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Ivysaur (SSBB)

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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 (SSBB), Squirtle (SSBB), and Charizard (SSBB).
Ivysaur
in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Ivysaur SSBB.png
PokemonSymbol.svg
Universe Pokémon
Shares character slot with Pokémon Trainer
Charizard
Squirtle
Availability Starter
Final Smash Triple Finish
IvysaurHeadSSBB.png
A seed Pokémon that excels at attacks that cover it from above.
Brawl manual description

Ivysaur (フシギソウ, Fushigisou) 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. When Ivysaur moves, it sheds very small leaves, similar to Pit's feathers shedding when he jumps.

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. Moreover, Ivysaur is in extreme danger in any recovery situation, as it is can be edge-hogged pre/mid-tether. Finally, Ivysaur's KO moves are all quite limited and require either good mindgaming or excellent spacing to land safely.

Despite its flaws, Ivysaur can do well when effectively using its moveset to frustrate foes. Ivysaur has one of the best damage rackers in the game with its neutral special, Bullet Seed. Constantly spotdodging or fooling foes to land this move is a top priority for good Ivysaur play, even at higher damage percentages. One hit of the special button can often rack up an easy 30%, and upward of 50% when landed right. Ivysaur's grab game can also assist at putting it in charge - Ivysaur's vines give it one of the best pivot grabs this side of 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 control of the match. Razor Leaf also contributes with its good range, speed, and piercing capabilities, but the unpredictable flight path can cause Ivysaur trouble from time to time. Ivysaur actually has a quite good jab combo too, as it sports decent damage, begins quickly, is endless, and is a good frontal deterrent to mid-close range attackers. Ivysaur's other primary problem is its back aerial; repeated use of this move can shut down plenty of approaches, but does little damage.

As previously stated, although damage is not too much of a problem, KOing can be. Ivysaur's two most KO capable smashes are powerful but slow (with its up smash as the most powerful of its kind in Brawl); and the same goes for its two aerial power moves, meaning that its up aerial telegraphs itself almost as much as Zelda's, and its forward aerial only begins to KO at around 130%. Their primary faults are laggy landings should they not end in time. A sweetspotted Vine Whip can make for a superb surprise KO, but its set trajectory is rarely ideal, and being an up-special, it is dangerous to use in midair. Ivysaur can pop off a dash attack for a quick and rather powerful headbutt KO, but getting shielded makes it risky. Getting KO's is worsened by the Pokémon Trainer stamina trait, should Ivysaur get tired, and Ivysaur is also 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%.). 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 and neutral aerial can help alleviate the defensive issue, but the neutral aerial has low range while its back aerial requires it to be facing away from the opponent, which can't always be done when already in the air. Ivysaur has very slow air speed, which also hurts its aerial game. The result is that anytime Ivysaur is off the stage, the Pokémon is in a bad tactical position and is generally forced to either begin edge games with Vine Whip and back/neutral air, or to simply get back to the stage (the safer option). While its midair jump is decent, Ivysaur relies on its tether recovery to return to the stage due to its poor air speed, but can easily be edgehogged while attempting to use the Vine Whip to recover, although this can be prevented by shooting a Razor Leaf to clear the edge-hog off the stage.

In the end, Ivysaur can best be described as a poor version of Olimar; both are great at racking up the damage close-in and at irritating at mid-long range, but Olimar has a much easier time landing KO's with his superior (and almost-always disjointed) attack options, including better smashes, better aerials, and a better grab.

Moveset

  Name Damage Description
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   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.
Floor attack (front)   6% Get up with an horizontal spin, swinging its vines.
Floor attack (back)   6% Gets up and hits both sides with its vines.
Floor attack (trip)   5% Stands up and hits both sides with its vines.
Edge attack (fast)   8% (vine), 6% (body) Climbs onto the edge and swings a vine.
Edge attack (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.

On-screen appearance

  • The Pokémon Trainer releases Ivysaur from a Poké Ball and yells "Go Ivysaur!"
File:Ivysaur On-Screen Appearance Brawl.gif

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
IvysaurUpTauntBrawl.gif IvysaurSideTauntBrawl.gif IvysaurDownTauntBrawl.gif

Idle poses

  • Stomps from side to side.
  • Looks around then shakes its body.
Ivysaur Idle Pose 2 Brawl.png Ivysaur Idle Pose 1 Brawl.png

Crowd cheer

English Japanese
Cheer
Description Po-ké-mon! Po-ké-mon!
Pitch Group chant Group chant

Wii Remote selection sound

  • The Trainer releases a Poké Ball and says "Go for it!".
Pokémon Trainer's selection sound

Victory poses

An excerpt from the main theme of the Pokémon series. It is shared with Pikachu, Jigglypuff, and Lucario.
  • Stands in a battle-ready pose.
  • The Pokémon Trainer pets it, and Ivysaur jumps on him, but the Pokémon Trainer puts it down and continues to pet him.
  • Jumps and lands on its belly saying "Saur! Saur! Saur, Saur, Saur!".
Up Left Right
Ivysaur-VictoryUp-SSBB.gif Ivysaur-VictoryLeft-SSBB.gif Ivysaur-VictoryRight-SSBB.gif

In competitive play

Matchups

Role in The Subspace Emissary

Main article: Pokémon Trainer

While in the ruins, Lucas and Pokémon Trainer discover Ivysaur in trophy form at the end of a torch-lit hallway. Pokémon Trainer then easily captures it, adding it to his team. Since Ivysaur is not seen again in a cutscene, it is the only character that is not seen outside of its trophy form during cutscenes in The Subspace Emissary (not counting the credits).

In Event Matches

Note: Ivysaur is only featured in one event that does not include the Pokémon Trainer.

Solo Events

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.

Description

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 blossom 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.

Game Boy: Pokémon Red/Blue
GB Advance: Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen

Alternate costumes

Pokémon Trainer's palette swaps, with corresponding tournament mode colours.
Ivysaur's alternate costumes in Brawl

Trivia

  • 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 its hands for any attack (including grabs), the other being Yoshi (though Yoshi still uses items with his hands).
  • It is never explained why Ivysaur is a trophy in the SSE, nor why it is in the Ruins in the first place.
  • According to the Pokédex, Ivysaur is supposed to weigh a mere 28.7 pounds. 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.

External links