- "Energy-based attack" redirects here. For the attack type, see Energy.
- For the technique referred to as "absorbing damage" by the Twinkle Toes bonus in Super Smash Bros. Melee, see tech.
Absorption is the process of using a particular down special move to capture a certain kind of projectile (or just a general hitbox in rare cases), usually described as "energy-based". It then provides a benefit to the character absorbing it based on the damage output of the absorbed attack. What constitutes an absorbable attack other than being labeled as energy-based is not consistent throughout the Smash series, and has no relation with move types or effects. Super Smash Bros. 4 allowed some, but not all explosive attacks to be absorbable when they were not in previous games.
Only four characters in the Super Smash Bros. series have special moves that can absorb specific attacks, namely Ness, Lucas, Mii Gunner, and Mr. Game & Watch. Ness and Lucas' absorbing special move is PSI Magnet, Mr. Game & Watch's is Oil Panic, and the Mii Gunner's is Absorbing Vortex. PSI Magnet and Absorbing Vortex heal the user based on the absorbed attack's power, while Oil Panic stores the strength of up to three projectiles for unleashing a single attack later. Absorption is not to be confused with Villager and Isabelle's neutral special, Pocket, or any other form of collecting items.
In The Subspace Emissary in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Floows are also capable of absorbing attacks, though they do not appear to do anything with the absorbed energy. In Smash Run in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Chandelure appears to be capable of absorbing flame and darkness attacks to power up its own attacks, but absorbs all attacks with these effects, including non-projectile attacks.
In Super Smash Bros. 4 from version 1.1.3 onward, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, absorbed attacks from allies in team battles with team attack turned on have their damage reduced by half. For example, Ness' PSI Magnet, which increases the damage of absorbed projectiles by 1.6× in both games, decreases it instead by 0.8× for teammates' projectiles. This hinders the effectiveness of moves with absorption properties in doubles, as they were initially quite potent in earlier games/versions when combined with strong projectiles (such as Samus' fully charged Charge Shot, which could bring Oil Panic's attack close to one-hit KO potential).
List of moves with absorption properties
| User | Move | Absorption multiplier | Max absorbable damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucas | PSI Magnet | 2.5   |
30 |
2 
| |||
| Mii Gunner | Absorbing Vortex | 1.2 |
30 |
| 1.4
| |||
| Mr. Game & Watch | Oil Panic | 1.5 (+5)  |
500
|
| 2.8 |
60
| ||
| 2 |
48
| ||
| Efficient Panic | 2 | 24 | |
| Panic Overload | 2.5 | 45 | |
| Ness | PSI Magnet | 2  |
—
|
| 1.6 |
30
| ||
| Forward PSI Magnet | 1.2 |
List of absorbable attacks
By Fighters
For playable characters, if an attack has only one hitbox, the Part of the Move section is defined as the "Entire move" for this list. For example, in Smash 4, for certain bomb attacks the explosion is the only hitbox, so if the explosion is absorbable it is listed as "Entire move" for this list. If a move has multiple parts that are all able to be absorbed, it is noted as the entire move.
- ^ Must strike the stage or a different opponent first. An active hitbox will connect otherwise.
- ^ Either when the barrels are free-roaming and crash into the stage, or if Diddy rams directly into the stage. The barrels have active hitboxes before it explodes.
- ^ Kirby's version of Chef in Brawl can be absorbed while the original version cannot.
By Items
| Item | Part | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Blast Box | Explosion |
|
| Bob-omb | Explosion |
|
| Bombchu | Explosion |
|
| Fire Flower | Flames |
|
| Gooey Bomb | Explosion |
|
| Lip's Stick | Spores |
|
| Motion-Sensor Bomb | Explosion |
|
| Rage Blaster | Shots |
|
| Ray Gun | Shots |
|
| Staff | Shots |
|
| Star Rod | Stars |
|
| Steel Diver | Shots |
|
| Super Scope | Shots |
|
| Superspicy Curry | Flames |
|
By Assist Trophies
| Assist Trophy | Move | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Guile | Sonic Boom |
|
| Krystal | Ice Blast |
|
| Mother Brain | Rinkas |
|
| Phosphora | All attacks |
|
| Starman | PK Beam |
|
| Zero | Genmu Zero |
|
By Pokémon
| Pokémon | Move | Part of Move | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charizard | Flamethrower | Flames |
|
| Cyndaquil | Flamethrower | Flames |
|
| Electrode | Self-Destruct | Explosion |
|
| Fennekin | Incinertate | Non-grounded fireball |
|
| Genesect | Techno Blast | Beam |
|
| Meowth | Pay Day | Coins |
|
| Starmie | Swift | Stars |
|
| Staryu | Swift | Stars |
|
| Vulpix | Fire Spin | Fireball |
|
By Stage Hazards
| Stage | Stage Hazard | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Corneria | Shots fired from Arwings and Wolfens |
|
| Shots fired from Great Fox |
| |
| Pyrosphere | FG-II Graham Unit shots |
|
| Saffron City | Electrode's Self-Destruct |
|
| Charmander's Flamethrower |
| |
| Venusaur's Razor Leaf |
| |
| Sector Z | Shots fired from Arwings |
|
| Venom | Shots fired from Arwings and Wolfens |
|
| Wily Castle | Yellow Devil's shots |
|
By Enemies and Bosses
| Enemy/Boss | Move | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Armank | Energy Shot |
|
| Chandelure | Fire Spin, Will-o-Wisp |
|
| Dracula | Hellfire, Magic Orbs (Red) |
|
| Duon | Scattershot |
|
| Galeem | Fireballs from Tri-Eye Attack |
|
| Gamyga | Lasers |
|
| Magikoopa | Spells |
|
| Marx | Ice Ball |
|
| Master Edges | Sword projectiles |
|
| Master Hand | Finger bullets |
|
| Monoeye | Energy Shot |
|
| Puppit | Lasers |
|
| R.O.B. Blaster | Beams |
|
| Scope Primid | Shots |
|
| Spaak | Electric ball |
|
| Lightning bolt |
| |
| Starman | PK Beam |
|
Trivia
- Every Super Smash Bros. game prior to Ultimate introduces one character with an absorption move: Ness in Super Smash Bros., Mr. Game & Watch in Melee, Lucas in Brawl, and Mii Gunner in Smash 4.
- If the Shadow Assist Trophy freezes a character performing an attack with an absorbing hitbox, said hitbox will remain active until being unfrozen and trigger if hit. This often creates an unintended side effect of the attack being able to absorb much more attacks than typical and for far longer.
- Hero has the most absorbable attacks out of any playable fighter in the entire Super Smash Bros. series, with a total of 10.