Charge

Lucario charging an Aura Sphere, making it bigger and more powerful within each second of charging.

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

• All 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.
• Certain special moves can also be charged by holding the special attack button. With some moves, (Giant Punch, Charge Shot, Aura Sphere, and Shadow Ball) the charge can be held by the character indefinitely until the move is used again. Some special moves are automatically charged with time until activated (Wario Waft, Robo Burner), at which point they are discharged. Sonic's Spin Charge is unique in that it is charged by pressing the special button repeatedly.
• There are a few items which can be charged. Most battering weapons, and a few projectile items can be charged. Also, the Hothead will be charged as it receives damage on the field.

Chargeable Special Moves

Character	Move	Charge effect	Notes
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.
	Rocketbarrel Blast	Increases height and damage	Activates automatically 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.
Ike	Eruption	Increases damage	Automatically activates at fully 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.
Jigglypuff	Rollout	Increases speed, duration, damage	Can be held indefinitely.
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.
Kirby	Inhale	Various (see notes)	Kirby can copy a chargeable neutral special from some characters.
Link	Hero's Bow	Increases damage, and speed of arrow	Can be held indefinitely.
	Spin Attack (Brawl only)	Increases damage and duration	Activates automatically at full charge.
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; charge can be saved via shielding.
Lucas	PK Freeze	Increases damage, opponent stays frozen longer	Activates automatically at full charge, makes Lucas helpless when used in the air
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.
Mario (Brawl only)	F.L.U.D.D.	Increases the amount of water Mario can spray while using F.L.U.D.D., as well as range	Charge can be saved via shielding, dodging or charging all the way.
Marth	Shield Breaker	Increases damage	Automatically activates at full charge. Shield damage varies dependant on level of charge.
Mewtwo	Shadow Ball	Increases damage, range, and size of sphere	Can be charged indefinitely; charging animation has damaging hitbox; charge can be held by shielding.
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(SSBM, SSBB only)	PK Flash	Increases damage	Activates automatically at full charge, makes Ness helpless when used in the air
Pichu	Skull Bash	Increases damage, and distance it will cover	Activates automatically at full charge. Causes the same level of recoil regardless of charge level.
Pikachu	Skull Bash	Increases damage, and distance it will cover	Activates automatically at full charge.
Pit	Palutena's Arrow	Increases damage	Can be charged indefinitely only if one keeps on changing the direction in which the arrow is aimed
Squirtle	Water Gun	Increases duration and range	Charge can be kept by shielding or charging all the way.
R.O.B.	Robo Burner	Increases duration (and therefore range)	Automatically charges when ROB is not moving; only charges on the ground.
	Robo Beam	Increases damage; lowers speed	Automatically charges when ROB is not using move.
	Gyro	Increases duration and damage	Charge can be held by shielding
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.
Samus	Charge Shot	Increases range, damage, and size of sphere	Charge can be held by shielding.
Sheik	Needles	Increases duration and damage	Can be charged indefintely in Melee; cannot be charged indefinitely in Brawl; maxes at six needles; charge can be stored via shielding.
Sonic	Spin Charge	Increases speed and damage	Charged by rapidly pressing the special move button
	Spin Dash	Increases speed and damage	Automatically launches after certain amount of time
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; slightly fully charged stronger than fully charged
Young Link	Fire Bow	Increases damage, speed, and range	Can be held indefinitely
Zero Suit Samus	Paralyzer	Increases damage and hitstun	Cannot be charged indefinitely; longer charge paralyses others for a longer period of time.

Trivia

• In Melee, smash attacks can only attain a maximum charge of 1.3671x instead of the intended 1.4x. It's believed this implies that they can only be charged for 59 frames instead of 60, though this math is very slightly off.
• Even though two of the attacks technically has a passive charging phase, R.O.B. is the series' only character with three chargeable Special Attacks.