Challenge Moveset #2

So, yeah, I’ll be undertaking the task of writing a moveset for Sans today, hopefully I don’t get lynched for attempting a popular character’s moveset. Funnily enough, I’ve tried to make a moveset for him well before I started posting on this Amino, but I was never proud of the kit I originally came up with. Hopefully, this version will be good enough to please everyone.

…is that long enough?

HAH

GET BODIED, NERDS

we’re talking about grillby today

GRILLBY

General Attributes:

The thing is, you never fight Grillby in the source game, so the only things I have to work with are fan-made. HOWEVER, even though I won’t be taking too much from it, some genius made a genocide fight for Grillby, and it’s one of my absolute favorite types of combat: bar fights.

I spent a long time on this because I wanted to make sure that not only did Grillby fight like you’d expect him to (swinging stools around, breaking bottles across heads), but that he never crossed the line and stopped fighting like a proper gentleman, so unfortunately things like nut-shots and setting the arena on fire for a static advantage were off the table. However, everything else is fair game, so there definitely will be some classic drinking, punching, and furniture-wrecking shenanigans at play here.

Grillby is a mildly standard close-combat brawler. He doesn’t have toooooooo many gimmicks, but he makes up for that with powerful utility and strong offence. In a way, he’s going to be a bit like another Street Fighter character, aiming to get in your face and combo the everloving shit out of you. His finishing moves are probably going to be rather subpar, but when you can rack up damage as fast as Grillby can, it doesn’t matter that much.

Stats:

Size/Weight

I’d estimate him to be around a regular human’s size, maybe shorter… so let’s just go with Robin’s height. And because he’s made of clothes and fire, he’ll probably sit on the lighter side of the weight scale, just a touch bit lighter than Peach (she’s 89, while Grillby will be 88).

Speed:

It’ll be good. I’d give Grillby the same run speed as Mario, along with Ryu’s walk and G&W’s air speed.

He’ll also share Link’s fall speeds, giving him a quick landing.

Jumps:

I’d give him Dedede’s fullhop and Pit’s fullhop, combined with a single air jump equal to R.O.B.’s. This should be pretty good for him.

Moveset:

Grounded Attacks:

Jab:

Grillby performs a right-handed jab, sending the opponent sideways (6%). Quick, fantastic for setting up combos at low percentages and sets up a tech chase at higher percentages. Kills around 240%. (Comes out on Frame 5, hitbox lasts for 2 frames, first active frame is Frame 23)

It’s fun to take a break from the heavyweights, the ranged fighters, the memes, and just sit down to make some solid attacks for top tiers. The idea here is that the moves should be weak on the surface but easily chain into each other/leave the opponent in a bad spot.

Forward Tilt:

Grillby steps forward in a sweeping right hook (12%). Significantly slower than Jab and obviously lacks combo potential, but it makes up for it for acting as a quicker Smash attack in a pinch. Can be angled, kills around 145%. (Comes out on Frame 10, hitbox lasts for 4 frames, first active frame is Frame 37)

There are a lot of ordinary attacks in this blog. The Specials should spice things up, but maybe don’t expect too much from the standards.

Up Tilt:

Grillby lightly swipes upwards in front of himself (6%). Standard Mario-like juggling tool, good for popping somebody into the air for an easy followup. Kills around 230%. (Comes out on Frame 6, hitbox lasts for 2 frames, first active frame is Frame 29)

Hopefully, this helps his ground combo game not entirely revolve around grab combos. They’re still top priority, but you can use other setups.

Down Tilt:

Grillby jabs forward while crouching (4%). While Jab launches them a short distance away for a tech chase, the extremely low knockback on this move can guarantee a grab at any reasonable percentage. Don’t use it to kill. (Comes out on Frame 4, hitbox lasts for 2 frames, first active frame is Frame 24)

I’m surprised nobody in Smash has this, not even the Street Fighter reps do this and they’re the masters of crouch punching. It should be a nice addition to his kit, and it isn’t a kick/sweep like I usually do.

Forward Smash:

Grillby swipes a bottle forward (16-20% original, 23-29% broken). A powerful finisher by itself, but carries a unique mechanic. The first use of the move uses a solid bottle, but once you hit somebody, the bottle breaks and deals more damage, only resetting when you lose a stock. Standard bottle kills between 100-70%, broken kills between 65-30%. (Comes out on Frame 17, hitbox lasts for 4 frames, first active frame is Frame 52)

This isn’t good enough to warrant an entire Special, but it’s an interesting mechanic that I do want to keep around. It kind of explains itself, you only really use the move to land the finishing blow, but the breakable bottle should add an interesting reward for committing.

Up Smash:

Grillby performs an overhead punch, kind of like a stationary Little Mac Dash Attack (15-21%). This isn’t that fast, but it’s really good at pushing shielding opponents away and knocking people offstage. Kills between 120-85%. (Comes out on Frame 13, hitbox lasts for 6 frames, first active frame is Frame 47)

This was originally going to use this as an Up Tilt, but it wasn’t doing anything in that spot so it’s here now. It’s not mind-blowing and definitely not anything special, but it’s different from what I usually do. It hopefully es.

Down Smash:

Grillby slams his hands onto the ground, creating a short blast of fire from the ground on each side (14-20%). Similar to Mega Man’s, but wide instead of tall. Kills between 130-95%. (Comes out on Frame 16 and lasts for 4 frames, first active frame is Frame 53)

He IS a fire elemental, so there will be some magical attacks. But not too many, to avoid veering away from his playstyle.

Dash Attack:

Grillby shoulder tackles forward, carrying a lot of momentum behind him (11%). Quick and pretty good for getting people offstage with the shallow launch angle, can set up a tech chase at mid-percentages. Kills around 180%. (Comes out on Frame 9, hitbox lasts for 3 frames, first active frame is Frame 34)

His momentum barely stops with this move, so you can cover quite a lot of space with this (not as much as Samus, but close).

Aerials/Throws:

Neutral Air:

Grillby thrusts his hand diagonally downwards (5%). Very quick and pretty good for initializing a combo, not great for anything else though. Kills around 210%. (Comes out on Frame 6, hitbox lasts for 7 frames, first active frame is Frame 27. Autocancels from a shorthop, has 7 frames of landing lag.)

It’s not a clap, at least.

Forward Air:

Grillby swipes a flaming hand forwards, similar to Ganondorf’s (8%). Similar to Bowser’s/Sheik’s in function, it launches sideways and is pretty good at chaining hits when combined with your high-ish air speed. Kills around 170%. (Comes out on Frame 8, hitbox lasts for 4 frames, first active frame is Frame 32. Autocancels from a shorthop, has 12 frames of landing lag.)

This works, right? It’s a versatile tool for plenty of different things, including landing and snuffing aerial approaches, so it should be good.

Back Air:

Grillby strongarm swipes behind himself (9%). Once again, works like Ganon’s, weaker in exchange for less landing lag. Kills around 130%. (Comes out on Frame 7, hitbox lasts for 3 frames, first active frame is Frame 32. Autocancels from a shorthop, has 10 frames of landing lag.)

Let’s just act like I don’t use the strongarm that much. Please?

This is pretty good for landing/finishing a combo in some situations.

Up Air:

Grillby performs a front-flip, keeping his legs out and together (7% behind, 14% in front). Like my earlier movesets, the back/early hit is good for setting up a combo while landing, while the front/late hit is a powerful spike. Early hit kills around 220%, late hit kills around 130% onstage and 40% offstage. (First hitbox comes out on Frame 7 and lasts for 4 frames, late hitbox comes out on Frame 15 and lasts for 3 frames, first active frame is Frame 46. Doesn’t autocancel, has 14 frames of landing lag.)

I didn’t want to copy off of Captain Falcon’s move, so I just went with one of my old favorites instead, this is only my 4th time using it so it should be fine. Regardless, you use this for both reasons, it’s flashy and versatile so I think I have a pretty good reason to keep using it.

plus i don’t have to come up with a dumb-looking upward attack

Down Air:

Grillby crouches inward (can I say that?) before stomping HARD downwards (13%). Basically just a weaker Falcon D-Air, but it can autocancel WHICH CHANGES EVERYTHING. Kills around 140% onstage and 55% offstage. (Comes out on Frame 13, hitbox lasts for 3 frames, first active frame is Frame 33. Autocancels from shorthop, has 14 frames of landing lag.)

”oh, can’t copy falcon’s up air”, proceeds to immediately copy falcon’s dair

the notes say “fuck it” anyways

Grab:

Standard stuff.

Pummel:

Grillby knees the opponent in the chest (2%). Rather fast for the damage it deals, a really good pummel.

Forward Throw:

The picture above, a toss reserved for trash (7%). Launches at the standard angle, kills around 145%. Used for finishing high-damage opponents off.

Back Throw:

A simple judo slam/throw (11%). Launches at the standard angle, kills around 170%. When your combo throw stops working, use this + Pummel for damage.

Up Throw:

Mario’s, or if you want a specific name, the pizza toss (7%). Launches straight up, kills around 140%. When you aren’t close enough to the ledge for F-Throw to work, this will.

Down Throw:

Grillby heaves the victim into the air, before slamming them into the ground (8%). Launches slightly higher than the standard angle, kills around 270%. Your combo throw, works until roughly 90%.

Specials:

Neutral Special: On the House

Grillby holds up a glass mug filled with fire, gesturing forward before downing the whole thing quickly. If successful, he gains a status buff, increasing his damage by a multiplier of x1.25, while also increasing the knockback on his Smash Attacks by x1.3. However, it also lowers his defences, forcing him to take x1.2 damage from any attack dealt to him. The status buffs last for a maximum of 10 seconds before wearing off, and you are allowed to refresh it

BUT WAIT

IT’S ALSO A COUNTER

If Grillby is hit at any time before his mug is empty, he’ll still take the full brunt of damage, but the opponent’s animation will severely slow down. During this temporary pause, Grillby staggers back from the attack, before getting right back up and slugging the offender across the face, ending the slower time and dealing x1.1 the power of the countered attack. If the counter is successful, he automatically finishes his drink and gains the aforementioned status buffs. Just like any other counter, grabs ignore this. (Counter window opens on Frame 10 and lasts until Frame 123, buff applied on Frame 131, first active frame is Frame 181)

It’s a lot of fun to find a lackluster idea, and figure out how to make it unique AND not mesh horribly with the rest of the character’s kit. The original idea for this was that you could either drink the fire for the buff, or you could chuck the mug as a projectile if you weren’t happy with your current situation. But at the same time, if you combined it with some of the other Specials down below, it would have turned Grillby into a bit of a campy projectile spammer, and I wasn’t a fan of how contradictory it was to the rest of his kit. The move itself isn’t the best counter or the best status buff, but it does both, so that should make up for the downsides.

So instead, have a random funny moment embodied in a Special. It might be a reference to The World’s End (an absolutely fantastic movie), but I haven’t seen it in a while. Regardless, having your drink interrupted and absolutely demolishing the person who stepped out of line must be satisfying to pull off in an actual game. Just… don’t use this offstage.

Side Special: Fireball Special

Grillby throws a punch forward, creating a fireball. Depending on whether you hold or tap the button, the fireball will be coloured blue or orange, respectively. Before the move’s endlag es, however, you are also able to press the button again to have Grillby throw another punch/fireball forward, with the same tap/hold variance possible (so you can have any combination possible), but any further attempt fails until the move ends. Both fireballs travel pretty quickly (roughly the same as Wario’s run speed), and deal the same amount of damage/knockback (10% each), but each has a unique weakness depending on the colour.

While both types of fireballs deal a lot of damage and can kill surprisingly early, each can completely through the opponent without harm. Blue fireballs whiff if the opponent stands still (without attacking, shielding, anything other than idle animations), while the orange ones whiff if the opponent is moving at all. Fireballs disappear after 1.5 seconds/90 frames, or once they hit somebody. Both fireballs kill around 120%. (First fireball comes out on Frame 14 with 15 frames of endlag before you can throw a second one, the proper FAF is 37 frames after throwing a ball)

This is rather interesting, since unless you’re clever with using this, the move itself is going to be completely useless against most foes. You can’t camp with these due to Blue being stopped simply by standing at range while Orange is countered by anything else, but mixing these up at close-to-mid range can really throw off opponents and make it difficult to avoid/punish you.

Your best bet is to almost entirely use them in alternation if they aren’t being used at point blank range, since they can be rather easily dodged/countered. Just play it safe and use them sparingly and unpredictably.

Up Special: Different Tastes

Grillby crouches inwards and begins to charge up power, upon releasing the button he releases the power and launches himself in a direction of his choosing (like Fire Fox).

Similar to Jet Hammer and Eruption, the move is charged in stages, and for each stage Grillby is launched a set distance. Without charging, Grillby doesn’t go too far, matching an angled Corkscrew in height, but at the stage right before full charge, he can go as far as a Flare Blitz (5.5/7ths of FD, ignoring the slide at the end), with the hitbox surrounding him building in strength. However, if you fully charge the move, it instead sends him forwards a very small distance and carries an extremely powerful hitbox, rivalling PK Thunder 2 in strength (9-22% from 0 to almost full charge, 32% at full charge). If you charge the move in the air, your falling speed will be cut in half to prevent unfair deaths. From zero to almost full charge, the hitbox can kill between 170-80% respectively, while the fully charged hitbox kills around 25%. (Uncharged hitbox/rise comes out on Frame 24, the hitbox lasts for 19 frames regardless of charge, and it always sends you into freefall 15 frames after the hitbox disappears)

The funny thing is, I always feel like putting chargeable Up Specials into my movesets is an unforgiveable sin, but in reality, Diddy Kong is pretty much the only character who can charge up his recovery for greater distance, so I’m not copying it as long as it isn’t too similar to that.

For this, it’s important to learn how to use the move right before full charge, since fully charging it is reserved for shieldbreak punishes and disrespect memes. But once you have it down, Grillby gains a recovery rivalling the likes of Dedede and Wario in sheer distance.

Down Special: Watch Your Head

Grillby reaches behind himself to grab a wooden chair, before hoisting it over his head and slamming it downwards (21% grounded, 17% aerial). By itself, it acts a lot like a powerful Smash Attack that you can use in the air, minus the charging mechanic. (Grounded version comes out on Frame 27, hitbox lasts for 5 frames, item spawned on Frame 38, first active frame is Frame 65. Aerial version comes out on Frame 25, hitbox lasts for 6 frames, item spawns 7 frames after hitting somebody, FAF is Frame 62)

However, if you manage to hit somebody or use this move on the ground, the chair can break into parts. Most of the parts are entirely cosmetic, but a single leg will spawn as an item, of which you can pick up and swing around as a melee item. Like any other item, you can also throw it, and opponents can catch it/use it for themselves as well, so you should be careful (4% jab, 9% tilt, 15-20% smash, 13% if thrown). Along with this, once the item despawns by itself or is thrown offstage, it triggers a 6 second cooldown, forcing you to get rid of the item and wait out the cooldown to use the chair again (as the chair doesn’t appear in his hands if he attempts the move again). The move itself kills around 100% whether grounded or airborne, the item’s jab, tilt, and smash kill around 250%, 155%, and 100-60% respectively. (Item attacks are slightly faster than the Beam Sword’s, nothing too special)

The time limit is pretty much only there to avoid playing Grillby by constantly bashing chairs on the ground to spam items, otherwise I think this is a solid move. Plus, you get to smash somebody in the head with a wooden chair hard enough to break the wood into pieces, so that must be satisfying.

Final Smash: We’re Closed

Grillby stretches his neck while rolling up his sleeves, and suddenly charges forward similar to K. Rool’s FS. If he successfully hits anyone, the victims wake up in a flaming bar, where they are assaulted from all directions by fireballs and random furniture. Once they’re stunned, Grillby pops up in front of them and lifts them into the air, before throwing them straight through a window, ending the FS and launching the victims (45%). Kills around 35%.

I don’t know what else would work. Hopefully, this does.

Extra Animations:

Idles:

-Grillby readjusts his glasses before nodding slightly

-Grillby takes a moment to make sure his bowtie is in place, before resuming his normal stance.

Taunts:

Up Taunt: Grillz cocks his head and rubs his hands together, almost happily.

Side Taunt: Grillby pulls out a bottle from his pocket, squints at it while rubbing his chin for a moment, before putting it back.

Down Taunt: Grillby takes out a rag and quickly cleans his glasses, before resuming.

Victory Animations:

i can do these some other time, right?

thank you for understanding

Farewell:

I hope my bait got you.

Honestly, I’ve not had much enthusiasm when it comes to writing movesets recently. Coming up with drafts, hell yeah, but actually converting them over felt like a chore more than anything. I still have plenty of good ideas to expand on, and I don’t have too much work to do before posting my next one, but I’m going to continue focusing on catching up in schoolwork for a bit again. My old procrastination habits die hard.

As always, if you have anything you want to say, go ahead, I love to hear your voices. And to end this with the classic, I wish you all a wonderful day.