Ivysaur (PM)

Ivysaur in Project M and Project+
Universe	Pokémon
Base game appearance	Brawl
Moveset inspiration	Ivysaur (SSBB)

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

Ivysaur ranks 28th out of 41 on the official tier list, toward the midst of the C tier, roughly the same placement as Pokémon Trainer in Brawl. However, as Ivysaur was considered near-useless as a standalone character in Brawl, this is a significant increase in apparent viability.

Attributes

In the transition to Project M, Ivysaur was significantly buffed and modified to function as a mid-range zoning and anti-air character. It no longer depends on the Pokémon Trainer, losing its stamina system and crippling weakness to fire moves. It also now fights with self-healing moves and status effects befitting the Grass/Poison typing it has in its home series.

Ivysaur's ground moves have all received buffs. Its up-smash remains the most powerful in the game and comes out more quickly, making it a more viable KO option, and its down-smash is a strong semi-spike useful both for relieving pressure and for edgeguarding. All of its other ground moves were reworked for speed and combo potential, and its jab now consists of two strong hits useful for keeping foes at a distance.

In the air, Ivysaur's buffed air speed gives it greater mobility for combos. Combined with its new combo option in neutral-air, its reworked forward-air designed for wall of pain combos, and its back-air – formerly one of the worst moves in the game – which can easily gimp foes offstage, foes approaching from the air are at significant risk of being comboed or simply pushed offstage. Its up-air now shoots it to the ground faster, and its down-air provides enough of a momentum boost to serve as a much more reliable tool for horizontal recovery; when used offensively with Ivysaur's new air speed, they can also serve as a juggling move and an offstage meteor smash, respectively.

Synthesis, its new neutral special, allows Ivysaur to heal itself for as long as the special button is held down, and its slight ending lag can be landing-cancelled. This gives Ivysaur a completely unique camping option, as some characters that rely on projectiles to force an approach can be outplayed if Ivysaur can heal itself quicker than damage can be tacked on. Characters like Falco who have reliable flinching projectiles can still lock down Ivysaur from a distance, but Ivysaur can easily force an approach from slow or non-flinching zoners like Toon Link and Fox, as Synthesis is nearly sufficient to outpace the damage they deal. Even if Ivysaur cannot completely undo damage received while using Synthesis, the move can force an approach anyway because it also charges up Ivysaur's second neutral special.

Once it's healed 22 percentage points of damage, Ivysaur's next neutral special will become a one-time SolarBeam, a long-ranged energy beam that travels at a 45º angle from Ivysaur's bulb all the way to the upper blast line on most stages. With a SolarBeam, Ivysaur can deal a powerful finishing blow to opponents otherwise out of reach, and the move's lingering hitbox can stick around if the target airdodges too early. However, a SolarBeam charge can also serve as an effective zoning threat, as the glow of a full charge is easily visible to opponents. As a result, opponents aware of the charge will often try to recover low or approach in ways that don't put them at risk of being hit, enforcing predictable behavior that the player can take advantage of.

Ivysaur can alternatively heal itself and charge SolarBeam through some direct attacks, like its pummel (1%), its up-throw (6%), and the sweetspots on its up-smash (9%), up-air (7%), and down-air (7%). The latter four will also flower any opponents they hit, and outside of its up-smash, they can all chain into themselves reliably. Using these moves in quick succession can self-heal Ivysaur at a startling rate while also building the rate of damage the flower deals, often forcing the target to button-mash and remove the flower instead of readying a counterattack.

Razor Leaf was reworked for consistency and combo ability, giving Ivysaur a more reliable mid-range projectile, while Vine Whip's buffed damage and speed let it function as a great KO option out of a down-throw or even to punish foes on platforms. Ivysaur's new down-special, Seed Bomb, is perhaps its best tool to keep foes in the air; as the projectile rises higher, so does its knockback, which serves the same purpose as its forward-air in steadily walling foes to the blast line. Additionally, Seed Bomb has awkward but effective potential for zoning on the ground, as it will stun any foe it lands near, providing opportunities for punishment.

Despite Ivysaur's numerous buffs, it still has some weaknesses from Brawl that can be exploited. Ivysaur's power and flexibility in mid-range situations do not extend to close-range or long-range fights; Ivysaur's moves all have some startup that close-range combatants can take advantage of, especially out of shield, while Razor Leaf and Seed Bomb aren't enough to reach ranged fighters. While previously a middleweight in Brawl, Ivysaur is now a lightweight, worsening its survivability and forcing it to use its self-healing moves to stick around. Its grab, while still as laggy as before, was shortened, making setups off of its throws much harder to achieve. And despite Project M's improved tether recovery mechanics, Ivysaur can still be knocked out of a Vine Whip mid-animation.

However, if players can consistently keep foes at mid-range or in the air, Ivysaur's plethora of combo and KO options can easily carry it to victory.

Changes from Brawl to PM

Ivysaur was buffed greatly from Brawl to PM.

Aesthetics

• New on-screen appearance: Ivysaur unplants itself from the ground.
• Pokémon Trainer victory pose has been removed.

Attributes

• Has a drastic increase in air speed, having the 4th best air speed in Project M, from the 3rd worst in Brawl.
• It is significantly lighter, drastically worsening its survivability.
  • This also makes it invulnerable to Fox's waveshine combos.
• The removal of type effectiveness means that Ivysaur no longer takes additional knockback from fire attacks.

Ground Attacks

• Jab combo has more range (which now hits just twice) does more damage and is faster, and does more knockback.
• Forward tilt links much better and hits faster.
• Forward tilt has slightly less damage potential.
• Up tilt has been sped up and does more damage.
• Down tilt has more range and does slightly more damage at the tip.
• Forward smash can now be angled.
• Forward smash does slightly less damage and is less of a KO move.
• Up smash has dramatically faster start-up, and has a sweetspot which flowers foes and heals Ivysaur.
• Up smash does slightly less damage and knockback, but the damage is compensated by the flower.
• Down smash does much more damage and knockback, and has a semi-spike angle.

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral air has a bigger hitbox that connects much better and does more damage and has higher knockback.
• Forward air has a sweetspot which does slightly more damage and the move in general allows for better follow-ups and combos.
• Forward air does less knockback and now has a sourspot.
• Back air does significantly more damage and has much more knockback with major gimping potential.
• Back air has less range.
• Up air shoots Ivysaur to the ground faster, has a sweetspot which flowers foes and heals Ivysaur, and has a hitbox coming down which can lightly meteor, making getting to the ground very easy.
• Up air has a sourspot and the sweet spot does less damage and knockback, damage is compensated with the flowering.
• Down air gives a momentum boost aiding recovery, and its sourspot does more damage while the sweetspot flowers foes and heals Ivysaur.

Grabs and Throws

• Grab range has been reduced, now just being of a slightly-above-standard range rather than acting as an extended grab, forcing Ivysaur to get closer to opponents in order to start combos.
• Forward throw does more damage.

Special Moves

• New neutral special: Synthesis and Solar Beam. Holding the special button slowly heals Ivysaur and builds up charge. Charge is shown as a glowing light in Ivysaur’s bulb that grows bigger and fills the bulb when fully charged. Once the charge is full, using the move fires a powerful energy beam diagonally upwards. It can also be charged by connecting with Ivysaur's bulb attack sweetspots and pummel. This gives Ivysaur a greater KO/edge-guarding potential and percent advantage that its previous Bullet Seed didn't have, as Ivysaur can now rack up damage efficiently with its improved standard attacks.
• Razor Leaf has slightly faster startup, and it can now hit multiple targets and deal damage consecutively. It additionally flies in the same straight path instead of randomly angling, making the move more consistently usable.
• Vine Whip's sweetspot is stronger, dealing higher damage and knockback and playing the ping SFX. The move is also better for recovering thanks to Project M's improved tether recovery managements.
• Down special is now Seed Bomb, which sends a powerful projectile vertically similar to Snake's up smash. It releases Stun Spores upon hitting the ground, which stun opponents in range. The move can also be angled left or right slightly. It's great for both punishing aerial approaching foes and catching grounded enemies off-guard.
• Razor Leaves vanish upon making contact with a surface, worsening their overall durability, and only one can be out at a time.

Revisions

v2.6

• Forward tilt links more reliably and has slightly less range behind it.
• Up smash sweetspot's shield damage is increased.
• Down smash start-up is faster.
• Neutral air hitbox size increased, landing hitbox better for comboing.
• Standing grab and pivot grab have slightly increased vertical range.
• Up tilt horizontal range increased; animation is faster; knockback growth decreased,which is great for comboing into itself
• Down tilt second hit sends at an upward angle,which can lead to many follow-ups.
• Fastfall speed slightly increased.
• Grab pummel deals slightly less damage.
• Razor Leaf (projectile) does less damage per hit.
• Down tilt range reduced.
• Jab range is better overall while Jab 1 IASA is worse.
• Dash Attack animation is faster, strong hit duration is shorter.
• Forward air downward range decreased; animation slightly faster overall; all hits send opponents vertically.
• Back air damage/knockback decreased on ranged hits; angles generally higher; animation faster overall.
• Up air falling hitbox is a spike for the first four frames while shield damage is added to bulb sweetspot and can no longer fastfall during up air to slow decent.
• Down air has a faster start-up but greater endlag, shield damage added to sweetspot and can skip to a 3rd+ "float" effect by holding down during start-up.
• Dash grab has significantly reduced horizontal range, significantly less endlag (like the average jump cancel grab), and has noticeably increased vertical range.
• Synthesis/Solar Beam when uncharged now has a landing cancel, healing starts later in the animation, and holding B to full charge allows you to continue healing until you let go of B.
• Solarbeam now takes 22% to fully charge.
• Charged Synthesis/Solar Beam transition to Special Fall can now grab ledges backward.
• Razor Leaf animation is faster all around, Razor Leaf stays out longer, no longer decelerates over time, but is limited to one leaf on-screen at a time and can now be fastfalled.
• Vine Whip's sweetspot hitbox size decreased, grounded Vine Whip now matches aerial Vine Whip (has an extra active frame).
• Fixed a glitch where the Vine Whip's "hop" wouldn't happen immediately after hitstun.
• Seed Bomb can be angled to the left or right (less so while in the air), aerial Seed Bomb no longer pushes Ivysaur downward.

v3.0

• Forward tilt back hitbox and the innermost front hitbox have increased SDI multipliers.
• Forward air damage increased by 1%.
• Back air send off hits have increased base knockback, and the inner trajectory has been lowered.
• Back air outer hitbox damage increased to 5%.
• Down air damage increased and homogenized against grounded and aerial targets to 7%.
• Back throw knockback growth increased.
• Down throw knockback growth increased.
• Vine Whip's sweetspot hitbox size slightly increased.
• Vine Whip's sweetspot damage increased to 18%.
• Up throw knockback growth decreased,so it makes it easier to go for a back aerial at higher percents.
• Up throw angle increased to send slightly behind Ivysaur,which perfectly sets up a back aerial gimp.
• Neutral air final hit knockback growth decreased,which makes it more reliable for repeated hits,or follow-ups.
• Fall speed slightly increased, and fastfall speed increased.
• Forward tilt endlag increased.
• Forward tilt's back final hitbox damage decreased to match earlier weak hits.
• Down air ending lag increased.
• Down air sweetspot size decreased, with the sweetspot deeper inside Ivysaur.
• Forward throw knockback lowered to match v2.6 back throw.
• Seed Bomb seeds rise slower, do not go as high, and fall more slowly as well.
• Forward air startup increased.
• Increased aerial drift strength and decreased aerial friction.
• Slightly decreased grounded friction.
• Down tilt's 2nd hit now only pops up at the outer 2 hitboxes instead of outer 3 hitboxes.
• Forward air hitbox angles have been noticeably lowered to send further horizontally.
• Forward air base knockback increased, knockback growth decreased.
• Back air closer endlag mostly reverted to v2.5. Still allows a small window to short-hop Back Air autocancel.
• Up air sweetspot knockback growth and damage increased. Hitbox size decreased, with the sweetspot deeper inside Ivysaur. Sourspot angle decreased.
• Up air no longer halts horizontal momentum on fall.
• Up air meteor hitboxes redone - now two side-by-side hitboxes that maintain horizontal coverage with negative disjoint on the bottom.
• Grabs - outer 2 of 5 boxes on standing and pivot grab + outer 1 box of 3 on dash grab are ground-only to alleviate chain grab issues.
• Synthesis/Solar Beam startup hit is now a relatively weak wind box.
• Synthesis/Solar Beam max charge lowered from 22% to 18%.
• Aerial Synthesis/Solar Beam land-cancels only if the Special Button is not held.
• Razor Leaf checks if existing leaf is out on frame 1 instead of 15.
• Razor Leaf hit refresh rate is slower, damage per hit is increased by 1, and hit angle is increased to send further vertical.
• Razor Leaf is slowed down to v2.5 timings while float physics are also reverted to v2.5, but the move lasts 5 frames longer.

3.01

• Up air non-L-canceled landing lag value decreased slightly.
• Jab 1 and jab 2 had a chance to cause a trip, this has been removed.

v3.5

• Ivysaur has a new final smash.
• Second hit of back aerial deals more damage at the center rather than at the tip.
• Back throw does more damage.
  • However, it deals less base knockback.
• Up throw now heals 3%.
  • It now causes less damage.
• Forward throw does less damage.
  • However, its knockback has increased.
• Vine Whip deals less damage.
• Solar Beam takes longer to fully charge.
• Ivysaur receives a new black palette swap.

v3.6

Beta

• Forward tilt now angle-able, better multihit linking and damage, better IASA
  • However, it has 4 hits instead of 7
• Forward Smash has a better knockback
• Neutral Air tweaked to have hitboxes open longer
  • Removed uppermost hitbox on landing hit
  • Removed the useless, fully overlapped hitbox in the middle of the last air hit
• Grab Pummel Heals/Charges 2 points instead of 1
• Up Throw has better knockback growth (120 to 135), Charges 5 points instead of 3
  • Does less damage (6 points reduced to 5)
  • Graphic for charge updates during move rather than after
• Invincibility starts 3 frames earlier when using Synthesis/Solar Beam
  • Moved the Graphic forward 1 frame so the hitboxes appear on the frame the beam has fully expanded
• Vine Whip's base knockback from bast to tip changed from 40/40/40/60/80 to 40/40/40/40/80
  • As well the damage from base to tip changed from 11/11/11/13/14 to 11/11/11/11/15
  • Fixed a bug that caused Vine Whip tether to fail if used near the end of her tether range
  • Fixed a visual bug that made two vines appear on Vine Whip if Ivy had tethered to a ledge at least once.
• Back air angles reduced by 15% on the first swing and 5% on the second
• Amount charged/healed now accounts for stale moves
• Dash Attack has been given a new animation to differentiate it from running and dashing, in which Ivysaur does a full-bodied lunge. Hitbox and distance properties function the same.
• Added vine motion trails to jab, d-tilt, d-smash, f-air, and b-air.
• Fixed a bug where attempting to heal an amount greater than Ivysaur's current percent wouldn't heal her at all
• Fixed a bug allowing gaining or losing an unrelated amount of charge/health when hitting projectiles

Full

• Forward tilt now has 5 hits instead of 4 and pulls inward.
  • Removed final hitbox behind Ivysaur.
• Up throw now Charges/heals 6 points instead of 3.

Moveset

Up to date as of version 3.6.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	Ivysaur strikes with one vine, followed by another vine that deals stronger horizontal knockback.
			4%
Forward tilt			2% (hits 1-4), 5% (hit 5)	Ivysaur leans forward and spins the leaves around the main bulb like a helicopter blade, hitting multiple times. This move can be aimed up or down.
Up tilt			9% (center), 8% (sides)	Ivysaur plants its vines on the ground and pushes itself into the air. Has good range, with the central hit dealing straight vertical knockback.
Down tilt			2%-3% (hit 1) , 5% (hit 2)	Ivysaur whips two vines quickly along the ground, hitting twice with good range. The first hit has set knockback when hitting at the tip. The second hit has either horizontal knockback if it hits at the center, or drags foes towards Ivysaur if hitting at the tip.
Dash attack			12% (clean), 10% (late)	Ivysaur lunges and tackles the foe. Connecting during the early part of the animation deals powerful base knockback.
Forward smash			15%	Ivysaur plants its vines on the ground and launches its body forward. Decent knockback (30 base, 100 growth); can be used for edgeguarding onstage. Can be angled up or down.
Up smash			9% (body), 12% (explosion)	Ivysaur launches a burst of spores from its bulb. The lateral hitboxes deals strong vertical knockback, while the explosion deals more damage, less knockback, flowers the enemy, and heals 9% to Ivysaur. The percentage healed also increases with the attack's charge, for a maximum of 12.3039% when fully charged).
Down smash			14% (center), 12% (tip)	Ivysaur quickly whips out vines across the ground simultaneously on both sides. Has a semi-spike trajectory akin to Jigglypuff's down smash.
Neutral aerial			2% (hits 1-6), 4% (hit 7), 3% (landing)	Ivysaur spins while facing diagonally downwards. Hits multiple times with the last hit dealing minor knockback.
Forward aerial			9% (center), 13% (tip)	Ivysaur slaps forward with both vines. Has some start-up, but the tip is powerful, while the center can set up combos at low percentages.
Back aerial			4% (hit 1), 5% (hit 2 near), 7% (hit 2 mid), 8% (hit 2 far)	Ivysaur spins vertically and hits backwards with its two respective vines. The second hit has a semi-spike angle that can easily gimp recoveries.
Up aerial			7% (bulb interior), 10% (explosion), 6% (descent)	Ivysaur shoots a burst of spores out of its bulb and propels itself downward. The bulb interior flowers the opponent and heals 7% to Ivysaur. The descent weakly meteor smashes enemies and can be quickly L-canceled for follow-ups. Ivysaur starts fast falling as soon as the move is executed.
Down aerial			7% (bulb interior), 10% (explosion)	Ivysaur turns upside-down and shoots a burst of spores out of its bulb. Similar to its up aerial, but deals slightly less knockback. The regular hit has a more horizontal trajectory for gimps, while the bulb interior powerfully meteor smashes the opponent in addition to flowering them and healing 7% from Ivysaur. The move completely stops Ivysaur's descent, and its quick animation can be combined with Ivysaur's fast air speed to provide a good horizontal recovery option.
Grab			—	Stretches its vines and binds the opponent. Has shorter range compared to other extended grabs, but less ending lag.
Pummel			1%	Squeezes the opponent. Heals 1% to Ivysaur every time it is used. The amount charged or healed accounts for stale-move negation.
Forward throw			10%	Ivysaur tosses the foe forward with its vines.
Back throw			11%	Ivysaur spins, then tosses the foe backwards with its vines. Higher base knockback and knockback growth than the forward throw, and a more horizontal angle.
Up throw			6%	Ivysaur puts the foe over its bulb, then bounces them into the air with it. The move charges and heals 6 points every time it is used and will flower opponents. Can chaingrab fastfallers.
Down throw			10%	Ivysaur does a flip and slams the foe into the ground with its vines. A good throw for chaingrabbing fastfallers. At higher percentages, or against other characters, it can lead into an aerial, a Vine Whip, or SolarBeam.
Floor attack (front)			6%	Ivysaur get up with a horizontal spin, swinging its vines.
Floor attack (back)			6%	Ivysaur gets up and strikes both sides with its vines.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Ivysaur stands up and hits both sides with its vines.
Edge attack (fast)			6% (close), 8% (far)	Ivysaur climbs onto the stage and swings a vine.
Edge attack (slow)			10%	Ivysaur slowly climbs up and delivers a quick headbutt.
Neutral special		Synthesis/SolarBeam	4% (charge), 25% (SolarBeam)	Holding the special button heals Ivysaur of approximately 1% damage per second and builds up bulb charge at the same rate. The charge start-up produces wind. Once the charge is full, using the move fires a powerful energy beam diagonally upwards, having great range and dealing strong knockback, serving as a powerful edge-guarding attack or combo finisher. To fully charge the beam from the start, Ivysaur must have 22% or more damage healed, either by the move itself or its bulb attacks and pummel. The SolarBeam has an electric effect and cannot be reflected, but can be absorbed by PSI Magnet and Oil Panic. Ivysaur becomes helpless after firing the beam.
Side special		Razor Leaf	3% each hit	Ivysaur fires a spinning leaf forward, which hits enemies consecutively when used as a tilt and hits once when thrown as a smash attack. The leaf can be reflected, but cannot be angled and vanish upon hitting a surface, and can pass through foes and shields.
Up special		Vine Whip	11% (base), 15% (tip)	Ivysaur shoots a vine diagonally upwards. The sourspot can be easily used for repelling airborne enemies or edge-guarding onstage, while the sweetspot deals high knockback that can yield KOs at low percentages. In midair, it gives Ivysaur a boost upward, and acts as a tether recovery.
Down special		Seed Bomb	10%	Ivysaur fires a flashing seed upwards in a motion similar to its old neutral special. It can be slightly angled sideways in the same way as Snake's up-smash, and keeps momentum when used in midair. The seed then falls down and releases Stun Spores upon hitting a surface. The seed itself has decent vertical knockback, while the spores stuns any opponent in range, being able to punish opponents attempting to dodge Ivysaur. The seed can be reflected, though when doing so, the trajectory will be unaltered; it will just damage Ivysaur if it comes close to the explosion.
Final Smash		Sunny Day	25% (each SolarBeam)	Ivysaur summons strong sunlight, restoring 66% of damage and giving Ivysaur three SolarBeam charges.

In competitive play

Notable players

•  Cala - Ranked 3rd on the Florida Project M Power Rankings. Placed 13th at Smash 'n' Splash 4 and considered the second best Ivysaur player in the world.
•  Machiavelli - Ranked 26th on the PMRank 2016.
•  Miniboulet - The best Ivysaur player in France.
•  Sabre - Ranked 8th in SoCal, and inventor of character-specific tech including the Flop Lock.
•  Sothe - Ranked 10th on the PMRank 2017. Considered the best Ivysaur player in the world.
•  Steel Kangaroo - Ranked 1st on the Colorado Project M Power Rankings.
•  Todayyz - Ranked 2nd in Houston. Is considered to be the best Ivysaur in Texas.
•  Tomo - The best Ivysaur player in Japan.
•  Yoru - The best Ivysaur player in Mexico.

Alternate costumes

Ivysaur now has more significant palette swaps to be more distinctive in Team Battles. In addition, it has received blue, purple, white, and black recolors.

Ivysaur's alternate costumes in PM

Trivia

• Ivysaur's Solar Beam has a 2D sprite (that comes from Suicune's Poké Ball move); unlike other objects with this feature, it won't keep facing the screen and will instead remain flat like Mr. Game & Watch.
• Solar Beam is one of only two moves that can be absorbed but not reflected, the other being Zero Suit Samus's down smash.
• Seed Bombs use the same graphic as Deku Nuts.
• Unlike Squirtle and Charizard, Ivysaur's Pokémon Trainer victory pose has not been replaced, making it the only character in the game with just two victory poses.
• In older versions of Project M, Ivysaur's Solar Beam was shot out of its mouth.
• Ivysaur's green color scheme is based on its Shiny coloration in the Pokémon series.