Super Smash Bros. Fighters – Pokémon series – 02 Jigglypuff

Debut

In the Pokémon series: Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green (1996)
In the Super Smash Bros. series: Super Smash Bros. 64 (1999)

Boxing Ring Title: The Sleepy Singer

Theme Song: Pokémon Center – Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue

Jigglypuff: the Balloon Pokémon. Normal and Fairy Type, though prior to the release of Pokémon X & Y, it was just a Normal Type. #39 in the Pokédex. As a species, Jigglypuff mesmerizes foes with its big eyes, and once they are lured, it starts singing to lull them to sleep. Jigglypuff won’t even stop to catch its breath until the foe falls asleep, which can endanger it if the foe has enough willpower to not do so, or if they are immune to its voice. Jigglypuff have a higher chance of being female than male. It is the evolved form of Igglybuff, and can evolve further into Wigglytuff with the use of a Moon Stone.

In Pokémon Red & Blue, players first see one hanging out at Viridian City’s Pokémon Center. Talking to it would have it sing its lullaby, which makes a nearby trainer sleepy. In Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition, Jigglypuff’s song would cause the player’s Pikachu to fall asleep, though Pikachu would wake up if you talked to it, or if you left the building. Regardless, it wouldn’t be until the player journeyed to either Route 3 (Pokémon Red & Blue) or Route 5 (Pokémon Yellow) that they would be able to try and catch one.

Pokémon Gold & Silver would introduce Igglybuff, Jigglypuff's pre-evolution and Baby form. While it's weaker than Jigglypuff, it is able to learn moves that Jigglypuff can't, such as Charm and Sweet Kiss. The only way to obtain one was to obtain a female Jigglypuff or Wigglytuff, and a male Pokémon compatible with them (such as another Jigglypuff or Wigglytuff, or even Ditto) then put them in the Pokémon Day-Care in hopes of obtaining a Pokémon Egg containing Igglybuff.

In Pokémon Crystal, the player could obtain an Igglybuff from the Day-Care Man through the Odd Egg; however, the Odd Egg also had a chance of containing either Pichu, Cleffa, Tyrogue, Smoochum, Elekid and Magby instead.

While Jigglypuff was initially just a Normal Type in its debut, by Pokémon X & Y, it obtained the Fairy Type. This allowed it to easily fend off against Dark, Fighting, and Dragon Types, though at the cost of becoming weak to Poison and Steel Types.

Jigglypuff also appears in the various spin-off games, such as Pokémon Snap and the Pokémon Ranger series. While it mostly plays minor roles in them, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky & Explorers of Darkness - as well as their enhanced remake Explorers of Sky - sees Jigglypuff's evolved form, Wiggytuff, play a major role in the game's story. Wigglytuff is the Guildmaster of Wigglytuff's Guild, which he runs with his friend Chatot. Due to being a bit eccentric and a little naive, a few tend to underestimate Wigglytuff, but make no mistake: he's a skilled explorer and a powerful fighter. He can even get serious when the situation calls for it.

In Pokémon the Series, there was a notable Jigglypuff who would occasionally follow Ash Ketchum and his friends around. She made her debut in episode 45 in Pokémon the Series: The Beginning. Here, she was hanging out in the forest when Ash, Pikachu, Brock, and Misty found her. Team Rocket tries to kidnap her, but Ash and friends thwart them. When they find out that Jigglypuff’s voice was sore, Brock cures it with a berry they find in the forest. As thanks, Jigglypuff decides to sing them a song. Unlike other Jigglypuff, she wants to be a beloved singer across the world, but her song ends up putting people to sleep. So when Ash and his friends inevitably fall asleep, she gets angry and searches through Ash’s backpack, where she finds a marker that she uses to scribble on their faces. Once they wake up, Ash and friends decide to take Jigglypuff to the nearby city of Neon Town in hopes that someone there could stay awake to listen to her song, but alas, she ends up putting the entire city to sleep. Angry, she scribbles on everyone’s face and leaves.

Following this, she would make the occasional appearance where she inevitably sings her song to anyone nearby, they fall asleep, she gets angry, scribbles on her their face, and then leaves. She would make her last appearance in Pokémon the Series: Ruby & Sapphire in the 39th episode, “A Poké-BLOCK Party” and wouldn’t return to the series until 668 episodes later in Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon in the 42nd episode “Alola, Kanto!”

In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Green owns a Jigglypuff, who she calls Jiggly. In fact, Jiggly was Green’s first Pokémon! She had Jiggly since childhood when she and her friend, Silver, lived with the Masked Man. Jiggly would assist the two during their escape from the Masked Man, allowing Green and Silver to start a new life. Besides helping out in battles, Jiggly mostly acts as transportation for Green; by inflating herself, she can fly into the air and carry her trainer anywhere she wants to go.

Personality-wise, Jiggly is a docile and relaxed individual, who tends to easily roll with the punches. Jiggly would later evolve into Wigglytuff during the manga's FireRed & LeafGreen story arc.

In Super Smash Bros., Jigglypuff is a skilled combatant in the air, able to easily maneuver about and keep foes off the stage! However, she's rather sluggish on the ground, not to mention pretty light, making it easy for her to get flung around. Still, never underestimate a skilled Jigglypuff!

Jigglypuff is one of the twelve members of the “Perfect Attendance Crew.”

Special Moves

Neutral Special: Roll-Out

Jigglypuff sits down and will spin in place if you hold the Special Button. This charges up the move. Once sparkles start glittering around her and she says her name, that means she’s fully-charged, and that you can let go of the Special Button. (if you don’t, she’ll fire herself off in a few seconds) At full charge, Jigglypuff rolls around at incredible speed and will deliver a brutal blow to whoever she bumps into! You can change the direction she’s rolling by moving the control stick in the opposite direction.

If you don’t bother charging it at all, she does a rather pitiful roll that can’t damage anyone.

Jigglypuff can not turn around if she’s in the air, so if she happens to roll off a ledge or use it in the air, she’s more or less stuck going in that direction until she either stops spinning, hits someone/something, or lands on the ground.

Inspired by the move Roll-Out, introduced in “Pokémon Gold & Silver.” It’s a physical Rock Type move that has a power of 30 and an accuracy of 90%. While it’s initially weak, it doubles in power with every subsequent hit. Upon being selected, it will be the sole move the Pokémon uses until it either hits 5 times or misses. The power of the move will double if the Pokémon previously used “Defense Curl.”

Jigglypuff tends to learn this move at low levels. 

Side Special: Pound

Jigglypuff throws her fist forward, delivering a powerful blow that sends foes away from her!

In the air, Jigglypuff can slow her descent while using it, so it can be useful as a recovery move.

Inspired by the move Pound, introduced in “Pokémon Red & Blue.” It is a physical Normal Type move with a power of 40. It’s a weak move that tends to be the first attacking move for many Pokémon.

Jigglypuff learns this move at really early levels, and serves as her first offensive move. 

Up Special: Sing

Jigglypuff starts singing. Anyone who is standing near her falls asleep. How long they sleep depends on how much damage they have, so it’s best to use this when the foe is at 100% or higher.

Unlike most of the other characters Up Specials, this doesn’t provide any sort of aid for recovering back to the stage if you get flung off, so it’s best to not use it.

Inspired by the move Sing, introduced in “Pokémon Red & Blue.” It is a Normal Type move that has a 55% chance of making the opponent fall asleep for a couple of turns, but the move’s accuracy makes it somewhat unreliable.

It’s one of the moves Jigglypuff starts with. 

Down Special: Rest

Jigglypuff falls asleep for a few seconds and leaves herself open for attack. Yep.

However, if Jigglypuff uses the move while REALLY close to the foe...

POW!!

Her opponent goes flying upwards and gets infected with a Flower!

The Flower causes the opponent to slowly take additional damage!

This is Jigglypuff’s ultimate “All-or-Nothing” move! If she hits the foe, great! If not... Well, let’s just say she’s in for a rude awakening...

VERY loosely inspired by the move Rest, introduced in “Pokémon Red & Blue.” Rest is a Psychic Type Move. The user falls asleep for two turns in exchange for having their health fully restored and any status condition they are inflicted with (burn, paralysis, poison) removed. During this, the Pokémon is completely helpless against their foe, though they can counter this by having the move Sleep Talk – which will have them randomly use one of their moves – or Snore. They can instantly wake up if they are given an Awakening, are holding a berry that will quickly wake them up, or if they get hit by Wake-Up Slap. They'll also wake up sooner if they have the Vital Spirit ability.

Jigglypuff tends to learn this move at early levels. Jigglypuff can also learn it through TM. 

Final Smash: Puff Up

Jigglypuff begins inhaling air and enlarging herself. At her full height, she can essentially cover the entirety of any small stage!

Once she reaches it, she shouts “Jiggly!!”, which blows nearby foes away. She then enlarges for a quick second and starts deflating back to her regular size. Anyone who hits her during that will take damage and get flung from her.

Inspired by how Jigglypuff’s described as the “Balloon Pokémon.” In some media, Jigglypuff is shown being able to puff itself up to make itself bigger, such as the Jigglypuff from “Pokémon the Series,” who would do so when she got mad; as well as Green’s Jigglypuff Jiggly from Pokémon Adventures,” who could puff herself up and carry Green through the air.

Later on in the series, “Pokémon Sword & Shield” would introduce a gimmick called “Dynamax” which would allow a Pokémon to grow into a giant for 3 turns. Puff Up could’ve been the inspiration for this. Although not in the initial release of the game, Jigglypuff would return in “The Isle of Armor” DLC, allowing her to use Dynamax.

Additional Notes

According to Snake’s Codec Conversation, the reason why Jigglypuff’s version of Rest can actually hurt people is because the instant she falls asleep, a huge buildup of energy forms at the center of her body.

Some of Jigglypuff’s notable alternate costumes include her wearing Leaf’s hat from Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen, Serena’s red felt hat with white wide-frame glasses from Pokémon X & Y, and a Nurse Joy’s hat from Pokémon X & Y. Jigglypuff also has a green hat that looks similar to Kirby’s hat when he’s in the Sleep Copy Form from the Kirby series. (specifically from “Kirby’s Super Star”)

Out of all the twelve members of the “Perfect Attendance Crew,” Jigglypuff is notable for almost being cut from the playable roster in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The official Japanese website for the former more-or-less states that she was almost not included, while Masahiro Sakurai revealed in an interview that adding Jigglypuff to the roster of the latter was “not a priority.” (Which also explains why she doesn’t have a notable role in that game’s Story Mode: “The Subspace Emissary.”)