List of Copy Abilities
In every Super Smash Bros. game, Kirby has the ability to copy another character's neutral special move with his own neutral special move, Inhale. If Kirby swallows another Kirby, only damage is dealt, but if he swallows another Kirby that has a Copy Ability, it can be stolen. When Kirby copies an opponent, he will also bear a resemblance of that character, usually in the form of a hat which displays a prominent visual part of the character copied. When performing copied attacks, Kirby often mimics their voices or sounds as well as their poses, and uses the same weapons as their owners. Aside from the obvious range differences, copied attacks are functionally identical to the originals except where noted.
Kirby can discard the ability at any time by taunting, though he may also lose it when taking damage and will lose it if he is KO'd. Also, anything spawned by the ability will vanish if Kirby loses it. For example, if Kirby tosses a Metal Blade onto the ground, picks it up, and taunts, the blade will vanish. Kirby will also lose his ability if the inhaled character's damage meter vanishes (indicating the character has been unloaded from memory), such as in Smash 4's All-Star Mode or certain Event matches.
Super Smash Bros. 4 introduced custom moves. Regardless of whether a neutral special has been customized or not, Kirby will only copy the default version of the move. This applies with Palutena and the Mii Fighters' neutral specials as well.
Character | Super Smash Bros. | Melee | Brawl | SSB4 | Ultimate | Special move | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bayonetta | File:SSBU KirbyBayonetta.png | Bullet Climax | Although Bayonetta will always aim in the same place, Kirby's shots from the handguns are lower than the shots from his feet. | ||||
Bowser | File:SSBU KirbyBowser.png | Fire Breath | Kirby can flame cancel in all versions of Melee, while Bowser can only do so in NTSC 1.0 and 1.1. Fire breathing pose resembles the one used by Fire Kirby's basic move. | ||||
Bowser Jr. | Clown Cannon | ||||||
Captain Falcon | File:Kirby cfalcon ssb.jpg | File:SSBU KirbyCF.png | Falcon Punch | In SSB, Kirby can use the Falcon Punch as a horizontal recovery move. In Brawl, throwing it immediately after a jump gives him large boost upward. The helmet was given "eyes" in Ultimate. | |||
Charizard | File:SSBU KirbyCharizard.png | Flamethrower | |||||
Chrom | Aether Blade (unconfirmed) | ||||||
Cloud | File:SSBU KirbyCloud.png | Blade Beam | Does not gain Cloud's Limit Gauge and thus cannot perform the Limit Break version of the move. | ||||
Corrin | File:SSBU KirbyCorrin.png | Dragon Fang Shot | |||||
Daisy | Toad | ||||||
Dark Pit | Silver Bow | Prior to version 1.0.5 (3DS only), if Kirby uses the move at the end of his forward, back, or up throw, a glitch will occur in which he floats in the air until he stops charging the move. | |||||
Dark Samus | File:Darkirby.png | Charge Shot(unconfirmed)| | |||||
Diddy Kong | Peanut Popgun | Strangely, if Kirby's gun explodes, and then the game is paused, Kirby will appear normal colored instead of a burnt black. | |||||
Donkey Kong | File:Kirby Donkey Kong SSB.jpg | File:SSBU KirbyDK.png | Giant Punch | In SSB, Kirby can charge-cancel the wind-up to turn more easily in the air. | |||
Dr. Mario | Megavitamins | In Melee, Kirby's Megavitamins make the Koopa Shell sound upon impact. Resembles the Doctor Ability in Kirby: Planet Robobot. | |||||
Duck Hunt | Trick Shot | ||||||
Fox | File:Kirby fox ssb.jpg | File:SSBU KirbyFox.png | Blaster | Gives Kirby the ability to short hop double laser and even short hop triple laser as a result of his floatiness. | |||
Falco | Blaster | Kirby sports the same "mohawk" Falco had in Melee. In Brawl, shots fired from the copied Blaster do not have the electric effect that Falco's Blaster has. | |||||
Ganondorf | File:SSBU KirbyGanondorf.png | Warlock Punch | |||||
Greninja | File:SSBU KirbyGreninja.png | Water Shuriken | |||||
Ice Climbers | File:SSBU KirbyICs.png | Ice Shot | Kirby does not gain a partner through this ability, so he can only fire one block of ice at a time. Resembles Freeze Kirby. | ||||
Ike | File:SSBU KirbyIke.png | Eruption | |||||
Inkling | File:SSBU KirbyInkling.png | Splattershot | If Kirby uses up all of his ink, he loses his Inkling Copy Ability entirely, in a similar manner to Robin's Copy Ability. | ||||
Ivysaur | File:SSBU KirbyIvysaur.png | Bullet Seed | While Ivysaur can only hold Bullet Seed for 5 seconds, Kirby can hold it significantly longer, allowing him to rack up higher amounts of damage. | ||||
Jigglypuff | File:Kirby jigglypuff ssb.jpg | Pound | Differs from Jigglypuff's Pound in that using this move toward a ledge sends Kirby off of the ledge, and it is notable for having much higher distance if Kirby leaves the ground at the end of the Pound animation; it is capable of traveling nearly the length of a Dream Land soft platform if spaced correctly. | ||||
Rollout | Regardless of the game's current language settings, Kirby says "Purin," Jigglypuff's Japanese name, upon performing this move. In SSB4, Kirby can move left and right in midair after hitting an opponent with Rollout, due to having a higher fall speed than Jigglypuff. He also rebounds further backwards, due to his air friction being lower than Jigglypuff's. In Ultimate, Jigglypuff's ears fold downwards during an uncharged Rollout; Kirby's do not follow this trait. | ||||||
King Dedede | Inhale | Kirby can use this to perform the obscure "Kirkirkircide". | |||||
King K. Rool | Crown Throw (unconfirmed) | ||||||
Link | File:Kirby link ssb.jpg | Boomerang | Unlike Link's Boomerang, Kirby can throw it through solid walls if he is touching them, allowing for pseudo-sharking on stages like Hyrule Castle (especially from the Greenhouse side) or Dream Land. Resembles Sword Kirby. | ||||
Hero's Bow | Resembles Sword Kirby. | ||||||
Traveler's Bow | Despite Link's design now being based on Breath of the Wild, Kirby still gains his familiar green cap when copying him. Resembles Sword Kirby. | ||||||
Little Mac | File:SSBU KirbyLittleMac.png | Straight Lunge | Does not gain Little Mac's Power Meter and thus cannot perform the KO Uppercut. The hitbox is much lower down due to Kirby's size, enabling it to hit opponents hanging on the ledge. Also, if Kirby swallows Little Mac in his wireframe costume, his Straight Lunge will utilize the 8-bit sound effects unique to Wireframe Mac. | ||||
Lucario | Aura Sphere | Kirby's Aura Sphere is not linked to his current damage, due to not copying Lucario's aura. As a result, Kirby's Aura Sphere acts as though Lucario were using it at 75%.
However, should Kirby's damage output be significantly augmented in some way, such as with the use of custom equipment or Amiibo power level, the Aura Sphere he uses will emit the characteristic sound it does when Lucario charges it at high percentages. | |||||
Lucas | PK Freeze | ||||||
Lucina | Shield Breaker | Kirby wears the mask used by Lucina in her guise as "Marth", which she herself dons temporarily for her on-screen appearance and down taunt. | |||||
Luigi | File:Kirby luigi ssb.jpg | Fireball | |||||
Mario | File:Kirby mario ssb.jpg | File:SSBU KirbyMario.png | Fireball | As Kirby is shorter than Mario, his Fireball is likely to vanish quicker if thrown while on the ground due to bouncing more often. | |||
Marth | File:SSBU KirbyMarth.png | Shield Breaker | Lacks transcendent priority in Melee. | ||||
Mega Man | File:SSBU KirbyMegaMan.png | Metal Blade | |||||
Meta Knight | Mach Tornado | Unlike Meta Knight's version of the attack, the bottom-most hitbox does not cause aerial opponents to flinch. Kirby's eyes while wearing the mask are light green in Brawl and yellow in SSB4. The green coloration is due to the mask giving off a yellow tint to Kirby's blue eyes and Meta Knight's silver eyes. Kirby's Mach Tornado only does half the damage of Meta Knight's. Functionally resembles Kirby's Tornado ability. | |||||
Mewtwo | File:SSBU KirbyMewtwo.png | Shadow Ball | As Kirby is much shorter than Mewtwo, his Shadow Ball is more likely to collide with the ground unless Kirby jumps first in Melee. | ||||
Mii Brawler | Shot Put | The face always looks like the Mii swallowed. Doesn't copy headgear. | |||||
Mii Gunner | Charge Blast | ||||||
Mii Swordfighter | Gale Strike | ||||||
Mr. Game & Watch | Chef | Kirby remains a 3D model. | |||||
Ness | File:Kirby ness ssb.jpg | File:SSBU KirbyNess.png | PK Fire | Kirby wears a cap backwards, similarly to Yo-Yo Kirby, Wheel Kirby, and Paint Kirby. Also resembles the ESP Ability in Kirby: Planet Robobot, which has a color-inverted version of Ness's hat turned to the right. | |||
PK Flash | |||||||
Olimar | Pikmin Pluck and Pikmin Throw | Kirby's version of this move is specially adapted for him due to Pikmin not being completely tied into his moveset, unlike Olimar. Kirby will pluck a Pikmin and immediately throw it, hitting opponents for minor damage and dying once it hits the ground. Kirby pulls Pikmin in the same order that Olimar does.
The version of Pikmin Throw that Kirby performs correlates with whichever side special move of Kirby's is set via character customization. Namely, if Kirby's side special move is set to Hammer Bash, his second side special, Kirby will perform Sticky Pikmin Throw, Olimar's second side special. The same is true if Kirby uses his third side special Giant Hammer, which will result in him performing Olimar's third side special, Tackle Pikmin Throw. However, this is less noticeable as Kirby's usage of the move is already quite similar to Tackle Pikmin Throw. Kirby can only have 3 Pikmin out at a time. | |||||
Pac-Man | File:SSBU KirbyPacMan.png | Bonus Fruit | |||||
Palutena | Autoreticle | ||||||
Peach | Toad | ||||||
Pichu | Thunder Jolt | Hurts Kirby too. | |||||
Pikachu | File:Kirby pikachu ssb.jpg | File:SSBU KirbyPikachu.png | |||||
Pit | File:SSBU KirbyPit.png | Palutena's Arrow | Resembles Cupid Kirby in both design and function. | ||||
Ridley | Plasma Breath | ||||||
Richter | Axe (unconfirmed) | ||||||
R.O.B. | Robo Beam | While R.O.B. does not emit a vocalization during this move, Kirby says "beep" in a monotone voice. Resembles Laser Kirby in both design and function. | |||||
Robin | Thunder | Once Kirby exhausts the Thunder tome, he loses the Copy Ability entirely. Unlike Robin, he doesn't drop a tome to throw. | |||||
Rosalina | Luma Shot | The yellow, unvoiced Luma appears when the button is pushed, and vanishes after losing momentum. Unlike Rosalina, Kirby's Luma can't be attacked nor can it block projectiles. Also, the attack can't be spammed, because the attack needs a few seconds before it can be used again. | |||||
Roy | File:SSBU KirbyRoy.png | Flare Blade | |||||
Ryu | File:SSBU KirbyRyu.png | Hadoken | Retains Ryu's ability to perform a stronger Hadoken and the Shakunetsu Hadoken with the appropriate input. Resembles Fighter Kirby, who is also capable of performing Ryu's other special moves in certain games. Kirby's Return to Dream Land and Kirby: Triple Deluxe also include the ability to fire stronger fireballs (called "Mega Force Blast", or "Hadou-Shot" in Japan) instantly by performing the traditional Hadoken input. | ||||
Samus | File:Kirby samus ssb.jpg | File:SSBU KirbySamus.png | Charge Shot | ||||
Sheik | File:SSBU KirbySheik.png | Needle Storm | |||||
Shulk | Monado Arts | The Jump Art does not cause Final Cutter to go any higher than usual. | |||||
Simon | Axe (unconfirmed) | ||||||
Snake | File:SSBU KirbySnake.png | Hand Grenade | Kirby covers where his ears would be if a grenade explodes near him, mimicking Snake's behavior. He also walks differently while carrying a grenade that has not been thrown, again imitating Snake. He wears a headband, similarly to Fighter Kirby, Suplex Kirby, and Backdrop Kirby. | ||||
Sonic | File:SSBU KirbySonic.png | Homing Attack | |||||
Squirtle | File:SSBU KirbySquirtle.png | Water Gun | |||||
Toon Link | Hero's Bow | Resembles Sword Kirby. | |||||
Villager | File:SSBU KirbyVillager.png | ||||||
Wario | File:SSBU KirbyWario.png | Chomp | Kirby can use this to perform the obscure "Kirbiocide". | ||||
Wii Fit Trainer | Sun Salutation | Resembles Snow Kirby's coloration from Kirby and the Amazing Mirror and Kirby: Squeak Squad. | |||||
Wolf | Blaster | ||||||
Yoshi | File:Kirby yoshi ssb.jpg | File:SSBU KirbyYoshi.png | Egg Lay | In Brawl and SSB4, Kirby does the same vocalization that Yoshi does when unleashing his tongue. In SSB4, the egg that Kirby lays matches the color of the copied Yoshi. | |||
Young Link | Fire Bow | Resembles Sword Kirby. | |||||
Zelda | File:SSBU KirbyZelda.png | Nayru's Love | Kirby wears the hat worn by the younger version of Zelda from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. In Ultimate, this was changed to her hair and tiara from A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds. | ||||
Zero Suit Samus | Paralyzer |