Caterpie/Gun6 & terrotim's version

''Intended to be released to the public seven years prior, this character was thought to be lost to the ages. Despite being classed as an alpha by its creators, it still manages to be a solid character, complete with high comboability and custom A.I., though its small size, surprising range and infinite priority can make it a difficult opponent to handle...when it's not charging Power.''

Gameplay


Caterpie is a six-button character with a slightly unusual button layout, so although, and  are punches, only  and  are kicks, with  being some sort of forward dash that's vastly more effective in the air than on the ground, covering more distance;  is used more conventionally when activating certain moves, albeit somewhat inconsistently, as Reach can be activated using it, while stringshot cannot.

Caterpie is notably smaller than most characters, forcing many opponents to resort to only using crouching attacks, limiting their options to deal with Caterpie. Opponents are further handicapped by Caterpie's range and infinite priority, allowing Caterpie to attack from a relatively safe distance and guarantee a hit if attacks collide; Caterpie's attacks don't have much startup lag on them either, meaning Caterpie can not only out-range and out-priority the opponent, but out-speed them too, though it is fortunate that they do have notable end lag, particularly the heavy attacks, giving the opponent brief windows of opportunity to counter-attack, should they block Caterpie's attacks.

Caterpie's most regonisable trait outside of its small size and range is its reasonable comboability, being able to begin a combo on the ground, launch the opponent into the air and continue from there, though there's a distinct lack of diversity in its combos owing to the relatively barren moveset, often deviating very little from the aforementioned ground-to-air combo, which only deals a small portion of damage; in contrast to this, two of its attacks (one of which is a Hyper, though the other was most likely intended to also be one) deal a considerable amount of damage, comparatively more than what would be expected from similar moves, with Metapod actually being able to lead into Caterpie's main combo.

Caterpie has a custom A.I. that can provide a substantial challenge when it gets the chance, making great use of its high comboability when close and long-ranged attacks when at a distance; when it's not being a challenge, it tends to stand around using powerup to gain Power, often continuing to do so until it reaches full Power, leaving it wide open for attack; unlike similar A.I. that only use their respective Power Charge when it's safe to do so, Caterpie typically uses powerup whenever it wants to, even when directly in front of the opponent.