Pac-Man (SSB4)/Up special

Hitbox visualization showing Pac-Man's Pac-Jump.

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Overview

Pac-Man's up special in SSB4 is Pac-Jump. When the move is activated, a blue trampoline appears, launching Pac-Man upwards a short distance. Pac-Man can then bounce off of the trampoline two more times, each bounce sending him further up, with the third bounce giving Pac-Man incredible height coverage. The second and third bounce will cause the trampoline to turn yellow and red, respectively. Landing on the trampoline while it is red will split it in half, causing it to disappear and any character that landed on it to go into a helpless state.

Multiple characters can bounce off of the trampoline at the same time. Should a character that is not the original user jump off of the trampoline, their jump will be replenished, had they already used it. The move has hitboxes lasting for the majority of the jump, though not at the very end. Each jump will take the same amount of time to reach the apex. If the original Pac-Man uses the move a second time while a character is on the trampoline but has not begun their jump, the other character will not bounce off of it, but instead will continue falling. This can still save other characters, as they will not be put in a helpless state even while the trampoline is red. When used along with Power Pellet, Pac-Man can recover from practically anywhere.

The move is one of Pac-Man's most reliable out of shield options, as it comes out on frame four. The trampoline is virtually incontestable, since it cannot be rolled through, ran past, airdodged through, or shielded, and will stop almost any attack. It can only be jumped over or slid under with moves such as Cloud's down tilt. Even if Pac-Man is grabbed immediately after using the move, he will often be released immediately, as the opponent's grab will likely place him directly back onto the trampoline. If Pac-Man is meteor smashed onto the trampoline, he will bounce off of it as he normally would, possibly saving him from being KO'd. However, Pac-Man will still suffer from some of the attack's hitstun, and will be unable to move or grab a ledge. Furthermore, if a meteor smash has a great enough knockback, then Pac-Man will be sent directly through the trampoline without bouncing off of it. In earlier versions of the game, if Pac-Man used the move onstage and used it a second time while it was yellow and as another character was bouncing off it, he could drop characters through the stage.