Ivysaur Matchup (Simon)

Matchup Summary (Win Condition and Game Plan)

This matchup depends on Simon keeping the horizontal wall intact and refusing to jump head-on into Ivysaur’s vine range or Razor Leaf lanes. Ivysaur covers the air hard with fair, bair, uair, and Up B, and the long dair spike punishes Simon’s weak recovery brutally, so reckless jump-ins or deep offstage scrambles become the fastest way to lose the stock.
But Ivysaur does not have strong close-range scramble speed or easy landing escapes, and the grounded commitments all leave real openings. Jab 1, Jab 2, Forward Tilt, Up Tilt, Down Tilt, Dash Attack, all smashes, Neutral B, Side B, and Up B can all be punished by Up B (6f) or Grab (10f), so Simon does better by cashing out on the endlag after the approach than by trying to brawl once Ivysaur gets underneath him.
Fair, bair, uair, and dair are much harder to punish directly on shield, so forcing a shield answer every time is not the point. Use Cross, Axe, and Holy Water to narrow the fall path first, then take the second landing or the ledge drift with whips and anti-airs.
The win condition is not center-stage scrapping. Pin down Razor Leaf movement, recycle landing traps, and then use Fair, Bair, Up B, and Holy Water to close out Ivysaur’s low-jump, single-route recovery before the juggle reverses.

Full Move Frame Quick Reference

Win Condition Checklist

• Layer Cross, Axe, and Holy Water at different heights so Razor Leaf and grounded walk-ins get stalled before Ivysaur can place the vine hitboxes where he wants.
• After blocking Jab 1, Jab 2, Forward Tilt, Up Tilt, Down Tilt, Dash Attack, any smash attack, Neutral B, Side B, or Up B, punish cleanly with Up B (6f) and Grab (10f) so the grounded pressure never repeats for free.
• After shielding fair, bair, uair, or dair, do not force the in-place punish. Drift back, shift the landing point, and take the next touch with Fair, Bair, Up Smash, or Holy Water instead.
• At ledge, avoid overchasing. Cover the tether angle and the high return with Holy Water, Fair, Bair, and Up B while staying out of Ivysaur’s dair spike lane.
• At kill percent, do not rush into raw smash reads. Finish from ledge continuation with tipper Fair, Bair, Up B, or Holy Water confirms.

Actions to Avoid

• Jumping directly into the height of Ivysaur’s fair, bair, or uair and letting the vines beat Simon’s shorter startup.
• Swinging after every blocked aerial and handing the turn back because the punish never really reaches.
• Going deep offstage every time and volunteering Simon’s weak recovery into dair or the ledge-side Up B hitbox.
• Escaping Razor Leaf with repeated jumps and feeding Ivysaur’s vertical juggling game.
• Treating Holy Water or Cross alone as the whole ledgetrap and failing to cover the actual low-jump and tether return point.