Shadow Ball
| Shadow Ball | |
|---|---|
 Mewtwo releasing a fully charged Shadow Ball. | |
| User | Mewtwo |
| Universe | Pokémon |
| Article on Bulbapedia | Shadow Ball (move) |
Shadow Ball (シャドーボール, Shadow Ball) is Mewtwo's neutral special move. The move itself consists of Mewtwo concentrating shadow energy into a round ball to toss at opponents. It is its strongest attack, and works as an auto-charge special.
The move begins by charging upon the B button being pressed and can be fired at anytime by pressing A or B while charging. The player can save the charge by cancelling it when they push the shield button or left or right on the control stick (the latter results in a roll).
When a full charge is saved, Mewtwo's left hand will constantly glow with dark power. Mewtwo can even charge this in the air, where cancelling it will make him drop his charging animation normally as opposed to rolling or shielding.
Unlike most auto-charge moves, even when it's fully charged, Mewtwo will still continue to 'charge' it until the player releases it or does a shield/roll cancel. A charging Shadow Ball does electric damage and traps an opponent upon contact. Once fired, the ball will travel in a wave-shaped path, which makes it hard to aim but equally difficult to avoid. A fully charged Shadow Ball does 25% damage, deals great knockback, and explodes on contact with a surface (though the explosion doesn't do anything).
The move has a considerable amount of recoil, especially when used in mid-air, so one must be careful not to use it too close to the edge. However, this can help with recovery if Mewtwo is facing in the opposite direction of the edge. The recoil causes Mewtwo to slide back about half the length of Flat Zone when it performs this move in midair but lands before the animation is complete.
Forward throw
Mewtwo's forward throw also involves Shadow Balls. Mewtwo will telekinetically throw its opponent forward, then hit them with multiple small Shadow Balls. This throw will at minimum deal 9% damage, but in certain situations, the move can deal up to 18% damage. These Shadow Balls can be SDI'd, reflected, or absorbed.
Neutral B direction change
As with all neutral B attacks, Shadow Ball can be used to change direction in the air. While in the air, one should tap the direction they want to face, and then press B (but not at the same time, as that would result in using Confusion instead). Combined with its ability to be quickly cancelled with a shield button, this technique allows Mewtwo to be even more mobile in the air. It can also be used as a recovery technique, due to allowing Mewtwo to face the other direction so the recoil can send it towards the stage; being the best way to utilize this technique.
Origin
Shadow Ball is a Special (since Generation IV) Ghost-type attack in the Pokémon games first introduced in the movie Mewtwo Strikes Back, and introduced as a usable attack in the Generation II video games (where prior to Gen IV, all Ghost-type attacks were physical before the unique stat split). It is learned by many Ghost-type Pokémon at somewhat high levels. Since it is also a Technical Machine, many Pokémon of other types can also learn Shadow Ball, even Normal types. In battle, Shadow Ball is a strong attack with a base power of 80, 100% accuracy, and 15 PP. It also has a 20% chance of lowering the opponent's Special Defense by one stage, allowing subsequent special moves to hit harder. Shadow Ball is known for being the strongest Ghost-type attack for Pokemon with high Special Attack stats. While Mewtwo is not capable of learning Shadow Ball naturally, it can learn it via TM30 in Generation II and future generations.
Trivia
- Lucario's Aura Sphere is essentially identical in operation to Mewtwo's Shadow Ball, which those who claim that "Lucario replaced Mewtwo" primarily point to as the primary evidence of their claim.
- When playing in Tiny Melee, a charging Shadow Ball will completely cover Mewtwo's body, making a sort of electric force-field that can only be broken through via an attack that has greater reach than that of the Shadow Ball.
Gallery
Mewtwo dashing with a charged Shadow Ball.
Mewtwo charging a Shadow Ball.
