Kirby inhaling Mario. Once Mario is inhaled, Kirby will spit Mario out, and can use Mario's fireballs.
Inhale is Kirby's neutral B attack in all three of his incarnations in the Super Smash Bros. series, though it was previously called Swallow in Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee. When B is pressed, Kirby opens his mouth and begins to inhale, creating a vortex of wind. Kirby will never stop inhaling until B is released. If a character comes near the vortex, they will automatically be sucked inside Kirby, who will bloat up with the person inside of him. The goal of the attack is to swallow the victim (by pressing down or B), which will make Kirby able to preform that character's neutral B move (the character pops out after being swallowed, and can still preform their neutral B attack). If Kirby traps the wrong character in his mouth, or simply doesn't want the character's move, Kirby can spit the character out by pressing A.
Kirby dons a unique hat depending on who he's inhaled, such as wearing Mario's hat if he swallows Mario. The copied special attack will sometimes be lost when Kirby is attacked enough, and can also be discarded by taunting. Inhaling another Kirby and copying will do nothing unless the other Kirby has already copied an attack and is wearing a hat. In the original and Melee, if a Kirby is wearing a hat, another Kirby is able to steal it for themselves.
Swallowing items
- Main Article: Item Swallowing
Just like King Dedede's Inhale and Wario's Chomp, Kirby can swallow items using the attack. Any item meant to be eaten will have the same effect (such as Food). However, Kirby can eat any item on the screen. Kirby will automatically swallow the item when it is in his mouth, meaning he can keep other characters from using it. Poké Balls and Mr. Saturn cannot be swallowed.
Background
Inhaling and spitting has been a trademark attack of Kirby since Kirby's Dream Land, but it was not until Kirby's Adventure was he able to swallow an enemy to copy their attack. It wasn't until Kirby Super Star that Kirby also had different hats that indicated the power he copied. A single attack was usually enough to make Kirby lose his copied power.
A list of hats and the power Kirby gets for each can be found here.
If Kirby Inhales Olimar he gains the ability to use Pikmin Throw AND Pikmin Pluck. However, Pikmin will not latch on when thrown.
"Kirbycide" Applications
- Main article: Kirbycide
In Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Kirby is capable of slowly walking around the stage while carrying opponents in his mouth. This allows for some forms of Kirbycide, wherein Kirby jumps off the edge with someone in his mouth and releases them at a distance or position from which they are unable to recover, forcing a self-destruct.
External Links
All SSBB Kirby Hats (except Dedede's)