Lucas (SSB4)

Lucas in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	EarthBound
Other playable appearance	in Brawl
Availability	Downloadable
Final Smash	PK Starstorm

“	Lucas Comes Out of Nowhere!	”
—Introduction Tagline

Lucas (リュカ, Lucas) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4 as the second downloadable character, released alongside Roy and Ryu on June 14th, 2015. He was confirmed to be a playable character during the Nintendo Direct presentation on April 1st, 2015.

Lucas is once again voiced by Lani Minella, albeit via voice clips from Brawl and with some of the clips slightly sped up.

Attributes

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Lucas has not changed much since Brawl. He retains his rather sub-par mobility (average dashing and air speeds, below average falling speed and very slow walking speed). While Lucas' mobility speed is rather unimpressive, his attack speed compensates for it; notable examples include his neutral attack, which comes out on frame 2, and his down tilt, which comes out on frame 3 and is tied with Little Mac, R.O.B., Ness, and Meta Knight's down tilts for being the fastest one in the game. As a result, Lucas' attacks are useful for damage racking and creating combos. To further complement this, a lot of his moves have virtually no landing or ending lag, making them fairly safe.

Despite not being a swordsman, Lucas greatly benefits from having disjointed hitboxes; all of his smash attacks, nearly all of his aerial attacks and some of his ground attacks are disjointed, which can be further supplemented by his projectiles, giving Lucas great range relative to the rest of the cast.

In addition to their disjointed hitboxes, Lucas' smash attacks are among the strongest in the game. Like in Brawl, his up smash is the strongest up smash in the game while also possessing both a large disjointed hitbox and the ability to KO as low as 35% when fully charged. The first hit of his down smash is also one of the strongest in the game and is a decent edge-guarding option, while his forward smash has decent speed and has good KOing potential power, especially when tipped.

Changes from Brawl

Lucas received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition from Brawl to Super Smash Bros. 4, but was overall nerfed despite his status as the lowest mid-tier character in Brawl. The most notable improvement he received was the removal of his 10 extra frame grab release animation, which was one of his most significant flaws that he also shared with Ness. His recovery has been improved, as both PK Thunder 2 and Rope Snake now cover noticeably more distance. Rope Snake has also received more utility as a spacing option due to it receiving a hitbox when used as a grab aerial, while his down throw has been modified to become a very useful combo starter alongside his down tilt. Lucas has also seen indirect buffs from the nerfing of characters who hard countered him in Brawl, such as Marth.

However, the 10 extra frame grab release was not the only noticeable gameplay-related aspect that Lucas had removed; he can no longer use Zap Jump or Magnet Pull, which were his two most pivotal techniques in Brawl. In addition to this, many of his attacks have seen their damage outputs, knockback, and range reduced while having their cooldown increased. This is most notably seen in his aerials, which can no longer auto-cancel from a short hop and thus significantly hinders his already poor approach and landing options. He additionally has a harder time KOing because of his forward smash, up smash, forward aerial, neutral aerial and down throw having reduced knockback alongside the loss of his advanced techniques.

Aesthetics

• Due to the aesthetic used in SSB4, Lucas' overall color scheme is more vibrant. Like Ness, Lucas is slightly taller, slightly thinner, has a smaller and more proportionate head and has lost the colored hue in his eyes. He also has a more rosy blush and his shirt now has completely horizontal stripes.
• Like Ness, Lucas now uses updated sounds for his PSI-based attacks.
• Lucas now keeps both eyes open while performing PSI Magnet, while he kept one eye shut while performing it in Brawl.
• Lucas' hair no longer moves.
• Lucas is more expressive, such as having a smile on his face during his idle poses and scowling when performing some attacks.

Attributes

• The extra 10 frames of Lucas' grab release have been removed and normalized.
• Jumpsquat is 1 frame faster (5 frames → 4).
• Lucas' fast falling speed is faster (1.918 → 2.192), which makes him less vulnerable to juggling.
• Zap Jump and Magnet Pull have been removed, which limits his advanced technical options.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack, up tilt, down tilt and sourspotted forward tilt all deal less damage (10% → 8.5% (neutral attack), 11% → 9.5% (up tilt), 6% → 3% (down tilt), 9% → 7.5% (forward tilt).
• Neutral attack's initial hits send opponents at a higher trajectory, which increases its combo ability.
• Dash attack has decreased start-up (frame 17 → 15) with less cooldown (interruptibility frame 42 → 39).
• Dash attack's sweetspot is now located at the tip and deals 1% more damage (12% → 13%) with horizontal knockback.
• Sourspotted dash attack deals 1% less damage (10% → 9%) and less knockback.
• Up tilt has reduced cooldown (interruptibility frame 40 → 37).
• Down tilt's point-blank hitbox now slightly sends opponents in the air, which gives it better potential as a combo starter at higher percents.
• Down tilt no longer trips opponents, has slightly reduced range and increased cooldown (interruptibility frame 14 → 16).
• Forward tilt has increased start-up (frame 6 → 7) and cooldown (interruptibility frame 23 → 26).
• Up smash has reduced knockback (50 base/85 growth → 48/77) and has reduced hitbox sizes (14/13/12/10/10u → 12/11/10/8/6.5u).
• Forward smash has reduced base knockback (60 → 50) and has gained a sourspot on all non-tipper hitboxes that deals 1% less damage.
• Down smash has reduced range (10/12/14u → 8/9.8/12u).
• Down smash's first hit has increased base knockback (40 → 43).

Aerial attacks

• Neutral, forward and down aerials all deal less damage (17% → 8% (neutral aerial), 12% → 11.5% (forward aerial) and 20% → 15.5% (down aerial).
• Neutral, forward and up aerials no longer auto-cancel from a short hop due to drastically increased auto-cancel timings, significantly hindering Lucas' approaching and landing options.
• Neutral aerial has a slightly altered animation with emphasis on the final hit.
• Neutral aerial's base knockback has decreased (70 → 40), its landing lag has been decreased (18 frames → 13), its final hit connects reliably and it sends opponents at 60° above Lucas, making it an effective combo starter.
• Neutral aerial has increased start-up (frame 5 → frame 7) and higher aerial cooldown (interruptibility frame 40 → 45).
• Forward aerial has a smaller hitbox (5.5u → 5u) and reduced active frames for the late hit (6 frames → 2).
• Back aerial's non-meteor sweetspot deals 2% more damage (10% → 12%) and knockback.
• Up aerial has increased start-up (frame 5 → 7), fewer active frames (6 frames → 3) and a much smaller hitbox (7u → 5.2u) that is no longer attached to Lucas's head animation, making the range static and misleading.
• Up aerial sends at 80°, which helps it KO earlier despite its knockback values being identical to how they were in Brawl.
• Down aerial has increased start-up (frame 4 → 10), which hinders its reliability against smaller grounded targets. It also has moderately pushed back auto-cancel timings (frame 35 → 48).
• Down aerial has less landing lag (28 frames → 24).
• Rope Snake covers much more distance as a tether and now has a hitbox which deals up to 4% damage with horizontal knockback when used as a grab aerial.

Throws/other attacks

• Standing, dash and pivot grabs have decreased start-up (frame 13 → 12 (standing), frame 16 → 14 (dash), frame 15 → 12 (pivot)). Additionally, all grabs have significantly higher active frames (1 frame → 8).
• Standing and dash grabs have decreased cooldown (interruptibility frame 70 → 51 (standing), interruptibility frame 80 → 61 (dash)).
• Pivot grab has increased cooldown (interruptibility frame 50 → 61).
• Pummel deals 1.8% less damage (3% → 1.2%), resulting in Lucas no longer having the best pummel in the game.
• Up throw has more knockback growth (65 → 69).
• Down throw has decreased ending lag and decreased knockback growth (100 → 51). When coupled with the removal of hitstun cancelling, down throw is now an excellent combo starter, allowing Lucas to chain into aerial attacks at percents up to around 150% depending on weight, rage, staleness and DI.
• Down throw deals 0.5% less damage (7% → 6.5%) and can no longer KO due to its significantly reduced knockback.
• Down throw aesthetically buries opponents during its execution.
• Front and back floor attacks deal 1% more damage (6% → 7%).
• Edge attack always deals 7% damage instead of 6%/8%.

Special moves

• Fully charged PK Freeze deals 3% more damage (19% → 22%) and travels farther.
• PK Freeze is slightly slower, takes longer to fully charge and now goes lower than Lucas' body, similarly to Ness' PK Flash. Because of this, PK Freeze no longer explodes when it touches the ground. Unlike PK Flash, using the move right before it hits the ground does not count as being fully charged.
• PK Fire deals 1% more damage (8% → 9%).
• PK Thunder is larger and PK Thunder 2 can be used again after hitting a wall, similarly to Ness'. PK Thunder's trapping abilities are also better and its final hit is stronger, while PK Thunder 2 covers slightly more distance.
• PK Thunder moves slightly faster. This makes it easier to recover if an opponent goes off-stage attempting to gimp Lucas, but also makes situational mindgames slightly harder to play out.
• PK Thunder is now colored purple.
• PK Thunder 2 deals 15% less damage (58% → 43%).
• PSI Magnet is now larger than in Brawl, where it was only centered around his hand. This increase of range gives it more defensive value. However, it only deals damage if the opponent is in the center of the magnet, whereas in Brawl the entire magnet dealt damage, which decreases its overall offensive value.
• PSI Magnet deals 1% less damage (9% → 8%) and its healing multiplier has been decreased (2.5x → 1.2x). Lucas also no longer turns around if he is hit from behind.
• Lucas retains PK Starstorm as his Final Smash. However, like with Ness' version, the falling stars are colored blue and are now fired in a line that can be aimed in a fanning motion from the top-center of the stage. This leaves it with blind spots, but results in a more reliable damage output when the stars do hit. Lucas' pose when using PK Starstorm now matches Ness' pose.
• Lucas' version of PK Starstorm is much thicker than Ness' and it keeps a consistent width of three falling stars throughout rather than the width of 1.5 falling stars that Ness' does.

Update history

Lucas has received minor buffs in update 1.1.0, with the most notable changes being cooldown reductions on all his grabs and subtle range improvements in forward and down tilts, though they still do not match up to his range in Brawl. The changes to the shield mechanics in updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1 have been a mixed bag for Lucas, as it makes his sourspotted moves less safe on shield, but his sweetspotted moves safer.

1.1.0

• Forward aerial's vertical displacement increased: 1.0 → 2.9.
• Forward aerial's sourspot deals 1% more damage: 8% → 9%.
• Forward aerial's sourspot hitbox size decreased: 3.8u → 3.3u.
• Forward tilt's sweetspot hitbox size increased: 4.0u → 4.4u.
• Forward tilt's sourspot hitbox size increased: 2.0u → 2.2u.
• Forward tilt's horizontal displacement decreased: 1.6 → 0.
• Down tilt's far hitbox horizontal displacement increased: 7.0 → 7.2.
• Down tilt's middle hitbox angle altered: 0° → 40°.
• Down tilt's horizontal displacement increased: 2.7 → 3.0.
• Down tilt's knockgrowth decreased: 50 → 45.
• Down tilt's close hitbox angle altered: 70° → 76°.
• Down tilt's base knockback increased: 10 → 18.
• Down tilt's displacement increased: 0 → 3.5.
• Grab range's early size increased: 2.5 → 3.0.
• Grab range's later size increased: 2.4u → 2.8u.
• All grabs have reduced ending lag: 56/66/66 → 51/61/61.
• PK Thunder's hitbox size increased: 3.5u → 3.8u.

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2.5%	Kicks with his right leg twice and then performs a left-legged reverse roundhouse kick. The third kick has slightly more range. Comes out very fast (frame 2) and can be followed-up with a dash attack at low to medium percents.
			2%
			4%
Forward tilt			11% (sweetspot), 7.5% (sourspot)	Performs a palm thrust that launches a small blast of PSI energy that deals more damage the farther opponent is from Lucas. Can be angled and has a disjointed hitbox.
Up tilt			1.5% (hit 1), 8% (clean hit 2), 5% (late hit 2)	Psychically tilts himself to perform a vertical kick that launches a blast of PSI energy. It can combo into itself, a neutral aerial or an up aerial at low to medium percents.
Down tilt			3%	Crouches and performs a legsweep. Although weak, it is fast and reliable for either racking up damage or starting combos into itself, a neutral attack or a forward smash. Tied with Little Mac, Meta Knight, Ness and R.O.B.'s down tilts as the fastest down tilt in the game.
Dash attack			13% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot)	Lucas performs a dashing palm thrust that launches a blast of PSI energy. Has slight start-up and deals more damage the farther the opponent is from Lucas.
Forward smash			14% (base), 15% (tip)	Strikes nearby opponents with a stick with can be used to reflect objects. It is very similar to Ness' forward smash, but has with faster start-up at the cost of dealing less damage and being weaker. Deals the most damage and knockback at the tip.
Up smash			2% (hit 1); 19%, 18%, 16%, 14%, or 12% (clean to late hit 2)	Releases a large blast of PSI energy above his head. The strongest up smash in the game, this move is a "high risk, high reward" attack; it has a lot of ending lag, which makes it very punishable if missed, but is strong enough to potentially KO very early (67% uncharged and 35% fully charged). It also has other positives, as Lucas appears to gain some intangibility frames during a certain part of this move and the move possesses a huge hitbox, making it a good anti-air attack if used correctly. It is supposedly based on PK Love, Lucas' signature PSI attack from Mother 3.
Down smash			17% (hit 1), 14% (hit 2), 11% (hit 3)	Lucas aims his arm downward at a diagonal angle and launches three consecutive blasts of PSI energy towards the ground while holding his hand in a finger gun gesture. The range increases while the power decreases with each blast. The first hit is very powerful, being able to KO as low as 60% near the ledge depending on the opponent's weight and DI. The first hit is one of the strongest down smash attacks in the game. All three hits are disjointed. Has a bit of start-up to it, but virtually no ending lag.
Neutral aerial			1% (hits 1-4), 4% (hit 5)	Lucas performs an aerial cartwheel while releasing a blast of PSI energy around his torso. Has decent combo potential.
Forward aerial			11.5% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot)	Lucas performs a side kick that launches a blast of PSI energy. This move has decent speed and is disjointed, making it a good off-stage option. The sweetspot does the most knockback.
Back aerial			12% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot), 7% (late)	Lucas performs a backflip kick that leaves a trail of PSI energy along his feet. It can meteor smash, although it is difficult to do so. Has disjointed reach.
Up aerial			13%	An upward headbutt. Similar to Ness's up aerial, but does not have as much range or knockback.
Down aerial			3.5% (rapid hits 1-3), 5% (final hit)	Lucas performs a number of stomps with both of his feet that each launch a small blast PSI energy below himself. Like his back aerial, it is disjointed and has a meteor smash that is difficult to land.
Grab aerial			4% (clean), 2.8% (late)	Sends Duster's Rope Snake in front of him to damage enemies.
Grab			—	Sends Duster's Rope Snake in front of him. Can be performed in midair as a tether.
Pummel			1.2%	Headbutts the opponent. A rapid pummel.
Forward throw			10%	Telekinetically tosses the opponent in front of himself. KOs around 125%-165% near the edge.
Back throw			10%	Telekinetically tosses the opponent behind himself. It is Lucas's strongest throw, capable of KOing around 100%-130% near the edge.
Up throw			10%	Telekinetically whirls the opponent around his head, then throws them straight up. One of the strongest up throws in the game, with incredible KO potential around 120%-180%. Only shying out to Mewtwo's and Charizard's up throws.
Down throw			6.5%	Telekinetically slams the opponent into the ground head first, leaving them briefly buried. A very good combo starter, it can be followed by either an up tilt, up aerial, forward aerial, or neutral aerial depending on the opponent's weight and DI.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Gets up and kicks at opponents from either side.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Gets up and kicks at opponents from either side.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Gets up and kicks back and forth.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Climbs onto the stage and performs a low-angled kick.
Neutral special	Default	PK Freeze	9%-22%	Releases a blast of blue, snowflake-shaped PSI energy that can freeze opponents. The direction of the burst's path can be controlled, and the attack can be made stronger by holding the special button.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Side special	Default	PK Fire	3% (lightning), 6% (fire)	Launches a lightning bolt-shaped PSI projectile. His PK Fire does not result in a pillar of flame like Ness', but rather a small fiery explosion of energy that pushes an opponent back. It is further differentiated from Ness' PK Fire in that it flies straight ahead regardless of whether it is launched on the ground or in midair. Lucas' PK Fire also slightly pushes him backward.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Up special	Default	PK Thunder	2.5% (projectile head), 0.8% (projectile tail rapid hits), 8% (PKT2 initial hit), 2% (PKT2 rapid hits 1-5), 1.5% (PKT2 rapid hits 6-10), 10% (PKT2 final hit)	Discharges a purple, streaming electrical PSI projectile. Like Ness' PK Thunder, it can be directed into Lucas to launch him. Unlike Ness' version, however, it does not fizzle out after hitting a foe and instead causes repeated damage. The latter also applies to his PK Thunder 2.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Down special	Default	PSI Magnet	8% (ending), heals 1.2x the damage of absorbed projectiles.	Lucas thrusts his arm forward and creates a blue, glowing orb of PSI energy around his outstretched hand. Any energy-based projectiles it absorbs will heal him, although it no longer absorbs energy projectiles that are launched at his back like it did in Brawl. Unlike Ness' PSI Magnet, Lucas' version can be used for offense, as it damages opponents inside of it when it dissipates and allows it to be used as a situational KOing option at high percents.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Final Smash		PK Starstorm	8% per hit	Lucas summons a shower of falling stars. They descend in a column and can be angled in a fanning motion at any time in order to repeatedly hit opponents.

Taunts

• LucasTaunt1Smash4.jpg
• LucasTaunt2Smash4.jpg
• LucasTaunt3Smash4.jpg

• Up Taunt: Lucas trips, shakes his head, and gets back up.
• Side Taunt: Duster's Rope Snake taps him on the shoulder and has a brief conversation with Lucas, as Lucas shrugs towards it.
• Down Taunt: Lucas positions his right hand up to his forehead, grunts while generating small bursts of PSI energy from his index and middle fingers, then swings his hand downward.

Idle Poses

• Taps the toes of his shoes on the ground.
• Shakes his fists in front of his face in a cowardly motion.

Cheer

Lu - cas!

On-Screen Appearance

Rides in on a Mr. Saturn-style coffee table, then hops off. The table is based on the one that Lucas rides to Saturn Valley in Mother 3.

Victory Fanfare

A flourished remix coming directly from Brawl. It is a sped-up remix of a portion of the title theme from the original Mother for the Famicom Disk System. It is shared with Ness.

Victory Poses

• LucasPose1WiiU.png
• LucasPose2WiiU.png
• LucasPose3WiiU.png

• He forcefully pulls one of the Seven Needles out of the ground, sending it flying off-screen with a trail of sparkles while Lucas looks towards the screen. This is very similar to his Up Smash.
• With his back towards the screen, crouching, Lucas does something on the ground with a large stick before turning his head around towards the screen, saying "Huh?".
• He bends down on one knee and shoots hexagonal PK shocks from his fingers in the air in front of him.

In Competitive Play

Notable players

•  Nakat
•  Pink Fresh
•  Tweek
•  Kodysti
•  BlueBerrySyrup
•  Luco
•  KoozyK

Alternate costumes

Trophies

While not playable at the release of the game, there has always been a trophy of Lucas in both versions; this trophy matches his appearance in Brawl. Upon his release, he additionally received two (three in the Wii U version) trophies that match the format of the other playable characters. The existing non-fighter one remains unchanged, as with Mewtwo's non-fighter trophy.

Lucas (non-fighter)

Before adventuring, Lucas was a timid, cautious boy. His journey has made him a stronger person. Maybe he met someone to spend his life with... Hang on—we're moving way too fast! For now, remember that Lucas and Ness are favorites in the hearts of EarthBound fans.

Once upon a time, Lucas was a bit of a cry-baby. You might even say he was a wimp. But then, well...he had more than his fair share of rough times and toughened up a bit. Who knows what he's up to now? Whatever he's doing, his story - much like Ness's - lives on in the hearts of all Mother series fans.

: Mother 3

Lucas

The younger of the twin brothers from Nowhere makes his triumphant return to the game of Smash. Hailing from the Japan-only game Mother 3, Lucas's specialty is psychic projectile attacks. He can use these PSI attacks to do things like absorb enemy projectiles and deal supernatural damage!

Lucas, the younger of the twin brothers from Tazmily, comes originally from the Japan-only game, Mother 3, and now makes his triumphant return to Super Smash Bros.! Here he makes great use of his PSI powers with lots of projectile attacks, and can use his faster attacks on anybody who gets too close.

: Mother 3

Lucas (Alt.)

Lucas's up special PK Thunder can hit enemies multiple times, but if you hit yourself with it, you can then tackle and launch opponents! Lucas's up smash has the strongest launch power of any fighter's up smash. The range for this attack is wide, and it's strongest right after Lucas unleashes the attack.

Lucas's up special, PK Thunder, can either hit enemies multiple times, or hit Lucas himself to push him into a powerful charge attack. Meanwhile, his up smash attack is the most powerful launching move in the entire game, so make good use of it! It's a wide-range attack that is most effective right after Lucas unleashes it.

: Mother 3

PK Starstorm (Lucas)

You can adjust the direction of the shooting stars in this attack! Rain stars down on multiple fighters at once, or be mean and pick on a single fighter. The choice is yours! If a star connects, it will deal ongoing fire damage, making it hard for opponents to return to the stage.

• 

  Non-fighter (3DS)

• 

  Non-fighter (Wii U)

• 

  Classic (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  PK Starstorm

Annoucement Video

<youtube>zwIhEXVRCog</youtube>

Gallery

• 

  Splash art.

• 

  On Coliseum.

• 

  Using PK Thunder.

• 

  Lucas's on-screen appearance.

• 

  Performing down taunt alongside Ness.

• 

  Using PK Fire with Ness.

• 

  Shaking his fists at the Wii Fit Trainer.

• 

  Healing himself.

• 

  Alternate costumes.

• 

  On Magicant with "Claus."

• 

  Taunting with Rope Snake.

Trivia

• The month he was confirmed was the same month his origin game, Mother 3, was released.
  • The announcement details for Lucas and v1.0.8 was on the same day as EarthBound's 20th anniversary.
  • The day he became available to purchase was the same day EarthBound Beginnings was released for Wii U Virtual Console.
• Lucas is the only playable character in SSB4 to not have appeared in a non-Smash game released outside of Japan.
• The tagline used for Lucas is a reference to his home of Tazmily Village being located on the Nowhere Islands.
• Segments of Lucas's trailer reference certain elements in Mother 3.
  • One scene references the endgame fight against the Masked Man, represented by Lucas's new gray costume holding a Beam Sword, and his standard costume wearing a Franklin Badge.
  • Another scene references Lucas with his twin brother Claus, and the family dog Boney (represented by a brown costume Duck Hunt).
• Because of his non-fighter trophy, Lucas is the only character who has both Brawl and SSB4 character models in the same game.
• Due to the removal of slow edge recovery options, Lucas no longer has any attack where he directly punches (his +100% edge attack in Brawl).
• Lucas is the only veteran to appear as DLC to not have new voice clips.
  • Out of the veterans that reuse their voice clips from past installments, Lucas is the only one whose voice clips were raised slightly higher in pitch; all other characters have their voices slightly lowered.
• Lucas is currently the only Brawl newcomer to be available as DLC.
  • He is also the only DLC character that was a starter character in a past installment.
• Lucas's down throw may be a reference to PK Ground, a move from Mother 3. His down throw buries character in the ground, and also displays a hexagon suggesting PSI.
• Due to Lucas's down throw not technically burying opponents, instead forcing them into a unique position, if the character being thrown flinches lightly, they will snap back to their original position. However, in the cases of Peach, Zelda and Rosalina, their dresses cannot keep up with the velocity change and will stay up. Because of this technical oversight, this can lead into bizarre results.