Greninja (SSBU)

Greninja in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Pokémon
Other playable appearance	in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Secret Ninja Attack

“	A ninja-like fighter that battles with moves like the Water Shuriken. Greninja can use a log for clever counterattacks, and this Pokémon can even stick to walls. During its Final Smash, it turns into Ash-Greninja...!?	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Greninja (ゲッコウガ, Gekkouga) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It was confirmed on June 12th, 2018. Greninja is classified as fighter #50.

Billy Bob Thompson, Yūji Ueda, Frédéric Clou and Benedikt Gutjan's portrayals of Greninja from Smash 4 were repurposed for the English, Japanese, French and German versions of Ultimate, respectively.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Greninja being the 58th character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Donkey Kong or any character in his unlock tree, being the 6th character unlocked after Sheik.
• Have Greninja join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Greninja must then be defeated on Kalos Pokémon League.

Attributes

Greninja, true to being a ninja-themed character, has very strong mobility. However, unlike most characters who boast similar mobility (such as Zero Suit Samus or Sheik), Greninja boasts a surprising amount of KO options, good range on plenty of its attacks, and KO throws.

One of Greninja's most notable traits is its high mobility which compliments its grounded moveset. Greninja's dash attack comes out frame 7 and has very low endlag, as well as the ability to cross up on shields. Its angle also allows for many true follow ups and strings. Its neutral attack comes out on frame 3 making it a good grounded combo breaker. It can also lock, which gives Greninja access to potent punishes from opponents missing techs. Its down tilt is an excellent combo starter due to its low startup, ending lag and vertical launch angle. Greninja's up tilt is also a frame 9 disjointed hitbox that acts well as an anti-air. Its smash attacks are also reliable in their own right; its forward smash is quick for its range and power, down smash is an excellent punishment option for ledge regrabs, as well as sending at a low angle, and up smash is a potent combo finisher.

Greninja also has a very strong air game due to its aforementioned air speed, jump height. Greninja's aerials are reliable for multiple situations and all have low landing lag (except for down aerial, at 30 frames). Its neutral aerial is a decent low percent-combo starter due to it having incredibly low landing lag and good launch angle. It can also KO at high percentages. Its forward aerial acts as a combo finisher from his combo starters and can KO moderately early. Forward aerial's low landing lag and disjointed nature also makes it safe on shield when spaced correctly. Its up aerial is a great juggling option with low all-around lag and boasting good KO potential near the upper blast line, and its back aerial is a very fast offstage edgeguarding option. Down aerial can be used to return to the stage or perform surprise combos on hit.

Greninja's grab game is overall very effective, due to its grabs being among the longest ranges of any non-tether grab in the game. Its forward, up, and back throws can KO at high percentages. Down throw acts as a middle percent combo starter, as well as a strong DI mix up, especially at higher percentages at ledge as a 50/50 between DI in and out. Up throw acts as a versatile combo starter that can lead into juggle situations. Because of this, Greninja has plenty of options off of a grab, as not one of its throws could be considered useless.

Finally, Greninja's special moves are effective for various situations. Water Shuriken acts as a versatile zoning tool, as well as a high-percentage KO option when fully charged. At low-to-mid percents, due to hitting multiple times, Greninja can rush down its opponent and follow up with any aerial attack or an up smash. Shadow Sneak works as an effective recovery mix up, as well as a potent KO move from a good read. Hydro Pump is a good recovery move and can be used for gimping recoveries due to having windbox properties. Substitute is a counterattack with the unique attribute of being able to be aimed in one of 8 different directions upon a successful counter. These angled follow ups allow for Greninja to gain pseudo-follow ups as well as KO earlier by picking the optimal angle in regards to stage positioning.

Like all characters, Greninja is flawed in many ways. Greninja's primary flaws are its inability to break out of disadvantage state and its lack of out of shield options. While not as bad as the previous game, Greninja still has difficulties escaping combos due to its aerials still having relatively high startup. This can sometimes be alleviated with its back or down aerials, but both are not very effective due to back aerial's almost entirely horizontal hitboxes and down aerial's landing lag. Another option is aerial water shuriken, which stalls Greninja in the air and can be used as a landing mix up, as well as hydro pump. Greninja's out of shield options are relatively weak as well. Though his standing grab was buffed by one frame of start up, he still lacks an out of shield option quicker than frame 10, other than jumping. This means that when Greninja is pinned down into shield, it lacks many options to punish its opponent effectively.

Altogether, Greninja's playstyle requires players to think like an actual ninja: utilizing running speed and fast attacks to rush down opponents, while saving the slower attacks for potential mixups, mindgames and surprise KO options. However, they must not play predictably due to its laggier, stronger blows.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Greninja has been greatly buffed from Smash 4 to Ultimate. As with all other characters in the game, its already quick mobility is faster like most characters, while its previously situational moves (such as dash attack, down smash and Water Shuriken) are much more versatile. Due to the game's universal changes to dash mechanics, Greninja can also further exploit its amazing ground mobility, allowing for easier setups into its combo starters, such as down tilt and dash attack. Furthermore, the reduced landing lag on Greninja's aerial attacks gives it an easier time landing, while the universal 3-frame jumpsquat improves Greninja's ground-to-air potential.

However, its biggest buffs were to its grab game, which saw an even faster standing grab, while its forward and back throws can now KO in addition to its up throw. Its pummel, previously considered one of the worst pummels in Super Smash Bros. 4, has been buffed as well. Despite dealing less damage, it is significantly faster. Up throw and down throw actually have better combo potential as well due to the universal changes. The universal 3-frame jumpsquat and ability to buffer aerials from a short hop improves Greninja's up throw, being able to combo into up aerial at low percents to high percents more reliably, while also being able to start juggles with up aerial more consistently due to up aerial's lowered landing lag. The universal buff of dash-canceling and the ability to buffer aerials from a short hop greatly benefits Greninja's down throw, now being able to combo into dash attack at low percents to extend combos and being able to potentially kill confirm with a short hop forward aerial or full hop back aerial at higher percentages.

On the other hand, Greninja is not without its nerfs, its biggest being the universal nerf of footstools. While Greninja can still perform footstool combos, they're now harder to pull off due to the ability to tech footstools, which hinders Greninja's combo ability (specifically its down aerial). However, the nerf is not very significant due to Greninja's combo game actually being buffed overall due to other universal changes that impact it more positively.

As a result of receiving multiple buffs with relatively few nerfs, Greninja retains its status as a viable character in Ultimate's early meta with above average representation as of late thanks to Stroder, Lea, Jw, Somé, and iStudying and is considered as a high or even top tier character by many professional players.

Aesthetics

• Much like all veterans from Smash 4, Greninja's model features a slightly more subdued color scheme.
• Every move that once used water katanas now uses water kunai, similar to when Ash's Greninja uses Cut in the Pokémon anime.
• Greninja's tongue has less physics-based movement than the previous game.
• Greninja has altered animations for its sidestep, roll, and airdodge animations; it now disappears in a small whirlwind with leaves scattering, similarly to when Substitute is successful.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Greninja's jumpsquat animation now takes three frames to complete (down from 4).
• Greninja dashes faster (2.08 → 2.288).
• Greninja walks faster (1.43 → 1.502).
• Greninja has increased air speed (1.18 → 1.239).
• Greninja weighs less (94 → 88). This worsens its survivability but makes it less susceptible to combos.
• The ability to tech footstools hinders Greninja's combo options.
• Greninja's down taunt has lower knockback and much higher ending lag; unlike other taunts, it is not interruptible (unless it's used during Shadow Sneak). This prevents it from KOing and makes Greninja more vulnerable while using it. However, due to how incredibly situational down taunt is, this is negligible in normal play.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Neutral attack's rapid jab is considerably faster.
  • Jab 3 deals less damage (3.5% → 3%), and thus less knockback.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt is now a downward hand sweep.
  • Down tilt launches opponents at a more upward angle (70 → 79/77/75), improving its combo potential.
  • Down tilt has less ending lag (FAF 27 → 23).
  • Down tilt deals less damage (7% → 4%), and also has altered knockback (60 (base)/40 (scaling) → 30/110), narrowing its combo range into some moves.
    • However, it can now combo into up aerial at realistic percentages for a KO.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack has an altered animation with Greninja stopping halfway through the spin.
  • Dash attack deals more damage (7% → 8%) with base knockback reduced to somewhat compensate (100 → 90).
  • Dash attack has less ending lag (FAF 31 → 29).
• Forward smash
  • Forward smash deals more knockback (30 (base)/101 (scaling) → 35/104).
• Down smash:
  • Down smash has much less startup lag (15 → 10), and thus a shorter duration (FAF 55 → 50).
  • Down smash's inner hitbox is now extended (z-offset: 0 → 0-7).

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (12 frames → 7 (neutral), 15 → 11 (forward), 13 → 10 (back), 15 → 14 (up), 32 → 30 (down)).
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial has considerably less ending lag (FAF 65 → 53).
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial has more knockback scaling (84 → 95).
• Back aerial
  • Back aerial has less ending lag (FAF 46 → 41).
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial has more ending lag when it hits an opponent, hindering its combo potential and making it slightly less safe on shield.
  • Greninja no longer loses its double jump when it lands down aerial.
  • Down aerial has less ending lag when missed (FAF 57 → 52).

Throws/other attacks

• Grab:
  • Standing grab's startup is reduced by 1 frame (11 → 10).
• Pummel is significantly faster than in Smash 4. It deals 1% less damage (2% → 1%), but is buffed overall due to Greninja's previously sluggish pummel.
• Forward throw:
  • Forward throw now has 2 hits, dealing more damage overall (5 (throw) → 3.5 (collateral) + 4.5 (throw), 8 (total)).
  • Forward throw has altered knockback, dealing more knockback overall (70 (base)/45 (scaling) → 65/100).
• Back throw:
  • Back throw has a new animation. Greninja turns around and throws the opponent with both hands.
  • Back throw's animation is faster, making it harder to DI properly.
  • Back throw deals more damage (8% → 9%), and thus knockback.
• Edge attack has increased damage (7% → 9%).

Special moves

• Water Shuriken:
  • Water Shuriken has slightly increased range.
  • Opponents don't fall out of the fully charged shuriken as much as before.
  • Water Shuriken looks sharper.
  • Uncharged Water Shuriken has less knockback growth.
• Shadow Sneak:
  • Greninja now cloaks itself in a whirlwind before disappearing. It may also perform a forward kick to attack.
  • Shadow Sneak’s shadow travels faster.
  • Shadow Sneak's attack has less startup.
  • Forward Shadow Sneak launches at a lower angle, improving its combo potential.
  • Shadow Sneak can be used multiple times in midair.
  • The shadow's eyes flash red just before release. Combined with the shadow being notably darker, this makes it easier to predict the attack.
• Substitute:
  • Substitute's counter window is longer.
  • Substitute's attack has less startup.
  • Substitute slows down the opponent when the attack activates, allowing the attack to land more consistently.
  • Substitute now grants Greninja invincibility during the attack.
  • Substitute has more vibrant particles effects.
• Hydro Pump:
  • Hydro Pump now has an arrow pointing in the direction of travel, similar to Pikachu's Quick Attack and Pichu's Agility.
  • Hydro Pump can now be ledge-cancelled.
  • Greninja no longer loses its double jump if it is hit out of Hydro Pump.
• Secret Ninja Attack:
  • Greninja now turns into Ash-Greninja during its Final Smash.
  • Greninja and its opponents are no longer silhouetted during the attack.

Update history

1.2.0

• A visual glitch with Greninja's screen KO has been fixed.

2.0.0

• Down smash has a larger internal hitbox.
• Hydro Pump's endlag can no longer be cancelled instantly by landing on a moving or slanted platform.

3.0.0

• Water Shuriken deals less shield damage.

3.1.0

• Fixed an unknown glitch that resulted Greninja sliding while shielding.

4.0.0

• Greninja now immediately descends when using the down aerial after being launched, rather than air stalling.

Moveset

• Greninja is able to crawl, wall cling, and wall jump.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2%	Two alternating palm thrusts followed by a double palm thrust that emits a small blast of water. If button mashed, it is instead followed by a series of knifehand strikes that emit blade-shaped blasts of water that concludes with an outward knifehand strike that emits a small blast of water. It can also be jab canceled, such as into forward tilt, down tilt and forward smash.
			2%
			3%
			0.5% (infinite), 2% (finisher)
Forward tilt			7.3%	A hook kick which stops half way. It can be angled and can lock opponents.
Up tilt			4.5%	Greninja attacks with his tongue. A good aerial combo starter.
Down tilt			4%	Greninja does a downward hand sweep. It sends opponents at an upward angle, making it a versatile combo starter. Notably, it can confirm a KO into an up smash rather easily.
Dash attack			8%	A sweep kick. Sends opponents at a favorable angle for combos.
Forward smash			14%	An inward slash with a water kunai. Deals good knockback and has good range. However, it has notable startup lag.
Up smash			5% (hit 1), 14% (hit 2 clean center), 11% (hit 2 clean sides), 10% (hit 2 late)	Two reverse gripped inward slashes with water kunai. Greninja's strongest finisher, especially when hit clean.
Down smash			13% (kunai), 11% (arms)	Hits both sides with water kunai. Due to it sending opponents at an semi-spike angle and coming out on frame 10, it is a quick and effective way to set up an edge-guard situation.
Neutral aerial			11% (clean), 6% (late)	Strikes a ninjutsu pose while emitting an exploding water bubble.
Forward aerial			14%	A forward slash with a water kunai. It has some start-up and suffers from high end lag, but it is a viable edge-guarding and KOing option.
Back aerial			3% (hit 1), 2.5% (hit 2), 6% (hit 3)	Kicks backwards three times. It is Greninja's fastest aerial attack, although it is also one of the weakest aerials of its kind. However, this makes it a useful combo tool in return.
Up aerial			1.3% (hits 1-5), 3% (hit 6)	A corkscrew flying kick. One of Greninja's best combo and KO tools, as it can juggle and KO effectively due to its great jumping prowess.
Down aerial			8%	A diving double foot stomp. It acts as a stall-then-fall and bounces off opponents. The clean hit meteor smashes opponents. The descent can be stalled by using Water Shuriken.
Grab			—	Grabs with a whirlpool. While its standing grab is slow, it is among the longest-reaching grabs in the game, and its dash grab comes out quickly for its range.
Pummel			1%	Compresses target with water. Decent speed.
Forward throw			3.5% (hit 1), 4.5% (throw)	Shoves the opponent forward. Can KO at high percentages.
Back throw			9%	Greninja leans forward and flings the opponent backwards. Like forward throw, its decent knockback gives it good edgeguarding and KO potential at high percentages.
Up throw			11%	Tosses the opponent upwards. One of Greninja's most useful throws, as it can combo into a up tilt, up aerial, up smash at low and medium percents and can even KO at later percents.
Down throw			12%	Slams the opponent onto the ground. It can combo into a down tilt, forward tilt, forward smash, dash attack and a Shadow Sneak at low percentages. It can also combo into forward aerial at higher percentages.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			8%	Sweep kicks around itself while getting up.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			8%	Sweep kicks around itself while getting up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			8%	Sweep kicks around itself while getting up.
Edge attack Edge getups			9%	Performs a roundhouse kick while climbing up.
Neutral special		Water Shuriken	3%-10.8% (uncharged), 1.0% (fully charged looping hits), 9% (fully charged final hit)	Uses Water Shuriken, which can be charged. Depending on how long the move is charged, the shuriken will be larger and do more damage, however the speed and distance will decrease as a result. At full charge, it hits multiple times and is a decent KOing option. A fully charged water shuriken that is reflected at a higher speed will have trouble landing the final hit on Greninja because of the looping hits not moving Greninja far enough for it.
Side special		Shadow Sneak	10% (normal), 12% (reverse)	Disappears briefly, then preforms a forward kick or a drop kick (relative to the user's reappearance in relation to the enemy) to attack. The move activates when the special button is released. The way the shadow moves is relative to Greninja's position, and it can be moved further or closer to change how far Greninja teleports. While performing Shadow Sneak, Greninja cannot run, attack, grab, dodge or shield. However, it can walk slowly, jump and taunt.
Up special		Hydro Pump	2% (per shot)	Uses Hydro Pump to propel itself in the inputted direction, it can be used twice. Each shot has a windbox effect that pushes opponents, making it a decent option for gimping predictable recoveries.
Down special		Substitute	14% (up or down), 11% (left or right)	Does a pose, if anyone hits it while posing, Greninja will temporarily disappear and get replaced by a wooden log or a Substitute doll then appear behind the opponent and strike them. It deviates noticeably from other counters, as the attack itself can be angled in an inputted direction and launching the opponent in that direction (with the down input meteor smashing opponents, which makes it a good punish against reckless edgeguarders).
Final Smash		Secret Ninja Attack	6% (the mat), 50% (Total in the attack after mat)	Turns into Ash-Greninja and attacks the opponent with a mat. If an opponent is caught in the mat, Greninja will send them up into the air and strike the opponent repeatedly in midair with its kunai, before slamming them down with a final hit.

On-screen appearance

• Emerges from a Poké Ball, then performs a ninjutsu hand sign that emits a small burst of water from its hands.

Taunts

• Up Taunt: Stands upright, clasping its hands together before assuming a ninjutsu stance. The stance resembles one of its attack animations from the Pokémon series.
• Side Taunt: Shakes head from side to side, causing its tongue to whip out in the same directions. Particles of saliva fly off with each whip.
• Down Taunt: While standing on one foot, Greninja holds out its hands, faces the screen, and summons small sprays of water. The sprays can do 1% or 2% damage and produce some knockback, though they're able to KO only at above 420%. A video showing the exact KO percentages at which each character can be KO'd can be found here. Unlike the rest of Greninja's taunts, this one cannot be cancelled (unless Shadow Sneak is being charged before using it).

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  Greninja's up taunt.

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  Greninja's side taunt.

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  Greninja's down taunt.

Idle Poses

• Crosses arms over its body, then separates them with a flourish.
• Hunches over and assumes a ninjutsu stance.

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  Greninja's first idle pose

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  Greninja's second idle pose

Victory poses

• Left: Does a few hand seals with splashing water, and then a ninja pose.
• Up: Performs Double Team to briefly create three afterimages of itself.
• Right: Does a flip, lands in a spinning pose, and crosses its arms.

A small excerpt of the title theme of Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green Versions, a track which would go on to become the Pokémon main theme and the title theme for the entire series.

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In competitive play

Notable players

Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the Spring 2019 PGRU, which recognizes the official top 50 players in the world in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from February 1st, 2019 to July 7th, 2019.

Active

•  Donquavious - The best Greninja player in the Carolinas. Placed 9th at both Just Roll With It! 11 and 2GG: Grand Tour - South Carolina, and 33rd at MomoCon 2019.
•  Elexiao - The best Greninja in France and one of the best in Europe. Placed 1st at Phoenix Blue 2 and 9th at Stunfest 2019. Ranked 2nd on the French Ultimate Power Rankings.
•  iStudying - The best Greninja player in the Netherlands and one of the best in Europe. Placed 3rd at Regen 2019, 7th at Tech Republic IV, and 25th at Valhalla II. Ranked 5th on the Dutch Ultimate Power Rankings.
•  Jw - The best Greninja player in Canada. Placed 9th at Pound 2019, 17th at Get On My Level 2019, and 49th at Frostbite 2019. Has wins over MkLeo, Mr E, Wishes, Frozen, and Leffen. Ranked 4th on the Southern Ontario Ultimate Power Rankings.
•  Lea - One of the best Greninja players in the world. Placed 9th at Frostbite 2019, 5th at Umebura SP and 7th at Umebura SP 2. Has wins over VoiD, WaDi, and Raito. Ranked 30th on the Spring 2019 PGRU.
•  Oisiitofu - One of the best Greninja players in Japan. Placed 5th at Sumabato SP and 9th at Sumabato SP 2.
•  Somé - One of the best Greninja players in Japan. Placed 7th at Sumabato SP 4 and 49th at Umebura Japan Major 2019.
•  Stroder - One of best Greninja player in the world. Placed 5th at Ultimate Nimbus, 7th at Heart of Battle, and 13th at 2GG: Prime Saga. He has wins over Tweek, Puppeh, and ESAM. Ranked 29th on the Spring 2019 PGRU.
•  Venia - The best Greninja player in Tristate. Placed 4th at Orion 2019, 9th at NYXL Pop-Up!, and 13th at Let's Make Moves. Has wins over Rivers, Suarez, and Gen. Ranked 7th on the New York City Ultimate Power Rankings.

Inactive

•  MkLeo (#1) - Used Greninja as a secondary. Placed 1st at Smash Ultimate Summit using Greninja as one of his characters.

Classic Mode: Your Turn, Greninja!

Greninja's congratulations screen.

Greninja fights against characters that represent different types from the Pokémon games: for example, Charizard and Bowser represent Fire type, and Mewtwo, Ness, and Lucas represent Psychic type.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Charizard and Bowser	Pokémon Stadium	Battle! (Elite Four) / Battle! (Solgaleo/Lunala)	Represents Fire-type. Charizard's Pokémon Trainer is absent.
2	Pikachu , Pichu , and Zero Suit Samus	Pokémon Stadium 2	Battle! (Steven)	Represents Electric-type.
3	Lucario , Ryu , and Ken	Pokémon Stadium	Battle! (Reshiram / Zekrom)	Represents Fighting-type.
4	Ivysaur	Pokémon Stadium	Battle! (Gladion)	Represents Grass-type. Ivysaur's Pokémon Trainer is absent.
5	Mewtwo , Ness , and Lucas	Pokémon Stadium 2	Battle! (Dialga/Palkia) / Spear Pillar	Represents Psychic-type.
6	Squirtle and Greninja	Kalos Pokémon League	Battle! (Champion) - Pokémon X / Pokémon Y	Represents Water-type. Squirtle's Pokémon Trainer is absent. The CPU will be default Greninja if the player chooses the black costume.
Bonus Stage
Final	Master Hand	Final Destination	Master Hand (Less than 7.0 intensity) Master Hand / Crazy Hand (Intensity 7.0 or higher)	On intensity 7.0 and higher, Crazy Hand fights alongside Master Hand.

Note: All rounds except the sixth round take place on Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Stadium 2.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Greninja has Battle! (Trainer Battle) - Pokémon X / Pokémon Y accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

Finding Greninja in World of Light

Greninja was among the fighters that were summoned to fight the army of Master Hands.

During the opening cutscene, Greninja was present on the cliffside when Galeem unleashed his beams of light. Greninja leaped into the air to avoid one of the beams, which hit Lucario instead. Greninja was hit shortly after and vaporized, getting imprisoned by Galeem afterward along with the other fighters, sans Kirby. A puppet fighter cloned from Greninja is later seen alongside ones cloned from Fox, Samus, Link and other fighters.

Greninja was one of the many fighters that fell under Dharkon's control upon Galeem's first defeat, and it can be found in the Mysterious Dimension at the Dark Realm. It can be seen impeding the path, making it an obligatory unlock.

Greninja is later seen among several other fighters, making their last stand against Galeem and Dharkon. It also shows up in the bad ending where Galeem emerges victorious against Dharkon, witnessing Galeem engulf the world in light.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
50		Greninja	Shield	10,600	Kalos Pokémon League (Ω form)	Battle! (Trainer Battle) - Pokémon X / Pokémon Y

Spirits

Greninja's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Greninja in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.

• Greninja Spirit.png

  418. Greninja

In Spirit battles

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music
154		Winky	Donkey Kong series	•Greninja		1,700	Mushroom Kingdom U	N/A	•The enemy deals damage when falling •The enemy has increased jump power	Jungle Level (Brawl)
199		Zora	The Legend of Zelda series	•Greninja		1,800	Great Bay	N/A	•The enemy's neutral special has increased power	Ocarina of Time Medley
385		Slippy Toad	Star Fox series	•Greninja •Fox		9,600	Frigate Orpheon (hazards off)	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Timed battle •The enemy tends to avoid conflict	Corneria - Star Fox
482		Raikou, Entei, & Suicune	Pokémon series	•Greninja •Incineroar •Pikachu		9,900	Suzaku Castle	•Hazard: Lava Floor	•The floor is lava	Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue Medley
516	File:Darkrai Spirit.png	Darkrai	Pokémon series	•Greninja		9,900	Luigi's Mansion (Ω form)	•Item: Black Hole •Hazard: Slumber Floor	•The floor is sleep-inducing •Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Darkrai)	Battle! (Team Galactic)
770		Metal Gear RAY	Metal Gear Solid series	•Metal Greninja		4,200	Shadow Moses Island	•Item: Exploding Types	•Stamina battle •Explosion attacks aren't as effective against the enemy •The enemy is metal	Yell "Dead Cell"
893		Shadow Man	Mega Man series	•Greninja (×3)		3,500	Norfair (Battlefield form)	N/A	•The enemy's neutral special has increased power •Stamina battle •The enemy favors neutral specials	Shadow Man Stage
1,014		Luka	Bayonetta series	•Greninja		3,800	New Donk City Hall	•Temporary Invincibility	•The enemy becomes temporarily invincible when badly damaged	Riders Of The Light
1,048		Octoling Octopus	Splatoon series	•Greninja Team (×4)		3,900	Moray Towers	N/A	•Timed battle	Octoweaponry
1,143		Frog & Snake	Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru	•Greninja •King K. Rool		3,600	Dream Land GB (Castle Lololo interior)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Sablé Prince)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear	Castle Lololo

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Artwork of all playable Pokémon characters and Poké Ball Pokémon, as posted by the official Pokémon Twitter account.

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  Greninja's fighter card.

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  Greninja coming to a halt on Kalos Pokémon League.

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  Charging Water Shuriken next to Ryu on Suzaku Castle.

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  Jumping on Battlefield.

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  Performing its neutral aerial with Leviathan on Midgar.

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  With its Substitute Doll on Wuhu Island after tripping.

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  Performing Shadow Sneak on Luigi's Mansion.

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  Struck by Lucario on Pokémon Stadium 2.

Trivia

• In the Pokémon series, Ash-Greninja is only obtainable as a male. The fact that Greninja transforms into Ash-Greninja for its Final Smash, Secret Ninja Attack, implies that Greninja is a male in Ultimate.
• Greninja's new character portrait resembles its air dodge animation.
  • It also resembles Fox's character portrait from Super Smash Bros. 4 but with the arm and leg positions mirrored.
• Coincidentally, Greninja's fighter number, 50, is the same as the number of its costume in Super Mario Maker. It shares this distinction with Inkling.
• Greninja, Ivysaur, Olimar, Little Mac, Ryu, Cloud, Dark Samus, and Ken are the only characters to never appear as minions in any Spirit battles.
• Alongside Luigi, Greninja is one of two characters in Ultimate with a taunt that cannot be cancelled, due to the fact that their non-cancelable taunts have hitboxes.
  • Greninja and Luigi are also the only two characters whose Classic Mode titles feature their names.
• Greninja being featured in Donkey Kong's unlock column may be a reference to Winky the Frog, one of the Animal Buddies in the Donkey Kong Country series.
  • Greninja even appears in Winky's Spirit Battle.
• Greninja appears slightly tilted in its damage meter compared to its character artwork. This distinction is shared with fellow Pokémon series character Incineroar.
  • Coincidentally, both are final evolutions of starter Pokémon, and both have Dark as their secondary type.
• Oddly, Greninja does not vanish when performing a directional air dodge despite the sound effects playing. It shares this oddity with Rosalina & Luma and Palutena.