Tepig2000
Smash Champion
Rocket Grunts are members of Team Rocket, the most iconic villainous team in Pokémon games. They work for their leader, Giovanni, doing all sorts of evil things such as stealing fossils and even killing Pokémon.
How would they work in Smash?
The Rocket Grunt could have the same gimmick as the Pokémon Trainer in Brawl. My idea is that it could swap between Koffing, Ekans and Meowth, as this would be a nice reference to the Team Rocket in the anime. It's default appearance would be the male grunt but it could have a female costume.
Movesets
Down Special - Pokémon Change
The Rocket Grunt switches his Pokémon. The order is Ekans>Koffing>Meowth.
Final Smash - Here Comes Team Rocket
A lot of Rocket Grunts appear and throw Poké Balls at the stage. A lot of Pokémon such as Cubone and Voltorb come out of them and attack enemies.
Ekans:
Neutral Special - Bite
Ekans bites the enemy. If the enemy is hit, it is damaged, and there is a chance the enemy will be poisoned. Poisoned enemies take damage over time like when hit with Lip's Stick.
Side Special - Swallow
Ekans swallows the enemy. This move works like Wario's Bite special move.
Up Special - Wrap
Ekans pulls the enemy near with it's tail, crushes it and throws it. It can also be used as a tether recovery.
Koffing
Neutral Special - Smoke Screen
Koffing creates a Smoke Screen. It obscures the view and does a little damage. It stays in the stage for about 10 seconds.
Side Special - Sludge Bomb
Koffing spits a ball made of sludge. It does small damage but the knockback is great. It is affected by gravity but is floaty like Toon Link's arrows.
Up Special - Gyro Ball
Koffing turns it's body into steel and spins for 3 seconds. During this time, Koffing does not fall and quickly damages enemies that touch it. Koffing has super armor during this move.
Meowth
Neutral Special - Pay Day
It works just like Meowth's Poké Ball move in Brawl.
Side Special - Fury Swipes
Meowth jumps forwards. If it touches an enemy, it scratches the enemy incredibly quickly, dealing a lot of damage.
Up Special - Slash
In the ground, Meowth will rush forwads and slash quickly. In the air, meowth jumps diagonally forwards.[/collpse]
A Team Rocket grunt is hardly the most intimidating opponent. The foot soldier of Team Rocket, an evil organization bent on taking over the world and also stealing Pokemon just because they can, he's a sort of no-nonsense henchman who isn't really too clever or brave. How can he possibly ever win? Well, he usually doesn't. But when he does, it's because he's perfectly willing to, shall we say, fight dirty. The grunt has absolutely no morals keeping him from cheating in battle.
In a Brawl, the grunt uses a trio of simple, nasty little Pokemon: spastic, spindly Zubat; slow, bulky Grimer; and stolid, loyal Houndour. If used on their own, they wouldn't be too likely to win any battles, any of them; fortunately, the grunt has a unique switch mechanism that allows them to work together in unexpected ways.
You start the battle with the Pokemon of your choice, any one of the three. You switch with your Neutral Special, so be sure you get used to it and don't start pushing it accidentally. You can set who you switch into next through your Taunts: left or up taunt set the order to Zubat-Houndour-Grimer, and down or right reverse it. Simple enough.
Now, you can use Switch to interrupt absolutely any attack (unless you're grabbed or suffering hitstun), and when you do, the grunt immediately sends out his next Pokemon; however, he does not yet recall the previous Pokemon, which stays out and continues doing exactly what it was doing for the next two seconds or so. During this time, it can take damage (but not knockback), so you quite literally have two vulnerable characters on the stage. This shouldn't matter, because if you choose to use Switch at the right moments, you'll be able to combine your separate Pokemon's attacks and create devastating, unfair interactions. You'll be laughing all the way to the bank, you dastardly grunt.
And yeah, you did read that right - it's actually a three-in-one character who demands all three to function! Hallelujah!
A very simple Pokemon, Zubat hides in the dark by day and seeks blood during the night. He has no eyes but makes his way around using echolocation, like any good bat should.
In the grunt's team, Zubat plays the all-important role of speed demon, flitting around with high-speed attacks and generally being a pain to hit. He fights with a variety of sound-based barrages, and also with wing and wind. His wind-based attacks, especially, are compelling when combined with Grimer or Houndour, but I'll get to those in their respective chunks of the moveset.
(((Jump))) 10
(((Run))) 7
(((Slip))) 4
(((Fall))) 3
(((Weight))) 2
(((Power))) 2
Now, Zubat's stats are unimportant, but this is where I tell you about his singular jump pattern. Zubat has a startling fifteen jumps - yes, you read that right. However, each one gives him only the very smallest upward propulsion, having a much more noticable effect when you're travelling horizontally. It also, of course, stops your downward momentum, so this allows Zubat to fly back and forth on the stage with the greatest of ease. He can recover an unprecedented distance, as long as he doesn't have to go up while he's at it.
And I'm going to mention at this point that Zubat hovers a bit off the ground by default, constantly flapping his wings and moving around his small hurtbox. He's very tricky to properly hit, especially when weaving and flapping back and forth in the air.
Neutral Special
Switch - In the background, the grunt tosses out a Pokeball and sends out his next Pokemon, just one platform behind Zubat (or in front of him, if necessary). This action is fairly quick, takes about half a second, all told. Zubat stays out and continues his current action for a further two seconds, then is called back in turn.
This can be used to interrupt just about anything. You lose control of Zubat almost immediately, and if he was just idling or in midair or something along those lines, he'll just hang around helplessly. Also, note that if you use this attack while in midair, the next Pokemon will appear in freefall, so this can hardly be used to refresh your recovery.
Side Special
Echolocation - Zubat clicks his tongue and sends off a slow sonic wave that's very much aimable, shot on a very precise trajectory of your choice. This goes until it hits a surface, then bounces off, its angle of reflection the same as its angle of incident. This is pure physics, yes? The attack is not too laggy.
Now, the wave is fast-moving, but if it happens to pass through Zubat after bouncing off a surface (you'll have to catch up to it with your wonderful horizontal mobility), he'll get a perfect, clear image of it in his mind. He can then project a residual illusion of any traps or peculiar features of that platform-long patch of terrain by again using FSpecial. Fairly straightforward, and none too useful. The projected illusion sticks around on the ground it's shot onto for five seconds, and Zubat can immediately after that use this attack to get a fix on another chunk of the stage. In this way, you can warp the stage beyond recognition, covered in sound-born illusions. This is especially useful for making traps look more plentiful than they really are, and easier for the foe to stumble into. Zubat doesn't have many traps, but if you've just swapped in from Grimer...
If you happen to get a fix on an opponent through this process, you'll project their image instead of that of the stage. Why bother? The foe's sonic image, you see, can be attacked; it has super armor but you can rack up as much damage as you want on it. Zubat's no pro at racking damage, but Houndour sure is, so this is as good a time as any to switch.
There are two more ways in which this attack can be used, so stay with me. If you get a fix on a lingering Grimer or Houndour in this way, you can project them, creating an afterimage that continues doing what it was doing when you caught the sonic echo, hitboxes and all. You catch a Houndour breathing fire, you'll project a Houndour breathing fire. This gives you five more seconds in which to turn a partner into a leftover hitbox, in addition to the sparse two you get when you first Switch into Zubat.
If you shoot this very carefully and then fly through it before it hits any surface - tricky but possible - you'll capture your own image, and can project that. It'll mimic your actions a set distance away, making it very difficult to tell which is which and rendering Zubat's erratic hurtbox even harder to hit.
Up Special
Squall - Zubat rapidly flaps his wings for as long as you hold the input. This takes a moment to begin, but leaves Zubat suspended in midair while he uses it. A conic area beneath him and in front of him is affected by a sudden turbulence, pushing foes in the opposite direction at about the strength of Kirby's run. They'll have to approach Zubat either with a projectile or from slightly above. The area affected slowly increases while you hold the button, then caps off at two platforms forward and ends automatically after four seconds. Any items and the like that may be scattered will also be pushed away.
This attack is very relevant when combined with some of Houndour's attacks, and even a few of Grimer's. Zubat continues flapping his wings if you switch during this attack, so it's ideal as a set-up.
Down Special
Supersonic - Zubat cries sharply, radiating a ring of sound from his mouth. The radius of this quick attack is comparable to that of an exploding Bob-omb, and Zubat doesn't lose any forward or downward momentum while screeching. If any foe is hit by the sound wave, they'll be deeply befuddled, and temporarily lose the ability to successfully dodge. They can still shield, sure - but dodging becomes impossible for a period of about four seconds. Zubat doesn't have all that many ways to capitalize on this - although it always helps that they can't avoid your quick aerials - but Grimer will be most grateful, partial as he is to slow grab hitboxes that can be easily dodged but not shielded.
Jab
Shuttle Loop - Zubat suddenly turns a loop-di-loop, turning his splayed wings into mobile hitboxes. This action is very sudden and gets you up into the air, as well as dealing upward-oriented knockback to make the foe join you there as well. The option to go directly into a glide from this is also presented to you by continuing to hold the button. Zubat's glide is quite quick and mobile, but so are his jumps, so the main reason you'll want to use it is for your useful glide attack. (7%)
Dash Attack
Poison Sting - Zubat goes into a low swooping motion, holding his twin tail ready like a scorpion. After about 0.4 seconds, he deals a sudden jab with that two-pronged tail - minor forward knockback. This is the first attack to unsheath the grunt's rather complex poison submechanic.
When the foe is poisoned, they start taking 1% every two seconds. This minor affliction wears off after a mere three seconds - but it can be stacked. Not only can it be stacked, but if a poisoned foe is poisoned again, the first affliction is restored to its original three second timer. See, you poison them, they take the damage, it's about to wear off - you poison them again, now they're taking 2% every two seconds, for the full three seconds. Following? This can obviously amount to some quite ridiculous damage racking, especially when using Grimer.
Now, if you manage to stack a full ten poison afflictions onto the foe at once (these are kept track of by little crossbones symbols over the opponent’s character icon), they are automatically KO'd. No fanfare, no bluster - they just keel right over, "fainting", as the Pokemon universe would have you believe. This might sound relatively easy, but it'll take a significant amount of effort to not let them breathe for a thirty seconds, give or take, and consistently poison them every three seconds. You'll only manage that by combining your Pokemon's specialties and taking full advantage of your high-speed switch mechanism. Team Rocket Grunts are notorious for how much they love to poison their opponents' Pokemon. (4%)
Glide Attack
Carrier - Zubat doesn't visibly change, but his lower half - right where his feet should be - becomes a grab hitbox until the glide is cancelled. If he makes contact with a foe, he'll automatically scoop them up and start flying around with them. Now, you can use this to suicide, theoretically, although it's fairly easy to struggle out of this, so it'll only ever work if they don't see your obvious movement toward them and are also at a high percentage. At least they can't dodge it, though, right? You HAVE used Supersonic, right?
Now, this attack takes on a whole new meaning when you consider your other Pokemon. Zubat can indeed lift them as well, and they can struggle out with the very greatest of ease. You can use this by simply flying Zubat forward across the stage and then switching in Houndour, starting your battle off by swooping about, or you can use this after switching to Zubat to move around their leftover hitbox. More specific uses of this interaction will be mentioned later.
Forward Tilt
Wing Whirl - Zubat spirals suddenly from his hovering position, moving forward about half a platform as he does so. As he wildly swings his wings around him, they form two hitboxes of equal damage, the first dealing flinch knockback and the second sending the foe sliding on a very horizontal trajectory. After the attack itself, Zubat clumsily flutters back to his original position. This attack is fairly quick, although the hitboxes are small, so you'll use it to make Zubat tricky to hit in addition to shoot them through any traps that happen to have been set ahead. Thanks, Grimer!
I'm going to note at this point that many of Zubat's attacks - as well as Houndour's and Grimer's - may strike you as a bit simple. One of the biggest problems with Pokemon Trainer is that mastering three characters is too big a handicap for a competitive player. In that interest, all of the grunt's Pokemon are fairly easy to use in a vacuum. Pick-up-and-play, if you will. (5%, 5%)
Up Tilt
Wing Dropper - Zubat claps his wings above his head abruptly, dealing noticable if unremarkable upwards knockback. As he does so, he obviously is no longer keeping himself fluttering with them, so he drops to the ground, splayed out and prone. Aside from its offensive and juggling use, this attack is a very quick way to turn yourself into a tiny ground-bound hurtbox. This is great for dodging under obvious, powerful attacks that don't hit low to the ground, but otherwise not one of your most important moves. (8%)
Down Tilt
Astonish - Zubat furls his wings around him, drifting in midair on some dark wind as he does so. When you release the button input, he abruptly whips his wings out to either side, making twin hitboxes and screeching sharply. This causes any foes within a platform on any side that wasn't hit by the hitboxes to briefly flinch, but also gives him notable ending lag. I do recommend setting this up and then switching, so Zubat stuns them and then Grimer or Houndour can take advantage of it. Even on its own, though, this is a clever mindgame that can be cancelled by pressing Z. (7%)
Forward Smash
Constructive Interference - More physics! Who knows what happens when two waves of equivalent frequency overlap? Why, we have interference, with nodal lines and diffraction and all that lovely scientific jargon! Here, Zubat projects a sonic wave forward, its charge affecting its radius, or the area it affects. The attack is not all that laggy to start, but has a long duration (that can be extended if you switch out during it). This very high-pitched sound has a few effects.
Firstly, any foes caught in its wide, massive hitbox are dealt multiple small flinching hits, and will generally have a nasty time of trying to get out. The damage you'll deal if you catch them from the start is not as impressive as you'd hope.
Secondly, if this fast sonic wave intersects with a travelling Echolocation, it'll reverse that Echolocation's direction entirely. This is what you do if you pinpointed an enemy but the wave is too far for you to catch up to it - you just reverse its direction and bring it back to you.
Thirdly and finally, you scramble any projected Echolocations in a very strange way. Something that isn't actually there - a fake trap, an illusion of Zubat - becomes corporeal for the rest of its existence. Obviously, this is immensely useful for briefly multiplying sound traps and also for turning your own mirror reflection into a secondary threat that can't be dealt damage. Meanwhile, something that actually IS there - like a projection of Houndour or Grimer or the foe - is no longer there at all. This allows for some really strange mindgames, but is more a handicap on this otherwise overly useful attack than anything. (1%-13%)
Up Smash
Air Cutter - Zubat charges by spreading his wings and drawing air to either side of him. When you release, he flips upside down and claps his wings together, creating an arc-shaped blade of air that flies up and spreads as it goes. Its size and how far it spreads are decided by that charge time. The knockback is negligible, just a bit of juggling, although you can potentially chain quite a few of these together if they're unable to airdodge. Get it?
I should mention here that using this air wave to pass through a cloud of Poison Gas created by Grimer would be a very good idea, since it'd give the cutter a poison property... but since we don't know about Poison Gas yet, on second thought, I'm going to skip that for now.(9%)
Down Smash
Sonic Barrier - Zubat screams a slow-moving sound wave almost directly down, flying slightly upwards as he does so. The wave bounces directly off of the ground and reveals its unusual property when it soars through him - he's invisible as long as he remains covered in it. This won't be for very long, because the wave will soon move too high for Zubat to keep up with it, but in the meanwhile, it allows him to move around the stage in a completely unexpected way and then suddenly swoop out of it. I recommend going into a glide attack from inside the obscuring sound wave and then switching out.
This wave has no effect on foes, although it also makes any projected images created by Echolocation invisible for as long as it overlaps them. Using this to hide a leftover Houndour projection that might or might not be breathing fire... well, now we're getting into advanced interactions, so I'll cut it off there.
AERIAL
Neutral Aerial
Strafe and Turn - Zubat begins wobbling in midair, moving backwards at a fairly low speed without losing vertical momentum. Vectors, see? It's physics again, vertical and horizontal movement are quite separate. After about half a second of backing up in thnis way, Zubat does an about face, turning to face the other way. This attack allows you to cut off all horizontal momentum and makes you even more unpredictable in midair, as well as allowing you to turn around. Pure mobility. This attack is not lagless and has a long duration, so it's best used when it you stop just out of reach of a foe's aerial.
Forward Aerial
Wind Rider - Zubat swings both wings, and his whole body, forward, propelling himself ever so slightly and creating a wind hitbox of medium strength. Any foes within a platform ahead or half a platform below are blown horizontally forward and slightly upward by the wind. As with Squall, this attack has useful interactions with a few of Grimer and Houndour's attacks.
More importantly, this attack puts them quite solidly up there and allows you to easily chase them. It's a quick attack, low lag on either side.(3%)
Back Aerial
Nosferatu - Zubat turns a backwards loop-di-loop, his mouth open wide and his teeth bared hungrily. His mouth is the hitbox here, brief and tricky to aim with, dealing a poison affliction in addition to its damage and funny, minor knockback that drags the foe along with you as you go. This attack ends with Zubat flying slightly forward, and you potentially chain together a string of these to dizzy the foe with your aerial acrobatics; Zubat flipping over and over again, especially if he has a sound clone nearby, is pretty staggering. A good way to get started with your poison objective, and if you aim it right and hit the foe slightly down, you can chain it into a Glide Attack, carry them a bit, switch into Grimer or Houndour and continue trying to rack up the poison. (5%)
Up Aerial
Pinpoint Suction - Zubat whirls in midair, swinging his wings inward; he continues doing this peculiar motion for as long as you hold the button input. A thin twister forms around Zubat, going up into infinity and ending on the stage beneath him. Foes that get caught in it will be pulled persistently down, past Zubat and further toward the stage. If you use this without any solid surface beneath you, the twister ends at Zubat; he himself is a hitbox that dishes out minor downward knockback.
Why, oh why, would you want to bring the foe back down to the ground when you finally got them up into the air? Well, much as you dislike the ground, Grimer loves it. There's a very important interaction he and Houndour have, and this is Zubat's supporting role in that - bringing the foe down to where they can pull it off. Switching while Zubat is spinning his twister is as clever an idea as you'll have.(7%)
Down Aerial
Swoop and Lift - In this twist on the classic stall-then-fall, Zubat abruptly drops (especially useful out of a sound wave that you're hiding in). If he makes contact with a foe, he grabs onto them and then flies back up to where he was when he first began dropping. Only when he reaches the apex of his flight does he release the foe, throwing them ever so slightly upward. Rather obviously, this attack gets them up there, where you're most at home. Right from this, you can chain a few Back Aerials. While Zubat is lifting the foe is also a rather safe moment to Switch to a different Pokemon. (9%)
Grab
Bloodsucker - Zubat shoots a sonic wave directly forward, a relatively small one that travels quickly and then vanishes off the other side of the stage. If it happens to collide with a foe, Zubat will immediately and rapidly fly over to that foe and clamp onto their throat; once the vampire finds you, there's no escape through shielding, although you could always dodge (although you couldn't if he's used Supersonic).
Once clamped on, Zubat clings and sucks out 2% a second, stealing the opponent's health and adding it to his own. He can't be dealt damage as he clings, but can be knocked off with a variety of short-range attacks. Unless... if you switch while Zubat's clinging, he gains super armor, right? Now he's immune to anything they try until he gets recalled, so you'll get a few more seconds of free health. Useful little trick to keep in mind.
Pummel
Cyanide Enzyme - By pummeling, Zubat switches from draining the foe's blood to injecting something of his own directly into their bloodstream. In this case, it's a nasty fluid that changes the way their body reacts to poison. A poison effect no longer wears off after three seconds - it wears off only through movement, after the foe either jumps three times or runs/walks a Battlefield's distance. This may sound like it's easier, but Grimer, who specializes in keeping the foe trapped next to him on the ground, will find this invaluable. The Cyanide Enzyme is the most useful contribution Zubat can give to the team's main objective, apart from using a twister to force the foe onto the ground. This effect wears off after eleven seconds, less if the foe is undamaged or nearly that.
Special Pummel
Sonic Scream - Zubat draws his fangs out of his victim and screeches loudly into their ear, sending a sonic wave directly into their head. This has more start lag than his regular pummel, so some foes will be able to knock him off before he uses the attack itself unless you switch as soon as you do the input, protecting him with that super armor. The attack itself scrambles the foe's sense and makes multiple Zubats appear, covering almost every corner of the map, overlapping each other and making it very difficult to figure out which is which. If you switch while using this, they'll see a pack of Houndours or a sea of Grimers instead. Mindgames! I love 'em.
Their state of sensory confusion lasts about six seconds, six invaluable seconds in which you can pelt them from any direction with a variety of poison-inducing attacks. (7%)
I'm going to briefly mention, here, Zubat's importance in your grand scheme. This section will be comparatively short, but don't worry, there will be many more mentions of him throughout the rest of the moveset. At this point, what do we have to work with?
On his own, Zubat is a spindly, rather useless fighter. He can't take the hits and he's hopeless at dealing damage and he's hopeless at dealing out KOs. What he can do is survive; he's a very tough target with a constantly fluctuating hurtbox. When you factor in his ability to create sound illusions all over the stage, you've got quite a perplexing foe.
Zubat's role in the grunt's grand scheme is that of supplement. Zubat's wind-based attacks allow you to manipulate Grimer's poison clouds and, much more importantly, to fan Houndour's flames. By using the two in conjunction, you'll have huge hitboxes at your disposal. Better still, Zubat can extend the duration of a leftover hitbox by creating an exact sonic replica. You've got a trick going on with Grimer, but he doesn't stick around long enough for you to pull it off with Houndour - if you Switch into Zubat, make a replica of Grimer, then switch into Houndour, you can temporarily have all three on the field at the same time. The results, if you're clever, can be explosive. Quite literally.
His other important role, of course, is grounding the foe via Up Aerial. This is likely what you'll be setting him to do just before you switch, especially if you're trying to make an explosion happen.
In your grand scheme, poisoning, Zubat is a great way to get started. Chain together a few Back Aerials, lead into a Cyanide Enzyme, then ground the foe and switch off to Grimer, who can take it from there. More on that later; for now, let's get into Houndour's bag of tricks.
Houndour is a simple, workmanlike Pokemon; its Pokedex entries, written by some sort of genius who could reword the exact same thing in fifteen different ways (no exaggeration), tell us that he communicates with the rest of his pack through a variety of cries as they hunt prey. Put on his own, he doesn't appear to have much going for him, then.
That said, this particular devil dog is crucial to the team, although he's the easiest of the three to play. His simplistic fire attacks become huge hitboxes with a little help from Zubat, and they have an even more important connection with Grimer. I'll get to that promptly.
(((Run))) 8
(((Slip))) 8
(((Fall))) 7
(((Jump))) 5
(((Weight))) 5
(((Power))) 4
Houndour's stats are unremarkable - he's a quick little beast, good at moving around on the ground, but also fairly capable of jumping about. In this way, he acts as a sort of bridge between two highly specialized characters, although this is more an interesting coincidence to note than anything. No trick stats here.
Neutral Special
Switch - In the background, the grunt tosses out a Pokeball and sends out his next Pokemon, just one platform behind Houndour (or in front of him, if necessary). This action is fairly quick, takes about half a second, all told. Houndour stays out and continues his current action for a further two seconds, then is called back in turn.
This can be used to interrupt just about anything. You lose control of Houndour almost immediately, and if he was just idling or in midair or something along those lines, he'll just hang around helplessly. Also, note that if you use this attack while in midair, the next Pokemon will appear in freefall, so this can hardly be used to refresh your recovery. I'm repeating this attack because it's just that crucial, and I know you all secretly have anterograde amnesia and introduce yourselves with "See, I have this condition..."
Side Special
Howl - Houndour rears back and launches into a howl, calling his packmates to his side. That's his intention, anyway. The attack itself has a duration of just over half a second, and has no immediate visible effect. What you get to do with it is input any other attack while Houndour is doing the animation - you can use aerials, but only if you're quick. Why does this matter in the slightest? Unfortunately, Junahu, this attack's real use is to set up, and tie in with, his Down Special.
Down Special
Beat Up - Ah, finally, Houndour's packmates join the fray! Except... well... he doesn't really have any, and the grunt, a cruel master, is hardly going to allow him to socialize. He'll have to make do with Grimer or Zubat, instead, the lucky beast.
Instantaneously, the grunt unleashes whoever is next in your set order; they appear directly overlapping Houndour and immediately use an attack. Which attack they use, of course, you set through Howl; if you didn't use it, they'll just use their Jab. They attack and then get recalled, no time wasted, and they can't be attacked - they're little more than temporary hitboxes. They don't stick around, either, so you can't use this as a quicker Switch substitute for interactions.
What you CAN use this for is to essentially play with everyone through Houndour. Now, this is not a brilliant gameplan in and of itself, but it allows him, who is rather monotone and staunch, unable to adapt to various foes, a little bit of versatility. It also lets you plant Grimer's traps through Houndour once in a while (and Houndour, you'll see, loves Grimer's traps), or keep a poison chain going, perhaps, with a quick Zubat dash attack.
Up Special
Hellraiser - Houndour bursts into flame, turning himself into an immobile fiery hitbox of low priority for as long as you hold down the button input. Contact with him causes respectable upwards knockback, but since he can't move and basically turns himself into a sitting target, this is a poor offensive tactic - it's quick to come out and can be used as a last-ditch attempt to get the foe out of your face, but that's it's limit, because it has considerable wind-down.
This is no recovery, of course... or is it? This hitbox is so concentrated that it affects allies as well as foes, so if you're using Houndour and find yourself falling, well, all you need do is activate this and Switch off. The next Pokemon appears a little ways from you, bumps into you by fastfalling, is dealt strong vertical knockback and likely recovered along the way. A clever trick, no? All their weaknesses patch each other up, as in any good Pokemon team.
Jab
Bark - Houndour swings his head from side to side in a feral animation each time you tap A, making a small hitbox that's fairly quick on either side of him. Weak knockback. Unnotable on its own.
Now, I'm going to remind you of Zubat's Forward Smash - Constructive Interference. If you use this attack while in a zone of amplified sound, a radiating sound hitbox will form around Houndour, rather like a smaller version of DK's Final Smash. This hitbox doesn't deal damage, but has suction knockback with each hit that serves the dual use of pulling the opponent into the Constructive Interference with you - it deals them damage in small hits, remember - and of course, if necessary, holding the foe more or less in place while you switch off to Grimer. (4%)
Dash Attack
Extremespeed - Houndour picks up the pace ever so slightly, leaving twin trails of fire in his wake as he hurtles forward. These vanish behind him half a second after being created, and deal no knockback at all and only negligible damage. The point, then, is to combine this with Zubat's Squall or some such similar wind attack. If you call him up with Beat Up and then immediately rush forward and use this, you'll quite effectively cause the small flames to be whipped up into a line of fire that Jafar would be jealous of. These flames, unlike their smaller counterparts, are quite potent, dealing about 5% for every half a second the foe is inside of them. Very relevant, you'll see, when we get to Houndour's pummel.
And never forget that you need to actually pursue the foe to effectively keep stacking on poison. This'll definitely help on that front.
Forward Tilt
Flamethrower - It was to be expected. As long as you hold the input, Houndour breathes a small gout of fire forward. This is thicker and less patchy than Charizard's or Bowser's, giving it less range, but it's also much more manueverable, and you can tilt it at any angle ahead of you, ranging from straight down to practically straight up. This attack is not too laggy to go into and get out of, and it's one of the best attacks to switch out during. Fanning these flames allows Zubat to basically direct them anywhere within half a Final Destination of Houndour, depending on which wind attack you're using. (2% per hit)
Up Tilt
Fireball Rocket - Houndour stands up onto his back paws - giving this move a bit more lag than most of his - and shoots a single fireball directly upward like a cannonball. It goes up rapidly and, upon contact, causes a small explosion that deals knockback comparable to Samus's Homing Missile. Good anti-air tech.
Now, if you've got Zubat set up above you, using his Pinpoint Suction to make a whirlwind, the fireball will be caught up in it and turn the whole tornado into a solid mass of fire, dealing substantial knockback and 14% on contact. Of course, it'll only last until Zubat is switched out, but even at the worst of times, you can go from Beat Up with Zubat set to use Pinpoint Suction into this. It's an effective option. (9%)
Down Tilt
Poison Jaw - Houndour never once forgets your poisoning objective. Usually, when you're making your big push, you'll rely on Grimer and Zubat more, but Houndour is also invaluable, in more ways than one. This lightning-quick attack has Houndour making a sudden chomp at the foe's feet, poisoning on contact. Now, this attack goes right through shield and deals minor knockback that makes it easy enough to follow up on, but it's telegraphed enough to dodge, and a single unlucky dodge can be enough to undo your whole poison chain - so I'd typically advise using Beat Up to bring out Zubat using Supersonic as soon as possible. Once the foe can't dodge, it's that much easier to avoid any unpleasant slip-ups. If you've set the stage with Grimer beforehand, things get even easier. Two rules of thumb to keep in mind before sending out Houndour. (5%)
Forward Smash
Scarmaker - Houndour charges and then lets loose in this laggish Smash, lunging forward to deal a one-pawed swipe. The knockback is pretty minor, but this attack is notable for its additional property - it opens a wound that causes all contact with smoke to deal a single poison affliction to the foe. In addition, all poison gas contact deals a staggering two poison afflictions - one at default, as you'll see on Grimer, and one in addition from the scar. The scar lingers for about eight seconds before vanishing. Follow this one up with Beat Up, bring out Grimer to breathe some poison gas, and watch as the poison stacks and the foe comes ever nearer to their unpleasant end. Charging this attack increases the distance Houndour leaps to slash. (8%)
Up Smash
Evaporation - Houndour plants his head in the ground, a comical animation, while he charges. When you release, he breathes a powerful line of fire forward, but underground. This attack causes the ground to turn to lava for a distance of anywhere between a platform and two ahead of him; that lava deals short upwards knockback on contact, but it can stack up the damage as the foe gets repeatedly thrown up and down by it. Lava hardens and vanishes after two seconds.
In addition, any residual hitboxes - yes, traps - that Grimer has left behind on that space are evaporated by the sheer heat, causing great clouds of smoke to billow up into the air. More details when we get into the individual traps, but each one will generally create a cloud half the size of a smart bomb explosion. These obscure the screen and, of course, deal out poison affliction on contact if the foe has a scar. The clouds disappear after three seconds and can be fanned around the stage by Zubat, for ease of poison. Grimer-Houndour-Zubat is a good way to rack up some significant damage/poison. (3%)
Down Smash
Ring of Flame - Houndour stomps up to four times, depending on charge, and pulls off an unlaggy smash that creates a literal circle of fire on the ground around him. For as long as he doesn't move, he can only be approached from above - rolling toward him obviously doesn't work, because the fire is in background and foreground. When you do move, or after two seconds, the fire disappears into a puff of smoke that resembles an atomic bomb. A simple residual visual effect that vanishes after a second but becomes much moe relevant if they're scarred, and if you combine it by using your Up Smash while hiding in your temporary circle, you can really rack up the poison.
And to think! You can actually set Grimer's traps through Houndour's Beat Up while standing in your fire circle and then immediately turn them into smoke and at the same time, while charging, switch into Zubat and fan the whole unholy mass of smoke and poison forward! I'm telling you, the possibilities are endless. (5%)
Neutral Aerial
Hot Feet - From his midair position, Houndour causes the bottoms of his feet to alight. Any contact with these small hitboxes causes minor damage and knockback that pulls you inward, toward him. Pretty basic, although not too bad a technique for midair. Occasionally, you can use it to pull the foe down. If you fan these flames with Zubat, all of Houndour will be alight, allowing you to do some significant damage; the effect wears off after a second.
Now, you remember Zubat's Carrier glide attack? If you use that to pick up Houndour right after switching out from him, you'll basically create a foolproof way to fly a low hitbox forward. Since the fire pulls the foe with you, you can essentially drag them anywhere across the stage - through poison traps and smoke clouds and whatever you want to, really. (2%)
Forward Aerial
Smoke Rings - With minor lag, Houndour shoots a smoke ring directly forward, its radius about that of an Electrode. If it happens to pass completely around a foe, it'll deal some damage and stack on a poison affliction, in addition to a second one if they've got a scar on them. Naturally, though, this is pretty tricky to aim, and no knockback means that it's dangerous to flub. Zubat can, of course, fan this around the stage with his wind attacks, because it sticks around until it goes off the side of the stage, and never stops moving entirely.
Launching a bunch of these at a recovering foe will put them in a very vulnerable spot when they clamber back onto the stage, especially if you've set some poison traps at the edge of the stage. (5%)
Back Aerial
Pyro Breath - Sorry, folks, but every character needs the occasional spacing attack, and that's what this means to Houndour. He twists his head around and breathes a small stream of very concentrated fire that does some decent knockback and a bit of damage. Simple, yes?
Of course, if you use this right after summoning up Zubat with Beat Up - or switching in from Zubat - the flames can be dispersed amazingly well by a Squall or similar attack. Since they're so concentrated, they'll pretty much turn any wind hitbox into something capable of dealing some damage, in the neighbourhood of 8%. Just wait 'til you see the Pummel, there's a point to Houndour's seemingly random fire and you can probably see it already. Or, even better, wait to see Grimer. (10%)
Up Aerial
Rain of Sparks - Like a wee sprinkler, Houndour points his head up and spews a small fountain of sparks that fly around him erratically, each dealing very insignificant damage and flinch knockback. He continues doing so until you release the button, and will still be using this if you land on the ground. You can switch out, leaving Houndour doing this, and probably should - from there, use Zubat's Echolocation to make a sonar copy of him, and then maybe Down Smash Sonic Barrier to hide him, creating an invisible source of annoying flinch hitboxes.
You can also, of course, fan these flames, but instead of growing larger, the sparks will just be directed at a high speed in the direction you're blowing them in. The foe'll be cursing you as they struggle to approach... (1% each)
Down Aerial
Ball Trick - Houndour curls up, stops his upward momentum, and drops. It's not really an STF, because there is no stall and the fall just gives in to gravity. Contact with Houndour will cause him to light himself on fire and radiate it outward, dealing both damage and decent knockback - he'll also lose all momentum. No contact, and he'll stay curled until he hits the ground and suffers wind-down.
If you use Pinpoint Suction to make a whirlwind, however, or some similar wind attack... you can actually blow Houndour himself around the stage, a potent mobile hitbox. As long as he doesn't touch the foe or the ground, he'll stay curled up, a potential cannonball. Just be careful not to blow him completely off the stage.
My most clever suggestion is to use this as a risky edgeguarding technique. The foe's recovering, so ball yourself, switch to Zubat, and chuck yourself at the foe. If you hit, Houndour loses momentum and can likely DI back to the stage; you have used Supersonic, right? They're not going to dodge, RIGHT?!? (11%)
Grab
Maul - No fancy throw, like Zubat's Bloodsucker, here; Houndour leaps forward about half a platform and takes down any foe he meets on the way. As with all grabs on this team, this is best used after a Supersonic so that the foe can't dodge you altogether, especially because it's not too hard to see coming. It looks like Scarmaker, though, so they might be fooled into trying to shield.
The pummel's the point.
Pummel
Burn Intolerance - Burn is a status very much like poison, you know. So very similar in function and effect... hmm...
You pull off this pummel, Houndour viciously bites at the foe, sinking his teeth right in there and secreting an interesting poison. Yes, yes, I realize they all secrete interesting poisons through their pummels. For the next ten seconds, the foe will be dealt a poison affliction for every 5% dealt to them by fire-based attacks. Remember all those giant fire-based hitboxes? Yeah... they're pretty dang relevant now. Grimer also has something to do with this, hint hint, although he himself doesn't use fire, of course.
This is a slow pummel and the foe probably will struggle out after one use of it.(3%)
Forward Throw
Rotisserie - Houndour plants his two front paws on the foe, trapping them and making struggling out twice as difficult, and then breathes a steady stream of flame onto their face. This goes on until they can break free, so you can rack up quite a lot of damage from it. You can also switch out while Houndour is torturing them like this, which sounds like quite a clever move, not least because you can attack them with Zubat while they're trapped and get some more poison done. (Variable)
Back Throw
Drag - Houndour clamps his jaws around the foe's leg and you regain full control of him. Until they struggle out - doubly difficult - you can drag them any which way. Drag 'em through traps, drag 'em through smoke clouds. Use this while you have a leftover Zubat fanning Grimer's poison clouds your way, or whatever you feel like. No damage on its own, though.
While you're holding them, you could try to bring out Zubat and pull off Carrier to carry both Houndour and the hapless foe he's gripping clear off the screen in a neat suicide manuever, or, you know, whatever. The point is choice; what you do is entirely your call.
Up Throw
Volleyball - Houndour tosses them up with his jaws, then swats at them with both paws, dealing somewhat diagonal knockback that has a long hitstun period. Seems like a good opportunity to switch to Zubat and chase them, or even better, a perfect way to toss them through a few smoke clouds. Even the simplest of attacks have their place, right? (7%)
Down Throw
Savage - Houndour wildly slashes at the foe's face, dealing substantial damage but not too much knockback forward. If you somehow manage to pull this off after a Pummel - pretty tricky, that - it'll double the duration for which that attack effects them. Not a very likely outcome, but there you are. (12%)
Houndour's role is complex, so I'm going to break down part of it here before we introduce the third piece of the puzzle to this jigsaw.
On his own, Houndour is pretty fundamentally flawed. Quite a few of his attacks do nothing at all, so to speak, other then billowing smoke all over the place and/or small fire hitboxes. Of course, those small fire hitboxes become quite dangerous when Zubat's there to give you a helping hand, and when you combine with his Pummel, why, all your fire attacks become quite appealing! Remember, you can't let them go for three seconds without poisoning (unless you've used Zubat's Cyanide Enzyme, but that's more useful with Grimer), so all those large hitboxes will come in very useful. And don't get me started on smoke, which is such an unobtrusive, casual visual effect that it's easy to miss that it's just adding to that inevitable counter.
Now, Beat Up - and, by extension, Howl - are more crucial than I've led you to believe. Houndour is quite insular, more so than Zubat (who can turn his teammates into leftover sound hitboxes) or Grimer (who leaves his hitboxes behind after he switches out anyway), so the fact that you can play with the other two through him is very much important. In fact, you can quite realistically play with all three at once, just as you can with Zubat's sound copies. I've discussed that a bit already, in the Smashes.
Now, as for that interaction with Grimer that I've hinted at for so long? Well, read on, friends...
Grimer is about as simple as they come; he's a lump of sludge, garbage, poisons, and sewage that creeps around and stinks terribly. A very unpleasant Pokemon, his Pokedex entries tell us, that eats filth, kills plants by passing over them, and secretes germs. Perfect for the grunt's dream team.
Now, in a way, Grimer plays stage control for the grunt's team, but don't worry, he requires no setup. Rather, just about all of his hitboxes turn into traps after the attack itself, leaving puddles and globs lying around the stage, and for the most part these traps only poison the foe and slow them down along the way. Grimer isn't really defensive, nor is he aggressive. He just slows the game to a crawl.
(((Slip))) 10
(((Weight))) 8
(((Power))) 6
(((Fall))) 3
(((Run))) 2
(((Jump))) 0
Quite the putrid set of stats, eh? Grimer's like a heavyweight with no payoff; he can't even KO, really. On his own, I mean - obviously, you're combining him with Houndour and Zubat, which lets him pull off some rather cheap tricks.
Here is where I tell you about that mystifying 0 jump stat; Grimer's so sticky and so cemented to the ground that he can't jump at all, and that's not all. He doesn't take vertical knockback in any way, only receiving the horizontal component of an attack's knockback. Yes, he is essentially invincible with his back to a wall, but we don't play on stages like that, do we?
Since this is a bit tricky to explain, let me example it up: say you use Mario's FSmash. It deals mostly horizontal knockback anyway; in this case, Grimer is dealt the full horizontal knockback (as well as damage and hitstun), sliding backwards along the ground, but the vertical knockback is completely cancelled. Grimer doesn't leave the ground. Say you use Mario's USmash; Grimer is dealt the horizontal knockback, which, in this case, is tiny, and doesn't really go anywhere. This lets Mario just use the attack repeatedly, always sending Grimer into hitstun and keeping him nearby to be hit again. This is why you need to stay on top of the situation, constantly.
If Grimer would be pushed off a ledge by any attack, he does fall off; this is the only way to get him into the air. He's pretty unlikely to recover, so watch your positioning. Grimer does have a few ways to keep the foe out of the air, and, naturally, Zubat and Houndour have plenty more. This glaring weakness isn't so glaring after all.
Following? That's the last big twist, I promise.
Neutral Special
Switch - In the background, the grunt tosses out a Pokeball and sends out his next Pokemon, just one platform behind Grimer (or in front of him, if necessary). This action is fairly quick, takes about half a second, all told. Grimer stays out and continues his current action for a further two seconds, then is called back in turn.
This can be used to interrupt just about anything. You lose control of Grimer almost immediately, and if he was just idling or in midair or something along those lines, he'll just hang around helplessly. Also, note that if you use this attack while in midair, the next Pokemon will appear in freefall, so this can hardly be used to refresh your recovery. Last time I'm repeating this, don't worry. Repetition is good, no?
Side Special
Nitroglycerin Sweat - I've been hinting at this for so long, you probably saw it coming. With a spot of lag, Grimer secretes this shiny yellowish ooze that coats him entirely; it fades away about eight seconds later. Unpleasant.
While he's covered in the nitroglycerin, any fire attacks Houndour uses on him will cause him to explode spectacularly, dealing 20% and good upward knockback, an explosion radius equal to a Bob-omb or so (and it also issues a single cloud of smoke, which blossoms upward and disappears after three seconds). Potent, but it also deals a whole lot of upward knockback to Grimer - good thing he can't be knocked upward, eh? Of course, you're probably going to be hitting him with a fire attack when you've switched from him to Houndour anyway, so he'll have that super armor protecting him from the knockback either way. The sweat stays on Grimer if you switch him out and then back in before the eight seconds are up.
Of course, Grimer is so slow that you'll struggle to get close enough to them to land it. Good thing Zubat's so good at bringing the foe down to the ground. Never forget that you can keep Grimer or Houndour sitting around through Echolocation.
Up Special
Stretch - While you hold the button, Grimer raises both arms and slowly stretches them directly above him, to a potential maximum of two Ganondorfs high. Foes can pass through his arms, although they're temporarily slowed down as they do so and if Grimer releases the input and manages to retract his arms before they make it through, they'll be grabbed. Grimer's hands, at the very top, are grab hitboxes as well.
So you can switch while Grimer is sitting like this to make a kind of obstacle that's tricky for the foe to get around for a few seconds. What's more, if he's covered in nitroglycerin, his explosion hitbox is now much bigger, and very tall.
Down Special
Harden - Ah, our favourite defensive tactic! This is what you do when the foe's racking up the USmashes on you; Grimer almost instantly stiffens and turns the grey of dried cement. He's basically a statue, impervious to knockback and grabs altogether, although still vulnerable to damage. This attack can be used to interrupt just about any other attack he's in the middle of using. He un-hardens after you release the button or three seconds are up, and there's some wind-down as he does so.
There's a billion things you can do with this. You can Harden while in the middle of an Up Special to basically make an impassable obstacle for all but the very best of jumpers. You can Harden while coated in nitroglycerin to keep it locked in there while you get Houndour into position. There's a few more, but they're related to his pummel, so just keep this attack in mind.
[Also, note that a Hardened Grimer can be blown clear off the stage by any of Zubat's wind attacks, so you need to be careful when using the two in conjunction.]
Jab
Oooooze - While you hold the button input, Grimer melts, slowly becoming a larger and larger puddle as he does so. He melts outwards on both sides, eventually stretching to be the size of two platforms; this takes about a second and a half, all told, and Grimer is vulnerable to knockback until he fully stretches out... unless, of course, you switch out, granting him super armour until he stretches fully.
In a vacuum, this attack is useless, but the melted Grimer makes the ground incredibly sticky and difficult to walk and jump on, and if you've used Sweat recently, you've got a vast expanse on which the foe will hesitate to tread. Note that you can also use Harden once you're all stretched out to make a doubly slippery stretch of land instead of a doubly sticky one; Zubat hovers right over it, unaffected, and Houndour can take advantage of it by sliding forward, breathing fire all the while, a mobile flamethrower.
Dash Attack
Leech Reach - Grimer stops dead, and extends a single arm a platform forward; this is quicker than it sounds. If he makes contact with a foe, he'll pull them closer to him, sending them into a brief period of hitstun and lodging them in any traps he may pull them through along the way. He releases the foe as soon as he pulls them right up against him; if you switch to Houndour right after netting the foe in this way and if you happen to be covered in nitroglycerin, this might just be the perfect set-up for an explosion.
If Grimer misses entirely, he goes into a period of wind-down during which his entire over-extended arm dislocates itself and drops onto the ground in the form of goopy puddle. This puddle sticks around (the pun is deliberate) for six seconds and, in the meanwhile, slows down foes that pass over them, as well as doling out one poison affliction for each time they touch it.
Forward Tilt
Sludge - Grimer leans over and basically pukes out a thick stream of goo in front of him. And you thought Houndour's smoke clouds were irritating.
This attack is fairly laggy, but it deals a lot of small hits with very variable damage and paralyzes the foe for its whole duration -this, even though the hitbox is fairly small. More importantly, after the attack's fairly long duration, the sludge stays on the stage in a thoroughly nasty puddle, this one more runny than the one in his Dash Attack. It lasts for six seconds and deals a poison affliction when a foe passes over it.
Now, you need to note two things here. Firstly, since this puddle is basically made up of Grimer's own guts, it'll be full of Nitroglycerin Sweat if he's currently covered in it, and therefore can be detonated separately from Grimer himself. Since it resembles the other puddles Grimer makes, this can be a fantastic last-minute trick - especially if you've used Zubat's Echolocation to make it look like there's more puddle than there is.
Secondly, the puddle only slows the foe down a wee bit when they pass over it. Good thing you can overlap your puddles, then, eh? (1-16%)
Up Tilt
Poison Gas - From the corners of Grimer's mouth, greenish gas briefly seeps, before he turns his head up and spews a full-out cloud into the air; this is slightly laggy. It's about the size of 1.5 platforms across and one platform high, and lasts for eight seconds before dissipating. Even the slightest contact with the cloud will deal out a poison affliction (two if Houndour's Scarmaker is in effect), and you can waft the cloud around the stage freely with Zubat; if the foe is engulfed, they're dealt a poison affliction every second. The holy grail of Grimer/Zubat is to cover the ground with sticky traps, then waft a poison cloud to overlap the foe. They can't escape quickly enough to prevent the cloud and traps from racking up the poison afflictions at a maniacal rate.
This attack also sort of obstructs visibility, which Zubat will appreciate as he flies about and projects sonic copies of traps and characters. Just a little added note.
Down Tilt
Glob - Grimer inflates himself suddenly, making this one of his quicker attacks; his body is very briefly a radiating hitbox that deals helpful spacing knockback in all directions, and does a spot of damage to boot. If he doesn't hit a foe, however, he'll deflate weakly and shimmy slightly forward, leaving behind a round glob of goo.
This very sticky lugey doesn't disappear for ten seconds, and, small though it is, it traps a foe who passes over it for about three seconds if they don't button mash to get free. It also deals out a poison affliction.
Now, this attack can also be used while Grimer is Hardened, making it quite unique. However, in this case, it'll emerge rock-solid and remain that way even after Grimer becomes viscous again. You've got this tiny little barrier, what's the point? Well, you're basically making a barrier that prevents Grimer from being slid right off the stage and essentially, therefore, completely invincible. A pity that this super-glob can be shattered if dealt 15%.
Forward Smash
Sludge Bomb - We've seen the plain old puke Sludge, now's the aimable Sludge Bomb! While you charge, you can tilt the control stick to aim this properly, then release and hawk a large ball of sludge on a very curved trajectory. On contact, it deals out some annoying horizontal knockback and deals a poison affliction. It's sort of laggy, but can be potentially used to keep knocking the foe back onto the ground, where more poison-inducers await.
If you miss entirely, though, the sludge bomb falls to the ground and makes a goopy puddle like the one generated by your Dash Attack - sticky, six seconds, and poison-inducing. Slow down the foe to a crawl, that's Grimer's favourite gameplan. (12%)
Up Smash
Body Slam - This is one of Grimer's favourite tricks - he draws himself up to his full height, then slams down with all of his weight in front of him. It's a laggy smash, but quite worth it, because it deals decent damage and traps the foe under him until he clambers back up, 1.5 seconds later. This also means that it's terrible if you miss it, so I'd watch it; if you connect, though, they're pinned under him and allow you time to switch out and use Echolocation or blow Grimer and the foe up or what-have-you.
If you miss entirely, aside from suffering awful end lag, the stage takes the full force of the attack, and a slight incline is created. This doesn't really do anything but causes all nearby goo puddles to slowly flow toward the lowest point in the incline. Not at all useless if you want to collect all your poison-inducers onto one crucial point - maybe you'll switch into Zubat and blow the foe onto that point? (17%)
Down Smash
Underground Hands - Grimer, without changing his animation, sticks his hands under the ground and begins to stretch them forward - underground. When you release the charge, his hands will burst out of the ground a distance of anywhere from halt a platform to two platforms forward, grasping for foes. If they catch anyone, it's a grab hitbox that freezes the foe in place until they can struggle out. The attack is about as laggy as it sounds - it's not quick, shifting your arms about underground.
This attack has two functions: you can use it just to hold the foe in place and then switch out and begin racking up damage or poison on them; or, if you've got Sweat, you can breathe fire on the immobile Grimer. This will not just cause him and his outstretched hands to blow up, but cause strange eruptions on all the ground in between; these eruptions can deal 10% and do some pretty drastic upward knockback. Switch out after using this, even if you missed grabbing them, and you might yet salvage it with a series of explosions.
Just remember that this attack is really, really slow, especially if you miss.(5%)
Grab
Grasp - This is a basic grab, albeit with a bit more reach as Grimer stretches his arm. It can also be used as a very short-ranged tether, Grimer's single recovery option.
Pummel
Goo Chain - Grimer hits the foe with one slimy hand - and attaches them to him via a platform-long and fairly thick column of goo. Pummel again to detach it? Why bother? They can break it by dealing 20% to it, anyway, or by hitting Grimer himself a few times. At least their mobility is greatly restricted and they're much more vulnerable to being exploded. Grimer can also actively pull the foe around the stage, since he's so much stickier and harder to budge. Pull 'em through some puddles and clouds, why not?
Of course, you're not just going to start off with them right beside you. You're going to use a throw after attaching yourself to the foe.
Or maybe you prefer the idea of Hardening while the foe is attached to you. Now they're more or less stuck, and you've got quite a few more alternate KO options emerging. There's little better than blowing a Hardened Grimer off the stage with Zubat and watching the foe attached to him go flying helplessly with him. Similar move can be pulled via Zubat's glide attack.
Forward Throw
Bowl - Spacing, everybody loves it. Grimer picks up the foe and throws them forward like a bowling ball; this has decent knockback unless they're attached to you by a goo chain, in which case it'll stop them from flying any further than a platform from you. The hitstun holds true, though, so you'll have at least a bit of time to drag them around before they wake up and start attacking you.(6%)
Back Throw
Sock - Grimer raises the foe as he stretches himself upward - and then tosses them backwards through him. They don't fly very far, but they do dislodge a puddle of goo just like the Dash Attack one that they're likely to be dragged through as you go creeping off in the other direction. This is what you use if you want to go forward instead of back and want to start with the foe behind you, trying to catch up and free themselves. (8%)
Up Throw
Volley - Grimer tosses the foe straight up like a champion athlete. They hang suspended at the height of their arc for a moment, and then the elasticity of the goo chain - if you have one - will pull them back down to earth. This is the only throw that's likely more useful if you're not attached to the foe, although Hardening when the foe is at the peak of their upward trajectory will basically lock them at the top of a pillar, an easy target for Zubat to deal out a few BAirs to, or for Houndour to blow up in a column of DEATH. (4%)
Down Throw
Swallow - This is the final trick in Grunt's arsenal, and it's really the interaction I've hinted at all along. Sweat nitroglycerin, grab the foe, swallow them like this, and before they can break loose, switch to Houndour and hit the foe with the full brunt of the explosion. Zubat plays the role of trapping the foe on the ground with his Pinpoint Suction, so Grimer can successfully land the grab in the first place. The explosion that ensues is your best chance at a KO if the poison route just isn't working out - say, against an especially fast foe, or one who can flutter above most of your traps. (2%)
Grimer is a bit harder to get a feel for than generic-speed-Zubat or generic-all-rounder-Houndour. He's perpetually groundbound, and revolves around forcing the foe to join him there on the ground. On his own, he wouldn't have a chance at succeeding at this objective; fortunately, he's a part of a team, and Zubat has absolutely no problem with forcing foes downward.
In the big picture, Grimer will be most useful to you to litter the stage with poison outlets. Unlike Houndour and Zubat, who deal out poison by attacking constantly (pressure is the crucial word), Grimer deals out poison by passively leaking it out all over the stage. Since he's creating it as he fights, there'll soon be very little the opponent can do to avoid it.
But since he's so slow and his poison relies on the foe clumsily stumbling into his traps, he'll definitely rely a lot on Zubat's wind shenanigans and Houndour's excellent spacing fire attacks to force the foe into them. He'll also need them to switch in after he's covered the stage and pressure the foe some, of course - unless you've used Zubat's pummel to change the conditions of poisoning. Yeah, sure, go reread it, and remember it.
And if the poison route just isn't working out and the foe is at a ridiculously high percentage, it's time to turn to Nitroglycerin Sweat. More on that - and on bringing the three together into a single character - in the playstyle section below.
The Grunt's losing! He gnashes his teeth and stomps his feet, frustrated... and then his boss, Giovanni himself, appears from a warping panel beside him! He gives the Grunt a stern look, causing him to withdraw his current Pokemon, and then releases his own:
it's Kangaskhan! And that's not all - Kangaskhan uses HER Final Smash! Yeah, that's right! It's... GIGA KANGASKHAN AGAIN! SUPER POWERED GENERIC KANGASKHAN!!!!!! DUN DUUUUUN! YAAAAAAAAAY!
Grunt controls three characters, as you've no doubt realized by now, and unlike Pokemon Trainer, mastering them all individually isn't going to fly. Nor can you just use a basic speed-character into damage-racker into KO-character staggered gameplay. These three aren't very strong on their own merits, and the Grunt doesn't care about the rules, so you're going to have to integrate all three of them into your game, overlapping them regularly.
Let's start at the very beginning, with how you're going to KO (wait a second, that's not right, is it?). See, that poison affliction method means that you don't need to worry about damage racking in and of itself - what you do need to worry about is ensuring that you don't let the foe go for three seconds without being poisoned. This is not really as easy as it may sound, but never fear, because you have a lot of options, and which one you lean on most will depend on the foe. Sometimes you'll want to turn mostly to Grimer in conjunction with Cyanide Enzyme. Sometimes you'll want to use Houndour's pummel and then blitz them with fire hitboxes, enlarged by Zubat's wind. Sometimes you'll want to use that very wind to waft around smoke and poison gas and go for a cheap KO that's based around stickying up the stage with Grimer. Sometimes you're just going to go for a full-on assault, largely based around Zubat's quicker poison attacks and some of Houndour's.
In fact, to new Grunt mains, the easiest way to get the feel for the three is to base your game around two of them at a time at first, and then later bring all three together. Each combination is going to have a different focus:
...And when you do use all three, of course, the result is an unparalleled versatility and the potential for some unyielding pressure. Combine the three maxims above, sprinkle in the variety of smaller, mindgame-laden tricks the Grunt has in store, and you've got a stacked deck that'd be difficult for even the most expert opponent to overcome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qxlSMkTfMg
The Rocket Grunt switches his Pokémon. The order is Ekans>Koffing>Meowth.
Final Smash - Here Comes Team Rocket
A lot of Rocket Grunts appear and throw Poké Balls at the stage. A lot of Pokémon such as Cubone and Voltorb come out of them and attack enemies.
Ekans:
Neutral Special - Bite
Ekans bites the enemy. If the enemy is hit, it is damaged, and there is a chance the enemy will be poisoned. Poisoned enemies take damage over time like when hit with Lip's Stick.
Side Special - Swallow
Ekans swallows the enemy. This move works like Wario's Bite special move.
Up Special - Wrap
Ekans pulls the enemy near with it's tail, crushes it and throws it. It can also be used as a tether recovery.
Koffing
Neutral Special - Smoke Screen
Koffing creates a Smoke Screen. It obscures the view and does a little damage. It stays in the stage for about 10 seconds.
Side Special - Sludge Bomb
Koffing spits a ball made of sludge. It does small damage but the knockback is great. It is affected by gravity but is floaty like Toon Link's arrows.
Up Special - Gyro Ball
Koffing turns it's body into steel and spins for 3 seconds. During this time, Koffing does not fall and quickly damages enemies that touch it. Koffing has super armor during this move.
Meowth
Neutral Special - Pay Day
It works just like Meowth's Poké Ball move in Brawl.
Side Special - Fury Swipes
Meowth jumps forwards. If it touches an enemy, it scratches the enemy incredibly quickly, dealing a lot of damage.
Up Special - Slash
In the ground, Meowth will rush forwads and slash quickly. In the air, meowth jumps diagonally forwards.[/collpse]
A Team Rocket grunt is hardly the most intimidating opponent. The foot soldier of Team Rocket, an evil organization bent on taking over the world and also stealing Pokemon just because they can, he's a sort of no-nonsense henchman who isn't really too clever or brave. How can he possibly ever win? Well, he usually doesn't. But when he does, it's because he's perfectly willing to, shall we say, fight dirty. The grunt has absolutely no morals keeping him from cheating in battle.
In a Brawl, the grunt uses a trio of simple, nasty little Pokemon: spastic, spindly Zubat; slow, bulky Grimer; and stolid, loyal Houndour. If used on their own, they wouldn't be too likely to win any battles, any of them; fortunately, the grunt has a unique switch mechanism that allows them to work together in unexpected ways.
You start the battle with the Pokemon of your choice, any one of the three. You switch with your Neutral Special, so be sure you get used to it and don't start pushing it accidentally. You can set who you switch into next through your Taunts: left or up taunt set the order to Zubat-Houndour-Grimer, and down or right reverse it. Simple enough.
Now, you can use Switch to interrupt absolutely any attack (unless you're grabbed or suffering hitstun), and when you do, the grunt immediately sends out his next Pokemon; however, he does not yet recall the previous Pokemon, which stays out and continues doing exactly what it was doing for the next two seconds or so. During this time, it can take damage (but not knockback), so you quite literally have two vulnerable characters on the stage. This shouldn't matter, because if you choose to use Switch at the right moments, you'll be able to combine your separate Pokemon's attacks and create devastating, unfair interactions. You'll be laughing all the way to the bank, you dastardly grunt.
And yeah, you did read that right - it's actually a three-in-one character who demands all three to function! Hallelujah!
A very simple Pokemon, Zubat hides in the dark by day and seeks blood during the night. He has no eyes but makes his way around using echolocation, like any good bat should.
In the grunt's team, Zubat plays the all-important role of speed demon, flitting around with high-speed attacks and generally being a pain to hit. He fights with a variety of sound-based barrages, and also with wing and wind. His wind-based attacks, especially, are compelling when combined with Grimer or Houndour, but I'll get to those in their respective chunks of the moveset.
(((Jump))) 10
(((Run))) 7
(((Slip))) 4
(((Fall))) 3
(((Weight))) 2
(((Power))) 2
Now, Zubat's stats are unimportant, but this is where I tell you about his singular jump pattern. Zubat has a startling fifteen jumps - yes, you read that right. However, each one gives him only the very smallest upward propulsion, having a much more noticable effect when you're travelling horizontally. It also, of course, stops your downward momentum, so this allows Zubat to fly back and forth on the stage with the greatest of ease. He can recover an unprecedented distance, as long as he doesn't have to go up while he's at it.
And I'm going to mention at this point that Zubat hovers a bit off the ground by default, constantly flapping his wings and moving around his small hurtbox. He's very tricky to properly hit, especially when weaving and flapping back and forth in the air.
Neutral Special
Switch - In the background, the grunt tosses out a Pokeball and sends out his next Pokemon, just one platform behind Zubat (or in front of him, if necessary). This action is fairly quick, takes about half a second, all told. Zubat stays out and continues his current action for a further two seconds, then is called back in turn.
This can be used to interrupt just about anything. You lose control of Zubat almost immediately, and if he was just idling or in midair or something along those lines, he'll just hang around helplessly. Also, note that if you use this attack while in midair, the next Pokemon will appear in freefall, so this can hardly be used to refresh your recovery.
Side SpecialEcholocation - Zubat clicks his tongue and sends off a slow sonic wave that's very much aimable, shot on a very precise trajectory of your choice. This goes until it hits a surface, then bounces off, its angle of reflection the same as its angle of incident. This is pure physics, yes? The attack is not too laggy.
Now, the wave is fast-moving, but if it happens to pass through Zubat after bouncing off a surface (you'll have to catch up to it with your wonderful horizontal mobility), he'll get a perfect, clear image of it in his mind. He can then project a residual illusion of any traps or peculiar features of that platform-long patch of terrain by again using FSpecial. Fairly straightforward, and none too useful. The projected illusion sticks around on the ground it's shot onto for five seconds, and Zubat can immediately after that use this attack to get a fix on another chunk of the stage. In this way, you can warp the stage beyond recognition, covered in sound-born illusions. This is especially useful for making traps look more plentiful than they really are, and easier for the foe to stumble into. Zubat doesn't have many traps, but if you've just swapped in from Grimer...
If you happen to get a fix on an opponent through this process, you'll project their image instead of that of the stage. Why bother? The foe's sonic image, you see, can be attacked; it has super armor but you can rack up as much damage as you want on it. Zubat's no pro at racking damage, but Houndour sure is, so this is as good a time as any to switch.
There are two more ways in which this attack can be used, so stay with me. If you get a fix on a lingering Grimer or Houndour in this way, you can project them, creating an afterimage that continues doing what it was doing when you caught the sonic echo, hitboxes and all. You catch a Houndour breathing fire, you'll project a Houndour breathing fire. This gives you five more seconds in which to turn a partner into a leftover hitbox, in addition to the sparse two you get when you first Switch into Zubat.
If you shoot this very carefully and then fly through it before it hits any surface - tricky but possible - you'll capture your own image, and can project that. It'll mimic your actions a set distance away, making it very difficult to tell which is which and rendering Zubat's erratic hurtbox even harder to hit.
Up Special
Squall - Zubat rapidly flaps his wings for as long as you hold the input. This takes a moment to begin, but leaves Zubat suspended in midair while he uses it. A conic area beneath him and in front of him is affected by a sudden turbulence, pushing foes in the opposite direction at about the strength of Kirby's run. They'll have to approach Zubat either with a projectile or from slightly above. The area affected slowly increases while you hold the button, then caps off at two platforms forward and ends automatically after four seconds. Any items and the like that may be scattered will also be pushed away.
This attack is very relevant when combined with some of Houndour's attacks, and even a few of Grimer's. Zubat continues flapping his wings if you switch during this attack, so it's ideal as a set-up.
Down Special
Supersonic - Zubat cries sharply, radiating a ring of sound from his mouth. The radius of this quick attack is comparable to that of an exploding Bob-omb, and Zubat doesn't lose any forward or downward momentum while screeching. If any foe is hit by the sound wave, they'll be deeply befuddled, and temporarily lose the ability to successfully dodge. They can still shield, sure - but dodging becomes impossible for a period of about four seconds. Zubat doesn't have all that many ways to capitalize on this - although it always helps that they can't avoid your quick aerials - but Grimer will be most grateful, partial as he is to slow grab hitboxes that can be easily dodged but not shielded.
Jab
Shuttle Loop - Zubat suddenly turns a loop-di-loop, turning his splayed wings into mobile hitboxes. This action is very sudden and gets you up into the air, as well as dealing upward-oriented knockback to make the foe join you there as well. The option to go directly into a glide from this is also presented to you by continuing to hold the button. Zubat's glide is quite quick and mobile, but so are his jumps, so the main reason you'll want to use it is for your useful glide attack. (7%)
Dash Attack
Poison Sting - Zubat goes into a low swooping motion, holding his twin tail ready like a scorpion. After about 0.4 seconds, he deals a sudden jab with that two-pronged tail - minor forward knockback. This is the first attack to unsheath the grunt's rather complex poison submechanic.
When the foe is poisoned, they start taking 1% every two seconds. This minor affliction wears off after a mere three seconds - but it can be stacked. Not only can it be stacked, but if a poisoned foe is poisoned again, the first affliction is restored to its original three second timer. See, you poison them, they take the damage, it's about to wear off - you poison them again, now they're taking 2% every two seconds, for the full three seconds. Following? This can obviously amount to some quite ridiculous damage racking, especially when using Grimer.
Now, if you manage to stack a full ten poison afflictions onto the foe at once (these are kept track of by little crossbones symbols over the opponent’s character icon), they are automatically KO'd. No fanfare, no bluster - they just keel right over, "fainting", as the Pokemon universe would have you believe. This might sound relatively easy, but it'll take a significant amount of effort to not let them breathe for a thirty seconds, give or take, and consistently poison them every three seconds. You'll only manage that by combining your Pokemon's specialties and taking full advantage of your high-speed switch mechanism. Team Rocket Grunts are notorious for how much they love to poison their opponents' Pokemon. (4%)
Glide Attack
Carrier - Zubat doesn't visibly change, but his lower half - right where his feet should be - becomes a grab hitbox until the glide is cancelled. If he makes contact with a foe, he'll automatically scoop them up and start flying around with them. Now, you can use this to suicide, theoretically, although it's fairly easy to struggle out of this, so it'll only ever work if they don't see your obvious movement toward them and are also at a high percentage. At least they can't dodge it, though, right? You HAVE used Supersonic, right?
Now, this attack takes on a whole new meaning when you consider your other Pokemon. Zubat can indeed lift them as well, and they can struggle out with the very greatest of ease. You can use this by simply flying Zubat forward across the stage and then switching in Houndour, starting your battle off by swooping about, or you can use this after switching to Zubat to move around their leftover hitbox. More specific uses of this interaction will be mentioned later.
Forward Tilt
Wing Whirl - Zubat spirals suddenly from his hovering position, moving forward about half a platform as he does so. As he wildly swings his wings around him, they form two hitboxes of equal damage, the first dealing flinch knockback and the second sending the foe sliding on a very horizontal trajectory. After the attack itself, Zubat clumsily flutters back to his original position. This attack is fairly quick, although the hitboxes are small, so you'll use it to make Zubat tricky to hit in addition to shoot them through any traps that happen to have been set ahead. Thanks, Grimer!
I'm going to note at this point that many of Zubat's attacks - as well as Houndour's and Grimer's - may strike you as a bit simple. One of the biggest problems with Pokemon Trainer is that mastering three characters is too big a handicap for a competitive player. In that interest, all of the grunt's Pokemon are fairly easy to use in a vacuum. Pick-up-and-play, if you will. (5%, 5%)
Up Tilt
Wing Dropper - Zubat claps his wings above his head abruptly, dealing noticable if unremarkable upwards knockback. As he does so, he obviously is no longer keeping himself fluttering with them, so he drops to the ground, splayed out and prone. Aside from its offensive and juggling use, this attack is a very quick way to turn yourself into a tiny ground-bound hurtbox. This is great for dodging under obvious, powerful attacks that don't hit low to the ground, but otherwise not one of your most important moves. (8%)
Down Tilt
Astonish - Zubat furls his wings around him, drifting in midair on some dark wind as he does so. When you release the button input, he abruptly whips his wings out to either side, making twin hitboxes and screeching sharply. This causes any foes within a platform on any side that wasn't hit by the hitboxes to briefly flinch, but also gives him notable ending lag. I do recommend setting this up and then switching, so Zubat stuns them and then Grimer or Houndour can take advantage of it. Even on its own, though, this is a clever mindgame that can be cancelled by pressing Z. (7%)
Forward Smash
Constructive Interference - More physics! Who knows what happens when two waves of equivalent frequency overlap? Why, we have interference, with nodal lines and diffraction and all that lovely scientific jargon! Here, Zubat projects a sonic wave forward, its charge affecting its radius, or the area it affects. The attack is not all that laggy to start, but has a long duration (that can be extended if you switch out during it). This very high-pitched sound has a few effects.
Firstly, any foes caught in its wide, massive hitbox are dealt multiple small flinching hits, and will generally have a nasty time of trying to get out. The damage you'll deal if you catch them from the start is not as impressive as you'd hope.
Secondly, if this fast sonic wave intersects with a travelling Echolocation, it'll reverse that Echolocation's direction entirely. This is what you do if you pinpointed an enemy but the wave is too far for you to catch up to it - you just reverse its direction and bring it back to you.
Thirdly and finally, you scramble any projected Echolocations in a very strange way. Something that isn't actually there - a fake trap, an illusion of Zubat - becomes corporeal for the rest of its existence. Obviously, this is immensely useful for briefly multiplying sound traps and also for turning your own mirror reflection into a secondary threat that can't be dealt damage. Meanwhile, something that actually IS there - like a projection of Houndour or Grimer or the foe - is no longer there at all. This allows for some really strange mindgames, but is more a handicap on this otherwise overly useful attack than anything. (1%-13%)
Up Smash
Air Cutter - Zubat charges by spreading his wings and drawing air to either side of him. When you release, he flips upside down and claps his wings together, creating an arc-shaped blade of air that flies up and spreads as it goes. Its size and how far it spreads are decided by that charge time. The knockback is negligible, just a bit of juggling, although you can potentially chain quite a few of these together if they're unable to airdodge. Get it?
I should mention here that using this air wave to pass through a cloud of Poison Gas created by Grimer would be a very good idea, since it'd give the cutter a poison property... but since we don't know about Poison Gas yet, on second thought, I'm going to skip that for now.(9%)
Down Smash
Sonic Barrier - Zubat screams a slow-moving sound wave almost directly down, flying slightly upwards as he does so. The wave bounces directly off of the ground and reveals its unusual property when it soars through him - he's invisible as long as he remains covered in it. This won't be for very long, because the wave will soon move too high for Zubat to keep up with it, but in the meanwhile, it allows him to move around the stage in a completely unexpected way and then suddenly swoop out of it. I recommend going into a glide attack from inside the obscuring sound wave and then switching out.
This wave has no effect on foes, although it also makes any projected images created by Echolocation invisible for as long as it overlaps them. Using this to hide a leftover Houndour projection that might or might not be breathing fire... well, now we're getting into advanced interactions, so I'll cut it off there.
AERIAL
Neutral Aerial
Strafe and Turn - Zubat begins wobbling in midair, moving backwards at a fairly low speed without losing vertical momentum. Vectors, see? It's physics again, vertical and horizontal movement are quite separate. After about half a second of backing up in thnis way, Zubat does an about face, turning to face the other way. This attack allows you to cut off all horizontal momentum and makes you even more unpredictable in midair, as well as allowing you to turn around. Pure mobility. This attack is not lagless and has a long duration, so it's best used when it you stop just out of reach of a foe's aerial.
Forward Aerial
Wind Rider - Zubat swings both wings, and his whole body, forward, propelling himself ever so slightly and creating a wind hitbox of medium strength. Any foes within a platform ahead or half a platform below are blown horizontally forward and slightly upward by the wind. As with Squall, this attack has useful interactions with a few of Grimer and Houndour's attacks.
More importantly, this attack puts them quite solidly up there and allows you to easily chase them. It's a quick attack, low lag on either side.(3%)
Back Aerial
Nosferatu - Zubat turns a backwards loop-di-loop, his mouth open wide and his teeth bared hungrily. His mouth is the hitbox here, brief and tricky to aim with, dealing a poison affliction in addition to its damage and funny, minor knockback that drags the foe along with you as you go. This attack ends with Zubat flying slightly forward, and you potentially chain together a string of these to dizzy the foe with your aerial acrobatics; Zubat flipping over and over again, especially if he has a sound clone nearby, is pretty staggering. A good way to get started with your poison objective, and if you aim it right and hit the foe slightly down, you can chain it into a Glide Attack, carry them a bit, switch into Grimer or Houndour and continue trying to rack up the poison. (5%)
Up Aerial
Pinpoint Suction - Zubat whirls in midair, swinging his wings inward; he continues doing this peculiar motion for as long as you hold the button input. A thin twister forms around Zubat, going up into infinity and ending on the stage beneath him. Foes that get caught in it will be pulled persistently down, past Zubat and further toward the stage. If you use this without any solid surface beneath you, the twister ends at Zubat; he himself is a hitbox that dishes out minor downward knockback.
Why, oh why, would you want to bring the foe back down to the ground when you finally got them up into the air? Well, much as you dislike the ground, Grimer loves it. There's a very important interaction he and Houndour have, and this is Zubat's supporting role in that - bringing the foe down to where they can pull it off. Switching while Zubat is spinning his twister is as clever an idea as you'll have.(7%)
Down Aerial
Swoop and Lift - In this twist on the classic stall-then-fall, Zubat abruptly drops (especially useful out of a sound wave that you're hiding in). If he makes contact with a foe, he grabs onto them and then flies back up to where he was when he first began dropping. Only when he reaches the apex of his flight does he release the foe, throwing them ever so slightly upward. Rather obviously, this attack gets them up there, where you're most at home. Right from this, you can chain a few Back Aerials. While Zubat is lifting the foe is also a rather safe moment to Switch to a different Pokemon. (9%)
Grab
Bloodsucker - Zubat shoots a sonic wave directly forward, a relatively small one that travels quickly and then vanishes off the other side of the stage. If it happens to collide with a foe, Zubat will immediately and rapidly fly over to that foe and clamp onto their throat; once the vampire finds you, there's no escape through shielding, although you could always dodge (although you couldn't if he's used Supersonic).
Once clamped on, Zubat clings and sucks out 2% a second, stealing the opponent's health and adding it to his own. He can't be dealt damage as he clings, but can be knocked off with a variety of short-range attacks. Unless... if you switch while Zubat's clinging, he gains super armor, right? Now he's immune to anything they try until he gets recalled, so you'll get a few more seconds of free health. Useful little trick to keep in mind.
Pummel
Cyanide Enzyme - By pummeling, Zubat switches from draining the foe's blood to injecting something of his own directly into their bloodstream. In this case, it's a nasty fluid that changes the way their body reacts to poison. A poison effect no longer wears off after three seconds - it wears off only through movement, after the foe either jumps three times or runs/walks a Battlefield's distance. This may sound like it's easier, but Grimer, who specializes in keeping the foe trapped next to him on the ground, will find this invaluable. The Cyanide Enzyme is the most useful contribution Zubat can give to the team's main objective, apart from using a twister to force the foe onto the ground. This effect wears off after eleven seconds, less if the foe is undamaged or nearly that.
Special Pummel
Sonic Scream - Zubat draws his fangs out of his victim and screeches loudly into their ear, sending a sonic wave directly into their head. This has more start lag than his regular pummel, so some foes will be able to knock him off before he uses the attack itself unless you switch as soon as you do the input, protecting him with that super armor. The attack itself scrambles the foe's sense and makes multiple Zubats appear, covering almost every corner of the map, overlapping each other and making it very difficult to figure out which is which. If you switch while using this, they'll see a pack of Houndours or a sea of Grimers instead. Mindgames! I love 'em.
Their state of sensory confusion lasts about six seconds, six invaluable seconds in which you can pelt them from any direction with a variety of poison-inducing attacks. (7%)
I'm going to briefly mention, here, Zubat's importance in your grand scheme. This section will be comparatively short, but don't worry, there will be many more mentions of him throughout the rest of the moveset. At this point, what do we have to work with?
On his own, Zubat is a spindly, rather useless fighter. He can't take the hits and he's hopeless at dealing damage and he's hopeless at dealing out KOs. What he can do is survive; he's a very tough target with a constantly fluctuating hurtbox. When you factor in his ability to create sound illusions all over the stage, you've got quite a perplexing foe.
Zubat's role in the grunt's grand scheme is that of supplement. Zubat's wind-based attacks allow you to manipulate Grimer's poison clouds and, much more importantly, to fan Houndour's flames. By using the two in conjunction, you'll have huge hitboxes at your disposal. Better still, Zubat can extend the duration of a leftover hitbox by creating an exact sonic replica. You've got a trick going on with Grimer, but he doesn't stick around long enough for you to pull it off with Houndour - if you Switch into Zubat, make a replica of Grimer, then switch into Houndour, you can temporarily have all three on the field at the same time. The results, if you're clever, can be explosive. Quite literally.
His other important role, of course, is grounding the foe via Up Aerial. This is likely what you'll be setting him to do just before you switch, especially if you're trying to make an explosion happen.
In your grand scheme, poisoning, Zubat is a great way to get started. Chain together a few Back Aerials, lead into a Cyanide Enzyme, then ground the foe and switch off to Grimer, who can take it from there. More on that later; for now, let's get into Houndour's bag of tricks.
Houndour is a simple, workmanlike Pokemon; its Pokedex entries, written by some sort of genius who could reword the exact same thing in fifteen different ways (no exaggeration), tell us that he communicates with the rest of his pack through a variety of cries as they hunt prey. Put on his own, he doesn't appear to have much going for him, then.
That said, this particular devil dog is crucial to the team, although he's the easiest of the three to play. His simplistic fire attacks become huge hitboxes with a little help from Zubat, and they have an even more important connection with Grimer. I'll get to that promptly.
(((Run))) 8
(((Slip))) 8
(((Fall))) 7
(((Jump))) 5
(((Weight))) 5
(((Power))) 4
Houndour's stats are unremarkable - he's a quick little beast, good at moving around on the ground, but also fairly capable of jumping about. In this way, he acts as a sort of bridge between two highly specialized characters, although this is more an interesting coincidence to note than anything. No trick stats here.
Neutral Special
Switch - In the background, the grunt tosses out a Pokeball and sends out his next Pokemon, just one platform behind Houndour (or in front of him, if necessary). This action is fairly quick, takes about half a second, all told. Houndour stays out and continues his current action for a further two seconds, then is called back in turn.
This can be used to interrupt just about anything. You lose control of Houndour almost immediately, and if he was just idling or in midair or something along those lines, he'll just hang around helplessly. Also, note that if you use this attack while in midair, the next Pokemon will appear in freefall, so this can hardly be used to refresh your recovery. I'm repeating this attack because it's just that crucial, and I know you all secretly have anterograde amnesia and introduce yourselves with "See, I have this condition..."
Side Special
Howl - Houndour rears back and launches into a howl, calling his packmates to his side. That's his intention, anyway. The attack itself has a duration of just over half a second, and has no immediate visible effect. What you get to do with it is input any other attack while Houndour is doing the animation - you can use aerials, but only if you're quick. Why does this matter in the slightest? Unfortunately, Junahu, this attack's real use is to set up, and tie in with, his Down Special.
Down Special
Beat Up - Ah, finally, Houndour's packmates join the fray! Except... well... he doesn't really have any, and the grunt, a cruel master, is hardly going to allow him to socialize. He'll have to make do with Grimer or Zubat, instead, the lucky beast.
Instantaneously, the grunt unleashes whoever is next in your set order; they appear directly overlapping Houndour and immediately use an attack. Which attack they use, of course, you set through Howl; if you didn't use it, they'll just use their Jab. They attack and then get recalled, no time wasted, and they can't be attacked - they're little more than temporary hitboxes. They don't stick around, either, so you can't use this as a quicker Switch substitute for interactions.
What you CAN use this for is to essentially play with everyone through Houndour. Now, this is not a brilliant gameplan in and of itself, but it allows him, who is rather monotone and staunch, unable to adapt to various foes, a little bit of versatility. It also lets you plant Grimer's traps through Houndour once in a while (and Houndour, you'll see, loves Grimer's traps), or keep a poison chain going, perhaps, with a quick Zubat dash attack.
Up Special
Hellraiser - Houndour bursts into flame, turning himself into an immobile fiery hitbox of low priority for as long as you hold down the button input. Contact with him causes respectable upwards knockback, but since he can't move and basically turns himself into a sitting target, this is a poor offensive tactic - it's quick to come out and can be used as a last-ditch attempt to get the foe out of your face, but that's it's limit, because it has considerable wind-down.
This is no recovery, of course... or is it? This hitbox is so concentrated that it affects allies as well as foes, so if you're using Houndour and find yourself falling, well, all you need do is activate this and Switch off. The next Pokemon appears a little ways from you, bumps into you by fastfalling, is dealt strong vertical knockback and likely recovered along the way. A clever trick, no? All their weaknesses patch each other up, as in any good Pokemon team.
Jab
Bark - Houndour swings his head from side to side in a feral animation each time you tap A, making a small hitbox that's fairly quick on either side of him. Weak knockback. Unnotable on its own.
Now, I'm going to remind you of Zubat's Forward Smash - Constructive Interference. If you use this attack while in a zone of amplified sound, a radiating sound hitbox will form around Houndour, rather like a smaller version of DK's Final Smash. This hitbox doesn't deal damage, but has suction knockback with each hit that serves the dual use of pulling the opponent into the Constructive Interference with you - it deals them damage in small hits, remember - and of course, if necessary, holding the foe more or less in place while you switch off to Grimer. (4%)
Dash Attack
Extremespeed - Houndour picks up the pace ever so slightly, leaving twin trails of fire in his wake as he hurtles forward. These vanish behind him half a second after being created, and deal no knockback at all and only negligible damage. The point, then, is to combine this with Zubat's Squall or some such similar wind attack. If you call him up with Beat Up and then immediately rush forward and use this, you'll quite effectively cause the small flames to be whipped up into a line of fire that Jafar would be jealous of. These flames, unlike their smaller counterparts, are quite potent, dealing about 5% for every half a second the foe is inside of them. Very relevant, you'll see, when we get to Houndour's pummel.
And never forget that you need to actually pursue the foe to effectively keep stacking on poison. This'll definitely help on that front.
Forward Tilt
Flamethrower - It was to be expected. As long as you hold the input, Houndour breathes a small gout of fire forward. This is thicker and less patchy than Charizard's or Bowser's, giving it less range, but it's also much more manueverable, and you can tilt it at any angle ahead of you, ranging from straight down to practically straight up. This attack is not too laggy to go into and get out of, and it's one of the best attacks to switch out during. Fanning these flames allows Zubat to basically direct them anywhere within half a Final Destination of Houndour, depending on which wind attack you're using. (2% per hit)
Up Tilt
Fireball Rocket - Houndour stands up onto his back paws - giving this move a bit more lag than most of his - and shoots a single fireball directly upward like a cannonball. It goes up rapidly and, upon contact, causes a small explosion that deals knockback comparable to Samus's Homing Missile. Good anti-air tech.
Now, if you've got Zubat set up above you, using his Pinpoint Suction to make a whirlwind, the fireball will be caught up in it and turn the whole tornado into a solid mass of fire, dealing substantial knockback and 14% on contact. Of course, it'll only last until Zubat is switched out, but even at the worst of times, you can go from Beat Up with Zubat set to use Pinpoint Suction into this. It's an effective option. (9%)
Down Tilt
Poison Jaw - Houndour never once forgets your poisoning objective. Usually, when you're making your big push, you'll rely on Grimer and Zubat more, but Houndour is also invaluable, in more ways than one. This lightning-quick attack has Houndour making a sudden chomp at the foe's feet, poisoning on contact. Now, this attack goes right through shield and deals minor knockback that makes it easy enough to follow up on, but it's telegraphed enough to dodge, and a single unlucky dodge can be enough to undo your whole poison chain - so I'd typically advise using Beat Up to bring out Zubat using Supersonic as soon as possible. Once the foe can't dodge, it's that much easier to avoid any unpleasant slip-ups. If you've set the stage with Grimer beforehand, things get even easier. Two rules of thumb to keep in mind before sending out Houndour. (5%)
Forward Smash
Scarmaker - Houndour charges and then lets loose in this laggish Smash, lunging forward to deal a one-pawed swipe. The knockback is pretty minor, but this attack is notable for its additional property - it opens a wound that causes all contact with smoke to deal a single poison affliction to the foe. In addition, all poison gas contact deals a staggering two poison afflictions - one at default, as you'll see on Grimer, and one in addition from the scar. The scar lingers for about eight seconds before vanishing. Follow this one up with Beat Up, bring out Grimer to breathe some poison gas, and watch as the poison stacks and the foe comes ever nearer to their unpleasant end. Charging this attack increases the distance Houndour leaps to slash. (8%)
Up Smash
Evaporation - Houndour plants his head in the ground, a comical animation, while he charges. When you release, he breathes a powerful line of fire forward, but underground. This attack causes the ground to turn to lava for a distance of anywhere between a platform and two ahead of him; that lava deals short upwards knockback on contact, but it can stack up the damage as the foe gets repeatedly thrown up and down by it. Lava hardens and vanishes after two seconds.
In addition, any residual hitboxes - yes, traps - that Grimer has left behind on that space are evaporated by the sheer heat, causing great clouds of smoke to billow up into the air. More details when we get into the individual traps, but each one will generally create a cloud half the size of a smart bomb explosion. These obscure the screen and, of course, deal out poison affliction on contact if the foe has a scar. The clouds disappear after three seconds and can be fanned around the stage by Zubat, for ease of poison. Grimer-Houndour-Zubat is a good way to rack up some significant damage/poison. (3%)
Down Smash
Ring of Flame - Houndour stomps up to four times, depending on charge, and pulls off an unlaggy smash that creates a literal circle of fire on the ground around him. For as long as he doesn't move, he can only be approached from above - rolling toward him obviously doesn't work, because the fire is in background and foreground. When you do move, or after two seconds, the fire disappears into a puff of smoke that resembles an atomic bomb. A simple residual visual effect that vanishes after a second but becomes much moe relevant if they're scarred, and if you combine it by using your Up Smash while hiding in your temporary circle, you can really rack up the poison.
And to think! You can actually set Grimer's traps through Houndour's Beat Up while standing in your fire circle and then immediately turn them into smoke and at the same time, while charging, switch into Zubat and fan the whole unholy mass of smoke and poison forward! I'm telling you, the possibilities are endless. (5%)
Neutral Aerial
Hot Feet - From his midair position, Houndour causes the bottoms of his feet to alight. Any contact with these small hitboxes causes minor damage and knockback that pulls you inward, toward him. Pretty basic, although not too bad a technique for midair. Occasionally, you can use it to pull the foe down. If you fan these flames with Zubat, all of Houndour will be alight, allowing you to do some significant damage; the effect wears off after a second.
Now, you remember Zubat's Carrier glide attack? If you use that to pick up Houndour right after switching out from him, you'll basically create a foolproof way to fly a low hitbox forward. Since the fire pulls the foe with you, you can essentially drag them anywhere across the stage - through poison traps and smoke clouds and whatever you want to, really. (2%)
Forward Aerial
Smoke Rings - With minor lag, Houndour shoots a smoke ring directly forward, its radius about that of an Electrode. If it happens to pass completely around a foe, it'll deal some damage and stack on a poison affliction, in addition to a second one if they've got a scar on them. Naturally, though, this is pretty tricky to aim, and no knockback means that it's dangerous to flub. Zubat can, of course, fan this around the stage with his wind attacks, because it sticks around until it goes off the side of the stage, and never stops moving entirely.
Launching a bunch of these at a recovering foe will put them in a very vulnerable spot when they clamber back onto the stage, especially if you've set some poison traps at the edge of the stage. (5%)
Back Aerial
Pyro Breath - Sorry, folks, but every character needs the occasional spacing attack, and that's what this means to Houndour. He twists his head around and breathes a small stream of very concentrated fire that does some decent knockback and a bit of damage. Simple, yes?
Of course, if you use this right after summoning up Zubat with Beat Up - or switching in from Zubat - the flames can be dispersed amazingly well by a Squall or similar attack. Since they're so concentrated, they'll pretty much turn any wind hitbox into something capable of dealing some damage, in the neighbourhood of 8%. Just wait 'til you see the Pummel, there's a point to Houndour's seemingly random fire and you can probably see it already. Or, even better, wait to see Grimer. (10%)
Up Aerial
Rain of Sparks - Like a wee sprinkler, Houndour points his head up and spews a small fountain of sparks that fly around him erratically, each dealing very insignificant damage and flinch knockback. He continues doing so until you release the button, and will still be using this if you land on the ground. You can switch out, leaving Houndour doing this, and probably should - from there, use Zubat's Echolocation to make a sonar copy of him, and then maybe Down Smash Sonic Barrier to hide him, creating an invisible source of annoying flinch hitboxes.
You can also, of course, fan these flames, but instead of growing larger, the sparks will just be directed at a high speed in the direction you're blowing them in. The foe'll be cursing you as they struggle to approach... (1% each)
Down Aerial
Ball Trick - Houndour curls up, stops his upward momentum, and drops. It's not really an STF, because there is no stall and the fall just gives in to gravity. Contact with Houndour will cause him to light himself on fire and radiate it outward, dealing both damage and decent knockback - he'll also lose all momentum. No contact, and he'll stay curled until he hits the ground and suffers wind-down.
If you use Pinpoint Suction to make a whirlwind, however, or some similar wind attack... you can actually blow Houndour himself around the stage, a potent mobile hitbox. As long as he doesn't touch the foe or the ground, he'll stay curled up, a potential cannonball. Just be careful not to blow him completely off the stage.
My most clever suggestion is to use this as a risky edgeguarding technique. The foe's recovering, so ball yourself, switch to Zubat, and chuck yourself at the foe. If you hit, Houndour loses momentum and can likely DI back to the stage; you have used Supersonic, right? They're not going to dodge, RIGHT?!? (11%)
Grab
Maul - No fancy throw, like Zubat's Bloodsucker, here; Houndour leaps forward about half a platform and takes down any foe he meets on the way. As with all grabs on this team, this is best used after a Supersonic so that the foe can't dodge you altogether, especially because it's not too hard to see coming. It looks like Scarmaker, though, so they might be fooled into trying to shield.
The pummel's the point.
Pummel
Burn Intolerance - Burn is a status very much like poison, you know. So very similar in function and effect... hmm...
You pull off this pummel, Houndour viciously bites at the foe, sinking his teeth right in there and secreting an interesting poison. Yes, yes, I realize they all secrete interesting poisons through their pummels. For the next ten seconds, the foe will be dealt a poison affliction for every 5% dealt to them by fire-based attacks. Remember all those giant fire-based hitboxes? Yeah... they're pretty dang relevant now. Grimer also has something to do with this, hint hint, although he himself doesn't use fire, of course.
This is a slow pummel and the foe probably will struggle out after one use of it.(3%)
Forward Throw
Rotisserie - Houndour plants his two front paws on the foe, trapping them and making struggling out twice as difficult, and then breathes a steady stream of flame onto their face. This goes on until they can break free, so you can rack up quite a lot of damage from it. You can also switch out while Houndour is torturing them like this, which sounds like quite a clever move, not least because you can attack them with Zubat while they're trapped and get some more poison done. (Variable)
Back Throw
Drag - Houndour clamps his jaws around the foe's leg and you regain full control of him. Until they struggle out - doubly difficult - you can drag them any which way. Drag 'em through traps, drag 'em through smoke clouds. Use this while you have a leftover Zubat fanning Grimer's poison clouds your way, or whatever you feel like. No damage on its own, though.
While you're holding them, you could try to bring out Zubat and pull off Carrier to carry both Houndour and the hapless foe he's gripping clear off the screen in a neat suicide manuever, or, you know, whatever. The point is choice; what you do is entirely your call.
Up Throw
Volleyball - Houndour tosses them up with his jaws, then swats at them with both paws, dealing somewhat diagonal knockback that has a long hitstun period. Seems like a good opportunity to switch to Zubat and chase them, or even better, a perfect way to toss them through a few smoke clouds. Even the simplest of attacks have their place, right? (7%)
Down Throw
Savage - Houndour wildly slashes at the foe's face, dealing substantial damage but not too much knockback forward. If you somehow manage to pull this off after a Pummel - pretty tricky, that - it'll double the duration for which that attack effects them. Not a very likely outcome, but there you are. (12%)
Houndour's role is complex, so I'm going to break down part of it here before we introduce the third piece of the puzzle to this jigsaw.
On his own, Houndour is pretty fundamentally flawed. Quite a few of his attacks do nothing at all, so to speak, other then billowing smoke all over the place and/or small fire hitboxes. Of course, those small fire hitboxes become quite dangerous when Zubat's there to give you a helping hand, and when you combine with his Pummel, why, all your fire attacks become quite appealing! Remember, you can't let them go for three seconds without poisoning (unless you've used Zubat's Cyanide Enzyme, but that's more useful with Grimer), so all those large hitboxes will come in very useful. And don't get me started on smoke, which is such an unobtrusive, casual visual effect that it's easy to miss that it's just adding to that inevitable counter.
Now, Beat Up - and, by extension, Howl - are more crucial than I've led you to believe. Houndour is quite insular, more so than Zubat (who can turn his teammates into leftover sound hitboxes) or Grimer (who leaves his hitboxes behind after he switches out anyway), so the fact that you can play with the other two through him is very much important. In fact, you can quite realistically play with all three at once, just as you can with Zubat's sound copies. I've discussed that a bit already, in the Smashes.
Now, as for that interaction with Grimer that I've hinted at for so long? Well, read on, friends...
Grimer is about as simple as they come; he's a lump of sludge, garbage, poisons, and sewage that creeps around and stinks terribly. A very unpleasant Pokemon, his Pokedex entries tell us, that eats filth, kills plants by passing over them, and secretes germs. Perfect for the grunt's dream team.
Now, in a way, Grimer plays stage control for the grunt's team, but don't worry, he requires no setup. Rather, just about all of his hitboxes turn into traps after the attack itself, leaving puddles and globs lying around the stage, and for the most part these traps only poison the foe and slow them down along the way. Grimer isn't really defensive, nor is he aggressive. He just slows the game to a crawl.
(((Slip))) 10
(((Weight))) 8
(((Power))) 6
(((Fall))) 3
(((Run))) 2
(((Jump))) 0
Quite the putrid set of stats, eh? Grimer's like a heavyweight with no payoff; he can't even KO, really. On his own, I mean - obviously, you're combining him with Houndour and Zubat, which lets him pull off some rather cheap tricks.
Here is where I tell you about that mystifying 0 jump stat; Grimer's so sticky and so cemented to the ground that he can't jump at all, and that's not all. He doesn't take vertical knockback in any way, only receiving the horizontal component of an attack's knockback. Yes, he is essentially invincible with his back to a wall, but we don't play on stages like that, do we?
Since this is a bit tricky to explain, let me example it up: say you use Mario's FSmash. It deals mostly horizontal knockback anyway; in this case, Grimer is dealt the full horizontal knockback (as well as damage and hitstun), sliding backwards along the ground, but the vertical knockback is completely cancelled. Grimer doesn't leave the ground. Say you use Mario's USmash; Grimer is dealt the horizontal knockback, which, in this case, is tiny, and doesn't really go anywhere. This lets Mario just use the attack repeatedly, always sending Grimer into hitstun and keeping him nearby to be hit again. This is why you need to stay on top of the situation, constantly.
If Grimer would be pushed off a ledge by any attack, he does fall off; this is the only way to get him into the air. He's pretty unlikely to recover, so watch your positioning. Grimer does have a few ways to keep the foe out of the air, and, naturally, Zubat and Houndour have plenty more. This glaring weakness isn't so glaring after all.
Following? That's the last big twist, I promise.
Neutral Special
Switch - In the background, the grunt tosses out a Pokeball and sends out his next Pokemon, just one platform behind Grimer (or in front of him, if necessary). This action is fairly quick, takes about half a second, all told. Grimer stays out and continues his current action for a further two seconds, then is called back in turn.
This can be used to interrupt just about anything. You lose control of Grimer almost immediately, and if he was just idling or in midair or something along those lines, he'll just hang around helplessly. Also, note that if you use this attack while in midair, the next Pokemon will appear in freefall, so this can hardly be used to refresh your recovery. Last time I'm repeating this, don't worry. Repetition is good, no?
Side Special
Nitroglycerin Sweat - I've been hinting at this for so long, you probably saw it coming. With a spot of lag, Grimer secretes this shiny yellowish ooze that coats him entirely; it fades away about eight seconds later. Unpleasant.
While he's covered in the nitroglycerin, any fire attacks Houndour uses on him will cause him to explode spectacularly, dealing 20% and good upward knockback, an explosion radius equal to a Bob-omb or so (and it also issues a single cloud of smoke, which blossoms upward and disappears after three seconds). Potent, but it also deals a whole lot of upward knockback to Grimer - good thing he can't be knocked upward, eh? Of course, you're probably going to be hitting him with a fire attack when you've switched from him to Houndour anyway, so he'll have that super armor protecting him from the knockback either way. The sweat stays on Grimer if you switch him out and then back in before the eight seconds are up.
Of course, Grimer is so slow that you'll struggle to get close enough to them to land it. Good thing Zubat's so good at bringing the foe down to the ground. Never forget that you can keep Grimer or Houndour sitting around through Echolocation.
Up Special
Stretch - While you hold the button, Grimer raises both arms and slowly stretches them directly above him, to a potential maximum of two Ganondorfs high. Foes can pass through his arms, although they're temporarily slowed down as they do so and if Grimer releases the input and manages to retract his arms before they make it through, they'll be grabbed. Grimer's hands, at the very top, are grab hitboxes as well.
So you can switch while Grimer is sitting like this to make a kind of obstacle that's tricky for the foe to get around for a few seconds. What's more, if he's covered in nitroglycerin, his explosion hitbox is now much bigger, and very tall.
Down Special
Harden - Ah, our favourite defensive tactic! This is what you do when the foe's racking up the USmashes on you; Grimer almost instantly stiffens and turns the grey of dried cement. He's basically a statue, impervious to knockback and grabs altogether, although still vulnerable to damage. This attack can be used to interrupt just about any other attack he's in the middle of using. He un-hardens after you release the button or three seconds are up, and there's some wind-down as he does so.
There's a billion things you can do with this. You can Harden while in the middle of an Up Special to basically make an impassable obstacle for all but the very best of jumpers. You can Harden while coated in nitroglycerin to keep it locked in there while you get Houndour into position. There's a few more, but they're related to his pummel, so just keep this attack in mind.
[Also, note that a Hardened Grimer can be blown clear off the stage by any of Zubat's wind attacks, so you need to be careful when using the two in conjunction.]
Jab
Oooooze - While you hold the button input, Grimer melts, slowly becoming a larger and larger puddle as he does so. He melts outwards on both sides, eventually stretching to be the size of two platforms; this takes about a second and a half, all told, and Grimer is vulnerable to knockback until he fully stretches out... unless, of course, you switch out, granting him super armour until he stretches fully.
In a vacuum, this attack is useless, but the melted Grimer makes the ground incredibly sticky and difficult to walk and jump on, and if you've used Sweat recently, you've got a vast expanse on which the foe will hesitate to tread. Note that you can also use Harden once you're all stretched out to make a doubly slippery stretch of land instead of a doubly sticky one; Zubat hovers right over it, unaffected, and Houndour can take advantage of it by sliding forward, breathing fire all the while, a mobile flamethrower.
Dash Attack
Leech Reach - Grimer stops dead, and extends a single arm a platform forward; this is quicker than it sounds. If he makes contact with a foe, he'll pull them closer to him, sending them into a brief period of hitstun and lodging them in any traps he may pull them through along the way. He releases the foe as soon as he pulls them right up against him; if you switch to Houndour right after netting the foe in this way and if you happen to be covered in nitroglycerin, this might just be the perfect set-up for an explosion.
If Grimer misses entirely, he goes into a period of wind-down during which his entire over-extended arm dislocates itself and drops onto the ground in the form of goopy puddle. This puddle sticks around (the pun is deliberate) for six seconds and, in the meanwhile, slows down foes that pass over them, as well as doling out one poison affliction for each time they touch it.
Forward Tilt
Sludge - Grimer leans over and basically pukes out a thick stream of goo in front of him. And you thought Houndour's smoke clouds were irritating.
This attack is fairly laggy, but it deals a lot of small hits with very variable damage and paralyzes the foe for its whole duration -this, even though the hitbox is fairly small. More importantly, after the attack's fairly long duration, the sludge stays on the stage in a thoroughly nasty puddle, this one more runny than the one in his Dash Attack. It lasts for six seconds and deals a poison affliction when a foe passes over it.
Now, you need to note two things here. Firstly, since this puddle is basically made up of Grimer's own guts, it'll be full of Nitroglycerin Sweat if he's currently covered in it, and therefore can be detonated separately from Grimer himself. Since it resembles the other puddles Grimer makes, this can be a fantastic last-minute trick - especially if you've used Zubat's Echolocation to make it look like there's more puddle than there is.
Secondly, the puddle only slows the foe down a wee bit when they pass over it. Good thing you can overlap your puddles, then, eh? (1-16%)
Up Tilt
Poison Gas - From the corners of Grimer's mouth, greenish gas briefly seeps, before he turns his head up and spews a full-out cloud into the air; this is slightly laggy. It's about the size of 1.5 platforms across and one platform high, and lasts for eight seconds before dissipating. Even the slightest contact with the cloud will deal out a poison affliction (two if Houndour's Scarmaker is in effect), and you can waft the cloud around the stage freely with Zubat; if the foe is engulfed, they're dealt a poison affliction every second. The holy grail of Grimer/Zubat is to cover the ground with sticky traps, then waft a poison cloud to overlap the foe. They can't escape quickly enough to prevent the cloud and traps from racking up the poison afflictions at a maniacal rate.
This attack also sort of obstructs visibility, which Zubat will appreciate as he flies about and projects sonic copies of traps and characters. Just a little added note.
Down Tilt
Glob - Grimer inflates himself suddenly, making this one of his quicker attacks; his body is very briefly a radiating hitbox that deals helpful spacing knockback in all directions, and does a spot of damage to boot. If he doesn't hit a foe, however, he'll deflate weakly and shimmy slightly forward, leaving behind a round glob of goo.
This very sticky lugey doesn't disappear for ten seconds, and, small though it is, it traps a foe who passes over it for about three seconds if they don't button mash to get free. It also deals out a poison affliction.
Now, this attack can also be used while Grimer is Hardened, making it quite unique. However, in this case, it'll emerge rock-solid and remain that way even after Grimer becomes viscous again. You've got this tiny little barrier, what's the point? Well, you're basically making a barrier that prevents Grimer from being slid right off the stage and essentially, therefore, completely invincible. A pity that this super-glob can be shattered if dealt 15%.
Forward Smash
Sludge Bomb - We've seen the plain old puke Sludge, now's the aimable Sludge Bomb! While you charge, you can tilt the control stick to aim this properly, then release and hawk a large ball of sludge on a very curved trajectory. On contact, it deals out some annoying horizontal knockback and deals a poison affliction. It's sort of laggy, but can be potentially used to keep knocking the foe back onto the ground, where more poison-inducers await.
If you miss entirely, though, the sludge bomb falls to the ground and makes a goopy puddle like the one generated by your Dash Attack - sticky, six seconds, and poison-inducing. Slow down the foe to a crawl, that's Grimer's favourite gameplan. (12%)
Up Smash
Body Slam - This is one of Grimer's favourite tricks - he draws himself up to his full height, then slams down with all of his weight in front of him. It's a laggy smash, but quite worth it, because it deals decent damage and traps the foe under him until he clambers back up, 1.5 seconds later. This also means that it's terrible if you miss it, so I'd watch it; if you connect, though, they're pinned under him and allow you time to switch out and use Echolocation or blow Grimer and the foe up or what-have-you.
If you miss entirely, aside from suffering awful end lag, the stage takes the full force of the attack, and a slight incline is created. This doesn't really do anything but causes all nearby goo puddles to slowly flow toward the lowest point in the incline. Not at all useless if you want to collect all your poison-inducers onto one crucial point - maybe you'll switch into Zubat and blow the foe onto that point? (17%)
Down Smash
Underground Hands - Grimer, without changing his animation, sticks his hands under the ground and begins to stretch them forward - underground. When you release the charge, his hands will burst out of the ground a distance of anywhere from halt a platform to two platforms forward, grasping for foes. If they catch anyone, it's a grab hitbox that freezes the foe in place until they can struggle out. The attack is about as laggy as it sounds - it's not quick, shifting your arms about underground.
This attack has two functions: you can use it just to hold the foe in place and then switch out and begin racking up damage or poison on them; or, if you've got Sweat, you can breathe fire on the immobile Grimer. This will not just cause him and his outstretched hands to blow up, but cause strange eruptions on all the ground in between; these eruptions can deal 10% and do some pretty drastic upward knockback. Switch out after using this, even if you missed grabbing them, and you might yet salvage it with a series of explosions.
Just remember that this attack is really, really slow, especially if you miss.(5%)
Grab
Grasp - This is a basic grab, albeit with a bit more reach as Grimer stretches his arm. It can also be used as a very short-ranged tether, Grimer's single recovery option.
Pummel
Goo Chain - Grimer hits the foe with one slimy hand - and attaches them to him via a platform-long and fairly thick column of goo. Pummel again to detach it? Why bother? They can break it by dealing 20% to it, anyway, or by hitting Grimer himself a few times. At least their mobility is greatly restricted and they're much more vulnerable to being exploded. Grimer can also actively pull the foe around the stage, since he's so much stickier and harder to budge. Pull 'em through some puddles and clouds, why not?
Of course, you're not just going to start off with them right beside you. You're going to use a throw after attaching yourself to the foe.
Or maybe you prefer the idea of Hardening while the foe is attached to you. Now they're more or less stuck, and you've got quite a few more alternate KO options emerging. There's little better than blowing a Hardened Grimer off the stage with Zubat and watching the foe attached to him go flying helplessly with him. Similar move can be pulled via Zubat's glide attack.
Forward Throw
Bowl - Spacing, everybody loves it. Grimer picks up the foe and throws them forward like a bowling ball; this has decent knockback unless they're attached to you by a goo chain, in which case it'll stop them from flying any further than a platform from you. The hitstun holds true, though, so you'll have at least a bit of time to drag them around before they wake up and start attacking you.(6%)
Back Throw
Sock - Grimer raises the foe as he stretches himself upward - and then tosses them backwards through him. They don't fly very far, but they do dislodge a puddle of goo just like the Dash Attack one that they're likely to be dragged through as you go creeping off in the other direction. This is what you use if you want to go forward instead of back and want to start with the foe behind you, trying to catch up and free themselves. (8%)
Up Throw
Volley - Grimer tosses the foe straight up like a champion athlete. They hang suspended at the height of their arc for a moment, and then the elasticity of the goo chain - if you have one - will pull them back down to earth. This is the only throw that's likely more useful if you're not attached to the foe, although Hardening when the foe is at the peak of their upward trajectory will basically lock them at the top of a pillar, an easy target for Zubat to deal out a few BAirs to, or for Houndour to blow up in a column of DEATH. (4%)
Down Throw
Swallow - This is the final trick in Grunt's arsenal, and it's really the interaction I've hinted at all along. Sweat nitroglycerin, grab the foe, swallow them like this, and before they can break loose, switch to Houndour and hit the foe with the full brunt of the explosion. Zubat plays the role of trapping the foe on the ground with his Pinpoint Suction, so Grimer can successfully land the grab in the first place. The explosion that ensues is your best chance at a KO if the poison route just isn't working out - say, against an especially fast foe, or one who can flutter above most of your traps. (2%)
Grimer is a bit harder to get a feel for than generic-speed-Zubat or generic-all-rounder-Houndour. He's perpetually groundbound, and revolves around forcing the foe to join him there on the ground. On his own, he wouldn't have a chance at succeeding at this objective; fortunately, he's a part of a team, and Zubat has absolutely no problem with forcing foes downward.
In the big picture, Grimer will be most useful to you to litter the stage with poison outlets. Unlike Houndour and Zubat, who deal out poison by attacking constantly (pressure is the crucial word), Grimer deals out poison by passively leaking it out all over the stage. Since he's creating it as he fights, there'll soon be very little the opponent can do to avoid it.
But since he's so slow and his poison relies on the foe clumsily stumbling into his traps, he'll definitely rely a lot on Zubat's wind shenanigans and Houndour's excellent spacing fire attacks to force the foe into them. He'll also need them to switch in after he's covered the stage and pressure the foe some, of course - unless you've used Zubat's pummel to change the conditions of poisoning. Yeah, sure, go reread it, and remember it.
And if the poison route just isn't working out and the foe is at a ridiculously high percentage, it's time to turn to Nitroglycerin Sweat. More on that - and on bringing the three together into a single character - in the playstyle section below.
The Grunt's losing! He gnashes his teeth and stomps his feet, frustrated... and then his boss, Giovanni himself, appears from a warping panel beside him! He gives the Grunt a stern look, causing him to withdraw his current Pokemon, and then releases his own:
it's Kangaskhan! And that's not all - Kangaskhan uses HER Final Smash! Yeah, that's right! It's... GIGA KANGASKHAN AGAIN! SUPER POWERED GENERIC KANGASKHAN!!!!!! DUN DUUUUUN! YAAAAAAAAAY!
Grunt controls three characters, as you've no doubt realized by now, and unlike Pokemon Trainer, mastering them all individually isn't going to fly. Nor can you just use a basic speed-character into damage-racker into KO-character staggered gameplay. These three aren't very strong on their own merits, and the Grunt doesn't care about the rules, so you're going to have to integrate all three of them into your game, overlapping them regularly.
Let's start at the very beginning, with how you're going to KO (wait a second, that's not right, is it?). See, that poison affliction method means that you don't need to worry about damage racking in and of itself - what you do need to worry about is ensuring that you don't let the foe go for three seconds without being poisoned. This is not really as easy as it may sound, but never fear, because you have a lot of options, and which one you lean on most will depend on the foe. Sometimes you'll want to turn mostly to Grimer in conjunction with Cyanide Enzyme. Sometimes you'll want to use Houndour's pummel and then blitz them with fire hitboxes, enlarged by Zubat's wind. Sometimes you'll want to use that very wind to waft around smoke and poison gas and go for a cheap KO that's based around stickying up the stage with Grimer. Sometimes you're just going to go for a full-on assault, largely based around Zubat's quicker poison attacks and some of Houndour's.
In fact, to new Grunt mains, the easiest way to get the feel for the three is to base your game around two of them at a time at first, and then later bring all three together. Each combination is going to have a different focus:
- Zubat/Houndour --- This is the combination you'll use if you want to play around with smoke clouds, and, accordingly, if you want to mess with your opponent's head. Zubat can already be a tricky target with his many sound shenanigans, but throw in smoke clouds to multiply and hide in and the fact that he can turn Houndour into a fire-breathing leftover hitbox, and you'll have a combination that can do alright for itself without relying on poison at all. The KOs here will likely be cheap ones, although you have a decent chance if you rely on your fire attacks, bolstered by wind.
- Zubat/Grimer --- This is the trap-lover's combination, even if it doesn't seem like it. Here, Zubat will mostly be used to bring the opponent down to Grimer's level, where it's impossible to avoid the puddles he's been generating. It's also where you'll take advantage of Cyanide Enzyme, making it much easier to rack up the full ten poison afflictions required to terminate the foe. This is the trickiest - but potentially easiest - way to win via poison; you need to lay your puddles very carefully, and make it seem all the while like you're earnestly trying to hit the foe.
- Houndour/Grimer --- As you may imagine, this is the explosive combination. You can try to poison - it's not impossible, after all, especially since you can use Beat Up to bring in Zubat for the occasionally gust of wind - but with Nitroglycerin Sweat on your side, you're more likely to go for some damage racking through poison and then try for the quick and easy KO. Unfortunately, without Zubat, most quicker characters can run circles around both of these; it's a great reminder that all three are meant to be used in unison.
...And when you do use all three, of course, the result is an unparalleled versatility and the potential for some unyielding pressure. Combine the three maxims above, sprinkle in the variety of smaller, mindgame-laden tricks the Grunt has in store, and you've got a stacked deck that'd be difficult for even the most expert opponent to overcome.
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