Lamsauce
Smash Rookie
What do you guys speculate regarding PT's meta game? This is based off of some ideas I've read and felt while playing the demo myself. (This is my first post/got into competitive a bit earlier this year, so correct me if some of my speculation is extremely inaccurate).
: Kind of feels like Mario. Really small and really fast. I feel that Squirtle can lead to a lot of combo potential to be honest. He has great air speed, so that could maybe lead to some strings. I heard his ground speed is slower than Ivysaur's though. As a starter for neutral, he'd be pretty good in terms of "aggressive" playstyle. Shifting from Charizard to Squirtle will lead to a very sudden shift in neutral for the opponent. As a light character, he can be launched into the blast zone easier than Ivysaur or Charizard of course. Although, having a light, small character like Squirtle in PT's roster helps with match up issues. Like if Charizard were to get juggled/combo'd due to his heaviness, you can switch to Squirtle to avoid the combos. Start off with Squirtle/Ivysaur to avoid being screwed for being a heavy. Switch to Charizard when you're at a high enough percentage to not get combo'd and get a harder/KO hit on your opponent.
: Can tether ledge with vine whip. Used to not be great in Brawl, and can probably still lead to some SD's. However, Ivysaur's neutral game is very good. Razor leaf can zone people out. Short hop>Nair is has a pretty good hitbox size and lasts a good amount of frames, so it can catch your opponent pretty well, kind of like Mewtwo's nair. Ivysaur might have the best neutral game out of PT's roster. He's got range, and deals a good amount of damage from his attacks. Ivysaurs long grab gives the roster a safe, ranged grab. Unless you're punished for missing your grab. I watched a video where Ivysaur grabbed a Ryu charging up his Focus Punch. The grab worked from a safe distance, and can gives you the advantage of punishing the Ryu. I heard Ivysaur's edgeguard is good but I'm not sure what the meta is behind that.
: I'd say he's better than he was in Smash 4. He's faster, just like most characters in the SSBU roster. He's lost his rock smash (rip super armor), but the addition of two different Pokemon is a good trade. I believe Charizard's short hop nair > autocancel still works. That allows a safe nair and an immediate input for your next move. Charizard can still use his flamethrower to edgeguard. I'm not sure if it'll screw over Clouds as well as they did before though, or whoever else didn't have snap onto ledge recoveries. Speaking of recoveries, Charizard has the best recoveries in the PT roster. Since Ivysaur's recovery is his vine whip tether, you can switch to Charizard to extend your recovery further. Charizard is the heavy hitter, and I like to consider him the punisher. He can take a stock easily on reads and a charged smash attack.
Overall: Squirtle air mobility/lightweight to avoid combos. Ivysaur for edgeguarding/neutral. Charizard for hard hits/punishes/recovery. Switching pokemon replenishes your jumps, I don't think completely but they add at least one extra jump I think. I'm not sure since Charizard has 3 total. The switch to the next Pokemon is about 38 frames I think. It is possible for opponents to react to you switching, and can punish you. However, it is not a move meant to be spammed. It can work as an air dodge/spot dodge in a way, but it's shouldn't be the only dodge move you have. If air switch > air dodge is possible, that's a really good extension in intangibility. I'm not sure if that works though. Having all three characters on your side leads to fast paced adaptability. Since this neutral is the ability to adapt to the opponent's playstyle, PT makes it harder with the changing neutral's/fighter pace and moveset. You're pretty much set if they can't adapt fast enough. Individually these Pokemon probably wouldn't make top tier, but combined, they cover each others' flaws. This makes them really likely to be a top tier character in Ultimate.
So that's my speculation on PT meta game in Ultimate. I'm hoping this contributes to some ideas on Pokemon Trainer's meta, and helps out people like me hoping to main them.
: Kind of feels like Mario. Really small and really fast. I feel that Squirtle can lead to a lot of combo potential to be honest. He has great air speed, so that could maybe lead to some strings. I heard his ground speed is slower than Ivysaur's though. As a starter for neutral, he'd be pretty good in terms of "aggressive" playstyle. Shifting from Charizard to Squirtle will lead to a very sudden shift in neutral for the opponent. As a light character, he can be launched into the blast zone easier than Ivysaur or Charizard of course. Although, having a light, small character like Squirtle in PT's roster helps with match up issues. Like if Charizard were to get juggled/combo'd due to his heaviness, you can switch to Squirtle to avoid the combos. Start off with Squirtle/Ivysaur to avoid being screwed for being a heavy. Switch to Charizard when you're at a high enough percentage to not get combo'd and get a harder/KO hit on your opponent.
: Can tether ledge with vine whip. Used to not be great in Brawl, and can probably still lead to some SD's. However, Ivysaur's neutral game is very good. Razor leaf can zone people out. Short hop>Nair is has a pretty good hitbox size and lasts a good amount of frames, so it can catch your opponent pretty well, kind of like Mewtwo's nair. Ivysaur might have the best neutral game out of PT's roster. He's got range, and deals a good amount of damage from his attacks. Ivysaurs long grab gives the roster a safe, ranged grab. Unless you're punished for missing your grab. I watched a video where Ivysaur grabbed a Ryu charging up his Focus Punch. The grab worked from a safe distance, and can gives you the advantage of punishing the Ryu. I heard Ivysaur's edgeguard is good but I'm not sure what the meta is behind that.
: I'd say he's better than he was in Smash 4. He's faster, just like most characters in the SSBU roster. He's lost his rock smash (rip super armor), but the addition of two different Pokemon is a good trade. I believe Charizard's short hop nair > autocancel still works. That allows a safe nair and an immediate input for your next move. Charizard can still use his flamethrower to edgeguard. I'm not sure if it'll screw over Clouds as well as they did before though, or whoever else didn't have snap onto ledge recoveries. Speaking of recoveries, Charizard has the best recoveries in the PT roster. Since Ivysaur's recovery is his vine whip tether, you can switch to Charizard to extend your recovery further. Charizard is the heavy hitter, and I like to consider him the punisher. He can take a stock easily on reads and a charged smash attack.
Overall: Squirtle air mobility/lightweight to avoid combos. Ivysaur for edgeguarding/neutral. Charizard for hard hits/punishes/recovery. Switching pokemon replenishes your jumps, I don't think completely but they add at least one extra jump I think. I'm not sure since Charizard has 3 total. The switch to the next Pokemon is about 38 frames I think. It is possible for opponents to react to you switching, and can punish you. However, it is not a move meant to be spammed. It can work as an air dodge/spot dodge in a way, but it's shouldn't be the only dodge move you have. If air switch > air dodge is possible, that's a really good extension in intangibility. I'm not sure if that works though. Having all three characters on your side leads to fast paced adaptability. Since this neutral is the ability to adapt to the opponent's playstyle, PT makes it harder with the changing neutral's/fighter pace and moveset. You're pretty much set if they can't adapt fast enough. Individually these Pokemon probably wouldn't make top tier, but combined, they cover each others' flaws. This makes them really likely to be a top tier character in Ultimate.
So that's my speculation on PT meta game in Ultimate. I'm hoping this contributes to some ideas on Pokemon Trainer's meta, and helps out people like me hoping to main them.
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