Just 2 days ago, Nintendo has announced via the News application on the Switch that Piranha Plant is now ready to join the battle!
Early Purchasers of the game, whether through download code or physical insert, are now able to use the surprise fighter in-game.
For those who have not been able to claim Piranha Plant as an early purchase bonus, the fighter is confirmed to be available to purchase later, but no further details about when this will happen have been made public.
Read on to learn just how this fighter battles in the world of Smash Bros!
UPDATE: As of February 1st, 2019, Piranha Plant is now available for purchase from the Nintendo eShop.
The fighter does not come included with the fighters pass, so a separate purchase will be required for those who already have, or have planned to purchase the fighters pass.
Move List
Specials
Neutral Special – Ptooie: The Piranha Plant spits out a spiky ball above it, keeping it in the air while the button is held. The direction the ball travels depends on which direction the control stick is moved. Releasing the button without inputting a direction will instead cause Piranha Plant to swallow the ball for later use.
The closer the ball is to Piranha Plant’s mouth, the more distance it has, while the further away it is, the opposite is true. The spiky ball does not disappear until it loses enough monentum to stop moving.
If the ball has not disappeared and the move is used again, Piranha Plant will try to spit another ball out, fail, and do a sad wilt, leaving it open to attacks. Does 21.6% damage after blowing the ball, or 16.8% if the ball hits an opponent in midair.
Side Special – Poison Breath: Using the move the first time allows Piranha Plant to store a charge of poison in its mouth. Using the move the second time spits out a slowly moving cloud of poison, doing huge damage over time. When fully charged, Piranha Plant’s pot/pipe will ooze poison. This is also counter-able, so watch out!
The more fighters there are in a battle, the less damage the poison does, and the quicker the poison cloud dissipates. Longer charges also boost the damage and range of the move. The poison appears to do 4-7 damage in rapid bursts over time.
Up Special – Piranhacopter: Piranha Plant spins its leaves rapidly, causing it to hover through the air like a helicopter. It can move left and right while doing so, and fighters can be damaged slightly suring the move.
When used on the ground near a fighter, the fighter will be carried through the duration of the move. Damage output is fairly low, capping at about 16% of damage when used directly near a fighter, or 21.1%, if a fighter is hit twice at the end by tilting the control stick in a direction.
Down Special – Long Stem Strike: Piranha Plant will retreat into its pipe/pot to pop back out with a bite, stretching for as long as the move was charged.
Piranha Plant not only has some super armor while doing this, but can also stretch quite a distance! Does 10% when used immediately, and up to 25.8% when charged.
Throws
Forward Throw: Piranha Plant holds the opposing fighter with their leaf, then headbutts them. Does 13.2% of damage.
Backward Throw: Piranha Plant holds the opposing fighter with their mouth, and slings them away while stretching their stem a bit. Does 13.2% of damage.
Up Throw: Piranha Plant quickly retreats into their pot, before stretching out to chomp the fighter. Similar to Piranha Plant’s Down B Special, “Long-Stem Strike.” Does 14.4% of damage.
Down Throw: Piranha Plant swiftly jumps up, chomping the grabbed fighter from above twice. The bites deal 3% damage apiece, while bouncing of the ground does another 3.6%. Totaling at 9.6%.
Regular Attacks
Neutral Attack: Piranha Plant jabs with its right leaf, then its left, before headbutting the opponent, or biting them repeatedly if the button is held or pushed repeatedly. The first two hits do 2.8, and 2.7 damage, 5 for the headbutt, and 7.7 for the first three bites.
Side Tilt Attack – Push and Pull: Piranha Plant lunges for a bite. Can be used twice in a row, with each bite dealing 6.6% of damage.
Down Tilt Attack: Piranha Plant uses a leaf to swipe towards the ground. 7.2% of damage.
Up Tilt Attack: Piranha Plant swings its head back and forth. Hitting an apponent once for about 10-11% of damage.
Dash Attack: Piranha Plant sides and tilts the pipe upward to attack for 12% of damage.
Smash Attacks
Side Smash Attack – Prickly Swing: Piranha Plant turns into a Prickly Piranha Plant, as seen in Super Mario Galaxy, and swings its head to attack. The move deals 18% damage for an uncharged smash, and 25.2 for a fully charged smash.
Up Smash Attack: Piranha Plant prepares to bite nearby fighters, and stretches upward somewhat before the bite. 18% uncharged, 25.2% fully charged.
Down Smash Attack: Piranha Plant tilts the pipe on the edge of the bottom side and spins around on the ground, hitting both sides near it. 14.4% uncharged, 16.8 uncharged for back hits, 20.1 fully charged, 23.5 for fully charged back hits.
Air Attacks
Neutral Air: Piranha Plant turns its pipe/pot to the back of the stage uses its spinning leaves to attack around it. Does 13.2% of damage when each hit connects, or 11.2% if each hit connects during a short hop attack.
Back Air – Fire Breath: Piranha Plant turns around, and spits an explosive short range fireball. Does 14.7% for short hop attacks, or 17.4% for regular air attacks.
Forward Air: Piranha Plant quickly flips its pipe 180 degrees in the air, with the pipe dealing damage. Does 10.8% damage normally, or 9.1% for short hop versions.
Up Air: Piranha Plant swings its head to the side, spinning from the recoil afterward. Does 8.1% during a short hop, or 9.6% otherwise.
Down Air – Flowerpot Meteor: Piranha Plant quickly flips in the air, and forcefully pushes down on its pipe. This move is both surprisingly fast, and can be used to meteor smash opponents. Does 11.2% for short hop versions, or 13.2% for regular versions.
Final Smash
Petey Piranha: A not-too-subtle callback to Petey Piranha’s appearance in Brawl’s Subspace Emissary, Piranha Plant summons Petey to trap up to two fighters inside cages, breathing fire into each cage and slamming them down.
During this move, Petey’s movements are based on Piranha Plant’s own movements, and Piranha Plant acts completely independent of Petey, allowing guidance of Petey to trap two fighters, while Piranha Plant can freely pursue other fighters in battle.
Just don’t think that this can be used to drag fighters off the stage, though, as Petey will disappear should it fall off the stage, allowing fighters to recover. Fighters put in a cage take 4.8% of damage, 30% from the fire attack, and the slam deals 24% of damage, for a total of 58.8%.
What’s the Price?
For those who haven’t been able to claim the early purchase bonus, Piranha Plant is confirmed to be purchasable at a later date, but no details have been given as to exactly when, or how much it will cost.
Update: Piranha Plant has been released for purchase as of February 1st, 2019.
The fighter is slightly cheaper than planned prices of the individual DLC fighter releases, for sale at the price of $4.99 USD.
This fighter is not included in the Fighters Pass, so please plan accordingly when considering your DLC purchases.
Conclusion
Now that the fighter is released, Piranha Plant seems a bit less like a wildcard fighter, and has a bit of a learning curve to use well, but can prove to be one of the most ferocious fighters yet!
What is your take on the fighter? Let’s discuss in the comments below!