Matchup Summary (Win Condition and Game Plan)
This matchup becomes bad for Terry when he tries to chase Squirtle’s speed and low profile directly. Squirtle can slip under larger swings, poke with neutral air, forward air, grab, and up tilt, then drag Terry to ledge where the recovery disadvantage becomes much more serious. Terry has to resist the urge to hard-force the approach and instead make Squirtle run into short-range checks before the close-range damage game starts.
The good news is that Terry’s reward on a real hit is still huge. Jab, down tilt, and neutral air conversions quickly swing both damage and position, and Squirtle’s low raw kill power means Terry often survives long enough to threaten GO. That makes it even more important to save the big guess for ledge pressure and landing traps rather than spending it recklessly in center stage where Squirtle’s movement can simply make it miss.
The frame table shows that jab 1-3, up tilt, down tilt, dash attack, all smash attacks, back air, down air, and side special are all punishable by Terry’s OOS Nair (7f), grab, OOS Fair, Up B, or Up Smash. The opposite matters just as much: forward tilt, neutral air, forward air, and up air do not offer stable shield punishes. If Terry keeps trying to answer those safer buttons from shield, he gets re-opened by Squirtle’s second dash-in instead of resetting the situation.
For kills, it is more repeatable to herd Squirtle to ledge and cover jump, neutral getup, roll, and landing with Crack Shoot, Rising Tackle, Up Smash, or GO confirms than to brawl in open space. Terry loses too much when he gets knocked offstage, so the matchup rewards staying centered until the corner trap is ready.
Full Move Frame Quick Reference
| Opponent Move | Startup | On Shield | Terry OOS Candidate Moves | Barely Missed Moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jab 1 | 2 | -11 |
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| Jab 2 | 4 | -17 |
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| Jab 3 | 5 | -21 |
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| Forward Tilt | 5 | -6 |
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| Up Tilt | 5 | -8 |
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| Down Tilt | 8 | -12 |
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| Dash Attack | 8 | -16 |
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| Forward Smash | 20 | -19 |
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| Up Smash | 19/21 | -35 |
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| Down Smash | 18 | -13 |
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| Neutral Air | 4 | -4/-5 |
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| Forward Air | 5 | -3/-3 |
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| Back Air | 5… | -15 |
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| Up Air | 5 | -3 |
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| Down Air | 6… | -14/-13 |
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| Neutral B | 26 | — | ||
| Side B | 23 | -18 |
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| Up B | 9… | — | ||
| Down B | — | — | ||
| Grab | 6 | — | ||
| Dash Grab | 8 | — | ||
| Pivot Grab | 9 | — |
Win Condition Checklist
- Do not chase Squirtle all over the stage. Use walk, short checks, and patient spacing to force the approach into jab, down tilt, or neutral air range.
- When you block jab 1-3, up tilt, down tilt, dash attack, any smash attack, back air, down air, or side special, punish with OOS Nair (7f) first and confirm whether grab, OOS Fair, Up B, or Up Smash gives more.
- Respect forward tilt, neutral air, forward air, and up air after shield and reset center instead of reaching for a punish that is not really there.
- Once GO is online, spend it from ledge pressure, shield conditioning, and landing traps, not from desperate center-stage swings.
- Because Terry’s offstage disadvantage is severe here, value center stage and finish the stock through corner pressure whenever possible.
Actions to Avoid
- Swinging big while chasing Squirtle’s low-profile movement and giving away the whiffs that start the corner carry.
- Forcing shield punishes on forward tilt, neutral air, forward air, or up air and getting clipped by the next dash-in immediately after.
- Treating GO as a signal to gamble in center stage, where Squirtle’s size and mobility make the big specials easy to evade.
- Overchasing offstage for the kill and turning Terry’s weaker recovery into the reason the stock flips back.