Squirtle (PM)

Squirtle in Project M and Project+
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Universe	Pokémon
Base game appearance	Brawl
Moveset inspiration	Squirtle (SSBB)
Alternate costume	Shinobi Squirtle

Squirtle is a playable character in the Brawl mod Project M. Like Ivysaur and Charizard, it has been separated from the Pokémon Trainer and so fights alone. Its down special move, Pokémon Change, has been replaced with Bubble. Since his Brawl incarnation has also been given significant buffs.

Squirtle is ranked 31st out of 41 on the official tier list and is placed toward the lower half of the C tier. This is roughly the same as its placement as part of the Pokémon Trainer in Brawl, where it ranked 29th out of 38.

Attributes

In Project M, Squirtle's kit puts a strong emphasis on movement. Able to out-maneuver most opponents, Squirtle can play evasively while looking for an opening before launching into fast-paced combos to carry opponents to the side blastzones or kill off the top. Squirtle's access to fast burst movement options through its unique run turnaround animation, shellshift, and low friction on the ground enable it to quickly chase down escaping opponents even offstage, where its remarkable up-special allows it to effectively gimp opponents and return to stage from practically anywhere.

However, the trade-off is that Squirtle has generally unimpressive range on his attacks and grab. Squirtle plays similarly to Pikachu in his short range, low profile, good mobility and powerful up smash, and shares the weakness of light weight, but is generally more grounded as a result of his wider variety of ground movement options and advanced techniques.

Changes from Brawl to PM

Squirtle's down special, Bubble.

In Brawl, Squirtle was tied to the Pokémon Trainer and was considered the strongest Pokémon in its party by far. Squirtle has now been separated from its trainer and its moveset has been significantly revamped. As a result, Squirtle received a mix of buffs and nerfs. Squirtle's mobility has been improved further due to its increased speed and the introducution of various mechanics such as wavedashing. The strength of many of its attacks has also increased and the general changes to Project M's physics further improve Squirtle's combo game. Squirtle's specials moves have also been heavily revamped to make them more effective. Due to being a solo character character, Squirtle has a new down-special move, Bubble. Bubble's hitboxes are transcendent, similar to Falco's lasers, and will trip the opponent like Diddy Kong's banana, making it a valuable tool to combat crouch cancel. In addition, using Bubble while airborne will cause Squirtle's vertical momentum to stall for a short period, making it situationally usable as a recovery tool.

Another major change is the addition of the move Aqua Jet as a powerful kill option. Aqua Jet can be activated by using Squirtle's side-special move, Withdraw. If Squirtle is in contact with an opponent during the first five frames of Withdraw and the player is holding B, the initial move will be canceled with a strong hit upwards and a water particle effect, sending Squirtle into special fall. Though this move is similar to Rest in terms of usage, it is nearly identical to Fox's up-aerial in terms of damage and knockback, but sends at an angle that is five degrees shallower. Squirtle's neutral-special, Water Gun, was also improved. It now produces damaging hitboxes and is overall a more effective tool at walling out opponents.

However, Squirtle did also receive some nerfs. The most notable nerfs come from its separation from the Pokémon Trainer. Because of this, Squirtle can no longer switch out with Ivysaur or Charizard to improve its endurance, kill power and generally cover up its bad matchups. This also means that Squirtle is no longer affected by type effectiveness greatly hindering its endurance against fire attacks. As for direct nerfs, Squirtle's air acceleration was decreased making it harder to weave in and out in the air and Squirtle's aerials have considerably less range making it harder for Squirtle to wall out its opponents in mid-air. Some of Squirtle's moves including down smash and down aerial also have reduced KO power despite the improvements Squirtle's other KO moves received. The first hit of Squirtle's neutral attack has considerably less utility as it's slower and it can no longer lock opponents.

Overall, Squirtle is a more viable choice for competitive play due to no longer being bogged down by stamina, extremely slow and punishable switching between its party and its trainer's other less effective Pokémon which it was forced to switch between. Despite this, according of the latest tier list, Squirtle is now worse than its previous party members Ivysaur and Charizard. While Squirtle is lower in tier list than it was in Brawl (as predicted if judged as a standalone character) Squirtle in PM is overall much more viable thanks to the better balance.

Aesthetics

• New on-screen appearance: Squirtle comes on using Withdraw.
• Pokémon Trainer victory pose replaced: Squirtle squirts water in an arc and then poses.
• Pressing a special button just before Squirtle lands from its up taunt results in it getting black sunglasses based on those worn by the leader of the Squirtle Squad in the Pokémon anime. The glasses shatter if Squirtle is attacked.
• Squirtle's dash turnaround uses slightly different sounds effects.
• Squirtle has all new alternate costumes.

Attributes

• Squirtle walks slower (1.2 → 0.9).
• Squirtle dashes faster (1.37 → 1.45).
• Squirtle's air speed is faster (1.087 → 1.2).
• Squirtle's air acceleration is lower (0.12 → 0.10).
• Squirtle is heavier (75 → 82).
• Squirtle falls faster (1.3 → 1.7).
• Squirtle's gravity is higher (0.1067 → 0.126).
• Squirtle's traction is lower (0.042 → 0.025) now being tied with Luigi for the lowest in the game. While this makes it harder for it to punish out of shield, it gives Squirtle a longer wavedash.
• The introduction of wavedashing improves its approach and mobility, given its low traction.
• Shellshifting has been retained and Squirtle now has even more follow up options, most notably a long jump-canceled grab.
• Shellshift now has a hitbox that deals 3% damage and weakly launches enemies away with high base knockback, leading better into shellshift techniques, most notably the Hydroplane for a KO.
• Squirtle is no longer tied to the Pokémon Trainer. Because of this, Squirtle no longer suffers from the stamina mechanic.
• However, this also means that Squirtle is no longer affected by type effectiveness. While this does help Squirtle against Ivysaur, this hinders Squirtle overall as it no longer resists fire attacks hindering its endurance. This also means that Squirtle cannot swap out with Ivysaur or Charizard in order to adapt to different matchups.

Ground Attacks

• The third hit of neutral attack deals more damage (4% → 6%) and the first two hits now launch opponents vertically making them connect more reliably. The second and third hits have longer durations (frames 4-5 → 4-8 (hit 2), 5 → 4-6 (hit 3)) and the third hit also has less ending lag (frame 36 → 26).
• The first hit of neutral attack has more startup lag (frame 1 → 2), less range and can no longer be spammed by holding the A button. Additionally, the second hit can no longer trip opponents and the first two hits cannot lock opponents.
• Forward tilt deals higher damage (6% → 7%/8%/9%) and deals much more knockback (0 (base), 100 (scaling) → 10/120) (though it still is not very effective at KOing) and has a sweetspot at the tip of the tail. Squirtle's tail also now has intangibility.
• Forward tilt has smaller hitboxes, a shorter duration (frames 4-7 → 4-6), more ending lag (frame 18 → 20) and it can no longer lock opponents.
• Up tilt has more combo ability at higher percents due to the removal of hitstun canceling.
• Up tilt has a smaller hitbox and it has less combo potential at lower percents due to the fact that it is now possible to DI moves which don't put opponents into tumble. It is also more difficult to spam due to the removal of buffering.
• Down tilt has less startup (frame 5 → 3) and ending lag (frame 36 → 23) and it now hits just twice making it more reliable. Both hits now launch opponents vertically giving it more combo potential and Squirtle's tail now has intangibility.
• Squirtle no longer moves forward when using down tilt and its hitboxes are smaller giving it less range. It also deals less damage (13% → 10%).
• Squirtle has a new attack while crawling forwards. Squirtle retreats into its shell and inches forward. It deals 3% and deals vertical knockback giving it combo potential. It also has armor for most of its duration.
• Dash attack has less startup lag (frame 6 → 5) and it's clean hit deals horizontal knockback making it better at KOing near the ledge.
• Dash attack has a shorter duration (frame 6-24 → 5-22).
• Forward smash has less startup lag with a longer duration (frames 18-22 → 15-21) and has less ending lag (frame 58 → 52). It also deals more damage (14% → 15%), knockback (0 base), 100 (scaling) → 25/104) and has increased armor (frames 17-22 → 13-25).
• Forward smash now has knockback based heavy armor rather than super armor.
• Up smash has less startup (frame 18 → 9) and ending lag (frame 65 → 62). Its strongest hit deals more damage (13% → 14%) and has more knockback scaling (90 → 95), and the pumps just hit once, allowing the first hit to link better with the second.
• Down smash has less startup (frame 17 → 16) and ending lag (frame 52 → 50) and is now a multi hit which deals slightly more damage (11% → 12%), with the first hits meteoring the foe, and the last hit sends opponents vertically allowing for better follow-ups unlike most smashes even at somewhat higher percents and now has armor from frames 15-19.
• Down smash deals much lower knockback due to the final hit dealing less damage (11% → 6%).

Aerial Attacks

• All aerials have more landing lag (12 frames → 15 (neutral), 12 frames → 24 (forward), 9 frames → 16 (back), 21 frames → 22 (up), 19 frames → 20 (down)) though this is compensated with the reintroduction of L-canceling.
• Squirtle's tail is now intangible during back, up and down aerials.
• Neutral aerial is now a vertical shell spin with one consistent hitbox with a clean hit and a late hit. It has more gimping potential due to sending opponents at a semi-spike angle, having higher knockback scaling and dealing more damage (9% (clean), 6% (late) → 11%/8%). It also has less ending lag (frame 49 → 33) and it now has armor from frames 5-22.
• Neutral aerial has more startup lag (frame 4 → 6).
• Forward aerial has less ending lag (frame 38 → 32) and deals slightly more damage (12% → 13%) improving its KO potential.
• Forward aerial has smaller hitboxes and a shorter duration (frames 5-14 → 5-11).
• Back aerial has a longer duration (frames 5-14 → 5-22) and deals more damage (10% (clean), 6% (late) → 12%/8%) improving its KO potential.
• Back aerial has a slightly different animation.
• Back aerial has smaller hitboxes and more ending lag (frame 35 → 37).
• Up aerial has less startup lag with a longer duration (frames 6-8 → 5-12) and it has higher knockback scaling.
• Up aerial now has a weaker late hit.
• Up aerial has considerably smaller hitboxes. It is also less effective at juggling at lower percents.
• Down aerial deals more damage (10% → 13%), and on grounded opponents it acts as a locking meteor smash akin to Jigglypuff's down air. The final hit now launches opponents vertically granting it combo potential. The multi hits all have longer durations (1 frame → 3), down aerial has less ending lag (frame 51 → 37) and it now auto-cancels in a short hop.
• Down aerial has more startup lag (frame 6 → 9) and the final hit has less range and considerably decreased knockback no longer making it a viable KO option. The last hit also no longer has edgeguarding potential due to it sending opponents vertically.

Grabs and Throws

• The changes to aerial grab releases greatly benefit Squirtle as it is no longer a victim to many air release followups.
• However, Squirtle gains less from a grounded grab release due to the altered mechanics and its slower jab.
• All grabs have shorter durations (3 frames → 2). Additionally, standing grab has more startup lag (frame 6 → 7).
• Pivot grab has less ending lag (frame 38 → 36).
• Pummel deals more damage (1% → 3%).
• Pummel is slower (17 frames → 23).
• Forward throw deals less damage (9% → 6%).
• Forward throw and up throw have more combo ability due to the removal of hitstun canceling and the universally increased falling speeds.
• Up throw deals much less damage (11% → 7%) hindering its KO potential.
• Down throw does much more damage (7% → 14%) although its knockback was compensated.
• Down throw now has a water effect.
• Down throw has much more ending lag hindering its combo potential despite the removal of hitstun canceling.

Special Moves

• Water Gun now deals consecutive damage and can clash with other projectiles. The move now shoots a stream of water even when uncharged, has faster startup for shooting in all levels of charge, and retains its push effect so that Squirtle is left less vulnerable if the move whiffs.
• Water Gun can now be absorbed, has hitboxes for the first half of the distance it travels, and the windboxes are weaker. It's uncharged variant also no longer has a unique decently damaging hitbox.
• Withdraw deals more damage (7% → 8%) and has much less startup lag (frame 19 → 6), along with having 2 possible speeds between smash withdraw and tilt withdraw and a slightly extended duration. When hitting a hurtbox, Squirtle bounces and quickly exits his shell, leading into aerial followups and techchase situations. Withdraw can be canceled into a frame 6 execute called Aqua Jet by holding B while overlapping with a hurtbox, which is stronger and hits upwards, but leaves Squirtle helpless. The helplessness can be made negligible by edgecancelling off of a platform.
• Waterfall travels faster and higher, and deals more damage (15% → 19%) and has more KO potential.
• Pokémon Change has been replaced by a new move called Bubble; a fast, short-ranged projectile with multiple hits that trips grounded opponents (for tech-chases), and has a horizontal angle on aerial targets that can easily gimp them.
• Bubble does not grant invincibility nor does it reset stale move negation.
• Squirtle has a new Final Smash Water Spout. It produces weak water spouts near Squirtle and stronger water spouts away from Squirtle. Compared to Triple Finish, it has more vertical range, more range behind Squirtle and its overall damage potential is much higher.

Revisions

v2.6b

• Forward smash, down smash, and neutral aerial now have Medium Armor during the initial attack, and Light Armor during the remainder of the time Squirtle is in its shell.
• Turnrun, crawl attack, and Withdraw now have Light Armor while Squirtle is in its shell.
• Dash attack covers more space during the initial lunge. Hits earlier and harder. Hit angles lowered to send foes further in front of Squirtle.
• Forward smash now retains previous momentum.
• Forward aerial's knockback was slightly increased.
• Down aerial hits more frequently and faster. Tweaked the linking hit's knockback to ease the difficulty in landing all the hits.
• Down aerial's final hit sends forward and base knockback increased.
• Turn grab range increased.
• Revamped positioning, sizing, and timing of initial hitboxes so that the sweetspot comes out first and has greater priority among the other hitboxes.
• Lingering hitbox has a higher angle and increased base knockback.
• Withdraw's Aqua Jet landing lag slightly reduced.
• Up tilt base knockback reduced making it juggle better at lower percents.
• Forward tilt start up and cooldown notably reduced.
• Up smash's hitboxes at the top of the water pillars have slightly reduced knockback.
• Fixed a bug with Water Gun charge that could prevent its shield from being damaged.
• Withdraw knockback growth decreased.
• Water burst hitboxes now only hit to the side of Squirtle, with decreased damage, hit angle, and knockback.
• Ground to air physics and aerial friction adjusted so that Squirtle retains more momentum into the air.
• Squirtle's hidden "Shades" no longer break unless Squirtle is sent into tumble from knockback.
• Armor system was streamlined to match the new Project M standard of Light, Medium and Heavy Armor (note that Squirtle has no Heavy Armor).
• Squirtle flashes blue when it has Medium Armor, Withdraw duration and Watergun charge flashes changed to yellow to prevent confusion.
• Aqua Jet has Medium Armor while Squirtle is in its shell.
• Fixed > 100% ledge attack timer on hitboxes. Now hits properly.
• Squirtle now has a crawl attack. It quickly spins forward in shell, popping an opponent up above it as it passes through.
• Jab 1, 2 and 3 movement reduced and knockback tweaked to aid in linking all three hits.
• Forward tilt's knockback power tweaked so that it has less punch at low percents, but is still comparable at high percent.
• Forward tilt and down tilt tail intangibility redone to ensure that all tail hurtboxes are unhittable while Squirtle is attacking.
• Down tilt animation sped up so that Squirtle attacks faster and with less time in between tail swipes. Second hit angle raised slightly>
• Up tilt reverted to a brawl-like animation.
• Up smash now retains more reverse momentum, restoring the ability to perform Reverse Hydroplane up smashes.
• Down smash start up increased, but cooldown was significantly reduced.
• Down smash's hitbox sizes were decreased and lowered to reduce vertical disjoint above Squirtle.
• All of down smash's repeating hitboxes were homogenized to draw in, while the final hit is now a moderate strength pop-up above and behind Squirtle.
• Neutral aerial's lingering hit angle raised.
• Neutral aerial's landing lag now generates a splash instead of a dust cloud.
• Back aerial and up aerial mismatched on-hit sound effects fixed.
• Added a missing body hitbox during up aerial's initial hit, and pushed the outer hitbox out slightly.
• Up aerial's cooldown reduced.
• Up aerial and down aerial tail intangibility added while Squirtle is attacking.
• Down aerial reverted to a brawl-like animation.
• Down aerial's cooldown significantly reduced.
• Forward throw and up throw cooldown reduced.
• Water Gun stream hitboxes do reduced damage and knockback at a lower hit angle to aid in landing consecutive streams. Slightly increased the amount of the stream that only pushes with no knockback or damage.
• Water Gun has a new mid-level charge that shoots eight streams with reduced duration and cooldown.
• Water Gun full charge now shoots fourteen streams with reduced duration and cooldown.
• Withdraw's aerial physics and vertical momentum tweaked on startup to be more consistent.
• Withdraw can now fall off of edges while turning around.
• Withdraw's input changed from "Up B" to "A".
• Withdraw now has two frames of start-up.
• Aerial control during Withdraw's Aqua Jet was removed entirely. You can still reverse it however.
• Withdraw's Aqua Jet bug where it would not rise when used out of hitstun fixed.
• Waterfall start up increased and movement speed increased. Animation edited to reflect changes and transition into special fall better.
• Waterfall hitboxes decreased in size and rearranged to better cover Squirtle while reducing forward disjoint.
• Waterfall linking hits reduced to two, knockback and SDI modifiers tweaked to make linking into the final hit more percent, DI, and weight/fall speed dependent.

v3.0

• Due to the SCD bugfix, much of Squirtle’s moveset required physics compensations. Its gravity was also slightly increased.
• Down smash IASA removed and cooldown increased.
• List of compensated moves: Withdraw, Withdraw jump, Withdraw rebound, Aqua Jet, Waterfall, double jump.
• Tech rolls adjusted so that the movement occurs slightly later in the animation.
• Dash length significantly shortened. As a result, Shell Shift requires less commitment to input.
• Crawl attack’s input made easier.
• Standing grab reverse/inside range increased.
• Withdraw jump can now be inputted during Withdraw turn once Squirtle has changed directions.

v3.5

• Up tilt is weakened overall.
  • Its endlag has been reduced.
• Crawl tilt and down smash have a smaller hitbox.
• Withdraw turnaround and jumping abilities removed.
• Waterfall has faster startup and cannot be angled at the peak.
  • Its endlag has been slightly increased.
• Aqua Jet can only be initiated by making contact with a target during startup and holding B, removing its recovery potential while giving it more kill power and air control.
• Removal of Shell-shift momentum glitch.
• Bubble can only stall once in the air.
• Vertical momentum for short hop has been increased.
• Final Smash added.

Moveset

Up to date as of version 3.6.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	Squirtle punches once, jumps and thrusts both legs forward, then flips forward and hits with its tail.
			2%
			6%
Forward tilt	↗		9%	Squirtle gets on all fours and slaps forward with its tail. This move has short range but is very quick and can repeated in rapid succession. Can be angled slightly up or down.
	→		8%
	↘		7%
Up tilt			6%	Squirtle hops upward, attacking with its head. Very quick. Squirtle's small body becomes the hitbox for this move and can lead into other moves.
Down tilt			2% (hit 1), 8% (hit 2)	Squirtle gets on its belly and then spins forward, sweeping foes with its tail.
Crawl attack			3%	Squirtle quickly dashes forward in its shell.
Dash attack			9% (clean), 7% (late)	Squirtle jumps and attacks foes with the back of its shell.
Forward smash			16% (early), 15% (clean), 10% (late)	Squirtle withdraws into its shell and launches forward. Squirtle gains launch resistance frames when performing the attack, but its short reach and long start-up and ending lag limits its effectiveness. This move can be angled up or down.
Up smash			2%-3% (hit 1), 14%, 13%, 12%, 10%, 8% (clean to late hit 2)	Squirtle jumps and slams both hands down on the ground, causing two geysers to rise on both sides, hitting a fairly large area, especially upward. A powerful vertical finisher and is one of Squirtle's most powerful attacks, being able to KO at 65% when fully charged.
Down smash			3% (hits 1-2), 6% (hit 3)	Squirtle withdraws into its shell and spins, shooting water out of both sides that traps the enemy for multiple hits before knocking them away vertically. This attack is comparatively weak and has short range.
Neutral aerial			11% (clean), 8% (late)	Squirtle withdraws into its shell and spins in midair, releasing water from all sides. A good defensive move for spacing.
Forward aerial			13% (clean), 7% (late)	Squirtle quickly thrusts both legs forward. Deals high knockback, being able to KO opponents off the stage at higher percentages. Has sex kick properties.
Back aerial			12% (clean), 8% (late)	Squirtle thrusts its tail backward, hitting opponents behind itself. Deals decent knockback and has sex kick properties.
Up aerial			11% (clean), 6% (late)	Squirtle flips upward, using its tail to knock opponents vertically. Somewhat weak, having a hard time KOing foes with good DI.
Down aerial			2% (hits 1-4), 5% (hit 5)	Squirtle thrusts its tail downward, spinning around in a multi-hit attack. Similar to Mario's Mario Tornado, but with more vertical range due to the tail and the last hit inflicts horizontal knockback and does not have a hitbox upon landing.
Grab			—
Pummel			3%	Headbutts the grabbed opponent. Relatively fast.
Forward throw			2% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Squirtle kicks the opponent forward.
Back throw			5% (hit 1), 5% (throw)	Squirtle puts its opponent behind it, and kicks their back. Has little KO power, KOing opponents near the ledge around 200% damage.
Up throw			2% (hit 1), 5% (throw)	Squirtle throws its opponent upward and tackles them while in its shell.
Down throw			2% (hit 1), 12% (throw)	Squirtle throws its opponent on the ground and slams on top of them. Squirtle's strongest throw, dealing strong diagonal knockback. Easily KOs at around 125% damage.
Floor attack (front)			6%	Squirtle attacks with its tail forward and then backward.
Floor attack (back)			6%	Squirtle attacks with its tail forward and then backward.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Squirtle spins once, attacking nearby foes with its tail.
Edge attack (fast)			6% (body), 8% (tail)	Squirtle gets up and whips its tail forward. Similar to its forward tilt in both appearance and range.
Edge attack (slow)			10%	Squirtle slowly gets up and headbutts forward. Has limited range.
Neutral special		Water Gun	1% (per hit)	Squirtle shoots out water. The move can charged to spray more water out with more range. The enemy takes small damage if they are close to Squirtle when it release the water and will be pushed back when hit from a set distance. The player may also change the full spray's direction by tilting up or down on the control stick. When fully charged, Squirtle can hold the charge and battle normally until the player presses the special button again.
Side special		Withdraw	8-9% (slide), 15% (Aqua Jet)	Squirtle retreats inside its shell and speeds across the stage, powered by a jet of water shooting out the back of its shell. During this attack, Squirtle's shell behaves like a Green Shell for a limited amount of time and becomes immune to both damage and knockback. The attack can be cancelled by pressing the special button. Hitting an opponent will cause Squirtle to jump out of the move, allowing Squirtle to follow-up using an aerial attack. Getting hit the moment Squirtle goes inside its shell will instead make it use Aqua Jet, an attack that deals high damage and knockback, but will leave Squirtle in a helpless state, making it a risky move to use offstage. The invincibility provided by the move is sufficient to block many Final Smashes that do not involve grabs (e.g., Marth's Critical Hit can be negated, but not Ike's Great Aether).
Up special		Waterfall	5% (hit 1), 2% (hit 2), 1% (hits 3-5), 9% (hit 6)	A torrent of water appears that Squirtle "surfs" on top of. The attack deals multiple hits with strong knockback towards the end. It is difficult to interrupt as a recovery move, as the hitbox is large, disjointed, and directly in front of Squirtle. The movement direction of the attack can be slightly altered with the control stick to be more vertical or more horizontal.
Down special		Bubble	3% (hits 1-3)	Squirtle shoots out a small stream of bubbles that push the enemy away, dealing slight damage and tripping them.
Final Smash		Water Spout	2-3% (small water loop), 25%/24%/22% (big splash low/mid/high)	Squirtle retreats into its shell and starts bouncing on the ground while two large geysers of water attack opponents from either side of it, having a fairly large radius of attack.

In competitive play

Notable tech

Labbing Discord Tech Post

Notable players

•  Cloudburst - Ranked 39th on PMRank 2019.
•  Dirtboy - The best Squirtle player in the world. Ranked 13th on PMRank 2019.
•  Fskin - The best Squirtle player in Europe.
•  Wombat - Placed 17th at Undertow.

Alternate costumes

Project M

Like Ivysaur and Charizard, Squirtle received more significant alternate costumes for Project M. It now uses its default costume for the Blue Team.

Squirtle's alternate costumes in PM

Each of Squirtle's new color schemes are based on other Pokémon.

• The green one (used for Green Team) is based on Turtwig.
• The orange one (used for Red Team) is based on Charmander and Torkoal.
• The yellow one is based on Numel and Koopa Troopa.
• The pink one is based on Mew and Lickitung.
• The purple one is based on a Shiny Blastoise.

In addition, it also has an alternate costume where it is dressed out as a Shinobi ninja, as well as a white recolor for said costume. Additional recolors were added in Project+.

Project+

Squirtle gains a new recolor that references the mythical kappa, a Japanese demon that takes the form of a turtle, as well as recolors that reference other turtle Pokemon Carracosta and Turtonator, as well the Generation V water starter Oshawott. The Shinobi costume also gains team colors, and a black costume that resembles Koga.

Squirtle's alternate costumes in P+

Z-Secret Costume: Alternate Ninja Squirtle

R-Secret Costume: Rescue Team Squirtle

Trivia

• Unlike the two other Final Smashes, Squirtle's new Final Smash, Water Spout, is a move in the original Pokémon games that can only be learned through breeding (specifically chain breeding).
  • Project M also has Squirtle use the move in a different fashion compared to its primary users in most Pokémon-based media (where water is normally fired from a blowhole).