"It's no use!"
SILVER
the hedgehog
Introduced in the infamous (and rightfully so) Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Silver is a hedgehog with psychic abilities. He can levitate things, levitate himself, throw things, and more, and of course, this works rather nicely in his favor as far as Smash goes. He can be rather arrogant at times, but he's always determined to finish his current mission and find justice, even if it means being a bit rude. He's not afraid to have a bit of fun with it, though, and, well, his infamous
lines of dialogue speak for themselves. Nevertheless, Silver has some pretty neat tricks up his nonexistent sleeve, so let's get started! As always, this set is built around the Smash 4 engine and all that stuff. Anyway, let's dive right into this set!
STATS
Weight: Lucario
Size: Sonic
Traction: Lucario
(Yes, after sixteen movesets, I'm finally including the traction stat! :D)
Ground Speed: Mewtwo
Jump Height: Olimar
Air Speed: Jigglypuff
Fall Speed: Villager
As you can see, Silver is a very different beast from fellow hedgehog Sonic as far as stats go. In fact, the only attribute that these two share is their size, but even that is made slightly different by Silver's unusual quills. His slightly bulkier gear leads to a higher weight than Sonic, leading to him surviving more of a beating. However, Silver's falling speed is actually a bit floatier than that of Sonic, thanks to Silver's psychic abilities slowing his fall. This psychic power also grants Silver high air speed and mobility, and while he's normally very floaty, Silver's psychokinesis-aided fast fall is extremely fast! In addition, he can stop on a dime with the aid of his psychic abilities. Silver's jump height is nothing special, though, and his ground speed is nowhere near that of Sonic. Nevertheless, Silver's psychic abilities grant him much better mobility than he would have otherwise.
ANIMATIONS AND ALL
Standing:
Silver stands in a rather normal pose, occasionally hovering in place with his psychic abilities.
Walking:
Silver casually walks forward, with a smug, confident look on his face.
Running:
Silver runs forward in a casual jog, similarly to his running in Sonic 2006.
Dashing:
Silver hovers slightly above the ground, moving at a decent dash speed.
Crouching:
Silver enters a crouching pose somewhat similar to that of Greninja, with one hand on the ground and the other extended behind him.
Jump:
Silver leaps into the air, with his hands down and to his sides, looking upwards.
Double Jump:
Silver, glowing with cyan psychic energy, curls up into a ball and jumps upwards.
Aerial Movement:
Silver's midair pose is nothing special (it's similar to
this pose), but whenever he fastfalls or when his left/right movement in midair exceeds Sonic's maximum air speed, he glows with cyan psychic energy and leaves faint afterimages behind him.
Spot Dodge:
Silver, using his psychic powers, moves himself into the background briefly while glowing with cyan energy.
Dodge Roll:
Silver uses the Teleport Dash, which isn't actually teleportation, but may as well be since Silver is moving at light speed. The roll is extremely quick and travels 1.25 SBB, and involves Silver becoming a blur of cyan energy and suddenly appearing on the other end.
Air Dodge:
Silver pulses with cyan energy briefly, appearing as only a cyan silhouette and becoming intangible.
Entrance Animation:
Silver emerges from an orb of psychic energy, striking a pose and saying, "I'll give it everything I've got!"
Up Taunt:
Silver
floats in the air in a sort of "lying down" pose and says, "This is easy!"
Side Taunt:
Silver enters a "I feel the power" pose as an aura of psychic energy surrounds him, similarly to Mewtwo's side taunt, while saying, "This will end it!"
Down Taunt:
Silver runs in place, hovering in the air with his psychic abilities so that his feet don't touch the ground, saying in a sing-songy voice, "It's no use!" This is rather similar to Sonic's old side taunt from Brawl; imagine the line said in that tone.
Death Sound:
Silver screams, "Not now!"
Victory Pose:
This.
UNIQUE MECHANICS
Silver's first unique trait comes in the form of "Psycho Sparks", or simply "sparks" for short. Many of Silver's attacks will apply light cyan sparks to opponents they hit, and these resemble small electrical sparks. Opponents with these sparks on them can be interacted with using certain attacks of Silver's, which will be expanded upon later, but for now, here's what you need to know. Each sparking attack will apply the sparks for a set amount of time (i.e. 1 second), and after that time passes, the sparks will disappear. This duration is represented by an increased amount of sparks. Any sparking attacks that hit while the opponent is already sparked will add to that timer, but it has some limitations. Firstly, each consecutive attack (within one second of the last one) will reduce the amount added by 25%. For instance, an attack that stuns for ten seconds (which doesn't actually exist; this is just for demonstration/explanation purposes) will first add ten seconds, and the next time, it'll add 7.5 seconds. After that, it adds 5.6 seconds (7.5 * 0.75 rounded), et cetera, et cetera. This doesn't apply for multi hit attacks, the jab, etc. These spark times also go down with stale move negation, and scale the same as the damage of the attack. Sparks will disappear when Silver is KO'd, as well, and the spark time caps at ten seconds. These sparks also deal 1% of damage per second when applied to opponents. One more thing. In a multiplayer match, the sparks will match the color of that player (red for P1, blue for P2, etc), or the color of the team.
Additionally, Silver can levitate using his psychic powers by holding the jump button, similarly to Peach. Unlike Peach, Silver can use special attacks during this hover state. It lasts for up to three seconds per airtime, and this can be used in multiple spurts. While levitating, Silver enters
this pose. Of course, this moves at Silver's regular air speed, which is quite high, making this a potent mobility tool. Oh, and unlike in Sonic 2006, you can't repeatedly tap the button to extend your time, since there's a half-second cooldown between turning off and entering flight. Sorry
SPECIALS
Side Special: Psychic Orb
Damage: 10%
Silver creates a cyan orb made of psychic energy in front of him, similar in appearance and size to Ness's PK Flash. Silver can control this projectile with a free range of motion as long as the button is held (during which time Silver cannot move or act), and it moves around at Ganon's dash speed. The orb will disappear after about three seconds, or when it hits an opponent, surface, etc. If it does hit an opponent, it will deal 10% of damage and can KO at around 120%, but more importantly, it will spark opponents! These sparks will last for three seconds, and it's one of Silver's best attacks for applying sparks, especially with its range. Silver won't slow down when using this in midair, but it won't put him into helpless either, and levitation can be used at the same time as this attack. The orb can even spark drop-through platforms! I'll get into what exactly that means in a bit, but for now, know that only Battlefield-sized platforms (and a bit bigger) can be sparked, and that this doesn't have any effect on them other than allowing Silver to interact with them via certain moves, as well as dealing 1% of damage per second to opponents who stand on them. This will destroy projectiles on contact (and get destroyed in the process depending on how strong the projectile is).
Neutral Special: Psychokinesis
Damage: 5%
Silver enters a pose, with his right hand outstretched and glowing with cyan energy, similar to the artwork at the top of the set. This pose is retained as long as the button is held, but the effects take about half a second to activate. On its own this isn't useful except perhaps as a taunt, but if a sparked object is within a 5 SBB radius (indicated by a faint cyan circle around Silver), he can interact with that object. Let's go through everything that Silver can interact with via this move. If a sparked opponent is within this radius, Silver will use his psychokinesis to envelop them in a glowing cyan energy, and after saying, "It's no use!", he can then move them around using the analog stick! Now, this might seem a bit overpowered at first, but hear me out. See, this isn't a total takeover of the opponent; they can still attack, dodge, and do anything else while being held, including influencing their own movement! Characters that are grabbed will have their natural gravity negated if it doesn't exceed that of Mario (if it does, Mario's fall speed will be subtracted from theirs, and they'll fall at that speed), but their walking, dashing, air speed, and fast fall can be applied to the movement that Silver provides. Speaking of which, Silver moves opponents around at Ganon's dash speed, like the Psycho Orb. Silver can only influence things for the duration of the sparks, so no infinite camping etc should ever occur. By pressing the attack button while holding an opponent, Silver can perform the Hold Smash, which involves Silver saying, "Taaaaaake this!" and launching the opponent away with his psychic abilities. This has a fixed distance of about 3 SBB and deals 5% of damage. Silver cannot move anything outside of the 5 SBB radius; this applies to all objects. If for whatever reason something that's being held escapes this radius (whether that be by Silver moving it there or the opponent moving themselves), Silver loses control of them.
Moving on, if an item, trap, minion, etc (which will from now on be collectively referred to as "items") enters the radius, it is picked up by Silver and he says, "How about this?!" Most of the things that happen to opponents also happen to items, but of course, they won't be attacking or moving any time soon (unless an item normally does so) Silver can perform the Hold Smash on items, but they'll only be affected by the 5% of damage if they're normally affected by damage (Smart Bombs, crates, Cuccos, etc). Projectiles (including even things like Din's Fire and PK Flash) can be moved around as well and be used to hit opponents, but their velocity is cancelled when they're grabbed, and when the button is released, they're simply destroyed. However, he can fire them forwards by hitting the attack button, at which point they'll be sent flying forwards at the speed of Samus's fully charged Charge Shot with a 1.25 damage multiplier. Oh, and Silver says the same lines here as he does for the items. Finally, platforms that are sparked can be moved freely much the same as opponents, projectiles, and items, but without the Hold Smash. Moving platforms will still move around like normal, in the same way as opponents do. Silver can also stand on a platform and move it in order to move himself. After a platform is moved, it gains a dark cyan hue and matching sparks, meaning that it cannot be moved again. However, like regular sparks, these will disappear after Silver is KO'd, allowing him to move the platforms again. Platforms that are attached to the background (i.e. the ones in Mushroom Kingdom U's first phase) will be ripped from their bases upon being lifted, and then function the same as all other platforms.
Up Special: Psychic Pull
Damage: 0%
Silver enters a pose similar to that of the Neutral Special, but it can't be held indefinitely; instead, this only lasts for a split second (but this doesn't have as much start lag, at 1/4 of a second). It has the same 5 SBB range as the Neutral Special, but it has a different function. See, if Silver uses the move with a sparked opponent, an item, or any projectile in range, he will pull them towards him as they gain a cyan glow. This has the same time limits, speed, and "movement influence" properties of the Neutral Special, but this can't be controlled; the opponent is always pulled towards Silver. Also, the same dialogue lines from that move are used here too. Be careful when using this near projectiles, though, for obvious reasons. Once an object begins moving, Silver can perform any move after a bit of end lag, so you can pull opponents in and then attack them! Platforms can be pulled too, but only if they haven't been moved before; if they have, Silver won't affect them. Of course, pulling a platform also makes it immovable for the rest of the stock.
Now, I know what you're thinking; isn't the Up Special supposed to somehow aid recovery? Well, yes. You see, since Silver doesn't quite have any footing in midair, he gets pulled to certain objects instead! During the period where Silver is being pulled, he can use any attack or other move (barring the Up and Neutral Special), and can cancel it by releasing the button. Silver can only travel for about two seconds before the pull stops. This only happens for sparked opponents, heavy items (i.e. crates), and platforms when Silver is in midair; anything else will get pulled to him instead. Silver will get pulled towards the nearest object that works with this (smaller items and such will still be pulled), and once again, he can use any attack he pleases while in this state. The two-second limit still applies, but it doesn't leave Silver in a helpless state either. So yay! One final note; when Silver stops being pulled towards an object, he says with a smug expression, "Thanks for the lift!" Overall, this move makes for a very unorthodox recovery tactic that might just throw off your opponents, but if a projectile user catches on, it could turn out very badly for Silver!
Down Special: Psychic Carry
Damage: 5%
Silver once again enters a pose similar to that of the Neutral Special (with a start time of 1/4 of a second), this time holding both arms out to his sides. The aura (and thus area of effect) is only 2 SBB in radius, and this provides yet another way for Silver to interact with objects! This time, Silver will "lock" whatever is in the aura in place relative to Silver (unless they influence their own direction), and they'll move as he does! As you'd expect, the same quotes apply as normal. Of course, Silver is free to run, jump, hover, etc during this, but he cannot attack. Instead, pushing the attack button will send any objects that Silver has in tow flying forwards, similarly to the Hold Smash from the Neutral Special. Silver can use this to catch projectiles and send them back, as when Hold Smash is used, they'll be sent flying forwards at the speed of Samus's fully charged Charge Shot with a 1.25 damage multiplier. If a projectile is behind Silver (in his psychic radius), it can still hit him when it's fired forwards, but just releasing the special button will cause all grabbed objects to fall to the ground, which can save Silver from this sort of situation.
STANDARDS
Jab: Psychic Barrage
Damage: 3%, 3%, 5%
Silver enters the same "psychic" pose, with his right hand outstretched, and lets out a pulse of faint cyan psychic energy. This won't actually deal damage; instead, once it travels 1 SBB, it bursts into a small orb of psychic energy! This is similar in appearance to the Side Special, but it, of course, has less power. It deals 3% of damage, flinching, and adds sparks that last for one second. When the attack button is pressed again, Silver stretches out his left arm and does the same thing once again, and finally, the third press has Silver outstretch both arms for a larger and more powerful orb that deals 5% of damage, moderate knockback, and 1.5 seconds of sparks. This is a good attack to use from a distance, and the jab combo is quick, but if the opponent is too close to Silver, the outstretched arms will only deal 1% of damage and flinching, leaving Silver rather open to a counter attack.
Forward Tilt: Psychic Slap
Damage: 8%
Silver, after charging up with psychic energy for a moment while holding his right hand palm on the left side of his neck, whips it out and performs a quick slap that deals 8% of damage, moderate knockback, and 2 seconds of sparks. This is a good "get off me" move, which Silver desperately needs due to his heavy focus on long-range combat. It has quite a bit of startup lag, but it does add some sparks to the opponent, so you can follow up with, say, the Neutral Special or a jab to force your opponent further away.
Up Tilt: Psychic Rise
Damage: 9%
Silver crouches down to the ground briefly, charging up with psychic energy, before jumping up a bit and rising 1 SBB using his psychic levitation. During this attack, Silver pulses with psychic energy in a pose similar to Mewtwo's Neutral Aerial (and a similar rising motion to if you used that in conjunction with his double jump). This is a multi-hit attack, dealing 3% per hit with 3 hits for a total of 9% if all hits connect. Each hit deals .75 seconds of sparks, and the last one deals moderate upwards knockback. This will put Silver into an aerial state at the end, and if the jump button is held during the attack, Silver can transition smoothly into levitation. Use this for transitioning from ground to air combat, where Silver's high air mobility gives him an advantage, but be wary of its sizable startup.
Down Tilt: Psychic Push
Damage; 0%
Silver, from a crouching position, charges up psychic energy briefly in both hands and then fires it forwards, creating a sort of stream of psychic energy along the ground. This reaches 1 SBB in front of Silver, and won't deal damage, flinching, or knockback, but it will push opponents away from Silver and apply a second of sparks. This is the quickest of Silver's tilts, and while it doesn't really do much on its own, it can be followed up by a jab to quickly get opponents away since both attacks conveniently reach 1 SBB. After that, the opponent should be ripe for a psychokinesis maneuver! Silver is best at a distance, so this is an important tool for him to have. However, opponents could easily get out of the way of the jab and punish you for it if they catch onto what you're doing, so try to mix it up a bit.
Dash Attack: Hovering Spin
Damage: 8%
Silver, while hovering, curls up into a ball, and hovers above the ground in this form for a distance of 1.5 SBB. This deals 8% of damage, moderate knockback, and 1.5 seconds of sparks. This is a nice, quick attack at both the start and end of the attack, and while it can be good for getting opponents away from Silver while dashing, it doesn't have that much follow-up potential.
SMASHES
Forward Smash: Psycho Smash
Damage: 9~15%
Silver charges up psychic energy in his body, holding his arms close to his body with his legs floating above the ground, and at the end of the charge, he outstretches all of his limbs out and behind them. When this happens, a large swirl of psychic energy appears in front of Silver, ranging in size from 1 SBB long and .5 SBB tall to 2 SBB long and 1 SBB tall. This is a multi-hit attack, with 3 hits dealing 3~5% each depending on the charge and 1~3 seconds of sparks. The final hit deals moderate knockback. However, if this hits at the very end of the swirl, it deals 2% more per hit (so it now deals 15~21%) and can KO at 60% at full charge, or 90% at no charge! The sweetspot also adds a second of spark time to the regular values. This is difficult to land, and requires great spacing (especially due to the lag at the start and end), but if used correctly, it can be devastating! Oh, and one more thing; this can reflect projectiles after holding them in place for a moment with a 1.25 damage multiplier, and all reflected projectiles move at the same speed as Samus's fully charged Charge Shot, just like the Down Special. Sweet!
Up Smash: Psychic Knife
Damage: 10~14%
Silver charges up psychic energy in both hands, holding them in front of his torso and looking down at the orb of energy, with a concentrated look on his face. When this charge is released, Silver releases a blade of psychic energy that ranges in width from 1 SBB to 2 SBB, depending on how long the charge was held. This blade appears above Silver, facing upwards, and flies up at Ganon's dash speed. It travels 1 SBB up into the air, and of course, the damage scales with the charge. It can KO at 100%~70% depending on the charge, of course with upwards knockback. Plus, it sparks opponents for 2~3 seconds. This is a great anti-air weapon that can cover a large area, but it doesn't do anything up close, so you'll need to get opponents into the air to land a KO with this.
Down Smash: Psycho Shock
Damage: 10~14%
Silver leaps into the air about the height of a full hop, and, glowing with psychic energy, curls into a ball and spins around. During this charging period, Silver levitates in place, spinning around rapidly and building up psychic energy. He then smashes down onto the ground, creating a shockwave with a radius of .75~1.5 SBB depending on the charge. This shockwave deals fixed upwards knockback of about 1 SBB into the air, high hitstun, 10~14%, 2~4 seconds of sparks, and has little endlag, making this a great way to spark opponents and start a midair combo. It's also great for catching rolls, but it simply cannot be used to KO. Follow this up with either an aerial or one of the psychokinesis-based specials.
AERIALS
So, before we get into the aerials, let me explain another of Silver's unique mechanics. Remember the Teleport Dash from the dodge roll? Well, that plays into his aerials as well. If you "smash input" an aerial (like Robin using the Levin Sword), Silver will perform a Teleport Dash in that direction; he becomes a cyan blur as he nearly instantaneously appears 1 SBB away in the desired direction. This won't deal any damage, and can only be used twice per airtime (getting hit will restore one of these Teleport Dashes, but not past the two-dash limit). Anyway, at the end of the dash, Silver will perform the aerial that was input. Which direction this faces depends on whether the input was held or tapped/flicked (depending on your control scheme). If it's held, Silver attacks in the direction he dashed, and if it was flicked, Silver attacks towards his point of origin. So, for example, if you smash input a Forward Aerial, if it's flicked, Silver will dash forwards, attack backwards (with a Forward Aerial), and now be facing in that direction. If you hold it, Silver will attack forwards. And yes, this can be used to reverse Silver's midair position. If you do a diagonal smash input (i.e. flicking the C-Stick up and to the right), Silver will dash in that direction without performing an aerial attack, but he will change direction. This is important to Silver's recovery, due to his mediocre jumps and situational Up Special. But wait... So if Silver can move diagonally downwards in midair, and he does so at a high speed, then does that mean...
Silver can WAVEDASH?!
Well, sort of. See, when Silver performs a diagonal Teleport Dash into the ground, his momentum isn't quite the same, as he's no longer moving at light speed. However, he does still have a psychic aura around him, and he leaves cyan afterimages behind him as he slides along the ground. Silver normally has very high traction, but this aura allows him to slide about 2 SBB along the ground, at a speed a bit higher than that of his dash. This functions much like a normal wavedash, except Silver's psychic-based attacks are cut in half in terms of damage, knockback, and sparks applied. After all, he is putting a lot of his resources into moving along the ground like this. Still, this can be a potent spacing and movement tool; use this like you would in Melee or Project: M, but be aware of its weaknesses.
Neutral Aerial: Psychic Spin
Damage: 9%
Silver, after charging up for a brief moment, curls up into a ball, pulsing with psychic energy, and spins around rapidly to damage opponents, deal moderate knockback, and apply one second of sparks. This is a good attack for getting close opponents away from Silver, but it does have a bit of startup lag.
Forward Aerial: Psy-kick
Damage: 10%
Silver, after a brief startup, performs a roundhouse kick with his right leg, as it pulses with psychic energy to both aid the leg's momentum and add two seconds of sparks to the opponent. This also deals 10% of damage, and it actually turns out to be one of Silver's best aerial killing options, KOing horizontally at around 110%! However, the startup lag and small hitbox make this tricky to land. Then again, you can use it in conjunction with a Teleport Dash to throw off the opponent!
Back Aerial: Psychic Blast
Damage: 8%
After a brief moment of charging up psychic energy, Silver throws a faint cyan burst of psychic energy similar to that found in the jab combo behind him. After traveling about 1 SBB, this turns into an orb of psychic energy the same size as the one found in the Side Special. The psychic energy won't move with Silver after it's fired, and the orb will stay in place for about ten seconds before disappearing. Silver can manipulate the orb with any of his psychokinesis techniques, making for a nice, movable trap to both send into opponents and send opponents into! It will also disappear if it hits an opponent or projectile, and if it does hit an opponent, it will deal 8% of damage, two seconds of sparks, and horizontal knockback that can KO at around 100%. The longer it's out, the less damage, knockback, and sparks the orb deals; right before disappearing, it's only half as potent. Silver can have up to two of these orbs out at a time; attempting to create a third will result in the oldest one disappearing. Using this in conjunction with the Teleport Dash allows for three different placement options; in Silver's original position (by flicking the C-Stick), 1 SBB behind his original position (normally inputting the aerial), or 2 SBB behind his original position (holding the C-Stick). This allows Silver to keep opponents guessing where the orb will be, and makes for some great stage control.
Up Aerial: Psychic Knife
Damage: 10%
After a moment of building up psychic energy in both hands, Silver creates a blade of psychic energy similar to the one found in the Up Smash. Like the uncharged version of that attack, this is 1 SBB wide, goes up 1 SBB, deals 10% of damage, 2 seconds of sparks, and KOs vertically at around 100%. The startup is rather slow, moreso than his other aerials, but it's still a good vertical KOing option. If this is reversed by flicking the C-Stick, Silver instead fires the blade downwards, and it has all of the same properties as the regular version, except now it's packing a powerful meteor smash! Since the Teleport Dash carries Silver up 1 SBB, and the blade travels that same distance, the downwards version will end up at Silver's original position, making this a good move to use to escape an aerial opponent who's getting too close for comfort.
Down Aerial: Downwards Psychic Blast
Damage: 10%
Silver, after a brief moment of charging and concentration, creates an orb 1 SBB below him, in a similar fashion to the Back Aerial. This one deals more damage but only 1 SBB of fixed upwards knockback. It applies two seconds of sparks, and while this might not seem very useful, the extremely quick endlag (Silver can act the tiniest bit of time before the orb actually appears), high hitstun, and the fact that this knocks the opponent right into Silver allows for a quick, consistent follow-up with practically any aerial attack! You could use a reversed Up Aerial to meteor smash the opponent, a reversed Back Aerial or regular Forward Aerial to KO them horizontally, there are just so many options! If you reverse this attack, as you'd expect, Silver fires this orb up to his point of origin, and now it knocks the opponent right down into Silver, having a similar effect. The opponent does descend a bit faster due to gravity, but so does Silver, so there's still time for him to set up an aerial. This can also function as a weak meteor smash if Silver doesn't attack, but the key word here is "weak". It won't be KOing anyone anytime soon. The orb from this move will disappear after one second if it doesn't hit an opponent, so it can't be used in quite the same way as the one from the Back Aerial.
GRAB GAME
Grab: Psychic Hold
Silver's grab is very unique. It's different from both other fighters' grabs and his own psychokinesis techniques. Firstly, this cannot be wiggled out of like a normal grab, and it doesn't rely on the opponent's percentage to determine how long they're held. However, it will only last as long as the opponent has sparks on them; if they don't have sparks on them, then Silver will only be able to hold the opponent for slightly longer than a standard 0% grab. This makes this grab either extremely long or extremely short depending on Silver's overall performance throughout the match. Also note that this only works on opponents, and not projectiles, items, etc. Anyway, the grab's range is unique as well. It only reaches about .33 SBB away from Silver, but this can be anywhere, whether in front of, behind, above, or even a bit below Silver! The opponent will be brought to Silver's current height, but he'll turn to face the opponent if need be. Oh, and of course, upon grabbing an opponent, he says, "It's no use!"
Pummel: Why Are You Hitting Yourself?
Damage: varies
Silver likes to have a bit of fun with his opponents sometimes. Using his psychic powers, Silver forces the opponent to hit their own face with their hand or whatever weapon they use for their pummel. It shares the same speed, damage, etc as that pummel, except the animation is changed so that they're hitting themselves instead of Silver. This makes for a large variation in speed and power that Silver mains must adapt to, but it can be used to great effect.
Up Throw: The Dribble
Damage: 12%
So, now we move onto the throws. Because Silver is psychic, the laws of Smash state that he must have great throws. So this first one is no exception. Silver, holding the opponent, leaps into the air with them in tow, at about the height of a full hop. Then, with a smug smile on his face, Silver slams the opponent down to the ground (aided by his psychic abilities) and they bounce back up, dealing 4% of damage. He then does this two more times, for a total of 12%, and the last bounce is much higher as Silver uses his psychokinesis to lift them upwards and launch them, also adding two seconds of sparks. This throw can KO at around 120%, and has great damage output. Plus, it leaves Silver in an aerial state, and can start levitating smoothly from this by holding the jump button.
Forward Throw: Spike-ic serve
Damage: 8%
Silver tosses the opponent into the air in front of him, leaps up into the air behind them, and spikes them volleyball-style, dealing 8% of damage and rather high knockback at a downwards angle. This will also put one second of sparks onto the opponent, and while it might not seem very good at first glance, using this near the ledge can force your opponent to recover from far away and near the bottom blast line. Couple this with Silver's psychokinesis for edge-guarding, and you've got yourself a potent KO option!
Down Throw: Psychic Blast Combo
Damage: 14%
Silver creates two orbs to either side of him, about 1 SBB away. Silver then throws the opponent into the one in front and they bounce over to the one in back, dealing a total of 14% and sparking for two seconds total. Since the one in front has already damaged the opponent (and thus disappeared), they simply slide along the ground in a prone state at a set distance of about 4 SBB. If another opponent hits one of the orbs, the throw will be interrupted and the damage will be reduced. Since the opponent can easily roll out of the 5 SBB radius for Silver's psychokinesis attacks, this isn't the most versatile throw for follow-ups, but the damage output makes up for it.
Back Throw: Psychic Spin
Damage: varies
Silver holds the opponent in place with his psychokinesis, spins them around once ala Mario's back throw, and lets go, dealing... 1% of damage and moderate knockback. What? Aren't back throws supposed to be kill moves, especially psychic-based ones (coughNesscough)? Well yes, but Silver's needs a bit of work. You see, the more sparks an opponent has, the more damage, knockback, and sparks the throw deals. Each second of sparks adds one rotation, which adds 1% of damage, .5 seconds of sparks, and knockback; at the maximum of ten seconds of sparks, then, the move deals 10% of damage, 5 seconds of sparks, and KOs at 75%! This will rarely happen, of course. Anyway, this drains the opponent's sparks when used, but you'll get half of them back, so it's no big deal really. Use this only when you're sure that your opponent has enough sparks, because if they don't, the high endlag this throw has can prove fatal!
MISCELLANEOUS
Final Smash: Meteor Smash!
Damage: varies
♪ Na, na-na-na-na-na-na, Ka-ta-mari Dama-cy! ♪
Silver got the Smash Ball, so it's time for him to unleash his full power! Using the power of this mystical orb, Silver's psychokinesis is greatly enhanced, allowing him to use his ultimate finisher attack. Using these enhanced abilities, Silver draws in all items, projectiles, background elements (from the stage itself), small platforms (not the main one), Assist Trophies, Pokemon, pretty much everything besides fighters, and combines them into one huge ball of destruction! While it's not quite as large as the one pictured above, it's still pretty huge; at minimum, the boulder will have a diameter of 5 SBB from background objects alone. Each item, projectile, etc that Silver also grabs increases the diameter by .1-.5 SBB depending on its size. This can increase up to 3 extra SBB, or 8 SBB total in diameter! Anyway, Silver then uses his psychokinesis to toss this giant ball of stuff in front of him, as it rolls across the entire stage (or at least from where Silver activated the attack) at Sonic's dash speed to damage opponents and pick up anything that might appear after the initial creation of the boulder. Anyway, how much damage does this deal? Well, at minimum size, this will deal 30% of damage and KO at around 50%. At maximum size, it deals 50% of damage and KOs at only 30%! Geez! Of course, this will rarely happen. The ball will disappear when it hits a blast zone or hits a wall; if the latter happens, all of the items, projectiles, etc that went into the ball will break apart and go wherever the ball crashed. As you may have noticed, this is one of the rare attacks that doesn't apply sparks to the opponent, but that isn't really necessary since they'll probably be KO'd by this anyways.
PLAYSTYLE
So, ya wanna play as Silver, do ya? Well, here's what you need to know. First off, stay on the offensive as much as possible. The more you hit the opponent, the more sparks they have, and the more sparks they have, the more you get to lift them around in ways they really don't want. This helps Silver's long-range game, defensive options, edgeguarding capabilities, recovery, everything! And boy, Silver's long-range game is crucial, because frankly, he's terrible up close, or at least on the ground. Use a tilt to get opponents away from you, since Silver's best attacks are best from afar. Due to the psychic nature of Silver's moveset, he often needs a moment to concentrate before releasing a deadly blast of psychic energy. Silver's ground mobility is all right, but if he gets you in the air, watch out! His air speed, mobility, floatiness, levitation, and the Teleport Dash make him one of the best, if not
the best, aerial characters in Smash 4! All he needs is a few more jumps, and he'll surpass even Jigglypuff with flying colors. Anyway, that Teleport Dash adds tons of versatility to Silver's air game. Reversible aerials will keep opponents guessing, and they can add new versatility to Silver's existing aerials. Take the Up Aerial, for example. Normally, it's good as an upwards projectile and possible KO move, but when reversed, it makes for a great spike that can catch opponents off guard! The Down Aerial sort of ties together Silver's aerials, since it can combo into practically any of them with the right reversing and timing. The Down Aerial also goes great with Silver's psychokinesis, since he can force opponents into the orbs or throw the orb into oppponents! Edgeguarding is a breeze with Silver's ability to push opponents away with the Down Tilt and move them all over the place with his specials, but if the character has any sort of decent air mobility, it might not quite work that well. Silver's own recovery is nothing to scoff at, either. He has two Teleport Dashes to help his recovery, his air speed, mobility, and levitation speak for themselves, and a combination of his Side Special and Up Special can help him get back to the stage with ease, provided an opponent is close enough! Overall, Silver is a fighter who needs to balance his offense and defense, keep opponents away, and wants to be in the air as much as possible, but struggles with hit-and-run and projectile-heavy playstyles. Nevertheless, with his psychic abilities, mindgame potential, and a moveset's worth of taunting lines, Silver is more than prepared to take on the best Smash 4 has to offer! As always, feedback is greatly appreciated, and I hope you enjoyed the set!
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