Lucas (SSBU)

Lucas in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	EarthBound
Other playable appearances	in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	PK Starstorm
Tier	C+ (58)

Lucas (リュカ, Lucas) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Lucas was revealed along with Ness and all other veterans on June 12th, 2018 during the E3 2018 trailer. Lucas is now an unlockable character, instead of being downloadable content in Smash 4 and being available from the start in Brawl. Lucas is classified as Fighter #37.

As in Smash 4, Lani Minella's portrayal of Lucas from Brawl was repurposed for Ultimate.

Lucas is ranked 58th out of 82 on the Ultimate current tier list, placing him in the C+ tier. This is a sizeable drop from his previous ranking in SSB4, where he was ranked 28-29th out of 55 characters, tied with Ness. Lucas' greatest strength lies in his dangerous edgeguarding game and zoning capabilities, thanks to the flexibility of his special moves, especially PK Freeze, PK Fire and PK Thunder. Despite being a middleweight, Lucas boasts superb KO potential and high damage output in his aerials, forward tilt, dash attack, and smash attacks. Finally, Lucas' recovery is among the longest and most flexible thanks to buffs to PK Thunder and PK Thunder 2, and possessing the longest distance in his directional air dodges in the game, alongside Ness.

However, Lucas suffers from an almost non-existent out of shield game and the lack of anti-pressuring options. Because none of Lucas' options hit out of shield before frame 7, his defensive game is horrible, as Lucas lacks the ability to reliably punish out of shield or deal with high shield pressure. In addition, Lucas' sub-par range and overall average mobility also means he primarily struggles against speed demons and characters with superior disjoints, respectively. Lucas' floatiness and lack of a reliable combo-breaking move or landing option means he is also vulnerable to juggling and has a terrible disavantage state. Despite his solid neutral game, it still retains its flaws from Smash 4, such as his mediocre grounded mobility, predictable approach, over-reliance on zoning and sub-par frame-data. Although his throws are fairly strong, his grab game is limited exclusively to KOing and edgeguarding. Despite its improvements, PK Thunder remains as one of the more exploitable recoveries in the game.

Initially, Lucas' results and representation were scarce. However, his playerbase has slowly expanded as the metagame has progressed, and although it remains below average, he has still received strong results from dedicated mains such as Nitox and Regalo.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Lucas being the 36th character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Kirby or any character in his unlock tree, being the 7th character unlocked after Corrin.
• Have Lucas join the player's party in World of Light.

Lucas must then be defeated on New Pork City (the Ω form is used in World of Light).

Attributes

Being a pseudo-clone of Ness, Lucas shares a number of attributes with him, especially in terms of special movesets. However, the duo have notable differences within each other in gameplay. Lucas is a middleweight, tied with Ness, Mii Brawler, and Inkling, with attributes that make him stand out against most characters of his weight class. He has a slow walking speed (the 16th-slowest), average dashing speed and gravity, fast air speed (tied for the 20th-fastest), above-average air acceleration (16th-highest), and below-average falling speed. While Lucas' mobility is overall mediocre at best, the speed of his attacks compensates for it, with many possessing low lag, allowing him to rack up damage quickly and safely, while he also boasts a large number of damaging and powerful attacks that can KO at early percents. Notable examples include his neutral attack, which comes out on frame 2, and his down tilt, which comes out on frame 3 and is tied with Ness, Little Mac, R.O.B., and Meta Knight's down tilts for being the fastest down tilt in Ultimate. As a result, Lucas' attacks are useful for damage-racking and initiating combos, while several of his grounded attacks are safe in many situations due to their minimal ending lag.

Arguably Lucas' greatest strength is his extremely dangerous edgeguarding game, which is among the greatest in Ultimate, and allows him to easily KO off-stage opponents at unnaturally early %. His neutral special, PK Freeze, freezes opponents and now launches opponents horizontally with powerful knockback, enabling it to KO off-stage opponents at ludicrously low % and making it one of his most infamous edge-guarding techniques. Its incredibly large hitbox makes it an excellent 2 frame punishing tool, can be used to punish rolls or techs, and can also be used as a deadly stage spike and ledge-trapping option. His side special, PK Fire, can be used to snipe offstage opponents for a KO. The orb of PK-Thunder has very high base knockback and hitstun, making it extremely useful for dragging the opponent to the blast line, stage spiking them, and sending off-stage opponents far enough from the stage to completely prevent them from recovering. His up special, PK Thunder, is especially effective against characters with poor horizontal recoveries, who rely on tether recoveries or characters who recover from below, and Lucas can nearly effortlessly gimp them at awkwardly early percents (as low as 0%), while he remains almost completely safely on-stage. His down special, PSI Magnet, contains a windbox at the start-up of the move that will pull opponents closer to Lucas, in the air, the strength of the windbox scales based on the opponents percentage, which can be useful for setting up an edge-guard situation or even outright gimping opponents. The move's semi-spike hitbox can KO off-stage opponents at reasonable percentages or put them in a bad position off-stage. Alongside his special moves, Lucas has some of the strongest smash attacks that are also excellent at edgeguarding and KOing, especially his down smash; the first hit is among the most powerful in the game and can KO under 60% at the ledge. Similarily to PK Freeze, it has an extremely large hitbox and a long duration that make it an incredibly deadly tool for 2-frame punishes, and ledge-trapping, while it can successfully catch opponents under certain stages and punish rolling or teching opponents. Additionally, a reversed down smash can potentially stage spike opponents at the edge, and all 3 hits can even sometimes land if the opponents don't tech the individual hits successfully. Lucas' forward smash is a strong and quick smash attack that can efficiently KO opponents who recklessly air dodge towards the stage. Lucas' up smash is among the absolute strongest and has invincibility on frames 1-7, which allows it to punish ledge attacks with proper timing (although it is situational), and can catch some characters hanging on the edge (although it doesn't work on about half of the cast). Lucas' back and forward throws are strong (with the former being among the strongest) and can force edgeguarding situations and KO at high percentages at the ledge. Lucas also possesses a pair of aerial meteor smashes, his back and down aerials, while his forward aerial deals strong knockback and is a reliable KOing option when sweetspotted. Overall, Lucas has one of the best 2-frame punishing abilities in Ultimate, with PK Freeze, down smash, forward tilt, dash attack, and down tilt being very efficient (especially the former three), while forward tilt and dash attack are surprisingly powerful for attacks of their kind.

Alongside his great edgeguarding potential, Lucas' recovery is among the longest and most flexible in the game, thanks to his Zair tether recovery, his long directional air dodge, and his long-distanced PK Thunder 2. His PK Thunder travels in a tighter arc than Ness' and doesn't disappear when hitting an opponent, unlike the latter, while his PK Thunder 2 sends him a much greater distance, allowing him to safely go far off to the sides or far below the stage to edge-guard his opponents and quickly recover on-stage after efficiently edgeguarding or gimping them. Additionally, if he bumps into part of the stage or a wall, he can perform PK Thunder a second time for a limited time, making his recovery even longer overall. However, it can still be exploited by some characters, as it is rather slow overall and PK Thunder can be absorbed or reflected by some characters, while projectiles can disrupt it efficiently. PK Thunder 2 also can occasionally have some angling issues, and has long ending lag, making Lucas vulnerable to gimps and punishes by some characters.

Another one of Lucas's greatest strengths lies in his excellent comboing capabilities. Thanks to his ability to loop his moves into each other fairly easily, Lucas' combo game is incredibly dangerous and can be heavily mixed-up. At low/medium percents, neutral air combos into itself, which was mostly popularized by Remi, and all of his aerials, being one of his best combo starters. His forward air also has the ability to chain into itself at low percents. Because Lucas can cancel his jump by using an technique called "double jump cancel zair", the tether grab can combo into itself across the entire stage and can lead to potentially unavoidable and heavily damaging combos, as well as dangerous edgeguarding situations. His up aerial can also combo into itself multiple times; when utilized alongside platforms for assistance, it can potentially rack up to 70%. Down tilt is quick enough to be able to loop into itself, jab, forward tilt, forward air, a grab or even forward smash, especially against fast-fallers like Fox or Greninja and large characters like Bowser. Because of changes in the engine from SSB4 to Ultimate, grounded spikes cannot be teched. This gives Lucas the ability to loop down air into itself and finish the opponents off with forward smash, down smash, forward air, or another off-stage down air if used close enough to the edge. Lastly, aerial spikes aren't techable if they reach a certain knockback, this causes back aerial to loop into itself and his other aerials as well at around 60%, and can even lead to an off-stage meteor smash KO when used close enough to the ledge, even though this is more niche and harder to pull off as all the other loops. To compliment his great combo potential, Lucas has many reliable combo finishers; most notably, his powerful and quick forward smash, as well as his exceedingly powerful down smash, are extremely useful for ending jab locked combos, as well as down aerial loops.

Lucas also possesses some strong grounded attacks in his kit, primarily down tilt and forward tilt are worth noticing. The former lacks a lot of range, but it makes up for it by being just as quick as R.O.B.'s down tilt and only being 1 frame laggier. Combined with the fact that the close hitbox can combo into jab, forward tilt, forward air, and (at high percents or against fast-fallers) a grab, it is definitely a grounded move to respect. Forward tilt is a strong disjointed poking tool that, when angled up, can anti-air a plethora of moves. It can also easily 2-frame recoveries when angled down. It is also extremely safe on shield and can only be punished by Link's Spin Attack from out of shield. Up tilt is also used to pop opponents out of the air similar to forward tilt but can combo into up air if they are around 30%. Tapping jump is advised in order to do so as that is the only method to bypass the short hop macro. His jab is a useful "get-off-me" and combo tool, but is overall outclassed by down tilt's frame-data and utility. Dash attack comes out fairly slow, and slows Lucas' grounded mobility while executing it. However, its hitbox is fairly large and can 2-frame or hit an opponent on the edge. Unlike most dash attacks, it can function as a reasonably strong KOing option, as its sweetspot is strong enough to KO Mario at 105% at the edge. In comparison, its sourspot is much weaker, yet dash attack's decent interruptibility and its sourspot's higher launching angle make it serviceable for setting up aerial pressure. While his forward smash slightly pales in terms of power in comparison to his other smash attacks in terms of range and knockback, it makes up for it by being his fastest smash attack, while still being powerful; this move also has the ability to reflect projectiles and is a great combo finisher. Lastly, forward smash also has a tipper-hitbox that KOs a lot earlier. Down smash depicts Lucas striking the ground three times in front of him; each hit getting progressively larger, but also getting progressively weaker (with the first hit of the move being one of the strongest down smashes in the game). The move is incredibly useful for ending jab locked combos, ledge-trapping and 2-frame punishes. It also has a large hitbox that enables it to catch opponents directly below certain stages, thus being one of his best KOing moves. His up smash has invincibility on frame 1-7 (also avoiding grabs) which therefore allows it to be used as a situational counter-attack tool. It also deals extremely high knockback that can KO reliably at low percentages. However, the start-up and recovery is extremely high, thus making it a "high-risk, high-reward" read and punishing option. Alongside his forward and back throws, his up throw is also among the strongest and can KO reliably at high percentages.

Outside of edgeguarding, Lucas has a very versatile special moveset. PK Freeze has great maneuverability and can be a useful pressuring and anti-air attack. PK Fire sends a fiery bolt straight forward which explodes on contact. It doesn't explode on shields, however. It is a decent spacing tool that deals moderate knockback and can sometimes be used as a combo extender. PK Thunder does not disappear upon hitting an opponent like Ness', but instead the tail hits multiple times. This, coupled with its very high hitstun, makes it possible to combo into itself and is a great damage-racking and shield poking tool. It does disappear when it collides with a hard platform or wall. It also disappears when an opponent hits Lucas while he is performing the attack. PK Thunder 2, while lacking the early KO potential of Ness', deals an extreme amount of damage and is also strong enough to KO at the top blast line at reasonably low percents. PSI Magnet absorbs energy-based projectiles. The amount of damage it heals depends on the projectile's power as it heals 1.66x more as the projectile capping at 30%. This makes the move useful for improving Lucas' survivability and to discourage projectile camping from characters with energy-based projectiles. If projectiles are absorbed while grounded, the ending lag after the absorption can be cancelled on the same frame as the absorption with a jump, dodge, or spot dodge, improving the move's safety on the ground. The move also has a semi-spike hitbox upon releasing the special button. Said hitbox is also one of the safest non-projectile moves on shield in the game (being +0 on block), and can lead into some combos at low percentages (PSI Magnet into dash attack or grab aerial being some examples). Finally, Lucas has strong wavebouncing abilities, as each of his special moves (minus PK Thunder) gives him a significant recoil which can be very useful for mindgames.

However, Lucas is not without his drawbacks. While he has a powerful pressuring game and can force opponents in a disadvantage state fairly easily, Lucas, himself, has almost non-existent anti-pressuring options, thus, his biggest flaw is his horrible defensive game. Because grabs out of shield have an additional 4 frames of start-up in Ultimate and Lucas lacks a fast grab, up special and up smash, while none of his aerials hit before frame 7, his out-of-shield game is among the worst in the cast. Additionally, because his overall grounded mobility is average at best, and some of his attacks have rather short range, Lucas primarily struggles with rushdowns/speed demons or characters who can outrange him with disjoints (especially swordies), as he can find it difficult to restrain the opponent with forward air and forward tilt, especially if the opponent has superior range and priority than Lucas. He also struggles when put high above his opponents, as he doesn't have a good hitbox under him to force landings and being floaty makes him extremely susceptible to getting juggled, while Lucas is nearly incapable of escaping juggles against characters with great juggling abilities (such as Mario) due to him lacking a useful combo-breaking move. As such, Lucas overall has a terrible disadvantage state and one single mistake can potentially cause him the loss of a stock rather quickly.

Outside of his lack of defensive options, despite Lucas possessing a solid neutral game thanks to his strong zoning options in PK Fire, his forward aerial and his Zair, he is otherwise over-reliant on those aforementioned moves to force approaches, which leads to his approach becoming predictable overtime and leaving him with few reliable options, especially against speed demons and characters with even longer and/or more disjointed attacks, as most of his other attacks suffer from relatively short range despite being disjointed, which can result in him getting overwhelmed by several of those characters and forcing him to rely on his overused zoning options and his underwhelming out-of-shield options. Additionally, Lucas notably struggles against characters without energy-based projectiles (most notably Link), as he cannot make usage of his PSI Magnet to heal himself against them, and although he has a reflector in his forward smash, it cannot be used in the air, drastically hindering his neutral game, while Lucas is virtually unable to successfully approach without getting hit by a single projectile, while his own PK Fire is too laggy and short-ranged to be useful in camping in those matchups, preventing him of winning any projectile-wars against characters without energy-based projectiles.

Despite his powerful throws, Lucas' grab game has its issues. Despite possessing decent range, his grab is slow and is easily punishable, and Rope Snake has the shortest range of all tether grabs, while his throws are limited exclusively of edgeguarding and KOing. His down throw, in particular, which has been drastically nerfed from SSB4, is completely unreliable at setting up follow-ups above low percentages, while it is by far his weakest throw and cannot KO reliably at realistic percentages. Additionally, his DJCZ, while extremely dangerous when mastered, requires perfect timing as to correctly chain it. As such, Lucas' combo game, while extremely deadly, is difficult to master and thus requires good reads and additional high execution in order to get high damage started, and gives him a relatively high learning curve.

In the end, Lucas is gifted with an extremely versatile moveset, with one of the best edgeguarding games in the game, some of the most powerful smash attacks and throws, a long and flexible recovery and great comboing and pressuring tools, Lucas has an excellent advantage state and can rack up damage very easily with his highly-damaging combo strings or with his damaging and powerful moves, while he typically does not find himself in much trouble KOing opponents at early percents either with edgeguarding or with his powerful smash attacks. Lucas fits best into the mix-up archetype; he has useful zoning options and he can be effective when controlling opponents' space and options thanks to PK Fire, a quick and disjointed normal moveset, and Rope Snake. However, he can be a formidable fighter at close-ranged combat thanks to his amazing comboing and KOing ability, along with his great aerial game. Lucas' players must take advantage of his deadly edgeguarding tools by forcing his opponent off-stage with his powerful throws, with many of his aerials, his smash attacks and his special moves being powerful enough to gimp or KO his opponent at exceedingly early percents. However, Lucas must be careful in approaching because his zoning options can quickly become predictable, and he can quickly become overwhelmed by his opponents if he plays recklessly, as his decidedly average mobility and underwhelming defensive game can easily be exploited due to his almost non-existent out of shield options, while his floatiness and lack of a reliable hitbox under him can make him very vulnerable to juggles. As a result of this, Lucas is especially vulnerable against characters with superior mobility and longer disjointed range (such as Shulk or Zero Suit Samus), superior zoning abilities (most notably Link) or great recoveries that are difficult to edgeguard (such as Peach), and has an extremely high learning curve.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Lucas has received a mixture of buffs and nerfs in the transition from SSB4 to Ultimate; although he received much more buffs, it is hard to determine whether he has been buffed or nerfed overall. Some of Lucas's biggest strengths from the previous game have been noticeably nerfed, but his moveset as a whole has been given much more consistency.

Lucas has received comparatively a few nerfs, though most of them have been heavy. The most notable of these nerfs is to his down throw, which has more knockback and ending lag; which drastically hinders his previously guaranteed combos past low percentages, no longer having access to semi-guaranteed KO set-ups (into back aerial at the edge, or to up aerial at high percentages). The universally techable footstools and changes to locking have also drastically neutered the more intrincate setups his down throw had. Overall, Lucas no longer has access to guaranteed high damage from his throws, and his footstool-based combos are much less useful unless the opponent isn't able to tech in time. Aside from these nerfs, PK Thunder 2 now has halted momentum at the end of its animation, which shortens his recovery. Lucas also has a slightly harder time landing due to PSI Magnet no longer halting his momentum in the air.

In spite of these nerfs, Lucas has predominantly received much more significant buffs. His frame-data and damage output have all been strengthened as a whole, which has made his attacks generally safer (especially if sweetspotted, due to their electric effect). Lucas's approach and aerial game are much more effective, as his forward, back and up aerials all are now capable of auto-canceling from a short hop, the former is a much more viable move for KOing, and the latter's hitbox now matches its animation more correctly. His grab aerial can now be double-jump canceled as well, which now gives him an additional option for approaching as well as retreating and can be chained into itself repeatedly or forward air, giving it great combo ability. Down aerial can now loop into itself at mid to high percentages, and can now set up kill confirms (most notably forward and down smash, and forward air), and the inability to tech grounded meteor smashes benefits his back aerial, which can also loop into itself and his other aerials. Thanks to these buffs, the aforementioned nerfs to his combo game have been somewhat compensated, with the latter and his mix-up options still being extremely effective in his metagame.

Lucas' grounded game has also seen several noteworthy improvements. Forward tilt has more range and power, up and down tilts have more combo ability, sweetspotted forward smash is more powerful, up smash has significantly increased power and now renders him invincible for longer, and down smash can now once again hit opponents multiple times. Lucas's special moves have all been improved as well; in particular, PK Freeze no longer makes Lucas helpless, can travel through soft and semi-soft platforms, follows the ground on contact with hard platforms, sends at a lower angle that gives it fearsome edgeguarding potential, and leaves opponents frozen for a much longer period of time at higher percentages. PK Fire also sends at a lower angle and has more knockback, making it a more impactful projectile when it connects; PK Thunder travels faster and is an even better edgeguarding and gimping tool; and PSI Magnet absorbs and recovers faster. Thanks to the significant power buffs to most of his already powerful finishers, along with his drastically better edgeguarding game, Lucas' punish game is considerably more varied and less specialized overall.

Aside from the changes to footstooling and locking, some of the universal changes made to Ultimate's engine have significantly benefitted Lucas overall. Like with most other veterans, his previously lacking mobility is somewhat better thanks to his faster dashing and air speeds; combined with his improved aerials and PK Fire, this gives him a significantly more useful neutral game. The increased shieldstun further improves the safety of Lucas' attacks on shield, especially if they're sweetspotted. Thanks to the changes to air dodges and the return of directional air dodges, Lucas has another option to mix up his recovery, furthermore, like Ness, Lucas's directional air dodge travels farther than other characters. Adding to this, because characters can only air dodge once before landing or getting hit, when combined with a retooled PK Freeze, Lucas's edgeguarding game is much more lethal than before. On the other hand, the ability to air dodge once before landing or getting hit has further worsened his ability to land.

Altogether, Lucas is a less polarizing character than in SSB4. He no longer has access to KO setups from his down throw and his footstool and locking-based combos are less effective, but several of his most glaring weaknesses were notably addressed, some of his less potent moves became much stronger, the significant buffs to his edgeguarding game and his much more powerful and damaging finishers have significantly improved his KOing ability, and the changes to the game's pace have provided more flexibility for him, granting him far more options than he had in SSB4. As a result of this, Lucas has a relatively higher learning curve, and now plays better with a mix-up playstyle. However, given the various and more striking buffs to other returning veterans, and the introduction of DLC characters that Lucas struggles against, it is generally agreed that his buffs were not significant enough to improve Lucas, and although Lucas still remains a relatively viable character in Ultimate, he underperforms relative to the cast in comparison to SSB4.

Aesthetics

• As with other previous downloadable fighters in SSB4, Lucas' appearance is largely unchanged, although his model features a more subdued color scheme due to the aesthetic used in Ultimate. Details on his clothes and weapons are more prominent, such as the stitching on his socks. Additionally, his hair is more defined, and his skin tone is slightly tanned.
  • The Rope Snake's scales are more pronounced.
• Lucas faces the foreground at an angle, instead of facing directly forward. In addition, he always faces the screen regardless of which direction he turns, causing all of his animations to be mirrored while altering some. However, he reverts to Ness' previous idle animation while holding a small item.
• Lucas has a new idle pose where he points to his forehead with his eyes closed with his leading hand and then waves it in front of him. It replaces the animation of Lucas waving his fists in front of him.
• Lucas is more expressive: his eyes are now more prominent when using his attacks, as well as his new facial features when hit.
• Lucas' PSI graphic effects have been changed: they are now dominantly light blue instead of magenta, closely resembling the colors of PK Love in Mother 3.
• Lucas' left-inputted victory pose now has a light glow from where the Needle is pulled, as well as glittery particle effects coming from its trail. Lucas also strikes a different pose.
• Lucas has a new victory theme; it is an arrangement of the last two out of the Eight Melodies from EarthBound Beginnings.
• As with all previous downloadable fighters in SSB4, Lucas now has a unique Palutena's Guidance conversation.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Lucas' jumpsquat animation takes three frames to complete (down from 5).
• Lucas walks slightly faster (0.82 → 0.893).
• Lucas dashes faster (1.5 → 1.65).
  • Lucas's initial dash is significantly faster (1.3 → 1.815).
• Lucas' air speed is slightly faster (1.1 → 1.155).
• Lucas' double jump grants much more height (34.48 → 44.13), increasing the height of his maximum jumping height (63.89 → 73.54).
• Forward roll has less ending lag (FAF 30 → 29).
• Forward roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-17 → 4-15).
• Back roll has more startup with less intangibility (frames 4-17 → 5-16) and more ending lag (FAF 30 → 34).
• Spot dodge has less ending lag (FAF 27 → 25).
• Spot dodge grants less intangibility (frames 3-18 → 3-17).
• Air dodge has significantly more ending lag (FAF 33 → 56).
• Air dodge grants more intangibility (3-28 → 3-30).
• The reintroduction of directional air dodges benefits Lucas more than the rest of the cast, as his directional air dodge grants more distance compared to other characters' (a trait he shares with Ness), and it provides him with a reliable recovery mixup to avoid leaving himself vulnerable by using PK Thunder.
• Because footstools can now be teched, Lucas' "down throw/up aerial into footstool" combo game has been removed.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • All three hits of Lucas' neutral attack have more hitlag (1.0/1.0/1.0 → 1.7/1.8/2.0).
  • Neutral attack's second hit can be interrupted sooner, improving its potential for mix-ups.
  • Hits 2 and 3 deal slightly less damage (2.0% (hit 2)/4.0% (hit 3) → 1.5%/3.5%), with compensation on the third hit's base knockback (60 → 64).
  • All hits have a lower duration (2-4 (hit 1)/3-5 (hit 2)/6-8 (hit 3) → 2/3/6-7).
  • Hits 1 and 2 have significantly smaller hitboxes, greatly reducing their range (jab 1: 2.8u/2.8u/3.5u → 1.4u/1.6u/1.8u/1.6u/1.8u, jab 2: 3.2u/3.2u/4.2u → 2.0u/2.2u/3.0u.
  • The third hit has altered sizes on their hitboxes and one less hitbox (3.0u/3.0u/5.0u → 4.0u/5.0u). The hitboxes are now placed independently from Lucas's body. Overall, this reduces its range.
  • The third hit launches at a lower angle (48 → 361) and the two first hits now use the Sakurai angle alongside a 180 tipper on the first hit, allowing both to lock.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack has less startup (frame 15 → 13) and less ending lag (FAF 40 → 38).
  • Dash attack has a longer hitbox duration (frames 15-16 → 13-17).
  • Dash attack has increased knockback scaling (70 → 81), increasing its KO power.
• Forward tilt:
  • Sweetspotted forward tilt deals more base knockback (30 → 55) and knockback scaling (75 → 80), increasing its KO power.
    • The sweetspot also has a bigger hitbox during the first 2 active frames (4.7u → 5.6u).
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has less ending lag (FAF 37 → 34).
  • Up tilt now uses the electric effect.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt deals more damage (3% → 5%).
  • Down tilt's close hit has more vertical angle (76° → 84°), allowing more consistent follow-ups.
  • Down tilt has increased base knockback (18/8 → 20/10) and combined with its higher damage, makes it easier to combo at lower percents.
  • Down tilt has an altered animation and its far hit was removed, lowering its vertical range.
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash has slightly less ending lag (FAF 47 → 46).
  • Sweetspotted forward smash has higher knockback scaling (88 → 91).
  • The reflector activates later with a shorter duration (frame 10-19 → 11-19).
• Up smash:
  • Up smash's hitboxes are handled differently. The new hitbox positions jitter a bit more without affecting the total reach of the move.
  • All of the second hit's hitboxes deal 2% more damage (19/18/16/14/12% → 21/20/18/16/14%) without compensation on their knockback , increasing their KO power.
  • The hitboxes in the second hit are all smaller (12u/11u/10u/8u/6.5u → 11u/10u/9u/6u).
  • Up smash has more active frames (frames 30-53 → frames 30-55) due to having an additional hitbox.
  • Up smash has more invincibility during startup (frames 1-4 → 1-7).
  • Lucas's arms are now intangible alongside his head.
• Down smash:
  • Lucas now bends his elbow after each shot of down smash, and his fingers are more pronounced throughout.
  • All hits of down smash have increased active frames (2 → 3 frames).
  • The three hits of Lucas's down smash now reset between hits, allowing it to hit opponents or shields multiple times.
    • The individual hits of down smash deal significantly less shield damage to compensate (0/0/0 → -10/-8/-6).

Aerial attacks

• All aerials except grab aerial have less landing lag (13 frames → 12 (neutral), 12 → 7 (forward), 15 → 9 (back), 12 → 7 (up), 24 → 16 (down)).
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial has much larger hitboxes (5.3u (loop)/8u (last) → 6.9u/10.2u).
  • Neutral aerial is harder to SDI out of, despite retaining its 2x modifier, as its hitlag has been reduced (1 → 0.44).
  • The looping hitbox has fewer active frames (frames 7-23 → 7-21), consequently reduces the maximum number of hits to 4, reducing its total damage (12% → 10%).
  • Neutral aerial now sends opponents behind or in front of Lucas depending on which part of the hitbox hits the last hit. This makes it more difficult to guarantee combos with.
    • Although this grants it followups with back aerial which it didn't have before.
  • Lucas appears furious during the ending hitbox rather than looking scared.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 38 → 34), re-enabling it to auto-cancel out of a short hop.
  • Forward aerial's sweetspot deals more damage (11.5% → 12.5%), launches at lower angle (46° → 42°), and has increased knockback scaling (97 → 103), significantly improving its KO potential.
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 39 → 34), enabling it to auto-cancel out of a short hop.
  • Back aerial has more active frames (frames 15-20 → 15-22), giving it additional vertical range below Lucas and allowing it to hit small targets.
    • The sweetspot for aerial opponents has a shorter duration (15-20 → 15-19).
  • Back aerial can now spike grounded opponents. While this benefits from opponents' inability to tech grounded spikes, this hinders its ability to send grounded opponents offstage from behind him.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 38 → 34), re-enabling it to auto-cancel out of a short hop.
  • Its hitbox is now attached to Lucas's head. This removes its blindspot and increases its range.
    • The main hitbox is now extended and an extra hitbox is added behind him on frames 8-10, giving the move a noticeable disjoint behind Lucas.
    • A motion trail has been added above Lucas's head to indicate the hitbox's new pattern.
  • It has much less ending lag (FAF 46 → 32).
  • It has increased active frames (frames 7-9 → 7-10), giving it additional horizontal range, and improving its juggling potential.
  • It deals less damage (13% → 11%) without full compensation on its base knockback (10 → 20), giving it less KO power.
    • However, its higher base knockback combined with its lower ending lag makes it safer on hit at low percents.
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial's first three hits connect more reliably due to an altered angle (90° → 363°)
  • It now pushes grounded opponents away from its hitboxes, rather than picking them up from the ground as in Smash 4.
  • The hitboxes are smaller (5u/3.5u → 4.2u/3.2u (Hits 1-3)/6.9u/5u → 5.5u/3.5u (Final hit)) and each hit's tip has a higher hitbox-placement (Y offset: -5 → -4), decreasing its range.
• Grab aerial:
  • Grab aerial has less range.
  • Grab aerial has more active frames (9-19 → 9-21).
  • Grab aerial deals slightly more damage (4% (clean)/2.8% (late) → 5% (snake head)/3% (arm and snake body)).
  • Grab aerial has less ending lag (FAF 60 → 52).
  • Grab aerial can be double jump canceled, allowing Lucas to use it very close to the ground to start combos and approach.

Throws and other attacks

• Grab:
  • The ending animations of Lucas' grabs now feature interruptible animations during which the Rope Snake doubles back to return to Lucas.
  • Lucas's animation when holding a grabbed opponent has been altered; he now holds Rope Snake in one hand and uses the other to hold the opponent in place with telekinesis.
  • Lucas now looks angry during his grab animation.
  • All grabs have fewer active frames (8 frames → 6 frames).
  • Standing grab has one frame more ending lag (FAF 46 → 47).
  • Dash grab has one frame less ending lag (FAF 56 → 55).
• Pummel:
  • Lucas' pummel animation now depicts him blasting his grabbed opponent with PSI.
• Forward throw:
  • Forward throw's animation has been altered: Lucas throws the opponent with single-handed instead of two-handed.
  • Forward throw has increased knockback scaling (65 → 69).
• Back throw:
  • Lucas has a new back throw: a telekinetic-underhanded throw backwards.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw deals more knockback (78 base/69 scaling → 77/73).
• Down throw:
  • Down throw has a new animation: Lucas lifts the opponent in the air using telekinesis, then forcefully slams them into the ground. It retains its aesthetic bury effect before the opponent is released.
  • It deals noticeably more damage (6.5% → 11%), making it one of the most damaging down throws in Ultimate.
  • It has more ending lag (FAF 50 → 58), altered knockback (78 base/51 scaling → 100/32), and no longer inflicts 6 frames of hitlag on the opponent upon releasing them. Altogether, these changes significantly hinder its combo potential, no longer having guaranteed follow-ups past medium percents, and more importantly removing its KO confirm into up aerial at high percentages, which was one of his most reliable finishers in Smash 4.
  • It launches at a slightly more horizontal angle (80° → 74°).

Special moves

• PK Freeze:
  • Lucas' animations during the move have been tweaked; Lucas himself now completely faces the screen, and the particle effects of the explosion now feature the PK Freeze graphic effects from Mother 3.
  • PK Freeze deals 1% more damage on all charges (9%-22% → 10%-23%).
  • PK Freeze deals more knockback (80 (base)/21 (growth) → 35/60), improving its KO potential.
  • The projectile travels faster, giving it more utility overall.
  • The projectile can now travel through soft and semisoft platforms.
  • PK Freeze no longer dissipates upon making contact with hard platforms and can instead be held at the ground until the move is fully charged.
  • The projectile now launches opponents at a horizontal angle (80° → 34°) away from Lucas (no matter which direction he faces), making it significantly better for edgeguarding and KOing.
  • Lucas no longer becomes helpless when firing PK Freeze in the air.
  • It has more active frames (1 → 4).
  • The changes to freeze duration make the move freeze for much less time when charged, especially at low percents, which combined with the knockback changes removes the move's followup potential, and effectively reduces its damage output overall.
  • Fully charged PK Freeze has more startup (89 → 92) with its total duration compensated (115 → 118).
• PK Fire:
  • Lucas' hands now feature a red spark until PK Fire is fired, similarly to his finger in his down smash animation. The same spark appears when PK Fire successfully connects. PK Fire's graphics from Mother 3 now appear when Lucas fires it and when it bursts.
  • PK Fire has slightly increased damage (9% → 10%).
  • PK Fire has increased knockback growth (97 → 110) and launches at slightly lower angle (45° → 42°).
  • PK Fire's projectile travels faster (speed: 2.5 (ground)/2.8 (air) → 2.8/3.1), but doesn't last as long (19 frames → 18). Overall, the projectile travels slightly further, but is less obstructive.
  • The flame pillar doesn't last as long (30 frames → 20).
• PK Thunder:
  • PK Thunder's graphic effects have been changed; rather than maintaining its magenta coloration from Smash 4, PK Thunder has been changed to be varying hues of blue. The move has also gained particle effects which resemble its respective PSI graphics from Mother 3.
  • PK Thunder's electric ball travels faster.
  • Grounded PK Thunder has less ending lag.
  • It has an angle indicator when the ball of lighting moves close to Lucas. While this allows for the player to more accurately determine the trajectory Lucas will travel during PK Thunder 2, it also makes it more predictable to opponents.
• PK Thunder 2:
  • PK Thunder 2 has less landing lag.
  • The window for using PK Thunder again after bouncing against a wall is much bigger.
  • Lucas' momentum at the end of PK Thunder 2 is lower, slightly shortening its recovery distance.
  • PK Thunder 2 deals less damage when all hits connect (35.5% → 32.5%).
  • PK Thunder 2's last hit now triggers Special Zoom.
• PSI Magnet:
  • PSI Magnet now features its PSI graphics from Mother 3 upon use. Lucas' back is angled lower in the end of his animation, similar to the beginning of his run animation in Mother 3.
  • PSI Magnet's launching hitbox is now extended (Z offset: 12 → 7-9), however, it isn't as far out, reducing its maximum reach, but making it more consistent at hitting opponents close to Lucas.
  • PSI Magnet now features a windbox on frame 6 which drags opponents closer to the PSI Magnet's hitbox.
    • This windbox doesn't scale with the opponent's percentage when Lucas is on the ground, but it does in the air.
  • PSI Magnet begins absorbing sooner (frame 10 → 7) and has less ending lag (frame 36 → 28).
  • PSI Magnet no longer halts Lucas's momentum in the air. This prevents Lucas from being able to use it to mix up his landing as effectively.
  • PSI Magnet heals noticeably less (heal multiplier: 2.5× → 2×).
• PK Starstorm:
  • PK Starstorm is now similar to its Brawl iteration, firing meteors inwards towards the center of the stage, but at a slower rate and with slower meteors. His pose during the move no longer reuses the animation of Ness' Final Smash, and is instead replaced with one reminiscent of his animation in Brawl. Lucas is also assisted by Kumatora and Boney. Like his other PSI moves, the move features graphics from PK Starstorm's animation in Mother 3, including the background from the Final Boss.
    • However, the trajectory of the meteors can still be angled.

Update history

Lucas was buffed slightly via game updates. Initially, update 2.0.0 only slightly decreased neutral aerial's landing lag and edge-lockout duration. Following this, update 4.0.0 buffed Lucas in a few more noticeable ways. Forward tilt's sweetspot gained a larger hitbox (albeit only during the first 2 frames) and higher base knockback; both of these buffs make it a deceptively useful KO option, especially when it is angled upward when performed as a follow-up from down tilt.

His dash attack gained additional active frames, although its sourspot was inadvertently nerfed slightly, due to it becoming less advantageous on hit by 2 frames. Lucas' up smash gained increased duration of invincibility during start-up, while up aerial and PK Fire had their ending lag and and landing lag decreased, respectively. Lastly, update 8.0.0 improved the consistency of Lucas' pivot grab by adjusting its axis positioning.

Overall, Lucas fares mildly better than he did at the launch of Ultimate.

2.0.0

• Neutral aerial has less landing lag (14 frames → 12).
• Lucas can grab edges earlier after using neutral aerial (73 frames → 69).
• Up tilt, down aerial, and pummel gained the electric effect, with hitlag compensated.
  • This means Yellow Pikmin are now invulnerable to Lucas's up tilt and down aerial.

4.0.0

• Forward tilt's sweetspot has more base knockback (45 (unangled), 35 (angled up/down) → 55) and its hitbox is bigger during the first 2 active frames (4.7u → 5.6u).
• Dash attack has a longer hitbox duration (frames 13-15 → 13-17).
• Up smash has more invulnerability during startup (frames 1-4 → 1-7).
• Up aerial has less ending lag (FAF 34 → 32).
• PK Fire has less landing lag (21 frames → 19).

8.0.0

• Pivot grab stretches farther towards Lucas (Z offset: 0.5u → 3.5u), making it less likely to whiff at point-blank range.
• The projectiles of PK Starstorm no longer launch in the opposite direction if initiated above the blast zone.

Moveset

• Lucas possesses a special jump. When jumping in midair, Lucas will ascend in a floatier, curved trajectory. The vertical momentum of Lucas' double jump can be canceled by inputting a special move or throwing an item. This trait is shared with Ness, Mewtwo, Kazuya, and Sora.
• Lucas possesses a tether attack and grab.

For a gallery of Lucas' hitboxes, see here.

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

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		Short Kick (ショートキック) / Reverse Kick (リバースキック) / Turning Kick (ターニングキック)	2.5%	A right-legged roundhouse kick, followed by a right-legged hook kick, followed by a left-legged reverse roundhouse kick. The last hit has slightly more range. The first hit activates on frame 2, rendering it Lucas' fastest ground attack. The first and second hits can jab lock, but might miss on characters with very thin hurtboxes, like Joker and Zero Suit Samus. The second hit can be interrupted sooner than in SSB4, and lead into a grab or aerial attack.
			1.5%
			3.5%
Forward tilt		PK Slash (ＰＫスラッシュ)	11% (sweetspot), 7.5% (sourspot)	Twirls with his arm extended to emit a small blast of PSI energy from his hand. It can be angled and has a disjointed hitbox, although its sweetspot is located inside of the blast. It has overall low lag, disjointed range, and the ability to be angled, all of which make it extremely useful for 2-framing opponents. In addition, its sweetspot is powerful enough to KO reliably, as it can KO middleweights at around 122% at the edge of Final Destination, whereas its sourspot can lock opponents at low percents. It also has fast startup lag, hitting on frame 7 with low ending lag. Due to these traits, it is one of Lucas' best KO options, and is generally considered one of the best forward tilts in Ultimate.
Up tilt		PK Reverse Kick (ＰＫリバーサルキック)	1.5% (hit 1), 8% (clean hit 2), 5% (late hit 2)	Telekinetically tilts himself upside down to perform a vertical scissor kick that emits a blast of PSI from his foot. The first hit activates on frame 4, which along with its low ending lag and the second hit activating on frame 7, makes it disproportionately quick for a tilt attack. It can juggle and combo into itself, a neutral aerial or an up aerial at low to medium percents.
Down tilt		Spinning Leap Kick (スピニングリープキック)	5%	A legsweep. Although weak, it is quick and reliable for either racking up damage or chaining into itself, a neutral attack, a forward tilt or at higher percents even a forward aerial and a grab. It hits on frame 3, making it tied with Ness, Little Mac, R.O.B., and Meta Knight's down tilts for being the fastest down tilt in the game. Unfortunately, the edge of down tilt no longer locks opponents like it was able to in SSB4 and Brawl due to the changes to locks in Ultimate.
Dash attack		PK Palm Push (ＰＫパームプッシュ)	13% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot)	A dashing palm-thrust that emits a blast of PSI energy from his hand. It slows down Lucas' grounded mobility for a moment. Its sweetspot is powerful enough to KO at reasonable percents, KOing middlewieghts at 68% at the edge of Final Destination without DI, which makes it disproportionately powerful for a dash attack, although it has noticeable start-up (frame 10) and ending lag. It deals more damage the farther the opponent is from Lucas.
Forward smash		Stick (ぼうっきれ)	14% (base), 15% (tip), 1.5× (reflected projectiles)	Swings a stick in front of himself. The stick's tip deals more damage and knockback. Lucas' stick also has the ability to reflect projectiles. In comparison to Ness' forward smash, it has less start-up and ending lag, but deals less damage, knockback and has a lower damage multiplier when reflecting projectiles. It is one of the strongest forward smashes in the game, killing most characters at around 60% by the ledge. While it has rather quick startup due to hitting at frame 14, its considerable ending lag makes it punishable without wise usage.
Up smash		PK Smash Geyser (ＰＫスマッシュゲイザー)	2% (hit 1), 21%, 20%, 18%, 16%, or 14% (clean to late hit 2)	Emits a large blast of PSI energy above his head. Despite in-game tips claiming that it can attack opponents hanging on the edge, this is only partially true; it will either whiff or not connect properly on 60% of the cast, the remaining 40% will get hit and comboed into the strong hitbox. It is a huge "high-risk, high-reward" attack; it has an extreme amount of ending lag, which makes it very punishable if missed, but it is one of the strongest up smashes in Ultimate, possessing enough power to KO middleweights as early as 81% when uncharged and at 43% when fully charged on Final Destination. It also has other positives, as it renders Lucas invincible on frames 1-7, allowing it to even dodge grabs, grants intangibility to his head on frames 15-29 and has a huge hitbox, making it a decent anti-air and punishing attack with correct usage. The animation appears to based on Lucas' Seven Needles pulling animation.
Down smash		PK Blow (ＰＫブロウ)	17% (clean), 14% (mid), 11% (late)	Aims his arm diagonally downward and emits three consecutive blasts of PSI energy towards the ground while holding his hand in a fingergun-gesture. With each consecutive blast, its range increases at the expense of progressively reduced damage and knockback. It is one of the strongest down smashes in the game when clean, as it is able to KO middleweights as low as 60% near the edge of Final Destination depending on the opponent's weight and DI. If well timed, it can also catch recovering opponents before they grab the edge, making it an intimidating edgeguarding option. Has a bit of start-up lag, but surprisingly low ending lag for its power. Unlike in SSB4, each blast is treated as its own hitbox, meaning that it can potentially hit multiple times at low percents, and damages shields more than once.
Neutral aerial		PK Flying Attack (ＰＫフライングアタック)	2% (hits 1-3), 4% (hit 4)	Tumbles while emitting blasts of PSI energy around his torso. Each hit has numerous freeze frames and is a good combo starter. Unlike in SSB4, its launching angle is more horizontal, and the last hit launches the opponent depending on which side the hitbox collides with them in relation to Lucas. The final hit can KO middleweights at around 81% near the horizontal blast lines. The hitboxes' long durations also make it decent for edgeguarding. It has fast startup lag (frame 7), low ending and landing lag (13 frames).
Forward aerial		PK Air Front Kick (ＰＫエアフロントキック)	12.5% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot)	A flying kick that emits a blast of PSI energy from his foot. It has the lowest landing lag of Lucas' aerials (8 frames), along with being quick (frame 9) and disjointed, making it a good off-stage option and one of Lucas' better spacing options in his kit. Its sweetspot deals the most knockback and can KO Mario at the edge at 106% on Battlefield. This move's sourspot can lock opponents at early percents. It also auto-cancels in a short hop.
Back aerial		PK Meteor Kick (ＰＫメテオキック)	12% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot), 7% (late)	A backflipping bicycle kick that emits a trail of PSI energy from his foot. It can meteor smash at the tip of his foot and has disjointed reach, with its weakest hitbox being at the tip. The meteor smashing hitbox can KO rather early offstage and is useful for edgeguarding. The last hitbox of this move can lock opponents at early percents. It can also auto-cancel if buffered out of a short hop.
Up aerial		Jumping Headbutt (ジャンピングヘッドバット)	11%	An upward-arcing headbutt. The move's hitbox is now properly attached to Lucas' head, unlike in SSB4, making it a more reliable and less misleading attack for usage. It is one of the strongest up aerials in Ultimate, as it KOs middleweights at around 115% near the upper blast line. It can also auto-cancel in a short hop. At 70% and lower, it is an effective juggling and combo tool, as it leads into itself and other aerials upon landing.
Down aerial		PK Foot Stomp (ＰＫフットスタンプ)	3.5% (hits 1-3), 5% (hit 4)	An alternating series of stomps, with each stomp emitting a small blast of PSI energy from his feet. Its disjoint is not as noticeable due to its range being slightly nerfed from SSB4. The last hitbox of this move can lock opponents at low percents and gimp recoveries. The sourspots can also lock opponents on a platform. Because grounded spikes can no longer be teched, down aerial can be looped into itself at around 65% on average, and combo into a forward or down smash for a KO.
Grab aerial		Midair Rope Snake (空中ヒモヘビ)	5% (clean snake), 3% (arm and late snake)	Unfurls Duster's Rope Snake in front of himself. It can damage opponents and function as a tether recovery.
Grab		Rope Snake (ヒモヘビ)	—	Unfurls Duster's Rope Snake in front of himself. All grabs have relatively long range at the expense of long ending lag, and Lucas' standing grab is deceptively quick for a tether grab (frame 12), although his dash and pivot grabs are very slow. In addition, Lucas' grabs have overall short range relative to the other tether grabs.
Pummel		Grab PK Shock (つかみＰＫショック)	1.3%	Blasts the opponent with a burst of PSI. A fairly quick pummel with respectable damage to boot.
Forward throw		PK Throw (ＰＫスルー)	10%	Telekinetically heaves the opponent in front of himself. It is one of the strongest forward throws in the game, as it KOs around 100%-160% near the edge of Final Destination depending on the opponent's weight and DI. Aside from killing, it is also effective at setting up an edgeguard.
Back throw		Reverse PK Throw (リバースＰＫスルー)	10%	Telekinetically throws the opponent behind himself. It is Lucas' strongest throw, and is one of the strongest back throws in the game. It can KO even the heaviest of characters at 154% near the edge of Final Destination without rage. Similar to forward throw, it is also effective for setting up edgeguards.
Up throw		PK Lifting (ＰＫリフティング)	10%	Telekinetically whirls the opponent around his head, then throws them directly overhead. It is tied with Zelda and Incineroar's up throws for being the fifth-strongest up throw in Ultimate, as it KOs around 116%-180% depending on the opponent's weight and DI.
Down throw		PK Pile Driver (ＰＫパイルドライバー)	11%	Telekinetically slams the opponent into the ground head-first. The opponent appears buried, however, this is purely aesthetic. It can combo into aerials at low percentages, but it loses follow-up potential quickly at higher percentages because of its noticeable ending lag and knockback, as well as its ending lag being increased and knockback being altered since SSB4. Additionally, it no longer inflicts 6 frames of hitlag on the opponent upon releasing them.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Legsweeps around himself in a circle while getting up.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Legsweeps around himself in a circle while getting up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Performs a dropkick behind himself and then in front of himself with both hands planted on the ground while getting up.
Edge attack Edge getups			9%	Performs a low-angled sweep kick while climbing up.
Neutral special		PK Freeze	10%-23%	Emits a snowflake-shaped blast of PSI energy from his head that freezes opponents. The direction of the blast's path can be controlled, it can be made stronger by holding the special button and it can be concluded at a deceptively quick speed. A notoriously effective edgeguarding tool, as it launches opponents forwards with great maneuverability, as well as possessing a large hitbox.
Side special		PK Fire	3% (lightning), 7% (fire)	Thrusts both of his hands forward to release a lightning bolt-shaped PSI projectile from his hands. Unlike Ness' PK Fire, Lucas' PK Fire results in a brief, fiery explosion of PSI energy that launches the opponent forwards, rather than a long-lasting pillar of fiery PSI energy. It is further differentiated from Ness' PK Fire in that it flies straight ahead regardless of whether it is performed on the ground or in the air, as well as causing a minimal amount of recoil both on the ground and in the air, making it more effective as a spacing and horizontal recovery tool than Ness' PK Fire.
Up special		PK Thunder	2.5% (projectile head), 0.8% (projectile tail, rapid hits), 8% (PKT2 initial), 2% (PKT2 rapid hits 1-5), 1.5% (PKT2 rapid hits 6-10), 10% (PKT2 last)	Emits a streaming, electrical ball of thunder from his head. It can be directed into Lucas to launch him at a high speed. It doesn't disappear after hitting an opponent and instead hits multiple times, giving it damage-racking and gimping potential. This effect also applies PK Thunder 2, with Lucas hitting an opponent multiple times upon colliding with them before launching the opponent with high knockback. Deals immense damage if all of PK Thunder 2's hits connect, making it one of the most damaging up specials in the game. It is also a versatile recovering option if the projectile collides with Lucas, as it covers great distance while being hard to properly counter itself due to its multi-hitting and intangible properties.
Down special		PSI Magnet	8% (ending), heals 2× the damage of absorbed projectiles (maximum 30%)	Thrusts his arm forward to emit a glowing orb of PSI energy around his outstretched hand, which comes out quicker and absorbs more damage than Ness' variant. If absorbing energy-based projectiles, it will heal him. When a projectile hits him from behind, Lucas will turn around and heal from it, but not as consistently as in Brawl. It also has offensive utility, due to it being safe on shield, dealing damage and launching at a semi-spike against opponents inside of it when it dissipates. The move now has a windbox that drags in opponents near it.
Final Smash		PK Starstorm	6.5% (per hit)	Boney and Kumatora join Lucas, who summons a shower of falling stars that fly towards the center of the stage, damaging opponents in range. The trajectory of the meteors can be angled left and right. Unique to Lucas' version of PK Starstorm, the range of the meteors can also be adjusted. Tilting the stick up causes the meteors to spread out near the top of the screen (this will allow the meteors to hit opponents closer to the upper blast line, but will miss any who are grounded); tilting down causes the meteors to slightly angle outwards as they fall towards the stage (if done from the center of Final Destination, the meteors will cover almost the entirety). Overall, it has far more control than Ness' PK Starstorm.

Stats

Stats	Weight	Dash speed	Walk speed	Traction	Air friction	Air speed	Air acceleration	Gravity	Falling speed	Jumpsquat	Jump Height	Double jump Height
Value	94	1.815 – Initial dash 1.65 – Run	0.893	0.116	0.014	1.155	0.01 – Base 0.085 – Additional	0.09	1.37 – Base 2.192 – Fast-fall	3	29.41 - Base 13 - Short hop	44.13

Announcer call

This article could use additional or higher-quality audio files. The editor who added this tag suggests: Needs announcer calls from other languages. If you have a good audio file for this article, upload it here.

• English/Japanese/Chinese

• French

On-screen appearance

• Rides in on a Mr. Saturn-style coffee table, then hops off. The table is based on the one that Lucas rides in order to reach Saturn Valley in Mother 3.

• 

  Lucas's on-screen appearance

Taunts

• Up taunt: Trips, falls on his bottom, shakes his head, and gets back up.
• Side taunt: Duster's Rope Snake comes out of Lucas' hand and has a brief conversation with him, as Lucas shrugs at it.
• Down taunt: Angrily positions his right hand up to his forehead and grunts while generating small bursts of PSI energy from his index and middle fingers, then swings his hand down to emit a trail of PSI energy.

• 

  Lucas' up taunt.

• 

  Lucas' side taunt.

• 

  Lucas' down taunt.

Idle poses

• Taps the toes of his shoes on the ground.
• Closes his eyes, holds a single finger to his forehead, concentrating his PSI, and then swings his arm outward.

• 

  Lucas' first idle pose.

• 

  Lucas' second idle pose.

Crowd cheer

	Cheer (English)	Cheer (Japanese/Chinese)	Cheer (Italian)	Cheer (Dutch)	Cheer (French)
Cheer
Description	Lu - cas!	Ryuuuu - ka!	Lu - cas! *claps 3 times*	Lucas! Go Lucas!	Luuuuu - ca!

	Cheer (German)	Cheer (Spanish)	Cheer (Russian)	Cheer (Korean)
Cheer
Description	Luuuuu - cas!	Luuuuu - cas!	Lu - cas! Lu - cas!	Ryu - ka!

Victory poses

• Left: Forcefully pulls one of the Seven Needles out of the ground, sending it flying off-screen while Lucas looks toward the screen in a battle-ready pose.
• Up: With his back toward the screen, he crouches while poking at something on the ground with a large stick. After the camera zooms in, he then turns his head around to face the screen, questionably saying "Huh?" while briefly sporting a surprised expression, then smiles.
• Right: Bends down on a single knee and waves his right arm in front of himself while releasing blasts of PSI energy from his index and middle fingers.

A flourished combination of the final two out of the Eight Melodies in Mother / EarthBound Beginnings.

• 
• 
• 

In competitive play

Most historically significant players

See also: Category:Lucas players (SSBU)

•  ChocoTaco - One of the best Lucas players in the United States. His most notable run was his 25th-place finish at Let's Make Big Moves 2022 where he upset Kola. He has also placed 17th at CEO 2021 and 25th at Low Tide City 2022 and was ranked 150th on the OrionRank Mid-Year 2022.
•  Nitox - One of the best Lucas players in the world, and one of two Lucas players ever ranked in the top 100 on a notable global ranking, with his highest ranking being 84th on the OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse. His 9th place finish at the supermajor COLOSSEL 2022 is tied for the highest placement for a Lucas player at a major event.
•  Regalo - One of the best Lucas players in the world and one of two Lucas players ever ranked in the top 100 on a notable global ranking, ranking 97th on the UltRank 2022. His 9th place finish at the supermajor Super Smash Con 2022 is the highest relative-to-number-of-players placement for a Lucas player at a major event, and is tied for the highest overall placement for a Lucas player at a major event.
•  Rinkururu - Co-mains Lucas with Min Min and has placed respectfully at several majors, including 13th at the major Maesuma TOP 7 and 25th at the supermajor DELTA 4.

Tier placement and history

Initial opinions within Lucas were somewhat negative. Likely due to his high learning curve and being outclassed by other characters with a similar archetype, Lucas' representation has been somewhat below-average throughout most of the competitive lifespan. This is further compounded with the nerfs he received during the transition from Smash 4, especially those to his guaranteed KO setups (from down throw, footstools and locks) he performed in the previous game, as well as his learning curve being slightly higher than before. To make things worse, all of Lucas' players from SSB4 have dropped him in favor of switching to other characters and has a significantly smaller playerbase.

Even with the smaller playerbase, dedicated Lucas players such as Mekos and WhYYZ have achieved respectable results in regionals. On a larger scale, ChocoTaco, Nitox. and Regalo, have all seen respectable major placements, with the latter two most notably placing 9th at two separate supermajors in 2022, marking Lucas' best results yet. However, Lucas' results overall, especially at a major level, remain rather scarce, and his overall representation in the metagame have remained below-average. As a result, Lucas is widely considered a solid mid-tier, which is reflected in Lucas' current ranking in the current tier list, where he is ranked 58th as the second-highest low mid-tier.

Classic Mode: Magic, Sacred Powers, and PSI!

Lucas' congratulations screen.

All of Lucas' opponents have supernatural abilities.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Ness	Magicant	Magicant	When playing multiplayer, the second Ness will have his blue costume, referencing Ness' younger self that he encounters in Magicant.
2	Robin (x2)	Arena Ferox	Conquest (Ablaze)
3	Rosalina & Luma	Mario Galaxy	Gusty Garden Galaxy
4	Giant Palutena	Palutena's Temple (Ω form)	Underworld
5	Bayonetta	Umbra Clock Tower	Tomorrow Is Mine (Bayonetta 2 Theme) (Instrumental)
6	Mewtwo	Kalos Pokémon League	Battle! (Team Galactic)	Mewtwo strongly resembles Giygas, the main antagonist of EarthBound Beginnings and EarthBound. However, Giygas does not appear in Mother 3.
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 stages Lucas travels to are Super Smash Bros. 4 stages.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Lucas has Mother 3 Love Theme accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

Finding Lucas in World of Light

Although Lucas does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (sans Kirby) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.

Lucas can be found on a village covered in fog as a callback to his home of Tazmily Village, after defeating either the Ashley or Min Min spirit.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
37		Lucas	Shield	6,600	New Pork City (Ω form)	Unfounded Revenge / Smashing Song of Praise

Spirit

Lucas's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Lucas has been unlocked. Unlocking Lucas 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. His fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with his artwork in Ultimate.

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  564. Lucas

In Spirit Battles

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
462		Articuno, Zapdos, & Moltres	Pokémon Series	•Reflect Lucas (80 HP)		13,700	Find Mii (Battlefield form)	N/A	•The enemy reflects projectiles •The enemy's PSI attacks have increased power •Stamina battle •Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Moltres)	Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue Medley	Articuno (cyan costume) Zapdos (orange costume) Moltres (red costume)
585		Kumatora	EarthBound Series	•Lucas		4,200	New Pork City (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Ice Floor	•The floor is frozen •The enemy starts the battle with a Fire Flower	Mother 3 Love Theme
589		Masked Man	EarthBound Series	•Lucas (160 HP)		9,400	New Pork City (Ω form)	N/A	•Stamina battle •The enemy will charge up a powerful Final Smash •The enemy has increased attack power •The enemy starts the battle with a Beam Sword	Porky's Theme
590		Claus	EarthBound Series	•Lucas •Metal Lucas		13,200	Garden of Hope (Battlefield form)	•Strengthen Weapon	•Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd •All fighters' melee weapons have increased power after a little while •The enemy is metal	Mother 3 Love Theme	Masked Man (Metal Lucas)
1,078		Kid Dracula	Kid Dracula	•Lucas		9,600	Dracula's Castle	•Hazard: Slumber Floor	•The floor is sleep-inducing •The enemy's melee blows will heal them when they hit	Dwelling of Doom

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
307		Slugger & Green Glove	Yoshi Series	•Ness •Lucas		1,500	Yoshi's Island	•Item: Beastball	•The enemy starts the battle with a Home-Run Bat	Obstacle Course - Yoshi's Island	Green Glove
581		Flint	EarthBound Series	•Snake •Lucas		4,200	Onett (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Lava Floor	•The floor is lava •The enemy starts the battle with a Franklin Badge	Mother 3 Love Theme	Claus
582		Hinawa	EarthBound Series	•Zelda •Lucas		13,100	Yoshi's Island	•Easy to Launch	•All fighters are easy to launch	Mother 3 Love Theme	Lucas (blue costume) and Claus (orange costume)
583		Boney	EarthBound Series	•Duck Hunt •Lucas		1,500	Onett	N/A	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle	Mother 3 Love Theme	Lucas
1,116		Pitcher & Batter	Baseball	•Ness •Lucas ×2		1,700	Pokémon Stadium 2 (hazards off)	•Item Tidal Wave •Item: Sports	•The enemy favors side smash attacks •The enemy starts the battle with a Home-Run Bat •Certain items will appear in large numbers	Baseball (Training)	Catcher(s)

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Lucas' fighter card.

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  Lucas' unlock notice.

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  Taunting on Green Greens.

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  Lucas using his Rope Snake on Skyloft.

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  Lucas freezing Ganondorf on Summit.

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  Performing PK Fire near Entei on Great Bay.

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  Using PSI Magnet near the Black Hole item on Skyworld.

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  Lucas holding a Master Ball on Castle Siege.

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  Lucas getting pummeled by Richter on Skyloft.

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  Lucas approaching Gray Fox on Golden Plains.

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  Lucas and Diddy Kong being attacked by Marshadow on the Bridge of Eldin.

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  Lucas getting attacked by Rathalos on Garden of Hope.

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  Snake with Lucas' Rope Snake on Pokémon Stadium 2.

Trivia

• Although Lucas' bursts of PSI retain their pink-and-yellow color scheme in his reveal trailer, pre-release screenshots, and his appearance in the panoramic "Everyone Is Here!" illustration, his bursts of PSI in the released version of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate feature a cyan-and-yellow color scheme instead.
• Lucas is the only Super Smash Bros. Brawl newcomer to receive a completely new victory theme.
• While holding a small item, Lucas still reverts to Ness' previous idle animation, even though Ness received an updated one.
• When Lucas performs his forward smash while facing left, the stick will not shrink after he wields it.
• There is an animation glitch regarding Lucas' back-hitting/wall bounce hitstun animation, in which animation blending does not occur and results in him "snapping" into his tumbling animation. This does not occur with Ness.
• When factoring in his availability in Brawl and Super Smash Bros. 4, Lucas is the only fighter in the entire series to have been a starter character, an unlockable character, and accessible via downloadable content.
• Despite also specializing in supernatural powers, Zelda does not appear in Lucas' Classic Mode route.
• Lucas and the Ice Climbers are the only fighters that use sprites for their default fighter spirits.
• Lucas, Dark Pit, Wii Fit Trainer, and Kazuya are the only playable characters in Ultimate that do not appear in a Nintendo Switch game outside of Ultimate.