Charge

Lucario charging an Aura Sphere, making it bigger and more powerful.

Charging is the powering up of an attack or item in order to increase its potency (damage, range, speed, etc.).

In all games except Super Smash Bros., smash attacks can be charged for up to 60 frames (1 second) by holding the attack button, which increases their damage up to a maximum of 1.4x (1.3671x in Melee), with a corresponding increase in knockback. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, charged smash attacks can be held for significantly longer. Certain special moves can also be charged, either by holding the special attack button or by pressing the button once to begin charging and again to launch the attack. Sonic's Spin Charge is unique in that it is charged by pressing the special button repeatedly. Some chargeable special moves, most of them projectiles, can be charge-canceled, allowing a charge to be saved for later.

In addition to manually chargeable moves, a few passive charging mechanics exist. Moves such as Wario's Wario Waft and R.O.B.'s Robo Burner automatically charge over time, while Little Mac's Power Meter and Cloud's Limit Break are charged by dealing and receiving damage.

There are also items which can be charged. The Ore Club's tornado's size varies with the charge of smash attack, and the Super Scope's shots can be charged (though it runs out of ammunition faster that way). Also, the Hothead will be charged as it receives Flame and Electric damage.

Chargeable special moves

Character	Move	Charge effect	Notes
Banjo & Kazooie	Shock Spring Jump	Increases height	Charging will briefly stall the duo in mid air and increase the height of the jump.
Bayonetta	Bullet Climax	Increases damage	The bullets become more prominent in appearance, accompanied by a magic circle effect. This is one of two chargeable moves that can be cancelled but not be stored for later use, the other being Focus Attack. In Ultimate, cancelling it is no longer possible.
Bowser Jr.	Clown Cannon	Increases damage, speed, and range	The cannonball will bounce off of opponents that it hits. Bowser Jr. glows yellow when charging this move.
Chrom	Flare Blade	Increases damage and knockback	Automatically activates at full charge; attack is stronger when almost-fully charged; fully charged attack directly deals 10% damage to Chrom.
Cloud	Limit Charge	Gives access to Limit Breaks	Can be charged by dealing and receiving damage, as well as manually charged. When fully charged, this move becomes Finishing Touch. In Ultimate, if Cloud is interrupted while manually charging, some charge is lost; furthermore, a full charge can only be retained for up to 15 seconds.
Corrin	Dragon Fang Shot (shot)	Increases damage and paralysis duration.	Dragon Fang Shot is the only move with two different chargeable attacks.
	Dragon Fang Shot (arm)	Increases damage.
Dark Pit	Silver Bow	Increases damage	Can be charged indefinitely only if one keeps repeatedly changing the direction in which the arrow is aimed.
Dark Samus	Charge Shot	Increases range, damage, and size of sphere	Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground.
Diddy Kong	Peanut Popgun	Increases damage and lowers angle of fire	If charged too long, the popgun will explode and Diddy Kong will be momentarily stunned in Brawl or create a damaging explosion in Smash 4 and Ultimate.
	Rocketbarrel Blast	Increases height and damage	Automatically activates at full charge.
Donkey Kong	Giant Punch	Increases damage	Near fully charged is more powerful than fully charged; fully charged version is faster and, in Brawl, grants super armour. Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground.
Greninja	Water Shuriken	Increases size and number of hits.	Automatically activates at full charge.
	Shadow Sneak	Increases knockback and distance covered.	Automatically activates at full charge. Greninja can traverse freely while charging.
Hero	Frizz	Increases damage and knockback.	Auto-charge special, with the spell changing depending on the level. If cancelled, it can be activated again to continue the charge.
	Zap		Activating at different charges unleashes different spells.
	Woosh	Increases damage and recovery distance.
Inkling	Splat Bomb	Increases speed and distance.	If charged, Inkling will throw the bomb at a long distance, otherwise she will throw it at a short arc in front of herself.
Ike	Eruption	Increases damage	Automatically activates at full charge; Near fully charged is more powerful than fully charged; Fully charged deals 10% to Ike, and gives knockback resistance.
	Quick Draw	Increases damage, knockback, and distance covered.	Can be held indefinitely in all games except Ultimate.
Jigglypuff	Rollout	Increases speed, duration, damage	Can be held indefinitely in all games except Ultimate.
Ken	Focus Attack	Increases damage and hitstun, causes crumpling animation	Can be cancelled by inputting either direction twice on the control stick.
King Dedede	Jet Hammer	Increases damage	Near fully charged is slightly more powerful than fully charged; while fully charged, 1% is dealt to Dedede every second until Dedede is up to 150%; Dedede can move while charging; charge cannot be saved, but can be held indefinitely.
Kirby	Inhale	Various (see notes)	Kirby can copy a chargeable neutral special from some characters.
	Hammer Flip	Increases damage	While fully charged, 1% is dealt to Kirby every second; Kirby can move while charging; charge cannot be saved, but can be held indefinitely.
Link	Hero's Bow	Increases damage and speed of arrow	Can be held indefinitely.
	Spin Attack (Brawl onwards)	Increases damage and duration	Automatically activates at full charge; aerial version cannot be charged.
Little Mac	Straight Lunge	Increases range, damage remains the same; gains high power but heavy ending lag when fully charged	Automatically unleashed at full charge, can be canceled by pressing the special button again after around a second has passed to unleash the move early. In Ultimate exclusively, it can be shield cancelled. Has 8% damage-based armor while charging from frame 1, making it a niche way to escape combos.
Lucario	Aura Sphere	Increases damage, range, and size of sphere	Can be charged indefinitely; charging animation has damaging hitbox; per Aura property of Lucario, grow stronger at higher damage percentages. Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground. Lucario will continue to charge the move at full charge.
Lucas	PK Freeze	Increases damage, opponent stays frozen longer	Automatically activates at full charge, makes Lucas helpless when used in the air.
Lucina	Shield Breaker	Increases damage	Automatically activates at full charge. Shield damage varies depending on level of charge.
Luigi	Green Missile	Increases damage and distance Luigi travels	Automatically activates in Melee, can be held indefinitely in Brawl; can misfire (1 in 8 chance), sending Luigi a very far distance, regardless of charging time. In SSB4, Luigi will give up after a while and the attack will be cancelled.
	Luigi Cyclone (Melee only)	Allows Luigi to ascend when using the move in the air once.	Charges by having the move finished or interrupted while on the ground. Unlike most charged moves that can be stored, Luigi Cyclone has no visual indicator.
Mario (Brawl onwards)	F.L.U.D.D.	Increases the amount of water Mario can spray while using F.L.U.D.D., as well as range	Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground.
Marth	Shield Breaker	Increases damage	Automatically activates at full charge. Shield damage varies depending on level of charge.
Mewtwo	Shadow Ball	Increases damage, range, and size of sphere	Can be charged indefinitely; charging animation has damaging hitbox (only in Melee). Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground. Mewtwo will continue to charge the move at full charge.
Mii Brawler	Ultimate Uppercut	Increases damage	Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground.
	Burning Dropkick	Increases damage, and distance it will cover	Automatically activates at full charge.
Mii Gunner	Charge Blast	Increases range, damage, and size of sphere	Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground.
Mii Swordfighter	Blurring Blade	Increases damage	Automatically activates at full charge.
	Airborne Assault	Increases damage, and distance it will cover	Automatically activates at full charge.
	Slash Launcher	Increases damage, and distance it will cover	Can be held indefinitely. Mii Swordfighter flashes red upon full charge.
	Hero's Spin	Increases damage and duration	Automatically activates at full charge.
Mr. Game & Watch	Oil Panic	Once Oil Panic absorbs 3 energy projectiles, the oil can be released as an attack	Charge can be held indefinitely and even if Mr. Game & Watch is KO'ed; If Oil Panic is fully charged, Bucket Braking cannot be performed.
Ness (Melee onwards)	PK Flash	Increases damage	Automatically activates at full charge, makes Ness helpless when used in the air.
Pac-Man	Bonus Fruit	Advances to next fruit	Auto-charge special. If orange is reached, time to charge to the next stage doubles. Opponents can attack the fruit during the charge, although this causes only hitlag with no negative effect.
Pichu	Skull Bash	Increases damage and distance it will cover	Automatically activates at full charge. Causes the same level of recoil regardless of charge level.
Pikachu		Increases damage and distance it will cover	Automatically activates at full charge.
Piranha Plant	Poison Breath	Increases damage and distance	Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground.
	Long-Stem Strike	Increases distance	Automatically activates at full charge.
Pit	Palutena's Arrow	Increases damage	Can be charged indefinitely only if one keeps repeatedly changing the direction in which the arrow is aimed.
Ridley	Plasma Breath	Increases amount of fireballs	Charges a stream of fireballs from his mouth. The longer it is charged the more fireballs will be shot out. If he is hit in the mouth while charging he will take more damage while negating knockback.
R.O.B.	Robo Burner	Increases duration (and therefore range)	Automatically charges when R.O.B. is on the ground.
	Robo Beam	Increases damage; lowers speed	Automatically charges when R.O.B. is not using it.
	Gyro	Increases duration and damage	Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground.
Robin	Thunder	Advances rank of thunder magic, which increases effectiveness	Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground. If Robin takes damage while charging Thunder, the entire charge is lost.
Rosalina	Luma Shot	Increases range	Can be held indefinitely.
Roy	Flare Blade	Increases damage and knockback	Automatically activates at full charge; attack is stronger when almost-fully charged; fully charged attack directly deals 10% damage to Roy.
Ryu	Focus Attack	Increases damage and hitstun, causes crumpling animation	Can be cancelled by inputting either direction twice on the control stick.
Samus	Charge Shot	Increases range, damage, and size of sphere	Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground.
Sheik	Needle Storm	Increases duration and damage	Can be charged indefinitely in Melee; cannot be charged indefinitely in Brawl; maxes at six needles; Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground. However, in Melee, the B button must be held down to charge instead of inputting B then any attack button to attack during the charge; it is only up until Brawl it becomes a normal auto-charge special.
	Burst Grenade	Increases duration of vacuum effect.	-
Sonic	Spin Charge	Increases speed and damage	Charged by rapidly pressing the special move button.
	Spin Dash	Increases speed and damage	Can be held indefinitely.
Squirtle	Water Gun	Increases duration and range	Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground.
Toon Link	Hero's Bow	Increases damage, range, and speed	Can be held indefinitely.
	Spin Attack	Increases damage and duration	Cannot be held indefinitely.
Wario	Wario Waft	Increases damage, distance Wario shoots up, and range	Charges automatically over time; slightly fully charged stronger than fully charged.
Wii Fit Trainer	Sun Salutation	Increases size, range, and damage	Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground.
Young Link	Fire Bow	Increases damage, speed, and range	Once at full charge, it can be held for three seconds before automatically firing.
	Spin Attack (Ultimate onwards)	Increases damage	Automatically activates at full charge; aerial version cannot be charged.
Zelda	Phantom Slash	Increases damage and range	Automatically activates at full charge.
Zero Suit Samus	Paralyzer	Increases damage and hitstun	Cannot be held indefinitely.

Trivia

• R.O.B. and Hero are the only characters with three chargeable special attacks (though two of the former's attacks have a passive charging phase).
• In Melee, Ness cannot charge his up and down smashes if he stands on an edge and the yo-yo reaches beyond the edge.
• In Smash 4 and Ultimate, the fighter's eye in their icons will briefly glint when an attack is fully charged.