Because everyone is bad, including myself, I decided to break down the options Squirtle has when neither player is in an advantageous position. By just taking the how-to stuff from the Brawl PT AT thread, no one is given a look at what has changed between then and now, and no one is told why any of this is useful. As it turns out, a lot has changed, and most of it isn't (and wasn't, as far as Brawl is concerned) useful.
I've condensed the useful stuff to a video that is about a fourth of the length of the overall AT video in order to focus on the stuff that you should actually care about while you're actually learning how to play the character in the first place.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idvKbuQyEcI
There are four main attacks you will be using when in the neutral position: Jab, F-Tilt, D-Tilt, and Grab.
Jab is Frame 2 and is probably the safest of the bunch. The speed can stuff a lot of opponents' moves by virtue of just coming out before theirs, which is very helpful.
Both tilts are pretty fast and squish Squirtle downward, potentially allowing him to dodge attacks. F-Tilt has the greatest range and is great for getting people off you. D-Tilt has the benefit of setting up for combos, as well as hitting twice, potentially throwing off people who expect to shield just one move.
Grab is the slowest of the bunch, but it's still fairly fast as far as moves go, and it's the only one that reliably beats shields. It leads to Squirtle's best KO option (D-Throw), and it makes your opponent think twice about shielding the other stuff.
There's also the honorable mention of Down-B, as it hits multiple times, has even better range than F-Tilt, can make people slip, and is a projectile. However, it's also the slowest option to come out. It can be sprinkled into the same spots as the other moves listed, really, but relying on it will stifle your understanding of the usefulness of the rest of the options.
Despite Squirtle's high horizontal aerial speed/mobility, his best options stem from grounded movement, so try not to jump at the opponent with landing B-Air, even though that was pretty good in the Brawl days. Also, Squirtle's run speed is really bad, so you'll want to limit your dashdancing. Also-also, because of the last two facts, relying on Squirtle's wavedash as a primary movement tool is really predictable and punishable.
Now, you may be wondering how Squirtle is supposed to get around, given that the three most well-understood methods of movement aren't so hot for primary approaching with him. Here's what you need to familiarize yourself with:
1. Shellshift. This is essentially turning around in a dash. Squirtle slings himself around in a quick snapping motion. The important points of this option are that it makes you faster during the beginning of it, you can do attacks out of it, and you can start another dash toward the end in order to do a second shellshift pretty seamlessly out of an "empty" first one.
During the beginning of a shellshift backward, you can jump out of it and do a B-Air, going noticeably faster than you would with a running F-Air. This shellshift -> rising B-Air is relatively safe and increases the range at which the opponent can't simply react to.
During the second half of a shellshift forward, you can do any ground move within the momentum slinging you forward. Shellshift -> Jab and shellshift -> D-Tilt can be done at various ranges due to being able to cancel at any time throughout the second half, enabling various spacing distances with one simple tactic. Also, a shellshift -> jump-cancel Grab slides Squirtle forward a great deal and can catch people looking to shield your pokes, making it a pretty potent 50/50 up-close. You can also shellshift -> spotdodge, but that requires your opponent to commit in order to see much payoff, and it's much more punishable than the other stuff.
2. Moonwalking. This is done by starting a dash, then immediately doing a half-circle motion from the dash direction to the opposite direction. Squirtle gets a pretty good boost from it, you can start another dash very quickly from an "empty" moonwalk, and it's faster than a shellshift because you don't have to wait for your initial dash to finish in order to do it. Depending on when you let go of the Analog Stick, you can choose to do a Jab, Grab or any tilt in either direction (you turn around if you hold the end direction long enough). This can be used as a feint or to poke toward the slide direction, as the range on a turnaround attack option is pretty deceptive.
3. Wavedashing. This is jumping from the ground and immediately airdodging down and back/forward. Squirtle gains a lot of distance from it, but the landing lag is ten frames long. Squirtle covers the most distance with this option, but it's one of the least versatile options, too, because it leaves you unable to do anything for a bit. However, both shellshifting and moonwalking can be canceled with a jump, meaning that you can put a wavedash between any shellshift or moonwalk to completely change your direction and throw people off, due to the greater distance covered and the sudden momentum switch. Wavedashing into a Jab, Grab, or any tilt is fairly fast and rather effective when used unpredictably.
4. Forward-B. This move has some interesting properties that should be addressed. When done in the air, Squirtle drops downward like a rock, so B-Reversing it when doing a fullhop away from the opponent can often bait them into getting hit by it. As such, it also makes for a pretty good "dive kick" option, and the constant hitbox makes people hesitant when it comes to punishing a missed Forward-B.
There will be more to this, but, here you are for now.
I've condensed the useful stuff to a video that is about a fourth of the length of the overall AT video in order to focus on the stuff that you should actually care about while you're actually learning how to play the character in the first place.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idvKbuQyEcI
There are four main attacks you will be using when in the neutral position: Jab, F-Tilt, D-Tilt, and Grab.
Jab is Frame 2 and is probably the safest of the bunch. The speed can stuff a lot of opponents' moves by virtue of just coming out before theirs, which is very helpful.
Both tilts are pretty fast and squish Squirtle downward, potentially allowing him to dodge attacks. F-Tilt has the greatest range and is great for getting people off you. D-Tilt has the benefit of setting up for combos, as well as hitting twice, potentially throwing off people who expect to shield just one move.
Grab is the slowest of the bunch, but it's still fairly fast as far as moves go, and it's the only one that reliably beats shields. It leads to Squirtle's best KO option (D-Throw), and it makes your opponent think twice about shielding the other stuff.
There's also the honorable mention of Down-B, as it hits multiple times, has even better range than F-Tilt, can make people slip, and is a projectile. However, it's also the slowest option to come out. It can be sprinkled into the same spots as the other moves listed, really, but relying on it will stifle your understanding of the usefulness of the rest of the options.
Despite Squirtle's high horizontal aerial speed/mobility, his best options stem from grounded movement, so try not to jump at the opponent with landing B-Air, even though that was pretty good in the Brawl days. Also, Squirtle's run speed is really bad, so you'll want to limit your dashdancing. Also-also, because of the last two facts, relying on Squirtle's wavedash as a primary movement tool is really predictable and punishable.
Now, you may be wondering how Squirtle is supposed to get around, given that the three most well-understood methods of movement aren't so hot for primary approaching with him. Here's what you need to familiarize yourself with:
1. Shellshift. This is essentially turning around in a dash. Squirtle slings himself around in a quick snapping motion. The important points of this option are that it makes you faster during the beginning of it, you can do attacks out of it, and you can start another dash toward the end in order to do a second shellshift pretty seamlessly out of an "empty" first one.
During the beginning of a shellshift backward, you can jump out of it and do a B-Air, going noticeably faster than you would with a running F-Air. This shellshift -> rising B-Air is relatively safe and increases the range at which the opponent can't simply react to.
During the second half of a shellshift forward, you can do any ground move within the momentum slinging you forward. Shellshift -> Jab and shellshift -> D-Tilt can be done at various ranges due to being able to cancel at any time throughout the second half, enabling various spacing distances with one simple tactic. Also, a shellshift -> jump-cancel Grab slides Squirtle forward a great deal and can catch people looking to shield your pokes, making it a pretty potent 50/50 up-close. You can also shellshift -> spotdodge, but that requires your opponent to commit in order to see much payoff, and it's much more punishable than the other stuff.
2. Moonwalking. This is done by starting a dash, then immediately doing a half-circle motion from the dash direction to the opposite direction. Squirtle gets a pretty good boost from it, you can start another dash very quickly from an "empty" moonwalk, and it's faster than a shellshift because you don't have to wait for your initial dash to finish in order to do it. Depending on when you let go of the Analog Stick, you can choose to do a Jab, Grab or any tilt in either direction (you turn around if you hold the end direction long enough). This can be used as a feint or to poke toward the slide direction, as the range on a turnaround attack option is pretty deceptive.
3. Wavedashing. This is jumping from the ground and immediately airdodging down and back/forward. Squirtle gains a lot of distance from it, but the landing lag is ten frames long. Squirtle covers the most distance with this option, but it's one of the least versatile options, too, because it leaves you unable to do anything for a bit. However, both shellshifting and moonwalking can be canceled with a jump, meaning that you can put a wavedash between any shellshift or moonwalk to completely change your direction and throw people off, due to the greater distance covered and the sudden momentum switch. Wavedashing into a Jab, Grab, or any tilt is fairly fast and rather effective when used unpredictably.
4. Forward-B. This move has some interesting properties that should be addressed. When done in the air, Squirtle drops downward like a rock, so B-Reversing it when doing a fullhop away from the opponent can often bait them into getting hit by it. As such, it also makes for a pretty good "dive kick" option, and the constant hitbox makes people hesitant when it comes to punishing a missed Forward-B.
There will be more to this, but, here you are for now.
