Shulk (SSB4)

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Shulk in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Xenoblade Chronicles
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Chain Attack

“	Shulk Foresees a Fight!	”
—Introduction Tagline

Shulk was unofficially revealed as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4 alongside Bowser Jr. and Ganondorf via leaked videos from footage used by ESRB to rate the game before being formally confirmed on August 29th, 2014. His official reveal came along with the announcement of the "new" Nintendo 3DS port of his game Xenoblade Chronicles.

Prior to his official reveal, Shulk's English voice actor, Adam Howden, had tweeted on 19 May 2014 that he had performed voiceover work for a game he was not allowed to speak about.

Moveset

Shulk performing Back Slash on Mario, then on King Dedede.

Shulk uses the Monado as his main weapon, which can attack from long range using its beam properties. The Monado does more damage and knockback if it hits from the middle rather than from the tip.

Standard Attacks

• Neutral attack - A punch, kick, slash combo. Very similar to Ike's Neutral Combo.
• Forward tilt - Shulk swings the Monado in front of him. Does 12% if it hits while close to the opponent, and 10% if done from the tip.
• Up tilt - Shulk jumps and does a fast, overhead sword swipe. A good anti-air technique.
• Down tilt - A reasonably fast downward swipe.

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral air - A circular slash with the Monado.
• Forward air - An overhead forward Monado swipe.
• Back air - Shulk holds the Monado behind him and the beam strikes behind him. Has slow startup and moderate landing lag, but good range.
• Up air - Shulk holds the Monado above him and the beam strikes upward.
• Down air - Shulk holds the Monado below him and the beam strikes downward. The first hit of the move does little knockback, but can easily connect to the second hit, which meteor smashes if sweetspotted. The sweetspot is located at the middle of the Monado's beam.

Smash Attacks

• Up smash - Shulk smashes the hilt of the Monado to the ground, causing the beam to strike upward. There are two hits to this move, the first being when Shulk slams the Monado down, and the second with the beam strike. The first hit has a small horizontal range, but can easily connect to the second hit if it lands.
• Side smash - A long stab using the Monado's beam. It looks akin to his Slit Edge ability from Xenoblade. Like his up smash, the move has two hits, the first from the Monado and the second from the beam strike.
• Down smash - A high range spinning slash with long start-up and ending lag. There are multiple hits to this move, although the first hit is the strongest with the most knockback.

Grabs and Throws

• Pummel - Hits the opponent in the head with the Monado's hilt. 3%.
• Forward throw - Shulk pulls the opponent towards him before slashing them with an uppercut from the Monado. 11%.
• Back throw - Shulk pulls the opponent behind him and stabs their midsection with the Monado in a reverse grip. 12%.
• Up throw - Heaves the opponent in the air and stabs their chest. 6%.
• Down throw - Slams the opponent onto the ground and drives the Monado through their spine. 6%.

Special Attacks

• Monado Arts - Shulk uses these arts (which display kanji characters behind him when in use) to enhance his abilities. The arts, which activate via his neutral special, are:
  • 翔 (Jump): Higher jumps, lower defense.
  • 疾 (Speed): Faster movement, lower jumps, weaker attacks.
  • 盾 (Shield): Higher defense, lower jumps, weaker attacks, slower movement.
  • 斬 (Buster): Stronger attacks, weaker launch ability, lower defense.
  • 撃 (Smash): Stronger launch ability, weaker attacks, lower defense against launching.

• Air Slash - Shulk's up special move, which works very similarly to Dolphin Slash, however pressing the attack button a second time midair will result in a second sword strike.
• Back Slash - Shulk's side special move, which hits harder if the opponent's back is facing him.
• Vision - A counterattack much like those of Fire Emblem characters. It is a down special move.
• Final Smash - Shulk summons Dunban and Riki to perform a Chain Attack on his opponents, before finishing them off with a strong Monado slash.

Special Move	Custom 1	Custom 2	Custom 3
Neutral Special	Monado Arts	Decisive Monado Arts	Hyper Monado Arts
Side Special	Back Slash	Jumping Back Slash	Enduring Back Slash
Up Special	Air Slash	Forward Air Slash	Strong Air Slash
Down Special	Vision	Dash Vision	Powerful Vision
Final Smash	Chain Attack

Reveal trailer

<youtube>GUl1EkUJ46k</youtube>

Palette Swaps

			File:ShulkHeadBrownSSB4-3.png

Gallery

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  Shulk's poster.

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  Splash art of Shulk.

• Shulk Alt.png

  Swimsuit costume for Shulk.

• Shulk4PalleteSwaps.png

  More palette swaps for Shulk.

• 

  Pic of the Day, when Shulk was revealed.

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  Fighting Sheik.

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• 

  Shulk in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

• 

  Shulk activates the Smash Monado Art.

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  Attacking Donkey Kong.

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• 
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  Posing with two Villagers.

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  Forward air on Link.

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  Shulk's Final Smash, featuring Dunban and Riki.

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  With Luigi on Boxing Ring.

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  Shulk posing with Riki.

• ShulkSSB4.png

  Image of Shulk from the ESRB leak.

Trivia

• The title of Shulk's trailer is the line he says in Xenoblade Chronicles when the party is about to face a powerful enemy.
  • Due to said line having no obvious connection to the trailer, some fans believe it is in reference to the ESRB leak.
• Shulk is the only fighter leaked by the ESRB leak to be a starter character.
• Shulk was the last character and newcomer confirmed for SSB4 before the Japanese release date for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
• Shulk, along with Pac-Man, are the only two characters in the game (and, by extension, the whole series) without a green palette swap option.