Vine Whip
| Vine Whip | |
|---|---|
 Vine Whip in Ultimate. | |
| User | Ivysaur |
| Universe | Pokémon |
| Article on Bulbapedia | Vine Whip (move) |
Vine Whip (つるのムチ, Vine Whip) is Ivysaur's up special move.
Overview
Ivysaur lashes a vine from its flower, which functions as both an attack and a tether recovery. On the ground, Vine Whip hits at a forty-five degree angle in front of and above Ivysaur, with a powerful sweetspot at the end of the whip that deals slightly more damage and much more knockback. In the air, the move has the same attacking capability as on the ground, and also grants Ivysaur a small height boost.
The move can be used as a tether recovery in the air when it is within range of an edge. The tether range is even longer than the range that the move has as an attack. Like other tethers, when Ivysaur is hanging by its tether, it will pull itself up to grab the edge upon player input or automatically after it has been hanging for a few seconds.
Instructional quotes
 instruction booklet |
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Flick its vines forwards diagonally. Do it near an edge and Ivysaur will latch on. |
 Move List |
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Attacks with vines like they're whips. The vines can also grab on to edges. |
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl
In Brawl, Vine Whip will cause helplessness when used in the air if it does not tether to an edge. Due to the predictable nature of tether recoveries, Ivysaur can easily be edgehogged while attempting to use Vine Whip to recover.
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
In Ultimate, Vine Whip does not cause helplessness, allowing the move to be used an indefinite number of times in the air. However, the height boost granted by the move only applies once until Ivysaur grabs an edge or lands. The lack of edgehogging in the game removes a crucial weakness of Ivysaur's recovery with this move. Additionally, when the move is used as an attack, it can be angled with directional input, so that the whip covers more vertical range but less horizontal range, or vice-versa.
Origin
In the Pokémon series, Vine Whip is a physical Grass-type attack introduced in Generation I, which involves hitting the foe with an outstretched vine. It is a rather weak move, learned by the Bulbasaur family and several other Grass-type Pokémon at a low level. In the Pokémon animated series, some Grass-type Pokémon (including Bulbasaur) are sometimes depicted using their vines to grab and manipulate objects.
Gallery
Ivysaur landing the sweetspot with Vine Whip in Brawl.
Vine Whip as shown by the Move List in Ultimate.
Trivia
- Vine Whip, Belay, Grappling Hook, Sword of the Creator and ARM Hook are the only tether recovery up specials in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It is no longer Ivysaur's sole method of recovery, however; in addition to directional air dodges, Pokémon Change can now be used in midair and is much faster, enabling the use of Charizard's recovery options, who arguably has the best recovery options out of all three Pokémon.
- A small electric shock can be heard when the sweetspot of the vine hits another character. However, the sweetspot is still considered a grass attack and not an electric attack: this unusual sound was likely chosen to simulate more closely the cracking sound of an actual whip, especially one striking an object.
- If this move is used to tether to the front end of the Pirate Ship from far enough away, Ivysaur will swing into the hull of the ship, which will deal 10% damage to Ivysaur and meteor smash it, resulting in a guaranteed self-destruct.
