The Doc Guide. "Not to be taken Orally" v.4.0

The Doc Guide.
"Not to be Taken Orally..." Version 4.0

Note: Aside from typos, i'm sure I may be "wrong" in some areas that are just 'debatable' in things. Correct me or post your own ideas, comments, or suggestions. This guide is soley based off my experience with Doc, and the human oponents I commonly face, so it just maybe......possibly...may not fit into your playing style, if it doesn't i encourage giving it a try anyway.
If you want further enlightenment vids of Captain Jack will should you how to use Doc right! Mike and SRoyal also have skilled physicians.

Cyphus's Doc Guide


Table of Contents

1 My Introduction
2 Pros/Cons
3 Doc Overview
4 Ground Attacks
5 Aerials
6 Bs
7 Recovery
8 Dumb Facts
9 Comparison to Mario
10 Advanced Tactics
11 VS. Character Strats
12 Turf Advantages
13 Credits


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1
My Introduction

I've shuffled through "best characters" like anyone else early on, until I decided to improve my decent Doc game. It was inevitable for me to fall in love with the pills, and his good power for such a small character(!)...and now he's my best; and its only more fun to beatup top tier with a lower rated character who has so much more style!
I've been to a good bit of tournaments in my state, using characters from Top to Low. My 'bests list' is currently hosting Doc, Falco, then Marth...with IceClimbers and Zelda(not sheik) as backup. I highly suggest you go to any tournament you can. The experience of fighting new people including many friends you'll make, really can't be beat!

My closest, best competition are the very members of my crew: The Legion of Doom! My friends including...
Lee(Samus,Ganon)-my practically equal rival...Brett(C.Falcon,Mario)-whom I trained to high skill....Derek(Peach,Fox)-Lee's older brother who SDs when he tries to play Samus XD...and Manny(Link,Ness)-whos always sticked with his favorite N icons. Ross(C.Falcon)-(who's traveled around to far off national tournaments like TG6, FC, and MLG) living less than a couple hours from me, and he deffinatley derserves mention for locking horns a couple times with me and Lee.

I'm 18 and started college...but I won't let that slow down my melee playing. I've found some more people to train there, and I have plans of starting some more tournaments of my own.
If your already a seasoned doc-ist, and looking for another character as a strong 2ndary, i suggest Ganon or Marth; both can 'counter Docs counters' well. Marth being a slight better defense, while Ganon being easier to pickup, sharing many similarities in playing style to Doc.


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2
Pros and Cons

Why Play As Doc?(pros)
[list]
[*]Good KO Power and combo ability
[*]Can spam projectiles, but cannot be spammed against
[*]Can take advatage of all advanced tactics(WDing,SGing,CCing,shuffling,ect)
[*]Well rounded in all fighting scenarios
[*]Slightly heavy and small size
[*]Exellent Edge-Guarder
[*]Fun as h3ll!
[/list]


Downsides of Doc(cons)
[list]
[*]Absolute horrible recovery distance
[*]Outreached easily by the swordsmen, w/ many attacks reaching poorly themselves
[*]Not for beginners
[/list]


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3
Doc Overview

Doctor Mario is a rated 11th (out of 26) in the 'latest' Tier List of Smashboards(smashboards.com), and I of course have arguement for change, but I'd be happy with him one spot up(putting him above Mario). Doc is acknowledged for his signature Mega Vitamins, but he is overlooked outside his cool moves, and many players use other characters because they are turned off by clones, or lack any interest at all for someone whos only claim to fame is a mediocre puzzle game. Doc isn't the most popular character, since he isn't as fast as fox, simple as sheik, or can easily outreach the competition like Marth, but he can hold his own because despite his lacking in couple categories he has some of the most unique moves that punish many characters above him. (Though I do see significantly more Doc players than Mario.) Mastering Doc requires you to learn to fully utilize his megavitamin settups and annoyances, know how to maximize his recovery, learn what to exploit on which character, and avoid his pink color form at all costs.


GUESS WHAT!?...this is a guide to improve and polish an already basic education on Doc...so if you don't know his moves and what they do...i suggest you figure that out, because i am not going to waste our time with pety damage calculations and descriptions! (I'd much rather waste time and talk about unrelated material! ^__^)

Now that I have taught you Doc's moves *cough*, I'll go into actual uses for them(emphasizing greatly on the best tactics)...and I will try to make it imformative and simple.


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4
Ground Attacks

A,A,A Combo
Don't use this on fast fallers...its easily CCed and punished...It's a great technique on average to semi-floaty characters though, as a settup after the 1st or 2nd hit into a grab
Ex. On Marth: A,A, Grab. Also...A, (or A,A,) DownSmash(or filler) at medium-high percents. This is one of the best A's..and if you know how to use it...it'll open the door to many other attacks, with his lightning fast pop


Up Tilt
OK for an occasional surpise defense from aerial oponents, and as juggling goes, its decent since the attack itslef lasts a while and seems to exchange hits(ex.falco: Aerial Down) than be beaten through, perfect settup for a Sex Kick anytime, but the oponent is not as predictable in his/her trajectory angle, as the reliable UpSmash.

Forward Tilt
This move actually has good reach(!) and is an easy follow up after an up tilt or any low juggle(ex.SH UpAirs). I use this move actually a good bit, in combonation with wavedashing & pills, since it can sneak from a distance after an oponent drops his guard or is stunned. Try not to use in close quarters range at early damage, they can retaliate immediately, especially if they CC'ed.

Down Tilt
HORRIBLE range, Weak...but oddly sends oponents towards you, and behind..i don't advise trying to incorporate it into any game. I deem it the Offical Worst Move in Doc's arsenal. Sure, it CAN be used and has its uses...but the downsmash just beats it in every respect and scenario. Looks cool..thats about it.


Up Smash
As up smashes go...its weak, and as reach goes...its pathetic. but this isn't a useless move. its a great link from throws to finishers. It is noticeably slow to start, so thats why you don't use this out of the blue. I find myself charging this smash, occasionally(if someone tries to aerial faint me into a miss, I'll stick them with it on the strike). Lag is minimum, but it has a 'weak' spot...which in turn can prove useful, so you can still snag the arial KO in reach.

Forward Smash
quite frankly, many people look down on this move for being short ranged, even outside forward smashes will go, but i'm bent for argument. It's Fast, Strong(no matter where it hits). If u want to hit someone with it, master wavedashing...they go hand in hand to punish any laggy mistake. Try to end combos into this via throw or low, weak UpAerial.

Down Smash
This is Doc's key CrouchCanceling technique...best used early in the match, when nubby hits have you move seldom, just hold down, and C-stick smash'em out your way...its a great clear out move, punishes rollers, good range, and very powerful on its own. I mean, really..just CC D.smash any chance u get, even smash attacks at low damage @_@...Doc's CrouchCanceling game is good. And its incredicbly hard to punish this move.


Dash Attack
This is one of the better dashes in the game. It can pass under shielded target, is good to close the gap follwing a pill or 2, and it sets up for other attacks-aerials, f.smash, u name it! Just realize the earlier u hit w/ it, the less time you'll have to follow up, since u have the rest of the animation to wait for! This is sadly very easy to Shieldgrab, so don't abuse it.


Grab
Doc's Grab has average forward reach, with good (slight)above/behind reach(for attacks through an open shield) So he is a pretty good ShieldGrabber and I suggest you get this DOWN with Doc..its very important for him, since his throws are awesome.

Up Throw
This is easily followed w/ an Up Tilt, UpSmash, or UpAerial(its a quick lil' damage, that is hard to avoid and punish, and paves the way to more hits
At higher damage I advise UpSmash for the FastFallers and heavyweights and then a quick d.jump into a ForwardA(docpunch) if possible..since it KOs. You may chain his UpThrow(by upthrowing, [possible dash...] grab, upthrowing, ect) on low damage. It can be DIed out of at mid damage, so try to keep the spam low, and end it with something strong instead.

BackThrow
One of the strongest throws in the game. If you're by a ledge...just do it, who cares if they make it back? You can damage/edge-guard them so they'll be off offense. It can kill many characters at just 60% on several stages.

Down Throw
This is like his up throw in that it can settup up for more things, though is not as...'reliable' at tourney-levels of play. I Follow this up with a ForwardSmash(believe it or not) it works on many people at mid-high damage, and of course is extremely powerful. You may chain the D.Throw at higher percent, but DI is easy to escape, and I'd pesonally rather UpTilt afterward.

Forward Throw
It is never really 'needed', when you have his back and up. If you do it, i advise taking advantage of the breathing room, by pilling 1 or 2...then follow w/ dash attack, or running short hop Doc Punch. It IS a good throw, but its more circumstantial and works good to throw your oponent off his game, and have to react immediately. Another use after F.Throw is to walk forward as they are teching then WD-grab them again! This works extremely well when you throw them by a ledge, where they cannot roll backwards far.


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5
Aerials

Up Air
This is a move that you should use alot....Its easily underrated at first but it juggles from tilts/throws and can be repeated in handfulls with proper control, ShortHops, L-canceling, and stuff. If you so choose to take to the skies with this move, and continue your juggling higher and higher just be careful...a sexkick after you've used your 2nd jump is very bad news for doc. But other than that, its great to stick outwhile jumping up... or send out, right before you hit the ground while FF, then L-canceling. You can also use this as a safe escape attack when your shielding in their face.

Foward Air
oh yeah! his signature move aside from the Megavitamins...it comes out slow, it swings all around from above to below, and its oober-strong...not really safe(hehe) to use out of the blue, it requires some strategy to sneak in! From pill settups, you can dash SH into!.It's also the perfect finisher from a juggle or up throw. If your getting spammed via a low projectile...(when you strangely forget about your cape) its possible to SH just riiiiight over and nail'em, but it is pretty difficult and risky. And more importantly than his other aerials... L-cancel this thing(shielded or not, D.Smash/grab/Jab all are good low % followups), at low-mid %, it can chain it into a dash/WD up smash(then something else...) or an aerial attack...maybe another DocPunch if you can get it fast enough!

Down Air
This racks up decent damage at most, isn't too slow, but what i like about it is you can pass through their shield w/ a quick dash/short hop Very easily!(to prevent being shieldgrab)Then what I always do, L-cancel to D.Smash for a whopping 35% about! Its useable in a pill spam where the oponent fights his way through, groundwise. If your sent up, and the oponent continues offense, this actually will usually out-prioritize w/ its reach and time length of impact(so your better using it earlier then later)

Back Air
This is no 'wall of pain' but it can be repeated several times, with good timing, L-Canceling/backwards WD to SH repeat, works on everyone on some damage or another, and is fast enough to beat out most other attacks. The attack of choice if your edgehogging, and waiting.. fall off/jump back and with this, protecting your turf...if you mistimed your edgehog and need another, simply grab back on(stay if they went to grab) or jump back up with a DocPunch, if they went ontop, very simple :P

Neutral(Sex)
Doc's A in air is very odd. instead of losing power the longer it is held out, it gains! Of course you can use it to get out of low juggles. but its an ok finish to an air assault...its moreso safe, than strong(at its greatest strength, its still nothing to brag about) I use it after an UpAir(no 2nd jump preferably), and moreso after a pill, from a dash SH...which is very much abusable!!! Its deadlier technique however is popping from a dash SH-THROUGH an oponents projectile, then hitting them afterward(when the sex is strong!)Pretty tricky, but always keep it in mind, if you predict your oponent will beam.


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6
B Moves

Up B Super Jump Punch
As recovery, you can extend its horizontal distance by holding left/right(whatever your facing) IMMEDIATELY following the code...making it a 45 degree angle jump. Recovery wise, you want to use it at the last possible moment so u take full advantage of its reach and grab the ledge perfectly.
There's few opportunities to risk this in a real battle, but its good to use on very light targets(exploding right out of your shield) on platform stages where u can fall through for safety.

Forward B Super Sheet
The almighty super sheet, punishes missles, chargeshots, lasers, you name it!...of course an intelligent oponent won't be projectile spamming against doc...which is still good, cuz its one less thing you have to worry about! It momentarily stops your fall in air and your 'flying' in a direction, (more later), so it has some tactical uses in having your oponent misjudge his timing...but in the melee its best used in close quarters but dont get scared and use it repeatedly...fearing a counter...cuz you then will countered .__.
Also it edgeguards UpB's..some alot easier than others, like Ganon and Falco, but timing gets difficult for fox illusions and Marth's UpB, and you're probably better off edgeguarding elsehow.

Down B Doc Tornado
The faster you press B, the higher the lil' man will spin. pretty cool, huh? You can control his horizontal trajectory by holding left of right(helpful on recovery, more on that later) This is a bad move to use in a fight and since it takes a sec to load...its good knockback never gets used. Sure its possible to counter rollers and such, but aren't you better off withsomething....u know....better?(aw...nvmd! it just looks so darn cool!)
One use out if...if you're oponent is juggling you and is remaining groundbased, as he anticipates your fall, start it up right before you come in distance of his attack...you'll stop in air temporarily(press B 1 or 2 times if you need) he/she will miss..then you'll continue your fall with DocTornado still in action, popping them w/ the last 1 or 2 hits. Its not the safest thing in the game(you are usually safer just Airdodging downward) Just don't use it twice in a match, lol. I also might use it if I'm getting no luck hitting someone who rolls around, by starting it up...moving one direction..but then, traveling back the other with greater distance...it can fake someone out into rolling into it. Overall, a bad move used for show.

B Megavitamins
yeah, I guess you were waiting for this -_- The Megavitamin is great in damage, spam, stun, settups, and interesting slow speed (best compared to Guile's Sonic Boom...projectile and follow it Its a semi defense against your oponents defense to your offense. gEt It!? @_@ anywho...
from the air, you won't get any landing-lag, so you can attack after them easier that way.(note: they will actually bounce a lil' higher if tossed above SH height)
Learn to WaveDash and SH shoot these in every possible way.
Theres no way to actually give a definitve pattern to use them...it depends on your oponent, his character, and what they're doing...but abusing the pills is CRUCIAL to Doc's game, it just takes time to master it.

7
Maximizing Doc's Recovery

First if you're sent flying, try DIing more upward..exchanging your horizontal punishment for vertical potential... and use the white sheet, this first off will stop you from 'drifting' even if you THINK you're jumping right. Now Doc Tornado(if you can't press the B button fast, i mean Really fast, skip this step) press B fast as you can while holding left/right(your desired direction) IMMEDIATELY following...
D.jump out of it, its important to do quickly because after the Tornado his DI is poor(he can't drift left/right good), while from a jump its good(so the earlier you jump the bertter) Drift as far as you can and do his SuperJumpPunch(while holding left/right) when you about 45 degree angle from the ledge.
DONNOT bother with his tornado if you are below the height of the edge....unless you are one of the fastest biches in the world, you will only hurt yourself like this...since its really only suppose to give a tiny boost HORIZONTALLY.

Yes, its a significant increase from simple D.Jump to Up B. Yes, by saying 'significant'...I do intend to hide the fact it barely helps.
No, his recover is still pretty bad XD, but its better than nothing, and might just save you the game!!(its helped me!)


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8
Dumb Facts!!111
(The intermission)

If you run towards a ledge and do his taunt, he'll pull out the pill at start but then go into his 'balancing' animation for a sec.(or fall off) He's the only character that can do that.

The first hit of DocTornado does damage, but will not stun.(like fox's laser)

Doc is the only character who can CANCEL his own UpB. Try it! Immediately following his UpB WHILE holding leftward/rightward, smash the stick in the opposite horizontal direction that you influenced for.(if you did Up/Left+B to jump, whack RIGHT as quick as you can after) This will hit oponents upward, and possibly set them up for an Aerial Up A, or Doc Punch(Not possible on floaty/light dudes). This little glitch does not work in the air at all(but it doesn't really matter cuz it wouldn't be any good there)It isn't easily used in a serious fight, but I learned to incorporate into 2 uses. Exploding right out of your shield!(even if they're behind you!!!) With pure speed + priority, it gives the jump as a quick counter strike, opening them up for air assault. And after a SHFFL'D Aerial Down A works nice too, since the speed and height range, doesn't give the oponent time to wobble off in a random direction far enough. Either way...this is more fancy than practical use. Playing with it, without hitting anyone is harder, because there is no 'impact frames' to buy you more times to get it right.

If Doc's F.smash hits oddly(in a very, Very small spot behind the palm) its extra powerful(charged max-27%)with a very low trajectory angle. Not a realistic use, being its probably the smallest sweet spot there is

Doc is a ninja


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9
Comparison to Mario

This is to end the brainless arguements, on who beats who in what.
Doc's F.Smash is very short reached but powerful no matter how it hits...if Mario's hits a little off is a piece of crap- though his is clearly better reached.
Doc is slightly heavier(due to Marios weight being lessened) in version 1.01 and 1.02 of Melee.
Doc deals more percent with his B attacks and A attacks totalled up and separate.
Many of Doc's attacks send oponents at a more horizontal(or lower) trajectory angle(equals easier kills from edgeguarding)
Mario's cape bring him up some, and covers more horizontal distance(but u knew that), while Doc's covers greater vertical distance creating an easier edgeguard
They don't have a single attack that is the same(always different power, percent, and/or trajectory angle)
Examples are Doc's backthrow is slightly stronger, his Aerial BackKick sends them lower, his downsmash is alot stronger, while Mario's Upsmash is alot stronger, Mario's UpTilt knocks people straighter up, and his UpAerial pushes oponents further away.

Doc is much cooler than Mario(plus he gets to wear black) :P
Medicine >>>>>> Fire...and any attempt to misguide the innocent noobs who may think otherwise will result in their face being peeled off by a rusty spoon.
Mario is not FASTER than Doc. Their attacks all come out at the exact same time. It can be part blamed from the illusion made from HOW they move. Examples are: Mario does twice as many backflips during his backward D.Jump, His Mario Tornado and SuperJumpPunch does alot more hits(but still less damage), and his A,A,A is in FACT quicker-but worse anyway, since Doc's is an easier settup for other attacks, and Again, deals more damage. Their jumps are identical in height, distance, and startup.
But what Mario actually does have in "speed" advantage is from a few frames less after-lag from aerial attacks, while Doc actually has slight further reach from an extending or stretched hitbox on some aerials. This really isn't 'SPEED' and only allows Mario to move a few frames earlier than Doc would after landing an aerial attack.

The differences can be summed up in short: Doc has better KO opportunities and a better projectile...at the cost of worse recovery and mild increased lag from aerials. Mario is much more dependent on combos than Doc .
You do the math.


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10
Advanced Tactics
(note: megavitamins are easier to pillrush from if they are dropped from air and will bounce higher(if dropped from above SH height). Reason SH pills are easier to follow then ground is because you drift forward during the jump so you're closer to start with before running!


Megavitamin Tricks

Placebo
Running at your oponent... jump, shoot a pill at your height, then WD backwards as you're landing. The pill will act as a neutralizer to their potential counterstrike. This trick allows you to observe how your oponent will react when he thinks he has an opportunity to attack. If he doesn't attack...even better.
This is really just moving in a triangle with spam...but dont allow yourself to get to close to your oponent w/ this: the pill is only going to stop 1...weak...attack-remember!..Overall NOT a great pill trick to use alot, since the payoff is minimumly insight. Best used in the beginning of a fight.

DecoyVitamin
This is for oponents who prefer shielding the pill(cowards ^__^) Like above, run-jump-pill-WD, but slide forward into a grab, immediately following the pill impact(hit or not) This is best when you set them up after a couple Placebos.This is actually harder than you think...but if you get it, Goody..now he's in for some fun...!

Take 2 and Call Me in the Morning
You jump, pill, d.jump, pill.(cosider doing this from a reverse WD so you continue to drift..giving yourself more room and not letting your oponent dash under your pills and beating you to the attack.) Its mainly to stall when your looking for openings...but its still great when you continue it with another backwards wavedash into SH pill, ect

Taking Offense From the Spam-PILLRUSHES!!

Theres basicly 2 pill settups that u can combo off of...SH pill, and jump pill. SH pill is slightly safer, while Jump Pill leaves you with no lag to land on so you might get a stronger-slower attack in.
After a SH pill you can do any of the following...

DashAttack: the later you hit them with it, the more time you'll have to combo off of it Aerials and tilts are easy, but smashes are possible too.
JumpPill: this will have the pills hit right after another(or at same time) and the object is to land right in front of their face, as they're being smacked by a pill, you ready to smash/grab.
runSH...
DrillKick: you can end this w/ a downsmash if your lucky, but its more useful in the sense that you can easily pass through a shielding target to the other side(avoiding shieldgrab)
DocPunch: this might hit them, even if they'r shielding,especially if they're sore from spam, and you glide right over them. Either way, its followed w/ L-canceling into aerials, or WD into Smash.
SexKick: this can be your quickest followup but its best to use for safety, since for special circumstances the others would be more fitting. Nonetheless I use this alot.
These are just examples...anything really works here...WD to D.Smash, or maybe just a F.Tilt....SIMPLE WD JAB works wonders!!! Use your head and pay attention to your available time, their damage, and stuff.

If your bored try linking 3 pills together in one combo Its not easy and it leaves you open afterward, but by-george it looks sexy. I'm sure you can figure out how to do it on your own ~_^
You really need to incorporate all of Doc's pills tricks into one chaotic game. Depending on one settup will lead to predictability, and even the best maze of vitamins can be punished, so master WDing and SHing into offenses from your defense.

Fleeing the Drug Scene
While running away, jump and tap in the horizontal direction of your oponent, THEN press B. You'll shoot a pill backwards(from where you were facing) and change directions. This is a surprise slap if you need to run for more room or an item(can be turned into Take-2) Depending on how smooth you imput the controls, you'll either nearly stop zooming in the air, and just shoot...or continue to drift away while shooting the reverse(which is alot more useful) Practice til you know the exact 'feel' to get it right. The difference can be avoiding a counterhit.

RecoveringGuard
If you're sent high into the air off the stage, but relatively close w/ plently extra time, throw a pill or two while you're falling(but don't risk it when your getting very close)Since your stock is at stake, behind the weak shield of vitamins, you should airdodge when you get near enough to the ground, to increase your odds of evading a final blow. Doc owns when he can control the fight from the center, but don't get fancy with recovery...its just not worth it with the doc.



Getting Back On

Tornado Stalling
Many a times you can make it back to stage via your UpB and grab the edge..BUT your oponent WDes off and steals it! To buy yourself some time,(all you need is one second) til their their invincibility wears off...Doc Tornado(if you haven't already) extremely fast(if you can't...you die :D). After flying up...and starting to descend downward, UpB to push them out of the way and grab! You'd be surprise how much that COULD have saved you, if you knew about it!! Cape also works, to boot, but won't buy as much time)Your oponent does have the option of dropping off and hitting you away then returning the stage...but there's really nothing you can do...since you were screwd over anyway, when they grabbled the ledge.

Attack Options
If you're grabbing the ledge, you can fast fall out of your grip, but immediately d.jump back onto the platform with an attack like DocPunch(using his little time of invincibily wisely) It is not uncommon in high level play for them to expect this, and SH backwards and hit you while you miss or just shieldgrab...so play as safe as you can. UpAir is quicker and safer in this situation anyway....but the Doc punch just looks too darn cool to pass up! Actually your safest attack is probably a rising Sex/DrillKick. The invincibility plus the lasting attack frames makes a very safe landing. If you connect with the oponents face and move behind them...you MIGHT be able to LC into a F.Smash knocking them off stage!

EdgeWaving/Ledge Wavedash
It IS possible however, immediately grabbing the ledge, to drop from it-jump up-then WD across...STILL BEING INVINCIBLE and able to get a free attack...Jab is most advisable because of its speed, and follow up options...but you can downsmash/grab if you like. Eithe way..this is a VERY, VERY hard technique to master. If you want to see it done right...well..at least 85% the time(see how how hard it is?!)...go watch Captain Jack! I myself, have learned this great tactic after many SDs ^^. You may also want to roll behind the target after the WD. Its a lightning fast safe way to center yourself!

Like others, Doc's Attack and Roll change from hanging on the ledge after he reaches 100%, and you should avoid using them then because they are very advertised, slow and punishable. Otherwise, his normal roll-onto-stage and attack, are as good as most, but not up to par with Bowser's awesome rolling attack.

11
VS. Character Strats
Below are some basic rundowns on what might help you when fighting each character. I don't claim to be anywhere near perfect, nor do i have tons of experience fighting some of the lower characters...but this is the best help I can presently offer. I hope you find some of the info useful!!


Sheik
A defensive Sheik's needles are docs main prob. Charged, they'll tear through pills and hit you, and a timed needle will ruin your D.Jump return to the stage. Not much you can do, but constantly watch her more than yourself...waiting for the needles, and cape her needle when your trying to get back(or if neccessary, literally fast fall to avoid it THEN use your d.jump) Sheiks early juggles can be stopped w/ Doc's sex kick, like it or not, and sheik's weight and size make her the ideal character to D.Throw into a F.Smash. If you don't know how to recover well and avoid her needles, you're in trouble.
Either way, Doc will have a hard time w/ her imfamous F.Tilts...at least her chain throw doesn't last that long on him. Doc's pills work great on Sheik..use them to your hearts content..,oh JOY! Playing defensive against sheik works pretty well, but sidestepping is NOT so great since all her attacks microscopic lag is followed by another attack. Anytime sheik goes aerial, dash under her, jump and UpAir...her D.air is much too slow to be used effectively in most situations, and her sex isn't that good. Pillrushes into D.Smash work great, and you can usually sneak in a WD F.Smash, or throw her into a DocPunch. Basicly, Doc can combo sheik into a finisher from alot more circumstances than she can on him...Doc is regarded as a fair Sheik-counter in Japan from his combos, and I can't argue!

Marth
Outside of outranging Doc, he easily cancels out his pills with his big quick attacks. Edge-guarding Marth's UpB is also insanely difficult. Because Marth is floaty, retreating pills are a good way to set him up, but if the Marth player works his way through easily, you need to get CLOSE as you can instead. Juggle him with Jab to grabs early on into a couple UpAirs, and be alert for sidestep to downsmash, which punish him tremendously. White Sheet will send him back even if it just touches the tip of his sword, but you should use it seldom, because his hits go Around so much, he'll hit you anyways. Marths biggest problem is not easily getting out of early juggles, since his D.air is too risky, and he has not a sex kick like Doc, so focus on getting under him as much as possible and Do worry about getting that last little hit, because every damage counts, and its not easy for him to punish from above. Easiest KO's on marth are gonna be from F./D.Smash and D.Throw DocPunch.
Marth players in general prefer attacking relentlessly, so they can be predictable at times...this always gets them...WD at them into a sidestep..then punish as you like. You can also defend well with his adjustable F.Tilt, outspeeding many of Marth's attacks and boasting great range. TriangleJumping's(jumping forward, then immediately diagonally airdodging into the ground in front of them-to sneak around their attack), usefulness really depends more on the Marth Player, than Marth himself, because his options are plenty(counter,shieldgrab,dasdance,attack,ect) when being assaulted. Doc's bad recovery + Marth's edgeguard isn't my favorite subject, but its possible to the UpB perfectly into the edgetip. If Marth dashdances he wants to psyche you out for an attack or grab. WD backwards into a SH pill to play it safe. If you fight Marth right, you'll see the pill is mightier than the sword............well maybe not, but it sounded cool.

Fox
The quickest of all characters, McCloud can keep his offense so tight, you won't know when to guard or attack. And making any mistake seldom goes unpunished with his quick dash or sidestep. Though the space animals can reflect projectiles, they cannot take the advantages of the pill, that doc has, because fox becomes temporarily unable to move every time something is reflected. So there are extra precautions needed when pilling Fox. First off...avoid full jumping near him since he can dash under your pill and UpSmash/Aerilal you.
Secondly, keep your pillrushes safe as possible...and by that I mean, use your flying sex kick ALOT. If he DOES reflect the vitamin..you'll still be able to attack THROUGH it and hit him afterward! You can also cape or use your drill kick, but the sex is probably the safest. Not to mention your cape severly limits Fox's laser spam. Fox's drill shine combos leave no room for shield grabbing, so you may just be better off trying to UpTilt him anytime he goes in the air. Even if ya'll exchange hits...you give him more damage anyway. Avoid using your Jab in close quarters, since it really doesn't follow up. Simply put, grabbing fox can be difficult. But he is also one of the most punished characters, when he is. You can chain upthrow him, but I'd only do that at low damage only once or twice, since he can DI away. And relatively speaking, be wary to DI when he wants to UpThrow YOU into his UpAerial! Eiter way, UpThrow into UpSmash owns him, and you run/WD UpSmash following his DI again at mid damage. Of course, anytime ya'll are by a ledge, you should simply BackThrow him off. Instead of just waiting to Cape...you should be ready to F.Tilt him if he tries to make it back with just his D.Jump....then after you stun him you can cape his 3rd jump. F.Tilt is also a safer edgeguard when he uses Illusion. Just keep him back with stuff like WD-D.Smash early on, and combo finish him at the mid-high, and the fight is yours!

Falco
Though the combo mechanics you'd use with Fox basicly apply with Falco...he specializes in completely different areas. SHL(short hop laser) can be a bich to fight.......using most people-but luckily the Cape totally destroys it. You can pillspam him like most others, since instead of a nice arcing jump like Fox/Falcon he is purely vertical, or a 'too-low for pillspam' flying SH. Anytime you are caught above him, DrillKick is a fairly prioritizing move that should go through anything he has. Depending on your position to him at its end, you UpAir right after, or if landing on the ground LC it into whatever. Without his Laser as a preoffense to Doc, you can take more advantage of him by using your best reaching attacks like your D.Smash, F.Tilt, and BackAir.
If falco goes for his dive-bombing spike to reflector combos, UpTilt works as a good counter measure...but I prefer to just WD backwards into a F.Tilt. At higher damages, D.Throw to F.Smash work on him, as well with Fox. Not to mention UpThrow to DocPunch(w/ the possible UpSmash/UpTilt in between). When recovering take notice for Falco's positioning for a Spike; its probably best to just tip the ledge, HOPEfully avoiding the whole confrentation. If you have time, Cape to psyche him out! Concentrate on bullying Falco horizontally, pushing him away from the stage. Due to his fallspeed he's much easier to kill via edgeguarding...and Falco's future doesn't look good when he's trying to make it back with doc on the ledge. Reading the Fox mini-counter-guide also provides strats that work on Falco as well.

Peach
Some might say peach beats doc at his own game-annoying projectile, better close quarters attack(downsmash) and 3x the recovery. This is an opinion, despite the unargueable comparisons, because Doc's projectile IS better, because you can easily catch hers, yours deals more damage, and has more clever tricks in more scenarios. Peach is also more a sucker for SH Doc punches than other high tier, since she doesn't have a good F.tilt, and many rely on the d.smash too much. Spamming peach with pills is fairly simple, but her dash is bad news for doc, and she has an easy ko by a ledge w/ her d.smash. Her recovery is also unedgeguarderable by most(sorry doc :< ) To fight peach, you need to outspeed her, so WD into f.smash takes its glory in this fight. Your also going to want put good damage before you even make an attempt for the KO, because if she isn't dead....she's coming back. Peach's sex kick, like yours, is gonna save her from juggles...so try to get away from her when she's able to sex...and sex her back.
Float canceling, over pills may sound crafty, but 9 outta 10 times, she wouldn't be close enough(or you stupid enough to pill) to make that situation repeat. Don't be afraid to UpB Peach..the speed to knockup guarantees some free damage, but more importantly...makes her prepare for it; and by this time you've already planned to stop. I guess in all honesty, Peach herself doens't really have any serious weakness Doc can pick at, minus pillspam, but that can be just enough to own her.

C.Falcon
The Knee...Never challenge it. The payoff is never worth the risk with Doc's lame recovery from that horizontally crushing force. Falcon can punish mistakes from afar with his high speed and distant jumps so in constantly keeping extra distance from him, pillspam will be harder to play off of in keeping up with his maneuvers. Luckily retreating pills is one of the best tactic to limit the Captain's offenses.Pulling fancy combos early on Falcon isn't an option from his heavy weight and fallspeed, so your better off focusing with Pills and D.Smashes to keep him off his feet first. The RaptorBoost is a great move to sneak under beams, so be aware of it and never cape it, since sometimes he can go THROUGH it, even while taking its damage! Instead of trying to shieldgrab it, since most likely you'll be pushed to far anyway) D.Smash or F.Tilt since thats all the time you really have to punish.
At higher damage, focus on pulling upward attacks grounded or aired to abuse combos on his fallspeed, and work them so you land just before he does, so you can finish him with a smash. Wavedash F.Smashes work great on him, because Falcon isn't a character who really plays off reach. Backward WD-F.Smashes work great when his limited offenses that start to show pattern. Aside from dash SH knees and dash(or dance) Grabs...he can chainthrow Doc well via his D.Throw. DIing away enough or sex kick is possible after a few, but thats when he might pursue with a knee!(when your out of his grab-window normally)...so if you're out of time and see it coming a perfectly timed UpAir can save you before the knee gets close enough. Expert Captains can fly across with neutral A into a grab. Rolling forward actually works well, just don't abuse it, or you'll eat his D.Smash. Eithe way, you get an easy KO from backthrow by ledge (downward F.Tilt if he tries to make it back with just his D.Jump) THEN cape!

Samus
Like Jig, Samus tends to avoid most of Doc's combos from her floatiness. She also has better reach! But she can't take a skilled doc on in a projectile fight or can move in air as fast, so I advise you run away and pill alot...this will annoy, in that it is quite effective. A good samus knows to WD and never roll, so if at any time possible- Always try to get a pill out before rushing. Eventually, when ya'll DO lock horns, don't get overly aggresive..and try to remain on the ground, you're best KOs are from her mistakes. So be patient, but use your fastest attacks in air..you dont wanna be sexed. Samus can misslerush much like you, by canceling her lag from landing...instead of trying to cape the chaos..just WD backwards to see what she is trying before you go and guess wrong. Samus Can and Will sex kick when you jump predictably...and beat you out in the air every time-so quit trying hoping to get lucky, and fake her out with an air dodge away, and hit her after or some other time.
Focus on damage here and there, feeding off mistakes because you'll want good damage before going for the KO, because her recovery is tops. On a convenient stage, samus may just spam missles and wait for you to jump so she can NuetralAir, but you can do the same with pills...so no sweat. Aside from general pillrushes, you can dash-SH sex through a missle and hit her(which btw looks freagin' cool) but lay off when its a misslecancel trick..cuz you'll eat revese WD into F.Smash. If you're going to edgeguard shoot pills around tip of the ledge and aim them bounce into her mines. A couple successful hits and she is a goner!! Not much to say how the overall matchup stands...its very close.

Ganon
To get it out the way, this guy has like the easiest recovery to edge guard w/ Doc..just cape. Pill spam is very easy to start, but you must be extremely cautious to keep your distance, his bulk hides tricky reach, that can severely punish you! Spamming defensively works great because he HAS to take offense or suffer the side effects. His weight makes him an easy combo dummy for D.Throw-UpSmashes, and when he's at mid percent exchange that UpSmash for UpAirs. But like i said, if you're going to pillspam, don't underestimate his reach...because with your horrible recovery, it only takes a few hits from his bunnyhopping-F.airs to rape Doc into a KO, and even if you shield it, you can still eat a Jab after he L-cancels it, and protects himself...so either way you're screwd when he's in your face.
A good Ganon knows how to abuse a directed F.Tilt to knock you when you jump close, and can find a Pill to ForwardB under then follow up w/ his D.Air/UpSmash/ect...Like others though, Ganon doesn't possess a real sex kick and only hones a very slow D.air...so a great offense on him is a rising UpAir from a Pill. If its successful, you can UpAir again while falling down, then F.Smash as you both land. Overall Ganon is one of the easiest characters to combo with Doc from his weight and size.If you're above Ganon, expect his prioritizing UpAir to keep you away from the ground, or even pseudo-spike you, back-turned. you can lure him to a ledge to backthrow-cape, but from there two hits and you're out, as well...and he doesn't even need to get a grab. Behind the simplistic illusion that "Doc > Ganon because of th3 Cape!11" you'll find a skilled Ganon can be one of your toughest fights because of the simple reach plus knockback advantage.




Jigglypuff
Against a strong Jigglypuff player, the 'best' Doc game becomes very much...useless. Jigglypuff has a oddball of movement over the Doc and you will have to treat her differently. Instead of concentrating on low, sneak attacks..you need to rely on different styles to win. And keep in mid you can usually UpSmash KO Jigs at 90%...so if you have that small window, take it. And instead of pilling, turn your back on Jig and meet it in air combat using your SH Back Aerial alot..this can outrange alot of Jig's air dominance. Wall-of-Pain = death on doc. nuff said, so its better to air dodge behind her, when meeting her in air(while recoverying) then risk 1 hit(that turns into alot)or even UpB right before you get in her face(even if your WAY high) to push her away, so you can afterward drift towards the stage. If Jig starts puffing right above your attack range..its probably waiting for you to make a mistake(attack w/ lag)...UpB also works here..its speed and jump peck Jig off. Just don't repeat alot, so its not dead obvious. You can always just retreat and pill a couple times to reassess your spacing.
Puff is resistant to alot of doc's strong points, while hurting his weaknesses pretty well. If you don't have experience against a good Jigs, this can be your toughest fight. If jigs uses rollout, and you are in approachable reach, jump towards her and use your cape. If your too far, i'd just wait for her to use it...cuz its very easy to make a mistake and die at 50%. Either way, SuperSheet is pretty good to use on Jigs, in most defenses. DocPunches are hard to nail on her aerial evasion, so distanced, flying SexKicks can finish the job easier.

IceClimbers
Popo and Nana's WD smashes are much like yours, but even better...and I advise full attention on them to avoid that confrontation at any cost since its happily followed by your AvvES0M3 recovery. If you're grabbed(and it will happen) at early damage mash out as quick as you can, but anytime you've already eaten a few snowballs...the hit-to-blizzard-to-downthrow will be inevitable and you can wait for the F.Smash as well. Make SURE when you go offensive all your shuffles are tight as possible and follow them with D.Smash to ensure your speed and knockback overrides their double-priority. If Nana gets separate...WD F.Smash the clueless dummy to get her out of the way. When Popo is lone, he's instantly easier to pillrush safely. He can still feint around and WD downsmash you for decent KOs, so retreat and guard the ground with pills and see if he dares go aerial.
IceClimbers can desync for tricks, when the player becomes flaunty or desperate. By manipulaing the sidestep(among many special tricks) Nana may shoot an icicle, allowing Popo to WD immediately after into a grab(if you shield the IceShot). These gimmicks are more crafty than effective, since you can easily WD away and toss a pill. If you grab an iceclimber immediately backthrow. No time to hit! spin him/her around hitting the other...toss it away...then pursue for an early KO. Popo, by himself can mash ForwardB to recover which goes further than most characters UpB's even can. I prefer to just let him land and WD F.Smash instead of trying to beat him out in air. When comboing them, you'll have to pick a target if they part...the choice is up to you...but at lower percent, its better just to put the pressure on Popo, while at higher damage, you should just go KO Nana. Looking at the whole picture, Doc is a little out of place when fighting them, since he's designed as an exellent 1v1 approach artist..not 2. Nonetheless he can handle them well, since Pills really limit their WDing.

Doc
Against someone who you can't exploit any strongpoint and weakpoint, it becomes very much a brawl of mindgames. Your greatest strengths are nulled, and your biggest weaknesses forgiven. There's little advice I can give, so here goes! Exploiting the near-meaningless recovery, backthrows by ledge into edgehog is the way to go. But to get there you're going to have to fight safe as you can without spamming, since its gonna be caped. Dash SH sex kicks THROUGH his pills and hit him when the sex is stongest....D.Smashes every chance can't go wrong, but UpTilts will work good to defend against SH attacks, yourself. Caping is good against Doc, since its a miracle if his litle nubs called apendages can actually hit you anyway...and Projectiling is good, but better left as aerial pre-offenses. Doc tends to break out of combos well with his smaller size, average weight, and sex kick...so try to start early with UpAirs and finish him with what seems the most reliable.
Ditto matches donnot prove who is better, so don't be discouraged if you lose. It only means today they were better fighting doc vs. doc. What point is made in beating a character who you cannot stress Doc's real advantages and disadvantages against? The very characteristics that makes him THE D0C?...I'll tell you what. Nothing...its like Doc is no longer doc, but a souless vessle trapped in a psychological game of rock-paper-sciccors floating into the corners of the universe just waiting to implode-THATS WHAT!*#@!! >:O.........well, maybe not. But I thought it sounded cool.

Mario
This really isn't THAT much different from a ditto fight, but nonetheless he's a different character who requires a little more on comboing and staying around...then going for the straight kills. Like against another Doc, Sex kick is your best friend. Since Mario doesn't have any great reaching move, and the sex has oober-priority...throwing it out a little extra more can just be a less risky way of racking up damage here and there. Since Mario's fireballs only sink...you can jump Pill right over his and be ready to Cape if he caped it back at you. Mario gets out of combos very easily, so if you can seal them with the strong hit earlier than you would a larger or quicker faller. Shuffle'd backkicks also do wonders against the lil' man, as well with directed F.Tilt spamming against all his SH offenses.
Mario is a little more potent under the oponent than Doc is, since his UpTilt keeps people more vertical, his UpSmash is stronger and his UpAir is somewhat better at juggling. But you can always try to sex through since Mario is of no threat in the air, lacking any powerful move. Mario and Doc are of considerably close playing potential, but the favor is still in the Doc.

Luigi
Mr.Moonwalk glides across the ground quicker than anyone, punishing your mistakes before they even happen. I'll spill the no-nos....don't pursue aerial combos...you will be sexkicked into luigi-fun, which isn't doc-fun. Though Luigi can move on the ground quick as falco's laser, his jumping is horridly slow and horizontally challenged, this limits his offenses greatly. In addition he has one of the most useless projectiles. With those in mind....low Pillspam O.W.N.S. Luigi...you can even UpB him when he jumps over them nearby you, for a safe 'haha' hit.
If you shield a SH attack from Luigi..don't drop your guard yet..he can pull another one before he lands(usually nuetral), making it difficult to bag the slipperly devil. Since comboing won't be easy...focus on quick SH backkicks whenever you can, to nitpick up his percent. It can be very difficult to land a finishing blow on him as any followup, so in your projectile-whoring watch him carefully...the easiest KO's on him are going to from a split second prediction...not your combos. His recovery pretty much blows, wait by the ledge and cape when he comes close...not just his Forward B...cape his upB as well...its really not that hard, since you can tell when he's going to do it, since he has to be directly underneath. Weegee's finishers don't have low trajectory angles and his edgeguarding blows, so Doc's extended recovery is all you need, most of the time to make it back.

Link
Outreaching Doc with his sword...but just slow enough to bring difficulty to the hits, Link needs a wise wielder to defend against a tricky Doc. Pillspam hurts Link enough...and reflecting an onslaught of beams, doesn't help Link either. As Doc, you need to watch out for clever link tricks, including all his weapon combos. To prevent being pinned by them into submission, here are some tricks. Catch Link's bombs if you can, and concentrate more on AVOIDING the boomerang, than trying to reflect it(since it goes way up anways, missing link..and he can throw ANOTHER ONE RIGHT AFTER..even if the 1st boomerang is still around, because it turned into DOC'S BOOMERANG) Link's sword spin can pull a mean number on Doc, and sidestepping won't help. But shielding in vain, in proper distance can get you hookshot. Thats why its better to keep moving, and don't let link create a settup with his weapon combos. Use your speed and beat him to an opening. When you do go offense, UpSmash, UpAir, and WD to your hearts content. EdgeGuarding Link isn't easy...Link's recovery is not only very safe, but pretty good, so I advise timing to grab the ledge and use that window of invincibility to back kick him away, since its asking quite alot to sneak one in normally from his spinning sword.
Other than that...a flying Sex into him right as he UpBs actually works very well! Since link is so easy to combo, its better to just kill him the old fashion way; rack up damage and smash. The best link can hope for in combos is low juggles into a couple aerials...so its better to try to d.jump out, then sex kick into the blade...because if he misses...you'll be able to hit him back anyway with his bad lag.

Roy
Th3Ph1r3Pwnzj00!!!!1.......or does it? Good Roy's know to abuse the D.Tilt. Quick, reaching, exellent settup, hard to punish. This and his grab are what you want to avoid more than anything since those are his easiest openers to his powerful hits. Pill Spam works good on Roy, because his fall doesn't allow him to get very far over them, but this also makes him a quick Shuffler into a F.Smash. He's not that hard to grab, because despite his reach, he's dependent on getting close if he wants his attacks to be anywhere past weak. So work those into some nice aerial settups. The air...where he has no strength whatsoever.
Basicly making a mistake up there is like being slapped with a wet noodle, so drag them out to the point of risk if you want. Roy doesn't get much use from his Up and F.Tilt so pillrushes into F.air, D.Smash, or flying Sex all work nicely. In close quarters range remember about your Jab, that basicly outspeeds all his attacks and opens him up for a stronger hit at higher damage. Roy's edgeguarding owns, but Doc just has one of those recoveries that is very hard TO edgeguard, especially once u learn to stall a second with the tornado/cape to psyche them out for a new window, and considering Roy has no low trajectory power hits, you'll probably be able to come back, if you weren't blasted out the screen. If Roy goe aerial, expect his very quick FF into a F.air L-canceling into who knows what. You may want to WD away into a pill or time an UpTilt. When you knock him off, edgehogging is the easiest way to finish the job, and if he has height to go over, just drop with a back kick to take him out.




Pikachu
Pika can be a little hard to hit, with its great evasion and flimsy attacks. But because of its poor reach, its jellybean body is easily caped around and KO'ed with DocPunch and F.Smash.You really want to go for the KO, because of its good recovery distance. Pikachu can use his Jolts much like pillrush, but its physical followups from it are basicly weak and slow. Its actually just easier to cape, since its pretty slow and broadcasted with a friendly, "PIKA-...!" beforehand. If you get Thundered(I hope you don't) by pika you're pretty much dead...but the only Thunder that should hit you is while your in the air after an aerial settup-usually upsmash/uptilt. Pika's wavedash, grab, dashgrab, F.Air all blow...so you can basicly cream it, head on.
Pika's pros are great low percent juggles, but its really hard for Pika to make it under, when its reach is so poor and theres few moves that can open that opportunity. Shieldgrab into downthrow-f.smash to beat up the rodent at low percent...and aerials at mid. Just don't Sidestep into its lasting F.smash, and you should die hard. You can also cape Thunder to hit pika instead!! If the Pika player tries aerial Jolt Spam, where the cape doesn't cut it and its hard to find time to throw pills...you can always dash with a Sex Kick through the jolt and hit pika behind it. Overall, a simple fight if you can WDSmash following pills, since pika doesn't have the privelage of good punish moves like Ganon. If your get stuck in a low juggle, sex kick out, instead of DI because u won't get much room to dodge its arc-like hits into its powerful UpSmash.


Y.Link
Quick and a projectile-wh*re, a skilled Young Link can be annoying. Y.Link's tend to fight more like Pikachu, continually moving around and jumping in any opening. Except he does this alot better than pika because his boomerang and bombs will be bouncing everywhere. The same rules stay here, for Link. Catch bombs and try to avoid the boomerang over Caping(unless your very close) Y.Link's main KO moves are his Dash/D.Smash by a ledge, and D.Air/UpAir. So if you watch yourself by a corner, his KO options are even more limited. Between your pillspam and his jumping around with his weapons, your just as likely to get hurt as him, since its hard to Cape when your keeping track of your spacing and availability to pillrush. Dash SH-Sex kick owns many projectiles, flying right through into the oponents face. But Never go for this if he has a bomb in his hand. Doctors are flammable, too!
In close quarters range, F.Tilt and D.Smash give you a reach advantage and KO him like you would most, but remember he's lighter so that Backthrow might come in handly earlier than you think. If your rushes are shielded, expect his handy hookshot grab into upthrow-uptilt/aerial. So be ready to DI left/right. Y.Link is a good pursuer, for targets whom try to escape via jumping. They're watching you...anticipating it! @_@ Simply put. Play a few safe rules, and Y.Link has trouble getting that finisher in. If he misses his hookshot, WD into him charging your F.Smash then let'r rip last moment!

Zelda
The FOOT! Beware of Lightning Kicks. Zelda players like to space themselves just out of reach, so if you make any short reached offense, you get to eat a foot. If you want instead, you can probably pillspam Zelda all day without getting hurt. Try to find any defensive pattern she uses...but double check yourself before you pillrush. Just try to imagine what happens when you and a pill are flying into...Nayru's Love!(FEAR!) One good offense is WD into a shield. If she doesn't attack, she's probably shielding too(waiting to grab)Look for that, and take the initiative to grab first, then.
Sadly..she's way floaty to be comboed easily. So just go straight into a single powerful hit, instead. Edgeguarding Zelda is cake, her recovery sux.(so look for her long-lasting airdodge, commonly used instead)Watch her height in relation to the edge when she UpBs. If she uses it early enough to appear on land...just stay still and be ready to WD-FSmash whenever she is grounded. If it looks like she can grab the ledge instead, WD off to steal it first. In that same scenario, she might have went up. So just jump up afterward and wait for her to land. Zelda is also easily multi-B.Air away from the stage from low damage. If you're grabbed by Zelda, you have a good chance of being owned-she has a handful settups into the FOOT. Basicly, Zelda plays a mean defense. So keep her off of it, by luring her in with pillspam, and staying on your guard for strong hits, both you and her.

DK
Think your shuffled B.Airs were useful? DK's B.Air woops yours! Anywho...you're dealing with a character of good reach, and great punish-moves, including the GiantPunch, which will be charged if you leave him alone. Pillspam and rushes own this huge target. Normally DK is very hard to approach with his good reach and his good reach-misleading how close he is. If not, his F.Smash plows away many dash SHs, and if he grabs you, your invited to be slapped on his back, thrown up into his combo-crazy UpAir.(especially if they can SH it perfectly!)One of DK's better offenses is his shuffled N.Air. It lets him safely get in close for a grab, whereas yours wouldn't reach. In this situation its best just to back off with a better reaching and quicker move. UpAir immediately from a full jump to escape.
The easiest way to get in DK's face is faking him out. Run at him, wave dash back/wavedash forward into sidestep...(with pills every now and then to play it safe) Whatever can get him to miss an attack. Go for the grab and UpSmash that monkey into UpAirs! You really can't miss. When he needs to pack his bags, play the same game, but look for any chance to sneak in your F.Smash. His weight proves to be a nuisance for any UpKO move minus DocPunch at 100+%. EdgeGuarding DK is really tough. Unless you've got a sword, it ain't easy to hit him before he stops spinning. And caping him, can give him even more height, including several spinslaps hitting you anyway. I prefer to just sit by the ledge(but not at the edge) with a shield and wait for it to stop.

Ness
D.Jump cancelling aerials...OW! It hurts. With his poorer reach, Doc can get pushed by Ness's PSI attacks pretty easily. But outside of that, Ness has even worse reach than the Doc...making Doc's F.Tilt and Cape extra useful. Doc isn't much of a fast faller, so Ness's combos can't be very long, and the same goes for Doc. Both also have horrible recovering moves so they do share alot of characteristics, but Doc advances with his not-so-good-for-you vitamins, despite Ness's PSI magnet(since its too laggy) You should avoid challenging Ness in the air, his F.air and headbutt go through pretty much anything, so your safest bet is basic pillrushes, not playing defensive.
Caping Ness's recovery doesn't always work as you hoped for, and though Doc's recovery is horrible on its own...I advise you jump off the stage and get hit by his PK Thunder on purpose, if you have the time. Ness will fall to his death, as you bounce up, then UpB back to the stage. In most cases, the battle goes by too quick for you to risk that, but fear not because aerial pills hitting the Thunder OR him(i surely HOPE you can't miss when there's 2 targets) will ruin his recovery. And you can simply backthrow and time your jump back kick him, to get him there. Ness can be difficult to sheild grab with his psychic reach and D.Jump canceling shifting DI, so remember you have wavedashing to escape as an option. Ness has a bad grab himeslf, 1 frame slower(no biggie), BUT very bad reach. Just keep sneaky and low, and show Ness who the ultimate chubby fighter is.

Yoshi
Yosh is one of the most unique charactes, and has tendency to be played 'odd-ball'ish, that can throw off your game if you don't catch on. Pillspam him like you would anyone else, and juggle him using UpAirs at early damage. Yoshi has laggy Smashes, so if you can fake him out by WDing backwards from an offense, then back in...you'll get your reward. Yoshkid can D.J.-cancel through attacks and aerial you, if you challenge him in air. His resistant priority can even dominate the cape, hitting you the opposite way, as he passes through. But if you can trick him into doing this in vain, a single punishment can lead to a shameful fall for Yoshi, since he has not a 3rd jump. Speaking of which, expect Air-dodge recoveries frequently. UpTilt works as a good edgeguard move against Yoshi, and if he evades through you, just turn around and B.Throw his green @$$. Yosh-masters can Ledge-cancel their Eggs, by continually tossing as they fall and jump while hanging. Its Very difficult to get in once they start this, so always move in, before they grab a hold.
Yoshi can put great pressure with his CCing D.tilt/Smash, sweeping you to the corners of the stage, and pursuing you with attacks like B.Aerial, into a DJC Sex. When you do SH rush, preferabably go over/through his eggshield, his options are down to none, when his back is turned(unlike you). And if you didn't go behind him, just Jab him after he drops the shield and you L-cancel, or sidestep his tounge-grab, then charge a F.Smash. If you do happen to get turned into an egg by the ledge, don't bother trying to break out, until you' DI'ed completely back to the stage, first. It's always possible, anyway.

Mr.G&W
Don't worry about Bucket(his DownB) sucking up your pills. As long as you pillrush, the horrible lag of absorbing them, will give you all the time you need to punish him greatly. Mr.G actually has good reach on all of his aerial attacks, so concentrate more on attacking groundwise, where he suffers great lag for his attacks. Mr.G&W can SHUFFLE his F.air as a combo alone, or link it to his D.Tilt. Overall this is his best offense, so UpTilt his SHs to limit his game. Feinting him with WDs severely punish him, so do what you can and slide back in with Smashes/grabs.
At higher damage, you're better off finishing him via a vertical KO. Since his recovery is good. You should be able to D.Throw him into a DocPunch, then. In Plan B, edgeguarding can be tricky since his 3rd jump goes so freagin' high and he can use it whenever he wants...to hit and land or grab the ledge. Turn your back to him by the ledge, and wait. If he UpBs...shield his rise, then punish. If he waits it out, WD backwards to steal the ledge. If you get grabbed, DI left/right, and hope you can avoid his Parachute. When recovering, reserve your jumps if possible, and stay low to avoid his F.air SHing off. Avoid over-caping Mr.G. His jumps go far, so in air, he usually passes through you, and hits you from the other side, anyway...and on ground you're better off playing the reach game with F.Tilt in addition to your pills.

Kirby
Not nearly flexible in the air as JP, Kirby falls back on a much simpler game than most. Without reach or power, he's reliant on poking and fleeing. Kirbys attack primarily only cover the specific direction used, meaning he has no attacks that cover good range. With that in mind, SH pillrushes crush him, since he has no anti-aerial defenses. Likewise, his offenses are very limited and easily guarded with your best reaching moves: B.Air, F.Tilt, D.Smash. When that barrier is broken and he's in your face, Jab works great to set him up for a grab. At higher percents, D.Throw to DocPunch can work.
The only really scary part about fighting kirby is when he's by a ledge, or hanging. They love to stereotypically take you down with them using Inhale. I prefer to just pillspam til he crawls out his hole, so I can finish him with a D.Smash or DocPunch. But in edgeguarding keep your distance and don't be afraid to roll back to avoid the Inhale. If you are sucked in, DON'T try to mash out. This only makes you drop from him, dying anyway(for doc's case), and him puffing back up to the stage. Don't move a muslce and pray your damage was high enough for him to keep you in long enough to guarantee his own death at least, too. Kirby may actually just want to take your ability and use Pills himself, instead in the match. He may easily duck under your own pills, and now be able to spam his own with his multi-jumps nicely. But you still have the cape, so any effort is in naught.

Mewtwo
The telekinetic kitty suffers greatly in KO options...where you shine brightly. Pillrushes own him, because of his larger size, and inability to reflect projectiles towards the user with Confusion. Early combos work best on his light self, and you should be able to get in the finisher of your choice. Mewtwo has further reaching tilts, so make sure your offenses are prepped. Mewtwo's best KO moves are Up/B.Throw and DownSmash. So teasing him air wise can be very beneficial since his attacks are all weak. You may argue his F.air is strong...but compared to 90% the characters...as F.air's go..it still very weak. Disable is hardly a realistic tactic, since most of the time your feints lead right into immediate attacks or there's a pill headed his way, anyway. Shadowball has a brief startup, but long enough for you to cape immediately, and Kill him around 60%.
Jab Mewtwo in close quarters, to set him up for a grab, then D.Throw him into a combo or finisher. Edgeguading Mewtwo is very hard, but thats why you just give him those few extra hits, so you can just KO his light self, instead. A better Mewtwo can play off low attacks, primarily his tail for the better reach, and follow the aerial settup. As long as you play Doc the way he does best, you should own.

Bowser
With insane weight and power, he takes KOs and can further cheat death, since his UpB goes up after being caped, allowing him to land back on anyway. His CCing game destroys Doc and his UpB ruins all of Doc's SH offenses. Bowser is a counter character to Doc believe it or not............By the way....I'm just messing with ya! XD Just run and pillspam bowser, theres realy not much he can do, and when he's at higher percent, UpSmash/SH UpAir juggle him into a finisher. Bowser can't edgeguard Doc's recovery worth crap, but he will UpB out his shield to punish your blocked attacks. Basicly, to avoid Bowser's only easy KO move, his F.Air(which strangely outspeeds you, lol) you can SH cape which makes him look dumb. Bowser's CCing game, is actually great...but not so hot against Doc with pillrushes. It's easiest to edge-guard him with just the F-tilt and use the cape if he tries to grab the edge.
Just because Bowser is slow, doesn't mean you can roll around him. He actually specializes in rollers. Aside from his UpB...his UpSmash covers a footballfield and is extremely powerful. One of his best moves anti-aerial too. So when you are close don't get out of his face, and when your away, keep away. This is a no brainer win for doc, as long as you don't underestimate your oponent.

Pichu
Evasive. Thats the pro. Extremely Light. Weak. Horrible Reach. Self-Damaging. I hope thats not too much trouble for you. Pichu has a virturally useless defensive game, since he has nothing but self inflicting projectiles. If they have a brain, expect pixie-jumping around into Sex or other 'pop' attacks. All it can do is hope you miss with laggy attacks so it can hit and run. Prevent this by using high area-covering attacks, like D.Smash, cape, and Sex. Well, technically you really don't have too...but its just easier to hit Pichu with...I mean, you should win anyway).
Pichu's better killing moves are UpSmash, F.Smash, and flying Sex-edgeguard. How he goes about using those, depend on how long you let him dance around you. EdgeGuarding Pichu is pretty simple...stand back and just wait for him to land. Then just WD F.Smash. If he grabs the ledge just cape him immediately. If the Pichu does Jolt-Spam,(the idiot) cape what comes, then flying Sex into his face. Combo-wise, since he's so small and light, you just might be able to throw it into a UpSmash, then DocPunch. I don't care how good the player is. Basicly...if you lose, consider taking a break from Melee.




Overview
To put it simply, Doc isn't as 'COUNTERED' per sa as many characters are. He is a fairly balanced character..but he still has good and bad matchups. Doc can handle sheik very well; setting her up for simple finishes...while Fox and Falco prove to be fair fights. Doc does good against Peach; able to take control of the fight easily, while Marth can give him trouble on smaller stages. His difficult fights can really be ANYONE that the player is not farmiliar with. Examples of this can be Ganon who sneaks in those reaching, crushing blows that he can't recover from and Jigs who avoids his ground game and carries him off easily. As long as you adapt to your oponent and his character though...Doc really cannot be countered...only outperformed.


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Turf Advantages
Because of Docs horrible recovery, a stage thats death zones are very far off...is bad for him, since he will most likely die from not being able to come back, while his oponent can. So stages like Dreamland 64 make Doc's recovery seldom useful. But at the same time, Doc likes large terrain with few or no platforms. This way he can projecile very easily in and out, without terrain interference.
I give you Mushroom Kingdrom 2. Pill spam is effective playing defensive on the left/right sides, all recovery is useless..so this balances Doc's out with his oponents, plus backthrows kill at mere no damage by the edge!!!Not to mention you can catch Birdo's eggs(A, if you're on the ground. Z, if your airborne), and throw them right after a pill!!!(normal throw:24%,hard throw:28%,downthrow:32%, RARE-DoubleImpact:48%, RARE-HARD-Double-Impact:54%!!!!!!!!!!!!!...with random eggs exploding with identical power to bob-ombs) Doc's UpB also is one of the best UpBs for this stage, in recovering from the 2 pits, since most others(like Fox) would send him too high, and at the same time, Doc's is so fast and safe, grabbing the edge is a piece of cake. Experiment with wavedashing from the ledges...it will help your faking out alot. Put simply, this IS Doc's best stage. His small size and great power make it easy for him to poke at any vulnerabilities with a quick pop, KOing them at early damage, while his heavier weight can save him from the same percent. The only drawback is Doc's great edgeguarding game is nonexistant here...but its no biggie...because those shuffled backkicks bring someone right to the deathzone now!
Outside of that...Characters like Ganon, Marth, and Falcon can also seriously rape on this stage *cough*knee,f.smash,skullcrusher*cough* so you might be better playing on another stage against them.
Final Destination is a great stage too, there is not better for rush-ins from pillspam. But its still very easy to KO doc by edgehogging, or throwing a needle, and such.


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13

I'd like to thank the stupid geniuses who made this game..because they created a horribly-cloned character, whom could have been someone original like LittleMac, Pitt, Wario, ect.
Smashboards.com for being the place I learned most things that evolved me from the noob I was when I first came like 3 yrs ago.
People who read this guide, because its all the motivation a person needs to make one...knowing it will be used....or maybe I was just really bored...yeah, thats is. Now I remember.
Usea for finding the info on the diffs between Mario and Doc's "speed" (though I only touched it on the basic level)
Vilness for the find on SH B.air to Sex/WD/DJ.
CJ for being all cool and junk when using doc.

Bleh, i don't care where this is posted...as long as its not edited out of context and credit remains towards me.

bleh..i changed it so it has color now..so the 80,000+ guide is a little easier to go through.
and i didn't need this post anymore..


hm...i bet the "Mystic Hero Agrees" part will remain..even after i edit this..
heHheehehEHEhehHhe

hey Mystic Hero, i think your gay!(just joking XD)

Dang Cyphus, the way you write so much about one particular character, anyone could tell you're a pro when using him. Some of this stuff has actually helped me become better using the Doc, which I'm becoming very dirty with now.:cool:

lol, thanx ^^
well..the guide has been updated like 15x since i first made it...and its finally complete(as far as i'm concerned.........for now, anyway)
Lastly i went through very slowly..and (hopefullly) fixed all the typos i had everywhere previously.
i know everyone's prolly already read this thing...but i figured i'd post it again anyway...since its edited here and there with new info, more advanced techniques, and covers strategies in fighting all the characters, and anybody new to these boards, who happens to play doc, and happens to want a guide...will be in luck, lol.

I just read all of that, cool stuff, wheres the "I survived the longest post ever" t-shirts?


Good stuff man.

Well dude, I took many pointers from this in the earlier days of productions. You now get to see my doc soon enough I hope. Good stuff indeed though 8-)

I prefer regular Mario but your guide tells alot about Doc.You can probabaly destroy me if you use him

[quote=Cyphus]Foward Air
oh yeah! his signature move aside from the Megavitamins...it comes out slow, it swings all around from above to below, and its oober-strong...not really safe(hehe) to use out of the blue, it requires some strategy to sneak in! From pill settups, you can dash SH into!.It's also the perfect finisher from a juggle or up throw. If your getting spammed via a low projectile...(when you strangely forget about your cape) its possible to SH just riiiiight over and nail'em, but it is pretty difficult and risky. And more importantly than his other aerials... L-cancel this thing(shielded or not, D.Smash/grab/Jab all are good low % followups), at low-mid %, it can chain it into a dash/WD up smash(then something else...) or an aerial attack...maybe another DocPunch if you can get it fast enough!
Hey, dude, I'm sure this guide ROCKS, as you put all this time into it, but you forgot to add something on this: DO NOT CONSTANTLY DO THIS MOVE!! For this will put you on the verge of losing your Melee friends. My friend Kenny uses this move almost RELIGIOUSLY and as I play Mewtwo, I'm ticked off as soon as he kills me. I mean, Dr. Mario is okay, but for Mewtwo to be killed by HIM?? Ganondorf'd fit. And also, Kenny is just cheap with him in general "becasue I had to be cheap to beat Super Hard with him! *procedes to be a jacka$$*"
Gah, sorry, but please, people, don't be cheap with anyone. I'm sure this is a tip EVERYONE knows, but obviously, not everyone knows this, like Kenny.

Wow...you really do know your Dr. Mario! How long did it take to write all that at first?

I say I bookmark this and use this later one. Thanks for the guide on Doc! Oh...I can't open the files...don't know what type of file it is and I don't know how to get it to work...so yea...

It's a normal file, either .avi or something real similar. I actually don't know why it came out like that. Windows media player, or practically any player, after saving the file that is, should be abe to play those files. I don't know how much longer the file will stay up though.