*vomits at the idea of a K.Rool boss*
The Fisherman
Fisherman is the iconic villain of the slasher I Know What You Did Last Summer films. After a night of murderous antics, this scurvy seadog was hit by four drunk teens, who dumped his body in the ocean out of fear. As it turns out, the Fisherman wasn’t actually dead. Out of retribution, he stalks and attacks the teens and everyone in his way with his weapon of choice, a razor-sharp fish hook. All the while, he terrorizes his victims, pulling stunts like leaving crabs in cars, cutting off girls' hair in their sleep, and leaving messages in blood.
About Fisherman
Staying true to character, Fisherman's run is simply walking. He's in no rush to commit murder. But, when Fisherman's foe is rushing to do the same to him...how does he cope? Simple: by making openings in his opponents' attacks, Fisherman can remain viable in matches by getting to them, or bringing them to him. Only his movement is dreadfully slow, not his attack speed or rate of damage-racking. Fisherman's other mobility stats are marginal, while his weight and size are above the average.
Specials
Neutral Special - Crab
Fisherman pulls a simple blue crab from his coat and tosses it forward along the ground. The Pikmin-sized crab scurries forward at Fox's dash, clamping onto anything it comes into contact with. Crabs have a cute 10 HP, allowing Fisherman to have out as many as he wants at once. Aside from dealing a continuous 2-3% per second, crabs lessen a victim's movement and attack speed by one eighth. They also cause enemies to flinch every now and then.
One crab isn't much to worry about, but considering Fisherman can toss them out with nearly as much freedom as Olimar, your opponents aren't gonna have it so lightly. They'll have to shake off each crab, one by one, by button-mashing. Although crabs can't defend Fisherman well at all, they can be rather offensive, clamping onto traps and minions to eliminate them for their master.
{ { { 2-3% } } }
Down Special - Rope Net
Fisherman pulls a rope fishing net out of his coat, leans back slightly, then heaves it forward 1/3 of Battlefield, in a low arc to the ground. Anyone caught in the net in its path get caught in it, trapped in place and having to mash out. If the net lands without catching a character, it simply vanishes. There's a good half second lag on either end of Fisherman's toss, and only one net can be out at a time. If he waits for an opening and captures a struggling opponent (one that has crabs, maybe?), he has plenty of options. Approach with ease, toss out more crabs to swarm the helpless victim, or hook them with another Special.
{ { { 0% } } }
Side Special - Crook's Hook
Fisherman leans back for .75 second, before hurling his hook forward half of Battlefield like a boomerang. His weapon moves at a slow pace, although the murderer can tap B prior to throwing to lessen the distance of his hook slightly (a nice last-ditch tactic, as Fisherman can't move until his hook returns). During this time, he can also angle his hook up to snare aerial foes, or down if he's overlooking an opponent from above. Fisherman's hook is a grab hitbox that impales characters it hits, dealing 7-8%.
The hook returns to its owner after reaching maximum range, but it'll return immediately if it snares an enemy. The hook can also impale a foe on its return. The foe can mash out while the hook is moving, but Fisherman grabs them if the hook returns to him all the way. Now that he's got you in his reach, he's about to punish you good and hard. Of course, you're not gonna be able to throw this move out like rose petals with that nasty start-up lag. Oh, no. You've got to hold your foe down with crabs and nets first. You see, if you can't bring yourself to your foe, you've got to bring your foe to you, like a lamb for the slaughter.
{ { { 7-8% } } }
Up Special - Fishing Line
Fisherman's hook appears to be attached to a rope; what a perfect tool with which to snare a meal at sea. Or an opposing character on the battlefield. Fisherman quickly begins swinging his hook-on-a-rope a Mario above his head, covering his entire width up there. Spin the control stick to increase his spinning speed. Foes caught by the spinning hook can be swung around for 1-4% per rotation (depending on spin speed) and launched with A. A launch at maximum speed KOs around 120%.
By pressing B, Fisherman casts his roped-hook out a varying distance (can be two character widths to 3/4 of Battlefield, if you swing your rope for up to a second) with minimal lag. If he gets a bite, he'll pull the victim to him in a grab, while if not, he pulls the rope back instantly. He can tether to ledges this way also. Getting caught deals 5-6% to the hooked character.
You may be asking yourself, why is this a better option that the seemingly identical 'pull in the foe' Side Special? First off, Side Special has lag, but needs no charge to it to cover a great distance; this move requires some spinning time to get anywhere at all, which leaves Fisherman highly vulnerable from everywhere but above. In addition, Fisherman can pull out this Special during his unique grab game to score KOs, while using Side Special in the same situation merely gives your opponent a chance to escape.
{ { { 1-4% rotation, 5-6% hooked } } }
Grab and Throws
Grab - Hook
Fisherman slashes a character width forward with his hook with .25 second lag on both ends. Connect, and he'll hoist the character up into the air, dealing
3% per half second. Fisherman's grab can be escaped from without difficulty, but he has ways to keep you hooked and damaged, right up until it's time for the KO.
{ { { 3% per half second } } }
Dash Attack - Spray Whirlwind
Stanley spins around once, having a horribly weak hitbox that deals
3-4% and a bit of stun. However, after his spin, he releases a Luigi-sized tornado of spray from the built-up momentum. Strange...
The tornado deals three hits of
3%, as it travels forward two Battlefield platforms at Dedede's dashing speed. The last hit pushes foes back horizontally with set knockback. This tornado, unlike its infamous cousin, can be broken through without insane effort, and can be DIed out of from time to time. It's still an alright GTFO move for Stanley; good for him, as he stumbles a bit after spinning for quite a bit of ending lag.
( 3-13% )
TILTS
Forward Tilt - Stream
Stanley exhales a stream of gas with a bit more range than a fully-charged F.L.U.D.D. His gas can be held out and angled, but its range decreases slowly until it barely covers one character width. Contact with the gas stream pushes foes slowly back along its path, dealing
1-2% per half second in there.
Stanley could easily move his opponents out of his face, but he suffers from moderate ending lag as he poses slightly. Guy's gotten a bit rusty over the years. Anyways, because of his ending lag, the better use of the stream is to push foes into one of his little lingering traps he can use. Or, if push comes to shove, he can merely build a bit of damage with his stream from mist. Whatever floats your boat.
( 1-2% per second )
Down Tilt - Stunner Blast
Stanley quickly tilts his gun downwards and shoots out a yellow cloud, creating a blast a bit smaller than Kirby. Contact with it causes dizziness from all those poisonous chemicals, in addition to 5-6%. It's a good thing they do, as Stanley takes a bit of time to exit his crouch after the move. This is a great move to use in a cloud filled with freezing spray. Coax your foe in (or force them through), let them get stunned, then blast them away with a Water Bubble.
( 5-6% )
Up Tilt - Basic Spray
Stanley's trademark move in the game; he simply shoots up a small burst of spray, before peering upwards and watching it go for a split second. The spray stuns foes slighly while pushing them upwards, dealing
6-7% in the process. Spray travels up about two Ganondorfs before vanishing, which is enough to push a foe near the screen top up for a Star KO (although they can DI out). Unfortunately, this isn't the greatest move for freezing in mist; all it will do is pop your foe out the cloud's top. You're best off going for the Star KO.
( 6-7% )
SMASHES
Forward Smash - Power Gas
Stanley pumps out a Bowser-sized cloud of bright red gas, with high ending lag, but quick startup. This cloud actually has a bit of priority to it, although it is not amazingly high. This cloud travels forward up to half of Battlefield, at up to Toon Link's dashing speed. Any opponent unfortunate enough to get blasted takes
16-21% and knockback that KOs from
140-125%. A pretty good KO move, especially if hidden in mist. You'll have to make a pretty darn big mist cloud to obscure this Smash, though.
( 16-21% )
Down Smash - Floor Spray
Stanley sprays the ground in front of him powerfully, being pushed a tiny bit into the air as a result (it takes him a split second to land and straigten up). The spray he creates travels a character width to either side on the floor, dealing
13-17% and knockback that KOs from
165-150%.
A very drab Smash, eh? It does have a secondary, more important use. If used inside mist, the force of the dual-sided blast tears the mist apart, retaining any properties it has (poison or freeze-sprayed). This seperates the mist cloud into two equally-sized mist clouds, spaced character width apart. If you want to create or position mist clouds quickly, this is the move for you. Any traps you have hidden are not replicated, though, and may be revealed as a result of the division.
( 13-17% )
Up Smash - Chemical Poof
Stanley fires up a multi-colored spray in an arc above his head, with little startup and moderate ending lag. His spray floats where it was launched, making a cute little rainbow aura of poison for seven seconds. Foes who land on this begin taking multiple light yet stunning hits that can total from
2-23%. Great as an anti-air move, but not for actually KOing. Because it rests in the air, you can put it inside mist along with a grounded cloud (which would be cancelled out by most other grounded attacks).
( 2-23% )
AERIALS
Neutral Air - Knockout Gas
Stanley spins, with Bowser N-Air lag, surrounding himself in an aura of blue spray. This interesting spray surrounds Stanley at a close range for nine seconds. Enemies who touch the Bugman or his gas take
1% and are bounced upwards lightly...right back onto his body. This means Stanley can stack several hits on one foe before they can DI away. While it's not incredibly damaging, he can always trap a foe, before fast-falling onto a trap. You're better off having U-Smash in mist over this, though.
( 1-% )
Forward Air - Repellant
Stanley sprays a pink gas in an arc in front of him, damaging and pushing back foes who touch it. The gas has average range, and comes out quickly, although it is Stanley's most punishable aerial. The pushing of the repellant is akin to F.L.U.D.D., making it amazing at pushing unwilling foes into traps. However, because it pushes foes out of mist, it is never a move you want to use in there.
( 6-9% )
Back Air - Volatile Burst
Stanley hesitates a split second, before spewing out a Kirby-sized cloud of bright red gas, with moderate cooldown. The gas travels back two character widths at Bowser's dashing speed, before detonating in an explosion the size of the Koopa King. Foes hit by the moving gas take hitstun and are pulled with it, to help land them in the blast, which KOs at
120%. Fortunately, it has low enough priority to keep from detonating all the time.
If Stanley shoots the explosive spray into mist, the entire mist cloud will detonate upon any opponent touching it. This will destroy any other traps the Bugman has planted in there, as well as the mist itself, albeit never expiring like other timed traps. Pushing a foe into an explosive cloud is not only a highly effective KO move, but is immensely satisfying.
( 13-15% )
Up Air - Twin Puffs
Stanley quickly puffs up two small maroon balls of smoke, and watches for a split second, as they spiral a short distance over his head for that time before vanishing. The smoke balls trap foes in multiple stunning hits that won't KO, but will hold foes for landing amongst traps. If used in mist, it can also serve as a diversion for foes, while Stanley creates more mist areas, or sets up more traps.
( 1-2% per hit )
Down Air - Spray Rocket
Stanley points his gun downwards and fires a stream of spray a Ganondorf down, holding himself in place in the air for a second. Foes who touch the thin stream are instantly blown down to its bottom, taking a bit of damage in the process. Stanley suffers a bit less lag than his other aerials ending here, but this is the least reliable for damage-dealing or pushing enemies into traps. It has no effect when sprayed into mist. The Bugman can, however, use it as a split second period with which to aim your recovery in times of need.
( 5-8% )
GRAB / THROWS
Grab - Exterminator's Hand
Stanley simply reaches forward, having around Mario's range and lag. Not too shabby for a grab. From a dash, the Bugman lunges forward a short distance on the ground, covering great range for a dash-grab, but being highly punishable if he whiffs.
( 0% )
Pummel - Chemical Flurry
Stanley rapidly squirts his foe in the face with bug-spray. It deals only
1%, and is incredibly spammable. If you get in five or more pummels before throwing your foe, they'll become dizzy (footstooled in the air) upon landing.
( 1% )
Forward Throw - Breather
Stanley simply fires off a vertical green pillar of spray Marth's height, pushing the victim back two character widths. Opponents with low damage can DI upwards and jump away, but Stanley can pummel them into a stun to prevent this. A great grounded tool for scooping foes into a trap.
( 5% )
Back Throw - Off!
Stanley pushes his foe behind him, before giving them a good, long dousing with his gun. His spray deals three hits of
4%, the last one dealing knockback that KOs around
165%. Without dizzying foes with pummels, Stanley's throws are generally standard close-ranged moves.
( 4-12% )
Down Throw - Bugman Barrage
Stanley tosses his victim to the ground, before zapping them with bright blue bug-spray. This launches the enemy horizontally forward, having the potential to KO at
175%. If you've pummeled the victim enough, they'll get dizzy at maximum range, allowing Stanley to run up and grab them again. It is in no way, shape, or form a chaingrab, though.
( 6-7% )
Up Throw - Pest Launch
Stanley holds his gun to his victim, pointed upwards, and blasts them up. He follows his upwards shot with three consecutive clouds aimed at the victim. At least one will always hit the character; they can air dodge to try avoiding the rest. Stanley's initial shot launches the victim far enough up that it can KO on low ceilings, but never otherwise. It's best to stick to pushing foes into traps set above Stanley.
( 4-16% )
FINAL SMASH
Final Smash - Immense Fog
Will Stanley finally leave his hog-fu...er, 'doing' ways in the past and grow giant here? You have no time to ponder such questions, as the Bugman has just grabbed a Smash Ball. Stanley laughs stupidly, his eyes aglow, and...nothing happens. Nothing, that is, until you use Mist.
When Stanley creates mist with a Final Smash, he can cover the entire screen in a matter of three seconds. In addition, this fog is thicker than usual; only an outline of characters and items can be seen. Foes will have a hellish time trying to dodge Stanley's traps, and may even face trouble from hazards or SDing from the lack of visibility. Tapping B again with mist already out causes it to flash transparent for a split second, allowing for Stanley to get comfortable with his surroundings and wreak more havoc. He loses the ability to make mass mist after twenty seconds.
( 0% )
PLAYSTYLE
Right off the bat, Stanley's pathetic stats should tell you that you've got a hell of a fight ahead of you. The Bugman takes traps and illusions to the next level with all of the smokescreens he can set up. Of course, any expert exterminator knows there's a time and a place for everything. Not just any old spray will do to repell your pesky enemies at any time...
As soon as the announcer says GO!, Stanley's got to start spraying mist wherever he can. The more areas of mist you can get onstage, the better. You'll have more areas to hide your traps, and more sources of Water Bubbles when it comes time to KO. Speaking of Water Bubbles, it may be beneficial to inhale some mist once you have a sufficient amount out. Your foes will read and punish you doing this later, and you'll have to juggle this with keeping track of your traps.
When you're ready to start building damage, you have several options. Hiding in mist and camping requires the least set-up, but is easier for enemies to overcome. You'll probably find this tactic the most effective near the match's beginning, when you both have low damage. Your best camping move is basic combo, in addition to any moving spray moves, such as dash attack or B-Air.
All of these moves are highly punishable under normal circumstances, but shrouded in mist, your opponents will have no idea what to expect from you (unless you begin simply spamming). Mix up you attacks and camp away. This tactic, if performed craftily in combination with moving about between mist clouds, can build your foe's damage just fine.
Of course, camping alone won't win Stanley matches when he has no defense against projectiles with his wimpy little clouds. As any professional exterminator knows, when the going gets tough, the tough gets going...or something like that. Stanley's trickery extends far beyond simple camping. A base for all that trickery begins with messing with your mist clouds. Altering the mist itself can be done with Down Special, Up Special, and B-Air. Down Special provides Stanley with melee-ranged defense, and B-Air is a run-of-the-mill KO move. Up Special, however, is the bread-and-butter of Stanley's sneakiness.
When you're really ready to let them have it, apply freezing spray to your mist clouds. Now, you have a lot of freedom to hit your enemies with your best shot...whatever that may be. The possibilities of what you can hide in freezing mist are near endless. Want to rack some more damage? Hide a spray tornado or a few toxic puffs in there. Aiming for that KO, at long last? Let in a Water Bubble or some Power Gas. Want to simply hold them there and set up some more fun and games? How about an U-Smash or N-Air to do the job?
All these frozen goods (h) are fine and dandy, but the fact remains that...they're frozen. That's right, Stan can't just put them there and expect them to work on their own. No matter, you have plenty of ways to do get your foe into the danger zone. F-Tilt, D-Air, and throws can manipulate attackers into your traps from any angle. Oh, and if worse comes to worse and you can't do this, just force your opponents to come to you by camping near traps. You'll have an easier time messing with them at close range. Of course, you must constantly stick around and replenish your mist and traps, should they run out before the desired result is achieved.
Playing as Stanley is a constant chore; you must tend to your mist clouds and plant the traps that will assist you, where they will assist you. If you rush at your foe, you will get your arse whooped. Seriously. Most of Stanley's moves are highly punishable, and can't be comboed with, nor can they push an opponent back enough to keep Stan safe from retaliation. Mindgame the hell out of your opponents, and you're on your way to becoming an expert Bugman.
MATCH-UPS
Vs. Cairne - 20/80
While Cairne focuses on landing War Stomps, Stanley has to start making areas of mist, or absorbing some for Water Bubble. Cairne can prevent the Bugman from camping with Bladestorm and shockwaves, due to both having infinitely better priority than anything Stanley could muster up. In addition, D-Smash allows the bull man to tank any traps Stanley can set up and attack the Bugman without hassle. Stanley should get as many frozen traps up as possible, preferably in positions that Cairne will have difficulty avoiding. Cairne has no trouble surviving his defensive Reincarnation phase, due to Stanley being unable to approach, and him being able to tank his camping easily. Because Cairne can muscle past his traps with ease, this game is more one of survival and avoidance for Stanley. His best hope is to build gradual damage on Cairne as he pursues you, then surprise him with a KO. There's not much hope for the Bugman in this match-up.
Vs. Abra - 60/40
Neither character can stand close combat, of course. Stanley will want to get up something before Abra gets up to him and pulls him into the air. He's not defenseless up there, but it's a far cry from his fortresses of mist. Of course, with Abra's constant movement, he'll have to be highly careful of anything Stanley might attempt to lay in his path. Which is just what Stanley's got to do. It's much more difficult for Abra to build damage when he's got disjointed clouds of mist constantly disrupting his illusions and preventing him from successfully getting to Stan. Of course, if he can get through the illusions and attack the exterminator with no remorse, Abra can still pull off a win. He'll have to exhibit some masterful trickery to outsmart the master, first.
EXTRA ANIMATIONS
Up Taunt - Adjustment
Stanley chuckles stupidly and messes with his hair a bit.
Side Taunt - Squirt Squirt
Stanley rapidly pumps his gun, causing only a bit of liquid to leak out of the end.
Down Taunt - Down, But Not Out
In the same vein as Mario, Stanley's eyes bug out and he drops onto his back. His death animation from
Donkey Kong 3.
Entrance - Out of White Mist
An area of mist appears onstage, out of which Stanley steps out of with a chuckle.
Victory Pose #1 - Extermination
Stanley chases a swarm of bees off one side of the screen, but runs back with them chasing him. Some professional.
Victory Pose #2 - Amateur
Stanley flexes to try and make his ****** self threatening, but ends up squirting himself in the eyes with bug spray. He rubs it off angrily for the rest of the animation.
Victory Pose #3 - Bug-Spray Barrage
Stanley sprays two puffs of bug spray to either side, before aiming at the screen and misting it up with one long spray.
Victory Theme - Arcade Jingles
A few victorious bips and bops from Stanley's game are heard in celebration.
Loss Pose - Defeat
Stanley hangs his head, his gun propped on one shoulder.
You get 3 wishes!
A fiery death awaits you!
* * * * * * *
ROBOT UNICORN
This unicorn is a robot, but doesn't have a name. I suppose we'll call him Harold for this moveset's sake? Anyways, he hails from Robot Unicorn Attack, and believes in following his dreams through meadows of purple grass and collecting butterfly fairies. Harold sometimes gets such a kick out of his carefree life that he runs a little out of control...and pays the price by detonating violently. Nevertheless, he wishes himself into Brawl.
ABOUT ROBOT UNICORN
Winning as Robot Unicorn can be a chore if you lack strategic creativity; although his stats are great, he dies off incredibly easily. We'll get to that later, though. There's a reason he lacks a weight stat. Robot Unicorn has great movement capabilities, on the ground and in the air. His dash is unique in that his speed increases the longer he runs; it starts at Bowser's speed and increasing to faster than Sonic's within two seconds. Robot Unicorn is as wide as Bowser, but only as tall as Luigi.
SPECIALS
