Squirtle (SSBB)

This article is about Squirtle's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Squirtle. Also, for information about Squirtle in regards to Pokémon Trainer, see Pokémon Trainer (SSBB), Ivysaur (SSBB), and Charizard (SSBB).

Squirtle
Squirtle
Universe	Pokémon
Appears in	SSBB
Availability	Starter

Squirtle is a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. Brawl in a sense; it is one of three Pokémon that are played through Pokémon Trainer, the other two being Ivysaur and Charizard. Squirtle is the only character who Pokémon Trainer uses who is not an evolved form. Charizard and Ivysaur are evolved forms of Charmeleon and Bulbasaur, respectively. Squirtle is also the only playable Pokémon character in Brawl that doesn't have a pre-evolved form at all, as the other playable Pokémon have baby forms. Lucario evolves from Riolu. Jigglypuff evolves from Igglybuff, and Pikachu evolves from Pichu. Squirtle originated from the original Pokémon game for Game Boy as one of the initial monsters the player can start out with at the beginning of the adventure. When Squirtle is hit and is on the floor, it will go in its shell.

Attributes

Squirtle is the most lightweight of the three Pokémon at Pokémon Trainer's disposal. Its light weight allows Squirtle to have fast airspeed and fast attacks, which makes up for its somewhat slow dash speed. But the light weight also makes it easier to KO, as it is tied for the second lightest character against Mr. Game and Watch. Squirtle's small size (the smallest in the game along with Olimar) makes it difficult to hit, but it also causes most attacks to have low range, making also him have very poor matchups against superior ranged characters or with disjointed attacks like Donkey Kong or Marth. Squirtle's excellent airspeed and quick attacks give it an excellent air game. Aerials have good priority and huge knockback. Unlike most of Squirtle's attacks, his aerials inflict good amounts of damage. These aerials along with a high and quick jump give Squirtle a great air game. Squirtle is one of few fighters that can crawl (the 2nd lowest crawl in the game, which can duck under many attacks including Blaster and Wizard's Foot) and "Wall Cling". Squirtle's neutral special is Water Gun, which can be used to hamper horizontal recoveries and doubles as an attack. It can also DI during the charge in midair. Its side special, Withdraw, increases Squirtle's ground speed and offers protection against most attacks, other than grabs. However, speed and direction of Withdraw can be changed if hit with a strong attack, possibly causing Squirtle to slide off the edge, KOing itself if it goes off too far. Waterfall, Squirtle's Up Special Move, has a large, disjointed hitbox, making it hard to interrupt. It can also rack up damage throughout the attack and scores multiple hits. Like all of Pokémon Trainer's Pokémon, Squirtle can change places with the next monster at the Trainer's disposal (in Squirtle's case, Ivysaur). However, this can be punishable and is mandatory, due to the "Stamina Mechanic" (outside of the Adventure Mode) and coming back as the next one in the cycle. Its up smash has a large area and can KO at 80-100%. Its down-aerial does multiple hits and has high horizontal knockback on the last hit, but it also has short range, little damage, and massive ending lag. Its forward-Smash has "Super Armor" during the frames Squirtle is in its shell. However, like its down smash, it does little damage, has massive ending lag, and covers a short distance. Squirtle has decent throws (including the strongest down throw in the game in terms of knockback), but Squirtle itself is vulnerable to grab release combos by several characters, dash regrabs by many characters, and even infinite by Zero Suit Samus due to its very poor air release animation.

Moveset

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Normal Moves

Ground

• Dashing attack - Squirtle runs, turns around while jumping, and hits with the back of its shell. Does around 6-10% damage.
• Standard attack - Squirtle punches once, then jumps forward and slaps with the tail, then flips forward and hits with the tail again. It's a one frame jab. Does a total of 9% damage.
• Strong Up - Squirtle hops up onto its tail, thrusting upwards. Very quick. Does 6% damage.
• Strong Side - Squirtle gets on all fours and slaps forward with its tail. Also very quick, and can repeated in rapid succession. Does 6% damage.
• Strong Down - Squirtle gets on its belly and withdraws its arms and legs, then spins forward, sweeping with its tail. Does around 9% damage, with a maximum of 13% damage possible.

Aerial

• Neutral Air - Withdraws into shell and spins in midair, releasing water from all sides. Does 9% damage.
• Up Air - Flips upwards, using tail to knock opponents vertically. Does 11% damage.
• Down Air - Thrusts the tail downward, spinning around in a multi-hit attack. Similar to Mario's Mario Tornado, but with more vertical range due to the tail. Last hit has decent knockback. Does 10% damage if all hits connect.
• Forward Air - Thrusts both legs forward, hitting quickly. Fairly long duration, high knockback. Can KO off the stage at higher percents. Does 6% damage if it connects after the first frame and 12% damage if it connects in the first frame.
• Back Air - Thrusts its tail backwards, hitting quickly. Fairly long duration, decent knockback. Both its F-Air and B-Air have "Sex Kick" properties. Does 6% damage if it connects after the first frame and 10% damage if it connects in the first frame.

Smash

• Down Smash - Squirtle withdraws into its shell and spins, shooting water out of both sides. Does 11-15% damage.
• Up Smash - Squirtle jumps causing geysers to rise either side of it, hitting a fairly large area, both to the sides, and especially upwards. Does 16-22% damage. A powerful vertical finisher.
• Side Smash - Squirtle withdraws into its shell and launches forward. Has Super Armor frames. Does 14-19% damage.

Other

• Ledge Attack- Does 8% damage.
• Ledge Attack over 100%- Does 10% damage.
• Floor Attack- Does 6% damage.

Grabs and Throws

• Forward Throw - Puts its opponent in front of it, and then kicks them. Does 9% damage.
• Back Throw - Puts its opponent behind it, and kicks their back. Does 10% damage.
• Down Throw - Throws its opponent on the ground and slams on top of them. Strongest down throw in the game and the second strongest throw (next to Ness' back throw) Does 7% damage.
• Up Throw - Throws its opponent upwards and tackles them while in its shell. Does 11% damage.
• Pummel - Headbutts them. 2% damage.

Taunts

• Up: Backflips, spreads out its arms and opens its mouth saying "Squirtle, Squirtle".
• Side: Spins on its tail and squirts out water and says "Squirtle."
• Down: Goes into its shell and hops while spinning.

See Also

• Shellshifting

Role in The Subspace Emissary

When introduced, Pokémon Trainer's only Pokémon is Squirtle, and thus, is his main Pokémon for much of the story until Ivysaur and Charizard are later found in the ruins. Despite this, Squirtle only appears in the very first cutscene Pokémon Trainer is introduced in. Stamina doesn't apply in Adventure Mode as it does in normal play.

Stickers

Keep in mind that all three of Pokémon Trainer's Pokémon share the same trophy base. If you wish to power up Squirtle specifically, use a large [Water] damage boost and supplement the rest of its attacks with [Body], [Spin] and [Tail] attack boosts.

Trivia

• Surprisingly, Squirtle actually carries crates and barrels faster than Charizard or Ivysaur.
• Along with Sonic, Sheik and Zero Suit Samus, Squirtle is one of the only characters to not be seen in trophy form during the Subspace Emissary. (While Ivysaur and Charizard are both turned into trophies before their capture, and Pokémon Trainer is turned into a trophy by Tabuu's Off Waves, Squirtle is never actually turned into a trophy by means of ambush, a Dark Cannon, etc.) Coincidentally, all four of these characters begin with the letter 'S'.
• Curiously, Squirtle's visible outer body parts are larger, by volume, than its shell.
• Squirtle is the only playable Pokémon in Brawl that doesn't have a trophy of any other Pokémon of its evolution line. Charizard has Charmander and Ivysaur has Bulbasaur, Jigglypuff has Igglybuff, Lucario has Riolu and Pikachu has Pichu.
• During the Victory pose of Pokémon Trainer with Squirtle, it is much larger than it should be, standing only 1'8" in the games.
• In the Brawl Guide it says that Squirtle is actually heavier than Ivysaur and that Squirtle is a light-middleweight and Ivysaur is a lightweight.

External links

• Pokémon Trainer's page at Smash Bros. DOJO!!