Sharking

Meta Knight sharking King Dedede on Halberd in Brawl.

Sharking is the act of going underneath a stage to attack opponents from below. Its name directly references sharks, which swim close enough to the surface of the water so that their dorsal fins are seen overhead. It is best performed by characters with multiple jumps such as Meta Knight and Kirby, who will be able to recover after performing sharking. It is performed on stages containing semisoft platforms, which can be traveled up through, but not downward through. It can also be performed on stages with thin hard platforms, such as Jungle Japes. It is most notably performed on Delfino Plaza and Halberd. The principle behind sharking is that while underneath the stage, a character can attack and/or damage shields relatively safely, and their opponent has few options to counterattack. However, an experienced player can perform a meteor smash on a sharker, which usually results in the sharker's death.

Sharking has historically been a legitimate if risky strategy, as while it allows attack without much chance of counterattack, it is easy to make a mistake and self-destruct. However, the ease to which Meta Knight can shark on many stages - thanks to a very fast and disjointed up aerial, plus a choice of four quick recovery moves - has driven sharking into an area where many consider it cheap or even broken on certain stages (though usually only by Meta Knight). Sharking is commonly combined with planking to allow the sharking character to restore their jumps and be minimally vulnerable to attacks.

The technique has been mentioned on the official website for SSB64 under a name that can be translated as "mole tactics".

Characters that can notably perform sharking

• Meta Knight
• Pit
• Kirby
• Jigglypuff
• King Dedede

Stages that allow sharking

*Indicates that the stage has thin hard platforms instead of semisoft platforms

Super Smash Bros.

• Congo Jungle*
• Planet Zebes

Super Smash Bros. Melee

• Brinstar
• Great Bay*
• Jungle Japes*
• Kongo Jungle*
• Mute City
• Rainbow Cruise
• Kongo Jungle N64*

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

• 75m
• Brinstar
• Delfino Plaza
• Distant Planet
• Halberd
• Jungle Japes*
• Mario Bros.*
• New Pork City (breakable platform)
• Port Town Aero Dive
• Rainbow Cruise
• Rumble Falls (beginning platform, after first cycle)
• Skyworld*