Power Pellet
| Power Pellet | |
|---|---|
 Pac-Man using Power Pellet in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U | |
| User | Pac-Man |
| Universe | Pac-Man |
| “ | Release Power Pellets in a direction determined with  .
|
” |
| —Smash for 3DS's foldout | ||
Power Pellet (パワーペレット, Power Pellet), is Pac-Man's side special move.
Overview
Pac-Man deploys an 8-bit Power Pellet, which is followed by a maximum of five 8-bit Pac-Dots. The direction of the trail can be changed slightly by moving the control stick, and when the special button is let go, Pac-Man turns into his ball form and follows the trail. The Pac-Dot trail extends about one fourth the length of Final Destination, but Pac-Man can travel a farther distance after consuming the Power Pellet, traveling a little more than half of Final Destination's length. The trail can be stopped at any time by letting go of the special button, cutting the trail short. When Pac-Man finishes this move, he will not go into his helpless state, and can follow up with his second jump or up-special, making this a viable horizontal recovery. During the move, Pac-Man will automatically snap onto ledges if aimed at one, can fast fall during the move's ending lag, and will not go off ledges during a grounded chomp if the trail does not go past a ledge. However, when used in the air, Pac-Man will still drop down, and the Pellet trail follows him.
If the opponent is in Pac-Man's path as he is in his ball form, they will be hurt by 4% for every time they are chomped on. Pac-Man will grow bigger and radiate yellow for a second when he eats the Power Pellet, as well as gain super armor until the move ends. If an enemy is hit when Pac-Man is in this state, they will be inflicted 10% to 12% of damage, and has decent knockback. This sweetspot can KO at around 130%.
If Pac-Man is interrupted before he begins to travel or before he gets to the Power Pellet, the Pellet will fall to the ground and Pac-Man will stop the action of deploying smaller pellets. It can be used as a healing item, recovering 2%. When the trail is aimed at the ground, Pac-Man will tumble onto the ground upon impact. Additionally, if the path is aimed at the wall, Pac-Man will fall into his hurt animation upon impact for a moment, unable to do anything until the animation ends. Pac-Man will not get hurt in the process, but the lengthy animation of the mis-aimed tumble can easily cause a self-destruct if he collides with the sides of the stage.
Glitches
There are two glitches in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS involving Pac-Man being stuck invincible in a specific frame.
- Pac-Man must use a Warp Star then Power Pellet; Jigglypuff must attack Pac-Man to interrupt the move to make the Power Pellet at the end drop. Then, Pac-Man must ride on another Warp Star while Jigglypuff eats the dropped Power Pellet. Once Pac-Man lands, he will freeze [1].
- Duck Hunt must attack Pac-Man while using Power Pellet to interrupt the move and make the Power Pellet at the end drop. Pac-Man must then knock Duck Hunt off the stage using his forward smash, then down taunt. If done correctly, Pac-Man will stand up and freeze.
Trophy information
- Power Pellet
These round, flashing items are found in all four corners of the stage. When PAC-MAN eats one, the normally fearsome ghosts turn blue and run off; that's PAC-MAN's cue to take them out. In Smash Bros., PAC-MAN eats a Power Pellet with his side special, sending him rushing in the direction he was facing.
These round, flashing items are found in all four corners of the stage. When PAC-MAN eats one, the normally fearsome ghosts turn blue and run off, which is the sign that PAC-MAN can take them out. In this game, PAC-MAN eats a Power Pellet in his side special, sending him rushing in the direction he was facing when he ate it.
- PAC-MAN (1980)
- PAC-LAND (1984)
Customization
Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:
| 1. Power Pellet | 2. Distant Power Pellet | 3. Enticing Power Pellet |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
| "Summon a row of Pac-Dots ending in a Power Pellet, and send PAC-MAN on a retro dash." | "Summon Pac-Dots that move faster and farther, but your own movement is slower." | "Summon a row of Pac-Dots that pull your opponents toward them." |
- Power Pellet: Default.
- Distant Power Pellet: The trail of pellets is much longer and deploys faster, summoning a Power Pellet followed by eight Pac-Dots. This trail is as long as more than half of Final Destination, but Pac-Man's momentum after eating the Power Pellet is extremely short, making the move's horizontal distance the same as the standard variation. This move is extremely maneuverable, as the path of the Pellets can be changed in any direction with relative ease, making it a viable horizontal recovery option, or used for combos. It is possible to create several small loops with the trail, which can result in Pac-Man trapping the opponent when he turns into his ball form. Upon startup, if the enemy is immediately next to Pac-Man, they will be hurt by 10%, and 1% or 2% if they are hit while in the middle of the trail. This move's sweet spot at the end of the trail is weakened, dealing 6% to 7% of damage, and has less knockback.
- Enticing Power Pellet: This trail is extremely short, and takes longer to deploy. The Power Pellet that is summoned is slow, and is surrounded by a vortex that has a strong pull effect. It is followed by only two Pac-Dots. This move only travels less than half of Final Destination's length. The vortex will drag nearby opponents directly into the move's sweet spot, making it a strong attack. This move deals 13% damage when Pac-Man chomps on an opponent, and deals 19% with strong knockback when the opponent is hit by the sweet spot. This move can KO at 80%.
Distant Power Pellet being used in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
Enticing Power Pellet being used in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
Origin
In the original Pac-Man, the main goal was to eat all the pellets in the maze, each of which always follows in a perfect line. Power Pellets appear on different points of the stage and allow Pac-Man to become invincible and eat ghosts. Similar Pellet trails appeared in the Pac-Man World games, wherein long snaking trails of pellets would wind around sections of many stages; chomping on a red pellet would make Pac-Man proceed to follow the path, flying through the air as ate all the pellets, similar to how the Smash Bros. move is used.
