Make Your Move 5

I'll probably comment more later, but let me just say that Excel looks like a really cool and fun moveset right now...lots of originality in there, and some quoted made me lol. Well done!

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Bowser Jr. is Bowser's eighth child and the Prince of the Koopas. He accompanies his father in his various schemes, including polluting Isle Delfino, kidnapping Peach, and recreating the universe. Jr. sports a kerchief with drawn-on fangs around his neck, and wears his fiery red hair in a ponytail. He is a bold and energetic troublemaker, and tends to be bratty, short-tempered, and spoiled. However, Jr. also has a lonely side that is rarely seen. He hides a lot of power in his small frame, and is also surprisingly skilled, especially when playing sports. His main weapon of choice is his Magic Paintbrush. Jr. also has a fleet of Airships at his command. He'll stop at nothing to attain his 'Mama' Peach, defeat that pesky plumber Mario, and please his father.


Power: 6/10
Jr. has above average power, having more strength than you might expect, but still relying on his trickery enough to keep him from being a highly powerful character.

Walking Speed: 4/10
Jr. doesn't need to hurry in his walk speed. It's called walking for a reason.

Dashing Speed: 6.5/10
Whoa, Jr. is rather speedy for a turtle. He's not breaking any records, but he can book it when he needs to.

Weight: 6.5/10
Jr. is slightly heavier than that bad man Mario, due to the hefty shell on his back.

Range: 6/10
Jr.'s attacks that aren't physical often have effects that boost their range out a decent distance for addition trickery.

Projectile Distance: 7/10
Jr.'s main projectile covers a moderate distance if you use it as ammo, while his other projectiles are usually shorter-ranged, although under certain circumstances, they can follow foes further out.

Size: 5.5/10
Jr. is about Mario's height at the top of his ponytail, and is a bit wider due to his shell. Like Mario and Luigi, Jr. can be infinite chaingrabbed against walls when playing Dedede, so beware this matchup.

Attack Speed: 5.5/10
Jr. has a decent mix of speedier and slower attacks. He needs both for his personal arsenal of weaponry.

Priority: 4/10
This is one of Jr.'s lower points. Several of his attacks just aren't that great at penetrating other moves.

First Jump: 6.5/10
An impressive spring off the ground. Jr.'s an athletic little guy...

Second Jump: 5.5/10
Barely above average, this is not as great as his first jump, but Jr. can still cover some ground here.

Aerial DI: 5/10
Jr. can move around while airborne with decent dexterity. At first, it is easy to move around with Jr. in the air, but it becomes harder the more you do it.

Fall Speed: 3/10
Jr. has a floaty fall speed due to his acrobatic manner on the battlefield.

Recovery: 5/10
Jr. has two options for recovery; his Up Special takes him a great distance, but is easy to edgeguard or break, causing him to go helpless, while his tether requires set-up, but is fairly reliable.

Crouch: 3/10
Not that great, as Jr. doesn't really want to get in an uncomfortable position on the ground.

Traction: 2/10
Pretty bad, as Jr. slides around a lot while running due to his excitement.

Comboability: 6/10
Jr. can string together lots of cool combos with his trickery, but his metagame doesn't rely solely on quick hits and follow-ups.

Wall Jump: Yes

Wall Cling: No

Crawling: No

Gliding: No

Tether Recovery: Yes


Standard Pose:
Jr. holds an overly-serious position, giving his foes a fierce glare, with his bandana pulled over his mouth, while holding his Paintbrush in front of him with both hands, rather than one claw, like he usually does.

Standard Pose #2:
Jr., being the antsy little guy he is, has multiple standard and idle poses. Here, he can't take his serious posture anymore, and pulls his bandana off his face, holding his brush in one hand for a while as he peers curiously around the stage. He alternates standard poses, making him entertaining to watch.

Idle Pose:
Jr. begins hopping around from foot to foot, brush pointing down. He's dying to get going...

Idle Pose #2:
Jr. looks at the screen and taps the Paintbrush's handle end against the ground impatiently. What the hell are you waiting for?!

Walking:
Jr. hops from foot to foot as he wanders forward leisurely, holding his brush at his side. This is similar to his basic walk in Mario Superstar Baseball.

Running:
Jr. stops fooling around and actually runs a bit faster here, pumping his arms while still holding his brush at his side.

Dashing:
Jr. makes a 'Vroom, vroom!' noise as he spreads his arms out to the side, brush and all, like an airplane, moving his little feet faster as he picks up speed.

Jump #1:
Jr. spins around once like a tornado as he lifts off into the air, holding his brush at his side. He certainly is an acrobatic little fellow.

Jump #2:
Jr. tucks into his shell like a ball and does two rapid flips to get up even higher. He seems to take his brush into his shell with him here, as it vanishes until he untucks.

Crouching:
Although he could get down easily, Jr. isn't that battle-smart, and merely sits on the ground, drawing a figure 8 on the ground in front of him with one claw in a bored manner, brush on the ground next to him. This is not awful, but is far from good.

Ledge-Hanging:
Jr. holds on with one hand like his father, holding his brush with the other. He smiles determinedly, showing off the same arm strength his father displays.

Swimming:
Jr. paddles forward quickly with his stubby arms, holding his brush as he does so. His shell and brush slow him down, but he's still a turtle, so he has average swimming abilities.

Forward Roll:
Jr. tucks into his shell, taking his brush with him, and does a rapid triple-somersault forward along the ground.

Backward Roll:
Jr. does a rapid little backflip backwards, holding his brush in one hand. That must take some serious balance!

Spot Dodge:
Jr. tucks into his shell like his father, not in his personal ball format, taking his brush with him, as he leans into the background quickly, before coming out as he leaves the background.

Air Dodge:
Jr. makes an L for loser sign on his forehead as he leans into the background, brush in one hand, to taunt his foes while he evades their attacks.

Shield:
Jr. takes on a ninja-like pose, one hand in front of him, brush in the other behind him, as the standard shield forms.

Tripped:
As he initially trips, Jr. does two little flips close to the ground, spinning before landing flat on his stomach with a cute shocked expression on his face, as though he looks unsure whether to get pissed or cry.

Dizzy:
Jr. dances out dizzily on tiptoes, spinning around slightly in place, brush in one hand (it's a miracle he can still hold it). In spite of his dizziness, Jr. still has a smile on his face. It's fun being dizzy!

Sleeping:
Jr. uses the brush end of his Paintbrush as a pillow, snuggling into it and making contended sleepy noises, occasionally getting a small snot bubble. What a cute pose! How could you possibly hit him out of this?

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Neutral Special - Paintball
When you hold the input, Jr. takes his Magic Paintbrush and waves it around in front of him like a magic wand. As he does so, the end of it gets wet with rainbow-colored graffiti, like from Super Mario Sunshine. This lasts as long as three Pikmin Plucks, and has no initial effect, the goop merely being stored in the brush. He can do this up to six times in a row, the brush turning a brighter rainbow tint each time. If you tap the button after waving the wand once, he'll swing the brush in front of him, releasing a ball of goop the size of a Pokeball. The ball goes about half of Battlefield's distance, and has below average priority. It also has a small stun effect and deals 3%.



Every time Jr. waves the wand, it creates one paintball. So, for however many times he waves the brush, that's how many balls he'll shoot out when he taps the input again. Paintballs travel close together at the speed of Falco's laser, being a speedy, stunning projectile. This is excellent for holding foes and building damage, but it requires a charge time if it is to be truly useful. Jr. can walk around with paintballs stored, leading to many different set-ups. The paintballs are fired quickly, and Jr. has little lag stowing the brush. The balls can't be aimed, though, only being shot horizontally. Foes hit by the paintballs get the rainbow goop splattered all over them, slowing them down for one second per ball, and slightly increasing their tripping rate. This is great if used several times in a row, leading to an easy trap set-up for Jr.

The other use of this move is that, if you hold a direction and the B Button (hold, not tap), Jr. will swing a chain of the paintballs he has that direction, a bit like Sheik's chain. The length varies depending on how many paintballs he has stored, ranging from above average to awful. Jr. can use this to splatter the foes without releasing the paintballs (as after you release the input, the paintballs go back into the brush for future use). He can also spin it in front of him for a moderate defense against projectiles, as, when spun fast enough, the chain has moderate priority. Also, if you hit the paintball right next to Jr., he'll pull you in, holding you in his grab, you being able to throw the victim now. Finally, Jr. can aim the chain up for a tether recovery, it being useful, as it is higher priority and less punishable than his Up Special. You'll probably make use of all of the effects of this Special sooner or later, so learn it well. It can make Jr. go far.

Side Special - Sonic Roar!
This was Bowser Jr.'s Super Ability in Mario Strikers Charged. Here, it is a chargeable Special of his. When you press the input, Jr. leans low to the ground, inhaling air to charge. Upon release, Jr. roars in a high-pitched voice, letting out a cone-shaped sound wave in front of him. The range depends on how long you charge; it varies from half a Stage Builder block, to two Stage Builder blocks, over a period of three seconds. After three seconds, it is automatically released, not being able to be stored. The priority is average no matter what the charge, however.



The effect on foes hit by the sound wave is that they are shrunken, as if hit by a Poison Mushroom. The time shrunken depends on the charge, varying from one second to three and a half seconds. During that time, they not only are much lighter and weaker, but they are slower-moving, in true Strikers style. Jr. releases the wave quickly, and ends with average ending lag, so he'll have to charge for a decent time if he wants to punish the shrunken foe, although his traps could do that usefully here. This is a useful set-up trap, but if it is spammed more than five times in a period of twenty-five seconds, Jr.'s throat will get sore and he'll cough, for above average ending lag. Now, he'll have to wait twenty-five seconds before being able to use the move again. Use sparingly, but don't neglect this!

Down Special - Shadow Mario
Jr. holds out his Paintbrush and spins around very rapidly in place, dealing no damage, but becoming dark and shadowy. He begins spinning so fast with the brush around him that you can't see him for a brief period of time. When he stops spinning, he has turned into Shadow Mario, his fake Mario disguise he used to cause havoc from Super Mario Sunshine. Turning into Shadow Mario takes as long as turning into Sheik, dealing no damage but taking a good deal of time.



Shadow Mario is the same size as normal Mario, and also has similar stats and animations, due to them being exactly the same in Super Mario Sunshine, although he has quite a few new ones as well. Shadow Mario has an entirely different moveset from Mario, as he still holds his brush, being able to wreak havoc with its goopy effects.

One more thing, though, is that Squirtle's water attacks do double damage to Shadow Mario, and F.L.U.D.D. and Water Gun not only push him away, but also deal 5-11%, depending on the charge. Shadow Mario hates water! Don't get sprayed! He can still swim safely, oddly enough. What were the SMS developers smoking?!

As a small nostalgic bonus, Shadow Mario's Theme will play in the background as a BGM whenever you are within two Stage Builder blocks of him, in true Super Mario Sunshine style. If you exceed this range, the normal BGM plays, but when you get close, this fades right back in.

His moveset is shown after Bowser Jr.'s here.

Up Special - Escape Artist
Bowser Jr. holds up his brush, for a red angry-faced balloon to appear attached to the top of the brush. This is the same balloon he used to flee Pinna Park after his identity was revealed. You can see it here, at 5:44 - 5:56, although this balloon is much smaller, being about the size of Bowser. It is definitely not small, but not monster-sized, like in the actual game. The balloon comes out with below average ending lag, Jr. getting a slight bit of downwards momentum before he starts to rise, like Snake's Cypher, but not as extreme.

The balloon stays out for two and a half seconds before vanishing. During this time, Jr. can steer it left to right via Control Stick, as it rises automatically at a moderate rate (Ganondorf's dash, which isn't that bad for a recovery). By pressing up on the Control Stick, you can speed this rate up slightly, but you can't move side to side as you do so. After two and a half seconds, the balloon shrinks into the brush again and Jr. becomes helpless.

Here's where the move becomes different than the other controllable recoveries. First off, the balloon has horrible priority; any attack that does 3% or more will break it, making Jr. helpless. Because the balloon is rather large, this is a big problem. The balloon can also be caught under ledges easily, making it difficult to keep from foes and let Jr. recover properly. You'll want to be highly careful when using this move, as it can be dangerous against edgeguarders. In most cases, you'll want to stick to his Neutral Special Paintball tether if at all possible.

The recovery is not all bad, however. This recovery actually sweetspots the edge, Jr. grabbing it quickly as the balloon vanishes. Also, the more damage Jr. has, the longer he can control the balloon's flight. This can range from 3 seconds with over 50% to 5 and a half seconds with over 200% (although you'll most definitely not want to use it then, as Jr. has no protection against himself while rising, and has no super armor, unlike Snake's Cypher). This can be helpful with lower damages, meaning Jr. can recover better. Foes who touch the spikes on the balloon take 3-4% and a bit of stun. Jr. can hop off the balloon early by pressing the B Button. This recovery takes careful practice to get used to, so don't just pull it out whenever you're offstage.


Basic Combo - Firewall
Jr. starts trying to imitate his father's Fire Breath, but ends up only spewing out a stream of smoke instead. The smoke is about half as thick as Bowser's Fire, but extends out about the same distance, and comes out with about half as much startup lag. Jr.'s smoke travels in a constant up and down pattern, like how you can angle Bowser's Fire up and down, but you can't stop this movement with this. The smoke has surprisingly decent priority, and can be held out as long as you want, although it diminishes at the same rate as Bowser's, so unless you are holding a foe against a wall, you'll want to limit its use.

Ending the stream of smoke has below average ending lag, but it's enough to punish, so be cautious. The stream of smoke deals about 1% per half second, being a moderate rate, but not being exceptional unless your foe is trapped against a wall or in the ground. No knockback is dealt unless you hit Jr.'s mouth while he's breathing, upon which you take 5% and decent knockback. Also, just like in Mario Strikers Charged, Jr. holds up his little claws and calls out, "Grr! Roar!" while breathing smoke. How adorable!

Dash Attack - Slip 'N Slide
Jr. tucks into his shell (with his brush) as he slides forward along the ground, crying out, "Whee!" as he goes. Jr. has decent priority while he's in his shell, and if you jump on him while he's tucked in, you'll take 5% and low vertical knockback, so approach from the side here. Jr. gets in and starts sliding with low startup lag, and coming out has moderate ending lag. Of course, his shell hits at close range, but you can hold down the Dash Attack input to slide for as long as you want.

The damage and knockback of the shell depends on momentum. If you are sliding over wet ground or down a slope, Jr. picks up momentum, dealing around 12% and average knockback to foes. If he is on flat ground, he'll deal about 7% and below average knockback. If he goes up an incline, however, he only trips foes. Jr. keeps a constant speed on flat ground, but turning around slows down his momentum considerably; him needing to travel a longer distance before getting sped up again. Your best use for this is as a way to knock foes into a stronger trap, although sliding through foes can build damage rather efficiently. This slide mimics his attack pattern in New Super Mario Bros.


Forward Tilt - Needle Brush
Jr. holds his Paintbrush vertically in front of him, brush end up, and spins it around. This spin fires off the spike from the circular part of the paintbrush at foes. You can hold this input to continue spinning the brush and firing spikes, at a rate of two per second, the shot spikes growing back from the hole in the brush they left. Each spike has below average priority and travels forward for 1.5 times Bowser's width before vanishing, disappearing if they hit a foe, as well. They travel at the speed of Mario's walk, being a fairly fast projectile, but not an easily spammable one. Each spike comes out quickly, but Jr. has moderate ending lag when stopping his barrage, meaning it can't be abused.

The spikes are small, being about half the size of a Pikmin, but if you keep up the stream against a wall, you can accumulate a good deal of damage on foes. Opponents who hit the hole in the brush as a spike is being shot take 6% and decent knockback. Those who hit the spike during its flight path take 3% per spike and a small bit of set knockback. By just tapping the button, Jr. fires two spikes, it being a quick two-hit combo. However, because of the ease of which this can be punished, it is best to hold out the stream of spikes until the foe is far enough away that they can't retaliate.

Down Tilt - Temper Tantrum
From his crouching position, sitting on the floor, Jr.'s face turns slightly red as he takes a bounding leap at foes (holding his brush), with minimal startup lag. His leap has average priority, similar to that of Diddy's Monkey Flip. Jr. travels at the same speed and height as Diddy as well, but only about 3/4 the distance. If he misses a foe, he'll trip on the ground at maximum range (this is not usually good, but Jr. has a great set-up with his B-Throw and Tripped Attack, so it's great to have a reliable way to trip). If he goes off the edge, he enters a fastfalling state that is hard to recover from, so beware near ledges. However, if you land on a foe...Jr. knocks them to the ground brutally, landing on top of them to hold them there.

Foes who are knocked to the ground by Jr. take 4% and no knockback, being pinned down. The hitbox that counts as Jr. landing on the foe is Jr.'s underside and feet; foes who are hit by his upper body (his whole body is a hitbox here) take 4% and a bit of stun, it being rather punishable if he misses. Foes held to the ground are held down as if in a grab; they can button-mash to escape, but Jr. can damage the foe while they're held down. By mashing the A Button while the foe is pinned, Jr. pounds them relentlessly with his little fists, dealing 1-2% per punch, and being able to punch the foe about four times each second.

Jr. falls off the foe for below average ending lag when the foe escapes, being slightly punishable, as the foe takes no knockback here...unless Jr. accumulates 5% or more from pounding, upon which the foe is knocked back an average distance. Used properly and with care, this is an effective damage builder. If Jr. jumps onto a foe offstage, they both go down to their deaths like Ganondorf's Flame Choke, although Jr. is much less likely to end this 'Jr.cide' in a Sudden Death, due to being on more on top than Ganondorf. Still, you put yourself at risk of only KOing yourself if you try out this suicidal technique, so be prepared for the consequences you may face if you are not successful.

Up Tilt - Wind Duppy
Jr. takes his Paintbrush and swings the brush end around in a circle shape above his head lightly, with a fast startup and little ending lag. However...this brush swing has low priority and mediocre range. It also only deals 2-3% and a small aerial stun. Also, once Jr. spins the brush once, he can't do it again for fifteen more seconds, so it cannot be spammed to juggle moves. What a useless move! This sounds like something Sakurai would do...

But, wait! If a foe is anywhere within two Stage Builder blocks (in the air or ground) of the place where Jr. used the brush swipe, ten seconds later, a Wind Duppy from Sunshine forms out of thin air with a swooshing noise, being the size of a Soccer Ball. It then proceeds to circle the foe who approached it (it chooses the closest foe if multiple foes approach it mindlessly in a FFA), following it wherever it goes. The Duppy circles the foe for three seconds, making windy blowing noises, before dive-bombing the foe, dealing 13-14% and above average vertical knockback. These annoying little buggers made Mario's adventures on the higher areas of Isle Delfino a living hell. It's only fair Jr. would want to carry that scherade into battle to torment opponents as well.



The Duppy has super-high priority, being unable to be negated. The only way to dodge the Duppy is with a perfectly-timed air or spot dodge, like Tabuu's Red Rings of Death. It cannot be shaken off any other way, unless, of course, the foe is KOed by other means during those three seconds. The Duppy vanishes after missing or hitting its targeted foe. This whole process of waiting for the Duppy to appear, then letting it follow and hit a foe, takes about fifteen seconds, after which Jr. can use the move again. During the end of the ten startup seconds, Jr. will want to keep the foe toward the area where he swiped, to ensure a likely hit. Although this isn't the most useful of his Tilts, it can still dish out the damage and knockback, and maybe even a KO or two, if Jr. can lure his foes into the trap.


Forward Smash - Bullet Bill Blast
While charging, Jr. takes out a small remote control in his hand, pressing a few buttons on it. Upon release, he chuckles, as a red cannon, the size of Donkey Kong, appears directly in front of him. The cannon comes out with almost no startup lag, and looks like it does in the below picture, just without Monty Mole inside. The cannon deals no damage or knockback as it comes out, and is disjointed from Jr. The cannon has HP varying on the charge time, ranging from 15 HP to 35 HP at full charge. The cannon lasts until Jr. gets KOed, unless he or a foe destroys it. Yes, Jr. can attack his own cannon. Only one cannon can be out at a time, but Jr. has a new F-Smash after a cannon is already out...



If Jr. uses this F-Smash again after a cannon is out, he simply jumps up a little bit and yells, "Fire!", causing the cannon turret to swell up and fire a Bullet Bill at foes, with an average bit of startup lag. The charge time for this Smash doesn't determine how powerful the shot is; it determines from how far away Jr. can fire a Bullet Bill. By tapping the input, Jr.'s yell covers the area of a single Stage Builder block, him having to be right next to the cannon to order it to fire. However, at maximum range, he can yell from about 4 Stage Builder blocks away to fire the cannon, although firing always has average startup lag. Jr.'s yelling does no damage or knockback, and has quick startup and ending lag. Each cannon can fire three Bullet Bills before vanishing, and you can't call out another cannon until the first one is destroyed. Because of this, Jr. must either be quick in creating and destroying cannons, or place a single cannon in a strategic location for multiple uses. Jr. can move after firing the cannon, being able to try and direct his foes into the ammo's flight path. The ammo can harm Jr. himself, however, so setting up traps to get your foes in harm's way is his best (and craftiest) option.

The Bullet Bills are about the size of Olimar (horizontally, however) and fly forward for three Stage Builder blocks at the speed of Mario's walk, before detonating automatically. If they are hit by any attack, they blow early, so dodging is a much better option than out-prioritizing here, unless you have long-ranged projectiles. The Bullets are fired horizontally from the cannon, a tiny height off the ground, not following foes. These Bullets deal 13-17% and from below average to above average knockback, depending on charge. However, they don't appear 100% of the time...they have a 35 out of 50 chance of being fired here. None of the Bullets that can be fired are really bad options, so it's not really a big deal being random.



Yeah, these Bullet Bills look high, just like the ones in Sunshine...

The second type of ammo that Jr. can fire are Missile Bills. These blighters are purple, with a red nosecone to show off their difference from normal Bullets. Once fired, Missile Bills emit a high-pitched screeching noise, then proceed to follow around the closest opponent. These guys still travel at Mario's walking speed, but have no limit to how far they can travel. Like their black cousins (no hidden racism), Missile Bills explode when attacked, so dodging is the safe option.



If the Missile misses the targeted foe, it vanishes into thin air, not even bothering to blow up. Projectile users can speed ahead of the slow Missile and blast it before it's even a threat, but a simple spot dodge will do the trick of avoidance for any character. If a Missile connects (or a stupid foe destroys it at close range), it deals a respectable 14-19%, dealing more damage due to its rarity. Missiles appear 14 out of 50 times, so you'll see them occasionally, but not too much. If a Missile hits any other object on its way to the target, it blows up early. Missiles make great edgeguards, but they can't be relied on. Although they can be avoided with ease by most characters, they can come in handy luring foes into Jr.'s other traps.

Finally, appearing 1 out of 50 times for this F-Smash, are Golden Bullet Bills. They look just like a normal black Bullet, but, well, they're solid gold. They are also the same size as the above two Bullets, all ammo types being the same size. These make a shiny glittering noise when fired, and travel in the same flight pattern as regular Bullet Bills. They also deal the same amount of damage and knockback. However, these Bullets, as you may have guessed from their coloring, drop 5 Golden Coins when they blow up, which are Soccer Ball-sized. Any character can pick these up to be healed 5% per coin. In Coin Battle (if anyone actually plays that), these Coins are worth 50 dollars (whatever units they are) each. Although this is not offensively different from the regular Bullet Bill, it is great for a bit of a defensive spree. Just make sure Jr. is the one to get the coins, as you don't want to actually help your foes.



Down Smash - Slime Generator
While charging, Jr. points his brush downwards towards the ground, and starts shaking it, as if expected something to drop out of the end. Upon release, a puddle of goop oozes out of the end, with below average startup lag, and forms into a slimy blob on the ground in front of Jr. This is a generator from Sunshine; here it covers the area of one Stage Builder block, and is the height of Mario crouching. The generator has HP instead of priority, having from 10 to 25 HP, depending on the charge. The generator lasts for 15 seconds if it is not destroyed. Foes who touch the blob take 5-8% and a low set knockback. However, this is not the method best used for building damage and scoring KOs...

Now, you may be asking yourself, what does the generator generate? Well, the generator is used for creating Strollin' Stus from the muck. By using Down Smash again once a generator is out, Jr. can cause one of these foes to spawn from the generator with low lag. Also, he can do this from anywhere on the stage, unlike his F-Smash. These Goomba-esque foes are slightly smaller than SSE Goombas, and make waddling noises as they walk about at a pathetically slow speed, worse than Bowser's walk even. However, get within 1.5 Stage Builder blocks of one and it'll charge you with a squeak, running at Toon Link's dashing speed at you. Stus have stupid AI, running off cliffs and into damaging hazards and attacks, but they deal 9-12% per charge and average knockback. They have 15 HP each, but can be defeated easily with one jump on the head, squishing them Goomba-style. They stay out for 10 seconds if they are not defeated.



While ordinarily one Stu is no problem, Jr.'s generator can spew out up to three Stus, one at a time. However, he must charge the Smash more than 25% to be able to call out two, and more than 75% (but only up to 99% or less; 100% charge has its own effect) to be able to call out three. Even with three out, Stus are no trouble to KO on their own, so you'll need to use them as obstacles to herd foes into other attacks, or for a diversion. If a generator is destroyed by a foe (Jr. can attack his own blob as well), it bursts, no matter how many Stus you have left, so get them out early for maximum chaos. Still, slow and steady (and controlled) wins the race...er, fight.

At 100%, Jr.'s generator conjures up a Tramplin' Stu, a removed beta enemy from Sunshine. These monsters come out by themselves, one per 100% charged D-Smash (which has 1.5 times the charge time of normal Smashes), covering two Stage Builder blocks, standing in place, and being 1.5 times Ganondorf's height. Most of this Stu's height comes from his legs, so any character can run in between them, although this is not wise. Tramplin' Stus stay in place, not moving, and have 35 HP each. Jumping on their heads gives foes 10% and average vertical knockback, so don't try it.



The Stu stomps around slowly in place, like Metagross when he comes out, but with a bigger range. Getting hit here gives foes about 19-22% and high knockback, the hitbox being on the legs, so staying back is vital here. Projectile users have an easy defense against this Stu, but they stay out for 20 seconds if not KOed, stomping about once every 1.5 seconds. Foes hit by its body also take the same damage as its legs. Jr. should try to keep foes around this Stu as a prime KO move. Just remember, no competent foe will see a Trampin' Stu in a serious match, so don't worry about them.

Up Smash - Rocket Nozzle
Now, this isn't the F.L.U.D.D. used to send Mario up great heights; Jr. has his own built-in rocket pack in his Paintbrush! A high-tech charging noise occurs as Jr. crouches downwards, peering up excitedly, during the charge of this Smash. Upon release, Jr. cries out, "Yahoo!", as the brush fires a stream of red graffiti downwards, pushing Jr. up into the air. Jr.'s body is the hitbox here, him having above average priority from the momentum of the rocket jump. Depending on the charge, Jr. can fly up to 1.5 times Ganondorf's height to 4 times Ganondorf's height, being a high jump.

Jr. falls after rocketing, having a slightly-increased fall speed, but still being able to attack. Jr. rockets up with little lag, but has slight ending lag as he reaches the apex of his jump, being punishable then. Hitting Jr. deals 10-14% to foes, as well as below average to average vertical knockback. Foes who hit the stream of paint fired downwards to propel up Jr. are spiked downwards with moderate force, taking 8-11% fire damage. Because of the spike, Jr. can use this really close to an edge to spike a foe recovering...from the stage! No matter the charge, the fired graffiti stays on the ground for three seconds, having an increased likelihood of tripping foes who walk over it. This is the simplest of Jr.'s Smashes, and probably the easiest to use consistently.


Neutral Air - Getting His Grind On
Jr. curls into a round shell ball, taking his brush in with him, and begins spinning around rapidly in place, flipping over and over. Jr. curled up is about the size of Kirby. He does seven rapid flips (the move taking a bit less than a half second) before uncurling with low ending lag. Getting into the ball takes a short period of time as well. When Jr. starts spinning, his aerial momentum in any direction is cut in half, meaning he can use this aerial to stay up longer when trying to recover, as long as he has some forward movement.

Jr. in ball form cannot be damaged, but he receives 1.5 times the knockback he would've received normally. If he is hit just after starting his flipping, this is dangerous, as he doesn't leave ball form after being hit, meaning if he is near a boundary, he's pretty much screwed. If Jr. hits foes, he can deal up to seven multiple hits (one for each of the seven flips), each dealing 1-2% each. The first six hits trap foes near the ball, while the last hit deals average knockback. The hits can be DIed out of to knock Jr. away, so Jr. will have to be careful with his usage of this move. He has average landing lag if he hits the ground while flipping. This can deal damage for Jr. consistently out of his aerials, but it can't be overused against good foes. This move's inspiration comes from Jr.'s introduction in Sunshine, seen in the Mecha Bowser video from his Up Special.

Forward Air - Kiddy Roulette



Jr. pulls out an Item Box from Mario Kart (his brush vanishing into his shell while the block is out), it being his personal roulette, and holds it in front of him, it being the size of a normal block in Mushroomy Kingdom. The block spins for half a second in Mario Kart-style, various items spinning around inside the block, before a single item spawns inside the block. When this single item appears, foes who are touching the block are affected by one of four random (it's a roulette, silly, of course it's random) effects caused by said item. The effects coming from the box once the item appears vary, so they are listed below. Jr. holds the block for a split second once the item appears, before stowing it again. This aerial is risky to use at times, and cannot be spammed safely, but it can come in handy in tight situations.

Banana Peel: These are common slippery nuisances from Mario Kart. They appear commonly here, just like in the Kart games. If Jr. gets a peel, foes who hit the block take 4-5% and enter a footstool-jumped effect. The block has low priority here, being just a banana peel. This effect is best for edgeguarding, as the foe can punish Jr.'s ending lag if they merely fall under Jr. onstage. Offstage, it'll be much harder.



Vegetable: The most common form of ammo in Super Mario Bros. 2, where they appeared in a Roulette mini-game. Veggies appear just as often as banana peels, appearing commonly here. When a veggie appears here, they deal 7-8% and average knockback to foes. Their priority is average as well. A cool combo you can try with the roulette is to get a foe offstage with a veggie, then footstool them with a banana peel. You can't rely on the items or spam the aerial, however.



Bowser Shell: Bowser and Bowser Jr.'s own personal item from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! It appears here quite rarely, but is the strongest effect that can come from the roulette. Foes who hit the block when this is the item take 13-14% and high knockback. The priority is quite high as well. This is highly unlikely to appear, but when it does, it can definitely change the flow of the battle at times.



Bob-Omb: This item doesn't appear regularly; the only time it appears is if Jr. spams the move more than 15 times in a period of 10 seconds. If Jr. gets this, it doesn't hit foes, it only damages him, dealing 9-10% and average vertical knockback to Jr. The block also turns into a Fake Item Box when it receives a Bob-Omb. This is incentive enough to not spam this move over a short period of time. Use it in opportune circumstances only!





Back Air - Freeze!
Jr. turns backwards, his eyes glowing a light color (Dark Koopa Magic again!), and he yells the attack name smugly. This move has slight startup lag, and moderate ending lag. A small sparkle of light appears in front of Jr.'s eyes during this time. It appears at a very close range, slightly further out than Luigi's Fire Jump Punch, although this isn't saying much at all. The sparkle has no priority, not being an attack unless the sparkle hits foes at eye level behind Jr.

If a foe is, however, they are turned into a purple platform in a puff of smoke, dealing no knockback, but 5%, and holding them in place. The platform covers the area of one Stage Builder block, but is only half as thick. The foe stays in platform formation for 3 seconds, taking no damage or knockback from any attacks, but being stuck there, and vulnerable to attacks when the foe turns back to normal. Jr. can also jump onto the foe platform while recovering to gain his jumps back. The foe can shake the Control Stick to lessen the time as a platform, however, and if Jr. is on the platform when the foe reforms, he enters a helpless state, being screwed if he's offstage. Offstage is the best use for this, of course, so know what you're doing when you use this, and don't spam it; foes can punish the ending lag. Jr. also has a ton of ending lag if he misses.

Up Air - Koopa Juggler
Jr.'s brush vanishes temporarily, as he spreads his arms and looks up, starting to juggle three green Koopa Shells above him. The shells are the same size they are as an item, and go up about Diddy's height above Jr.'s head. The shells have below average priority, and come out quickly, although there is slightly more ending lag. The shells he juggles deal three multiple hits to foes, one per each shell. The first two hits trap foes, while the last does below average vertical knockback. Each shell deals 3% to foes. Foes can DI out without too much effort, though. This is a nice move for 'juggling' foes, but Jr. is vulnerable from below for the duration of the move, so be careful when you have attackers under you. The landing lag is also nothing to smile at...



As an added bonus (this is not a bonus to groan at either), if Jr. whiffs the attack three times in a row (meaning he doesn't hit a foe with it), the next time he uses the attack, he uses red Koopa Shells, which deal average knockback on the last hit (the first two still trapping foes) and 5% per shell. They are also harder to DI out of, and have slightly higher priority. Jr. doesn't want foes to underestimate him when he's not having the best of luck!

If he misses with these shells, he reverts back to normal green ones; he'll juggle red ones again if he misses with the greens three more times. If he hits with the red ones, however, it takes five misses with the greens (which it turns back to afterwards) for another red. This is better for KOing foes, rather than dealing damage. Jr.'s lag doesn't change, so he still needs to be careful here. Missing intentionally can sometimes be a useful tactic when you want to juggle these. It's your choice, so juggle away!



Down Air - Cosmic Dust
Jr. does a half-moon slash downwards with his Paintbrush, having a bit less range than Marth's D-Air, but the same startup and ending lag. The priority is below average here. If Jr.'s slash connects with an opponent, a cloud of tiny orange particles flow from the brush and surround the foe, who spins, as if footstooled, but stays stationary...unless you move them! That's right, by tilting the Control Stick in a general direction, Jr. can move the foe that way, although he can't do elaborate curves in the flight path or anything, just one direction.

They travel at the 3/4 the speed of Ganondorf's walk, being highly slow. Jr. has control over the foe for three seconds; during this time, the foe can try to hit the dust, which has 10 HP before vanishing and returning the foe to their normal aerial state. Attacks that overlap the character work best (Bowser Up Special, Mario D-Air, etc.), but outside attacks in a FFA work as well. Jr. falls while directing the foe if he's in midair, so never use this offstage, as you cannot cancel this, and Jr. is immobile while moving his foe. He'd just fall to his death while the foe is free to attack the cloud away; if Jr. is KOed while a foe is dusted, the dust vanishes, also. It's highly risky to use in a FFA as well, as both Jr. and the foe can be attacked. Foes enveloped by the dust take 1% from it, but no knockback or anything else...yet!

If the foe still hasn't escaped after three seconds (this is great for using on unsuspecting beginners because of this), the cosmic dust turns the foe into a shooting star. Well, not literally, but it causes them to rocket down in a spike with the power of Ganondorf's D-Air. This seems not that great an effect, but as Ganon's spike can KO foes with even 0% (if you hit them right), it is quite handy here. The foe also takes 11-12% fire damage as they fall. Using this over the stage is not that useful, but Jr. should try to hit the foe onstage, then move them off to spike them. He can also move the foe into another trap of stage hazard as well. Foes can get out of this without too much trouble, but it's still a force to have for an aerial. And it's a small little throwback to Super Mario Galaxy! What fun!


Grab - Bandana Snare
Jr. whips off his toothy bandana and casts it in front of him, trying to capture foes with it, before pulling it back in and putting it on again. He has little startup lag with this move, but the ending lag is quite variable. The grab's priority is regular. From a dash, the startup and ending lag are increased slightly, as Jr. does a shorthop forward while trying to grab his foes. If he grabs the foe, he pulls them in and grabs them by the collar firmly. Otherwise, he just pulls it in and ties it back on.

There is a small twist to this grab; the more Jr. is successful in grabbing a foe, the longer ranged his grab gets, as Jr. ties on another bandana for more range, having two bandanas tied together for a longer grab. However, he has slightly more startup and ending lag with another bandana. He can have up to three bandanas tied together at a time, counting the initial one, each one counting for one Stage Builder block's range, and having about 1/3 a second of startup and ending lag each. If he ever misses or is punished when he has multiple bandanas, Jr. reverts back to just one again. If he is successful at three, he keeps the three bandanas, but one mistake, and he's back to one. Jr. can use this as a tether recovery, no matter how many bandanas he has out. Jr. only has one bandana around his neck, no matter how many bandanas he has out. This is an interesting detail about the move that allows for some trickery in grabbing foes for Jr.

Grab Attack - Kidnapping!
Jr. rapidly hoists the foe over his shoulder (even the heavy ones; he's got a lot of strength for such a little tyke) with a 'Ha ha!'. The grabbed foe takes 3-4% from this, and now, Jr. is able to run around with his carried foe. To start the kidnapping, press the grab attack input; to stop it and enter Jr.'s normal holding pose, press it again. Jr. runs slightly faster than DK's speed when he is carrying someone with his grab (which Jr.'s slightly resembles), but cannot jump like DK. Jr. also doesn't have unique throws when someone is kidnapped; the main point of this move is to be able to move, then throw your foe from a more strategic location.

If he has less damage than the foe, you could also run into a hazard to damage your foe, but this is not recommended, as it hurts Jr. as well, and might KO him as well as your foe. Like DK, Jr. can also run off the stage in a 'Jr.cide', but Jr. is underneath here, meaning he dies first, so only suicide if you have more stocks than your victim. This grab is about as hard to escape from as DK's carrying hold, and Jr. faces a slight bit of ending lag, making him punishable. If you move distances with this, make it short so you can actually throw your foe as well.

Forward Throw - Body Check
This is one of Jr.'s Special Abilities in Mario Superstar Baseball; a sliding tackle used to knock a player off a base so as to keep Jr. from getting out. Here, Jr. does the same sliding tackle into the victim, diving into them on the ground, his large head pointed out in front of him. This throw would be quite useful, but there's a twist to it, just like in the game it came from.

Against smaller characters, this throw is foolproof, being able to be done correctly almost every time, knocking the player into a trip and dealing 10%. However, there is a rather low chance that this throw will register against the heavier characters, them merely shrugging off the blow and taking no damage, while Jr. has above average ending lag. From here, he is punishable, so know the relative weight of your opponent before you attempt this.

Back Throw - Building Block
This is a rather reliable and simple throw at first; Jr. takes a stony toy building block, it having Jr.'s face on it, and being colored red, blue, or green, and drops it down onto his foe, them taking a low 5% but average knockback. The building block is about 3/4 the size of a Stage Builder block, being slightly smaller, but still a nice playful square shape. The block lasts for fifteen seconds, and Jr. can only have one block out at a time, him having to wait until the current block is gone before using this throw again. The block just sits behind Jr. if he leaves it be...

However, the block itself is not what makes this move interesting. You remember how Jr.'s D-Tilt trips him if he misses? And how Jr.'s Tripped Attack uses dark magic to turn foes to stone? Well, how do you think that works in reverse? If Jr. uses his Tripped Attack and hits a block, it turns into an enemy! This transformation takes about half a second, causing one of three enemies to appear. The color of the block determines which enemy appears, but the color of the block itself is random. Setting up this magical trick is difficult, as smart foes will try to keep Jr. away from the block if they know what he can do. However, if Jr. can pull it off, an enemy can help him onstage quite a bit. Each of the three enemies and their effects are listed here below.

Cataquack: These duck-esque pests lurked on the shores of Gelato Beach in Super Mario Sunshine, coming in the colors of red and blue (although only the red ones are evil). Cataquacks are spawned from red building blocks here, being the size of Wario. Cataquacks merely walking around a small area of the stage at a very low speed, making squelching noises, due to their plunger-shaped feet. They do nothing to foes...unless the foe gets within a Stage Builder block's range of it.



If this happens, the Cataquack chases the foe at the speed of Mario's dash. If the Cataquack touches a foe, it does a quick (starting and ending), high priority swing of its beak, launching the foe into the air with extreme force. This deals no damage at all, oddly, but has a high likelihood of KOing foes with higher damage off the top. The Cataquack hits at fairly close range, so stay back and use projectiles to keep it at bay. Speaking of which, the Cataquack has 35 HP that can be lowered to KO it (staying around for 20 seconds before disappearing if it is not KOed). Overall, it is probably the strongest enemy Jr. can summon, but it has absolutely no defense against strong attacks, so you won't have much trouble finishing one off. Jr. should try to lure foes into the path of a Cataquack if he wants them knocked away, as foes will rarely go into its way by choice.

Tap Tap: A spiky ball-shaped character slightly larger than a Soccer Ball. These hail from Yoshi's Island, before Jr. was created, but they spawn from blocks in those games, so it's not too much of a stretch, is it? Tap Taps spawn from green building blocks in Smash, walking around slowly (Mr. Saturn's moving speed), making annoying little clicking noises. These do nothing by touching foes; instead, they are throwing items, being able to be picked up by anyone. Tap Taps are heavy, being held like a Crate or Barrel by characters. They deal 2-4% of knockbackless damage to the holder per second, for as long as they hold it (typically more damage if the foe moves while carrying it). However, if the character throws the Tap Tap and hits a foe, it deals 28-31% and insane knockback to the foe, being easy to score a KO with it, even if your foe has below 50%.



Tap Taps are only really helpful if Jr. is the one to take advantage of it. Tap Taps have no HP, staying out for 25 seconds before vanishing. However, they can be hit by any character (including Jr.; he can attack his other spawned foes as well, so why not here?) to be launched in that direction with the amount of force the attack held, the Tap Tap rolling with a sad look on its face. Rolling it or throwing it off the edge is the only way to dispose of it prematurely. Taps Taps need to be brought into Jr.'s possession before he can take advantage of them, but they are definitely not a hindrance to receive. Just don't let your foes grab it first!

Blooper: Yeah, these Bloopers don't look much like the normal Mario ones; these ones are bulkier and stupider-looking. Here, they are about the size of Diddy, and spawn from blue building blocks. These sit in place onstage, not moving around, but turning left to right to face in the direction of the nearest foe. Every second, the Blooper spits out a blob of ink the size of a Deku Nut, dealing 10%, but only a slight stun. If a foe touches the Blooper itself, they take 6-7% and moderate knockback, the Blooper making an odd squelching noise.



The Blooper has 20 HP (staying out 15 seconds before disappearing if not KOed), but can be jumped on from above to KO it in one squish, like a Goomba. Jr. should try to keep foes near the Blooper and throw foes into its ink or body for damage. Definitely not the best enemy, but still useful if you know how to control foes while it's out.

Down Throw - Piggyback!
Jr. does a pound-esque hop onto the victim's back, riding them like a horse (or 'gween donkey'). This deals 6% to the foe, but no knockback. Instead, Jr. can control the foe at a slow speed, half their normal dashing speed. During this period, the foe takes 1% per second, and can be moved into traps or off the stage (another Jr.cide), or use one jump, having half the height of the character's normal first jump.

Jr. can press A during his ride to hop off early, dealing no damage, and not causing either character to lag, but while he's on, the foe can shake him off with the Control Stick, Jr. being as hard to escape from as a normal grab. He lags for an average amount of time if he is knocked off. Because of this, try to deal some damage with this move, but keep it reasonable and get off before you get hurt. This move came from Yoshi's Island, where Baby Bowser wanted to ride Yoshi (Baby Bowser and Jr. are not the same characters to those idiots who still think that).

Up Throw - Shell Shocked
Jr. tucks himself and his brush into his shell, then hops up above his foe. He hangs in midair like this for a tiny amount of time, then crashes down on his foe in his shell, dealing 7-9% and barely below average knockback. There is nothing special about this throw really, except that his slam makes a small shockwave on either side of him. This wave extends about 3/4 the distance of the stars in the Super Dedede Jump, dealing 2-3% and a slight stun, just there for effect. This is Jr.'s deke in Mario Strikers Charged, used to clear opponents away from him before shooting the ball.


Downed Attack - Brush Shuttle
Jr. snaps his fingers as he's lying on the ground, for the head 'brush' area of his Paintbrush to fire out from the shaft area, flying around Jr. twice in a circle rapidly, before reattaching itself to the brush shaft. This area of the brush has rather low priority, not taking much to negate it. It comes out and reattaches itself with little lag, although while its flying, Jr. can be punished. The head is about the size of a Purple Pikmin, dealing two hits of 4% and low knockback.

Also, foes who are hit closer to Jr. get pink-colored paint spilled on them. This paint sticks for five seconds and increases the foe's chances of tripping a good deal. If you are somehow unfortunate enough to be knocked to the ground twice in a period of five seconds, the paint can even overlap with another layer for extra tripping trouble. However, this is not too worrisome, as any competent foe won't approach Jr. this close when he's fallen; a projectile is the best option under these circumstances.

Flipped Attack - Cookie Time!
This attack is more defensive than offensive. Jr. does a light 360 degrees spin with his Paintbrush to knock foes away, then takes out two cookies (one in each hand) shaped like Yoshi's head and begins to chow down greedily. The spin has rather low priority, coming out and ending quickly, but having rather close range, Jr. not taking too much time to strengthen it up when there are cookies to be eaten. It deals below average knockback and 4-5%. After the spin, Jr. immediately starts munching the cookies. Each cookie heals 3% and takes a second to eat, meaning the eating lasts two seconds max.

After eating the first cookie, Jr. can press the A Button to cancel eating the second. This is helpful if you just want to heal a little without being punished. Generally, unless you knock nearby foes off a ledge with the spin, then eat both cookies, as they'll be recovering while you're chowing down, and you'll more than likely finish both cookies by the time the foe returns. Jr. has almost no lag getting to his feet after eating. A nice little damage-healer for Jr. and one of his interesting defensive options.

Tripped Attack - Black Koopa Magic
If you ever see Bowser's articles on Wikipedia or the Super Mario Wiki, you hear about how he had evil Koopa magic in the original Super Mario Bros., turning Toads into stone and stuff. But...he never uses it now?! Why not?! Well, at least he had the sense to pass some of it on to Jr., who uses it here. Holding his Paintbrush at his side, Jr. snaps his fingers, causing a tiny sparkle of purple to appear in front and behind him. The sparkles are puny (like the size of the ones that appear during spiking moves), and are at a range infinitesimally further out than that of Jigglypuff's Rest. The sparkles last for a split second, having no startup lag, but Jr. being unable to get up until they vanish, him having moderate ending lag. The sparkles have infinite priority, being unable to be attacked or deal damage or knockback themselves.

What's the use of the move, then? If a foe touches a sparkle, they are turned to a gray stone version of themselves in place where they were hit. The stone character looks exactly like the character when they touched the sparkle, meaning if, say Mario, was using his F-Smash when he got hit (attacks don't cut through the sparkle unless they hit Jr. as well), he'll be frozen with his hands outstretched, tiny stone particles between them. This makes for some interesting poses in your own little statue garden.

Turning back from stone can be done by mashing the A Button, it taking about 1.5 times the length of escape from DK's Headbutt, due to being even closer ranged. After he gets up, Jr. can attack the stony foe (as the sparkle deals no damage) for decent damage, but it won't knock them back at all, the foe being weighed down in place (although it slightly lessens their time as a statue). This is great for racking up damage on stupid foes, but only said stupid foes will fall for it at all due to its extremely close range. Also, it has a separate use when used on a block spawned by Jr.'s B-Throw. Jr. can also intentionally trip my missing with his D-Tilt, so he can set this up whenever he wants, although it doesn't make it any easier to land. Looks like Jr.'s learning from Bowser's mistakes in what moves he uses!

Ledge Attack - Leapfrog!
Jr. kicks the air, struggling to climb onto the ledge for a half second, then hops up a small distance into the air, onto the stage. The bottom of his feet (the hitbox) have below average priority. Foes who barely nick his feet take low knockback and 3-4%. If no foe is beneath Jr. as he jumps up, he lands with below average ending lag. However, if a foe is beneath him as he lands, he does his little laugh and jumps off their head, pushing the foe under him and off the ledge as he does so. The victim here flies back horizontally with barely below average knockback and about 2%, while Jr. flies up, as if he footstooled the foe. This is great for clearing distance between Jr. and aggressive foes, but said foe can spot dodge as Jr. is jumping, then punish him when he lands, preventing it from being 100% flawless. Still, it's a helpful ledge attack to have around.

Ledge Attack (Over 100%) - Whirling Dervish
Jr. tucks into his shell as he ascends onto the ledge (with average startup lag, as is typical for ledge attacks with over 100%), taking his brush in with him, and begins spinning in place near the ledge at hyper speed. He spins over an area of slightly less than one Stage Builder block, having average priority due to his shell. He spins for about half a second before popping out again with little ending lag. Foes who hit Jr. are spun off in a random direction, which means it won't always hit them off the stage or forward, but possibly at a more punishable angle. Still, it has a small vacuum effect on either side of Jr.'s shell, making it easier to land, and an actually useful high damage ledge attack, unlike that of most characters. Getting hit gives characters 6-7% and below average knockback, in whatever direction.



Final Smash - Airship Armada



Bowser Jr. strikes a badass pose, becoming unattackable, and states ominously, "You just don't give up! Fine, then. I guess I'll just whup you myself!" He then proceeds to hop off the top of the screen, and come down in...a green Landmaster? No way! He comes down in his own personal Airship (standing on the Airship deck, in the background where he can't be hit), which is about the size of a Landmaster, but has a moveset all its own. Jr. is no half-***ed clone, now is he? The Airship can run into foes, or crush them, for around 15-17%, but the bulk of the Final Smash comes from its effects.

The Airship flies with the same commands as the Landmaster, but is a bit lighter and faster in the air, and cannot KO foes off the top by lifting them, although foes can walk on the Airship deck. This is not at all advisable, however, as Jr. can call upon certain hazards to hit his opponents, on the ship or out on the stage. They are each triggered by different button inputs. This Final Smash lasts for about as long as Giga Bowser before the Airship is pulled away in a warping black hole, and Jr. hops off as the hole and ship vanish. This is a decent Final Smash if you know how to control it properly.

Neutral Special - Rocky Wrenches



Remember these guys from Super Mario Bros. 3's Airships? Well, Jr.'s taken control of them now, so meet a blast from your past! Upon this input, two Rocky Wrench (moles wearing Black Koopa shells) pop out from on top of the ship, their lower half staying below deck, and begin hurling out a volley of wrenches onto the stage below. The wrenches are thrown in packs, being the same size and shape as the hammers from Hammer Bro. Assist Trophies. However, the range of the wrench volleys are a fair bit longer than that of the Hammer Bros., dealing around 6-7% per each wrench, as well as low knockback. As the wrenches come in droves of above five or six, this is a great damage-builder. The Rocky Wrenches pop back under after three seconds of throwing, being able to be summoned as many times as you want.

Side Special - Bullet Bill Barrage



Jr. claps his hands together twice rapidly, for the three cannons on the side of the ship to launch out three Bullet Bills. These Bullet Bills are normal, unlike the high ones in Sunshine, and function like a Missile Bill from Jr.'s F-Smash, fully charged, honing in on the nearest foe and dealing 18-19% and high knockback (higher than the F-Smash). Each can be destroyed with projectiles, but direct hits also hurt the attacker. It takes about three seconds to fire all three Bullets, one per second, so you can use this attack about four or five times during this Final Smash. It is great for KOing preoccupied foes.

Down Special - Koopa Cannon
Jr. presses a remote control button, for a hatch to open on the bottom of the Airship, creating a field of suction extending down infinitely and being the length of a Stage Builder block. It stays out for five seconds, pulling any foes it touches into the hatch on the ship. Jr. can move while the suction is out, making it vital to learn how to dodge this. After five seconds, one of the cannons from Galaxy appear on deck, firing all captured foes upwards, dealing 10% and insane vertical knockback, likely being a Star KO. Try to get under an obstacle, or where the Airship can't reach, while the beam is out. Because of its delay, Jr. can use this about two or three times per Final Smash. Jr. can perform other attacks during suction, so be extremely cautious.

Up Special - Bob-Omb Battlefield
Jr. simply chuckles, then presses another remote control button, for the bottom of the Airship to start dropping Sudden Death Bob-Omb items onto the stage (these kind cannot be caught, only dodged). These deal 15-16% and high knockback each, falling in packs like in Sudden Death, just not as deadly as they are there. This field of explosions affects the area below the Airship only, and if you have suction out, the suction pulls in a good deal of Bob-Ombs (only dropping ones from the ship's ends), so you'll have to try to cover your foes during this to hit them. This move can KO and build damage if you know how to steer the ship properly. Bob-Ombs drop for four seconds at a time, so you'll be able to do this about three times per Final Smash, maximum.

Basic Combo - Comet Breath
Jr. yells, "Boom!", for the Bowser headpiece at the front of the Airship to fire a ball of fire at foes. These have the same properties as the fireballs from Yoshi's Final Smash. However, the ones here are toned down a bit, due to Jr. having other options to put the hurt on his foes, only dealing 15% and average knockback here. The fireballs are fairly spammable, but only hit foes at the front of the ship, so use this when your foes are in front, and no other time, unless you want to look like a clueless fool.

Taunt - Apprentice's Laughter
Any time during this Final Smash, Jr. can press a taunt button for a Final Smash taunt. Here, he presses a remote control button, causing fire engine-esque alarms to go off on the Airship, while Jr. tries deep evil laughter. He does fairly well, or at least the best he can do with his higher voice, for a few seconds, before his voice squeaks and he stops with a stupid grin.


So you've decided to pick up Bowser Jr., have you? Well, you're in for a heck of a match. Jr. has a vast array of tricks up his sleeve, but all foes have ways to take them down. Because of this, you'll need to catch onto his tricky ways if you want a fighting chance. Prior to each match, you'll want to read the way your opponent's character fights best, then set up traps to battle them accordingly. To balance his weaknesses, Jr. has traps to counter all foes to some extent, placing him up fairly high on the tier list, although not at the very top. He definitely has the highest learning curve in the game, higher than even Olimar, but if you take the long road to learning his moves, you'll be able to take him a long way.

Before you get too serious with Jr. play, you'll want to take a few matches to learn what each of his moves does, or spawns in many cases, to be able to find opening to use them in serious play. I mean, spamming the more obvious Sonic Roar and Slip 'N Slide can only get you so far, and by that, I mean not far at all. Some attacks need thorough examination of their effects, such as the types of Bullet Bills, the spawning of a Tramplin' Stu through a fully charged D-Smash, or, perhaps most of all, the dark magic transformations from Tripped Attack to B-Throw. Learn these from a few friendly matches, so you'll have at least an idea of what to do when that competitive gamer friend/neighbor/cousin comes over.

Now that you are more aware of what Jr. can do, it's time to put his scheming to work. Jr. has a lot of trap moves he can set up, but that's just the thing. You have to set them up for them to work. At the beginning of each match, you'll want to try and keep your distance from your opponent, while using some longer-ranged damage-builders to keep them at bay. Jr. can't set up any attacks with a foe in his face, so use a charged-up Paintball, or maybe F-Tilt or Firewall to give yourself some breathing room. Now that you have some time on your hands, and hopefully some damage built up, it's time to get to business.

Before setting up anything, be sure to realize that Jr. absolutely cannot spam most moves, because, although they all do their job, a foe can easily predict the effects of a trap attack after even just a few uses, and the move suddenly loses all its usefulness, often rendering Jr. punishable in the process. Jr. has enough of these moves to not have to overuse just one or two attacks, so don't fall into this hole, as it's hard to get out once you're in the habit. Anyways, a good example of a trap move that needs the element of surprise is a Wind Duppy, from his U-Tilt. You'll have a harder time avoiding it at first, but a simple timed spot-dodge is really not that hard after a few tries, is it not? Jr. can't just sit back and let his foes wander into his tricks, though. He'll have to try to keep his foe busy so they'll have a significantly harder time knowing when to dodge. Good moves to annoy foes in times like these include Temper Tantrum, pretty much any aerial, or a grab.

As you may have gathered from reading the above paragraph, enemies are Jr.'s primary form of trapping his foes. You may also see that, while the enemies can be cool, they seem useless without interference on Jr.'s part. This is much of Jr.'s game; knowing what traps to set at what time, then making sure they follow through yourself. D-Smash sets up Strollin' Stus, which are highly weak and predictable alone, but pretty darn good if you can turn your foe to stone first with a missed D-Tilt to Tripped Attack combo. Jr.'s Bullet Bill Blaster is a nice KO move, but you have to be in range to fire the cannon. You also want to keep foes busy so the Bullets can hit them. The enemies from Jr.'s B-Throw are the same; useful, but only if you can manipulate your foe during their duration. This takes some getting used to, but, remember, like Kevin Garnett, anything is possible!
Another, albeit not as major, part of Jr.'s playstyle is his ability to control his foes to some extent. With his D-Air, Jr. can move his foe around for a limited period of time to get them away (which he needs to set up his traps), or move them into a trap without hesitation. This is a major aerial for him; although he is vulnerable during it, this obstacle can be moved around, and this aerial can be used to send opponents on a nice little trip. With his grab attack, Jr. can move his foes to a more opportune location to be hit by another move, or to move them away from another move, so as to keep his hard set-up work from being destroyed. His D-Throw can do this to some extent, as well, but not as great. Several other moves are helpful in this category as well, and it meshes in with keeping his foes out of his face, which hinders Jr. a great deal.

Jr. in the air is a matter of skill and patience. Besides his B-Air, none of Jr.'s aerials can really be used for trickery. He doesn't excel in the air as clearly as he does on the ground, either, being merely average due to no traps. This is another circumstance where knowledge about moves will make or break you as a player. For example, unless you know about his F-Air, you may just spam it and be damaged as a consequence. Or you may try D-Air when offstage, and, as a result, self-destruct. Learn the small little details of these moves to take advantage of them in times of need, although Jr. should fight mainly from the ground, if at all possible.

Jr.'s recovery if he gets knocked offstage is mediocre. He'll need to charge his Neutral Special for his tether recovery to work. Even though his Up Special takes him a long way, and longer if he's more damaged, it's highly punishable and not that maneuverable. Not a good combination. You'll probably want to try excluding Paintball from your damage-building move lineup when you know you may need to recover, seeing as you can't use it as a tether and projectile at the same time. A good tactic if you must use this move for this purpose is to spawn some enemies (the best option is through D-Smash) and use them to shield Jr. from blows himself. This may seem aggravating to learn, but it can keep him around longer than you may think, and who knows? Maybe your attacker will even get hit in the process!

All in all, Jr. is enough to make casual players go and rant about Brawl being too hard. He has a lot of moves that need set-up and observation of detail to work properly on the field of battle. There's definitely no F-Smash spamming here. Statistically, Jr. seems average, but give him one or two serious plays, and you'll find that he is anything but. Jr. has enough moves that you can create your own style of play, but only to a certain point; traps and slick moves are Jr.'s specialty. If you can appreciate this and dedicate your Saturday morning Brawling to mastering Jr., you may just be able to teach your foes a lesson with the Prince of Koopas. If not, you'll probably just lose a few matches and pick up a new character. No matter what, though, Jr. will always make Brawling a colorful, wild, crazy new experience every match he's in.


As stated earlier, Jr. has methods to beat the material for nearly every character, if used or set up correctly, but the opposite is true as well. All opponents have some options to take down Jr. before he can cause much trouble, as long as they know what they are doing. They can't just spam projectiles or F-Smashes to beat Jr. No way, it takes more intricacy to come out on top. After all, Jr. has a style to learn to win, so he's bound to have a style to learn to defeat him...

One of Jr.'s biggest downfalls is his start-up period. No, not start-up lag; the start-up period of time he needs to set up his major moves for damage or knockback. Because of this, if an opponent stays in his face consistently, you'll cut almost every single option of his in half, crippling him severely. He has ways to try and push you back, via controlling you or freezing you, then knocking you away or dashing to safety. However, a few higher priority attacks is all it takes to keep Jr. down on his knees at your mercy. After this, staying consistent is the harder part. You'll want to get in his face and stay in his face to win the match. Stay close and damage Jr. with grabs to keep him near you. Fast characters, those with multi-hit damage-builders, or projectile-users have the easiest time here.

After this, you'll be able to push Jr. around easily with a Tilt or a quick Smash. However, if he's already got his traps out, you'll have more work cut out for you. Because of this, approach him early to prevent giving him any set-up time, but if you can't get to him first, you still have offensive options. Jr.'s traps can be seen as such, but unless Jr. can get you into them, they are easy to beat. Each of them either have priority that can be beaten with a strong attack, or HP that can be drained to dispatch the structure or foe in your path. If you are facing a Jr. who is trying to manipulate you into his hazards, stay away from him, or get at a range where only one is a threat. This takes a bit of time to learn, but it is doable, and when you learn it, it makes match-ups against Jr. quite heated.

Jr.'s other weapon against you is controlling you. With his D-Air, as well as his Grab Attack and D-Throw, he can try to move you into his other hazards, as well as build damage. These moves can be foreseen, however, allowing you to dodge and punish. Even if you are hit, the damage is nothing to sneeze at. Characters can shake off the effects of these moves rather easily; D-Air dust can be hit off like Pikmin, while grab-related moves can be broken out of, and Jr. punished from them. If you've learned getting up close to Jr., you may be up against this more than Jr.'s main tricks, so be sure to learn this in addition to the above material.

In conclusion, Jr.'s crazy antics are carried over when you face him. If you show him who's boss by closing the gap between you, you'll have a much easier time. But, if you're timid, and allow him to have some leeway, you'll find yourself facing a much tougher opponent. Shutting Jr. down early is the best option; just make sure you continue what you start. Many match-ups against Jr. are quite up-in-the-air, meaning the better player will almost always win. Make yourself that better player with smart offense. Don't lose to a simple prankster!



Up Taunt - Childish Laughter
Jr. does a simple backflip, brush in hand, then points a finger from his free hand into the sky, brush hand at the ground. As he enters this pose, he laughs his signature, "Hee hee hee!", holding the pose for a split second before reentering his normal pose.

Side Taunt - Breakdancing Badass
Jr. jumps up (brush vanishing) and lands on his shell, on his back. From here, he begins spinning around rapidly, as if breakdancing, then strikes a relaxed pose, saying, "Ha ha!", hand on head, almost like Dedede's crouch. He holds this for a brief period of time before hopping back up. This was his home entrance pose in Strikers.

Down Taunt - Discouragement
Jr. puts his hands on his hips and shakes his head, saying exasperatedly, "You pest! Don't you ever give up?" This can break the concentration of your opponents, especially with Jr.'s high-pitched voice.

Victory Pose #1 - Silly Celebration
Jr. jumps up and down several times excitedly, then leans down a bit and swings his head around three times in a circular shape. Of course, this makes him dizzy, so he stumbles around for a split second, saying, "Woah!", before getting a happy grin on his face. He just won! So he jumps up again and proclaims, "Ha ha!", standing in a jumpy happy pose until you leave the results screen.

Victory Pose #2 - Driving Off Into the Sunset
Jr. is seen in his personal Kart from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, the Bullet Blaster. Jr. drives the Kart around in a circle onstage, honking the tiny horn, making a beeping noise, while he yells out, "Yay! I won! I WON!", before driving offstage in a cloud of smoke.



Victory Pose #3 - Disgruntled Servant
Jr. is seen on a tiny spiky throne, similar to that of his father, bawling in gibberish for something. Suddenly, Kamek appears in a wave of magic with a tray of Yoshi Cookies. Jr. grabs the plate and begins scarfing down the cookies, while Kamek looks hopefully at the tray. Jr. scarfs the cookies down for a few seconds, after which he notices Kamek's hopeful expression and gets pissed. He proceeds to jump off his throne and do three rapid Ground Pounds on Kamek to flatten him, then kicks his flattened body offstage, before chuckling to himself and making a 'peace' sign.



Victory Pose with Bowser - Father-Son Bonding
Bowser and his son are seen side by side onstage, both chuckling evilly. Bowser goes first and does his standard dark and deep laugh, then looks expectantly at Jr. His son proceeds to try to imitate the laugh, but ends up choking on his own laugh, his voice being too high. Bowser facepalms, but when he sees his son start tearing up, Bowser hastily offers his hand for a high-five, which Jr. is quick to give him, cheering up. The two Koopas strike a pose afterwards, holding it until you leave the results screen.

Victory Pose against Bowser - Rough-Housing
Jr. is seen crawling all over Bowser, who is lying on the floor on his side in a tired pose. Jr. climbs happily all over his dad, proclaiming, "I made my papa proud!" Bowser tries to look excited, but has a slightly irritated look on his face, drumming his fingers. This playtime has gone too far! Time to teach him a few lessons. There'll be no living with him after this!

Victory Pose against Mario - Flummoxed Plumber
Jr. is seen running circles around Mario, who sits dizzily, stars spinning comically above his head. Jr. looks excited, declaring, "I whupped you, just like papa said!", while Mario just sits there, either too confused or too much of a good sport to do much else.

Victory Pose against Peach - Princess Prize
Jr. is seen in a miniature hot-tub filled with green slime, like the end of Sunshine (but smaller here), while Peach sits in a deck chair on the side, tiredly. Jr. calls out, "Come on in, Mama Peach! The water's great!", for Peach to respond, "Umm...I think not".

Victory Theme - Flagpole Fanfare
Bowser Jr. uses the standard Mario victory theme, the classic level cleared music from Super Mario Bros. It fits his father, so why not him as well?

Loss Pose - Disgruntled Brat
Jr. isn't really the type to applaud those who defeated him. Instead, he sits on the ground, head in hands, shaking angrily. If you listen closely, above the victory music and noises, you can hear him saying, "This game stinks! It stinks...IT STINKS!"

Loss Pose against Bowser - Family Pride
Unlike other for characters, Jr. actually claps for his father, whom he idolizes. Jr. is so excited here that he does constant backflips, clapping all the while and calling out (quietly, victory noises and music playing above it), "Hooray for Papa!"




Kirby gains Jr.'s red ponytail and stubby horns, as well as red eyebrows and Paintbrush. He can also now use Paintball for his Neutral Special, which helps out Kirby's longer-ranged game, considering he charges it enough.

• Normal
• Red skin and shell, yellow hair
• Teal skin and shell, light green hair
• Dark green skin and shell, dark red hair
• Yellow skin and shell, aqua hair
• Gray skin and shell, orange hair

-Press Select-

Snake: Colonel, this little guy reminds me of that overgrown turtle.
Colonel: You aren't wrong, Snake. Bowser Jr. is the son of the mighty Koopa King, Bowser.
Snake: Really? I never would've known, especially with the Jr. part...
Colonel: Anyways, Jr. shares many of his father's traits, including surprising strength and bad attitude. In addition, he looks like he's brought his Magic Paintbrush. When he draws with it, all his wishes come true.
Snake: Looks like I'll have to give him a little lesson on how combat is done. This isn't an artist's studio.
Colonel: Just don't underestimate him, Snake. He may be little, but that definitely doesn't mean he's not a threat.

-End Transmission-


Icon - Classic Power-Up
Of course, Bowser Jr. uses the Mario series Super Mushroom as his icon.



Wiimote Sound - Pesky Prince
Jr. laughs his high-pitched 'Hee hee hee!' laugh, to try intimidating his opponents.

Crowd Chant - Child Support
A crowd of male voices chant, "Jun-ior! Jun-ior!", like in Strikers Charged. Occasionally, a few female voices will go 'Aww!' in the midst of this, them surprised at how cute he is.

Unlocked By:

• Clear Classic Mode with Bowser on Hard.
• Play 120 Brawls.
• Get Bowser Jr. to join your team in the Subspace Emissary.

Unlock Message:
The bratty Prince of the Koopas can finally fight that Mario again! Bowser Jr. brings his artistic tricks to the Brawl!

***​

Shadow Mario is an evil doppelganger of Mario, and the main villain of Super Mario Sunshine. In reality, he is Bowser Jr., shrouded in, well, shadow, courtesy of his new Magic Paintbrush, which was given to him by its creator, Professor E. Gadd (who was under the impression that it was Mario himself). His appearance is exactly the same as Mario's, except that Shadow Mario has a watery build, red glowing eyes (only at times, though), and a big, long, red tongue. The Piantas of Isle Delfino saw Shadow Mario vandalizing their island with goopy graffiti and toxic enemies, believing it was regular Mario, and immediately tasking him of cleaning the whole island during his vacation there. In every region of the pristine island, Shadow Mario wreaked havoc, vandalizing landmarks and harming the citizens. Mario had to chase him to clear his scourge from each area. Occasionally, Shadow Mario would also steal important items that needed to be recovered, included Peach, whom he kidnapped halfway through the game, although not before revealing his true identity. After he fled to his hideout in Corona Mountain, Bowser and Jr. (revealed) were defeated in their hot-tub and the island was saved. However, even the beating he took didn't stop Shadow Mario from participating in Mario Golf alongside Jr...


Power: 5.5/10
Like Mario, Shadow Mario has above average power, although Shadow's power is slightly less powerful due to him not doing as many physical attacks himself.

Walking Speed: 3.5/10
A fairly slow walk, like Mario's stroll in Sunshine. They are the same in stature, after all.

Dashing Speed: 7/10
Shadow Mario is quite a speedster, but is not anywhere near the fastest character. Mario is a lot faster in Sunshine than in Brawl...

Weight: 5/10
Surprise! This is lighter than you may think, so be careful as Shadow Mario.

Range: 6.5/10
Shadow Mario has a tiny bit more range than Jr., due to him using his Paintbrush for almost all attacks, rather than just a moderate amount like Jr.

Projectile Distance: 0/10
Although several attacks are completely separated from Shadow Mario, they aren't true projectiles, just spawned enemies with a wide variety of possible ranges.

Size: 6/10
Shadow Mario is exactly the same height and width as Mario; although holding his brush makes him look wider, it doesn't change his size at all. Like Mario, Luigi, and Jr., Shadow Mario can be infinite chaingrabbed against walls when playing Dedede, so beware this matchup.

Attack Speed: 5.5/10
Shadow Mario has a fair mix of faster and slower attacks; it's up to you to decide which moves in his vast arsenal are best for your personal use.

Priority: 4/10
Shadow Mario doesn't exactly have the best priority ever...this is definitely a lower point in his all-around stats.

First Jump: 4/10
A rather small little hop for the clone of a renowned jumper...Shadow Mario must be holding back here.

Second Jump: 7/10
This kinda stands out among his all-around other stats; Shadow Mario is like Toon Link in that he has a mediocre first jump and a great second one.

Aerial DI: 5.5/10
This statistic is exactly the same as Mario.

Fall Speed: 6/10
Shadow Mario has an average fall speed, not being too floaty or heavy.

Recovery: 0 - 10/10
It all depends on whether Shadow Mario has his recovery set up or not.

Crouch: 4.5/10
This is a barely below average stat; Shadow Mario can't dodge too much with this pose, but it's not a horrible crouch.

Traction: 1.5/10
Even worse than Jr.'s; Shadow Mario slides around almost as much as Luigi, and trips at a rate that would cause even the calmest of players to throw their controller at the screen with a scream of 'SAKURAAAI!'. This stat sticks out like a sore thumb among his decent other stats.

Comboability: 5.5/10
Shadow Mario's traps can take time to set up, but once you've mastered this large curve, you won't have much trouble here.

Wall Jump: Yes

Wall Cling: No

Crawling: No

Gliding: No

Tether Recovery: No


Standard Pose:
Shadow Mario turns his head side to side slowly in smooth motions, like a criminal on the run, brush held at his side. This is his idle pose in Sunshine during the chase levels.

Idle Pose:
Shadow Mario perks up and looks forward suddenly with a jump, as if he heard something surprising. He resumes his standard pose soon after this.

Walking:
Shadow Mario swings his Paintbrush at his side, walking slowly forward in a leisurely stroll.

Running:
Pumping his brush and arms, Shadow Mario moves his legs into a small little jog, picking up the pace.

Dashing:
Pumping the brush and his arms madly, Shadow Mario enters an all out sprint for the finish. You're not gonna catch him now...at least, that's what he thinks.

Jump #1:
Shadow Mario raises a fist and does a small hop off the ground, making the classic coin sound from Super Mario Bros, while a few small Blue Coins from Sunshine come out of his hand, like Mario's Super Jump Punch. This goes up a tiny bit higher than that move's pitiful range, however, and deals no damage or knockback at all. It's all just a fancy bluff of Shadow Mario's! What a jerk...

Jump #2:
Shadow Mario does a sideways spinning flip to gain a great deal more distance, Paintbrush held nimbly during his acrobatics.

Crouching:
Shadow Mario crouches to the ground, brush held in one hand, the other on the ground in front of him, like an Olympic sprinter at the start of a race.

Ledge-Hanging:
Shadow Mario holds his brush up to the ledge, hanging onto the shaft with both hands, using the sticky paint on the end of the brush to attach himself to the ledge.

Swimming:
Shadow Mario does a surprisingly decent breaststroke forward, Paintbrush in one hand. How does this water not hurt him, but F.L.U.D.D. does?!

Forward Roll:
Shadow Mario turns into a kind of purple cloud (think like the Player Two space jumps in the SSE) and moves forward a fair distance before reforming.

Backward Roll:
Shadow Mario does three rapid backwards somersaults on the ground, Paintbrush magically vanishing and reappearing in his hands when he gets up an impressive distance back.

Spot Dodge:
Shadow Mario does a nimble backflip into the background, landing on one hand while dodging, brush held in his other hand, before reversing the flip back into the foreground.

Air Dodge:
Shadow Mario bursts into a shadowy cloud, with his brush, looking exactly the same in the air, just taking on an unhittable dark shape before clearing up into himself again.

Shield:
Shadow Mario holds his brush out in front of him like the Ice Climbers' hammers, causing a rainbow-colored shield to appear around him. This functions just like a normal shield, just with a cool rainbow tint.

Tripped:
Shadow Mario slips and lands on his arse, Paintbrush falling to the ground alongside him.

Dizzy:
Shadow Mario puts one hand to his forehead and drops his brush, spinning around comically.

Sleeping:
Shadow Mario relaxes his hands behind his head, lying down on his back and entering a silent sleep. His brush lays idly at his side until he wakes up, upon which he snatches it up and bounds to his feet.

***​

Neutral Special - Shadow Ball
No, this isn't a Mewtwo-clone move. Shadow Mario quickly turns into a blue ball, a bit like Sonic, but this is fully controllable, and is slightly smaller to boot. He does this when escaping Mario in Delfino Plaza, after unsuccessfully stealing Peach. You can aim his ball form in any direction for five seconds, him staying in that form unless you press B again to turn to normal Shadow Mario, with low ending lag. In ball form, he has average priority and moves at the speed of Sonic's dash, meaning it's fast, but dodgeable. Foes hit take 8-9%, but merely trip, as his goal here is a hit-and-run. Shadow Mario can use this to quickly build damage, and can move up and down in the air, as well as side to side on the ground, but he has low traction either way. Be careful near edges; he'll go helpless if you fall off! Shadow Mario can use this to recover, but it is not that useful, as you must be high up before you initiate it, as he falls while rolling in mid-flight. This is an interesting attack to tie together trap combos to foes with low to moderate damage.

Side Special - Piranha Gatekeeper



Shadow Mario paints a small goop puddle (one Stage Builder block) on the ground rapidly, making a Piranha Plant in front of him, although this particular variety is covered in goop. This move can only be performed on the ground. The Piranha Plant is quite thin, but is the height of Ganondorf, making it somewhat large. Foes who hit the goop take 1% and no knockback per second, while if you touch the Piranha, you get buried in the Goop as it takes a bite at you, having close range, but great priority. The bite is quick, and deals average knockback and 12-13%. Because of this, you'll want to keep your distance, especially considering the bite is quick enough that even foes with 0% can't button mash out in time to save themselves.

This provides an excellent barrier for Shadow Mario, although he can only have one out at a time. The Piranha Plant has infinite HP and stays out infinitely if you let it. How the hell do you kill it then? Well, every three seconds you stand out of its range (one Stage Builder block), it will open its mouth for a second, hungry for flesh. Now is your chance; hit it quickly in its open mouth with any attack to kill it. This is easy with projectiles, and even those without can manage with longer ranged moves. Finish it off early so you can pursue the perpetrator more efficiently.

Down Special - Bowser Jr.
Shadow Mario's form becomes even more liquidy and watery, and molds into the form of a shadowy Bowser Jr., still holding his brush. Shadowy Jr. swipes his brush in front of himself (not dealing damage) for the shadow to fade and reveal normal Bowser Jr. You can now play as him again. This takes as long as switching between Zelda and Sheik. You can turn into either character in the air, unlike Pokemon Trainer. Like existing transformations, Bowser Jr. and Shadow Mario share damage, not losing any when they switch.

Up Special - Rainbow Portal
With a quick swipe of his brush over his head, Shadow Mario paints a rainbow 'M' graffiti portal, it being the size of Donkey Kong and floating where he swiped. The rainbow goop inside the 'M' simply swirls dully after he creates it, having 15 HP before it vanishes. It has low priority, dealing 3% and a small stun on contact. If it's not destroyed by attacks, the 'M' stays out for 30 seconds before vanishing on its own. This does nothing at first, so why is it useful at all?



Well, if Shadow Mario paints another 'M' after the first one, both 'M's emit a faint shine, while Shadow Mario is moleculized into small blue particles and pulled into the 'M' he just made (he simply falls after making one alone). After a second, the blue particles come out of the first 'M' created and reform into Shadow Mario, after which both 'M's vanish. This can serve as the best recovery in the game, hands down, if set up correctly. However, one 'M' by itself does nothing for recovery, so be sure to set it up so foes won't be able to break the portal before you can recover. Fortunately, the 'M's have invincibility frames while you're teleporting. Be careful how you use this; it can make or break Shadow Mario!


Basic Combo - Orange Juice Generator
Shadow Mario taps the handle end of the brush into the ground, causing a small Orange Juice Generator to squiggle along the ground in front of him. Orange Juice Generators were used in Super Mario Sunshine to block Mario from entering pipes and getting items. Here, the generator is the length of 3/4 a Stage Builder block, and travels the distance of one block at the speed of Kirby's dash. The generator has below average priority and comes out quickly, with Shadow Mario having low ending lag.



Foes who hit the generator take 3% and low vertical knockback. Foes hit also cause the generator that hit them to burst (it bursting at maximum range automatically, although not releasing juice unless it hits a foe), spreading orange juice the area of 1/2 a Stage Builder block around where the foe was, having a 50% chance of tripping foes who walk over it. Shadow Mario can keep tapping the A Button to keep out a stream of generators. He can only have out three at a time, however, so send out a few, then wait till they burst before releasing more. This can be nice for making the stage slippery or building damage on foes against the wall, but it's not 100% great, and it's barely off the ground, so foes that jump quickly can easily avoid and punish.

Dash Attack - Trail of Tears
Shadow Mario holds his brush down as he runs, while the tip glows red, creating a trail of fiery red Lava Goop on the ground behind him, like he did when you chased him in Pianta Village. You can hold the A Button down to create the trail as long as you want, but Shadow Mario's likelihood of tripping will rise drastically if you use it to the point of spamminess. The trail comes out quickly, and lasts for three seconds for each Stage Builder block area it is over, unless a foe sprays it away with water, upon which it vanishes instantly, like in Sunshine. The priority is average on the goop, although most attacks are too high to hit it. The goop deals 4% fire damage and below average vertical knockback to foes it hits. It can be nice to slip up foes on your trail, or cause confusion in a FFA, but is not really reliable to knock foes around with.


Forward Tilt - Swoopin' Stu



Shadow Mario waves his brush in front of him, causing a Swoopin' Stu to form and slowly begin oozing forward. These little buggers come out of goop in Super Mario Sunshine and distract Mario. Here, they are the size of Olimar's helmet, and move forward at the speed of Ganondorf's walk. They have 5 HP, being very light and popping upon being KOed. They pop by themselves after five seconds of moving, making them very weak enemies. Foes who touch them while moving take 2-3% and a small stun.

If foes get within a Stage Builder block of the Stu without touching it, however, it makes a gurgling noise and hops onto the foe with below average startup lag, dealing 6-7% and below average knockback. One Stu is very hard to get hit with unless Shadow Mario uses other traps while releasing it, which is hard, as he has moderate ending lag. However, he can have up to three Stus out at a time for further chaos. Foes with disjointed attacks, long-ranged attacks, or projectiles should have no problems with Stus, although they can be annoying. If a Stu jumps off an edge onto a nearby foe, the foe is spiked with below average power.

Down Tilt- Manta Storm



The Manta silhouette shown above is one of the bosses at Sirena Beach in Sunshine. To defeat it, you must spray it, causing it to divide into smaller Mantas. Shadow Mario puts one of those smaller Mantas to use here. He points his brush down, causing a small one, 3/4 the length of a Stage Builder block and flat as paper, to materialize at his feet and move forward at the speed of Ganondorf's dash. Any attack that touches the Manta will cause it to turn pink and vanish, it having no priority or HP. However, like Shadow Mario's dash attack, the Manta leaves behind a trail of electric goop. This goop only lasts one second per Stage Builder block area of it, and deals 2% per second to foes who walk over it, doing no knockback. Foes who hit the Manta itself take 7% and low knockback. Finish off the Manta early to prevent too much hassle here. Shadow Mario should sent out a Manta and a Swoopin' Stu at the same time for double trouble, if he can, as he has moderate ending lag here. One Manta can be out at a time.

Up Tilt - Rising Oil Prices
Shadow Mario aims his brush above his head, causing a thin stream of Black Oil Goop to shoot out of the brush tip above his head. The stream is quite thin, covering about 1/4 of a Stage Builder block, and traveling up about Mario's height into the air. It comes out quickly at first, stays out for a brief period, then comes back into the brush quickly. At first, this makes it seem quite helpful. Initially, the spray has below average priority, dealing 4-5% and low vertical knockback. Not that great for damage or knockback, but quite usable for juggling, right?

Well, here's where the move gets interesting. If you use it more than three times in a period of a minute, the Goop will rise up to Marth's height, having average priority and dealing 6-7% and average vertical knockback. However, here it would come out with below average startup and ending lag. If you use it three more times like this in the course of a minute, the oil goes up to Samus' height, having above average priority and dealing 8-9% and average vertical knockback. Now, it has moderate startup and ending lag. And finally, if you use it three more times, it rises up to Ganondorf's height, dealing 10-12% and high vertical knockback, with great priority. However, in this state, it has a lot of startup and ending lag, taking away all of its viable use. Silly rising oil prices!

However, if you refrain from using it more than three times per minute, it will stay on the level it is at, not getting stronger and slower. Your best strategy should be to use it until it is balanced between speed and power, and keep it at that level. After each minute passes, the oil stream shrinks back down a level, keeping it safe to reuse after refraining for a while. Also, if Shadow Mario is KOed, this little system resets from the start, you not having to wait after dying to speed the move up. Nifty!


Forward Smash - Vandal's Slash
This is a fairly simple Smash, not being too difficult to use. Shadow Mario holds his brush back like a baseball bat while charging, then slashes the brush end forward like Zero Suit Samus' F-Smash. However, Shadow Mario has several differences to make it actually useful. He has about the same startup and ending lag as ZSS' F-Smash, but due to his vast arsenal of paint, Shadow Mario has three different types of goop that can appear on the brush to damage foes, and thus three different effects on foes. The range and speed stay the same for each effect, however, the range being slightly less than ZSS' F-Smash. Each type of goop is listed below. The goop types appear randomly, similarly to Peach's F-Smash.

The first type is simply pink and orange goop, which deals one hit to foes, nothing special. The priority here ranges from average to above average with the charge. This type of Goop deals below average to average knockback. The twist with this move is that this variety of paint sticks on the foes hit by this Smash, slowing them down slightly while hindering their jumps a bit. This effect can last from two to five seconds, depending on the charge. Foes should be ready to dodge if they fall victim to this, just to stay safe from any additional traps Shadow Mario may set up.

The second type of Goop is electric, like the type Mantas produce. The priority here ranges from low to below average, this variety not being very strong. Electric goop deals multiple light hits to foes, having the chance to do up to twelve if foes are close enough. As always, the last hit does the knockback, while the former hits trap the foes. Here, the last hit's knockback can be low to below average. The light hits here deal 1-2%, while the last hit deals 3-5%. While it is difficult to DI out of, it is slightly punishable, and is not the best kind of Goop to receive.

The final type of graffiti is Lava Goop, like from Shadow Mario's dash attack. This type has average to above average priority, being the stronger type of Goop. The knockback here ranges from average to barely above average, not changing much due to Shadow Mario not being that powerful. The damage here ranges from 9-15%, being one solid hit. This serves as Shadow Mario's prime KO move; although the other effects can function as this as well, Lava Goop does it better. Just don't rely on it.

Down Smash - Shadow Shadow Mario
Shadow Mario spins around in place, obscuring himself from vision with his brush, while charging. Upon release, he lets out a poof and splits into...three Shadow Marios?! What? Well, this move is more about confusion than damage. The initial poof pushes foes back as a Mario pops out to the left and right, but deals no damage or knockback. Of course, only one Mario is the real Shadow Mario. So...how do you tell them apart?

The two fake Shadow Marios run around randomly, doing random attacks with the AI of a low CPU. The poof can alternate which position you appear in, the real Shadow Mario having the possibility of popping out on the left or right, instead of the middle where you start. It is best to use a quick attack right after using this Smash to see which Mario you are. The other two Marios' attacks have the same properties as your's, just toned down to half power, knockback, and priority. The charge of the Smash determines how long the fake Marios stay out, ranging from five to nine seconds. But...what are the Marios?

If any attack (and I mean any, these guys have no priority), they turn into...one of the Boos from Hotel Delfino, the ones that look high. These float around at an extremely slow speed, slower than Ganondorf's walk even. If you get at a close range to them (like half a Stage Builder block), they'll stretch out their tongue with no warning to lick you, dealing 5% and causing you to trip. This has no lag, but can be irritating. However, Boos have no priority, while floating or licking, so finish them off with a quick attack. Shadow Mario can only have two fake Marios out at a time, and after they are KOed or vanish from staying out their full time, he must wait ten seconds to use another Down Smash. This is nice for confusing foes, but they'll pick up after a few tries, so don't become reliant on this!



Up Smash - Thorn in Your Side
Shadow Mario points upwards with a finger, aiming his brush at the ground while charging. Upon release, a red and green spotted vine grows out of the ground (the kind present in Bianco Hills, near Petey Piranha), sprouting up towards Shadow Mario. The vine comes out with below average startup lag, and Shadow Mario has very little ending lag...if he chooses to. However, if he does so, the move is near useless, as the vine barely ends above his head. The vine itself has below average priority, and deals 7-16% to foes who touch it. The knockback is below average to average, depending on the charge, with a slight sweetspot for knockback on the spikes.

In order to give the move use, Shadow Mario must hold the Smash input and move the Control Stick around to direct the vine in a certain direction. The vine moves at Ganondorf's walking speed to keep this balanced, but the vine can still be great for trapping foes or edgeguarding, although at a distance of three Ganondorfs high, the vine stops growing and the Smash ends automatically. Shadow Mario is completely open while directing the vine, although he can end the vine by stopping the input at any time he chooses. Directing to vine to move foes into traps or offstage can be advantageous, just don't get too carried away.

There are a few limitations to maneuvering the vine, however. You cannot overlap the growing vine with another part of the vine. The vine cannot touch the stage or a wall, or else it will vanish instantly. Finally, you cannot direct the vine more than Ganondorf's height off the stage, to prevent unfair edgeguards. Don't worry, it can still block recovering foes, but you'll have to do it close to the edge. Try directing it around and down to block the ledge entirely (although good foes will recover quick when they see you using this, so as to grab the ledge first). Lots of games can be played with this Smash! The vine's appearance is shown below, on either side of Petey Piranha.




Neutral Air - Shadow Mario Tornado
This is one of Mario's main moves in Sunshine, being the highest standing jump he can perform. Being an exact copy of him in that game, Shadow Mario mimics it here, holding his brush out. He spins with the same range of Luigi's Tornado in Melee, having average priority as well. It comes out with low lag like Luigi's Tornado as well, but has slightly more ending lag, due to Shadow Mario keeping up the tornado up for twice as long, like in Sunshine.

Foes who hit Shadow Mario aren't pulled in for multiple hits like in Melee; instead, they take 8-9% and barely below average knockback in a random direction (up, down, left, or right, or any way diagonally). This means it can serve as an unreliable spike, but it's best for edgeguarding anyhow, so you won't really be in trouble if it misses, a bit like DK's F-Air offstage. If you hold down the A Button after initiating the tornado, Shadow Mario holds out the tornado, doing less knockback and damage after its default time, dealing 6-7% and below average knockback. However, it can also be directed side to side at the speed of Ganondorf's dash, falling at the speed of Fox when he is using his Reflector. This serves as a last ditch recovery for Shadow Mario, but it has less priority while moving (although it still hits foes), meaning it's not great for this.

Forward Air - Bee in Your Bonnet?
Shadow Mario swipes his brush in midair in front of him, conjuring a small beehive the size of a Soccer Ball in front of him, attached to the brush tip. He holds it out for a split second before putting it away. Conjuring the beehive takes an average amount of time, but the move still has above average ending lag, making it one to be cautious with. This move has no priority, having no use just hitting a foe. Then what is the use of it?

If a foe attacks the hive while it is out, angry buzzing is heard as a swarm of bees the size of Wario emerge and begin chasing the character who hit it around with Toon Link's dashing speed. Foes can disperse the swarm with three attacks of any priority/power, but the bees will follow you until you do so, following you wherever you go, even staying out if you outrun them. They are persistent little buggers, hovering over you even when you shield or dodge, and hitting you when you come back.

The bees deal 1.5 times the damage and knockback of the attack you hit their hive with, being a sort of chasing counter move. Your best hope if you are pursued is to jump and use some quick B-Airs to subdue the bees. If you are Shadow Mario, create some more traps to make the foe more likely to get stung. You'll have a hard time landing this no matter what, due to the starting and ending lag (which doubles if you land before the hive vanishes), but if you're feeling risky and see a foe using a powerful move, try it. Hitting the foe offstage when there's bees chasing them can be a great edgeguard. The beehive here is similar to the ones in Super Mario Sunshine, where bees would chase Mario if he got too close.

Back Air - Firing His Lasers
Shadow Mario turns around, his eyes glowing an eerie red color, like they did when summoning Mecha Bowser in Pinna Park. After the same startup lag as R.O.B.'s Side Special (which sucks as a move), Shadow Mario fires a red laser out of his eyes. The laser is thin, and the length of half a Stage Builder block. The laser travels at a downwards diagonal angle behind Shadow Mario, the length of Ganondorf's height before vanishing, going at the speed of Fox's Laser.



This laser has below average priority, but deals average knockback and 8%. There is moderate ending lag to this move, it not being that great to use on a whim, especially not from a shorthop, as the lag increases if Shadow Mario lands mid-move. The knockback increases slightly if the foe hits the laser just as it is coming out of his eyes. If a foe hits the underside of the laser, they are spiked with moderate force. Although the move's lag makes it difficult to use that often, it contributes to Shadow Mario's offstage game, so be careful not to be careless when recovering against him. The laser vanishes when it hits a foe, the ground, or an obstacle.

Up Air - Ring of Fire
Shadow Mario swipes the brush in a circle above his head, causing a ring of lava goop to appear above his head for half a second before vanishing. The goop comes out with no lag, but can't hit foes until the entire circle is formed, which takes average startup lag. The circle extends to barely over Shadow's head, and covers about the area of 3/4 a Stage Builder block. Its priority is decent for an aerial, but grounded foes should be able to beat it, no problem.

The goop has two hitboxes; foes who hit the top of the goop take 5% and fair knockback, it being OK for killing off the top, but not great. But, foes who are encircled by the goop are knocked about inside the circle for its duration, taking three hits of 5% and still fair knockback when they are released from the circle, when it vanishes. Because of this, it can be relied on for damage-dealing arguably the best of Shadow's aerials. If you see it used against you, however, you'll probably have time to hit Shadow Mario while he's forming the circle, before it can hit you. This makes it harder to land than it may sound, but still, don't overlook its effectiveness.



Down Air - Chocolate Rain
Shadow Mario points his brush downwards, causing three droplets of Brown Mud Graffiti to rain down under him, in a row of three. Each droplet is about the size of a Pikmin, and drop down the height of Bowser before vanishing. The drops have below average priority, but are spread out enough in their row to be the length of one Stage builder block, it being challenging to block them all. The drops deal 3% and a bit of stun each, but if you hit all three at once, rather than one or two, you take the full 9% and are spiked with moderate force.

This is difficult to do on a foe that is not Bowser, Donkey Kong, Dedede, or the like, but is still helpful overall. The goop vanishes if it hits a foe or the ground. Shadow Mario can only have one row of droplets out at a time, and he has more ending lag than usual if he lands before the drops vanish. Used situationally, this is a helpful aerial to have.


Grab - Chain Chomplet
Shadow Mario whistles, for a Chain Chomplet to begin tracking foes. These baby Chain Chomps appeared in Pianta Village, and are not evil, but have been corrupted by red flaming graffiti. Here, Chain Chomplets are the size of DK, and hobble forward at the speed of Ganondorf's dash, trying to catch foes. There is no startup lag to this move, as the Chomp continues forward. However, if it is attacked with an attack that deals more than 5%, it whimpers and vanishes, not grabbing a foe.



If it touches a foe, however, it yips excitedly and grabs the foe in its teeth, bouncing back to Shadow Mario at the same slow speed it came out with. Foes take 5% from being grabbed, but this is due to Shadow Mario's grab attack dealing no damage to foes. This grab is about 1.5 times harder to escape from than normal grabs, but if the Chomp is a fair distance away from Shadow Mario, you'll have plenty of time to escape before being caught. The Chomp does not run off edges, vanishing if it gets to an obstacle it cannot overcome, like walls.

The Chomp is unaffected by Shadow Mario's traps (although if another foe or stage hazard hits it, it vanishes, releasing the foe), but if it drags a foe through them, the foe is knocked away from the Chomp, receiving the trap's damage, while the Chomp looks around confusedly, then disappears. This is not the best grab for a character, although it has good range, it's hard to just pull out, and is horrendous for shield-grabbing. Shadow Mario is completely vulnerable while the Chomp is chasing foes, as well, so it's dangerous to send it off long distances. Still, it's a nice way to play with your foes, and it can be easier to land with a small mechanic listed below. If the Chomp reaches Shadow Mario, it waits there until the foe either escapes or is thrown, or Shadow Mario does a grab attack, it vanishing after these situations. Shadow Mario holds the foe by the throat like a mobster, brush in the other hand.

Grab Attack - Give the Dog a Bone
Shadow Mario does just what the title says, tossing a small dog bone to the chomp, who devours it laglessly and vanishes with a happy woof. This does nothing to the foe...so what use is it? Well, next time Shadow Mario calls out the Chain Chomplet, it speeds from Ganondorf's dashing speed to that of Link, still being slow, but not as horrible. If he catches a foe with that speed and uses this again, the next Chomp that appears moves at Mario's dashing speed.

Finally, if this Chomp receives a bone (not a perverted joke), it moves at Diddy's dashing speed, not being super fast, but still being a huge improvement and a help to catch foes more easily. Shadow Mario can only use this once per grab, and if he gets up to top speed, the next grab he sends out will be back to slow speed. Keep this in mind if you suck at grabbing with Shadow Mario.

Forward Throw - Brush Your Teeth



Shadow Mario sticks the brush end of his Paintbrush into the victim's mouth (or the closest thing), and begins brushing it back and forth like a toothbrush. As he's doing this, the purple plaque goop from Noki Bay appears on the brush, damaging the foe 7%, and knocking them back with below average power after a second of brushing. This does nothing to the foe afterwards unless they eat a food item, upon which they damaged as much as the item heals from eating it, in essence not healing or taking any damage. This lasts for 20 seconds after one F-Throw, multiple F-Throws not being able to overlap. A fairly decent and effective throw.

Back Throw - Piranhabon Chomp
A Piranhabon (Piranha Plant head) coated in brown graffiti appears on the tip of Shadow Mario's brush, grabbing the foe, as Shadow Mario lifts the brush (holding the head and foe) over his head. Once the brush is up, the Piranhabon chomps down on the held foe, quickly knocking them into the ground and bouncing them up, a bit like Snake's B-Throw. The Piranhabon disappears after chomping. This deals 7-8% and moderate knockback to the victim...unless they have the skills to quickly tech the floor bounce and punish Shadow Mario, which takes away some of the reliability of this throw. Just as long as you don't make this timing predictable by spamming this throw, you'll probably be fine against most foes.

Down Throw - Hit and Run
Shadow Mario slams the foe with a fist between the foe's legs, knocking them to the ground with a pained expression. What? He knocks foes down like this, so it's not unfitting, due to his street-violent personality. There are two choices Shadow Mario can make with this move; he can run from or attack the vulnerable foe. The victim here takes 6% and is stuck in their tripped position. The position lags on them twice as long as a normal trip before the foe can get up or use a tripped attack.

Shadow Mario is free as soon as he attacks to run away from the disabled foe. However, he can also stay around and try a quick attack to actually knock the foe around while they're vulnerable. This is a good throw if you know how to use it. However, Shadow Mario cannot grab the foe again until they get up from their trip, preventing any more stupid chain-grabs. This throw can be nice for building damage if you take a smart approach; just don't get careless and let your foe hit you first.

Up Throw - Ground Pound
One of Mario's moves in Sunshine that Shadow Mario copies. Here, he springs up his own height into the air, getting in a cannonball position, while the foe stands below, then slams down onto the foe, dealing 9% and burying the foe in the ground. While Shadow Mario is airborne (he stays up for a split second), the released foe can spot dodge or roll, leaving Shadow Mario crashed on the ground with above average ending lag that they can punish.

However, if the foe gets buried, Shadow Mario can knock them around as well. The foe has to escape as if from a Pitfall, by button mashing, being stuck longer if they have more damage. If Shadow Mario tries a footstool jump on the foe during this time, they are buried for about a split second longer, and take 2% without knockback. This can be done a few times if you are very skilled, but simply attacking the buried foe is the best option. Do not spam this or your foe will pick up when to dodge and will punish you back. Otherwise, it's a nice throw for building damage.


Downed Attack - Tasting Defeat
Shadow Mario kicks his legs and pounds his fists, like he does when defeated in Sunshine. He keeps this up for a split second before hopping to his feet nonchalantly. The hitboxes here are his fists and feet, of course, both of which have below average range and priority. This comes out and ends fast, but is not the best get-up attack on its own. Without doing anything, the attack deals 3% and low knockback if you hit the hitboxes. However, if you mash the A Button during the anger fit, Shadow Mario pounds and kicks faster, dealing now 6-7% and below average knockback. It's not too much of a sacrifice to make to have this attack be useful, so be sure to mash A when you start this, lest you be rendered easily punishable.

Flipped Attack - Twilight Cap
Shadow Mario spins to his feet, causing his watery hat to fly off and magically spin around his body twice, rapidly, before returning to its owner's head. This move has a quick startup, and has below average ending lag. The cap has below average priority, and spins around Shadow Mario at a below average range. Foes who barely nick the cap take 4-5% and a low set knockback.

Foes who are hit closer to Shadow Mario, however, get the cap stuck on their head, it dealing poison damage to them, not knocking the foe back at all, but giving them 3% dark purple (think Ganondorf/Mewtwo) damage per second. The cap can stay on infinitely if foes let it, but they can shake it off with attacks like with a Pikmin (it is twice as hard as a Pikmin to remove), causing it to vanish and reappear on Shadow Mario's head. Only one cap can be on a single foe at a time, this move not being able to overlap. This is not really a move you can just pull out and use to build damage, but when the circumstances are right, it can be helpful for just that.

Tripped Attack - Atomizer
To get to his feet, Shadow Mario turns into a flurry of tiny blue dots, spinning around in a shape like Mario's Tornado for a split second before getting to his feet. The range of this is slightly less than the Tornado, and it comes out with low startup lag, having a fair bit ending as Shadow Mario reforms. The priority of this move is below average, due to Shadow Mario not being focused on hitting the foe as hard as possible...

Here, if a foe touches Shadow Mario as he's spinning, they turn into a cloud of tiny colored balls, vanishing, then reappearing a second later at the location where Shadow Mario painted his last 'M' with his Up Special. This deals no damage, but is a great way for clearing foes away from Shadow Mario, considering your 'M' isn't near you. If Shadow Mario hasn't made an 'M' yet in a match, the foe merely trips, taking no damage. Definitely a cool trick for mindgames, and if you can somehow use this to manipulate your foe into a hazard, then by all means go for it!

Ledge Attack - Global Warming
Shadow Mario drags his brush on the ground as he hops onto the ledge, creating a green-brown puddle of sludge, half the distance of a Stage Builder block. The sludge stays out for five seconds, and only one puddle can be on a single ledge at a time (no overlaps!). Foes can't attack the muck, and it comes out quickly, with Shadow Mario having a tad of ending lag. The sludge deals absolutely no damage, or real knockback for that matter. However, if a foe steps on it, they slide off the edge horizontally, due to the slippery slime, being forced offstage, from where Shadow Mario can try to gimp or edgeguard them.

Also, if Shadow Mario uses this from a ledge with water beneath (e.g. Delfino Plaza, The Summit, Jungle Japes), the ledge not only becomes sludgy, so does the water, turning the same icky polluted color. Foes who slip in (or are stupid enough to try to take a leisurely swim) take 12-13% and moderate vertical knockback from the bad water. The pollution covers an area of up to three Stage Builder blocks in the water. This lasts for only three seconds, while the sludge still lasts for five. On these stages and more, this is a perfect little set-up for damage-dealing, although no competent opponent will seriously fall for this.

Ledge Attack (Over 100%) - Belly Flop
Shadow Mario kicks to pull up onto the ledge, then does a small belly flop on his stomach as he comes onto the stage. This was a tactic used by Mario in Sunshine to cover long distances or KO enemies. Shadow Mario has low priority here, the hitbox being his oversized head, meaning the range is quite close. He has a good deal of startup lag, as is typical for these attacks, and a fair bit ending as well. The knockback here is low and set, but hits foes over Shadow Mario's body and off the stage, meaning most foes will have to recover, although with Shadow's ending lag, he probably can't gimp here. Shadow Mario deals a low 4-5% here. Yeah...you probably shouldn't use this move; just jump onto the stage to be safe.


Final Smash - Infestation
Shadow Mario's eyes glow red, as he spins around three times rapidly in place, holding out his Paintbrush. After his spins, an area of 4/5 of the Battlefield main platform is covered in rainbow goop. However, before using this Final Smash, Shadow Mario needs to know where to set it up. The goop only covers one platform, meaning if you use it on a small Battlefield platform, that's all it covers. On Final Destination, with no platforms, this really excels, as there's no way to screw it up. Shadow Mario must be on the ground to activate this.

Foes who are standing on the goop take 2-3% of knockbackless damage per second, and have a 50% chance of tripping whenever they try to run. The main point of this move, however, is that Shadow Mario now has no limit on the enemies he can send out with his enemy moves. He still has the normal startup and ending lag, and is still attackable during this Final Smash, but the enemies can be produced in large enough amounts to keep the foe more concerned about their own life. Enemies are not powered-up at all, however.

Here are the moves that Shadow Mario can now abuse:

• Side Special (Piranha Gatekeeper)
• Basic Combo (Orange Juice Generator; although these aren't really living enemies, they're still more readily usable here).
• Forward Tilt (Swoopin' Stu)
• Down Tilt (Manta Storm)
• Down Smash (Shadow Shadow Mario, A.K.A. Drunken Boos)
• Grab (Chain Chomplet; he can send out as many as he wants, them all being automatically at top speed)

As you can probably tell, damage-dealing is the major point of this Final Smash, although Shadow Mario could more likely than not KO foes out of his swarms of enemies. This Final Smash lasts about as long as Fox's Landmaster, before the goop vanishes into the ground with a hiss, and all the enemies, other than the ones within the normal limit, vanish in a cloud of smoke. Make sure you set this up on a large platform for best effect; although you can still summon enemies from a small area, the damaging area is much more useful over a larger zone.


At a brief glance, Shadow Mario doesn't seem too different from Bowser Jr. in terms of trickiness. After all, they both share the Magic Paintbrush, using it to wreak havoc. Why should you choose one over the other? Jr. and Shadow Mario have several differences in their attacks that make their playstyles moderately different. However, like his true form, Shadow Mario has an extremely high learning curve that matches, and sometimes even eclipses that of Jr. He takes a lot of time to learn, and an even longer time to master.

As with Jr., experimenting with the effects of Shadow Mario's attacks is vital for success. Definitely not a newcomer-friendly character at all. The trap attacks are in fewer quantity here than with Jr., but Shadow Mario doesn't do as many physical attacks. Shadow Mario is weaker than Jr. overall, but his trap attacks are generally more powerful, so you'll want to learn when you can use them and set them up to start on your way to victory.

Shadow Mario, unlike Jr., has ways of attacking efficiently from close range. The enemies he sends out aren't hard to dispose of, but if he sends them out in groups, and uses them to herd you into another attack, in typical trap format for this character, they can be quite a bother. Like Dedede, Shadow Mario should try to keep out enemies at all times for protection. They build damage rather well, and can be a barrier against attacks for Shadow Mario, if he stands behind them.

At long range, Shadow Mario has much fewer options for actually attacking, other than a well-maneuvered U-Smash, a lucky AI movement from his D-Smash clones, or a Chain Chomplet. Shadow Mario can easily defend against campers and spammers, however, with his Side Special Piranha Gatekeeper. It has infinite HP, like in Sunshine, although one aimed hit to its open mouth will KO it immediately. Shadow Mario can use this as a perfect barrier while he sets up his tricks, although eventually, he'll have to get over to his foes himself, as it is much easier to hit them there than from a distance.

Now, onto the sneaky moves. Shadow Mario's trap moves are mainly stronger than Jr.'s, but rely more on proper usage and a bit of luck than much else. It's just how he rolls. While Jr. needs to set up his moves, Shadow Mario needs to know the quantities of a move he can send out, creating a little wall of offense he can use to manipulate foes into other moves. For example, for a simple damage-building combo, you may with to send out an Orange Juice Generator and a Swoopin' Stu, pushing the foe back into a Piranha Gatekeeper or Trail of Tears for knockback. This is one of many combos Shadow Mario can try on unsuspecting foes. Like Jr., however, you never want to become predictable, or your foe will read you like a book and punish you over nine thousand ways till Sunday.

Some of these moves require a bit of dangerous movement, like U-Smash or Chain Chomplet. Shadow Mario can move these attacks a great deal, but he is vulnerable while doing so. These moves are among the high-risk, high-reward moves in Shadow Mario's arsenal, him requiring them for smooth playability, but you'll often want to try and trick your foes while they're out, to ensure that the move connects. Sending out enemies is a nice way to overload foes before you use the more risky attack.

Also, on this note, D-Smash summons two clones of Shadow Mario. They have stupid AI, but attack randomly with half Shadow Mario's normal power. Although this doesn't sound that great, it can be terrific for confusing mindgames at first, as well as damage-building. Shadow Mario has a lot of styles you can use to play him well, but all of them require some strategic thought and cunning. Make sure you can handle this when you pick up this character!

Shadow Mario in the air is not much of a threat at all. He's mediocre here; if at all possible, try keeping Shadow Mario grounded for maximum effectiveness. I mean, a few shorthopped aerials are fine, but he lacks adaptive ways to approach while airborne, so it's not something you'll want to do in competitive matches. N-Air is a nice way to get some breathing room when surrounded, but it has fairly close range, so it can't be abused. F-Air can be great against aggressive foes, but its lag makes it highly dangerous. The rest of the aerials need proper spacing to work properly and safely, and while Shadow Mario can spike with D-Air if done right, and edgeguard decently with B-Air, he has better options, like sending Swoopin' Stus to their doom offstage to knock the recovering foe back.

Now, speaking of recovery, Shadow Mario probably has the most variant recovery in the game. He can set up an 'M' as far away as he wants, then warp to it with another Up Special at any time...as long as the first 'M' is still intact! 15 HP is really quite low for something like this, so you'll want to defend your 'M' at all costs if you think you'll need it, especially if you have high damage. If your foe destroys the 'M' and Shadow Mario is knocked back, he's in serious trouble. Neutral Special is his only other option for recovery, and he falls while rolling, so using this while already being high in the air is the only real option for it. Place enemies or a Piranha Gatekeeper near the 'M' to defend it, and always stay near it if your foe gets feisty. Projectile users are bad news here, as Shadow Mario has little aerial defense. Placing your 'M' near the ground, where it can be defended better, is your best bet. Anticipate what you'll need and follow through; otherwise, you'll be in for a couple of hard lessons learned.

To summarize Shadow Mario, he lacks the variation of traps Jr. has, but the ones he has are generally more accessible and powerful. Shadow Mario also fights much more from a close range than his true form. His weakness lies in his low priority and HP for enemies, and the fact that if you knock him into the air, he is much less of a threat. Plus, he slips and slides like crazy, so even if you are a perfect player, expect to be punished for random tripping at least once. I said it once, I'll say it again; Shadow Mario is not for those who give up easily.

A final question you may ask is, why should you switch to Shadow Mario from Jr.? Well, Shadow Mario has his different attack style, which can suit some players better than others. Shadow Mario's ability to attack at close range may make him slightly more accessible to newcomers, but that's not saying much at all. He can't spam almost anything, making him even harder for beginners, in this respect. His difference in playstyle is the main reason for switching between the two. Master players who can main them both may switch in the middle of a match to throw off his opponent with a new match-up. This is not recommended unless you thoroughly know both characters. But, if you can do it, they suffer nothing from switching (even spamming the switch), so go for it! Shadow Mario's crazy character from Sunshine definitely translates over to Smash; it's a matter of whether or not you have the discipline to master it. Bowser Jr. and Shadow Mario are a force to be reckoned with; choose your form and go wild!


Shadow Mario has been practicing evading defeat and capture, so he's got ways to prevent you from stopping him now. Still, he's not without flaws that can be easily exposed and overcome. Most of these take knowledge of how to actually beat Shadow Mario, but they are not difficult to pull off. Shadow Mario can be a devilish blighter to overcome, so it's a matter of knowledge about his weaknesses that will see him finished.

A major weakness that Shadow Mario holds above all other characters is water. He receives double damage from all of Squirtle's water attacks, and F.L.U.D.D. and Water Gun actually damage him! If you are Mario or Squirtle, you have a good match-up here, as these moves actually serve use in multiple situations. Although he is the same size as Mario, Shadow Mario is actually lighter as well, so he can be pushed and bashed around rather well. The fact that he trips and slides a lot is not exactly helpful for him. Unless your opponent knows how to overcome these downfalls consistently, you will likely have an easy time beating this criminal. Still, don't get cocky, as Shadow Mario can change the course of a match with a few well-landed traps.

A significant strategy you saw in his overall playstyle was his enemy defense. Shadow Mario can indeed use them to help his game out quite well, but he has a limit on all enemies, so it's not really spammable. Also, almost every single enemy can be beaten easily with one or two attacks. They're not too random or unpredictable either (except the clones from D-Smash), and will walk right off edges and into moves, so you most likely will get the trick of beating them after a few trials. Piranha Gatekeepers are the only exception here; these cannot be beaten by regular moves...until they open their mouths, upon which one hit will dispatch them immediately. Once you learn to beat this regularly, Shadow Mario has a much harder time with successful approaches and landing attacks. This makes it worth learning, so get to it!

Perhaps the easiest way to finish off this imposter is his by messing up his recovery. Building some damage on him before attempting this is best, so he'll be knocked further and forced to try to recover. If at all possible, pressure him so much that he won't even have time to make the first 'M'. If he does, just get under it and U-Smash to destroy it quickly. Shadow Mario will be under a lot of stress to keep his 'M' up, and will more likely than not open gaps for you to hit him, while he is focused on defending his portal. You'll have to be sneaky with your tactics here, but this is one of the fastest ways to shut him down if you know how it's done.

Ending this section, Shadow Mario can be just as crazy, if not moreso, than Jr. Shadow Mario has more attacks that can be used for easier damage, although proper defensive knowledge can render these useless. Most Shadow Mario players will try being random with moves, so you'll have to stay on your toes while facing him at all times. Still, expose the cracks in his game, and you'll put the opposing player under much more pressure to overcome your offense. During this time, good players can react well to this and punish Shadow Mario like crazy. Like his true form, many match-ups with Shadow Mario will result in the victory of the better player. Be smart and crafty, and, with proper training, you can ensure yourself in this spot in matches.



Up Taunt - On the Run
Shadow Mario pulls out a wanted poster with his own sketch on it, and looks at it disdainfully, shaking his head for a second, before stowing the poster in his back pocket.



Side Taunt - Lick it Up
Shadow Mario puts a hand to his cheek and stretches out his long red tongue. He sticks it out at foes, it flailing up and down a bit and making comical bouncy noises, before he pulls it back in. He taunted Mario like this before stealing Peach and taking her to Pinna Park.

Down Taunt - Graffiti Artist
Shadow Mario draws his famous red 'M' icon on the ground in front of him, posing with arms crossed over it, like Ike's down taunt. The 'M' stays on the ground for five seconds before vanishing.



Victory Pose #1 - Caught in the Act
Shadow Mario is painting a large mural (with various Sunshine pictures and whatnot) all over the floor of the results screen! However, when the announcer calls his name, Shadow Mario quickly hops in front of his art and holds both hands and his brush behind his back. Nothing to see here!

Victory Pose #2 - Surprise!
Shadow Mario jumps around excitedly onscreen, then paints a clone of himself (like with his D-Smash). The two Shadow Marios jump up and chest bump, but the clone turns into a Boo (still looking drunk) after being bumped, knocking Shadow Mario to the ground on his arse. The Boo simply floats there stupidly, while Shadow Mario rubs his head quizzically, until you leave the results screen.

Victory Pose #3 - True True Identity...?
Shadow Mario scratches his chin in thought, then swipes his brush over his hat, turning it into...the purple hat of Il Piantissimo the sprinter?! After this, he nods approvingly and runs offscreen.


Victory Pose against Mario - Sweet Revenge
Shadow Mario is seen without his Paintbrush for once, but has F.L.U.D.D. strapped to his back instead! Shadow Mario is seen chasing Mario around the results screen, spraying Mario with his own water gun for revenge! Mario holds up his hands and cries out, "Mama mia!" as he gets drenched while running, Shadow Mario laughing in his squeaky voice. He's clearly enjoying this!

Victory Theme - Flagpole Fanfare
Shadow Mario uses the standard Mario victory theme, the classic level cleared music from Super Mario Bros. Nothing new here...

Loss Pose - Fist-Pounding
Shadow Mario is definitely the sore loser type, pounding his fists and feet against the floor, facing away from the screen and lying on his belly. He does this whenever defeated in Sunshine, so it's fitting as a defeated pose here.


Kirby turns watery and blue-colored like Shadow Mario, getting a slight red tint in his eyes, as well as his mustache and cap. Kirby can use Shadow Ball here, crunching into blue ball form to deal quick damage to foes. This is helpful for Kirby's game, so Inhale Shadow Mario if you can.

• Normal
• Red Watery
• Dark Blue Watery
• Light Green Watery
• Yellow Watery
• Gray Watery

-Press Select-

Snake: Uh...what just happened? It looks like Jr. turned into Mario!
Colonel: You're just one of many to be fooled by this disguise, Snake. This isn't really Mario. Jr. has turned into Shadow Mario, an alternate form with all of Mario's capabilities.
Snake: Why would he do that? It's not like he can do anything extra special in fat Italian plumber form...
Colonel: Shadow Mario has the ability to call forth some nasty enemies with his Magic Paintbrush, as well as use his street-sense to pull some low tricks on you, Snake.
Snake: He's running away from me...he seems like nothing but a coward who likes to play dress up!
Colonel: That may just be what he wants you to think! Don't get fooled by this common prankster! Show him who's boss; just try not to get slimed!

-End Transmission-


Icon - Classic Power-Up
Shadow Mario also uses the Mario universe Super Mushroom for an icon. Whoop de doo.



Wiimote Sound - Turned Loose
Shadow Mario gives a high-pitched 'Wa-hoo!', as if in an exciting chase. He's ready to run onto the field of battle!

Crowd Chant - Wait...What?
The male and female crowd chants his name normally, but in a questioning way, so they chant, "Mario...? Mario...? Mario...?" Looks like he's got them fooled by his little scherade.

Unlocked By:

• Shadow Mario has the same methods as Bowser Jr. for unlocking.

Unlock Message:
Call the cops! Shadow Mario has been sighted in the Brawl! Isn't one Mario enough?




These big guys are the inhabitants of Isle Delfino. Here, the blue one from the picture appears as an Assist Trophy. He stands in place on one part of the stage, being the size of Dedede, but slightly less wide. In front of him, a Durian appears. These spiky fruits were sold by shop Piantas in Sunshine, and apparently taste like rotten feet. Anyways, it is slightly larger than a Soccer Ball, and can be picked up by any player. The Durian is an item, functioning just like a Tap Tap from Jr.'s B-Throw (see it for more detail).

The Pianta just does an odd dance in place while the Durian is out (occasionally, he'll take out a guitar and play quietly). However, if a foe runs into him, a blue speech bubble appears above his head, as he says, "I'm a chuckster!" and throws the character backwards with great force, dealing 8% and insane knockback. Because of this, the summoner will want to hit foes into the Pianta, while the other players will want to stay well away.

One more small effect occurs if you hit the Pianta with a fire attack. The Pianta can't be KOed, but it can be attacked fruitlessly. If a fire attack touches the Pianta, his arse flares up and he starts running around like crazy, trying to put out the fire. He runs randomly at Fox's dashing speed, dealing 12-15% to foes who hit him in his mad dash. The Pianta stays out for 25 seconds, no matter whether he is sitting, throwing, or running, disappearing after this time. Pianta appears fairly regularly as an Assist Trophy.


A huge active volcano on Isle Delfino, and the final level of Super Mario Sunshine, which included a final showdown against Bowser and his son. Here, this stage plays a bit like Delfino Plaza, dropping players off at different locations of the volcano. However, there is little solid ground to fight on, so this stage doesn't drop off players nearly as much. There are four phases to this stage, as opposed to Delfino Plaza's eleven. While the stage moves less, there are a few actual hazards here, making it not as safe as you may think.

Players start the stage off on a floating chunk of rock, the size of Battlefield, with lava on either side. Fall into the lava and you take 15% and above average vertical knockback. The only minor stage element here is a water sprinkler in the background. Occasionally, it comes on, spraying a bit of water onto the stage, which makes the area easier to trip on for five seconds. No big deal, really. After thirty seconds on this starting area, a dark red cloud, the size of the main moving platform in Delfino Plaza, materializes on the stage. After five more seconds, the cloud takes off, floating slowly further into the volcano. The cloud can be recovered through, but not dropped through. The ledges can be hung from, as well. While on the cloud, players are high enough off the ground to be able to be KOed off the bottom boundary, despite there being lava there, so beware!

After about fifteen seconds of cloud travel, the cloud stops and vanishes over a series of metal platforms, suspended over the lava, dropping the characters off. Here, there are five metal platforms, each the size of 1.5 Stage Builder blocks, with that same amount of space in between each block, meaning the area here is large, but you'll need to be careful to stand your ground. You can fall into the lava between the blocks here, too, if you're careless.



This phase lasts for thirty seconds as well. However, at the fifteen second mark or so, an '!' sign flashes over the stage. Three seconds later, one random platform top catches fire. It can be any platform, so try to stay airborne during this time, then come down on a safe platform when you see which one is flaming. The fire deals 20% and high knockback, so beware this! The fire vanishes after three seconds. As soon as it is out, another random platform top grows spikes, the height of Bowser. The tactics for avoidance are the same here; spikes deal 15% and light knockback, lasting for three seconds before detracting. These deal less initial damage, but if you are hit, you'll probably bounce up and land on the spikes again for more damage. This is probably the most dangerous hazard you'll have to face this stage, so learn to play it safe.

After the thirty seconds of this phase, the cloud returns, waiting for five seconds on this phase before taking off again. The cloud travels at a faster rate this time, getting the characters away from solid land and over open molten lava, with sharp stalagmites sticking out from the magma in various locations. After fifteen more seconds of riding the cloud, it drops characters over a small little stage area. Here, the fighting ground is made up of a Mudboat from Sunshine, and a sunken stone column.



The Mudboat is mucky and brown, and the length of half of Final Destination, resized for usability, located at the left end of this area. The column is at the right of the stage, separated from the Mudboat by a gap of lava the size of a Stage Builder block. The platforms here don't extend all the way off the screen, so there is still lava to the far left and right that you can hit. Stay on the platforms for the best of luck, and try to be near the center, as the blast line is not far at all from the edge of the stage you can see, providing for easy early KOs here.

A hazard here is that, sometimes, Flaming Cheep-Cheeps (fish) will hop out of the lava to the far left or right, and onto the Mudboat or column, flopping around aimlessly. They have 10 HP and do nothing to attack, but due to them being coated in lava, they have average priority. They also deal 10% and average knockback if you hit them. The fish usually come in quantities of one or two, and are each the size of Squirtle. Finish these off quick to avoid trouble.

After the typical thirty seconds on this stage phase, the cloud returns, waiting five seconds before floating off again. Now, it floats onwards for about ten seconds, getting over a patch of rocky land towards the end of this time. After these ten seconds, the cloud begins rising rapidly upwards, up into the deepest part of the volcano. Characters' jumps are hindered here, due to the cloud coming up to catch them before they jump very high.

After ten seconds of rising, the cloud drops characters off at Bowser's personal hot-tub, the site of the final battle of Super Mario Sunshine! The tub is round, with five platforms extending from it, holding the tub floating in midair somehow. You fight on the rim of the tub, the tub circling around in the background, but characters being able to fight on an area the size of 3/4 of Final Destination. The tub is filled with repulsive green slime, but is empty of Bowser and his son, only having a large rubber duck floating around in there. Every now and then, the oozing slime splashes onto the stage a little bit, needing to be dodged, if you want to stay safe. It comes quickly, with little warning, dealing 6-8% fire damage and low knockback. Not a big deal, but it's still a good idea to dodge.



Finally, after thirty seconds here, the cloud comes back, waiting for five seconds for characters to hop on, and floats back down for fifteen seconds. Characters' jumps here are extra floaty, due to the cloud moving down beneath them. After this cloud ride, the characters are dropped off at the first tier of the stage, starting the cycle over again. These tiers are always in this order, unlike Delfino Plaza. This stage has its hazards here and there, but they are not unbeatable or unfair, making this a relatively fun and hectic stage to play on, while still being somewhat competitive.

Stage Music:
Corona Mountain (Super Mario Sunshine0
Final Battle (Super Mario Sunshine)
Koopa's Road (Super Mario 64)
Koopa's Theme (Super Mario 64)
Ultimate Koopa (Super Mario 64)
Boss Battle (Super Mario Sunshine)
Rocket Fight (Super Mario Sunshine) / Manta Storm (Super Mario Sunshine)
Bowser Jr.'s Airship Armada Battle (Super Mario Galaxy)
Melty Molten Galaxy (Super Mario Galaxy)
Nemesis King Koopa
Lethal Lava Land (Super Mario 64)
Bowser Battle (Super Mario World)
Main Boss Castle (New Super Mario Bros.)
Lava Piranha (Paper Mario)



In the scene where DK and Diddy are introduced, going after their Banana Hoard, an extra portion is added on. After the Kongs jump down to begin their chase, a nearby bush shakes ominously. A second later, BOWSER and BOWSER JR. emerge from their hiding position. Bowser looks at his son expectantly, for him to grin evilly and nod back. The Koopa King and his half-pint son share a moment of evil laughter, before going their separate ways, as ominous music plays. Clearly, they're up to no good...

Next, in the scene where Bowser shoots DK, Jr. comes over to Bowser and uses his Paintbrush to paint the floating ship seen later for carrying DK. Bowser nods approvingly at his son, then hoists DK's trophy onto the ship, hopping on it himself to drive it off elsewhere. Before he does so, however, he points into the distance, where DK punched Diddy to, telling Jr. to take care of Diddy. Jr. strikes a pose with his brush determinedly, then sets off to take care of business.

Jr. is next seen in the cutscene where Diddy is swinging through the treetops, away from Bowser. You see Diddy swinging from a first person point of view, as, suddenly, a Wind Duppy flies at him. It misses hitting Diddy directly, but succeeds in knocking him out of the vines and onto the jungle floor. As Diddy massages his arse, making pained monkey noises, an ominous shadow starts covering him. Diddy looks up slowly in horror, for it to just be Jr., standing with his bandana pulled over his face. He pulls it off and yells, "Roar!" to try and intimidate the young Kong, actually speaking 'roar', but Diddy just sighs in relief, as it is not a huge monster like his shadow suggested. Jr. keeps on trying to scare Diddy, eventually causing him to roll around laughing. This pisses Jr. off, the screen zooming in on his narrowing eyes, for him to swipe his brush, causing various Sunshine enemies to spawn around him. Diddy suddenly gets more serious, and hops to his feet, reluctantly putting his fists up. You now play in a stamina battle against Bowser Jr., with both combatants having 150 HP. This shouldn't be too difficult for a battle, as Jr. doesn't have very smart AI, and won't set up any real tricky attacks against you here.

After you beating the Koopa Prince, the battle is still seen raging on. Diddy takes out his Peanut Popgun, firing a few shots at Jr., who goes into his shell so the peanuts break out of their shells. Jr. eyes them excitedly and scarfs them down, as several Strollin' Stus charge at Diddy, who dodges them and hops on their heads, not being hurt, but being distracted. Jr. sees this, and wanting to finish him off quickly, snaps his fingers and whistles, summoning his ultimate weapon. Out of the clouds comes Rayquaza, being summoned by Jr. as a boss from his actual habitat, rather than a lake. Diddy looks terrified as usual, while Jr. laughs evilly. Rayquaza charges up a blast at Diddy, for him to flinch in terror. Just in time, however, Fox's Arwing crashes nearby, propelling Fox in the path of the blast. In the nick of time, Fox reflects the blast back at Rayquaza, who gets hit and falls into the nearby lake. Fox and Diddy run up to face him, while Jr. hops forward in anger. You now face them both at the same time. Rayquaza has less HP, due to Jr. being present, but his attacks deal more damage and knockback than normal, now. Jr. is lighter than usual, being able to be KOed faster, but his attacks aren't nerfed at all. Defeat them both to trigger another cutscene.

By the way, Rayquaza is still fought alone in Boss Battles mode.

Rayquaza recoils in pain, then sinks into the lake, unconscious. Jr. stumbles around, while Fox and Diddy close in. Jr. rapidly hops back, a thought bubble of Bowser forming, then summons a mini-version of the Koopa Clown Car to carry him away to report to his father. Fox and Diddy watch him leave, somewhat disappointedly, while Jr. makes an 'L' for Loser sign at them. Diddy suddenly gets a thought bubble of Donkey Kong, and the cutscene proceeds as normal, with Diddy dragging Fox into the forest.

After those two defeat Dark Bowser, regular Bowser still shoots at them and sends them fleeing. Bowser Jr. arrives in his Clown Car shortly afterwards. He looks scared at first due to his earlier failure, but Bowser merely grins and nods, the Rayquaza fight having tired Fox and Diddy out too much to face Bowser himself. Jr. quickly nods in agreement, while Bowser points to where Fox and Diddy jumped off, a thought bubble of his Koopa Army forming. They'll take care of the stragglers. Suddenly, the Ancient Minister comes out of the sky, landing beside Bowser. The Ancient Minister gets a thought bubble of Mario and Pit, attacking the Subspace enemies. Bowser nods and motions to Jr., then at them. This is his chance to take down Mario. Jr. does a happy backflip, then chuckles evilly to himself, a lightbulb forming over his head. He's got a plan! He paints an 'M' portal, and pulls his bandana over his mouth as he hops in. When they're alone, Bowser laughs his classic deep laugh and pets the Ancient Minister like a dog, for him to stare at the Koopa King with hate. Everything is going to plan...

Jr. reappears inside Bowser's Castle, Kamek welcoming him in with a tray of cookies. Jr. eats them greedily, then whistles, for various members of the Koopa Army to appear around him. To Jr.'s dismay, they aren't that plentiful, due to most of them being in the Jungle. This doesn't faze Jr., however; he hops up and swings his brush all around him, goop particles flying everywhere. This splashes a few Koopas, for them to shake it off angrily. Most of the goop has landed on the floor, however, which spawns a large quantity of the various enemies from Sunshine. Jr. looks around at his newly-bulked up troops (the normal Koopa Troop members look less than pleased at joining forces with artificial baddies), then summons a huge goop portal, leading them into it. They reappear on his Block Castle Playroom (his ship from Mario Super Sluggers), which is docked at a murky Koopa harbor, and set off, floating off into the distance to find and attack Mario.



After the first Samus level, Jr. is seen again on his "ship", sipping a beverage and reclining on a colorful block throne. Suddenly, Army Hammer Bro., the Hammer Bro. general from Super Princess Peach, comes up to him and brings him to his senses, pointing at an oncoming ship. Jr. looks at it nervously at first, but then shrugs it off, motioning to it with his brush. It's no big deal, just subdue it quickly and take prisoners. Army Hammer Bro. nods, then gets a wicked look and lets out a battle cry, sending out smaller block ships loaded with Koopas and Sunshine enemies to take it over. Up in the Crow's Nest, TOON LINK is seen peering into the distance. Suddenly, he sees Jr.'s Army coming, and slides down on a rope, making a high-pitched grunt and posing with his sword, while the first of the army boards. You now play in a multi-man battle against the Koopas and Sunshine enemies, on the Pirate Ship stage. They board from the back, and you can't hit them until they are on the stage, so don't bother trying. They come in large amounts, so you'll need to finish them quickly so you don't get overwhelmed. Knocking foes into the sea KOs them instantly, so you may wish to try this out.

Toon Link fights off the last of the boarding foes, while the enemies on the Castle stop coming out of fear of the young swordsman. However, Toon Link isn't so quick to give up. He hops off his ship (it's a clear day with no waves, he can return to it later) and onto some abandoned block mini-ships, making his way to the main Castle. The first part of the level here has little solid ground, being on the small block ships. You can swim, but you'll drown if you stay out too long, so try to avoid this. The enemies are a few stragglers from Jr.'s Army, but they don't pose a big threat here. Halfway through the level, however, you enter the Castle, which has classic Bowser's Castle gameplay. The stage is colorful and kiddy here, but there are still Thwomps, lava, spikes, and bouncing fireballs to get you. The difficulty isn't too bad, but you'll still need to proceed with caution. You reach the roof of the Castle at the end, where Jr. is.

Toon Link hacks through some Sunshine foes (who vanish in goopy explosions) as he gets to Jr. and Army Hammer Bro. Jr. looks in shock at Toon Link, then whistles, for his Koopa Clown Car to come to him. He gets into it and looms down over Toon Link, while Army Hammer Bro. poses. A mini-boss battle ensues, you having one stock and playing as Toon Link.

Mini-Boss: Bowser Jr. in Koopa Clown Car and Army Hammer Bro.



Play As: Toon Link
Stamina: 150 HP each
Music: Bowser Boss (Super Mario World)

These guys have about 150 HP each, and are both out at the same time. Your arena is flat and on the roof of the Castle, being moderately large. Jr. floats slowly back and forth, a good distance in the air, while the Army Hammer Bro. stands in a battle pose. The Clown Car is twice the size of Bowser, while the Hammer Bro. is the same size as he is in as an Assist Trophy, being a small target.

Attacks:

Mecha Koopa Drop: Jr. reaches into his Clown Car and drops down two Mecha Koopas, each being the size of Squirtle, and wandering around in a wound-up manner, at the speed of Ganondorf's walk. If you touch one while it's out, they chomp you and deal 13-14% and fair knockback. They do nothing to Army Hammer Bro. If you attack it once, it becomes disabled for ten seconds. During this time, give it 15% damage to destroy it. They last for twenty seconds before vanishing, Jr. and the Hammer Bro. being able to use other attacks during this time, although they hit the Mecha Koopa as well. You can throw a disabled Mecha Koopa at the Clown Car or Hammer Bro. for moderate damage.



Hammer Volley: Army Hammer Bro. starts jumping around fairly rapidly, tossing up a bunch of hammers, just like in his AT form, but him actually moving around as he does so, so it's harder to dodge. He does this often, so you might be annoyed by it. He does this for about five seconds at a time. The hammers deal 5-6% and low knockback each. This is mainly a damage-builder, but it can KO you at high damage levels, so beware!

Fire Storm: Jr. flies back and forth more rapidly, dropping several Soccer Ball-sized fireballs down onto the stage, in random locations, where they stay for three seconds before vanishing. He keeps this up for five seconds, the fireballs being able to be dispersed rather easily with strong attacks. However, if he has 50% HP or less, Jr. will drop them for eight seconds, and they will be harder to get rid of, still being out for three seconds. Fireballs deal 7% and below average knockback each. Try to get rid of the fireballs early to avoid trouble.

Boomerang Bro.: Army Hammer Bro. hops to the middle of the stage in one long bound, then spins around all the way quickly, sending out a single white boomerang on either side of him. These are the same size as Link's boomerang, traveling to the edge of the stage boundary at Meta Knight's dashing speed, before returning to their owner. They can't be beaten by high priority, so two spot dodges, or jumping, is the best way to dodge them. Each one deals 6% and a small stun, and can hit you when coming back as well as being flung out. Not too dangerous, just watch for the initial jump so you know when to dodge.

Big Steelie: With above average startup lag, Jr. drops a Big Steelie bowling ball, the size of Bowser, onto the stage. It stops in the middle of the stage, before rolling to the right at Ganondorf's dashing speed. Being crushed by it gives you 23-24% and insane knockback, while being hit while it's rolling deals 12-13% and average knockback. Hammer Bro. is unaffected by this. Be sure to move to the far left to dodge this when you see the startup! This is a prime KO move for these mini-bosses.



Fire Bro.: Army Hammer Bro. lets out a cough, for moderate startup lag, then begins breathing a constant stream of fire, like a Superspicy Curry effect. He then runs back and forth across the whole stage length at Mario's dashing speed, trapping foes for multiple hits and low knockback, the fire working just like the above item. Jump over or roll around Hammer Bro. here; you don't want to be trapped in the flames while Jr. is still out! Hammer Bro. runs for five seconds normally, but runs for a whopping ten seconds at 25% HP or less. Finish him off!

Koopa Clown Crush: Bowser Jr. begins flying over your current position for three seconds, before slamming down at an insanely fast speed. This crushes you and deals 25-26% and insane knockback. You have fair warning here, and Jr. lags a bit before crashing down, so be absolutely sure to get the hell out of the way, or you risk being KOed early. Hammer Bro. is unaffected here. If Jr. has less than 50% HP, he follows and crashes down three times. If Jr. is only crashing once, he lags on the ground dizzily for three seconds. Damage him heavily here!

Amazing Flyin' Hammer Bro.: Army Hammer Bro. snaps his fingers, for a small winged platform to appear beneath him, lifting him up into the air, below the Clown Car. From here, he floats back and forth at Toon Link's dashing speed, flinging hammers left and right. The hammers deal the exact same damage as with the Hammer Volley attack above, but they come in a slightly less quantity. Still, these come a whole lot faster, and Hammer Bro. moves faster while throwing them, staying out for ten seconds before the platform vanishes and he drops back down. You can't hit him during this period, so don't even try. The hammers can't hit you if you stand right below the winged platform, so try to stay under it at all times. He uses this a lot when he has low HP, so knock him out as soon as possible.



Although this is not an attack, if you hit the Clown Car's propeller, or the horns on Army Hammer Bro.'s helmet, you take 10% and low knockback, so hit the Clown Car on the side (you'll have to double jump up to it, unless it's trying to crush you) or the Hammer Bro. anywhere but the helmet.

Upon defeat, Jr. spirals away in the Clown Car off the screen top, in typical Super Mario World style, while Army Hammer Bro. collapses into the background, in a dead faint.

Army Hammer Bro. lies unconscious, while Jr. crawls from the wreckage of the Clown Car. He reaches for his brush, which he left on the deckchair, but Toon Link stands in his way. Jr., out of options, points insistently in one direction. Toon Link looks quickly, turning back to Jr. rapidly, but it's too late. Made you look! Jr. has snatched up his brush and summoned reinforcements. Toon Link is taken deep into the Castle and thrown in the dungeon, which looks like an Insanity Room due to the kiddy nature of the ship, with squishy walls and stuffed toys everywhere. What will become of him?

After Mario and Link's parties meet up, before the group can enter the cave, Jr.'s ship crashes on the shore. Mario is seen walking toward the cave, at the head of the group, when suddenly, a Swoopin' Stu crashes into him, covering him in goop, which Yoshi is quick to lick off like a dog. Mario turns around angrily to see SHADOW MARIO standing over him, laughing to himself. Mario motions for the rest of the group to stand back; this is his battle. You now play as Mario in a battle against his evil doppelganger.

Shadow Mario lays on the ground, pounding his fists in defeat. He keeps this up for a while, Mario standing over him, until he loses energy and falls unconscious. Mario and group get back together and are about to go into the cave...when they hear 'Hyaaaa!'s for help from the Castle. Not wanting to leave someone in need, the group boards the Castle and searches for the prisoner. Now that your party members are bumped up to five from one, this Castle level is much harder and more maze-like. The enemies are in larger quantities as well, and the traps are more damaging and dangerous, including several with closing walls. Reach the dungeon to trigger another cutscene.

Link is the only one to reach the dungeon, due to his experience in dungeons, the others being lost somewhere else. Link hacks open the door to see Toon Link, pounding the cushy walls in agony. He must be going insane in there! Suddenly, he turns to see...himself? Older? Now he's definitely going insane. Toon Link lets out a cry and charges Link with his sword (which he somehow kept from the Koopas), while Link backs away and retaliates. You now play a Stamina Match between the two Links, playing as older Link against his higher-tier younger self. They both have 100 HP, and you have to KO Toon Link, but not off a boundary, only lower his HP to knock some sense into him. Fortunately, you can only be KOed off the top, the ceiling being high enough for this, as the walls are cushy, enclosing the arena to Shadow Moses Island size. These cushy walls can be bounced off of by characters knocked into them.

Toon Link pants and begins to attack Link again, but then stops, as Link locks swords with him, pointing to the open door. Toon Link gets an expression of realization, then shakes hands with his older self. The two Links leave the dungeon, for the screen to zoom out and show the other four characters, as well as the two Links, being monitored from a screen in a control room of sorts. Army Hammer Bro. has woken up and is monitoring their progress, the entire Koopa Army behind him. The Hammer Bro. presses a button, summoning a portal back to Bowser's Castle, then motions into it for the enemies to do so. He then presses a red button for self-destruct, laughing evilly and jumping into the closing portal. Sirens begin to go off, and the camera shows all the characters in their various locations. You now play five separate fleeing levels, you having ten minutes to complete them all. Each one is fairly short, but is challenging and full of traps. You have two stocks per character (except the two Links, who have one each), and if you get a game over anywhere in the levels, you start over. If the timer goes down, you lose as well. The characters' levels model their own skills; Kirby's and Pit's levels focus on jumping around aerial traps and whatnot. The Links' and Yoshi's levels focus more on combat. Mario's is average in both of these aspects. Win all five levels to clear the stage.

The characters watch from the shore as the Castle explodes. Shadow Mario watches in anger, from a high up tree, as the characters enter the cave. He then enters an 'M' portal, leaving elsewhere to wreak more havoc. From now on, Toon Link appears in the cutscenes that the other five normally appear in.

Bowser Jr. / Shadow Mario isn't seen again until DK's Trophy is being taken onto the Isle of the Ancients via the airship he painted earlier. He has stationed a fair amount of Sunshine enemies on the ship (the regular Koopas having left for Bowser's Castle) to guard it, including Electrical Koopas (who are freaky and high enough looking to not be considered normal Koopas), Strollin' Stus, and Bloopers (who look different as well). When Diddy boards the ship, the enemies corner him, Diddy looking intimidated. However, the stupid foes don't see Captains Falcon and Olimar hop down after him, turning back DK's trophy. The enemies turn around at the noise to get a Banana Slamma in the face. More enemies spawn from a Slime Generator in the middle of the stage, however, creating a crowd of foes to fight, while the four characters get in their poses. You now fight a multi-man battle against all of them, the generator acting like it did in Jr.'s D-Smash, but having 100 HP here, and spawning infinite enemies at a rapid rate. The battle doesn't end until you take out the generator and all the foes that are out at that time.

Shadow Mario watches from the Isle of the Ancients, as his generator bursts and the characters pose with victory. He shakes his fists and hops down in a Shadow Ball. The characters look up to see him create a huge puddle of goop around him in his fury, then strike a battle pose, for the characters to copy. Here, 3/4 of the airship is covered in goop, like in Shadow Mario's Final Smash, and whenever he's over the goop, it works like it does there as well. He tends to stay around the goop quite often, so it's like facing him with his Final Smash always out. Fortunately, you have access to all four characters, so this shouldn't be super difficult.

The defeated Shadow Mario backs up, holding his head, then accidentally backs up off the ship, wobbling a bit before falling into the sea below. DK and Diddy high-five, but sober up as the ship enters the Isle. Shadow Mario shakes his fist at the Smashers as he floats in the sea, then summons some Cheep Cheeps (fish) as water skiis to ride away.

Bowser Jr. is seen in a room full of computers with Bowser next, in the cutscene after the characters flee the Subspace Bomb Factory. Jr. hangs his head slightly at his unsuccessful attempts at defeating Mario, but Bowser just pats him on the head. The Koopa Throne is in good hands! Suddenly, the glow of a portal shines on the father and son pair, who turn to see Ganondorf step out. He grins wickedly and motions in, a picture of the Subspace Gunship seen inside. Ganondorf motions into the portal; it's time to go. The computer room was the same one Ganondorf used earlier. The Koopas enter the portal; Bowser rapidly, but Jr. slightly hesitantly. The portal closes, as Ganondorf steps back in after the Koopas, laughing evilly. His reign has begun!

Jr. is seen with his father and Ganondorf atop the Ganon Cannon in the following cutscene. In the scene where Ganondorf betrays Bowser, Jr. is present as well. Ganondorf doesn't see Jr. as a threat, so he shoots Bowser as normal first. Jr. turns just in time to see this, crying out in shock, for Ganondorf to turn to him with the cannon next. Jr., however, has had enough, and throws his Paintbrush into the nozzle of the cannon, causing it to explode in Ganondorf's face. Pissed and slightly blackened, Ganondorf gets into a fighting pose, while Jr. pulls another spare Paintbrush out of his shell. You now fight the King of Evil as Bowser Jr. Ganondorf has insane AI here, however, always trying to Thunderstomp you to your doom, and trying to Flame Choke suicide you when he's at high damage. Defeat him to trigger another cutscene.

Ganondorf is turned into a trophy at his defeat, while Jr. rushes over to revive his father. Bowser roars at Ganondorf's trophy, then knocks it into the Subspace oblivion below. Bowser motions for Jr. to wait there, for him to nod, then stomps up to meet Master Hand. The same cutscene follows as normal, but Bowser is the one to try to attack Tabuu and pay the price, Jr. screaming in horror as Bowser falls back down. Jr. tries to revive his father again, but Tabuu has already used his Off Waves, and Jr. as well as everyone else is turned into a trophy.

This time, Ganondorf is the one revived by Dedede. He is fought like Bowser usually is, and when he's revived, he is about to fight again, but Dedede quickly grabs him and does his D-Throw three times, forcing Ganondorf to admit defeat and come with him into the Great Maze. Instead of Link and Zelda reviving Ganondorf, Mario and Peach find Bowser and Jr.'s trophies and revive them in a similar manner, resurrecting their foes for a common goal. The Koopas refuse at first, but then Mario points to Master Hand's dead body, which is nearby here, instead of during Dedede vs. Ganondorf. Bowser looks at it sadly, Jr. copying him, then gets pissed and charges up the stairs ahead of Mario and Peach, Jr. shrugging, then following. Mario and Peach smile at each other, then follow behind. No trophy getting beat up scene is included, like it is for Ganondorf.

In the Great Maze, Jr.'s Block Castle is a new area, with a fairly large trap area. You fight Dark Bowser Jr. and Dark Shadow Mario separately, as well as Dark Toon Link, and Dark Bowser Jr. in the Koopa Clown Car and Army Hammer Bro. as a mini-boss.

I'm too lazy to quote, so I'll just respond in parts.

Yes, I just had to have that Baby Bowser reference in there somewhere, StB.

I usually finish and post my sets on weekends; maybe that's it, or as K.Rool said, they are scared of the size. I agree with you how underrated Sunshine is, and with all Jr.'s references to it, I probably exposed a lot of it that some people know, and I'm proud of that. It's his main game, I guess, so I had to put in a lot of references . The situationals are fine in my opinion, as the only one that doesn't really flow is the Cookie defense, and that is in Jr.'s personality, so it's still fitting. Thanks for reading!

If I posted the two separately, I might not scare as many people, but Shadow Mario would be more awkward on his own, so yeah. I have some detailed moves that need those explanations, but I completely understand what you are trying to say, K.Rool. I used semi-colons in there, but I'll follow your advice and add more; I'll also shorten the descriptions that need it in the future. My secret set is only done up to Neutral Special (which I do first now), so I'll have plenty of time for working on that in MYM6.

Relating to that set, this was my last set with that heading planned, so fear not, it is over. Now it's just ***heading***, although this particular next set has an icon on either side...

Also relating to that set, it has next to no props, which you will definitely like. This guy doesn't frickin' need them!

Forward Smash was partly inspired from DFM's Bowser Remakes F-Tilt, but with different set-up and uses, and ways to fire, and with a Sunshine-style cannon. I have to have unique grabs now, so I added that here, along with Kidnapping from NSMB. Playstyle was easier to make than Sebastian, but still felt a little less than perfect, due to Jr. being the infamous trick-using character. My next set has a mechanic, as well as a more unique style, so hopefully, it'll be a new high to top this one.

Anyways, thanks for actually reading all of my recent sets when they're posted. I appreciate the comments, as they always help me improve in the future.

Well, thanks a whole lot for all the positive commentary on Bowser Jr.; he definitely took the longest time to finish out of my sets so far, and I'm pleased with what he turned out to be. I never intended it to be as long as it is, though; although K.Rool is right in saying I sometimes don't shorten the move descriptions down as much as I should, most of that detail is mandatory for describing the move functions. Having two characters plus a ton of extras with said detail can really stretch a moveset out.

I think I did a fairly easy-to-read job with the Final Smash; the Green Landmaster was just a joke, in that Jr. yells out a quote before leaping offscreen and coming down in a controllable vehicle as well. The commands were pretty clear, in my opinion. The Airship is Landmaster-sized, and floats and moves with the same controls, although it cannot barrel-roll or KO foes off the top. It can still crush foes, and has a moveset of its own. There you go, if the moveset description wasn't clear enough. The individual Airship moves were quite simple in function and description, so I won't break those down.

Switching between two characters that share similar styles was my attempt at even more trickery, as a smart player could switch between them, still using trap moves, but having a different enough playstyle to throw off opponents for a while. The D-Throw is fairly balanced, I think, as you cannot grab a tripped opponent (I am pretty sure), and even so, I edited it in that Shadow Mario can't grab a tripped foe here, even if it can be done with normal foes. Plus, it would be hard with Shadow Mario's grab anyways, as the Chain Chomplet isn't that great a grab. That should clarify that if anyone doesn't know that about grabs.