eiki Shiki YAMAXANADU spawns on the scene while singing "Whacha gonna do, whacha gonna do~." She spawns about half Battlefield Platform away from Chen, and if she didn't spawn directly on the opponent, she'll start slowly walking towards them. An opponent can dodge her if they were lucky enough to be away from Yamaxanadu's spawn point, and simply stay away for 5 seconds. (Which is when she leaves.) However, if Yamaxanadu does make contact with an unfortunate foe, the screen will briefly flash complete black as several loud attacking noises and a piercing scream can be heard.

Once it's all over, the screen fades back again, showing Yamaxanadu on a motorcycle, hovering by a now completely dead opponent. Yama proceeds to ride into the sunset, as the foe's corpse, along with a stock, fades away.




:nifty:SMASHES:nifty:


FORWARD SMASH- 619

Chen charges forward a bit and attempts to grab the foe. If she does, she'll toss them 1 SBB to the opposite side where a pair of Wrestling ropes appear out of nowhere. She'll then go up to the ropes and does Rey Myserio's 619. It deals 13~15% damage, with okay knockback. About .7 seconds cooldown time. A nice little damage dealer if all these more technical moves have you down to the ground.



DOWN SMASH- CHEN CHOP

With little, but noticeable, starting and cooldown lag, Chen unleashes a mighty short-ranged Karate Chop that dishes out 10~13% damage, but has no knockback. Instead, the opponent is left "knocked out" (Actually, just stunned) for 3 whole seconds, which sure is a lot. However, Chen won't attack at all while the foe is knocked out like this. So you can really only use the stun time to space yourself out from your enemies.



UP SMASH- NAZRIN TREASURE HUNT ADVENTURE QUEST

Chen's mousy friend Nazrin suddenly appears in front of her, and starts hunting for treasure with her trusty dousers. She does this by slowly walking forwards, scanning the area with her dousers as Chen quaintly follows. She travels about as far as you hold the Smash attack for, but it doesn't really matter, as whatever she finds is completely random.

1. TURNIP- It's a gigantic turnip, holed right in the ground, about 2 kirbies tall. The most common "treasure" you can find. You can take 1.5 seconds to dig it up out of the ground with the A button, from which you can throw it at the foe for 15% damage. (It's treated like a "Heavy" object, like Crates and Barrels.) Or you can use the B button to quickly munch on it, healing 5% damage each bite. (It disappears after 5 bites)
2. TRAP NET- It's not a Net that shoots Bridgets and Poisons, but rather a giant net that rises right into the ground to trap whoever steps on it! Once Nazrin discovers this, the net will rise up out of nowhere and captures the poor mouse, suspending her in the air! She's then out of commission for 5 seconds, by then her and the net just disappear. If you're lucky, the opponent might also be nearby the net, by which both Nazrin and the opponent get captured! It's a nice waste of 5 seconds, but it's too bad you can't really damage the foe, since the net is real strong.
3. BOMB- Self explanatory. It's a bomb, like Link's, and with varying levels of about-to-detonate-icity. Some bombs can even explode right in your face the moment you dig it up! And at the very longest, it can take whole 10 seconds to asplode. But that doesn't change the fact that it does 18% damage with good knockback. Be warned, as it can damage Chen, friend, and foe. They don't discriminate.
4. TREASURE- On the absolute rarest occasion, Nazrin will actually find a real treasure chest, the size of an SBB. She'll then take it and dash off the scene with her new riches. Or so it would seem, but the chest is just too heavy for her to handle. Until she does move off the stage, she'll just slooooowly drag the chest, while acting as a solid obstacle for everyone involved.



:nifty:AERIALS:nifty:


NEUTRAL AERIAL- EXPANSION

Whilst flying through the air, Chen instantly expands to 3x her size. She'll then shrink back after .7 seconds, and she can't use this move again for 5 seconds. You may wonder what this move is for, since all it seems to do is make her a bigger target! She can't even move while being all expanded! Actually, being expanded gives Chen Super-armor all throughout, and touching expanded Chen deals 5% damage with some knockback. So there you go boy.


FORWARD AERIAL- IT LEAVES AFTER IMAGES

Chen air-dashes a BF platform-long distance forward. She then proceeds to leave after-images that are also 100% solid in her wake. Much like the Gundam type this is derived from, these after-images can confuse any homing or lock-on type projectiles, by making them hit one of the images instead of Chen herself. This includes things like Sonic's homing attack. Since the after images are solid, I guess they would make a decent makeshift shield as well, but they only last for .5 seconds.


BACK AERIAL- I WOULD FLY TOO

Chen catches a fish in hand, which overjoys her so much, she makes a sharp turn in midair to the other direction, and glides down. Think of this as a really light version of Metaknight's recovery, but in the other direction. The sharp turn portion of the attack deals 6% damage, has low priority, and good knockback. It's so good, you could almost fly.


DOWN AERIAL- ONIPONI

Chen takes out a spell card that summons 2 Oni men directly below her, on the ground. Both these men are about the size of Marth, and mostly stay there while settling unheard dramatic affairs. They both act as a solid wall that cannot be passed, and stay there for 10 seconds before they make up and jump off the stage together. Isn't it romantic?
Of course, if you're a heartless jerk, you can try attacking them to knock them off the stage.


UP AERIAL- SEEIN' STARS

Chen instantaneously takes out a telescope, and points it at the cosmos. 75% of the time, this move does absolutely nothing. And likewise, there's a 25% chance something actually will happen-


1- A martian version of Chen (Or rather, a Mar-Chen) rains down from the sky. This Mar-Chen will slowly walk across the arena and jump on opponent's heads. Think of that one Felicia super. A jump on someone's head does 7% damage, and slight knockback. They go away after 15 seconds, but an opponent can shoo them away by dealing 20% damage to the pests.

2- The other 12.5% of the time, a SBB-sized METEOR will rain down from the sky at lighting speed! Getting hit by this meteor, no matter who you are, will deal 25% damage and great knockback. It's a pretty dangerous occurrence, sure to cause mayhem wherever it goes.


:nifty:GRABS:nifty:


GRAB- REIMU IS A JERKFACE

For .5 seconds, the top part of what looks like a cage will surround Chen in a 2 BF Platform radius. If the opponent isn't within the cage's radius, the cage will simply sink down into the ground again, as if nothing happened. (It must have been a failed contraption.) But if they are, the cage will rise all the way up, trapping both the opponent and Chen! Also, some of Chen's other friends somehow made it into the cage's cold, hard grasp as well.
As it turns out, that dastardly Reimu was the one behind this trap, and will taunt all of our heroes as they struggle to make it out!
Of course, this being a grab, the opponent actually can make it out if they try hard enough. If this grab is "broken", the cage itself will start to Malfunction and EXPLODE, causing 6% damage and good knockback to both the opponent and Chen! Of course this doesn't apply to Reimu and the other NPCs, as they all just go flying off-screen from the blast.


PUMMEL

The opponent tries to retaliate by saying "LET ME OUT OF HERE" or something to that effect. Reimu responds by repeating their phase back to them in a mocking tone. This act of total jerkitude causes the opponent to take 2% damage.


FORWARD THROW- RANBO

Chen's overprotective guardian Ran Yakumo comes on the scene, decked out in her "Ranbo" gear, and yells out for her beloved Chen while shooting everything! With her gun, she manages to break apart the cage and send Reimu running for the hills, but it doesn't stop there! Even after all is done, Ran will still be on the scene, wildly spraying a short-ranged gun that deals 1% damage per hit!(But doesn't harm Chen at all) She'll stay like this for 5 seconds before she simply jumps off the stage out of craziness.


DOWN THROW- WHACHA GONNA DO II

Once again, the one and only Highest Judge of Paradise Eiki Shiki Yamaxanadu comes on the scene to punish Reimu for her general evilness. Before Reimu can even run away a single step, the whole screen flashes black and a giant explosion can be heard!


Once everything fades away, the whole cage will be exploded-looking, and Yamaxanadu will hold up Reimu by the head. Reimu pleads for her life, saying "I-I'm sorry! I promise I'll never-!"
but before she can finish that sentence, Yamaxanu's assistant, Komachi Omozuka, will call in, saying "Lady Eiki! We've completed a new gadget! Combine with it!" Yamaxanadu silently complies and transforms into the mighty The Highest Judge of Paradise, Shiki Eiki Yamaxanadu Super-Guilt Fusion: Aku•Soku•Du!

Reimu yells out, "You picked a really bizarre time to power u-!" but before she can finish that sentence too, AkuSokuDu fires a GIGANTIC BEAM at Reimu, the size of the Zero cannon, but completely instantaneous. It does 30% damage and great knockback.
And I shouldn't have to tell you this, but both Chen and the opponent have complete control over themselves during the above exchange, so the beam is possible to dodge.


BACK THROW- HELL CAMP

Nothing really happens. Reimu thus gets her way, saying "You all are going to go through all sorts of discipline today, so prepare yourselves!" Rumia then hopelessly retaliates by saying "There's no God or Buddha, huuuh?"
For the next 6 seconds, a montage of all the characters going through intense training plays. Once that cutscene is over, all of our heroes are left tired out, as Reimu smugly looks down upon them, and flies away.
Once that's over, the opponent takes 15% damage. However, their power is doubled for the next 15 seconds.


UP THROW- TO THE SKY
I don't have an image for this one (SAD)​

Reimu's cage manages to malfunction again! A pair of rocket boosters show up on the cage and start steadily lifting up the cage off-screen! And if it does go all the way up, both the opponent and Chen will be KO'd and lose a stock.
As to be expected, this move can be easily broken out of at lower percentages.(Neither the opponent nor Chen die in that case.) However, this gets quite tricky at higher ones.



:nifty:FINAL SMASH:nifty:


Chen, Tewi, and Nazrin team up and form the mighty Cat+Rabbit+Rat=Lion formation, which has little startup and swifly goes all the way across the stage! Any foe hit in it's wake have to endure a spectacular explosion right in their face! When that's done with, they lose any last will to fight, and fall to the ground before exploding, as our heroines pose mightily.
It's a 1 hit KO.




:nifty:PLAYSTYLE:nifty:
Chen is, by all means, a "pressure" character. The way she's set up makes it so that the opponent is really only safe by keeping a certain distance away from her. It's up to you, as a Chen player, to negate this distance by all means. From afar, you gotta keep things spicy with constant abuse of the down B. It won't always hit, but man does it keep the foe in a jam! Easily the centerpiece of Chen's ranged game (That's because it pretty much is her ranged game). It's a great damage racker too, mostly when combined with Chen's ability to move anywhere on the stage. (In this case, the hell away from the foe.)
So while Black Cat of Ill Omen makes Chen a forced to be reckoned with from afar, her real deadly game is up-close, on the ground. The main thing anyone would want to do is get the opponent asleep, then run them over with a bike for the instant KO. (Or if you're super crafty, get the opponent caught by Yamaxanadu.) So as a result, all those other moves are but vital means to that sweet end. You can tell, since most of them are either damage rackers or "distraction" moves. So use distractions like the Flippers, Nazrin's Treasure Hunt, or the sneeze attack to troll your opponent into doing exactly what you want. It's pretty simple, but quite difficult to do well. After you get enough damage in, you'll want to stun the foe with one of such moves, combo into the sleep attack, then try and run over the poor opponent. Be warned, for if the enemy wakes up in time, they'll have more than enough time to punish Chen before she can endure the bike's cooldown time. And Chen's stamina doesn't make her very open to mistakes.
Speaking of such, let's talk defense. As you can see, Chen has many wonderful defensive options to make your Chen experience much less painful. The Yamaxanadu counter is the obvious centerpiece of the defensive experience, as it's one of the 2 main kill moves Chen has. But she's also a defensive beast in the air, thanks to her many aerial options. (Mainly the instant teleport thing, and the after-image airdash!) Sad to say this doesn't quite apply to a good offensive aerial game, as she only has 1 offensive aerial. (Which kinda sucks.) Last but not least, her grabs are quite polarizing. It has an unusually high range for a grab, which makes it quite scary. Not to mention one of the grabs is potentially Final Smash worthy, and another is essentially in instant suicide move. Truly, her grab is nothing to be messed with.
But other than that, Chen's point should be quite simple. Go away to rack up damage, then go in for the kill. Don't mess up.​
 

KingK.Rool

Smash Lord
Joined
Nov 26, 2005
Messages
1,810
We're still all gentlemen here! But we're going to feel guilty soon...

Chen - This set has everything! A one-hit KO where you least expect it, a grab that has a NPC popping out of nowhere and catching both the foe and Chen, minions that just stand there being angry at one another, and turning into a cat???

It took me a while (and it shouldn't have!) to realize that this set is even less serious than a typical tirk set and is feverishly subverting everything MYM stands for - is there any rule of what makes a "good" moveset that Chen doesn't break? She centers around luck-based moves, has little battle plan outside of tossing out irritating and hilariously random distractions as she tries to get lucky, doesn't flow at all either visually or playstyle-wise, uses deliberately enigmatic language that makes every move sound like the weirdest thing ever, and is replete with props, magic syndrome and probably pokemon syndrome for all I know. It feels very Japanese.

I'm pretty sure it's brilliant as a commentary on MYM. It may even be brilliant as a set. Either way, it's definitely vintage tirkaro. Boldest MYMer ever. You'll get a low mark from Warlord and should be happy with it. I'd be more worried if he gave it a high mark (and I mean that in a strictly positive way).
 

KingK.Rool

Smash Lord
Joined
Nov 26, 2005
Messages
1,810


O GENGAR O

~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~

Gengar, the Shadow Pokemon and Haunter's evolution, is a creature of contradictions and mystery. In the games, it's a straightforward powerhouse, fast and brutal but relatively fragile. Lore speaks of it as a trickster of the night, which masquerades as the shadows of travellers only to startle them when they least expect it... but there are also darker stories more reminiscent of Haunter, that call it a purely malevolent presence that saps warmth and life and wants nothing so much as to kill the people it shadows.

All legends will be exposed as true or false, and light will be shed on the true intention of Gengar's shadowgames - he's joining the Brawl, and there are no secrets in Brawl.


O STATS O

~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~

~weight4
~jump7
~airtime7
~speed8
~traction5

Gengar is an even larger target than Haunter, taller than Wario but just as wide - and he has no way to split up and diminish his hurtbox. Nor is he anything approaching a heavyweight. He's a good aerial combatant, though, and can cover ground quickly, which makes all the difference in his helter-skelter gameplay.

Gengar is an agent of darkness and does not emerge by day. Every stage is darker the moment he appears on it. It's just a little visual easter egg, as the darkness is nowhere near deep enough to obscure the Brawl. Think Battlefield by night and you won't be far off. As a second concession to practicality, the camera will be posed from an ever-so-slightly higher angle than usual, allowing the canvas that is the floor of the stage to be a bit more visible.

O MOVESET O

~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~

O SPECIALS O

~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~

~neutralspecialwill-o-wisp
Gengar clasps his hands together as though clutching a trinket scooped up off the ground. After this slight indication of start-up, he opens his hands and a bauble of ghostly light drifts out from between them, hanging in midair, quite untouchable. If he uses this attack while high in the sky, the wisp will not descend. He can create up to two wisps at any one time, and they vanish after fifteen seconds.

Gengar's gaseous and incorporeal body casts no shadow, but everybody else does (save Gastly and Haunter). Shadows behave much as they do in real life - high wisps will tend to cast shadows right under the character, while low wisps will cast shadows twice as long as the character themself. By placing your wisps carefully you can also have the opponent cast multiple shadows - if you place a wisp on either side of them, they will have two shadows jutting out from them to either side.

The radius within which shadows are cast is comparable to a smart bomb explosion and then some. A wisp on one edge of battlefield will not quite cast a shadow for the opponent standing on its other edge.

~sidespecialshadow ball
A shadow ball forms in Gengar's hand and he throws it automatically after just about half a second. It flies straight forward without changing trajectory and can be thrown at more or less any angle and any direction - if in the air, you can throw it straight down if you want. Upon contact with a foe, it keeps going after dealing 8% and slight knockback. It moves about as fast as one of Samus's uncharged Charge Shots - so slowly as projectiles go - and bounces off solid ground.

It also acts as a magnet for other shadows. If it passes within a platform of a one, it'll seem that the shadow tries to chase the shadow ball. The opponent's shadow will elongate, which is especially easy to imagine if the shadow ball is thrown straight forward and passes over the foe's head. It won't get any longer than twice the foe's height, and will shrink back to its usual size after the shadow ball passes farther than that.

In easier terms, it'll briefly cover half the stage in the opponent's shadow if you aim it properly.

In addition, shadow balls are repelled by will-o-wisps - it will curve away from them if thrown in their general direction, allowing you to hit at tricky angles, and will rebound completely if aimed straight at them. If you hang a will-o-wisp just off the stage, a well-aimed shadow ball can curve down and edgeguard recovering foes.

Likewise, if you hang a will-o-wisp slightly up off the ground and throw a shadow ball directly at it, you can promptly jump up and create another will-o-wisp directly across from the first. The shadow ball will be stuck, rebounding wildly between the two, dealing damage all the while. If you're quick enough to plant them right next to one another, you can suspend the shadow ball in midair. It doesn't vanish until it goes off the stage, so it'll hang there until one of your will-o-wisps vanish. You can potentially get a whole stream of shadow balls bouncing around between two wisps like this.

~upspecialstairway to heaven
An invisible staircase forms in front of Gengar; it's as long as a Battlefield platform turned diagonally. Of course nobody can walk on it but Gengar, who does so grinning broadly like he does everything. It'll remain in existence for five seconds and Gengar will run up it automatically if you continue holding Up Special; at the top, he'll leap off and not be able to use it again until he lands. If you don't hold down Up Special, Gengar can go up and down at his own sweet pace; usually, that'll be the better way to go about recovering, since it allows you to attack along the way.

This can be used while standing on solid ground, where it's a way to get up higher, or to crisscross a stage littered with traps and projectiles, or to aim Shadow Balls down from, and so on. It always lasts five seconds before vanishing.

~downspecialdance of living shadows
With a subtle whoosh sound effect, a second Gengar appears overlapping Gengar. During the second-long duration of the attack, you can input any attack you choose and the replica will immediately set about using that attack (hitbox and damage and knockback and all) once it takes form. Gengar has quite a few attacks with very long durations; for instance, if you use Up Special, the shadow Gengar will run and up and down the staircase until it vanishes.

This attack can also be used while Gengar is using an attack, if you're nimble enough with your fingers. In this case, the copy imperceptibly takes over for the real thing, causing the same second-long lag but at least allowing Gengar to spread his malevolent replicas proactively.

Once its attack is complete (if it has a set ending, that is), the shadow Gengar will vanish into thin air.

You can have any number of shadow Gengars bustling around the stage at a time, but they dissipate if hit, so if they're all just randomly running up and down staircases they'll be made short work of.

~shieldspecialumbra wink
This attack is used by pressing the shield input and B at the same time; it can be used out of a shield or a dodge if you want, although quick clicking can make it completely spontaneous.

Gengar fades out of existence, vanishing completely. It's quick, almost instantaneous... but after no more than two seconds, Gengar fades back in.

For Gengar, invisibility is not a state per se so much as a trick. Create a shadow Gengar then vanish - it's seamless and make the fake seem like the real thing. It's obvious once it starts to randomly loop a predictable attack, but then again the real Gengar can do the same thing to hide in plain sight, no?

It's also obvious once Gengar reappears after two seconds, but there is another place for Gengar to hide - just as proactively and just as intently - and going invisible is the perfect way to slip into it unnoticed.




O SMASHES O

~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~

~downsmashstalker
Gengar sinks into the ground, becoming an amorphous shadow of average size and shape. He can move back and forth along the floor at a high speed comparable to Sheik's run, as well as move up walls as though they were solid ground. Pressing Down Special again causes him to emerge.

While in this state, Gengar's goal is to attach himself to the foe (with a tap of Z once he's beside them, usually overlapping their shadow), whereupon he will move alongside them automatically, as he has replaced their shadow (and looks like in shape and size). He is then free to use attacks from his limited but quite potent moveset.

However, until he attaches to them, he can be attacked by most DAirs, DSmashes, etc - attacks that hit directly down - to be knocked up and out of his shadow state with a dizzied expression. Once he's attached as their shadow, although he can still be attacked, he can take up to 20% before being forcefully expelled (from their shadow and from his shadow state in general) and has attacks of his own. All the same, it's integral to keep the foe from realizing that you've replaced their shadow; this is the crux of Gengar's playstyle, destroying the foe after posing as their own shadow.

Here is his shadow set:


~downspecialsicken
Gengar starts dealing passive damage of 3% a second to the foe. This is toggled on and off by this input and activates almost immediately either way. Obviously, the opponent will realize that Gengar is shadowing him when he starts taking passive damage - but if you activate it briefly in tandem with attacks landed on the foe from outside sources, such as stray Shadow Balls or hitboxes from shadow Gengars, it can be passed off almost imperceptibly. The game doesn't stop for the foe just because Gengar has sunk into a shadow - they still have to contend with any stray shadow Gengars gambolling about.

This is also safe if the foe already knows Gengar is shadowing him, in which case he'll want to sneak a bit of stray damage before being ejected or evacuating.

~neutralspecialterrify
Gengar's toothy smile appears on the shadow, a brief visual indicator of what's to come. The foe has a split second to get up into the air, out of reach.

He then bursts out of the ground, wreathed in dripping shadow as though he's just burst out of tar. There's a broad grin on his face and his eyes flash evilly as he thrusts both hands toward the foe, dealing 25% and launching them solidly across the stage. This is his primary KO move - not his easiest shadow attack to land, but the pivotal one.

~sidespecialrotten dream
This attack will simply have Gengar dart under them, almost instantaneously, his false shadow flipping to their other side. Generally, this unnatural movement against the natural play of light will give away their unwelcome shadow - but once they already know you're there, perhaps because you're sapping their health, it becomes your main method of dodging their attempts to knock you out of the ground. In addition, if they're casting two shadows from two separate light sources, it's a coin flip which side Gengar is on.

~upspecialmire and tire
Tendrils of dark goopy energy will creep up the foe's legs, rising higher and higher the longer you hold the input (up to two seconds, whereupon they reach their waist). Essentially you're holding them in place, keeping them from jumping or running; the more you manage to enmire them, the slower they'll be able to move. Attempts to jump will see them barely getting off the ground as they strain against the flexible tendrils gripping them. If you manage to hold down the button for a second, they'll barely be able to shorthop.

They can break the tendrils by attacking downward, of course - even at their height, they can be dispelled by a DSmash or two. But while they're ensnared they can't hit Gengar himself. If he emerges from his shadow state, the tendrils vanish.

At every opportunity the option of ensnaring the foe with this should be considered. Buy your shadow Gengars time to do their dance. If uninterrupted for a second or so, you may even have the time to pull off a risk-free and sloppy Terrify. You'll need a cover of darkness to keep them from noticing the shadow creeping up their legs, though...


~forwardsmashshadow bond
There is no animation here, outside from a slightly broadened grin and a brief flicker of any will-o-wisps on the stage. For the next 6-8 seconds, any attack to one's shadow will deal equivalent damage and knockback to that shadow's owner. That is, if the foe attacks their shadow with a DSmash, suspecting it's Gengar hiding from them, they'll take the damage and go flying off in the opposite direction. Likewise, if Gengar smashes a foe's shadow, they'll take the damage and knockback. It's a small target usually, but there's always shadow ball to briefly double its length, right?

If you set a shadow Gengar to doing this, on the other hand, it'll stand in spot, doing absolutely nothing but grinning, until it gets attacked and dispelled. Until then the effect will endure and the foe will need to be sure that it's Gengar on their tail before indiscriminately attacking their own shadow. Of course, they could just rush forward and dispell the Gengar that's suspiciously standing there without doing anything... but it might be the real Gengar, after all. There is no animation to this attack and they could well be running into a grab.

Besides, there's always more than one shadow Gengar dancing about the screen...

~upsmashhellfire line
Gengar rises off of the ground, turns upside down, and points beneath him, cackling. The floor - a space of a platform - erupts into dark flame, crackling, which deals 8% in several small irritating hits and long hitstun. Gengar drifts slowly forward, burning the ground as he goes; uncharged, he floats half a platform forward at a slow speed, while fully charged he moves two platforms forward at fairly high speed. This attack starts up quicker than it sounds but naturally Gengar's hurtbox is big and exposed.

The flame recedes quickly and leaves charred land behind it that is black as pitch. It lightens gradually over the course of a few seconds, but while it's black and burnt Gengar can safely cross it in shadow, unnoticable. This becomes relevant indeed if his last will-o-wisp flickers out while he's hiding in shadow - not something that should be happening very often, but a legitimate possibility.

Or he can follow the flames themselves, if he's got a shadow Gengar doing this across the stage. That apparition will continue to move back and forth, crisscrossing the stage and burning the ground as it goes, cackling all the while. The foe should make short work of it - unless they can't get off the ground, and are being held firmly in place by tendrils of sneaking slithering shadow...


O STANDARDS O

~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~

~jabspectre
Gengar, facing the screen, balances on one foot and thrusts forward with the same hand, sideways. All that to say that he hits the foe for 5% and pushes them back solidly with a whoosh of a sound effect.

Tap A again, however, and Gengar hops onto the other foot and thrusts out with the other hand, now away from the direction he was originally facing. The hitbox is not on his hand, however, but on a spot about a Gengar forward from where he's standing. Essentially, if he's standing in front of a foe, this will hit them from behind, pushing them past Gengar himself. This can be chained into itself a little bit at low %s, as Gengar alternates from foot to foot and back and front with his psionic shoves.

Leave a shadow Gengar wobbling back and forth like this and it'll look very silly, so I don't advise it. More useful is this when Gengar is invisible to make it seem like he's attacking from behind. The foe can whirl to attack... giving you the opening to sink into the ground and begin to shadow them. You're not invisible for very long, but while you are you're bloody well going to confuse them about your whereabouts. You might not even be invisible. You might be posing as a shadow Gengar, pointlessly looping a harmless attack in some obscure corner of the screen and waiting for the opportune moment to vanish, leaving behind only a shadow.

~forwardtiltconga line
Gengar puts both his hands forward, and a second Gengar materializes directly in front of him, his hands on its shoulders and its own hands extended. That Gengar is a hitbox dealing 7% and decent diagonal knockback. Then if you continue to hold down the input, another Gengar materializes, holding its hands forward, the previous Gengar's own on its shoulders, dealing 7% and decent diagonal knockback, and so on. As each Gengar materializes, the one before last vanishes, so that there are only two corporal Gengars at any one time (the one in the back being the hurtbox, the one in the front the hitbox). They all have very broad grins as they go and seem to be having the time of their lives.

This is another good move to set a shadow Gengar to doing across the stage - nothing like a spectral conga line to distract the foe from hunting shadows - and also a quick attack that can rack up some quick damage early on or unpredictably move Gengar's hitbox forward if he's winked out of visibility for the moment (but not too far forward, because he likes to stick close to his foe).

~uptiltnight shade
Gengar points upward and swirls his hand around. A zephyr of pitch-black darkness forms around it as he does so, dealing multiple hits of 2% and dragging foes in ever so slightly from all directions. This, like most of Gengar's attacks, can be held down and used ad infinitum by a shadow Gengar. It's a nice quick option for interrupting a foe on their way to scatter one of your shadow Gengars or to cover a shadow Gengar or the real Gengar using Hellfire Line.

In addition, the diamond of dark energy will cast a shadow - not a very big one, but one slightly larger than a lurking Gengar. After passing this attack on to a shadow Gengar, he doesn't even need to become invisible (although the opponent likely wouldn't expect it), as he can simply sink into the ground right on the spot and lurk in the shadow of the Night Shade until the opponent approaches to dispell the shadow Gengar.

~downtiltwrecking ball
Gengar holds out his hands and legs, and a trace of a black outline appears around him. This is quite quick. He is now a low-priority hitbox that will roll forward fast or slow depending on how hard you mash the control stick forward. The attack goes on until you release the input and upon contact he'll deal 7% and nice horizontal knockback. This is most useful to you as a tapped input, so that he gets the Shine-like bounce hitbox at the start of the attack without the clumsy silly rolling part.

This is a great thing to have a shadow Gengar do, though. You can have a veritable parade of shadows crisscrossing the stage by setting up this as well as a Hellfire Line and a Conga Line! Throw in an invisible staircase for some more laughs as the parade starts marching through the air, reaching for pesky airborne foes out of reach of your shadow stalking. This is functional as well as amusing and horrifying, because the Wrecking Ball shadow Gengar can cover the hurtbox from the Conga Line shadow Gengar without missing a beat, while the Hellfire Line Gengar follows the both of them, slightly shielded from foes up ahead and charring the ground beneath him for the real Gengar to slip across unnoticed. While the shadows dance and caper, the true threat lurks beneath.

~dashattackbooga booga acrobatics
Gengar launches into the air from his quick dash, extends his limbs, and spins quickly around twice while facing the screen, all of his limbs part of his hitbox. Contact deals 9% and decent horizontal knockback. By holding the button down slightly longer, Gengar will continue spinning through the air without losing airtime, moving forward all the while. He can do this for up to two seconds. After the attack, he can go into a second jump, an aerial, or straight back into his dash. This attack has a bit of start-up but quite harmless wind-down, and it makes up for it by being an erratic movement. It's a nice option if you're invisible or even if you're not, as it does a nice job of reversing the foe's progression across the stage and has quite good priority to boot. It's not a bad idea to have a shadow Gengar twirl around a bit, either, although it can't go on for longer than two seconds, making it little more than a flashy distraction.

If a shadow ball happens to pass Gengar while he's spinning this way, though, he'll be able to toss it again when he comes out of the animation, aiming all over again. This is most likely to work on shadow balls ricocheting between will-o-wisps, although it can also be used to pluck one out of the air that just got thrown by a shadow Gengar. What's more, as shadow Gengars using this attack that catch a shadow ball will throw it straight forward, it can be used to play a bit of catch with one of your replicas. The shadow ball doesn't vanish if it hits the foe, remember, so you can snatch a few extras hits and confound them about which is the real thing along the way.

O AERIALS O

~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~

~neutralairminiboss 057 : god of thunder gengar
Gengar stops in midair and becomes engulfed in crackling black lightning as he pulls a faux-celestial pose. The lightning doesn't go far in any direction and deals hits of 2% and flinch/stun knockback. If you just tap the attack it's quick and weak and will likely leave the foe hitting you in your wind-down, although if you use it invisible they won't be sure which direction to strike in upon being very briefly stunned.

You can also hold down the button, in which case Gengar remains suspended indefinitely. Now, to hit him, the foe will have to jump through the lightning, which may cause a moment's delay and 2% dealt before they get close enough and get out of hitstun long enough to hit you out of the attack. But if there's more lightning, it will take more time and more damage done before they get penetrate to Gengar himself, and there is indeed a way to build up the dark lightning. Every shadow ball that passes within range of that thin web of lightning will be suddenly struck by a narrow bolt, drawn on for ever more power. With every shadow ball, the web gets bigger - and so does Gengar, growing noticably larger. His hurtbox isn't actually changing, so that the foe will have to pass through the lightning and still actually hit his body, which is woven into the center of the giant illusory Gengar. When he's hit the whole bloody illusion vanishes along with all the lightning, and the miniboss is revealed to be just Gengar playing tricks again.

Naturally, this is one of the best moves to give to a shadow Gengar. Shadow balls don't usually interact with them, like any of Gengar's attacks - but now you can feel free to toss them willy-nilly, swelling the shadow Gengar and its web of crashing thunder to a maximum size of about half of FD. It's a breeze to dispell a shadow Gengar with a few thin lightning bolts around it, but if Gengar is turning invisible and pelting it with shadow balls, it's not so easy to ignore. Before long the "miniboss" is the center of attention, and Gengar is safe to scurry through the shadows and begin his lurkgame.

This is the only aerial you can get a shadow Gengar to use, by pressing simply up or Y/X while one is being formed.

~forwardairsmart shadow bomb
Gengar's eyes glow, and he pushes both hands forward with such force that he himself is pushed slightly back, like a DBZ character using an energy attack. His energy attack is quite humble, though - a little grey wisp of something that crackles and churns and moves a platform and a half ahead almost instantly before fading. On contact, it has a puff-of-darkness hitbox that deals 6% with long hitstun; it's not a bad way to knock the foe out of the air, and a good way to meet aerial approaches, especially if you're just standing there and the foe reckons you for a shadow Gengar using Shadow Bond.

If that humble little wisp hits a shadow Gengar, the results are quasi-explosive; the shadow Gengar seems to swell to the point of bursting and continues expanding, becoming an explosion-sized shadow ball before vanishing. This plasmic explosion deals 13% with a whooshing, ethereal sound effect on contact that sounds quite out of place on such a "big" attacks; it also expands quite slowly and holds the foe in place while hitting them. This is a great move to chase foes into and also, since it doesn't hit Gengar, to use to get away. If they're right on your tail, and the shadow Gengar you're heading toward isn't about to stop them, turn it into a Smart Shadow Bomb and get them off your back right there on the spot.

But mostly, it's a distraction, a move to be used out of a bout of invisibility to turn that shadow Gengar they're about to dispell into something to be given more than just a moment's thought.

~backairtail whip/obey, smart shadow!
Gengar's tail suddenly elongates, turns pitch black, becomes razor sharp, and he whips it downward. The hitbox is small here, at the tip of the literally whip-like tail, and a good half a platform away from Gengar himself. The start-up is obvious but the reward is not bad, a 13% and decent horizontal knockback.

Gengar's aerials can't be used by shadow Gengars, so they're obviously useless if he's hiding in shadow form. Their purpose is close combat; harrying the foe with his unique brand of close-range camping; weaving in and out of invisibility, using his nimbleness and aerial mobility along with openings attacks and then leaving shadow Gengars to continue them to bait the foe across the stage, or to chase the foe across the stage with a combination of well-aimed shadow balls and unpredictable hitboxes in his aerials; all with the goal of eventually "losing" the foe, or seamlessly ceasing the hunt and moving into stalking mode.

~upairvolleyshadowball
Gengar swings one arm overhead in a volleying motion, the hitbox moving quickly, dealing no more than 7% on contact, and knocking the foe away suddenly but fairly weakly. If you manage to tap them at the end of the swing, it'll be a weak spike; Gengar doesn't hold enough sway over the corporeal world to knock the foe too far away with his physical strength. This attack is almost speedy enough to be spammed and is one of your prime options for knocking the foe down if they're about to hit a shadow Gengar and don't realize that you're overlapping it, standing invisible, or even are pretending to be the shadow Gengar yourself.

This also volleys shadow balls, and them it does hit hard! They pick up speed but deal no more damage than usual. Better is to use this to briefly extend a foe's shadow and take advantage of the moment to sink into it, although it isn't that easy to catch up to a shadow ball unless you've set it to ricocheting off of will-o-wisps or have rebounded it off of a cartwheeling shadow Gengar.

~downairdensify
Gengar cackles and points down. For the next three seconds, not only will Gengar himself cast a shadow (providing he's not invisible), so will all of his shadow Gengars. This pivotal attack allows Gengar to move across the stage while in shadow form more or less unseen; he's not strictly reliant on moving in and out of invisibility and only sinking into the ground at the very end, when his victory seems assured. Now that all of his parading shadows cast shadows of their own, he has plenty of dark terrain to cross without fear that he'll be detected before replacing the foe's own shadow.



O THROWS O

~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~



~grabtaste of fear
Gengar opens his mouth wide and his long tongue slithers its way forward. It moves through the air unnaturally, "swimming" up and down like a leviathan of some sort. It'll move straight forward and continue extending until you release the input. If any part of it makes contact with a foe, it'll wrap itself solidly around them and speedily retract to Gengar, who will hop into the background and put his hands on either side of the terrified-looking foe's head, smiling. Alternately, you can tap Z while they're being pulled in to cancel the grab, unleashing them at the last possible second; in this variant, you're just using it to drag them across the stage to you. This is a slow grab to start up.

Gengar is entirely vulnerable, but his tongue is not. The foe can struggle out of it as they're being pulled in, however, and if you got them from quite far away they have a decent chance of making it. Once you get your clutches on them, the grab-escape counter is reset.

If you set a shadow Gengar to using this, it'll reel the foe in as though they were the real thing... but once it actually gets its hands on them, it'll seem that the foe suddenly struggled out, and the shadow Gengar will vanish into thin air. There's room for deception here: the real deal can pretend to be a mere shadow Gengar, and conveniently deposit the foe right beside him to boot. If a will-o-wisp is placed properly, their shadow may well be cast right beside you.

In addition, if you grab the foe while invisible, Gengar will remain invisible for the duration of his grab. Let the foe guess which throw he's using then (although he'll reappear after the throw is done).

Lastly, a shadow Gengar's tongue can cast a very long shadow with a DAir if you place it at the top of an invisible staircase, loosing its tongue through the air and across the stage.

~forwardthrowheat sink
Gengar grips either side of the foe’s head tightly and pulls a concentrated face. He's draining their heat, their soul, their life - what you what to call it depends on what lore you refer to. The foe takes 9% and moves slightly slower for five seconds, while Gengar moves slightly quicker. So much for outrunning him, although in fact he has many reasons to enjoy the brief speed boost - mobility is the cornerstone of his game and being able to get from place to place and keep the foe guessing is half of it.

After the heat drain, Gengar does an automatic double jump into the air. Extra points for creating an invisible staircase right there and then and raining shadow balls down on them where they're unable to dodge. Extra extra points if you have a shadow Gengar nearby playing the miniboss! Talk about good shadow ball targets...

But on the whole, this is Gengar's "functional" throw, for quick grabs with no added frills. A bit of damage, a nice effect, and let's move on.

~backthrowrules written in shadow
So you think you understand the rules of shadows at last? Well, Gengar is about to warp them! In this throw, he grips the foe's head as though crushing it, and then spins the foe around, whereupon it'll be revealed that they're flat as a discus. They then fall over to the side while their shadow rises - effectively, they're swapping places with their shadows. The shadow character will be the one controllable, although it's still a shadow and as such is neither a hitbox nor a hurtbox (unless you've activated a Shadow Bond...). The hurtbox is the flat foe, who can be pummeled by downward-pointing attacks and leave the shadow body helplessly tossed about by the knockback. The foe can also attack, although the hitboxes are essentially just the small space of ground that they occupy.

The swap is reversed after five seconds. Until then, wreak your mischief. For now, you can attach yourself to their shadow without actually going into shadow state, although they're likelier to know it (invisibility notwithstanding). You can also warp and stretch their hurtbox by causing the now three-dimensional shadow to stretch with a well-aimed shadow ball.

If the foe has two shadows from two light sources, they'll switch with one or the other, not both. And if there is no light source at all, which should never be the case, this throw is unusable.

~upthrowlobotomy
Gengar rips the top of the opponent's head off and tinkers with their brain!... or that's what it looks like, although it's really just a trick as Gengar uses Confuse Ray. A flash of light radiates from the foe's open brain, and Gengar screws their scalp back on with a vicious grin. Like in FThrow, he double jumps away after the throw is done. This process is accompanied by 11% and a horrifically over-the-top shriek by the foe (or, in case of heavyweight male antagonists, a grunt of pained acceptance).

The results are disproportionate to the process, as one would expect: the foe is disoriented. Running left makes them go right and running right makes them go left. Jumping makes them duck and ducking makes them jump. This lasts five seconds. The best way for them to handle it is to wait it out, giving Gengar five seconds to get his shadows dancing, to get into prime position to pursue or to lurk, or simply to start attacking them in a blitzkrieg of shadow balls and quick tilts that may or may not turn out to be just shadow Gengars.

~downthrowsoul swallower
Gengar swallowed the foe's shadow! He tears it off the ground and stuffs it into his mouth, chewing with evident glee and looking bloated once he swallows. The foe looks aghast and like in all of his throws, Gengar does a double jump away at the end.

The foe's shadow has really been eaten; they won't cast one until they get it back (if they're casting two shadows, this will in fact eat them both). This really is a good thing for them, maybe even the best thing, but you have ways of giving it back to them. While their shadow is in your belly, Gengar looks slightly bloated and has wisps of something black issuing from his teeth and drifting upward. You can have Gengar exhale the shadow and cause it to go darting back to its caster with the grab input, but what fun would that be?

The next time he throws a shadow ball, it'll contain their shadow; after leaving the stage or hitting them, it'll go back to its rightful spot. If you activate Shadow Bond, you can indeed beat on that mobile shadow with Volleyshadowball and Booga Booga Acrobatics.

Or, if it comes first, he'll use their shadow to create his next shadow Gengar. It'll behave completely normally and look just like any shadow Gengar, and once the creature dissipates they'll have their shadow back. But again there's Shadow Bond, which will cause them to take any damage and knockback from that fatal attack they use to destroy it. Here there are realms of mindgames and trickery, such as putting two Gengars next to one another using Shadow Bond, with one of them made of the foe's shadow and one of them a normal shadow Gengar. When they take the unexpected knockback is when they're most distracted and startled and vulnerable to being shadowed in turn.

Because you can still start to shadow the foe while they're missing their shadow, attaching yourself to them surreptitiously. They'll be expecting it, sure, which is why you'll want to mix it up a little once in a while by exhaling the shadow and tricking them into thinking that it's actually you hiding behind them. You do have one of those shadow Gengars using Shadow Bond in the corner, right? Perhaps even the one made from their own shadow?


O FINAL SMASH O

~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~

~finalsmashminiboss 562 : dirigible gengar
Gengar spins in place and vanishes with a flourish and a dark, ringing cackle. In from the side of the screen flies - a blimp?!? The massive blimp, as wide across as a Landmaster and slightly taller, has Gengar's grinning face printed on it. No, Gengar, you're not Drifblim!

While hovering slowly across the stage - unstoppably forward, and it would take him about eight seconds to fully cross FD, although you can control his vertical movement as he goes - he can attack with B to launch three shadow balls out of the blimp's mouth/snout/front, all of them whirling about at unpredictable angles. He can attack with A to eject what seems to be black fire from the back of the blimp, which deals multiple hits for as long as you hold the button and has a tendancy to drag the foe along. He can attack with R to pulsate suddenly and rapidly, dealing small and patently stackable strikes of 3% and whooshing knockback. Or he can use the grab input to ditch the blimp and leave it as a shadow Gengar. It looks essentially the same and is still invulnerable, although the ghost pilot will simply spam the last attack you used, giving it away in short order - unless it's typical of your Final Smashing style to spam a single attack? In any case, the real Gengar will be concealed behind the blimp for a while (generally, the blimp is impassable) and can then emerge invisible or hiding as a shadow or however you like. The blimp casts a very large shadow itself.


O PLAYSTYLE O

~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~

Pandemonium. Gengar has stage control, but not primarily for controlling the stage; he has projectiles, but they're to be used for chasing, not camping; he uses invisibility but not with the intent of escaping. Bewilderment for bewilderment's sake is the entire point of his gameplay; the more excessive, over-the-top, ridiculous and unhinged the chaos he wreaks on the stage, the easier it'll be to shadow the unnerved foe and quietly, secretly, drain their health or spook them into a glorious KO finish. A practical joke works best when it's completely unexpected, Gengar knows, just as he knows that it's easiest to drain the life away from unsuspecting prey.

Gengar's movement across the stage has to mingle invisibility and visibility. What he should be doing right from the start is creating shadow Gengars and hiding among them - both literally and figuratively, because he can either turn invisible in their midst and make the foe think that he's one of them or he can remain one of them and pretend that he HAS gone invisible. Who would suspect the Gengar running pointlessly up and down his stairs of being the real deal? Or the one that's blatantly exposed while using Hellfire Line (although that one can be covered nicely by one using Neutral Air or Dash Attack)? Of course, it's easier to be crouching among them and knock the foe out of the air every time they try to dissipate them; to this end, Shadow Ball is crucial, because it can be thrown from anywhere at any time and interrupt the foe in their systematic destruction of chaos's agents.

No such system should exist, though, because Gengar is only going to want to be far away from his foe in the very early stages of the game, when he needs to plant the first seeds of doubt. As soon as he's got one or two shadows and a will-o-wisp, he's going to start playing cat-and-mouse. Because he can make any approach hazardous by turning suddenly invisible, and because his hitboxes are so unpredictable, and because he can at any time take refuge on the ground, Gengar is a master of close combat. Passive-aggressive one might call it; he's really camping right before the foe's eyes. Every attack he uses, usually coming out quickly, can turn into the work of a shadow Gengar as the real thing moves forward unseen. When the foe is pressing an offensive Gengar is trying to lead them chasing after shadows; when Gengar is the one on the attack, he's still ever looking for the opportunity to sink away entirely.

He has no end of distractions. Whether they're eerily omnipresent bouncing shadow balls, conga lines, sudden explosions of shadow, or measly-but-growing mini-minibosses, there are myriad ways for him to occupy the foe's attention with trying to keep up their own battle flow and slip away entirely. He can, remember, chain invisibility sessions by timing when and where he reappears, and by making casual use of his DSmash to sink into the ground strictly as a mobility option. A conga line of shadow Gengars (well, one shadow Gengar, really) is easy to move beneath unseen. And moving as a shadow is easiest of all after a DAir, whereupon every random shadow Gengar bouncing around the stage casts their own shadow and literally bathes the stage in darkness. At this point, getting right up to the foe is a breeze.

Yes, we want to place our will-o-wisps carefully; one at either side of the stage is a nice and obvious way to do it, and also opens up the potential for some truly mischievous ricocheting shadow balls (a cheap deflection KO? Sure! A pinball machine juggling it back and forth? Why not?), but it requires you to do a whole lot of moving and planning when really Gengar would rather toss the light sources up somewhere around the middle of the stage so that the foe has nowhere to go where they won't cast a shadow. Having the foe cast two shadows is always preferable, because it allows Gengar to stay in the game even if the foe suspects something; by bouncing from one side of them to the other, especially if a Shadow Bond is active, he can mislead them into thinking that they're safe or even trick them into repeatedly attacking themselves.

He doesn't want to get noticed! Yes, yes, I've said that, but what if he is? His game doesn't end right there and then, of course, although he does have to take a step or two back and get back to disorienting the foe. While in shadow form, don't underestimate the usefulness of holding the foe to the ground, in place, unable to jump with Mire and Woe; a foe recently confounded by one of your throws will be especially vulnerable to this, and it might snatch the time necessary for some roaming shadow Gengar (Hellfire Line or Conga Line or even Wrecking Ball) to swoop in and throw them off. And what then? Most often it would be time to Sicken them and steal some quick damage, but particularly diabolical it would be to leave them, the last thing they'd suspect, and watch as they furiously attack their own shadow, figuring you were still there.

This is a start - Gengar is a character of excess, and that means excessive individual options, much more than any player would need in any one match. Half of his throws open up entirely new possibilities. More important is to remember that Gengar is a master of the unpredictable, and that his mischief is deliberately chaotic. When he's being clumsy and tossing up shadow Gengars haphazard, he's not necessarily losing or failing at his gameplan. All chaos is good chaos; every shadow flitting across the stage, every small hit, prod from the shadows or brief distraction another minor victory for the forces of chaos and deceit.

Because his goal is not the chaos in itself. It's a subterfuge allowing him to stalk the foe unnoticed. Gengar wants to be near his victim all the time and never let them be sure of it; he wants to instill fear and confusion, because with them come clumsiness; and he wants to play. He wants to mess about and play his jokes and behave sillier than any mature Pokemon should. But he's a ghost as well as a Pokemon, and so he also wants to shatter the foe's morale and terrify them out of their wits, to feed on their lifeforce and vitality and fear.​


~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~\~/~

#94
 

BKupa666

Barnacled Boss
Moderator
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Aug 12, 2008
Messages
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KABUTOPS
Much like Gallade, Kabutops actually introduces a new concept to the combo genre, which I applaud you for, due to the genre being quite difficult to perfect and keep interesting simultaneously. While he does have set-up along with his melee attacks, Kabutops is a rare -fast- character that can use its speed and Up Special to escape opponents, digging up rocks to create the slant it wants onstage. Kabutops does have some generic inputs that could easily be pounced upon, but rather than just filling his combo needs, I see additional use for him in pushing opponents to the closest ledge, where his slants are clearly more useful. If there's one thing I'd like to see expanded on somewhat, it would be his grab-game, which would seemingly be more prominent than it actually is, what with Kabutops being a bloodthirsty predator, although this is a minor nitpick. If anything, you're just leaving stuff open to interpretation like you mentioned in the chat...Kabutops can always heal himself, B-Throw his opponents back up his slope, then catch them as they flow back down. Kabutops is a terrific stand-out set, and is what I was hoping Ghost Rider would be more like.

HOPPIP
What? A newcomer set I don't have to preface with 'it's a good start, but not good'?! Hoppip's cloud traps are already somewhat interesting, but his methods of traversing the stage while interacting with both his traps and opponents is really something else. We've barely scratched the surface with jump-based playstyles, and Hoppip ekes out a surprising amount of the genre's potential. Little moves like F-Tilt and D-Smash, while fairly bland on their own, are given new life through their methods for controlling the aerial movement of characters to his liking. Hoppip's ability to spam Spore and his faster standards seem to make him a bit overwhelming at times, but this is without taking into consideration his pathetic weight. As Smady said, this is easily one of, if not the best, newcomer moveset we've seen thus far in our history, enough so that a solid argument could be made for you being an alternate account. Hope you continue with us in the future by both observing -and- participating.
 

Smady

Smash Master
Joined
Apr 29, 2007
Messages
3,306
Location
K Rool Avenue
With a set like Chen, you know what I dislike about the set already. It wears all of its “mistakes” on its sleeves, so it's hard to make any real constructive criticism. It happily makes use of random mechanics, instant knock out moves and plenty of props or minions randomly spawning in on parts of the screen. What else to expect from a Tirk set? I suppose what can be said in its favour is that it's deadly loyal to the character and does attempt a playstyle, which is pretty admirable considering it's obviously not designed to have a playstyle and yet comes together purely on the merit of the character alone. It's a fun approach to movesetting and a space not being filled by anyone else, so I approve of its existence, if only to be a talking point for those most in favour or opposed to it.

Gengar is a set I know will be polarising. The evolution of Gastly to Gengar is absolutely fantastic, that's for sure – subtlety and ineffectualness that eventually becomes a craving for attention and show-boating. Not only has the design of each set fundamentally evolved, but so has the writing – at first so simplistic, now practically mocking the reader as it wallows in its love of details and seemingly tacky mechanics. Is this really an evolution at all? Of course, you never flat out say this stuff in the set, but it's too apparent to just be serendipitous either. The trio is an absolute delight from top-to-bottom. And in that regard, I would say Gengar is easily the best of the three also, despite just how different he is from the rest. He is almost entirely dissimilar from the other two, but in a very purposeful and functional way, while retaining a high level of insanity and Zant-levels of creepiness.

You start off with the will-o-wisps and the shadow balls. Simple enough shadow mechanics, you think, and I'm immediately given positive flashbacks to Shikamaru. As the set goes on, though, you slowly abandon any previously created rules, dipping lower and lower into very awkward and bizarre inputs. The staircase, the conga line, the liberal interpretations of Gengar's magical powers... This actually fits Gengar pretty well, though and the way you go about using these quite unsmash inputs is very clever in fitting in with Gengar's unique rushdown and trickery shenanigans. You have lots of tools to take advantage of your duplicates as well and this is backed up by Gengar's shadow play, enabling him quick access to the opponent over anything else, giving the set much needed natural flow.

Of course, then you get to the throws, which, more than anything else, completely ignore any of the previously established logic. It's mad design and it's really fun, perhaps being one of the stronger and more compelling statements from you in terms of philosophy, while retaining the qualities of a very good moveset. It's weird, though. As you said yourself, it's graffiti and your enjoyment of the set largely depends on how much you crave to be liberated from many of the tropes which this set is apparently dismantling and does so successfully for the most part. I wouldn't say this is quite the world-changer I thought it may be, but it's one of the few sets that meshes Make Your Move with the kinds of disabler sets you'd see designed for Brawl: designed to confuse, mock and belittle other MYM sets and players, while showing the utmost respect for them purely by its own acknowledgement. A defining Rool set, if nothing else.
 

MasterWarlord

Smash Champion
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Aug 24, 2008
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Not wasting countless hours on a 10 man community
PENNYWISE REMIX REMIX

Pretty much everything that was good about Pennywise is here, but considering you’ve barely read any movesets this MYM, let alone the dancing clown, it’s difficult to fault you for it. If we were to compare them, though, I honestly prefer Gengar over Pennywise for his more elaborate methods of distractions with mass multiple set and forget duplicates, and far more importantly the shadow game. The shadow game isn’t blatant invisibility, with you having to make a bridge between you and the foe out of shadow, and it’s all very, very interesting stuff, what with devouring the foe’s shadow and turning it into their hitbox and such. The only real catch to it is it just seems too easy, as just a casual fsmash/dair gives him pretty much all the leeway with shadows he needs. Regardless, the time limits are short enough that Gengar has to keep going at his frantic pace to cause as much chaos as possible to hit the foe unaware with a terrify. Outside Pennywise’s pits, the main other thing he has going for him over Gengar is being able to consistently figure out his location without informing the foe of it, with Gengar having no tells whatsoever. Sure, Gengar can only go invisible for 2 seconds at a time so he generally shouldn’t lose track, sure, but if he’s going into his shadow game at the end things get more complicated. Regardless, it’s a pretty weak complaint considering so few sets have done this –well- (Gastly for one failed horribly at it), but I’d say Pennywise’s game has a bit more method than Gengar’s what with so much of Gengar’s moveset being set and forget distractions, regardless of how interesting they are. Either way, the set definitely gives Pennywise some very legitimate competition.
 

ForwardArrow

Smash Ace
Joined
Aug 17, 2011
Messages
502
Chen
I can tell this wasn't meant to be a serious set, considering all the bizarre attacks and props and complete lack of any sort of playstyle. The moveset seems to be trying to be bad, which is fine if that was your goal. The main thing here is that bugs me here is that I am clearly not getting the joke. I normally end up very amused reading your sets, but there really isn't any humor here that I get. It might appeal to some people, but for me it came across as a joke set that didn't succeed at being funny.

Gengar
I have to admit, it's been a long time since I've gotten this excited reading a set. The concept of creating complete pandemonium with an underlying plan is just a wonderful idea, and it was executed perfectly here. Gengar's use of shadows, the clones, and more brief invisibility just works so nicely together and really makes the opponent fear in a way I feel no other invisibility set before it has. I would go so far to say it's not only the best set this contest, but one of the best ever.

That doesn't mean it's entirely beyond criticism though. I feel Gengar may actually be so good at covering his tracks that he may become literally impossible to fight properly, making him rather overpowered. The throws also struck me as bit overdone, and you could have done better with a simpler grab game. Mind you, this is just me nitpicking, and I will literally eat my hat if I don't end up super voting this by the end of the contest.
 

LegendofLink

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Feb 17, 2008
Messages
164
Location
Pennsylvania
Now a set that I had been working on for a week before Hoppip was posted, I swear.

Yanmega


Size: 6
Weight: 4
Ground Speed: 1
Traction: 10
Air Speed: 10
Air Control: 11
Fall Speed: 4


Mechanic: Flight Mode
Yanmega controls a bit differently than your average character, and has no jumps. While on the ground, Yanmega crawls around at Mario's walk speed. Dashing, taping up, or pressing the jump button causes Yanmega to enter flight mode. In flight mode, Yanmega has two speeds: Stop and Go, accelerating to top speed almost instantly, and stopping just as fast; that 11 in Air Control isn't just for show, you know. Yanmega will fly in whichever direction you point the control stick at Sonic's dash speed, stopping on a dime and hovering in place when you release it. Don't think you can run away forever with this though, as Yanmega begins to tire after ten seconds in flight mode, and begins to lose altitude. Five seconds later, it tires out completely and enters its helpless state. Yanmega's flight time is fully restored after spending two seconds on the ground.

Due to the fact that Yanmega will be spending most of the time in the air, aerial and ground inputs styles are reversed compared to normal characters, with Yanmega having access to tilts and smashes in the air, and having a separate set of moves for use while grounded in a manner similar to normal aerials. Yanmega can still air dodge, but doing so causes hit to exit flight mode for the dodge's duration, which means that it will lose altitude rapidly and lose control of its movement during it, making Yanmega much easier to punish for dodging than most characters.



Specials

Neutral Special: Pursuit
Pressing The B button causes Yanmega to take off flying directly at the opponent, taking the shortest path possible to home in on them. While simply pursuing the opponent deals no damage, all of Yanmega's grab, smashes, tilts, aerials, and specials are usable while in pursuit, and Yanmega will continue chasing the opponent while using them, meaning that you can use any of your moves regardless of the direction you are moving in, and even if using the move would normally cause Yanmega to halt in midair to use. This is essential to Yanmega's aerial rushdown game, and is incredibly useful for almost almost all of Yanmega's attacks. You must be careful in its use though, because your path of movement during pursuit is VERY predictable, allowing opponents to attack and intercept you en route with relative ease. Pressing the B button a second time causes Yanmega to cease its pursuit.

Up Special: Ancientpower
Yanmega draws upon prehistoric powers, calling six smallish (about the size of Olimar) rocks up from the ground below it, which float in place around Yanmega for half of a second before flying in the direction of the nearest opponent at a speed similar to Falco's lasers. The group of rocks is about the size of bowser, and each individual rock deals 3% damage with flinching knockback on contact, even if they haven't been fired yet and are simply floating in the air. Yanmega remains fully mobile during this move though after calling up the rocks, Yanmega can't use any other attacks until they are fired. In addition, the higher up Yanmega is from the ground, the longer they take to reach Yanmega, meaning that the startup for this move becomes much greater if you are hanging out way up in the air, and is at it's shortest when Yanmega is on the ground. Ancient power is a great precursor to an aerial assault, as it can cover your approach, even opening the opponent up for a grab if they are close enough. It is an extremely telegraphed tactic though, especially if you start from the relative safety of its in the air, allowing opponents to prepare defenses and preventing them from getting caught off guard. This makes Ancientpower best used against opponents with relatively few options, like those high in the air on a ledge.

Down Special: Whirlwind
Yanmega begins beating is wings at a much faster rate than normal. If this move is used in the air, Yanmega stops in place, creating spherical vortex of wind one Battlefield platform in diameter around itself for up to three seconds, ending early if you let go of the B button. The vortex deflects projectiles that come into contact with it at angles appropriate to where on the sphere they hit. Opponents who come into contact with the vortex are sucked in and spit out the exact opposite side of the sphere in their tumble state, with moderately strong set knockback. This means that opponents who attack from above get thrown down to the ground, and vice versa. When used on the ground, the wind is focus into the ground, creating a swirling updraft the same width as the aerial vortex, but 1.5 times as high, with the main difference being that this one only sucks opponents and projectiles upwards, spitting them out with the same knockback as before. There is a fair amount of startup to this move, so don't expect it to be the end-all solution to everything.

While this move deals no damage, it is a great way to keep opponents out of your face, instead putting them in an awkward position if they end up getting hit by it. This is especially nice against opponents attacking from below, as they will get tossed up into the air, right where you want them. Whilrwind becomes extremely useful while using Pursuit as well, allowing you to negate projectiles that opponents throw out to stop you, as well as tossing them around if they fail to stop you. On the ground, this move is a prime way to get opponents into the air when they try to attack Yanmega while it is recovering from flight.


Side Special: Sonicboom
Yanmega's wings vibrate much more rapidly than normal, and after a moment of startup, Yanmega fires a horizontal stream of crescent chapped sonic waves, traveling forward at the speed of Fox's lasers. The waves have a maximum range of two battlefield platforms and can be angled up or down at a 30˚ angle. Opponents who come into contact with the waves take 5% damage and very light set knockback in the direction exactly opposite of the direction that they hit the waves from, meaning that opponents hit by the stream of waves head on take horizontal knockback, opponents who fall on the stream of waves take upward knockback, and opponents who hit the underside of the stream take downward knockback. Yanmega can only sustain the stream of sonic waves for half of a second at a time and can't use it again for one second afterward, so you can't wall opponents off with it forever, but it is extremely useful for keeping opponents from trying to get somewhere you don't want them to go, such as knocking them back up in the air to continue attacking them there, or using it on the ground to either knock the opponent away or angled up to keep them there on the ground if they try to jump above you. It also works to assist in gimping opponents sent off-stage, but the low knockback means that is likely to only stall out the opponent, giving Yanmega more time to finish them off himself. Firing a Sonicboom while using Pursuit allows you to block off an escape route and knock the opponent up/down, the fact that you keep moving throughout the move allowing for easier followups.





Standard Aerials

Neutral Aerial: Uproar
Yanmega begins buzzing loudly, generating a damaging pulse of shockwaves around its body, extending 3/4 of a battlefield platform in each direction. The shockwaves deal 6 rapid hits of 1% damage each to opponents caught in them, dealing flinching knockback that doesn't move them anywhere. For the next six seconds after using uproar, every two seconds, Yanmega will use the attack again, without canceling out of whatever else Yanmega happens to be doing. Uproar cannot be used again during this time. Because repeated uproars do not interrupt other moves, they serve as an effective tool for catching opponents who you are chasing down, either normally, or with Pursuit, as opponents caught in an uproar are momentarily held in place by the attack, meaning giving you the perfect opening to strike, and extending he effective range of many moves.

Forward Tilt: Quick Attack
Yanmega puts on a burst of speed, dashing in a straight line in whichever direction you are pressing the control stick, Fox Illusion style, traveling 1.5 Battlefield platforms in distance before stopping, with about a quarter of a second of end lag as Yanmega brings itself to a stop. Opponents hit by Yanmega during the attack are dealt 5% damage with weak upward knockback. Do note that I said which direction you are pointing the control stick, and not which direction you are moving in. This means that you can use Quick Attack while using Pursuit to change direction and attack from a different angle, even dashing backwards to dodge an attack before resuming the assault, assisted by the fact that Yanmega will not stop moving during this attack's end lag while in pursuit, though you still won't be able to act otherwise.

This attack is Yanmega's primary attack for use in aerial assaults, passing through the opponents position quickly, then coming back around again for another go. It also helps that the attack's upward knockback allows you to juggle opponents higher and higher into the sky with each successive hit, leaving them up in the air longer to prolong their lack of options. It is also decent at ground level when just taking off, allowing you to attack at an upward angle to get through the opponent and get into the air. Proper use of Uproar also helps a lot here, as it can guarantee a successful hit on opponents who get too close, and allowing you to use it more safely, even if the opponent has attacks that allow them to easily beat out Quick Attack under normal circumstances.

Down Tilt: Air Slash
Yanmega swoops forward in a shallow downward arc, covering about 3/4 of a Battlefield platform. At the bottom of the arc, Yanmega creates a concentrated blast of air, creating a translucent blade of wind that travels downward at a 45˚ angle forward, traveling at just a little bit faster than Sonic's dash speed. Opponents hit by the blade are dealt 8% damage with moderate upward knockback. If this move is used while using Pursuit, Yanmega instead pauses for a split second before firing the blade of air directly at the opponent and resuming the chase. The speed of the projectile means that it will always arrive just before Yanmega does while using pursuit, covering your approach and possibly setting up a grab if the opponent shields the attack. Outside of Pursuit though, this move is a great way to pester opponents who insist on trying to stay on the ground while you keep at a safe distance, especially since Ancientpower is more or less useless against grounded opponents, especially when you are high in the air to begin with. Successfully hitting opponents with an Air Slash puts them up into the air where if you want them, or if you'd prefer that they stay in the ground, you can follow it up with a Sonicboom over their heads to knock them back down again.

Up Tilt: U-Turn
Yanmega speeds up to about 1.25 times its normal speed and performs a loop-de-loop that covers an area one Battlefield platform in diameter, dealing 5% to opponents Yanmega hits during this time, with light knockback toward the center of the loop, meaning that it is possible to hit an opponent once and then hit them again on the other side of the loop. If you hold the A button until the end of the loop, Yanmega will begin another loop, otherwise, Yanmega welcome to a stop back where it started with very little lag. Yanmega can repeat the loop as many times as it wants until it runs out of flight time. You can also cancel out of the loop at any point by tapping the A button again, causing Yanmega to halt where it is in the loop with almost no lag. This allows Yanmega to follow up a hit or stop to avoid an attack from the opponent. It also serves as quite the mindgame enabler, as you can loop as many times as you please, with the opponent having no idea when you will stop and attack, which is especially useful when the opposes in the air or on a platform and you begin looping around them, trapping them in a game to see who has the fastest attacks and best reaction time, a game that Yanmega has a considerable advantage in. When combined with Uproar, the opponent is left with almost no way to escape, making for an easy followup. This is probably one of your less useful moves to use while using Pursuit, though it can be used for evasive maneuvers or to catch up to someone above you.




Aerial Smash Attacks

Forward Smash: Aerial Ace
Yanmega pushes itself to the limit, speeding up to almost twice its normal flight speed, its image blurring in the process. Opponents who come into contact with Yanmega during this time takes 16% damage with powerful upward knockback, KOing around 180%. While using this attack, Yanmega can't stay still, always defaulting to whichever direction it was moving in last if none is specified, and can't use any other attacks. The amount of time Yanmega can move at this speed is determined by the charge time, ranging from one second at no charge to three seconds at full charge. Pushing itself that far comes at a cost however, using this smash causes Yanmega to use up all of its remaining time in flight mode, regardless of charge, putting it into helpless state. In addition, this attack can't be used in the first place if Yanmega is already in the last five seconds of flight mode, as it doesn't have enough energy to begin the move.

This move is Yanmega's primary finisher, and you had better hope you land it. It works great in pursuit, as you will take the shortest path to get to the opponent, and the attack has very high priority, so they are not likely to beat it out, especially in the air. If they do manage to clash with it though, Yanmega will enteritis helpless state anyway, so be aware of what moves the opponent has at their disposal at the moment. This move is the ideal way to finish off opponents that you have carried into the air with Quick Attacks or Whirlwind, as it will KO much earlier if you are high in the air. The problem here is that in order to make the move really safe and easy to land, it must be charged, which gives opponents time to prepare. If you are close enough, you can pull of an uncharged smash and still hit them, but if they manage to evade it, you wont have enough time to come back for another pass before you enter helpless. This also means that this move is far safer to use near the ground, where you can dart downward at the end of the move, and circumvent the downside altogether, though you won't KO the opponent so early while close to the ground. If you do manage to charge the attack up, the opponent has to be very careful in how they defend themselves, as while you are moving much faster, you are still capable of controlling your movement just as easily as before, so a sufficiently skilled player could easily punish an air dodge, spot dodge, or roll as long as Yanmega has enough time left in the smash to turn around and hit them as they come out of it. If you manage to catch them with the beginning of a charged attack, you can even follow them up into the air for another hit and possibly a KO before your time runs out. Due to how dangerous this move is to the opponent, a smart one will play close to the edge so that you can't use it without risking going off the edge in helpless.



Down Smash: Silver Wind
After charging, Yanmega's wings begin releasing a cloud of small silvery scales which trail behind Yanmega as it flies, which float in the air for twenty seconds after being released before dispersing. At no charge, Yanmega produces enough dust to cover about two battlefield platforms of space in a Kriby-height cloud, and can cover up to five battlefield platforms of area at full charge. Alone, the cloud does nothing, but when ever it gets stirred up by anything, it deals fast hits of 1% with flinching knockback four times a second for the two seconds it is stirred up before settling back down. Just about anything Yanmega does can stir up the cloud around it, even just flying through it, which includes the moment the dust is created, will stir up a Bowser- sized section of cloud as it passes through. Any of Yanmega's ranged attacks stir up a kirby sized cloud around anywhere that they contact the cloud at well, essentially giving all of Yanmega's attacks lingering hitboxes if they pass through a cloud. Whirlwind does especially nice things with clouds of scales it comes int contact with, sucking causing any dust around the wind to be sucked in, causing any opponents sucked into the whirlwind to take 10% damage in addition to the whirlwind's knockback. When a Silver Wind filled Whirlwind ends, the dust is redistributed in a perfect circle around Yanmega with the same amount as was sucked in in the first place, and the cloud it stirred up by the wind on release. At most, Yanmega can have up to six battlefield platforms of Silver Wind on stage at any one time, and will have to wait until some of it dissipates before it can create more.

Silver Wind is best used as either a deterrent from the opponent entering an area, or something to knock the opponent into to easily rack damage. The best place to deter people from going is the ground itself, which can easily be covered by charging for a bit and flying at ground level. Aerial opponents are usually Yanmega's preferred prey, so making them jump is an excellent way to make things easier for them, especially since all it takes is a quick pass through or Sonicboom to lock down a lot of the stage in one go. Against opponent who you would rather not have jumping, placing it just above ground level, forcing them to jump into it if they want to go aerial, may be ideal, especially since Ancientpower will always hit the section of cloud right above them if you use it from above. Dispersing it into a large mass with Whirlwind is also effective, as it allows you to more easily spend a lot of time in the cloud, making it difficult for the opponent to approach, especially if you need some space to rest on the ground. Using Silver Wind while also using Pursuit is a great way to close off the opponent's options in dodging, as they will have difficulty backtracking to dodge your attacks with the clouds in their way.


Up Smash: Backdraft
While charging , Yanmega tilts its wings slightly in order to better focus the gusts of wind from it's wings, though even with no charge, the attack still has very noticeable startup. Once the move is released, when Yanmega begins moving again, it creates a massive blast of wind in the opposite direction from which it moved, the size and power of the concussive blast varying depending on the charge of the attack. At no charge, The blast is about the size of bowser, and deals 12% damage with knockback in the direction of the blast, KO-ing around 180% from center stage. At full charge, the blast is about one Battlefield platform across and deals 20% damage with knockback KO-ing around 100%. The blast also moves your Silver Wind clouds around, blasting them two to four battlefield platforms in the direction of the blast, allowing you to essentially shoot a cloud at the opponent . This is Yanmega's most brute force technique, and allows you not only cover a retreat, but also set up gimps or KO's off the top on a successful hit. The massive hitbox is also great for zoning out opponents who want to approach from below. This is move is almost completely useless while using Pursuit though, as it is not in the least but aggressive, and to aim it at the opponent, you would have to fly away from them.




Grounded Attacks

Forward Ground: Gust
Yanmega flaps its wings in one powerful stroke, creating a small gust of wind in front of Yanmega that knocks opponents within one battlefield platform back about two platforms. It also pushes any clouds from your down smash caught by the attack forward a similar distance, stirring it up in the process. This is a great way to keep the opponent out of your face while you rest, though it's not going to do much if opponents see it coming and jump over it. It is very good at moving your clouds around though, and lets you drop the clouds right on top of the opponent if they're keeping their distance.

Up Ground: Double Team
As you might expect, Double Team causes Yanmega to take off into the air above it, leaving an image of itself still on the ground which disappears after one second or if it is hit by an attack. If you hold the A button, Yanmega will stay on the ground, and instead send the image flying upwards until it disappears. This of course has he obvious mindgame applications, but it has another effect as well. If Yanmega too off using Double Team, for the next three seconds, every time Yanmega changes direction more than 15˚ or begins moving from a stop, Yanmega creates an Double Team image of itself moving in the opposite direction. This means that if you turn away from the opponent, a copy will still be flying right at them, and if you start going straight up, the opponent won't know if you went up or down. Overall, an excellent way to mess with the opponent's head, as you can threaten an direct attack while simultaneously backing off for a ranged one.

Down Ground: Roost
Yanmega tucks it's wings in and focuses on resting. Yanmega rests for at least one second, though you can rest longer by holding the A button. One second of rest fully refreshes Yanmega's flight time, regardless of how long Yanmega as been on the ground already, allowing you to cut your time on the ground in half if you're wiling to leave yourself open for punishment. Roosting for longer than one second is also very useful, as every additional second you can spend roosting gives Yanmega an additional second added to it's next flight, up to a maximum of ten additional seconds. Any additional time you can spend in the air is a plus, especially since many of Yanmega's moves take time to complete or are chargeable .

Neutral Ground: Hypnosis
Yanmega's eyes glow and its wings hum hypnotically, causing opponents within half of a Battlefield platform of Yanmega to fall asleep. Successfully landing this on an opponent gives Yanmega a few options. First of all, it gives Yanmega much needed time to use Roost and prepare for its next flight. It also gives Yanmega free grab or other attack if you're close enough. Lastly, it can give Yanmega time to fly away and set up zones with it's down smash or fire projectiles at the foe. It many serves as a deterrent for head on assaults while you're on the ground, though you can also fly right up to someone on the ground and try to land one as well if you're feeling lucky.


Grab: Bug Bite
Yanmega attempts to grab the opponent in its powerful jaws, and can grab opponents both while on the ground and while in the air. Opponents grabbed by Yanmega are held in place as it hovers in the air (if they were grabbed in the air, of course) The grab has very fast startup, and little end lag, but the range is absolutely pitiful, requiring Yanmega to be right on top of the opponent to land the grab. This grab can be used without interrupting Yanmega's movement, meaning that you can swoop down and nab opponents who let their guard down, or attempt to grab after chasing someone down with Pursuit.

Pummel: Leech Life
Yanmega begins sucking the life out of the opponent held in its jaws, stealing 1% damage every half of a second, healing Yanmega for just as much as was sucked out. In addition, Yanmega's time in flight mode is refreshed each time you use this pummel, meaning it is always a good idea to use this at least once every time you grab the opponent so that you will still be able to follow up the throw.

Forward Throw: Blown Away
Yanmega creates a burst of wind, dealing 9% damage with decently powerful forward knockback. It also blows any down smash clouds nearby along with the opponent dealing additional damage as they fly through the air about three battlefield platforms in distance. This is pretty much a way t get the opponent out of your face so you can pester them with projectiles or safely go about your business.

Down Throw: Piledriver
Yanmega grabs the opponent with it's legs, carries them two Ganondorfs up into the air, then flips around to perform a spinning piledriver right into the ground, dealing anywhere from 10-25% damage depending on how far you dropped them from, with the maximum damage bend dealt at six Ganondorfs and above in the air, making this a great way of dealing more damage if you manage to catch them high in the air without being able to finish them. The opponent is left in prone on the ground afterwards, meaning that if you guess correctly, you can follow up their action with Hypnosis to get another grab, though Yanmega won't be able to follow up if it guesses wrong. This can also be used as a suicide KO if used off the stage, which can be especially useful when you're ahead.

Back Throw: Around The World
Yanmega begins performing loops similar to its up tilt while holding the opponent, which lasts until either the opponent breaks out of the grab, or you press the grab button again, in which case Yanmega will let go of the opponent and fling them away, dealing 8% damage and light knockback varying depending on where in the loop you let go of them, enabling you to send the opponent in any direction you want as long as your timing is good. This throw can also great for racking damage if you manage to grab the opponent in a sufficiently large cloud from your down smash, as it will then deal constant damage to the opponent as you pass through it until they break free.

Up Throw: Drag and Drop
Yanmega drags the opponent upward three Ganondorfs, dealing appropriate damage if you pass through any down smash clouds in the process, then simply lets go, releasing them into their tumble state. This brings them closer to the top blast zone and sets them up for a followup attack, most likely a forward smash, making this the go-to throw for setting up a KO.



Final Smash: Mach Speed
Empowered by the Smash Ball, Yanmega's speed triples, making it almost impossible to control, but also allowing you to slam into opponent's for about 20% damage with upward knockback KO-ing around 100%. Yanmega still has access to all of its moves while in this state as well, with their startup and endlag made almost nonexistent. This state lasts for ten seconds, and Yanmega can't tire out during this time, so make the most of it and hunt down your opponents and deliver a near unavoidable assault.



Playstyle
Simply stating that Yanmega is fast an maneuverable would be a massive understatement, but that movement ability comes at the price of having to land every ten seconds or so. This means that the entirety of Yanmega's game runs on a rhythm of flying and landing. In the air, Yanmega is a predator, chasing after and wearing down the opponent with the goal of landing a string of hits to take them right off the top of the screen, while on the ground, Yanmega is vulnerable and defensive, waiting to take flight again and start over. Because Yanmega can only be productive in short bursts, Yanmega has to commit to a line of action in each flight, either playing fully offensive, fully defensive, or playing a long range annoyance game.

The defensive game is the simplest, and only serves to make the other styles easier to perform without interruption and to make it easier to rest on the ground. A defensive Yanmega's primary objective is to spread clouds from it's down smash around the stage, which is easy due to it's speed. Defending itself while doing so is another matter. This is probably the only stage of the game where Yanmega doesn't want the opponent in the air, and should work to keep them there. An initial batch of clouds over their heads is a good way to discourage them, though that gives you less cloud to work with in your primary set-up, which encourages cloud placement right on the ground, to discourage the opponent from landing there at all. One of Yanmega's best tools for keeping the opponent down otherwise is it's side special, which essentially creates a short lived wall to knock opponents back down. A well timed down specials also good for getting opponents out of your hair, tossing them away while you fly in the opposite direction and continue setting up. A good Up Smash for spacing is also handy if the opponent is starting to penetrate your defenses. Once your clouds are in an appropriate position, Yanmega needs to do one of two things. First and most likely is simply landing in an easily defendable spot and preparing for the next flight. The second and more risky move would be to go for a grab, using the pummel to recharge your flight and immediately move on to the next step while throwing the opponent into the desired position to attack them.

An offensive Yanmega is pure aerial rushdown, essentially playing a hit and run game, but with the "run" portion of the game simply being moving in to attack from another angle. Proper use of Pursuit is essential to this style, as this makes it impossible for the opponent to properly evade Yanmega, forcing them to confront it head on, as Yanmega's most direct attacks are easily beatable by other attacks. At that point, Yanmega can either cover its approach with projectiles like up special and down tilt or break off from Pursuit and counter the opponent's attacks. Uproar is incredibly useful in these situations, as with proper timing it can be combined with any of your up close attacks to extend their effective range and make them much harder to dodge. Your up tilt is also very good at getting around the opponent's defenses, especially if you are positioned to get the opponent into the center of the loop. if the opponent attempts to escape, proper use of your forward special and clouds can wall the opponent in jut as well as it walls them out. These mindgames are assisted further if you happen to have double team active, as the copies will make it difficult to discern exactly what you are doing. Once you manage to land enough hits with your forward and up tilts to begin lifting them in the air for a KO, you may wish to consider risking a forward smash as a finisher, especially out of pursuit where the opponent can only really avoid it by clashing it with a similarly powerful attack, something that not many opponents have available, or if they manage to stay out of range for the required second, which is entirely dependent on their aerial mobility and moveset, and is extremely difficult to pull off.

If the opponent isn't one that you want to directly engage in the air to deal damage, the best way to go about the assault may be to play a more loose hit and run game and pester them like, well, a bug. If you don't mind staying close to the ground, frequent use of your up special won't give the opponent any breathing room, and firing Air Slashes from above can do something similar while being more mobile. being aggressive with side special can also work well, as it can push the opponent into clouds for additional damage and keep more aggressive foes away from you. A fun tactic is to charge up an up smash, then stay in place and use other attacks, as the massive burst of air won't be created until you begin moving, meaning that you can attack anyone who attempts to approach you with the blast.

Of course, Yanmega will have to land every once in a while to rest, which is when the opponent will try their hardest to take you out before you can rest fully, as if they can juggle you in the air with no flight time, it's pretty much over for it. On the ground though, Yanmega has a variety of ways of defending. Its up, down, and side specials are all good at forcing opponents to take their time and care in approaching. Having a properly set up area of sown special clouds is also important, as it'll give additional protection, especially when combined with Uproar. Uproar, while also useful in defense on its own, pulses every two seconds, meaning that it'll keep the cloud around Yanmega in a constant state of activity, making in nigh impossible to approach with melee attacks if you manage to cover yourself entirely with clouds (which isn't very easy to do, but quite possible). If you manage to have yourself extremely well protected, you can attempt to use Roost to get back in the air either faster or longer, depending on how you use it. Even on the ground though, it is possible to be aggressive. if you can lure the opponent into range of Hypnosis, you can open up all sorts of opportunities for Yanmega's air game, either through free Roosting, setup time, or damage.

While Yanmega is best at KO-ing opponents off the top of the screen, Yanmega's aerial prowess lend themselves well to gimping. Due to the limited nature of Yanmega's flight, it is extremely dangerous to attempt gimping unless the opportunity presents itself, such as when the opponent is sent off stage by a side special or up smash, which happen to be just about the only moves that Yanmega has suitable for gimping, so it isn't something to try unless you feel the gamble is worth it. If you happen to be set up correctly, you can also blow some down smash clouds off stage with various wind attacks to intercept recoveries, though it is likely to simply rack damage rather than actually gimp.

Yanmega's greatest weakness lie in opponents who can do a very good job at keeping Yanmega out, forcing it to use up all of its flight time just to get in some damage. Opponents who can keep Yanmega off the ground to rest in the first place are also extremely effective, as they can juggle Yanmega to death if they manage to gain control of the ground level. If Yanmega can overcome such obstacles though, then it's mastery of the air and assaulting the opponent from many angles in rapid succession is sure to give them headaches, making them wish that they had a bigger fly swatter.
 

gcubedude

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Aug 15, 2009
Messages
83
Like I said in the chat, I feel bad for being pretty much dead this entire MYM, so I’m gonna try to make up by commenting some sets. But since there are so many sets, I decided to let each MYMer decide on a set they made that they wanted a comment on (with a few exceptions, like Gastly). So here are the promised comments:

Banballow
So let me start with this: This moveset is insanely complex. With that said, I feel it’s this complexity that gives this moveset its charm. Although not the easiest read, it seems like every move interaction would work well and come together smoothly in Brawl. His multiple forms of pressure, combined with the separate-yet-still-connected canister and the connecting cord, give him a well thought out playstyle. He seems a little lacking in damage-racking moves, but I guess that’s okay, seeing as how a well-played Banballow will be able to corner opponents and easily get plenty of hits, which makes up for the low damage most of the hits do. Overall, a fantastic read.

Slowbro
I knew as soon as I read the mechanic that this would be an awesome set, and I was not disappointed. The very first Special gives you a way to just flat out ignore knockback, which is awesome, and from there, most of the moves play off of your stored knockback. Mind Share works very well and gives him a unique KO method, and Tail Chomp allows you to still use Mind Share even if your opponent refuses to attack you with any high knockback moves. Finally, Psychic is a pretty unique recovery that also works well with Slowbro’s mechanic

I love Numbing Strike, as it makes the opponent it hits as much the combo fodder that Slowbro is. Yawn is another one of my favorite moves of the set, as it has great combo potential with Numbing Strike. Psyshock is another great way of using the knockback mechanic, as it requires that the player pay close attention to your knockback “timer;” otherwise, this move will fail horribly, making it a fun little gamble move.

I’ve always liked mindgames, so I naturally love the idea behind Tail Shield. It makes for a great punishment if your opponent was expecting you to use Amnesia. Of course, once your opponent expects you to use Tail Shield, you can actually pull off Amnesia right in front of them, and they won’t realize it until it’s too late. Psychic Blink is a little underwhelming compared to the rest of the set, but then, not every move needs to be super-complex and relate directly to the mechanic. Disable is very interesting, although I can see ways for it to be broken, as if you’re in a 1v1, you could remove the foe’s grab, thus giving you free reign to use Amnesia whenever you want without fear of being grabbed. Of course, you could also remove their recovery like you said, which is pretty crazy by itself.

Also, I enjoyed the ways you could attack with your knockback by using Shell Drill, Slowspin, and Shell Momentum, and even though they’re all similar to each other, they’re each different enough to warrant a separate move slot: Shell Drill for on-the-ground anti-air, Slowspin for a more defensive-based aerial attack, and Shell Momentum for better recovery/a movement-based aerial attack. Rest is also cool, in that it provides a safe way to retreat from the air back to the ground AND a way to temporarily stop your knockback timer, while also functioning as an attack. So many uses just from one move! The other two aerials, Zen Headbutt and Nod Off, were a little generic, but again, a little bit of simplicity doesn’t hurt.

Now for the whole grab game/devolving into Slowpoke thing. IMO, it’s one of the most interesting ways of having a two-moveset character like Zelda or Samus, and the method of switching between movesets is pretty unique. Plus, the whole thing not only changes up Slowpoke/bro’s playstyle, but it can also cripple an opponent, making it even easier for Slowpoke to pummel an opponent. Finally, Zen Headbutt, although generic as Slowbro, becomes Slowpoke’s alternate recovery (Nod Off is still boring compared to the rest of the set.)

Lastly, one thing stuck out to me as I read this set, and it was probably just a minor oversight: Mind Share, the second Special listed, references Psychic, the fourth Special listed. It’s a little mistake, but something that caught my attention.

Overall, a fantastic read.

Bobbery
I liked the Specials well enough. The whole control-the-fuse thing is a decent idea, and it had potential, but 10 seconds is a long time, so all of his moves that rely on his fuse are severely limited. Also, I don’t see much point it using up a move to light the fuse, and then having other moves either use the lit fuse, or just fail if the fuse isn’t lit (NSpecial, USpecial). I feel it would’ve been better if the moves that used the fuse automatically lit the fuse, and then NSpecial would turn it off.

The other problem that I saw: his Bob-omb summoning DSpecial looks good, but so many of his other moves do nothing unless you have at least one minion. Those that can actually be used without a minion either do pitiful damage/knockback, or his 20% with high knockback that comes with all of his explosions.

Overall, an okay read

Gastly

So Gastly has a clear playstyle that I like, as it’s fitting to the Pokemon; Gastly’s not known for high-powered attacks, and most of his damaging moves don’t do more than 10%. Instead, each move has a special property that screws with the opponent, which is again fitting for Gastly. Lick is very fitting, my only complaint (and it’s a minor one) being that it doesn’t seem like it has a lot of good follow-ups like I expected there would be. I was kinda hoping for a push-type move that could shove the enemy closer to the ledge, making it easier to gimp them, but what you have works too. Smoke seems like a logical follow-up to Lick, in that it deals damage that won’t remove the paralysis, while also giving Gastly a smoke screen to hide behind, either to turn invisible in, summon a duplicate, or just play epic mindgames on your foe. Apparition may be lolgenericteleport, but it fits Gastly, and it allows him to keep playing mindgames, as he could appear somewhere, letting the foe know where he is, then the foe becomes wary; is Gastly gonna stay still and wait, or is he slowly advancing? Vanish, of course, is the main move of the set, and it fits Gastly well.

As for the rest of his moves, Gastly has a good mix of tricky status moves and damage moves. Ring of Smoke and Ethereality seem to be safe moves that are good when a foe is closing in on Gastly, with Ring having the added benefit of not removing paralysis/sleep, but being less safe, as it doesn’t hit above Gastly. Banshee seems like it’d be Gastly’s go-to push move when a foe is paralyzed, assuming “strange knockback” still means “toward the ledge” knockback. Trick Step and Spite seem like decent counters, although it’s a little strange that Gastly makes the ground directly below him his counter-zone. I figure it’d be better if he made the area in front of him the counter-zone, then it’d also be easier to counter after the foe trips/gets put in wind-down, but I guess it’s not really a big deal; the moves still work well in the set. Hypnosis is cool, and it seems like a good move to shoot from under the cover of Smoke, and then turn invisible. Your foe will either be in the air, vulnerable to a freefall-inducing move, or will take it and fall asleep, whereupon you can do pretty much whatever you wanna do. Speaking of freefall-inducers, Black Halo and Confuse Ray are both fitting and interesting, as they put the foe on the defensive whenever they end up in the air. Vandal also seems like a neat little trap. Duplicate is probably the best mindgame move on the set, as it puts your opponent in a tough situation: Did you place a clone and go invisible, or is that the real Gastly, and you’re just staying still to confuse them? It’s one of those reverse-psychology traps that I also enjoyed in Slowbro. Lastly, False Floor is a fitting move, and it has many applications in the set, from launching midair Hypnosis attacks to setting a Black Halo trap.

The set isn’t without its problems, though. Ftilt’s ability to do more damage when Gastly is at 0% doesn’t really fit the move Night Shade nor Gastly, and I can’t really see much purpose for it in the playstyle. Consume, the Dthrow, seems random, and I don’t understand the point of making the direction it throws the opponent random. I understand the invisibility aspect, and it’s good for disorientating the foe, but I wish you had made it so that Gastly could control what direction the opponent flies. Also, Gastly’s missing a Final Smash, but since that move apparently isn’t too important in MYM, I guess it doesn’t really matter.

Overall, an awesome read.

--Anyway, I'll post more comments later.
 

JOE!

Smash Hero
Joined
Oct 5, 2008
Messages
8,075
Location
Dedham, MA


That's right, Trainer JOE! Essentially my self-insert into the world of MYM Smash, I take my entire team of 6 Pokemon I gained throughout Unova during the events of Pokemon Black to the battlefield in a unique take on the Pokemon Trainer archetype!​




MECHANICS:
The most important thing about Trainer JOE! is the trainer aspect of him, shocking I know. However, a real Pokemon Trainer knows how to use their team as a unit, not as individuals, the consequences of switching Pokemon in and out of battle at pivotal moments, and know what's at risk if a team member goes down. This is emulated in Smash in a manner similar to, but vastly different from the Brawl Pokemon Trainer:


:pokeball:3-MAN TEAM:
The first and most important part of the battle happens way before it begins, and that part is the formation of your team. As I mentioned earlier, and as you've probably already gathered, Trainer JOE!'s team consists of Emboar, Simisage, Krookodile, Archeops, Eelektross, and Reuniclus. All vastly different Pokemon with their own strengths, weaknesses, abilities and movesets to choose from.
Like with Brawl's PT, you only get to use 3 in-game, using the Pokemon Selection Button next to my picture on the character select screen:


As you see here, you can then select 3 of the Pokemon in any order you like, which will become your Team Order for switching, working just like Brawl PT. If you do not do this the three will be chosen at random as the Stage Select Screen loads.
This step is vital in that not only do you lock in your 3 fighters but the order can vastly change the way the game plays out due to each Pokemon's Switch-Attack, which is a special move they use when either switching out of or into battle via Down Special. Speaking of, Pokemon Switch only takes a second to take place for TJ!, as the Pokemon are preloaded during the Stage Select Screen, making it much more speedy and practical mid-combat.


:pokeball:INDIVIDUAL HEALTH AND STOCK:
Although they work as a team, it is important to remember each Pokemon is a separate character when in battle, and it is up to you as a trainer to command them and keep them in top condition to win the fight.
At first this may sound like a massive change, which it is, but it is much simpler than it sounds. Each of your three Pokemon have a separate Stock and Health meter when in battle, unlike PT which has each mon share the same health. What this means is, given the above example, Archeops is at 60%, switching to Eelektross (assuming he hasn't seen battle) will have him start fresh at 0%, and so on. This applies to stocks in a bit more drastic manner, as once a Pokemon is KO'ed, they're gone from the match.
For example, if Archeops is killed early, the Team order would go from:

>
>
>
to:
>
>


Not only do you lose a stock, you lose that Pokemon for the remainder of the fight! Fortunatley, upon death I will simply toss the Pokeball right in front of where I am in the Background, letting the next in line come out immediately without having to go through the respawn platform and hopefully quickly revenge kill the threat, making up for how the stocks and health aren't shared upon death with speed. Furthermore, if there is no Pokemon left to switch to, Down B will do nothing on any of the roster, even those with "Switch-Out" attacks.
In matches with less than the default 3 stocks, you can only choose that many Pokemon, meaning you have only 1 or 2 to fight with anyways. With more stock, the first to die is the first served, like in the SSE when you get an extra life. So for the example team, if there were 4 stocks available, Archeops would take the 4th after dying, leaving the other two still with just 1 stock, but he cannot switch back in until 30 seconds pass. The 30 second rule also applies to non-stock matches, where you must wait between respawns as I apply a Revive, unless it is Stamina mode in which you only choose 1 Pokemon.
This combined with the team selection really make Trainer JOE! into his own unique character in that you have to think like a Pokemon trainer from the games while at the same time playing Smash, adding a whole new layer of depth.

Now that the mechanics are out of the way, let's meet the team!



SELECT A POKEMON OR SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE SETS
:pokeball: :pokeball:
 

JOE!

Smash Hero
Joined
Oct 5, 2008
Messages
8,075
Location
Dedham, MA

My first pokemon, given to me as a gift by Professor Juniper when she was just a Tepig, "Bacon" is a rare female Emboar and the bulk behind my team. She is a fierce combatant who uses her immense bulk to overpower our opponents, as well as take the heat for other team mates. She doesn't mind trading hits while fighting, but her bulk also makes her an easy target.

Thankfully, her ability Blaze will kick in when at critical health, doubling the power behind her fire based moves to help help turn the tide of battle in a pinch.





SIZE: 9 (Shaped like DDD but taller than DK)
WEIGHT: 10 (Between DK and Bowser)
GROUND: 2 (Snake)
AIR: 4 (5 in acceleration, jumps are the same as Ganondorf’s)
FALL: 7 (tie with Diddy)

Overall Bacon is what you'd come to expect for something of her size; large, fairly slow on the ground and mediocre at best in the air. However, her range, power and bulk more than make up for the shortcomings.




B: SCALD
Bacon breathes in for a brief moment before snorting out a column of steam in front of her. This has similar lag to, and controls like Charizard’s flamethrower, yet behaves like the stuff Peach’s Toad expels when hit. Does 8% and high KB that wont usually kill (like Peach) and has a 1/3 chance to inflict a burn on a foe.
Burned foes have a “steam” effect to them ala DK and lightly pulse red for 10 seconds. During this time, attacks done by foes behave as if they’ve been staled down to 1/2 their effectiveness (like PT’s stamina). This is ideal for Bacon seeing as she’ll enjoy trading hits with foes, usually coming out on top, and weakening KO power severely.


SIDE B: TAKE DOWN
Bacon charges forward two steps as she makes a grabbing motion, similar to Bowser’s dash-grab (if whiffed, has a similar miss animation as well). Once you have a foe, you then have three options on what to do with them based on if you tilt up, down or keep forward on the control stick:

UP: TAKE DOWN
Pick's the foe up around their legs and then forcefully slams them down to the ground, bouncing them off it and doing vertical KB. Does 14% and can kill Mario at about 140%. Can meteor-smash foes if -right- at an edge, but isn’t very strong in that regard. Useful to pop foes up or just as a KO option.

DOWN: SUBMISSION
Takes the foe down to the ground in front of her and rolls over off of them, doing 10% and leaving the foe lying on the ground, and Bacon facing forward right next to them. This can lead to a deadly tech-chase with her grab game and more take-downs as the foe then has to either roll or get-up.

FORWARD: TACKLE
Grabbing the foe, hurting them for 6%, you continue charging forward with them as they have to try and grab-break from your grasp. This is ideal for spacing purposes, as well as setting up gimps or even a suicide KO as you tackle a foe straight off an edge.​

It's important to note that Take-Down only works if you are on the ground, similar to DK's Down B.


UP B: FLARE BLITZ

Bacon launches upward a height similar to Mario’s Super Jump as fire surrounds her slightly, taking a brief moment to do a "Leaping" motion beforehand. If done by herself, she will simply complete the action before grabbing a ledge/entering a fall-state. If done while intercepting a foe, she will being clobbering him/her with fiery fists for 18% total before launching them forward with a shoryuken-esque punch that launches her the height of her double jump. The final blow usually won’t kill until about 130%, and landing it mid-air doesn’t let you do it again unlike Ganon or Falcon’s Up Specials. Be careful of your spacing while doing this, as doing it at the wrong place off-stage can spell certain doom.
On stage is slightly different however, as it can be a good way to punish an attack, especially when fueled by blaze. Just make sure you kill the foe or send them flying, since you become airborne with a good bit of lag after.


SWITCH-IN: HEAT CRASH
Bacon is one of the three who have a Switch-In attack for when she appears on the field, meaning that upon switching into battle she automatically performs this attack from her pokeball.
Heat Crash has her appear her height above the floor during the flash of light, then elbow-drop down in a fiery explosion, with lag similar to her getting up after being prone. On impact, a shockwave of flames spreads out doing a fire-element version of DK’s Hand-Slam, with horizontal KB. Foes unlucky enough to be under Emboar as she falls though take damage related to how much smaller they are than her, seeing as how her tremendous weight gets tossed into this. Jigglypuff and friends will take up to 36% damage and KB that can kill at 80%, whereas Bowser and other heavies will only take 12% and relatively light KB, killing at 160%+. The key to this switch in is the set-up, as on most foes that aren't Warlordian this can be a real finishing blow, but having another poke somehow limit their movement beforehand would be essential.





JAB: ARM THRUST
Oddly, Bacon has a fast, spammable jab. Alternating hands, she throws out open palms at a rate of Sonic's jab 1 and 2, each with the range of Ganon's jab and doing 3% a pop. The main purpose of this move is to create some space for yourself due to the quick and relative long range, but it can also be a set up move in many cases due to the same properties. For example, you could do a jab or two at almost any %, then possibly combo into a tilt or special. Normally Bacon would like to trade hits while fighting, but having an option to back off is always welcome.


FTILT: HAMMER ARM

Bacon swings her fist in an arc over her head, taking a small step forward similar to Marth’s Fsmash, slamming the fist into the floor with a light rumble effect on the screen. Unlike Marth though, all the lag of this attack is stored at the end, making the actual swing comes out as fast as his own Ftilt, but has the end lag of his Shield-Breaker.
As for the effect, being hit by the arm (not fist) will do 6% damage and mediocre KB in a variety of ways based on where you’re hit, and usually won’t ever kill. The sweet spot on the other hand does 14% as the fist crashes down, with similar properties of the infamous Murder Stomp. Do it on a recovering foe to send them to their doom, or at higher %, a grounded foe can be sent skyward. Keep in mind this isn’t as potent as Ganondorf’s signature move, but it’s speed and range surely make up for that if you get your spacing down. Whiffing this move means a world of pain vs any smart player as she becomes a sitting duck however, making spacing and timing key (doing it on a shield spells doom).


UTILT: SMOG

Bacon looks up and snorts out a puff of black, burning smoke above her. This takes as long as D3’s Ftilt, and does 6% to anyone hit by the initial hitbox as well as light knockback. However, the smoke will linger on for a bit as it rises up, growing from the size of Kirby to the spore cloud from Ivysaur’s Up Air as it travels high enough to just touch people standing on the high platform of Battlefield. This cloud lasts for about half a second, but due to the relatively fast animation you can have a few out at once. Anyone other than Bacon to touch said cloud will take 2% and receive a short flinch, which interrupts anything the foe was doing in the air unless they are surrounded by a wind-effect or something similar. This is an essential tool in her arsenal as it provides Bacon with coverage from aerial approaches or juggles as the light stun can ruin any follow-ups or approaches if spaced/timed right, allowing her to counter as the situation sees fit.


DTILT: ROCK SMASH

As she squats down for her rather crappy crouch (she only gets like a bit shorter), Bacon can punch her fist straight through the floor in front of her, shattering it and sending rocks diagonally forward a small distance. This is similar to Samus’s own Dtilt, yet with a tad more end lag as she has to pull her fist out of the stage.
The Punch itself does 7% and knocks the foe forward slightly, and each of the rock shards do 2% with flinch. Generally, 3-4 rocks will pop out in random directions, making the total damage possible around 15%. This is great poking option as the multiple hits can weaken and hit under shields, as well as keep the foe stunned enough and in range enough to try a hammer arm or the like. Or, like her counterpart Charizard, the rock shards can be used to absorb some blows before they reach her.


DASH: BODY SLAM

Bacon does a small, running leap forward, belly out as she slams into any oncoming foe, before stumbling slightly to regain balance. Similar in lag / range (she’s a bigg’n) of Ike’s dash attack, the body-slam does 14% damage and hits foes horizontally, just like Ganon’s Sparta kick. It’s not uncommon to kill foes as early as the 90’s due to the trajectory, especially when she gains Super Armor on the active portion of the attack, letting her really toss her weight around. Be careful however as with noticeable start-up and cool-down, you’d be hard pressed to use this against any foe on their guard, as this can be shield-grabbed easily.





FSMASH: FLAME CHARGE
Taking a pose similar to a football player before the kick-off, Bacon’s body is surrounded by flames just like the in-game animation as you charge the attack. Upon release she takes off running forward at a 4-5 rank pace (depending on charge) for half a second, becoming a fiery hitbox doing 8 – 12% and minimal KB horizontally.
However, she can also cancel this attack at any time with either Dash Attack, a Special, or her (dash)Grab. Doing so will cancel the attack itself, meaning no damage from that, but the burst of speed is appreciated, especially when backed by the chance of being nailed by an attack the size of herself.
Overall it will still be more efficient to just use your normal dash to get around though, as like with Ike’s Side B or Wolf's Fsmash, there is a moment of start-up before you dash forward. and another to halt momentum (or end lag from any attack you went into).


USMASH: INCINERATE
Facing towards/away from the camera (based on position), Bacon will bring her arms in as she charges the attack, before sending them to the sides and looking to the sky with a grunt, shooting a wave of flames from her “beard” in the process. Then returning to a neutral pose with some smoke effects around her head.
This attack is the same size as Ike’s Up smash is above him (but with the lag of Bowser’s) , but doesn’t hit to the sides as well, doing 12-18% damage and ok vertical KB. The flames quickly dissipate as the animation ends, but if done near a smog cloud it can ignite it, making it do the 6% and light Kb once more. So as well as providing a slower, but more dangerous blanket or fire in the air like with Smog, you can re-energize the smog cloud(s) to do even more damage!


DSMASH: BLAST BURN
Taking a brief stance akin to Pignite’s as she charges, Bacon will breath slighty, then grunt and shoot out a fireball toward the ground that explodes like Din’s fire, with similar size and traveling as fast as Fox's laser. This does 14-20% damage, with KB similar to Mario’s Fsmash, however the beginning lag is the same as Bowser’s as is the end lag as she takes a moment to breathe after expending the energy. Blast Burn is best used after predicting a roll after using one of your grounding moves, or as a potent edgegaurd as the size and slightly longer than average duration of the blast will make it deadly, especially with Blaze, but the timing and direction will require tricky prediction.





NAIR: ROLL OUT
Tucking forward into a sort-of ball, Bacon spins twice mid air, with similar lag to Bowser’s Nair but with considerably less landing lag. Each spin does 8% damage, and cannot link as each does ok KB that can kill around like 180%, meaning two chances to hit.
But what is so interesting about his move? Well, as with a good portion of her air game, this is designed to go from air to ground. Upon landing during the second roll, Bacon will initiate her forward roll, but as an attack. Tumbling shoulder first about a BF platform, this attack does 12% with similar KB to standard Rollout (but can kill sooner due to the higher %) and has the ability to roll past shields, making this an excellent option to pressure a foe if needed, or just to get through a camper.


FAIR: FIRE PUNCH
With a fiery fist, Bacon swings her right arm forward for a horizontal haymaker (similar to Melee Mewtwo's Fair in motion, but taking as long as Ganon's), decking any foes in reach and leaving a fiery trail in it's wake. Foes hit by the sweetspot (fist) as it flies by are treated to 13% damage, as well as similar KB to Charizard's sweetspotted Bair. However, the attack also leaves that trail of fire (sourspot) which lasts till the animation is over, which hits for 7% and rather light KB, being able to possibly chain to another aerial or ground attack. A useful move for a quick KO after say, a Take Down, but its relatively small coverage can make it a bit tricky to land consistently.


BAIR: DOUBLE EDGE

Grasping her hands together, Bacon swings her left elbow behind her at an angle similar to Ganon's Bair with tremendous force, enough to swing her body down with it and have her fall similar to Wario's Bair after a moment, landing like Bowser's if done near enough to the ground. Otherwise she will take a moment to right herself midair.
As the name suggests, Double Edge is a two fold attack, with first the elbow, then the slam if close to the ground. The elbow hits at a trajectory like Fox's Bair, but with the power of Falco's, an excellent gimping option that also does 11%. While the landing portion does a whopping 15% with KB like when DDD crashes down from super jump. Now, as potent as this two-pronged attack is, it can also come back to bite you as in both the aerial and landing version, there is a tremendous amount of punishable lag for any foe on their game, so make sure you space properly before putting in the commitment.


UAIR: FLAME BURST
Looking up in a pose similar to Usmash, Bacon will snort out a fireball similar in size to Ivysaur's Uair doing 10% and mediocre KB that is ok for juggling at low %, and can be uses as a late killer around 180% or so. Oddly though, like Ivysaur this will boost Bacon down slightly, increasing her fall speed for about half a second. During this window, using any of your aerials that have you crash back to the stage get a bit of a momentum buff, and do 1.25x more damage! Of course, Bacon will rarely achieve the height needed to do this naturally, so this is best used after being launched by the foe for a pseudo-counter with an improved falling attack of your choice.


DAIR: HEAVY SLAM
Striking a pose like the Koopa King himself in his Down B, Bacon will then plummet bottom-first for as long as Sonic's Dair lasts (about half a second). Any foe unfortunate to be caught under her girth will be shot out from under her with enough force to start killing at 130%, taking 12% and generally Downwards KB. On impact with the stage however, the stage will shake. Not just the screen, but the stage itself will tremble slightly, having anyone touching the floor take 2% and have about a 75% chance to trip. Hardly spammable as it has the lag of an aerial Bowser Bomb, this earth-shaking slam is incredibly useful from a short hop to control approaches, or to just set up one yourself. Combined with Uair it can even be a high risk, high reward off-stage killer!





GRAB/PUMMEL: HEAD SMASH
Due to her size, Bacon has an above average reach when she goes out to grab a foe, similar to Donkey Kong or even Charizard, but unlike either she lacks the sheer mobility to run in and grab most of the time.
For her pummel, Bacon will hold the opponent by their shoulders, then rear her head back dramatically before crashing into theirs with screen-shaking force. This attack does a whopping 15%, but unlike every other pummel actually breaks the grab instead of lengthening it. After the head smash, both Bacon and the victim suffer from their grab-release animations, which can be advantageous for Bacon in that she essentially creates a reset for another grab or what have you as she is at the perfect range to launch another strike, as well as being ahead 15%.


FTHROW: CIRCLE THROW
Hold the opponent in her right arm, she takes them to the side, spinning her arm 3 times like a pitcher winding up a ball, then tosses them forward with a good amount of force, doing 6% and killing near an edge at around 140%. During the swinging motion, you can actually angle the direction they fly slightly, indicated by her outstretched left arm, which can lead to gimps or other follow-ups.


BTHROW: STRENGTH

Grabbing their arm (or whatever), Bacon will swing the foe in an arc over her head and slam them onto the floor behind her, popping them up very slightly and doing 8%. What's interesting about strength is how it turns bacon around as well, with a foe popped up in hitstun just within reach...
Naturally, this can lead into a chaingrab at low %, along with using your foe as a hitbox for 8% if in a free for all. This chaingrab should only work until about 40% however as then the KB becomes too much for anyone with a brain not to DI out of.


UTHROW: SUPERPOWER
With a grunt and a mighty heave, Bacon launches the foe skyward with incredible force! This will launch the victim to the top blastzone, like with Kirby and MK's own Uthrows, before having them crash down in a tumble state (essentially special fall with grab armor) to an awaiting Emboar below as she just recovers from the effort. All in all this throw is a bit odd in that it does no damage by itself, but the frame advantage of them falling back down can guarantee Bacon a free hit of essentially her choice as she follows where they DI. If she doesn't capitalize, the foe will simply hit the ground in a hard (tech-able) manner. This throw is also prime set-up bait in matches with more than 2 fighters.


DTHROW: BULLDOZE

Slamming the foe down before her, Bacon then charges her 400lb self all over them, stomping the victim to the dirt. A fairly straightforward throw, causing 8% damage and knocking the foe forward at the last stomp with KB mediocre KB (enough to follow up at Low %, but not much else). However, if anyone else is in the vicinity while Bacon charges over the foe they will be struck too! During her march she gains super-armor and becomes a hitbox for 10%, with power akin to Ganon's Dash attack! So while maybe not the best move in singles, free for alls and doubles will be a lot easier to handle after you use this to barge through a few opponents.





HEAVYWEIGHT

Bacon is a rather straightforward asset to any team combo: she's a tank, overwhelms the opponent with her vast grappling and anti-air arsenal, and can bring down the hammer when it's time to finish off a stock. All these combined turn her into a momentum-changing, offensive heavyweight that needs to continuously be on the move in order to stay ahead.
To achieve this momentum, Bacon needs a way to approach the foe safely, given her frame. Given how most any character out-maneuvers her with little effort, Heavy Slam and Flame Charge will be your best friends, as well as Dash Attack. The shake from landing Heavy Slam can disrupt either incoming approaches, or create an opening vs a camper as they take the hitstun, and Flame Charge's boost to speed combined with Body Slam's super armor (canceled from Flame Charge of course) will allow you to close the distance needed to really get to work. However, if facing an opponent who greatly out maneuvers and out-camps you, such as a space animal, it may be a better idea to not have Bacon out at first, opting out for a faster team mate like Archeops, or somebody that doesn't care about camping like Reuniclus out first, then switch after forcing the foe to the edge. this will guarantee the foe to have to come into close quarters with bacon as they return.
Once you are within striking distance of a foe (about your height away) is when Bacon starts to shine. Your various grab-priority and generally ranged attacks will surely be hell for an opponent to try and work around, and once you use Scald and get that burn in, they surely wont be able to keep you far away given Bacon's impressive weight, locking them in the danger zone for more Take Downs, throws and tilts to pulverize the foe. Keep in mind that while the chance to burn with scald is well, a chance, Bacon's impressive tech-chasing game via her throws and Take Down not only set up her tilts and more grappling, but often put the opponent in perfect range to use Scald, especially Dthrow and Dtilt. Foes will have extra difficulty escaping over Bacon as well, given her quick, disruptive Utilt with smog, and how Ftilt and Usmash arc (and ignite Smog Clouds for the latter).
It is during this phase that it may actually be a good idea to switch out Bacon (if temporarily), as even though she enjoys trading hits to build up to Blaze, you wouldn't want to be too reckless and get KO'ed early, when you can use her to stock-tank later. Preferably after getting a burn on the foe, you could switch to a team-mate who maybe had some damage done to them for some "life insurance" as foes will be handicapped when it comes to KOing them, or perhaps to set-up the foe to be tossed around better when Bacon comes back in with Blaze backing her. As for the latter, Eelektross's Acid and Simisage's Work-Up seed will do wonders, as will Reuniclus' trick-room if you time it right.
Speaking of Blaze, your playstyle will probably change quite a bit once you activate it. Seeing as your Fiery attacks now have double the power, and you are at a bit of a danger zone, you'll be wanting to carefully set up your attacks for maximum benefit, especially as how said moves are generally hard to land in themselves due to lag or odd hitboxes. Careful reads will be a must, and a smart opponent will be playing much more cautiously against you, and take any opportunity to capitalize on a mistake to take Bacon out of the match once she's in this state, so try and use your ability to switch to your advantage and keep her alive if things look hairy, saving the power for later if need be. The worst thing to happen would be to set up a Blaze-sweep only to have Bacon be gimped or just outright KO'ed, leaving your other two without muscle.






FINAL SMASH: OVERHEAT

Upon activation, Bacon will snort loudly as steam puffs from her nose, along with taking that confident Pignite pose again as the Flames from Flame Charge surrounds her momentarily. Overheat has Bacon enter a state of auto-flame charge after this point, being covered with the flames she normally has, but with free mobility and invulnerability for 10 whole seconds. During this time you do 5% a second to anyone touching you with light hitstun, and have access to your whole moveset (except switch of course).
A few moves are changed however: Flame Charge is now Fire Blast, which works like a combination of Charizard's Forward air and Lucario's Fsmash, doing 12-18% and high horizontal KB, Down Air is Heat Crash, and Scald is Flamethrower, identical to her counterpart Charizard's.
Be sure to capitalize on the time though, as most all of your moves involve either grappling the foe close to you, or your body, you can do some extreme damage while you are overheated, but once the timer runs out Bacon is left exhausted as she cools off to her normal temperature, and the match resumes as normal.



TAUNTS


UP: Bacon turns to the screen, taking the Pignite pose and blowing a puff of steam out with a grunt.

DOWN: Bacon snarls, sounding like her in-game cry as she beats her chest like Midbus from Bowser's inside Story. She must be a fan...

SIDE: Bacon flexes her powerful arms inwards, the Flame Charge flames surrounding her as she does as she says her name aloud.




ALTERNATE COSTUMES


Basic -------- Blue Team -------- Red Team -------- Green Team -------- Black/White -------- Gold





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:pokeball:
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JOE!

Smash Hero
Joined
Oct 5, 2008
Messages
8,075
Location
Dedham, MA

Continuing my journey to Striaton City, I had to make a brief detour at the nearby "Dreamyard". The place was pretty run down, as if it hadn't been used in years, but there were a few people hanging around there for me and Bacon to train with. After some battling, a girl actually ended up offering a Pokemon to me to help with the gym, as I would undoubtedly go up against Cress seeing as I had a Tepig. This is when "Ace" the Pansage joined the team.

In battle Ace isn't as much a straight-up fighter as Bacon is, preferring to toy with the opponent and use his grass abilities and natural agility to gain an upper hand. He often employs his various Seed attacks to affect the battle by either buffing himself and the team or debuffing the enemy, with his Gluttony ability boosting the effect on himself when he recieves buffs (or healing from say, food items) by 50%





SIZE: 2.5 (Think a skinnier Toon Link)
WEIGHT: 2 (Tie with MK and Pikachu)
GROUND: 7 (Marth)
AIR: 5 (7 in acceleration, jumps are similar to DK's, but seem much more significant since he's so much smaller)
FALL: 4 (Between Toon Link and Yoshi)
WALL CLING: Yes

Overall Ace is a little guy, but unlike most he only has average to slightly above average mobility to make up for it. Thankfully his aerials will provide a unique form of movement along with his Up B, and his focus on traps and stat alteration should make this of little issue.




B: SEED BOMB
Like with (Toon) Link and his bomb pull, Ace will whip out a seed similar in size to a Deku Nut from hammerspace, and use it as an item from there on. It can be thrown just like a regular item, but only goes about as far as Peach's Turnips when thrown. Upon impact the seed will detonate as the name suggests, doing 7% with an explosion like Ivysaur's down air, and KB similar to Toon Link's bomb. Unlike the other items mentioned however, the draw on this is fast enough to have 3 out on stage at once!

WORK-UP SEED
When using Seed Bomb there is a 1/5 chance that instead of pulling the dull brown regular seed, an orange glowing one is pulled out. Dubbed the "Work-Up Seed", the spores inside this particular seed do no damage, but instead are absorbed by whoever reaches the resulting cloud first (again, like Toon Link's bomb), which makes them activate the move Work-Up.
Like in the games, Work-Up will boost the effectiveness of all the character's moves by reversing move stagnation for a good 7 (10 if used by Ace himself) seconds, as well as have a feint orange aura about them. This doesn't reset the counter however, meaning that you will have to "refresh" attacks manually. However, attacks that are not or just barely staled will get better effect as they get a scaling bonus akin to how they are when fresh (x1.05 +), effectively buffing your power by 5% per attack instead of having them lose effectiveness.​


SIDE B: BULLET SEED
After inhaling for like a fraction of a second, Ace will spit out a flurry of seeds like Ivysaur does, but for only 3/4 of a second maximum. The seeds travel the same distance as Ivysaur's, and are slightly angle-able up and down, but will by default angle downwards when used in the air like PK Fire or Shiek's needles, and like PK Fire the kickback will help halt momentum when used mid-air. A good way to be generally disruptive to foes as you fire a quick volley of seeds their way, and a source of free damage after hitting with pretty much anything seeing as Ace lacks power in most moves.

LEECH SEED
As with Seed Bomb, Bullet Seed also has a secret secondary function. Upon impact with the foe, there is a 1/10 chance the foe will become "seeded", sprouting a little parted leaf on their head as well as flashing green as an immediate indicator. For the next 10 seconds, anyone who attacks the foe within a Platform distance will recieve 1/2 (3/4 for Ace) the damage dealt as direct healing, indicated by green energy being transferred to them per hit, kinda like the animation for giga-drain.​


UP B: ACROBATICS

After a little pose as if preparing to leap, Ace flashes white upon input, but if during the second or so this is used nothing else is done, you'd hardly notice any effect. Acrobatics is an odd Up Special in that it's not exactly a move itself, but rather a brief mode Ace enters that augments his aerials and jumps.
As stated the mode lasts for an entire second, giving you enough time to land an aerial or use a jump. The former will be explained more in detail when we get to the aerials, but in general his aerials mostly have a "bounce"effect like when Link lands his Dair on a shield, which Acrobatics will take advantage of. For the latter, Ace's (double) jump will be replaced by a huge jump the height of the Weegee Shoryuken, doing 3 flashy flips as he does so that each hit for 3, 3 then finally 8% with the final flip and enough KB to essentially be safe on hit (killing at about 180-200%), and then he will enter special fall. If used for an aerial he will not enter special fall, but he cannot use Acrobatics again.
If you already used your jumps, and don't input an aerial as you use Acrobatics in the air, Ace will perform a maneuver known as the "Melee Air-Dodge". Yes, you heard right, lacking options he will essentially twist himself into his air-dodge automatically but with somehow enough momentum to move almost a Platform in the direction you input (hopefully toward the stage). And no, he cannot wavedash using this. Well, he *can* but it's highly impractical given how you have to jump twice then Up B toward the ground all before you land. But who knows, maybe somebody is dexterous enough to put it to use?


SWITCH-OUT: LEAF STORM
Ace is one of the three who have a Switch-Out attack for when he exits the field, meaning that just before switching out of battle he automatically performs this attack while returning to the pokeball.
Before executing the move, Ace whips out two "hands" of leaves, as if they were cards, while facing the camera. He will then spin wildly while throwing them about, creating an area the size of the Smokeball's cloud that is a multi-hit attack filled with leaves that do damage and hitstun like MK's Jab. Ace will return immediately after sending the leaves out from the spin but is vulnerable beforehand. Any items he was holding become dropped while he initiates the move however, such as a Work-Up Seed, for whoever comes next to pick up under the cover of the storm. Team mates will also receive the benefits of Leech Seed from any foes caught in the storm as they switch into the battle as they are both in range and part of the same "character". The storm will subside almost immediately after the next poke comes in however, making the window for both an instant heal and snagging the Work-Up seed a bit tight.





JAB: FURY SWIPES
Like Wolf, Ace will step forward slightly with each press of A, scratching the foe with his fingers for 2% per swipe a total of 4 times. Like with Bacon this is used for it's quickness and low kb/hitstun to cancel to other moves, unlike her however Ace lacks the relative safety of range and bulk. Be sure to take advantage of this quick jab by mixing up the number of swipes you do to throw off DI, and punish accordingly.


FTILT: CUT

Reaching out with a horizontal "karate chop" like motion, Ace strikes in front of him, leaving a slash effect in his hand's trail like Wolf does in his own Ftilt. Aside from doing 9% and KB similar to Falcon's own Ftilt, Cut has a unique property just like it does in the games: destroying objects.
More specifically, that "slash" hitbox associated with Cut will instantly do extreme damage to damageable things on the stage, such as boxes, lines of rope, walls, etc, slicing them apart and destroying them in a timely manner.
While the utility is self explanatory, as an attack it also has some use due to the relative good damage and fast activation, but some end lag after he says "Simi!" and recovers from the swing means it can be bad on a shield. Canceling from a Fury Swipes string can be effective however.


UTILT: ASTONISH

Clapping his hands together diagonally above him, Ace creates a small shock wave around the clap that mimics Diddy's clapping Dtilt, but invisibly extends to the size of Fox's Reflector from the clap.
Slightly faster than Diddy's, but only doing 5% and little KB, the actual clap portion is negligible. The main attraction is that flinch-inducing shock wave that does 2%. Similar in use to a Shine, the shock wave will disrupt any foe in range unless they have Super/Heavy armor due to it's transcendent nature. Like with his other tilts, the use of this is to quickly make an opening to use his other moves safely, or to just harass the foe by stopping their approaches then backing off to lob Seeds at them.


DTILT: LOW SWEEP

Crouching, Ace leans on his hand as he sends his feet forward in an arc that hits for 6% and sends the foe diagonally downwards an OK distance that can potentially gimp at higher %. This takes about as long as Sonic's, but he cannot inch forward while doing the move like he can.
Aside from the legs, Ace's tail also follows suit a fraction of a second behind them, extending as far as MK's Dtilt. As we know, Simisage's tails are rather thorny, and will stick to foes they hit it with. If Ace's tail hits the foe with it's thorny tip as it swings by, it will catch them with a pseudo-grab hitbox (can be shielded) that whips them around for 4%, sending them behind Ace for the same KB as the hit with the feet. Useful for both it's range and throwing off an opponent as perfect shielding the 1st hit will actually leave them open for the tail, messing with their defense.


DASH: LOW KICK

Ace hops up for a drop-kick to start the attack, doing 6% and not too much KB, about the same as Cut. he will then drop to the floor with the momentum from the 1st kick, and do a slide similar to Mario's Dash attack, but only doing 4% but with the same KB as the last hit. All together this is a slightly laggy, yet far-reaching (travels a platform) attack that is a good approach option given the two distinct hits and horizontal KB. Just like in-game this should work much better on heavier foes, as lighter ones can simply DI after the 1st kick to avoid the second.





FSMASH: ENERGY BALL
Making a Kamehameha pose while charging, forming a green ball of energy like from Leech Seed the size of an uncharged Samus Shot, Ace will launch it ala Aura Sphere the distance of Olimar's Fsmash. Upon impact, there will be a burst of green energy the size of a Samus' full charge shot as the energy ball dissipates on the target (If it misses it will simply dissolve into nothingness). The resulting explosion hits in the form of a DoT, causing multiple hits adding up to 12-18% damage based on charge, with a final hit sending foes away similar to Zelda's Fsmash.
The multi-hit aspect of the move is actually beneficial given its range, even though at higher % this means some foes can DI out quickly, while they're in the hitstun you can pepper them with Bullet seeds or the like, or even go in for a grab. The large area and DoT also means this move is always safe on a shield as the hits will eat through it if any damage had been done prior, and get at least 1 hit on the foe inside.


USMASH: VINE WHIP
Performing a kind of generic Flip-Kick, Ace's feet and tail (not the tip) will hit the foe similarly to Luigi's Up aerial, doing 14-20% damage and being able to kill at around 150+. Like with his Dtilt however the tip of the tail can yet again snag foes as he swings upwards, dealing 8-12% and sending them bouncing off the floor, or downwards slightly if by and edge with KB similar to Dtilt.
Ace appreciates this move due to the relative power, but the animation is a bit slow, taking as long as Fox's Fsmash to perform with a bit of cool down as he readies himself from the flip.


DSMASH: MAGICAL LEAF
With a pose similar to when he is about to switch out with Leaf Storm, Ace will hold two leaves in crossed arms as if they were cards as green energy glows from them as he charges. Upon release, he will throw them diagonally down, sticking to the ground like blades and glowing green. If down off an edge the leaf will simply fly down about the distance of Energy Ball while still doing damage.
While in the ground, the leaves will remain glowing green with energy for 6-10 seconds, depending on charge and do 5-8% with pitiful KB upon impact. This may not seem like much, but given that there's no limit to how many there can be on the stage other than time, and how Ace likes to lead the opponent around, these magical leaves can soon add up to a lot of free damage.





NAIR: TAIL WHIP
Spinning side to side, Ace will whip his tail back and forth around him, hitting in front of and behind him once each. Like with all his tail focused maneuvers, hitting with the tip first will spin the foe around you and toss them the opposite direction you were facing, but this one does 6% just like the normal hit and identical KB (like Marth's Nair but a tad weaker). A good, fast spacer if nothing else, good for coming down to just trading damage mid-air.
As stated in the specials, Acrobatics mode changed how the aerials work, remember? With that up and running Ace will put a bit more effort into this spinning maneuver, twirling rapidly mid-air and actually halting momentum like with Luigi's Cyclone. To foes caught in the attack, it behaves just like Toon Link's grounded Spin Attack doing multiple hits of up to around 15%, then tossing the foe away with similar power to the normal Nair.


FAIR: SMACK DOWN
Flipping forward quickly, Ace will strike down foes with an outstretched foot, slamming them downwards with a weak Semi-Spike at his heel for 5%, before bouncing off them like when Link hits a shield with his Down Air. That little bounce is what really makes this admittedly weak move shine, seeing as the animation is as fast as MK's Down Air. With the bounce and speed, you could presumably pressure away at somebody until they're forced to get hit by either that or another aerial, and it lets you toss it around all day when off-stage. Just make sure you're able to make it back afterwards.
With an acrobatics boost, Ace will complete a single full flip before kicking downwards with both feet like with Luigi's Dair, doing 10% on impact and spiking foes (not just semi-spike), during which he uses the foe to leap off and boost the height of your double jump. Extremely useful offstage and on depending on if you're on a stage like battlefield.


BAIR: JUMP KICK

Ace swings around swiftly, getting enough momentum to boost himself the distance Pikachu can fly with his own Bair while performing a kick similar to Diddy's Monkey Flip if B is held, while doing 8% and horizontal KB akin to Cut. After hitting the foe, he'll use them to kick back the same distance he traveled, giving similar utility as Fair.
With the boost from Acrobatics, Ace flies twice the distance, and deals an impressive 14%, boosting the KB considerably, and kicking backward just as far. A good asset seeing as you use yourself as a projectile in a sense.


UAIR: FLING
Flipping like Fox, Ace will kick foes straight up for 10%, doing decent vertical KB like Yoshi's Uair and being probably his only other decent killing option beyond Usmash. As he flips, a moment later his tail follows his feet, being able to catch foes at the tip, and fling them downwards for 6% and a pseudo spike.
Acrobatics doesn't noticeably change this attack at first, unless you hit with the tip specifically. Hitting with the tail, Ace will now do about 3 flips quickly before launching the foe downward for 12% and meteor smashing them. This will also boost Ace up similarly doing a short hop upon release.


DAIR: INGRAIN
Turning upside down, Ace plants both hands downward (as they glow green slightly) with about the speed of Falcon's Dair, before flipping back over of course. On impact on an aerial foe, this will do little besides forcefully footstool them for a mere 2%. On a grounded foe however, this will pitfall them for the same damage, with both versions popping him up about the height of a short hop. The usefulness of this offstage when combined with your other aerials is pretty self evident, as is the benefit of pitfalling the foe, guaranteeing a free attack or switch opportunity.
With Acrobatics this aerial simply boosts you the height of your double jump, like with Fair, giving it similar followup options.





GRAB/PUMMEL: BITE
Ace has a fairly quick but short ranged grab like Luigi, making it good from a dash but he wont get too many from shield. His pummel has him grab onto the foe's arm/leg/tail/appendage/whatever and proceed to nom it for 2% a pop, with speed similar to Charizard's.


DTHROW: GRASS KNOT
Hands glowing green again and crouching down, Ace ties a vine (that magically spurted from the ground) around the foe's foot/whatever, then jumps off them similarly to Bair. Said vine is similar in appearance to Ivysaur's Up B and even is the same length as her grounded version, but is lighter green in color.
From here on until the vine is broken, the foe will be tethered to the ground, only able to move 1.5 Platforms in any direction, and be subject to tether physics. Ace cannot break his own knot, but the line itself has 25% stamina for the foe to work through, with blades doing double and fire doing quadruple the damage. Speaking of tether physics, the foe is now subject to recoil damage if the vine swings them into something, having them take 2-12% based on the momentum on impact, which will be easy to accomplish due to the fact that the vine is slightly elastic, being able to stretch to 1.5x it's length by moves that propel the foe (such as Ike side B or Knockback), before it whips back into shape. In particular, Ace's throws along with his tail moves (remember how they mostly send the foe further past him?) are great for adding free damage by abusing the tether.
Aside from that, the tether is also great for just keeping the foe on a leash in general, and can make them a sitting duck in some cases. Performing Dthrow again does nothing until the vine is broken (and thus magically disappears).


UTHROW: POWER WHIP

Tossing the foe up lightly, Ace will then spin around forcefully and slap his tail into the victim with a flip, sending them skyward for 8%. This does mediocre KB as it has higher base than growth (meaning it will always launch a foe but wont kill early if at all). This is perfect for tethered foes however as this guarantees they take good recoil damage as the vine will stretch then snap back down, almost always adding 4% minimum.


FTHROW: DOUBLE KICK
Releasing the foe, he will then do a spinning double kick like a horizontally inclined Falcon Usmash, doing 2 hits for 3% and sending the foe directly forward with the second hit with OK power, good for followups with easy seed bombs and the like.
This throw actually changes slightly on a tethered foe. When he has a guy on the rope so to speak, he will kick once, sending them forward like the second hit for 3%, but then yank the vine back himself to connect with a second, doing recoil damage + another 3% before letting the foe go with the normal KB once more.


BTHROW: RAZOR LEAF

Tossing the foe behind him at a 45* angle, Ace then quickly flicks two razor leaves their way, each hitting for 3.5%, 7% total. However, like with the spacies this can be easy to DI and take little damage. This is where the tether comes in. The tether will go taught once thrown like this, and any opponent bigger than Olimar will then have a hell of a time avoiding the leaves as they begin coming back in toward the anchor point, adding free damage and hitstun to an otherwise lackluster throw.





CLERIC

Ace is an odd character for sure. He is a lightweight, but enjoys having some trap-like moves. Has a great hit and run game, but no means to easily finish off the foe. Creates buffs and can heal, but isn't very durable himself to properly abuse them even with Gluttony. So, what is his main "thing"?
His role on the team is that of a cleric. Mainly to set up for the other party members, making them better while at the same time being a nuisance to the foe himself if need be, and with Acrobatics, Seed Bombs and grass knot, he can be quite the annoying primate. The trick with Ace is knowing when to switch and when to stay, unlike Bacon however this will usually be in shorter periods to get in, cause a ruckus, drop a buff and get out, letting a tougher teammate take the heat while hopefully abusing the buffs or traps with their own moves.
This is actually rather easy to do given his ability to hit and run to make space, and how his Leaf Storm provides a good cover on the switch. Once you have a grass Knot down (and preferably hung off an edge or taking knockback to avoid an early escape), Work Up seed in hand, or Leech Seed activated, you can easily retreat behind leaf storm after bouncing off the foe with an aerial and share the benefits with your team. Or, you could just as easily stay in and abuse the mechanics yourself, seeing as you get a bit extra oomph due to Ace's gluttony, making up for his lackluster natural prowess. Ace has limited range and little priority on most of his normal attacks, which makes how they move him around or use his tail all the more vital to keeping him in the game. Messing up on spacing could mean the foe getting the upper hand when they catch Ace and put a world of hurt on him, as he lacks a good means of horizontal recovery outside of Acro-Bair, a solid hit can do him in early.
Ace isn't a total pushover in a fight however, needing to rely on hit and run. He has a decent jab and a disruptive Utilt to give openings to grab, as well as two solid projectiles to punish or even attempt to camp with. Combined with a quick stage hazard like Magical leaf and the ability to anchor the foe to an area, Ace can really go to town on an unprepared opponent if the player uses their head. The only issue he has is finally finishing them off, seeing as he wont be killing until high 150%, the best shot he has is getting a work-up seed on himself and building up power to get a Usmash or Uair in at like 130%. Even so, it'd probably be even better to switch out to either Bacon, Rampage or Arrow to finish the job (especially Rampage with a Work-Up boost!).
Speaking of the buffs again, the whole team enjoys them, but some more than others. Bacon likes taking damage, so leech seed could be a bit iffy with her, but a Work-Up will be great with her chasing game. Rampage and Arrow also love the Work-Up, but Arrow would appreciate the healing factor more, as it can counteract his defeatist, getting him back in the game essentially after a rought fight. Cell can heal herself as well, and is kindof opposite of Bacon in that she could care less about Work-Up's effects given the nature of her moves, and could use the boost in regenerative power, and Havok enjoys both given his good damaging, multi-hit attacks. Havok also particularly loves tethered foes, as they become sitting ducks for his Thunderbolts.
Overall you have to think on the fly when you use Ace on your team, either plotting how to get around foes with your moves, if you want to take them head on, or one of the multiple ways you can set up for your team members to be even more effective. He can be both the MVP and liability of a team however, as while what he does can be amazing, he himself can get in a lot of trouble if caught mid-combat, given his lack of many defensive options beyond what he has to set-up beforehand.






FINAL SMASH: SOLAR BEAM

The camera zooms in on Ace as he activates his final smash, posing just like Fsmash as he forms an Energy Ball. However, as he builds it up it turns from green to yellow/white and grows much, much larger to the size of Samus' fully Charged Shot! He's turned an Energy ball into a powerful Solar Beam and while yelling his name, fires it like a Kamehameha before him, going to the edge of the screen and obliterating anyone in it's path for a whopping solid hit of 60%!
Afterwards Ace will be pushed back some, and take a brief moment to wave his smoking hands as they were singed by the sun's power.



TAUNTS


UP: Ace stands up straight and runs a hand through his hair, closing his eyes as he does so and letting his head lean back as he does so.

DOWN: Ace points his fingers forward, squinting a bit and saying "Saaaaagge", as if he was the Fonz.

SIDE: Ace swivels to face the camera (no matter which way he faces) and in an exaggerated motion does a big thumbs up to the camera and smiles, a little sparkle effect happening on both his thumb and teeth.




ALTERNATE COSTUMES


Basic -------- Blue Team -------- Red Team -------- Green Team -------- Black/White -------- Gold






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JOE!

Smash Hero
Joined
Oct 5, 2008
Messages
8,075
Location
Dedham, MA


With Bacon and Ace by my side, we breezed through the next two gyms, with Bacon becoming a Pignite, and after finding a Leaf Stone in the big city of all places, Ace became a Simisage. After some altercations with team Plasma, the three of us made our way out of Castelia and had to cross the desert to get to the next stop. There I ran into a wild Sandile that didn't seem to leave us alone, even after Ace showed him the ropes, so to speak.
Even in defeat the little bugger kept on coming at us, really showing his attitude, and eventually made it onto the team since I took a bit of a liking to his spunk, and named him Rampage.

Like Bacon, Rampage is a bit of a big bruiser at heart, although he doesn't have the whole bulk thing going on like she does. What he does have however, is Moxie, which boosts his attack power by 25% whenever he beats a foe, feeding his ego literally. To take advantage of this, he has a lot of wide-area maneuvers with some good power to his moves and a lot of ways to rack up the damage. But what he makes up for in speed, he lacks in durability, as in the air he's like a fish out of water, unlike Bacon or Ace. Luckily, being a ground type, he more than makes up for that shortcoming as long as he's on something solid to work with.






SIZE: 7 (Essentially Zard's body without the tapering head or tail, taller/wider yoshi)
WEIGHT: 7 (Tie with Ike)
GROUND: 6 (Toon Link)
AIR: 2 (4 in acceleration, jumps are oddly comparable to the Jumpman himself, but with the basic jump being slightly shorter in distance)
FALL: 8 (Just above Shiek)
CRAWL: Yes


Rampage has some good and some bad here. On the one hand, decent weight, good ground speed and good jumping ability. But on the other, he is kind of big, falls like a rock and has barely any air speed. It kind of comes with the ground-typing that he'd be better suited onstage, just use his natural speed and relative bulk to keep the match in your favor.

Rampage's crouch + crawl allows him to temporarily be only about the height of Pikachu, which can let him avoid lots of projectiles easily.





B: CRUNCH
Holding B has Rampage open those massive jaws of his for as long as you want, with the ability to even angle the head up and down as you do so. Releasing B has them clamp down nigh instantly, with a hitbox for 12% at the very edge of his mouth that does mediocre KB. If caught anywhere else, the foe will get trapped in his jaws while the player is able to both mash B or A to damage the foe, doing hits of 2% up to 4 times a second with standard grab difficulty for the foe to escape. Upon release, the foe also takes 3% and is tossed lightly by Rampage "spitting" them out, all the while he is also able to angle his head, influencing the direction they are thrown at the end.
The main benefit of crunch as a damaging move is actually kinda self explanatory: his jaws. His massive maw makes a hitbox about the size of Ganon's Ftilt that can grab at any time, and do a ton of damage once a foe is trapped. At 4 hits a second, you will on average be doing at least 8%, 11% when you release the foe. With just 1 boost from Moxie this becomes 10% a second, 12% with 2 boosts, and so on. This will end up being his bread and butter for most fights as it is a great way to add on damage and catch foes, just be on the side of caution of spacing when you do this, as you are immobile and can eat items, including volatile ones.


SIDE B: DIG
Diving forward at about the speed of Yoshi's egg roll, Rampage burrows into the stage, leaving only his eyes/top of the head and a lump of moving soil about the size of Squirtle while crouching visible, severely shrinking his hurtbox. From here, you can move as normal, tilting the control stick to go slowly, and jerking it to speed forward at your standard dash speed all the while being a hitbox for 8% and popping foes up slightly on hit, complete with a small "dirt" effect like with Zard's Dsmash when you dash.
There are a few catches that come with the ability to become so much smaller, while gaining a permanent hitbox and easy movement however. First and most obvious is that you can still easily be hit by most any sort of Dtilt/Smash, as you cannot shield or anything. Second, you cannot turn around and you automatically stop at edges, seeing as it is a 2D playing field after all. Lastly, you are stuck in Dig until pressing B or A yet again, which will have Rampage force himself upward with identical lag to the start-up, but this time being a hitbox for 8% still. An amazing approach option, Dig allows Rampage to have a method of approach while being both offensive and defensive, with the ability to lay still while "submerged", and waiting for the opportunity to strike, all the while also being able to charge forward and deliver a bit of pain to foes as well. At low % the pop-out attack when you exit can even combo into some other moves like Crunch or Sand Tomb.


UP B: SAND TOMB

With about the same start up as DK's Up B, spinning 3 times like Falco does with his jab (yet not nearly as fast), Ramp whips up a swirling cone of Sand the size of a mach tornado! The sand comes up after the 1st spin, and will rotate 3 times total, leaving Rampage free after 2 and giving him a bit of a frame advantage on hit. Foes can be hit up to 5 times by this move, with Rampage's body hitting twice for 3.5%, and the much larger swirling sand hitting 3 times for the same amount, often you will have foes trapped in the vortex however as it moves forward about a kirby as the attack goes on. At the end of the attack, the "vortex" becomes the Wolf Blaster to Mach Tornado's Fox, knocking foes generally horizontally or diagonally upward with the last hit, but trapping them for at least the 3 hits of the sand none the less. (10-17% normal, 13-21% and so on with Moxie).
In the air the move behaves similarly, but with no ground to work with, Rampage will simply spin about 4 times while covered in sand, doing the same damage but not linking as well, while being able to move similarly to a mix between MK's Drill Rush and Charizard's Fly, while only having the reach of Dimensional Cape, making for a rather poor, if not versatile recovery due to the movement.
Similar in use to Crunch, but with generally less prediction required, Sand Tomb allows you to trap a foe as a set-up maneuver due to the frame advantage if you hit with it, and doubles as a great damage-racker with Moxie. Unlike Crunch however, it has a noticeable start up time and is semi-useless offensively in the air, making it's use better off grounded.


SWITCH-IN: PURSUIT
Rampage is one of the three who have a Switch-In attack for when he appears on the field, meaning that upon switching into battle he automatically performs this attack from his pokeball.
Upon release, Rampage will immediately rush forward at about Sheik's Dash Speed while covered in a blackish aura, slightly crouched, traveling about a platform and a half before swinging his head up with a roar, before quickly going to a neutral state. The rush part of this move does 8% with KB akin to Zard's Dtilt, whereas the swing at the end has similar power, but hits for 12%, killing much earlier, but lacks super armor like the dash does.
Pursuit is a great move for Rampage as even though it doesn't benefit from Moxie, it is perhaps the most useful way to start it. After dealing with a foe with another team mate, hopefully one with a switch-out move that makes them set-up bait, a good pursuit at the right place can score an easy kill for him, starting that boost that makes him such a menacing fighter. Aside from that, it also has a good deal of range and speed (as well as SA) to make it a solid attack in general to rush in with if need be, especially if he;s next in line after a team member gets defeated.





JAB: SHADOW CLAW
Slashing forward with his left claw, twisting his body as he does so for extra reach, he leaves behind a trail of the dark aura he gained in Pursuit in the shape of 3 lines that quickly dissipate. Doing 4%, but being as laggy as DK's 2nd jab makes the attack questionable at a glance, compared to his other moves. However, being a Dark attack it has a trick up it's sleeve: On Hit Cancel.
What this means is that upon impact, Shadow Claw can instantly cancel into another attack such as Crunch, Sand Tomb or even another Shadow Claw. The latter option has him just strike with his right claw this time with no ability to cancel however. Useful for tacking on damage or insuring you land another hit, otherwise Shadow Claw is a nice way to add on 4-8% with KB similar to Samus' jabs.


FTILT: BRICK BREAK

Flipping around swiftly on one leg, Rampage turns his tail slightly as he slams it spikes-forward toward the foe with some good force, before swinging back around to neutral. With the same lag as Snake's Utilt altogether, and hitting for 7.5% with the power to KO at around 140%.
Like in the games, Brick Break is able to plow through enemy defenses, translated to smash as being able to wreck a shield. Upon hit with a shield, the attack does shield damage comparable to a Bowser Bomb (Jab -> Full BBomb from boozer will 100% break any shield) along with massive shield stun if the shield is intact. The benefits of a move that can lay on the pressure like that, especially from the range of Link's Ftilt (big tail) are self explanatory. It gets even better when you factor in you can OHC Shadow Claw into this even if shadow claw gets shielded, and afterwards use the shield stun (or break) to lead into a slower, more dangerous attack.


UTILT: RAGE

With a snarl, Rampage stomps his foot down, whips his tail up and headbutts all at once, making for a 3-pronged attack as fast as DDD's Utilt. Each hit will do 5%, and you are almost guaranteed to land 2 at once, although all 3 likely wont happen. The move generally knocks the foe upward, as the head and tail are the biggest hitboxes, although his snout and foot do send foes diagonal, altogether being able to kill somewhere around 170%.
Rage also comes with a few bonuses beyond multiple hitboxes, being that it grants Ramapage 7% heavy armor as he stomps, and that it never stales. Both incredibly useful early on as by using his attitude, Rampage can simply shrug off an attack and counter-hit back as many times as he likes, granted the don't abuse the relative poor range or DI-ability.


DTILT: DRAGON TAIL

Propping up on his scrawny forearms, Rampage will spin his body 180* after pushing off with a leg, using his arms as a pivot to whack the enemy with his entire tail and lower body! After the spin, Rampage will be turned around in his crouch with a bit of end lag.
This maneuver does 12%, with the ability to KO as early as 120% due to it's high straight horizontal KB, often gimping if not straight killing the foe. Given that it's got great range (half his body!) and power, the drawback here is the start up as he pushes outward, giving opponents a good window to react to the attack.


DASH: SAND ATTACK

Dashing forward, pressing A will have Rampage "skid" to a stop, sweeping forward with his tail as he does so and shooting up a splash of sand the size of Squirtle's waterfall when it begins. The sand does similar damage as the tip of said move, about 8%, and will almost always trip foes while pushing them back a bit, unless hit with the foot/tail in which they take KB similar to Brick Break. A nice option due to the sand disjoint and chance to trip, as well as how fast the attack activates, barely having any start-up at all.





FSMASH: EARTHQUAKE
Taking a step back as he charges, Rampage then stomps forward with screen and stage shaking force, sending a shock wave the size of DK's down B before him to blast foes away in an explosion of dirt. With lag akin to DK's Dsmash, EQ is fairly straight forward except for two things: 1, it only hits foes on the ground, and 2, the range is massive (DK's hand slap covers from say, the center diamond in FD to just past the 1st "triangles" surrounding it, now picture this in front of Rampage instead of surrounding him). It hits just slightly behind him as well, but the majority of the attack will be sent forward, dealing 14 - 20% with the power to KO around 130% with mostly vertical KB. Granted a foe can simply react to this by jumping, EQ has other uses such as destroying traps, or even just forcing the foe to the air to intercept them with Sand Tomb, Crunch, an Aerial, or just reposition with Dig as they are above. Use the range and damage to your advantage, combined with moxie this can cause untold amounts of havoc.


USMASH: ROCK CLIMB
After crouching slightly to charge, Rampage will leap about half his normal jump height up with his mouth open, claws outward and calling his name out as he reaches for a victim. On hit, Rock Climb behaves similarly to Falcon's Uspec of all things, having Rampage claw/bite/kick off the foe once he scrambled to them with Pseudo-Grab priority (can be shielded), dealing 13-18% and sending the victim horizontally and slightly down, killing at 150%. Afterwards he has a bit of hang time before falling like a rock as he usually does, which can allow for another aerial attack against a separate foe if in a multi-man match. Overall this is good for anti-air and a great read option after tossing out an EQ.


DSMASH: OUTRAGE
Letting his attitude get the better of him again, Rampage tenses up, looking pissed as he charges, before letting his rage release by storming and stomping in place up to 3 times (similar to Link's Fsmash in execution), creating small explosions of dirt as he stomps and in general thrashing his claws, tail and body in the process. Like with Rage, he gains 10% heavy armor while in his tantrum.
As mentioned, this performs similarly to Link's Fsmash in that by pressing A again you can continue the move, or choose not to. The first two attacks have him swing his head, swipe his claw and stomp to the left and right, while the tail slaps opposite with a roar, all doing a hit of 12-18% based on charge, while the final hit has him fiercely stomp with both feet, making an explosion of dirt around him the size of Sand Tomb dealing 14-20%, all with similar killing power as the aforementioned Link Fsmash (about 130-120%). Afterwards he will take a brief second to pant once or twice (depending on how long you outraged) as he calms down. A great move vs multiple opponents, Outrage can let Rampage get space quickly and even counter some weaker attacks, but landing all 3 hits on a single opponent wont happen with his skill alone, due to the foe's ability to DI at lower % and how each hit has good KB.





NAIR: RAPID SPIN
Tucking his arms to the sides, Rampage performs a signature crocodilian death-roll, rapidly spinning horizontally about 4 times as his entire body length becomes a hitbox. Taking about as long as Charizard's Nair, Rapid Spin will hits foes four times for 2%, and rather weak KB on the last hit, with a slightly stronger "sweet spot" in the middle of his back with his spikes.
While offensivley "meh", Rapid Spin also surrounds Rampage in a special wind effect, which can do a multitude of things for him such as pull a nearby foe into the hitbox, deflecting physical projectiles by sending them slightly off course, and knocking off things like Pikmin or other unwanted attachments from his body. The fact that it is a long, multi-hit move doesn't hurt either, but compared to his other options it's somewhat lacking for damage.


FAIR: ASSURANCE
Moving like a slower, scalier Shiek, he swats the air in front of him with his claw, slapping foes forward similar to Marth's Fair, but only doing a mere 7%, hampering it's power. However, Assurance has a nice perk like it does in the games: hitting a foe with it while they're already in hitstun doubles it's damage to 14%. This can make the move a great follow-up from almost anythign at low % that pops your opponent up, or a great way to juggle foes while in multi-man as they get tossed to you, pegging them for a quick 14% or more with Moxie, and eventual kill potential as with double damage, it gets the tipper treatment Marth has.


BAIR: THRASH

Lifting his lower body up a bit and turnign to his side, Rampage proceeds to lash out with his tail and legs while looking back toward the foe, doing two hits of 6%, before falling to the ground on his side most inevitably due to his fall speed, and how the move takes a moment to recover. If otherwise done from a non short hop, it's a good damage dealer as it does relatively low KB given that 12% it lands, being comparable to Link's Bair if anything. A better option for edgegaurding than Fair due to the more guaranteed damage, as well as for facing the stage for a quick recovery.


UAIR: NIGHT SLASH
Raking an open mouth full of teeth and a claw horizontally, Rampage slashes above him with a Shadow effect like in his Jab. His teeth do 7% while the claw afterwards tacks on another 3%, both hitting together like Wolf's Ftilt and having similar power. This makes for a potent juggling tool as the two hitboxes and darkness effect allow it to linger for a bit, giving enemies above barely any window to avoid the Slash unless they airdodge, which can of course then be capitalized on as Rampage falls back down.


DAIR: PAYBACK
Flipping over with blinding speed, Rampage opens wide and falls slightly, his massive mouth full of teeth being a continuous hitbox for 7% until he flips back over a moment later, doing light downwards KB of course. Interestingly, if done right after being hit (usually upwards), Rampage puts move force behind his mouth and doubles the damage, dealing 14% or more with medium KB. The big hitbox and speed should definitely be great for punishing foes who thought they'd get a free juggle off your fall speed.





GRAB/PUMMEL: FOUL PLAY
Rampage's grab is decent, comparable to Bowser's in most aspects if not a tad bit longer reach comparitivley due to his size. Once he has the foe in his clutches, pressing A will have him turn his head and essentially nom their face with the side of his mouth, doing a mere 1% every half second. However, the devious thing about his pummel is that the foe can add to the damage. The more the foe struggles while he is doing Foul Play, the more they're hurt by the pummel, taking an extra 1% for each input pressed!


FTHROW: MUD SLAP
Rampage will toss the foe forward, but immediately slap a wave of "mud" at them from the floor with his tail, doing 10% and tripping the foe, as well as shoving them along the ground with similar strength to Fox's Fthrow. A good option in multi-man due to the wave hitbox.


BTHROW: FAINT ATTACK

Tossing the foe around behind him to the air, Rampage will then dash toward them in a similar manner to Pursuit with the aura and all, doing 9% on impact and hitting the foe similarly to Fthrow. It should be noted that Rampage will follow foe DI with this, as he takes a brief moment to eye the foe as they are flung before dashing to them for the attack, making it nigh impossible to avoid unless he is intercepted.


UTHROW: RETALIATE
Taking the foe in his mouth, Rampage shakes them back and forth in an upwards arc a few times before spitting them upwards for 8%, with like KO power. As the name suggests however, if Rampage was damaged briefly before grabbing the foe and throwing (about a quarter-second window before grabbing), Retaliate doubles in damage to 16% and with it KB power, being able to kill around 150%. Best used after using Rage or Outrage, as you can quickly shrug off a hit and attempt a grab, using Rampage's attitude to fuel the retaliation.


DTHROW: EARTH POWER

Tossing the foe down while hopping up, Rampage then stomps own on their back, sending a shockwave through them to create an explosion of dirt ala Outrage or EQ below them. This does 9% with a decent splash hitbox, sending foes up and diagonally from Rampage without any real KO power, but more than Mud Slap at least given it's similar use as an additional wide-area attack for multi-man.





JUGGERNAUT

At a glance, Rampage seems to play like a more upfront, strike-heavy version of Bacon, until you look at how many moves focus on either range, tricks or straight up abusing what really sets him apart: Moxie.
Moxie is what really can define Rampage, as normally he is a decent offensive character with a huge weak spot when it comes to recovery or being airborne in general, to a down-right scary beast you have to slay using said weakness before he eats you and gets stronger. For this reason, players will often designate him to the second or third slot when forming the team, opting to have him come in at the right moment (after setting up the foe or even as a revenge kill as he does it upon switch-in regardless) for a Pursuit and start the frenzy. However, despite having pursuit he can also be effective as a starter and try to just keep trucking through a match in order to try and get 2 moxie boosts early on, followed by another offensive Team Mate such as Arrow, Havok or Bacon to build up a offensive front that many characters wont be able to overcome. In particular he'll enjoy Ace and Cell for their switch-outs if he isn't first however, as they set-up the foe (if caught) to be perfect pursuit bait.
Speaking of frenzy, Rampage doesn't have much flow to his moveset if you haven't noticed, with each area being somewhat self-contained, and full of signature dark-type tricks. This is to augment his offensive role by being less predictable and easy to read, given that even though for example, Bacon can make a guessing game with her Side B and Throws, the opponent still knows what to expect when she comes out: She's gonna grab or take down, and punish you for trying to go above her. With Rampage, his attacks all can come from almost nowhere, with his fast jab being able to essentially link to any other standard or special, which then can set up for another follow up depending on the player's mood, which then can have a separate effect like Assurance's double damage, Rapid Spin pulling them closer slightly, Rock Climb letting him go from Ground to Air quickly and so on. Any one move he lands can open up a literal tree of options that become more and more scary as he gets more KO's.
Which brings us to his main niche: punishing multiple foes. Seeing as he has a variety of "big" attacks like Sand Tomb, Dthrow, Fthrow, EQ, Outrage and the like, it is easy for Rampage to jump into a crowd and come out on top. Facing opponents like Ice Climbers where there are two or more at once gets even better, as his attacks become more significant as with 2 KO's at once, he gets an incredible boost. Even more prominent in multi-man where he can take advantage of the chaos to jump in and score big sweeping attacks to get kills, and become a monster. However, this is also his downfall as Rampage clearly becomes a target, with a horrid recovery no less. This is when it is best to scoot around with dig and use moves like Dtilt or Dash attack to throw foes off while they're after you, or Retaliate and Payback to turn the tables on their assault.
Overall Rampage is a great addition to a team in need of great damage racking and KO power, but in order to work his best he will need set-up and support from his team mates, given that even with all his might and bad attitude he falls victim to the same offensive force that makes him what he is.





FINAL SMASH: BEAT UP

Rampage needs to be within about his length from the foe for this to work, or else nothing will happen. If in range, upon activation the camera will zoom to the targeted foe and Rampage as he cracks his knuckles, JOE! sending out the other party members (if there are any) to the other side of the target as well as behind them in the background before telling them to use Beat Up!
At the command, the team will lunge at the foe, proceeding to use a variety of their moves (no KB or grabbing, just damage and a TON of hitstun) for about 3 seconds, racking upwards of 50% (that's without moxie) before JOE! returns the team mates, leaving a shield-breaked and severely damaged foe and Rampage back where they started, leaving them open to whatever Rampage can dish out.



TAUNTS


UP: Rampage bites upwards 3 times at different angles, making loud clamping sounds, then growls as he lowers his head back down.

DOWN: Rampage makes an intimidating roar forwards, mouth open wide and hands to the sides with claws stretched to strike terror to the foe.

SIDE: Taking a pose like Krokorok, Rampage seemingly chuckles a bit after presumably after wrecking the foe.




ALTERNATE COSTUMES


Basic -------- Blue Team -------- Red Team -------- Green Team -------- Black/White -------- Gold






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JOE!

Smash Hero
Joined
Oct 5, 2008
Messages
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Location
Dedham, MA


Before leaving the desert region, we stopped by a place called the Relic Castle. Inside the team got some training vs other explorers and some Ghost-type Yamask, and ran into one explorer who found something interesting: fossils hidden in the ruins! From him, I got what he described as a "Plume Fossil" and saved it in my bag, remembering the Nacrene Museum could take a look at it, after my stop at Nimbasa of course.
There I met up with Team Plasma again, and even fought N, their supposed leader out to "liberate" Pokemon. Bacon showed him what a Trainer and their Pokemon can do, and they were sent packing. The journey continued from there as Rampage blitzed through the Electric gym and became a Krokorok, and we even caught a ball game at the Big Stadium. As I put my bag down at the bleachers I was reminded of the Plume fossil, and made my way back to Nacrene where the curators actually revived it into a living, breathing Pokemon! An Archen I named "Arrow".

Arrow as a fighter is probably the star of my team. He has speed, power, maneuverability, but he also has a big Achilles heel: Defeatist. By instinct, Archeops would essentially go into "fright mode" when damaged as they are rather frail Pokemon, which essentially sucks the aggression and vigor right out of them, halving their attack power. For Arrow, this means that if he sustains over 75% damage he will then be subject to a halving of Knockback, Hitstun and Damage to his moves. With all his speed and combat prowess he walks the razor's edge, so he really prefers to be out, land a decisive string of attacks and get out before he ruffles his feathers.






SIZE: 3.5 (His body is small, but due to long limbs and tail he is slightly smaller than Weegee overall)
WEIGHT: 2 (Between Kirby and GW)
GROUND: 9.5 (Above Falcon but not matching Sonic in the slightest, runs like a little Raptor)
AIR: 9 (6 in acceleration, he has 4 jumps each the height of Ike's main jump)
FALL: 5 (Tied with fellow Flyer Charizard)
GLIDE: 5 (Similar to Pit's)
WALL CLING: Yes

Arrow is full of extremes, very small and frail, but having amazing movement capabilities on top of 4 jumps and a glide makes him a very hard target. However, due to being a lot bigger than other characters of his weight class, once he's caught by a move he is slightly easier to damage and eventually kill, if not wound his morale and kicking in Defeatist.





B: ACROBATICS
Arrow's most versatile and deadly maneuver, he will hover in place with a Press of the B Button, his eye glinting as he flashes white for about half a second, in which time you can even move him freely in the air, before dropping back down (unless you jump or w/e). Like with Ace, this enters him into an Acrobatics Mode, but it works quite differently for a flying Pokemon, as Arrow uses his killer instinct and reflexes to actually counter a foe's attack by flying around them swiftly and landing a slash with his powerful wings!
How this works is simple enough, at any time after his eye glints, and for the next half second an opponent attempts any manner of attack (even a grab) at Arrow, he will immediately dodge to the background, fly behind them and preform a 180* slash at them opposite of the direction they attacked from with a screech, from a maximum distance of 1.5 platforms. Said slash does a decent 15% and can kill (varies by the direction obviously) at around 130%.
Unlike other counters this has a moment of start-up where you can clearly hit Arrow, before his eye glints, which can give fast attackers a critical edge unless you're tricky, also given how Arrow has to physically move behind the target can leave enough reaction time with longer range moves to counter this counter-attack. Overall though this will save your hide on many occasions by taking advantage of his speed, although it has the same drawback as Ace (only once per every time you touch the ground), plus some, the chance to keep your health low and deliver a nasty counter strike is too good to pass up.


SIDE B: ROCK THROW/SLIDE
Grabbing a stone from hammer space, Arrow will then lob it at an arc that varies at about the same range as the Fire Breath moves, and traveling as far as Peach's turnip. Upon impact, this rock will deal a mere 4% and flinching, similar to the rocks from Bacon's or Zard's Rock Smash, and can open up a window for Arrow to zoom in and get some hits on campier foes, although there is some end lag as he has his wing extended making sure it hit the target before he can move. By tapping B, Arrow will continue to lob rocks, alternating wings at a rate similar to GW's Bacon or Diddy's peanuts up to 6 times before coming to a stop to observe the foe momentarily. The rocks also bounce on floors once before disappearing, but only doe 2% after hitting ground once.
Taking an opposite approach to Acrobatics, Arrow can proactively find an opening in the foe by causing the flinch effect with a rock, before flying toward them, as well as set up a sort of wall for defensive purposes, although the rocks themselves will do little vs foes with armored or dodgy approaches. It is best used as either a follow up or an opener by tossing out one or only a few rocks, slowing your air speed if mid-air, and proceeding to jump on the opportunity to attack a distracted foe.


UP B: FLY

Hovering momentarily while saying "Arch-e!", he them slams his wings down hard, making a strong wind effect half the size of a platform below him and shooting skyward 3/4 the height of Sonic's Spring, hitting foes for 9% on the way up with mediocre KB. Upon reaching the peak, he can automatically enter his glide, going into special fall after either attacking or jumping like a certain other winged menace.
A good, if basic recovery option/method of getting skyward quickly, Fly is notable for both the height and Wind Effect upon take off, which can easily send unprepared foes for a loop as they're pushed away.


SWITCH-OUT: U-TURN
Arrow is one of the three who have a Switch-Out attack for when he exits the field, meaning that just before switching out of battle he automatically performs this attack while returning to the pokeball.
Upon given the command, Arrow will dive forward swiftly before opening his wings, and looping around to about where I am in the background as he gets returned. Looking like a horizontal shuttle loop with similar range and speed, he will slash foes with his talons for 8% with enough KB to actually KO around 150% near edges.
A great move to keep on the run, this allows Arrow to create space for the next team mate, maintain momentum in the match, and more importantly keep him alive as he quickly can exit from a sticky situation.





JAB: WING ATTACK
Reaching out with his feathered arms, he will slash twice each hitting for 3% and doing hitstun, and being cancel-able on each hit. On the third hit, Arrow will simultaneously hover and spin 3 times with arms outstretched, moving like Squirtle's Dtilt in mid air and hitting 3 times for 2% with hitstun on the 1st two hits, and medium KB on the last that wont kill.
The first two hits are fast with good reach, great for poking and spacing, while the spin is useful for a similar purpose, it's lag can keep it from being used until higher %. Not only for the foe, who will be knocked farther, but for yourself as it moves Arrow back and forth allowing space to U-Turn out if in trouble.


FTILT: PLUCK

Taking a step forward, Arrow lunches forward with his long neck and bites the foe before quickly retreating back a step. This does a small hit of 3% that does no hitstun, but is immediately followed by a hit for 6% with KB that can kill around 170% or so.
Similar in use to Jab in how it can space, the two hits also are enough to make foes automatically drop items from their grasp to the floor, wrecking some characters' utility right off the bat.


UTILT: DRAGON CLAW

Hopping slightly, Arrow slashes a wing over his head with force, propelling his body over like with Mario's Down taunt, and slashes with his talons and other claw before landing, making for a fierce multi-hit attack.
Doing a total of about 12% and hitting foes away like Sonic's uncharged Usmash, this spinning claw attack is his most damaging, if slowest tilt. However, while you're in the air you can jump or press A again to Jump-Cancel or Aerial-Cancel respectively, taking foes immediately to your area of expertise for much more damage.


DTILT: QUICK ATTACK

As Arrow crouches, pressing A will have him flap his wings back hard, boosting forward a platform while becoming a hitbox for 4% at Sonic's Dash speed! This does questionable damage and knockback, but the IASA frames allow you to perform this over and over until you hit a ledge, giving Arrow the best "pseudo crawl" in terms of speed in the game. A nifty way to move around, this light attack can easily follow up most attacks early on, or just be used to rush into battle as it goes past shields and even grounded traps as he flies forward.


DASH: AERIAL ACE

Holding his wings out, a small wind effect will stream over Arrow as he continues on at his dash speed, becoming a hitbox for 9% and hitting foes for light Kb that shouldn't ever kill. Aerial Ace will go on until you fall off an edge (going into your air state) or if you let go of A, with the latter having you land on the ground and skid lightly as if you landed from Gliding. Similarly to Quick Attack, this lets you fly past shielding opponents and in general have a better approach or punish using Arrow's natural speed, but lacks the IASA and has worse end lag over the long term.





FSMASH: THRASH
Slowly raising his wings for a brief moment as he charges, upon release Arrow will swing his left wing forward, battering the foe but only doing 6-10% and Knockback like Ftilt, before taking another step to slash with his right claw for the same amount, before finally hopping up to boot forward with both both feet, sending the foe forward as hard as Shiek's Dsmash for 10-14%. Afterwards he will plop down to the ground for a hard landing (he can make himself tech) from the exertion.
As well as being an attack that moves Arrow horizontally like his Dtilt, Thrash is angle-able like most Fsmashes, but instead of his arm, his whole body is influenced by the control stick and is able to be taken vertically as well as horizontally while thrashing with a move of his wings! Each time you angle, he will move about 20* up or down, and will essentially free-fall for the time it takes to land normally if it ends in the air. A fantastic smash to keep the damage on the foe, and a potential deadly kill move with it's ability to go almost anywhere the foe tries to escape.


USMASH: STONE EDGE
Crouching with a wing on the ground, looking skyward as he charges. On release Arrow will rip a rock from the floor a bit bigger than those from Rock throw, and throw his wing overhead with it in tow, bashing foes for 14-20% in an arc ala Falco's Usmash and about as strong, with the rest of his body/tail doing a weaker hit for 6-10%.
Following the rock however are a few smaller shards that travel a small distance from the arc, about the same as the shards from Rock Smash, following the arc and doing 3-4 hits of 2% and adding a bit of hitstun to the move and slightly helping out it's lackluster range. Decidedly his most power smash attack when sweet-spotted, but the comparatively low range of the attack combined with some start-up and need to sweet-spot can but a damper on it. It is best used from a running start or DACUS to boost toward the for and nail them with the stone before they can react.


DSMASH: DRAGON PULSE
Raising his wings up as dragon-fire is seen spurting from his mouth as he charges (the fire becoming more intense as he does so), Arrow will then flap down hard, sending himself up as high as Ivysaur's Utilt as he fires the pulse to the ground spreading it like Lucario's own Dsmash. The resulting blast will only do 9-13%, but has decent enough power to kill around 155%.
Notable for it's speed (same as Ivysaur's Utilt) and range, Dragon Pulse is an extremely effective GTFO move in that it not only creates a burst effect around Arrow, but automatically jump-cancels by leaving him airborne and able to jump, glide, do aerial attacks or whatever. Use this when you feel slightly swamped as the 2 pronged escape combo can turn the tables as you can the follow the foe with your glide attack, or simply just fly back to safety.





NAIR: GUST
Flapping his wings down hard at an about 45* angle, Arrow creates a large hitbox for 5% and little more than hitstun. Fortunately, said flapping motion is about as spammable as Fox’s Reflector, and without the KB growth + aerial movement, can easily pad out a string of hits, or begin one.
As he moves his wings, a wind effect about the size of MK’s Dair is formed with the same pushing power as Squirtle’s Water Gun. Useful not only for gimping foes, but this temporarily reduces his fall speed to about a 3 to have more hang time, or to even attempt to half momentum after being hit hard.


FAIR: AIR SLASH
Raking the air before him with his clawed left wing, Arrow creates a visible slash effect before him that almost resembles a giant “/” the length of his body. On hit, this does 9% with a bit of diagonally upwards KB that won’t kill unless offstage, but hitting with the disjointed slash lets the foe suffer from extra hitstun at the price of KB, allowing Arrow to easily combo a foe to the air with jumping Air Slashes.
The attack also has a powerful sweet spot at the very beginning, as he raises his claw. Hitting with the tip does 12% and straight vertical KB as strong as Wolf’s Fair, capable of killing around 145% at decent heights. You have to be fast to land it however, as the slash is as quick as Luigi’s Fair, making the window to hit is small.


BAIR: STEEL WING

In one quick motion, Arrow will spin around horizontally in the direction of the wing currently facing away from camera. In doing so, said wing becomes outstretched as the opposite bends to compensate for the spin, hitting first for 3% along with the tail for the same amount of damage. However, the two hits rarely both land on the same foe unless it’s a Warlordian creation, but do enough hitstun each to lead directly to the swinging outstretched wing, which slams into the foe for 9% and hits as hard as Falco’s Bair.
Somewhat quick to start up, this kill move suffers from having bad end and landing lag, not being able to auto-cancel from a short hop, and taking as long as Fox’s Dair in total to pull off. However when hit right (with the weak hit) it can be devastating, especially off stage. Like with Nair, the spinning motion from the 360 will help halt horizontal momentum slightly.


UAIR: HEAD SMASH
With a small flap, Arrow tucks his head down before shooting it upwards, using his long neck to swing it like a hammer against foes above, doing 8% and KB similar to the weak hit of Yoshi’s Uair, which can lead to some nice juggles given Arrows ability to fly. The range is a bit impressive on the headbutt, as it reaches about as high as Fox’s Uair with similar timing.
The move changes a bit however if used as a Rising Aerial. Given how Arrow flaps lightly before attacking here, combining the input with a jump has him instead slam his wings down hard, climbing up to smash his skull to his enemies. On impact with anything, this will deal a whopping 16% damage, and vertical KB like Ganon’s Uair. Other than it being easy to see coming (unless the foe is already in hitstun or w/e), there is one drawback to the technique: upon hitting something Arrow will take recoil in the form of a tumbling sort of hitstun, falling for about a quarter second before regaining control with a swift flap of his wings. Head Smash can be devastating if done right, but just make sure you know when to unleash it, as anything but a clean hit won’t be pretty for arrow.


DAIR: FURY ATTACK
Looking down, Arrow kicks 6 times with both his legs with blinding speed, each hit doing 2% and a good deal of hitstun all within the time it takes for DK to do his Jab Combo. Reaching out as far, and with a similar angle to Luigi’s own Dair, connecting all the hits will then have the last hit do slight downwards knockback similar to the last hit of Yoshi’s. If done on a grounded opponent, this can pop them up in the air the same way doing a spike on a standing foe does, which makes them easy prey to your other aerials. Alternatively this can be used like Fox’s Drill, canceling it early by landing and leading to a Jab Combo, Grab or whatever you feel could be done based on the foe.


GLIDE: DRAGON BREATH

Stopping his glide with a press of the A button, Arrow rears up slightly, neck stretched forward and sprays Dragon-Fire from his mouth for about the time Zard’s Fair lasts. The spray is about the size of Link’s 1st jab and does a mere 6%. However, as the flames wash over the foe they are left in a paralytic state like being hit by Zamus’ Dsmash, leaving them wide open for further attack. Great for returning to the stage or swooping down to the foe, as unlike other Glide attacks this has very little landing lag.






GRAB/PUMMEL: DRAGON RAGE
Arrow has a decently ranged grab due to his wings, comparable even to Krookodile’s. However his wings also make it a bit awkward to grab, making it comparatively slow for a non tether grab.
Pressing A will have him spit Dragon-Fire at his foe, in bursts that doe 4 rapid hits of 1%, and can be fast enough to do 2 per second.


FTHROW: TAILWIND
Doing a backflip, Arrow kicks the foe forward with the strength of Fox’s Fthrow, and doing 9%. Lackign kill power, Arrow makes up for this by hovering his height off the ground after performing the flip and flapping his wings a few times. This creates a wind effect as strong as Pictochat’s before him with the range of Squirtle’s Water Gun, leading to potential early gimps vs some foes if done near a ledge, and in general is great for spacing a follow up as the opponent needs to work against it to get back to him. Afterwards, Arrow is left airborne.


BTHROW: SEISMIC TOSS

Grabbing the foe in his talons, he performs a backwards Shuttle-Loop, but releases the foe with a twist near the end of the loop, sending them diagonally downwards with the power of Wolf’s Dthrow and doing 10%. Due to the angle and power, this can cause foes to slide on the stage, causing them to get up a bit slower, and make easy prey for an aerial Archeops.


UTHROW: SKY DROP
Taking the victim straight up, Arrow travels as high as he does with Fly, before turning over and slamming them back to earth for 8%. Oddly, his least damaging throw also has the highest power, launching the foe upwards and able to KO off the top BF platform at around 130%. After slamming the foe down, Arrow will hover for a moment his height off the ground like with the rest of his throws.
At the apex of this throw, Arrow can air-cancel into either a jump or aerial, laglessly releasing the foe in the process. This can be a deadly mix-up as you got the foe up high, and a good Uair or Fair could seal their fate.


DTHROW: ROCK TOMB

Going half the height of Sky Drop, Arrow turns over once more but spirals has he slams the foe into the earth, literally. Doing 10% and having him bounce off at 2x his height from the impact, the foe is then left buried head first with a set grab difficulty akin to being grabbed at 40%, as well as taking 10%. Unlike normal pitfalling, the foe has no armor of any sort, being able to be hit out and grabbed by any attack as they are stuck trying to get up.





DPS

Arrow is all about one thing: getting in, hitting hard, and getting out. In other words, you’ll want to keep him out only for bursts, and find opportunities to U-Turn out of there after landing that sick combo or two due to his natural frailness, and Defeatist making him as good as dead.
Arrow really loves any support he can get from his team mates, whether it be Havok keeping foes from Shielding, getting knocked around less due to a Burn from Bacon, or (especially at around 70%) getting Healed of a Leech Seed from Ace. Rampage and Cell also enjoy him on their team make up as he can provide excellent damage, something Rampage wants to get Moxie going, and what Cell kind of lacks. But really he can easily fit into any team as a WMD, provided you know when to deploy him. A common tactic is to actually lead with Arrow to establish a quick dominance, as on even footing almost any foe can be overwhelmed, and by their second stock he can keep going to either try and sweep, or do some more damage before falling for the next in line (suicide lead).
As for actual gameplay, Arrow walks on a razor’s edge of kill or be killed, as he has the tools to space, combo gimp and kill, but at the same time is timed by Defeatist before his moveset becomes nigh useless offensively. Luckily, even if his instinct gets the better of him, his ground game is built for hit and run which will allow him to still do some damage on the retreat. This is also essential while building damage normally, as using Acrobatics, Jab, Dtilt, Dsmash, Fsmash, Throws… hell the works all allow him to attack on the move, and it is up to you whether you want Arrow to keep on the foe’s heels, or use this gift to do a quick 50% before smacking them with a U-Turn and sending out the next mon to finish the job.
As you may have noticed, a good majority of his moves also let him get to the air in some way or another, usually right near the foe as well. This is where Arrow is at his finest, as his aerials all allow for a grab-bag of pain for the foe as they combo into each other, into ground moves, gimp and even kill. Once you got a foe upwards, on most stages a good Archeops will give them all sorts of hell before they even think about touching ground again. Although, a common switching tactic is to combo Dair into u-Turn...
Overall Arrow really plays like a blast from the past. Like a Smash64 character, he has the ability to kill or be killed by making or capitalizing on one mistake (helped on his end by Acrobatics and Rock Throw to make the mistake happen), and having a downright deadly aerial game. However, being reckless with such power can also prove deadly, to yourself, as Arrow has essentially finite % he can live/be useful till, a player will truly need to capitalize on his insane movement combined with attacking prowess to safely land a stellar amount of damage, and get out before it’s too late.






FINAL SMASH: ANCIENT POWER

The camera zooms in as Arrow hops up, hovering with a screech as stones come from the ground, covered in a mysterious purple aura, and hover around him like the orbs Eggman loves to have in many of his boos battles. 6 in all, the stones will do 6% and a good deal of hitstun to anyone who touches Arrow during the next ten seconds. While having the ancient power surge through him, he is invulnerable thanks to the shield, and has free flight and use of his aerials (but no specials).
Once it wears off, the stones will fall back to earth, doing similar damage to Rock Throw on the way down, as Arrow looks a bit shocked at losing his "armor", so to speak.



TAUNTS


UP: Arrow hops up, saying his name aloud and looking exactly like his in-game animation as a wind-effect forms under him.

DOWN: Arrow puts one talon forward and ruffles his feathers up, making a menacing hiss.

SIDE: Taking a moment to himself Arrow preens his feathers on both wings, and shakes his body almost like a wet dog to straighten himself out.



ALTERNATE COSTUMES


Basic -------- Blue Team -------- Red Team -------- Green Team -------- Black/White -------- Gold





_________________________________
:pokeball:
:pokeball:
 

JOE!

Smash Hero
Joined
Oct 5, 2008
Messages
8,075
Location
Dedham, MA


Moving forward to Driftveil, the team and I encounter Team Plasma yet again hiding at the cold storage facility. I chase them down with the help of Clay, the gym leader, and drive them and their “Sage” off. Clay tells me that they must have been plotting something, but says to let the authorities take it from there. In the mean time, I went down to the gym and actually challenged Clay for the badge!
Shortly after my 5th League victory, one of the trainers came down the elevator to inform us that Team Plasma has been seen escaping to Chargestone Cave. Clay opens the way through the electro-webbed entrance with his own Krokorok as he wishes me luck, having to tend to his gym, and I enter the mysterious electric cave. As the team and I pushed deeper into the cave in search of Team Plasma, we noticed we attracted the attention of a local: a Tynamo who followed us around and provided us with light, even leading us to where Plasma was hiding out in the lower level. After a run in with the “Shadow Triad” and another fight with N, we made it out of the cave with Tynamo in tow, who showed no signs of wanting to leave. So, I put him into the Dusk Ball I had on hand and my team got a 5th member: Havok the Tynamo.

In combat, Havok is a bit on the slow side, but has good staying power and great offensive abilities. He has great, if sluggish mobility thanks to his ability Levitate which allows him to fly freely in the air for a moment while holding the jump button.






SIZE: 5 (A very long body, his stance and overall skinniness however make him usually take up a bit more space than Ivysaur)
WEIGHT: 5 (Between Ivysaur and Mario)
GROUND: 3 (A god-awful walk, but his dash has him levitate, comparable to Ike)
AIR: 6 (10 in acceleration, has 2 mid air jumps with all 3 mimicking MK's 1st 3)
FALL: 6 (Tied with Bowser)
FLOAT: Yes
CRAWL: Yes

As said earlier, Havok has pretty meh movement. His ground speed leaves a lot to be desired, and while above average (with perfect acceleration to boot), his slightly fast fall speed and relatively poor jumps make his air game a bit underwhelming as well. However, he has a saving attribute for each. For his ground game, his crawl has him slip down and pull himself along with his claws, which is both faster than his walk and puts him extremely low to the ground, rivaling Squirtle, and we know how useful that is. His aerial movement is essentially –made- by his ability, Levitate. By holding down jump instead of pushing or tapping it once, you can freely fly in an area the radius of a Melee Air Dodge (about half a platform) for a full second. With 3 jumps (yes you can do it from the ground allowing for grounded aerials) this can lead to very creative forms of movement.





B: THUNDERBOLT
With start-up identical to what Yoshi suffers when trying his standing grab, Havok will point both arms and have an angry look about him as he sends out a bolt of electricity in the enemy’s direction that can and will home in like Sonic’s HA, with range to match. On impact, said bolt will do a mere 5% and a good deal of hitstun, but with barely any lag on the end for Havok.
By holding down B before release though, Havok will put in another hit of 5% up to two more times, each charge taking a quarter second and being marked by a louder electric “hum”. Being hit by a full charged thunderbolt will do a good 15% and actual KB instead of increased hitstun on the final hit, being able to kill around 150% in most areas with a fresh bolt. If no foe is in range, the bolt will go off in a random direction, usually toward the nearest floor or surface while still retaining all other attributes should an enemy get in the line of fire.
Thunderbolt is a very versatile projectile when combined with levitate and the different stages of charge, allowing Havok to deal damage and mix up attacks from essentially anywhere he pleases from the relative safety of flight.


SIDE B: ACID SPRAY
With the same start up as Thunderbolt, Havok will spew out a disgusting yellowy-brown stream of Acid from his mouth, with a pose similar to fire-breathers, for about the time it takes for Squirtle to spray a Water Gun. Like said move, it has a slight push effect to it, but does 5 hits of 1% at a range of Link’s Clawshot, all the while being angle-able in a 90* arc in front of him.
Acid Spray doesn’t seem all too special at first, until you notice that targets hit by the spray will briefly flash purple when hit by the spray, as well as have a purple shield. As in the games, acid spray will lower the opponent’s defenses, in smash this translates to their ability to do so by halting shield regeneration. What this does is essentially lock a foe with a limited shield, as it will not regrow with time, making every block one step closer to a guaranteed shield break at some point in time (which will refresh the shield to a normal state).
Incredibly useful for just about all the Pokemon (besides Bacon who has a plethora of grab moves which ignore shield anyways), this also allows many of Havok’s clunkier moves to land, as well as stop the main defense against thunderbolts: holding shield. ironically this is the best defense against Acid spray however, as it an be blocked without doing it's effect on the foe.


UP B: MAGNET RISE

Emitting an eerie, full-body glow (unlike when he does any other electric attack which just has his yellow markings glow), Havok will begin to freely float at Samus’ fall speed, retaining his air control as he does. Like with ROB, Magnet Rise is fueled by Havok’s own electricity as he expends much more than when normally levitating, limiting this move to 5 seconds total of use, with equal time needed to recharge on the ground. Also like the Robo Rocket, he can cancel and resume Magnet Rise as many times as he likes as long as the total usage doesn’t exceed 5 seconds.
However, to make up for being a generally much slower Robo Rocket, Havok is able to freely Nair while performing the maneuver, giving slight offensive use. He can also cancel it at any time into a levitation with a bit of extra momentum added in, boosting the range to a whole platform radius of movement, and can go right back in given he still has time.
A useful, if odd to adapt to movement tool, this allows him to fully take advantage of levitate as he can swim through the air to assault foes. Just be wary that for each second spent in the air with this move, you will need to remain on the ground (technically) to recharge, and with only Nair as defense from gimping, one will have to be creative with the maneuvering to avoid retaliation.


SWITCH-IN: FLASH
Havok is one of the three who have a Switch-In attack for when he appears on the field, meaning that upon switching into battle he automatically performs this attack from his pokeball.
Upon entry Havok glows extremely brightly, looking as if a flash-bang grenade went off. Anyone caught in this pulse of light, which covers the area of a smoke-ball’s cloud, will be so stunned that they enter a shield-broken state. Luckily for them, in order to be stunned they have to be facing the flash as it goes off. Aerial foes afflicted will be instantly footstooled as the flash stuns them.
This has clear uses for Havok, a free… anything he wants really as long as the foe is in the danger zone. But the mindgame potential is not to be overlooked as well. If the foe knows Havok can be switched in, they will defiantly be wary of whenever the prior mon switches, as one early stun could easily swing the game.





JAB: POISON FANG
Reaching forward with outstretched fangs, he quickly bites at anyone in range with speed and KB comparable to Yoshi’s 2nd jab, accompanied by a slight splash effect of his Acid on hit. Foes bitten will receive 3% right off the bat as they are sent away, but then over the next half second 2 more hits of 1% bring the total up to 5%. A basic jab, but it’s speed is great for the damage, and knocks foes away from his face, which is a bit of a weak spot for Havok as he prefers mid to long range conflicts.


FTILT: CRUSH CLAW

Rearing back for an instant, Havok then lunges his body forward, leading with one of his big, clawed “hands” and smashing it into anyone in its way. Due to his serpentine body, the range on this lunge becomes quite impressive, similar even to DK’s Ftilt, but without his huge frame to punish, but with lag like Wario or DDD’s ftilt and having to go back from a stretched position.
Hitting for 8 then 2% with barely a gap in between, this angle-able attack will send foes back a good distance with little KO power unless done to an off-stage foe from the ledge. However, the fact that he stretches out gives it a bit more priority than Jab for your grounded combat needs, as it allows him to preemptively strike at foes before they close in to pressure him, where all he really has is jab to get them away.


UTILT: HEADBUTT

Darting his body upward teeth-first, Havok will hit foes lightly for 2% on the way up, before arcing forward to whip foes with his head for 6%, followed by a hit by his crest for 3%, altogether doing KB like Wario’s Utilt on the last two hits.
With similar timing to Yoshi’s Usmash, headbutt’s saving grace is sheer reach. Standing under a platform on battlefield, as he jerks up his entire head reaches through, matching such attacks as Marth’s or Olimar’s Usmash at their tips. Like with Crush Claw however, he must deal with some end lag and spacing issues while using this, but given how his mouth is a hitbox on the way up he can leverage a close range hit into a pop-up easily.


DTILT: SHOCKWAVE

Planting tooth and nail into the ground, Havok glows as he shoots forward a wave of power through the ground before him that reaches as far as ZSS’ Fsmash. Any foe on the floor who gets hit by the shock will be paralyzed and take 6%, setting themselves up for more punishment or even a quick switch by Havok.
A great way to halt fast characters in their tracks, shockwave can also turn the tables on campers that cannot hit a crouching Havok with their projectiles as you force them to approach you. From there you can then reverse the role by getting to a safe point in the air and rain down acid and thunderbolts. Like his other tilts however, he trades speed for range and utility, with the entire animation taking as long as Pika’s Fsmash.


DASH: WILD CHARGE

Slinking forward in his dash, Havok will put his claws forward and spin a few times on his side while sparking dangerously with electricity, becoming a big, writhing hitbox. Hitting similarly to Pikachu’s Dsmash, Wild Charge will do multiple hits totaling to 12% with lots of hitstun and the final hit launching foes horizontally with the power to KO around 150% at center stage if all hits connect.
Quick to come out, the attack has some cool down as he does one more spin without a hitbox after the main attack, but with such a big disjoint surrounding him with the electric element, you should rarely miss when you want to throw this out as an approach or punishing tool.






FSMASH: ZAP CANNON
Placing his hands firmly on the ground, mouth forward like a gun as he begins to charge up electricity at his mouth. Depending on the charge, when he releases a ball of electricity the size of Squirtle’s shell to Jigglypuff’s sing will be shot out at the speed of a Freezie item, and travel a max distance of about ½ of battlefield before dissipating.
Pushing Havok back a bit from the force, Zap Cannon makes up for it’s speed with pure power. On impact, enemies will receive a hefty 16-24% damage, and be launched hard enough to start KOing at around 130% uncharged. It’s slow speed can actually be a big advantage for Havok, seeing as it means the hitbox exists for that much longer (although he cannot perform Zap Cannon again until the current one is gone), allowing him to use it as a sort of high-risk trap.
With a Zap Cannon shot on the table, Havok can then pressure the foe toward it by sending Thunderbolts and Acid behind them, after floating up of course, and create a sort of cage of pain where the foe will have to pick their poison. Speaking of acid, with a damaged shield and lasting hitbox, Zap Cannon can be tricky for many characters to avoid if you’ve eaten at their shield enough, pushing the “wall” effect even more as it will keep a lot of foes at bay.


USMASH: DISCHARGE
Coiling up likea snake and charging with electricity, he will uncurl with a growl as he unleashes the pent-up power all at once in a flash of electricity the area of Ike’s Usmash. On impact, like with thunderbolt, the electric field will give heightened hitstun as it nails foes for 12-17%, right before hitting them away with power that can kill at about 170% uncharged, and 145% up close to Havok as he sparks with the unleashed energy. After the blast, Havok will pause as he sparks a bit, the last bits of energy leaving him, making the entire attack take as long as Bowser’s Dsmash.
A long lasting area of pain, Havok can use this similarly to Zap Cannon in that it is both defensive and offensive. The big hitbox and moderate – high KB make for a great zoning tool, but the overall lag of the move can get you into trouble if you just toss it out, even with an acidic-shielded opponent defending against it.


DSMASH: CHARGE BEAM
Looking like Fox/Falcon/Pikachu when they do their Up Taunts, Havok charges himself with electricity for as long as the input is charged and then… seemingly goes back to normal.
What this did was in fact statically charge Havok, and he can then passively transfer the charge to anyone within Curry range of him within the next 5 seconds, and do 5-7.5% based on charge, hitting like an uncharged thunderbolt. Seeing as it comes from his body passively, you can sort of “trip the wire” so to speak using your tilts, which stretch him out further than his normal stance and can put foes in range of the shock. In general this is a great offensive move to set up as it can easily lead into another attack due to the heightened hitstun and passive nature.





NAIR: SPARK
His fastest aerial, in fact, Spark is actually lagless. Spark has him crackle with electricity, turning him into a hitbox for 6.5% regardless of the way he is positioned, although this lasts about as long as Mario’s Spin from the Galaxy games, with the same rate of usage as Havok will need to recharge a bit before sparking again. On hit this will do set KB similar to being hit by Falcon’s Nair.
Interestingly, you can Spark during your other aerials. By double-tapping A you add an electric element to the attack, dealing an additional 5% and more hitstun, letting you essentially sweet-spot attacks if you get the timing down.


FAIR: THUNDER WAVE
Putting his palms forward, a small field of static electricity that resembles the “shines” made by Lucas’s PK attacks forms in front of him the size of Zap Cannon that hits for a mere 2%, but will paralyze the foe for a bit more than the duration of the attack which mimics Ness’ Fair.
Sparking during Thunder Wave will, in addition to creating the body hitbox, transfer electricity to the main hitbox, adding 5%.


BAIR: DRAGON CLAW

Turning his serpentine body around quickly, Havok growls as he slams his claws and teeth forward like a wall of spikes, lingering as the rest of his body catches up as he completely turns around. The initial hit does a hit for 6% while simultaneously adding two hits of 2% that linger as he finishes turning. The first hit has decent KB that can kill offstage around 130%. The lingering hitbox is great for when you’re levitating, as combined with a delayed Spark you can essentially Bair again.


UAIR: BODY SLAM
Performing a front flip, his entire body will whip forward in a large arc before him, covering a distance the size of Ganon’s Uair above and before him while only taking as long as Marth’s as he slams his lower half into foes for a solid 9%, hitting like Falcon Uair and actually semi-spiking foes at the last moment before he brings his body back under himself. It’s recommended you try and time a spark near the end to add more power to the semi-spike.


DAIR: SLAM
Havok will whip his lower body forward, hitting for a mere 5% and light KB, before ultimately thrusting his tail forward for 8% and horizontal KB like with Crush Claw. Sort of the reverse of Body Slam, it is quick to come out with punishable end lag although both take about the same amount of time total to pull off. A great aerial for when levitating close to the ground, you can easily combo the hit into quite a few moves due to the relative low power and angle. A fun strategy is to hover off a ledge and push a foe forward, then edge guard with a Thunderbolt or Acid Spray.





GRAB/PUMMEL: GIGA DRAIN
Havok’s grab is fairly good, comparable to Bowser’s, it’s just unfortunate that his ground movement means that most grabs will be from shield.
Pressing A will have Havok latch onto the victim with his mouth, and essentially drain the power right out of them as electricity flows through their body to him, doing multiple hits of .5%, up to 4% a second. Interestingly, draining the power from them will also heal Havok to the same amount, which is always fun if they’ve been leech seeded beforehand.


FTHROW: THUNDER FANG
Still holding the prey in his mouth, he will shock them violently with multiple hits leading to 7% as he reels back his head to the side, before tossing them away without much power. If you’re quick, thunder fang can lead to a low % chain grab toward an edge, or be a simple set up for Crush Claw, Zap Cannon or Thunderbolt/Acid.


BTHROW: BIND

Rolling backwards, wrapping himself around the foe and repeatedly squeezing them for a total of 8% as he travels the distance of the character’s backwards roll. Afterwards, Havok automatically stands up as if he were prone, while the foe is in their own prone state after some lag. A perfect time to either go and get in ideal range or possibly try and take advantage offensively of the prone foe.


UTHROW: COIL
Wrapping himself tightly around the foe’s upper body, Havok will charge up power before shocking the foe with a big bolt of lightning, shooting them upward for 9% with the same power as Pikachu’s Thunderbolt. Although while wrapped around his prey he has super armor, the throw is just as slow as Pika’s Thunderbolt and will kill much later due to the vertical KB and less damage. A good option if you need to kill off a foe in a pinch however, or from a platform, killing as early as 130% on the top of Battlefield.


DTHROW: ACID

Tossing the foe to the ground like with Bowser’s Dthrow, Havok then spews out his acid spray at them point blank, doing a painful DoT as it boils over them for 5%. As they writhe on the ground, Havok will then slap them away with his tail for 3%, sliding them similarly to Wolf’s Dthrow. His fastest throw, it can lead to some follow ups at low % and sends foes diagonally downwards near edges, which can easily gimp some foes.





BLASTER

Havok’s role is best described as a “Blaster”, as in a dangerous ranged assaulter able to blow right through enemy defenses. This playstyle is mainly attributed to the way his specials and Levitate mechanic all work together. Acid Spray not only does a great job at being a spacing tool, but sets up for pretty much anything on his as it guarantees a broken shield, or at least poke-able shield in the near future, making going on the offense that much easier. With a weakened shield, Thunderbolt becomes so much more dangerous than it already was. The sheer versatility of the projectile is to be feared, due to the relatively low lag for the range + homing aspects, just a single thundershock here and there can easily add up to a lot of damage, and charged thunderbolts can be easily landed from the extra hitstun of his moves, and provide a nice KO option or free 15%. All the while, you can spend your time floating in the air as you rain down this electric hell on foes due to magnet rise and levitate, barely having to touch the ground where you can be vulnerable.
However, he cannot rely solely on Thunderbolts, even with an Acidic Shield. He cannot stay in the air forever, and with poor movement compared to most any other character can land him in trouble if he tries the same strategy over and over (or just any competent player). His ground game, while clunky, has a ton of range to compliment his bread and butter described above. Jab is good for getting foes off you quickly, but it only really hits in front of him and with minimal damage, but is essential vs some faster foes if they’re in your face. Dtilt’s paralyze is also good vs fast foes as you can swiftly stop an approach, or crawl under another character’s projectiles and punish them for trying to out-camp you. F/Utilt are also good for spacing, but get the most out of combining with Dsmash to make an extra long ranged poke. Speaking of smashes, Dsmash should always be up when you get the chance as even though weak, it’s free damage and discourages an approach. Besides an offstage Thunderbolt at max charge, Zap Cannon and Discharge will be your other main KO methods. Both work a lot better after either Acidifying a foe’s shield or paralyzing them slightly to limit their reaction time with Dtilt of Fair, with Zap Cannon being out long enough to even run past and Bthrow a foe into.
His grapple game is sadly lackluster beyond that, as he doesn’t do too much damage per throw. However on some stages Uthrow can KO, and the others set up for other attacks very well on release. His pummel is great though, letting you easily take back a lead combined with Fthrow at low – mid %. He easily makes up for a poor grappling game with his ability to do grounded aerials with his Levitating abilities. Combined with Spark, each of his aerials becomes more dangerous as you can have a controlled sweet spot, and each attack works as well close to ground as it does up high, especially Dair as you sweep forward, comboing into Ftilt or Thunderbolt. Even better, combining Spark, Charge Beam and an aerial can easily do a tremendous amount of damage in one shot.
Havok can easily fit into any team as either an offensively campy or set-up role with his Acid Spray. His specialty however is taking down defensive characters like DDD either by himself or to set up for another team mate like Arrow or Rampage, and he enjoys Leech Seeds, Tethered foes and Burned foes to play with / boost his survival as well. All in all Havok is a bit of a unique character to get used to with all his levitating and spacing attributes, but can easily shut down a character for the team once you get the handle of him.






FINAL SMASH: THUNDER

Sparking madly with electricity, pressing B within his thunderbolt range of an enemy will have him unleash a giant current of lightning at the foe. On hit, this mighty current will deliver 12 hits of 5%, and with the last hit launch the foe(s) with enough force to kill at 120%. A truly devastating final smash.



TAUNTS


UP: Havok rears up, holding his claws out and hums ominously as he glows with power.

DOWN: Slamming his hands to the floor, electricity sparks around havoc as he lets out a low roar in the foes direction.

SIDE: Havok growls and undulates slowly, as arcing currents of electricity form between his mouth, hands and fins.



ALTERNATE COSTUMES



Basic -------- Blue Team -------- Red Team -------- Green Team -------- Black/White -------- Gold






_________________________________
:pokeball:
:pokeball:
 

JOE!

Smash Hero
Joined
Oct 5, 2008
Messages
8,075
Location
Dedham, MA


Moving on through Unova, the team and I grow stronger as we take on the 6th and 7th gyms. Bacon is now a fully evolved Emboar, (and bashed through Brycen’s Ice types), Arrow an Archeops, and Havok an Eelektrik. Shortly after going through Brycen’s gym, I get a call from Clay saying that Team Plasma activity had picked up again, to the north at the Dragonspiral Tower. Brycen and I rush over only to meet Professor Juniper and my friend, Bianca there.
They told me that the tower is Swarming with Team Plasma Grunts, and that I might have trouble if I go in without a full team of Pokemon. At first I object, but then realizing that half my team is fatigued from the gym battle, I asked where I could get one in time that would be battle-ready. Luckily, Bianca had a Pokemon on-hand she won in a contest, but was a bit too high level and didn’t listen to her since she only had a few badges. Thus, Cell the Duosion joined the team.
Fighting our way up the tower, Cell’s powerful Psychic abilities and surprising durability helped make short work of the grunts we encountered. Meeting up with Brycen near the top, he held off other grunts as I went to the final floor, where N was waiting with a mysterious, huge Pokemon. After giving a bit of a speech of how he’s going to use the Pokemon to liberate the other Pokemon, he escapes on it’s back and Plasma disperses. After meeting with Alder outside the tower, and taking a trip back to the Ruins to hear more from a Plasma Sage by the name of Ghetsis, me and the full team decide to move on to the next gym to get all 8 badges and stop N from using the mysterious Pokemon to become champion, and thus have the power to act out his plans.

In combat, Cell uses her vast array of Psychic powers to manipulate the foe, and although she makes Havok look like a Lamborghini in terms of movement, she has incredible durability to make up for it thanks to her Up Special, Psychic “traps”, and her ability: Magic Guard. Due to her Psychic ability and odd body, she is able to simply shrug off any attack that is not powerful enough to cause knockback, including Poison Damage or any kind, Flinching attacks and the like. Moves that cause KB at higher damages will still affect her, as will pummels however, but at low % many characters will have a hard time damaging her at all.






SIZE: 4 (Just smaller than Wario due to her short stature)
WEIGHT: 5 (Tie with Ness/Lucas/Pit)
GROUND: 1 (Comparable to Ganon and Jigglypuff, she at least has a good walk speed)
AIR: 6.5 (2 in acceleration, has a standard jump as she telekinetically lifts herself up, and then a massive double jump with slightly less distance than Yoshi’s Flutter Jump, but a bit more speed)
FALL: 1 (Between Peach and Jigglypuff)

Cell doesn’t have any real advantages stat-wise, being slow, small, somewhat light, extremely floaty and with a bit above average air speed, making just about anybody able to run circles around her. However, her psychic moves more than make up for this due to the sheer amount of control she can achieve over the flow of battle, as well as having an amazing second jump and healing factor to add to her durability (not to mention magic guard).





B: FUTURE SIGHT
Cell closes her eyes, concentrating for a moment, she will then create a sparkling circle on the stage resembling a PK effect used by the Mother-boys about the size of a bumper that will flicker for about two seconds before disappearing. After about 7 seconds however, the flash will re-appear explosively (with a little flicker of warning) as the Future Sight attack is unleashed in a blast the size of PSI-Magnet, doing 10% and KB strong enough to kill at 150% on average.
Taking about as long as Din’s Fire to send out, the beauty of this move is that you can have multiple Future Sights in play at once, up to 3 in fact. It’s best to try and stagger these around the stage a bit to throw opponents off, especially at different times (doing 4 in a row or in the same spot will clue the foe in to where they are at all times for example). Mostly this is used to cover yourself or your team mates, as opposed to straight-up offense. The timer on the move creates a “danger zone” for the foe where you can hide out and set up other moves, or heal with Up B, and is just long enough to abuse with a switch either right away or timed within a blast. Overall this really makes up for her mobility issues with the ability to control space without having to actually out maneuver the foe, forcing them instead to maneuver around you.


SIDE B: LIGHT SCREEN
Waving her arms before her, up and down once each, Cell materializes a literal wall of psychic energy the size of pit’s Mirror Shield over the course of half a second. This wall resembles a pikmin-thick sheet of transparent glass, only visible by the slight glimmer it creates as well as how it reflects light effects and characters on it’s surface. Like with Future Sight, this can be placed anywhere you please as well as be angled 45* up or down by angling the input.
Unlike Future sight however, besides being only able to have 1 out at a time, it behaves like a literal wall as opposed to one put into the opponent’s psyche. A Light Screen stops opponents by not allowing them to pass through unless invincible (you can dodge past and get-up from edge past them), and in general behaves very much like a wall in that you can tech off them, bounce off them, stand on angled ones and so forth. Another bonus is that Light Screens last indefinitely as long as Cell is on the field, or until they are attacked for 20%. When Cell switches out, her psychic energy begins to fade and the wall will disappear over the next 10 seconds. Use it how you will, but this can be an excellent tool for herding foes, as based on it’s placement they will eventually have to react to it in some way, such as leaping over it, hiding behind it (as you may do too in many cases), or being stopped by it during a ballsy off-stage maneuver where you place it to intercept their recovery path.


UP B: RECOVER

Relaxing as she brings her arms inward, over the next quarter second she will begin to have a feint white aura surround her, before finally having small white lines be pulled into her rapidly as she begins to heal her body using psychic energy. Said healing comes in at a steady stream adding up to 6% per second as you hold the input down, with a tap netting you 3% and locking you in the move for a whole second, as the end lag matches the start-up as she comes out of her own little world of health.
Replacing your recovery move with recovery fittingly, doing this move every once in a while should keep you at a reasonable %, augmenting your survival to more than make up for your recover and weight over time. Given your stage control you should find little pauses here and there to recover 5-10% here and there, combined with little threat from most projectiles and DoT moves, you shouldn’t be worried about being at unreasonable health for long.


SWITCH-OUT: TRICK ROOM
Cell is one of the three who have a Switch-Out attack for when she exits the field, meaning that just before switching out of battle she automatically performs this attack while returning to the pokeball.
In her case, she performs Trick Room. While being returned, her arms will glow with dull blue light as she spins into the pokeball, releasing a wavy, transparent blue effect the radius of a Platform around herself. Any foe caught in this effect as it is out will be stop-watched inside it for the duration of 2 seconds, where it will then wear off and they will rapidly catch up to speed.
The best use of this of course is to link directly to the opposite Switch-In attacks other team mates have, as all foes will be in perfect range to be smacked by them. Others can benefit too however, as the free second will give a moment to space, or even just get free hits for momentum once they get out, taking advantage of the one second the foe is stuck in slow-mo.





JAB: DIZZY PUNCH
Winding up her right arm while making a “fist”, she will then slug it forward in an arc that will spin her gelatinous body around herself in a somewhat comical manner, doing 7% and throwing foes for a loop, literally. While taking a bit longer than Sonic’s Fsmash, with KB compared to Ganon’s Jab and good range comparable to Bacon’s Ftilt, Dizzy Punch will also reverse the foe’s direction like Mario’s Cape as they get knocked away, however unlike the cape they are actually reversed for the next half second, like with Palkia on the Spear Pillar. While brief, making left right, up down while a foe is knocked away from you can make the opponent pretty confused in terms of options, as they will definitely focus more on righting themselves than making an immediate counter-strike, giving Cell valuable time to work her magic. The only trick now is landing the move…


FTILT: SNATCH

Reaching out with an outstretched arm, accompanied by a light blue glow effect, Cell will swipe forward doing a mere 5% and little KB on hit. While being much faster than Jab with a bit more reach due to the stretch, at a glance it doesn’t seem all too impressive a move. But like all her moves, there’s a trick to it. Beyond her hand the attack actually stretches out a Platform beyond the hitbox, but will do no damage, and be unnoticed in general unless a certain criteria is met: the foe in range is using an in-direct attack (they will also glow blue briefly indicating they got snatched).
To clarify, this means any input that is not a direct attack will be flagged as “snatch-able”, such as Eelektross’ Charge Beam, Traps, self-buffs/heals and the like, and on hit become Cell’s. This means that for example, she snatches Samus as she shoots a homing missile. Said missile will no longer be Samus’, but Cell’s and home into her if close enough. As for other examples, Charge Beam will now have its effect implanted on Cell if snatched, instead of on Eelektross, etc, etc.
Beyond the blatant benefits that can befall her by stealing such mechanic-based moves/buffs or making traps her property for a time being, the control aspect over the match is staggering. With a wave of her hand Cell can essentially say “no” to characters who try to set up something against her in the worst way possible: turning their assets against them.


UTILT: PSYSHOCK

Bringing her hands to where her forehead would be for the time it takes DDD to do his Utilt, Cell will create a small pink sphere right above her the size of a Pokeball that, upon contact, will do a measly 2% and flinch the foe.
If a foe is not in the immediate vicinity however, the ball of psychic energy will stay on the field until it hits something, or for at least 15 seconds. Furthermore, they will even home in on foes at Mario’s Dash Speed from up to a platform and a half away, combined with how you can have multiple out at once given you move slightly between castings, you can have a literal swarm of psychic attacks litter the stage. Just be careful not to use this too much, as a staled Psycho Shock has little to no hitstun, but in general this combined with Future Sight and the like will keep the foe dancing around you, and let Cell control the flow of battle that much more.


DTILT: SECRET POWER

Placing both hands on the floor, she will transmit light blue psychic energy to it, taking about as long as Zelda’s Fsmash to do so and creating a dim, blue outline the size of a bumper on its side on the floor. This marker will stay on the spot indefinitely, unless you place it elsewhere, or you activate the secret power.
The secret to it is to switch. With another team mate on the field, stepping onto the marker will highlight them in the same light blue Cell has when using her psychic moves, from here inputting one of their 3 specials (switch moves do not work for this) will map it to the marker, turning it a variety of colors based on the team mate:
Red for Bacon, Green for Ace, Dark Brown for Rampage, White for Arrow, Yellow for Havok​
When you come back to Cell, the memory of Secret Power will be intact, and inputting Dtilt again will activate it with a wave of her arms, making a psychic projection of the team mate and their move! Looking like a different colored Fox/Falco illusion, they will perform their recorded special and appear and disappear on the exact frame it starts/ends. There are some nuances to these however based on how some of the moves work, but in general special effects such as Scald’s Burn, Leech Seeds and the like will not take effect. After they’ve performed the secret power, the marker is gone and the process will have to be redone.

[collapse=Nuances]
BACON:
Take-Down is always Upward Take-down.​

ACE:
Seed Bomb has him pull out an immediately throw a seed.
Acrobatics has him perform his spinning jump attack.​

RAMPAGE:
Dig has him plow forward until he can no longer without pause, then pop out and disappear.​

ARROW:
Acrobatics is performed instantly without having to counter if the foe is in range.
Fly does not activate glide, with him disappearing at the peak.
Rock Throw has him throw 3 stones.​

HAVOK:
Magnet Rise has him Float upward a Ganon’s height and use Spark.
Acid Spray is angled up and down as he sprays it.​
[/collapse]

DASH: GYRO BALL


Holding her arms straight out to the sides, Cell will spin her body clockwise three times in rapid succession (with her spinning the opposite inside), taking about the same time as Ike’s Dsmash in total. While she spins, her arms grow in size a bit due to the motion, but although she has the increased mass, hitting foes with the maneuver does absolutely no damage.
Instead, anyone hit while she takes up an area about the size of a platform will be repelled forcefully away like they just slammed into a bumper, with the same momentum based properties (faster you run into it the harder you’re repelled) accompanied by a fitting boing like sound. Incredibly useful vs shields (pushes them around as if they weren’t even blocking), Gyro Ball also is great for tossing foes back into your mind field in order to approach all over again, or just make space for a switch in a pinch.





FSMASH: PSYWAVE
Slowly raising an arm forward as she charges, upon release Cell will send out a blue wave of psychic energy the size of Charizard’s Fair from her hand, trapping anyone inside in their footstooled animation as they are caught by the psychic force.
From here on, you are free to actually move the foe for a full half second in a manner similar to how pit can angle his Light Arrow before firing. You can just keep them forward, raise them straight up above you with two hands, or hold back to swap arms and fire behind you, in the end launching them with 10-15% dealt and with the ability to kill at about 150% near a blast zone. Another great way to ensnare foes for a moment, but with the added bonus of being able to directly send them where you want in case your traps were being ignored by them, and were out of the way when they got snagged.


USMASH: SHADOW BALL
Raising her arms up, palms facing each other, Cell will create a dark blue orb of condensed psionic power that seemingly pulls material from thin air as it forms. Regardless of charge, Cell takes about as long as Zelda’s Usmash to form the sphere upon release, and like with Utilt the orb will simply float above her head as an ominous, Kirby-sized hitbox.
Just like with Psyshock, foes within 1.5 platforms run the risk of having the Shadow Ball home in at them, but for an impressive 8-12% with knockback similar to Lucario’s Aura Sphere (without aura backing it of course). However, the orb floats much slower than Psyshocks at Kirby’s dash speed, but have the odd property of actually attracting Psychocks to it. As the Shadow Ball closes in, any nearby Psyshocks will follow the orb’s path, and inevitably speed by and peg the foe, setting up for the much bigger hit from the shadow ball. Unfortunately, while lasting 15 seconds like the Psyshocks you can only have one of these orbs out at a time, a trade for the much higher power and combination with it’s faster counterpart.


DSMASH: NIGHSHADE
Touching the floor with both hands flat to either side, Cell will build up dark blue psychic energy again as she charges, and upon release leaks it to the stage below in a slow moving pulse. In total taking as long as Link’s Dsmash to send out, the pulse will ultimately travel out to be as widespread as DK’s Down B, over the course of an entire second, with Cell being free to move after finishing casting it.
As the nightshade spreads, anyone hit by the Squirtle-wide pulse will receive a static 10%, but with knockback ranging from a good deal of hitstun to knocking the target upwards with enough force to kill at around 210% based on charge. Like with Future Sight, this is a great way to force control of a portion of the stage by essentially playing “the floor is lava” for a bit, making foes hesitate just enough for you to go about your business of spreading your maze of pain around, but unlike Future Sight you can only have one Nightshade out at once, not even able to replace a current one by inputting Dsmash again. A price to pay for prime real estate.





NAIR: PSYCHIC
Closing her eyes and holding her arms straight out with open palms, Cell will glow blue and halt momentum in a manner similar to GW’s Bucket Brake in mid-air. Invisibly, the attack will stretch out to form a sphere around her the radius of her outstretched arms, and will halt the momentum of anyone or anything in it along with her, as well as deal 9%. A useful defensive tactic, as it lasts as long as GW’s fishbowl and comes out just as fast, the big radius is great for disrupting would-be attackers offstage, or even onstage when returning to the ground, using your mind to stop them in their tracks as well as give ‘em some pain.


FAIR: CONFUSION
Putting both palms forward ala Ness, a flash of blue energy will emit from them with a bit of disjointed range, hitting foes for a mere 7%, but forcing them into their footstool animation like with Psywave before knocking them away for medium KB that shouldn’t be killing any time soon. Useful in similar ways to Fsmash, with a duration similar to Mario’s Fair, while being on the move (well, as much as Cell can be on the move).


BAIR: REFLECT

Spinning around and sweeping her arm diagonally upwards as she does so, trailing her arm will be the shimmering energy used in Light Screen that lasts for the move’s duration, which is similar to Ganon’s Bair. Like the name suggests, the move creates a brief barrier behind Cell, but unlike Light Screen this can be used offensively to a degree.
If a foe is hit by the shining energy as it forms, they will receive a mere 4%, but be repelled diagonally downwards with semi-spike KB, being able to gimp foes with fragile recoveries well if done at the right time. But like light screen it also has a defensive use as it can actually block most attacks under 10% while airborne, which is always useful in case foes manage to sneak up on you.


UAIR: TELEKINESIS
Raising her arms up in a manner looking like a big V, a wave of blue energy will be seen rising up from her briefly for about her height until fading away, although the effects of this move have a range of 3 platforms straight up. Foes caught in the wave will take a mere 2% and some hitstun, but the main effect travels through the entire distance: halving foe fall speed for a full second. Using this on some foes can easily buy you time to set up or just keep them afloat to buy time for future sights/Psyshocks/Shadow Ball to get them, as well as frustrate them which always works in your favor.


DAIR: GRAVITY
As the opposite of Telekinesis, putting her arms down in a large upside down V, she does the same effect with the same range as it’s double, even having the same lag (Ganon’s Dair). However, Gravity is much harsher on foes, doubling their fall speed for a half second, and flooring foes who are standing for 5% if hit with the wave itself. Combined with Bair this can be a death sentence at the right % after you’ve chased a foe offstage by making it too dangerous to stay still, just be sure not to fall yourself when using the move on your foes.





GRAB/PUMMEL: CALM MIND
Cell’s grab is oddly comparable to her Fair, while not being the fatsest grab, it has good reach and a longer duration than most to actually snag the foe. Once snagged, she doesn’t actually hold onto them, rather they are covered in blue psychic energy and float in their “grabbed” animation before her.
Once she has a foe, pressing A will have her concentrate like with Future sight, and glow blue briefly, with seemingly no effect toward the foe. Trading the ability to naturally keep the foe in her grasp longer, she gains the ability to increase the power of her throws by 1.25x with each pummel by using Calm Mind. With a rate of 2 per second, snagging a foe for a mere 1 second can make a throw go from 10 to 15% just like that.


FTHROW: CONFUSE RAY
As the foe floats in place before her, pressing forward will have her place both palms at their face, and transmit a flash of blue energy at them, stunning them and sending them forward for set KB of a platform and a half forward on their *** for 10%. As they try to get up however, they may find it to be a bit more difficult than usual.
Confuse Ray, as the name suggests, confuses the opponent by scrambling their controls for the next whole second the moment they’re released by the flash of blue. This means Left can be Down, B can be Jump, A is shield, L is specials and all sorts of other confusing things. Once they manage to get up somehow, Cell definitely has a moment to capitalize on their flailing around momentarily to either send out more of her psychic bombs, or just to heal up.


BTHROW: PAIN SPLIT

Speaking of healing, pressing Back will have Cell shake the opponent’s hand/vine/potato in typical Reuniclus fashion, forming a mind-link with them. This mind-link will then allow Cell to share something special with her opponent: her pain.
Based on the difference of HP between her and the foe, this will do variable damage. The most being a trade of 10% with a difference of 50% or more, and the minimum being 2% with 5% difference or less, and yes Calm Mind does boost this both ways. However, this may not always be beneficial for Cell directly as if the character she grabbed is more beat up than her; she’ll transfer health to them instead. But then again, what’s not good for a foe is great for an ally. After transferring health, she will then simply spin back with foe in hand and toss them behind with similar power to Bowser’s Bthrow.


UTHROW: MAGIC ROOM
Levitating the foe above herself, Cell will then set up 6 small Light Screens around them, trapping them in a psychic box! Dealing 8%, the foe will be trapped with a bit harder escape difficulty to Yoshi’s Egg and hover at about equal height to a Platform above ground, all the while being immune to KB but prone to just about any attack. The box also shifts in size slightly to accommodate character size, but in general will squeeze them up a bit to fit, and you can comically see them through the walls being scrunched up to fit.


DTHROW: IMPRISON

Imprison is her most tricky move yet, as the foes won’t even realize you did it until it’s too late. After inputting the throw, there will be a half second to do another input direction (or not) before anything happens, looking as if you just continued to hold them in your grab.
Once the time is up or the input is selected, a blue flash will occur at either the foe’s center, back, front head or feet, indicating the selection before the foe is pushed away lightly for 2% damage. What the input indicated was what Cell shut-down for the opponent for the next 3 seconds: the ability to use said input on their attacks. This means that for example, Up was selected, the victim is shut off from using Utilt, Usmash, Uspec, Uthrow and Uair. Nothing selected? No Jab, Dash Attack, NSpec, Pummel or Nair, and so on. (Back Air and Throw are the only specific inputs requiring Back to be input, whereas either of the “side” inputs will affect Ftilt/Smash)
This can be an amazing tool vs some characters who overly rely on an input or two, depriving them momentarily and letting Cell run the show for a bit longer.





CONTROLLER

Cell’s whole game is control: control of the stage, control of the foe, control of her time and even her own health. In order to accomplish her goal of spreading her influence to dominate the arena, she must first get inside the opponent’s head.
While her stats at a glance make it seem like she’ll have trouble capitalizing on any mistakes the foe makes, her moves say otherwise. Future Sight, Light Screen, Psyshock, Nightshade and to a lesser extent Shadow Ball all can force the foes into bad situations for you. They hesitate before jumping over a nighshade? Get hit by the Future Sight they forgot was there. Dance around where they think a Future Sight is? Get pegged by Psyshocks. Jump over a lightscreen? Land on Nightshade.
Once you got them dancing around like a puppet on a string, you can branch out to two options. The first, being to simply switch out and let a more offensively inclined team mate take advantage of the playing field you set up, as your traps do not harm your team mates. The second being to continue to lure them close only to send them back into the fray you’ve made by baiting. Despite her Magic Guard and ability to heal via Recover (which is always an option while the foe is trying to attack you through your psychic influence on the stage), Cell has the glaring weakness of a weak recovery to take advantage of, which both you and the opponent should abuse. Setting yourself up for “failure” can actually lead the foe on to thinking they can easily attack you outright, when instead you were waiting until that future sight went off you were stalling on, or catch them with a Dizzy Punch, Grab or Psywave as they get battered through your defenses getting to you, only to become scrambled even further.
That being said however, Cell is at her worst vs characters with little need to set up, and that could simple rush through to her and begin a strong offensive due to her naturally slow moveset. Granted this is an ideal situation to set up and switch due to Trick Room, bad time management with her will get cell in a lot of trouble vs some offenses. That said, she really appreciates an offensively inclined character to be teamed with her, such as Rampage or Havok, to take advantage of this flaw. It’s not all bad for her though as with one good read the foe can be in a world of confusion with messed up inputs and the inability to navigate past her psychic minefield. Finishing them off however is another story for Cell, as 95% of her moveset if defensive, meaning she’ll have to play a war of attrition and eventually rack enough damage and frustrate the foe enough to actually land a kill move at rather high %.
In the end, Cell is an amazing asset to any team and a great anchor to build around given her stage control and other assets, and can easily turn the tide of a fight in the team’s favor with good prediction.





FINAL SMASH: WONDER ROOM

Glowing a bright pink this time instead of her trademark blue, Cell will spin around and let out her cry as it spreads throughout the field, turning everything a slight shade of pink for the next ten seconds. During this time, any foes on stage will suffer from the combined effects of Dizzy Punch, Confuse Ray and even Imprison at random, scrambling their brains and leaving them at the mercy of their controller, as Cell is free to do as she pleases (but with the inability to switch as she maintain the Wonder Room).



TAUNTS


UP: Cell happily bounces up and down inside her translucent body, as it in turn waves it’s arms about in seeming celebration.

DOWN: Cell glows blue, floating upwards a bit as she says her name and clenching her fists.

SIDE: Spinning horizontally in two different directions, her body goes clockwise as on the inside she goes opposite, she says her name and stops as she eventually seems to get a bit dizzy.





ALTERNATE COSTUMES




Basic -------- Blue Team -------- Red Team -------- Green Team -------- Black/White -------- Gold






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:pokeball:
:pokeball:
 

JOE!

Smash Hero
Joined
Oct 5, 2008
Messages
8,075
Location
Dedham, MA



EXAMPLES:
Each one of the six Pokemon have their own unique playstyle to set them apart from the group, but the real strength is how they can combine those styles into a team. You will not be playing as just one character at a time here, due to the team mechanic you will be playing them together, mixing their strengths and weaknesses to form a perfect team for you and your own playstyle. Seeing as there are a grand total of 120 team combinations to choose from, I have gathered data on some notable Trainer JOE! players on some team combinations to showcase how a team can play out:

TEAM SMASH DADDY:

Team Smash Daddy coincidentally also consists of all the switch-in attackers, but first and foremost focuses on brute force to get their job done. Leading with Bacon, Smady will use her to first build up some momentum for the team, beating up the foe with her grapple game and eventually leading to getting in a burn with Scald before leaving the foe prone (hopefully) to switch out. As the battered and burned foe lays on the ground, Bacon's tech chase is passed onto Rampage as he uses Pursuit on the grounded foe, hopefully getting that KO to start Moxie.
From here, if Smady played his cards right, Rampage will be buffed and he can continue with his momentum game plan. But if Pursuit doesn't kill, at least the burned foe will offer little resistance fighting Rampage off to get a kill. On this team Rampage can be seen as the anchor of sorts, a role he's very good at, with Bacon setting up for him and Havok being the back-up once Rampage inevitably goes down. After setting him up, Smady most likely wont want to be switching him out, playing out the match until Rampage or the foe ultimately bites the dust as he carries on his destruction with the ultimate goal of steamrolling them with a double-moxied Krookodile.
When/If Rampage goes down though, Havok switches right in to cover him. As he switches in Smady has two routes to go immediatley depending on spacing. The first being if the foe got caught by Flash, where he could then do a double-switch and essentially copy the strategy for Rampage: kill the foe with Heat Crash and continue the momentum from there. The other option would be to simply play out as Havok, and continue to damage the foe from afar until they're ripe to KO with Bacon, adding onto the momentum based gameplay. Better yet, after dealing with both Bacon, Rampage, then Bacon again, Havok when left alone should have a relatively easy time taking the win off the exhausted opponent.


TEAM JUNAHU:

Opposite of Smady, Team Junahu also coincidentally has the cast of Switch-Out's. Not able to rely on pure bulk and force to win, Junahu deploys cunning, speed and stage control to win the match. This all starts with Ace, Juno's lead, who undoubtedly will start off pestering the foe with his aerial game and seed bombs, only to eventually want to get them tied down with a Grass Knot before switching out, preferably while catching the foe in a Leaf Storm with a free Work-Up seed on the floor.
From here, Cell comes into play and has a few options to work with. She can freely set up against the tied down opponent for one and play her normal game thanks to Ace securing her room to do so, or she can double switch to Arrow after either setting up a little for him, or right away given what Ace had done prior. Specifically, if he had Leech-seeded the foe or dropped a Work-Up seed, both of which will do wonders for Arrow when he's on the offensive. Both benefit Cell as well, especially when together seeing as her Psyshocks and Future Sights get boosted by the seed, and stay that way for as long as they're in play, and leech seeds coming from free traps definitely boost her healing factor.
Once Juno feels content with what Cell's done, it's time to move onto Arrow. Like with Rampage on Smady's team, here Arrow acts as a sort of anchor, taking advantage of Ace and Cell's set-ups in ways they can only dream of. Being the main source of offense, he takes advantage of the situation he's presented with fast, either by using buffs Ace left behind to heal back to a safe %, or absolutely take a foe to town with reverse-staled moves if Cell is either gone ( sadface ) or double-switched, or immediately go about his normal gameplay using Cell's traps as a safety net against attackers, swiftly retreating to them for cover if he loses momentum. Either way he will be looked to for KO's on the team with either his smashes or Uturn as he swaps out, starting the cycle all over again.
Unlike Smady's linear style, Juno set up her team to keep all three members alive and well, as well as feed off each other equally, with each member being able to set up for the other. This makes her team much tougher than at first glance, and after some set up, horrifying to fight against.


TEAM MARTH TRINITY:

A mix of both Smady and Juno, good ol' MT can follow both the hardcore momentum style, as well as the team synergy style. Starting from range as all battles do, Havok makes a great lead as the foe generally is forced to approach him through his thunderbolts, and his normal gameplay comes in from there. However, after a good dousing of acid on the foe, it can be a good time to switch out.
While normally not a go-to guy for offensive pressure, a weakened shield that the foe is hesitant about using as good excuse as any to become one with his fast attacks, Ace can set the style for the team here and now. Either by going the momentum route and going on an all out attacking spree until it's time to finish off with a pursuit, using his aerial acrobatics to bounce around the foe while using his own gluttony to boost himself even further. Or, he can take the synergy route to set up for Rampage, pestering the foe without breaking their shield just yet, but leaving them seeded, tied down and prone for a kill (as well as leave a nutritious snack for him when he drops by).
Either way, from here switching to Rampage can also follow the two routes. Following the momentum chain all the way down, even if they survive the pursuit, how long till their shield breaks? Then it's just a free kill from your method of choice. However, Rampage isn't all just about rushing in to fuel his ego, he has good attacking prowess in general and is fairly bulky himself, making for a good pseudo tank for the team to work with. He can batter the foe up and provide KO's when needed, and then freely switch back to Havok, repeating step one again if need be.
When a team member ultimately goes down however, MT is lucky in that he can still continue the same setups as before in miniature. Havok sets up for Moxie, as does Ace. Havok also provides momentum for Ace, and vice versa, as well as Rampage taking foes on up close in personal, only to knock them away for Havok to take over when they need to come back, and vice versa. Overall MT's team is a good blend of options that can adapt to the situation at hand based on either need or preference.


TEAM WARLORD:

Favoring the bulky, grabby types, the Warlord employs a different team strategy: the suicide lead. Starting the match fast and hard, he will rush right into combat with Arrow, hopefully right before anything is set up against him and go right to town, battering the foes and hopefully drawing first blood with a gimp or KO, repeating the process until Arrow is either KOed, or past Defeatist point, where the fragile male protagonist is as good as KOed anyways to him.
After establishing dominance with the foe, the next out is Bacon, WL's favorite character archetype. Here he will play a bit more defensivley to secure his lead, swapping between both Bacon and Cell, battering the foe with Bacon's grapples, Cell's traps, and a lethal combination of Trick Room comboing directly to heat Crash, as well as Bacon's specials becoming traps via Secret Power.
Team Warlord's beauty is in it's simple yet effective playstyle, leading with an amazing offense to secure a lead, then maintaining said lead with the two most durable team members feeding off each other's strengths. You thought Bacon was hard to take down? Try doing so with her being able to hide behind Cell's traps. Thought you could survive Cell's assaults? Try again when she sets you up for a Heat Crash, or Bacon in general.

Oh, and by the way, these were taken from previews before the sets were available to be seen, WL's team is anchored around two durable, female protagonists (hippo)






THE FINAL BATTLE:
Moving through the region to reach the Elite Four, to stop N's crazy plan of ruining the bonds between Trainers and their Pokemon, the 8th Gym stood before me and the team as a challenging obstacle. Drayden put up quite the fight with his tough Dragon types, but in the end Arrow, Havok and Cell's ability to attack on the run or from the air vs the grounded dragons proved too much for even the final Gym Leader. Moving on with the Legend badge, and a team of fully-evolved Pokemon, nothing was stopping me, until I met up with my friend Cheren on Victory Road.
He got to the exit at about the same time I did, yet from a different route, and challenged me to one final battle to see who would go after the Elite Four the first. I couldn't lose. Sending out Bacon, Ace and Rampage against his Samurott, Simisear and Unfezant, it seemed as if he had the advantage. However, after taking a brutal hit from Aqua Jet, a swift Hammer Arm broke through his defenses and landed a decisive KO. With Bacon badly hurt, Ace took on his own counterpart in a fast-paced duel. Ace also was at a disadvantage with the Fiery attacks beating out his Grass moves, but by using grass knot to distract his foe into burning the vine instead of attacking him, he landed a critical Jump Kick to the back of the head for the win. Rampage vs Unfezant was up next, and it seemed like Cheren had some confidence using a flyer vs a Ground type, until Rampage reminded him he's also dark with one Crunch doing the bird in. Admitting defeat, he accompanies me to the Pokemon center at the entrance to the Elite Four as I fill him in on the situation. After resting up and with Cheren's words of encouragement, I head out to take them down.
The four proved to be a challenge unlike any I had faced before, taking down four teams of four in one go. Bacon and Rampage made short work of Grimsley, with Rampage proving that attitude beats intimidation when taking on his own Krookodile. Next up was Shauntal, who's ghost types got the better of Ace at first, but were shown the light by Havok's thunderbolts. Letting Ace rest, I took on Marshal with Arrow and Cell, who's type advantages let them run circles around his fighting types, Cell even stopping the mighty Conkeldurr dead in his tracks by catching a mach punch with Psywave! Finally, I went up against Caitlin with Cell and Rampage, with Cell's psychic mastery setting the stage against her own type, Caitlin was out of her league when trying to fight of a rampaging dark type backed up by pyschic influence, and thus the elite four was beaten. She informed me to take the elevator at the center statue to reach Alder, and I hurried down to see him. Unfortunately when I finally got to the Champion's Arena, I was too late...


N had just defeated Alder, and became Champion of Unova! Before I can do anything he turns to me, and announces that as Champion he now has the power to influence the entire world to his ideals. Alder tries to interject but is quickly silenced by N, who then with a command summons his castle to surround the Pokemon league!


A staircase juts through the wall behind N leading to his castle, which he promptly steps on, telling me to come forward and meet me at his castle, "the proper arena for the fate of the heroes of Ideals and Truth" he says. As I watch him go up to his castle, Cheren catches up with me, and goes to Alder's aid. After some consolation on the matters at hand, Alder reaches into his robe and hands me a strange White Stone, calling it the Light Stone.
"I wasn't the right guy to bring about it's power you see, but apparently N thinks you can, as Lenora told me it represents truth and all that at the museum when I got it. Maybe being the so called hero of truth can activate it like it did with N and his Pokemon? It's worth a shot, what else do we have?"
I nod to Alder as he explains the stone to me, perhaps a similar stone brought N's mystery pokemon to him? But there was no time to stop and think, I said my goodbyes as Cheren tended to Alder's pokemon and I headed up the stairs to the awaiting castle.

Once inside I encounter a welcoming committee comprised of six of Team Plasma's Sages. Luckily, before they gang up on me and my weakened team, the gym leaders actually come to my aid! Arti explains that Bianca talked to them after Cheren explained the situation, and they hold off the Sages for me to continue. Glad for that turn of events, I explore the castle until i am stopped by the shadow triad, who give me a brief "tour" so to speak, and even show me where to heal my Pokemon, as it is apparently N's wish to fight me as my best.
After healing up with the "godesses" of Team Plasma, I make my way to the final room where I am greeted by Ghetsis, 7th sage of Team Plasma, as he goes into detail of how I could be the one to bring down N. I have a sneaking suspicion that he may have some motives both me and N are unaware of for this...

I walk into N's arena ready to fight,and as I expected N is there already and giving me a similar rundown as Ghetis did, and after asking if I will battle him or give up (which of course had an obvious answer), he calls forth his mighty mystery Pokemon: Zekrom, to the field. Upon his arrival, the Light Stone begins moving inside my bag!
Taking it out, White energy begins to emit from it as it awakens, becoming the counterpart to the Black Dragon: Reshiram!

Will N's Ideals prevail? Or can I show him the Truth behind the bond between a Trainer and his team? It's up to me to find out....



EVENT MATCH: TRAINER JOE! VS N


In this event match, you take control of Reshiram under Trainer JOE! as he takes on N and Zekrom. You have a total of 5 minutes to take down your foe, with both of you having mighty Boss movesets and 404% Stamina to bring down. The fight takes place at N's Castle, a stage which seems simple at first, but has a few nuances to get used to during intense matches, but first let's meet the combatants!

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[collapse=Moveset]
STATS / TURBOBLAZE
Standing slightly taller than Zekrom, at a full two Ganondorfs, and weighing in at twice Bowser's weight, Reshiram is a huge threat indeed. He has decent dash speed, comparable to Zero Suit Samus, but performs better in the air where he has a Glide like Charizard, as well as air speed that would put him between Sonic and Captain Falcon, with a fall speed not unlike Pit.

Reshiram's ability, Turboblaze is what fuels his fiery might. It allows his attacks to completely ignore all sorts of armor or immunities that would normally stop them from damaging, hitting or knocking around the foe (except for shield and dodge), as well as give him a constant 10% Heavy Armor against attacks, requiring foes to truly give it their all against him.


SPECIAL: FUSION FLARE
With a press of the B button, Reshiram's tail will glow bright red with fire as a sphere of swirling flame over forms over his head the size of the Koopa King himself. After a moment's pause comparable to the wind-up of the falcon punch as it forms, he tosses it forward and downwards with great force about his body length away.
Upon impact, the fireball will detonate violently into the size of a Smart-Bomb explosion, dealing 30% damage and KB high enough to kill normal foes at 100%.
Reshiram also has additional 20% Heavy Armor added in while the move starts up, and oddly during said start up if he is hit by a move of the Electirc Element, the damage will be boosted to 50%!


A: SLASH
Raking one of his massive wings forward in the time it takes Bowser to do his Dtilt, Reshiram strikes out for 16% damage, and high KB. A bit on the slow side, his slash has a lot of range however for a standard attack.


TILT: FLAMETHROWER
Tilting the A input will have Reshiram unleash a stream of flames in a burst lasting as long as his Slash, doing multiple hits leading to 20% damage in total, with medium KB at the last hit all the while hitting as far as Bower's Fire Breath.


DASH: FIRE FANG
His dash attack has Reshiram lash out at the foe with his long neck and fangs, clamping down with a fiery effect and dealing a mere 10%. However, the move is as quick as Charizard's Dtilt, with similar power to go along with the range.


AERIAL: FIRE BLAST
Once Airborne, pressing A will has Reshiram flap his wings forward and within them a cone of fire will be jutted forward, just barely out ranging his wings somewhat to make for a huge reaching attack. On hit, the Fire Blast will deal an impressive 24%, and high KB guaranteed to send multiple foes flailing.


GLIDE ATTACK: BLUE FLARE
With jumps comparable to Charizard for his size, it's fitting his glide is a souped-up version of his too. Pressing A during Glide will have Reshiram unleash his deadly Blue Flare, a voretex of blue fire the size of Mach Tornado that spews from his mouth as he slows his Glide Speed down for a fly-by. Having similar attributes to the *****nado as if it were turned on it's side, Blue Flare can potentially rack up as much as 35% in one go!


GRAB ATTACK: EXTRASENSORY
Reshiram's grab input is a bit tricky in that it involves a flash of his blue eyes, and the foe to be within a Platform of him, a bit close range for a disjointed grab. Once the foe is snagged however, Reshiram uses his limited Psychic power to put them in a footstool state with a grunt, and send them away from him with another flash of blue for a good 16%, being able to kill at around 120%.


TAUNT: HYPER VOICE
By pressing the taunt input Reshiram will bow forward and unleash a mighty cry, stunning foes like with Ganon's transformation for about a second. Unfortunately he must wait about 2 seconds between each blast of his voice.

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[collapse=Moveset]
STATS / TERAVOLT
Weighing in a tad more than Reshiram, at 2.2 Bowsers, and standing about 1.8 Ganondorfs tall, Zekrom is an imposing threat indeed. He has decent dash speed, comparable to Fox, but performs well in the air too, where he has a Glide like Charizard, as well as air speed that would put him between Squirtle and G&W, with a fall speed not unlike Diddy Kong.

Zekrom's ability, Teravolt, is what fuels his electric fury. It allows his attacks to completely ignore all sorts of armor or immunities that would normally stop them from damaging, hitting or knocking around the foe (except for shield and dodge), as well as give him a constant 10% Heavy Armor against attacks, requiring foes to truly give it their all against him.


SPECIAL: CROSS THUNDER
With a press of the B button, Zekrom's tail will glow bright blue with electricity as a sphere of electical energy forms around himself. After a moment's pause comparable to the wind-up of the falcon punch as it forms, he then will swiftly charge forward his body length while covered in the power.
Upon impact, the energy will detonate violently into the size of a Smart-Bomb explosion, dealing 30% damage and KB high enough to kill normal foes at 100%.
Zekrom also has additional 20% Heavy Armor added in while the move starts up, and oddly during said start up if he is hit by a move of the Fire Element, the damage will be boosted to 50%!


A: SLASH
Swiping forward twice with his claws, each doing a hit of 10% with hitstun, then medium KB, Zekrom's slash is fast, each taking as long as a swipe from Bowser's own Jab attack, but sacrificing range in the process.


TILT: THUNDERBOLT
By Tiliting a direction then pressing A, Zekrom will send a bolt of blue lighting toward the foe, doing only 1 hit of 10% with medium KB power, it is thankfully as fast as Pikachu's Thunderjolt, while having range of Charizard's Flamethrower.


DASH: THUNDER FANG
Dashing forward, pressing A will have Zekrom sink his teeth into the foe and transmit a powerful shock, dealing multiple hits that lead to 20% damage and knocking foes away with power comparable to Chariard's Dtilt at the end!


AERIAL: THUNDER
Once airborne, pressing A will have Zekrom spark menacingly in a quick, surge of blue power with an intimidating crackle. Foes that come in contact to the Thunder spreading across his body will be subject to 24% damage, as well as take KB comparable to Pikachu's sweetspot of the same move, if it did as much damage.


GLIDE ATTACK: BOLT STRIKE
With jumps comparable to Charizard for his size, it's fitting his glide is a souped-up version of his too. Pressing A during Glide will have Zekrom use his deadly Bolt Strike attack! Charging up with yellow electricity for just a moment, Zekrom will then do a fly-by with his claw charged with electric might, doing 35% in a single hit as strong as Meta Knight's final smash!


GRAB ATTACK: ZEN HEADBUTT
Reaching out to grab the foe, Zekrom will then swiftly smash his giant, crested skull to them, sending them diagonally either up or down depending on their DI with 16% added onto them. THis has enough force to kill normally at 120%, but some foes may be gimped near edges due to the angle.


TAUNT: HYPER VOICE
By pressing the taunt input Zekrom will bow forward and unleash a mighty cry, stunning foes like with Ganon's transformation for about a second. Unfortunately he must wait about 2 seconds between each blast of his voice.

[/collapse][/collapse]

Beating N here not only has Trainer JOE! save the world, but also proves the Truth behind a Trainer's Bond with their Pokemon to N, having him turn over a new leaf and accept multiple opinions of the world and not just his own.
There are also cool unlockables for the players who complete it! However, to unlock features you must beat the Event at harder difficulty, where MEDIUM has the time set to 3:30, and HARD at a short 2:00, as well as increased AI difficulty!


STAGE: N'S CASTLE

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*Credit to hacking buddy Yoij5[/collapse]
The stage where you face off in the epic event match above, unlocked by beating said even on MEDIUM difficulty, seems a bit straightforward at first. A large flat stage slightly bigger than FD, with water to either end, high ceilings and N watching the fight from the backdrop it seems like a fairly standard neutral stage, until the battle begins.
As the battle escalates, the stage becomes interactive as hard impacts with the floor can crack the ground, and even cause dips as friggen craters are formed! Strong energy attacks will even evaporate the water if landed on or near them , creating a small walk-off temporarily as it fills back up over the course of 5 seconds. Huge, quaking effects can even damage the pillars seen behind you, having them fall over, potentially toward the water near the main stage and releasing a wave accross it which pushes everyone temporarily one direction or the other as strong as Piplup's Surf. A perfect place for an epic battle.
Speaking of, even the music is interactive when fighting, either becoming more intense as the action gets faster, picking up a background beat, or lulling and slowing down a bit with the reverse.

A special case occurs in the Event Match, where each combatant's theme overtakes the other depending on which one is in the lead.

[collapse=Playlist]
Final Battle vs N!

N'S Castle Bridge


Team Plasma Battle!

Unova Gym Battle!

Unova Gym Leader's Last Stand! *Plays in singles when one party has 1 stock remaining / last minute of gameplay, only with Unova Gym Battle! is playing.

Credits: Pokemon Black and White

Emotion Battle!

VS Legendary Dragon of Unova!

[/collapse]

SECRET FINAL SMASH: FINAL SWITCH
Unlocked by beating the event match on HARD, Trainer JOE! can now alternately perform Pokemon Switch while having the Smashball in his Pokemon's possession to call in once of the fierce Legendary Dragons!
By switching out, the camera zooms to JOE! as he pulls out either the Light or Dark Stone from his bag, which will then re-awaken in-tune with the Legendary Dragon theme and a cinematic close-up roar from either combatant before you gain full control over them for the next 15 seconds. At the end of their rampage, they simply nod to JOE! before they take off toward the top of the screen at blazing speed while covered in their element (doing 30% and extreme KB to those they touch) and crying out, leaving JOE! to send out the Pokemon he had prior.
There is a 50/50 chance of either dragon appearing, but as JOE! rummages in his bag, a quick input of Right selects the Light Stone, and Left the Dark Stone.




:pokeball: :pokeball:​







*special thanks to Smash Daddy for the help (y) *
 

MarthTrinity

Smash Lord
Joined
Aug 9, 2007
Messages
1,954
Location
The Cosmos Beneath Rosalina's Skirt


Not that many but I might as well post what I have so you all can see I'm not totally slacking on the job. Ten new comments, more to come later. Also working on two movesets at the moment so expect at least one of them before the end of this MYM. Comment train will continue till I'm done thoooooooough~<3

See? Edited in a comment for OVER just now! Annnnnnnnd....Fighter comment added! Sam and Max added too. Zigzagoon comment added. Going to sleep for now. Rawr.


Klobber

"Not interested in a creeper croc running around in a barrel. Didn't think I'd ever have to say that. Again."

First and foremost with this comment, I feel the need to address the "characterization" of this moveset much like Warlord did. You see, with a character like Klobber...he admittedly doesn't have much to base his set off...I mean, all he does in his game is attempt to dash into you repeatedly in hopes of knocking you off the platform you're on into bottomless pits/lava/swamp/whatever. In the set however...you have him doing stuff far more suiting of the similar Kremling enemy Kaboom...I mean, he even flat out turns -INTO- a Kaboom for one of his moves. On top of this, it would make far more sense for Kaboom to me using Kuchuka's bombs (seeing as Kaboom's probably filled to the brim with explosives anyway). Actually...Knocka (or his TNT version from the GBA game) could've been cool too, always liked their designs...

Something random I noticed while reading the set that was a tad bit disappointing...there's not one mention of opponents being able to pick up Klobber while he's hiding in his barrel and throw him like a barrel item. Considering thats his whole niche in the Country games (attacking him to force him back into his barrel and hurl him away), it's somewhat weird that this isn't his prime way of being ko'd. It would remind me somewhat of Ultimate Chimera's ko method that I've been wanting some to reuse for the longest time...that and it'd balance out the fact that most of Klobber isn't actually a hurtbox. That and you could even have it be part of Klobber's game. Like maybe he wants to be picked up so that he can spring to life and catch the foe off guard (again much like in the game).

That's not to say what you have here is bad though I do like the idea that he can, while dashing, roll into his his barrel as sort of a pseudo-Spin Dash in order to get up close and, admittedly, I cant see much more that he'd do other than gimp people...I mean...again, all he does is dash into you repeatedly. Unfortunately, that doesn't make for a particularly interesting moveset. While characters like Necky could be represented as a flying platform because of its "uses" in the actual games or how Zinger, despite being pretty plain character wise, had the potential for a set...Klobber just really isn't interesting enough for him to do so. In my eyes, Klobber isn't a bad set...he's just kind of...bland really. I do feel you could've added some depth with the suggestion I mentioned above but really, he's just not that flexible of a character to make much out of. Not your fault so to say as much as the character choice.



Concrete Man

"Yes, yes! Cover me with your C.Shot! Oh it's getting so hard! Better squirt some more on there for good measure...*giggles madly*"

My problem with Concrete Man is somewhat related to my problem with Galaxy Man; they both randomly summon the minions of their stage into battle. While I was willing to write this off for Galaxy Man seeing as he's an alien of sorts and summons all sorts of portals anyway, W=with Concrete Man however...it's weird that -TWO- of his Specials are eaten up by these summons when, in all honesty, Concrete Man doesn't strike me as one to be doing much summoning at all. These aren't Concrete Man's only examples of awkward feeling moves. His Up Smash for example pulling water pipes out of the ground strikes me as weird and somewhat forced. Moreso, I disliked the spike strip move in Galaxy Man so I was a tad bit shocked to see it pop up -AGAIN- in Concrete Man.

As another minor question...was this organization done on purpose? It's a bit strange that -MANY- of the moves are not properly capitalized. If this was done on purpose, feel free to ignore this...but if not, I'm surprised as your sets are typically more polished than this.

With those nitpicks out of the way...Concrete Man has some fun stuff here and there, mostly in the Smashes. That said, it is going against Concrete Man from...two contests ago who also had some interesting and fun aspects. MYM8's Concrete Man had many of the same concepts (obviously because of the same base material) but had stage altering things such as actually tearing up the stage and making the entirety of...well...everything his own construction site. Your Concrete Man has similar ideas such as building giant concrete structures but is...different. Your Concrete Man seems more cunning whereas Khold's came across as more using his brute strength as a simple construction robot to do what he does best; create and smash stuff.

I may be judging this partially on comparison to the past one...but admittedly I find the concept of the entire stage being your toybox to tear chunks out of and hurl about than making concrete structures and smashing them...which you could do in the other set too. Looking back...the previous Concrete Man feels almost like a Minecraft/Mega Man fusion. Overall, Concrete Man feels like one of your weaker sets. A lot of his moves feel rather gimmicky and he feels a bit too heavily based on spraying concrete everywhere and doesn't go much beyond that. Sorry for being harsh on this one but after Galaxy Man, Concrete Man just feels rushed.



Redead

"Eep, the living dead! Is that look in your eyes from actual hunger or do I just look good enough to eat?"

Nope, don't really recall you promising to make a set for Redead but it's an interesting character choice to say the least. I understand that you obviously went with Redead's Twilight Princess version due to more potential thanks to the sword but it's a smidge disappointing not to see Redead's classic, well-known version here instead. Admittedly I wouldn't have minded the set being for Gibdo/Redead to get more of a classic feel while retaining some of the stuff you have here already. What would you want to retain from this set? Well, Down Special I'd say personally. Roar is probably the coolest concept the set has, what with seperating the opponent's body from their "soul" version or whatever it is exactly and then sort of keeping their "soul" at bay while you damage their body is pretty nifty and gives Redead a certain goal throughout the battle. Howl obviously exists to make use of Redead's trademark abillity whereas Soul Suction...well...it doesn't seem very special admittedly for a special. Considering the fact that Redead's pummel is essentially just a weaker version of his Side Special, it makes it a bit redundant. His Up Special is also a pretty basic tether recovery...it'd be nice to see his whole moving up and down the bandage go somewhere (it's never mentioned in the playstyle) but it could lead to some nifty stuff.

As I carry on with the set however, the inputs get far less imaginative and overall far less interesting sadly. While the beginning of the set promises us a heavyweight character who revolves around tanking hits with his healing abilities and scaring the "life" out of his opponents so he can destroy their body while they're safely away, the rest of the set does little to support this. It's a very "in-smash" set as much as I hate to toss that term around. You have this certain method of movesetting that's certainly admireable. You seem to just do it your way for what you're interested in for characters you like without them having to be super creative. I'm guessing you enjoy coming up with creative ideas and then working them into a feasible set without bending Smash to the point that it cracks in two. While it may not win you points on the Warlord scale for how your sets are, it's a strangely refreshing feeling I get from your sets that reminds me of my earlier days in MYM2 where making a moveset was much less a massive week+ long project but rather a quick way to get some ideas out when "Oh man, so-and-so would make such an awesome Smash characters!" pops into your mind. Either way, I hope you're not offended by that comment as I mean it as a compliment that your sets remind me of a far less complicated time.



Rakansen

"Dream on. A robot will never satisfy more than a real man...unless you vibrate without the batteries..."

First things first, oooooo...shiny newcomer set with pretty graphics. I'm a sucker for pretty graphic design stuff so image sets usually appeal to me (like Junahu's sets <3) so it's very impressive to see a newcomer bothering to make his set look nice. I mean, nothing against newcomers but...a ton of them just love to do things like make their movesets bright lime green walls of text with no breaks and such. Not a very nice way to go. Anyway, we have Rakansen here who I'm sadly unfamilar with...which...may be a problem. You see, this set assumes a whole freakin lot out of the reader. If this were a moveset for Mario, that may be acceptable...but for a Custom Robo character who many will -NOT- recognize? It's a bit of a confusing read because of this. For instance, what on earth are kindjal pods? I can assume that they're something that explodes and stuns the foe on contact...but how big are they? What are they shaped like? What are these purple dragon heads in the Neutral Special? Why does his Down Aerial shoot phoenixes while his other Wyrm gun moves shoot dragon heads and such? As an obscure character, you kind of have to assume that the reader doesn't know what the character does in the base material. In my eyes, it's better to assume the reader is an idiot than leave out important details/logic. It's something I've always been taught about writing essays and I've generally applied it to MYM as well; assume your reader is entirely unaware of your character, try and sell them on it by being as descriptive as possible. Obviously crazy amounts of detail aren't needed, so long as you get the idea across it should be fine...but make sure you're helping the reader create a picture in their mind of how your character plays.

Speaking of how the character plays, you've got a good idea for playstyle going by giving them a unique focus...but I question how this focus plays out. You see, you state that the character is an aerial focused character (which is cool)...but two of his better aerials actually force them -OUT- of the air. It's strange that his better moves are effectively working against his basic goal of keeping the opponent in the air. The aerials also happen to be the worst offenders of generally confusing descriptions. Up Air releases a
Wyrm (dragon head?) that flails about wildly and explodes on contact...but it says later it wraps the foe up and throws them downward. His Fair is also quite strange...does he simply fly forward as if tackling a foe or is spear position a term I'm missing? Overall, this set is just generally rather confusing. He has a rather basic focus on his aerial game (with stuff such as Side Special forcing the foes into the air) but really, his overall moveset doesn't seem to line up quite right with this concept. Its a very pretty set and it's generally much more focused than a lot of first time sets (blows mine out of the water, bwahahaha) but as it stands right now, the set doesn't seem too sure if its own gameplan really.



Robo-Link MKIII

"No smarmy insult seems appropriate here. Congrats, I'm at a loss for words..."

So. Robo-Link MkIII...well you certainly don't go out of your way to hide the fact that this set is intentionally wacky. The simple fact that every single move in the set essentially acts as a Special with its own Special Mechanics is an immediate tip off that this set may be a tad disconnected from itself. I guess the only way to tackle a set like this is piece by piece...so let's rock.

The Neutral Special reminds me very much so of Cave Story's upgrade system, what with the whole leveling up so your guns get better but getting damaged makes your guns worse. I'm going to assume that that was probably the basis for the move and will say that'd probably be pretty cool in a Quote set. The Down Special shop is apparently the next big thing so let's take a look at that. I'm kind of wondering how RuP33z are "made." I mean, I know they come out of your foe when you use Smash attacks or RL's Side Special...but is there any method to them? I assume stuff like purple RuP33z come out very rarely and that you'll mostly be getting Greens and Blues...but something to clairfy that would've been nice. I also think the buffs to the opponent may be a bit much. Even though I'm sure 50 RuP33z won't be appearing very often...the fact that you're potentially healing the foe for 50% -AND- buffing them insanely is a bit scary. Also, is there any limit to the amount of RuP33Z you can hold? Just minor questions but it would be helpful if they were listed in the set.

So moving onto the stuff you can buy...the first shield is a pretty cool concept, what with making RL pretty much invincible unless the foe strikes a certain part in which case their entire shield (and a chunk of RuP33z) are entirely wasted. It's a pretty big risk/reward but it balances itself out nicely (although he may take a bit -TOO- much knockback if it blows...). B Shield seems less useful really, pretty much being the exact opposite of A although it's nice that you can move while using it. The Mini-Link's add to some of your RuP33z collecting playstyle as well making them hopefully worth the cost. Bombs -HAD- to be there but they're a tad bland and don't really fit anything. Boomerang is decent for recovering RuP33z and the Robo-Link back-up seems fair enough for when it comes to keeping opponents off you. The Power Bracelets admittedly seem like quite a waste considering their price and that, frankly, you'd be better off buying cheaper stuff than semi-useless throws.

The Rockarina has some interesting songs, namely Zelda's Lullaby healing your own summons...although many of them seem rather filler-y, like Epona's Song, Sun's Song and Song of Storms feeling kind of stuck in there because of obligations. Moving along...Neutral Special is weird as hell but could easily be an interesting concept...not so much for RL but for someone else. It's kinda at this point that Robo-Link stops feeling like Robo-Link and starts feeling like a front for a bunch of set concepts you had but didn't want to make. More or less most of these moves here feels as though it was meant for someone else. Either way, it's a fun read none the less and it's obvious there was effort put in to make the moves creative.



Trace

"Cloaking huh? Guys typically try and cover up the stuff they don't want the ladies to see...what does that say about you?"

Funny that invisibility is pulled off blatantly before Pennywise and Gengar but isn't acknowledged at all. Actually, that's not that funny, it's rather disappointing. Trace is, from a read, easily your best set and easily proof of your improvement. It's a shame he didn't really get many comments though. Anyway, the static ability to turn invisible while standing still is a good translation of his in-game ability to do so and adds a layer of mindgames to his character. The fact that his Imperialist shots do more damage while cloaked is, as intended, a sign that Trace's overall playstyle is a crafty character taking potshots at the foe when they have no idea where he is and then running to a new hiding spot when he's discovered. It's a really clever adaption of a sniper into a game like Smash. While he's a big guy, he wants to turn invisible, stay hidden and snipe at the foe from a distance. It's appropriate too seeing as he's a hunter, thus he's stalking his prey from the shadows, making them guess where he is before he either snipes them from afar or pops up in their face with a melee attack.

It really is a simple playstyle of hit-and-run sniping but it's an effective one. Like Redead, Trace falls a bit after the Specials...but the basic Special Mechanic gives him enough life to power through them, especially coupled with Trace's ability to make pretty much any attack a stealthy assault. Something that would've been really cool is if you played off of Trace's wall cling ability...like...if he could cling to walls while invisible and snipe the foe from a distance. I also feel like him instantly turning off the invisibility when he uses his Imperialist/melee moves is a bit much...maybe just make him shimmer so he can stay relatively hidden and that fleeing to a new spot is based more around when your foe finds you (or when you let them find you via certain attacks) than taking one shot and relocating.I really wish there were more stages Trace could take advantage of his Grapple Beam to snipe with as that concept is also very cool.

Overall, I can safely say that you're improving here Majora. Trace has considerably more interesting potential as a moveset than your previous sets and clearly has a better grasp on playstyle and individual move creativity and flow. I'm very curious to see what you follow Trace up with and I hope that it's even better than this one. Feel proud, you're clearly improving.



OVER

"You must be OVERcompensating for something very small if you feel the need to have scissors that big..."

So I look at OVER and something immediately strikes me as weird. Why is his Final Smash not a Special? It seems like something that would fit OVER quite well with what he already does. I mean, he's got moves that hold them in place such as his Side Special and Down Special. You'd think a move that saps away at their life and constantly damages them would be a perfect match for that. Also as a note before I move on...the move names are more than a bit OVERdone really...like...to the point that a lot of them don't even make sense. I get you were going for the whole "over" for every move thing...but why is a move that summons a shockwave called Overrated? Why is his cannon Up Special Overexploitation? It comes across as incredibly random (which may have been your intention given the source material) and unsuiting for many of the attacks.

However, I do like the fact that you included the cannons directly from the SSE instead of making it some super random all new cannon. I'm going to take your word for it that this guy can summon these cannons and knives and endless supplies of scissors as I honestly have no idea what the character does myself. As I read through OVER and his playstyle however, I don't exactly feel as though I'm getting the same vibe as the playstye suggests. While the playstyle suggests OVER is an aerial focused character, he seems more the opposite with many of his attacks impaling the foe to keep them grounded. His knife traps would also imply that he wants to keep the foe grounded or at least swat them -OUT- of the air and into spikey death. With that said though, the impaling stuff (namely the dash attack) is pretty nifty and I like the fact that OVER can drag the opponent about while they're impaled like in the Dash Attack or the Up Smash.

So...what do I think of OVER? Well admittedly, it's less ambitious than a lot of your recent sets like Charlotte or Steelix...but that's not exactly a bad thing. It's a more down to earth set than I'm used to from you as of late and it's admittedly rather refreshing. It's nice to see a more "regular" set after the recent experiments you've done and it reminds me a bit of Sarisa who had some nifty core concepts but it didn't quite piece together. That said, even though I -PERSONALLY- don't believe that the playstyle description for OVER is entirely accurate, I suppose that's the downside of movesetting; the reader may see something you didn't or miss something you intended. OVER however is probably your best set in quite a while though execution wise (although Charlotte certainly had some interesting stuff) and it's nice to see that you're still interested in MYMing. Welp, comment OVER.



Level 10 Fighter

"Aww, poor you. So weak and puny...you need far more experience before you can give me a good fisting..."

It takes some balls to make a MYM set that's essentially for a generic character based on semi-generic combos so I'll give you all the credit in the world for saying fuck da police and doing it anyway. On the other hand however, by making Fighter a generic representation of any and every generic fighter class from any game ever, you open the door to a wide variety of moves you can borrow without it either being out of character or random. You're not making a moveset for x-character, you're making a moveset for x-type of character which you were obviously well aware of. It's a clever way to use whatever you want for him while still having it work.

With that said, there's some stuff I like her and some stuff I don't. To begin with, the idea of taunts actually doing something useful was something I loved in 3rd Strike so I certainly appreciate it here. I feel that the requirements for activating these boosting/crippling taunts are a bit high however...Fighter's pretty light, even with his recovery, I question how often he'd be surviving until 100%...and even then, he can only use one taunt that nerfs the foe in one aspect while boosting them in another. It's a strange exchange that Fighter is partially punished for being at such a high percent after using his taunt to attempt to balance the situation but maybe that's just me. The shielding game is also fairly clever as it's obviously going to force the foe to either approach and attempt to grab (in which case Fighter can spotdodge and counterattack) or spam projectiles which can be deflected via Down Special. That is, of course, probably how the match will go -AFTER- fighter has caused some major damage to the foe via his combos.

In my opinion however, it would be nice if we had some of these potential combos listed out for us. Because we can't actually pick up and play as Fighter in a real setting, it essentially makes a good deal of Fighter's playstyle simply into Theory Fighter when it comes to what would actually mesh well with what when it actually came to using him. With that said, I can certainly appreciate what you were going for here and, in my opinion, you did a pretty good job of avoiding the typical traps a character like this would fall into and provided him with tools to use against said traps and characters. I think that, seeing as I love fighting games outside Smash so much, I was able to appreciate this set's simplicity and personal uniqueness a bit more than some other members of MYM. Regardless, this moveset, while simple, sets out to do what it intended and does it quite well. Had you included some sample combos, I really think you would've nailed what you were going for.



Sam and Max

"You...are aware that I'm not interested in screwing like rabbits or doggie-style in the -LITERAL- sense, right?"


Oh my. Unlike your previous set which I praised for its appearance, I'm afraid I must make a few complaints about Sam and Max's organization. While the set certainly looks pretty at a glance, I personally find the font wrapped in white to be somewhat annoying to read. I -PERSONALLY- would prefer if it were one solid color instead of like blue with a white boarder but that's just me (the text with the black boarder is much easier to read however). Furthermore, the attacks listed over the image about halfway down (the aerials) are quite difficult to read because of how bright the picture behind it is, it's rather distracting really.

Moving on to the set itself...there's some big problems with the Specials. First of all, you have two down specials, haha. I assume that the lasso is an Up Special however so that's more an observation than a complaint (just an accident of I'm positive). The problem with the Specials however is that...aside from the Up Special...every single one of their Specials are luck based. Neutral Special is a big offender of this thanks to the fact that what Max does isn't set in stone. Because he may bite the foe or grab them, neither player is really aware of what exactly they should do to follow it up. The Side Special either being an stopper or dealing massive damage and knockback is another rather random Special that radically changes how the move should be used or WHEN it should be used. The Down Special being rather random goes again without saying; there's really not that much method to it other than using it at random and hoping for -SOMETHING- useful out of it. And yes, I do understand that you did this intentionally to capture the spirit of the game, it would personally come across as rather annoying to play a character with this much randomness in it. While it does introduce unpredictability, it does so at the cost of throwing off a playstyle Sam and Max could have by having it focus on random chance than actual strategy.

Overall, Sam and Max don't feel as focused as Rakensen did. They feel much more random and really lack much playstyle at all. After reading the set, I'm rather uncertain of what style they want to play. While I understand that that was your intention, it unfortunately results in the set being bogged down by random effects and fairly basic standards. Overall, it's pretty to look at but Rakansen is clearly superior.



Zigzagoon

"Oh God! Get out of there! Stop smelling me down-...! Wait...did you just steal my panties?! You little thief!"

And yay. Commenting an actual recent set because...well...because I can. Anyway, Zigzagoon shows some obvious signs of being rushed. He has about a fraction of the moves a normal set would have and a lot of them are rather similar depending on the button pressed. That said, Zigzagoon certainly has some interesting features for such a rushed set and some rather clever ideas here and there. His whole zig-zagging in and out of the foreground/background deal is very clever and suiting...it reminds me of one of those NES Track and Field games where you had to alternate mashing buttons in order to run...but in this case it's to attack actually. So we've got zig-zagging and we've got Zigzagoon's other trademark ability; Pick Up. Like in actual Pokemon, Pick Up is suiting to give you a totally random item that's most likely hilariously overpowered. I mean, God knows how many times my Zigzagoon found random Nuggets laying around to the point that I was just blatantly rich before the first gym even.

Ahem, excuse that, tangent. Anyway, even though Zigzagoon is missing quite a few inputs...the way you managed this gives Zigzagoon a pretty reasonable amount of inputs thanks to using the different buttons to do different attacks. Oddly, the prone attacks made me realize the surprising mindgames of a character with such limited inputs. While one of your moves may be perfectly capable of being shielded, it's uncertain whether you'll even use that move or if you'll use one that busts through my shield. It's not exactly the -DEEPEST- thing in the world seeing as he's literally got twenty two inputs...annd that's being nice and counting the prone attacks and the pummels as their own individual moves.

Will Zigzagoon be totally changing the way we all moveset from here on out? Most certainly not. But the whole point of this moveset, if I'm not mistaken, was to make a moveset for that which is so lacking in potential in an incredibly limited amount of time. Impressive visuals for a two hour set pretty much. Either way...Zigzagoon has some interest concepts but it's a rushed set, I doubt you expected it to be perfect with such little time to get it down just right. For what you have however, there's a lot of fun to be had with the ideas in this moveset, with a bit of fine tuning, you could properly add some more inputs later and rework the set so that you can take it at your own speed. Regardless, I love me some of the concepts here Junahu so I can't help but enjoy this set. Also. Finishing this comment up at...6:30am so I'm sorry if it doesn't make perfect sense. I'm quite tired ;_;
 

ForwardArrow

Smash Ace
Joined
Aug 17, 2011
Messages
502
15) Potato + Eggplant + Hot Sauce

The contents of the pot explode out the top, launching the opponents into the air with 18% and very high upwards knockback. The soup also spills all over the stage. Next time you should be more careful when you cook. The soup covers the stage for 12 seconds, coming up to about Kirby's height. An opponent standing in the soup will be unable to run and have their walk speed slowed significantly. If Kawasaki is not next to an enemy, he can grab to begin drinking the soup, decreasing it's height by a fifth each second and pulling opponents in the soup towards him at Pikachu's dash speed. This also heals 5% for each second spent drinking. Turns out sometimes the best cooking is the mistakes.
 

MasterWarlord

Smash Champion
Joined
Aug 24, 2008
Messages
2,902
Location
Not wasting countless hours on a 10 man community
MYMini #16: NO ITEMS FOX ONLY FINAL DESTINATION


While this mini could theoretically have something to do with Final Destination, it can have something to do with any stage you so please. Upon selecting your stage (Existing stages only, though you can use a stage from a previous MYM entry in addition to those from the game), you must assort a handful of button inputs for a player to use to control the stage - they cannot win, with their goal simply being to cause chaos for the normal Brawlers and most probably to be jerks. You can only manipulate the existing hazards of the stage or create entirely new ones if you prefer, or somewhat of a mixture, depending on how determined you are to keep the flavor of the original stage in-tact.
 

MarthTrinity

Smash Lord
Joined
Aug 9, 2007
Messages
1,954
Location
The Cosmos Beneath Rosalina's Skirt
HOW HIGH CAN YOU GET?​

75m

"Oh right...that stage." I can hear you all saying that now and quite honestly, I don't blame you. 75m is universally considered one of the worst and least fun stages to brawl on and for good reason. The stage is overly huge, the music is meh and it's quite honestly not that interesting to look at sans the retro graphics for nostalgia. It's a stage you probably played once and then never played again...until that one jerk picked random and got it accidentally. But hey! Wouldn't this stage be much more fun if you could play as it?! Hopefully so...hopefully so...


Grab Input: Donkey Rage
As a little throwback to Donkey Kong '94, 8-bit DK is actually capable of grabbing characters who happen to wander too close to him via a normal grab input. Grabbing a foe will cause 8-bit DK to grab the foe by their head and violently shake them about before tossing them away with moderate set knockback. When the character hits the ground, they'll take 16% damage and be trapped in a prone position while this jingle plays and 8-bit DK beeps in amusement. Needless to say, this leaves the character very vulnerable to assault from other characters...

Neutral Special: Springboard Chuck
Upon tapping the Special button, the 8-bit retro DK will reach back, grab a springboard and then chuck it forward along the top part of the stage. These springboards typically bounce as high as Mario is tall...but if the button is held, the springboards will bounce slightly higher than Ganondorf when they hit the ground. Regardless of their bounce, getting hit by a springboard deals around 10% damage and medium knockback.

Up Special: Angry Stomp
When the stage player presses the input for this move, 8-bit DK will pause briefly before starting to stamp angrily in place, causing stunning shockwaves to travel throughout the stage. Anyone on the ground will be stunned for a brief period of time...but that's hardly the worst of it. After stamping around, debris will begin to rain down from the sky at random. This debris ranges from barbells to washtubs to barrels...but each piece of debris is roughly the size of Kirby and will deal 9% damage and downward knockback. There's roughly a 13 second break between each use of this move. Just be aware that being stunned by the shockwave makes it very likely to be hit by falling debris...

Side Special: Barrel Roller
The name says it all really, 8-bit DK reaches behind him, grasps a barrel and then quickly rolls it across the stage at a rapid pace. These barrels are no different than the normal item and can even be smashed away with a strong enough attack. They will however do a nasty bit of knockback if they strike you as well as 14% damage. As a final note, the player controlling 8-bit DK can hold the input to delay rolling the barrel for as long as he or she pleases.

Up Tilt: Platform Reverse
A very simple move. Once the stage player presses this input, the elevator platforms will instantly switch directions. While this won't exactly throw players into traps or anything, it can easily throw off their timing or generally confuse them.

Down Tilt: Fire Reverse
Exactly like the Up Tilt...but instead of reversing the platforms, this reverses the direction that the fire enemies are traveling in at your own will. Tapping this input will cause the living fireballs to shift directions so quickly that they hold still. Touching a fireball deals 12% damage and medium knockback.


And that's it! Nothing that special really but it certainly makes 75m a bit more exciting, no?
 

KingK.Rool

Smash Lord
Joined
Nov 26, 2005
Messages
1,810
rool's comment zone
a moste distinguished centre for the investigation of purpose and execution


So I wanted to start my catch-up but I had a problem; I don't like constantly making posts commenting old and semi-forgotten movesets, taking attention away from new movesets as they're being posted and messing with the heads of their creators, who are (quite rightly) expecting some feedback on their still-fresh work. But at the same time I hate posting those catch-up walls; they lost their wow factor back around MYM 8 and wind up being overkill (because who's going to read all those comments, other than the moveset creators? they're just taking up space).

Luckily, I've come up with a brilliant solution - this page. I get the pretty organization and the masturbatory title and everyone's happy. There'll be a link to this post in my signature, which has been unused for a very long time.

I'll be updating it sporadically (regularly? very rarely?) with comments in no order at all other than what I feel like tackling on a given day. If you very specifically want to hear what I think of your moveset, drop me a message and I'll make my way to it; otherwise, I may be skipping a few sets here and there and/or taking forever getting to certain (long) ones.

Dry Bowser ~{n88_2004}

It's a rushed n88 set, and so it feels like a generic Mario minion. This is my main quibble: Dry Bowser is the biggest, meanest, most undead villain in the series, and his moveset feels quite small and restrained, with some attacks that would be more fitting on a Dry Bones. I also have a bit of trouble with envisaging him as that quick and light.

On the flip side of the coin, the playstyle shows your typical and trademark light touch and patient approach to flow. Skid ties things together so neatly and is so inextricable from the latter half of the moveset that it feels a bit like you thought it up halfway through. I especially like the grab input; Skidding into it to very suddenly have the opponent trapped up against a pillar of flame is quite brilliant and helps a lot in establishing the ceaseless-pursuer/approach-specialist you were going for.

Also, that swap-places UAir is getting pretty cliché. Another good idea for an UAir becomes overused... worst input ever.

Spider-Man ~{Nicholas1024}

This set has the same approach to flow as Dark Bowser, with the interactivity of Sloth and the flexibility of Dingodile. I mean, daaamn. I'm not always following the webline physics (wait, how do you shoot one so it doesn't get attached to anything again?) but it's all quite easy to envisage and seems to operate in a patently logical, consistent way.

As this set more or less implements Spider-Man perfectly, defining his playstyle so clearly and making it so incomparable to established tropes (he's an offensive character! maybe capable of combos if you squint?), I can only suppose that the reason it's not considered a small masterpiece is because of the rather bogged-down, detail-heavy writing style, which has a very clear formula in every move: this is a generic attack; now this is how awesome it is when you combine it with his central mechanic; and now here are all the gorey details. There's also the relative-newcomer aspect. I've heard that this was heavily reviewed by a handful of top MYMers, and it does show - leaps and bounds from your output last contest, and from what I hear you've managed to sustain this high since. Very exciting!

Goomba ~{n88_2004}

I can't tell you how surprised I was when I heard comments along the lines of "Warlord's gonna hate this set"! I don't understand - on what grounds could he possibly dislike it? To me, this is an absolutely superb moveset, perfect, very near flawless. Compact, dynamic, strictly functional of course. My vision of Goomba had him more reliant on headbonking, but it's clear that that was far off from an accurate depiction. Here, Goomba essentially lunges about and rushes in various directions in a handful of different way; couldn't be more ideal. That you managed to craft such an engaging set out of a character defined by being fodder that walks straight forward is surely a testament to the very spirit of MYM.

It gets a little bit meta for me when the score starts getting messed with. At the same time, it's hard to criticize the decision; a flattened Goomba is a dead Goomba, functionally. Short of having Goomba be KO'd by any attack at all, this is about as accurate as you could get. And to evoke the old rule about losers and Smash Balls threw me for a very pleasant loop. YOU of all people making an uber-relevant and interesting - perhaps even central - Final Smash? More Goombas come out and they all go marching together (or raining down on the foe like a determined squad of suicide bombers once they've been knocked off the stage) - perfect.

The only blemish is that Goomba seems like a more unpredictable and potent foe while he's in the air, which when his games always see him groundbound is misleading. But hey, certain concessions have to be made in a project like this.

Bad Girl ~{getocoolaid}

And now, time for a geto marathon.

"She is venerable in this state."

Highly respected due to her great age and wisdom?

There's something pretty trashy about this set - I think it's in not only the character but also the approach to creativity, tossing it in the reader's face without the slighest ounce of subtlety. Not a bad thing, mind! And in fact, although it's not as bold and experimental as your brilliant one-two punch in MYM 9 of Tetris and Harvey Volodarskii, I quite like this set and its deliriously sadistic approach to minions; you bring them out by hitting them with your bat, and your primary use for them is drenching them in booze and then setting them on fire. It's certainly a set that knows what it's trying to be, although it is a shame that you unabashedly run out of ideas toward the end. That's the time to step away, chew on the set and its goals, and come up with new ideas. Might take a while, but it can make all the difference.

Also, generally speaking non-damaging tilts are a bad idea. These are the bread and butter inputs, meant above all to come out quickly and repel. It may leave us in the even more awkward position of putting spare ideas in the aerials, but better there than in tilts (if you can get the animation to work).

Admiral Bobbery ~{getocoolaid}

That's more like it.

Here we see a return to the more abstract musings of Harvey and Tetris; at many points, Bobbery feels like he's not even playing Brawl but some bizarre form of explosive chess, which is quite in-character for the grizzled out sea dog. The minions are awkward if you call them minions, but once you start referring to them as his crew, it comes together quite a bit better - after all, isn't the crux of his character that he was ever the leader before the death of Scarlette, and that it took that long period of isolation and mourning to teach him to follow orders (Mario's)? I'll just suppose this is Bobbery as he is before or after Paper Mario, because like you, I imagine that following orders for a while revitalized him enough to get him to give them.

The set is unfamiliar in its almost complete lack of basic, close-range attack options - much like Harvey, a really delightful set. It's familiar in its use of a line of minions that are essentially suicidal, much like Bad Girl. Here, although some inputs seem a bit overly spread out, there are no apologies made for a lack of ideas. Bobbery's gameplay is very start-stop, long periods of hustling and bustling crescendoing in an explosive finish - and preferably at an unexpected moment from an unexpected direction. Again that chess connection.

Man Ray and The Dirty Bubble ~{getocoolaid}

I don't much care for duos - I understand it's an interesting challenge for rising MYMers, but the trope has done too well too many times to still interest me (Cortex&Tiny, Bass&Treble, Mario&Luigi).

That said, wow. Using the same trope of the minion-following-the-main-character that I've just seen in your other two sets, but fusing it with not only cage fighting, a place to stash the KO focal point, and a portable prison that can be used to deposit foes way off the side of the stage (leap off the stage with Dirty Bubble while the foe is inside him, then fire a laser from Man Ray's scattered heads to burst him and send the unfortunate captive into freefall? that's brilliant!), and giving their whole playstyle such a slipshod, hilariously incompetent nature (they're basically fighting by tripping over one another, attacking one another, and falling apart at inopportune moments) - this is heady stuff. Of course it's ridiculously complex, unsmash to the core, hard to envisage, and very possibly impractical. Of course it's a whole different game mode from normal Brawl - just like Bobbery with his chess match, Harvey with his no-damage warping game, and Tetris with his scrambled inputs and different definition of KOs. I don't quite know what the word is on this set (although I did note that you had a few people look over it, which shows in how tightly programmed it is without outlying inputs but not in the essentially getoesque playstyle), but I'm impressed.

Pennywise ~{BKupa666}

So, as I've said, I find that Pennywise's goal of fear and and intimidation to diverge from Gengar's of chaos and uncertainty sufficiently to make them exist quite snugly alongside one another within MYM; in fact, it's quite fascinating how we use the same MYMing tools to different ends. Imagine how fun the matchup between them would be! In any case, this is a good set and as we all know it I'm going to wax poetic a bit about your own place in MYM instead.

Essentially, Kupa, you've been the ultimate slow-burner. Your apprenticeship to Warlord instilled his values in you - I don't think that's a bad thing per se, since Warlord's values are instilled pretty much everywhere - but it took a period of looser, more spontaneous experimentation for you to cement your own style, which is this: the central idea established and a whole moveset of ideas set in orbit of it rather than twisting it into an ultimately grotesque and unwieldly shape. This is true of all of your best sets. Sometimes you flip it upside down by establishing the idea after sending a shower of space junk into loose orbit (Zinger, Kaptain K. Rool, Chucky). In either case, your style of movesetting is more fluid and flexible than Warlord's, more dynamic. Your creativity - which is boundless - is not hindered by your desire to have every attack fit. Every attack does fit, make no mistake, but it does so without yielding to the personality behind the moveset. That is, you don't let your ideas run away with the moveset and the centerpiece remains just that until the very end.

Your movesets are great when the centerpiece is a great idea and still have a lot of value when it's not. You're at the top now, man. There's nothing you can't do.

Storm ~{Tanookie}

Peter Pan and Hypno were both brilliant. Most underrated MYMer ever.

Storm is a moveset that very much lives up to its name, and I love how you did that: the literal storm building up over the course of the Brawl, slowly but surely growing more and more furious, with Storm more a guiding hand than an all-powerful goddess figure; she can turn the rain to snow, calm the weather momentarily, attack from her cloud perch (from which she has actually a lot of interesting options; for instance, using her Standard Combo while up there creates a rather large paralysis hitbox for her to take advantage of with one of her slower moves). Interesting too is the fact that many of her hitboxes come not from her but from above; there's a lot of potential there to mix up her game and twist a foe's expectations. And again, if you move your cloud right up to the upper strata of the stage, she's quite capable of celestial camping.

Pollution is a sketchy attack, though, as Storm doesn't seem the type to emit toxic gases and summon acid rain.

Enrico Pucci & Whitesnake ~{LegendofLink}

My, my, this isn't a very likable moveset, is it? Is it because of the ramshackle organization or the terribly confusing character? What on earth is a "stand"? This sort of specialized anime character needs a little more in the way of introduction, I think.

For the same reasons, it's a fearless moveset. Most especially it's admirable that you feel no need to glitz up the standards; they work much, much better this way than if they'd been overloaded with interactions. The idea here is a single character, a single controller, two hurtboxes and two hitboxes. When you combine that with the basic CD trickery in the specials, you have more than enough to chew on without twisting Smash logic further in shoehorned creative standards.

At the end of the day, I still don't really understand anything about this faux-pious priest... but clearly you're a Type 1 MYMer, and the character is a vehicle for your ideas. Those ideas are very effective, confident, and in fact quite direct, in spite of some confusing language in the specials. It's a workmanlike approach to "selling" your moveset, and it leaves the content to sell itself. I'm quite sold by the perverse double-team juggling-and-perfecting playstyle I see here. Very refreshing, this moveset.

Baron K. Roolenstein ~{BKupa666}

You don't often see people using that incredibly useful phrase "strictly horizontal knockback". It's one of my favourites.

I really like the high-risk aspect of this playstyle, as well as the brilliance of essentially juggling against a wall of your own creation. What I don't like so much is how some attacks do pretty much the last thing they'd be expected to do in Brawl - a fireball makes the foe run around instead of, y'know, knocking them away with fiery knockback - for the sake of playstyle convenience; this forced-running example has always particularly bothered me as an unintuitive thing to force upon a foe. In general the set seems very convenient, with even the simplest attacks having some random additional effect. It's not forced creativity because those random additional effects always have heavy (and explicit) playstyle relevance - and maybe that's what we've come to accept as the epitome of playstyle - but it's still all a bit tidy and "easy" for me.

This is devil's advocate, of course. The positive things I said about Pennywise could easily be applied here as well, although I think I prefer the former a smidge. The positive things are so obvious that I don't feel the need to talk about them. No one can stop you now; there's nothing you can't do; and so on and so forth.

Kabutops ~{Kholdstare}

I told agi what I thought about Omastar already. A terrific set hampered only slightly by the fact that it's more animalistic than Pokemon-like - I think this is generally a consensus - but I can excuse that, too, because these are terribly primordial Pokemon and they're bound to be less sophisticated, behaviour-wise. The original Omastar cackled as it ate its foe's brains - you have me to thank for sparing everyone that mental image

Khold, I think you're one of the moveset makers who most resembles me. Here you're continuing in your grand tradition of bitter weather effects - and how befitting is it that the ancient Kabutops has no weapons but his body heat, his appendages, bare stone, and the rain, which falls now just as it did thousands of years ago? The whole moveset's simplicity and primitivity is so well-done.

I don't really know how to constructively comment. I love your movesets. I love the spare and stark detail. I love the light and easy approach to flow. I love the naturally implemented mindgames. This moveset is more in the vein of Great Tiger, Axel, Dodongo than the kind of stifling Sandslash. It's wonderfully loose, organic, and interesting. It's the best of both worlds of moveset-making, if you ask me. Good bloody job, my droog.

Sid's Toys ~{MasterWarlord}

Geeeez. This set... it practically feels like a parody of a Warlord set. Every toy has grab hitboxes - the detail is mindblowingly cloying - the writing style keeps reusing the same phrases and the offhand way it suggests ways to combine moves is terribly jarring - the move interactions are so dense, with even the most casual move tied into at least three other ideas (see Ducky's Right Hook, which I'd especially like using while he's attached to Legs, who has the foe hooked and hanging, in a grotesque punching bag gesture).

It's all quite horrifying with these massive mutant toys blocking off swaths of the stage, tossing and dragging one another about, spastically swarming over one another as they strive to take down the foe, possibly at the expense of their own worthless lives. Weren't these toys kind of nice guys in the movie? This is more like a moveset for Sid himself, who like an invisible puppeteer is pulling all the strings and getting these nice guys to turn to the most sadistic, suicidal strategies to disassemble the foe's gameplan (because they really are about quashing the foe's gameplan, more than actively and traditionally building damage and then going for the KO). Of course, I probably misunderstood something along the way, because Legs especially is so densely written as to be incomprehensible. Some of your sentences warrant a full paragraph! What a crazy set.

Mismagius ~{HollowKnight}

I feel like I'm partially to blame for Mismagius's stifled reception here; after Gastly, Haunter and Gengar, everybody seems pretty well up to the gills with deception-based ghost-type Pokemon.

And it's a shame, because this moveset - which I wasn't really getting until the playstyle section, to be honest - has an incredibly clever spin on the whole concept: confusing the foe about who is who. I've never seen this done before, and it's because of those ridiculously clever Specials (which at the time seem randomly overcreative) that both scramble the foe's controls in an entirely new way and turn Mismagius into a quite harmless replica of them.

With that as your bedrock, the smoke clouds and your means of manipulating them can be as casual as you please - they're good stuff, mind, but everybody has seen them so often that on their own they're likely to be waved off - and you still have a playstyle that's wholly new, a fresh approach to deceit and subterfuge. And I imagine this moveset would get even more awesome in FFA or teams. What a great start this is, HollowKnight. Welcome to MYM. We'll be glad to have you, methinks.

Maenad ~{Koric}

I haven't read any of your other MYM X sets, Koric! I hate to skip steps of an MYMer's evolution, but those works seem very rough compared to this and I don't think you would really profit from my commenting them. I'll still try to catch up with them eventually.

This is first and foremost a read. That's a dangerous thing to pull in MYM, since many people want clarity and precision and get upset if writer's license gets in the way of their mental interpretation of the character in Brawl. Maenad really does build up an ethereal, distant and haughty tone through its writing - generally, I'd say you balanced it well enough that the set is both understandable and unique. I don't know anything about your character at the outset, but I've got a pretty good idea by its end.

And that's not to say that there aren't some great gameplay ideas here as well! The doom mechanic seems sufficiently BIG to serve as the centerpiece for the entire work, and it's somewhat risky to relegate it to one prong of a (sometimes dreaded) versatile playstyle - but nevertheless, the way you integrate healing, chaingrabbing, and a OHKO countdown is very clever. The rest of the moveset is organic and open-ended, which I often like to see. At the same time, it's a very dense work - densely plotted as well as densely written - and I think it would really reward further reading and analysis.

Aha! Now I remember reading Arle, Yamato, Schezo! This kind of set presentation really works wonders for your readability. Generally this follows right up on your promise from Schezo. Nicely done.

Gigan ~{Zook}

It goes without saying that you go far, far beyond MYM in terms of SWF and Smash Bros in general, so your sets are always kind of tricky to comment; you know exactly what you're doing, you know exactly what MYM tends to look for, and you don't try too hard to reconcile the two.

And so this moveset reminds me of those foggily-remembered pre-Brawl days, feasibly integrateable (not a word, is it?) and made with a keen eye more for what works practically rather than for what is glitzy and flashy and far-fetched to envisage.

Gigan himself is tough to digest right off the bat - I'm a Godzilla fan, and he's just so downsized - but if the moveset proper doesn't provide any easy ins, the excellent playstyle section certainly does. It casually spits in the face (that phrase gets used too often in MYM) of the notion that Sakurai-ish movesets are oblivious to playstyle by design; and, more importantly, the playstyle you put together from such simple moves gets at both bloody carnage and a certain mechanical precision, the best of both worlds when it comes to a cyborg.

Roserade ~{flyinfilipino}

How long has it been, fil? Was Clay your last set or am I forgetting someone? Impressive.

Roserade doesn't so much as hint at what its petals will ultimately be used for - which is very good! - and the end result is pleasantly seamless, befitting, and believable. The poison petals, meanwhile, are the highlight of the moveset, lending Roserade's delicate floral tricks a dark and menacing streak. It's nicely done.

I think you tried to pull off a bit too much versatility for this character; her attacks are only breezily interconnected and many of them would be quite easily dismissed if not for the petals produced. Those petals make it easy to link the moveset together, mind, but it's a bit of a shortcut to flow.

E.E.D. Soldier ~{JOE!}

This seems like a pretty redundant set to comment. It's tightly wound and when I heard it went to the logical extreme of redesigning the stage I didn't quite imagine that that meant literally breaking it up into pieces and drifting hunks of debris that can be used as platforms and weapons. It's bizarre, unique, and very very cool.

This is an OC, right? That seems a bit of a cheap way to tap into this kind of potential, but then again the moveset is a blank slate and it makes sense for the character to be one as well. Project your own face under the helmet and go to town. Nice.

Krillin ~{Junahu}

What is this, the Joe Calzaghe of the DBZ movesets? An integration of one of these characters that doesn't take massive creative license with fighting style and approach to combat? What are you thinking, Junahu?

Like E.E.D. Soldier, this moveset is a bit too exceptional to be commented. You're doing quite a bit of interpretation with Krillin's character, and maybe looking more at the concept of him than at him in himself - or maybe they're the same thing? If he tries to fight honestly and with dignity and nobility he's going to get himself killed. Usually that's as far as it goes in DBZ; but, compassionate moveset-maker that you are, you give him the options necessary to eke out a small temporary victory. You encourage him to - well, maybe not fight dirty - but use that big bald head of his for more than just smashing his foe with (ineffectively, I might add).

Anyway, this makes me want to work on a Yajirobe moveset. Oh man, I better get out of here...

Victini ~{Junahu}

More interesting than what Victini does is what he emphasizes - combat. Well, duh, everybody's concerned with combat, but Victini defines himself and all his attacks in relation (opposition) to his foe, which feels surprisingly unfamiliar in MYM, where we so often are more concerned with our own single-minded playstyles than with what the opponent's doing at any given time. Here we have what looks more like a cookbook than a moveset, and what's on the menu is victory. There's even the dash of spice at the end in the fire attacks!

It's all very smooth and kamikaze and single-minded but flexible and adaptable and overwhelming, and so a very successful moveset for Victini. And apparently he's very powerful as well. Interesting companion piece with Krillin, come to think of it. One will die miserably if he tries to fight straight; the other is incapable of fighting any other way. One brings victory no matter what and the other is defined by his tendancy to lose. Making them literally over and underpowered respectively seems in this light to be done with a bit of a smirk - a tongue-in-cheek hint at what you're really investigating here, different approaches to the prospect of fighting and competition.

DarkMega ~{darth meanie}

I reckon DM won't ever see these comments, but perhaps someone else will find them interesting use them as further proof of my lack of sanity.

But then again, DarkMega has no need for sanity. Central is the fact that he can so suddenly shift from a cool-and-reserved assassin playstyle to a completely delirious, self-destructive, kamikaze approach. At the same time, I'm very intrigued by proactive uses of his own "bugs", like swamp terrain to cut off portions of the stage and make it more difficult for the foe to weave and bob his way to DarkMega, or like erratically sliding in a mobile projectile machine of doom. I've never seen a camper quite like this.

The other dimension, of course, is the temptation of power to the foe. It's very optimistic to suppose that they'll leave the darkchips alone; this moveset is more canny about human psychology than about gaming strategy. Will you defeat DarkMega by being consumed by the same power that claimed him? Or will you hold to your ideals and most likely die? It's really quite poetic, not something I'd expect from such a workmanlike and direct moveset.

Vlad Plasmius ~{darth meanie and MasterWarlord}

Oh, please, Daniel. Must I actually defeat you with one hand behind my back before you realize you're outmatched?

You've changed it now, I see - perhaps realizing that it's not the sort of message you want to showcase in your movesets - but it remains possibly my favourite introductory line. It's all about context. And you know, it sets this moveset up more as a duel than a collaboration, a duel between possibly the two best MYMers of this day and age.

So we've got multiple characters for one controller, as in Krillin, Dirty Bubble & Man Ray, Pucci & Whitesnake. Vlad takes it to a greater extreme than any of them. And here I thought I was so clever with Gengar's "set-and-forget" duplicates and shadow games; why has nobody remarked on THIS massive similarity? There may be more here than between Gengar and Pennywise.

It seems as I'm reading this that there are really two movesets here: Vlad as planned by DM; and Vlad as interpreted by Warlord. Warlord's denser playstyle riffs play off of DM's loose schematics; it's as if you're hanging a net off of the playstyle pedestals DM set up, a safety net of sorts to keep the reader from plunging into the depths of genericism and schizophrenia.

And I love it; I think that this sort of approach is more effective for a joint moveset between two forceful MYMers than the other; I feel that Warlord's trills of creativity cover up the slow spots in DM's approach, while his more excess-driven inclinations are necessarily held back; I find Vlad's use of duplicates incredibly interesting and deep.

Cofagrigas ~{ForwardArrow}

Okay, I'm going on record: I don't believe you're DM. I was quite sure of this before reading this moveset; now there's a shadow of a doubt in my mind. This isn't a style he's used in a very long time. The main similarity between the two of you is competence. But cryptic words and an eerily familiar writing style - slightly veiled, of course, with possibly deliberate typos - will keep me in limbo on this until I see something concrete.

Anyway, this is a more ambitious set than Hoppip and a bit more constraining in terms of options; Cofagrigas works somewhat like a flowchart, starting with making mummies, then mummifying, and then tugging and tossing a foe via a dangling strand of gauze. It's an interesting character, though, and an interesting read - not least because of how menacing and nightmare-like he winds up being. It's that patient element to his character that lends him depth; he doesn't seem to play quite like anybody else, or on anyone's terms but his own. Intriguing... although I think he's a bit abstract for a Pokemon moveset, and it seems like you're deadly averse to leaving attacks without some additional property to them, hidden below the surface.

Galaxy Man ~{Nicholas1024}

I'm going to pretend I've never made a Galaxy Man set while commenting this - otherwise I'll just wind up advertising myself, and I do that often enough.

This set is totally in the vein of Spider-Man - it's very dense, with every attack providing a spin on an essentially centralized concept. It's not as simple and functional as your first set of the contest, but maybe that's quite deliberate; after all, Galaxy Man is supposed to be spacy, hi-tech, complex, while Spider-Man has an almost mythological simplicity. My favourite idea in this set is the grab, which perfectly provides a lynchpin for both your projectiles and the moveset's flow. It's strong stuff.

Garbodor ~{Smash Daddy}

Garbodor is a thick sludge of ideas that is very difficult to sift through and get anything out of at all. But essentially it's about hiding your hurtbox within the grimy sprawl that is your body - which can stretch out and scatter across an entire stage - and very literally force the opponent to sift through trash to find you. Garbodor might explode at any moment, or bite like some sort of rabid urban raccoon, or grab the foe with a discarded arm.

I'd say that these disgusting poison Pokemon are quite well-suited to your claustrophobic writing style and also your thick, syrupy approach to flow.

Wario ~{MasterWarlord}

I appreciate the aggressive approach to traps, but can't help wondering why Wario should rely on traps at all. The coin games are really the most in-character, compelling part of the moveset, and if you'd allowed that - and Wario's greed - to take center stage over pitfalls and his constant use of his three different hats (which I don't like for visual reasons but more importantly because it's OOC), I would have liked this moveset a lot more.

In any case, Wario's a bad match for your style. You are capable of making characters based simply around fighting without many frills, but when you have more to work with you just can't help yourself.

Gallade ~{LegendofLink}

Instant super vote for acknowledging that Up Smashes can be used out of a dash.

I generally think that MYM needs more effective and interesting combo characters - it's a simple and fairly straightforward gameplan, but one that a lot of our playstyles expect to go up against often. If there are no characters that intend to approach, just about all of our assumptions are pointless. Aggressive characters in general, okay, but to give a unique touch to comboing is a rare and admirable thing.

I'm a sucker for rushdown characters, for berserker tactics - and that Gallade only eases into his full-on assault is both fitting and compelling. As with Pucci, I see a lot of comfort with unflashy standards (not to say uninteresting; they serve their purpose and do it as well as could be expected). I'm especially impressed with the two-pronged implementation of Future Sight, as both a means to get the foe moving and a potential combo finisher if a canny Gallade times his hits well.

Dr N. Tropy ~{Smash Daddy}

Huh? What the hell are you talking about? Whatever, man.

...Since that doesn't fly as moveset commentary: "As the platform can also be used by opponents, though, this is best to use strategically." Well, duh! Every move is best to use strategically!

...Okay, for real now. This is a simple set with complex attacks, like pretty much everything you make - and that's very good! Warlord's sets are complex with complex attacks. Junahu's are simple with simple attacks. Mine are complex with simple attacks? Maybe sometimes... but really here you're doing all kinds of crazy shenanigans with quite simple traps and projectiles that are so thickly intertwined that I don't even know. If all the projectiles had been less tied to his mechanic you wouldn't have as many options but you'd communicate more of them to me, that's for sure. Anyway, it's pretty amazing set.

The Flying Dutchman ~{davidreamcatcha}

I know from MYM Survivor - this kid's got talent! If only you didn't waste so much time on those damned extras...

This set feels like a bit much. Ripping the foe's soul out, summoning minions, sending everyone to an alternate dimension in which all of his attacks are stronger, spewing explosive drool, possessions... I mean, talk about ambitious! This is like a dumping ground for excellent ideas which don't not fit together - already you rather dexterously knot together loose strands and slot it all together into a playstyle that is essentially versatile with a focus on forcing the foe into your ideal stage - but that are a little bit of an overwhelming approach to versatility and dip into magic syndrome from time to time.

Frankly, you're too good to be true - a longtime lurker or what, suddenly popping up and becoming uber-active with a ridiculous mastery over aspects of MYM that many veterans have trouble with - but I don't think this is the set to truly announce your arrival. It's too compromising, too diffuse. Next time I trust you to do your own thing without Warlord's interference and make something a little bit more streamlined and, for lack of a better word, elegant. And soon! Like that one dude you're always talking about making a moveset for... Backside? Sackslide? Jukebox Jaw? Yeah, that's the one.

Slowbro ~{MarthTrinity}

Making Slowbro take knockback with a delay really makes him completely unique; I suppose the feel of playing him would be of constantly being a few beats behind the actual flow of battle, especially in free-for-alls, where he'd probably be a beast. I'm a little bit wary of how this encourages him to play - it seems like reflexes and timing would play a big part in most of his clases with the foe - but on the whole, it's an excellent way to implement his slowness without just... you know, giving all of his attacks mass lag. How dull would that be?

The ability to sponge knockback entirely is even more fitting and I can even excuse the kind of fast-and-loose interpretation of the Shellder on his tail when the moveset is so effective at what it does and so densely intertwined.

Teferi ~{LegendofLink}

Boomerang, Time Walk, Recall, Force Spike... I had a friend who used a deck like this as one of his very first, and he got so hooked to the rush of power it gave him that he literally never used anything else. And haha - phasing! What a terrible mechanic.

Teferi is such a calculating moveset, so entirely well-wound and built around predicting the opponent, preparing for the opponent, foiling the opponent's every move. Like clockwork he produces a ridiculous number of projectiles in starts and stops, halting and continuing in a perverse precision-combo state. And I love that he can also create a massive wave that causes all of those old nightmares to spring back to life at once.

Messing with his shield almost feels excessive, but since most sets don't even really acknowledge shielding unless they're trying to destroy it or are my sets shoehorning excess inputs through "shield specials", it's excusable and certainly very interesting. In fact, in general this moveset has quite a few effects I've never seen before.

Mr. Banbollow ~{Smash Daddy}

I have a new pet theory: nobody has actually read this moveset but Warlord, much less read it and understood more than the most rudimentary basics (durrr make cluster in wire... drag around.... bubble, fire, smoke... durrr grabgrame). This theory of mine is backed up by his ridiculously vague comments (most of which go "Wow this is really creative so many options I don't know if I've ever seen this before") and also by the fact that just about everybody but Warlord misspells him as Banballow. I mean, if you actually read the moveset move-by-move, you'd have picked up on how to spell his name, right?

For my part, I watch the boss battle you link - in which he does absolutely nothing but moan like an idiot and stumble around blowing fire out of his vacuum - and then I look at this moveset in which you turn that tiny little hose between him and his canister into a versatile portable trap of doom and I'm a little bit sketched out by your characterization. Much less when I hear that he's supposed to be a ball player. Naturally, like all of your movesets, there is a ridiculous amount of flow and interactions. But after acknowledging that, I'm going to go home with something that's brilliantly characterized as well as creative. Give me your Garbodors and your N. Tropys and keep your Banbollows.

General Grievous ~{n88_2004 and darth meanie}

The sort of poetic simplicity in Grievous's multi-pronged offense is precisely what I like in DM's more recent movesets and just about every n88 minion set. Drawing on clashing in a moveset that centers on overlapping hitboxes is very clever and generally the sense of vicious cruelty - as well as a sort of furious perfectionism - is palpable. I'm big on Grievous and you've done a very good job with him.

Wailord ~{ForwardArrow}

I'm not quite sure I understand all of Wailord's properties - how he takes knockback, for instance - but it seems foolish to quibble with things like that in a challenge moveset like this. It's pretty insane stuff, but all very palatable. I find it especially effective that Wailord is essentially unhappy out of his element, but after getting back into the water he can go into a peaceful, comfortable snooze, content as can be. Gameplay-wise, I like that he can propell himself into the air and therefore use Body Slam at will. This set is fueled by sheer ambition and is therefore quite awesome.

Clare ~{half_silver28}

The... last Silver Strike? Say it ain't so, doc! Seriously, this doesn't mean you're leaving or anything like that, does it?

This is really such a ridiculously Silver set it makes me laugh. Exhaustive in-depth detail... fanatic devotion to an overcomplicated anime female protagonist... versatile playstyle with a wide canopy of options...

It's the sort of thing I've seen from you before and not really liked, which is why it surprises me that this time I rather do. You put it quite ably at the end of the playstyle summary - this is a character with four forms, four strategies, four inclinations, but they're all really the same and seamlessly grafted over one another. This is an ideal offensive character, if you ask me. It skirts the line of both combos and gimping but sprinkles both with a constancy of character and approach and a malleability of pacing that lends them a different flavour than the generic Sakurai fare. I'm pretty taken with this moveset.

Wukong ~{Hyper_Ridley}

Alriiiiiight. Combo attacks from multiple sides, multiple bodies, decoys and fakes and substitutes playing into one another to cover a manic offensive from the actual Wukong. He's practically bleeding duplicates as he ceaselessly pounds his foe, his own momentum unending as he turns the match into a mismatch. What was I saying about poetic simplicity just now? And about ideal offensive characters too?

I can't quiiite tell whether you're digging at me with that playstyle section or not - but I am indeed K.Rool and I do agree that it's ridiculously simplified and sarcastic and I generally think this is bloody amazing stuff.

Twilight Sprinkle ~{davidreamcatcha}

Who wouldn't want to reap Twilight's healing?

Also, you're definitely basically Warlord, except with more willingness to leave moves loosely connected instead of explicitly intertwined, a bit more freshness in terms of favourite ideas (because I haven't seen them about 84 times before), and, well, ponies. Twilight feels almost like a sandbox-type character, toying around with rebounding projectiles and big bouncy bubbles and all kinds of teleportation. I think that this moveset is much more direct and cleanly-defined than Dutchman. It's a bit obtuse that you keep forward-referencing attacks and strategies, but I suppose it adds to the vague feeling of familiarity that bugged me throughout the moveset. Although why you'd go for that or why I'm calling that an excuse is beyond me. I must be losing my mind here.

Rainbow Dash ~{MarthTrinity}

Rainbow Dash is as hyperactive as Twilight Sparkle is spacy. It also feels much more ponyish and embarrassing to me as someone who takes himself far too seriously as I am now forced to read about cutie marks and Super Speed Struts and whatnot.

Burter by way of Subaru, Rainbow Dash is based on this sort of unending aerial movement as well as sporadic bursts of heavy downpour. It's all groovy stuff, especially the momentary super armor that she can pick up on her way to the foe via her USpecial, an absolutely fantastic idea very naturally integrated. One move that did bug me was Poking Fun - ugh random forced effects for the sake of convenience. Still, as I'm never one to be turned off a moveset by a single shoddy attack, I won't overlook Rainbow Dash's quite sophisticated spacing-rushdown gameplay and call her anything less than a success.

And she has a BAir, too! Bonus marks!

Applejack ~{Kholdstare}

I think this is the stupidest-looking pony.

Why is this moveset so down-to-earth, so simple, so po-faced in its playstyle of feed-foe-then-hit-them-often-using-apples? I don't think Khold likes ponies very much. Or at least not unironically, which I thought was the only way anybody ever likes ponies. This is a bit of a spit in the face to Warlord and a throwback to Great Tiger and Dodongo and oh my why is her FAir a generic karate chop. Maybe a little bit much - or rather, a little bit too little?

Pinkie Pie ~{davidreamcatcha}

Okay, this is a kind of vapid moveset. Hiccups=aerial mobility? Move-to-move interactions? A plethora of props? Okay, so we're going up and up with these balloons and scurrying around the stage like some monkey on crack - or maybe a toothless alligator, which actually winds up supplying some of the set's most interesting touches in how you move him around and the role that he fills as a versatile detachable hitbox.

Also, I've now seen some videos, prompted by your link to what Pinkie Pie thinks of PTA, and I've decided that this guy is my favourite character and clearly is much more deserving a moveset.

Fluttershy ~{Junahu}

Seems like a fitting pick for you, Junahu.

And by that I mean, what a sweet moveset. It's about Fluttershy coming into her own as a leader, not a fighter - how cute is that? Fighting is almost incidental to keeping her friends happy and eager to be helpful; they need to be managed, treated nicely, worked with as AI is rarely worked with in MYM. Even when Fluttershy KOs, it's just about accidental. She's not KILLING the foe, or even knocking them out. She's just taking them away from this horrible stuffy angry place so she can keep playing with her animal friends all day long. Friendship really IS magic!

Rarity ~{Kholdstare}

Hahaha, you troll. Why you messing with their pony day? Why you pushing the boundaries of what counts as a moveset? Why does the move that all of her other attacks build to help the foe more often than it hurts them? How long did you take to make this, an hour?

So this is what you really think of ponies. For shame, Khold. For shame. :awesome:

Tetra ~{ProfPeanut}

Tetra is an old, appealing challenge of a character. The problem is that she's really a generic pirate with some spunk and a backstory - and not an especially pronounced inclination for serious one-to-one combat.

Essentially, the tack you've taken sounds about right. She's quick, small, light, relatively weak, and relies on simple bait-and-switch, often literally, to gain a surprising and fast-paced mastery of the stage. I like how the cannon plays into this, as a means of covering your escape or of completing your assault if timed well; I'd make it more explicit, though, clearer in the attacks themselves or the playstyle section how these attacks interlink to make Tetra an interesting combatant. You're quite right when you say that she's down-to-earth, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that, but this is where those comments you've been getting about her being too plain have been coming from. It's easy to mistake her weave-and-bob spacing game for a smattering of disparate, quasi-generic "offense" attacks. Don't give your readers so much credit, in other words. ;)

There's something a bit odd about your writing style that I can't quite place. Bear in mind that many readers (myself foremost among them) don't have a very specific understanding of how Smash works or is balanced and therefore tend to skim over technical details - and this, of course, increases the chances of you losing their interest along the way, and once their interest is gone, they won't be as likely to pay close attention to Tetra's playstyle. In case you haven't picked it up (I have a tendancy to be vague), I'm very pleased with this moveset, both as a first work and in general. Short of the above advice on how to compell your reader and an unspecific suggestion to keep thinking of creative, interesting playstyles, I don't have much to say.

Rocket Raccoon ~{smashbot226}

Okay, this'll be a start. I do feel bad for neglecting your considerable output in this contest, smashbot. I don't suppose repeating that I liked Sauron is going to win me any brownie points? :awesome:

This set is a very fun approach to the wall-of-projectiles and does a good job of playing a character who is necessarily on the offensive as he retreats from the foe and therefore functions best against aggressive characters - a rather rare thing in MYM. There are things that are easy to pick at: that the Rocket and Raccoon parts of the moveset are so distinct that they practically feel schizophrenic; that some of the standards, like the hummingbird, feel almost more like specials than your actual specials; that the detail is rather exhausting and that every attack could really do with being split into two separate paragraphs rather than a single chunk; that summoning a random Groot to briefly attack for you is awfully jarring; but really all of those complaints are unimportant. This moveset shows that you've really got a handle on playstyle and even if you're not tying all the attacks into a tight ball of yarn just yet - not that you should ever do that, because I've had it up to here with that approach - you're definitely making sure all attacks lead to a bottom line, and doing it with a surprising ease and tact considering your last heyday. I look forward to catching up with Zoroark, but it's not quite time for that yet...

Edgar ~{BKupa666}

Edgar seems to be dropping on the deck and flopping like a fish. He must be excited for the new episode of Spongebob Squarepants. No wonder Dave digs this set - they have common interests.

The greatest thing about this set are the facial expressions Edgar is presumably making, whether he's lifting his foot for a telegraphed stomp or shoving with all his might against Fluttershy. Edgar was always a brilliant villain. The butler did it!

No but seriously the greatest thing about this set is how clumsy and improvised the gameplan feels; how light and simplistic you left his standards, with hardly a prop to be found; and how cleverly he keeps up the pretense of being a proper English gentleman butler before the foe is asleep while becoming a scheming sneak once they are. His moveset is constantly based on moving the opponent around, influencing the opponent, even feeding the opponent. It's an ideal set to incarnate a master-servant dynamic. It's really good stuff, bar the silly Spongebob thing.

Jenna ~{SirKibble}

A set from Kibble that ISN'T a warm-up? I swear these things just overwhelm me with nostalgia, memories of some two years past.

The micromanagement of some external source of power that is central to her mechanic and her gameplay is not really in vogue as far as I can tell. To me, it's another blast from the past and something I was quite glad to leave behind - not because it's a bad idea, and not because it doesn't potentially make for some deep playstyles, but because it's a little tiring to read and follow and doesn't often innovate too much. And that's a (somewhat wet-blanket) way of phrasing my experience here: although this set is solid in its field, with simple, functional but never quite boring attacks that easily link into the central concept, it doesn't do much innovation and feels quite like another warm-up. If Thor was you stirring your frosty joints, Jenna seems to be you shaking the snow off. Yes, we're all on the same page now. What's next from you?

Lord Cronal ~{n88_2004}

I really dig your playstyle sections in all their elegance (cough) and directness (cough). And Cronal unfolds in the same deliberate, po-facedly patient way as all of your best sets, not quite revealing his whole hand until the same reason, but in a different way from Junahu's movesets. It's got something to do with the accumulation of unabashedly quasi-generic effects into a cohesive playstyle that is your MYMing trademark. That and image sets.

Regarding Cronal specifically, there are some things I love here - certainly the haughty distance he keeps from his foe, and the way a big empty stretch of stage is not nearly as easy to cross as it seems when there are invisible stormtroopers to contend with, and the way one stormtrooper will likely be standing by Cronal's projection at all time as a bodyguard. Who was it who said there was no space left in the invisibility subgenre? Also, Darksight is very clever and a nice final note to the moveset - an oddity for you, when your sets tend to end with a sort of shrug as you hustle your way through the grabgame and Super Attack (and sometimes even playstyle section).

Two-Face ~{darth meanie}

Yes, minimalism. I still say post-modernism is an accurate term, since you're subverting the traditional guidelines we use to delineate good sets from bad, stomping on old accepted value systems, and essentially turning moveset making into a kind of game with the reader, but let's not quibble...

Two-Face is about as stark as they come; the extreme simplicity of his attacks allows the center stage to be taken up entirely by the poetry of the coin flip. Instead of getting derailed into a convoluted luck-based moveset - a genuine risk in another's hands - he pivots on that very easy 50-50, the simplest of all games, the only thing that's fair. You fuel the chanciness of Two-Face's gameplay on outside risk, not so much on how luck goes in the game as on how lucky the foe feels. This is all very smart stuff, albeit not schizophrenic but very calculated, deliberate, carefully weighed. Generally I like it.

Homura ~{ForwardArrow}

Wait, projectile combo character based around setting up multiple projectile hits from multiple sides while the foe is frozen in space? That's all I needed to know. I'm sold.

Elaborate? What is this elaborate of which you speak? The Idea speaks for itself. The execution is so direct and so unfussed - above all else, it draws attention to The Idea. After that there's obviously more options to delve into, but it's The Idea that you're peddling and The Idea that I'm gushing over.

The comment HollowKnight gave you on this may be over-the-top, but the set is no joke and I wouldn't be half surprised to see it in the top 20. Although I think my favourite is still the rabidly ambitious Wailord

Yorick ~{Hyper_Ridley}

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him well.

I'll do something I don't do very often and directly compare two of your works to one another; both Yorick and Wukong take established MYM archetypes that lend themselves to campy, defensive, "slow" playstyles and turn them into legitimate offensive machines, every move a cog in a massive cuckoo clock of pressure and aggression. Where Wukong sheds doubles like a cat sheds hairs, Yorick swamps the foe with ghouls that peck at them like annoying gnats so that he can pursue his own heavyweight-attack agenda with more flexibility and tact than someone like Ganondorf. I find it to be a delightfully limber moveset, which I suppose is kind of like calling it versatile and adaptable but not quite. What I see I like rather a lot, even the snide implementation of shieldbreaking, which Yorick is going to have more chances to do than most characters as the foe will be shielding at relatively predictable moments to fend off the ghouls' telegraphed attacks.

Hippopotas ~{n88_2004 and wrkngclsshr}

This isn't truly a (HIPPO) of a set. Generally it's a straightforward moveset based on a big mobile trap that Hippopotas sort of tends to, mostly accidentally as he clumsily snorts and shovels sand all over the place. It's also sort of littered with small but seemingly very important details, like that shrugged-off Rest mechanic and that very notable hide-crouch. It's all quite creative and makes for what seems like it should be a rather deep passive-aggressive character who functions best when he's divided from the foe by a massive sand tornado. Then comes the real (HIPPO) of the set, the playstyle section, which is obstinately unhelpful. Oh well what you gonna do.

Drilldozer ~{Plorf}

I'm very fond of Drilldozer's rev-up passive hitbox, which allows him to essentially combo the foe back and forth as long as they're overlapping his (quite outsized) hurtbox. Typically that wouldn't be feasible, but with plenty of stage restriction and some surprising - but appropriately machinelike - mobility options, he does a good job of forcing awkward approaches directly into one of his massive bulky hitboxes. It feels like a very interactive moveset, recalling Sloth while continuously throwing back to our now-proud tradition of stage remodelling and keeping Ganondorf in mind as a gameplay touchstone, to maintain a strong reference point from which to depart in all sorts of interesting ways. As Drilldozer essentially levels the stage as he's continuing his tanklike assault, he's not really a stage control character by any traditional definition.

So there's an appealing and pleasant simplicity to him, and he also struck me as very very readable, which your sets aren't always, necessarily. A very good follow-up to Shotzo and hopefully the start of a strong streak.

Masahiro Sakurai ~{BKupa666}

Laughing crazily in Japanese???

This set feels like a prototype of Edgar in some ways - the state you want to put the foe in so your other attacks are more potent, the sit-on-them down tilt, the mobility option that doubles as KO option if the foe is afflicted, and so on. It's delightfully (somebody get me a thesaurus) eclectic and actually a really interesting playstyle concept.

At the same time I have to wonder to myself whether a moveset for Sakurai ought to have an interesting playstyle concept or really much of anything other than randomness, fun n' games, irreverence, and sheer joie de vivre. Maybe Sundance's Sakurai moveset was ideal in how it was barely a moveset for Sakurai at all, and not at all what one would expect from a serious movesetter embarking on a Sakurai moveset. Sakurai is not, after all, a serious movesetter, and he would hardly give himself a serious moveset.

Robo-Link MK III ~{tirkaro}

I... don't really know how I'm supposed to comment this set. It seems to flow on a move-by-move basis; every attack has internal flow or something. I mean, this isn't even quite the sort of individual move creativity we saw in MYM 4. This is just mindmelting.

So it's a very clever take on what makes movesets good - surely MORE playstyle is better, right? Well, what if every attack in this moveset tied to every other attacks in 8 different ways? I bet you could do it, too. There would be a set Warlord wouldn't ignore, and maybe he'd even praise it. Anyway, fun stuff; essentially a series of event matches that can be toggled at will, and some of these ideas have potential for a more "serious" moveset in a vacuum.


Okay, if your set is one of the following:

1. Sir Weston by BKupa666
2. Charlotte by Katapultar
3. Pierrot by Koric
4. Doppleganger Arle by Koric
5. Commander Shepard by LegendofLink
6. Klobber by BKupa666
7. Concrete Man by Nicholas1024
8. Majora by majora_787
9. OVER by Katapultar
10. Doopliss by majora_787 and getocoolaid
11. Venom by n88_2004
12. Satana by n88_2004
13. Mafia Man by Nicholas1024
14. King Barbovor by MasterWarlord
15. Wakka by half_silver28
16. Aidan of Eander by Chris Lionheart
17. Iron Giant by BlackFox
18. Sonic & Tails by LegendofLink
19. Portal Man by Nicholas1024
20. Ghost Rider by Kholdstare
21. Malzahar by n88_2004
22. Chess Man by LegendofLink
23. Pyro by smashbot226
24. Zoroark by smashbot226
25. Yanmega by LegendofLink
26. Trainer JOE! by JOE!
27. Zigzagoon by Junahu
28. Hostile Elder Oak by MarthTrinity
29. Team Pedestal by phatcat203
30. Caterpie by Nicholas1024
31. Gemini Man by Nicholas1024
32. Ice Man by Haylstorm
33. Oichi by tirkaro
34. Dixie Kong by mentholcase
35. Marina by Gcubedude
36. Mew by mentholcase
37. Gamzee by ForwardArrow
38. Mr. Mime by Smash Daddy
39. Cosmic Spacehead by Smash Daddy
40. Clayface by MasterWarlord

I WILL read, but I won't comment. 40 comments in, what, 4 days? That's just insane. If you want to know what I think, just shoot me a message or corner me in the chat or something like that and I'll give you my take. I'm sorry if you're just dying for a comment, but time constraints and all that. I'll try harder in MYM 11, maybe.

I'll do one final catch-up that'll double as an advertisement, posted not here but in the thread proper. I'll just compile some comments for sets that I REALLY have something to say about. But don't count on that and if you want to hear my opinion you're better off just asking (I don't bite)
 

n88

Smash Lord
Joined
Oct 10, 2008
Messages
1,527

GOOMBA
It's a Goomba. Need I say more?​


STATS
Size|1.5
Weight|2
Ground Speed|7
Traction|3
Jump Height|3
Air Speed|3
Air Control|8
Fall Speed|7



Sad Goomba has bad stats.


SPECIALS

Neutral Special|Rev Up
Goomba suddenly hops upward slightly, then begins to pump his feet back and forth, like he's getting ready to run. When you tap either left or right with the analog, Goomba will dash off in the direction you indicate. He'll receive a speed boost that makes him dash at Captain Falcon's dash speed as well! The speed boost lasts one Battlefield platform for every second you held down the Special button.

Forward Special|On the Alert
Goomba slowly (slightly slower than Ganondorf's walk levels of slow here) walks forward, raising his feet as high as possible as he does so. His eyes dart back and forth as he does this, and if an opponent comes within an 0.6 Battlefield platform radius of him (Goomba is not fooled by false duplicates), Goomba will suddenly spring to attention; during this animation you can cancel into any smash or special attack laglessly.

Up Special|Headbonk
Goomba leaps upward in an arcing motion; at a point one Kirby-width ahead of his starting position and one Mario-height upward, Goomba flips upside down and begins to descend. As he rises, Goomba is a hitbox that deals 3% and flinching; on the way down, Goomba will deal 10% and footstool opponents as he's boosted upward two Ganondorf-heights.

Down Special|Flatten
Goomba grimaces in pain slightly. If he's hit with any (non-Grab) attack just as he does this, he'll take all the damage of the attack, but no knockback, instead being flattened into a wafer-thin form. In this new form, Goomba can still attack, but his hitboxes are obviously much smaller. His hurtbox is smaller to partially make upfor this, though. Goomba can't use Down Special again until he pops back up to his full size, three seconds after being flattened.

To add inury to insult, Goomba's score will drop by 1 after being flattened. This can be the death of him in time matches. Flatten also can't be used against attacks that deal less than 15%.​

STANDARDS

Jab|Shoulder (?) Barge
Goomba charges forward two Kirby-widths with his shoulder. . . er. . . side thrown forward, dealing 8% damage and very, very light forward knockback to all in his path. You can use this to traverse the stage while covered in a hitbox, but it's not quite as fast as just dashing.

Forward Tilt|Lunge
Goomba lurches and leaps forward half a Battlefield platform a Kirby-height off the ground in a (probably misguided) attempt to tackle the opponent and drag them down to the stage. . . he seems to have forgotten that he doesn't have arms. Instead of really tackling them, the end effect is a weak nudge that's too wimpy to be honestly called a headbutt. It deals 7% damage and trips foes. Unfortunately, Goomba is also left in his downed stance after he drops to the ground.

Up Tilt|Hop and Nudge
Goomba leaps upward a full Kirby-height (he's not much of a leaper), thrusting his head straight upward as he does so. This will deal 5% damage and flinching, making it an excellent way of bringing foes closer to the stage. Of course, it only works on foes who are pretty close to the stage to begin with. . .

Down Tilt|Slide Tackle
Goomba throws himself forward, face-planting instantly and sliding along the ground at Bowser's dashspeed. He deals 7.5% and trips foes he bashes into along the way. Normally, he'll travel a full Battlefield platform before skidding to a halt, but you can press the Standard Attack button again for him to pop to his feet.

Dash Attack|Roll Behind Me, Will You?
Goomba suddenly throws himself backwards a Bowser-width, dealing 4% damage and causing opponents to slide away as far as a full Battlefield platform. Goomba lands on his feet (somewhat ungracefully) with a bit of endlag.


GRAB


Grab|RAMpage
Goomba briefly runs in place, then darts forward two Kirby-widths at his normal dash speed. If he hits an opponent, then they take 8% damage and are flipped up on top of Goomba; he'll continue to dash forward, and they'll be carried along for the ride, which lasts until they mash out. Goomba has no pummel, but fortunately for him, the initial grab deals a bit of damage. Goomba can run right off the edge with his foe.

Forward Throw|Goomba Spear
Goomba whips his head slightly forward, causing the opponent to fall off slightly ahead of Goomba. Goomba then buries his head in the opponent, dealing 5% and driving both of them forward, or diagonally downward if Goomba waits until he's run off the stage to use the throw.

Back Throw|Tipsy
Goomba tips over backwards, flipping all the way over so that the foe is beneath him.
On the ground, this simply deals 6% damage, and Goomba backs off slightly as the opponent's left in their downed state. In the air, he goes into helpless state after flipping over, with the oponent still stuck in the grab. They're on bottom, so they'll die first if he falls off the bottom blast zone. If they escape from the grab, Goomba will come out of his helpless state.

Up Throw|Footstool
Goomba drops the foe (dealing 9% on the stage), then footstools off of them. This is pretty useless on the stage, but in the air. . .

Down Throw|Bonk
Goomba drops the foe in front of him and slams his head against theirs, dealing 11% damage and light forward knockback that is sadly among the highest of any of Goomba's attacks.

SMASHES


Forward Smash|Bite
Goomba lurches forward as he unleashes a (semi) powerful bite that deals 6-11% damage and causes Goomba to latch onto the foe. Foes who have a Goomba stuck on them will begin to dash around almost uncontrollably (foes can still direct whether they dash to the left or right, but they will always be dashing, no matter what the opponent does), freaked out by the mushroom-thing that's latched onto them. The only way to get Goomba off is to hit him with an attack that deals more than 15% (he can Flatten in response, although he's not able to use his other attacks while latched on). And when the opponent attacks, they'll still be dashing, but they won't have the luxury of turning around, since they're busy, y'know, attacking; odds are that they'll run right off the stage trying to get Goomba off. Goomba can press Shield to let them go early, with almost no lag.

Up Smash|Goomba Missile
Goomba throws himself in an arc, travelling forward a full Battlefield platform forward, with a maximum height between one Mario height and 1.5 Ganondorf-heights dependent on charge. If he runs into anyone on his flight, then they take 8-10% damage and are dragged along to the end of Goomba's flight. This can be used to either drag foes off-stage (in which case they break free and the attack ends when Goomba returns to the height at which he inititially used the attack) or slam them to the ground and pitfall them.

Down Smash|Topsy (Turvy)
Goomba charges up by sitting in place (hey, there's not mcuh I can do with animations here), then unleashes his attack, flipping upside down and spinning in place, dealing 9-14% and mediocre knockback to anyone he hits. You can use the analog to move Goomba back and forth at Ganondorf's dash speed during the attack's two-second duration. The endlag is mediocre, as Goomba is a bit dizzy when he returns to his feet, but it's still one of Goomba's most useful attacks.

AERIALS


Nope|Doesn't Have 'Em
Goomba has no aerials, sadly. Fortunately for him, he can still use his Standards and Smashes in the air. It should be noted that his various lunging attacks have increased lag when used in the air to prevent him from being able to use them to just fly infinitely, or have a really awesome recovery. What with the fact that he has access to practically his entire moveset in the air, his options really aren't all that restricted.

(Editor's Note: I had a really nifty airgame typed up involving Goomba's parachute, but I ended up chucking it, because using the parachute ruined the point of making a moveset for Goomba in the first place. I've still got more inputs than Zigzagoon, anyway (HIPPO))

FINAL SMASH


GOOMBA GOOMBA GOOMBA GOOMBA GOOMBA
Goomba whistles, and two Paragoombas (Goombas with wings) drop down from the top blast zone and hover high up in the air, covering either side of Goomba. They then pour down veritable waterfalls of Micro-Goombas; these Micro_Goombas will latch onto any non-Goomba fighter they touch, each one dealing 2% per second until Goomba is KO'd. Even if Goomba doesn't last very long, they can still rack up a load of damage, so this (combined with Goomba's efforts, as he's free to move) should keep foes out of your little closed-off zone as five Goombas parachute down into the middle of it, and form a line behind your Goomba. As sooon as the Goombas touch down, the Paragoombas fly off.

These Goombas will form a line behind you, and behave exactly as you do, following in your precise footsteps, with a 0.1 second gap between each Goomba. Goombas have their own damage meters, and have to be KO'd individually. When Goomba or some of his subordinates take knockback, the Goombas will, much like Nana, attempt to return ot their normal location.

With these Goombas to back you up, you can afford to be a little more aggressive. Plot your attacks carefully so that your teammates cover your back.

This Final Smash raises Goomba's score by +5. Hooray!

PLAYSTYLE


Marching Straight At the Enemy's Feet
Goomba doesn't have a particularly complex playstyle. He's not much of a strategist, and typically just runs right at the opponent and bumps into them. He most often kills simply by dragging the foe off-stage and bumping them to their demise. If he goes off-stage, odds are that he's not even going to make it back; it becomes his sole mission to make sure the opponent dies, too. Ideally before Goomba does, if things are coming down to the wire.

One thing Goomba can take advantage of: the Pity Final Smash. As I'm sure you know, fighters who respawn five or more points behind the leader will receive a free Final Smash. If Goomba's really taking a stomping and getting Flattened (remember how that lowers his score a point) often, then he can actually use that nifty Final Smash that actually turns him into a bit of a menace.

That's all you really need to know. Goomba doesn't really do anything too special. Get out there and make Bowser proud! Or at least less embarrassed.
 

Nicholas1024

Smash Lord
Joined
Mar 14, 2009
Messages
1,075
Goomba:
Yeah, you don't need me to tell you that MW will resign from leadership before this thing makes the top 50. In all (brutal) honesty, I don't really see that much attractive about the set. The forwards smash was somewhat interesting, and the whole time match note thing wasn't too bad, but really... that's about it. So rather than spend 3 paragraphs bashing it, I'll just restate the obvious (it's not good) and move on.
 

Agi

Smash Lord
Joined
Jul 27, 2008
Messages
1,120
Location
SE Washington
BBCODE

Goomba was an unexpected treat. Filled with underpowered Sakurai inputs the whole way through, it was like one of those sourballs... you know, the kind where you get to the sweet center after dissolving the bitter outer layers. It's a deconstruction moveset through and through. You stated in the chat that he was designed to be underpowered, and, well, he is. He's the kind of character that you'd play against someone you were trying to teach the basics of Smash: these are the edges, being knocked off makes you die. And yet he's so much more than that.

As fitting to the character as the underpowered theme is, there's an attack or two that feels much more fitting to a more mastermind-esque character. The Side Special, yes, allows you to cancel into a quick Smash, grab, etc. I dislike the implication that Goomba is randomly smart enough to see through the foe's clever disguise of clones; that's giving him far more credit than his feeble mind deserves. The other silly thing is the Down Special. I get that this was in the vein of "underpowered," but direct score manipulation is, once again, more meta than Goomba is capable of. But by the same token, it's by far the most interesting thing about the set.

Oddly enough, it's also something that I failed to notice until I got to the very end of the set... which is where Goomba shines. Revolving around the idea of pity Final Smashes is nontraditional, to say the least, but I think it's pulled off pretty darn well here. Okay, sure, it's incredibly simple for the foe to exploit, and utterly unusable in stock matches, but it's quirky enough to show off as a party trick in a room full of friends. Goomba is the phoenix that rises from the ashes... even if he's never going to rise anywhere near the Top 50. An interesting experimental set from you Nate, and definitely worth, well, a skim.
 

Nicholas1024

Smash Lord
Joined
Mar 14, 2009
Messages
1,075
Gengar:
Best set of the contest.








































What, you want more detail? Fine... In short, this is the best use of duplicates and invisibility I have ever seen. Otherwise generic attacks (the tilts) become absolutely brilliant traps for mind game purposes simply by replacing it with a duplicate and going invisible... wait, that duplicate they attacked was actually the real thing waiting to trap them! No, Gengar had actually been their shadow and had left them for confusion purposes, going back to his duplicate and stopping the opponent! With that level of mind games going on with every attack, the whole set comes together amazingly strongly (even more so than haunter). Plus the entire idea of a Gengar parade with invisible staircases is downright hilarious, especially since it's not only viable, but a really good tactic. So yeah, awesome job here Rool, this one's a super vote of mine for sure.
 

Junahu

Smash Ace
Joined
Nov 15, 2005
Messages
899
Location
Shropshire Slasher
movesets, movesets everywhere

Hey, look. Pokemon!
Ash, there are Pokemon EVERYWHERE. You should really stop getting excited everytime you see another bunch.
?? Something the matter Misty?
Sorry, I've been feeling a little crabby lately. Bleh, I haven't felt this bad since last month.
So, Brock. What on earth are these Pokemon anyway?
Those are Omastar and Kabutops. Strange, those Pokemon were supposed to have been extinct for thousands of years. What are they doing here?
I guess they're not as extinct as you thought. I'm gonna catch em!
Wait Ash! Omastar and Kabutops have never been in contact with humans before. They're violent predators from the prehistoric times. Who knows what they might do to us if we let down our guard.
Yeah right. What're they gonna do, suck out our brains?
Actually, yes.
...
Yeah, let's get outta here

And then they got outta there

So, those were prehistoric Pokemon?
Indeed. They may look primitive, but they're killing machines, especially in water.
How do you know so much about them, if they're extinct Brock?
I just happen to be carrying some of the Pokemon research papers from the Pewter City Museum. They've been looking for a way to revive these lost Pokemon using nothing but their fossils.
I bet they won't be happy when they find out that they never did go extinct.
So, what else do those papers say?
You want to know more about them?
Of course! Tell me all about em!
Ok. Says here that Omastar is a defensive minded predator. He lulls the prey into a false sense of security before striking, and it is almost impossible to deter him from his goal
So he's "slow and steady"?
Very steady. If attacked, Omastar's powerful suction on the ground will keep him from being knocked away. And even if his prey continues to assault him, eventually uprooting him, he can retreat right into his shell and negate taking any damage whatsoever.
That pretty cool. But it doesn't make him sound all that much like a predator to me.
Omastar is mostly a water dwelling predator. He's like a fish out of water when he's... out of water.
Oh! So he's a water Pokemon? What can Omastar do in the water then?
Well, he can... huh. That's odd. These notes don't say anything about Omastar's abilities underwater
...
Hey Brock. What's this part talking about? "Impermeability"?
It means he's solid as a rock and no one can pass by him, doofus.
I don't get it. If he's in my way, couldn't I just walk around him? He didn't look all that big to me.
Hmm, well these notes were incomplete when I took them..
You know, the more I read about him, the more I can see why there aren't many Omastar around nowadays.
Yeah, he's so slow that he can barely chase anything. And if he does get anything, he has to slowly crack open the prey's skull. It just seems like anything can run away from him and come out just fine.
Well, yes. But Omastar doesn't target prey that runs. He wants to corner the bigger prey that fights back. He takes advantage of their aggression to entrap them. It's amazing really.
Hmm, well I guess he doesn't have to worry much about any predators himself, because of his shell. And he can wait as long as it takes for the right prey and situation to come along.
Exactly, Misty.
What's this section say? "Bubble"?
Oh.. ignore that. Those are my own notes, they're pretty stupid.
" This serves as a floating platform, one which varies in effectiveness based on the weight of the person riding it"
Yeah, that is kind of stupid.
Well, it could work if the bubble was underwater, right? Maybe that's what Brock meant?
...
Moving on.

So, what about that other Pokemon, Kabutops?
Kabutops lurks near the shores of lakes and beaches, and snags prey that slip down the steep banks.
That sounds really cool.
... It also says here that he can summon torrential downpours at will...
Are you sure you aren't reading that wrong? Because that sounds like the most random magic ability ever.
Well, what else could it be?
Well, maybe he sprays water onto the banks, to make them that much more slippery.
But summoning rain sounds great!
Yahuh... and who's the water Pokemon master here? I'm saying it's impossible.
...
Well, given the right conditions, it would be possible to induce rain, via certain chemicals and bacteria compounds.
But that'd require moisture in the air to begin with
Which you'd find plenty of above a lake.
.. I guess. But I'm still not happy with the idea of that... thing summoning rain whenever he feels like it. Sounds like so much effort when all you really want it for, is to soak slopes with.
Er, you guys have lost me. What're we talking about?
Kabutops
Right.
So, is lurking around by banks the only thing Kabutops does?
Damned if I know
Well, he can chase prey more or less anywhere. Kabutops evolved just so that he could reach the land dwelling prey.
Oh, so he's a more versatile predator then?
Kind of
I wonder why there aren't more Kabutops around then?
I think Kabutops might have gotten a little greedy
huh?
He evolved just to capture prey that lives on land. But he still wanted the prey that lived in water too.
I see. He could hunt any kind of prey, but he couldn't hunt any particular prey very well.



Meanwhile

I can't believe it James.
I know, Jessie. Shouldn't those twerps be breathing down our necks by now? We did steal Pikachu and all...
Piiiiiiiiii..
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, let's just keep going
...
Ok, JessEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
What're you yelling abooOWOOWWOWOWOWHAT'S that!? It looks positively ghastly!
It IS Gastly!
A-a-alright! Just keep calm. We're Team Rocket! All Pokemon belong to us!
Weezing go! Use TACKLE!
...
He flew right through it!
It's a ghost you idiot!
Weezing return! Victreebel, I choose you!
!!
Ahhhh! "I choose you", not "you chews me"!
*sigh*, you're useless James. It's just a puffball of gas. Arbok! Glare it down!
Huh!? It dissapeared!?
It could be anywhere. I'm scared Jess.
hmmmmm.
What are you plotting..?
I wonder... do you still have that Silph Scope we stole?
Well, yeah. (but I like to call it a Brawl camera)
Then, use it! Track that toxic vapor down so we can finish it!
Right!
...
There it is!
Arbok! Smash that Gastly!
...
H-hey! You put Arbok down this instant!
Oh dear, it seems that, even though we know WHERE Gastly is, we have no way of figuring out WHAT it's doing.
That clever ball of hot air! He's just toying with us! This calls for a tactical retreat!
Righto!
!! J-J-Jess!
It's evolving!
Come on James, don't dawdle! Let's just take Pikachu and run!
 

ForwardArrow

Smash Ace
Joined
Aug 17, 2011
Messages
502
Yanmega
I'm going to spare you the talk about this set being overpowered, considering Warlord already did that in the recap. Yanmega's playstyle is actually pretty unique (I'm willing to believe the similarities to Hoppip are a coincidence, and the set plays out quite differently), and it makes a lot of sense for the character. He intends to pester and pursue the opponent to their demise in the air, while taking brief moments to rest on the ground. The upward or direction based knockback on a lot of his attacks helps him reach his goal of pushing the foe of the top boundary quite nicely.

That is not to say there are not problems with the set. I absolutely hate the Neutral Special. The move completely takes away all player input on how to move the character, and most of the things the move causes could be achieved otherwise without the arbitrary interactions. It's fitting for Yanmega sure, but it ultimately detracted a lot from my enjoyment of the set, making it feel far more flowcharty than it could potentially be. Couple that with balance problems and I'll be quite honest I'm not a huge fan of this set. I do admire the effort and the ideas behind it, so it's not all bad.

Zigzagoon

I quite appreciate the unconventional approach here, with the bizarre but potentially fun sort of play the zig-zagging opens up. A lot of the item stuff is also very true to character, I admit I always had a strange desire to get one of these guys to Level 100 and start collecting TMs and Nuggets. Unfortunately, the charm only lasts so long with the complete lack of imputs this set has. It feels bizarre, too, for such a relatively normal pokemon to play so differently than everyone else. I suppose it was just a funny idea you wanted to show us and I appreciate that. Just don't expect any votes.

Goomba
Unlike Zigzagoon, Goomba actually has all his imputs(save the aerials, but at least I can use my other attacks up there), but still suffers from having a lack of any real flow or balance. That was not what you were aiming for when you made this thing though, so I suppose that's not what I should talk about. You're goal was to create an unconventional(by our standards) set that worked for Goomba and in that you succeeded. I don't really know what to say about experiments like this, I don't intend on voting for them but I appreciate the point they put across.

I may comment Trainer Joe in sometime in the future, but I don't know. 6 movesets is a LOT to slog through.
 

Junahu

Smash Ace
Joined
Nov 15, 2005
Messages
899
Location
Shropshire Slasher
Since I can't very well keep making conversation commentry, you get a full-fat comments now.


Omastar-Kabutops:
Who do I thank for bringing this together? I assume it's Khold, mainly because of his experience with this sort of cooperative moveset making. So, here we have two Pokesets that represent the more dangerous, feral, side of Pokemon. These are Savage pokemon who hunt and kill and feast on flesh. While Omastar does a more commendable job in bringing that aspect across, it's Kabutops who presents the more interesting concepts and ultimately proves to have the more options lurking beneath the surface. Still, both your approaches to Pokemon are quite different, which makes it all the more remarkable that they fit together so well. I have a great deal of respect for 'joint' movesetting done well, and this is likely the best example of that we've ever had (with perhaps the exception of the delightful Sandshrew-Sandslash joint)

rargh!//
Of course, I don't much like Rain Dance being the centerpiece. In fact, I detest it, Kabutops doesn't even learn it outside of TM use, and there's like a billion pokemon who learn it via TM use. Including such obvious candidates as MOLTRES.



Gastly-Haunter-Gengar:

My-my-my. It's going to be hell figuring out just what these sets are trying to say. Or perhaps I'm just over thinking things. Perhaps it's just a masterfully executed exploration of the theme of evolution. After all, you did it before with the Eeveelutions, and you strongly implied a similar event with Caterpie. So maybe that's all, right?

...


nah. Clearly this is a dialogue on the ever growing and mutating ways in which we express our movesets. It seems to start from underdetailed, then sweep right into the complex megaset that many people expect today. But which end is the ultimate "goal", that is the big question.

Ghastly may be the one starved of detail, just like his gassy self is starved of form, but that just leaves more room for the reader to fill with his own impressions.
And Gengar may choke more, with its chaotic spread of tangents and interactions, but it guides the reader into what can be seen as a deeper reward.
Or maybe the middle route? Lacking in factors that scream "pay attention to me", Haunter ultimately plays the balancing game to keep all readers invested.

If we're to play 'personal favourites' then I'd have to say Gastly is the best of the three. Your ability to play to a single focusing mechanic, and make playstyles that win matches via subversion, rather than outright overwhelming the foe. That is where I feel your strength lies.

Still, that is not to say there is no merit to the more chaotic Zant stylings you lend to Gengar. Indeed, the complex pileup of ideas, threaded carefully through one another, provides a balled knot of a playstyle, that doesn't come loose when pulled taut. It's certainly the way to go to bring the fully matured maliciousness of Gengar to the forefront.

And that leaves Haunter, which I am sad to say did not entertain me to the same extent as either of the extremes did. Mostly, this is down to the offputting complexity of controlling your hands. It might just be personal control preference though. I certainly appreciate the feel of what it's trying to accomplish. It's fun to imagine
a dark hand tapping me on the shoulder. I turn and attack, but there's nothing there. And once I run myself ragged with paranoia, that's when you strike.

That said, trying to force an emmotional state into a mechanic was a bit redundant
(fear state points? really? That HAD to be deliberate...) when you could have just kept playing to the actual human player's fears

Haunter's organisation is also by far the best of the three. Though, I adore the graininess of Gastly, and I enjoy how Gengar looks like it was made by someone else entirely (
:woman: because Haunter evolves via trade)

So, yes, thanks for making these sets. I'm sure the MW crew will sing praises of Gengar until the rivers run dry. So I think I'll camp out at the opposite end, with Gastly and (if you do something to alleviate those hand controlling... controls) Haunter.
It's not like there's really any one 'best' set here, as all three represent the different movesetting styles you yourself have used.
 

KingK.Rool

Smash Lord
Joined
Nov 26, 2005
Messages
1,810
9_9 some gentleman

Gengar is a set I know will be polarising. The evolution of Gastly to Gengar is absolutely fantastic, that's for sure – subtlety and ineffectualness that eventually becomes a craving for attention and show-boating. Not only has the design of each set fundamentally evolved, but so has the writing – at first so simplistic, now practically mocking the reader as it wallows in its love of details and seemingly tacky mechanics. Is this really an evolution at all? Of course, you never flat out say this stuff in the set, but it's too apparent to just be serendipitous either. The trio is an absolute delight from top-to-bottom. And in that regard, I would say Gengar is easily the best of the three also, despite just how different he is from the rest. He is almost entirely dissimilar from the other two, but in a very purposeful and functional way, while retaining a high level of insanity and Zant-levels of creepiness.

You start off with the will-o-wisps and the shadow balls. Simple enough shadow mechanics, you think, and I'm immediately given positive flashbacks to Shikamaru. As the set goes on, though, you slowly abandon any previously created rules, dipping lower and lower into very awkward and bizarre inputs. The staircase, the conga line, the liberal interpretations of Gengar's magical powers... This actually fits Gengar pretty well, though and the way you go about using these quite unsmash inputs is very clever in fitting in with Gengar's unique rushdown and trickery shenanigans. You have lots of tools to take advantage of your duplicates as well and this is backed up by Gengar's shadow play, enabling him quick access to the opponent over anything else, giving the set much needed natural flow.

Of course, then you get to the throws, which, more than anything else, completely ignore any of the previously established logic. It's mad design and it's really fun, perhaps being one of the stronger and more compelling statements from you in terms of philosophy, while retaining the qualities of a very good moveset. It's weird, though. As you said yourself, it's graffiti and your enjoyment of the set largely depends on how much you crave to be liberated from many of the tropes which this set is apparently dismantling and does so successfully for the most part. I wouldn't say this is quite the world-changer I thought it may be, but it's one of the few sets that meshes Make Your Move with the kinds of disabler sets you'd see designed for Brawl: designed to confuse, mock and belittle other MYM sets and players, while showing the utmost respect for them purely by its own acknowledgement. A defining Rool set, if nothing else.
PENNYWISE REMIX REMIX

Pretty much everything that was good about Pennywise is here, but considering you’ve barely read any movesets this MYM, let alone the dancing clown, it’s difficult to fault you for it. If we were to compare them, though, I honestly prefer Gengar over Pennywise for his more elaborate methods of distractions with mass multiple set and forget duplicates, and far more importantly the shadow game. The shadow game isn’t blatant invisibility, with you having to make a bridge between you and the foe out of shadow, and it’s all very, very interesting stuff, what with devouring the foe’s shadow and turning it into their hitbox and such. The only real catch to it is it just seems too easy, as just a casual fsmash/dair gives him pretty much all the leeway with shadows he needs. Regardless, the time limits are short enough that Gengar has to keep going at his frantic pace to cause as much chaos as possible to hit the foe unaware with a terrify. Outside Pennywise’s pits, the main other thing he has going for him over Gengar is being able to consistently figure out his location without informing the foe of it, with Gengar having no tells whatsoever. Sure, Gengar can only go invisible for 2 seconds at a time so he generally shouldn’t lose track, sure, but if he’s going into his shadow game at the end things get more complicated. Regardless, it’s a pretty weak complaint considering so few sets have done this –well- (Gastly for one failed horribly at it), but I’d say Pennywise’s game has a bit more method than Gengar’s what with so much of Gengar’s moveset being set and forget distractions, regardless of how interesting they are. Either way, the set definitely gives Pennywise some very legitimate competition.
Gengar
I have to admit, it's been a long time since I've gotten this excited reading a set. The concept of creating complete pandemonium with an underlying plan is just a wonderful idea, and it was executed perfectly here. Gengar's use of shadows, the clones, and more brief invisibility just works so nicely together and really makes the opponent fear in a way I feel no other invisibility set before it has. I would go so far to say it's not only the best set this contest, but one of the best ever.

That doesn't mean it's entirely beyond criticism though. I feel Gengar may actually be so good at covering his tracks that he may become literally impossible to fight properly, making him rather overpowered. The throws also struck me as bit overdone, and you could have done better with a simpler grab game. Mind you, this is just me nitpicking, and I will literally eat my hat if I don't end up super voting this by the end of the contest.
Gengar:
Best set of the contest.

What, you want more detail? Fine... In short, this is the best use of duplicates and invisibility I have ever seen. Otherwise generic attacks (the tilts) become absolutely brilliant traps for mind game purposes simply by replacing it with a duplicate and going invisible... wait, that duplicate they attacked was actually the real thing waiting to trap them! No, Gengar had actually been their shadow and had left them for confusion purposes, going back to his duplicate and stopping the opponent! With that level of mind games going on with every attack, the whole set comes together amazingly strongly (even more so than haunter). Plus the entire idea of a Gengar parade with invisible staircases is downright hilarious, especially since it's not only viable, but a really good tactic. So yeah, awesome job here Rool, this one's a super vote of mine for sure.
Generally appreciate all of these comments, and I'm very glad that Gengar's been enjoyed this much. I suppose it's an easier set to enjoy than Gastly or Haunter, sure.

I think there are probably quite a few balance points I could be called out on, but hell if I know what they are (nor have I given it much thought). As for the similarities to Pennywise, well, maybe I could get a pass considering a loose sketch of my plan for Gengar was laid out well before his posting, as well as the fact that I didn't read it.

[As an aside, I have read it now, on Warlord's urging, and I was very entertained and quite pleased to see that Kupa's moveset is entirely predicated on fear and the foe's psychology where Gengar is more focused (if that word could be applied to him) on deceit and distraction. In other words, although they use similar tools, Pennywise uses them to terrify the foe into sloppiness, while Gengar uses them to obscure his own long-term gameplan. I think there's plenty of room for both and am giving time for Pennywise to digest - it's a very ambitious moveset, after all - before writing up a comment proper]

Gastly-Haunter-Gengar:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]
My-my-my. It's going to be hell figuring out just what these sets are trying to say. Or perhaps I'm just over thinking things. Perhaps it's just a masterfully executed exploration of the theme of evolution. After all, you did it before with the Eeveelutions, and you strongly implied a similar event with Caterpie. So maybe that's all, right?

...


nah. Clearly this is a dialogue on the ever growing and mutating ways in which we express our movesets. It seems to start from underdetailed, then sweep right into the complex megaset that many people expect today. But which end is the ultimate "goal", that is the big question.

Ghastly may be the one starved of detail, just like his gassy self is starved of form, but that just leaves more room for the reader to fill with his own impressions.
And Gengar may choke more, with its chaotic spread of tangents and interactions, but it guides the reader into what can be seen as a deeper reward.
Or maybe the middle route? Lacking in factors that scream "pay attention to me", Haunter ultimately plays the balancing game to keep all readers invested.

If we're to play 'personal favourites' then I'd have to say Gastly is the best of the three. Your ability to play to a single focusing mechanic, and make playstyles that win matches via subversion, rather than outright overwhelming the foe. That is where I feel your strength lies.

Still, that is not to say there is no merit to the more chaotic Zant stylings you lend to Gengar. Indeed, the complex pileup of ideas, threaded carefully through one another, provides a balled knot of a playstyle, that doesn't come loose when pulled taut. It's certainly the way to go to bring the fully matured maliciousness of Gengar to the forefront.

And that leaves Haunter, which I am sad to say did not entertain me to the same extent as either of the extremes did. Mostly, this is down to the offputting complexity of controlling your hands. It might just be personal control preference though. I certainly appreciate the feel of what it's trying to accomplish. It's fun to imagine
a dark hand tapping me on the shoulder. I turn and attack, but there's nothing there. And once I run myself ragged with paranoia, that's when you strike.

That said, trying to force an emmotional state into a mechanic was a bit redundant
(fear state points? really? That HAD to be deliberate...) when you could have just kept playing to the actual human player's fears

Haunter's organisation is also by far the best of the three. Though, I adore the graininess of Gastly, and I enjoy how Gengar looks like it was made by someone else entirely (
:woman: because Haunter evolves via trade)

So, yes, thanks for making these sets. I'm sure the MW crew will sing praises of Gengar until the rivers run dry. So I think I'll camp out at the opposite end, with Gastly and (if you do something to alleviate those hand controlling... controls) Haunter.
It's not like there's really any one 'best' set here, as all three represent the different movesetting styles you yourself have used.
Finally, a Junahu comment! As usual you're barking up the right tree with most of your observations, but I'll give you a few of my thought processes anyway (not everything, of course, because I know how you love open interpretation):

I was trying to go for a couple of things in the progression between the three - overarching statements aside - three different approaches to invisibility, three different reasons for hiding, a gradual emphasizing of malice over mischief and aggression over passivity (although there I've always seen Haunter as easily the most sinister and unpleasant of the three, and the tradeaway evolution to Gengar a bit of a gesture of desperation on the part of the trainer theoretically unable to control it (or the overly competitive Machoke, the truculent Graveler, the smug Kadabra) that smooths over its primary flaws and "perfects" it).

And as you yourself say, they're certainly three styles I've used at various times. In that sense, it's a bit of a summarization of my own progression (or regression, because ironically, the style I use for Gastly - my favourite Pokemon of the three - is the one that most resembles the one I've appropriated since MYM 8, while Haunter is more of a quintessentially Rool set and Gengar is one of those cacophonous projects in the vein of Grunt, Zant and Father Time).
 
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