Pummel

Fox pummeling Mario in Melee.

A pummel (つかみ攻撃 or 掴み攻撃, Grab, grasp, grip or catch attack; referred to as CatchAttack in in-game Brawl files) is the attack usable while an opponent remains trapped in the player's grab. Pummeling was first introduced in Super Smash Bros. Melee. It can be performed much more quickly in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and even more quickly in Super Smash Bros. 4; most usually have a specific rhythm that affects its speed.

Any character can pummel by pressing the attack or grab buttons after a successful grab. Since that character will already be holding the other using their arms, most pummels are knee jabs or head butts, which tend to cause around 1-3% damage. Pummeling is primarily used to rack up extra damage before a throw, and from Brawl onward, to restore more critical moves from stale-move negation while chaingrabbing.

The higher an opponent's damage, the longer one can pummel before they're able to break free from the grab. If not executed swiftly, an adept fighter may escape before even a single blow is landed, which is one of the decisions a player must make when they grab an opponent: a character with a fast pummel (such as Lucario) can spare a few frames to get some extra damage on the opponent, while a slow-pummel character (such as Ganondorf) risks the opponent wriggling out of their grab if they pummel, making it more worthwhile to simply throw the opponent.

In the following tables, "Duration" means how many frames the attack lasts for until another pummel can be made.

List of pummels in Melee

Character	Description	Damage	Duration
Bowser	Headbutts opponent	3%	24 frames
Captain Falcon	Knees opponent	3%	24 frames
Donkey Kong	Karate chops opponent	3%	24 frames
Dr. Mario	Headbutts opponent	3%	24 frames
Falco	Knees opponent	3%	24 frames
Fox	Knees opponent	3%	24 frames
Ganondorf	Knees opponent	3%	24 frames
Ice Climbers	Headbutts opponent	3%*	25 frames
Jigglypuff	Slaps opponent with its tuft of hair	3%	30 frames
Kirby	Punches opponent	3%	30 frames
Link	Hits opponent with the hilt of his sword	3%	25 frames
Luigi	Headbutts opponent	3%	24 frames
Mario	Headbutts opponent	3%	24 frames
Marth	Knees opponent	3%	24 frames
Mewtwo	Shocks opponent	3%	24 frames
Mr. Game & Watch	Hits opponent with a bell	3%	30 frames
Ness	Headbutts opponent	3%	24 frames
Peach	Stomps on opponent's shins	3%	25 frames
Pichu	Zaps opponent	3% (1% recoil)	24 frames
Pikachu	Zaps opponent	3%	24 frames
Roy	Knees opponent	3%	24 frames
Samus	Chops opponent with her left hand	3%	24 frames
Sheik	Hits opponent with her elbow	3%	24 frames
Yoshi	Bites down on opponent	3%	24 frames
Young Link	Hits opponent with the hilt of his sword	3%	25 frames
Zelda	Zaps opponent with magic	3%	25 frames

*The partner can attack while the leader is grabbing the opponent, making it possible to deal more damage.

List of pummels in Brawl

Peach performing a pummel attack on Ike in Brawl.

Character	Description	Damage	Duration in frames
Bowser	Headbutts opponent	3%	23
Captain Falcon	Knees opponent	2%	15
Charizard	Bites opponent	2%	16
Diddy Kong	Headbutts opponent	2%	16
Donkey Kong	Karate chops opponent with his hand	3%	15
Falco	Knees opponent	2%	16
Fox	Knees opponent	1%	9
Ganondorf	Knees opponent	2%	23
Ice Climbers	Headbutts opponent	1%*	18
Ike	Headbutts opponent	3%	22
Ivysaur	Constricts opponent with vines	3%	24
Jigglypuff	Slaps opponent with its tuft of hair	3%	20
King Dedede	Headbutts opponent	3%	24
Kirby	Punches opponent	1%	9
Link	Hits opponent with the hilt of his sword	2%	15
Lucario	Hits opponent with a blast of aura	1%	7
Lucas	Headbutts opponent	3%	12
Luigi	Headbutts opponent	3%	23
Mario	Headbutts opponent	3%	23
Marth	Knees opponent	2%	15
Meta Knight	Hits opponent with the claws on his wings	3%	23
Mr. Game & Watch	Hits opponent with a bell	3%	29
Ness	Headbutts opponent	1%	9
Olimar	Pikmin headbutts opponent	2% (Other colors), 4% (White)	21
Peach	Stomps on opponent's shins	2%	18
Pikachu	Zaps opponent	2%	15
Pit	Knees opponent	2%	15
R.O.B.	Squeezes opponent with both his hands	2%	16
Samus	Chops opponent with her left hand	1%**	8
Sheik	Hits opponent with her elbow	3%	23
Snake	Tightens his chokehold on the opponent	2%	17
Sonic	Knees opponent	3%	15
Squirtle	Headbutts opponent	2%	15
Toon Link	Hits opponent with the hilt of his sword	2%	15
Wario	Pokes opponent in the gut with his finger	2%	18
Wolf	Knees opponent	1%	6
Yoshi	Bites down on opponent	2%	15
Zelda	Zaps opponent with magic	3%	24
Zero Suit Samus	Knees opponent	2%	15

*The partner can attack while the leader is grabbing the opponent, making it possible to deal more damage.
** Can miss during certain frames of Bowser's struggling animation.

List of pummels in Super Smash Bros. 4

Ness pummeling Rosalina.

Character	Description	Damage	Duration in frames
Bayonetta	Slaps the grabbed opponent twice.	1.5% each hit	21
Bowser	Headbutts opponent.	3.1%	23
Bowser Jr.	Hits opponent with a toy hammer.	2%	17
Captain Falcon	Knees opponent.	2%	15
Charizard	Bites opponent.	2%	16
Cloud	Knees opponent.	3%	25
Corrin	Hits the opponent with the Omega Yato's hilt.	3%	23
Dark Pit	Knees opponent.	2%	15
Diddy Kong	Headbutts opponent.	2%	16
Donkey Kong	Chops opponent with hand.	2%	15
Dr. Mario	Headbutts opponent. It is the third most damaging pummel in the game if Olimar's White Pikmin is excluded.	3.64%	23
Duck Hunt	The duck headbutts the opponent.	3%	28
Falco	Knees opponent.	2%	16
Fox	Knees opponent.	1.2%	9
Ganondorf	Knees opponent.	3%	23
Giga Bowser	Headbutts opponent. The attack has a flame effect, and is the most damaging pummel in the game.	6%	23
Giga Mac	Punches opponent in the stomach. It is tied with Shulk's Buster Monado Art as the second most damaging pummel in the game.	4.2%	15
Greninja	Squeezes opponent with water.	2%	26
Ike	Headbutts opponent.	3%	22
Jigglypuff	Punches opponent.	3%	20
King Dedede	Headbutts opponent.	3%	24
Kirby	Punches opponent. Can be used in rapid succession.	1.55%	9
Link	Hits opponent with the hilt of his sword.	2.1%	15
Little Mac	Punches opponent in the stomach.	2.1%	15
Lucario	Hits opponent with a blast of aura. It is tied with Mega Lucario's pummel for being the fastest pummel in the game.	1%	7
Lucas	Headbutts opponent.	1.2%	9
Lucina	Knees opponent.	2%	15
Luigi	Headbutts opponent.	3.2%	23
Mario	Headbutts opponent.	3.25%	23
Marth	Knees opponent.	2%	15
Mega Lucario	Hits opponent with a blast of aura. Deals maximum damage, regardless of Mega Lucario's current damage, and is tied with Lucario's pummel for being the fastest pummel in the game.	1.8%	7
Mega Man	Squeezes opponent.	3%	28
Meta Knight	Hits opponent with the claws on his wings.	3%	23
Mewtwo	Zaps opponent with a small psychic pulse.	2%	18
Mii Brawler	Headbutts opponent.	3.25%*	23
Mii Gunner	Whacks opponent with their arm cannon.	2%*	24
Mii Swordfighter	Hits opponent with the hilt of their sword. It has the longest frame duration of all pummel animations.	3.25%*	33
Mr. Game & Watch	Hits opponent with a bell.	3.2%	29
Ness	Headbutts opponent.	1.2%	9
Olimar	Pikmin headbutts opponent. The third most damaging pummel whenever the White Pikmin is used.	2% (Other colors), 4% (White)	21
Pac-Man	Headbutts opponent.	3.25%	24
Palutena	Hits opponent with magic through her staff.	3.1%	22
Peach	Stomps on opponent's shins.	2%	18
Pikachu	Zaps opponent.	1.9%	15
Pit	Knees opponent.	2%	15
R.O.B.	Squeezes opponent with both his hands.	2%	16
Robin	Zaps opponent with magic.	3%	32
Rosalina	Hits opponent with her wand.	2%	18
Roy	Knees opponent.	2%	15
Ryu	Knees opponent.	2%	15
Samus	Chops opponent with her left hand. The second fastest pummel in the game behind Lucario and Mega Lucario.	1.2%	8
Sheik	Hits opponent with her arm.	3.1%	23
Shulk	Hits opponent with the hilt of the Monado. When using the Buster Monado Art, it is tied with Giga Mac's pummel as the second most damaging pummel in the game.	3% (Normal & Jump), 2.4% (Speed), 2.1% (Shield), 4.2% (Buster), 1.5% (Smash)	26
Sonic	Knees opponent.	2%	15
Toon Link	Hits opponent with the hilt of his sword.	2%	15
Villager	Yanks net backwards.	3%	26
Wario	Pokes opponent in the gut with his finger.	2%	18
Wario-Man	Pokes opponent in the gut with his finger.	3%	18
Wii Fit Trainer	Squeezes opponent.	3%	30
Yoshi	Bites down on opponent.	2%	15
Zelda	Zaps opponent with magic.	3%	24
Zero Suit Samus	Knees opponent.	2%	15

* This assumes the Mii is default height and weight.