Pummel

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Fox pummeling Mario in Melee.

A pummel (つかみ攻撃 or 掴み攻撃, Grab, grasp, grip or catch attack; referred to as CatchAttack by the internal game files, and officially as Grab Attack in Super Smash Bros. 4 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate) is an attack usable while an opponent remains trapped in the player's grab. It was first introduced in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and is performed by pressing the attack or grab buttons after a successful grab. Pummels deal very low damage (usually from 1% to 3% per use), but can be used repeatedly at a relatively fast rate until the opponent is eventually thrown or breaks free from the grab.

Most pummels consist of knee jabs or headbutts, since the pummeling character will already be holding their opponent using their arms. Pummeling is primarily used to rack up extra damage before a throw, and to restore moves from stale-move negation. The latter utility becomes more critical from Brawl onward, as staleness has a greater effect on the knockback inflicted, allowing pummels to bring KO moves back to full strength, and in Brawl, to keep subsequent throws at the appropriate knockback for chain grabbing.

The higher an opponent's damage, the longer one can pummel before they're able to break free from the grab. If not executed swiftly, an adept fighter may escape before even a single blow is landed, which is one of the decisions a player must make when they grab an opponent: a character with a fast pummel (such as Lucario) can spare a few frames to get some extra damage on the opponent, whereas one with a slow pummel (such as Ganondorf) risks the opponent wriggling out of their grab if they pummel, making it more worthwhile to simply throw the opponent.

Pummels across games

The attack rate of pummels has been generally sped up throughout the Super Smash Bros. series, though their damage has also decreased in the process.

In Melee, all pummels deal 3% damage, and most characters' pummels last 24 frames, with only Ice Climbers, Jigglypuff, Kirby, Link, Mr. Game & Watch, Young Link and Zelda's being slower, causing them to be mostly identical across the cast. Jigglypuff, Kirby, and Mr. Game & Watch are tied for the slowest pummel, lasting 30 frames.

In Brawl, several characters have received more unique pummels that are faster, but deal less damage. The fastest pummel is Wolf's, which deals 1% damage and lasts a mere 6 frames, while the slowest is Mr. Game & Watch's, which deals 3% and lasts 29 frames. The average duration of pummels among the cast is 17 frames, down from 24 frames in Melee, making them much faster overall. Due to Brawl's lack of decimal values for base damage, all pummels deal either 1%, 2%, or 3% damage (or in the case of Olimar's pummel with White Pikmin, 4% damage).

In Smash 4, all returning veterans except Lucas retain their pummeling speeds from Brawl. However, due to several newcomers such as Mega Man, Mii Swordfighter, Robin, and Wii Fit Trainer possessing notoriously slow pummels, the average duration has been increased to 20 frames. The fastest pummel is now Lucario's at 7 frames, due to Wolf being cut from the game, while the slowest is Mii Swordfighter's at 33 frames. Pummels are also far more unique across the cast because of the new ability to give moves decimal base damage, with several of them dealing a variety of decimal damage values; this results in some more damaging pummels that the most damaging from Brawl (discounting Olimar's with White Pikmin), with Dr. Mario's dealing 3.64%.

In Ultimate, while some variance remains between characters, pummels have overall been standardized across the board, much like in Melee, except keeping the average pummel duration closer to those of Brawl and Smash 4; this applies to their damage as well, which is considerably lower overall, with a minimum of 1% and a maximum of 1.6%, and the majority of pummels dealing 1.3%. As a result of these changes, previously fast pummels such as Lucario, Ness and Samus's deal slightly more damage, but are noticeably slower, while previously slow pummels such as Ganondorf, Mr. Game & Watch and Robin's are significantly faster, but deal moderately less damage. This eliminates a large part of the imbalance between pummels in previous games, as characters no longer refresh other moves or rack up damage at a disproportionally fast rate compared to others based on pummel speed.

It is worth noting that like other attacks, pummels inflict freeze frames (hitlag), and opponents can still mash out of the attacker's grab during them, so they are another factor to consider for a pummel's practical duration. Because of this, pummels that inflict fewer freeze frames are more advantageous. In Ultimate, the actual duration of pummels is significantly shorter than in previous games (from 5 to 7 frames), but it is augmented by a much higher amount of freeze frames (from 10 to 16), which keep their average speed roughly the same as in previous games.

List of pummels

In the following tables, "Duration" means how many frames the attack lasts for until another pummel can be made.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

All pummels in Melee deal 3% damage. Pichu takes 1% recoil damage for every pummel.

Character	Description	Duration in frames
Bowser	Headbutts opponent.	24
Captain Falcon	Knees opponent.	24
Donkey Kong	Karate chops opponent.	24
Dr. Mario	Headbutts opponent.	24
Falco	Knees opponent.	24
Fox	Knees opponent.	24
Ganondorf	Knees opponent.	24
Ice Climbers	Headbutts opponent.	25
Jigglypuff	Slaps opponent with its tuft of hair.	30
Kirby	Punches opponent.	30
Link	Hits opponent with the hilt of his sword.	25
Luigi	Headbutts opponent.	24
Mario	Headbutts opponent.	24
Marth	Knees opponent.	24
Mewtwo	Shocks opponent.	24
Mr. Game & Watch	Hits opponent with a bell.	30
Ness	Headbutts opponent.	24
Peach	Stomps on opponent's shins.	25
Pichu	Zaps opponent.	24
Pikachu	Zaps opponent.	24
Roy	Knees opponent.	24
Samus	Chops opponent with her left hand.	24
Sheik	Hits opponent with her elbow.	24
Yoshi	Bites down on opponent.	24
Young Link	Hits opponent with the hilt of his sword.	25
Zelda	Zaps opponent with magic.	25

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Peach pummeling Ike in Brawl.

All characters' pummels have normal hitlag multipliers, with the exception of Pikachu's, which possesses a multiplier of 0.5×.

Character	Description	Damage	Duration in frames
Bowser	Headbutts opponent.	3%	23
Captain Falcon	Knees opponent.	2%	15
Charizard	Bites opponent.	2%	16
Diddy Kong	Headbutts opponent.	2%	16
Donkey Kong	Karate chops opponent with his hand.	3%	15
Falco	Knees opponent.	2%	16
Fox	Knees opponent.	1%	9
Ganondorf	Knees opponent.	2%	23
Ice Climbers	Headbutts opponent.	1%*	18
Ike	Headbutts opponent.	3%	22
Ivysaur	Constricts opponent with vines.	3%	24
Jigglypuff	Slaps opponent with its tuft of hair.	3%	20
King Dedede	Headbutts opponent.	3%	24
Kirby	Punches opponent.	1%	9
Link	Hits opponent with the hilt of his sword.	2%	15
Lucario	Hits opponent with a blast of aura.	1%	7
Lucas	Headbutts opponent.	3%	12
Luigi	Headbutts opponent.	3%	23
Mario	Headbutts opponent.	3%	23
Marth	Knees opponent.	2%	15
Meta Knight	Hits opponent with the claws on his wings.	3%	23
Mr. Game & Watch	Hits opponent with a bell.	3%	29
Ness	Headbutts opponent.	1%	9
Olimar	Pikmin headbutts opponent.	2% (Other colors), 4% (White)	21
Peach	Stomps on opponent's shins.	2%	18
Pikachu	Zaps opponent.	2%	15
Pit	Knees opponent.	2%	15
R.O.B.	Squeezes opponent with both his hands.	2%	16
Samus	Chops opponent with her left hand.	1%**	8
Sheik	Hits opponent with her elbow.	3%	23
Snake	Tightens his chokehold on the opponent.	2%	17
Sonic	Knees opponent.	3%	15
Squirtle	Headbutts opponent.	2%	15
Toon Link	Hits opponent with the hilt of his sword.	2%	15
Wario	Pokes opponent in the gut with his finger.	2%	18
Wolf	Knees opponent.	1%	6
Yoshi	Bites down on opponent.	2%	15
Zelda	Zaps opponent with magic.	3%	24
Zero Suit Samus	Knees opponent.	2%	15

*The partner can attack while the leader is grabbing the opponent, making it possible to deal more damage.
** Can miss during certain frames of Bowser's struggling animation.

In Super Smash Bros. 4

Ness pummeling Rosalina.

All characters' pummels have normal hitlag multipliers, with the exception of Pikachu, Rosalina and Shulk, which possess multipliers of 0.5×, 0.75× and 1.5× respectively.

Character	Description	Damage	Duration in frames
Bayonetta	Slaps the grabbed opponent twice.	1.6% each hit	21
Bowser	Headbutts opponent.	3.1%	23
Bowser Jr.	Hits opponent with a toy hammer.	2%	17
Captain Falcon	Knees opponent.	2%	15
Charizard	Bites opponent.	2%	16
Cloud	Knees opponent.	3%	25
Corrin	Hits the opponent with the Omega Yato's hilt.	3%	23
Dark Pit	Knees opponent.	2%	15
Diddy Kong	Headbutts opponent.	2%	16
Donkey Kong	Chops opponent with one hand.	2%	15
Dr. Mario	Headbutts opponent. It is the most damaging pummel in the game if Olimar's White Pikmin and Shulk's Monado Arts are excluded.	3.64%	23
Duck Hunt	The duck headbutts the opponent.	3%	28
Falco	Knees opponent.	2%	16
Fox	Knees opponent.	1.2%	9
Ganondorf	Knees opponent.	3%	23
Greninja	Squeezes opponent with water.	2%	26
Ike	Headbutts opponent.	3%	22
Jigglypuff	Punches opponent.	3%	20
King Dedede	Headbutts opponent.	3%	24
Kirby	Punches opponent. Can be used in rapid succession.	1.55%	9
Link	Hits opponent with the hilt of his sword.	2.1%	15
Little Mac	Punches opponent in the stomach.	2.1%	15
Lucario	Hits opponent with a blast of aura. The fastest pummel in the game.	1%	7
Lucas	Headbutts opponent.	1.2%	9
Lucina	Knees opponent.	2%	15
Luigi	Headbutts opponent.	3.2%	23
Mario	Headbutts opponent.	3.25%	23
Marth	Knees opponent.	2%	15
Mega Man	Squeezes opponent.	3%	28
Meta Knight	Hits opponent with the claws on his wings.	3%	23
Mewtwo	Zaps opponent with a small psychic pulse.	2%	18
Mii Brawler	Headbutts opponent.	3.25%*	23
Mii Gunner	Whacks opponent with their arm cannon.	2%*	24
Mii Swordfighter	Hits opponent with the hilt of their sword. It has the longest frame duration of all pummel animations.	3.25%*	33
Mr. Game & Watch	Hits opponent with a bell.	3.2%	29
Ness	Headbutts opponent.	1.2%	9
Olimar	Pikmin headbutts opponent. The third most damaging pummel whenever the White Pikmin is used.	2% (Other colors), 4% (White)	21
Pac-Man	Headbutts opponent.	3.25%	24
Palutena	Hits opponent with magic through her staff.	3.1%	22
Peach	Stomps on opponent's shins.	2%	18
Pikachu	Zaps opponent.	1.9%	15
Pit	Knees opponent.	2%	15
R.O.B.	Squeezes opponent with both his hands.	2%	16
Robin	Zaps opponent with magic.	3%	32
Rosalina	Hits opponent with her wand.	2%	18
Roy	Knees opponent.	2%	15
Ryu	Knees opponent.	2%	15
Samus	Chops opponent with her left hand. The second fastest pummel in the game behind Lucario.	1.2%	8
Sheik	Hits opponent with her arm.	3.1%	23
Shulk	Hits opponent with the hilt of the Monado. When using the Buster Monado Art, it is the most damaging pummel in the game, dealing 4.2%.	3%	26
Sonic	Knees opponent.	2%	15
Toon Link	Hits opponent with the hilt of his sword.	2%	15
Villager	Yanks net backwards.	3%	26
Wario	Pokes opponent in the gut with his finger.	2%	18
Wii Fit Trainer	Squeezes opponent.	3%	30
Yoshi	Bites down on opponent.	2%	15
Zelda	Zaps opponent with magic.	3%	24
Zero Suit Samus	Knees opponent.	2%	15

* This assumes the Mii is default height and weight.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

NOTE: All values are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

Character	Description	Damage	Duration in frames	Freeze frames
Banjo & Kazooie	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Bayonetta	Slaps the grabbed opponent twice.	0.6% (hit 1), 0.7% (hit 2)	6	10 each hit
Bowser	Headbutts opponent.	1.6%	7	15
Bowser Jr.	Hits opponent with a toy hammer.	1.3%	6	14
Captain Falcon	Knees opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Charizard	Bites opponent.	1.6%	7	15
Chrom	Knees opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Cloud	Knees opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Corrin	Knees opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Daisy	Toad punches opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Dark Pit	Knees opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Dark Samus	Chops opponent with her left hand.	1.3%	6	14
Diddy Kong	Headbutts opponent.	1%	6	11
Donkey Kong	Chops opponent with one hand.	1.6%	7	15
Dr. Mario	Headbutts opponent.	1.534%	6	14
Duck Hunt	The duck headbutts the opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Falco	Knees opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Fox	Knees opponent.	1%	5	11
Ganondorf	Knees opponent.	1.6%	7	15
Greninja	Squeezes opponent with water.	1%	7	11
Hero	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ice Climbers	Headbutts opponent.	1%	6	11
Ike	Headbutts opponent.	1.6%	6	15
Incineroar	Headbutts opponent.	1.6%	6	15
Inkling	Kicks opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Isabelle	Yanks net backwards.	1.3%	6	14
Ivysaur	Constricts opponent with vines.	1.3%	6	14
Jigglypuff	Kicks opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Joker	Knees the opponent.	1.5%
Ken	Knees opponent.	1.3%	6	12
King Dedede	Headbutts opponent.	1.6%	7	15
King K. Rool	Headbutts opponent.	1.6%	7	15
Kirby	Punches opponent.	1%	5	11
Link	Hits opponent with the hilt of his sword.	1.3%	6	14
Little Mac	Punches opponent in the stomach.	1%	5	11
Lucario	Hits opponent with a blast of aura.	1.3%	6	14
Lucas	Zaps opponent with PSI.	1.3%	6	14
Lucina	Knees opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Luigi	Squeezes opponent with the Poltergust G-00.	1.3%	6	14
Mario	Headbutts opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Marth	Knees opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Mega Man	Squeezes opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Meta Knight	Hits opponent with the claws on his wings.	1%	5	11
Mewtwo	Blasts opponent with a pulse of darkness.	1.3%	6	14
Mii Brawler	Headbutts opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Mii Gunner	Knees opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Mii Swordfighter	Knees opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Mr. Game & Watch	Hits opponent with a bell.	1.3%	6	14
Ness	Blasts opponent with PSI.	1.3%	6	14
Olimar	Chops opponent with one hand. Unlike in previous games, it is not affected by the Pikmin grabbing the opponent.	1%	6	11
Pac-Man	Headbutts opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Palutena	Hits opponent with magic through her staff.	1.3%	6	14
Peach	Toad punches opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Pichu	Zaps opponent with a headbutt.	1.4% (0.1% recoil)	5	14
Pikachu	Zaps opponent with a headbutt.	1%	5	12
Piranha Plant	Bites opponent.	1.4%	6	14
Pit	Knees opponent.	1.3%	6	14
R.O.B.	Headbutts opponent.	1.3%	5	14
Richter	Knees opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Ridley	Stabs opponent with his tail.	1.6%	7	15
Robin	Zaps opponent with magic.	1.5%	6	16
Rosalina	Hits opponent with her wand.	1.3%	6	14
Roy	Knees opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Ryu	Knees opponent.	1.3%	6	12
Samus	Chops opponent with her left hand.	1.3%	6	14
Sheik	Knees opponent.	1%	5	11
Shulk	Hits opponent with the hilt of the Monado. When using the Buster Monado Art, it is the most damaging pummel in the game, dealing 1.82%.	1.3%	6	14
Simon	Knees opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Snake	Tightens his chokehold on the opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Sonic	Knees opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Squirtle	Headbutts opponent.	1%	5	11
Toon Link	Hits opponent with the hilt of his sword.	1%	6	11
Villager	Yanks net backwards.	1.3%	6	14
Wario	Pokes opponent in the gut with his finger.	1.6%	7	15
Wii Fit Trainer	Squeezes opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Wolf	Knees opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Yoshi	Bites down on opponent.	1.3%	6	14
Young Link	Hits opponent with the hilt of his sword.	1%	6	13
Zelda	Blasts opponent with magic.	1.3%	7	14
Zero Suit Samus	Knees opponent.	1.3%	6	14