Smash Ultimate sure does give the Pokemon series a lot of love. Not only are tons of the pocket monsters represented via Poke Balls, but many of the more famous (and more humanoid) ones get to be their own playable character. Greninja is one such creature. The frog-like ninja has some incredibly tricky maneuvers and counter-moves, too. It’ll need them all to take on such a diverse cast of characters with an equally huge number of tricks.
Smash Ultimate sports 74 different playable characters at launch — including every single previous character from the super-franchise and a bunch of fresh faces. That’s not even including the glut of DLC fighters, assist trophies, and more. There’s so much that no one person could possibly keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a guide to every single character.
- 7 Characters That Deserve to Be Smash Ultimate DLC
- Smash Ultimate Character List – Complete Fighter Roster
- Smash Ultimate Pokemon List – All Poke Ball and Master Ball Pokemon
Greninja is a water-type Pokemon. Although such distinctions don’t really matter in Smash Ultimate. They do make for some very, ahem, splashy ninja moves, however. On top of that, Greninja relies on his tricky movement and counter ability to confused opponents.
According to Nintendo description of Greninja…
A ninja-like fighter that battles with moves like the Water Shuriken. Greninja can use a log for clever counterattacks, and this Pokémon can even stick to walls. During its Final Smash, it turns into Ash-Greninja…!?
Greninja Moves
Water Shuriken (B) – Fires a shuriken of water straight ahead. Charging it up makes the shuriken grow!
Shadow Sneak (Side + B) – Sends a shadow along the ground. When the button’s released, it warps to that point and strikes!
Hydro Pump (Up + B) – Fires a powerful water jet, propelling itself in whichever direction the stick is tilted.
Substitute (Down + B) – Evades an incoming enemy attack by summoning a substitute and then counterattacking.
Secret Ninja Attack (Final Smash) – Greninja uses Mat Block to flip foes into the air before striking them repeatedly and smacking them back down to the ground. The Mat Block doesn’t have much range, so make use of Greninja’s speed to get in close to opponents.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
The agile frog-ninja of Pokémon has some wicked combo potential. Greninja likes to stay mobile and unpredictable, using dashes and counters to turn opponents’ moves against them. The more you can keep pressure on the opponent and leave them swinging at nothing, the better.
Weaknesses
When Greninja gets hit, though, things get rough. Its recovery is a little better than it used to be, but Greninja is still a light character. Heavy hitters can send them flying when they connect. Its unusual arsenal of moves can also be tricky to master, given their varying range and speed, so spend some time in the training room to make sure you have a grasp on all things Greninja before fighting the pros.
Greninja Outfits
Just like Lucario, there isn’t a ton you can change with Greninja. His base colors change pretty freely, but most are cool colors. His tongue does get a little warmer — though we’re not exactly sure how comfortable we are with orange, yellow, and green tongues. Please don’t lick us, Greninja. This isn’t Ed, Edd, and Eddy.
And that’s what you need to know about Greninja. Smart, quick, and tricky players might just get a lot of mileage out of him. Just pay careful attention to where you are on the stage. You don’t want to lose track of your own character while trying to confuse opponents!
All of our Smash Ultimate guides created with the help of Eric Van Allen.
