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////// SUPER SMASH BROTHERS MELEE \\\\\\
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////// In-Depth Pokemon FAQ \\\\\\
////// \\\\\\
////// Written By: Infiltrater \\\\\\
////// E-mail: infil12 (at) hotmail (dot) com \\\\\\
////// Version: 1.1 \\\\\\
////// Date Started: August 30, 2002 \\\\\\
////// Last Updated: October 23, 2002 \\\\\\
////// \\\\\\
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This FAQ is protected under international Copyright laws. For the full statement,
please see the "Legal Stuff" section at the bottom of this document. Before e-
mailing me, please read the section entitled "Contact Me" near the bottom of the
FAQ.
+==============================================================================+
+ Table of Contents +
+==============================================================================+
+==============================================================================+
+ Version History +
+==============================================================================+
Version 1.1:
- Added an interesting Unown rumor sent in by a reader. Not the biggest addition,
but an addition nonetheless!
Version 1.0:
- Finished the first version of the FAQ. Included strategies for every Pokemon
as detailed as I can think of. I may update a bit with formatting issues if they
arise (or typographical errors), but unless I get enough worthwhile reader
feedback, I'm not sure at this point what I could update with in the future.
+==============================================================================+
+ What's in This Guide? +
+==============================================================================+
Well, reading the title should be pretty intuitive. Basically, this is an in-
depth FAQ regarding the Pokemon that appear out of the Pokeball item in Super
Smash Brothers Melee. I've certainly done my best to compile a conclusive list
of strategies that can be used with each Pokemon in the game, as well as
determined how much damage they can do at any given time. Basically, you'll be
given a brief outline as to who the Pokemon is, what they look like, how much
damage they do, strategies to follow if you are on their team or against them,
their pros and cons, as well as opinions such as how useful they are. So, enjoy
the FAQ! If you have any questions or comments, please see the "Contact Me"
section below for information.
+==============================================================================+
+ Introduction & About the Pokeball +
+==============================================================================+
The Pokeball is arguably the most powerful item in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Highly versatile and extremely unpredictable, the Pokeball can be, depending on
your luck, laughably useless or frighteningly devastating. But that's all part
of what makes the Pokeball fun. The Pokeball, not surprisingly, originates from
the popular Pokemon series on the Game Boy. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, a thrown
Pokeball unleashes a randomly selected Pokemon monster, which then performs some
predictable attack and then disappears.
Things to know about the Pokeball: the Pokemon that jumps out is completely
random, although some Pokemon are much more common than others (and there are a
few which are extremely rare). Also, the Pokemon, for the duration of his attack,
"teams up" with the character who threw the Pokeball (and anyone on his or her
team) and will not damage or affect that character (or that team of characters)
under any circumstances (minus two minor exceptions to this rule). Therefore, it
is common practice to throw a Pokeball, run up to its point of opening, and use
the Pokemon as some form of shield or helper, since the owner does not need to
worry about being damaged. You should keep this in mind, both because it is a
useful tactic for both you and your opponent. Be wary when an opponent throws a
Pokeball and runs toward it for cover. Similarly, it is always a good idea to
open a Pokeball yourself and stop at nothing to get to its point of opening.
+==============================================================================+
+ General Pokeball Strategies +
+==============================================================================+
Before we get into the actual Pokemon that are released from the Pokeballs,
there are a few Pokeball strategies that are vital to be integrated into regular
SSBM play. Note that, like with all other items, Pokeballs can be grabbed in the
air as they are falling from the sky, or as you are jumping through a ledge by
pressing Z upon aerial contact. Since throwing a Pokeball is often likely to
cause much damage to opponents, it is important to both a) be the first to pick
up the Pokeball and b) throw it quickly. It can be very frustrating to your
opponents if you're always able to get to the Pokeballs first, since you make
use of the aerial grab effectively. Obviously, any tactic which frustrates your
opponent should be used without hesitation.
Second, the Pokeballs themselves cause damage when thrown, and can actually kill
players with high percentages before the Pokemon is even unleashed. For this
reason, it is usually a good idea to throw a Pokeball at another player and
inflict a few points of damage initially. When the Pokemon comes out, your foe
will have been set up for a one-two punch. The Pokeball does 15-16% damage when
thrown. Additionally, even though some Pokemon like Blastoise have projectile
attacks which damage, the Pokemon themselves still cause significant damage if
touched. If you are surrounded by a bunch of players, though, throwing the
Pokemon straight down may be preferable, since most Pokemon do an awesome job of
clearing up clusters of opposition. One word of warning: Fox and Falco have the
ability to use their down+B deflectors (and Zelda can use her Nayru's Love move
with B) and deflect Pokeballs thrown at them, making the Pokeball "theirs". High
level CPUs use this far too often, so be careful about throwing a Pokeball at or
even generally towards a good Fox/Falco/Zelda player.
Lastly, always make sure you get your Pokeball off. If you pick up a Pokeball
but then are launched from the playing field (but don't get killed), on your way
back throw your Pokeball before you attempt to recover to the field. Your
opponent may get in a smash as soon as you land and kill you, but at least your
Pokemon will often do a fair bit of damage, as well as tie up your opponent so
you can use your few seconds of invincibility well when you respawn. It is
ALWAYS a good idea to throw a Pokeball!
+==============================================================================+
+ The Pokemon +
+==============================================================================+
Okay, now it's time to get on with the show. Below are all the Pokemon in the
game which can be unleashed from a Pokeball during play. Each has a general
description of what he looks like, as well as various attributes about his
attack. It also includes a few brief tactics to follow if this Pokemon appears,
whether you're on the right team or the wrong team. Note that a "legendary
Pokemon" is a monster that has been separated into a special group which appears
far less frequently than the other "normal" Pokemon due to the insane amount of
damage they do.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Articuno
Pokemon Number: 144
Attack Name: Blizzard
Physical Appearance: Articuno is a gigantic icy-blue bird with immense wings and
a long, elegant tail. He appears with his front facing the screen (as opposed to
a side view).
Likelihood of Appearing: Rare. Articuno is a legendary Pokemon.
Usefulness: Awesome.
Pros: Usually an instant kill, regardless of percent damage. Can kill more than
one person at once.
Cons: Takes a bit too long to attack, giving nimble players time to flee. Radius
of attack is smaller than desirable. Body does not damage foes.
Description/Notes for Articuno's Attack: Articuno appears, pauses ominously just
so that players near him know how screwed they are, and then lets forth an
invisible burst of energy with a jolt of his body that turns everyone within a
small radius into a huge block of ice (similar to being hit by a Freezie, but
more severe). Anyone with damage more than 30% or so is almost assuredly thrown
off the top of the screen. On a small arena, this is an instant kill regardless
of damage. If no players are in the correct attack radius, Articuno will do
nothing visible, but you will hear an icy sound effect.
Notes on Articuno's Power: Articuno does exactly 25% per attack.
If you unleashed Articuno: You should be smiling, especially if you unleashed it
in the middle of an intense battle. Keep players near Articuno tied up or
preoccupied, even if it's just for a second, and hope that when Articuno attacks
(it takes about 2 seconds) that players have not fled. Don't leave his side
until he attacks. It's very unlikely that Articuno will not kill someone if he
was placed in a strategic location. If you feel you can safely throw an attacker
into Articuno's range, grab them before they can run away.
If you must avoid Articuno: Stop whatever you're doing, try to avoid any
attempts from opponents to preoccupy you, and get away from Articuno. You have
about 2 seconds before he kills you. Be thankful that his radius of attack isn't
very wide, or else he would be even harder to avoid. Remember, if you're playing
as a character who excels at vertical ascension (like Kirby, Marth, etc), you
can also escape by trying to jump safely OVER Articuno. If you're a fast player
like Fox, though, you're much better off just running away. If your timing is
superb, try air-dodging.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Bellossom
Pokemon Number: 182
Attack Name: Sleep Powder
Physical Appearance: Bellossom is a small plant-like creature with two red buds
growing out of its head, a pale green body, and yellow-and-green "legs" on which
it dances. You'll know it has appeared when you hear highly recognizable call.
Likelihood of Appearing: Very common.
Usefulness: Not great, but not horribly useless either. Bellossom is underrated.
Pros: Stays on the field for longer than any other Pokemon. It's small, so can
be tough to see before it's too late. When placed in a high traffic area, it can
be nearly impossible to avoid.
Cons: It is very small so it affects a very little radius.
Description/Notes for Bellossom's Attack: Bellossom doesn't do a whole lot. It
basically flops or dances around in place for a long time, but everyone who
touches it falls asleep in place. Those with higher percentages stay asleep for
a considerably longer time period than those with lower percentages.
Notes on Bellossom's Power: If it connects as it lands on the ground after
coming out of the Pokeball, it will do 3% damage on top of the sleeping effect.
All other times, it does 0% damage and just puts the opponent to sleep.
If you unleashed Bellossom: Hang around it for a while, and those fighting in
the proximity of Bellossom will often get put to sleep and you'll be able to get
in a free fully-charged smash attack. This is particularly deadly if your
opponent has very high damage; don't waste time and risk letting him escape,
just end it with a well-placed smash. Alternatively, if you're a character such
as Roy, and you anticipate someone falling asleep, get ready to charge your B
move. Bellossom should keep your foe asleep for long enough so you can charge it
almost all the way (if not all the way) to the end and deal a huge hit.
If you must avoid Bellossom: Just don't go fighting near it, or else you're
asking to be dealt a few extra hits for no one's fault but your own. If you get
put to sleep, mash buttons and try to escape (but don't hang around and just
fall asleep again!). Fortunately, few people know how to capitalize on the few
seconds of immobility you'll experience, so you'll often end up only a mere 5 or
6% weaker.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Blastoise
Pokemon Number: 009
Attack Name: Hydro Pump
Physical Appearance: Blastoise is a decent-sized turtle with a blue body and
nozzles ejecting from his shell. He appears from a side view.
Likelihood of Appearing: Fairly common.
Usefulness: Quite useful.
Pros: His attacks are quick in succession, and travel in a straight line for a
long distance. The perfect ledge-guarding Pokemon.
Cons: A delay before the initial attack gives ample time to avoid. Blastoise is
also notorious for pushing himself backwards off an edge.
Description/Notes for Blastoise's Attack: Blastoise appears, pauses for a second
or two to prep his nozzles, and then begins spurting powerful bursts of water in
quick succession of each other. Each attack is powerful enough to knock
Blastoise backwards a small distance, so he needs some room to work unless you
want to see him helplessly falling into a pit. If an opponent is hit by a burst
of water, he is sent flying backwards a considerable distance, and will likely
continue to be hit backwards until he is out of Blastoise's range.
Notes on Blastoise's Power: Blastoise's water does 8% per hit. He shoots 14
blasts of water for a grand total of 112% if hit by every blast. His body does
14% damage upon contact.
If you unleashed Blastoise: As usual, fight next to him. Any opponents who try
to attack you will get caught up in the waterfall and will be dealt damage and
possibly be set up for a free attack. For some reason, Blastoise himself seems
pretty powerful as well, so try to knock people into the Pokemon itself and
watch them get sent skywards. As previously mentioned, if Blastoise is freed
facing the correct way near a ledge, any character who gets caught up in his
water blasts will have a horrid time recovering and will often get pushed under
the ledge or out the back of the screen.
If you must avoid Blastoise: Blastoise is powerful in a horizontal sense, but
stay above him and avoiding him should be easy. Don't fall for the tricks of
being lured into Blastoise's continuum of bursts. Note that if you're fighting
behind a Blastoise, sometimes he will push himself back far enough to reach you
and initial contact with the Pokemon will send you skyrocketing. If you're
caught in the loop of trying to recover and getting hit by Blastoise, remember
that every time you're attacked, you don't get your second mid-air jump back but
you do regain the ability to do your up+B recover... continually do this and,
with luck, you might stay suspended in air long enough that Blastoise will run
out of water. If you grab on a ledge that's on the same level as Blastoise, he
cannot hit you, so hang tight until he vanishes. Don't forget to laugh at your
opponent if his Blastoise commits suicide off a ledge.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Celebi
Pokemon Number: 251
Attack Name: N/A
Physical Appearance: Celebi looks like a very small plant seed of some kind,
with big oval, fairy-like eyes and two green stems growing out of his head. His
eyes seem to freakishly stare through your soul... *ominous music*
Likelihood of Appearing: Rarest Pokemon ever. In order to see Celebi, you have
to have done the following in the game: unlocked all 25 characters and all 29
stages (consult other FAQs if you need to know methods for unlocking these),
beaten all 51 events (which unlocks Sound Test), and unlocked the Score Display
(by getting a total of 5000 KOs for all characters combined). After this has all
been done, Celebi has a 1 in 251 chance of emerging! Once you've seen him once,
he will appear slightly more frequently thereafter. Celebi CAN be seen in Event
37 - "Legendary Pokemon". I've seen him myself.
Usefulness: Useful for getting the Celebi Catcher bonus (which is needed to
fully complete the game). Useless in battle... unless...
Pros: You get to shout "Hey! Pause the game! Look! I found Celebi!"
Cons: In a very pathetic sense of the phrase, it's a "wasted Pokeball". He is
also nearly impossible to find.
Description/Notes for Celebi's Attack: Celebi does not attack. He simply appears
out of his Pokeball, and floats away into the sky. Or is this all he does? Rumor
has it that 1 out of every 10 times Celebi appears (which is obviously rare in
itself) Celebi will do something formidable, such as kill everyone on screen
(including the person who threw the Pokeball), or drop 10 Pokeballs that all
contain legendary Pokemon. Since the occurrence is obviously so rare, nothing is
100% confirmed as of the time of writing.
Notes on Celebi's Power: Celebi's rumored "mystery" powers do unknown damage (if
they even exist). Otherwise, he does not attack for 0% damage.
If you unleashed Celebi: Feel incredibly lucky. If you're playing a Bonus game,
you get an extra 8000 points for Celebi Catcher.
If you must avoid Celebi: You don't need to avoid him at all, since he doesn't
attack. If the rumors are true and Celebi tries to kill you, chances are he'll
succeed regardless of the measures you take.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Chansey
Pokemon Number: 113
Attack Name: Softboiled
Physical Appearance: Chansey looks like a big pink egg, with a tail and tufts of
"hair" coming out the sides of its head. It has an egg pouch in its stomach.
Likelihood of Appearing: Fairly common.
Usefulness: Not very useful. Helps out the other players as much as it helps out
the owner.
Pros: Items get released, so potential for more Pokeballs or other awesome items.
Cons: The owner of Chansey has no advantage over the other players. Doesn't
cause damage directly. Chansey can be killed with a direct hit.
Description/Notes for Chansey's Attack: Chansey stands in place, and releases
four or five eggs from its pouch in the front and scatters them around itself.
These eggs may heal players if picked up, but more often than not they become
items which can be thrown to reveal more items.
Notes on Chansey's Power: Chansey simply drops items. It does not cause damage
to players (although the eggs it drops sometimes heal 7% damage).
If you unleashed Chansey: It doesn't matter, because you have no more advantage
than any other player on the field. Chansey is one of the few "wildcard" Pokemon
which anyone can use equally well regardless of which team they're on. Just pick
up and use the items as you would any other capsule or egg.
If you must avoid Chansey: Fortunately, Chansey can't damage you. If you're
closer to Chansey than the owner of the Pokeball is, then you have a head start
at using some of the items at your disposal. Always watch out for self-
destructing eggs, though. Be wary of throwing them straight down to break them
open; you might find yourself blown off the stage.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Charizard
Pokemon Number: 006
Attack Name: Flamethrower
Physical Appearance: Charizard is a fairly large, grounded orange dragon with
wings. His front faces the screen.
Likelihood of Appearing: Fairly common.
Usefulness: Very useful for a non-legendary Pokemon.
Pros: Fire released causes good damage, and often players get hurt with more
than one blast if they get hit at all. The Pokemon itself, when touched, does
more damage than the fire it spews and shoots players sky-high.
Cons: Range is fairly short from side-to-side, and it only attacks one side at a
time.
Description/Notes for Charizard's Attack: Charizard emerges, growls, and begins
spewing short bursts of fire from side to side. Each fire blast catches
opponents for a split second, and if they don't roll out of the way, they'll get
hit again in short order.
Notes on Charizard's Power: Charizard does roughly 10% damage per flame. He
turns back and forth 5 times for a total of 10 flame attacks. He does 20% damage
with his body.
If you unleashed Charizard: Charizard can do a lot of damage before he even
begins spewing fire. As he jumps out of the Pokeball, his large size knocks
anyone close to the Pokeball high. Immediately run into the Charizard and lure
people in. Or, alternatively, be actively trying to knock people in the
direction of his fire bursts. In Charizard's case, it's better to try to knock
people into Charizard himself for the most damage and chance of a KO.
If you must avoid Charizard: If you're standing next to a Charizard as it's
unleashed, odds are you'll get hit by him initially and perhaps even KOed if you
are at 75-100% or so. You don't have much time to escape his first fire blasts
(unlike someone such as Blastoise), but immediately put up the shield to absorb
the first spew, then roll out of the way. He remains on the arena for a tad
longer than most Pokemon, and he's large, so stay a fair ways away from him for
a good amount of time. If he's right in the middle of a platform such as Mute
City's traveling one, try being airborne for as long as possible and landing
when he's shooting to the other side, only to immediately jump again. Try to
cycle this until he disappears.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Chikorita
Pokemon Number: 152
Attack Name: Razor Leaf
Physical Appearance: Chikorita is a small, green, plant-like Pokemon with a
spinning leaf on its head. He appears from a side view.
Likelihood of Appearing: Fairly common.
Usefulness: Decent.
Pros: Opponents can get caught in the steady stream of projectiles and struggle
to escape before the projectiles end. Chikorita itself also can catch players in
a loop. The projectiles travel most of the stage before disappearing.
Cons: Each projectile does little damage, and once avoided initially, players
escape the most harm.
Description/Notes for Chikorita's Attack: Chikorita stands in place, says
"Chiko!", and begins throwing a barrage of leaves in a straight line in
whichever direction it originally faced. After the projectiles stop, Chikorita
remains on the stage for a couple more seconds, waving the leaf on its head
before disappearing.
Notes on Chikorita's Power: Chikorita throws 12 leaves, each damaging 4%, for a
possible total of 48% damage.
If you unleashed Chikorita: Like Blastoise, Chikorita is ideal for edge-guarding,
in that anyone who is trying to get back onto the stage will probably get caught
in the projectiles. However, unlike Blastoise, Chikorita isn't particularly
strong by itself, so you'll probably have to rely upon its projectiles to do
most of the damage, or catch an opponent in place just long enough for you to
set up a powerful finishing smash. It is favorable for Chikorita to be placed on
the lower main platform of the stage, as opposed to any upper levels or
platforms, since your enemies will be unlikely to leap into the attack of a
poorly placed Chikorita high in the rafters, but they will find it much more
difficult to avoid projectiles on the main floor. Chikorita's last few seconds
of "leaf waving" can still damage opponents who pre-emptively consider it dead,
so if possible, try flinging or luring them into the Pokemon even after it has
stopped shooting projectiles.
If you must avoid Chikorita: Chikorita gives itself away by loudly declaring its
name when it appears, so as soon as you see it, just take any means necessary to
get behind or jump above it to safety. Be warned that there is very little delay
between the "Chiko!" and the onslaught of the attack. But don't worry; even if
you find yourself caught in the projectiles (which damage at 4% each), you are
probably not going to take significant amounts of damage, and it is still
possible to escape from the line of fire with the proper button mashing.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Clefairy
Pokemon Number: 035
Attack Name: Metronome (which, in turn, can be Self-destruct, Ember, Whirlwind,
or Razor Wind)
Physical Appearance: Clefairy looks quite a bit like Jigglypuff and Kirby; she
is fairly small, round, pink, and ridiculously cute (despite having fangs).
Likelihood of Appearing: Pretty common.
Usefulness: Very good.
Pros: Clefairy's Metronome attack will randomly perform one of four different
attacks, all of which are quite powerful.
Cons: Which Metronome Clefairy will use is unpredictable, and she takes a couple
seconds to actually perform the attack, giving enemies a chance to duck for
cover and avoid her.
Description/Notes for Clefairy's Attack: Clefairy will emerge out of the
Pokeball, say its name, and a sparkle will appear in its hand just before
Metronome is used. Metronome can be one of four different attacks. Self-destruct
is a brief explosion similar to the attack of an Electrode (but which does NOT
damage the Pokeball's owner). Whirlwind is a powerful swirling wind attack, like
that of Suicune's, but more abbreviated. A third attack, Ember, is a series of
small explosions on the ground, which has a similar effect as Venusaur. The
fourth, Razor Wind, sees Clefairy "raise dirt" off the ground and attack players
both next to and above it. Whichever attack is used is completely random, and
will be concentrated around Clefairy herself. Unlike Togepi, Clefairy's attacks
are all physical and cause strong damage, and appear to be mostly based off
other Pokemon in Melee.
Notes on Clefairy's Power: Self-destruct does 21% damage. Whirlwind connects in
1% spurts for biggest possible total of 32%. Any amount less than that for
partial connection. Ember connects in 1% spurts for biggest possible total of
60%. Any amount less than that for partial connection. Razor Wind is 18% per
attack. Usually connects a maximum of 3 times for 54% damage.
If you unleashed Clefairy: Clefairy's attacks are all very strong, and cover a
wider range than the size of the Pokemon would allude to. When you hear
Clefairy's namecall, run towards the Pokemon and hope players haven't left. Some
beginner players may think that Clefairy is weak and not very intimidating (due
to its size) and try not to run as much, which is a bonus. If you're attacking
players directly around a Clefairy, try to pin them in place with attacks or by
grabbing them, then throw them downwards when Clefairy attacks. Fortunately,
even if they get away a little, Clefairy's range is large enough that it may
catch players on the fringe. Although all of Clefairy's attacks are beneficial,
the worst is probably Electrode's blast. It takes even longer to attack than the
others, and despite being lethal at percentages as low as 50, it has the worst
range. Fortunately, the blast does not affect the Pokeball's owner, since
there's no way to know if Clefairy will perform this move until it's too late to
move. If you get any of the other moves Clefairy performs, be on the lookout for
easy juggles and combos; a lot of the moves send players airborne and they'll be
too busy trying to move out of the attack's range while in the air rather than
avoiding attacks from other players. Alternatively, you can perform downward
attacks back into Clefairy's attack to rack up even more damage before a final
smash. One final note: Clefairy remains around much longer if its attack
actually connects with a player, especially in the case of the whirlwind.
If you must avoid Clefairy: You do have about two seconds in-between the time
the Pokemon comes out of the ball, says its name, and begins the attack, so be
on the lookout. There's no way to discern ahead of time which attack it will do,
so your best bet is to get well out of range. Unless you know exactly how far
that range is, be sure to overcompensate, since it's deceivingly better than
most players recognize. Be on the lookout for opportunistic players who will try
to juggle you if you've been sent flying. If worse comes to worse, continually
air-dodge to absorb the least damage possible.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Cyndaquil
Pokemon Number: 155
Attack Name: Flamethrower
Physical Appearance: Cyndaquil is the smallest Pokemon in the game. He's most
recognizable by his scream as he emerges, not his appearance. However, he is a
small green-and-gold dragon.
Likelihood of Appearing: Pretty common.
Usefulness: Not very good.
Pros: Players might get caught in the attack temporarily.
Cons: Small, and very avoidable. On top of that, attack power is weak. On top of
that, Cyndaquil can be killed with a direct attack.
Description/Notes for Cyndaquil's Attack: The Pokemon appears, lets out an
unintelligible scream, and hovers in the air while spewing fire from the spikes
on his back. He will spew fire in the direction the person who threw the
Pokeball was facing at the time of the throw. The range is quite small, however.
Notes on Cyndaquil's Power: Damage increases by 1% for each "hit". If the
opponent remains in the whole attack, it can damage up to 60%.
If you unleashed Cyndaquil: Hover around him a little bit, and characters who
fight you might get caught in the spew for a split second - just long enough for
you to deliver a quick, free smash attack. Hover around him too long, though,
and he might die due to the fighting around him (Cyndaquil can be killed by the
owner of the Pokemon, too!). Do not rely on this Pokemon at all; he is one of
the weakest and most useless in the game.
If you must avoid Cyndaquil: Always smile if your opponent unleashes a Cyndaquil.
Don't hesitate to go up to your opponent, even if he's hovering near the Pokemon,
and attack with long range smashes (e.g. Pikachu's forward+A smash) or
projectiles. Either Cyndaquil will be hurt and killed, or your opponent will be
forced to continue fighting normally. If you get caught in his small fire,
you'll be able to escape easily by holding in the reverse direction and taking
only a few measly percent damage. Additionally, he lasts only a short time, so
if, for example, Mr. Game and Watch hovers inside with his Oil Panic, catching
your projectiles, just hang tight for three seconds and continue to fight.
Another strategy is just to kill Cyndaquil yourself with a smash move. If the
owner of the Pokeball is smart, he won't really be paying attention to it and
you can just take half a second to rid the stage of the nuisance.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Electrode
Pokemon Number: 101
Attack Name: Explosion
Physical Appearance: Electrode is a big white and red sphere with an evil grin.
Likelihood of Appearing: Fairly common.
Usefulness: Meh.
Pros: Instant death at percentages around 40-50 and higher. Explosion's radius
is bigger than that of a bob-omb, and it can kill more than one person at once.
Cons: One of the two Pokemon in the game that can (and will) damage the owner of
the Pokemon (Wobbuffet is the other). The time it takes to blow up is dreadfully
long.
Description/Notes for Electrode's Attack: No sound is made when the Pokemon
emerges, but he's too large to miss. He sits there, begins to shake violently
and change to a darker color, then explodes in a large blast roughly 5 seconds
after it was released.
Notes on Electrode's Power: Does exactly 30% damage to any player, friend or foe,
near it.
If you unleashed Electrode: You have absolutely no advantage if you unleashed
Electrode. He is a wildcard. Since this is the case, refer to the next paragraph.
If you must avoid Electrode: And you must. For he will kill you, whether he's
your ally in battle or not. Simply run away and remain away for a good long
while until he has exploded. Usually quite easy to avoid if you have control of
your character. If you're getting beat up by an opponent or air-juggled and
Electrode explodes on you, chances are your foe has been destroyed also, which
usually is a fair trade (well, better than just YOU dying, anyway). If you're
particularly nasty, try to time in your head when Electrode will blow up, then
attempt to throw or smash your opponent into its blast (but be sure to be out of
range yourself). Although it's hard to do against good humans who suspect it,
and because it sometimes happens by fluke, it's very satisfying for you and
frustrating for your opponents. The CPU never realizes Electrode hurts them and
will often blow themselves up if you lure them correctly. If you're feeling
adventurous, Electrode can be picked up and thrown by any character! However,
the placement of your character in relation to Electrode has to be very exact,
and it's often not worth the risk, considering you only have 5 seconds to pick
it up, move, perform your throw animation, and let it travel far enough not to
hit you. Often, the best strategy is to stay away until Electrode has done his
damage and no one is worse off.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Entei
Pokemon Number: 244
Attack Name: Fire Spin
Physical Appearance: Entei is a big brownish dog with a silver cloud on his back.
He appears from a side view.
Likelihood of Appearing: Rare. Entei is a legendary Pokemon.
Usefulness: Awesome.
Pros: Deals an incredible amount of damage at once. Has incredibly high vertical
range. Once the attack connects once, it is inescapable until Entei disappears!
Cons: His big physical body warns players in advance to get out of the way. His
body itself does not damage players before his attack begins. Has very weak
horizontal range. Despite inflicting a lot of damage, it is impossible for Entei
to KO a foe.
Description/Notes for Entei's Attack: Entei emerges, waits about two seconds,
and summons forth a great eruption out of his back which travels several body-
lengths high, but only as wide as himself. If a character comes into contact
with this fire at ANY time during his attack, he is permanently entrenched in it
and will take several points of damage per second until Entei is finished.
During this time, the opponent will gradually be lifted up to the top of Entei's
pillar of fire, where he will get bounced around endlessly.
Notes on Entei's Power: Damage increases by 1% for each "hit". If it connects
immediately, players are damaged roughly 70% (excluding attacks from other
players), since it is inescapable by the opponent's own movement.
If you unleashed Entei: As with almost all legendary Pokemon, it takes them a
while for their attack to begin. Entei isn't quite as bad as some, but it's far
from instantaneous. So, as usual, try to keep your foe preoccupied from running
away. If your opponent ever ends up getting caught in Entei's fire, immediately
run towards him and hit him as much and as hard as possible. Entei won't let him
escape, and both of you can rack up the damage! However, since the character is
at the top of Entei's fire blast, it can be difficult to reach him if he's not
near an adjacent platform. If you are using Pikachu, repeatedly use Thunder
(down+B). If using Kirby, jump towards your opponent, use your aerial up+A, and
keep jumping once and using it again until you must land. Experiment with other
characters for the best way to deal additional damage to someone stuck in
Entei's attack. When Entei is done, one smash attack will surely be the end of
your opponent! As usual, never give up if Entei doesn't connect initially. Keep
trying to lure, throw, or whack your opponent in the general direction. One hit
from the fire (even on the fringe of the attack) is all you need for the
character to get caught.
If you must avoid Entei: You have some time to leave the scene if you see him,
and definitely don't hang around. Just stay a safe distance away and avoid
attempts for you to be thrown back towards Entei. Run away horizontally, rather
than trying to jump away vertically. If you ever get caught in his blast, you
might as well put the controller down; escape is impossible. Instead, just make
the best of the situation by planning where you'll go after you get control of
your character back. Chances are that you'll be ripe for KOing, so perhaps plan
to dash to a good item, or to a safe location on the map (e.g., the lower half
of Hyrule Temple, where getting KOed is very difficult).
===============================
Pokemon Name: Goldeen
Pokemon Number: 118
Attack Name: Splash
Physical Appearance: Goldeen is a very small red and white fish.
Likelihood of Appearing: Fairly common.
Usefulness: Absolutely useless.
Pros: None.
Cons: He doesn't do anything! Expect ridicule from your friends.
Description/Notes for Goldeen's Attack: Uhh... what attack? Goldeen emerges,
says its name a few times, and flops around pathetically before vanishing. Rumor
has it that Goldeen has a one-hit KO attack, but this rumor is 100% false. In
the Pokemon games for Game Boy, Goldeen can obtain such an attack. It is not
represented in Melee in any way, shape, or form.
Notes on Goldeen's Power: Flops around for 0% damage!
If you unleashed Goldeen: Well, you should just continue to fight. Goldeen is
one of the three Pokemon in the game that does absolutely nothing to any
character (Mew and Celebi are the others, but at least they're cool, rare, and
give you bonuses at the end of the match). He has been included so that not
every Pokemon released from the Pokeball item is dangerous.
If you must avoid Goldeen: You don't need to. It does nothing if you touch it,
attack it, or whatever. Just continue on as normal. However, don't forget to let
out a Nelson-esque "Ha ha!" to the person who threw the Pokeball.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Ho-oh
Pokemon Number: 250
Attack Name: Sacred Fire
Physical Appearance: Ho-oh is a large, pointy, and extremely multi-colored bird.
It appears with his front facing the screen.
Likelihood of Appearing: Very rare. Ho-oh is a legendary Pokemon, but it seems
to appear even less frequently than his other legendary counterparts.
Usefulness: Awesome.
Pros: The most powerful attack from a Pokemon in the game. Affects a wider range
horizontally and vertically than Entei. Once a player is caught in Ho-oh's
attack, he is frozen in place and cannot move. Even though he takes long to
attack, this can be an advantage as players might forget about him until it's
too late.
Cons: Although he is the strongest Pokemon, he takes the longest to attack. His
body does not hurt players initially, and his large size scares players away.
Description/Notes for Ho-oh's Attack: As with all legendary Pokemon, Ho-oh
appears without a sound. He remains in place, flapping his wings for three or
more seconds (after one second, he can do minimal fire damage with his wings,
but before that he is just a decoration), then flies out of the screen. Two or
more seconds later, he appears in the distance, waits another second, then
unleashes a huge pillar of fire. All in all, it takes Ho-oh at least 7 seconds
to attack. I believe the size of the level changes the timing as well; a smaller
arena means he attacks slightly sooner.
Notes on Ho-oh's Power: Damage increases by 1% each "hit", but much faster than
Entei. Excluding attacks from other players, if it connects initially, players
are damaged 90%. Body does 13% damage on the way out of the screen.
If you unleashed Ho-oh: You'll have your work cut out for you trying to convince
players it's okay to remain in the spot where they just saw this huge,
intimidating bird appear. As usual, it's probably best to forcefully relocate
them yourself. Try to distract them by taunting or something equally irritating.
Maybe they'll think they can get a quick jab in and end up 100% closer to death.
Once they're caught in Ho-oh's attack, they remain in place (unlike Entei, who
pushes them upward to the top of his pillar), so attack away for extra damage.
The character should be within good attacking distance of a platform of some
kind, if he's not directly on the ground. Once Ho-oh is finished, your opponent
will likely be left a little stunned, so use the chance to smash him out of the
arena; one smash will surely be the end of him, whether he was at 0% before Ho-
oh or not. As always, never give up trying to lure opponents towards the Pokemon
if Ho-oh fails to connect initially. His attack remains on the field for a
decent amount of time, but players may become even more evasive once they see
the fruit of Ho-oh's Sacred Fire attack.
If you must avoid Ho-oh: You have plenty of time to leave the scene, and any
contact with Ho-oh himself on the way shouldn't give you too much to worry about.
Don't confuse Ho-oh with Moltres, who simply remains on scene for a similar
amount of time, then flies off and never returns. Ho-oh does return, smaller and
in the distant background, and possibly tough to see if you're distracted with
fighting, or if there is a lot of objects in the stage's background to partially
cover Ho-oh up. As with Entei, if you're caught in his blast, you might as well
forget trying to escape and just prepare a course of action for your battered
self when the bruising is complete. Fortunately for would-be foes, Ho-oh is
perhaps the rarest of Pokemon who do damage to players (thus discounting Mew and
Celebi).
===============================
Pokemon Name: Lugia
Pokemon Number: 249
Attack Name: Aeroblast
Physical Appearance: Lugia is an extremely large blue and white bird with long,
arm-like wings. He appears facing the screen.
Likelihood of Appearing: Rare. Lugia is a legendary Pokemon.
Usefulness: Awesome.
Pros: Both its body and its attack are exceptionally strong. Its large size
increases the chance of players coming into contact with its body.
Cons: His wind attack can seem sparse and very precise, sometimes not hitting
opponents in the vicinity. The attack also does not last as long as the other
legendary Pokemon.
Description/Notes for Lugia's Attack: Lugia's immense body appears and throws
players who touch it out the top of the arena. If for some reason they collide
with some part of the level and don't die, they are fortunate. Lugia remains on
the stage for about two seconds, then flies into the background and unleashes a
harrowing wind attack which acts as a rapidly moving wind tunnel in all
directions.
Notes on Lugia's Power: Lugia does 30% damage with its body. Each wind attack
damages 20%, but odds are if you get hit with one, you'll get hit with three or
four. Expect about 60-80% (and likely a KO).
If you unleashed Lugia: Unlike Ho-oh, connecting with Lugia's body at any time
signifies almost sure death for any opponent, regardless of percentage. Add that
together with Lugia's large size, and anyone in the remote vicinity of Lugia
when unleashed is almost surely KOed. For those lucky to survive, Lugia's wind
attack comes in short order. There's not much you can do to predict how Lugia's
wind attack will move inside it's little radius, so you just have to lure or
throw players towards where Lugia was unleashed and hope they're in the precise
spot to connect with a wind tunnel. You don't have long under Lugia's protection.
If someone does connect with Lugia's wind tunnel (this happens less often than
you'd like), they get extremely high damage and are thrown either straight down
into the ground (where they will likely connect with another wind tunnel a
second later), or straight up into the clouds for a star KO.
If you must avoid Lugia: Once you see Lugia's body, do your absolute best to
avoid it. It does similar damage as Moltres when you touch it, only he doesn't
stick around as Moltres. Stay away from the area, even after Lugia has left. If
you end up in the middle of Lugia's attack, avoidance is easier than expected.
Often times, Lugia simply won't hit you. Sometimes, you'll get hit down instead
of up and only be about 50% weaker (which is bad, but not as bad as being KOed).
Blocking and rolling around inside Lugia's attack can often save you from being
hit at all, which is nice. However, the game makes up for this surprising
inconsistency from a legendary Pokemon by making it extremely powerful (and most
likely lethal) if it connects at all. As usual, your best bet is to avoid it
entirely. Lugia's wind attack doesn't last for long at all.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Marill
Pokemon Number: 183
Attack Name: Take Down
Physical Appearance: Marill is a small blue and white mouse (although, almost
solid blue from the side view).
Likelihood of Appearing: Fairly common.
Usefulness: Below average.
Pros: When players get caught in its run, sometimes they will be unable to avoid
being KOed. He does not disappear for a very long time.
Cons: He is easy to avoid entirely. His small size makes it difficult to connect.
Often he runs right through players after damaging them minimally. Marill can be
killed with a direct attack.
Description/Notes for Marill's Attack: Marill appears, says his call (is it just
me, or does it sound like "Mew, mew"?), and scampers across the ground in the
direction the owner of the Pokeball was facing when thrown. Any player hit by
Marill will be pushed back a little bit and Marill will continue to run, often
right through the foe, but occasionally, he will continually push them back
until the player does something about it or falls. If Marill runs into a wall or
obstacle, it will turn around.
Notes on Marill's Power: Each "slap" Marill gives a player damages 1%. If a
player is hit continually, he is damaged around 15-20%. Average attack power for
Marill is 5-7%.
If you unleashed Marill: This is one of those Pokemon that, when it appears, you
don't do anything particularly special. Just let it run its course and hope for
some results. Often if it's sent into a fray of players battling it out, it'll
push them back a little, causing a few hit points to each player. If players
aren't paying attention, it has the potential to do more, but often opponents
will block, roll, jump, or kick it out of the way for good. While they're being
preoccupied, though, you may have an opportunity to get in a quick smash. Or, it
may push your opponent into something more deadly, like a wandering Bob-omb or
someone's combo. However, it's rare it will do any of these things. If you're
waiting for a good opportunity to charge at your opponent, Marill may be a good
time to do this. Marill not only pushes foes back, but stops whatever attack
they may be trying to counter your moves with; a two-tiered assault may cause
some good damage to your opponent. Additionally, if a foe is trying to come back
off the side of the stage and Marill connects as it runs off the edge, it will
likely push him into the pit for a KO. Most of these beneficial happenings are
rare with Marill, though. Maybe run after it and try to get in a few smashes,
but don't expect it to do amazing things.
If you must avoid Marill: Marill is very easy to avoid. It's so small that it
can easily be jumped over, even in the heat of battle. If you end up getting
pushed around a little, simply throw up your shield and wait for it to run
through you. If it doesn't seem to want to run through you, just roll out of the
way. He does scamper fairly fast, so if you're right next to the Pokeball when
it opens and you're not blocking ahead of time, it might hit you a few times
before you recognize what's happening. All in all, though, even when caught
unexpectedly, Marill is not a serious threat. Don't forget to be wary if it
hitting a wall behind you and turning around to hit your back a few more times.
If you're very close to a ledge and it hits you right away, you may need to be a
bit more quick on the evasion to avoid being hit off the ledge, and in the air
as Marill continues to run.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Mew
Pokemon Number: 151
Attack Name: N/A
Physical Appearance: Mew is a white cat-like creature in a clear bubble.
Likelihood of Appearing: Ultra rare. In order to see Mew, you have to have
unlocked all 25 characters (consult other FAQs if you need to unlock all the
characters). Once you've done this, Mew has a 1:251 chance of appearing (after
you've seen him once, it becomes slightly more likely to see him). Mew CAN be
seen in Event 37 - "Legendary Pokemon". I've seen him myself.
Usefulness: Useless in battle.
Pros: None in battle, but are awarded 10,000 points for the Mew Catcher bonus.
Cons: He floats in place, then flies off, having done nothing. Near impossible
to find.
Description/Notes for Mew's Attack: Mew appears, echoes a hollow-sounding "Mew!",
then floats off the screen. He does not attack or damage any player.
Notes on Mew's Power: He does not attack for 0% damage.
If you unleashed Mew: As with Celebi, feel lucky. If you're playing a Bonus game,
you're awarded 10,000 points for Mew Catcher.
If you must avoid Mew: You don't need to avoid Mew, as he does not attack.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Moltres
Pokemon Number: 146
Attack Name: Sky Attack
Physical Appearance: Moltres is a large, fiery orange bird with gigantic wings.
Likelihood of Appearing: Rare. Moltres is a legendary Pokemon.
Usefulness: Awesome.
Pros: Almost sure death for those who touch it. Large size increases the odds of
this happening. Remains on the field for a decent amount of time.
Cons: No projectile or any attack. Players must come in contact with the Pokemon
itself to be at any risk.
Description/Notes for Moltres's Attack: Moltres appears, and its large fiery
body illuminates the arena in a slight orange hue. It sits there for a few
seconds, then flaps its wings once or twice slowly as it begins to fly away. No
projectile or fire attack is made. However, anyone who touches Moltres's large
wings or body will be shot at an alarming speed either out the top of the arena
or towards the ground (depending on whether the majority of the player touched
the upper half or the lower half of the Pokemon). The player will have to be
lucky to survive.
Notes on Moltres's Power: Moltres does exactly 40% every time a player comes
into contact with his body.
If you unleashed Moltres: You'll have the work cut out for you, since Moltres is
the only legendary Pokemon which does not attack outside of his body. Therefore,
unless you got a few KOs from when Moltres was initially unleashed, you'll
definitely have to relocate players yourself with throws or smash attacks. An
advantage is that Moltres is very large and stays in place for a good span of
time, so it doesn't take much, especially on a small arena, to make effective
use of Moltres. After a few seconds, Moltres begins flapping his wings very
slowly, which may cap a few players ducking or blocking just out of Moltres's
reach. He accelerates out the top of the arena, which will definitely kill any
player knocked above Moltres during this time period. Many newbies wonder what
Moltres does, since he's a huge Pokemon without any noticeable effect on the
play of the game. Use this to your advantage and show them that this is a lethal
Pokemon to be reckoned with. A mere touch of his wing, and he's gone!
If you must avoid Moltres: There's only one effective way to not get killed by
Moltres; just stay away until he's done his damage. An experienced Melee player
will become very aggressive when his Moltres appears, knowing that, like Lugia,
a touch of his body is the end of you. You cannot air-dodge or block your way
around Moltres, so simply avoid contact for the several seconds he remains on
the arena. Be wary that Moltres flaps his wings, changing the position of his
body slightly, so don't expect to hide unscathed between his body and his wing.
Don't ever try to jump over Moltres, because if you do inadvertently touch him,
your body is guaranteed to go toward the roof rather than directly down and the
Pokemon may choose that instant to fly out the top of the screen, guaranteeing
death. A lot of rolling back and forth will prevent most players from throwing
you into their Moltres; use this to your advantage, then surprise with a quick
smash attack.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Porygon2
Pokemon Number: 233
Attack Name: Tackle
Physical Appearance: Porygon2 is a round red duck with blue feet. When it
disappears, a computer generated grid appears where the Pokemon was.
Likelihood of Appearing: Less common than others.
Usefulness: Average.
Pros: Those who touch it at precisely the right time are dealt a damaging blow.
Cons: Strength alone doesn't guarantee an always useful Pokemon; the main
problem with Porygon2 is that it rarely ever connects. The player must hit
Porygon2 as soon as he emerges; after he stops moving, he is useless.
Description/Notes for Porygon2's Attack: You won't really recognize Porygon2 has
emerged from a Pokeball until it's too late to do anything about it. He comes
barreling out of the Pokeball at top speed, rotating his legs as if he was
running. He instantly slows to a stop several feet in front of his Pokeball, and
disappears into a computer generated grid (seeing as how Porygon2 is a creation
of man through technology, this makes sense). Anyone who is hit by Porygon2 is
dealt an electrical blast, carrying the player in the OPPOSITE direction
Porygon2 was traveling.
Notes on Porygon2's Power: He does exactly 25% damage for each connection.
If you unleashed Porygon2: This is an odd Pokemon. It does incredibly strong
damage and knocks players at 50% or so off the side of the stage, but it happens
so fast that there's nothing the owner of the Pokemon can do to increase its
effectiveness. Your opponent must be hit the instant it comes out of the
Pokeball, and before it begins to slow down, but this all happens so fast that
the only way to aid Porygon2's attack is to make sure the Pokeball opens
directly at the opponent's feet. However, this is often not possible every time
you throw a Pokeball, and since you don't know which Pokemon will come out,
Porygon2 is a hit-or-miss attack where you just have to hope it does something.
He's not common enough to really stress over his effectiveness, though. On the
odd occasion that you do get lucky and Porygon2 connects, the foe is sent in the
opposite direction with very high momentum. After Porygon2 has stopped his
lateral movement, his body is harmless, so there's no lure strategy involved
here.
If you must avoid Porygon2: Unless you're blocking when the Pokeball opens,
Porygon2 will connect before you recognize any call or warning. If a Pokeball
opens directly at your feet, you should probably be blocking anyway. Fortunately,
odds are he won't connect since you have to be in such a specific location in
order for the attack to work at all. There's not much else to say here, just if
you're sent flying in an opposite direction, be prepared to recover off the side
of the stage.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Raikou
Pokemon Number: 243
Attack Name: Spark
Physical Appearance: Raikou is a large, yellow dog with a gray cloud on his back,
a pointy blue tail, and black markings on his body. He appears from a side view.
Likelihood of Appearing: Rare. Raikou is a legendary Pokemon.
Usefulness: Very awesome.
Pros: His range is exceptional. Spark deals 20% per attack. He stays on the
field for longer than average.
Cons: Body does not damage foes. Only attacks grounded opponents. Unlike other
legendary Pokemon, Raikou is not designed to KO opponents.
Description/Notes for Raikou's Attack: Raikou emerges, tilts his head back, and
lets loose with a non-stop barrage of interconnecting electrical charges, which
form a large sphere around him. You'll know the attack has started because the
area around him becomes slightly darker (similar to Moltres's orange hue) and
miscellaneous electrical noises will take place throughout the attack. Anyone
who touches the ground within a large radius of Raikou (whether above, below, or
to the side of him) is hit with an electric charge. Those floating through
Raikou's attack will not be affected at all.
Notes on Raikou's Power: Each electrical blast does 20% damage.
If you unleashed Raikou: This is a superb legendary Pokemon for many reasons.
For one, he initiates his attack fairly quickly, considering how much damage he
does. Couple this with his exceptionally large range in every possible direction
at once, and you've got a Pokemon which is extremely hard for opponents to avoid.
Another interesting fact about Raikou is that the damage a character has,
whether it be 0% or 200%, does not affect the distance they are thrown after the
attack. If you doubt me, try this in Event 37. Let Jigglypuff get the Pokeballs
and see what happens when you get hit with a Raikou. This means that players can
be dealt a 20% hit, fly just a few feet off the ground, then return to the
ground for another 20%. If the player is right in the middle of Raikou (his body
does not damage foes) when the attack begins, the player can expect to be hit
several times before he is out of Raikou's range. Using an "L-cancel" (hitting L
or R as you touch the ground to pop back up to your feet) does not work if you
are in Raikou's range, so there is no easy escape after the first hit. With that
said, if the opponent is well outside Raikou's range, you're definitely well off
attempting to relocate him, even if it means a little damage to yourself. Then,
once a foe is caught up in the repeated blasts, continue to take the attack to
him with strong aerial moves, preferably those which force the opposing player
back to the ground in a hurry. Raikou can rack up well over 100% damage on foes
within seconds. Once Raikou disappears (and it takes a while... another plus!),
end your opponent's life with a well-placed smash! Raikou leaves you that
liberty. During Raikou's attack, you are guaranteed that any items which appear
within Raikou's range are yours for the uncontested taking. Also, if a metal
player gets caught up in Raikou's blast, expect double the damage since it's
twice as hard for metal players to stay off the ground; they just keep falling
back as fast as possible for more! All in all, with Raikou's range, longevity
and strength of attack, as long as you get your foe within Raikou's range,
you've done enough. Any bonus hits you can score are just icing on an already
delicious cake. On small arenas, like Flat Zone and Mute City's moving platform,
Raikou can be 100% unavoidable. When placed near an edge, it can make comebacks
virtually impossible. Many Melee players write this Pokemon off since it does
absolutely nothing to aerial players. Don't make the same mistake!
If you must avoid Raikou: Despite all I've said about how awesome Raikou is, if
you're smart he can be easily avoided. His greatest weakness is truly that. Stay
in the air, and Raikou is harmless! If you see him appear right in front of you,
you have a second or so to vacate the area. Don't walk out of the way; instead,
jump and stay in the air for as long as possible. You have a ways to travel
before you are out of Raikou's range. For this reason, heavy characters and
those who are poor in the air will have difficulty dealing with Raikou. Don't
let opponents force you into Raikou's attack, for you'll likely be hit at least
twice. If you're hit, try your best to float, use your up+B move, or air dodge
out of the attack and towards safe ground, taking the least damage possible.
Ignore other players until you can land. Unfortunately, smart players can
predict your evasion by standing just outside Raikou's range and prepping a
smash attack for when you finally do get to safe ground (Raikou's range is
clearly noticeable... keep traveling until the electrical sphere ends). If you
decide to not fall victim to their smash attack, you'll just take more damage
from Raikou! With a well-timed air-dodge, you can avoid such a smash attack and
then roll to safety. Don't attempt to L-cancel (described above) or grab any
items in Raikou's vicinity, as it is futile. If you can avoid it once, stay a
good distance away for a good amount of time!
===============================
Pokemon Name: Scizor
Pokemon Number: 212
Attack Name: Fury Cutter
Physical Appearance: Scizor is an average-sized red beetle-like insect with
pincers.
Likelihood of Appearing: Fairly common.
Usefulness: Very good.
Pros: Very deadly at relatively low percentages. Can be deceptive in his
movement, making it hard to avoid.
Cons: He's not very large, making the range of his attack fairly small. Doesn't
start moving right away, giving opponents time to flee.
Description/Notes for Scizor's Attack: Scizor appears, says his name, and starts
running in a straight line, waving his hands a little in the process. After he
has traveled a certain predetermined distance, he jumps straight up (sometimes
turning around, other times continuing his forward motion) and then falls
through the stage, where his attack ends. Whether he turns around or not is
determined by which character was nearest to Scizor when he appeared; Scizor
will either turn around or continue to go forward depending on where this
character is relative to the Pokemon at the time of the jump.
Notes on Scizor's Power: Scizor does either 15% or 22% during his initial dash.
After his jump, he is guaranteed to do 22% damage.
If you unleashed Scizor: Scizor is an excellent Pokemon to have on your side.
His dash attack is very strong, and capable of KOing foes at around 60% (and
possibly lower depending on the weight of the character). He travels along at a
decent enough speed, and attacks everyone in his path, sending them straight up
off the top of the screen, or setting them up for an air juggle combo or
Scizor's second wave of attack. If Scizor hits a player, anticipate an air
juggle, unless you know that Scizor is going to follow the character in question
(whether he does or not is described above). If he does, Scizor will most likely
hit that person with his jump as well (maybe even more than once if he's at low
enough damage). Despite the superior strength of Scizor as a Pokemon, there's
not much players who unleashed Scizor can specifically do to aid the Pokemon's
attack. He can be erratic enough to cause the damage just based on the
unpredictability of whether he turns around or not, and it can be hard for other
players to discern how high his jump goes and exactly when he'll jump. A
suggestion would be to take a running attack at the player Scizor is targeting.
This may overwhelm them and prevent them from knowing how to avoid either attack.
Another suggestion is to grab a player and hold him in place (or do your down or
side-to-side throws to knock them into Scizor's running attack). However, Scizor
is strong enough to hold his own without the player's assistance.
If you must avoid Scizor: There are many things to be wary about if you see
Scizor appear. Firstly, Scizor can hit with his body before he has started to
move. Secondly, his running attack must be avoided, and there are different ways
to do this. Simply jumping over him is probably the safest bet, but you'll need
to use your double jump. Rolling out of his way is more risky, but keeps you on
the ground and not vulnerable. Blocking is possible too, but depending on the
size of your shield he may be able to break through it. Finally, his jump attack
is probably the most dangerous of them all. If he hasn't reached you before he
jumps, hope he jumps in the wrong direction. If he does not, avoiding him
laterally is the best route to take. Running "underneath" his jump is more risky
than just running in the other direction, but sometimes you have no choice. If
you're in the air and Scizor makes a jump at you, your only option is to air-
dodge and hope your timing is right on. Other things to watch out for include
the fact that Scizor runs on the ground; he does not hover just above it. This
means he can run off ledges during his initial dash... sometimes into pits,
sometimes into you if you're standing on a lower platform. Also, Scizor's jump
is a strange shape; it depends on exactly how far away from himself the
character in question is. If he's closer to Scizor, he may move only a few
inches horizontally. Other times, he can jump more than half of the distance he
ran. Try to anticipate this before you decide on a strategy for evasion. Also,
be careful when he falls through the stage after the jump. He may tag you while
you aren't paying attention!
===============================
Pokemon Name: Snorlax
Pokemon Number: 143
Attack Name: Body Slam
Physical Appearance: Snorlax is a large blue and white bear. He appears from a
frontal view.
Likelihood of Appearing: Pretty common.
Usefulness: Above average.
Pros: Body size is extremely large. Covers the whole arena vertically and a fair
range horizontally.
Cons: Takes a long time to come down in enlarged size.
Description/Notes for Snorlax's Attack: Snorlax appears, speaks his name in a
low booming voice, then rises up out the top of the screen fairly quickly. He
returns about a second later about twice his previous size, echoes "....laaax!"
in an even deeper voice, and crashes down through the whole level, clearing out
a large area of foes in the process.
Notes on Snorlax's Power: Regardless of when Snorlax connects, he always does
20% damage. Thus, his larger version does not do any more damage than the
smaller version; it just covers a wider area.
If you unleashed Snorlax: Snorlax is one of those Pokemon that excel on very
small levels, for obvious reasons. The Pokemon grows to such big sizes that
escaping him can be next to impossible. Snorlax does some damage as he leaves
his Pokeball, and even at smaller size, he can tag foes for KOs as he goes out
the top of the stage (if, for example, there is someone in a magnifying glass
above Snorlax). It's when Snorlax comes booming down in his large size that it
really connects and is powerful. Unlike other Pokemon, though, your foe needs to
be at a fairly high level for the Pokemon to grab a KO (about 80% on average for
a lighter character on a decent-sized stage). Perhaps more than any other
Pokemon, Snorlax is memorable. Most beginner players, when they encounter him
once, they will remember how unique his attack is and begin to flee immediately.
For this reason, if you want Snorlax to damage your opponent, it will be your
own job to ensure your foe is tied up with something else or gets thrown into
the Pokemon as he comes down. Standing where the Pokemon comes down and hoping
for the best usually only works against the unintelligent AI. He is also a
superb edge-guarding Pokemon, as it can tag players even when they are still
well off the stage. Perhaps the best use for Snorlax, however, is for clearing
out a large amount of foes who are attacking you. Either they will get hit out
of the way, or at very least, they'll be forced to stop attacking you and leave,
giving you some time to plan. Lastly, is it just me, or does Snorlax seem a lot
smaller than he did in the original Smash Bros?
If you must avoid Snorlax: Once you see Snorlax, just leave the area. His range
is wider than the average Pokemon, so you have to travel some ground and don't
have much time to do it in. It is not possible to air-dodge through his enlarged
self (right through the middle), so keep that in mind. He's usually able to hit
players that are rolling, too. The only safe way to avoid him is to escape him
laterally, since he covers the whole stage vertically. If you're tied up with a
foe, it can be tough to get out of the way. Fortunately, Snorlax usually isn't
lethal. One last note: if he appears above you, remember that he'll come
crashing through all floors until he falls out the bottom of the level. Don't
think the attack will stop when it hits the floor and continue on as normal. You
will get hit if you are horizontally within his range.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Staryu
Pokemon Number: 121
Attack Name: Swift
Physical Appearance: Staryu is a distinctive-looking small starfish. He looks
wafer-thin because he appears horizontally, and from a side view.
Likelihood of Appearing: Fairly common.
Usefulness: Average.
Pros: Steady stream of blasts can be hard to avoid. The blasts also tie up the
player for free smash attacks from opponents. Small body can be hard to see come
out of a Pokeball in a heated battle.
Cons: Blasts themselves don't do much damage. Once it's chosen its firing
location, it is immobile.
Description/Notes for Staryu's Attack: Staryu appears and immediately latches
itself onto a random foe. He follows him around, just a few inches from the
character, for several seconds before he unleashes a steady stream of
projectiles. The blasts, though aimed at one particular person, will hit any
opponent who is in the way.
Notes on Staryu's Power: Staryu's projectiles do 1% damage each. He dispenses 23
projectiles total, for a maximum damage of 23%. His body does 13% damage.
If you unleashed Staryu: Most expert players will know how to avoid a Staryu
unscathed, so your goal is to go after the player who Staryu selects to attack.
Even if he blocks, rolls, or air-dodges out of the way of your attacks, you are
hoping that Staryu will start firing on the ground where he is much harder to
avoid, and any avoidance leads to predictable patterns susceptible to smashes.
If the opponent is hit by any blast, it's likely he'll begin blocking if he's on
the ground. Use this opportunity to grab and throw your opponent (but hold him
for a few extra seconds so Staryu's blasts rack up additional damage). If the
opponent tries to roll out of the way, it's likely he'll get caught up again in
Staryu's attack. At this point, either do your downward aerial move on the
player, keeping him in place, or do side smashes which continue to knock the
player into Staryu. The best case scenario for a Staryu is if it attacks on the
ground or on some platform, so your goal as the owner is to keep players
grounded. If the player follows the strategy I've outlined below for avoiding
Staryu, get underneath him and try to get in a free smash or aerial attack. If
possible, try to air juggle him continually into Staryu's attack!
If you must avoid Staryu: Staryu might seem a little cheap at first, since if he
chooses you to attack, he just follows you around very closely. However, it is
easy to lure Staryu away from the battle where he will fire a steady stream of
blasts at no one in particular. Count one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand, then
jump and double jump. Staryu will begin firing when you are at the top of your
jump (or roughly around there). Learn to air-dodge about when you expect to be
attacked and hope you can avoid. If you don't avoid Staryu's attack, you'll be
hit once or twice and fall through the attack, as Staryu won't be able to keep
you suspended in air. Staryu won't be damaging anyone else (except perhaps
inadvertently), and you'll end up about 2% weaker. The person who unleashed
Staryu might be expecting you to do this, so be careful for an upward smash when
you return to the field. Vary your descent to keep your position unpredictable
and to make air juggles very difficult.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Suicune
Pokemon Number: 245
Attack Name: Icy Wind
Physical Appearance: Suicune is a big, icy blue dog with purple hair extending
towards his back and white trails towards his face.
Likelihood of Appearing: Rare. Suicune is a legendary Pokemon.
Usefulness: Very good.
Pros: Attacks the fastest out of all legendary Pokemon. Covers a wide horizontal
range.
Cons: Probably the attack which holds players in place the least out of
legendary Pokemon. Possibly the worst of the legendary Pokemon. Body does not
attack foes.
Description/Notes for Suicune's Attack: Suicune appears, and in less than a
second he begins blowing a, well, icy wind that covers a good horizontal
distance. It appears much like a whirlwind around the Pokemon. Any player struck
by the wind will be swirled around a little and will likely be pushed until he
is too high to be in the Pokemon's range. Most of the time, the player gets an
ice block around him for a split second.
Notes on Suicune's Power: Suicune does 1% damage per "hit". If hit by every
attack, a player will be damaged roughly 30-35% total.
If you unleashed Suicune: Well, you got lucky, and you didn't get lucky. Suicune
is rare like the other legendary Pokemon, but for the same rarity you should
have hoped for someone like Raikou. His immediate attack is a nice bonus, as
he'll usually hit players before they can escape, regardless of how fast they
are. Any attack of Suicune's which connects will pull the player towards the
epicenter of the attack and push them up a little. The weight of the character
makes a big difference here; someone light like Jigglypuff will escape the
attack far quicker than someone like Bowser or Ganondorf. Metal characters or
characters grown with the mushroom item will possibly never escape Suicune's
attack. However, all in all, the attack is not powerful enough and too avoidable
once initially caught to be as much of a help as the other legendary Pokemon.
Use the size and intimidation the beast delivers to your advantage for some
quick smash attacks. If the character is heavy enough and is caught in the
attack, repeated smashes will not likely allow the character to escape. If the
character does escape, at high enough percentages it can be as lethal as a
normal smash, obviously. Unfortunately, Suicune itself does not KO foes. At best,
try to knock the foe into Suicune's wide horizontal attack, if possible. Smash
away once they're inside. If they don't escape by themselves before that, one
smash might knock them out of the attack and deal a good 20% or more damage. As
usual with legendary Pokemon, small levels or small platforms like Mute City's
are extremely favorable, and Suicune does particularly excel if it is unleashed
in a good spot on a small level.
If you must avoid Suicune: Initial contact with Suicune's attack is very likely
if you're a foe, but fortunately it's not as much to worry about as other
legendary Pokemon; you should escape with relatively minimal damage (20%-ish).
If you're not in the vicinity when Suicune attacks, obviously stay away. If
you're near Suicune, try to escape vertically as you'll likely be pushed upwards
from the attack anyway. Suicune's horizontal range makes it harder to escape
laterally, and any attack will suck you back towards the Pokemon like a small
vacuum, making it a never-ending process. Perhaps I am underestimating Suicune
from lack of experience, but he is not the best of the legendary Pokemon and
Suicune, while he shouldn't be treated lightly, should not be considered an
instant threat to your life. Just stay away or try to escape over and above him
and you should be just fine.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Togepi
Pokemon Number: 175
Attack Name: Metronome (which, in turn, can be NightShade, Leech Seed, Flash,
Powder Snow, or Sleep Powder)
Physical Appearance: Togepi is a small character inside half of an egg shell.
You'll notice it by the colorful shapes on its egg.
Likelihood of Appearing: Fairly common.
Usefulness: Good.
Pros: Attacks do significant status damage to foes. Those that do not deal
damage set up players for smash attacks.
Cons: Takes time to do the attack, and the range for most of its attacks is
quite small. Metronome is unpredictable, so strategy upon its release must be
improvised.
Description/Notes for Togepi's Attack: Togepi appears, says its strange call
(sounds almost like "Chikorita"), sparkles, then unleashes one random attack
from Metronome. Unlike Clefairy, who has an arsenal of four attacks, Togepi has
five. It can do one of the following: activate NightShade, which burns a dark
light above its head, turning the entire arena pitch black for several seconds.
It can make all nearby enemies sleepy with Sleep Powder. It can place a
poisonous flower on all nearby foes with Leech Seed. Using Powder Snow, it turns
nearby enemies into ice cubes. Finally, with Flash, it buries all close-by foes
into the ground using a technique similar to DK's forward+B Headbutt attack.
Notes on Togepi's Power: NightShade does 0% damage. Sleep Powder does 10% damage
and puts foes to sleep. Leech Seed does 22% damage and puts a flower on the
foe's head for additional damage (increases by 1% until foe shakes it off).
Powder Snow does 10% damage and encases foes in ice. Flash does 5% damage with
each touch of the ground.
If you unleashed Togepi: Most of Togepi's attacks are useful, and they produce
effects that are not exclusive to the Pokemon (save for NightShade), so for the
most part, most of Togepi's attacks should not be new. The key is to keep
players around the Pokemon, as always. Both Sleep Powder and Leech Seed have
very small ranges, so those will definitely miss if opponents are not close by.
If Leech Seed occurs, there's nothing specific to do except grab some free
attacks as he tries to shake the flower off his head. If he falls asleep, charge
up a smash until you're forced to use it and let it rip! Someone like Pikachu,
who has an insanely strong upward smash, can easily kill foes at 50% or lower
with a fully charged smash. Flash can connect more than once on the same
character if they break out of the ground and touch the ground again, and has a
longer range than the other attacks. Use their down time as a chance to grab
some free hits. Powder Snow also has a short range and should be used to get in
a free, uncharged smash (that's all you'll have time for). NightShade is a
wildcard; it turns the whole screen black for all chaos to break loose. With all
human players, this can be interesting and fair to all. What I do is just
continually jump around, not trying to do anything. You can't see your
characters at all (or your names above your heads), so just do random attacks
and try to remember where the edges of the stage are! Although it's incredibly
unfair, it's a fact that the AI still works perfectly when NightShade is used,
and you'll likely get beat on. Annoying, huh?
If you must avoid Togepi: Fortunately, Togepi has very small range on three of
its five attacks. Stay a fair ways away and you shouldn't take damage. Note that
Sleep Powder and Leech Seed can hit players as long as the bubble has not
completely dissipated, so don't be too anxious to walk past it or else you'll
still feel the effect of the spell. Most of the effects you'll experience you
should be used to from other items or characters. As usual, shake the flower off
your head by wiggling the analog stick back and forth and air-dodging (the
latter of which works very well). All other attacks, if you're caught in them,
just mash buttons appropriately. NightShade is annoying, but there's nothing you
can do! Just focus on surviving and attempting your best to do blind evasive
maneuvers if you're playing with high-level AI opponents. Togepi isn't as good
as Clefairy, since his attacks don't have as much range, and with Togepi's delay
before any attack, there should be no excuse if you get hit by any of the short-
range attacks.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Unown
Pokemon Number: 201
Attack Name: Hidden Power
Physical Appearance: Unown, when alone, looks like a black eye surrounded by a
black circle with some symbols extruding from it. In the game, they do damage in
groups.
Likelihood of Appearing: Pretty common.
Usefulness: Above average.
Pros: Unpredictable to foes. Able to keep players juggled for the entire attack.
Difficult to escape. Covers a wide area.
Cons: Does not do much damage. If Unown decides on a strange angle, it can miss
the action almost entirely.
Description/Notes for Unown's Attack: A single Unown Pokemon appears, and leaves
to one side of the screen (slightly damaging foes on the way out if they contact
it). About two seconds later, a slew of Unown appear and fly through the stage
at a given angle, which is likely determined by the shape of the Unown which
emerged (but for all intents and purposes, it's a random angle). From my
experiences, this angle will never be perfectly horizontal or perfectly vertical.
Rather, it will be on some sort of slant (even if the slant is very slight). The
direction Unown left the screen has nothing to do with how he will reappear
(again, this is likely caused by the particular shape of the Unown). Anyone hit
by one of the Unowns is slightly stunned. The real strength comes when many
connect in a row, which can lift foes right off the ground.
Notes on Unown's Power: As Unown leaves the screen initially, his body does 18%
damage. Each Unown thereafter does 5% damage. Typically, if caught up in most of
the Unowns, you can expect anywhere form 50-75% damage.
If you unleashed Unown: Unown is another good Pokemon that runs its course and
does its damage without much of the player's aid. Since Unown comes in at a very
unpredictable angle, it is impossible to know exactly where it will strike until
after the raid has begun. For this reason, Unown works to your advantage,
keeping foes guessing. Unown will begin flushing out ever so slightly after a
little while, so sometimes opponents will think they're safe and then get hit
with the last few of the Pokemon, setting themselves up for a nice air juggle.
For this reason, Unown is perhaps the ultimate air-juggling Pokemon. Anytime a
player is struck by one of the Unowns, he'll be stunned slightly and lifted off
the ground a little. This follows suit with any of the Unowns to follow, and
what's left is a player being hit ever and ever more upward until he's in a
magnifying glass. Unfortunately, it's extremely rare to see Unown kill anyone on
its own, so you'll have to step in and jump for that last aerial strike. Players
who have powerful air moves will enjoy seeing Unown appear. It is possible that
the Pokemon will choose a strange angle and miss most of the action. If this is
the case, relocate the foe in the general direction and watch him get sent
skyward, especially at higher percentages. Most of the time, the foe will be
trying to escape the incessant air-juggling and not paying attention to anything
you're throwing his way. You can get in many weak aerial hits which knock the
opponent back into Unown's attack. If he does manage to escape to one side of
the stream of Pokemon, he'll be stunned and a bit confused; use this opportunity
to capitalize on the damage he took.
If you must avoid Unown: Unfortunately, Unown can be hard to escape if you're
unlucky. You can be unlucky by being caught directly in the middle of the stream
(which is more randomness than where the Pokemon was released), and by seeing
Unown choose an angle between roughly 1 and 30 degrees (i.e., very straight
horizontally). If he goes horizontally, it can be hard to get out of the way,
since escaping aerially may lead to coming back down again. If you're at high
percentages, you have to be more lucky to escape at all, since any attack from a
Unown will send you quite a bit skyward and less under control of your character.
Often times, the best thing to do is try to receive as little damage as possible
by continually air-dodging or doing your up+B recovery move (which may, in turn,
slowly move you out of the way). Sometimes, low percentages can be just as bad
if you're on the ground. Unown may come through the floor at an upwards angle
and "juggle" you using the floor for help! If possible, try to avoid the initial
Pokemon in the big stream and stay away for as long as possible. If you're
caught, try escaping to one side or another; the angle will always be such that
there is a side, somewhere, that you can escape to. Don't forget that Unown
traverses the ENTIRE stage. Don't get lazy and lose track of him on a large
arena, like Hyrule Temple. You could get nailed from across the stage!
===============================
Pokemon Name: Venusaur
Pokemon Number: 003
Attack Name: Earthquake
Physical Appearance: Venusaur is a short, but very wide, blue dinosaur with a
strange red flower growing out of its back.
Likelihood of Appearing: Fairly common.
Usefulness: Very good.
Pros: Attacks immediately. He is strong, and often lethal. Good for clearing out
clusters of players.
Cons: Range is somewhat small. Does not attack airborne players.
Description/Notes for Venusaur's Attack: Venusaur emerges, shouts his name, and
begins moving or shuffling around in place, causing anyone within range who
touches the ground to be dealt damage and sent upward. Anyone with high
percentage (100% or so) is almost assuredly KOed.
Notes on Venusaur's Power: Venusaur does a regular 18% with each attack.
If you unleashed Venusaur: Venusaur is among the top non-legendary Pokemon to
get. It has many attributes which deem it great. Firstly, it attacks right out
of the ball, as soon as it touches the ground. Players who are right next to
Venusaur will not be able to escape, and will take good damage, possibly getting
KOed. Secondly, its range, while small, is deceptive. When it moves, it
generates sparks which, to most players, would signify the range of his attack.
Like a few other Pokemon, however, Venusaur attacks outside this range, tagging
would-be fence-sitters. Another attribute which is always welcomed is the
possibility of a good juggle. Venusaur shoots players almost straight up, and at
low percentages, foes can expect to be hit at least twice before gaining enough
height to be able to escape. Use this opportunity to jump in and grab a few
aerial hits (perhaps downward, back into Venusaur). Venusaur is one of those
Pokemon that you should run into right away, since opponents have such little
time to evade. It gives them no time to see an attack coming and leave the scene.
After players have figured it out, you may want to stray a little from Venusaur
in attempts to bring them back for another hit. If players are looking to avoid
Venusaur by jumping over his attack, don't let them! You should be close enough
to your Pokemon to jump and intercept. Either he will be hit down, or he will
attack you and lose his jump, landing into Venusaur's attack. Perhaps the
biggest strengths of Venusaur, however, are the quickness of his attack and the
possibility of an air juggle. Always capitalize on these things.
If you must avoid Venusaur: Another Pokemon who excels on small stages, avoiding
Venusaur can be very difficult initially. Almost as fast as Porygon2 (but not
near as lethal at low percentages), if he is unleashed at your feet you can
expect to get hit. Unlike Porygon2, blocking doesn't save you here. In my
experiences, if the Pokeball is thrown well, only a lucky jump or hit will save
you from being hit initially. Although its body itself does not damage, landing
where Venusaur is standing will cause you to get hit, so that's not an option.
Really, the only thing you can do is take an initial hit if you're unlucky and
then escape horizontally out of Venusaur's range. Like I said above, don't be
fooled and stop short of where Venusaur's range ends, as it is strangely
deceptive. If you're on a small stage and must avoid, continually air-dodge and
use your up+B recover for minimal damage. A note that Venusaur can attack
players who are on platforms both above and below it (those that are in range).
It is not limited to the same ground level that Venusaur stands on. Therefore,
don't play around above Venusaur's head. Horizontal escape methods are the way
to go.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Weezing
Pokemon Number: 110
Attack Name: Smog
Physical Appearance: Weezing looks like two purple spheres molded together, one
bigger than the other.
Likelihood of Appearing: Pretty common.
Usefulness: Quite good.
Pros: Attack can be insanely high. Players can get caught in the attack
temporarily.
Cons: Attacks a fairly small range, and lets players get out of the way first.
Repels players when contact is made on the fringe of the attack.
Description/Notes for Weezing's Attack: Weezing appears, says his name as if he
has a sore throat, and begins expelling a range of continuous gas around his
body in a short radius. Those who are touched are sort of bounced back and dealt
a little damage. Those who are forced to stick around are dealt insane amounts
of damage.
Notes on Weezing's Power: Each time a player touches the emission, he is dealt
3% damage. Average damage taken with Weezing is around 4-5 touches, equaling 12-
15%. If players are caught right in the center of Weezing, however, they can
rack up damages as high as 150-180% in just one or two short seconds, before
they are able to escape! It's crazy!
If you unleashed Weezing: Weezing is a Pokemon which really excels if you assist
it in its attempts to damage foes. As I've said up above, those caught in the
direct middle of the attack take insane amounts of damage (far more than I
expected until I tried it in Training Mode), so those opponents who
underestimate its power and who are forced into the attack really take a lot of
damage. Since this is the case, try to keep foes around. Weezing doesn't take an
extremely long time to begin attacking (and his body does not damage foes ahead
of time), but he also doesn't attack instantly. An advantage of Weezing is that
it is easy for foes to get caught in a cycle, especially if the Weezing is
guarding an edge or if it is hovering above a certain desirable location.
However, opponents who touch the very outside and run away after they are
initially repelled will not take as much damage as desirable. Continually push
and batter them around inside Weezing's poisonous spray. Give them an attack
which sends them towards Weezing with good velocity; this will cause them to be
thrown all the way into the middle before the gas stops them (as opposed to
being stopped at the fringe). Smashing opponents upward into Weezing's attack
(if he was unleashed on an upper platform, for example) almost guarantees a good
70-100% damage. If there was a Pokemon who needed player assistance, it is
Weezing. Without players' help, he might still damage well if the foe is stupid.
Otherwise, the player might escape relatively unscathed. With players' help, he
can prime opponents for one final attack. Fortunately, Weezing doesn't look very
intimidating. This can be used to your advantage.
If you must avoid Weezing: It can be fairly easy to avoid Weezing if you don't
get caught in the middle of his attack. If you happen to come into contact with
Weezing's fringe, you'll just bounce around a little bit before being able to
control your character out of the attack. If this happens, there is nothing to
worry about. However, if you are forced into Weezing's center, you'll need to
button-mash and try to escape to one side. There's really no way to avoid the
insane damage you'll receive. The best bet is to not toy with Weezing and to
stay away as always. Besides, even if you get caught in the fringe for a few
measly percent damage, you're allowing your foes to pin you to the attack and
get in a few attacks on top of it. And the worst that can happen is really the
worst that can happen!
===============================
Pokemon Name: Wobbuffet
Pokemon Number: 202
Attack Name: Counter
Physical Appearance: Wobbuffet looks like a blue bowling pin of sorts.
Likelihood of Appearing: Fairly common.
Usefulness: Very poor.
Pros: Uhh... pretty much none. Can be a nuisance to foes.
Cons: Attack power is very weak, and he is more of a pain in the butt than
anything else. He really has little to no effect on the battle at all. It seems
to be Melee's version of Goldeen, but he can slightly damage players.
Description/Notes for Wobbuffet's Attack: Wobbuffet appears, stands in place for
a few seconds before saluting and saying "Wobba-Wobba". He just stands there,
waiting for players to come into contact with him. Anyone who touches him will
be bounced around the outside of his body once or twice. If he is attacked by
someone or something, he begins to wobble back and forth like one of those
weeble-wobble things that you can't knock over. He is one of the two Pokemon who
can damage the person who unleashed it (Electrode is the other).
Notes on Wobbuffet's Power: If Wobbuffet is not swaying back and forth, anyone
who touches it is dealt 0% damage and they're slapped around a little. If
Wobbuffet is swaying, he can deal damage and send really high damaged foes (i.e.,
200% and higher) a decent ways. He deals anywhere from 4% to 10% damage,
depending how much he's swaying.
If you unleashed Wobbuffet: As with Electrode, you have no advantage if you
unleashed Wobbuffet. So, there's no point in outlining a separate strategy. Just
follow what's said below.
If you must avoid Wobbuffet: Wobbuffet is just really annoying. He has little to
no outcome on the effect of the battle, but fighting around where he was
unleashed usually means someone gets bounced around (even if it's for no damage)
and set up for a hit. However, the person who tries to hit the player being
attacked will likely connect with Wobbuffet as well, sending him wobbling at
full tilt and knocking both players away. As usual, just avoid him simply
because it's irritating to be bounced around by his wobbling. If you're unable,
though, it usually affects all players in the vicinity in some way and doesn't
decide the outcome of any match. For the record, even though Wobbuffet appears
in Event 37 - "Legendary Pokemon", he is not legendary. And I have seen players
KOed by Wobbuffet, but it's rare and they need to be at extremely high damage.
Just avoid him simply to spare yourself the irritation.
===============================
Pokemon Name: Zapdos
Pokemon Number: 145
Attack Name: Thunder Bolt
Physical Appearance: Zapdos is a large yellow bird with a very pointy physique.
Likelihood of Appearing: Rare. Zapdos is a legendary Pokemon.
Usefulness: Awesome.
Pros: Takes about a second to attack. Causes high damage and is inescapable once
touched.
Cons: Attack has a very short range. Although it causes high damage, it finishes
quickly so foes need not avoid for long. Body does not damage foes.
Description/Notes for Zapdos's Attack: Zapdos appears, hovers in place, and
after about a second he unleashes a small sphere of electrical energy which will
freeze in place anyone who comes in contact with it and damage them for the
remainder of the attack. Unlike Ho-oh and Entei, the character, once touched by
Zapdos, actually freezes in animation as well, physically unable to move or be
moved. The electrical blast lasts about one-and-a-half seconds.
Notes on Zapdos's Power: Zapdos essentially damages at 1% per "attack". However,
the attack happens so fast, it seems like a very rapidly rising counter at the
bottom. If Zapdos connects with his entire attack, it can do varying amounts of
damage. The most common percentage is 81%, however I've also seen it achieve 94%
a select few times. Of course, Zapdos can damage anywhere from 0% up to that
maximum if the first connection is midway through his attack.
If you unleashed Zapdos: Well, unfortunately, Zapdos's range is the shortest out
of all the legendary Pokemon, which means you'll need to find a way to keep foes
at bay until it decides to attack. Fortunately, it attacks relatively quickly
for how much damage it does. As usual, a smash towards Zapdos or a throw into
its attack is ideal. Once Zapdos connects with his attack, your opponent is
completely immobile. Even though Zapdos does a great amount of damage by himself,
you'll want to use this opportunity to get in some free smash attacks. I find
that I only have time for two uncharged smashes (if the opponent connected
immediately with Zapdos) before the attack is over. However, by that time, he
will have gained well over 130% damage. Again, like other legendary Pokemon,
Zapdos excels on the small stages. He can be very hard to avoid if released in
the correct spot. With Zapdos, it doesn't matter if the player is directly in
the middle of the attack or on the outskirts; it damages all the same, so as
long as you manage to keep an opponent somewhere within Zapdos's range, you'll
have maximized this Pokemon. Even though his attack doesn't last too long, as
always, don't hesitate to try a last-ditch attempt at throwing your opponent in
even after Zapdos has begun attacking. The damage increases very rapidly, so any
contact is quite beneficial.
If you must avoid Zapdos: You don't have a lot of time to flee, but then again
you also don't have to flee very far, either horizontally or vertically.
Zapdos's range is very small and very escapable if you're not lethargic. The
benefit of Zapdos, from an owner's perspective, is that it damages so much, so
quickly. The downside, which is the advantage for the would-be victims, is that
it's a very escapable attack. Generally, just run away. Like Ho-oh and Entei,
once you've been caught in Zapdos's split-second attack, it's totally
inescapable, so there's no middle ground on this one. It might be even possible
to float above Zapdos's attack using an assortment of jumps and high-scaling
up+B recovery moves. You can easily see the end of Zapdos's range from where the
electrical force field stops, so after one or two tries at facing Zapdos you'll
be able to better predict how far you have to run. It should always be the case
that, if Zapdos hits you, you were forced into the attack rather than sticking
around and getting damaged yourself.
+==============================================================================+
+ Contact Me +
+==============================================================================+
As it should be with all FAQ writers, I like to talk to the people who have used
my FAQ. However, I have a few, brief guidelines I'd like you to follow if you'd
like to get a response. And hey, I enjoy writing e-mail, so the odds will be
very good you'll hear back if you...
1. Include the word "FAQ" in the subject line. As with most people, I get crazy
amounts of junk mail. I won't be wading through it to try and decipher a subject
line that doesn't have that word somewhere in it. Ctrl+F is my best friend. If
it's not included in the subject line, odds are it will get deleted along with
the junk mail I receive. Don't forget this!
2. Don't ask about something I've covered explicitly in my FAQ. I wrote all
this to be read by people. If you're sure it's not included (or thought you
couldn't find it), I'll likely respond with an answer.
3. Offer praise or constructive criticism. I don't mind criticism, but I will
simply delete e-mails which intentionally insult me. And hey, a little praise or
"good job" every so often never hurt anyone either. If you particularly like the
detail of my FAQ, letting me know would make all the work seem worthwhile.
4. Make your e-mail coherent and intelligible. If you need to, please look those
words up before contacting me. In other words, if it's very hard to read and
follow, I won't have the energy to try.
4. Find any kind of error or misrepresentation anywhere in my FAQ which needs
fixing. Note that misrepresentation does not mean "yuo suck, wobufett r0x0rs".
And that's pretty much it! My email address is infil12 (at) hotmail (dot) com. I
type it that way so that programs that are designed to search the internet for
the "@" sign and such can't add me to mailing lists. You can expect a response
anywhere from a few hours to a day or two, depending on my schedule.
This FAQ is copyrighted by me, Infiltrater. I authorize GameFAQs.com as the only
site able to post this FAQ. If you find it mooched anywhere else, please notify
me and I will contact the parties in question. You cannot copy this FAQ, in
whole or in part, at all. If you really want to post this FAQ on your website or
use any information, all I ask is you e-mail me and wait for my answer. I could
very well grant permission, but you won't know if you don't ask. Please respect
the amount of work I've put into all the intricate details and don't plagiarize.
+==============================================================================+
+ Credits and Thanks +
+==============================================================================+
Well, also like other people, I have a few people to thank:
CJayC - For creating one of the most useful resources on the internet.
Nintendo/HAL - For making such a great game.
My brother - For helping me determine certain Pokemon damages. It's much easier
when you have a second human player!
Pikachelsea - She's my girlfriend, and she rocks. She helped me proofread this,
and suggested several good strategies.
CyricZ - His Nostalgia FAQ helped me with the Pokemon's attack names.
SnapDragon - A good gaming friend of mine. He helped convince me that this FAQ
was worth writing.
Jonathan Davis - Notified me that Unown likely returns to the screen at an angle
determined by the shape of the Pokemon.
+==============================================================================+
+ Final Messages +
+==============================================================================+
Before I sign off, just a few quick things. Firstly, a lot of this is my opinion.
If you have constructive criticism on my strategies, I am willing to listen if
you present your case well (see above). However, I may disagree with you and
stick to my opinion.
Secondly, even though there are so many Pokemon in the game, if in doubt there
are two things that are never a bad idea. If you unleashed a Pokemon and you are
unsure of how to go about maximizing its effect, always run up to it and use it
as a shield. If you must avoid a Pokemon, it is never a bad idea to run away
instead of trying to slyly avoid the Pokemon. Actually, that's almost always the
best idea!
Finally, the FAQ is done. And I made it all the way through without using a
single emoticon! :)
