Piranha Plant (SSBU)

Piranha Plant in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Mario
Availability	Downloadable
Final Smash	Petey Piranha

“	Piranha Plant Pipes Up!	”
—Introduction Tagline

Piranha Plant (パックンフラワー, Packun Flower) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Revealed alongside Ken and Incineroar on November 1st, 2018, it is the first DLC character in Ultimate, and was made available on February 1st, 2019. However, it was made available at no cost as early as January 29th, 2019 for players who pre-purchased the digital version of Ultimate or registered their physical version with My Nintendo by January 31st, 2019. Piranha Plant is not part of the Fighters Pass. Piranha Plant is classified as fighter #70.

Attributes

Piranha Plant is a semi-super heavyweight fighter with below-average mobility and effective anti-air tools. Compared to other heavyweights, it fits in the mold of an archetypal heavyweight: while its dashing speed is average, it has a slow walking speed, air acceleration, and air speed.

One of Piranha Plant’s most effective strengths are its special moves, which are well varied and good for various situations. Its neutral special, Ptooie, is a unique projectile that can be tossed in either direction or held in the air as a good anti-air option and a good trading tool due to its power and transcendent priority. Poison Breath is a slow-moving projectile that doesn’t make opponents flinch but deals massive damage, especially when at full charge; opponents must be very wary of it, making it a good area-denial tool. It also has a great recovery in the form of Piranhacopter, which has hitboxes beside Piranha Plant and travels a great distance, which combined with Piranha Plant’s high weight, gives it excellent survivability overall. Lastly, its down special, Long-Stem Strike, has super armor during its pot phase and tremendous range when fully-charged. However, it can at times be risky as it increases its hurtbox size quite a lot during the attack frames.

Piranha Plant’s ground game is overall rather versatile; its tilts are good for starting juggles or combos as well as spacing and KOing. Up tilt can lead into various aerial attacks and a forward smash at low percents; its forward tilt is decently fast and can KO at very high percentages; its down tilt is a versatile combo starter, being capable of leading into moves such as forward tilt or forward aerial at low-mid percentages, and into aerials afterwards. Its smash attacks are generally slow but powerful, such as its forward smash, which has some start up and end-lag but KOs as early as 60% on most fighters when sweet-spotted near the ledge.

Its aerials are overall well-rounded, making its air game overall decent despite its rather sluggish mobility and moves with relatively high landing lag. Neutral aerial is a multi-hit move that functions much like Palutena's and Ivysaur's neutral aerial, being a capable combo move with the ability to drag opponents down for combos and potentially makes it a gimping tool due to this trait; Forward aerial is good for edge-guarding, thanks to its wide range; Back aerial is a slow but very powerful move that KOs at 80% near the ledge; up aerial is one of its best combo/juggle tools thanks to the speed and wide range; and down aerial is a long-ranged and decently strong meteor smash with very fast startup.

Another strength Piranha Plant possesses is a decent grab game; while its grab range is short, its grabs' frame data is among the fastest in the game, and its throws have their own unique perks; forward throw is a useful throw for positioning and edge-guarding, back and up throws have KO potential at high percentages, and down throw is a viable combo starter at low to high percentages.

Piranha Plant does, however, have some noteworthy flaws. Its overall mobility is lackluster, having an average initial dash speed and dash speed, but lack of air acceleration and slow air speed. This gives it difficulties keeping up with swift characters such as Zero Suit Samus or Sonic, especially in the air, which makes it rather easy to zone out. Piranha Plant’s high weight and tall hurtbox make it vulnerable to combos, particularly from those with strong combo games such as Bayonetta or Luigi, and has trouble landing from juggles because of it having slight difficulty breaking out of them. Finally, Piranha Plant's approach options are rather predictable, with its overall frame data being generally slow. This is no exception to its KOing options either, with most of Piranha Plant's KO moves being either short-ranged or laggy.

Overall, Piranha Plant is a unique heavyweight that utilizes various projectiles and attacks to effectively zone and KO opponents, but must be careful when throwing out normal attacks to avoid being punished due to the endlag many of them have, thus making it a patient fighter when it comes to approaching. Despite Piranha Plant’s popularity as a character, it has had extremely low tournament representation so far, which has resulted in mixed opinions on the character's viability in the competitive scene; making it currently unclear how Piranha Plant stands relative to the game’s cast.

Moveset

• If Piranha Plant is footstooled while crouching, it will automatically stretch upward and perform a biting attack, which has 4% base damage with vertical knockback.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2.4%	A leaf jab, followed by a swipe with the opposite leaf, followed by a headbutt. Alternatively, the leaf swipes can be followed by a flurry of bites, ending in a more powerful bite; similar to Corrin's rapid jab. Holding the attack button will have Piranha Plant perform the first jab repeatedly.
			2.2%
			4.4%
			0.6% (loop), 3.4% (end)
Forward tilt		Push and Pull	5.5%	Two forward bites. Pressing the attack button a second time will have the Piranha Plant perform its following bite. It is Piranha Plant's fastest and most damaging tilt, and possesses the longest horizontal range out of all its tilts. Piranha Plant's jaws on the first hit are intangible for as long as the hitboxes are out. It can KO middleweights from the edge of Final Destination at around 144%. Resembles the attacks Piranha Plants make in Super Mario 64.
			6%
Up tilt			9% (head), 7% (body)	Piranha Plant flails its head upward. Its head is intangible for as long as the hitboxes are out. Due to its poor horizontal range and good vertical range, it works best as an anti-air tool, and can KO middleweights at around 147%.
Down tilt			6% (leaf), 7% (tip)	A swipe with its leaf. Piranha Plant's slowest tilt, but it has great combo potential into forward tilt at low percents, and can lead into a neutral aerial or forward aerial up to middling percents.
Dash attack			10% (clean), 7% (late)	Performs a "dropkick" using its pot/pipe. Usually used to tech-chase opponents.
Forward smash		Prickly Swing	19% (head), 15% (body)	The Piranha Plant turns into a Prickly Piranha Plant from Super Mario Galaxy and headbutts forward. Its head is intangible for as long as the hitboxes are out. Has a sweetspot on its head. While its startup is rather slow, it is respectively powerful, with the sweetspot KOing middleweights at the edge of Final Destination at around 65%, while the sourspot can KO at around 84%.
Up smash			3% (hit 1), 12% (hit 2)	The Piranha Plant lunges upward and bites. Like its up tilt and forward smash, its head is intangible for as long as the hitboxes are out, and thanks to its seven active frames, up smash works as a potent anti-air. It can KO middleweights at around 91%.
Down smash			12% (front), 14% (back)	The Piranha Plant sweeps its pot/pipe in front, and then behind itself. Both the front and back hits can KO middleweights from the edge of Final Destination at around 95% and 82% respectively. Due to it being Piranha Plant's fastest smash attack and launching at a strong semi-spike angle, it makes it a versatile edgeguarding move.
Neutral aerial			2% (hits 1-4), 3% (hit 5)	The Piranha Plant spins rapidly with its leaves extended, hitting multiple times. Resembles Ivysaur's neutral aerial. Due to its looping hits using an auto-link angle, it can be used to drag opponents down to start grounded combos.
Forward aerial			11% (pot), 9% (body)	The Piranha Plant swings its pot/pipe upwards in front of itself. A useful edgeguarding tool, as it has wide range and respectable damage and knockback when sweetspotted.
Back aerial		Fire Breath	14.5%	The Piranha Plant turns around and spits out a burst of fire. Its slowest aerial, but it is also its strongest, KOing middleweights at around 86% from the edge of Final Destination. It has a high amount of end lag, making it potentially risky to use to stage spike. Fire Piranha Plants originated in Super Mario Bros. 3.
Up aerial			8%	An upwards headbutt. It is Piranha Plant's fastest aerial, and the only one that can autocancel in a short hop, which makes it a decent juggler with the assistance of platforms. However, due to Piranha Plant's head veering into the Z axis during the latter portion of the move, it is very likely to whiff against characters with small or thin frames.
Down aerial		Flowerpot Meteor	11% (clean), 9% (late)	The Piranha Plant flips then stomps below itself with its pot/pipe. Sweetspots at the bottom of the pot, which will meteor smash rather powerfully. Has very fast startup compared to most meteor smashes, coming out on frame 9.
Grab			—	The Piranha Plant reaches out with its leaves. Among the fastest grabs in the game.
Pummel			1.3%	Bites the opponent.
Forward throw			3% (hit), 8% (throw)	Headbutts the opponent away.
Back throw			11%	Chomps the opponent, launching them backwards. It can KO middleweights from the edge of Final Destination at around 148%.
Up throw			12%	Tosses the opponent upward, and launches them with a bite. A reliable KO throw, being capable of KOing middleweights at around 151%.
Down throw			2.5% (hits 1-2), 3% (throw)	Throws the opponent to the ground and bites them twice. Can combo into an aerial at low percents, or into a dash attack if the opponent DIs outward.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Sweeps its head around itself.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Sweeps its head around itself.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Kicks its pot/pipe forward and back.
Edge attack Edge getups			10%	Dropkicks with its pot/pipe.
Neutral special		Ptooie	14% (held), 18% (thrown, early), 13% (thrown, late)	The Piranha Plant spits up a metal spiky ball, keeping it suspended by blowing air upwards. The spiky ball can then be blown either in front or behind the Piranha Plant. The spiky ball has transcendent priority, and the move stalls Piranha Plant's descent if used in the air, making it a deadly edgeguarding tool. It is also capable of punishing opponents that attack Piranha Plant out of the move, as the ball will likely drop on their heads and act as a punish. Based on the Ptooie enemy introduced in Super Mario Bros. 3.
Side special		Poison Breath	1.2% (uncharged, center loop), 0.6% (uncharged, edge loop), 2.7% (fully charged, center loop), 1.6% (fully charged, edge loop)	The Piranha Plant spews a damaging cloud of poison in front of it. If all hits connect, it will deal a great amount of damage. The cloud itself has no knockback and deals no hitstun, but it can be countered/reflected and shielded. If an opponent attempts to shield against this attack, it will do detrimental damage to the shield itself. The move is chargeable, and it can be saved for later use. During execution, Piranha Plant changes its color to match the Putrid Piranha enemy from the Paper Mario series.
Up special		Piranhacopter	1.2% (hits 1-8), 4% (hit 9)	The Piranha Plant spins its leaves in a fashion akin to a propeller, causing it to rise upward. It can be angled to the left and right during the ascent. Covers excellent distance, being able to successfully recover from near the bottom blast zone. Its looping hits can potentially drag opponents to a blast zone for early KOs. Based on the Jumping Piranha Plants from Super Mario World.
Down special		Long-Stem Strike	8.4% (uncharged, close), 12% (uncharged, far), 18.2% (fully charged, close), 26% (fully charged, far)	The Piranha Plant retreats into its pot/pipe, and extends outward to bite opponents in the direction aimed. This also extends the character’s hurtbox. Piranha Plant gains super armor during the charge, and intangibility on its head during the bite. A deadly edgeguarding tool due to its aforementioned absurdly high reach and power, notably when fully charged. However, the full extension significantly extends Piranha Plant's hitbox, making it possible to hit it from afar when timed correctly. Likely a reference to Elasto-Piranhas or Stalking Piranha Plants.
Final Smash		Petey Piranha	49% total	The Piranha Plant summons Petey Piranha, who stomps around the stage with his cages from his boss fight in The Subspace Emissary. Opponents that get too close will get trapped in his cages. When the Final Smash is nearly over, Petey Piranha will breathe fire at both of the cages, then slam both of the cages to the ground, dealing heavy damage and knockback to the opponents who were trapped in the cages as well as anyone too close when he slams them. It is possible for Petey Piranha to fall off stage, taking any trapped opponents with him, though is not a guaranteed KO if the opponent has leftover jumps, a strong recovery or both.

On-screen appearance

• Piranha Plant rises straight up out of its pot, making a Warp Pipe noise as it does so.

Idle animations

• Piranha Plant quickly bites the air twice.
• Piranha Plant dozes off for a second, it then wakes up and rotates its head 360°.

Taunts

• Up Taunt: Rises up out of its pot, using the same animation and sound effects as its entrance animation.
• Side Taunt: Bites the air around it multiple times, similar to one of Bowser and King K. Rool's taunts.
• Down Taunt: Spins around and strikes a pose with a grin.

Victory poses

• Bites the air around it three times, before smiling. In team battles, this is the only pose Piranha Plant will use.
• Mario runs and jumps towards Piranha Plant's pot, only for Piranha Plant to pop out and bite him twice, sending him flying after the second bite, before smiling.
• Hangs down from the ceiling and poses.

A music piece based on the same melody as the Mario victory theme, but instead of a standard orchestral arrangement, the piece is played with slightly distorted electric guitars. It also sounds similar to the level clear theme of Bowser's sidequests in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

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Classic Mode: New Bloom

All of Piranha Plant's opponents are the base roster newcomers in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It also references Piranha Plant being the last newcomer being revealed prior to the games launch. With the exception of the first match, each battle features one unique newcomer and one Echo Fighter, with the matches being placed in the order of the unique newcomer’s reveal. The boss, Rathalos, is also notably new to the series.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music
1	Inkling (x8)	Moray Towers	Splattack! (Original)
2	Ridley and Dark Samus	Norfair	Vs. Ridley
3	Simon and Richter	Dracula's Castle	Vampire Killer (Remix)
4	King K. Rool and Chrom	Pirate Ship	Gang-Plank Galleon
5	Isabelle and Daisy	Smashville	Tour - Animal Crossing: New Leaf
6	Incineroar and Ken	Boxing Ring	Battle at the Summit!
Bonus Stage
Final	Rathalos	?	Roar/Rathalos

Role in World of Light

The message that shows Piranha Plant's availability in World of Light

Due to its status as downloadable content, Piranha Plant does not have a legitimate role in World of Light. Instead, it is unlocked for use in the mode after freeing 10 fighters from Galeem's control. If loading an existing save file that meets this condition prior to downloading Piranha Plant, it is immediately unlocked.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
70		Piranha Plant	There is no fighter battle for Piranha Plant, this fighter is obtained by awakening 10 fighters after it is downloaded.

Spirits

Piranha Plant's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins, only after Piranha Plant itself is downloaded. Unlocking Piranha Plant in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with its artwork in Ultimate.

While Piranha Plant itself does not appear in other spirits, Petey Piranha (who appears in its Final Smash) has his own spirit.

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  1303. Piranha Plant

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  54. Petey Piranha

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Piranha Plant's unused render of a red plant inside of a warp pipe.

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  Piranha Plant's official render of a green plant inside of a warp pipe.

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  Piranha Plant's splash art.

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  Piranha Plant's amiibo.

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  Piranha Plant's fighter card.

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  Piranha Plant attacking Wario eating a Maxim Tomato on Skyloft.

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  Piranha Plant shooting a Spiky Ball at Chrom on Halberd.

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  Piranha Plant shooting poison at Toon Link on Mushroom Kingdom.

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  Piranha Plant falling on Midgar.

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  Mario with a Super Leaf floating over Piranha Plant's blue, gray, pink, and green costumes on Super Mario Maker.

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  Pirahna Plant next to Jigglypuff's Sing in Living Room.

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  Piranha Plant spitting poison on Hanenbow.

Trivia

• Piranha Plant's official artwork has a UV Mapping error near the base of its pot, where the texture appears to squish vertically. It can be seen here.
• Piranha Plant is the only character that counterattacks its opponent when footstooled, albeit only when it's crouching.
• Despite the fanbase's bewildered reaction to Piranha Plant's reveal, Masahiro Sakurai stated in an interview that he does not aim to surprise players, stating that "The surprise element quickly fades once the announcement has been made. Rather, I believe it’s important to have a good balance as a game. In the past titles in the series, Mr. Game & Watch, R.O.B. and Duck Hunt Dog were some of the examples we offered outside of people’s typical expectations. However, if we don’t have these types of fighters, and we only had typical “hero/heroine” type fighters in the lineup, there’s not much difference. It’s probably not very interesting. Correct? Also, unlike some main characters from some (not widely known) franchises, Piranha Plant is a character everyone knows well." [1]
• Piranha Plant is the first newcomer in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate to have all its alternate costumes shown in its reveal trailer; in fact, they were all shown in one shot, excluding the main.
  • Bowser Jr. was the first character this happened with, when he was revealed in his trailer for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
• Piranha Plant is the first playable character to be a mob.
  • In addition, Ultimate is the first time a generic Piranha Plant has been playable in any game. However, Petey Piranha, a Piranha Plant himself, has been playable in various Mario spin-off games; Fire and Poison Piranha Plants are capturable by Mario in Super Mario Odyssey; and Fire Stalking Piranha Plants are playable in Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser and Bowser Jr.'s Journey.
• Piranha Plant is the only downloadable character in the series who receives an official Palutena's Guidance unlike in Smash 4 and later Ultimate DLC, where downloadable fighters have a generic conversation.
• Piranha Plant is the first (and only, so far) playable character who isn't a Pokémon in the Smash Bros. series to be referred to with gender-neutral pronouns, barring the error in which Dark Samus was referred to as "it" until the mistake was corrected.
  • This is not including characters whose alternate costumes change their gender, including Pokémon Trainer, Villager, Robin, Corrin, and Inkling; who are referred to as “they” and “their” in the tips.
• Piranha Plant is the second character to have a victory pose that features another playable fighter, the first being one of Robin's involving Chrom.
• Piranha Plant is the second DLC character to be free for a limited time after launch, the first being Mewtwo in Super Smash Bros. 4.
  • Both characters were first to be released as DLC in their respective games.
• Piranha Plant is the first original newcomer in Ultimate to not have a CGI reveal trailer.
• The splash art for Piranha Plant is so far the only one that uses a different font, opposite to the font "DF Gothic Japanese" that was used in every single splash art since Super Smash Bros. 4.
• Piranha Plant's "eye glint" effect for pre-match splash screens and its HUD icon for Final Smashes is applied differently from other fighters as it has no eyes; the twinkle effect is applied to one of its teeth instead.
• Datamining Piranha Plant's character data reveals some interesting information:
  • Some of Bowser Jr.'s motion files can be found in Piranha Plant's character data, indicating that some of Piranha Plant's animations are taken from him.
  • Files indicate that Piranha Plant was programmed with three jumps, including animations; however, it was removed prior to release, with the day one patch streamlining its jumps to two. This was done by changing its "jump_count_max" parameter from 3 to 2.
  • Piranha Plant was originally datamined to be a middleweight with very slow dash speed before its release; currently, it is a heavyweight with average dash speed.
• Piranha Plant is the only character in the entire series that can attack when footstooled.