Absorption
- "Energy-based attack" redirects here. For the attack type, see Energy.
- For the technique referred to as "absorbing damage" by the Twinkle Toes bonus in Super Smash Bros. Melee, see tech.
Absorption is a phenomenon through which an opposing energy-based attack – typically a projectile – is disabled and destroyed while supplying a benefit to the absorber.
There are only three absorbers in the series: Ness and Lucas's PSI Magnet, Mii Gunner's Absorbing Vortex, and Mr. Game & Watch's Oil Panic. Each of these attacks generates a small field which absorbs all attacks which are able to be absorbed. PSI Magnet and Absorbing Vortex heal their users proportionally to the amount of damage the attack would have dealt, while Oil Panic combines the strength of up to three absorbed attacks into a stronger one for later use. Incidentally, all absorbers are down specials. Pocket may initially appear to be an absorber, but it can store and reuse nearly any projectile without destroying it and without regard for its absorbability.
What constitutes an absorbable attack other than being labeled as energy-based is not consistent throughout the Smash series, and has no relation with move types or effects. Super Smash Bros. 4 added some explosive-type attacks that were not able to be absorbed in previous games, yet did not include all of them.
In The Subspace Emissary in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Floows are also capable of absorbing attacks, though they do not appear to do anything with the absorbed energy. In Smash Run in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, Chandelure is capable of absorbing flame and darkness attacks to power up its own attacks, but absorbs all attacks with these effects, including non-projectile attacks.
As of version 1.1.3 in Smash 4, absorbed attack power from fellow teammates during Team Battles with Friendly Fire turned on is halved.
List of absorbable attacks
| By Characters | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| User/Item | Move | ||
| Bowser (Giga Bowser) | Fire Breath | ||
| Charizard | Flamethrower, Flare Blitz explosion[1] ( onwards)
| ||
| Cloud | Blade Beam in both normal and Limit Break forms | ||
| Corrin | Dragon Fang Shot projectile | ||
| Daisy | Toad's spores | ||
| Dark Pit | Silver Bow | ||
| Dark Samus | Charge Shot, Bomb explosion | ||
| Diddy Kong | Explosions of stray barrels from Rocketbarrel Boost upon contacting a surface ( only)
| ||
| Dr. Mario | Megavitamin ( only)
| ||
| Duck Hunt | Trick Shot can explosion, sparks generated when Clay Shooting's clay pigeon is detonated | ||
| Falco | Blaster shots from back throw, up throw, and down throw; Blaster | ||
| Fox | Blaster shots from back throw, up throw, and down throw; Blaster | ||
| Ice Climbers | Ice Shot projectile ( only), Blizzard
| ||
| Inkling | Splattershot, Splat Bomb explosion | ||
| Jigglypuff | Wakie Wakie ( only)
| ||
| Joker | Eiha/Eigaon | ||
| Ken | Hadoken | ||
| King Dedede | Waddle Doo beams thrown by Waddle Dee Toss ( only), Super Dedede Jump landing stars
| ||
| Kirby | All copied attacks that are absorbable[2], Final Cutter projectile | ||
| Link | Forward smash sword beam ( only), Bomb explosion ( only), Remote Bomb explosion ( only)
| ||
| Lucario | Aura Sphere[3], Force Palm burst ( only)
| ||
| Lucas | PK Freeze, PK Fire, PK Thunder projectile head | ||
| Luigi | Fireball | ||
| Mario | Fireball | ||
| Mega Man | Neutral attack, forward tilt, neutral aerial, forward smash, Hyper Bomb explosion ( only), Crash Bomber explosion, Danger Wrap explosion ( only)
| ||
| Mewtwo | Forward throw projectiles, Shadow Ball [3] | ||
| Mii Gunner | Forward aerial, Charge Blast, Laser Blaze, Grenade Launch explosion, Flame Pillar, Stealth Burst explosion, Lunar Launch, Bomb Drop explosion | ||
| Mr. Game & Watch | Forward aerial explosion ( only), Chef ( only)
| ||
| Ness | PK Flash, PK Fire[4], PK Thunder projectile head | ||
| Pac-Man | Dire Hydrant ( only)
| ||
| Palutena | Autoreticle, Explosive Flame | ||
| Peach | Toad spores | ||
| Pichu | Thunder Jolt, Thunder | ||
| Pikachu | Thunder Jolt, Thunder ( onwards)
| ||
| Pit | Palutena Bow | ||
| R.O.B. | Robo Beam | ||
| Richter | Holy Water | ||
| Ridley | Plasma Breath | ||
| Robin | All Thunder projectiles, Arcfire, Elwind | ||
| Rosalina | Star Bits[5] | ||
| Ryu | Hadoken | ||
| Samus | Charge Shot, Bomb explosion ( onwards)
| ||
| Sheik | Burst Grenade explosion, Vanish explosion ( onwards)
| ||
| Simon | Holy Water | ||
| Snake | Forward smash, up smash bomb explosion, Hand Grenade explosion, Remote Missile explosion, C4 explosion (all only)
| ||
| Toon Link | Bomb ( onwards)
| ||
| Villager | Lloid Rocket explosion | ||
| Wii Fit Trainer | Sun Salutation[6], Volatile Breathing ( only)
| ||
| Wolf | Blaster projectile | ||
| Yoshi | Yoshi Bomb landing stars | ||
| Young Link | Bomb explosion ( only)
| ||
| Zelda | Din's Fire | ||
| Zero Suit Samus | Down smash, Paralyzer | ||
| By Items | |||
| Some item-based projectiles, including Fire Flower flames, Lip's Stick spores, Rage Blaster shots, Ray Gun beams, Staff lasers, Star Rod stars, Steel Diver torpedoes (even before exploding), Super Scope shots, and Superspicy Curry flames | |||
| Explosions from a Blast Box, Bob-omb, Bombchu, Gooey Bomb, or Motion-Sensor Bomb (all from onwards)
| |||
| By Assist Trophies | |||
| Guile | Sonic Boom | ||
| Krystal | Ice Blast | ||
| Mother Brain | Rinkas | ||
| Phosphora | All attacks | ||
| Starman | PK Beam | ||
| Zero | Genmu Zero | ||
| By Pokémon | |||
| Charizard | Flamethrower | ||
| Cyndaquil | Flamethrower | ||
| Electrode | Self-Destruct explosion ( onwards)
| ||
| Fennekin | Incinerate before detonation | ||
| Genesect | Techno Blast | ||
| Meowth | Pay Day ( only)
| ||
| Starmie | Swift | ||
| Staryu | Swift | ||
| Vulpix | Fire Spin | ||
| By Stages | |||
| Corneria | Shots fired by Arwings, Wolfens, and the Great Fox | ||
| Pyrosphere | FG-II Graham Unit shots | ||
| Saffron City | Electrode's Self-Destruct ( only), Charmander's Flamethrower, Venusaur's Razor Leaf ( only)
| ||
| Sector Z | Shots fired from Arwings | ||
| Venom | Shots fired from Arwings and Wolfens | ||
| Wily Castle | Yellow Devil's shots | ||
| By Enemies and Bosses | |||
| Armank | Energy shot | ||
| Chandelure | Fire Spin, Will-o-Wisp | ||
| Dracula | Red energy orbs in first phase, fireballs in both phases | ||
| Duon | Scattershot | ||
| Galeem | Fireballs from Tri-Eye Attack | ||
| Gamyga | Lasers | ||
| Magikoopa | Spells | ||
| Marx | Ice Ball | ||
| Master Edges | Sword projectiles | ||
| Master Hand | Finger bullets (prior to )
| ||
| Monoeye | Energy shot | ||
| Puppit | Lasers | ||
| R.O.B. Blaster | Robo Beam | ||
| Scope Primid | Lasers | ||
| Spaak | Electric ball, lightning bolt | ||
| Starman | PK Beam | ||
- ^ Only the explosion that ensues just after Flare Blitz lands can be absorbed. An absorber does nothing to stop the initial attack itself.
- ^ Kirby's version of Chef in Brawl can be absorbed while the original version cannot.
- ^ a b Shadow Ball in Melee and Aura Sphere in all of its appearances are able to hit multiple times while being charged. The attack cannot be absorbed, however, until the projectile is actually fired.
- ^ In SSB, only the initial bolt launched using PK Fire can be absorbed. From Melee onwards, both it and the resultant flame are absorbable.
- ^ Strangely, despite the normal version of Star Bits not being absorbable in SSB4, both of its custom variations are. The attack is normally absorbable in Ultimate.
- ^ Sun Salutation can be absorbed while it is being charged. This yields no benefit to the absorber.
Trivia
- Every Super Smash Bros. game prior to Ultimate debuts one character with an absorption move: Ness in Super Smash Bros., Mr. Game & Watch in Melee, Lucas in Brawl, and Mii Gunner in SSB4.
