Squirtle (SSBU)

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

Squirtle in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Pokémon
Shares character slot with	Pokémon Trainer Charizard Ivysaur
Other playable appearance	in Brawl
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Triple Finish
Tier	B+ (36)

Squirtle (ゼニガメ, Zenigame) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It was confirmed on June 12th, 2018. It is part of Pokémon Trainer's rotation along with Ivysaur and Charizard. Along with the Pokémon Trainer, Squirtle is classified as Fighter #33.

Michele Knotz and Rikako Aikawa reprise their roles as Squirtle from Super Smash Bros. Brawl in English and Japanese respectively. Squirtle also has new voice clips unique to the German and French versions.

Squirtle, alongside the rest of the team, are currently ranked 36th out of 82 in the current tier list, putting them near the top of the B+ tier. This is a huge improvement from their 29th out of 38 place in Brawl. Being the combo character of the trio, Squirtle's greatest strength is its frame data and potent combo ability, with a majority of its moves coming out no later than frame 10. This compliments its strong air game, as it is notably one of few fighters that can auto-cancel all of its aerials in a short hop, while all of them are very fast and additionally useful in their own ways. Lastly, Squirtle has a decent out-of-shield game, with Waterfall, up smash, and grab being effective tools.

Squirtle, like the rest of the team, has its own unique sets of weaknesses. Its range is very low outside of its smash attacks, making it easily walled out by zoners or fighters with large disjoints. In addition, it has abysmal survivability due to being tied for third lightest in the game, which is especially notable compared to the rest of its teammates. Squirtle also has a somewhat mediocre offstage game, as its weak aerials do not edgeguard particularly well, leaving Water Gun and Waterfall as its only real edgeguarding options. While it has a decent recovery with Waterfall, Withdraw has the unique trait of making Squirtle helpless for 120 frames (2 seconds) if it is footstooled during the move's animation. Perhaps Squirtle's biggest weakness is its crippling inability to KO opponents outside of zero-to-deaths, hard reads, or a back throw: it has a low damage output, its smash attacks all have high start-up, and its aerials don't KO opponents until very high percents without rage or good positioning.

All in all, Squirtle works best when utilizing its speed, frame data, and combo capability to rack up damage early into a stock. Its stubby range, low KO power, and poor offstage game, however, prevent it from being useful in the late game, with Ivysaur and Charizard being more effective.

How to unlock

Unlocked as part of Pokémon Trainer alongside Ivysaur and Charizard.

Attributes

This article or section is incomplete. You can help SmashWiki by expanding or finishing it. The editor who added this tag elaborates: This section can be improved upon to better flesh out Squirtle's strengths and weaknesses

Squirtle is the smallest and lightest out of the Pokémon Trainer's Pokémon, with it being tied with Mr. Game & Watch for the 3rd-lightest character in the game. Squirtle will automatically be the first Pokémon on-screen if Pokémon Trainer is selected, though this can be manually changed by pressing the Y button on the character select screen. In relation to Pokémon change, the order is Squirtle-Ivysaur-Charizard. If Charizard is KOd, Squirtle will always appear on the next revival platform.

Squirtle's small size makes it a hard target to hit, but also gives its attacks (except for its smash attacks) poor range. Squirtle is the fastest of the three available Pokémon and has good mobility overall, with average dashing and air speeds, a fast walking speed, very high air acceleration (the eighth highest), high gravity and high jump height, but a below-average falling speed and low traction. These attributes, paired with its good out-of-shield options gives Squirtle a flexible game plan, either functioning as an effective bait-and-punish character or a quick rushdown character. Squirtle also can crawl and wall cling.

One of Squirtle's strengths is its excellent frame data, as all of its attacks outside of its smash attacks come out before frame 10 and generally have low ending lag, also giving it a very strong combo game when combined with the low knockback on some of its moves. Starting with its normal ground moves, the first hit of its neutral attack comes out on frame 2, making it useful as a "get off me" option. Forward tilt is one of its most useful tools; the move's low-end lag makes it safe on shields, can lead into grabs at lower percentages, and can set up jab locks or tech chases at higher percentages. Up tilt can combo into itself and set up aerial combos. Down tilt, while slow compared to its other moves (coming out at frame 8), has comparably better range and can be useful in 2-framing opponents. Finally, its dash attack can be used to set up combos at low to mid percentages due to its low lag and Squirtle's aforementioned frame data.

Squirtle's smash attacks are generally much slower compared to its other moves, but compensate with range and power. Forward smash has high start-up but low end lag, boasts high knockback (being the strongest of its three smash attacks and its strongest move overall), and can be used to finish off a jab lock combo. Its up smash comes out slightly faster than forward smash, hits on both sides simultaneously, and covers a decent area above it. Finally, its down smash is its fastest smash attack and has good range overall, making it effective when used out of a spot dodge.

Squirtle possesses a strong aerial game. As one of the only few characters in Ultimate whose five aerials can all be auto-canceled in a short hop, Squirtle has multiple options while in the air. Neutral aerial has a very fast startup for an aerial (4 frames), while it can also KO at very high percentages near edges, making it effective for disrupting combos and edgeguarding opponents. Forward and back aerials are good for combos, with both being effective for wall of pain combos and confirming into other options while landing. Due to Squirtle's above-average jump height, up aerial is a very effective juggling tool, while the move has among the lowest landing lag of any aerial attack, at 6 frames, furthering its juggling abilities. Its down aerial is a good landing option that can set up combos at low percentages. To cap, all of its aerial attacks have at most 18 frames of landing lag, making them solid air-to-ground options.

Squirtle also has a very effective grab game. Despite its below average grab range and unimpressive damage outputs on its throws, they all have a surprising amount of utility. Its forward throw is very effective for edgeguarding and is strong enough to KO at around 160% without rage. Back throw is even stronger, being one of the strongest back throws in Ultimate, while its up and down throws are potent combo starters. Its pummel, while relatively weak as with all pummels in Ultimate, is decently fast and easily builds up damage.

Finally, when it comes to Squirtle's special moves, its neutral special, Water Gun, functions similarly to Mario's down special, being a move that pushes away opponents without making them flinch. The longer the move is charged, the higher the push back, making it a useful tool for edge guarding and controlling space. Its side special, Withdraw, has Squirtle retreat into its shell and move across the stage at high speeds. It is immune to damage while using this move, which allows it to be used as an approaching tool. Finally, its up special, Waterfall, is a multi-hitting move that covers a decent recovery distance and is useful for ending combos and hitting opponents out of shield.

However, Squirtle does have some weaknesses. While Squirtle has high combo potential, the damage output from its individual attacks is poor overall, and outside of its smash attacks (which are extremely slow and committal) and its back throw (which can have trouble killing away from the ledge), Squirtle lacks any reliable KO options, especially since some of its previous KO options were weakened. Up aerial can only KO near the upper blast line and, along with forward throw, requires rage to KO on its own, while its other aerials need edgeguarding to KO at all. Squirtle lacks reliable kill confirms as well, making it very difficult for Squirtle to close out stocks on its own if it is incapable of edgeguarding the opponent. Squirtle's light weight and exploitable recovery also make its endurance very poor, and it is no longer resistant to fire attacks due to the removal of type effectiveness, further hindering Squirtle's endurance in certain matchups. As previously mentioned, Squirtle has poor range throughout its attacks (save for its smash attacks), and it lacks a damaging projectile, making it very easy for Squirtle to be out-spaced by characters with superior range.

Squirtle's offstage game is also poor. While all of its aerial attacks can autocancel in a short hop, they are all very weak (barring neutral aerial) and cannot KO reliably on their own, while lacking range compared to other aerials. This flaw is further pronounced with the removal of meteor canceling due to Squirtle's very light weight, while it lacks a meteor smash of any kind, unlike Ivysaur and Charizard. Finally, while Withdraw works well as a recovery option and mindgame tool, it has a unique flaw: if Squirtle is footstooled during the move's animation, it will be left unable to input any actions for 120 frames, leaving it extremely vulnerable both in the air and on the ground, requiring caution when using the move.

Overall, Squirtle should mainly be used to quickly rack up damage with its strong combo game while it and its opponents are at lower percents, and should almost invariably be swapped out with Ivysaur or Charizard at later percents due to their superior neutral games, survivability, and KO potential.

If a player wishes to centralize their gameplan around Squirtle, knowledge of Ivysaur is recommended. Ivysaur's longer range, powerful aerial finishers and heavier weight in combination with Squirtle's own strengths allows for a player to switch between a fast, offensive rushdown and a passive zoner strategy that is based around heckling their opponent between long and short ranges, and when survival above double digit percentages is imperative. Ivysaur's Vine Whip also allows players to mix up their recovery options and makes their return to the stage far less predictable.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Squirtle was previously considered the strongest party member of the Pokémon Trainer's team in Brawl, due to a combination of its quick mobility, fast attacks, and excellent aerial game; this made the team reliant on it to achieve the highest level of success possible. Likely in an attempt to create a higher balance within the team, Squirtle has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition to Ultimate, but while objectively nerfed, it benefits from many of the gameplay mechanics, helping compensate for its shortcomings while improving on its strengths. Regardless, Squirtle was still moderately nerfed overall.

A large part of Squirtle's moveset has been altered, receiving several new moves. Among its most notorious ones, its new neutral attack is faster all-around and retains its ability to lock; dash attack has better stage control and combo capabilities; and neutral aerial has better combo potential thanks to its new angle (though at the cost of power). Many of Squirtle's moves have been streamlined due to various changes to knockback angles, utility and power, with forward and up tilts, back, up and down aerials, and up and down throws, now being excellent combo starters and/or finishers in their own right at a wide range of percents. Squirtle's KO options have been improved as well, with its new forward and down smashes having increased range with much lower ending lag, and the former, along with its new back throw, having increased knockback. Squirtle's specials are all more effective for punishes and stage control, as Water Gun has less ending lag with a substantially increased push force, Withdraw travels faster and is much stronger on hit, and Waterfall connects much more reliably and has increased knockback.

Squirtle benefits significantly from Ultimate's new mechanics. The neutering of hitstun canceling further benefits Squirtle's aforementioned combo-centric moves. The universally decreased landing lag makes Squirtle's approach safer, which combines well with its fast frame data, which has been retained and, in some cases, improved. The increased shieldstun makes several of its attacks safer on shield, most notably its forward tilt and new smash attacks. The removal of the Stamina mechanic also eliminates Squirtle's biggest limiting factor from Brawl, as it can now stay in battle for as long as the player wishes with no penalty, provided it is not KO'd. Finally, the removal of chain grabbing and neutering of aerial grab release combos vastly improves Squirtle's survivability.

However, Squirtle has also received some noticeable nerfs. While its grounded movement is technically much faster, it has lost its multiple unique advanced techniques, such as DACUS and, most notably, shellshifting (due to the change to its turnaround animation), hindering its versatility. Squirtle's excellent aerial mobility has also been toned down (especially when relative to the cast), as unlike most returning veterans, its air speed has been reduced, going from among the highest in Brawl to below average in Ultimate. Additionally, while Squirtle's neutral aerial, forward smash, and down smash have more range, the majority of its other attacks have less range, namely its neutral attack, all tilts, dash attack, all other aerials except back aerial, grabs, and Waterfall, requiring Squirtle to take better advantage of its mobility to land them.

Squirtle's overall damage output and knockback are lower, especially in moves such as its forward and up aerials, and all throws except forward and back throws (especially down throw, which is no longer one of the strongest in the game), thus losing some of its KO options, and its improved ones are generally hard to land; as a result, Squirtle maintains a glaring weakness in its lack of KO potential. Lastly, the removal of type effectiveness hinders Squirtle more than the rest of its party, greatly worsening its survivability in certain matchups, as it previously had a disproportionate resistance to flame attacks compared to the other Pokémon's respective weaknesses.

Overall, Squirtle's combo game has been improved drastically, giving it an excellent damage-racking ability, but its main weaknesses, including its poor range and KO power, have been further exacerbated. This results in Squirtle being retooled to fit more in line with the speedy, combo-centric playstyle it represents in the Pokémon Trainer's team, exploiting its combo ability and speedy attacks to rack up damage and either bring opponents to KO percentages or put them in a bad position, both scenarios for its partner Pokémon to take advantage of. As a result, though Squirtle remains a very effective character, it is generally agreed to no longer be the Pokémon Trainer's best Pokémon by a large margin.

Aesthetics

• Squirtle's design and proportions have changed. It has slightly larger eyes, which are a darker shade of magenta, and its nostrils and eyelids are less pronounced. It has a rounder head, stubbier arms, and legs, and its shell has a sleeker, shinier design. It is more vibrantly colored overall, with its skin being a lighter shade of blue and the top of its shell being a lighter shade of brown, with the bottom being a lighter shade of yellow. Due to these changes, it now matches its appearances in the more recent Pokémon titles.
• Much like other characters, Squirtle always faces the screen regardless of which direction it is facing, making its stance mirrored.
• Squirtle has a more upright stance.
• Squirtle shows much more emotion, with its eyes changing size in certain animations. It appears angry when jabbing, and it looks shocked when attacked.
• Squirtle is proportioned correctly to the Pokémon Trainer in its victory poses.
• Squirtle's side taunt has a different ending animation, where it teeters clumsily after spinning on its tail.
• Squirtle has a new dash animation, which involves it surfing on a small wave of water.
• Squirtle no longer retreats inside its shell when turning while dashing, spot dodging, rolling, and its supine and prone positions when knocked down.
• Squirtle has new crouch and crawl animations: a comical defensive crouch while covering its head with its hands.
• Squirtle has been updated with universal features introduced in Smash 4.
  • Squirtle has a Boxing Ring title, a Palutena's Guidance conversation, and three new alternate costumes, though the formermost is shared by the group.
  • Squirtle has voice clips for suffering high knockback.
  • Squirtle now has an individual Sound Test section, rather than being grouped together with the other Pokémon as well as the Trainer.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Squirtle's jumpsquat animation takes 3 frames to complete (down from 4).
• Squirtle's run turn no longer grants it a considerable boost forward and on the way back, removing shellshifting and all the advanced movement techniques that utilized it.
• Squirtle walks faster (1.2 → 1.281).
• Squirtle runs significantly faster (1.37 → 1.76), going from 30th fastest of 39 characters to being tied with Mario, Ken and Bayonetta for the 35th fastest of 82 characters. This improves Squirtle's grounded approach and somewhat compensates for the removal of shellshifting.
  • Its initial dash is much faster (1.6 → 1.936).
• Squirtle's air speed is slower (1.081 → 1.01), especially when relative to the cast. It has went from the 7th highest out of 39 characters to the 52nd highest out of 77 characters.
• Squirtle's air acceleration is lower (0.12 → 0.105), although it is still among the highest.
• Squirtle's traction is higher (0.042 → 0.088), going from the 3rd lowest to the 13th lowest.
• Squirtle's falling speed is slightly higher (1.3 → 1.35).
  • Its fast falling speed is slightly higher (2.1 → 2.16) although it is much lower relative to the cast. It has went from the 12th highest out of 39 characters to the 14th lowest out of 79.
• Squirtle's gravity is much higher (0.1067 → 0.128).
• Squirtle's new crouching and crawling animations do not shrink its hurtboxes as much, making it easier to hit during these actions.
• Squirtle's crawling speed is slower.
• The Stamina mechanic has been removed, eliminating the necessity of switching out Pokémon to restore their power.
• Type effectiveness has been removed. This affects Squirtle the most adversely out of the Pokémon Trainer's party, as it previously had a disproportionate resistance to the common flame attacks of the cast. This also reduces the power of Squirtle's water attacks against Charizard.
  • However, this does increase the power of Squirtle's water attacks against Ivysaur, alongside decreasing the damage of Grass attacks it takes
• Squirtle's aerial grab release sends it much further out, as the action is no longer affected by gravity. In combination with aerial grab releases incurring significantly less lag (29 frames, as opposed to 50 frames plus 3 frames of landing lag), and the removal of chain grabbing, Squirtle is no longer vulnerable to many inescapable followups out of its aerial grab release (including an infinite chain grab from Zero Suit Samus).
• The changes to grounded grab releases combined with Squirtle's slower and shorter ranged jab have removed Squirtle's ability to get a guaranteed jab on opponents out of a grounded grab release.
• The removal of meteor canceling hinders Squirtle the most adversely out of the Pokémon Trainer's party, as while it doesn't hinder Squirtle's endurance against meteor smashes as much as Ivysaur, Squirtle lacks a meteor smash of its own, so it receives no compensation for the removal of the mechanic unlike Ivysaur.
• Both rolls cover a shorter distance.
• Forward roll has less ending lag (FAF 30 → 28).
• Forward roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-19 → 4-14).
• Back roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-19 → 4-15) and has more ending lag (FAF 30 → 33).
• Spot dodge has less ending lag (FAF 26 → 24).
• Spot dodge has more startup and grants less intangibility (frames 2-20 → 3-16).
• Air dodge has less startup (frame 4 → 2).
• Air dodge grants less intangibility (frames 4-29 → 2-26) and has much more ending lag (FAF 40 → 54).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Squirtle's full neutral attack has a different animation. The first hit is a punch rather than a slap, the second hit is a jumping kick with one leg rather than a dropkick, and the third hit is an inward tail whip rather than a frontflipping tail slam.
  • Consecutive uses of the first hit are much faster (13 → 6 frames).
  • The first hit transitions faster into the second hit (frame 6 → 5), and its outermost hitbox launches opponents towards Squirtle (361° → 180°), allowing it to connect more reliably from far distances.
  • The third hit has a longer hitbox duration (frame 5 → frames 5-6) and less ending lag (FAF 36 → 32).
  • All hits have smaller hitboxes (4u/3u/3u/3u → 1.5u/1.8u/2.2u/2.2u (hit 1), 4.5u/4u/3.5u → 2.2u/2.5u/2.8u (hit 2), 5u/4u/3u → 3.2u/3.5u/3.8u (hit 3)), and Squirtle no longer lunges as far during the first hit, nor moves forward during the second and third hits, greatly reducing their range.
  • All hits have a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.6× (hit 1), 1.2× (hit 2), 2× (hit 3)), giving opponents more time to DI the last hit; however, it remains harder to SDI than in Brawl due to the weakening of the mechanic.
  • The first two hits deal less damage (3% → 2% (hit 1), 2% → 1.5% (hit 2)), and no longer have set knockback (10 set/100 scaling → 25/20 base/20/15 scaling (hit 1), 15 set/100 scaling → 25 base/25/20 scaling (hit 2)), causing the move to connect less reliably at high percents.
  • The first hit has more startup (frame 1 → 2).
    • However, its total duration remains the same, reducing its ending lag by one frame.
  • The second hit no longer has a 20% bonus trip chance, removing its setup potential.
  • The third hit has less knockback scaling (120 → 110).
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt has more base knockback (8 → 20), increasing its safety on hit at low percents.
  • It benefits significantly from the increased shieldstun and the more limited out of shield options, now being safe on shield due to its minimal ending lag.
  • It has more startup with a shorter hitbox duration (frames 4-6 → 5-6).
  • It deals less damage (6% → 5%).
  • It has smaller hitboxes (5u/4u/3u → 2u/2.6u/3.6u).
• Up tilt:
  • The changes to hitstun canceling considerably improve up tilt's combo potential at higher percents where it starts causing tumbling.
  • It has a shorter hitbox duration (frames 5-7 → 5-6) and more ending lag (FAF 18 → 20), slightly hindering its combo potential at lower percents.
  • It has smaller hitboxes (6u/8u → 5u/5.2u). This weakens its anti-air capabilities, no longer allows it to hit opponents in the middle platforms of Battlefield, and in combination with the changes to the jostle mechanics, makes it much harder to hit opponents at Squirtle's sides, greatly reducing its overall utility.
  • It launches at a marginally higher angle (86° → 88°).
• Down tilt:
  • Squirtle has a new down tilt: a ground-level leg sweep with a water effect. It hits only once, rather than five times.
  • It has less ending lag (FAF 37 → 30).
  • It launches opponents at a lower angle than the previous down tilt's last hit (65° → 38°), granting it edgeguarding potential and allowing it to KO near edges more effectively.
  • It has more startup with a shorter hitbox duration (frames 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 → 8-13).
  • It deals less damage (2% (hits 1-4), 5% (hit 5); 13% total → 9%), with knockback compensated (40 base/130 scaling → 53/75).
  • It has smaller hitboxes (4u/4u/4u (looping hits), 7u/7u (last hit) → 3u/3.6u/2.1u (clean), 3u/3.6u/4.2u (late)).
• Dash attack:
  • Squirtle has a new dash attack: a lunging kick with both feet, similar to Bowser's forward smash, which produces a corkscrew of water.
  • Dash attack has less ending lag (FAF 42 → 36).
  • The clean hit has gained a shieldstun multiplier of 1.45×, which combined with the universally increased shieldstun makes it safer on shield.
  • The late hit deals more knockback (45 base/30 scaling → 70/50). Combined with the move's reduced ending lag and the changes to hitstun canceling, this allows it to start combos from low to mid percents.
  • The move has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 6-22 → 8-17).
  • Both hits have smaller hitboxes (5u → 4.2u (clean), 4u → 3.5u (late)).
  • The clean hit deals less damage (9% → 8%).
  • It launches opponents away from Squirtle rather than towards it (110° → 65° (clean), 120° → 60° (late)).
• Smash attacks:
  • All of Squirtle's smash attacks uses the drumbeat sound rather than the twittering sound.
• Forward smash:
  • Squirtle has a new forward smash: it lashes a torrent of water in front of itself, instead of doing a tackle in its shell.
  • It has significantly less ending lag (FAF 65 → 50).
  • It deals more damage (14% → 15%), and has more base knockback (18 → 35), greatly improving its KO potential.
  • It no longer moves Squirtle forward, but has gained an additional hitbox (5u/4u → 4.2u/3.6u/3.4u), and its hitboxes have been moved farther away from Squirtle (Z offset: -3u/2u → 7.8u/12u/16u). This gives it a more favorable hitbox placement overall, with a much larger disjoint, and in combination with its reduced ending lag and the increased shieldstun, it is now safe on shield with proper spacing.
  • It has more startup with a shorter hitbox duration (frames 18-21 → 20-21).
  • It no longer grants super armor on frames 17-21, removing its ability to plow through opposing attacks.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash's late hits deal more damage (11%/9%/7%/5% → 12%/10%/9%/8%) and knockback (60/64/60/58 base/90 scaling → 60 base/92 scaling).
  • The removal of DACUS and shellshifting (thus no longer allowing for pump sliding) significantly hinder up smash's approach potential.
  • The clean hit has altered knockback (70 base/87 scaling → 60/92), slightly reducing its KO ability overall.
  • The launcher hit has slightly more knockback scaling (90 → 92).
  • Squirtle points upward to generate the torrents of water, rather than leaping and pounding the ground.
• Down smash:
  • Squirtle has a new down smash: it lashes a torrent of water in a circle around itself.
  • It has significantly less ending lag (FAF 53 → 41).
  • It deals more damage (11% → 13%) with no sourspots. Due to functioning as a sweeping down smash rather than hitting both sides simultaneously, it can also connect both hits at low percents if the opponent is launched backward by the first hit, racking up even more damage (11% → 26%).
  • It has smaller hitboxes (5u/5u/4u/4u → 4.2u/4u/3.8u/3.5u), but they have been moved much farther away from Squirtle (Z offset: 4.5u/-4.5u/11u/-11u → 6u/10.5u/15u/19u), significantly improving its horizontal range. In combination with the move's reduced ending lag and the increased shieldstun, it is now safe on shield with proper spacing.
  • It has more startup with a shorter hitbox duration (frames 17-29 → 18-19 (hit 1), 24-25 (hit 2)).
  • It deals less knockback compared to the previous sweetspot (21 base/102/85 scaling → 50 base/74 scaling), slightly hindering its KO potential despite its higher damage.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials except back aerial have less landing lag (12 frames → 8 (neutral), 12 → 6 (forward), 21 → 6 (up), 19 → 16 (down)). In combination with the higher shieldstun for aerials compared to Brawl, this makes them much safer on shield.
• Neutral aerial:
  • Squirtle has a new neutral aerial: a midair cartwheel.
  • It has less ending lag (FAF 49 → 42).
  • It deals more damage (9% → 10% (clean), 6% → 7% (late)).
  • It has larger hitboxes (5u → 6.5u (clean), 3.5u → 5.5u (late)), improving its utility for approaching.
  • It auto-cancels one frame earlier (frame 36 → 35).
  • The late hit has altered knockback (15 base/100 scaling → 35/90), increasing its combo potential in combination with the move's reduced landing lag and the changes to hitstun canceling.
  • It launches at a different angle (361° → 42°), removing its ability to lock opponents.
  • It has a shorter hitbox duration (frames 4-7 (clean)/8-32 (late) → 4-6/7-26).
  • The clean hit has more base knockback, but less knockback scaling (20 base/100 scaling → 30/85), slightly reducing its KO potential despite its increased damage.
• Forward aerial:
  • The clean hit deals much less damage (12% → 7%), with knockback not fully compensated (30 base/94 scaling → 50/96). This drastically reduces its power, no longer KOing middleweights under 160% from the center of Final Destination.
  • It has less ending lag (FAF 38 → 36), and launches opponents at a higher angle (45° → 48°). The late hit also deals more knockback (30 base/90 scaling → 50/94). Combined with the aforementioned changes, its reduced landing lag, and the changes to hitstun canceling, this significantly improves its combo potential.
  • It auto-cancels later (frame 28 → 35).
  • It has smaller hitboxes (6.5u/5.5u → 4u/3.5u (clean), 4.5u/3.5u → 3.5u/3.5u (late)).
  • The kick now produces a corkscrew of water.
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial is now a multi-hit move, and has Squirtle spin in a horizontal corkscrew while stretching out its tail, similar to Pikachu's back aerial.
  • It deals more damage (10% (clean), 6% (late) → 1% (hits 1-5), 6% (hit 6); 11% total), and has gained a landing hitbox that deals 2%, making it more effective for shield stabbing.
  • It has a longer hitbox duration (frames 5-6 (clean)/7-14 (late) → 5-14 (looping hits)/15-16 (last hit)).
  • It auto-cancels earlier (frame 28 → 22). In combination with its multi-hit property and the changes to hitstun canceling, this improves its combo potential.
  • It has slightly more ending lag (FAF 35 → 36), and twice as much landing lag (9 frames → 18).
  • Due to the last hit's lower damage than the previous back aerial's clean hit, it has reduced KO potential, despite its much higher base knockback and only minimally reduced knockback scaling (20 base/97 scaling → 55/95).
  • It launches at a different angle (361° → 38°/65° (looping hits), 40° (last hit)), removing its ability to lock opponents.
  • It has altered hitbox sizes, with the looping hits' being similar to the previous late hit's (4.3u/3.3u → 4.2u/4.2u), and the last hit's being similar to the previous clean hit's (6.5u/5.5u → 5.8u/6u).
• Up aerial: