| Egg Lay | |
|---|---|
 Egg Lay in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. | |
| User | Yoshi |
| Universe | Yoshi |
Egg Lay (たまご産み, Egg Produce) is Yoshi's neutral special move.
Overview
When used, Yoshi sticks his tongue out, pulling in and swallowing the closest enemy in front of him, causing 5% (
)/7% (
onwards) damage and turning them into an egg. The amount of time varies between games: 250 frames in Smash 64, 200 frames in Melee and Brawl, and 1.8d + 100 frames in Smash 4 and Ultimate where d is the target's damage (capped at 100%). While trapped in an egg, one is open to attacks, although they cannot be knocked back, and only sustain 0.5× ( 
)/0.66× (
) the damage from attacks while in an egg. Damage taken while egged will reduce the trapped duration by 2 frames per damage dealt (prior to the damage reduction); from Brawl onwards, the damage dealt by Egg Lay itself is applied to the egg, automatically reducing the total duration (even more-so by damage modifiers such as Super Mushrooms, equipment, spirits, the 1v1 multiplier, etc.). Tilting the control stick rapidly back and forth and mashing buttons will help the victim escape the egg more quickly, decreasing the frames by 12 ( )/14 ( )/7 ( ; stick input, 12.6 for button input).
It is important to note that Yoshi has a few armor frames in this move from the second his tongue latches onto another character to the moment the egg is laid. This is useful for 4-player battles, as the attack itself only affects one opponent, so Yoshi would potentially be vulnerable - the resistance negates that vulnerability. Another important aspect of this move is that it acts as an aerial grab.
Egg Lay can be used in an attempt to put the opponent off-stage, but unlike suicide techniques, such as Koopa Klaw and the Swallowcide, opponents can usually break out well before they make it below the stage, even at higher percents. Prior to Ultimate, the opponent remains in full control of their horizontal movement while egged, so unless they are already far offstage they should not be falling past it. In Ultimate the opponent has no control in the air—giving it minor utility near the ledge at high percents—but instead they can tap left and right on the ground to slightly move and jump if tapping diagonally upwards, though the movement is very small and very unlikely to put the egged character in a better position than mashing out.
The usefulness of Egg Lay is increased a fair bit in Melee's Adventure Mode, where enemies eaten in sidescrolling stages are instantly defeated. The move cannot swallow enemies at all in Brawl's Subspace Emissary, but it deals a solid blow (13%) with above-average knockback. Enemies in Smash Run will behave like regular opponents when egged; they will take damage, be trapped for a little while, and escape.
In Melee, this can be used to perform the shrink glitch.
Instructional quotes
 instruction booklet |
 |
Paralyze enemies by swallowing them and laying them as eggs. |
 instruction booklet |
 |
Snag enemies with your tongue and render them briefly immobile within eggs. |
 case foldout |
 |
Immobilise opponents by putting them in eggs. |
 Move List |
 |
Grabs the opponent with a tongue attack, swallows them, and traps them in an egg. |
Customization
Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:
| 1. Egg Lay | 2. Lick | 3. Egg Launch |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 "Grab opponents with your tongue, swallow them, and trap them in eggs."
|
"Jump forward and attack with your tongue. Surprisingly effective."
|
"Turn foes into eggs and launch them. This egg is easier to break out of."
|
- Egg Lay: Default.
- Lick: Jumps forward and attacks with tongue. Enemies caught in the tongue are not encased in an egg. It deals 10% damage with good range, and is a semi-spike. The move also provides some horizontal momentum, giving it some recovery usage. Also has more ending lag.
- Egg Launch: The swallowed enemy is launched a very far distance, but can escape faster, and all followup/damage racking potential is removed. Deals 3% more damage (7% -> 10%). When launching the opponent, Yoshi also gains a slight horizontal and vertical boost, potentially enabling usage of the move while recovering (which in turn launches the opponent away from the stage, forcing them to have to recover). Has marginally less ending lag.
Origin
Since his first appearance in Super Mario World, Yoshi's trademark ability has been gulping his enemies using his tongue. However, since Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Yoshi has been able to turn his eaten enemies into eggs. Throwing these eggs at enemies would be Yoshi's primary attacking method. Yoshi also had the same abilities in Yoshi's Story, Super Mario 64 DS, Yoshi's Island DS, Yoshi's New Island, Yoshi's Woolly World, Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World and Yoshi's Crafted World.
Gallery
Names in other languages
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
 Japanese |
たまご産み |
 English |
Egg Lay |
 French |
Ponte d'œuf |
 German |
Eierleger |
 Spanish |
Puesta |
 Italian |
Deposita uovo |
 Chinese |
生蛋 |
 Korean |
알 놩기 |
 Dutch |
Ei Leggen |
 Russian |
Яйцеклад |
Trivia
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- If Yoshi swallows an enemy who has consumed a Super Mushroom or Poison Mushroom, the egg's size will grow/shrink proportionally.
- If the player uses Egg Lay on Jigglypuff in Brawl after doing the Puff Up glitch on Bridge Of Eldin, Jigglypuff will grow bigger.
- In Brawl, if the very tip of Yoshi's tongue grabs the enemy, Yoshi won't swallow the enemy; it will just pull them in and cause small damage. This is extremely tricky to perform, though.
- Egg Lay is the only Special move that can eat opponents in Brawl, but can't eat food.
- Oddly, if used on a slope, the move will always face directly forward, but his grab will angle with the slope.
- Up until Version 1.0.4, Egg-Laying a giant opponent in Multi-Man Smash in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS will significantly increase their size due to a glitch.
- In Smash 64 and Melee, Yoshi vocalizes when grabbing, but not when using Egg Lay; the reverse is true in Brawl onwards.