Zap / Zapple / Kazap

Zap (, Dein) is the Hero's side special move in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Overview
Much like Woosh, this move is a charge special that cannot be stored. It involves the Hero unleashing bolts of lightning from his sword at varying strengths, which causes victims to be struck by lightning.

Holding down the special button will begin charging the move, and releasing it will start the attack based on the amount charged. The move is extremely versatile as a result, allowing it to cover a multitude of ranges given the situation. However, all three suffer from a severe lack of shield pressure: no matter what level of Zap is shielded, the move lacks any solid impact. Regardless, its ability to harass vulnerable opponents still makes it an invaluable tool in Hero's moveset.

All forms of the attack are disjointed hitboxes and are not projectiles, meaning they cannot be reflected or absorbed, with the exception of the lightning bolt that strikes Hero's sword before Kazap. With the exception of Zap (which is detailed below), if the move is used without sufficient MP, Hero will still perform the animation, but not the actual spell.

The charge levels are as follows:
 * Zap costs 8 MP and and is unleashed with little or no charging. It causes the Hero to swing their sword in an arc (2%), striking nearby enemies with a bolt of lightning (12%).
 * Zap has the shortest range and lowest power, but uses the least MP and comes out quickly. It is thus useful for quickly getting an enemy away from Hero, similarly to moves such as Wolf's . Hero's sword has a hitbox while using Zap; up close, this marginally increases the move's damage, and also allows the move to do minimal damage with the sword swing even without sufficient MP.
 * Zapple (, Raidein) costs 18 MP and is unleashed after some charging. It fires a large bolt of lightning forward, causing enemies hit to be struck with lightning (6% hit 1, 14% hit 2).
 * Zapple has an impressive disjointed range, allowing it to harass enemies from an incredible distance away. It also deals high damage for its relatively low commitment and cost.
 * Kazap (, Gigadein) costs 42 MP and is unleashed after a full charge. It causes the Hero to raise his sword towards the sky before a large bolt of lightning strikes it, which deals damage to any victims close by and locks them in hitstun (4%). He then proceeds to swing his charged sword in a circle around himself (6% hit 2, 12%/10% hit 3 (front/back), 16% finisher). Hero gains 15% of heavy armor while swinging his sword.
 * Kazap is deceptively quick despite its incredible power, with KO potential as high as moves like Falcon Punch. It also has deceptively low ending lag, making it difficult to punish from maximum distance. However, this comes at the cost of it taking some time to charge, and it also uses the most MP out of the Hero's moves (with the exception of ). Despite its looks, the bolt of lightning that strikes Hero's sword actually consists of 2 bolts of lightning, with at least 1 bolt needing to hit his sword for the move to work. Typically, it is very unlikely for both bolts of lightning to be canceled in any way, though if 1 bolt is removed (by using moves such as Pocket), the move will continue with no changes, and if both bolts are removed (with a move like Gravitational Pull), Kazap will fail, wasting the 42 MP required to cast it. If the bolt misses Hero because he has been moved, the bolt will keep on going forever or until it exits the screen.

Origin
Zap is a weak lightning spell that was introduced in Dragon Quest III. Zapple and Kazap are the stronger variations that are learned at higher levels - Kazap having also been introduced in Dragon Quest III, while Zapple was first introduced in Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker. These moves, with a few exceptions, can only be learned by the Hero in the main series. The Hero from Dragon Quest XI was the first character to learn Zapple in the main series because it only appeared in spin-off prior to Dragon Quest XI.

The animation and function of Kazap is similar to the splitter skills that the Luminary learns in Act 3 in Dragon Quest XI. It also coincidentally resembles Kirby’s Spin Slash with the  ability in .

In their home series, all four Heroes who are playable in Smash can learn Zap and Kazap, while the Luminary can also learn Zapple as mentioned above. The other three Heroes' access to Zapple is new for Ultimate.

Trivia

 * Kazap costs the most MP of Hero's moves at 42 MP, with the exception of Magic Burst, which uses up all of the remaining MP.
 * Zapple and Kafrizz are the only spells Hero uses that originated from a Dragon Quest spin-off, that being Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker.