Item-swallowing is a technique in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. 4, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, performable by Kirby, King Dedede, and Wario. These characters can use their neutral special moves to eat most items. Kirby and King Dedede use Inhale while Wario uses Chomp. Additionally, Munchlax uses the same list for the items it will eat.
When an item is swallowed, it takes some time for the character to swallow it. Light items are immediately swallowed, but non-explosive heavy items like barrels have the characters briefly remain bloated with the item in their stomach, before they eventually swallow it. Explosive items that are eaten will cause about 5% damage to the consumer, and if it is eaten by using Chomp, will also deal 13% damage to nearby opponents.
Food and other recovery items (except the Team Healer), Dragoon and Daybreak parts, Superspicy Curry, Super Mushrooms, Poison Mushrooms, Warp Stars, Super Stars, Metal Boxes, and Timers take immediate effect upon being eaten.
In Super Smash Bros. 4, it has been buffed, as Kirby and Wario can restore 1% damage from eating most items. Swallowing healing items has the same effect as using them normally. For example, swallowing a Fairy Bottle will heal 1% if the character is at less than 100% damage and will heal 100% damage if above. Wario and King Dedede gain 1.5x more HP from eating food items (Kirby can copy Wario's Chomp or King Dedede's Inhale for the same effect). Wario and King Dedede can also now eat energy projectiles like Ness's PK Fire and Mario's Fireballs, but do not receive any health. Finally, eating items, projectiles from items (like the Ray Gun's projectiles), and foods will increase the Wario Waft's charge for Wario.
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, it has been further buffed for both Kirby and King Dedede. Kirby, upon inhaling a projectile, can either spit it back out as a star or swallow it to recover some health. King Dedede's Inhale acts as a reflecting move, returning projectiles in their original form with a 1.5× damage multiplier.
Edible items
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- All normal items except for Smash Ball, Mr. Saturn, Poké Balls, Bonsly, Electrode, Stickers, Trophies, CDs, Smash Coins and Bills
- Blast Box, Bob-omb, Gooey Bomb, Motion-Sensor Bomb, and Smart Bomb count as explosive items
- A revolving Hothead
- Link and Toon Link's Bombs
- Snake's Cardboard Box when thrown (counts as a heavy item)
- Gyros
- Hand Grenades
- Diddy Kong's Peanuts
- Power Suit Pieces
- Waddle Dees and Waddle Doos
- Wario's Wario Bike (counts as a heavy item) and wheels
- Peach's Vegetables
- Summit's Vegetables
- Apples on Green Greens
- An Auroros stuck in the ground
- A Koopa Troopa retreated into its shell
Super Smash Bros. 4
- All normal items except for Smash Ball, Mr. Saturn, Cuccos, Poké Balls, Master Balls, Electrode, Grass, Custom Parts, Smash Run Powers, Trophies, and CDs
- Blast Box, Bob-omb, Bombchu, Gooey Bomb, Hocotate Bomb, Motion-Sensor Bomb, Smart Bomb and X Bomb count as explosive items
- A revolving Hothead
- A Koopa Troopa retreated into its shell
Projectile attacks
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- All normal items except for Smash Ball, Fake Smash Ball, Poke Balls, Master Balls, Electrode, Pyukumuku, Grass, Mr Saturn and Cuccos
- Blast Box, Bomber, Bob-omb, Motion Sensor Bomb, Gooey Bomb, Smart Bomb, Bombchu, X Bomb and Hocotate Bomb count as explosive items
- A revolving Hothead
- Vulpix, Alolan Vulpix, Staryu, Kyogre, Snivy, Fennekin and Tapu Koko's projectile attacks
- Chef Kawasaki, Ghirahim, Guile, Hammer Bro, Jeff, Krystal, Mother Brain, Phosphora, Shovel Knight, Starman, Sukapon, Takamaru and Wily Capsule's projectile attacks
- Projectile attacks:
- Mario and Luigi's Fireball
- Link's forward Smash, Bow and Arrows, Boomerang and Remote Bomb
- Samus and Dark Samus' Charge Shot, Missile and Bomb
- Yoshi's Egg Throw and Yoshi Bomb (stars)
- Kirby's Final Cutter (shock waves)
- Fox, Falco and Wolf's Blaster
- Pikachu and Pichu's Thunder and Thunder Jolt
- All of Ness and Lucas's special moves except for PK Magnet
- Peach and Daisy's Toad and Vegetable
- Bowser's Fire Breath
- Ice Climbers' Ice Shot
- Sheik's Needle Storm and Burst Grenade
- Zelda's Din's Fire
- Dr. Mario's Megavitamins
- Young Link's Fire Arrow, Boomerang, and Bomb
- Mewtwo's Shadow Ball and Confusion
- Mr. Game & Watch's forward aerial and Chef
- Pit's Palutena Bow
- Dark Pit's Silver Bow
- Zero Suit Samus' Paralyzer
- Snake's Hand Grenade, Remote Missile, C4, up Smash and taunt (box)
- Ivysaur's Razor Leaf
- Charizard's Flamethrower
- Diddy Kong's Peanut Popgun and Rocketbarrel Boost (airborne)
- Sonic's Spring Jump (airborne)
- King Dedede's Gordo Throw and Super Dedede Jump (stars produced by landing)
- Olimar's Pikmin Throw
- Lucario's Aura Sphere and Force Palm's aura
- R.O.B.'s Robo Beam and Gyro
- Toon Link's Hero's Bow, Boomerang, and Bomb
- Villager's dash attack, forward and back aerials, forward Smash, Lloid Rocket, and Timber (water)
- Mega Man's neutral attack, forward tilt, neutral aerial, up aerial, Metal Blade, Crash Bomber and Leaf Shield
- Wii Fit Trainer's Sun Salutation and Header
- Rosalina & Luma's Star Bits
- Mii Brawler's Shot Put
- Mii Swordfighter's Gale Strike, Shuriken of Light and Chakram
- All of Mii Gunner's projectible attacks
- All of Palutena's projectile attacks
- All of Pac-Man's special attacks except for Pac-Jump
- All of Robin's projectile attacks except for Discarded Levin Sword and tomes
- Bowser Jr.'s Clown Cannon and Mechakoopa
- Duck Hunt's Trick Shot and Clay Shooting
- Ryu and Ken's Hadoken
- Cloud's Blade Beam
- Corrin's Dragon Fang Shot
- Bayonetta's Bullet Climax
- Inkling's Splat Bomb
- Ridley's Plasma Breath
- Simon and Richter's Axe, Cross and Holy Water
- King K. Rool's Blunderbuss and Crownerang
- Isabelle's dash attack and forward and back aerials
- Piranha Plant's Ptooie and Poison Breath
- Joker's Eiha/Eigaon
- All of Hero's projectile attacks except for Woosh/Swoosh/Kaswoosh
- Banjo & Kazooie's Egg Firing / Breegull Blaster, Rear Egg and Shock Spring Jump
- Terry's Power Wave
- Byleth's Failnaught, only the max charged arrows
- Steve's side tilt, down Smash, Minecart and TNT
Trivia
- When using Inhale, the player must usually stand directly next to an item. However, certain items will be actually pulled in from a greater distance.
- Munchlax's function as a Poké Ball Pokémon is to eat all the items (except Trophies, CDs, Stickers, other Poké Balls and Smash Balls) on the stage.
- Yoshi cannot swallow items, making him the only character that can hold opponents in his mouth but cannot swallow items. This is odd because in his games, Yoshi is known for eating enemies and fruits, so it would make sense for him to be able to swallow items.
- Characters can eat Waddle Dees and Waddle Doos from Dedede's Waddle Dee Toss attack; however, Kirby doesn't turn to Beam Kirby when he swallows a Waddle Doo even though it occurs in the Kirby series.
- Characters who can swallow items can eat Sandbag in the Wi-Fi room, but another will reappear instantly.
- Wario swallows items quicker than Kirby and Dedede, but still takes a while to swallow big things, such as his bike.