Secret Set (shh)

Nick Wilde

Nick Wilde is one of the two main characters of Disney’s Zootopia, one of the highest rated and most popular films of the year 2016. You probably haven’t heard of it.

Well, to get introductions out of the way, Nick is a fox. Shocker, probably couldn’t tell by looking at him. He’s also a conman, living in Zootopia and making money off an incredibly elaborate popsicle hustling scheme. After a run-in with other main character, Judy Hopps, he’s basically forced into solving a case. This leads the two on an adventure where they solve a conspiracy, but I’m not going to spoil everything here. Go see the movie.

What I will say is that Nick has a very unexplored past, with a lot of implications, but no answers. Maybe that will happen in the inevitable sequel, but for right now, we just have fanfics to fill the gaps for us.

Stats
Weight – 79
Running Speed – 1.8
Walking Speed – 1
Air Speed – 0.95
Fall Speed – 1.5

Nick stands about as tall, if not slightly shorter, than Ness. He has a lean build, and usually has his paws in his pockets whenever he doesn’t need to use both, making him incredibly thin as a character. When running, he leans down, probably to become more aerodynamic. This is why he’s as fast as he is. Nick’s jumps are rather mediocre, but are still usable.

Specials
Neutral Special – Pawpsicles! Get Your Pawpsicles!
Nick pulls out a popsicle, which is in the shape of a paw. A pawpsicle. Nick pulling it out doesn’t take a long time at all, around twice as long as it takes to pick up an item, which still means its ridiculously quick. Other than that, the move doesn’t do anything else. He just pulls out the pawpsicle, that’s pretty much it.

Well, it does do more, obviously, it just requires a bit more input. The Pawpsicle is pretty much an item, which only Nick can use. As a note, Nick has a unique idle when he’s holding the Pawpsicle, where he licks it. Anyway, using the standard attack button while standing still will cause Nick to eat the Pawpsicle, wholesale. This recovers a rather pitiful 2%, but can be used multiple times in a row. This totals up to 3, and after the third, Nick will get a brain freeze, which acts as a stun that lasts a fourth as long as a shield break stun. Due to how that stun works, getting shorter the higher your percentages is, it can be actually useful to use this at higher percents.

Using a tilt, however, will cause Nick to throw the Pawpsicle forward. It has multiple uses when out of Nick’s paws, the most obvious being a projectile. Its comparable to a Mr. Saturn in both its speed and size, dealing 1% with barely any knockback to it. This is its most useless use, if you can’t tell. Once the Pawpsicle hits the ground, it’ll become an item that can be used by any opponents. It behaves like a normal food item now, but the brain freeze effect still applies if an opponent eats three in a row.

Anyway, the more important part of this is that, after a second of the Pawpsicle sitting there, it will melt into a pool of red juice. This is one of the most important parts of Wilde’s set, so keep this in mind. Each Pawpsicle will melt into a pool around the width of Kirby, taking around 8 frames in a very quick animation. When an opponent steps onto it, they will suddenly gain ice physics, though not as bad, around half as bad as normal ice physics.

This isn’t the only way the melting effect can be applied, however. After around a second of standing still, the Pawpsicle will start to melt while Nick is holding it. The melting acts differently here, however, as the Pawpsicle will create a drop of juice every 5 frames, leaving a smaller pool around 2/4ths the size of a normal one. The Pawpsicle can create 5 of these pools this way.

Nick can still throw the Pawpsicle, however. When thrown, it will instantly explode into a small burst of juice, leaving behind a similar sized pool, but the burst acting as a weak hitbox that deals 4%. This is one of the better ways of creating a pool, mostly because, well, it does some damage. These pools can be used for things later in the set, just be patient.

Nick can only have 5 Pawpsicles and their pools out at a time. Overall, it mostly comes down to how you spread them around the stage. The brain freeze, while providing absolutely no benefit to Nick himself (Dumb fox), can be used to play with opponents. The only reliable way of removing a Pawpsicle from the stage before it melts is to eat it, so make of that what you will.

Side Special – A Little Help
Nick pulls out a trumpet, and lets out a quick “toot toot” from it. This causes Nick’s “pal”, Finnick, to appear in front of him, carrying a baseball bat. Finnick is even shorter than Nick is, less than half his size. His small size makes him incredibly hard to hit, and it helps that he’s already a very speedy mammal. Seriously, Finnick runs slightly faster than Nick. The fennec is a lot tougher than his size would imply, being able to take 50% damage before retreating.

The summoning takes a bit to fully complete, around 15 frames, but Finnick opens with a baseball swing to the opponent’s kneecaps (Most of the time, some characters don’t have kneecaps in Smash) that deals 9%. This basically functions as a laser sword sweep, with around the same length as an uncharged one. It does deal hefty knockback though, capable of KOing at 250%, which makes it weak, but it’s the best attack Nick has at this point.

If you can’t tell, Finnick is a minion. This means he likes to do things on his own. Oddly enough, he really enjoys being far away from Nick as possible when they aren’t doing business. Finnick also doesn’t do much on his own either, only dealing with opponents when they get anywhere near him. Whenever an opponent gets near him, he’ll swing the bat again, with basically the same effects as when he’s summoned.

Despite being a minion, Nick requires a bit of extra care when it comes to actually having Finnick do anything. If you want Finnick to get anywhere near the fox, you’ll have to input the Special again, making Nick toot on the trumpet again. Though he looks reluctant to do so, Finnick will rush over towards the fox as fast as he can. However, you need to have something to keep Finnick interested. If you don’t do anything, Finnick will move away from Nick after around 5 seconds.

Finnick has a ton of interactions with Nick and his many, many props. For example, summoning a Pawpsicle when Finnick’s nearby will cause Nick to toss it to him. Finnick gets very confused by this, because what the heck is he supposed to do with a single popsicle? Well, he can do two things, in any case. The first is that he can activate the melting effect himself, leaving a trail of juice behind him. Fairly simple.

The second is that, when an opponent get’s near Finnick while he’s carrying the Pawpsicle, he will attack them with it. The animation is identical to the baseball bat, except with an even shorter range to it. It also still only deals 2% damage, so it isn’t an amazing attack either way. But, when the Pawpsicle hits, it will stick to the opponent, turning them into an unwilling pawn in your overall game plan, leaving behind a trail of popsicle juice.

When Finnick is given an item, he’ll drop the baseball bat, which drops to the ground as a normal item. Nick can pick it up, having act as a Homerun Bat at around 1/3rd the normal strength. Of course, since Finnick gets rid of the item when he’s finished using it, that leaves him with nothing. The fennec will tend to go directly over to the bat if it isn’t picked up, and will actively knock it out of Nick’s paws with a dropkick if he is holding it. This causes no knockback, but it does deal 2% damage. The obvious thing to do is drop the bat before Finnick needs it again.

As said above, there’s a lot more Finnick can do. We’ll just have to wait a bit for most of it.

Up Special – Fox Pounce
Ah yes, a generic recovery move! A real classic. Nick rears up… like a fox, and leaps up into the air. This is a very standard recovery move in most cases, Wilde leaping up around the length of, uh, Fox’s recovery. The main difference is that this takes less time to start up, but is also a bit slower. It also can’t do any damage, so that’s a bit of a bummer. It can combo into aerials, though, as it doesn’t put Nick into freefall.

The main thing with Fox Pounce is that you can angle it in 6 different directions. Straight up, and diagonally up basically results in a standard recovery. Left, right, and down result in the move changing significantly, however. We’ll start with down, since it’s a lot simpler. This will cause Nick to short-hop into the air, and then dives back towards the ground. If you want a good visualization, its similar to how foxes dive.

Anyway, this… doesn’t really do anything, yet. Nick will just crash into the ground, creating a weak hitbox that deals 5% damage. The move is slow enough for this to… really not be useful as a defense mechanism. It also puts him into a brief stun animation as he gets back. The main thing to take away from this move is the left and right angled versions, since they actually do something!

Nick will pounce forward… like a fox. This changes how the move works completely, turning it more into a command grab rather than a recovery. Nick will leap forward around 2 Battlefield Platforms forward in a short arch, before hitting the ground with some minor endlag. When the leap hits an opponent, Nick will pin them to the ground. This functions as a grab, as mentioned above, but it has half strength. During this period, Nick can bite down on the opponents like a HORRIBLE SAVAGE ANIMAL. This deals 8% damage to them. Nick will then get back up, a bit dazed for some reason, meaning this has a bit of endlag. It is slightly less endlag than the opponent gets after the move is finished, though.

Nick can leap into Finnick as well. If he hits the poor fennec, they’ll turn into a whirling ball, which travels forward an additional 1.5 Battlefield platforms from where he was hit. This functions as a hitbox as well, with surprisingly decent upwards knockback and 10% damage. Afterwards, Finnick tends to be launched out as a projectile that deals 3% more damage, and weak knockback. This can potentially KO the fennec.

The ball of foxes moves fast, making it easy to hit with, so it’s overall a good attack. Well, Finnick doesn’t think so. If the attack hits, he’ll still be angry at Nick, taking double the amount of time to respond to a call the next time you call. This is better than the alternative, which happens when you miss. When that happens, Finnick will just straight up ignore Nick for the next ten seconds. You can still activate his effects by going near him, however.

Finally, Nick can interact with the Pawpsicle juice with the side version of the leap as well. If he hits a patch of the juice when he hits the ground, he’ll start to slide across it on his belly. He’ll only travel the amount of distance remaining when he hits the juice, however. This doesn’t really have much to it, other than a mobility tool. When Nick reaches the end of the slide, he’ll go into a bit of lag where he wipes the juice off his tacky shirt. The fox ball attack can be used with this as well, any area with juice it passes over will not be counted for its duration.

Down Special – Pawpsicle Stand
As soon as the button is pressed, Nick will start to build… something. Okay, no need to hide it since you can see the move name, he’s building a Pawpsicle stand. This takes a while, an abysmally slow second and a half. This horrid lag is another reason you’ll want Finnick around. When he’s ready to do a job, he’ll actively protect Nick while he’s building the stand. This counts as a full job for him, meaning you’ll have to call him back once its finished.

The building animation is mostly Nick fiddling with something as he faces towards the back of the stage, a cartoonish cloud signalling that he’s doing something important. Once he’s finished, the cloud will clear, revealing the stand. It isn’t exactly the most impressive structure, a wooden box full of ice on wheels, and a sign showing the name and the price above it. It isn’t very tall, only slightly taller than Nick himself. It is very wide, however, slightly less than the width of Bowser.

The hitbox of the stand is the box part of it, the sign counting as a “background” object, even though it’s not technically in the background but whatever. Thanks to the wheels, Nick, and any other characters, can push it. This behaves exactly like a wheeled crate, only it has far less acceleration, and doesn’t deal any damage when pushed into another opponent. It can also be used as a platform, with similar ice physics to the juice. The stand can take 40% damage before being destroyed.

So, what’s the actual point of this thing? Well, the Pawpsicle Stand has a LOT of different ways it can be used. Let’s start with the obvious: It can carry Pawpsicles. If you throw a Pawpsicle at the stand, it will appear in the box, pointing up. The stand can carry around 10 Pawpsicles, and they do not melt while in it, making it a good prepping tool. Nick can pull a Pawpsicle from the stand by using his Neutral Special while next to it, which is slightly less laggy than the normal version. The slippery juice placement is fairly integral to Nick’s business strategy, so using the stand in this way is a major plus. However, Pawpsicles can be used by opponents as well, them being able to pluck them out and eat them easily. The brain freeze application still applies, however. The stand can still be stood on with Pawpsicles in it.

Next, we have Finnick’s interaction with it. This isn’t as major as the Pawpsicles, but still useful. You know how I mentioned that the stand can be pushed. Well, that’s what Finnick does, push the stand. Pretty exciting, huh? This is an important positioning tool, though. Also, if the stand slides over juice, it will actually accelerate, turning into a moving hitbox that deals 7-15%, depending on how much speed it’s gathered. Speed gathers depending on how much juice the stand slides over, with a 2/3rds of Battlefield maxing it out at around Captain Falcon’s dash. Of course, the stand can still go over ledges so… be careful. It can also hit Finnick, which deals normal damage to him. So, not a fun time for either of you.

Not done yet! Remember that super pointless downwards version of the Up Special? Well, it actually has a use, shock! Using while standing on top of a Pawpsicle Stand that has any amount of Pawpsicles in it will cause Nick’s dive to create a large burst of juice, depending on the amount of Pawpsicles in it. 1 Pawspicle causes a really pitiful plop of juice, only barely breaking the sign’s size in terms of hitbox. It also only deals 3% damage and barely any knockback, while leaving behind half a Battlefield platform worth of juice on the ground.

When this is used with all 10 Pawpsicles in the stand, it will create a massive burst, equivalent to 3 Bowsers as a hitbox, dealing 15% damage and above average knockback that can KO at 100%. The juice it leaves behind is the most important part, covering 4 Battlefield platforms, two on either side of the stand. This means that it’s already prepared you for a decent amount of travel. Downside of all this is that it has really bad end lag, Nick getting stuck in the ice for half a second before he pops back out. This is also what happens when you try to use it without any Pawpsicles in it. Also, it can be used while the stand is moving.

Finally, there’s what Nick can do with his Down Special while the stand is already in play. As the stand takes damage, it visually becomes more and more… damaged. Well, when Nick uses the Down Special now, he’ll pull out a wrench. He tosses it into the air, and then swings it downwards after catching it. This is a rather laggy animation, not helped by it having no range, dealing an incredibly pitiful 2% damage and no knockback. Of course, using it as an attack isn’t what it’s here for.

Hitting the stand with the wrench will cause it to instantly spruce back up a bit, healing 10% of it’s health. The laggy animation is the real problem with this, as it gives opponents ample time to counter it, and presumably damage the stand as well. Nick might be able to build the stand, but he’s not entirely great at the “fixing” aspect, unfortunately. This is why Finnick’s around.

Finnick might have a bad temper, but he’s good at sprucing things up (Well, he’s good at it to a point, his van still needs a lot of work). Using the wrench attack next to Finnick will cause him to fling it over to the fennec. This will cause him to rush over to the stand, and start working on it. This puts Finnick out of commission for a bit, leaving Nick to fend for himself. Despite Finn working on the stand for a while, and leaving him a bit open, a full operation can heal it back to full! How long Finnick takes is dependent on how much damage the stand has taken. The maximum amount of time it takes is 2 seconds, which really only applies if the stand is SOMEHOW surviving at 1% health.

The stand has a lot more applications to it, but we’re obviously not there yet.

Smashes
Forward Smash – Jumbo Pop Slam
With a rather laggy start, Nick pulls out a massive popsicle (Not Pawpsicle, mind you, those are shaped like paws, this is shaped like a regular ice pop), and then slams it down on the ground in front of him. This is remarkably laggy, obviously, since this thing is around twice Nick’s size by itself, taking around 1.5x longer to complete than an average Smash attack. This is like, Ganondorf UTilt slow.

Fortunately, its considerable size means it has good range as well, reaching… well, twice Nick’s height in distance. Which is a lot. The Jumbo Pop can deal a pretty dang ridiculous 20-35% damage depending on the charge, and is capable of KOing at 80%. The downside is that this thing is still incredibly hard to hit with, due to it’s terrible speed. Even worse, once the Jumbo Pop hits the ground, Nick will go into a severe end lag animation where he rests for a moment. This is one of the longest endlag animations in the game, and leaves the fox wide open.

However, you’re never at a disadvantage when using the Jumbo Pop. I mean, aside from a probable Smash Attack to the face. Both whiffing and hitting with a Jumbo Pop gives Nick some very unique opportunities. Whenever the Pop hits the ground, Nick can decide during the lag animation whether or not to leave it on the ground, or pick it back up.

Leaving it on the ground is caused by inputting down, or getting hit by an opponent during the endlag. A grounded Jumbo Pop behaves like a Pawpsicle, only it’s also a platform about half a Kirby tall, and just under 1 Battlefield platforms wide. There’s a more accurate description of it’s range, too. It behaves like the slippy juice, only it’s less useful in that you can’t push the Pawpsicle stand over it. Also, opponents can’t eat it. You’d have to be Giga Bowser size in order to eat this thing. (Giga Bowser cannot eat the Jumbo Pop, this is a joke)

Anyway, like a Pawpsicle, the Jumbo Pop will start to melt once a bit of time has passed. Specifically, you get 10 seconds of it as a platform before it dissolves into 4 Battlefield Platforms worth of juice. This is obviously a great way to cover ground, but it takes a while for it to be anything but a bit of a nuisance. Fortunately, Nick has a way of getting rid of it quicker.

Like with the Pawpsicle Stand, Nick can do that weird leap from his Up Special into it. This causes the Jumbo Pop to explode, which behaves like the explosion created from 7 Pawpsicles. The size of the blast is noticeably less, it only deals 11% damage, and the knockback KOs at 120%. The amount of juice it creates is only worth 3 Battlefield Platforms as well. This is a good way of getting rid of the Jumbo Pop if it becomes more of an obstacle, but not really a reliable way of spreading juice around the stage.

That’s what Nick can do with it on the ground, now to see what it can do if you decide to pick it back up! Holding up during the endlag will cause Nick to pick it back up, in a rather laggy animation, adding on some more lag. Surprising that a fox this small has this much HMA lag to him, huh? Anyway, while holding it, Nick plops the stick on his shoulder. This reduces his speed by a third, and gives him an upright stance while moving around, making him easier to hit. His jump height is also decreased a bit.

There is a slight saving grace to this, for a few reasons. One, while Nick is holding the Jumbo Pop it acts as a shield of sorts for his backside, negating all damage until it hits a limit of 30%, where it then shatters. The second saving grave is that, while moving around, the Jumbo Pop will drop a bit of juice every half second, resulting in 1/3rd of a Battlefield Platform worth of juice hitting the ground. The Jumbo Pop still runs on a 10 second timer, with it letting out a drip every half-second. Once the ten seconds are up, Nick will drop the stick to the ground, where it vanishes.

The obvious application of this is that Nick can use the attack again by inputting any standard input, only with half the start-up lag to it. This arguably makes the actual attack of this… attack, more useful. However, while it is held in his paws, Nick can unleash a secret attack! By inputting the Neutral Special while he’s carrying it, Nick will throw the Jumbo Pop forward! This is one of the largest projectiles in the game, being about as wide as Captain Falcon, and partnered with its already established height. It’s also one of the slowest, and really cannot travel any distances.

Its speed is equivalent of Ganondorf’s run, and its maximum distance is around 1.5 Battlefield Platforms. It does deal 25% damage, though, and can KO at 110%. Still won’t be using it much as an attack, though hitting something with it can be appreciated. Once it actually manages to hit the ground, it will explode, this time in a much more focused blast. It’s equivalent to 2/3rds of a Bob-Omb explosion, and has the same force as a fully packed Pawpsicle explosion, and still deals 25% damage. It’s juice output is the same, however.

Finally, while Nick is carrying the Jumbo Pop, he can transfer it around a bit. First, he can give it to Finnick. Despite his size, Finnick’s a tough li’l fox, and he ca carry around the Jumbo Pop without any negatives to his stats. It still leaves behind a trail of juice, and runs on the 10 second timer, however. Finnick also can’t throw the Jumbo Pop, and instead swings it like his baseball bat. It’s functionally the baseball attack with slightly more powerful stats.

Deals 15% damage on hit, KOs at 130%, has high range to it, you get the drill. Most important thing to note is that Finnick has increased start-up lag for the attack as well, though it’s only barely better than Nick’s start-up lag when using the Jumbo Pop anywhere.

The second place he can transfer it to is the Pawpsicle stand… Which isn’t really a Pawpsicle stand if it has a Jumbo Pop in it now, too. Anyway, the stand can only hold 1 Jumbo Pop, and nothing else when it’s inside. The Jumbo Pop sticks straight up, given a slight boost to its height thanks to the stand. The stand, surprisingly, doesn’t seem to take any of the weight, and can be pushed around like normal. It also isn’t affected by the timer, and doesn’t drip anymore.

The main focus of this is the Jumbo Pop, which turns into a frosted hitbox of death when the stand gets pushed around. The thing deals 4-11% damage depending on how fast the stand is moving, and while it doesn’t have incredible knockback. It’s usually constant and large hitbox can prove a problem to any opponents.

There isn’t even any saving grace when the stand gets destroyed while the Jumbo Pop is in it either. Normally, when the stand gets destroyed, all the Pawpsicles go along with it. The same can be said here, kind of. Instead of just vanishing, the Jumbo Pop will explode, in a near equivalent of the thrown explosion. It has the same size, but only deals 15% damage, and KOs at 140% now. Basically, when a Jumbo Pop is in play, it’s either you or the opponents that are in trouble.

Nick can only have one Jumbo Pop in play at a time however, and attempting to use the attack while it’s in play will activate a slightly different move. Nick will pull out the Jumbo Pop’s stick, and slam it into the ground in almost the exact same animation. It has the same range to it, but deals a more standard 9-16% damage, and also has pretty terrible knockback that can only really KO in the mid 170%s. The attack is much faster, obviously, behaving more like the lightweight Smash Attack you’d expect from a conman like Nick. Also, whenever the stick hits anything, it snaps in half. Good thing he’s got a bunch of them.

Down Smash – Bottle It Up
Guess what? More props! Nick loves this kind of stuff. Anyway, when the Down Smash is used, nick will pull out a large jar, and then slam it into the ground. This doesn’t have a great distance to it, only reaching out a bit in front of the fox (Exact measurements will be provided in a second, it is a prop). It’s also a fairly weak attack in general, dealing 7-12% damage depending on the charge. Like most of Nick’s attacks so far, it’s use as an attack is… underwhelming.

Once the move is completed, however, Nick will leave the jar on the ground, with very little end lag. There, it will become kind of an item, roughly 1/3rd of a Battlefield Platform wide (See? Told you), and roughly 2/3rds of Nick’s own height. It behaves like an item for the most part, anyway, and can be passed through by other opponents. However, while Nick can interact with the jar, opponents can only interact with it via attacks. After taking roughly 20% damage, the jar will shatter.

Nick can interact with the jar like any normal item, by pressing the standard button next to it. This will cause him to pick it up, where it acts like a crate or barrel, slowing him down a bit. While holding the jar, he can actually use the Down Smash again, though it behaves exactly the same, but with less start-up lag. Anyway, Nick can let go of the jar at any time, like with a normal item. Unlike the barrel/crate I compared it to, Nick will place it down directly in front of himself.

So, what the heck does this jar even do? Before we get to that, we have to explain something I “neglected” to mention about the juice. It wasn’t relevant until now, sue me. So, when juice is spread over thin platforms, there will be a bit of a drip to them. As in, the juice will drip down beneath them at a steady pace of 1 drip per 10 frames. This is entirely cosmetic… until the jar comes into play!

By placing a jar under the drip, it will start to BOTTLE them up! (Much like Nick and his emotions hahahaha) The jar will be filled to the top after 20 drips. From there, it doesn’t do much else until Nick decides to interact with it again. When he does, he’ll just pick it up again so he can move it. What you do from here on depends on what you want to do.

But before we get to the uses, I have to note a few more things. The first is that, if the attack is used next to Finnick, he’ll take the jar off your hands. Paws. Grabby appendages. Basically, he’ll just take it over to the nearest drip, and place it there, before heading back to do his own business. You can’t use this when there are no drips, however, as Finnick will just shoot Nick a glare before moving on with his life.

Second, the drips aren’t the only way to fill up the jar. A juice explosion of any kind will fill it up completely, but it will need to be directly under the hitbox in order for it to register. This requires a lot more set-up for virtually the same reward, but it makes one aspect of something we’ll get into easier.

By using the Down Smash while there’s juice in the jar, the move will get some extra oomph to it, boosting the damage to 9%-17%. The start-up lag is a lot worse however, but the slam also causes some juice to spill out, creating two 1/3rd of a Battlefield Platform sized patches of juice. Using this attack drains two of the drips from the jar, meaning you can use this about ten times before it reverts back to normal.

The second use is to have Finnick deal with the full jar. Handing it to the fennec results in something incredibly simple. He takes his bat, and swings it at the jar, shattering it, creating a forward shooting juice explosion. This creates a hitbox relative to the amount of juice in it, with the maximum reaching forward 2 Battlefield Platforms forward, and nearly reaching one of the lower Battlefield Platforms in terms of height. It deals 13% damage, but has high knockback, capable of KOing at 120%. Also a decent way of covering ground with juice fast.

The third and final use is something that Nick himself has to do. By taking a jar of juice over to the Pawpsicle stand, trying to let go of the jar will result in Nick pouring all of the juice into the stand. The ice in it will cause the juice to freeze over instantly (Don’t question it, Smash Bros. rules). This adds an additional bit to the stand’s movement. First, you can’t put anything in the stand while the frozen juice is in it. There just isn’t enough room.

So, now when you push the stand around, it will ALWAYS be a hitbox, no matter how fast it’s going. The damage has now been boosted to 5-20% based on the speed. These measurements are only for when a full jar is used, however, as they do change depending on how much juice was dumped into it. So, yeah, the jar can be helpful.

Up Smash – Feeling Foxy
For the start-up animation, Nick bends down, in a surprisingly athletic pose for someone like him. Once the move actually starts, he’ll leap up in the air a bit, around a ducked Kirby high, and rapidly slash at the air. Once the attack finishes, he’ll fall back to the ground and enter a brief endlag animation where he has to take a breather from the energy it took.

This is a rather standard Smash, compared to his other two ones. In fact, this is one of the few moves in Nick’s entire set that DOESN’T interact with anything! It is a pure KO move, and one of his best. Well, actually it is his best. The attack deals 6 rapid hits of 3-4% damage depending on the charge, resulting in 18-24% damage, and upwards knockback that can KO at 120%.

Its very simple in concept and execution, but using it is… difficult. The hitbox isn’t very big, even with the extra height (Blame Nick’s proportionally small arms), and the start-up is very bad. The endlag is really punishable as well, so if you’re going to use this attack, make sure it hits, and make sure you can KO with it.

Standards
Jab – Fox Claws
Nick has an incredibly simple jab, all considering. It doesn’t interact with anything (Well, it interacts with ONE thing) and is overall… not an incredibly good move. The animation is also simple, Nick slashing forwards with both his claws, though he looks a bit uncomfortable as he does so. It’s generally socially unacceptable to use claws for violence in Zootopia. It’s a pretty standard three-hit combo, the first two hits being a swipe to the left and to the right. The final hit is multi-hit by itself, as Nick swats forward with both his paws, acting as another three hits.

None of these attacks hit very far, since Nick himself is pretty small. They also don’t do that much damage, maxing out at 10% damage, the last hit also dealing really weak knockback. It really isn’t that great, even as a jab, but it does come out quick enough to… not be the worst. Pretty mediocre jab, basically.

So, the scratching does have a bit of a use outside of just a general attack, though. Try using it against Finnick, especially if you really want to see Nick get hurt. If you do, Finnick will get really angry at his partner, and will start to fight against him. Not in a Smash kind of way though, instead they turn into a ball of cartoon violence. This acts as a hitbox itself, roughly larger than both their models combined, and in a half circle shape. If an opponent touches it, they’ll take 10% damage, with fairly mediocre knockback.

Once the fight has finished, invariably ending with Nick pinned under the fennec, Finnick will move on. This has the same applications as when the fox ball on the Up Special is used, so be careful with it. The ending also has a lot of lag to it, Nick getting up rather unsteadily before shaking the attack off. Also, Nick doesn’t take any damage, because moves that damage yourself are dumb.

Forward Tilt – Police Training
Spoilers for a movie most people have seen, Nick becomes a police officer at the end of the film. This means he has at least some access to police equipment, in this case a tranquilizer dart gun. He pulls the gun out, and aims it forward, a bit unsteadily. He fires it, sending out a small projectile. If you’re a nerd like me who cares about this kind of thing, then you can consider this a set for the Nick between the cut to the last scene. But nobody else cares about that. (To see more proper use of a tranquilizer gun, check out my Judy Hopps set coming to an MYM 20 near you)

Anyway, the tranquilizer dart is a ridiculously small projectile, slightly smaller than one of Mega Man’s standard buster shots. Due to how badly Nick fired it, however, the dart has really weak range, flying in a small upwards arch, before hitting the ground. The maximum height this reaches is maybe up to Mario’s nose, while the distance is a rather pathetic, for a projectile, single Battlefield Platform. It also only deals around 4% damage, and basically no knockback. It kinda sucks, but then again, it isn’t exactly meant to be a real weapon.

The firing has a lot of start-up lag to it as Nick fiddles around with the gun before shooting it. Its one of the longer projectile start-ups in the game, but not insanely long. Nick also takes a small bit of recoil when he fires it as well, going into a brief bit of endlag after it fires. This also isn’t amazingly bad, but it is bad enough to be severely punishable.

So, this projectile. Obviously it seems to have… no use to it at all But that’s wrong, it does have a use! If it hits an opponent, it will do what a tranquilizer dart is supposed to do, and stuns them… except it doesn’t, because that would be broken as hell. Instead, it slows the opponent down by 15% of their usual speed, which applies to every animation (Though it doesn’t slow down projectiles and jumping speed/air movement, meaning it really only affects physical movement from the character, and not all movement). This only lasts for around 2.5 seconds, which is more than enough time to take advantage of.

This still seems incredibly OP, right? Well, if you’re thinking of just doing this to the opponent a bunch, I have some bad news for you, foxface. With every shot the opponent takes, the amount of time they’ll be slowed down decreases by 30 milliseconds, eventually lowering permanently to 0.30 seconds every time. This is still enough time to get something out of the attack, but obviously any real potent potential from it is completely drained by this point. This does only last 10 seconds before the decay resets.

Doesn’t mean it loses all of its use, though! No, there’s still a lot of things for this little dart to do. First and foremost being that it can affect the Pawpsicles. By using the attack next to the Pawpsicle Stand, Nick will “inject” it with the dart. Remember, tranquilizer darts are made using a mix of chemicals to apply the tranquilizing effect, meaning that the ice of the stand is now full of tranquilizing juice, signified by it becoming purple.

Now, after that quick lesson in reality, we break from it for a bit. When a Pawpsicle (Or Jumbo Pop, but that’s only really an aesthetics change) is placed in the stand, they will turn purple. When Nick pulls a Pawpsicle form the stand now, it will retain the purple color. Once one is grabbed, this will change all of the Pawpsicles Nick can pull out into purple ones. This affects the Pawpsicle’s brain freeze aspect. Instead of taking three Pawpsicles for it to activate, it will only activate after one is eaten, which behaves like it normally does. It also doesn’t heal opponents, instead dealing 3% damage to them. This makes it harder for opponents to get rid of Pawpsicles, but it also means that Nick’s quick healing is pretty much done for.

The way to get rid of this, because you probably will want to get rid of it eventually due to how the stun works, is to use the dive on the stand. This will crush the ice, resetting it and returning all Pawpsicles to normal. Finally, any juice created by tranquilizer affected Pawpsicles and Jumbo Pops will be colored purple as well, but again, just an aesthetic change.

Next, there’s Finnick’s interactions. When used next to him, Nick will actually toss the dart gun to him. Unsurprisingly, Finnick is a lot more competent with firearms than Nick is, and is actually able to fire the tranq gun in a straight trajectory. When fired like this, it has a range of 3 Battlefield Platforms, and moves at around the speed of a Super Scope’s weakest shot. All effects remain the same however, it’s just a more convenient way of handling it. Of course, the downside is that Finnick, being an AI, will generally tend to shoot at opponents without thought, and as described above, not exactly a good thing. He can also only fire 5 shots before the gun runs out of ammo.

Next, remember how there’s juice in the jar? Well, Nick can also apply the tranquilizer dart’s effect to the juice, turning it purple as well. This doesn’t particularly affect anything Nick can do with it… But Finnick certainly can. When Finnick bursts the jar open with his bat, the properties of the juice projectile. Aside from turning it purple, the juice’s distance will lower, maxing out at 1.3 Battlefield Platforms, but also boost the damage to 17%, and able to KO at 100%.

The final interaction isn’t a particularly… good one. You know how the tranquilizer dart is designed to stun other characters? Well, it can do that to Finnick too. If a dart hits him, he’ll instantly pass out on the spot, becoming incredibly vulnerable and generally ruining your game plan. You can’t do anything, and have to wait an abysmal 5 seconds for him to wake up. The chemicals affect his tiny body a lot more than any of the superhero characters in Smash Bros., you see.

Main thing when using the dart gun is to be mindful of how it fires, and when to fire it. Firing it around, despite its useful applications, can end up being a disaster, rather than a help.

Up Tilt – A Fox’s Favorite(?) Treat
Fun Zootopia canon facts, Nick is a vegetarian. His favorite food, in particular, are blueberries. For his UTilt, Nick balances a small (Though its still very visible on screen) blueberry on his thumb, before flicking it up into the air. The blueberry acts as a projectile, kind of. It wouldn’t be inaccurate to call it a disjointed hitbox, either. The blueberry is potentially one of the smallest hitboxes in the game, but it moves fast, and actually covers a decent amount of air.

When it’s flicked up, the berry will curve back down after reaching roughly half of Nick’s height in the air. Once it falls back down, Nick will catch it in his mouth, providing a 2% health boost. Before you even think of spamming this, not only is the attack not fast enough to be incredibly spammable, but after 3 uses, the berries will stop healing for 10 seconds. Too much of a good thing, you know?

Anyway, while the start-up of the “attack” isn’t that great, its still far from the worst start-up in Nick’s set. If the berry hits an opponent, it will burst into a small blue burst of juice (Which doesn’t collect on the ground, just have to notify this) that deals 7% damage to the opponent, with very weak upwards knockback. Yes, a blueberry does that. Have you ever been hit by a fast-moving berry? It huts. Nick can testify. He got shot by one. Also, hitting an opponent doesn’t count as a use of the healing. Also have to clarify that.

Now, this blueberry has a lot more it can do. Aside from being made into pie, if Nick uses it next to the Pawpsicle Stand, he will instead fling it into the stand. This behaves similarly to the FTilt’s reaction, turning the ice, and any Pawpsicles and Jumbo Pops there on, blue. Like with the tranq dart, this is aesthetic for the Jumbo Pop and juice, but has an effect on the Pawpsicles themselves.

Now, when Nick or an opponent eats a Pawpsicle, it will boost its healing properties to 7%! Combine two of Nick’s favorite things together, and you get a super healing item, just basic math. The downside of this, aside from it obviously also giving opponents boosted health, is that now Nick and opponents can only eat two before the ice cream headache starts.

Finnick has a few interactions with the blueberries, but the main one isn’t that interesting. When used next to Finnick, Nick will flick the berry over to him. Finnick, unlike Nick, isn’t a vegetarian, meaning he is a lot… less excited by the food. He will, however, still eat it, healing him by 2%. Not much, but a decent way to keep Finnick healthy. The decay still affects him, however.

Finally, it can also affect the juice jar, much in a similar way to the Ftilt, surprise. Nick will flick the blueberry into the jar, turning the juice blue. This mainly affects the projectile when Finnick destroys the jar, expanding the hitbox to around 3 Battlefield Platforms at max juice, but reducing the damage to 10%, and the knockback down to 140%.

Down Tilt – High Tailing It
Nick’s Down Tilt is probably exactly what you expect from it. From his crouching, position, he sweeps around in a circle with his tail. It’s general animation and effect is incredibly similar to, uh, Fox’s Dtilt. It’s a sweeping move the main differences coming from it being able to hit on both sides, and having a LOT more start-up time, as Nick is nowhere near as athletic as Fox is. It takes a bit more doing.

The range is also different, due to size differences, as it can only reach about 3/4ths as far as Fox’s. This is made up for, of course, by him being able to hit on both sides. Other than that, the general knockback is similar, being rather weak, and not a particularly good KO move. The damage is also suitably weak, only dealing 5%. Generally, this isn’t that great of an attack. Sensing a pattern?

Like most of Nick’s attacks, this has a secondary function. If Nick uses it while in a pool of the juice, his tail will pick some of it up, coloring the edge of his tail a reddish pink. This behaves similarly to when he’s carrying the Jumbo Pop, dripping occasionally and creating a small pool of juice behind him. In this case, it drips every second, creating a pool 1/3rd the size of a Battlefield Platform, like the Jumbo Pop.

Unlike with the Jumbo Pop, Nick can still use any attacks during this period. The big downside is that this only runs on a 5 second timer, meaning it doesn’t create as much juice as a Jumbo Pop, but still being able to spread juice yourself while attacking is a decent make-up.

Also, when Nick uses his Dtilt now, it will shoot off a small burst of juice, increasing the attack’s range, but getting rid of the juice in the process. This isn’t a projectile, and merely acts as an extension of the attack’s normal hitbox, boosting it to a full Fox Dtilt in range… though it only hits in front of Nick, the back hit behaving as normal. It also boosts the damage to a slightly better 9%, but the real downside is that it doesn’t actually leave any juice on the stage, it vanishes once the attack is used.
Also, yes, the attack is called High Tailing It even though it’s a low attack. It’s the only pun I could think of.

Dash Attack – Fox Trot
From his dash, Nick leaps into a pounce. Unlike his Up Special, this is more of a normal pounce, rather than a physics defying nonsense attack. As in, it’s a very standard leap forwards, Nick’s entire body acting as a hitbox. The pounce reaches forward half a Battlefield Platform forward, but is actually very quick to come out, making it a decent surprise attack if used at the right times.

Nick does suffer a bit of ending lag, no matter if the attack whiffs or hits. If it does hit, Nick will bounce back off the opponent after dealing 9% damage with moderate knockback. This puts him into a prone position before he gets back up. If he misses, he’ll hit the ground on all fours, and have to get back on his legs, in roughly the same amount of time it takes when he does hit an opponent.

The secondary effect of this attack only works if Nick uses the move over a juice pool. It also only activates when the attack misses, and ultimately leaves this as a traversal move rather than an attack. When the attack is used, Nick will quickly switch his positions during the last few frames, going onto a relaxed, hands-on-head position as he hits the juice.

When this happens, he will slide across the juice for roughly half the pool’s current length. Due to the speed behind the attack itself, the slide is faster than Nick’s dash itself, meaning that, on larger pools, he can traverse rather large sections of the stage in a short time. Also, due to Nick’s hitbox being much shorter at the time of the slide, he can slide underneath taller character’s legs.

This only works if a character is standing, as a ducking character will block it no matter what. Once the slide is finished, Nick will be put into the same fairly bad endlag as when the attack is used normally. When the slide finishes naturally, he’ll quickly get up, and shake the juice from his fur. If the slide is blocked by an opponent, Nick will bump his head, and quickly scramble to his feet.

Aerials
Neutral Aerial – INCOHERANT FLAILING
Nick does NOT like heights. His falling animation has him visibly terrified of it, but this is Smash Bros. and he really does not have a choice in the matter about jumping or not. This plays into his incredibly simple NAir, where he spins his arms around, flailing and trying to grab at something. The start-up of the attack is quick, and there is very little endlag, allowing Nick to cancel from this attack into something more useful later in a fall.

There really is not much to the attack, other than it POSSIBLY being Nick’s best physical attack (As in an attack he does himself), capable of dealing 12% damage if it hits right, as it deals several hits of 3% over its quick hitbox. Unfortunately, the hitbox of the attack is incredibly small, due to Nick’s arms being small, meaning it can be hard to hit accurately with it. The knockback of the attack is weak, KOing at 180%, but is also a bit upwards, meaning that getting it off correctly can help Nick descend faster than the opponent.

Back Aerial – Get Some Tail
Nick, from his panicked aerial state, manages to gather some courage up, and spin around in what amounts to a very simple BAir. Nick’s tail acts as the hitbox here, having a bit more reach than it does on the DTilt, if only by a slight measurement. It isn’t a very powerful move, dealing only 11% damage, with very mediocre knockback, but the speed of the attack definitely makes up for it. The knockback, still mediocre, isn’t horrible mind you, meaning activating it out of a shorthop for a decent keep-away move.

If Nick has juice on his tail from the DTilt, using the attack will activate a similar effect, which behaves almost identically from how it does on the ground. The hitbox is slightly changed from how it is when used on the DTilt, however, spreading out a bit more with less range. This boosts the damage to 14% damage, and makes the knockback a bit better. Its still as fast as normal, meaning that you can use it as an even more effective keep away attack.

You know, maybe I should have called this “High Tailing It” and the DTilt “Get Some Tail”? Nah.

Forward Aerial – NEED A PAW
Nick lashes out a bit, stretching his body out as he attempts to grab onto anything in fornt of him. Of course, since this isn’t a grab, it fails 100% of the time. However, his flailing arms make for a decent hitbox! It isn’t an amazing attack by any means, having less range than his BAir and also having a much longer animation, as well as start-up.

The attack does go on for quite a few frames, in fact, you can make Nick keep doing it by holding the button down, but this isn’t an incredibly useful thing. When used normally, it can actually last around 25 frames (Tell me if I that’s a decent amount for what I’m aiming for, FA). The attack, like Nick’s NAir, attacks via multiple hits, each one doing 3% damage. With a standard press, Nick can deal 12% damage over the course of the attack.

It isn’t an amazing attack, but Nick can retain some forward movement while using it, making it a decent aerial approach tool, even if its something Nick isn’t really built for.

Up Aerial – Bit of a Reach
Nick desperately reaches upwards, again attempting to grab onto something. In this case, with both of his paws at the same time, claws out. This is an incredibly standard UAir, though it doesn’t have great range, but that’s shared with most of Nick’s non-prop attacks. It isn’t even that decent damage wise, only hammering out 11% damage, though the knockback is above average at least, managing to KO at 130%.

The animation also comes out fairly fast, though not as fast as some other aerials. It can still be used for a decent shorthop attack, helped by the fact that, though the hitbox isn’t very tall, it is a bit wide due to how spread out Nick’s arms are. Its still not as useful as Bair as a shorthop tool, however, but it is a good alternative.

Down Aerial – Jumbo Drop
Nick, like the completely unconventional lightweight he is, has a HMA stall then fall attack for his DAir! He pulls out another Jumbo Pop, and grips onto the handle as it falls down. The Jumbo Pop retains its general statistics from the Forwards Smash as well, making it a RATHER LARGE hitbox compared to most stall then falls. Due to the size of the attack, there is a lot more stall than fall in this attack, taking roughly 1.5x longer than Bowser’s DAir to start up.

It also dramatically increases Nick’s falling speed, nearly to the equivalent of the Bowser Bomb rather than any generic stall then falls. This of course, also plays into the attack’s damage, as it can deal 16% damage on its own, and acts as a meteor smash, like most stall then falls. Its incredibly powerful… if it hits. The bad start-up makes it very clear when its used. It also has bad endlag, as Nick has to hop back down from the top of the Jumbo Pop.

Oh yeah, this is a prop too! Once the Jumbo Pop hits the ground, it smushes down, becoming a large wall. By that I mean it can completely block movement and such, which can be useful if you have an out of control Pawpsicle Stand and not enough time to stop it yourself. Just quickly plop one of these down, and it stops instantly, no problem. It can also be used as a platform. General statistics for the Jumbo Pop on the FSmash also apply to its height and size, so consult that. (I’m too lazy to rewrite it down here.)

Anyway, the Jumbo Pop only acts as a wall for a short time, anyway. It lasts the same time as a usual Jumbo Pop does before melting completely, and leaves the same amount of juice as well, but this Jumbo Pop visibly melts as time passes. It loses about a half-ducking-Kirby every half second, until it just becomes mush on the ground. This means that any applications it has as a blocking tool, or even an extra platform, doesn’t last very long.

Grab Game
Grab & Pummel
Like all of (my) Grab & Pummels, these are ridiculously simple attacks. For his grab, Nick reaches forward with both paws, in a quick motion that also comes off as a bit awkward at the same time. It doesn’t reach that far, obviously, but isn’t a… terrible grab, at least.

When Nick grabs an opponent, it will be similar to what happens when Kirby or Pikachu grabs someone, the opponent being pulled down a bit to be on eye level with him. For his pummel, Nick scratches at the opponent, directly in the FACE. Its actually a rather quick pummel, all considering. It only deals 2%, but Nick can dish it out rather quickly before it ends.

Also, Nick can grab Finnick. Every one of Nick’s throws does something different, already related to the move at hand, but the pummel completely changes. Instead of scratching at him, Nick will set Finnick down, and pull out a purple piece of cloth. He quickly slaps it onto Finnick, putting him in his infamous elephant costume.

Saying this is demeaning is nothing, Finnick’s expression and animations instantly become more depressed once he’s in the costume. His movement speed is also reduced a lot, and any attacks he could do are removed from play. However, he also becomes completely invincible, attacks phasing through him due to opponents not realizing its not the same guy. Its dumb, but bare with me here.

Finnick will instantly start to follow a certain opponent for the next 5 second, again, the opponent not being able to attack him for this entire time. After the 5 seconds are up, Finnick will pull the hood of the costume down, and swing at the opponent with his bat. This deals the same damage as normal, but deals 1.3x the knockback of the usual bat attack. This sneak attack can be used as many times as Nick wants, but doing this will also put Finnick in a bad mood, meaning you’ll have to wait a bit before getting him to do anything else.

After using this once, Finnick will be stuck in the costume for the rest of the match, though his speed and moveset returns once the hood is down. Nick can also grab him during the disguised period, and reverse the effect by performing the input again, removing the hood and letting Finnick help. However, even being in the costume for a bit upsets him, so you’ll still have to wait a bit. He can only return to normal if he ends up getting KOed, but it looks really cute on him, alright?

Forward Throw – Bunny Ears!
For this basic throw, Nick lets go of the opponent, before kicking them back up to their normal stance. He then spins around and pulls out his phone, shooting a peace sign (or bunny ears) as he takes a picture of himself and the opponent. This, in total, deals 8% damage, making it weak even for a throw. That’s because it also doesn’t deal any real knockback.

Instead, it locks the opponent into a stun state that behaves exactly like the headache effect from the Pawpsicles. This allows Nick some set-up time while the opponent recovers, giving the fox a bit of leeway before he gets pummeled by Ganondorf. Since the stun behaves the way it does, getting shorter the more damage the opponent has taken, this is mainly used for set-ups, rather than as an actual throw.

When used on Finnick, Nick won’t kick him up, obviously, but the fennec will also very visibly not want to do this. Once the picture is taken, Finnick will enter a blind state, thrashing around the stages in random direction while swinging his baseball bat around. He swings blindly, of course, meaning they can come out at any direction, and they come out faster than normal. During this time, Finnick practically becomes a walking hitbox that deals 7% damage and mediocre knockback. He also only moves at half speed during this.

This only lasts for around 3 seconds, however, and it also angers Finnick a lot, meaning that he won’t be able to do any work for a bit. In case you forgot that from the last move. This is a decent to use during crowd control, or if you need to defend something for a bit. It comes out quickly too, making it even more useful for that function.

Up Throw – Two Paws!
For the standard throw, Nick lets go of the opponent, before grabbing them again and attempting to lift them over his head. This doesn’t work, obviously, because he short and not physically fit. When he tries it, he eventually tips over, performing an accidental suplex on them. The suplex is fairly standard for a throw, dealing 10% damage with upwards knockback once the opponent hits the ground. The knockback is mediocre, KOing at 160%, and the animation takes a bit too long for it to be valuable in the heat of the moment.

Its use with Finnick, however, is a lot more useful. Using it will cause Nick to fling the fennec up into the air, much higher than he can normally jump. As in, around 2.5 Ganondorf’s high. This is useful for getting Finnick around, mostly because its actually fairly hard to get him to actually go where you want him to go. The animation is much faster than the regular throw’s animation as well, meaning you can use it much more reliably. This is actually the one throw that doesn’t make Finnick angry, so you don’t have to use it sparingly!

Back Throw – For a Stroll
Nick, of course, lets go of the opponent at the start of the animation. He then proceeds to climb up the opponent a bit (Okay, he kind of just hovers to the side of their model for a frame or two) before jumping around their backs and kicking them back with both his feet, mimicking a certain rabbit. This deals 9% damage, and causes surprisingly mediocre knockback, but does knock the opponent off their feet, which is the important part.

By using this throw, Nick is able to knock the opponent into the Pawpsicle Stand if their model ends up touching the stand (Explaining the poor knockback), instantly causing it to move forward a bit. While an opponent is in the Pawpsicles Stand, it behaves like it does when filled with frozen juice, turning into a moving hitbox. The difference comes from the weight of the opponent that was tossed in. If the opponent is lightweight, the stand will travel fast, but only deal 8% damage. If the opponent is heavy, it will move at half speed, but deal 15% damage. Opponents can escape from the stand by mashing, much like a grab. This acts as a half-strength grab.

Nick can also use this with Finnick, though he instead just tosses Finnick in rather than kicking him. Finnick acts as a lightweight character, meaning this isn’t remarkably useful, but it is quicker to get out than the jar combo. Once the stand stops, Finnick will hop out of it, a bit angry that Nick did that without any warning. It becomes even more humiliating if he’s in the elephant costume, but that’s a personal thing

Down Throw – Slick Nick
Nick lets go of the opponent, before straightening his tie. He then kicks them in the shin (Or whatever is closest for the animation to hit on smaller characters), causing them to fall down, taking 12% damage. Yeah, this isn’t particularly amazing as a throw. It has functionally no knockback, instead acting as an instant tripping mechanism. The trip lasts a few frames longer, in order for Nick to at least get away before the opponent wrecks him.

The move does change for the better if its used while standing on juice. Once Nick kicks the opponent down, they will actually start to slide off during the tripping animation, reacting to the slippery physics of it. It also keeps the opponent down for a couple more frames than usual, and actively leaves them open for a follow up attack. Or, the more likely case for Nick, letting him get away faster.

When used on Finnick, Nick will continue to be just absolutely terrible to him, tossing the fennec to the ground. This does nothing other than piss Finnick off when used on normal ground, meaning you just wasted using Finnick for something. When used on juice covered ground, however, Nick will quickly hop onto Finnick’s back as he starts to slide across the juice. This is faster than actually running across the juice yourself, and is also pretty funny to watch.

While sliding on Finnick, Nick can perform an attack. Specifically, he can pull off any of his tilts, and the Up Smash. Larger prop based moves do not work. Like with most of the Finnick interactions like this, Finnick gets mad. After travelling 2 Battlefield Platforms, Finnick will throw Nick off his back himself, causing the fox to facefault into the ground himself. Most of the time, this move can be very situational, as you need to wait for a time when Finnick isn’t needed, but the ability to land some hard to hit attacks while moving is a major plus.

Final Smash
Get in the Van!
Nick has the Smash Ball! What’s a relatively average guy supposed to do with that power? Well, he… pulls out a set of car keys! Finnick, regardless or not if he’s on the battlefield, will show up and snatch the keys away, before running off for a moment. He instantly comes back, driving in an incredibly tacky van, to pick Nick back up. Before the van comes back, Nick will put on a pair of shutter shades.

The van is large, but only around as tall as Bowser, and as wide as 1.5 Bowsers. Control wise, the thing behaves like the Wario Bike, except able to turn around much more precisely, and with the ability to jump, because of course. The van is basically a moving hitbox, travelling at the speed of the Wario Bike as well, and will deal 20% damage on contact. The knockback is also pretty decent, being able to KO at 70-80%, since running into someone with a car is generally a fatal thing. The van lasts for around 9 seconds before it disappears. Once it disappears, Nick and Finnick will high five.

The shutter shades will remain on Nick until he gets KOed.