Greninja (Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U)

''This article is about Greninja's appearance in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. For other uses, see Greninja.''

Greninja was revealed as a new character alongside Charizard during the Super Smash Bros. Wii U/ 3DS Nintendo Direct. A Pokémon trailer was shown for both characters.

Pros:

 * High speed on both ground and air.
 * Fast attacks that can easily interrupt enemies.
 * Third highest jump (after Falco and Mewtwo (SSBWU/3DS).)
 * Good Aerial attacks.
 * Can wall-cling and wall jump.
 * Weak Grabs that allow for many follow ups.
 * Good edge game.
 * All Water Sword attacks have disjointed hitboxes.
 * Shadow Sneak can cancel the lag of all Greninja's Aerial Attacks.
 * Hydro Pump's water have pushboxes, similar to Mario's F.L.U.D.D., that also cause minor damage.

Cons:

 * Large frame, having big hurtboxes.
 * The Water Shuriken is Greninja's only ranged attack.
 * Weak grabs that cannot KO even at higher percentages.
 * Considerable startup and ending lags on many moves, mostly its aerials.
 * Hydro Pump doesn't have front hitboxes, meaning that Greninja will pass through opponents rather than causing direct damage.

Summary
Greninja is the Smash Bros. definition of high risk, high reward. Greninja’s speed is unmatched, which allows it to apply an immense amount of pressure on the opponent. Along with its speed, Greninja has solid and fast Smash Attacks and a good aerial game to make sure its opponent is sweating while on the offensive. Some of its special moves can make it fairly unpredictable, as well setting opponents for many follow ups. Greninja’s “edge game” is good as well, thanks to its aerial attacks and recovery moves.

The downsides begin with Greninja’s recovery options. Greninja’s substitute can be difficult to control and leaves it completely vulnerable to punishment. Greninja’s counter animation is really slow and is difficult to hit the opponent while in the air. Another shortcoming of Greninja's is its range. It needs to be up close and personal, and ranged characters can really rack up the damage on it.

However, Greninja is a character full of small tricks that can be used in its favor, for example using Hydro Pump's pushboxes to change the character's momentum and prevent them from recovering. This is mostly useful against opponents with poor recovering tactics, such as Little Mac.

Overall Greninja is a good character in the game, rewarding the player if they can pull off its tricky techniques while making the opponent look bad at the same time.

Normal

 * Neutral Attack: Jabs.
 * Neutral Combo: Rapidly jabs multiple times with blades of water, then finishes with a strong jab from its arm.
 * Dash Attack: Does a sliding kick similar to Mario/Dr. Mario's. Very fast and can set for many follow ups.
 * Side Tilt: Kicks forward. Similar to Samus' Forward Tilt. Can be cancelled into Dash Attack.
 * Up Tilt: Strikes upward with its tongue.
 * Down Tilt: Does a low kick. Can set for many follow ups.

Smash

 * Side Smash: Slashes with a water sword.
 * Up Smash: Slashes water swords upwards on both sides of its head.
 * Down Smash: Strikes on both sides with water swords.

Other
To be added

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial: Enters a ninja pose while a water vortex surrounds it.
 * Forward Aerial: Slashes with a water sword. Has considerable startup and ending lag, but is powerful.
 * Back Aerial: Does three spinning back kicks. High combo and KO potential. Has very little to none ending and landing lag.
 * Up Aerial: Does an upwards drill kick. Similar to Sheik's Up Aerial, however it only has hitboxes on its lag, as opposed to Sheik's whole body. Can KO at around 150%. Can also be used to pull opponents downwards with fast fall.
 * Down Aerial: Descends downwards quickly with its legs stretched out. Can cause Meteor Smash at the start of the attack, much like Toon Link's Down Aerial. If the middle hitbox of the feet connect, Greninja will bounce back, gaining vertical recovery. However, if the tips hitbox connect, it will go right through and hit the ground or fall to its doom.

Grabs and Throws

 * Pummel: Attacks with water blades.
 * Forward Throw: Hurls opponent forward with one hand.
 * Back Throw: Hurls the opponent backward with both arms.
 * Up Throw: Tosses the opponent upward. It is the only grab that can kill over 150%
 * Down Throw: Slams the opponent into the ground.

Taunts

 * Up: Strikes a ninja pose.
 * Side: Moves tongue from side to side as water sprinkles out of it.
 * Down: Sprouts water from both of its hands upwards (like water fountains). 3%(See trivia)

In Competitive Play
To Be Added

Greninja
''This Water/Dark-type Pokemon is the fully evolved form of Froakie. It's just as fast and dangerous as any other ninja, and the throwing stars it can make out of water can shear metal. In Smash Bros., as well as being a graceful, speedy fighter, it can also use moves like Hydro Pump that let it travel through the air and avoid falling.''
 * 3DS - Pokemon X & Pokemon Y (10/2013)

Greninja (Alt.)
''Greninja's Substitute down special lets you teleport to dodge attacks and then strike back, making it an effective and hard-to-predict way to counterattack. You can also control where you reappear by inputting directions. When you vanish, sometimes you'll be replaced by a log, other times by a cuddly toy.''
 * 3DS - Pokemon X & Pokemon Y (10/2013)

Trivia

 * Greninja's down taunt will actually do damage. This makes it the third character with a taunt that can cause damage. Luigi was the first, also with its down taunt. Snake is the second, where all his taunts can deal damage. Although, it's caused by the object he uses (his cardboard box).


 * Its first appearance being little over a year ago, Greninja is currently the youngest playable character in Smash Bros. history. Because of that, it is the last opponent faced in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS's All-Star Mode, after Robin or Lucina.


 * Greninja's official artwork for Super Smash Bros 4 has almost the same pose as its Ken Sugimori artwork for Pokemon X and Y.


 * Greninja, Rosalina and Palutena are the only characters to have a unique sidestep; instead of truly sidestepping it will disappear for half a second and reappear. its roll is the same thing.


 * According to Sakurai, Greninja was already being developed as a playable character before Pokémon X and Y were announced. Sakurai admitted that he and his team had to come with many original moves for Greninja and/or wait for the team behind Pokémon X and Y give them more info on the gameplay style of the character in development. This led to moves such as Secret Ninja Attack, to be created specially for Smash Bros. This Final Smash also references one of its signature moves in Pokémon X and Y, Mat Block (the other being Water Shuriken). Other than that, the move is entirely new. Greninja's Secret Ninja Attack and Zoroark's Fury Swipes both do the exact same thing: throw the opponent upward, trap them in the air, swiftly slash them multiple times, and deliver a powerful finishing blow with a meteor smash. The multiple attacks Greninja perform could also be a reference to both Quick Attack, that Greninja can learn. Although the slashes it does in its Final Smash are water-based.


 * During the trailer, fans mistook Greninja for Mewtwo since they both have three fingers. While charging Water Shuriken, Greninja had no webbing in between its fingers and a different torso shape. Because of this, many fans suspect that Sakurai and his team purposely made Greninja seem like Mewtwo to joke around with his audience. This has also transformed into an Internet Meme.
 * Another fact about the trailer, after Greninja is revealed and jumps off the tree branch it stands on using hydro-pump, a cloud shaped like Pac-Man is visible on the upper part of the screen.
 * Greninja is one of the most popular Kalos Pokemon.