Double Team
| Double Team | |
|---|---|
 Double Team in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. | |
| User | Lucario |
| Universe | Pokémon |
| Article on Bulbapedia | Double Team (move) |
Double Team (かげぶんしん, Shadow Divide) is Lucario's down special move. It is a counterattack move.
Description
When used, Lucario enters a defensive tai chi-like stance. If it is attacked during this stance, it will teleport, then strike with a sliding kick from the left or right (depending on the direction the analog stick is held in) for moderate damage and surprisingly high knockback, which is even greater when Lucario has taken damage. If Lucario successfully counters with Double Team near an edge, it may teleport above the ledge and fall downwards as it unsuccessfully attacks, making recovery difficult.
Double Team has a longer length than Marth's and Ike's Counter, having the longest counter window in Smash 4 at 35 frames (tied with Vision), which also comes out the fastest, at 5 frames (tied with Slip Counter and Witch Time). To compensate, it has the longest overall animation for a counter, being over 40 frames long after the counter frames. It is notably different in that it does not change power depending on the countered move; rather, it does a constant attack no matter what moves it counters. One of the most interesting features of Double Team is its intangibility, which lasts until the counter frames end, leaving him unaffected even by attacks that cannot be countered, such as grabs and Final Smashes.
Additionally, if Lucario is hit during a Double Team and goes into the counter strike, Lucario will not have a hurtbox until it completes the counter attack. Double Team also reduces Lucario's falling speed for a minor duration. This move is rather easy to dodge, as it is possible to air dodge or shield the attack when Lucario disappears. Being an Aura based attack, in Brawl, it does 7% at percents below 20% and at 170% or higher it deals 15%. In Smash 4, it can deal as little as 7.26% at 0%, or as much as 18.7% above 190%.
Note that Lucario actually strikes the location around where it was hit, just like Counter does. If Double Team is used on a ranged attack or an attack that causes its user to move quickly (Spin Dash, Rollout, etc.), Lucario will most likely miss with its counter attack.
Double Team is rather useful in Boss Battles mode to dodge boss attacks. While it isn't guaranteed to hit the boss (and even then, it doesn't deal much damage), it is a quicker way to dodge than a roll, short hopped air dodge, or just running away, and it has longer duration than a sidestep.
In Smash 4, the counterattack portion of Double Team has an aesthetic change where Lucario leans away from the direction he is facing, as well as making the attack resemble more of a flying kick. The kick also travels much further at higher percentages when affected by Aura.
Instructional quotes
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Prepare for an incoming attack, and counterattack with a sliding kick if struck. |
 Move List |
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Prepares for an incoming attack, and counterattacks with a sliding kick if struck. |
Customization
Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:
| 1. Double Team | 2. Glancing Counter | 3. Stunning Double Team |
|---|---|---|
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| "Prepare for an incoming attack, and counterattack with a sliding kick if struck." | "Dodge to avoid taking damage, and then immediately strike with a strong punch." | "A counter move that can paralyze your opponent if timed correctly." |
- Double Team: Default.
- Glancing Counter: Deals less damage and knockback, but allows the move to produce a hitbox even if Lucario is not hit by an opponent.
- Stunning Double Team: Replaces the dive kick with Lucario teleporting around the same spot, dealing electric damage and stunning opponents at the end of the move.
Glancing Counter being used in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
The aura blast during Glancing Counter.
Stunning Double Team being used in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
The strike during Stunning Double Team.
Origin
In the Pokémon games, Double Team is a Normal-type status move introduced in Generation I that raises evasion by one stage, making it more likely for attacks to miss the user, and can be stacked for even larger evasion boosts. The move does not act like a counterattack like it does in the Smash Bros. games. It is generally banned by unoffocial competitive circuits for its reliance on luck and its difficulty to counter effectively when paired with Baton Pass, making Double Team and similar moves very infamous among players. The animation in Brawl is similar to the animation in the Pokémon games (notably ones like Pokémon Battle Revolution or Pokémon Colosseum).
Lucario can learn Double Team in all games it appears in via TM32 until Pokémon Sword and Shield. The Japanese name of the move contains the term "bunshin" (分身 or 分進), with the former meaning "other self/clone", and the latter meaning to "divide and/or advance".
Gallery
Double Team in Brawl.
Attack portion of the move in Brawl.
Double Team in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Double Team in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
Double Team's strike in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
Double Team as shown by the Move List in Ultimate.
Trivia
- It is possible to pull off a "reverse" Double Team where Lucario attacks from the front. After using Double Team, simply hold the control stick or d-pad in the direction the player wishes to attack from. Advantages of pulling off a "reverse" Double Team include allowing Lucario to initiate combos and even wall-cling without the use of a second jump. A video showing this can be seen here.
- Lucario's Double Team attack is slow enough that other characters with a counter can strike back with their own counter, given the correct circumstances.
- Lucario quietly says "It's over" whenever Double Team is successfully activated in Brawl, but this phrase is barely recognizable by many players due to many other sound effects and music unless one plays the game in high-definition volume settings. Regardless, this phrase is available in the Sound Test. In Smash 4, however, Lucario says "Weak!" instead.
- Worth noting is the fact that, in Brawl, Lucario speaks as it's attacking, but in Smash 4, Lucario speaks as it's being attacked.
- If Lucario uses Double Team with a Pikmin attached to it and attacking, the Pikmin will briefly "vanish" with Lucario.
- This move is also used by Greninja in one of its victory poses, but it is unable to use the move itself in Smash 4 and Ultimate during gameplay.
- Interestingly, the victory pose bears more of a resemblance to the original move than Lucario's does, as Double Team is not naturally a counterattack in the Pokémon series.
- Double Team is the only special move in Lucario's moveset that isn't also in its Pokkén Tournament moveset as well, having Bone Rush in its place instead.
- This move can be done on certain Final Smashes like Marth/Lucina's Critical Hit, although Lucario won't counter the attack.
