Yoshi

Yoshi is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Battle Royale. He has appeared in every single Smash Bros. game. He has received an incredibly massive set of buffs into Battle Royale, and he has the smallest con list of any character. This is primarily because he performs terribly in other Smash Bros. games.

As of Tier List 3, Yoshi is ranked #1. On the ground, he is a total beast: He's fairly small, has the tools to combo well, has nice KO power, and is hard to get off of the ground. In the air, he's less of a beast but is still a force. His edgeguarding game is great and his recovery is loaded with Super Armor. However, he is combo'd with relative ease and his grab release is gone. He's still the best character in the game, bar none.

In The Battle Arena, Yoshi joins at Mario's request. He is often used to scout areas for enemies, although everyone tries their best to make sure nothing bad happens to him.

Taunts

 * Up Taunt: Yoshi dances around in a circle, and then jumps a short distance and says "Yoshi!".


 * Down Taunt: Yoshi turns to the screen and wave shis arms up and down, saying "Yoshi! Yoshi!".


 * Left Taunt: Yoshi chases his tail for a bit, and then looks at it, while turned to the screen.


 * Right Taunt: Yoshi turns around and looks at his back, and sighs in relief of nothing being there.

Ground Game

 * Note: Yoshi's overall priority is increased on all ground moves from the previous games. Any priority issues discussed below will only be in comparison to high priority moves, instead of as a move overall, unlike the other characters.


 * Jab: Yoshi performs a fast left kick, and then performs a fast right kick. A notoriously good jab in previous Smash games, it operates quite similarly here. It's great for applying pressure onto an opponent's shield, it's incredibly fast (next to no start-up and ending lag), and Stale-Move Negotiation barely touches it at all. The first kick can be combo'd out of, and while the second one can't, it at least interrupts basic projectiles (and even some items!). The first kick deals 4%, and the second kick deals 5%.


 * Dash Attack: Yoshi performs a running headbutt. Unlike most Dash Attacks, this is actually a very safe move. It has a bit of start-up, sure, but anytime after Yoshi uses the headbutt (10 frames), you can use IASA Frames to cancel into a different attack. This makes Yoshi's combo's much more lethal, as well as making this move much more useful. The solid range also makes for a solid edgeguarding tool. The move now has a sourspot, however, which activates after frame 14. The attack deals 9%, whereas the sourspot deals 4%.
 * RE-BALANCE EDIT: Yoshi's IASA Frames will only work if the attack lands. If blocked, Yoshi will not be able to take advantage of them. Using this attack near the edge of a stage will cause Yoshi to fall off.


 * Utilt: Yoshi performs an uppercut of sorts with his tail. If it hits a grounded opponent, they will be hit into the air, meaning you can begin an air combo afterwards, or simply juggle your opponent. If they're hit in the air, though, you can't do either of those, so it's ideal that you do not use this as an Anti-Air. This is probably the only ground move of Yoshi's that isn't anything special, although it's still one of the more impressive Utilt's in the game, mainly due to the range. The attack deals 11%.


 * Ftilt: Yoshi flicks the opponent with his tail. The range on this move is very solid, making it a wonderful poking move. The damage isn't very bad, and due to said great range, it can be used to end combo's and edgeguard quite well. The Fsmash is a bit better for ending combo's, but if that move is Stale, this is a great backup. You can't cancel out of this move, so don't plan on starting any combo's with this. The best aspect about this move, however, is the priority. Definitely one of Yoshi's best poking moves. The attack deals 9%.
 * RE-BALANCE EDIT: This has essentially become a "poking" move; its uses aside from that are very impractical.


 * Dtilt: Yoshi crouches and performs a tail whip. If the opponent is far away from Yoshi, the attack will deal less damage. The range on the move allows for that, doubling the size of Yoshi's tail for the range. The priority on this move isn't very good when it hits close, but the damage is superior. The move certainly has its trade offs, but overall it's still a good move that at least beats his Utilt. The attack deals 10% close, and 5% from a distance.


 * Fsmash: Yoshi performs a headbutt, simple as. It's a bit slow on start-up (starting frame 14), but it ends quickly, making it so Yoshi doesn't have to worry about being punished (ends frame 40, large contrast from Brawl's frame 59). After frame 30, IASA Frames can be taken into account. The damage is nice, high priority, solid range, and it ends combo's nicely. Can be easily sidestepped, however, and on block it isn't too safe. This is still a very good move, however. The attack deals 17% uncharged an 22% charged.
 * RE-BALANCE EDIT: This move's IASA Frames can no longer be used on block. If this move lands, however, the IASA Frames remain intact.


 * Usmash: Yoshi performs a vertical headbutt. This move is fairly owerful for an Usmash, although it has the awkward aspect of launching the opponent horizontally if it hits from behind. This attack is quite punishable; it hits at a fast frame 9, but it doesn't end until frame 42 (the attack itself stops at frame 26). It's not really punishable, but it's quite easy to punish for a lot of characters, namely those who can combo out of their jabs, such as Mario. The attack deals 16% uncharged and 23% charged. If it hits from behind, the damage does not change.


 * Dsmash: Yoshi performs two crouching tail whips, both hitting opposite sides of the other. The range is halved from the Dtilt (essentially, Yoshi's tail isn't doubled in size), but the priority is kept from the weaker version. Unlike Yoshi's other two smashes, the knockback on this move is not good. It's still a very fast move, though, and hard to punish since it hits both sides. The attack deals 14% uncharged and 19% charged; if it hits behind Yoshi, it deals 1% less, charged or not.
 * RE-BALANCE EDIT: This move no longer hits aerial opponents at all. This includes offstage opponents.

Air Game

 * Double Jump: Yoshi's double jump is a unique one. Yoshi performs a Flutter Jump, similar to that of Yoshi's Island. Yoshi does not gain a third jump, although his Up Special (Egg Throw) gives him a minor boost in distance traveled. To make up for Yoshi's overall lackluster recovery from Brawl, throughout the entire duration of this move, Yoshi gains super armor: He will take damage, but he will not flinch until the move ends. This makes Yoshi's recovery much safer. He can still be jumped on, however.
 * RE-BALANCE EDIT: Yoshi no longer keeps his jump if hit after this move ends. Super Armor breaking moves such as Bowser's Forward Smash will break Yoshi out of this, as well.


 * Neutral Aerial: Yoshi kicks straight in front of him. Yoshi's foot enlarges in size about 15%. This move is a Sex Kick. The initial part of the hit deals great knockback, and since it's a Sex Kick, it makes for a very good edgeguarding tool. Not to mention it starts at an extremely fast frame 3. You can use this at the very end of Yoshi's Flutter Kick (his Dair) for extra damage, even in long combo's. A very good move for Yoshi users to move for a variety of situations, although shield pressure is the one used most. The attack deals 12%; the Sex Kick deals 5%.
 * RE-BALANCE EDIT: Yoshi's foot size increase is no longer 25%.


 * Backward Aerial: Yoshi performs a quadruple tail whip. The range on this move is simply spectacular; the distance covered on each whip is the distance of an entire Yoshi. Not to mention it hits both upward and downward! This move is not a natural combo, however, so beware of the fact that this move may miss. It's a great move to end combo's with (either that or just Double Jump into another - the 4 hits on this move only count as one!) due to the great range, making it safe to end an air combo with. The attack deals a maximum of 14% and a minumum of 3-4%.


 * Upward Aerial: Yoshi flips and strikes upward with his tail. Doesn't take long to start (frame 4), which complements the KO potential this move has. From about halfway on the screen, the move KO's Mario at 130% on Final Destination. It's strictly used as an Anti-Air, though, as it can't hit grounded opponents. Aside from the great KO power, the priority on this move is fantastic. Of all of Yoshi's aerials, this one has the best priority. The attack deals 12%.
 * RE-BALANCE EDIT: Now deals 12% instead of 14%.


 * Down Aerial: Also known as Yoshi's Flutter Kick. Yoshi looks below him and begins to... well, Flutter Kick. This move deals an insane amount of damage, although the damage comes from several kicks, so it doesn't break counters. While it isn't the best Dair in the game (at least without competition), it's an amazing move for Yoshi that can even be combo'd out of, even if only by one move, his Neutral aerial. It also hits aerial opponents more consistently than it does grounded ones. The attack deals a maximum of 33%.
 * RE-BALANCE EDIT: The two buffs from Brawl (vacuum effect & natural combo) have been removed. It works better against aerial opponents than it did before, however.


 * Forward Aerial: Yoshi performs a downward headbutt. Starts up a bit faster than Brawl's did (Frame 16 instead of Frame 18), but it's more punishable, still ending on Frame 43. It acts as a meteor smash, giving Yoshi another method of KOing his opponent. Sadly, since this is not a spike, it can be meteor cancelled. Not the best meteor smash out there, but it works. The attack deals 15%.

Throws

 * Grab: Yoshi extends his tongue at the opponent. A very unsafe grab, with tons of ending lag (only grabs during frames 17-27; frames 1-16 and 28-60 leaves Yoshi vulnerable). His dash grab has improved range, but the same problem with ending lag. Yoshi's pivot is incredible, though, with the range of his dash grab, faster start-up (frames 10-20) and ends sooner (frame 30). Grab release chaingrabbing does not work anymore.


 * Pummel: Yoshi chomps on the opponent. Ouch. Deals 2% with each hit; very slow.


 * Forward Throw: Yoshi throws the opponent out of his mouth, forward. Can be chaingrabbed into itself until 40% on Mario. Anyone who is below Kamek on the weight chart cannot be chaingrabbed at all via this method. The throw deals 7%.


 * Backward Throw: Yoshi throws the opponent backwards. Bair can be combo'd out of it, but not much else. The throw deals 10% to compensate for a lack of combo ability.


 * Down Throw: Yoshi spits the opponent downward. A great way of starting a combo; combine this with Yoshi's Pivot Grab and you have Yoshi's best throw. The throw deals 5%.


 * Up Throw: Yoshi spits the opponent upward. You can combo into some things with this throw, but not many; only a select few are worth it. The throw deals 9%.

Specials

 * Special: Egg Lay. Yoshi extends his tongue, similar to his grab (but much quicker). If the move misses, Yoshi will quickly return his tongue inside of his mouth. If it hits, he will swallow his opponent, and they will turn into an egg. While they are in this egg, they cannot move, although mashing buttons will help them escape sooner. The amount of time the opponent is stuck in the egg depends on how they button mash, and what their % is. The more damage they have taken during that stock, the longer they stay inside the egg. Once an opponent reaches 300%, they cannot escape from the egg until Yoshi attacks them a certain amount of times. The length of how long each character stays in the egg can be seen on its page.

It's faster than it was in Brawl (begins Frame 14 instead of 17, the hittable portion still ends on 20). The best thing about this move is probably the fact that it is treated as a grab. While Yoshi does lack reliable resets (probably his biggest weakness overall), this eats right through shields. It doesn't break them, but shields do not effect this move. Another great thing about it is the priority - if it comes in contact with many attacks, it eats right through them. It'll also treat anything the opponent is carrying as the opponent him/herself (ex. Dedede's Hammer, Mario's Cape, even Fox's Blaster (not the projectile, but the blaster itself)). This move also has invincibility on the first 13 frames, leaving a total of 1 frame to attack Yoshi until the move ends. Since the move ends on Frame 39 if it misses, it makes this move extremely safe.

This move is an amazing move. Due to the fact that your opponent is stuck in the egg, you can actually perform a combo that ends in Egg Lay and attempt a reset. You likely won't be able to use Egg Lay multiple times in a single combo, but one usage is good enough. A very great move that deals 6%.

RE-BALANCE EDIT: Instead of starting new combo's from this move, you can only attempt resets.


 * Side Special: Egg Roll. Yoshi turns into a Yoshi egg and rolls across the stage. The speed traveled depends on how hard you tilted the Control Stick when you use this move. Yoshi can either go as slow as King K. Rool or as fast as Captain Falcon (but not Sonic speed). After traveling about 150% of Final Destination (overall), Yoshi will pop out of the egg by himself. You can manually pop out of the egg by pressing any Special Button. You can also jump while using this move by pressing one of the Jump Buttons (Y or X on a standard Gamecube controller) or by tapping Up on the control stick, if Tap Jump is enabled.

The priority of this move has received a major reverse. While it's not the move with the best priority, what it does have is truly special. It eats right through low priority projectiles such as the Blaster, and it clashes with medium priority projectiles such as the Light Arrow and Armads Toss. This move will also protect Yoshi from any physical attack and high priority projectiles (Lucario's complete Aura Sphere, for example) by halvening the damage by 50%. Similar to counters, if Yoshi comes in contact with an attack that deals over 30% while using this move, the egg will break by itself. Sadly for Yoshi.

The other primary downside to this move is that it still leaves Yoshi in a helpless state if used in the air. Of course, seeing all the upgrades this move received, it's simply fair to keep that aspect intact. An amazing move for Yoshi to use to approach. The attack deals 2-3% at the lowest speed and 15% at Captain Falcon speed. The rest can be seen on Egg Roll's page.

RE-BALANCE EDIT: Egg Roll can now be beaten by Final Smashes and Battle Attacks.


 * Up Special: Egg Throw. Yoshi takes an egg from Hammerspace and throws it. The angle the egg is thrown can be changed by hold the control stick in the desired area. This can even turn Yoshi around, if performed right. The egg can be thrown from 45 degrees to 135 degrees, depending on the direction you are facing. It's a bit of a downgrade from Brawl, yes, but you can combo into this now!

The move still gives Yoshi a boost to his recovery, although there are some changes. First of all, the boost is a bit better, being about the size of his nose. The second and third use of this move has the same functions as the Brawl one as far as recovery distance goes (not very much), and every use after that has no recovery boost.

A pretty good Special for Yoshi, seeing as how it's Yoshi's only projectile. Combine this with Egg Roll, Dash Attack and Bair, and Yoshi can have quite the annoying keep-away. The attack deals 7%.

RE-BALANCE EDIT: Egg Throw's second and third use give it Brawl-like properties in terms of recovery distance.


 * Down Special: Yoshi Bomb. Yoshi jumps up at a 45 degree angle (unless he's in the air, then he skips this part), and then stomps onto the ground. The initial jump up still catches opponents, although it doesn't deal damage (it counts towards the combo counter, though). If Yoshi uses this move near a ledge, he will grab onto it, unless he's facing the opposite direction. Then he'll keep going down until he's KO'd.

Probably Yoshi's worst Special, although this Special still isn't bad. It's decent for ending combo's, especially if an opponent is out of reach of a Fsmash/Ftilt, but not too far away. You can also opt to use some other moves, but this move is probably your safest bet. The knockback is also decent. It's still punishable, though, so beware. The stars at least make opponents flinch (although they don't deal damage). The Yoshi Bomb itself deals 12%.

Final Smashes

 * Final Smash: Tiny Yoshi. When activated, Kamek flies in angrily, and casts a spell on Yoshi, making him very small. So small, in fact, that nobody can see him! When in this state, Yoshi is dozens of times harder to hit. In fact, he can only be hit with a Dtilt. Strangely, this doesn't make him lighter, nor does it affect his recovery. Or anything, save his size. 10 seconds after it's cast, Kamek will come back and remove the spell.

So how does this Final Smash hold up? It's suprisingly good. I mean, making you harder to hit than Pichu is one thing, but to not affect you in the process is just as nice. Of course, the user will have to struggle to find Yoshi, as well, but otherwise it's a very good Final Smash. If you couldn't tell, this is based off of Kamek's spell in Prince Froggy's Fort in Yoshi's Island.

One major problem with this move is that Yoshi's combo's are affected by this. The knockback remains, but the range does not on his moves. This means that this Final Smash should really be used to make you harder to hit. The main issue is that you aren't that small. Smaller than Pichu, yes, but you're not that much smaller than him! If Yoshi had ears like Pichu, he'd be taller! It's still a good Final Smash, but nothing too special.


 * Battle Attack: Super Dragon. Yoshi's eyes glow more than they are with the Smash Ball, and suddenly grows dragon wings! While in this state, Yoshi can freely fly around the stage. By pressing the Normal Attack button, Yoshi will breathe fire. If you hold the Normal Attack button instead of simply tapping it, Yoshi will spew out a fireball. If you press Special (B on the Gamecube remote), Yoshi will stick his tongue out. If an opponent is caught, they will spit out the opponent, as three smaller and weaker fireballs will spew out of Yoshi's mouth. This is very similar to when Yoshi absorbed a Red Koopa Shell in Super Mario World. Yoshi remains in this form for 14 and a half seconds.

This is a very good Battle Attack, although it has some problems. The most notable is that Yoshi can now be damaged during this attack. This means you need to be a bit more careful than in Brawl while using this, although seeing Yoshi's methods of attacking (not to mention he doesn't flinch), it's not too big of a problem. He's also left in a helpless state if this ends while he's in the air, which is never a good thing.

This is still a very solid Battle Attack, though, which can really make an opponent confused. It's also great for 3/4 Player matches. The attacks each deal as follows:
 * Breathing Fire: Maximum of 35% (not a natural combo)
 * Fireball: 25%
 * Swallow: 10%
 * Three Fireballs: 15%


 * Ultimate Smash: Yoshi's Revenge. Activated by holding the Jump button (or holding Up) for 5 seconds, and then pressing Special.

Yoshi will jump, and if he lands on your opponent, they will run around trying get Yoshi off. Yoshi then leads the opponent off the edge of the screen, still on their back, and then he jumps off of them. Yoshi will be safe throughout the duration of this move. Your opponent is not KO'd, although unless they have the aerial prowess of someone such as Jigglypuff or Kirby, they'll struggle getting back on stage.

Seems really good, right? Well, just imagine how difficult it must be to land this. Think about it: He jumps on them. It's a nice punisher, but to be honest, the distance Yoshi jumps just isn't enough in most cases- you'll have to get lucky. It also canNOT be combo'd into. These balance eachother out, making for an overall okay Ultimate Smash. Awesome in concept, mediocre in action.

One final thing to note on is that, like all Ultimate Smashes, can only use it once, not to mention it costs 5 Smash meters. The only character who's slow and big enough to really have a tough time avoiding this move is King K. Rool. Even then, the beginning of this move is not animation. Even K. Rool can just dodge out of the way. If it does land, he's likely done for, but since this move can't be combo'd into, it ruins the point. Yoshi's Battle Attack is much better.

Rival Battle
Yoshi's First Rival Battle is against Kamek. He sees Kamek casting spells, and assaults him. Kamek notices and quickly flees. Kamek sees Yoshi and, worried, summons some enemies. Yoshi beats them with ease, and Kamek angrily points at Yoshi, saying that he will finally defeat him. After losing, Kamek struggles to get on his broom, and flies away. Yoshi runs onward, with high hopes of defeating Master Hand.

Yoshi's Second Rival Battle is against Pikachu. He sees Pikachu charging electricity, and wants to see what happens. Pikachu notices and attacks Yoshi. Yoshi worriedly tries to convince Pikachu that he's not there to harm him, but Pikachu readies himself for battle anyway. Yoshi reluctantly does the same. After winning, Yoshi heals Pikachu with a Super Potion he found. Pikachu then runs off, as Yoshi sighs and walks ahead.