Ivysaur (SSBB)

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

Ivysaur
File:Ivy.gif
Universe	Pokémon
Appears in	SSBB
Availability	Starter

Ivysaur, also known as Fushigisou (フシギソウ, Fushigisō) in Japan, is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, as one of three Pokémon that can be played when Pokémon Trainer is selected from the game's character select screen, the other two being Squirtle and Charizard.

Ivysaur is a rare sight as a fighter, because it is a specifically quadrupedal character, even in comparison to Pikachu, Pichu, and Squirtle which alternate between bipedal and quadrupedal action. To make up for its lack of arms, it prominently uses its vines as substitutes. Most people feel that Ivysaur is the most balanced of the three Pokémon. Ivysaur excels at long-range attacking, projectiles, and racking up damage. In Adventure Mode, Pokémon Trainer cannot use Ivysaur until the player progresses far enough into the story of The Subspace Emissary as with Charizard.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Bullet Seed can rack up 30-50% damage (Seed Locking), even with good DI and can possibly turn into a combo if followed by up tilt/smash.
• Vines based attacks are a huge disjointed hitbox.
• Down aerial can spike if the opponent is hit near the bud.
• Razor Leaf can go through multiple opponents and its damage will not weaken from fatigue.
• Back aerial has long range and is great for spacing.
• Up aerial, Down aerial, and Up smash are all powerful finishers.
• Dash Attack is capable of finishing an opponent at around 100% and is very quick.
• Can change to two other Pokémon if necessary.
• Can Crawl, although given Ivysaur's low position to the ground, its usefulness is questionable.
• Vine Whip is a Tether Recovery and has a sweetspot at the tip of the vine with good knockback.
• Up smash does serious damage and knockback.
• Jab combo near edge can edge guard.
• All tilts have good range, damage, and spacing properties.
• Many attacks have excellent range.
• Ivysaur is capable of attacking in all directions. Bullet Seed and U-tilt hits above, Razor Leaf at distances, Vine Whip diagonally above, and D-Smash, standard attack, and D-Tilt all hit at its feet.
• Razor Leaf can be used in situational cases to prevent edgehoggers.
• Ivysaur's up aerial propels itself downward, which can be used to strategically evade opponents or to cancel upward momentum.

Cons:

• Tether-only recovery is easily edge-hogged.
• Difficult to pick up for some due to extremely defensive style of play.
• Vine Whip's distorted hitbox makes it hard to accurately hit opponents.
• Short jumps combined with the tether-only recovery makes Ivysaur easily edge-guarded.
• KO moves are fairly slow.
• Poor air speed (third slowest along with Ice Climbers)
• Easy to juggle.

Standard Moves

Ground Attacks

• Dash - Charges and does a headbutt. Very quick and powerful.
• Neutral - Whips a vine forward. The more the player presses/holds the normal attack button, the more times it does this, and it actually gets longer after the first few hits, maintaining the combo even if they get knocked away a little.
• Up Tilt - Plants vines on the ground and launches body in to the air, hitting a fair distance above the ground. This also allows Ivysaur to dodge moves at the ground level.
• Down Tilt - Whips a vine along the ground. Similar in range to Marth's down tilt. Two hits.
• Forward Tilt - Spins the leaves around the main bulb like a helicopter blade and leans forward, hitting multiple times. After attacking, Ivysaur returns to where it was before it leaned over, making it difficult to counterattack.
• Up Smash - Launches a burst of gas from the bulb. Incredible knockback, decent range, and a distjointed hitbox. The hitbox also covers Ivysaurs sides, to an extent.
• Down Smash - Quickly whips out vines from both sides along the ground. Very good range, but low damage and knockback.
• Forward Smash - Plants vines on the ground and launches the body forward. Good range, decent knockback.

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral Aerial - Points head diagonally downwards and flattens leaves against body, spinning. Hits multiple times, the last hit having moderate knockback.
• Forward Aerial - Slaps forward with a vine, with decent damage and knockback. Hits opponent either forward or upwards depending on where the vines strike. Auto canceled.
• Back Aerial - Turns its top towards the front of the screen, extends two vines far behind it, and spins. Very long range, but very low damage and knockback.
• Up Aerial - Similar to up smash, but slightly lower range. Shoots a burst of gas out of the bulb with high knockback. Shoots Ivysaur downwards.
• Down Aerial - Turns upside-down and uses the Up Aerial, shooting a burst of gas out of the bulb with high knockback. Pushes Ivysaur up a little, and can spike with the initial hitbox.

Grabs and Throws

• Pummel - Vines squeeze opponent
• Down Throw - Grabs opponent with vines, does a flip, and smashes them to the ground.
• Back Throw - Grabs opponents with vines, does a full spin, and tosses them back.
• Up Throw - Grabs opponent with vines and bounces them into the air with the bud on its back.
• Forward Throw - Grabs opponent with vines and tosses them forward.

Special Movements

Taunts

Up: Spins its flower, and shakes off some leaves.

Side: Hand stands and walks around while saying "Saur, Ivysaur".

Down: It spins around and extends its vines doing a dance, and it throws around some leaves.

On-Screen Appearance

Appears from a Poké Ball.

Victory Pose

Victory Theme: Pokémon Red/Blue Main Theme

• Pokémon Trainer pets it, and Ivysaur jumps on him, but Pokémon Trainer puts Ivysaur back down and continues to pet it.
• Jumps and lands on its belly, saying, "Ivysaur, saur saur saur!"
• Stands in a battle-ready pose.

Wii Remote Choice

A Poké Ball release sound is heard, and the Pokémon Trainer says "Go for it!"

Credits Music

• Road to Viridian City (From Pallet Town/Pewter City)

Trivia

• Oddly enough, the Super Smash Bros. Brawl Prima Official Strategy Guide states that for unknown reasons, Ivysaur is actually lightweight, while Squirtle is midweight. Ivysaur should be 13.5 lbs heavier.
• Ivysaur is the only character that is not seen outside of its trophy form during cutscenes in The Subspace Emissary.

External Links

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