Bowser v Lizardon JMU (copy update)

Creator: bananagram

Neutral:
Charizard gameplan: don't get grabbed
Bowser gameplan: take stage control so grabs are possible

Charizard wants to outspace Bowser. If he does that long enough, generally he wins. He should use bair and flamethrower a lot, especially, and pressure with fair.

Bowser should bait a whiff, gain stage control, or bait him to get into pivot grab range.

Close quarters combat might be hard. Zard has jab, which is very fast, and dtilt, which can be grabbed and is somewhat unsafe on block; Bowser has jab, which goes farther than Zard's and is safer, dtilt, which is safer on shield but unsafe on whiff. Bowser's attacks beat Zard's dtilt usually, but it's still a good option. Zard wins within range of jab; Bowser has the advantage just outside that range; Zard has the advantage outside of CQC. Charizard's shield isn't generally a good option, but it has high reward if he blocks an attack. Bowser can win CQC by pivot grabbing, since it goes farther than anything, but it's punishable.
Bowser wants to get stage control, because he can pressure and get a grab. Charizard is better at getting and keeping stage control, but Bowser gets more reward for having it.
For Charizard, tilts and jabs seem to be enough to stop non-pivot grabs, unless Bowser powershields them or baits a whiff.

If Bowser tries jab 1 > grab, Charizard can roll out of it.

Both characters' early dash attacks beat each other's flames.
Bowser's dash attack beats jab 1, while jab 1 beats Bowser's dash grab.

Bowser's pivot grab goes further than CQC range, but CQC is safer. He can use it to punish Charizard's close-range moves.
Charizard's bair goes further than CQC range as well, and further than pivot grab range. It's safe on shield but not on whiff, and is somewhat spammable. If Bowser is hit it'll kill around 100, so he must be careful when Charizard turns his back on him.


Zard Advantage:

Bowser should DI dthrow up and out to stop combos later.

Zard can juggle a lot with usmash, utilt, and maybe nair. He can also bait out a landing option with good use of shield/dashing back. Dair and bomb are very powerful though!
Nair beats Bowser's dair?
Utilt/usmash beat dair/bomb

Zard can ledgeguard by covering all options with nair or just standing on the ledge and reacting to options.

Bowser needs to watch out for fly, which punishes lag on frame 9 and attacks on frame 4 while killing around 130. It's extremely punishable, though.
He also needs to be careful of rock smash, with armor starting frame 5 and attacking on frame 24. It's laggy, so if you bait it out or position yourself so it'll miss, you can punish.
He should also be careful of Flare Blitz, though he might just forget about it. It punishes attacks such as aerial walls if he gets a 30-frame read. Bair will break its armor.


Zard Disadvantage:

Bowser's throws are weak against Charizard because of hurtbox jank.
Bowser's throws:
    at very low percent, uthrow > utilt is true. uthrow > nair can be interrupted.
    at mid percent, uthrow > nair is optimal.
    at around 50 at the ledge, he can do uthrow > reverse fair facing away from the blastzone > bair. This is basically a huge DI mixup. DI bair up and in, though.
    Kill percent is around 90-110 without rage. At this percent, DI uair out. DIing uthrow up may reduce the percent slightly. After this percent, jump out.
    at very high percent, fthrow and bthrow are kill throws at the ledge. DI in.
    Flying slam will kill around 130, and sooner with platforms.

Bowser can fh nair for juggles (maybe even rising nair > dj nair). Nair/dair might beat it, and rock smash beats it but is risky.
To guard Zard's landings, wait around where he'll land and shield. He can autocancel sweetspot nair on Bowser's shield and be somewhat safe, but not reliably.
Bowser can guard landings with nair and pivot grab.
Charizard can get off the ledge with ledge drop AC fair or ledge jump fly, so Bowser can't stand right at the edge to ledgeguard.


Stages:
BF is super good for Zard. He can hold stage control better than Bowser by sharking through the platforms. Meanwhile, flying slam kills on it just after uthrow > uair kills, so . (Charizard should influence it away from the top platform.)
FD might be good for Zard because platforms don't allow Bowser to land. Bowser can guard Charizard's landings as well, though.
TC and SV are good for Bowser because he can land on the platforms and Charizard can't pressure them very easily.