Jigglypuff (SSBM)

Jigglypuff in Super Smash Bros. Melee
Universe	Pokémon
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Brawl
Availability	Unlockable
Tier	S (3)

“

Jigglypuff's normal attacks are weak, and because of its light weight it's easily sent flying. However, with its incredible midair agility, it seems to dance when airborne.

”

Jigglypuff, (プリン, Purin), is an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee from the Pokémon series, making a return from the first Super Smash Bros game. Jigglypuff retains most of its moves from SSB, though with some modifications.

Jigglypuff is 3rd place on the Melee tier list, in the S tier, a significant improvement from its 8th position on the previous game's tier list. Jigglypuff's jump on the tier list is due to its incredible recovery, an extremely dangerous edgeguarding technique of the wall of pain, a powerful KO move that can easily be comboed into, and an overall great aerial game and metagame. Its floatiness also makes it the only character in the top tier who cannot be easily chaingrabbed, which is also aided by its small size. Regardless, Jigglypuff still has problems; its combination of being light and floaty makes it easier to KO than other characters. Jigglypuff's options on the ground are also limited, because of its poor range and a lack of a projectile.

How to unlock

To unlock Jigglypuff, the player has to clear Classic or Adventure Mode on any difficulty and with any stock; if they complete the mode with no continues, then they will fight against Jigglypuff. Alternatively, players can complete 50 VS. matches.

When fought, Jigglypuff is fought on Pokémon Stadium, with its ordinary music playing.

Attributes

Jigglypuff is, in general, a character of extremes. It has the slowest dash speed (along with Zelda), the fastest air speed, the second lightest weight (along with Mr. Game & Watch), and the slowest falling speed. All of these properties gives Jigglypuff among the most unusual, but versatile, approach in the game.

Jigglypuff's greatest strength is its almost unparalleled combo ability; coupled with a low falling speed, fast, high hitstun, low knockback aerials, good tilts, and average power throws, Jigglypuff has plenty of ways to start and continue combos, against almost any other character in the game. Additionally, Jigglypuff's combo ability, unlike most other characters, is not dependent on the opponent's characteristics; Jigglypuff can combo every type of character in the game quickly and efficiently. Jigglypuff's combo ability is particularly easy to see with the Space animal slayer, which almost guarantees a KO against some fast fallers in the game. Jigglypuff's approach in the air is also very good; with a very short, yet long ranged short hop, and multiple fast, low-lag aerials, Jigglypuff's SHFFL is very powerful, even considering its low falling speed. On the flip side, Jigglypuff, due to its unusual properties and small size, is immune to most chaingrabs in the game, making it among the few characters in the top tier invulnerable to such approaches.

Jigglypuff also has incredible power in some of its attacks; its forward throw and forward smash act as potential KO moves at higher percentages, and its down smash can set up edgeguards. Jigglypuff's special moves also have high KO potential; Rollout requires charging, but at high charges, it moves quickly, is difficult to block and/or break, and packs incredible horizontal power. Jigglypuff's most powerful attack, however, is Rest. Among the most feared attacks in the game, Rest is an attack of extremes, with almost nonexistent starting lag (with 1 frame of startup), extreme ending lag, and incredible power, easily KOing characters at low percentages.

Due to its characteristics and recovery prowess, Jigglypuff is also among the most dangerous edgeguarders in the game, with quick and powerful aerials easily able to disrupt most recoveries. Additionally, Jigglypuff's Wall of Pain is an incredibly powerful method of edgeguarding, and when used correctly, it almost guarantees a KO on opponents, particularly those with poor recoveries, such as Falco or Roy.

Jigglypuff's recovery is also considered to be the best in the game; coupled with five midair jumps, having the lowest falling speed and the highest air speed, Jigglypuff has amazing recovery by itself. Pound, however, with its Rising Pound capabilities, gives Jigglypuff almost infinite vertical and horizontal distance.

Jigglypuff, however, is among the easiest characters to KO; due to having the second lowest weight in the game (along with Mr. Game & Watch, and second to Pichu), as well as its general floatiness, Jigglypuff is very vulnerable to all blastlines, particularly the upper lines.

Additionally, despite having almost unparalleled approach in the air, Jigglypuff's ground approach is among the worst in the game; due to a short wavedash, having the slowest dash in the game (alongside Zelda), having short-ranged, high-lag smashes, and an average grab range, Jigglypuff is almost entirely dependent on staying in the air to attack and combo well. Jigglypuff also lacks a projectile of any type; unlike other characters, such as Marth, Jigglypuff also cannot negate projectiles easily, though its short crouch can mitigate this slightly.

Jigglypuff's defense game is also decidedly average; despite decent rolling and sidestep dodges and a large shield in proportion to its body, Jigglypuff's shield has an odd property: whenever broken, it delivers 300 points of vertical knockback to Jigglypuff (by comparison, the typical smash attack at roughly 100% percentage deals about 165 to 195 points of knockback), and instantaneously KOing it. As such, players must take heed when shielding for long periods of time.

Moveset

Ground attacks

Normal

• Neutral attack- Two fast jabs. The first hit does 2-3%, the second does 3-5%. The first hit, though low in range, has good enough hitstun to be L-cancelled into a grab, into a tilt, or into itself. The second hit is good for spacing.
• Forward tilt- Quick roundhouse spin, with foot extended. 10%.
• Down tilt- Quickly extends its foot downwards. 10%.
• Up tilt- Extends its foot upwards quickly. Surprisingly good at combos, can chain into it at low percentages, and at higher percentages it is a great setup for an aerial attack. 9%
• Dash attack- A generic dash attack, trips and falls head-first. Somewhat fast, but predictable, along with decent ending lag. 12%

Smash attacks

• Forward smash- Does a small hop forward with foot extended. Minor startup and ending lag, but good finisher at higher %'s. 17% damage.
• Down smash- Enlarges both feet below it. Great for spacing, if used near the edge can lead into an edgeguarding KO. 12% damage.
• Up smash- Rocks its head up. Though having small startup and ending lag, it is good for leading into aerial combos or finishing. 14%.

Other attacks

• Ledge attack- Gets up on stage, foot extended. 6% damage.
• 100% Ledge attack- Slowly gets up and spins its body in a similar fashion to its down smash. 6% damage.
• Floor attack- Gets up and spins body in a similar fashion to down smash. 8% damage

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial- Squishes itself and extends its feet. Decent spacing move, has Sex Kick properties. Good for edgeguarding. 12% damage.
• Forward aerial- Undoubtedly one of Jigglypuff's best moves, quickly extends both feet in front of itself. It has excellent knockback for edgeguarding. This move is the backbone of most of Jigglypuff's aerial combos. 12% damage.
• Down aerial- A drill kick. Not much hitstun, though has good amount of damage when all hits connect. If the player used short hopped down aerial with L-cancel, it can lead to a Rest. 11% damage if all hits connect.
• Back aerial- Similar to its forward aerial, this move is Jigglypuff's key tool for edgeguarding. Suddenly turns around and kicks. Good speed, but low range. 12% damage.
• Up aerial- Waves its hand up in an arch. Not the best at aerial KOs, though excellent for juggling, compounded with Jigglypuff's multiple midair jumps. 11% damage.

Grabs & throws

• Pummel- Punches foe in the stomach. 2-3% damage per hit. Somewhat slow.
• Forward throw- Puff itself up and launches foe in front. Surprising knockback for a throw of Melee, can lead into an edgeguard KO near the ledge. Second strongest forward throw in Melee. The knockback can KO opponents above 130% when used very close to the ledge. 12% damage.
• Up throw- Tosses foe above itself. Can lead into aerial combos against fast fallers and lightweight or floaty characters at low percentages. 11% damage.
• Back throw- Similar to Kirby's, takes foe and throws them behind while going on its back. 10% damage.
• Down throw- Grinds foe with itself on the floor. 8% damage.

Special moves

Jigglypuff's special moves

Neutral special	Pound	Rollout
Side special	—	Pound
Up special	Sing
Down special	Rest

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Melee Character Matchups

Avg.

Changes from N64 to Melee

When transitioning from Super Smash Bros. to Super Smash Bros. Melee, Jigglypuff received multiple buffs, most of which significantly made it a better fighter. Tournament results demonstrate this; Jigglypuff was initially 9th out of 12 on the tier list, and it jumped to 3rd out of 26 on the Melee tier list.

In terms of buffs, Jigglypuff's most significant buff was that it received multiple buffs in its KO and combo power. Rest now KOs much more reliably, with a different trajectory and knockback. Jigglypuff's other attacks also gave it improved combo prowess; Pound is considerably fast and less laggy, and it can combo considerably better due to its different trajectory. Additionally, a nerf in power for its neutral, back, down and up aerial attacks gives Jigglypuff added combo potential, and all attacks now have lower ending lag, allowing Jigglypuff to string in more attacks in one jump. Increased range in its forward and back aerials also aids Jigglypuff's approach in the air, as well as give rise to the Wall of Pain.

Jigglypuff's approach on the ground was slightly aided by by a faster down smash, allowing for ampler opportunities for edgeguard followups. Additionally, its down tilt acts better as a spacing option, and it comes out slightly faster. Sing also makes opponents sleep for a longer period of time.

Jigglypuff also received buffs in its recovery; all of its midair jumps now grant vertical height, and Pound can now perform Rising Pound much more easily, giving Jigglypuff almost infinite recovery.

Despite being greatly buffed, Jigglypuff is not without nerfs. One nerf is that Sing doesn't put opponents to sleep as long, reducing its effectiveness. Another nerf is that Rest has a smaller hitbox. Other nerfs include reduced dashing speed to being the slowest tied with Zelda, the up smash having more ending lag, and its down air spike being difficult to land, no longer useful for gimping. However, those nerfs don't prevent Jigglypuff from being extremely buffed.

In terms of cosmetic changes, Jigglypuff's forward throw was moved to its up throw, and it gained a new special move, Rollout; Pound became a side special. Additionally, Jigglypuff's red and green costumes were changed; they no longer give it bows, but instead, the former gives it a red flower, while the latter gives it a green headband. Jigglypuff also received a new taunt where in spins around, and its "applause" pose on the Results Screen now loops constantly, instead of moving its head twice then stopping.

In Single-Player Modes

In Classic Mode

In Classic Mode, Jigglypuff can appear as an ordinary opponent, as an ally in the team and giant battles, in a team with Kirby or Pikachu, as a giant opponent, in the multi-character fight, or as a metal opponent.

In all of its appearances, Jigglypuff appears on either Pokémon Stadium or Poké Floats; when paired with Kirby in the team battle, it will appear on Green Greens.

In Adventure Mode

Jigglypuff can appear in Stage 7 of the Adventure Mode; in the Pokémon Battle, Jigglypuff can appear among the Pikachus the player has to fight against.

In All-Star Mode

In All-Star Mode, Jigglypuff and its allies are fought on Pokéfloats.

In Event Matches

Jigglypuff appears in the following Event Matches:

• Event 32: Target Acquired: As Falco, the player must KO Jigglypuff as many times as possible in one minute on Corneria. However, Arwings also fire frequently at the stage, and Falco must KO Jigglypuff more often than the Arwings to win the event.
• Event 37: Legendary Pokémon: As any character, the player must fight against a team of four Wire Frames and Jigglypuff; everyone has two lives, and the only items that spawn are Pokéballs, all of which only produce legendary Pokémon. Jigglypuff will never directly attack the player, and will instead only pursue Pokéballs when they appear. Defeating all five opponents also gives the player the opportunity to unlock Pichu.
• Event 39: Jigglypuff Live!: As Jigglypuff, the player must fight against a team of three other Jigglypuffs, with friendly fire turned on; all fighters have three lives, and the damage ratio has been increased.
• Event 40: All-Star Match 4: Jigglypuff is the third opponent fought in this series of staged battles. The selected character battles it on the Poké Floats stage with a stock of 2 while Jigglypuff has 1. With a timer of four minutes, the player must defeat it and the other four characters one-by-one with the overall time and damage: Marth, Luigi, Mewtwo, and Mr. Game & Watch.

Ending images

• 

  Classic Mode

• 

  Adventure Mode

• 

  All-Star Mode

Trophy descriptions

In addition to the normal trophy about Jigglypuff as a character, there are two trophies about it as a fighter, unlocked by completing the Adventure and All-Star modes respectively with Jigglypuff on any difficulty:

Jigglypuff (Adventure)

Jigglypuff's normal attacks are weak, and because of its light weight it's easily sent flying. However, with its incredible midair agility, it seems to dance when airborne. Rollout is a powerful speed attack, but be careful not to fly off the edge. Pound does serious damage, and it can also help as a recovery move.

• (B: Rollout, Smash B: Pound)

Jigglypuff (All-Star)

Jigglypuff can put its enemies to sleep if they are in range of its Sing attack, although the attack does not work on airborne foes. Rest puts Jigglypuff into a deep sleep, but at the instant it drops off, an intense energy force radiates out of the exact center of its body. If this force comes in contact with an enemy, look out! Rest is Jigglypuff's wild card.

• (Up & B: Sing, Down & B: Rest)

Costumes

Jigglypuff's changeable clothing in SSBM

Trivia

• Jigglypuff is one of the four unlockable characters to be shown in the game's introduction, along with Ganondorf, whose fist is shown briefly alongside Link and Zelda's hands; Pichu, who appears near Pikachu right before Jigglypuff appears; and Young Link who is shown shortly before Link is.
• Changing the language on an English copy of SSBM from English to Japanese will actually change Jigglypuff's voice actor. Jigglypuff is the only character who's voice changes completely.
• A CPU Jigglypuff will only use Rest on Event 39, "Jigglypuff Live"; CPU Jigglypuffs also never use Rollout, though a CPU Kirby will use the move if he inhales Jigglypuff (though they will never charge it).
• Jigglypuff's and Mr. Game & Watch's "head sprite" are the only ones to show their entire body.