Alright, so I know it's been a while, but I have officially made improvements to the Cinderace moveset to turn this guy into a fun character, while still keeping his stereotype in the main games. In this, damage percentages and frames have been added, Court Change has been replaced with Bounce, and Cheering is a new gimmick that goes beyond in-game abilities. I knew Cinderace's personality wasn't represented enough previously, so based on his pokedex description, I figured a gimmick that revolves around cheering and determination would show who he is the most and keep his personality away from mimicking Incineroar.
As always, if you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know! Also, I was thinking of uploading a moveset video of this like the Youtubers Toxiquid and Felicia Fan, does anyone know of any good artists?
Why Cinderace?
Currently, Cinderace is noted as the most popular starter Pokemon in Sword and Shield, and perhaps one of the best new Pokemon in the games. Not only that, but Cinderace has some of the cleanest animations in the game, especially his signature move, Pyro Ball. Because of that, I have been able to design a moveset which makes Cinderace original. Also, this whole evolution line has received a lot of promotion just like Greninja and Incineroar, and I see people warming up to Cinderace everyday, so I strongly believe that this guy will most likely be added in FP2 and release over other Pokemon like Rillaboom, a Grass type. I definitely believe this makes Cinderace a fun and bright character that people can actually enjoy and not hate and argue about, because in the end, what matters most is a character that’s fun to play with.
The cheer gimmick was added upon reviewing the pokedex description for Cinderace in Pokemon Shield, which says “It's skilled at both offense and defense, and it gets pumped up when cheered on.” That's when it snapped for me. When Byleth was revealed, Sakurai said that he and the team wanted to make the most out of another FE character, and sure enough, he was unique. I feel that this cheering gimmick would make Cinderace a very bright and innovative character, despite already having two Fire type starters in the game like Charizard and Incineroar.
His moves below are designed to work like they do in-game. For example, Pyro Ball in Sword and Shield does the same amount of damage as Flare Blitz, so logically. Pyro Ball and Flare Blitz in Smash would do the same amount of damage.
Updates
- Court Change was replaced with Bounce for Down Special. I contemplated having Court Change flip the stage over, but I knew that would either make Cinderace too confusing or too powerful. Luckily, Bounce is much more useful and funny if you use it wrong.
- Blaze has been replaced with Cheering for a gimmick to represent who Cinderace is and solely for an entertaining player.
- Damage done by moves and frame data has been added
- Jab damage has been added
- Down air has also been changed
As such, every character has both advantages and disadvantages, so I hope there will be a fair balance like other characters.
Jabs: Cinderace will throw out a series of fists, comes out on frame 3 and deal around 17% damage., one of the fastest jabs in the game for quick damage or for getting out of disadvantage state. This is one of the moves with laggy animations and buffering time, which could leave you vulnerable if the opponent is out of range from the jab.
Side Tilt: Cinderace will release a roundhouse kick directly in front of it. Like Greninja’s side tilt, this will start on frame 10 and does around 8% damage.
Up Tilt: Cinderace will simply hop up and use a headbutt upwards like a soccer player when they use their heads (imagine Pikachu's up grab). Comes out on frame 8 and does around 6% damage.
Down Tilt: Cinderace will do a low sweep kick on the ground. This generally has a 30% chance to trip the opponents. Comes out on frame 6 and also does around 6% damage.
Dash Attack: Cinderace will simply charge forward and slam its elbow into the opponent and push them down towards the ground (imagine the taunt that Incineroar does when he lands his dash attack). This will come out and attack on frame 8 and does around 14% damage. With the strike and elbow, this move would act as a double hit.
Neutral Aerial: Cinderace, like Mario, will release a kick in the direction he’s facing. This will come out and start attacking at frame 5 and is good for pressuring opponents, while additionally doing nearly 7% damage.
Forward Aerial: This move would run like Captain Falcons kick, where Cinderace jabs a flaming knee forward. This will come out at frame 7 and does around 16% damage.
Back Aerial: Cinderace will rotate 180* and slam the back of his foot into the opponent. This comes out on frame 11 and will deal nearly 13% damage.
Up Aerial: Once in the air, Cinderace will backflip into an uppercut kick. This will come out at frame 8 and will do about 8% damage.
Down Aerial: With this move, like other select fighters, you can spike opponents. Cinderace will stomp three feet directly below him (imagine the motion where Kirby/Meta Knight does a downward grab). Additionally, if you hit an opponent while on stage with this while they're on the ground, this will bury them. Likewise, this move comes out at frames 9, 11 and 14, with the final kick being the strongest. In order of kicks, the damage will be 4% -> 4% -> 10%, with the final kick having a meteor effect.
Forward Smash: Cinderace now has a stronger roundhouse kick, which slams forward. The hitbox will start at frame 5 and will do about 16% damage.
Down Smash: Cinderace will literally do the split and move his feet around him, covering both the front and the back. Like the most recent fighter addition, Min Min, the animations would be similar to hers, but weaker in terms of frames after the attacks are done, as it would take longer for Cinderace to get up. This comes out at frame 6 but doesn't end until frame 18, with laggy animation and buffering to follow.
Up Smash: Cinderace does a backflip and swings his feet above him. The hitbox will start in the direction Cinderace is facing and starts at frame 3, the hitbox will be directly above Cinderace at frame 6, and the hitbox will finally begin to diminish at frame 9.
Basic Grabs:. Cinderace will grab the opponent and knee them in the stomach. Starts at frame 2, usually does around 2% for the pummels.
Forward Throw: Cinderace will push the opponent in front of him and push him away using his foot (good going into a down tilt). This does around 6% in damage.
Down Throw: Cinderace will do what Greninja does for his Down B and will simply throw the opponent towards the ground. Like Greninja, this is good for transitioning into combos. This does about 10% damage, which is why many combos have an origin of down throw due to the ability to avoid buffering delays.
Back Throw: Cinderace will throw the opponent backward and give them a hard knee, which is good for a kill-confirm at the ledge if the opponent is near 100-120%. This will do extra damage and the dark-lightning screen will occur if cheering is active (more on the cheering gimmick below) and can kill most heavyweights at 80%, with lightweights being KO’d as early as 50%.
Up Throw: Cinderace will headbutt the opponent upright, kind of like how a soccer player would hit a ball with their head. This, like forward throw, also does around 6% damage.
Neutral B: Pyro Ball
The charge time would be very slow, but the Pyro Ball can bounce around the stage. Tap B for a small Pyro Ball (good for edgeguarding), does about 12%, but you can tap the button twice for a large and durable one that can bounce across the ground and off the stage, as well as do as much damage as Charizard’s Flare Blitz, which is about 28% damage.. After charging, you can press B at any time to release it (unless you get hit), so Cinderace can maneuver the ball within his feet while moving. You can even kick it behind you while offstage if you flick the joystick and press B at the right time. This move has roughly the same animation as in Sword and Shield, which includes the clean sound effects. If cheering is active, the fully-charged Pyro Ball will do a whopping 38% damage, and the dark-lightning screen will appear if contact is made. The small Pyro Ball comes out at frame 9, while the charged one comes out at frame 13. Additionally, cheering will lower the start-up time to frame 6 and frame 9 respectively. Like a Gordo from Dedede, this can be knocked around the stage, and the ball will get bigger every time Cinderace kicks it back, and the ball will disappear once it deals damage.
Side B: Iron Head
Cinderace would charge forward and slam his head into the opponent. This can be used for knockback, but could leave you vulnerable if you missed (imagine Banjo’s side B). This move comes out almost instantly and the hitbox is active at frame 3, dealing around 15% damage. If cheering is active, this move will spike an opponent upon contact if hit while offstage, as well as spike them on-stage. This move additionally goes up to 20% damage during cheering.
Up B: High Jump Kick
When recovering after being hit off stage, Cinderace will move upward like Captain Falcon, but at breakneck speed. On the ground, Cinderace will charge ahead and do a 360* spin kick and deal a good amount of damage (like Little Mac’s neutral B, but without charge time and vulnerability frames, and no laggy animations/buffering). The hitbox comes out at frame 5 and the move does 12% damage. When cheering is active, a shield break can occur, and the power goes up to 22% damage, but no difference in frames.
Down B: Bounce
This Flying type move is similar to the up special (recovery) of Fox. Cinderace will have a white gust of wind form around him, and he will move in the direction of your joystick. Like the name suggests, you can actually bounce back up in the air if you miss the opponent the first time. The only downside is you can ONLY use it while in the air. If you try using it on the ground, Cinderace will “think he can fly” and jump up, flap his arms like wings and ultimately fail by falling on to the ground. Cinderace will have the same penalty of being tripped if this move is used like so. The animation is really good if you’re looking for humor. Cinderace will begin to move in the chosen direction on frame 8, and this does as much as 18% damage. This does as much as 24% damage if the cheering gimmick is active.
Gimmick - Cheering: I figured I’d make the most out of the possibilities for Cinderace, so this is a gimmick that boosts this character's power when cheered on. There will be a bar above the player icon (kind of like the MP bar on Hero), but this will work somewhat like a limit gauge, where the power boosts will only occur when the bar is filled. Cinderace, unlike any other character, can get the crowd to cheer with almost anything stylish he does, including a combo or edgeguarding, or even a strong hit from a move like a smash attack or Pyro Ball. Even gasps will fill this gauge. When cheering is activated and in effect, the whole crowd will go crazy and cheer like in the backgrounds of the gym stadiums in the actual Sword and Shield games. Like the Smash Meter, this gauge will slowly dwindle as soon as it's active. To avoid this being too powerful and unbeatable, this will mainly affect grabs, specials and smash attacks, with tilts and aerials practically unaffected.
Also, there is a fun little easter egg with Bounce. If you constantly use Bounce on the ground, the audience will start laughing, and this will also power up Cinderace. Not good for competition, but like all characters, easter eggs are just there for fun and nothing more.
Final Smash: Gigantamax Cinderace
Cinderace will start by throwing a Pyro Ball at the opponent, dealing around 15% damage and will cut to a cinematic. This cutscene takes place at the Wyndon Stadium, and the opponent will get up, only to be met with Cinderace Gigantamaxing and kicking his strong “mind of its own” Pyro Ball towards the opponent, who is small and powerless against this giant fireball, which does about 50% damage. Cool cinematic with the size comparison between the player and Gigantamax Cinderace.
Speed & Jumps: Cinderace will maintain a low jumping distance, but can move extremely fast. While High Jump Kick is an excellent recovery option, Cinderace’s speed and jumps are somewhat on par with Little Mac.
