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Description
I mean no disrespect to Little Mac mains, but his moveset is terrible. Not only is it not representative of the character at all (I'll get back to that later,) but the core concept of it, the Power Meter, is completely negated by the Final Smash Meter! Now EVERYONE has a super attack activated by the B button that becomes usable after taking a certain amount of damage. At least Joker has two ways of filling up his special damage meter. That concept will be part of my rework for Little Mac. But first, we have to get into WHY I'm changing Little Mac's moveset.

Punch-Out is a game about boxing, and as such is modeled after the sport. Aside from Great Tiger being able to teleport and Soda Popinski possibly using performance-enhancing drugs, the game is mostly realistic, especially the first game. You have a stamina meter, you can win by technical knockout, and you've got your own personal trainer in the corner giving you moral support. Why is this important? Because in boxing, there are four main styles that boxers use, kinda like classes in an RPG: The swarmer, the out-boxer, the slugger, and the boxer-puncher. The swarmer overwhelms their opponent using rapid and unrelenting attacks, the out-boxer uses long-range punches and capitalizes on their opponent's mistakes, the slugger is a sort of glass cannon that delivers slow but powerful punches which leave them wide open, and the boxer-puncher takes the best skills from the other three classes. Kinda like the Mario of boxing. This also adds a rock-paper-scissors element to boxing: Swarmers have an advantage over out-boxers, out-boxers have an advantage over sluggers, and sluggers have an advantage over swarmers. If any real life boxers are reading this and I incorrectly explained the sport, I am sorry. Please do not beat me up.

Anyway, in the Punch-Out games, Little Mac plays as a sort of cross between the swarmer and the out-boxer. Due to his small stature, he relies on quick, short-range punches to overwhelm his much larger and beefier opponents. However, he is also an expert in dodging and countering, which is the only thing Smash gets right via his down special. His other specials, however, are closer to what a slugger would do in a boxing match. This is especially prevalent in his Final Smash, which turns him into the very definition of a slugger. So yeah, all of it must go. However, all of his basic attacks will stay the same, due to those being quick attacks perfect for a swarmer.

Neutral Special - Rapid Hook
I changed Little Mac's neutral special to something more in line with swarmer techniques. Tapping the B button will have Little Mac do a hook punch. This hook can be spammed without any loss of power, unlike other attacks. The catch is that repeatedly using this move will deplete a new meter; the stamina meter. When Little Mac runs out of stamina, he turns pink and is unable to use his neutral special. In addition, his speed and attack damage will be cut in half. Your stamina will slowly recover over time, and you can more quickly refill your stamina meter by successfully counter attacking with your down special. More on that later.

Side Special - Straight Lunge
I moved this attack from the neutral special to the side special, and changed it up a bit. Now instead of being a charged up punch, it becomes a simple dash. If this attack connects, Little Mac will strike with a fast uppercut. As things are now, the Straight Lunge becomes the KO Uppercut when Little Mac's Power Meter fills up. This will also be changed to something that has been in every Punch-Out game.

Up Special - Rising Uppercut
This will stay the same, because it's perfect for Little Mac. Boxers generally don't jump while boxing.

Down Special - Star Counter
Slip Counter is now replaced with Star Counter. Successful counter attacks will refill Little Mac's stamina meter if he is pink. When you're at full stamina, counters will fill up your Star Meter, which replaces the Power Meter. The Star Meter slowly fills up when you take damage, just like Joker's Rebellion Gauge, but it fills up much quicker when you counter, also like Joker's Rebellion Gauge. The Star Meter consists of three big stars. A successful counter attack fills up one half a star, meaning six counters will give you a full meter. After filling up one star on the meter, a star appears above Little Mac and your side special becomes the Star Punch. This is what replaces the KO Uppercut. If you have two stars, you can hold down the B button to fully deplete your Star Meter and perform a Double Star Punch. With a full Star Meter, you can perform the Triple Star Punch!

Final Smash: Knockout!!
This is a cinematic Final Smash where Little Mac delivers a super fast swarmer combo in the middle of the Boxing Ring, then finishes with a KO Uppercut. Fitting in with the theme of knockouts in boxing, this attack KO's at 100% damage. If you successfully launch someone off stage with this attack, you can hear the referee from Punch-Out yell "TKO!" for Technical Knockout.

And that's my new and improved moveset for the Bruiser from the Bronx! See you at the World Circuit, Mac!

Description
I mean no disrespect to Little Mac mains, but his moveset is terrible. Not only is it not representative of the character at all (I'll get back to that later,) but the core concept of it, the Power Meter, is completely negated by the Final Smash Meter! Now EVERYONE has a super attack activated by the B button that becomes usable after taking a certain amount of damage. At least Joker has two ways of filling up his special damage meter. That concept will be part of my rework for Little Mac. But first, we have to get into WHY I'm changing Little Mac's moveset.

Punch-Out is a game about boxing, and as such is modeled after the sport. Aside from Great Tiger being able to teleport and Soda Popinski possibly using performance-enhancing drugs, the game is mostly realistic, especially the first game. You have a stamina meter, you can win by technical knockout, and you've got your own personal trainer in the corner giving you moral support. Why is this important? Because in boxing, there are four main styles that boxers use, kinda like classes in an RPG: The swarmer, the out-boxer, the slugger, and the boxer-puncher. The swarmer overwhelms their opponent using rapid and unrelenting attacks, the out-boxer uses long-range punches and capitalizes on their opponent's mistakes, the slugger is a sort of glass cannon that delivers slow but powerful punches which leave them wide open, and the boxer-puncher takes the best skills from the other three classes. Kinda like the Mario of boxing. This also adds a rock-paper-scissors element to boxing: Swarmers have an advantage over out-boxers, out-boxers have an advantage over sluggers, and sluggers have an advantage over swarmers. If any real life boxers are reading this and I incorrectly explained the sport, I am sorry. Please do not beat me up.

Anyway, in the Punch-Out games, Little Mac plays as a sort of cross between the swarmer and the out-boxer. Due to his small stature, he relies on quick, short-range punches to overwhelm his much larger and beefier opponents. However, he is also an expert in dodging and countering, which is the only thing Smash gets right via his down special. His other specials, however, are closer to what a slugger would do in a boxing match. This is especially prevalent in his Final Smash, which turns him into the very definition of a slugger. So yeah, all of it must go. However, all of his basic attacks will stay the same, due to those being quick attacks perfect for a swarmer.

Neutral Special - Rapid Hook
I changed Little Mac's neutral special to something more in line with swarmer techniques. Tapping the B button will have Little Mac do a hook punch. This hook can be spammed without any loss of power, unlike other attacks. The catch is that repeatedly using this move will deplete a new meter; the stamina meter. When Little Mac runs out of stamina, he turns pink and is unable to use his neutral special. In addition, his speed and attack damage will be cut in half. Your stamina will slowly recover over time, and you can more quickly refill your stamina meter by successfully counter attacking with your down special. More on that later.

Side Special - Straight Lunge
I moved this attack from the neutral special to the side special, and changed it up a bit. Now instead of being a charged up punch, it becomes a simple dash. If this attack connects, Little Mac will strike with a fast uppercut. As things are now, the Straight Lunge becomes the KO Uppercut when Little Mac's Power Meter fills up. This will also be changed to something that has been in every Punch-Out game.

Up Special - Rising Uppercut
This will stay the same, because it's perfect for Little Mac. Boxers generally don't jump while boxing.

Down Special - Star Counter
Slip Counter is now replaced with Star Counter. Successful counter attacks will refill Little Mac's stamina meter if he is pink. When you're at full stamina, counters will fill up your Star Meter, which replaces the Power Meter. The Star Meter slowly fills up when you take damage, just like Joker's Rebellion Gauge, but it fills up much quicker when you counter, also like Joker's Rebellion Gauge. The Star Meter consists of three big stars. A successful counter attack fills up one half a star, meaning six counters will give you a full meter. After filling up one star on the meter, a star appears above Little Mac and your side special becomes the Star Punch. This is what replaces the KO Uppercut. If you have two stars, you can hold down the B button to fully deplete your Star Meter and perform a Double Star Punch. With a full Star Meter, you can perform the Triple Star Punch!

Final Smash: Knockout!!
This is a cinematic Final Smash where Little Mac delivers a super fast swarmer combo in the middle of the Boxing Ring, then finishes with a KO Uppercut. Fitting in with the theme of knockouts in boxing, this attack KO's at 100% damage. If you successfully launch someone off stage with this attack, you can hear the referee from Punch-Out yell "TKO!" for Technical Knockout.

And that's my new and improved moveset for the Bruiser from the Bronx! See you at the World Circuit, Mac!