Greninja (SSB4)

Greninja in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Pokémon
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Secret Ninja Attack
Tier	E (25)

“	Greninja Makes a Splash!	”
—Introduction Tagline

Greninja (ゲッコウガ, Gekkōga) appears as a newcomer in Super Smash Bros. 4, revealed during the April 8th, 2014 Super Smash Bros. Direct alongside Charizard. For its appearance in SSB4, Greninja is voiced by Yūji Ueda in Japanese and Billy Bob Thompson in English. Like numerous other Pokémon, it only communicates with the syllables of its name, and has different voice actors in the French and German versions due to name changes, similarly to Jigglypuff.

Greninja is currently ranked 25th out of 56 in the tier list, placing it in the E tier. Greninja has an impressive combo game with many moves, most notably its up and down tilts, its neutral and up aerials and its down throw, all of which are decently fast. Its recovery is also above average, with Shadow Sneak being able to cover a notable amount of horizontal distance while Hydro Pump comes out quite fast and can be aimed. Greninja also boasts a decent projectile with Water Shuriken, a decent approach tool and KOing option when fully charged and at high percents. Its counter, Substitute, has the unique property of being able to aim in various angles during the counterattack, which allows Greninja to set up a deadly combo or even recover. Greninja also has some of the best smash attacks in terms of overall utility, with its up smash being one of the game's strongest. However, Greninja's biggest strength is its overall mobility: it has the sixth fastest dashing speed, the fourth fastest walking speed, the eighth fastest air speed and the second-highest jumps. These traits grant Greninja the distinction of being among the fastest characters in not just SSB4, but the entire Super Smash Bros. series as well.

Despite the aforementioned strengths, Greninja has notably glaring flaws. One of them is the abnormally high ending lag on its attacks (most notably its smash attacks), which leaves it at a disadvantage against characters with lower ending lag. Its special moves also have some flaws, with Shadow Sneak and Hydro Pump being somewhat predictable recovery moves. Water Shuriken is easily blockable due to its low shield damage, and Substitute is considered to be one of the game's worst counters due to its low power and ability to be blocked if the opponent is quick enough. While Greninja has a couple of reliable finishers, none of them are easy to sweetspot due to hitbox timings (such as its up smash and down aerial) or even land at all due to start-up (such as its forward aerial) from a neutral standpoint. Greninja's grab game is also subpar: while it has the farthest reaching non-tether grabs in the game, they are among the slowest among the game (barring dash grab, which is relatively fast) and its throws, despite their speed and low-percentage combo utility, are unreliable for KO'ing except for up throw.

Overall, Greninja has a fairly high learning curve, but can become a relatively potent character when mastered. As a result, it has average match-ups with the rest of the cast with decent tournament results along with a few dedicated and noteworthy players, such as iStudying and aMSa. However, its current tier placement is questionable as it received a decent handful of buffs in update 1.1.5 (the most notable buff speeding up its previously slow standing grab), while a few of its hardest matchups (e.g. Sheik and Meta Knight) were also nerfed to varying degrees; its current tier placement only reflects the metagame up to and including the 1.1.3 update.

Attributes

Unsurprisingly for a character with a ninja aesthetic, Greninja fits into the hit-and-run archetype. Its smash attacks have decent power and have moderate range and its boasts remarkable movement speed, as it is the sixth fastest dasher in the game and its walking speed is the fourth fastest in the game. Although somewhat predictable and telegraphed, Water Shuriken deals respectable damage and functions well for both zoning and edge-guarding. Shadow Sneak is an excellent way to play mindgames with opponents while also functioning either as a way to aid its recovery or as a KOing option at high percents. It has a useful counter in Substitute that enables it to retaliate from various angles; however, it is considered the worst counter move in the game due to the fact that Greninja can be attacked out of it. Lastly, Hydro Pump is a long-distanced and unpredictable move that can easily enable it to return to the stage. However, Greninja is not without its flaws. In most of its attacks, both damage and knockback power are somewhat limited, sometimes leaving it with limited options to KO outside of reads and edge-guarding. While its attacks have fast start-up, they have among the longest ending lag in SSB4, particularly its aerials, which effectively forces players to use them wisely. Surprisingly for a humanoid frog, Greninja's wall jump is situational at best due to it having the shortest height in the game. Unlike Sheik and Captain Falcon, Greninja's excellent speed does not translate to it having a good combo game, as its moves sometimes have trouble linking into each other. As a result, it tends to be overly reliant on throws to set up combos. Aside from Shadow Sneak, Greninja's out of shield options are also very lacking (possessing one of the slowest standing grabs in the entire game), leaving it at a disadvantage against characters such as the aforementioned Sheik who have powerful spacing options against shield. Finally, the overall short range of its attacks leaves it at a disadvantage to zoning-oriented characters such as Rosalina & Luma.

Greninja's custom moves are rather polarizing, as the majority of them are inferior to their regular versions while only very few are very useful. One example of this involves its versions of Water Shuriken. Stagnant Shuriken is a very poor alternative due to it only staying in front of Greninja. However, Shifting Shuriken is extremely useful in that while it slightly detracts from Greninja's already poor range, it addresses its comboing issues: when uncharged, it launches opponents straight up, and when charged, launches opponents toward Greninja. Shadow Dash and especially Shadow Strike are both somewhat inferior to Shadow Sneak. High-Capacity Pump does not do much to improve Greninja's already excellent recovery, while Single-Shot Pump is significantly inferior due to it being very linear and lacks any edge-guarding capabilities due to it only being able to go straight up. Although Substitute Ambush may make it even easier to intercept, it gives the player more time to pick a direction and also does high shield damage. However, Exploding Attack is a superior option to both due to being more practical, powerful, and easier to hit with.

Update history

Game updates have been a mixed bag for Greninja. 1.0.4 notably nerfed Greninja by weakening a number of its attacks by lowering their damage outputs, reducing hitbox sizes, and removing the Shadow Sneak glitch that allowed it to cancel the lag off of its aerials. Greninja's hurtbox size at the top of its head was also increased in 1.0.4, making it easier to hit and its crouch nearly useless. However, these nerfs were slightly compensated for as Shadow Sneak was buffed to a degree. Like 1.0.4, 1.0.5 removed another exploitable glitch, the running Shadow Sneak glitch. However, Greninja has also seen some improvements in later updates. 1.0.8 noticeably improved its forward tilt by making it a better combo option. 1.1.0 gave Greninja a mix of buffs and nerfs, though the former was more prevalent than the latter. While its down throw's damage output was decreased and Water Shuriken no longer stalls Greninja in the air after a jump, its down throw's ending lag was reduced while Water Shuriken's start-up was decreased. Greninja received minor tweaks in 1.1.1: its neutral and back aerials have improved hitbox timing at the expense of slower start-up, while Shadow Dash has less ending lag. 1.1.3 buffed the knockback to Greninja's smash attacks and all variations of Shadow Sneak, which helps compensate for 1.0.4's weakening of its KO potential. 1.1.5 improved Greninja's forward and back aerials by decreasing their landing lag, dash attack and standing grab by reducing start-up, and Hydro Pump by changing its headbonk angle to improve survivability. Lastly, the changes on the shield mechanics in updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1 were also mixed for Greninja: its attacks for the most part possess low damage outputs and hitlag, while its poor out of shield game was weakened further. A notable exception to this is its forward aerial, which has become a much more useful move due to its safety on shield while providing relatively lenient spacing. At the end, this compensates for its poor out of shield game nonetheless. While the various changes it received from update to update have left Greninja in a difficult position at times, it is still considered a viable character nonetheless.

1.0.4

• Greninja can be at its maximum fall speed for an additional frame before it is forced into hard landing lag when landing (6 frames → 7). This notably means that Greninja now goes into a soft landing after a short hop.
• The hurtboxes on Greninja's central body and head are larger (2.6u (body)/2u (head) → 3.2u/2.5u) and the head hurtbox has been extended overall, making Greninja easier to hit.
• Up smash has considerably higher ending lag (FAF 42 → 52), significantly hindering its combo potential and making it considerably more punishable.
  • In 1.0.0, the FAF was 50.
• Up smash's first hit has a smaller hitbox (6.5u → 5u).
• Up smash's second hit's sweetspot is smaller (7u → 6u) and it is positioned lower (y offset: -5 → -4), reducing its range.
• Up smash's second hit's sourspot deals less damage (13% → 11%), significantly hindering its KO potential.
• Up smash's late second hit deals less damage (11% → 10%) hindering its KO potential.
• Down smash deals more damage (11% (katanas), 9% (arms) → 13%/11%) without full compensation on its knockback scaling (93 → 90), significantly improving its KO potential.
• Forward aerial has lower knockback scaling (92 → 84), significantly hindering its KO potential.
• Up aerial's fifth hit now has set knockback (0 → 10) and no longer uses the auto-link angle (366° → 85°). This makes it connect less reliably with the final hit, along with making Greninja's drag down up aerial combos less consistent.
• Up aerial's fifth hit has a larger hitbox (5.5u → 6.2u).
• Up aerial's final hit has lower knockback scaling (190 → 168), significantly hindering its KO potential.
• Up aerial's final hit's lower hitbox is slightly larger (6u → 6.2u).
• Water Shuriken has more ending lag on the ground (FAF 25 (from release) → 32).
• Shadow Sneak and Shadow Strike have slightly higher knockback scaling (100 → 102 (forwards)/101 (backwards)).
• Shadow Sneak has less ending lag (FAF 77 → 67).
• Fixed a glitch where Greninja could cancel the landing lag from its aerials with Shadow Sneak.
  • This naturally hinders the mixup potential of Greninja's aerials on landing, as well as removing Shadow Sneak's ability to combo after certain aerials at specific percents.
• Hydro Pump deals significantly less knockback (85 (base)/130 (scaling) → 65/100).
• High-Capacity Pump has less set knockback (100 → 90).

1.0.5

• Fixed a glitch where Greninja could run before performing Shadow Sneak.
• This hinders its approach and mindgame potential.

1.0.8

• Forward tilt deals 0.75% more damage: 6.5% → 7.25%.
• Forward tilt's ending lag significantly decreased: 41 frames → 32.

1.1.0

• Water Shuriken's start-up decreased: 25 frames → 20.
• Fixed a glitch where Water Shuriken stalled Greninja in midair after a jump.
• The change above hinders Greninja's recovery.
• Down throw deals 1% less damage: 6% → 5%.
• Down throw's ending lag decreased: 49 frames → 42.

1.1.1

• Shadow Dash's ending lag decreased.
• Neutral and back aerials' frame speed multipliers modified to change the timing of their hitboxes.
• Greninja's second victory pose has slightly changed.

1.1.3

• Forward smash's knockback scaling was increased (99 → 101).
• Sweetspotted up smash's second hit's knockback scaling was increased (103 → 104).
• Down smash's knockback scaling was increased (90 → 92).
• All variations of Shadow Sneak have had their knockback scaling increased (102 → 104 (front Shadow Sneak/Shadow Strike), 101 → 103 (back Shadow Sneak/Shadow Strike), 90 → 92 (front/back Shadow Dash)).

1.1.5

• Standing grab has 3 frames less startup (14 frames → 11).
• Dash attack has 2 frames less startup (9 frames → 7), and thus has a shorter duration (FAF 33 → 31).
• When using Hydro Pump and bonking into the stage, Greninja is sent at a higher angle, making it easier to avoid an SD.
• Forward aerial's landing lag was reduced (18 frames → 15).
• Back aerial's landing lag was reduced (16 frames → 13).

Moveset

• Greninja is able to crawl, wall cling and wall jump.
• Greninja's down taunt can deal damage. It also has a slight wind effect just above the water.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2%	A series of knifehand strikes that ends with either a double palm thrust that emits a small blast of water, or a neutral infinite of blade-shaped waves from knifehand strikes that ends in a with a small blast of water from an outward knifehand strike.
			1.6%
			3.5%
			1% (loop), 2% (last)
Forward tilt			7.25%	A hook kick. Can be angled.
Up tilt			4.5%	Crouches forward and bobs its head to strike with its tongue. A good set-up for a combo.
Down tilt			7%	A crouching shin kick. Slightly launches the opponent into the air, which can be followed by forward tilt, forward smash or down smash at low percents or a short hopped forward aerial at high percents.
Dash attack			7%	A legsweep. It can be followed reliably by forward aerial at medium percents.
Forward smash			14%	A reverse gripped inward slash while wielding a katana made of water. It can be pivot canceled.
Up smash			5% (hit 1), 14% (hit 2 clean center), 11% (hit 2 clean sides), 10% (hit 2 late)	Two reverse gripped outward arcing slashes while wielding two katanas made of water. The first slashes occur via a double stab and the second slashes occur with an outward rip. One of Greninja's most viable KOing options.
Down smash			13% (katanas), 11% (arms)	Two reverse gripped outward fanning slashes while wielding two katanas made of water. Hits on both sides and is a semi-spike.
Neutral aerial			11% (clean), 6% (late)	Strikes a ninja pose while it emitting an exploding water bubble around itself.
Forward aerial			14%	A reverse gripped slash while wielding a katana made of water. Though a bit slow for an aerial, it is strong and viable for both KOing and edge-guarding.
Back aerial			3% (hit 1), 2.5% (hit 2), 4% (hit 3)	Three back kicks behind itself, beginning at a high angle, then a low angle and ending at a mid-level.
Up aerial			1.3% (hits 1-5), 3% (hit 6)	A corkscrew dropkick. It is similar to Sheik and Samus', but differs in that Greninja attacks directly upward instead of diagonally. Since it launches opponents at the auto-link angle, it can be used to drag opponents down to the ground for a combo.
Down aerial			8%	A diving double foot stomp. It is a stall-then-fall and bounces off opponents, though the bounce deprives Greninja of its double jump. A clean hit, however, meteor smashes opponents. Spamming it may warrant a punish or a miss depending on how far it launches the opponent back.
Grab			—	Grabs the opponent with a whirlpool by performing ninja hand signs. Farthest reaching non-tether grab in the game, but surprisingly for a fast character, it is the slowest non-tether standing and pivot grab in the game, being active on frames 11 and 15, respectively. However, Greninja's dash grab is much faster, as it is active on frame 9.
Pummel			2%	Squeezes the opponent with the whirlpool. As it is relatively slow and only deals average damage, it is one of the worst pummels in the game, though still more usable than Robin's and Mii Swordfighter's.
Forward throw			5%	A palm thrust that shoves the opponent forward.
Back throw			8%	Leans forward and then flings the opponent backward.
Up throw			5%	Heaves the opponent upward while performing a ninja pose. Possibly Greninja's most useful throw, as it can be followed up with up smash at low percents, up aerial at medium percents and can actually KO around 150%-200%, depending on the opponent's DI and weight.
Down throw			6%	Slams opponents onto the ground in front of itself. It can be followed reliably with forward tilt, forward smash or Shadow Sneak at low percents, or a full hopped forward aerial at high percents.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Sweep kicks around itself while getting up.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Kicks the opponent's legs and gets back up.
Neutral special	Default	Water Shuriken	3%-11% (not fully charged), 0.7% (fully charged loop), 9% (fully charged last hit)	Horizontally throws a chargeable shuriken made of water. Gains power but loses speed and range the more it is charged. Hits multiple times when fully charged.
	Custom 1	Stagnant Shuriken	1%-1.2% (not fully charged loop), 1.5% (fully charged loop 1), 2% (fully charged loop 2), 3% (fully charged last hit)	The shuriken stays in place, but deals less damage at varying charges.
	Custom 2	Shifting Shuriken	3%	Uncharged shurikens deal strong upward knockback, while charged ones pierce opponents.
Side special	Default	Shadow Sneak	10% (normal), 12% (reverse)	Silently prepares to teleport to a moving shadow, which activates when the button is released. If the shadow is in front of the opponent, Greninja performs a handstand-initiated backflip kick. If the shadow is behind the opponent, Greninja dropkicks them instead. The latter strike is slightly stronger than the former.
	Custom 1	Shadow Strike	15% (normal), 17% (reverse)	The shadow moves slower and farther while the attack is stronger. Additionally, Greninja takes longer to reappear.
	Custom 2	Shadow Dash	6% (normal), 7% (reverse)	Teleports a fixed distance instantly, though it is weaker than normal.
Up special	Default	Hydro Pump	2% (per shot)	Shoots two streams of water from one of its hands in the opposite direction of travel, propelling Greninja in the input directions. Functions similarly to Pikachu's Quick Attack.
	Custom 1	High-Capacity Pump	—	The water streams are more controllable, but deal no damage.
	Custom 2	Single-Shot Pump	5%	Only one water stream is fired, though it is slightly more powerful.
Down special	Default	Substitute	14%/13%/11%/13%/14% (based on timing)	Enters a defensive stance. If attacked, Greninja disappears with a Substitute doll or a log taking its place before counterattacking with a flying kick upon reappearing. The kick's direction can be input while Greninja has vanished, which can result in the kick acting as either a semi-spike or even a meteor smash.
	Custom 1	Exploding Attack	10% (close), 8% (far)	Vanishes and reappears with an explosion around itself instead of counterattacking.
	Custom 2	Substitute Ambush	18%/17%/15%/17%/18% (based on timing)	Disappears for a longer amount of time, but performs a stronger counterattack upon reappearing.
Final Smash		Secret Ninja Attack	2% (snag), 5% (flip), 2% (hits 1-15), 15% (hit 16)	Greninja launches opponents into the air with Mat Block, its signature move in the Pokémon games, before it proceeds to slash them several times in midair while a moonlit backdrop appears and then finally spikes them down to the stage with a downward knifehand strike.

On-screen appearance

• A Poké Ball is thrown onto the stage from the background, releasing Greninja who strikes a ninja pose that emits a small burst of water.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Poses upright and clasps hands, and then rises a bit more while raising a hand, both pointing up.
• Side taunt: Shakes head from side to side, causing its tongue to whip out in the same directions.
• Down taunt: Poses upright and holds out arms to either side, releasing fountains of water from its palms which damage nearby foes by 1% or 2%. This can KO at certain percents.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle Poses

• Crosses arms over its body, then separates them with a flourish.
• Hunches body and makes a ninja gesture with one arm supporting the other, as if concentrating.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Gre-nin-ja!	Gek-kou-ga!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Victory poses

A small excerpt of the music that would play on the title screen of Pokémon Red, Blue and Green Versions.

• Performs Double Team to briefly create three afterimages of itself.
• Performs a few ninja hand signs that emit small bursts of water and then performs a ninja pose.
• Performs a flip and then crosses its arms after landing. Somewhat resembles the pose it performed when first appearing in its reveal trailer.

In competitive play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Greninja	1112	3112	3111	1312	1311
	3312	3311	3113	2112	2111

Notable players

•  Alias
•  aMSa
•  DarkAura
•  Eddy
•  Jodi Bleek
•  Elexiao
•  iStudying
•  Oishitofu
•  P2P with Gibus
•  Some
•  Techei
•  Venia

Reveal trailer

<youtube>xEJBPMcbRkk</youtube>

Trophies

Greninja

This Water/Dark-type Pokémon is the fully evolved form of Froakie. It's just as fast and dangerous as any other ninja, and the throwing stars it can make out of water can shear metal. In Smash Bros., as well as being a graceful, speedy fighter, it can also use moves like Hydro Pump that let it travel through the air and avoid falling.

This Water- and Dark-type Pokémon is the fully evolved form of Froakie. It is just as fast and dangerous as its name suggests, and the throwing stars it can make out of water can shear metal. In this game, as well as being a graceful, speedy fighter, it can also use moves like Hydro Pump to let it move through the air and avoid falling.

: Pokémon X and Pokémon Y (10/2013)

Greninja (Alt.)

Greninja's Substitute down special lets you teleport to dodge attacks and then strike back, making it an effective and hard-to-predict way to counterattack. You can also control where you reappear by inputting directions. When you vanish, sometimes you'll be replaced by a log, other times by a cuddly toy.

Greninja's Substitute down special lets you teleport to dodge attacks and then strike back, making it an effective and hard-to-predict way to counter-attack. You can also control where you reappear. When you vanish, sometimes you'll be replaced by a log, and other times by a Substitute doll.

: Pokémon X and Pokémon Y (10/2013)

Secret Ninja Attack

In Greninja's Final Smash, it uses its Mat Block move to flip opponents into the air. It then slices them repeatedly in front of the bright moon before smacking them back down to the ground and launching them. The initial Mat Block flip doesn't have much range, but should it hit home, the rest of the attack is unavoidable.

In Greninja's Final Smash, it uses its Mat Block move to flip an opponent into the air. It then slices them repeatedly in front of the shining moon, before smacking them down to the ground so hard they get launched. The inital Mat Block flip doesn't have much range, but if it hits home, there's no evading the rest of the attack.

• 

  Classic (3DS)

• GreninjaAllStarTrophy3DS.png

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  Final Smash (Wii U)

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• Fire-Type Frenzy: As Charizard, the player must defeat Greninja, who appears alongside Pikachu and Lucario.
• New Challengers 2: Greninja is one of the seven opponents fought in this event alongside Palutena, Robin, Shulk, Dark Pit, Mega Man, and Pac-Man.
• Pokémon Battle: The player controls Greninja and must defeat Pikachu, Charizard, and Lucario.

Co-op Events

• Pokémon Multi Battle!: Greninja is one of the player's Pokémon to use, as well as being one of the opponents.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  Artwork of Greninja used on the website.

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  Greninja's splash art.

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  Greninja's amiibo.

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  In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

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  Using Water Shuriken.

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  Using Water Shuriken against Charizard.

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  Using Shadow Sneak against Charizard.

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  Using Substitute against Toon Link.

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  Using Hydro Pump at Pikachu.

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  Using its forward smash.

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  Using its dash attack against Charizard.

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  Using its up tilt against Mega Man.

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  Fighting Lucario.

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  Taunting alongside Olimar and Diddy Kong.

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  Laying next to Wii Fit Trainer.

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  Lucario, Charizard, Greninja, and Pikachu.

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  Greninja and Mario sporting their second alternate costumes.

Trivia

• The amount of nerfs Greninja had recieved in version 1.0.4 created a famous meme called "Better Nerf Greninja".
• At E3 2014, Masahiro Sakurai revealed that most of the initial roster was established early in development and he mandated that a new Pokémon character should be included before Pokémon X and Y were announced. He worked very closely with the Pokémon series' developers to create Greninja, but most of its moveset was improvised due to Sakurai's only references being Game Freak's conceptual artwork.
• Greninja's color palette of its official artwork and in-game appearance are actually slightly different. For its in-game appearance, its body and legs are a slightly darker blue and its feet, hands, face, and chest are yellow as oppose to tan.
• Greninja is one of two Pokémon to not have a custom move share its name with an actual Pokémon attack, the other being Lucario.
• Greninja and Bayonetta are the only characters that can interrupt their own taunts.
• Though Double Team is not part of Greninja's moveset, it uses it during one of its victory animations.
• Greninja is the only playable Pokémon in the Super Smash Bros. series who can neither evolve nor Mega Evolve.
• In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, the togglable marker tracks characters even during their teleporting moves. However, this is not the case when Greninja uses Shadow Sneak or Substitute.
• Despite being a partial Dark-type Pokémon, none of Greninja's attacks have the darkness effect. However, this is largely a result of the Dark-type in Pokémon being associated with deception and below-the-belt fighting tactics more so than literal darkness and shadows, which are more characteristic of the Ghost-type instead.
  • Coincidentally, its side special move, Shadow Sneak, is a Ghost-type attack.
• Greninja and Corrin are the only water-themed characters in SSB4.