Flinch

Flinching, also called Hitstun is what happens to a character when they are hit by an attack. The character will be stunned for a very short period of time, usually just enough to interrupt any attacks or movements. There are certain attacks that do not cause flinching, and ways for a character to avoid flinching. The amount of flinching is referred to as hitstun. Some attacks cause flinching without any knockback whatsoever.

Attacks that do not cause flinching

• Fox's Blaster
• Mario's F.L.U.D.D. and Cape
• Squirtle's charged Water Gun
• Luigi's Super Jump Punch (only in Melee)
• Snake's Grenade (the actual Grenade; not the explosion)
• Olimar's Pikmin when latched on.
• The Bulborbs of Olimar's End of Day
• The flame of Charizard's forward aerial
• The rain that occurs in the "Kitty Cover" game in the stage WarioWare, Inc.
• Glancing Blows

Attacks that cause flinching with no knockback

• First hit of Snake's Forward tilt
• Luigi's Super Jump Punch (in Brawl, non-sweetspotted)

Ways to prevent/reduce flinching

• Metal Box
• Super Mushroom
• Certain Stickers (only in the Subspace Emissary)
• Any moves that offer knockback resistance.

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