Shulk (Smash Plus)

Shulk is a playable character in Super Smash Brothers Plus for the Nintendo Switch Plus. Representing the Xenoblade universe, Shulk is listed as Fighter #75 in Smash's modified numbering system and is classified as a Middleweight fighter. He is hidden at the start of the game, but can be unlocked through random encounters in Versus Mode, scoring 10 KOs in a Single Match on Gaur Plain, or by clearing Classic Mode as Pyra or Mythra.
As a swordsman, Shulk relies heavily on his disjointed attacks. However, his playstyles is far more versatile than other swordsmen, simply based on his Monado Arts. These arts change his base stats for a period of time, allowing the player to customize Shulk's response to the situation at hand. However, he still has faults. This is most notable in his lack of a projectile and any real defense against projectile fighters. Many of his attacks, unless properly buffed by one of the Arts, also have poor framedata, making any missed hit easily punishable. By utilizing the Monado Arts and picking your spot, Shulk is a very opportunistic fighter. Shulk has two normal jumps and no additional movement options.
==Moveset==
===Basic Attacks===
*Neutral Jab- Shulk performs a three hit combo consisting of a jab, a roundhouse kick and then finished with an upward slash with the Monado.
*Side Tilt- Shulk performs a single inward slash with the Monado. Powerful for a tilt attack, but has slight endlag.
*Up Tilt- Shulk performs an overhead arcing slash with the Monado.
*Down Tilt- Shulk slashes with the Monado in front of himself while crouching. Has the shortest range of Shulk's tilt attacks.
*Dash Attack- Shulk performs a lunging slash with the Monado, moving forward slightly with the attack.
*Grab & Pummel- Shulk holds opponents with his free left arm, and pummels by hitting foes with the pommel of the Monado.
*Forward Throw- Shulk tosses the opponent up and slashes them away with a slash from the Monado.
*Back Throw- Shulk pulls the opponent behind himself and then thrusts the Monado backwards, knocking them away. Shulk's strongest throw.
*Up Throw- Shulk tosses the opponent above his head and then thrusts the Monado upwards, knocking opponents straight up.
*Down Throw- Shulk pins the opponent to the ground and then performs a jumping downward thrust. Very low damage output, even with an Art active.
*Neutral Air- Shulk slashes with the Monado in a circular pattern around himself. Shulk's most versatile aerial move.
*Forward Air- Shulk performs a downward slash with the Monado.
*Back Air- Shulk thrusts the blade of the Monado behind himself, dealing major knockback but having high endlag.
*Up Air- Shulk performs an overhead arc slash with the Monado from front to back. Has great range with the beam blade of the Monado exposed.
*Down Air- Shulk performs a downward thrust with the Monado, falling to the ground. Can meteor if it hits with the hard edge of the Monado right as the downward descent begins.
===Smash Attacks===
*Side Smash- Shulk jabs the Monado forward, extending its beam blade directly forward. The Attack consists of two hits, with the second hit launching foes and doing the bulk of the damage.
*Up Smash- Shulk squats down and slams the hilt of the Monado onto the ground, causing the beam blade to extend upwards. Does more damage on the second hit than the second hit of the side smash, however only has vertical range.
*Down Smash- Shulk spins around in a circle three times with the Monado's blade beam extended. Can hit opponents multiple times, launching on the final hit. However it has the worst startup lag of Shulk's smash attacks.
===Special Moves===
*Neutral Special: Monado Arts- Triggers the ability for Shulk to activate one of the Monado Arts, which will buff some of his stats at the expense of others. Pressing the special button will bring up a selector wheel with the 5 Arts on it (Jump, Speed, Shield, Buster & Smash). Each Art lasts for a certain amount of time, and also has its own cooldown time in addition to the effect. The cooldown time will only trigger in full if the Art is used for its full time; if it is canceled early than the cooldown won't fully trigger either, with the time being shortened based on how much time was left in the Art. The Jump Art will greatly increase jump height as well as air speed, but will also increase the amount of damage Shulk takes from attacks. It lasts for 6 seconds and has a cooldown time of 18 seconds. The Speed Art will increase Shulk's ground and air speed dramatically, but will reduce the amount of damage that Shulk deals with his attacks. It lasts 8 seconds with a cooldown time of 16 seconds. The Shield art reduces the amount of damage and knockback that Shulk takes, as well as increasing his shield size for the duration, all at the expense of jump height, movement speed and a slight hit to damage dealt. It lasts 6 seconds with a cooldown of 18 seconds. The Buster Art increases the damage that Shulk deals, but also increases the damage that Shulk takes. It lasts 10 seconds and has a cooldown time of 14 seconds. The Smash Art increases the knockback that Shulk deals, but also increases the amount of knockback he takes from attacks. It lasts 8 seconds with a cooldown of 16 seconds.
*Side Special: Back Slash- Shulk performs a leaping downward slash with the Monado, the beam portion of the blade extended. Shulk will jump at the start of the move, giving him the ability to dodge small projectiles with it. As the name would indicate, the Back Slash does more damage and knockback if it hits the back of the opponent.
*Up Special: Air Slash- Shulk jumps high into the air and swings the Monado with an upward slash. Pressing the special button a second time during the jump causes Shulk to swing the blade horizontally in front of himself, delivering a powerful knockback hit. A good attack with extremely high knockback growth, but has some limited use as a recovery move do to its mostly vertical gain.
*Down Special: Vision- Shulk holds the Monado in a defensive stance, glowing briefly. If hit by any attack, then Shulk slows down briefly before executing a counter attack with a fast dashing slash. The counter does good damage and can hit opponents not connected to the initial attack, but the endlag on the move is high if it misses.
*Final Smash: Chain Attack- Shulk emits a bright light in front of himself. The first opponent hit by the light is sent to a cinematic cutscene where Shulk leads a series of melee attacks, aided by Dunban, Riki and Fiora, before delivering the final launching slash himself. The Chain Attack is also affected by stat buffs/nerfs caused by Monado Arts.
===Miscellaneous===
*Entry Animation- Shulk jumps onto the stage while performing a downward slash with the Monado.
*Idle Animation 1- Shulk taps his foot in place while deep in thought.
*Idle Animation 2- Shulk places his hand on the Monado's hilt, tensing and looking behind himself.
*Side Taunt- Shulk grips the handle of the Monado and fist pumps while saying "I'm really feeling it!"
*Up Taunt- Shulk points his hand at the opponent while shaking his head, saying "Now it's Shulk Time!"
*Down Taunt- Shulk grips the Monado and activates it, posing and saying "This is the Monado's Power!"
*Victory Animation 1- Shulk raises the Monado, activates it, and then places it on his back after a swing while saying "This is a good result!"
*Victory Animation 2- Shulk swings the Monado while it is activated, before deactivating it and posing while saying "The future is ours to decide!"
*Victory Animation 3- Shulk bows down with the Monado, activating it and holding it in a reverse grip while saying "I can feel the power!"
==How to Unlock==
Shulk can be unlocked any of the following ways:
*Playing Versus Matches until he randomly shows up as a "Challenger Approaching" fight. Defeat him to unlock him.
*Score at least 10 KO's in a single match on the Gaur Plain stage.
*Clear Classic Mode with Pyra/Mythra on starting difficulty 3.0 or higher.
*Unlock him in the Finale of World of Light by defeating him.
*Pay 1,000 gold in a shop, where he can randomly show up (though rarely.)
Category:Super Smash Bros. Characters
Category:Super Smash Bros. (series)
Category:Smash Plus Characters