33/34/35-
Pokémon Trainer

*Note: Squirtle's frame advantages will be this color, Ivysaur's frame advantages will be this color, and Charizard's frame advantages will be this color.

Jab1 (-11/-17/-14) & Jab2 (-17/-19/-16):
NAir (Frame 7)
GSA (Frame 9)

Jab3 (-21/-20):
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)
Grab (Frame 16)

Rapid Jab Finisher (-32):
GSA (Frame 9)
Grab (Frame 16)
FSmash (Frame 26)

FTilt (-6/-20/-15):
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)
Grab (Frame 16)
(Squirtle's FTilt is safe on shield, Charizard's FTilt is safe when spaced)

UTilt (-8/-18/-16):
NAir (Frame 7)
GSA (Frame 9)
Grab (Frame 16)
(None of the Pokémon have an UTilt that hits grounded opponents very well)

DTilt (-12/-21/-11):
NAir (Frame 7)
GSA (Frame 9)
Grab (Frame 16)

Dash Attack (-16/-27/-12):
NAir (Frame 7)
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)

FSmash (-19/-33/-36):
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)
Grab (Frame 16)
DSmash (Frame 20)
FSmash (Frame 26)

USmash (-35/-21/-24):
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)
DSmash (Frame 20)
FSmash (Frame 26)

DSmash (-13/-24/-35):
NAir (Frame 7)
GSA (Frame 9)
Grab (Frame 16)
DSmash (Frame 20)
FSmash (Frame 26)

NAir (-4/-14/-5):
NAir (Frame 7)
GSA (Frame 9)
(Squirtle and Charizard's NAirs are safe on shield)

FAir (-3/-8/-14):
NAir (Frame 7)
GSA (Frame 9)
(Squirtle's FAir is safe on shield. Ivysaur's FAir can be spaced)

BAir (-15/-4/-14):
NAir (Frame 7)
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)
(Ivysaur's BAir is safe on shield. Charizard's BAir can be spaced)

UAir (-3/-6/-8):
NAir (Frame 7)
(Squirtle and Ivysaur's UAirs are safe on shield)

DAir (-13/-9/-16):
NAir (Frame 7)
GSA (Frame 9)

Water Gun (--):
--

Bullet Seed (-34):
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 16)
Grab (Frame 16)
DSmash (Frame 20)

Flamethrower (-24):
Unpunishable
(Projectile usage)

Withdraw (-18):
Unpunishable
(Squirtle bounces back after hitting shield)

Razor Leaf (-14):
Unpunishable
(Projectile usage)

Flare Blitz (-52):
USmash (Frame 10)
DAir (Frame 16)
FSmash (Frame 26)
(Smash Attacks can be partially charged)

Waterfall (--):
--

Vine Whip (-20):
--

Fly (--):
--

Pokémon Swap:
--

Squirtle:

• Neutral Moves: Aerials, FTilt, UTilt, Jab, Grab, Dash Attack.

• Kill Moves: Smash Attacks.

• Kill Confirms: FTilt > Jab lock > FSmash.

• Squirtle wants to get close to Young Link to pressure his shield and either whiff punish with fast frame data, or read Young Link's projectile/movement, expanding on the opening with it's combo game.

• Squirtle’s frame data is fast across his entire kit. Frame 2 Jab, Frame 4 NAir, 3 Frame 5 aerials, Frame 8 Dash Attack, Frame 5 FTilt, Frame 6 Grab, etc.

• Squirtle can shield pressure with either landing NAir or FAir, which are -5/-4 and -3 respectively. These are Squirtle’s go-to pressure starters from a short hop/full hop. These moves will outrange soft NAir, but can be outranged by strong NAir, BAir, and FAir. Young Link's soft NAir is inconsistent in air-to-airs against Squirtle. Either time an anticipatory NAir, or use FAir/BAir to hit Squirtle.

• Squirtle’s BAir is also a pressure tool at short hop height, alongside FAir and NAir. It’s better for Squirtle to use BAir when rising from a short hop as opposed to landing with his other aerials, since it’ll autocancel upon landing. It’s punishable on block if Squirtle lands without the autocancel, but it does have a landing hitbox. Squirtle can crossup with BAir on shield easily.

• While Squirtle’s DAir isn’t safe on shield stat-wise, Squirtle can drift away in either direction, similar to it's BAir, making it's movement ambiguous.

• Squirtle gets high reward off of it's Grab game with UThrow and DThrow as combo throws, and BThrow as a kill throw. Squirtle looks for Grabs through aerial and FTilt shield pressure, or comboing FTilt/aerials into a Grab.

• Squirtle can pressure opponents on the ground with FTilt, which is both fast and safe on shield. Squirtle FTilt has intangibility on the tail, which means it’ll beat out Young Link’s stubby attacks. It is essentially a disjoint. The move sends at a low angle that guarantees a tech chase.

• Water Gun is Squirtle’s Neutral Special. Squirtle can charge Water Gun to release it. When re-activated, Squirtle shoots out water that pushes opponents away. In neutral, Squirtle can use this to punish opponents jumping by pushing them offstage, which can set up edgeguards for other Pokémon.

• Charging Water Gun starts on Frame 7, and it takes 64 frames to fully charge. The release of Water Gun when charged is Frame 26.

• Because Squirtle has strong buttons both in the air and on the ground, he can approach either way.

• Fire Arrow can catch Squirtle running/dashing into Young Link, but it’s important to use it to also set the pace of adaptation to see if/where Squirtle will shield or jump over Fire Arrows. Either shielding or short hopping over a Fire Arrow can net Squirtle a punish if Young Link uses Fire Arrow in a poor position.

• Young Link can challenge Squirtle in the air with BAir, FAir, and strong NAir. To pressure shield/dash shield, Young Link can space a landing aerial or Jab2/DTilt. This can get caught by Squirtle's Up-B OoS, but Squirtle has 2 frames to hit it before shield can come out. It's not something Squirtle will use every time unconditionally, and spaced Jab2/DTilt still beats out aerials and grab OoS. Intercepting Squirtle in this way can allow Young Link to build space and mount an offense after punishing Squirtle for how it gets around Fire Arrow.

• Boomerang plays a similar role in answering Squirtle’s jumps. It can catch Squirtles full hops/short hops in, forcing Squirtle to jump at a different time than usual. Use Boomerang too much, though, and Squirtle can get a read and jump early to get over Boomerang or clank it with NAir/FAir. This does, however, mean Squirtle is buffering a full hop, which Young Link can anti-air.

• Oftentimes, Squirtle is just downright difficult to land an attack on. The Pokémon is decently fast and is small and short, meaning it can weave around projectiles with some ease.

• It’s easier to avoid getting hit by Squirtle than to attempt hitting it. While Squirtle is decently fast, it’s not fast on the levels of Sheik or Fox, yet still has range just as stubby. Young Link has a faster fall speed and a faster initial dash than Squirtle. Squirtle’s run speed is also only barely higher than Young Link's. With projectiles in practice, Young Link can run circles around Squirtle. Being able to hit Squirtle less often is worth it if Young Link’s chances of getting hit are much more slim.

• A lot of the neutral play is just that, running away from Squirtle, camping approaches or intercepting them.

• Bomb can be pulled against Squirtle while retreating, as opposed to throwing a projectile. It’s a decent alternative if the projectile is unlikely to hit or pressure Squirtle (throwing Boomerang up when Squirtle won’t jump, for example).

• Outside of FTilt Jab locks, BThrow, and Smash Attack reads, Squirtle doesn’t have a consistent way to kill in neutral. Squirtle plays for advantage for the other two Pokémon to capitalize on.

• Ivysaur usually swaps in for Squirtle in strict advantage situations where Ivysaur can net a stock or high damage (juggling, edgeguarding).

Ivysaur:

• Neutral Moves: Aerials, DTilt, Grab, Razor Leaf, Vine Whip.

• Kill Moves: FAir, UAir, DAir, Vine Whip, Smash Attacks.

• Kill Confirms:

• Compared to Squirtle and Charizard, Ivysaur is on the slower side of mobility. Ivysaur plays at a mid to long range instead of playing close to mid range. Ivysaur doesn’t play to rush down and establish pressure up close, but rather encourage approaches and meet opponents with disjoints.

• Ivysaur does have a few quick buttons on the ground, particularly DTilt and Dash Attack, which are both Frame 4. They’re both unsafe on block. Dash Attack doesn’t set up for much due to its endlag, but DTilt can set up for tech chases.

• Ivysaur can pressure Young Link’s shield with aerials. Spaced FAir and spaced/unspaced landing BAir are safe on shield. Both these moves can set up for followup aerials or can lead into Vine Whip.

• Ivysaur’s NAir is a multihit aerial that covers space around it throughout the entire move. While it’s unsafe on block, Ivysaur can cross-up or drift back during the move.

• Ivysaur’s UAir covers the circular area above it in a wide range. This is Ivysaur’s go-to anti-air, as it’s a strong combo/kill move. In neutral, Ivysaur can use this to anti-air full hops from a short hop height, or even rising short hops when landing. Ivysaur is also pushed downwards during UAir.

• Razor Leaf, Ivysaur’s Side Special, is a projectile that can travel across the stage horizontally. Ivysaur can control the velocity and distance it travels. While it isn’t a strong projectile approach, Ivysaur can convert the Razor Leaf on hit into an UAir or Vine Whip.

• Razor Leaf’s arc up or down is random, and can’t be controlled by Ivysaur. If Ivysaur uses it in the air, it could just arc up and miss Young Link standing on the ground.

• Young Link shouldn’t respond to Razor Leaf the same way each time. Just like Fire Arrow, Ivysaur can use Razor Leaf for information and conditioning. Young Link can shield run into it, but also consider clanking it with NAir, jumping over it, or using Fire Arrow to clank as options.

• Ivysaur lacks strong out of shield options, with it's fastest being NAir at Frame 10 out of shield. Ivysaur’s Grab is slow at Frame 13 as well, making it Frame 17 out of shield. Young Link can shield pressure Ivysaur to intercept, or to pressure Ivysaur for using Razor Leaf at a risky position.

• Ivysaur’s neutral is flawed against Young Link. Ivysaur likes forcing approaches with Razor Leaf, and using the conditioning to meet opponents with disjoints, but Young Link outzones Ivysaur. Ivysaur can’t play it's conditioning game against Young Link because of that, and it also lacks mobility, so it can’t get in reliably against Young Link. Additionally, Young Link can shield pressure Ivysaur heavily up-close, which makes Ivysaur’s defensive capabilities in unreactable situations lackluster.

• Since Ivysaur is that slow, Young Link can camp with projectiles closer to the midrange as opposed to long range.

• While Ivysaur DOES have disjoints, they still can lose to Young Link’s fast frame data in moves like Jab, NAir and BAir. Ivysaur could block them, but then it's lackluster out of shield comes into play.

• Ivysaur has no reliable stray hit to kill in neutral, either. Ivysaur would have to commit to a Smash Attack or read a jump with an UAir to kill in neutral. Ivysaur’s other kill options don’t kill until late %s, where Ivysaur itself is already at risk of stray hits killing.

• For these reasons, Ivysaur isn’t commonly used against Young Link in neutral, but just for edgeguards and juggling. Squirtle and Charizard are the main players in neutral against Young Link.

• Fire Arrow can control ground quicker than Razor Leaf can, but Ivysaur can use Razor Leaf over Fire Arrow to hit Young Link. As opposed to firing off multiple Fire Arrows against Razor Leaf, punish Ivysaur for using Razor Leaf by taking space and initiating pressure.

• Ivysaur tends to swap out against Young Link when it loses it's advantageous situation and can no longer take advantage of it's tools to kill Young Link early.

Charizard:

• Neutral Moves: Aerials, FTilt, Jab, Grab, Flamethrower.

• Kill Moves: Smash Attacks, Tilts, FAir, BAir, UAir, DAir, Fly, Flare Blitz, Dash Attack.

• Kill Confirms: BThrow > BAir.

• Charizard has 3 jumps. In practice, it’s an extra mix-up to fake out Young Link’s pressure with either aerials or Boomerang. Charizard can use the third jump to get up and out of range of a Boomerang or UAir, and then whiff punish.

• Charizard is the fastest of the 3 Pokémon on the ground. Both it's initial dash and run speed are some of the highest in the game. This means Charizard can cover grounded space faster with a shield run/dash.

• When Charizard is at high kill %s, most Pokémon Trainer players will stay on Charizard for the rest of that stock. Switching to Squirtle severely decreases their survivability.

• Charizard’s NAir covers space all around it, starting above and then arcing downwards in front. The attack has a sweet spot on the tip, and sour spots on the tail. The sour hits can set up for tech chases.

• Charizard’s FAir covers the space in front of it quicker than NAir, since FAir has only an 8 Frame startup. It has kill power, but is unsafe on block and is short ranged.

• Charizard’s BAir is one of it's highest reward moves in neutral. It’s slower than FAir, but can be spaced on shield for safety and has extremely high kill power when the sweet spot lands. It allows Charizard to steal games out of opponent’s hands.

• Because of the high power of spaced FTilt and BAir, Charizard can combine this with his grounded speed to call out Young Link reliably for projectiles.

• Charizard has a notable ground game when taking it's speed into account. Charizard has a Frame 4 Jab, and a safe, high killpower FTilt when spaced.

• Charizard has strong out of shield options in USmash (Frame 6, kills) and Fly (Frame 9, kills, has super armor starting on Frame 4). Charizard can catch dashbacks and immediate attacks on shield.

• Combine Charizard’s high speed, good reward out of shield options, and high killpower spaced attacks, and this gives Charizard the most complete neutral to handle Young Link out of the three Pokémon. Charizard is the mainstay in neutral against Young Link at kill %s.

• Charizard’s large hurtbox gets in the way of avoiding projectiles, however. It's a little difficult for Charizard to weave around Boomerang in the air, and Fire Arrow covering the ground when it can’t freely run in.

• Taking into account Charizard’s grounded burst range is necessary when using Fire Arrow. It’s not as safe as in other MUs. It can still catch Charizard buffering an attack or running in, but threaten safe aerials on shield to punish Charizard for attempting to approach.

Long-Term Neutral vs Pokémon Trainer as a whole:

• All 3 Pokémon tend to struggle against zoning and projectiles because they have some attribute that hinders them. Squirtle doesn’t have the mobility to take on fast zoners that can move out of it's range. Ivysaur lacks mobility, out of shield options, and options to force approaches since Razor Leaf isn’t the sole projectile. While Charizard has the best burst range, it suffers in the air where it loses access to its ground speed and is a giant target to aerial pressure.

• Boomerang can cover all 3 Pokémon’s full hops reliably, but all 3 Pokémon can also threaten strong approaches on the ground and at short hop height. All 3 Pokémon lack quick airspeed. When using Boomerang, decide first if it’s better to block out the grounded/short hop height or full hop height.

• Bomb is generally a good option if anticipating that the Pokémon will dodge a Fire Arrow or Boomerang, but not necessarily engage.

Combo/Survival DI/SDI:

• Squirtle’s DAir can be SDI-d in and up to pop out on the opposite side. This can diminish Squirtle’s followup potential if it’s drifting forward.

• Ivysaur’s NAir can be SDI-d in, resulting in being launched behind Ivysaur instead of away.

• Mixing up DI on Charizard’s BThrow can increase chances of avoiding a BAir followup. DI up to force a higher BAir, or away to force a farther one.

• DI Charizard’s DThrow down and away from center stage to maximize survival chances.

Boxing
(How do I escape this situation?):

• Squirtle can pressure shield with NAir/FAir safely. Young Link doesn’t have a guaranteed out of shield punish, so punish what Squirtle does next instead.

• Young Link often corners himself against Squirtle simply to run away. Landing a projectile on Squirtle reverses the situation. Keep Squirtle out on the ground with FTilt/DTilt/Jab, and in the air with NAir/BAir/FAir.

• Ivysaur can space pressure on Young Link’s shield with FAir and BAir. Razor Leaf can force also jumps.

• Jumping above Ivysaur places Young Link at risk of Ivysaur’s UAir, though.

• Charizard can space pressure on shield with FTilt, BAir, and NAir.

• Charizard can force tech chases with NAir. At mid %s (50-70%) Charizard can kill off of a tech chase Flare Blitz. This Flare Blitz covers all tech options. Buffer a NAir/DAir to autocancel to then buffer shield and block the Flare Blitz in time. DI up on the NAir if possible to give this window to buffer an aerial.

Platform Pressure
(What tools do they have? How can we escape this pressure?):

• Ivysaur can pressure platforms with UAir, FAir, NAir, and Vine Whip.

• Charizard can pressure platforms with UAir (head intangibility), FAir, BAir, NAir, and USmash.

• Both Ivysaur and Charizard can space their moves to cover multiple tech options at once, particularly Ivysaur’s UAir and Charizard’s BAir. Mix up tech option timings to better avoid these options.

• Since these options have high range, they can usually space them out of range of Young Link’s attacks. Both Ivysaur and Charizard can catch jumps off of the platforms well, too. Try to disengage with empty movement and take stage control.

Landing
(How do they cover it? What are my best options?):

Landing vs Ivysaur:

• When Squirtle starts a favorable juggling situation that it can’t immediately frame trap with aerials (sending the opponent high up), that’s where Squirtle will most likely switch to Ivysaur. Ivysaur can kill off of it's juggling more consistently than Squirtle.

• Ivysaur’s UAir is the juggling tool Young Link has to play around. It can deny a significant amount of airspace, moving left or right out of UAir range isn’t consistent with it's wide range. Young Link can’t challenge Ivysaur’s UAir with any aerial.

• Fastfall airdodge is the most reliable way to get around Ivysaur’s UAir. Ivysaur would have to commit to baiting a fastfall airdodge, which loses to Young Link falling regularly or away from Ivysaur.

• Despite Ivysaur lacking in mobility, it can still cover aerial space away from itself with Vine Whip. Vine Whip will kill outright on hit and has high range. Vine Whip can be angled to cover diagonal space in front of Ivysaur, or closer above it. Vine Whip’s high vertical range can snipe Young Link using a BAir/NAir to escape tumble.

• Landing to the side of Ivysaur still doesn’t mean that Young Link can hit Ivysaur freely, since Ivysaur can use it's disjointed FAir/BAir to catch Young Link drifting away or landing. Ivysaur can frame trap with its BAir.

Landing vs Charizard:

• Charizard’s UAir is a kill move that also has head intangibility. Young Link can’t challenge it with DAir.

• Charizard can catch Young Link drifting away and call out landing aerials with FAir/BAir. NAir covers the space above and behind Charizard entirely. Young Link can rarely, if ever, hit Charizard in this state of the game.

• Charizard excels at trapping landings the best, since it has the fastest ground speed. Charizard can use a FAir or FTilt to catch landing lag/endlag, or Grab to punish a panic shield upon landing.

• Mixing up fall timings and jump/option timings off of platforms is vital in disadvantage against Charizard. There’s no consistent way to pressure Charizard when Young Link is in disadvantage, other than a landing aerial, which is slow. Empty movement around Charizard is the best means of escape.

• Once Young Link gets back to neutral, then forcing Charizard to jump with pressure from Fire Arrow and short hop aerials leads to a more comfortable situation for Young Link.

Offstage
(How Do I Escape This Position And What Do I Look Out For?):

Recovery vs Squirtle:

• Squirtle’s main goal in edgeguarding is to create a favorable position for Ivysaur to edgeguard. Squirtle can’t take stocks from edgeguards outside of gimping Young Link with a NAir/FAir, which has little effective range.

• Squirtle’s NAir/FAir can also be used to intercept tether to the ledge.

• ASA can outrange these aerials in the front, but not from above. Space ASA to cover Squirtle in front of Young Link horizontally.

• Water Gun can apply pressure in edgeguarding from onstage. If Young Link commits to ASA too early, he dies for it. It can also push Young Link’s double jump back, forcing a directional airdodge or linear recovery.

Recovery vs Ivysaur:

• Ivysaur’s DAir is the potent edgeguarding tool that Young Link has to recover around. It’s a spike that can beat out ASA in the front and above. It can hit Young Link from onstage as well.

• Young Link could space ASA around it, but the spacing needed is a bit farther than getting around Squirtle. Ivysaur could call out Young Link’s drift with a DAir from a full hop, catching Young Link’s late double jump.

• If possible, use tether to avoid entering Ivysaur’s air space altogether. Ivysaur can cover tether with it's lingering NAir, however.

Recovery vs Charizard:

• Charizard can also use it's DAir spike to edgeguard Young Link from above, beating out a lengthy or predictable ASA.

• For a more immediate edgeguard, Charizard can use FAir or BAir offstage. Dodging these aerials means drifting out of range and delaying a recovery, which is where Charizard can land a DAir.

• Charizard can use run off NAir from the ledge to cover space offstage and interrupt tether.

• Flamethrower can interrupt ASA/tether to the ledge sometimes. Be careful not to input a recovery option too early, resulting in either a failed tether or an ASA above the ledge.

Ledge:

• Ledgetrapping with Squirtle isn’t common at later %s, since Squirtle can’t kill off of reactionary ledgetraps as well as Ivysaur or Charizard.

• Squirtle’s frame data gives it the ability to cover jumps and rolls on anticipation better than the other two Pokémon. It can rack up damage well.

• Ivysaur can charge FSmash at roll distance to cover ledge getup, ledge attack, and ledge roll. Ivysaur can cover jumps with UAir/Vine Whip safely to kill/contest out of range.

• Charizard can use FTilt/BAir to cover both ledge roll and ledge getup at the same time. FTilt is Frame 12, so Charizard can ledgetrap on reaction with the FTilt.

• Squirtle can hit ledge hang with FSmash, Ivysaur can hit ledge hang with DAir/FSmash, and Charizard can hit ledge hang with down angled FTilt.

• Mix up ledge timings and options, and keep in mind the Pokémon might dash in to ledge to feint a ledge hang punish and then dashback to catch an option.

Juggling/Boxing:

Out of Shield Game of Each Pokémon:

• Squirtle has fast out of shield option in NAir (Frame 7) and FAir/BAir (Frame 8), or Grab to punish holding shield.

• Spaced DTilt on Squirtle’s shield will outrange it's out of shield options.

• Ivysaur has the slowest out of shield options of the 3, with a Frame 10 NAir and Frame 17 Grab.

• Charizard has a Frame 12 Grab, but Frame 6 USmash and Frame 9 Fly. Fly has super armor starting Frame 4.

Switch Mechanics:

• When activating a switch, the switch gives intangibility on startup, starting at Frame 1. This gives the Pokémon a Frame 1 escape option. Strings that are untrue can be escaped by switching. The switch takes 39 frames total, and has intangibility until frame 25, totaling 14 frames of endlag.

• If the switch is anticipated, there’s still a 14 frame window to punish. 25 frames before that window means that it’s reactable when anticipated. Delaying a combo finisher to cover the switch can lead to higher punishes.

• Switch can also be used to mix up landing timings, since it’ll stop the Pokémon’s fall during the switch.

Advantage against multiple Pokémon:

• As a rule of thumb, play advantage outside each Pokémon’s burst range. While playing advantage, make it difficult for the Pokémon to land a hit out of disadvantage.

• Ivysaur and Squirtle are somewhat slow on the ground. Ivysaur still has Razor Leaf to hit Young Link at from a distance and prompt shield or jumps, though.

• Charizard and Squirtle both have competent out of shield options. Attacks that are too unsafe on shield will be punished. Space attacks on Squirtle’s shield, and use proper landing aerials against Charizard’s shield. If Charizard guesses wrong with an out of shield option, Young Link can punish hard (USmash out of shield on Charizard's USmash, full hop DAir on Fly, spotdodge on Grab).

Juggling/Boxing vs Squirtle:

• Squirtle’s stubbiness in disadvantage means that he can’t threaten a wide range while cornered or trying to land.

• Squirtle can use Withdraw as a burst option out of the corner. Squirtle flies forward while in it's shell. The attack is safe on block since Squirtle bounces back after hitting a shield. The optimal punish is to footstool the attack and put Squirtle in it's helpless wobble animation, but this can be difficult to coordinate. Grabbing Squirtle out of the attack is more consistent.

• Squirtle can use Water Gun to push Young Link back and take back stage control out of disadvantage. The pushback is negated by holding shield. Water Gun is reactable at Frame 26.

• Corner pressuring Squirtle still places more of a precedence on avoiding attacks. Young Link still wants to keep Squirtle out and run away.

• When trying to juggle Squirtle, Young Link won’t be able to outpace him with frame data, since Squirtle is just as fast and sometimes faster. Squirtle has more consistent range, so it will usually win trades.

• Squirtle has a Frame 2 airdodge.

• Young Link doesn’t have to put himself in Squirtle's range, though. Young Link can juggle Squirtle with UAirs, which Squirtle can’t challenge with it's own aerials. FAir also works to catch Squirtle drifting away with a disjoint, as opposed to being in range of Squirtle’s attacks.

Juggling/Boxing vs Ivysaur:

• Ivysaur lacks the mobility to escape the corner on the ground or in the air. Play out of Ivysaur’s burst range, with it's disjoints (including Vine Whip) in mind.

• When Ivysaur drifts forward with Razor Leaf out of the corner, shielding is what Ivysaur wants, since it locks down Young Link’s mobility. Razor Leaf has a 24 Frame startup. Shielding is okay if the Razor Leaf is point-blank.

• Ivysaur can wavebounce and B-Reverse Razor Leaf to shift it's momentum while landing.

• Ivysaur can challenge Young Link for trying to anti-air or juggle it with DAir, which outranges Young Link’s UAir.

• Ivysaur’s NAir has only 13 frames of endlag in the air. Ivysaur can quickly buffer an aerial afterwards to cover itself.

• Catch Ivysaur’s landings indirectly. Bait it into committing and trap it's landing as opposed to directly going within it's range.

Juggling/Boxing vs Charizard:

• When pressing on Charizard’s shield, Young Link can punish Charizard’s out of shield option, even if it’s a risky commitment. If Charizard guesses wrong with an out of shield option, Young Link can punish hard (USmash out of shield on Charizard's USmash, full hop DAir on Fly, spotdodge on Grab).

• Charizard has the largest grounded and aerial burst range out of the 3 Pokémon, meaning Young Link has to be the most active with Charizard. That burst range demands that Young Link still play the game.

• Charizard can B-Reverse Flamethrower to alter it's aerial momentum when landing.

• Charizard’s big hurtbox means that he gets juggled by UAir easily. Charizard is weaker in the air in disadvantage, since it doesn’t have access to its grounded burst range and shield. Charizard’s jumps don’t go too high, either.

• Be careful about using projectiles to catch Charizard’s landings. Charizard can use it's 3rd jump to dodge a projectile aimed to catch it's landing, and then punish hard with BAir.

Offstage:

• Squirtle can use Waterfall when spaced to outrange Young Link’s edgeguard attempt. It can hit the ledge while recovering. Waterfall is vulnerable behind and above Squirtle. Space a NAir to hit above and in front of Squirtle to hit it through Waterfall. The mix-up is Squirtle drifting back to space Waterfall horizontally.

• Squirtle can also use Withdraw as a high recovery option to recover onstage. Young Link can slow down Withdraw by using projectiles, but can’t attack it head-on reliably. Slowing Squirtle down first with a projectile can make it easier to hit Squirtle and to send it offstage again.

• Squirtle is the most likely to swap of the three due to the lack of recovery tools. Squirtle has the fastest aerials to swat away opponents, but also the shortest range.

• Young Link's FAir can catch switches offstage. Because of it's high startup, slightly delaying the FAir can cover the switch if it’s slightly delayed, and the opponent uses the switch as a panic defensive option.

• Ivysaur is floatier compared to the other two Pokémon. Ivysaur has more range than Squirtle to hit Young Link, though.

• Ivysaur can use DAir to spike Young Link below it for trying to edgeguard. DAir also slightly stalls Ivysaur’s fall. When Young Link is above Ivysaur, it can instead use UAir to hit Young Link and push itself downwards and out of Young Link’s range.

• Ivysaur can use Vine Whip to swat away opponents trying to edgeguard it. Vine Whip doesn’t put Ivysaur into freefall. Ivysaur tethers to the ledge using Vine Whip. It can cancel the tether to bounce itself upwards. Keep in mind that when Ivysaur tether cancels, it loses some ledge getup, roll, and attack intangibility.

• Ivysaur is vulnerable during the tether animation. Young Link can intercept with little risk by Z-Dropping a Bomb offstage near the ledge to hit Ivysaur reeling in. This can combo into Dash Attack and run off NAir.

• Charizard has 2 double jumps offstage that it can use to recover.

• Charizard can use Flare Blitz from far offstage to grab the ledge. While Charizard takes some damage from using Flare Blitz, there isn’t a safe way to punish this. Flare Blitz has 18% damage based armor and extreme kill power. In this situation, it’s better to opt for the ledgetrap outside of Charizard’s immediate range.

• Charizard’s main recovery tool is Fly. It travels upwards and has super armor on the startup. Fly is incredibly risky to challenge up close, even being around Charizard when edgeguarding is entirely a risk due to Fly’s super armor.

• The actual recovery move is vulnerable on Charizard’s head. It’s possible to position a DAir to, at the least, hit Charizard and continue pressure.

• Squirtle has short range off of the ledge, it's only long-range option being Water Gun. Play outside of it's immediate burst range when ledgetrapping. Shield pressure with spaced FAir, Jab, and DTilt to outrange its out of shield options.

• Ivysaur can use Vine Whip to hit opponents through the ledge. There isn’t a direct punish available at roll distance. At the ledge, you could hit Ivysaur for regrabbing ledge, but that also means getting hit by other attacks from Ivysaur.

• When attempting to hit Ivysaur for using Vine Whip off of the ledge, the Ivysaur player will likely buffer a ledge option if Young Link is in range to hit Ivysaur with an attack.

• Keep in mind that when Ivysaur tether cancels, it loses some ledge getup, roll, and attack intangibility.

• Charizard can use FAir or Flamethrower from a double jump above the ledge.

• Pressure Charizard on the ground so it feels inclined to jump. While Charizard does have more range than Young Link in the air, Charizard loses access to it's burst range on the ground, which is larger and more difficult to deal with.

• Stay grounded when ledgetrapping Charizard. Young Link doesn’t have the aerial mobility to threaten his fast aerials against Charizard at the ledge. Operating from the ground gives Young Link better precision.

Ledge Info:

XLR8’s Spreadsheet Young Link Ledge Info (Squirtle):

DTilt: Hits

DSmash: Hits

FTilt: Hits

Most Reliable Move: All

Animation Info: Easier with head rise

Note: Easy, FTilt reaches the farthest.

XLR8’s Spreadsheet Young Link Ledge Info (Ivysaur):

DTilt: Hits

DSmash: Hits

FTilt: Hits

Most Reliable Move: All

Animation Info: N/A

Note: Easy, FTilt reaches farthest.

XLR8’s Spreadsheet Young Link Ledge Info (Charizard):

DTilt: Yes

DSmash: Yes

FTilt: Yes

Most Reliable Move: DSmash

Animation Info: Easy with head rise

Note: All moves have similar range.

• FD DTilt ASA %s:

• • Squirtle: 98, 89

  • Ivysaur: 115, 104

  • Charizard: 127, 116

• FD FThrow Ledge %s:

• • Squirtle: 144, 131

  • Ivysaur: 173, 158

  • Charizard: 193, 175

• Milkshake %s:

  • Squirtle: 88-115, 79-94

  • Ivysaur: 105-147, 93-123

  • Charizard: 120-171, 107-142

• Pokémon Trainer Kill Throws:

  • Squirtle: BThrow

  • Ivysaur: BThrow

  • Charizard: FThrow/UThrow

• Squirtle's FTilt starts sending Young Link into tech chases with no rage at 76%.

• Battlefield:
  Indifferent. Young Link won’t die as early as on YS since the blast zones are larger. There is enough space to zone out Squirtle and Ivysaur, but getting off of the ledge against Charizard is a bit difficult due to the space it can control.

• Small Battlefield:
  Good. PS2 with less space for Young Link. There are still platforms to aid Young Link in disadvantage, but less space.

• Final Destination:
  Bad. While this stage allows Young Link to cover more space with projectiles, Young Link loses platforms that he needs to mix up disadvantage against Ivysaur and Charizard.

• Smashville:
  Terrible. This stage gives little space to wall out all of the 3 Pokemon. There’s little space to zone Squirtle. Ivysaur and Charizard can hide under the center platform in advantage for extra cover.

• Town & City:
  Great. This stage’s wide layout enables Young Link’s zoning, like PS2 and Kalos. The platforms can help Young Link get off of the ledge.

• Lylat Cruise:
  Indifferent. This stage’s slants and platforms benefit Young Link, since his Fire Arrows have more range and Young Link can use the platforms to help him land. Getting off of the ledge vs Charizard is a bit of a hassle, though.

• Pokémon Stadium 2:
  Great. This stage gives plenty of space to zone out Squirtle and Ivysaur. The platforms on the sides give Young Link options in disadvantage with fall timings and shield on the platform.

• Kalos Pokémon League:
  Great. Like PS2, this stage gives plentiful flat space to zone out Squirtle and Ivysaur. The side platforms and walls help Young Link in disadvantage when trying to recover, land, or get off of the ledge.

• Yoshi’s Story:
  Terrible. Ivysaur and Charizard can close stocks early with their juggling and ledgetrapping tools on here, thanks to the low blast zones and small space of the stage.

• Hollow Bastion:
  Indifferent. This stage provides enough space on the sides to comfortably run away from Squirtle and Ivysaur. It still has the downsides of SV in that Charizard and Ivysaur gain more cover in onstage advantage thanks to the center platform.

• Young Link vs Pokémon Trainer MU VoD Playlist: YL vs PT VODs

• (@kyle_roath on Twitter) Ivysaur’s Vine Whip Hitboxes: kyle_roath's Tweet

• (PTcord Resources): Oak's Lab Ultimate

• (PTcord Resources): Squirtle FTilt Tech Chase %s