Fighter Concept: Plusle & Minun

[Perkilator]

A while back, I made a topic about the infamous "Forbidden Seven" of Brawl and the ambiguity of "pra_mai". My mid says it's probably nothing, but my heart wants it to be Plusle & Minun. So one day I thought "hey, what if it was Plusle & Minun?" and so decided to make a fighter concept just for them.

Alts & others

Spoiler

1. Plusle & Minun (default)
2. Shiny (red & green)
3. Espeon & Umbreon (pink/purple & black/yellow)
4. Latias & Latios (white/red & white/blue)
5. Palkia & Dialga (pink & blue)
6. Reshiram & Zekrom (white/orange & black/blue)
7. Joy-Cons (red/black & blue/black)
8. Team Magma hat and Team Aqua hat (special costume)

Intro: Plusle and Minun both appear out of Poké Balls.

Stance/Idle 1: Their idle stance from the games.
Idle 2: Plusle looks at the camera and scratches an ear.
Idle 3: Minun looks at the camera in confusion.

Walk: Pichu’s walk
Dash: Pichu’s dash
Damage: Pichu’s damage animation
Jump: Pichu’s jump
Crouch: Pichu’s crouch

Playstyle & Fighter Ability: Plus & Minus

Spoiler

I designed Plusle & Minun to be spiritual successors to Pichu's moveset while being unique in their own right. So of course, as such, they'll be extremely light but with the biggest and most obvious difference (aside from being a tag team) being that their electric attacks don't cause recoil, but instead have a different gimmick.

In Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire, Plus and Minus are both abilities that raises a team's Sp. Attack if one Pokémon has Plus and the other has Minus; these were originally the signature abilities of Plusle and Minun before Gen V, so they'd be represented here as well.

Plusle's ability, Plus, has its electric attacks deal multiple hits but less knockback, while Minun's ability, Minus, has its electric attacks deal a single hit with normal knockback but less hitstun. That said, both Pokémon's attacks all deal the same amount of damage. They also depend greatly on each other; if the partner is K.O.’d, certain moves that require the partner's presence will be rendered useless and the leader can't call them back until after they lose a stock. This also renders certain moves that require the partner less effective if not useless without them.

This was a concept inspired by their portrayal in a fantastic Rivals of Aether mod.

 

Normal Moves

Spoiler

The damage values assume opponents are hit by one of the two Cheering Pokémon.

Jab: Encore; Plusle and Minun both jab twice with pom-poms made of sparks (1% each, small knockback), which are then used for their flurry attack (1% each, small knockback)
Forward+A: A double-footed sweep (4%, small knockback)
Up+A: Plusle and Minun rear their heads backwards while attacking with their ears (5%, small knockback)
Down+A: Plusle and Minun swipe their tails in front of themselves (4%, small knockback)
Dash Attack: Plusle and Minun perform a jumping headbutt (6%, small knockback)
Edge Attack: Plusle and Minun flick their tails out after climbing back up (5%, small knockback)
Get-Up Attack: Plusle and Minun swing their tails on both sides (5%, small knockback)

Aerial Attacks
Air+A: Plusle and Minun discharge electricity around themselves (6%, small knockback)
Air Forward+A: A forward barrel roll enveloped in electricity, hitting four times (2% each hit, small knockback)
Air Back + A: Plusle and Minun envelop their tails in electricity (7%, small knockback)
Air Up+A: A frontflip tail attack (4%, small knockback)
Air Down+A: A downward barrel roll enveloped in electricity (8% with a meteor effect, OK knockback)

Smash Attacks (only the leader can charge Smash attacks, making it useful for combos)
Forward+A: Thundershock; Plusle and Minun launch a short jolt of electricity from their cheeks (8%, OK knockback)
Up+A: Headbutt; an upward headbutt (8%, OK knockback)
Down+A: Shock Wave; Plusle and Minun discharge electricity while quickly spinning in place (8%, OK knockback)

Grab Game
Grab: Plusle and Minun quickly lean forward and grab the opponent with one arm. Only one of the two can grab the opponent.
Pummel: Plusle or Minun shocks the opponent (1%)
Forwards+Throw: Plusle or Minun places the opponent on its back and shocks them, sending them forward (12%, OK knockback)
Back+Throw: A backwards somersault with the opponent (9%, OK knockback)
Up+Throw: Plusle or Minun tosses the opponent up and headbutts them (10%, OK knockback)
Down+Throw: Plusle or Minun places the opponent on the ground, then jumps on them (8%, small knockback)

Special Moves

Spoiler

B : Thunder Jolt; Plusle and Minun both fire a jolt of electricity forward (7%, small knockback). Plusle’s jolt travels along the surfaces of a stage and briefly paralyzes opponents, while Minun’s jolt travels in a straight line, unaffected by gravity.
B + Forwards : Baton Pass; the leader throws their partner forward as they are enveloped in electricity (12%, OK knockback), which then switches who the leader is. When used in the air, the former leader enters freefall while the new leader can act out of it, but can’t use Baton Pass twice in a row. However, when the leader is in a position where they can use Baton Pass again, doing so calls their partner right to them, assuming the partner isn’t K.O.’d. If your partner is not present when you attempt to use Baton Pass, the leader instead turns their head left and right, looking for them; in other words, the attack doesn't work unless your partner is around.
B + Up : Quick Attack; Plusle and Minun both zip forward in the direction tilted on the control stick (7%, small knockback; the leader’s version is used first). The sweetspot depends on the user; Plusle’s is at the end of the attack, while Minun’s is at the start.
B + Down : Helping Hand / Thunder; the partner holds their position and cheers on the leader, giving them and their team battle teammates a 1.5x damage boost, as well as a 2x damage boost to the leader’s Smash attacks. However, while the partner is defenseless while cheering for the leader, they will also be charging Thunder in three stages (each represented by a ring of electricity). Press B + Down again to have them perform Thunder at their current position; the power depends on the stage of charge.

• Stage 1: 15%, OK knockback
• Stage 2: 20%, medium knockback
• Stage 3: 25%, far knockback

Using Baton Pass in conjunction with Helping Hand gives the attack a 2x boost at the cost of taking away the 1.5x boost given to the leader and their teammates. If the partner is absent, Baton Pass doesn’t work and the leader only performs Stage 1 Thunder instead of Helping Hand.

Final Smash: Magnet Rise; Plusle & Minun join together and slowly start spinning. Their electricity then turns into an inescapable magnetic field that attracts opponents into an electric sphere hitting up to 20 times (2% per hit). Plusle & Minun then finish by repelling the opponents with one last electric burst (25%, far knockback)

Other animations

Spoiler

Taunts
Up: Plusle and Minun cheer to the camera with pom-poms.
Side: Plusle and Minun move their heads back and forth.
Down: Plusle and Minun charge electricity.

Winposes
1: Plusle and Minun perform a victory dance with pom-poms.
2: Plusle and Minun perform a cartwheel while holding on to each other’s ears before tumbling over accidentally.
3: Plusle and Minun charge electricity in their bodies before letting out a shower of celebratory sparks.

Applause: Plusle and Minun happily cheer for the winner.
Icon: Poké Ball
Boxing Ring Title: The Cheerful Duo
Star K.O.: “Praaaa…!” “Maiiii…!”
Victory Music: Victory! Pokémon Series
Kirby Hat: Plusle or Minun’s ears