King Dedede throwing a Waddle Dee.
King Dedede throwing a Gordo.
Waddle Dees can be used to protect King Dedede from projectiles.
Waddle Dee Toss (also known as Waddle Dee Throw) is King Dedede's Side Special Move. He throws a Waddle Dee forward. Occasionally, he may also release a Waddle Doo or a much more damaging Gordo. After being thrown, a Waddle Dee/Doo/Gordo will remain on the field until it falls off of the stage, is knocked away by an attack (or blasted offscreen by a superstrong attack or an explosive), or automatically disappears on its own. There is a 71.4% chance he will throw a Waddle Dee, a 20.4% chance he will throw a Waddle Doo, and a 8.2% chance he will throw a Gordo. Each King Dedede can only have two Waddle Dees/Doos/Gordos on the field at a time; more than 2 Waddle Dees/Doos/Gordos can exist only if more than one King Dedede is playing.
There is also a chance to throw certain items, for example capsules or Pitfalls, instead of any of his normal minions. The chance of this occurring appears to be the same as or slightly less than the chance of throwing a Gordo. If the item frequency is set to none, Dedede can still select an item. However, if the items are individually turned off, he will not. A thrown item is functionally identical to one picked up and thrown normally (without moving the control stick), though it can, like the Dees/Doos/Gordos, be slightly angled.
If Dedede uses any attack that uses the A button when he is near an existing Waddle Dee/Doo, he'll simply pick that Waddle Dee/Doo up and throw it. This also applies for Waddle Dee/Doos that came from other Dededes.
If a Waddle Dee is thrown: does low damage (around 5%) and then walks around for a while, sometimes jumping and if an enemy is next to it when it does they will get hit and receive a little vertical knockback. While it's on the stage, it can absorb and block almost any other projectile attack in the game. They also prevent many attacks being used as approaches such as Captain Falcon's Raptor Boost, Ganondorf's Flame Choke, and Ike's Quick Draw. Waddle Dees cannot be properly reflected back at the Dedede that threw it with attacks such Fox's Reflector like normal projectiles could be reflected. If a Waddle Doo is thrown: does low damage (around 7%) with slightly more knockback than a Waddle Dee, and then it walks around for a while, sometimes doing its trademark beam attack which can stun an enemy in place for a few seconds. The beam attack is also a powerful attack if it fully connects, dealing out around 27% damage. Waddle Doos can also absorb and block projectiles and approaches, and cannot be properly reflected (see Waddle Dee above).
If a Gordo is thrown: does around 23% damage and has high knockback if it hits (can kill at mid-high percentage). Gordos travel with a more horizontal trajectory than Waddle Dees/Doos when thrown (it could be said that Gordos are floaty). If it misses it will bounce once on the ground, then disappear when it touches the ground again. Unlike Waddle Dees/Doos, Gordos can be reflected back at the Dedede that threw them.
If King Dedede is hit while doing the attack, it is interrupted, but the Dees/Doos/Gordos will appear on the stage and walk/bounce around the stage. All of the minions that can be thrown kill in Sudden Death, even the Waddle Dees, so it is a particularly useful move in that situation.
The distance and arc that the Waddle Dee/Doo follows and travels can be changed slightly. The distance traveled can be changed if you smash the control stick to lenthen it, or shortened if you slowly tilt it. The arc affects the distance as well, and can be slightly higher if the control stick is tilted up, and vise versa if tilted down. To get the longest distance, smash the control stick and try to get a high arc.
Origin
This is a unique move made for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, though it's not a very big stretch. Waddle Dees, Waddle Doos, and Gordos are all King Dedede's servants, and King Dedede throwing them around is not out of character at all. Credences to the theory Waddle Dees being Dedede's minions are seen in the Subspace Emissary, when a swarm of them helps him stealing the trophy-fied characters that Wario had been collecting, and Dedede being carried on a sedan chair-like throne by four Waddle Dees during his On-Screen Appearance. In Kirby Super Star Ultra's new sub-game, "Revenge of The King", King Dedede is seen walking with a large bunch of Waddle Dees, thus, reinforcing the theory of Waddle Dees being Dedede's minions. The move may also be a reference to Kirby: Squeak Squad, where Dedede throws Kirby (who is similar to a Waddle Dee) with surprising accuracy at the Squeaks, who steal his treasure.
Trivia
- If you use the Waddle Dee Throw in slow-mo, you can see that he pulls them out of his left sleeve. It should be noted that DOJO!! said it has no idea where it came from, saying it comes from "who-knows-where".
- Though Waddle Doos can be Inhaled by Kirby, he will not become Beam Kirby, as he would in his own universe.
- While the Waddle Dees are generally weak, their jump can KO characters at very low health percentages. This has led some players to place videos on Youtube with Waddle Dees killing enemies, and leads to comments such as "Waddle Dee is really too good" or "Waddle Dee is the most powerful character in Brawl", which are amusing given the actual weakness of the Waddle Dee. In one video at least, we can see a Waddle Dee KOing King Dedede himself (though this apparently had to do with a bomb that the enemy Snake had attached to it).
- Any of the minions King Dedede throws are unaffected by his size. (ex: If King Dedede is small, his minions will still be normal size)