Ivysaur in Super Smash Bros. Brawl | |
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Universe | Pokémon |
Shares character slot with | Pokémon Trainer Charizard Squirtle |
Other playable appearance | in Ultimate |
Availability | Starter |
Final Smash | Triple Finish |
Tier | E (29) |
Ivysaur (フシギソウ, Fushigisou), stylized as IVYSAUR in Europe, is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl in a sense; it is one of three Pokémon that are played through Pokémon Trainer, the other two being Squirtle and Charizard. Ivysaur originated from the original Pokémon game for Game Boy as the first evolved form of Bulbasaur, one of the initial Pokémon the player can start out with at the beginning of the adventure.
Unlike a majority of the characters, Ivysaur has different voice actors, which depend on the region and language. The voice actors respectively are as follows:
- In English: Craig Blair
- In French: Jean-Marc Delhausse
- In German: Achim Barrenstein
- In Japanese: Tomoko Kawakami before her passing in 2011
- In Korean: Cha Myung Hwa
Attributes
Ivysaur is perhaps the most difficult Pokémon to play out of the three. It cannot overpower its foes with deadly force like Charizard can, nor can it overwhelm foes with a high rate of attack like the nimble Squirtle. Furthermore, Ivysaur's major flaws prevent it from applying the same amount of pressure in a matchup as Pokémon Trainer's other Pokémon.
KOing is one of Ivysaur's big problems. Ivysaur's two most KO-capable smashes are powerful but slow. Its forward smash deals high knockback, but has rather high startup and ending lag, while its up smash, despite being the strongest up smash in the game, suffers from high startup lag and a difficult-to-land hitbox that doesn't cover much horizontal distance. Ivysaur's forward aerial, its other vertical finisher, only begins to KO at around 130%. A sweetspotted Vine Whip can make for a superb surprise KO, but its diagonal trajectory makes it difficult to land, and leaves it helpless and vulnerable to punishment in midair. Ivysaur can pop off a dash attack for a quick and rather powerful headbutt KO, but the dashing animation makes the attack highly predictable and is easily blocked by shielding. Getting KOs is worsened by the Pokémon Trainer stamina trait, should Ivysaur get tired, decreasing the knockback on all of its attacks.
Ivysaur's special moves are generally mediocre. Bullet Seed has the potential to deal upwards of 30% to an enemy, but to be knocked into the seeds, the opponent must be hit by a tiny hitbox on Ivysaur's sides at the start of the move, making it difficult to set up. The seeds are also easily SDI'ed out of, and the high ending lag leaves Ivysaur vulnerable to punishment if the move misses. Razor Leaf is Ivysaur's only ranged projectile, but its unpredictable flight path, low knockback, high startup and ending lag, and slow speed render it ineffective for purposes such as camping and harassing.
Ivysaur is burdened with its weakness to fire-based knockback. While Squirtle is the only character in the game to do water-based knockback (discounting Mario with his F.L.U.D.D.), there are many more characters than just Charizard who utilize fire-based knockback in their more powerful moves (R.O.B., Ike, Luigi, Snake, Mario, Captain Falcon, Mr. Game & Watch, etc.), and have an easier time KO'ing Ivysaur as a result (one of the most notorious examples of this is Luigi with his Fire Jump Punch, who can KO Ivysaur at as low as 40%. Snake can also KO Ivysaur with a fully-charged side smash at 5% at the ledge.) It also has quite a long rolling dodge animation, making it vulnerable to punishment by an opponent.
Ivysaur's worst weaknesses, though, are its atrocious air game and recovery. Ivysaur has a tough time using aerials against opponents offensively, and is frequently at risk to being pushed to the edge while airborne. Its back aerial deals extremely low damage and poor knockback, and its neutral aerial has very short range and can easily be SDI'ed out of. His up and down aerial have small vertical hitboxes; combined with the fact that using these moves midair causes a change in Ivysaur's momentum, these moves are very difficult to land. While his up aerial delivers powerful vertical knockback, his down aerial is an extremely weak meteor smash that doesn't deal meaningful knockback until very high percents, making it generally ineffective as an edgeguarding tool. Ivysaur's best aerial, his forward aerial, only covers the area directly in front of it, leaving it with few meaningful options while in the air. Its poor aerials, combined with its very slow air speed, severely cripple its aerial game. Furthermore, Ivysaur's recovery is considered among the worst in Brawl. While its midair jump is decent, Ivysaur relies on its tether recovery, Vine Whip to return to the stage and this move can easily be edgehogged by opponents simply grabbing the ledge. This leaves Ivysaur with perhaps the shortest recovery in the game, and completely devastates its ability to recover safely from offstage, often dying to quick gimps; A launch offstage is usually enough to nearly guarantee a successful edgeguard on the Pokémon.
It does have a good grab game, however; Ivysaur's vines give it one of the best pivot grabs along with Yoshi, and its running grab sports decent range as well (the standing grab, however, has surprisingly low range and a laggy "miss" animation). Once having grabbed, Ivysaur can use either a down or forward throw to maintain stage control.
In summary, Ivysaur's difficulties KO'ing opponents, poor air game, laggy attacks, short reach, and atrocious recovery leave it as the clear runt of the litter among the three Generation I starter Pokémon. Competitive players argue that if Ivysaur was a standalone fighter, due to its lack of prominent strengths and debilitating flaws, it would be a contender for the worst character in the game, competing with bottom-tier characters such as Link, Jigglypuff, Zelda, and Ganondorf with some players putting it as the single worst character in the game.
Moveset
Name | Damage | Description | ||
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Neutral attack | 3% | Ivysaur whips a vine, then another, then extends the range for repeated vine slaps. | ||
2% | ||||
2% (hit 1), 1% (hit 2) | ||||
Forward tilt | 1-2% (hits 1-6), 2% (hit 7) | Ivysaur leans forward and spins the leaves around the main bulb like a helicopter blade, hitting multiple times. | ||
Up tilt | 7% | Ivysaur plants its vines on the ground and launches itself into the air. | ||
Down tilt | 2% (hit 1), 5% (hit 2) | Ivysaur whips two vines quickly along the ground, hitting twice with good range. | ||
Dash attack | 12% (clean), 10% (late) | Ivysaur slides along the ground, headbutting foes. | ||
Forward smash | 16% | Ivysaur plants its vines on the ground and launches its body forward. Can be angled. | ||
Up smash | Exploding Flower (ばくれつフラワー) | 17% | Ivysaur launches a burst of spores from its bulb. It is the strongest up smash in terms of knockback and has decent range. | |
Down smash | 8% | Ivysaur quickly whips out vines across the ground simultaneously on both sides. Deals horribly low damage and knockback for a smash attack. Can cause opponents to sometimes trip. | ||
Neutral aerial | 2% (hits 1-7) | Ivysaur spins while facing diagonally downwards. Hits multiple times with the last hit dealing minor knockback. The first 6 hits deal set knockback, which helps connect into the final hit. Has mild spike properties underneath its hind legs. | ||
Forward aerial | 12% (vine), 10% (tip) | Ivysaur slaps forward with a vine. Deals vertical knockback. | ||
Back aerial | 2% (hit 1), 3% (hit 2 tip), 2% (hit 2 base) | Ivysaur spins around vertically and hits behind itself with two vines. Low damage with very low knockback, but has excellent range. | ||
Up aerial | 16% | Ivysaur shoots a burst of gas out of the bulb with high knockback. The move causes Ivysaur to fast fall, which is often used for momentum cancelling. | ||
Down aerial | 10% (sourspot), 8% (sweetspot) | Turns upside-down and shoots a burst of gas out of its bulb that's similar to its up aerial but deals slightly less knockback. There is a sweetspot at the bulb that meteor smashes opponents. Using the move halts Ivysaur's momentum in the air. | ||
Grab | — | Stretches its vines and binds the opponent. | ||
Pummel | 3% | Squeezes opponent. | ||
Forward throw | 8% | Grabs opponent with vines and tosses them forward. | ||
Back throw | 10% | Grabs opponents with vines, does a full spin, and tosses them back. | ||
Up throw | 10% | Grabs opponent with vines and bounces them into the air with the bud on its back. Good for Bullet Seed combos. | ||
Down throw | 10% | Grabs opponent with vines, does a flip, and smashes them to the ground. Good for follow-ups. | ||
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge |
— | — | ||
Techs | — | — | ||
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front) |
6% | Get up with an horizontal spin, swinging its vines. | ||
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back) |
6% | Gets up and hits both sides with its vines. | ||
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip) |
5% | Stands up and hits both sides with its vines. | ||
Edge attack (fast) Edge getups (fast) |
8% (vine), 6% (body) | Climbs onto the edge and swings a vine. | ||
Edge attack (slow) Edge getups (slow) |
10% | Slowly gets up and headbutts onto the stage. | ||
Neutral special | Bullet Seed | 4% (startup), 1-2% (seeds) | Ivysaur sends a barrage of seeds ascending from its bulb. Can be used to rack up damage to opponents who are above Ivysaur. | |
Side special | Razor Leaf | 8% (clean), 6% (mid), 4% (late) | Ivysaur shoots a large single leaf, which can hit multiple foes. The leaf can travel faster if the control stick is tapped. | |
Up special | Vine Whip | Ground: 7% (nearest), 8% (near), 9% (mid), 10% (far), 13% (tip) Air: 11% (sourspot), 13% (sweetspot) |
Ivysaur shoots a vine diagonally upwards, which works as a tether recovery. Ivysaur will gain a slight boost upwards when the move is used in the air. | |
Down special | Pokémon Change | 0% | The Pokémon Trainer calls Ivysaur back by throwing a Poké Ball and then sends out Charizard. | |
Final Smash | Triple Finish | 1% (SolarBeam) | The Pokémon Trainer sends out both Charizard and Squirtle and all three Pokémon perform a combination attack. |
Announcer call
English
Wii Remote selection sound
- The Trainer releases a Poké Ball and says "Go for it!".
On-screen appearance
- The Pokémon Trainer releases Ivysaur from a Poké Ball and yells "Go Ivysaur!"
Taunts
- Up taunt: Spins its bud, and shakes off some leaves.
- Side taunt: Stands on its front legs and walks around while saying "Saur, Ivysaur".
- Down taunt: Spins around and extends its vines doing a dance, it throws around some leaves while saying "Ivy, Ivy".
Up taunt | Side taunt | Down taunt |
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Idle poses
- Stomps from side to side.
- Looks around then shakes its body.
Crowd cheer
English | Japanese | |
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Cheer | ||
Description | Po-ké-mon! | Po-ké-mon! |
Pitch | Group chant | Group chant |
Victory poses
Note: The Pokémon Trainer says "Way to go, Ivysaur!" in all three victory poses.
- Up: Jumps and lands on its belly.
- Left: Stands in a battle-ready pose.
- Right: Pokémon Trainer pets it, and Ivysaur jumps on him, but Pokémon Trainer puts it down and continues to pet him.
Up | Left | Right |
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Role in The Subspace Emissary
While in The Ruins, Lucas and Pokémon Trainer discover Ivysaur in trophy form at the end of a torch-lit hallway. Pokémon Trainer then throws a Poké Ball at the trophy to capture Ivysaur, adding it to his team alongside Squirtle. It is unknown why Ivysaur is a trophy, and why it is in the ruins.
In Solo Modes
Classic Mode
In Classic Mode, Pokémon Trainer can appear as an opponent or ally in Stage 3 along with Pikachu, Jigglypuff, and Lucario on Pokémon Stadium 2 or Spear Pillar (with the latter available if it has been unlocked). Pokémon Trainer can also appear as an opponent in Stage 11, but only if he hasn't appeared in Stage 3.
All-Star Mode
In All-Star Mode, Pokémon Trainer is fought in Stage 18 alongside Pikachu, Jigglypuff, and Lucario on Pokémon Stadium 2 or Spear Pillar (with the latter available if it has been unlocked). Uniquely, the player must KO Pokémon Trainer three times to progress.
Event Matches
Note: Ivysaur is only featured in one event that does not include the Pokémon Trainer.
Solo Events
- Event 8: Go! Triple Finish!: The player controls Pikachu, who must defeat Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard on Pokémon Stadium.
Ending Images
Trophy
Ivysaur's trophy is obtained by clearing Classic Mode with the Pokémon Trainer and must deliver the final hit to Master Hand with Ivysaur.
- Ivysaur
- A Seed Pokémon that is the evolved form of Bulbasaur. It has a flower bulb on its back, the weight of which has made it develop strong legs and hips. If the bud gets too big, the Pokémon can't stand on two legs alone. At a certain level, it evolves into Venusaur. When this happens, the bulb absorbs nutrients and blossoms into a large-petaled flower.
- : Pokémon Red/Blue
- : Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen
Alternate costumes
Gallery
Trivia
- When Ivysaur moves, it sheds very small leaves, similar to Pit's feathers shedding when he jumps.
- Unlike other characters, when Ivysaur crouches repetitively, the animation doesn't completely finish; the bud on its back will stand up straight.
- If characters try to grab Ivysaur, they will be grabbing its bud even when grabbing in front of it.
- Ivysaur is one of the only characters who never uses any of their frontal limbs (or any of their limbs) for any attack (including grabs), the other being Yoshi (though Yoshi still uses items with his hands and throws eggs in his Egg Throw with his left hand).
- In The Subspace Emissary, Ivysaur is in trophy form in its only cutscene appearance. This makes it the only character that is not seen outside of their trophy form during cutscenes in this mode (not counting the credits).
- Ivysaur also has an open mouth in its trophy appearance, unlike the official render or in-game trophy.
- According to the Pokédex, Ivysaur is supposed to weigh a mere 28.7 pounds (13 kilograms). Despite this, Ivysaur is one of the heavier characters in Brawl, with a weight value of 100, which is as heavy as Lucario, a Pokémon that is supposed to weigh more than four times as much as Ivysaur.
- Unlike Charizard and Squirtle, none of Ivysaur's special moves are HMs in the Pokémon games.
External links
Fighters in Super Smash Bros. Brawl | |
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Veterans | Bowser · Captain Falcon · Donkey Kong · Falco · Fox · Ganondorf · Ice Climbers · Jigglypuff · Kirby · Link · Luigi · Mario · Marth · Mr. Game & Watch · Ness · Peach · Pikachu · Samus · Yoshi · Zelda / Sheik |
Newcomers | Diddy Kong · Ike · King Dedede · Lucario · Lucas · Meta Knight · Olimar · Pit · Pokémon Trainer (Charizard · Ivysaur · Squirtle) · R.O.B. · Snake · Sonic · Toon Link · Wario · Wolf · (Zero Suit Samus) |