Idle pose

File:WFT-Idle.gif

Wii Fit Trainer's idle pose in Super Smash Bros. 4

Idle poses (sometimes referred to as idle animations, and referred to as Wait_ in Super Smash Bros. Melee's debug menu and in internal Brawl files) are minor, mainly nonconsequential animations that play at random if a character stands still for a length of time.

Idle poses can affect the direction the shield carried by the Links faces (excluding Link in Smash 4), therefore affecting its ability to block projectiles.

Trivia

• Master Hand also has an idle pose, but it is never seen in normal gameplay because the AI never allows enough time between his attacks. The idle pose can, however, be seen using the Master Hand glitch in Melee; for his idle pose, he simply clenches his fist.
  • In SSB4 however, there is a chance that Master Hand will stay still for a while while Crazy Hand attacks solo, resulting in him doing the idle pose.
• Some characters have an animation that actually is part of their regular standing animation, but are often mistaken for idle poses. Unlike idle poses, they play at regular intervals instead of randomly (and they can be seen in the character customization screen on both 3DS and Wii U versions, where idle poses never play). Some examples include Sheik, Little Mac, Meta Knight, and Roy.
• In Super Smash Bros. 4, Yoshi, Link, and Sheik will revert to their Super Smash Bros. Brawl idle poses if they hold a small item, like a Capsule.
  • A similar thing happens to Dr. Mario, Lucas, and Roy when they hold a small item. All three of them would instead perform Mario's, Ness's, and Marth's idle poses respectively.
  • The same thing happens in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In that game, Luigi, Pit, and Wolf revert to their Brawl idle poses if they hold a small item, Mewtwo reverts to its Super Smash Bros. 4 idle pose, and Daisy and Richter will perform Peach's and Simon's idle poses respectively.
• Peach, Zelda, and the Pokémon Trainer are the only characters to have more than two idle poses.
  • Peach is also the only one with four of them.
• Jigglypuff is the only character to have only one idle pose (post-Melee). Bayonetta has two, but one of them only appears under certain circumstances.
• In Super Smash Bros. 4, there is a chance that a character will instantly perform one of their idle poses once they climb on top of a ladder.

References

Every idle pose in Smash 4