Here's my working moveset for Shovel Knight. I definitely plan on embellishing the flavor later and tweaking a couple moves if need be.
Also, I think it's most appropriate to represent all his Relics as specials, with a Mega Man/Palutena vibe going for customs.
STANDARDS
Jab: Does is basic shovel scoop attack. Can deflect projectiles.
-> Does a two-handed swing of his shovel. Identical to his Charge Handle attack. Holding the attack button allows Shovel Knight hold the attack, allowing him to move in a wading walk, which he can release his swing at any time. Can only be performed within a small window of frames before the shovel scoop ends.
Dash Attack: Does a mighty forward swing of his shovel.
Get-Up Attack: Quickly swings his shovel against the ground in both directions before getting up.
Ledge Attack: Does a one-handed thrust of his shovel.
SMASHES
Up Smash: His helmet enlarges as he butts his head up. Relatively quick and lacks utility, but covers a modest space and has good vertical knockback.
Forward Smash: Digs his shovel into the ground before him. Will bury opponents on contact. Moderately slow, but powerful. Great for follow-ups.
Down Smash: Quickly digs his shovel before, then behind him, burying opponents on contact. Identical to Villager's Down Smash. Great for follow-ups.
TILTS
Up Tilt: Triumphantly thrusts his shovel skyward.
Forward Tilt: Lightly swings his shovel aside.
Down Tilt: Pokes with the spade of his shovel.
AERIALS
Neutral Air: Rapidly spins around, swinging his shovel forth, then back as he turns. Slightly disjoints downward diagonially on both hits.
Up Air: Does a mighty upward thrust of his shovel. Body posture contours similar to Villager's turnip aerials.
Forward Air: Scoops his shovel forward. Slightly disjointed diagonally upwards.
Down Air: Dives down with his shovel outstretched below him. Identical to his trademark pogo shovel attack. Can bounce off opponents and other objects, decreasing momentum each consecutive hit.
GRABS
Grab/Pivot Grab - Dust Knuckles: His Dust Knuckles appear over his hands as he lunged with a two-handed grab.
Pummel - Dust Knuckle: Punches with his free Dust Knuckle. Moderately quick with decent damage.
Up Throw: Sticks his shovel under the opponent and flings them airward. Great vertical knockback.
Forward Throw - Dust Knuckle Dirt Block Punch: The opponent is encased in a block of dirt. Shovel Knight winds back a fist before punching through with his Dust Knuckles. Has decent knockback.
Down Throw - Dirt Block Pogo Dive: The opponent is encased in a block of dirt. Shovel Knight hops over the dirt block and does a pogo dive atop the block, breaking it. Has decent knockback.
SPECIALS
Neutral Special: Dig
Shovel Knight digs his shovel into the ground beneath him, flinging up dirt & other particulates every time the special button is pressed. The attack animation remains the same when used in the air, except nothing is dug up and ends after the initial heave.
The first heave will dig up the most particulates and has the highest chance of spawning rarer, more damaging gems. You can press the special button as many times as you want to fling more particulates at increasingly weaker rates. After around 4-5 heaves, the attack ends, as nothing is dug up on the last heave.
Shiny Beads: 1% damage, Highest
Gold Nuggets: 2% damage, Highly Likely
Dirt Clumps: 5% damage, will burst into Shiny Beads and/or Gold Nuggets on contact. If no contact made after spawn, will rest of the ground to be flung again or grabbed. Likely
Mole: 7% damage, 3%-2% every other hit, will travel along ground. Highly Unlikely
Small Ruby: 5% damage, Likely
Large Ruby: 7% damage, Unlikely
Small Sapphire: 7% damage, Likely
Large Sapphire: 9% damage, Unlikely
Small Emerald: 9% damage, Unlikely
Large Emerald: 10% damage, Unlikely
Large Amethyst: 15% damage, Highly Unlikely
Note: When coming up with a Neutral Special, I always consider how it represents the character when it carries over to Kirby.
Side Special: Flare Wand
- Custom: Trench Dig: Slower, but more powerful and only digs rarer treasure, making the first heave the most powerful. However, Shiny Beads & Gold Nuggets won't spawn and the spawn rates for all other treasure remain fixed to the default, making the latter digs a gamble. Based off the Trench Blade upgrade.
- Custom: Spark Dig: Quicker, but only uses one heave that spawns two sparks that travel left and right and deal 3% each. Based off the Drop Spark upgrade.
Shovel Knight swaps his shovel for the Flare Wand, unleashing a fireball that travels horizontally at a medium pace. The attack animation is quick enough that it's reliable to repeat this attack more than once. The fireball deals 5%-7% damage.
Up Special: Propeller Dagger
- Custom: Chaos Sphere: Shovel Knight takes out the Chaos Sphere, which travels in an arc that repeats 8 times before disintegrating. Bounces back from horizontal surfaces. Can also harm Shovel Knight. Deals 3%-5% damage.
- Custom: Throwing Anchor: Shovel Knight tosses a Throwing Anchor above him, following a parabola. Harder to hit, but more powerful. Deals 7-9% damage.
Shovel Knight charges his Propeller Dagger before unleashing a bolting upward thrust. The longer the charge, the higher and more powerful the attack up. Starts up like Diddy Kong's Rocketbarrel Boost, attack multihits similar to Meta Knight's Drill Rush, but can't change direction. After the attack ends, Shovel Knight whips down the dagger for a tiny window of frames, dealing a spike if timed correctly. Very powerful otherwise.
Down Special: Phase Locket
- Custom: Mobile Gear: The Mobile Gear generates under Shovel Knight in the manner of Pac-Man's ground Fire Hydrant. Creates a platform that travels along the ground for 5 seconds before bursting. Does a small jump if running off ledge. If done in the air, the platform will stay in place for a second before falling down. Risky recovery, but offers great mobility.
- Custom: Fishing Rod: Shovel Knight casts out his Fishing Rod as a tether recovery. The anchor will make a fast drop after throwing the line, which causes great damage and knockback. If no ledge or platform is contacted after the cast, this will send Shovel Knight plummeting helplessly downward.
Shovel Knight holds up the Phase Locket, making him blinking transparent & becoming intangible to all damage for 3 seconds. He can do any other action during this window.
Final Smash: Deluge of the Troupple King
- Custom: War Horn: Shovel Knight takes a breath before blowing on his War Horn, creating a shockwave of a windbox that extends 2½ Shovel Knight's size. Anyone caught in the blast will be buffeting, receiving 2%-3% damage per second. The final blow hits at 3% damage and knocks back hard.
- Custom: Alchemy Coin: Shovel Knight flips an Alchemy Coin that rotates along the ground. Shovel Knight can use his first jab hit to bounce the coin up. When it hits enemies, it will deal 5% damage and travel in the opposite direction. After 5 hits, the coin will transmute into a random piece of treasure used in Shovel Knight's Dig, fixed spawn rates withstanding.
A massive, radiant sprout germinates from the ground next to Shovel Knight. He shoves his shovel against it, struggling the dig it up for a few seconds before the Troupple King launches out of the ground next to him, unleashing a tidal wave that expands to cover ¾ of the screen. Any characters or objects caught in the tidal wave (including Shovel Knight) will be knocked skyward near the edge of the KO ceiling, dealing 20% damage on contact. Due to the close proximity to the KO ceiling and moderate damage dealt, this can be a reliable KO move from mid-high percents on for most characters. The only exception is that Shovel Knight has a special launch animation that guarantees he won't get KO'd.
Afterwards, all characters and objects caught in the wave fall back to the stage. Some Troupples will descend from the sky after 3 seconds. Getting hit by one will deal 12%-15% damage. Upon ground contact, they will flail back and forth for 2 seconds before dropping below the screen. You can also hit the Troupples back, making them sturdy, hard-hitting projectiles.
This move behaves very similarly to Fatty Whale's diving attacks in his boss fight in Kirby Super Star.
TAUNTS
Up Taunt: Shovel Knight thrusts his shovel lightly up and down for a few seconds. This is a reference to the victory animation after he defeats a boss.
Side Taunt: Shovel Knight rotates his shovel back by the handle, then slowly rotating forth before resting back to his neutral pose.
Down Taunt: Shovel Knight uses his foot to prop his shovel into the ground before putting a pondering thumb against his chin. This pose is used in some of his splash art.
FLAVOR
Entrance: White 8-bit text displays, reading "-FOR SHOVELRY-" before blinking out as Shovel Knight jumps in from off-screen. He then raises his shovel as the level start jingle plays (Ba-du-nu-naaah!)
Series Emblem: The Shovel Sword pointing spade down, only stretched a bit and made more broad-faced.
Kirby Hat + Attack: Shovel Knight's iconic horned helmet. Uses the default Dig special.
Victory Fanfare: The Level Complete jingle (0:00-0:06)
Victory Pose 1: Shovel Knight thrusts his shovel up and down as if he just beat a level.
Victory Pose 2: Shovel Knight downs Ichor from his Chalice with gusto before whipping off his mouth after the slow down when his name appears.
Victory Pose 3: Shovel Knight does a pogo dive down from the top of the screen, embedding his shovel spade in the ground before hauling it out, sending dirt particles out before holding it outstretched towards the screen.
Loss Clap: Claps his hands, swiveling back and forth slightly as he goes.
Crowd Chant: "Sho-vel Knight! Sho-vel Knight!"
Boxing Ring Alias: The Cerulean-Clad Burrower
Fighter Intro Tagline: "Shovel Knight Digs In!"
Palutena's Guidence:
Pit: "There's this stubby knight carrying a shovel. Wow, that's quite an odd choice of weapon."
Palutena: "That's Shovel Knight."
Viridi: "Blast him! Flinging the Overworld's soil around like it's trash! He better not touch any flora or I'll-"
Palutena: "You see, Shovel Knight's a new kid on the block. It's astounding how he was able to defy his small odds and join the battle."
Pit: "I heard the people were really rooting for him."
Palutena: "And they certainly choose a formidable contender. That Shovel Sword is no gardening tool. It's quite nimble and you could really take a beating with how much damage it does. Also, Shovel Knight has an arsenal of Relics at his disposal. Be careful when you're facing him, because you can never be too sure what he's got in his satchel."
Pit: "Got it! That squire's digging his own grave if he thinks he can overcome me!"
Palutena: "Sure, Pit. Good luck recovering his body when you're suppose to fling him off the stage."
EDIT (4/18/15): Added Flavor and based all his grabs around the Dust Knuckles, the only Relic I forgot in his specials.
I like this moveset since it clearly studied the moveset potential of Shovel Knight while keeping it as cannon as possible. I wished this idea had more likes.
