Idle pose

File:FWFTidle1.gif

Wii Fit Trainer's idle pose in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Idle poses (sometimes referred to as idle animations, and referred to as Wait_ in Super Smash Bros. Melee's debug menu and in internal Brawl files) are minor, mainly nonconsequential animations that play at random if a character stands still for a length of time.

Idle poses can affect the direction the shield carried by the Links faces (excluding Link in Smash 4), therefore affecting its ability to block projectiles.

Trivia

• Master Hand also has an idle pose, but it is never seen in normal gameplay because the AI never allows enough time between his attacks. The idle pose can, however, be seen using the Master Hand glitch in Melee; for his idle pose, he simply clenches his fist.
  • In SSB4 however, there is a chance that Master Hand will stay still for a while while Crazy Hand attacks solo, resulting in him doing the idle pose.
• Some characters have an animation that actually is part of their regular standing animation, but are often mistaken for idle poses. Unlike idle poses, they play at regular intervals instead of randomly (and they can be seen in the character customization screen on both 3DS and Wii U versions, or by holding a item, where idle poses never play). Some examples include Jigglypuff, Daisy, Sheik, Little Mac, Meta Knight, and Roy.
• In Super Smash Bros. 4, Yoshi, Link, and Sheik will revert to their Super Smash Bros. Brawl idle poses if they hold a small item, like a Capsule.
  • A similar thing happens to Dr. Mario, Lucas, and Roy when they hold a small item. All three of them would instead perform Mario's, Ness's, and Marth's idle poses respectively.
  • The same thing happens in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In that game, Fox, Luigi, Jigglypuff, Falco, Pit, Diddy Kong, and Wolf revert to their Brawl idle poses if they hold a small item, Mewtwo and Dark Pit revert to their Super Smash Bros. 4 idle poses (which in Dark Pit's case is the same as Pit's), and Daisy will perform Peach's idle pose.
    • Marth, Lucina, Roy, and Chrom all use Marth's Brawl idle pose.
    • Lucas will still revert to Ness's Brawl idle pose despite Ness not doing so.
    • Yoshi, Link, and Dr. Mario use their correct idle poses unlike in Super Smash Bros. 4. Sheik however, still reverts to her Brawl idle pose.
    • Simon and Richter will perform the same alternative idle pose that neither normally possess.
    • The Inkling Boy does not have his altered idle poses when carrying an item.
• Peach and Zelda (Melee-SSB4) are the only characters to have more than two idle poses.
  • Peach is also the only one with four of them.
  • Zelda is the only character to have lost an idle pose between two installments of the franchise.
  • Pokémon Trainer has different idle poses depending on if the Pokémon Trainer is male or female, but each Pokémon Trainer only has two idle poses each.
• While Bayonetta has two idle poses, only one of them appears under normal circumstances.
• In Melee, Mewtwo can still perform any of its idle poses when holding an item.
• In Super Smash Bros. 4 and Ultimate, there is a chance that a character will instantly perform one of their idle poses once they climb on top of a ladder.

References

Every idle pose in Smash 4