Splat Roller

Splat Roller (, Splaroller) is Inkling's side special move.

Overview
Upon use, Inkling will take out the Splat Roller and begin to slide it across the ground, covering the ground in ink. If an enemy that is standing on the ground is hit by the Roller, they will be buried. Rolling over an enemy that is already buried will instead launch them. The move has no effect on airborne opponents. If Inkling's ink tank is empty, the move has no effect, will not ink the stage, and Inkling will move much slower. The move can be canceled by pressing either the special move button, the attack button, or the jump button. Using either the attack or special move buttons will cause Inkling to slide forward slightly while the the jump button will cause Inkling to short hop.

The move aids with recovery if used in the air, moving Inkling forward as they fall with the roller. Pressing the jump button during then grants Inkling a small extra jump. The forward momentum only applies if used with ink; performing the move in the air with an empty tank only results in Inkling dropping almost straight down.

Prior to update 2.0.0, the move was, alongside 's down throw, infamous for its bury hitbox causing opponents to be buried for a disproportionately long amount of time at lower percentages. As such, 2.0.0 reduced the bury time at lower percentages while increasing it at higher percentages, alongside King K. Rool's down throw.

Onstage ink
Opponents on ink have reduced moving speed and jump height. This has unintended interactions with certain momentum-based moves, such as increasing their height.

Only a certain length of the stage can be inked at a time (roughly 80 units). After being applied, ink fades away in five seconds.

Origin
The Splat Roller is one of the main weapons and Roller class weapons available to the player in the  series. In its home series, the Splat Roller could also fling ink a short distance to deal damage. Starting from Splatoon 2, jumping and flinging ink in midair would result in the player performing a vertical swing, which allows ink to be flung farther, albeit narrower. Running over an opposing player with the Splat Roller almost always results in a one-hit splat, making the weapon very deadly at melee range. The Splat Roller's appearance in Ultimate is based on its appearance in the original Splatoon.

The movement-slowing properties of the ink left behind by the Splat Roller in Ultimate originate from the Splatoon series, where players will temporarily have their speed and jump height reduced while stepping on enemy ink. Unlike in Ultimate, this ink can be left behind by all weapons, not just Rollers, and will remain for the rest of the match.

Trivia

 * Despite being the only move that can cover the ground with ink in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, all of the other ink weapons that Inkling uses for their moveset will cover the ground with ink in their home series when used on an inkable.
 * Certain terrains in Ultimate cannot be covered with ink by the Splat Roller. Using it on these terrains will not drain the ink meter; however, the roller will still bury and ink opponents that it hits. These include:
 * The clouds on Super Happy Tree
 * The pipes on
 * The flying carpets on Rainbow Cruise
 * The turtle on Great Bay
 * The holes on the pipes on Yoshi's Island (Melee)
 * The rail cloud nicknamed "Randall" on Yoshi's Story
 * The treetops and ropes on Onett
 * The lights on Brinstar Depths
 * The main platform, beaches and shallow waters on Delfino Plaza
 * The blocks on Mushroomy Kingdom
 * The ground during microgames on WarioWare, Inc.
 * The ground in the flying stage and the treadmills in the electric stage of Pokémon Stadium 2
 * The leaves, vines and Bulborb on Distant Planet
 * The clouds on Summit
 * The clouds on Skyworld
 * The blue platforms on Mario Bros.
 * The pipes, metal grating and moving platforms on 3D Land
 * The pipes on Golden Plains
 * The pipes on Paper Mario
 * The metal grating on Prism Tower
 * The racers on Mute City SNES
 * The sand and leaves on Tortimer Island
 * Drawn lines on PictoChat 2
 * The metal grating on Mario Galaxy
 * The hay on Skyloft
 * The shallow water on Palutena's Temple
 * The lights on Boxing Ring
 * The metal grating on Wuhu Island
 * All terrain on Super Mario Maker
 * The head, neck and back of Gramps on Cloud Sea of Alrest