Greninja (SSBU)

Greninja in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Pokémon
Other playable appearance	in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Secret Ninja Attack

“	A ninja-like fighter that battles with moves like the Water Shuriken. Greninja can use a log for clever counterattacks, and this Pokémon can even stick to walls. During its Final Smash, it turns into Ash-Greninja...!?	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Greninja (ゲッコウガ, Gekkouga) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It was confirmed on June 12th, 2018. Greninja is classified as fighter #50.

Billy Bob Thompson, Yūji Ueda, Frédéric Clou and Benedikt Gutjan's portrayals from Super Smash Bros. 4 were repurposed for the English, Japanese, French and German versions of Ultimate.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Greninja being the 58th character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Donkey Kong or any character in its unlock tree, being the 6th character unlocked after Sheik.
• Have Greninja join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Greninja must then be defeated on Kalos Pokémon League.

Attributes

Greninja, true to being a ninja-themed character, has very strong mobility. However, unlike most characters who boast similar mobility (such as Sheik), Greninja boasts a surprising amount of KO options, good range on plenty of its attacks, and KO throws.

One of Greninja's most notable traits is its high mobility which compliments its grounded moveset. Greninja's dash attack comes out frame 7 and has very low endlag, as well as the ability to cross up on shields. Its knockback angle allows for many true follow ups and strings over a large range of percents. Its neutral jab attack comes out on frame 3, making it a good grounded combo breaker. It can also lock, which gives Greninja access to potent punishes from opponents missing techs. Its down tilt is an excellent combo starter due to its low startup, ending lag and vertical launch angle. Greninja's up tilt is a frame 9 disjointed hitbox that acts well as an anti-air and can also be a combo starter. Its smash attacks are also reliable in their own right; its forward smash is quick for its range and power, down smash is an excellent punishment option for ledge regrabs, as well as sending at a low angle, and up smash is a potent combo finisher.

Greninja also has a very strong air game due to its aforementioned air speed, jump height. Greninja's aerials are reliable for multiple situations and all have low landing lag (except for down aerial, at 30 frames). Its neutral aerial is a decent low percent-combo starter due to it having incredibly low landing lag and good launch angle. It can also KO at high percentages. Its forward aerial acts as a combo finisher from its combo starters and can KO moderately early. Forward aerial's low landing lag and disjointed nature also makes it safe on shield in many situations when spaced correctly. Its up aerial is a great juggling option with low all-around lag and boasting good KO potential near the upper blast line. Greninja can also utilize its multihits to drag down opponents to create tech chase and jab lock situations. Its back aerial is a very fast follow up or offstage edgeguarding option. Down aerial can be used as a mix up to return to the stage from far above, as well as perform surprise combos on hit with both its meteor smash and sourspot hitbox.

Greninja's grab game is overall very effective, due to its grabs being among the longest ranges of any non-tether grab in the game. Its forward, up, and back throws can KO at high percentages. Down throw acts as a middle percent combo starter, as well as a strong DI mix up, especially at higher percentages at ledge as a 50/50 between DI in and out in conjunction with forward throw. Up throw acts as a versatile combo starter that can lead into juggle situations. Because of this, Greninja has plenty of options off of a grab, as not one of its throws could be considered useless.

Finally, Greninja's special moves are effective for various situations. Water Shuriken acts as a versatile zoning tool, as well as a high-percentage KO option when fully charged. At low-to-mid percents, it is also a combo starter, allowing Greninja to rush down its opponent and follow up with any aerial attack or an up smash. Shadow Sneak works as an effective recovery mix up, as well as a potent KO move from a good read or pseudo-combo finisher. Despite lacking an offensive hitbox, Hydro Pump is a good recovery move for its long distance, and can be used for gimping recoveries due to having windbox properties. Substitute is a counterattack with the unique attribute of being able to be aimed in one of 8 different directions upon a successful counter. These angled follow ups allow for Greninja to gain pseudo-follow ups as well as KO earlier by picking the optimal angle in regards to stage positioning.

Like all characters, Greninja is flawed in many ways. Greninja's primary flaws are its inability to break out of disadvantage state and its lack of out of shield options. While not as bad as the previous game, Greninja still has difficulties escaping combos due to its aerials still having relatively high startup. This can sometimes be alleviated with its back or down aerials, but both are not very effective due to back aerial's almost entirely horizontal hitboxes and down aerial's landing lag. Another option is aerial water shuriken, which stalls Greninja in the air and can be used as a landing mix up, as well as Hydro Pump landing mix ups. Greninja's out of shield options are relatively weak as well. Though its standing grab was buffed by one frame of start up, he still lacks an out of shield option quicker than frame 10, other than jumping. This means that when Greninja is pinned down into shield, it lacks many options to punish its opponent effectively.

Altogether, Greninja's playstyle requires players to think like an actual ninja: utilizing running speed and fast attacks to rush down opponents, saving the slower attacks for potential mixups, mindgames and surprise KO options, and remaining unpredictable to prevent being trapped into disadvantageous positions.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Greninja has been greatly buffed from Smash 4 to Ultimate. Its playstyle's traits have been further improved in the transition, while the general engine changes benefit said playstyle.

Most of the universal changes notably benefit Greninja. As with all other characters in the game, Greninja's already quick mobility is faster like most characters, which benefits its hit-and-run playstyle, allowing Greninja to close in the distance and escape to reset the neutral game much more easily. The ability to run cancel into any ground move allows Greninja to further exploit its amazing ground mobility, allowing for easier setups into its combo starters, such as up and down tilt and dash attack. Furthermore, the reduced landing lag on Greninja's aerial attacks gives it an easier time landing, while the universal 3-frame jumpsquat improves Greninja's ground-to-air potential. The implementation of spot dodge canceling improves its potential punish game, due to its wide variety of combo starters and fast frame data. Finally, the changes to air dodge mechanics slightly improve its previously below average edgeguarding game.

Aside from the universal changes, Greninja has also got notable direct buffs. The biggest ones were to its grab game: its standing grab is faster and its pummel, previously one of the worst in Smash 4, deals less damage but is significantly faster, which allows Greninja to deal much more damage before throwing the opponent. Greninja's forward throw has higher knockback, allowing it to KO in an emergency, as with up throw. Its up and down throws also have better combo and juggling potential due to the universal changes to mobility - down throw notably now allows for potential KO confirms into forward and back aerial. Other buffs include Water Shuriken having more range, improving Greninja's camping ability. Greninja now has a new down tilt that has lower ending lag and sends at more favorable angles, and its dash attack sends at a higher angle, further improving Greninja's combo game. Greninja's KO power has also been buffed, with forward smash and forward aerial receiving higher knockback, up smash connecting better into its second hit, and down smash having faster startup. Lastly, Substitute now slows opponents down and offers Greninja intangibility during all of its attack variations, bringing it in line with other counterattacks.

On the other hand, Greninja is not without its nerfs. Notably, the ability to tech footstools has made footstool comboes harder to pull off, which hinders Greninja's combo ability (specifically from its down aerial); however, this nerf is alleviated by Greninja's buffed combo game, due to other universal changes that impact it more positively. Substitute's attack variants are all weaker while also being more laggy overall, which compensates for the attack's new intangibility. In exchange for its buffed mobility, Greninja is now lighter, which brings it slightly more in-line with other combo-centric and/or hit-and-run characters, while not compensating much for its vulnerability to combos.

As a result of receiving multiple buffs with relatively few nerfs, Greninja has improved significantly from Smash 4, and has retained its status as a viable character in Ultimate, with above average representation and some strong results in competitive play thanks to smashers such iStudying, Jw, Lea, Somé, and Stroder. Because of this, Greninja is now considered as a high- or even top tier character by many professional players.

Aesthetics

• Much like all veterans from Smash 4, Greninja's model features a slightly more subdued color scheme.
• Every move that once used water katanas now uses water kunai, similar to when Ash's Greninja uses Cut in the Pokémon anime.
• Greninja's tongue has less physics-based movement than the previous game.
• Greninja has altered animations for its sidestep, roll, and airdodge animations; it now disappears in a small whirlwind with leaves scattering, similarly to when Substitute is successful.
• Greninja's victory pose where it flips in the air and lands with its arms crossed has been altered: the camera doesn't move as much, causing Greninja's body to face away from the camera.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Greninja's jumpsquat animation now takes three frames to complete (down from 4).
• Greninja dashes faster (2.08 → 2.288).
• Greninja walks faster (1.43 → 1.502).
• Greninja has increased air speed (1.18 → 1.239).
• Greninja is lighter (94 → 88). This worsens its survivability, but makes it slightly less susceptible to combos.
• The ability to tech footstools hinders Greninja's combo options.
• Greninja's down taunt, unlike other taunts, is not interruptible (unless it's used during Shadow Sneak). This makes Greninja more vulnerable while using it. However, due to how incredibly situational down taunt is, this is negligible in normal play.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • The first two hits have lower knockback (hit 1: 30 base/30 scaling → 20 / 25/25/15/15; hit 2: 30 base/50 scaling → 20/ 25/25/20), and they now keep opponents on the ground (hit 1: 70°/60°/80° → 361°/361°/180°/361°; hit 2: 70°/60°/90° → 361°). This allows them to connect better and jab lock.
  • The third hit now uses stationary hitboxes rather than hitboxes connected to Greninja's arms.
  • The first three hits have smaller hitboxes overall (hit 1: 3u/2.5u/3.5u → 2.0u/2.0u/2.2u/2.2u; hit 2: 3u/2.5u/4u → 2.5u/2.8u/3.0u; hit 3: 5u/3u/3u → 3u/3.4u/4u). This reduces their vertical range.
  • The second hit deals more damage (1.6% → 2%).
  • The third hit deals less damage (3.5% → 3%), and thus less knockback.
  • Neutral attack's infinite hits at a considerably faster rate and now keeps opponents on the ground during the attack. It also has reduced knockback scaling (40 → 10), as well as lower hitlag (1.0x → 0.5x) and SDI (1.0x → 0.4) multipliers. These changes allow it to connect better.
  • The infinite is now comprised of one extended hitbox rather than two normal ones (size: 5.2u/6.2u → 5.5; Y/Z-offset: 7/7 → 7.5/7.5; Z-stretch: 13 → 14).
  • The infinite's finisher now has three hitboxes instead of two, with different sizes (5.6u/6.6 → 4.2u/4.2u/4.8u) and positions (ID 0: 7 Y-offset/8 Z-offset → 7.5/9; ID 1: 7 Y-offset/16 Z-offset → 7.3/13 → ID 2: 7.5 Y-offset/16.5 Z-offset. This increases its horizontal range, but lowers its vertical range.
  • The infinite has reduced hitlag (3.0x → 2.0x).
• Forward tilt
  • It deals more damage when angled (7.3% → 8.3%).
  • It has significantly altered knockback (angled up: 20/30/40 base / 110/90/70 scaling → 50 / 100/79/58; non-angled/angled down: 20/30/40 base / 110/90/70 scaling → 50 / 98/77/56). This improves its KO power if sweetspotted (especially when angled up), but hinders its KO power otherwise.
• Down tilt:
  • Greninja has a new down tilt: a downward hand sweep instead of a shin kick.
  • It deals less damage (7% → 4%).
  • It has altered knockback (60 base/40 scaling → 30/110). This slightly narrows its combo range at low percentages, but increases it from mid to higher ones, to the point it now allows for KO confirms at high percentages.
  • The move launches opponents at a more upward angle (70° → 79°/77°/75°), further improving its combo potential at high percentages.
  • It has less ending lag (FAF 27 → 23).
• Dash attack:
  • The move has an altered animation with Greninja stopping halfway through the spin.
  • It deals more damage (7% → 8%).
  • It has reduced base knockback (100 → 90).
  • It has less ending lag (FAF 31 → 29).
  • It sends at a higher angle (60° → 70°). Combined with its lower ending lag and base knockback, this improves its followup and combo ability.
• Forward smash:
  • It deals more knockback (30 base/101 scaling → 35/104).
• Up smash
  • The first hit has a new hitbox that only hits grounded opponents with significantly reduced knockback (30 base/120 scaling → 20/10) and SDI multiplier (1.0x → 0.5x), whereas the previous hitbox can now only hit aerial opponents and has reduced knockback scaling (120 → 90). This makes the first hit connect more consistently into the second hit.
• Down smash:
  • The move has much less startup lag (15 → 10), and thus a shorter duration (FAF 55 → 50).
  • Both hits' arm hitboxes are now extended (Z-stretch: 0 → 7). This removes their blindspots.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (12 frames → 7 (neutral), 15 → 11 (forward), 13 → 10 (back), 15 → 14 (up), 32 → 30 (down)).
• Neutral aerial:
  • The move has considerably less ending lag (FAF 65 → 53).
• Forward aerial:
  • It has much more knockback scaling (84 → 95), improving its KO power.
  • The move has a new, smaller extended hitbox directly in front of Greninja (size: 3u; Y/Z-offset: 7.5/8; Y-stretch: 8.5). This removes its blindspot.
  • The move's two other hitboxes are smaller (5.4u/4.4u → 4.7u/3.7u), and one of them is offset further from Greninja (Y-offset: -7 → -8). This creates a new blindspot between them.
• Back aerial
  • The move has less ending lag (FAF 46 → 41).
  • The first hit sends at different angles, one of them being a different autolink angle (365°/30°/30° → 367°/35°/35°). This allows it to connect better into the second hit.
  • The third hit deals more damage (4% → 6%), though with its knockback scaling mostly compensated (120 → 95).
  • It has bigger hitboxes (hits 1 and 2: 5u/4u/2u → 5.5u/4.3u/2.5u; hit 3: 5.8u/4.5u/2u → 5.8u/4.5u/2.5u).
• Up aerial:
  • The fifth hit now sends at an autolink angle (85° → 367°). This allows it to connect slightly better into the final hit.
  • The fifth hit no longer has both based and set knockback, instead only using base knockback (45 base/10 set → 55 base). This makes it connect marginally less consistently at very high percentages.
• Down aerial:
  • The move has less ending lag if it misses (FAF 57 → 52).
  • Greninja no longer loses its double jump when it lands down aerial.
  • The move has more ending lag when it hits an opponent, hindering its combo potential and making it slightly less safe on shield.
  • Its hitboxes are smaller (clean: 6u → 4.3u; late: 7u → 5.2u) and higher up (Y-offset: -2 → 0.1).

Throws/other attacks

• Grab:
  • Standing and pivot grab have one frame faster startup (standing: frame 11 → 10; pivot: frame 15 → 14).
  • Dash grab has slower startup (frame 9 → 13).
  • Dash grab's grabbox doesn't extend out as far (Z-stretch: 20 → 17.5), reducing its range.
  • Pivot grab's grabbox extends further (Z-stretch: -22 → -25.3), increasing its range. It is now the largest non-tether pivot grab in the game.
• Pummel:
  • It deals less damage (2% → 1%).
  • It has faster startup (frame 6 → 2), deals more hitlag (4 frames → 11) and has less ending lag, making it significantly faster than in Smash 4.
• Forward throw:
  • The move consists of two hits rather than one. Both deal more damage overall (5% throw → 3.5% hit 1/4.5% throw/8% total).
  • The throw has less base knockback, but significantly more knockback scaling (70 base/45 scaling → 65/100), improving its KO power.
• Back throw:
  • Greninja has a new back throw: it turns around and throws the opponent with both hands.
  • It deals more damage (8% → 9%).
  • Its animation is faster, making it harder to DI properly.
• Edge attack has increased damage (7% → 9%).

Special moves

• Water Shuriken:
  • Water Shuriken has slightly increased range.
  • Opponents don't fall out of the fully charged shuriken as much as before.
  • Uncharged Water Shuriken has less knockback scaling (85 → 45).
  • Water Shuriken looks sharper.
• Shadow Sneak:
  • It can now be used multiple times in midair.
  • Shadow Sneak's shadow travels faster.
  • Both attack variants have less startup.
  • Forward Shadow Sneak has a new animation: it is a forward kick instead of a handstand kick. It launches at a much lower angle (48° → 36°), improving its KO potential.
  • Greninja now cloaks itself in a whirlwind before disappearing.
  • The shadow is notably darker, and the shadow's eyes flash red just before release. This makes it easier to predict the attack.
• Hydro Pump:
  • Hydro Pump now has an arrow pointing in the direction of travel, similar to Pikachu's Quick Attack and Pichu's Agility.
  • Hydro Pump can now be ledge-cancelled.
  • Greninja no longer loses its double jump if it is hit out of Hydro Pump.
• Substitute:
  • The counter window is longer (frames 8-29 → 8-34).
  • It has more ending lag if it misses (FAF: 65 → 70).
  • Substitute slows down the opponent when the attack activates, allowing the attack to land more consistently.
  • All of the attack's variants have one frame faster startup (frame 41 → 40).
  • All of the attack's variants now grant Greninja intangibility during the attack (frames 1-37 → 1-56).
  • All of the attack's variants have slightly more ending lag (FAF: 85 → 87).
  • The side variant has much less knockback scaling (100 → 85).
  • The up and diagonal up variants deal less damage (up: 14% → 13%; diagonal up: 13% → 12) and have less knockback scaling (both: 100 → 95), noticeably hindering their KO power.
  • The down variant deals less damage (14% → 13%) and has less knockback (grounded: 100 scaling → 95; aerial: 50 base/100 scaling → 25/65). This hinders its KO power; particularly, the aerial version is no longer among the strongest meteor smashes in the game.
  • The diagonal down variant deals less damage (13% → 12%) without compensation on knockback, hindering its KO power.
  • Substitute has more vibrant particle effects.
• Secret Ninja Attack:
  • Greninja now turns into Ash-Greninja during its Final Smash.
  • Greninja and its opponents are no longer silhouetted during the attack.

Update history

1.2.0

• Fixed Greninja's screen KO visual glitch.

2.0.0

• Down smash has a larger internal hitbox.
• Hydro Pump's ending lag can no longer be canceled instantly by landing on a moving or slanted platform.

3.0.0

• Water Shuriken deals less shield damage.

3.1.0

• Fixed a glitch where Greninja would slide while shielding.

4.0.0

• Down aerial no longer has its downward movement disabled when used out of hitstun.

Moveset

• Greninja can crawl, wall cling, and wall jump.

For a gallery of Greninja's hitboxes, see here.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2%	Two alternating palm thrusts followed by a double palm thrust that emits a small blast of water. If button mashed, it is instead followed by a series of knifehand strikes that emit blade-shaped blasts of water that concludes with an outward knifehand strike that emits a small blast of water. It can also be jab canceled, such as into forward tilt, down tilt and forward smash.
			2%
			3%
			0.5% (loop), 2% (last)
Forward tilt			7.3%	A hook kick which stops half way. It can be angled and can lock opponents.
Up tilt			4.5%	Greninja attacks with its tongue. A good aerial combo starter.
Down tilt			4%	Greninja does a downward hand sweep. It sends opponents at an upward angle, making it a versatile combo starter. Notably, it can confirm a KO into an up smash rather easily.
Dash attack			8%	A sweep kick. Sends opponents at a favorable angle for combos.
Forward smash			14%	An inward slash with a water kunai. Deals good knockback and has good range. However, it has notable startup lag.
Up smash			5% (hit 1), 14% (hit 2 clean center), 11% (hit 2 clean sides), 10% (hit 2 late)	Two reverse gripped inward slashes with water kunai. Greninja's strongest finisher, especially when hit clean.
Down smash			13% (kunai), 11% (arms)	Hits both sides with water kunai. Due to it sending opponents at an semi-spike angle and coming out on frame 10, it is a quick and effective way to set up an edge-guard situation.
Neutral aerial			11% (clean), 6% (late)	Strikes a ninjutsu pose while emitting an exploding water bubble.
Forward aerial			14%	A forward slash with a water kunai. It has some start-up and suffers from high end lag, but it is a viable edge-guarding and KOing option.
Back aerial			3% (hit 1), 2.5% (hit 2), 6% (hit 3)	Kicks backwards three times. It is Greninja's fastest aerial attack, although it is also one of the weakest aerials of its kind. However, this makes it a useful combo tool in return.
Up aerial			1.3% (hits 1-5), 3% (hit 6)	A corkscrew flying kick. One of Greninja's best combo and KO tools, as it can juggle and KO effectively due to its great jumping prowess.
Down aerial			8%	A diving double foot stomp. It acts as a stall-then-fall and bounces off opponents. The clean hit meteor smashes opponents. The descent can be stalled by using Water Shuriken.
Grab			—	Grabs with a whirlpool. While its standing grab is slow, it is among the longest-reaching grabs in the game, and its dash grab comes out quickly for its range.
Pummel			1%	Compresses target with water. Decent speed.
Forward throw			3.5% (hit 1), 4.5% (throw)	Shoves the opponent forward. Can KO at high percentages.
Back throw			9%	Greninja leans forward and flings the opponent backwards. Like forward throw, its decent knockback gives it good edgeguarding and KO potential at high percentages.
Up throw			11%	Tosses the opponent upwards. One of Greninja's most useful throws, as it can combo into a up tilt, up aerial, up smash at low and medium percents and can even KO at later percents.
Down throw			12%	Slams the opponent onto the ground. It can combo into a down tilt, forward tilt, forward smash, dash attack and a Shadow Sneak at low percentages. It can also combo into forward aerial at higher percentages.
Floor attack (front)			8%	Sweep kicks around itself while getting up.
Floor attack (back)			8%	Sweep kicks around itself while getting up.
Floor attack (trip)			8%	Sweep kicks around itself while getting up.
Edge attack			9%	Performs a roundhouse kick while climbing up.
Neutral special		Water Shuriken	3%-10.8% (uncharged), 1.0% (fully charged looping hits), 9% (fully charged final hit)	Uses Water Shuriken, which can be charged. Depending on how long the move is charged, the shuriken will be larger and do more damage, however the speed and distance will decrease as a result. At full charge, it hits multiple times and is a decent KOing option. A fully charged water shuriken that is reflected at a higher speed will have trouble landing the final hit on Greninja because of the looping hits not moving Greninja far enough for it.
Side special		Shadow Sneak	10% (normal), 12% (reverse)	Disappears briefly, then preforms a forward kick or a drop kick (relative to the user's reappearance in relation to the enemy) to attack. The move activates when the special button is released. The way the shadow moves is relative to Greninja's position, and it can be moved further or closer to change how far Greninja teleports. While performing Shadow Sneak, Greninja cannot run, attack, grab, dodge or shield. However, it can walk slowly, jump and taunt.
Up special		Hydro Pump	2% (per shot)	Uses Hydro Pump to propel itself in the inputted direction, it can be used twice. Each shot has a windbox effect that pushes opponents, making it a decent option for gimping predictable recoveries.
Down special		Substitute	14% (up or down), 11% (left or right)	Does a pose, if anyone hits it while posing, Greninja will temporarily disappear and get replaced by a wooden log or a Substitute doll then appear behind the opponent and strike them. It deviates noticeably from other counters, as the attack itself can be angled in an inputted direction and launching the opponent in that direction (with the down input meteor smashing opponents, which makes it a good punish against reckless edgeguarders).
Final Smash		Secret Ninja Attack	6% (the mat), 50% (Total in the attack after mat)	Turns into Ash-Greninja and attacks the opponent with a mat. If an opponent is caught in the mat, Greninja will send them up into the air and strike the opponent repeatedly in midair with its kunai, before slamming them down with a final hit.

On-screen appearance

• Emerges from a Poké Ball, then performs a ninjutsu hand sign that emits a small burst of water from its hands.

Taunts

• Up Taunt: Stands upright, clasping its hands together before assuming a ninjutsu stance. The stance resembles one of its attack animations from the Pokémon series.
• Side Taunt: Shakes head from side to side, causing its tongue to whip out in the same directions. Particles of saliva fly off with each whip.
• Down Taunt: While standing on one foot, Greninja holds out its hands, faces the screen, and summons small sprays of water. The sprays can do 1% or 2% damage and produce some knockback, though they're able to KO only at above 420%. A video showing the exact KO percentages at which each character can be KO'd can be found here. Unlike the rest of Greninja's taunts, this one cannot be cancelled (unless Shadow Sneak is being charged before using it).

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  Greninja's up taunt.

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  Greninja's side taunt.

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  Greninja's down taunt.

Idle Poses

• Crosses arms over its body, then separates them with a flourish.
• Hunches over and assumes a ninjutsu stance.

• 

  Greninja's first idle pose

• 

  Greninja's second idle pose

Victory poses

• Left: Does a few hand seals with splashing water, and then a ninja pose.
• Up: Performs Double Team to briefly create three afterimages of itself.
• Right: Does a flip, lands in a spinning pose, and crosses its arms.

A small excerpt of the title theme of Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green Versions, a track which would go on to become the Pokémon main theme and the title theme for the entire series.

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In competitive play

In the early metagame, players quickly noticed that Greninja had been buffed from Smash 4, with improved versatility and speed and, despite losing its footstool combos, gaining a stronger combo game thanks to improved frame data on moves such as dash attack, up throw, down throw, and neutral aerial. Despite this, Greninja is not a very popular pick compared to other characters such as Joker and Snake due to its high learning curve. Nevertheless, smashers such as Stroder, Jw, and Lea have proven that the character is a viable pick, causing many players to agree that Greninja is a high to top tier character.

Notable players

Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the Spring 2019 PGRU, which recognizes the official top 50 players in the world in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from February 1st, 2019 to July 7th, 2019.

Active

•  Akashic - Placed 17th at Smash Conference United, 33rd at 2GG: Prime Saga, and 49th at both Frostbite 2019 and MomoCon 2019.
•  Donquavious - The best Greninja player in the Carolinas. Placed 9th at both Just Roll With It! 11 and 2GG: Grand Tour - South Carolina, and 33rd at MomoCon 2019.
•  Dr. Copter - One of the best Greninja players in Tennessee. Placed 13th at Buccaneer Brawl and 49th at DreamHack Atlanta 2019.
•  Drystan - Placed 7th at Show Me Your Moves 20, and 17th at both Little Big House 5 and Smash Out 2019. Ranked 5th on the St Louis Ultimate Power Rankings.
•  Elexiao - The best Greninja in France and one of the best in Europe. Placed 1st at Phoenix Blue 2 and 9th at Stunfest 2019. Ranked 8th on the French Ultimate Power Rankings.
•  iStudying - The best Greninja player in the Netherlands and one of the best in Europe. Placed 3rd at Regen 2019, 7th at Tech Republic IV, and 25th at Valhalla II. Ranked 8th on the Dutch Ultimate Power Rankings.
•  Jw - The best Greninja player in Canada. Placed 9th at Pound 2019, 17th at Get On My Level 2019, and 49th at Frostbite 2019. Has wins over MkLeo, Mr E, Wishes, Frozen, and Leffen. Ranked 4th on the Southern Ontario Ultimate Power Rankings.
•  Lea (#30) - One of the two best Greninja players in the world. Placed 9th at Frostbite 2019, 5th at Umebura SP, and 7th at Umebura SP 2, Thunder Smash 3: Clash of the Pandas, and 2GG: Kongo Saga. Has wins over VoiD, WaDi, Raito, Tsu, and Dabuz.
•  Oisiitofu - One of the best Greninja players in Japan. Placed 5th at Sumabato SP and 9th at Sumabato SP 2.
•  Regerets - The best Greninja player in the Philippines. Placed 3rd at Gamebookr's Mid-Year Smash Tournament and 7th at both Uprising 2019 and REV Major 2019. Ranked 2nd on the Filipino Power Rankings.
•  ShuC - One of the best Greninja players in Netherlands. Placed 5th at Tech Republic IV, 13th at Albion 4, and 17th at Elysium: Yggdrasil. Ranked 9th on the Dutch Ultimate Power Rankings.
•  Somé - One of the best Greninja players in Japan. Placed 7th at Sumabato SP 4 and 49th at Umebura Japan Major 2019.
•  Stroder (#29) - One of the two best Greninja players in the world. Placed 5th at Ultimate Nimbus, 7th at Heart of Battle, and 13th at 2GG: Prime Saga. He has wins over Tweek, Puppeh, and ESAM.
•  Tarik - Co-mains Greninja with Pokémon Trainer and is considered the best Greninja player in Germany. Placed 2nd at Smashwick 4, 7th at Syndicate 2019, 9th at Ultimate Fighting Arena 2019, 17th at VCA 2019, and 33rd at Albion 4 with both Greninja and Pokémon Trainer. Ranked 15th on the German Power Rankings.
•  Venia - The best Greninja player in Tristate. Placed 4th at Orion 2019, 9th at NYXL Pop-Up!, and 13th at Let's Make Moves. Has wins over Rivers, Suarez, and Gen. Ranked 7th on the New York City Ultimate Power Rankings.

Inactive

•  MkLeo (#1) - Used Greninja as a secondary. Placed 1st at Smash Ultimate Summit using Greninja as one of his characters.

Classic Mode: Your Turn, Greninja!

Greninja's congratulations screen.

Greninja fights against characters that represent different types from the Pokémon games: for example, Charizard and Bowser represent Fire type, and Mewtwo, Ness, and Lucas represent Psychic type.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Charizard and Bowser	Pokémon Stadium	Battle! (Elite Four) / Battle! (Solgaleo/Lunala)	Represents Fire-type. Charizard's Pokémon Trainer is absent.
2	Pikachu , Pichu , and Zero Suit Samus	Pokémon Stadium 2	Battle! (Steven)	Represents Electric-type.
3	Lucario , Ryu , and Ken	Pokémon Stadium	Battle! (Reshiram / Zekrom)	Represents Fighting-type.
4	Ivysaur	Pokémon Stadium	Battle! (Gladion)	Represents Grass-type. Ivysaur's Pokémon Trainer is absent.
5	Mewtwo , Ness , and Lucas	Pokémon Stadium 2	Battle! (Dialga/Palkia) / Spear Pillar	Represents Psychic-type.
6	Squirtle and Greninja	Kalos Pokémon League	Battle! (Champion) - Pokémon X / Pokémon Y	Represents Water-type. Squirtle's Pokémon Trainer is absent. The CPU will be default Greninja if the player chooses the black costume.
Bonus Stage
Final	Master Hand	Final Destination	Master Hand (Less than 7.0 intensity) Master Hand / Crazy Hand (Intensity 7.0 or higher)	On intensity 7.0 and higher, Crazy Hand fights alongside Master Hand.

Note: All rounds except the sixth round take place on Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Stadium 2.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Greninja has Battle! (Trainer Battle) - Pokémon X / Pokémon Y accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

Finding Greninja in World of Light

Greninja was among the fighters that were summoned to fight the army of Master Hands.

During the opening cutscene, Greninja was present on the cliffside when Galeem unleashed his beams of light. Greninja leaped into the air to avoid one of the beams, which hit Lucario instead. Greninja was hit shortly after and vaporized, getting imprisoned by Galeem afterward along with the other fighters, sans Kirby. A puppet fighter cloned from Greninja is later seen alongside ones cloned from Fox, Samus, Link and other fighters.

Greninja was one of the many fighters that fell under Dharkon's control upon Galeem's first defeat, and it can be found in the Mysterious Dimension at the Dark Realm. It can be seen impeding the path, making it an obligatory unlock.

Greninja is later seen among several other fighters, making their last stand against Galeem and Dharkon. It also shows up in the bad ending where Galeem emerges victorious against Dharkon, witnessing Galeem engulf the world in light.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
50		Greninja	Shield	10,600	Kalos Pokémon League (Ω form)	Battle! (Trainer Battle) - Pokémon X / Pokémon Y

Spirits

Greninja's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Greninja in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.

• Greninja Spirit.png

  418. Greninja

In Spirit battles

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
154		Winky	Donkey Kong series	•Greninja		1,700	Mushroom Kingdom U	N/A	•The enemy deals damage when falling •The enemy has increased jump power	Jungle Level (Brawl)
199		Zora	The Legend of Zelda series	•Greninja		1,800	Great Bay	N/A	•The enemy's neutral special has increased power	Ocarina of Time Medley
385		Slippy Toad	Star Fox series	•Greninja •Fox		9,600	Frigate Orpheon (hazards off)	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Timed battle •The enemy tends to avoid conflict	Corneria - Star Fox
482		Raikou, Entei, & Suicune	Pokémon series	•Greninja •Incineroar •Pikachu		9,900	Suzaku Castle	•Hazard: Lava Floor	•The floor is lava	Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue Medley	Suicune
516	File:Darkrai Spirit.png	Darkrai	Pokémon series	•Greninja		9,900	Luigi's Mansion (Ω form)	•Item: Black Hole •Hazard: Slumber Floor	•The floor is sleep-inducing •Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Darkrai)	Battle! (Team Galactic)
770		Metal Gear RAY	Metal Gear Solid series	•Metal Greninja		4,200	Shadow Moses Island	•Item: Exploding Types	•Stamina battle •Explosion attacks aren't as effective against the enemy •The enemy is metal	Yell "Dead Cell"
893		Shadow Man	Mega Man series	•Greninja (×3)		3,500	Norfair (Battlefield form)	N/A	•The enemy's neutral special has increased power •Stamina battle •The enemy favors neutral specials	Shadow Man Stage
1,014		Luka	Bayonetta series	•Greninja		3,800	New Donk City Hall	•Temporary Invincibility	•The enemy becomes temporarily invincible when badly damaged	Riders Of The Light
1,048		Octoling Octopus	Splatoon series	•Greninja Team (×4)		3,900	Moray Towers	N/A	•Timed battle	Octoweaponry
1,143		Frog & Snake	Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru	•Greninja •King K. Rool		3,600	Dream Land GB (Castle Lololo interior)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Sablé Prince)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear	Castle Lololo	Frog

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Artwork of all playable Pokémon characters and Poké Ball Pokémon, as posted by the official Pokémon Twitter account.

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  Greninja's fighter card.

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  Greninja coming to a halt on Kalos Pokémon League.

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  Charging Water Shuriken next to Ryu on Suzaku Castle.

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  Jumping on Battlefield.

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  Performing its neutral aerial with Leviathan on Midgar.

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  With its Substitute Doll on Wuhu Island after tripping.

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  Performing Shadow Sneak on Luigi's Mansion.

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  Struck by Lucario on Pokémon Stadium 2.

Trivia

• In the Pokémon series, Ash-Greninja is only obtainable as a male. The fact that Greninja transforms into Ash-Greninja for its Final Smash, Secret Ninja Attack, implies that Greninja is a male in Ultimate.
• Greninja's new character portrait resembles its air dodge animation.
  • It also resembles Fox's character portrait from Super Smash Bros. 4 but with the arm and leg positions mirrored.
• Greninja's fighter number, 50, is the same as the number of its costume in Super Mario Maker. It shares this distinction with Inkling.
• Greninja, Ivysaur, Olimar, Little Mac, Ryu, Cloud, and Ken are the only characters to never appear as minions in any Spirit battles.
• Greninja is one of two characters in Ultimate with a taunt that cannot be cancelled, due to the fact that their non-cancelable taunts have hitboxes alongside Luigi.
  • Greninja and Luigi are also the only two characters whose Classic Mode titles feature their names.
• Greninja being featured in Donkey Kong's unlock column may be a reference to Winky the Frog, one of the Animal Buddies in the Donkey Kong Country series.
  • Greninja even appears in Winky's Spirit Battle.
  • Greninja can also be unlocked immediately after clearing Classic Mode as Sheik, referencing their ninja-like traits and movements.
• Greninja appears slightly tilted in its damage meter compared to its character artwork. This distinction is shared with fellow Pokémon series character Incineroar.
  • Coincidentally, both are final evolutions of starter Pokémon, and both have Dark as their secondary type.
• Oddly, Greninja does not vanish when performing a directional air dodge despite the sound effects playing. It shares this oddity with Rosalina & Luma and Palutena.
• In Ultimate, Greninja has a weight of 88, which almost nearly matches its weight in Pokémon (in pounds), being 88.2 lbs.