Disable
Disable
Disable in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
User Mewtwo
Universe Pokémon
Article on Bulbapedia Disable (move)

Disable (かなしばり, Temporary Binding) is Mewtwo's down special move.

OverviewEdit

 
Disable being reflected, demonstrating how it works as a projectile.

Mewtwo emits a short flash from its eyes, and any opponent facing Mewtwo and right in front of it will be dazed for a short period. If the move is performed on an already dazed opponent, they will be knocked away, taking 1% damage, and recover upon landing. The move will also send foes flying anytime they are in either a dazed state from a shield break or in an aerial tumble. If the move hits an opponent in the air, they will flinch but instantly recover after the freeze frames, taking no appreciable knockback.

The move is often considered impractical due to its short, narrow range (the opponent must be very close, in front of Mewtwo and at approximately eye level), but it can be used to disrupt an advancing enemy or stun them for a charged smash attack. For more reliable use, wavedashing into it or jump canceling it allows the player to keep their momentum and reach opponents. Also of note is that the effect of the stun will last longer the higher the foe's damage. Disable is actually a projectile, so alert opponents facing Mewtwo can reflect, powershield, and counter it.

In Super Smash Bros. 4, Mewtwo assumes a lower stance when performing Disable, thus lowering its eye level and allowing for the attack to connect with more enemies that are shorter than Mewtwo. In addition, the cooldown of Disable has decreased, and the stun duration for opponents has been lengthened, making it a very viable strategy to ensure a KO once characters are damaged enough, albeit still a risky maneuver. Disable is also a weight independent attack, but it can't stun fighters if the knockback dealt isn't greater than 0 units.

Instructional quotesEdit

  trophy description   Mewtwo can daze a foe if it makes eye contact and uses Disable; the move is useless unless Mewtwo is facing its enemy.
  Move List   Makes eye contact with an enemy to stun them. Ineffective when airborne or not facing an opponent.

CustomizationEdit

Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:

1. Disable
"Stun any enemy you make eye contact with. Has no effect if you're not facing one another."
  1. Disable: Default.

Like the other DLC characters, Mewtwo has no custom move variations (aside from the glitch ones in 1.0.6).

TechniquesEdit

Short Hop DisableEdit

 
Mewtwo performing a Short Hop Disable

Performing Disable while running will stop Mewtwo in place. However, by short hopping first, it can retain its horizontal momentum.

Disable jumpEdit

The disable jump is a technique and glitch in Super Smash Bros. Melee. It is triggered by Mewtwo hitting another character with Disable during the initial frames of their up special move. The timing can be hard to dictate, but if the glitch is performed correctly the target will be sent high into the air, past the hoop. The opponent will then become helpless until landing.

Footstool DisableEdit

In SSB4, Mewtwo can combo into Disable by footstool jumping a grounded opponent, immediately double jumping, and then using the move to cancel the double jump. The combo can be set up in multiple fashions, but the most common are from a neutral aerial and a footstool out-of-shield. When using neutral aerial, the player must reverse aerial rush it so Mewtwo is in a position to footstool. The neutral aerial drags down the opponent to where Mewtwo can footstool to double jump cancel by using Disable, stunning the opponent so the player can choose what punish to go for. This technique has been used consistently in tournament by Mewtwo main Abadango. At Pound 2016 he placed first, showing off this new tech, using it in winner's finals against Marss.

However, there are inconsistencies with the combo, with the player having to guess which side the opponent will be on from the neutral aerial drag down, and some characters being immune to their height. Regardless of these inconsistencies, if the player is good enough, the combo can be performed as an infinite.

OriginEdit

 
Mewtwo using Disable in Pokémon Red.

Disable is a Normal-type status move introduced in Generation I. It prevents the target from being able to use a specific move for several turns, though the exact mechanics — from duration to accuracy and even move selection — vary throughout generations. In Generation I, Disable will randomly choose one of the target's moves to prevent the use of for a certain duration of turns. From Generation II and onward, Disable will disable the target's last used move, meaning it fails otherwise. Since then, its accuracy has been steadily buffed, and it has become one of the most-buffed moves in the franchise as a result. Its depiction in the Smash series, in which it prevents the victim from moving entirely, is closer to how the move works in the Pokémon anime series and the Mystery Dungeon spinoff games.

Disable is a part of Mewtwo's starting moveset in every game. However, while Mewtwo is programmed to learn Disable at level 1 in Pokémon Red and Green, it can't learn it due to the lack of a Move Reminder in these games, meaning that Disable Mewtwo was effectively unused until Pokémon Stadium 2 introduced the ability to relearn moves.

GalleryEdit

Names in other languagesEdit

Language Name
  Japanese かなしばり
  English Disable
  French Entrave
  German Aussetzer
  Spanish Anulación
  Italian Inibitore
  Chinese 定身法
  Korean 사슬묶기
  Dutch Ontwapen
  Russian Отключение

TriviaEdit

  • In Melee, Mewtwo's irises turn yellow while using Disable, while in SSB4 they instead turn green.
    • In Ultimate, Mewtwo's expression when performing the move is also used as its poisoned/cursed expression, and as a result, its irises flash green as long as poison or curse are in effect.
  • Disable is the only down special move used by Pokémon in the Super Smash Bros. series that cannot be taught via TM or HM in the Pokémon series. Revenge also originally fit this criteria until the release of Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, where Incineroar can learn it via TM42.
  • The function of Disable in Smash resembles a different Pokémon move altogether: Glare, which consists in the user making eye contact with the opposing Pokémon in order to paralyze it. However, Mewtwo cannot learn Glare in the Pokémon games.