Counterattack

Lucario's Double Team is an example of a counterattack.

A counterattack is a type of special move. On use, they render the user temporarily invincible followed by a sizable period of lag. Should an attack attempt to hit the user while they are invincible, the attack will be blocked and the user will automatically use an attack of their own, presumably hitting whoever was attacking unless it was a projectile. Some counterattacks do more damage when they activate against a stronger attack, while some do the same damage all the time.

A correctly-timed counterattack can tilt the momentum of a match towards the user, though as they are generally not effective on reaction, reading the opponent is crucial. Simply countering repeatedly in hopes of getting one in will result in a competent opponent waiting until the move's lag to attack, or simply using an uncounterable grab.

Unblockable attacks cannot be countered, though depending on the move, the user may still not take damage due to the counterattack's initial invincibility frames. Unlike reflectors, there is no limit to how much damage can be countered.

List of counterattacks

• Counter is shared by Marth, Roy, Ike, and Lucina. Marth's Counter acts faster than Roy's or Ike's, but also has more lag afterwards. The damage dealt depends on the user and the game:
  • In Melee, Marth's Counter does 7% regardless of the attack.
  • In Brawl, Marth's Counter does 1.1x the damage of the attack, with a minimum of 8%.
  • Roy's Counter does 1.5x the damage of the attack.
  • Ike's Counter does 1.2x the damage of the attack, with a minimum of 10%.
  • Lucina's counter is functionally identical to Marth's. The animation, however, is different.
• Double Team is Lucario's counterattack. When used, Lucario vanishes out of the way of an attack and reappears behind the opponent, striking them with a sliding kick. He has the option to attack in the opposite direction too. It is the slowest of all counterattacks to hit once activated, to the point of it being possible to simply avoid in some cases. Its power does not change based on the activation attack, but it does change based on Lucario's aura, with a base damage of 11%.
• Slip Counter is Little Mac's counterattack, taking the form of an uppercut. When used, a red wave quickly appears, representing a heartbeat, and Little Mac socks the opponent with an uppercut. Unlike most other counterattacks, this move can be used as a useful though risky horizontal recovery option as he takes a big step forward if the move activates, boosting Little Mac's infamous sub-par recovery if he successfully counters anything.
• Greninja uses a Substitute as its counter. If Greninja is hit while using this move, it vanishes, being replaced by a green doll or a wooden log, and then reappears rushing in a single direction, attacking the opponent. This counter works similarly to Lucario's Double Team, the counterattack being slow and avoidable, but Greninja can reappear in all eight directions, giving it use as a move to confuse opponents and can even be used as a recovery.
• Toad is Peach's counterattack, being a neutral special move instead of a down special move like other characters. Toad operates slightly differently than other counterattacks: Peach does become invincible during part of the move, but not for the entire counterable duration, and hitting her does not activate the counter. Instead, Toad has a separate hurtbox that activates the counter, which is a set of six spore shots that each do 3% and fire at random angles. The spores can be absorbed and result in the move having the longest reach of any counterattack.
• Counter is Palutena's down special move. She puts up a special shield, and if hit while this shield is active, she will strike back.
• Vision is Shulk's down special move, using a slash from the Monado. It is unique as it possesses two different counterattacks: a slow but wide-ranged slash or a quick dashing slash with higher base knockback that can be only done if Shulk is grounded. It has the longest counter window in the entire series when fresh, but the window becomes shorter each time the move is used.
• Mii Swordfighter also possesses a counterattack which does 1.25x the damage of the attack, with a minimum of 8%.