Ness absorbing Charizard's Flamethrower with PSI Magnet in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Mr. Game & Watch absorbing Bowser's Fire Breath and counter-attacking in Brawl.
- 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 special move to "catch" an opposing non-physical projectile, or a teammate's projectile if Team Attack is turned on. The absorber then provides some benefit to the user based on the absorbed attack.
The only three moves capable of absorption are PSI Magnet, Oil Panic, and 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 in order to unleash them all at once in a single attack. Floows are also capable of absorbing attacks, though they do not appear to do anything with the absorbed energy. This means that there are only four playable characters who are able to absorb non-physical attacks, namely Ness, Lucas, Mii Gunner, and Mr. Game & Watch.
List of Absorbable attacks[]
| User/Item | Move | Part of Move | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| By Characters | |||
| Bowser (Giga Bowser) | Fire Breath | Entire move |
|
| Charizard | Flamethrower | Entire move |
|
| Cloud | Blade Beam | Entire move |
|
| Dark Pit | Silver Bow | Entire move |
|
| Diddy Kong | Rocketbarrel Boost | Free-roaming barrels |
|
| Dr. Mario | Megavitamin | Entire move |
|
| Duck Hunt | Trick Shot | Explosion |
|
| Falco | Blaster | Entire move |
|
| Fox | Blaster | Entire move |
|
| Ice Climbers | Blizzard | Entire move |
|
| Ice Shot | Entire move |
| |
| King Dedede | Super Dedede Jump | Stars |
|
| Waddle Dee Toss | Waddle Doo's beam attack |
| |
| Kirby | Copy ability | Some Neutral Special attacks |
|
| Final Cutter | Wave |
| |
| Link | Bomb | Explosion |
|
| Lucario | Aura Sphere | Entire move |
|
| Force Palm | Aura shot |
| |
| Lucas | PK Fire | Entire move |
|
| PK Freeze | Entire move |
| |
| PK Thunder | Entire move |
| |
| Luigi | Fireball | Entire move |
|
| Mario | Fireball | Entire move |
|
| Mega Man | Crash Bomber | Entire move |
|
| Forward Smash | Entire move |
| |
| Forward Tilt | Entire move |
| |
| Neutral Attack | Entire move |
| |
| Mewtwo | Forward Throw | Shots |
|
| Shadow Ball | Entire Move |
| |
| Mr. Game & Watch | Chef | Sausages |
|
| Ness | PK Fire | Entire move |
|
| PK Flash | Entire move |
| |
| PK Thunder | Entire move |
| |
| Palutena | Autoreticle | Shots |
|
| Peach | Toad | Spores |
|
| Pichu | Thunder | Bolt |
|
| Thunder Jolt | Entire move |
| |
| Pikachu | Thunder | Bolt |
|
| Thunder Jolt | Entire Move |
| |
| Pit | Palutena's Bow | Entire move |
|
| R.O.B. | Robo Beam | Entire move |
|
| Robin | Arcfire | Entire move |
|
| Elwind | Entire move |
| |
| Thunder | Entire move |
| |
| Rosalina | Star Bits (custom versions only) | Entire move |
|
| Ryu | Hadoken | Entire move |
|
| Samus | Bomb | Entire move |
|
| Charge Shot | Entire Move |
| |
| Sheik | Burst Grenade | Entire move |
|
| Vanish | Entire Move |
| |
| Toon Link | Bomb | Explosion |
|
| Villager | Lloid Rocket | Explosion |
|
| Wii Fit Trainer | Sun Salutation | Entire move |
|
| Wolf | Blaster | Shot |
|
| Yoshi | Yoshi Bomb | Stars |
|
| Zelda | Din's Fire | Entire Move |
|
| Zero Suit Samus | Down Smash | Entire move |
|
| Paralyzer | Entire move |
| |
| By Items | |||
| Blast Box | Explosion |
| |
| Bob-omb | Explosion |
| |
| Bombchu | Explosion |
| |
| Fire Flower | Flames |
| |
| Gooey Bomb | Explosion |
| |
| Lip's Stick | Spores |
| |
| Motion-Sensor Bomb | Explosion |
| |
| Ray Gun | Shots |
| |
| Star Rod | Stars |
| |
| Steel Diver | Shots |
| |
| Super Scope | Shots |
| |
| Superspicy Curry | Flames |
| |
| By Pokémon | |||
| Charizard | Flamethrower | Flames |
|
| Cyndaquil | Flamethrower | Flames |
|
| Electrode | Self-Destruct | Explosion |
|
| Genesect | Techno Blast | Beam |
|
| Meowth | Pay Day | Coins |
|
| Starmie | Swift | Stars |
|
| Staryu | Swift | Stars |
|
| By Stage Hazards | |||
| Corneria | Shots fired from Arwings, Wolfens, and the Great Fox |
| |
| Pyrosphere | FG-II Graham Unit shots |
| |
| Saffron City | Charmander | Flamethrower |
|
| Venusaur | 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 | |||
| Armank | Energy Shot |
| |
| Chandelure | Fire Spin, Will-o-Wisp |
| |
| Duon | Scattershot |
| |
| Gamyga | Lasers |
| |
| Magikoopa | Spells |
| |
| Monoeye | Energy Shot |
| |
| Master Edges | Sword projectiles |
| |
| Master Hand | Finger bullets |
| |
| Puppit | Lasers |
| |
| R.O.B. Blaster | Beams |
| |
| Scope Primid | Shots |
| |
| Spaak | Electric ball |
| |
| Lightning bolt |
| ||
| Starman | PK Beam |
| |
Trivia[]
- Coincidentally, every Super Smash Bros. game debuts one character with an absorption move. Ness in Super Smash Bros., Mr. Game & Watch in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Lucas in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Mii Gunner with Absorbing Vortex in Super Smaash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U.