Isabelle

Isabelle is one of the many villagers in the Animal Crossing franchise. Originally appearing in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, she was the assistant to the town mayor, helping the player make their desired changes. Since then, she has grown in the community as the face of the series alongside the Villager and Tom Nook. She is a Shih Tzu breed of dog. Thus her name in the Japanese versions of the game is Shizue. Isabelle was originally just an assist trophy in Super Smash Bros 4. Later, when Animal Crossing: New Horizons was announced, she was also unveiled as fighter 78 for Super Smash Bros Ultimate. 

Competitively speaking, Isabelle shares many moves with Villager, the default protagonist of Animal Crossing and a playable character since Super Smash Bros 4. However, she is not classified as an Echo fighter. She is unable to wall jump and has faster mobility overall. Her down and up aerial are also more consistent thanks to always swinging two turnips instead of either 1 or 3 like Villager. She also loses out on Lloid Rocket and Timber. Finally, her Ballon trip, a very powerful recovery, is slightly nerfed compared to Villager's by having a shorter travel time. On the other hand, her neutral special, a pocket, allows her to trap enemy projectiles and send them back.

Many professionals players consider her to have a lesser focus on zoning, at least compared to Villager. Her added mobility and utility with the pocket can make up for it at the highest level of play. Nowadays, there are very few full-time Isabelle mains, but the character remains a specialist choice for a pocket pick or a secondary for when a normal matchup could lead to an early loss.