Skewer

Skewer
Ridley using Skewer (sweetspotted).
User	Ridley
Universe	Metroid

Skewer (デススタッブ, Death Stab) is Ridley's down special move in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Overview

Ridley attacking at Skewer’s sweet spot. Note the sweet spot is causing the Special Zoom effect.

Ridley pauses and winds up before performing a sudden tail stab. It has a long startup and hits some distance away. It does minimal damage and knockback if he hits with the base of his tail, but if the sweet spot at the center of Ridley's tail tip connects, the target will be impaled while being dealt almost 10 times as much damage; both the sour spot and the sweet spot deal very little shield damage, however. The sweet spot hit causes the opponent to crumple, similarly to a fully charged Focus Attack. Despite requiring very specific precision, it is capable of piercing two opponents at once, though the extra damage from Ridley yanking out his tail will only apply to the "main" target. While the sweet spot deals extreme damage, it only allows Ridley to act as the opponent gets up again, making followup attacks based on reading the opponent's getup option. During the sweet spotted Skewer animation, Ridley is invulnerable and cannot be made to flinch or take damage. Skewer is one of the few special moves in the game that will cause a Special Zoom.

A sweetspotted Skewer will ignore any armor from the opponent, including Joker's Rebel's Guard, Wario's Wario Waft, and Ganondorf's Warlock Punch. While certain damage reduction attributes such as King K. Rool's Belly Super Armor will still apply, the crumple state and animation will play out as usual. Because of this, only true intangibility can safely contact the sweet spot of Skewer without harm.

Due to the sheer damage output the move deals in a single hit, it's possible to OHKO Ridley if the sweet spot activates certain counters, such as Tetrakarn, Vision or Counter Surge. The highest percentage Ridley can handle is around 50% from King K. Rool's Gut Check.

The attack can't do damage behind a wall, and the sweet spot does not work in Home-Run Contest.

In version 8.0.0, a new glitch was introduced where characters in grab invulnerability take the full damage of the sweetspot, but do not undergo the hitstun or Special Zoom.

Instructional quote

Move List

Stabs forward with the sharp end of its tail. With the right positioning, this can be a debilitating blow!

Origin

Ridley has never been seen using this exact move in the Metroid games, but many of his attacks in the series involve jabbing with the large spike on the end of his tail, making this attack another of the many ways Ridley uses his tail to his advantage. Outside of the games, Ridley used a very similar tail stab in the canonical 2002 Metroid manga to fatally wound Gray Voice, a Chozo who was one of Samus Aran's adoptive father figures and the one whose DNA was used to augment Samus's own. The move can also be referenced to Metroid: Other M during the attack of Adolescent Ridley in Sector 1 where he tried to stab Samus. He has a delay in his attack allowing her to shoot the tail with a Missile.

Gallery

• 

  Skewer as shown by the Move List in Ultimate.

Trivia

• The animation of each fighter slowly crumpling to the ground after getting hit by Skewer is the same animation they use for being defeated in Stamina Mode if they are standing still and hit with a weak attack. It is one of only two attacks in the series that is able to force fighters into this animation, along with Ryu's and Ken's fully-charged Focus Attack.
• If the attack sweetspots Nana, the noise will happen, but not the zoom effect.
• Oddly, in Ridley's Move list page, gender-neutral pronouns are used when describing Ridley striking with his tail, despite Ridley being male.

Ridley's special moves

Neutral special	Plasma Breath
Side special	Space Pirate Rush
Up special	Wing Blitz
Down special	Skewer
Final Smash	Plasma Scream