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Sandslash (Captured Edition)

Hello there, everyone! After almost five years since it was originally posted on the workshop (Oct 18, 2019), Sandslash is finally completed with all of its missing animations and given an overhaul in this completed edition! With a variety of innovative specials and gimmicks taken from the Pokemon series, Sandslash cuts its way into the world of Aether!

Also, here is the old version of Sandslash for anyone who wants to see where the unfinished version of Sandslash came from, although since it's missing moves and attacks, it is more of a legacy item than a proper version, so it's up to you whether you want to download it or not.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1892907972




Sandslash is a balanced all-rounder character that can hold its own in a variety of different areas ranging from footsies and general movement, to even more well-known areas of zoning, rushdown, and even setplay. Sandslash has access to very unique mechanics relating to their down special and their kit allows them to be a great combo character, and along with a great grasp on stage control and interactivity like most workshop characters. That being said, although Sandslash is very much a jack of all trades, they are also a master of none, meaning that while they may have tools to deal with various situations, they are mainly only average in those regards. The main issue in this regard is that Sandslash lacks range on most of their kit, as well as being fairly slow in terms of movement, forcing the player to incentivize getting in closer or using their specials in order to find a way to open up the opponent. Additionally, while Sandslash is certainly a combo character, this sometimes requires the player to make proper use of setplay relating to their down special, and on top of that, Sandslash’s kill options are either too slow or lack range, making reads quite a necessity in order to take a stock. Overall, Sandslash has a great amount of tools for all kinds of situations, but struggles with being stellar in any one of them and also lacking range and reliable kill options without a proper read.

Pros:

+Has access to tools that cover a variety of situations
+Sandslash’s main kit allows them to combo fairly easily and quickly with the options they have
+Has access to solid damaging options through either combo strings or single stronger attacks
+Has access to good anti-zoning and approach options thanks to Rollout and the effect of Sandstorm while Sandslash is standing within it
+Rollout functions as a great burst option and mix-up tool
+Sand Attack functions as a decent projectile due to how long it lasts and is a great combo starter, making it also great for zoning and stage control
+Enhanced side special (Sand Tomb) is great for follow-ups, especially kill confirms using strongs, or otherwise great for applying pressure
+Slash is a fairly good move for recovery and can either kill very well with the starting hitbox or take stocks off the top with the ending hitbox
+Adorable little creature

Cons:

-Lack of range or disjoint on most moves, making them struggle in match-ups where the opponent has more of either one or both, and also forcing Sandslash to close distance for their main game plan
-Kill options are either slow or need proper reads to actually hit
-Recovery is fairly exploitable despite how good the move is in terms of damage
-Slower running speed can make it slightly harder to close distance
-Heavily reliant on setting up down special for their main combo tools
-Most combo starters require either reads or placing Sandstorm to properly utilize
-Big = Combo fodder







DOWN SPECIAL: SANDSTORM



To start, for Sandslash's main mechanic, it revolves around their Down Special: Sandstorm. This move places a sand tornado on the stage that has a variety of traits attached to it. First, if Sandslash stands inside the Sandstorm, they will have a small amount of soft armor, allowing them to prevent getting flinched or zoned out by weaker attacks (similar to how Sandstorm in Pokemon gives increased special defense to Rock types, although Sandslash is a Ground type but let's ignore that for simplicity's sake). Second, if an opponent enters the Sandstorm, they will take some minor chip damage, and if they are launched into it, they will be sent upwards similar to Maverick's tornadoes. And third, it also interacts with all of Sandslash's specials, either giving them better properties or changing them entirely to become enhanced versions of their moves.


NEUTRAL SPECIAL: ROLLOUT



Neutral special functions pretty similarly to Jigglypuff's Rollout from Smash, except the charge can be stored by pressing parry, and when the special button is released, Sandslash can also be stopped earlier by pressing parry or special during it, although there is some endlag. There are three charge levels to Rollout that increase the longer the special button is held down for, all of which possess a level of armor to help with approaching and zoning. The charge level is indicated above Sandslash’s HUD, and it should be noted that it takes a while to fully charge, and also that if Rollout isn’t fully charged, the amount needed for the next level will slowly drain over time. Additionally, if Rollout starts being charged while Sandslash is standing in the Sandstorm, the charge will consume the Sandstorm in order to perform Sand Rush, which has half the amount of time needed in order to obtain full charge much quicker. Additionally, you can jump cancel when you hit players during any version of Rollout.


SIDE SPECIAL: SAND ATTACK



Normally a short-range projectile that does very low damage and helps with starting a combo, but if it goes through the Sandstorm, it consumes it and becomes Sand Tomb, increasing its size and travel distance, and inflicting a sort of wrap-like status on the opponent that keeps them in place and does a bit of damage over time. This allows it to deal more damage, have more range, and keep opponents in place for follow-ups. However, if parried, this move will leave Sandslash stunned and the projectile reflected at them, leaving them vulnerable to their own attack as well, so there is also a big risk to using the enhanced version without a proper read.


UP SPECIAL: SLASH



Normally acts as a simple uppercut style attack that is fairly quick and good for a kill option, but if Sandslash performs it while inside the Sandstorm, they will consume it in order to perform Crush Claw, a much more powerful attack that also won't have Sandslash be put into pratfall. As a result, having Sandstorm positioned off-stage might be a good idea for better strengthening Sandslash’s recovery, although it should be warned that the opponent can also likely predict this happening, so please keep that in mind.



Aether’s Asylum: Idea Giver Reached out to Frogbox to ask for permission in reviving Sandslash to its full potential, as well as for reaching out to everyone else
Gamernoob39: Creating every alt after Color 6 and helping out with the SFX to truly bring Sandslash to life
Frogbox: Designing, spriting, and coding a majority of Sandslash, as well as originally creating them in the first place
SleepyPlayer16: Spriting the remaining animations Sandslash was missing before this update
Final H-G: Helping to code in all of Sandslash’s specials and balance the rest of their kit (seriously you are a godsend for this)