Stone

Stone
	; Various Stone transformations in Melee.
User	Kirby
Universe	Kirby
Article on WiKirby	Stone

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“	Transform into heavy objects and become invulnerable for a brief period.	”
—Melee's instruction manual

“	Transform into a heavy, invulnerable object. Press the B Button (or absorb enough attacks) to return to normal.	”
—Brawl's instruction manual

“	Transform into a heavy object, and then drop.	”
—Smash for 3DS's foldout

Stone (ストーン, Stone), previously called Rock Shield in Super Smash Bros., is Kirby's down special move. Kirby transforms into a rock, becoming impervious to damage and knockback for a short time. Kirby can still be taken out of Stone form by grabs or grab-type moves such as Yoshi's Egg Lay or Lucario's Force Palm. To leave the transformation early, the player can press the B button while in rock form to return to normal, or wait approximately for 3 seconds after transforming.

Description

Offensively, Kirby can deal damage by using the move in midair and falling on opponents. When Stone is landed, it does excellent knockback, KOing most characters reliably under 150%; however, the move is rather situational as it is easily telegraphed and slow, making it a poor choice in most situations. Due to the sheer weight of Kirby in this form, he will slide off sloped surfaces.

In the first two games, Stone does no damage at all if used on ground. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl and onward, however, the attack produces somewhat unnoticeable sourspot hitboxes on Kirby's sides, dealing 14% damage with horizontal knockback. When Stone is used on the ground, Stone will always hit with this sourspot no matter where the opponent is, and Kirby solidifies several frames quicker to do it (compared to an air drop). Otherwise, all falling sweetspot versions of Stone deal 18% damage (20% in Smash 64).

In Brawl, the move is more powerful than Melee, and it pushes characters away, even if used from the ground. However, if Kirby is hit with an attack that causes at least 30% damage, he will receive full knockback from it, but no damage.

Appearance

In Super Smash Bros., Kirby can only transform into one type of stone. Since Super Smash Bros. Melee, however, Kirby will randomly transform into one of the following objects, all having the same properties:

The stone that Kirby normally turned into in his games
A spiked ball
A 100 ton weight, similar to his 8 ton one from Kirby Super Star
Lip's garbage block from Panel de Pon
A Thwomp. In Melee and Brawl, it has its design from Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, and the first six Mario Party games; in Super Smash Bros. 4, the Thwomp has the original design introduced in Super Mario Bros. 3, used since New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Glitch

In Brawl, there exists a glitch known as the Earthquake Glitch, which makes Kirby rapidly vibrate in place, producing hitboxes around him. This is achieved by using Stone on a downwards right facing platform that bends down at a 45° angle. It can be performed on both Stage Builder stages and the PictoChat stage, and while fighting Porky in Boss Battles mode, but it is generally attributed to PictoChat.

Origin

Stone is one of Kirby's Copy Abilities that originated in Kirby's Adventure, behaving in much the same way. Kirby Super Star introduced the detail of randomizing the transformations to various other types of objects, including a rare golden statue of Mario or Samus, as well as the mechanic of Kirby sliding across slopes while in this form. Kirby can attack while sliding down slopes in Stone form, but he cannot do this in Smash Bros. In the Kirby games, Kirby can stay in Stone form indefinitely. Unlike in the games, however, Kirby can stay in Stone form for a limited amount of time. In the Kirby games, while in Stone form, Kirby is invulnerable to all attacks, but in Smash Bros., if Kirby is hit by a heavy attack, he will be forced out of Stone form.

Customization

Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the known variations:

1. Stone	2. Grounding Stone	3. Meteor Stone

"Turn into a heavy object and plummet. You'll take no damage while transformed."	"Takes longer to transform, but can bury opponents."	"Has a meteor effect on foes you hit while falling, but it takes longer to transform back."

Stone: Default.
Grounding Stone: Bury opponents upon landing, but takes longer to transform.
Meteor Stone: Takes longer to transform back, but foes will be meteor smashed when hit. Kirby will also be popped a small distance upwards if he is on the ground and can't transform back as quickly as his other down specials, making the move risky off-stage.

Grounding Stone in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
Meteor Stone in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Trivia

In Brawl, it can be seen in Boss Battles Mode and SSE that Kirby never automatically turns back into his normal form while being in his Stone form in midair, or at least for a very long time. However, this has no practical use in normal play.
- In Melee, Kirby has a 3 second limit on Stone while in the air and it resets when he hits the ground. However, this is not usually encountered in normal play because Kirby will usually land or SD before the 3 seconds are up.
If Captain Falcon's Final Smash, Blue Falcon, is used on Kirby in Stone form, it will not work.