Ness (SSB)/Up special

Overview

Ness's up special move in Super Smash Bros. is PK Thunder. This move involves Ness becoming completely stationary and summoning an electrical ball, which is controlled using the control stick during the duration of the move. If the ball is controlled so that it hits Ness himself, he will be sent flying in that direction (this action is also called PK Thunder 2). The move sends Ness an extremely far distance, meaning he can recover from great distances. However, the move is very slow to execute, and unless the player sweetspots the edge, Ness will be very punishable and vulnerable whilst landing back on the stage. Players can also try to hit or get hit from the ball to prevent him from using PK Thunder 2 as well. Due to the move being so slow to execute, it is very easy to attack Ness out of the move before he can recover, which will make him helpless. Because of this, the move should only be used when Ness's double jump has no chance of getting him back onstage. Some players jump backwards when recovering and then use PK Thunder, since this makes it harder for opponents to attack Ness offstage (except for Pikachu and Kirby, who can still do so easily).

Along with traveling an extremely far distance, the second part of the move also has very high knockback. This is unreliable to hit with, but can catch opponents offguard. It can also easily be used in punish situations, such as after a shield break.

Ness can also use the electrical ball to hit other opponents, though this is not useful onstage due to the move's lag. However, it can be used to gimp certain opponents that are recovering a fair distance away from the edge.

Hitboxes

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PK Thunder

ID	Part	Damage	SD	Angle	BK	KS	FKV	Radius	Bone	Offset			Clang	Effect	G	A	Sound
Projectile head
0	0	6%	0		50	30	0	100	0	?	?	?					Shock
Projectile tail
1	0	3%	0		50	30	0	100	0	?	?	?					Shock
2	0	3%	0		50	30	0	100	0	?	?	?					Shock
3	0	3%	0		50	30	0	100	0	?	?	?					Shock
4	0	3%	0		50	30	0	100	0	?	?	?					Shock

PK Thunder 2 (NTSC-J)

ID	Part	Damage	SD	Angle	BK	KS	FKV	Radius	Bone	Offset			Clang	Effect	G	A	Sound
0	0	35%	0		50	100	0	200	0	0	100	0					Shock

PK Thunder 2 (NTSC-U/PAL)

ID	Part	Damage	SD	Angle	BK	KS	FKV	Radius	Bone	Offset			Clang	Effect	G	A	Sound
0	0	30%	0		40	84	0	150	0	0	100	0					Shock

Summary

• PK Thunder 2 damage (35% → 30%).
• PK Thunder 2 knockback (50 (base), 100 (scaling) → 40/84).
• PK Thunder 2 hitbox (200u → 150u).

Timing

PK Thunder

If PK Thunder hits something before its hitboxes end, Ness will immediately go into his ending lag animation which is 45 frames long.

Hitboxes	24-182
Animation length	227

PK Thunder 2

Hitbox	1-18
Invincible	1-9
Animation length	43

PK Thunder 2 (NTSC-J)

Hitbox	1-28
Invincible	1-17
Animation length	43

Landing lag

Animation length	42
Animation length (NTSC-J)	30

NTSC-U/PAL

NTSC-J

Legend (1 square = 1 frame)

Lag time

Hitbox

Vulnerable

Invincible

Ness's moveset

Neutral attack (1 · 2 · 3) · Forward tilt · Up tilt · Down tilt · Dash attack · Forward smash · Up smash · Down smash
Neutral aerial · Forward aerial · Back aerial · Up aerial · Down aerial
Grab · Forward throw · Back throw
Floor attack (front) · Floor attack (back) · Edge attack (fast) · Edge attack (slow)
Neutral special · Up special · Down special