An unblockable attack (also called unblockable move or unblockable) is an attack that cannot be defended against with a shield or a counterattack. Unblockable attacks tend to be exceptionally powerful and are often grabs, Final Smashes, wielded by bosses, or moves from rare Pokémon and Assist Trophies; there are very few moves that are unblockable outside of these cases. In Brawl, SSB4, and Ultimate, most characters have at least one unblockable attack if grabs and Final Smashes are counted.

Unblockable attacks can still be avoided by intangibility, such as sidestepping and air dodging, as well as Bayonetta's Witch Time in most cases. True invincibility also protects against unblockable attacks, such as that granted by a Super Star.

It is possible for a shielding character to be hit by a blockable attack and an unblockable attack on the same frame. What happens in this situation depends on the game.

  • In Melee, the blockable attack hits the shield, and the shielder is hit by the unblockable attack.
  • In Brawl and SSB4, the blockable attack hits the shield and the shielder goes into shieldstun. The unblockable attack hits the shielder, but it deals no damage or knockback.

All grabs (with the exception of Isabelle's Fishing Rod, Joker's grounded Grappling Hook, Terry's Buster Wolf and Byleth's Sword of the Creator) are unblockable and so will not be included in the following list.


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List of unblockable attacks by charactersEdit

Moves only available as custom moves are indicated in italics.

Move User Portion of move
10-Hit Combo Kazuya Last hit
Aether Ike (Brawl only) Sword while loose
Focus Attack Ryu and Ken Fully charged
Guard Breaker Little Mac Entire move
Kamikazee Hero Explosion
KO Uppercut Little Mac Entire move (  grounded version only)
Nayru's Love Kirby (Brawl only) Entire move, normal move by Zelda not unblockable
Pac-Jump Pac-Man (SSB4 only) Grounded version only. The move is actually blockable, but grounded opponents who touch the trampoline will instantly drop shield and jump. As the trampoline spawns on frame 1, this technically makes the grounded version impossible to block. Fixed in Ultimate as the trampoline was made to appear after the attack hits
Reflect Barrier Palutena The shield's hitbox
Rocketbarrel Boost Diddy Kong Loose barrels
Shield Piercer Meta Knight Entire move
Up aerial Mr. Game & Watch (except in Ultimate) Wind
Vision Shulk (SSB4 only) Counterattack, both versions (standard and forward-held)
Waddle Dee Toss King Dedede Waddle Dees and Waddle Doos in certain situations

List of unblockable Final SmashesEdit

Note that, in Ultimate, all Final Smashes are unblockable, so this table only applies to Brawl and Smash 4.

Move User Portion of move
Aura Storm Lucario Entire move
Beast Ganon Ganondorf Entire move
Blue Falcon Captain Falcon Trapping hit
Critical Hit Marth, Lucina, and Roy Entire move
Diffusion Beam R.O.B. Entire move
End of Day Olimar Entire move
Galaxia Darkness Meta Knight Initiation
Great Aether Ike Sword while loose
Grenade Launcher Snake Entire move
Konga Beat Donkey Kong Wind
Landmaster Fox, Falco, and Wolf Entire move
Light Arrow Zelda and Sheik First hit
Mario Finale Mario and Dr. Mario Entire move
Negative Zone Luigi Entire move
Octopus Mr. Game & Watch Entire move
Peach Blossom Peach Entire move
PK Starstorm Ness and Lucas Entire move
Power Suit Samus Zero Suit Samus Last hit pre-transformation
Psystrike Mewtwo Entire move
Puff Up Jigglypuff Entire move
Super Dragon Yoshi Fireballs
Super Sonic Sonic Entire move
Triforce Slash Link, Young Link, and Toon Link Swipes
Triple Finish Pokémon Trainer Entire move
Zero Laser Samus Last hit

List of unblockable attacks by itemsEdit

Item Situation
Banana Stationary
Beehive Bees
Blast Box Explosion (Brawl only)
Bumper When active
Daybreak Any situation
Deku Nut Any situation
Dragoon Any situation
Freezie When it "bursts" (Brawl Only)
Gooey Bomb Any situation
Hothead Spark
Motion-Sensor Bomb Explosion (Blockable in SSB)
Pitfall Any situation
Screw Attack Any situation
Smart Bomb Any situation
Spring Any situation
Warp Star Any situation

Unblockable Poké Ball AttacksEdit

Pokémon Situation
Articuno Any situation
Bellossom Any situation
Clefairy All attacks
Electrode Any situation
Entei Any situation
Ho-Oh Any situation
Keldeo Any situation
Lugia Any situation
Moltres Any situation
Scizor Any situation
Snorlax Descent
Suicune Any situation
Togepi All attacks
Unown First attack
Weezing Any situation
Wobbuffet Any situation
Zapdos Any situation

List of unblockable attacks by enemies and bossesEdit

Enemy Situation
Subspace Army goons Careening state
Crazy Hand Falling bombs (  explosion is blockable)
Duon Spin attack (Wind only)
Galleom Dual smash, Single stomp, Spin attack (Wind only for all)
Master Core Red waves (if not defeated within 45 seconds)
Master Giant Arm swing (delayed slash effect)
Meta Ridley Mega fireball, Falcon flyer slam
Polar Bear Stomp (earthquake effect only)
Skuttler Mage Homing spell
Rayquaza Thunder (Wind only), Spiral dive
Tabuu Off waves, Electric shield
Galeem Lens Flare