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

, Rikako Aikawa and Klaus Münster reprise their roles as Squirtle from Super Smash Bros. Brawl in English, Japanese and German respectively, all with new voice clips; in French, Jean-Marc Delhausse replaces Virginie Demians from Brawl.

How to unlock
Unlocked as part of alongside  and.

Attributes
Squirtle is the smallest and lightest out of the 's Pokémon, with it being tied with 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--. 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 (with the exception of 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 has the ability to 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 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 '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 in 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 or  at later percents due to their superior neutral games, survivability, and KO potential.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Squirtle was previously considered the strongest party member of the 's team in Brawl, due to a combination of its quick mobility, fast attacks, and excellent aerial game, which made it a potentially viable contender in competitive play; this made the team reliant on the character to achieve the most 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. Because of this, Squirtle was slightly 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 merely 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 mantains 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, resulting 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 bring opponents to KO percents for its partner Pokémon. As a result, though it remains a very viable character, it is generally agreed upon that Squirtle is no longer the Pokémon Trainer's best Pokémon by a large margin.

Update history
Squirtle only received one change throughout Ultimate's game updates; a near-universal buff to shield sizes. Due to this, he was the least affected Pokémon Trainer Pokémon by a large margin and arguably the least affected playable character in the whole game.

 

Moveset
For a gallery of Squirtle's hitboxes, see here.
 * Squirtle can crawl, wall cling, and wall jump.

Announcer call
Unlike in Brawl, Squirtle no longer has a unique announcer call. Rather, the announcer will always call.

On-screen appearance

 * Pokémon Trainer releases Squirtle from its Poké Ball while saying "Go!" or "Squirtle!"

Taunts

 * Up Taunt: Backflips once, then raises its arms up and says "Squirt!"
 * Side Taunt: Angrily spins around on its tail, before briefly making itself dizzy.
 * Down Taunt: Retreats into its shell, then spins around once.

Idle poses

 * Hops twice excitedly.
 * Leans forward and waggles its arms in front of itself.

Crowd cheer
 

Victory poses
During Squirtle's victory poses, the Pokémon Trainer says randomly either "You all did great!" (male)/"Everyone did great!" (female) or "Good job, Squirtle!" , while the female Trainer can say "We did it, Squirtle!" .
 * Left: Jumps and spins around on its shell in a breakdance move, and then lands and poses.
 * Up: Spits water quickly in three directions, does a backflip, then poses with its arm in the air.
 * Right: Pokémon Trainer holds Squirtle in his arms, then kneels down and puts it on the ground, and rubs its chin and head.

: The Future Champion
Pokémon Trainer's route refers to the player's goal of becoming the in the Pokémon games. Like in 's route, the opponents are all Pokémon and all rounds are on Pokémon stages. Each round will start with the Pokémon chosen on the character select screen regardless of which one was active at the end of the previous round.

Note: Items are disabled in every round.

Completing Classic Mode as Pokémon Trainer has  accompanying the credits that roll every time the player finishes a Classic route, with the selected Pokémon playable during the credits minigame rather than the actual Trainer.

Role in World of Light
The male was among the fighters that were summoned to fight against the army of Master Hands, and he brought his three Pokémon with him, including Squirtle.

Squirtle was sent out by Pokémon Trainer, along with and, shortly before Galeem unleashed his beams of light. Under Pokémon Trainer's command, Squirtle used Water Gun in an attempt to fight the beams of light, but this attempt failed. Pokémon Trainer, Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard were all vaporized and placed under Galeem's imprisonment along with the other fighters, excluding.

Pokémon Trainer can be found at the southeast near the maze that resembles Pac-Maze. Defeating him allows access to all three Pokémon.

Spirit
Squirtle's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Pokémon Trainer has been unlocked. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Pokémon Trainer in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Its fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with its artwork in Ultimate.

Trivia

 * Despite being a Water-type Pokémon with swimming capabilities in the Pokémon series, Squirtle can drown in water like every other character. The same is also true for.
 * Squirtle and are the only characters not to have an announcer voice clip by Xander Mobus.
 * In World of Light, Squirtle is one of the few fighters who is not affiliated with Dharkon in any way, as all of its encounters as itself or as a puppet fighter are all in association with Galeem. Ivysaur,, , , , , , , and all share this distinction as well.
 * Squirtle is one of the few characters in the entire roster to have different facial expressions when attempting different types of grabs, being its standing and dash grabs (a happy expression) vs. its pivot grab (an angry expression).
 * Others include and  (standing vs. dash vs. pivot).
 * However, Squirtle's differing expressions occur during the grab attempt, whereas the others' expressions are after their grabs are whiffed.