Pikachu SSB4 (4)

Thunder, Pikachu's down special move in all Super Smash Bros. games.

Down Special (also commonly referred to as Down B) is a special move performed by pressing the special move button while holding down on the control stick (or control pad on the Wii Remote). These moves are often gimmick moves, like reflectors or absorbers, or moves with unique properties when used in different ways. For example, Falcon Kick sends Captain Falcon downwards when used in the air, or Meta Knight can teleport and choose to attack if he wishes. They also usually include minimal character movement horizontal or vertically.

List of Down Specials

Character Move Description Image
Banjo & Kazooie Rear Egg Kazooie releases a grenade out of the backpack which bounces and explodes after a while. Rear Egg
Bayonetta Witch Time When an opponent attacks her, she dodges the attack and slows them down for several seconds. If activated late, she uses Bat Within, where she dodges the strike. Witch Time
Bowser Bowser Bomb Leaps into the air and smashes into the ground with his bottom. Bowser Bomb SSBWU
Bowser Jr. Mechakoopa Releases a Mechakoopa which walks down the stage and explodes. It can be picked up and thrown, and can hurt Bowser Jr. Mechakoopa SSBWU
Captain Falcon Falcon Kick Rushes forward with a flaming leg outstretched. Goes downward diagonally if used while airborne. CaptainFalconSSBWU3DS5
Charizard Rock Smash Smashes a rock with his head, dealing heavy damage to nearby opponents. Was formerly his Side Special Move until Super Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U. Rock Smash SSBWU
Cloud Strife Limit Charge
Finishing Touch (when Limit Break is active)
  • Limit Charge: Charges up a Limit bar. When the bar is full, Limit Break will be active, allowing him to use a powered-up Special Move.
  • Finishing Touch: When Limit Break is active, he spins his sword around in a whirlwind motion. Deals only 1% damage, but has high knockback.

Limit Charge

Finishing Touch

Corrin Counter Surge Takes on a defensive stance. If attacked, turns into a dragon and slams into the ground, dealing heavy damage on both sides. Counter Surge
Dark Pit Guardian Orbitars Projects shields on both sides of him, which reflect projectiles. Breaks after usage for a number of times Dark Pit Guardian Orbitars
Diddy Kong Banana Peel Throws a banana peel backward, which causes opponents to trip. Can be picked up as an item. Banana Peel SSBWU
Donkey Kong Hand Slap Slaps the ground with his hands, creating shockwaves. Hand Slap SSBWU
Dr. Mario Dr. Tornado Spins around with fists outstretched. Stronger than Mario Tornado, and sends opponents flying in a random direction. Dr. Tornado SSBWU
Duck Hunt Wild Gunman Summons a gunman that fires a bullet. The gunman can take damage and be stopped. Wild Gunman SSBWU
Falco Reflector Kicks a Reflector forward, which electrifies and trips opponents, and reflects projectiles. Falco Reflector SSBWU
Fox Reflector Projects a stationary reflector around his body, reflecting projectiles and decreasing Fox's falling speed if used in the air. Fox &amp; Samus SSB4
Ganondorf Wizard's Foot Rushes forward with his foot outstretched, exuding darkness. Slower and more powerful than Falcon Kick. Goes diagonally downward when airborne. Ganondorf-6
Greninja Substitute Takes on a defensive stance. If attacked, substitutes itself with a doll and appears nearby, rushing at the attacker and kicking them. Greninja-substitute
Ice Climbers Blizzard Shoot a stream of frigid air which can freeze opponents. Ice Climbers Blizzard Ground SSBB
Ike Counter Takes on a defensive stance. If attacked, retaliates with a slash dealing 1.2 times the damage of the original attack. Ike SSB4 (8)
Jigglypuff Rest Falls asleep. If an opponent is caught during the initial frames, however, they will take heavy damage and a Lip's Stick will be put on their head. Jigglypuff Resting
King Dedede Jet Hammer Charges his hammer with a jet engine and unleashes a powerful blow. However, if charged after a certain length of time, he will start taking damage. Jet4
Kirby Stone Transforms into a stone and falls to the ground, dealing moderate damage in the fall. Cannot take damage while in stone form, but can be grabbed. Stone SSBWU
Link Bomb Takes out a bomb and throws it. If held too long, the bomb will explode, damaging Link. Link Bomb SSBWU
Little Mac Slip Counter Enters a defensive stance. If attacked, he will counter with a punch of his own. Little Mac SlipCounter
Lucario Double Team Enters a defensive stance. If attacked, he will teleport behind the attacker and kick them from behind. Lucario SSB4 (6)
Lucas PSI Magnet Creats a psychic field in front of him that absorbs energy attacks and decreases his damage. Lucas PSI Magnet SSBWU
Lucina Counter Enters a defensive stance. If attacked, will retaliate with attack that deals 1.1x the initial attack. Counter (Lucina)
Luigi Luigi Cyclone Spins around with fists outstretched. Can also rise up in the air if the special move button is mashed repeatedly. Luigi Cyclone SSBWU
Mario F.L.U.D.D. (SSBB, 3DS/Wii U
Mario Tornado (SSB, SSBM)
  • F.L.U.D.D.: Charges up water in the eponymous pack and sprays it out at high pressure, which pushes opponents back but does not damage them.
  • Mario Tornado: Spins around with fists outstretched. Became his down aerial starting in Brawl.



Marth Counter Enters a defensive stance and will launch a counterattack if attacked, dealing 1.1 times the damage of the original attack. Marth SSB4 (6)
Mega Man Leaf Shield Surrounds himself with the Leaf Shield, which can be thrown. Leaf Shield
Meta Knight Dimensional Cape Teleports a short distance away, slashing with his sword upon doing so. Scresen-3
Mewtwo Disable Fires a short blast which will briefly stun opponents. Mew2-6
Mii Brawler Head-On Assault
Feint Jump
Foot Flurry
  • Head-On Assault: Leaps into the air and slams headfirst into the ground, burying opponents.
  • Feint Jump: Does a backflip with invincibility frames. If the special move button is pressed again, they will kick diagonally toward the ground.
  • Foot Flurry: Rushes forward, kicking rapidly.

Head-On AssaultFeint JumpFoot Flurry

Mii Gunner Echo Reflector
Bomb Drop
Absorbing Vortex
  • Echo Reflector: Surrounds themself in a field of energy that can reflect projectiles.
  • Bomb Drop: Shoots a small bomb from their arm cannon that explodes soon after.
  • Absorbing Vortex: Surrounds themself in a vortex which absorbs projectile attacks and decreases their damage.

Mii ReflectorBomb DropAbsorbing Vortex

Mii Swordfighter Blade Counter
Reversal Slash
Power Thrust
  • Blade Counter: Enters a defensive stance and unleashes a counterattack if attacked.
  • Reveral Slash: Creates a rainbow with their slash that reflects projectiles.
  • Power Thrust: Rushes forward and thrusts their sword.

Mii-CounterReversal SlashPower Thrust

Min Min ARMS Change Min Min changes her right extendable. She has three options:
  • The Ramram has the least endlag but is the weakest.
  • The Megawatt is the strongest albeit the slowest.
  • The Dragon is the middle ground.
Mr. Game & Watch Oil Panic Catches energy projectiles in a bucket, and can fire a powerful blast of oil afterwards after absorbing three projectiles. Oilpanic 1
Ness PSI Magnet Surrounds himself in an energy field that absorbs energy projectiles and heals him. Unlike Lucas', Ness' PSI Magnet surrounds his body. Ness PSI Magnet SSBWU
Olimar Pikmin Order Brings all his Pikmin back to him and reorders them. Gives Super Armor frames. Pikmin 080111k-l
Pac-Man Fire Hydrant Sets a fire hydrant on the ground, which fires blasts of water that can push opponents. Pac-ManWiiUscreen-6
Palutena Counter
Celestial Firework
  • Counter: Enters a defensive stance and retaliates if attacked.
  • Lightweight: Makes herself significantly lighter and faster, but decreases her damage output and makes her easier to launch.
  • Celestial Firework: Shoots fireworks right in front of her, which hit opponents repeatedly and drag them upwards before exploding.

Counter (Palutena)LightweightCelestial Fireworks

Peach Vegetable Pulls out a vegetable which has varying effects depending on its face. Can occasionally pull out other items. Peach Turnip
Pichu Thunder Hits itself with a lightning bolt, damaging nearby enemies. However, this damages Pichu unless it uses the move under a platform. Pichu Thunder
Pikachu Thunder Hits itself with a lightning bolt. Meteor Smashes opponent in Wii U/3DS. Pikachu SSB4 (4)
Pit Guardian Orbitars (3DS/Wii U)
Mirror Shield (SSBB)
  • Guardian Orbitars: Surrounds himself with two shields that reflect projectiles.
  • Mirror Shield: Crouches down and reflects projectiles in front of him with the shield.

Pit Guardian Orbitars


Pokémon Trainer Pokémon Change Switches between his three Pokémon. Pokemon change diagram
R.O.B. Gyro Charges a spinning Gyro and launches it forward, which does considerable damage. Can be picked up later. Gyro SSBWU
Robin Nosferatu Projects dark magic from his hand which damages any opponent caught in it while simultaneously healing Robin. Nosferatu
Rosalina & Luma Gravitational Pull Pulls all items in range to her. Can also be used to nullify all projectile attacks. Rosalina&#039;s down special
Roy Counter Enters a defensive stance and will retaliate if attacked, dealing 1.5 times the damage of the original attack. Roy Counter SSBWU
Ryu Focus Attack Enters a charging state. When released or after a second, punches forward, causing the opponent to crumple if fully charged. Focus Attack
Samus Bomb Spins into a ball and releases a small bomb that does minor damage. Samus' spinning can be used to halt downward momentum. Samus Bomb SSBWU
Sheik Bouncing Fish (3DS/Wii U)
Transform (SSBM, SSBB)
  • Bouncing Fish: Flips up into the air and attacks with her heels.
  • Transform: Transforms into Zelda. Is invincible during transformation period.


Transform 3

Shulk Vision Enters a defensive stance. As he is about to be attacked, Shulk foresees the attack before dodging it and launching a counterattack. Shulk-vision
Snake C4 Plants a mine on the ground which will explode by pressing the B button again or after a certain amount of time. Can be attached to other opponents. C4 1
Sonic Spin Charge Spins across the stage. Unlike Spin Dash, Sonic does not jump at first and mashing the special move button during the move can make it more powerful. Sonic charge
Toon Link Bomb Pulls out a bomb, which can be thrown. Has a bigger blast radius than Link's. Link &amp; Toon Link SSB4
Villager Timber Plants a sapling, waters it until it grows into a tree, and cuts it down. The tree sprouting and falling deals massive damage. VillagerTimber
Wario Wario Waft Farts. Is initially harmless, but if not used for a long time, will grow in power. Blasting off again
Wii Fit Trainer Deep Breathing Heals a little damage and powers herself up for a time. If used in fast succession, the move will be much slower. Wii-fit-trainer-deep-breathing
Wolf Reflector Projects an energy field around himself which reflects projectiles, similar to Fox's. However, Wolf's Reflector is pink and has a countering effect. Reflector Wolf (2) SSBB
Yoshi Yoshi Bomb Leaps up and slams into the ground. Stars emerge from each side, dealing damage. YoshiBomb-Brawl
Young Link Bomb Pulls out a bomb similar to Link's. LinkBomb copy
Zelda Phantom Slash (3DS/Wii U)
Transform (SSBM, SSBB)
  • Phantom Slash: Charges and unleashes a phantom that slashes any opponent it encounters. Cannot be used for a certain amount of time if Phantom is damaged repeatedly.
  • Transform: Transforms into Sheik. Invincible during the duration.


Transform 1

Zero Suit Samus Flip Jump Flips up into the air and can follow up with a kick attack. Gains invincibility frames at the start, and Meteor Smashes if kick hits during the first frames. Buries grounded opponents in Wii U/3DS. Flip Jump 3