Traction is a measure of how far a character can slide on the ground, either by shielding an attack or by wavedashing. It is generally considered best for characters to have a moderately low traction, so they can wavedash an optimal distance.

Traction ranking

This is a ranking of each character's traction, from greatest to least. 1) Luigi 2) Ice Climbers 3) Mewtwo 4) Marth 5) Yoshi 6) Roy 7-9) Dr. Mario / Mario / Mr. Game & Watch 10) Samus 11) Ness 12) Fox 13) Bowser 14) Falco 15) Young Link 16) Ganondorf 17) DK 18-19) Pikachu / Sheik 20-21) Captain Falcon / Kirby 22) Pichu 23) Jigglypuff 24) Link 25-26) Peach / Zelda