Sheik (SSBU)

Sheik in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Other playable appearances	in Melee in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Sheikah Dance

“	Now Sheik joins the battle wearing the Sheikah costume from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Keep the pressure on your opponent by using her [sic] speedy dash to quickly close in on (or get away from) your opponent!	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Sheik (シーク, Sheik) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. She was officially confirmed on June 12th, 2018 alongside Zelda and the rest of the returning roster. Sheik is classified as fighter #16.

Due to her alter-ego's The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds-based recast, Sheik is also now voiced by Ayumi Fujimura, replacing Jun Mizusawa from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and previous Smash installments, gives Sheik significantly lower-pitched voice than before.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Sheik being the 47th character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Donkey Kong or any character in his unlock tree, being the 5th character unlocked after King Dedede.
• Have Sheik join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Sheik must then be defeated on Gerudo Valley.

Attributes

Sheik is a character that, as a ninja of sorts, fits the "hit-and-run" character archetype. One of Sheik's greatest strengths is her overall mobility, being among the best in the game both grounded and aerial. She also has the 4th highest gravity, which makes her mobility better, but leaves her more vulnerable to vertical knockback. Her crouch is also very low, making her difficult to hit when doing so. Sheik can also wall cling and crawl. However, she is the 6th lightest character in the game, which when coupled with her gravity and tall height, these traits collectively make her very susceptible to combos and KO's, thus giving her very frail survivability overall.

Aside from her excellent mobility, another one of Sheik's greatest strengths is her extremely quick frame data. Her moves have generally negligible amounts of startup or ending lag, making her extremely difficult to punish properly; this is supplemented by the good range of her moveset. She also has an excellent projectile in Needle Storm, with the needles charging and travelling fast, being long-ranged (covers about half of Final Destination), possessing transcendent priority, and causing hitstun. Coupled with her range, her needles give her a strong camping ability. Overall, her mobility, projectile game, range and frame data all combined form her greatest strength: her outstanding neutral game. She can play both defensively, by pressuring and zoning from afar without much trouble, or aggressively, with her fast attack speed giving her an unpredictable approach. Sheik can poke and pressure her opponents with her aerials and tilts, all of which are safe options. If they choose to drop shield, they are wide open to these attacks. At the same time, holding shield presents her with an opportunity to grab and use her throw set-ups.

Sheik's excellent frame data, combined with the low power of many of her moves, gives her among the best combo abilities in the game. Her throws can easily lead into other attacks, with her forward and down throws being particularly effective at starting combos, as they can set up long chains of forward aerials, with her up aerial and Bouncing Fish being useful combo finishers. Her combos are not limited to her air game; all of her tilts can start and extend combos since they send opponents into the air, and can confirm into aerials; her forward tilt particularly, has reliable follow-ups all the way into KO percents. Down tilt, while not chaining into itself as effectively, has even lower power, giving her access to KO confirms as well.

All aspects of Sheik's moveset are solid overall. A sole few number of her aerial moves possess great versatility; forward aerial in particular, has little startup, decent ending lag, auto-cancels in a short hop fast fall, and has slightly disjointed range, making it an all-purpose move: it can be used to approach, pressure, combo and set up edge-guards. Her back aerial is also versatile to an extent, as it can be used to extend or finish combos. When sweetspotted (at the foot), it can KO at high percents near the ledge and is even safer on shield than her forward aerial. Neutral aerial is her fastest one, allowing her to break out of combos and extend or finish hers, notably into Bouncing Fish. Up aerial is her strongest aerial, and also sends opponents into a great angle for juggling, both of which give it good utility at both KO'ing and finishing combos.

Outside of her Needle Storm, Sheik's special moveset also possesses good utility: her up special, Vanish, grants her intangibility and invisibility, making it hard for the opponent to predict where she will appear. It also has a hitbox on disappearance that is decently strong, and another one and a windbox when she reappears, making it difficult to punish. Meanwhile, her down special Bouncing Fish, is famous for being her primary KO move, being similar to Flip Jump on some regards: it deals good damage with high knockback scaling, can finish combos from her neutral aerial, forward aerial, and aerial Needle Storm, and is safe on shield if it hits. Bouncing Fish can let you bounce on multiple players in a single move, although this is very rare in normal gameplay. Both Vanish and Bouncing Fish also conform Sheik's last strength in her recovery, as they make it versatile and extendable, both of them and can be used in tandem with each other, and they are difficult and risky to intercept, as they both deal high knockback enough to interrupt an edge-guard. Combined with her wall jump, this makes Sheik hard to edge-guard or gimp, without disabling her midair jump, and enables her to reverse edge-guard effectively.

However, despite having immense strengths, Sheik has polarizing flaws. The most notable of them is her frailty: despite her recovery being amazing, in a similar vein to Fox, her on-stage endurance is very weak due to her very light weight (being lighter than characters such as Kirby), succumbing to even decently strong blows, whereas her above average height, high falling speed and gravity make her easy to combo. This is further compounded by her notoriously poor damage output overall: despite her strong damage racking ability, she requires extremely long strings of attacks just to deal the same amount of damage that the vast majority of the cast can inflict in noticeably far fewer hits. While the low damage and power on her moves grant her an awesome combo game, Sheik also struggles to secure her opponent's stock. She has a few moves with high knockback, but she has difficulty landing them; her up smash has a powerful first hit on her arms as she rises them, but it is hard to land outside of a read or confirm, is hampered by its much weaker second hit as she lowers her arms and is very punishable if missed, her forward and down smash are among the weakest smash attacks of their kind, and they have punishable ending lag as well, while Vanish's hitbox when Sheik disappears is hard to land. In the air, she is limited to using her up aerial, back aerial, or Bouncing Fish to KO, and even then, the former two require to be used close to the blast lines due to their relatively weak knockback, forcing her to rely too much on up smash and Bouncing Fish to score a KO. Furthermore, her aerial KO setups are difficult to pull off due to Ultimate's faster launch physics, re-addition of directional air-dodges, and the weakening of her neutral aerial's combo potential. Her other aerials are otherwise only useful for edge-guarding and gimping characters with particularly weak or linear recoveries due to their abysmal KO power or sacrificial use. Her overall below average grab game has no throws that can KO at realistic percents, and her aforementioned forward and down throws have too much knockback for truly reliable KO set-ups. With all of this working against her, it is not uncommon for her opponents to survive in excess of 150%. Lastly, the rage mechanic hinders Sheik: without rage, she often has trouble KO'ing, though as her rage increases, her combo game slowly dwindles, which when combined with her poor damage output, it can make bringing an opponent to KO percents difficult. Additionally, this brings opponents to a high level of rage enough to KO Sheik herself.

Other weaknesses include a few moves that have very low utility, despite Sheik's moveset versatility. These include her down aerial, which is the slowest of her aerial moveset, has the highest landing lag and is a stall-then-fall, giving it the lowest utility of Sheik's aerial moveset despite it meteor smashing an opponent. Her smash attacks are difficult to land overall and outside of up smash, have little KO power. Lastly, Burst Grenade is powerful but has a slow explosion, which limits it to situational usage on edge-guarding predictable recoveries, extending the damage of a hard punish, or a situational mix-up to deter edgeguarders.

Altogether, Sheik's strengths are on par with her weaknesses. While she has an outstanding neutral game owing to her excellent frame data and mobility, these traits are overall unrewarding due to her very frail survivability, abysmal damage output, and inconsistency at KOing. Her strengths are further overshadowed by the vastly buffed mobility, frame data, damage outputs, and combo and KO potential of many returning veterans and newcomers. As a result, many top players have a poor view on Sheik's viability, with her tournament representation matching her perception due to her playerbase from Smash 4 largely dropping her.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Like most top-tier characters, Sheik in Smash 4 was considered one of the most potent characters (and the best character in the middle of the game's lifetime), due to her nearly uncontested neutral game. Sheik went on to receive the most nerfs from game updates, and while they did somewhat reduce her effectiveness, she remained a top tier character. Possibly as a result, while Sheik has received a large mix of buffs and nerfs, the latter are more prevalent since they have worsened her strengths from the previous game. As a result, Sheik has been heavily nerfed overall in her transition to Ultimate.

Sheik's most notable nerfs are to her already weak damage output and to her poor survivability. Her main combo moves like her tilts and neutral and forward aerials (most notably the latter), in addition to Needle Storm and Bouncing Fish, all deal less damage. This gives Sheik a notoriously harder time racking up damage, requiring her to string even more hits in order to rack up notable amounts; this is exacerbated by her lack of KO ability. Although the weakening of rage has slightly improved her survivability and, most importantly, her combo consistency, this is counterbalanced by her weight being decreased to the point of being lighter than characters such as Kirby, now being the sixth lightest character in the game.

The universal changes to the game's engine have overall indirectly nerfed Sheik. The game's faster launch physics, changes to jostling mechanics (which prevent cross-ups and instead characters push others away), and the reintroduction of directional air dodges hinder many of Sheik's combo strings and KO setups. Furthermore, the prevalence of the the newly introduced short hop multiplier on aerial attacks (which causes them to deal less damage) means Sheik doesn't benefit as much from the new 1v1 multiplier as the rest of the cast; combined with the lower damage on her combo moves, this further exacerbates her poorer damage racking ability. Lastly, while Sheik does benefit from the universally faster jumpsquats and lower landing lag like the rest of the cast, she already had the overall fastest frame data in Smash 4, which causes the rest of the cast to benefit more than her from their significant buffs in those aspects, allowing them to keep up with Sheik.

However, Sheik has received some useful buffs besides the universal changes. Her rapid jab connects more reliably and its finisher has less ending lag, making it more effective for damage racking despite its individual hits dealing less damage. Her up and down tilts, and Needle Storm (especially the aerial version) also have less ending lag, improving their combo potential. Her generally least useful moves in Smash 4 such as her dash attack, down smash, down aerial, and up throw deal more damage. Her smash attacks as a whole have also been buffed, with forward smash and down smash's hits connecting better, and up smash's first hit having more range and power. Burst Grenade has less ending lag and no longer causes helplessness, while Vanish grants more intangibility when used on the ground. Sheik has a new pummel that has gone from one of the slowest to one of the fastest, allowing it to be used more safely and rack up more damage. Finally, and most notably, her back aerial now deals more damage and knockback, improving its previously lacking KO potential when sweetspotted (though it is still a relatively weak aerial).

In the end, Sheik's nerfs noticeably outweigh her buffs, as the former have exacerbated her main flaws, while the latter were not significant enough to compensate despite giving her more consistent options. This makes her worse than her Smash 4 iteration, and one of the most nerfed characters in the transition to Ultimate, alongside Bayonetta, Cloud, Corrin, Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong, the Ice Climbers, Little Mac, and Rosalina & Luma. Initially, her overall perception was extremely negative, with many top players claiming that she is not a viable character, since she has to work much harder to rack up damage and score KOs than the vast majority of the cast. As such, her current representation in Ultimate has been poor, with many notable players such as Vinnie and Nietono dropping her in favor of other characters, and others like Mr. R and k9sbruce reducing her to a secondary. Update 3.0.0 gave her improvements, including a new KO confirm; while they have done little to address her minimal damage output, she has received better representation and results since then from players such as VoiD (using her as a co-main to Pichu), Kameme,Kirihara (both using her as a secondary), Shachi,and Sylph, causing some top players to reassess opinions on her to a more favorable one. For now, Sheik's viability remains questionable, with the general consensus being that she is a mid-tier character, in stark contrast to her top tier performance in Smash 4.

Aesthetics

• Sheik's design is now based on the Sheikah Set from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, including the long white scarf of the Stealth Mask. Her color scheme is also more subdue, and her hair features simple detailing similar to Brawl.
• Sheik is more vocal. She now vocalizes when using Vanish and Bouncing Fish.
• Up taunt no longer has Sheik do a flip to rebound.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Sheik's jumpsquat animation takes 3 frames to complete (down from 4).
• Sheik's initial dash speed (1.7 → 2.178) and run speed (2.016 → 2.42) are faster, now having the fourth fastest run speed in the game.
• Sheik's air speed is slightly faster (1.1 → 1.155).
• Sheik's weight has been decreased (81 → 78), now being lighter than Kirby. While this makes her less susceptible to combos, this further worsens her already poor endurance. As a result, this does Sheik more harm than good.
• Sheik's traction is higher (0.06 → 0.106).
• Forward roll has less ending lag (FAF 28 → 27).
• Forward roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-15 → 4-12).
• Back roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-15 → 4-14) and has more ending lag (FAF 28 → 33).
• Spot dodge has less ending lag (FAF 25 → 24).
• Spot dodge has more startup and grants less intangibility (frames 2-15 → 3-14).
• Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 2-25 → 2-26).
• Air dodge has significantly more ending lag (FAF 31 → 45).
• The removal of perfect pivoting hinders her ground mobility, worsens Needle Storm's mindgame potential, and worsens her ability to extend combos.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • The first and second hits have altered angles (70° → 361°/180° (hit 1), 361° (hit 2)) and knockback (10 base/100 scaling → 35/30/20 base/30/30/15 scaling (hit 1), 20 base/40 scaling → 35/25 base/25/20 scaling (hit 2)) to keep opponents close to Sheik, akin to other neutral attacks.
    • This allows them to connect better and lock.
    • However, this worsens Sheik's guaranteed jab cancel setups, which played a large part in the utility of her neutral attack in Smash 4 (though they're still the only neutral attack able to jab cancel, if done on aerial characters).
  • The neutral infinite has faster startup (frame 9 → 5), a consistent angle (50°/60°/70° → 361°), lower hitlag (1× → 0.5×) and SDI (1× → 0.4×) multipliers, and deals less knockback (14 base/20 scaling → 12/15) while inflicting 2 additional frames of hitstun per hit. This vastly improves its linking capabilities, making it much more reliable overall.
  • The neutral infinite's finisher has significantly less ending lag (FAF 53 → 36), no longer being the slowest in the game, and now being much less punishable if shielded.
  • The finisher now uses 3 small hitboxes instead of one extended hitbox. Overall, it does not reach as far horizontally as before, and its range is narrower vertically.
  • All hits except the first deal less damage (3% → 1.6% (hit 2), 0.8%/0.6% → 0.3% (infinite), 3% → 2% (finisher)), with knockback scaling not fully compensated on the finisher (115 → 132), slightly reducing its already lacking KO potential.
• Forward tilt:
  • The move deals less damage (4% → 3%), with knockback scaling compensated (158/165 → 180/188).
• Up tilt:
  • The move has less ending lag (FAF 36 → 33), improving its safety and combo potential.
  • The second hit has less startup lag (frame 19 → 17), allowing it to connect better from the first hit.
  • Both hits deal less damage (5% hit 1/6% hit 2 → 3%/4%).
    • However, the second hit's knockback was not fully compensated (20 base/125 scaling → 25/147), improving its combo ability.
  • Due to the changes to jostle mechanics, the first hit is harder to connect against grounded opponents.
  • The move has a slightly altered animation: Sheik's heel now hits the ground after the second hit, bearing a closer resemblance Samus's up tilt. This slightly increases its range in front of Sheik, and allows it to hit opponents grabbing the ledge.
• Down tilt:
  • The move has less ending lag (FAF 30 → 27), improving its safety and combo potential.
  • It deals less damage (5% → 4.5%).
    • Its knockback was not compensated, allowing it to combo for longer.
  • The middle hitbox is smaller (3.5u → 3.2u), and has been moved inwards (X offset: 4 → 3). This makes it easier to land the outermost hitbox, but makes it harder to hit opponents below the ledge and slightly reduces the attack's range.
• Dash attack:
  • The move has less ending lag (FAF 41 → 35).
  • It deals slightly more damage (6.5% → 7% (clean), 4.5% → 5% (late)) with no compensation on knockback, slightly improving its KO potential.
  • It has increased shieldstun (1x → 1.5x), improving its safety against shields, although it is still more unsafe than most dash attacks in Ultimate.
• Forward smash:
  • The second hit has faster startup (frame 26 → 20), allowing it to connect better from the first hit. The move's total duration has been reduced as well (FAF 51 → 45).
• Up smash:
  • The first hit deals more knockback (50 base/86 scaling → 52/88).
  • The first hit has a marginally larger hitbox (6u → 6.1u).
• Down smash:
  • The move has less ending lag (FAF 55 → 52).
  • The first hit deals more damage (3% → 4%).
  • The first hit has received an additional hitbox that launches opponents more inward (140° → 200°), allowing it to connect much better into the second hit.
  • The second hit launches at a lower angle (48° → 43°), improving both its edgeguarding and KO potential.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (10 frames → 6 (neutral), 10 → 5 (forward), 12 → 7 (back), 21 → 13 (up), 30 → 22 (down)).
• Neutral aerial:
  • The move deals less damage (8%/7% → 6%/5% (clean), 5%/4% → 4%/3% (late)), with only base knockback compensated (20 → 30). This hinders its limited KO and gimping potential, while not improving its combo potential.
• Forward aerial:
  • The move's total animation lasts much shorter (88 frames → 59). This lets her grab ledges faster after using the move. Its interruptibility remains unchanged.
  • It deals less damage (4.3%/5% → 3.8%/4.5%), being the least damaging forward aerial in the game.
  • It deals less knockback (40 base/132 scaling → 44/43 base/127 scaling). Coupled with its lower damage, this improves its combo potential.
  • It has more range after the first 2 active frames (Y offset: 0 → -0.5/-1, Z offset: 0 → 1/1.5). This allows it to hit opponents below her slightly more easily.
• Back aerial:
  • The move deals more damage (7%/8% → 7.5%/9.5% (clean), 5% → 6% (late)), with knockback not properly compensated on the clean hit (30 base/100 scaling → 32/30 base/98 scaling), improving its KO potential especially if sweetspotted.
• Up aerial:
  • The move auto-cancels earlier (frame 47 → 44).
  • The looping hits launch grounded opponents at a slightly different angle (90˚ → 80˚).
  • The looping hits have a lower hitlag multiplier (1.3× → 0.7×), making them harder to SDI out of.
  • However, the changes to hitlag and the introduction of the DI angle indicator make it much easier to react with appropriate DI when the final hit connects, hindering its cross-up potential.
• Down aerial:
  • The move deals more damage (8% → 10%), with no compensation on the clean hit's knockback, increasing the meteor smash's power.
  • The late hit launches at a lower angle (70° → 56°), and has altered knockback (30 base/105 scaling → 55/78). This reduces its KO potential overall, especially near the top blast line.
  • The landing hit launches at a higher angle (40° → 48°), and has altered knockback (40 base/150 scaling → 77/50). This makes it safer on hit at any percentage, but removes its previously limited KO power.

Throws and other attacks

• Grabs:
  • All grabs have noticeably more ending lag (FAF 28 → 37 (standing), 35 → 45 (dash), 33 → 40 (pivot)).
  • All grabs have less range (Z2 offset: 8.9 → 7.9 (standing), 10.7 → 9.5 (dash), -14.9 → -13.4 (pivot)).
  • Dash and pivot grab have more startup lag (frame 8 → 9 (dash), 9 → 11 (pivot)).
• Pummel:
  • Sheik has a new pummel, a knee strike rather than an elbow jab.
    • It deals much less damage (3.1% → 1%).
    • However, has significantly faster startup (frame 9 → 1), deals more hitlag (5 frames → 11), and has less ending lag (FAF 24 → 6), shortening its duration. This makes it one of the fastest pummels in the game and increases the amount of times Sheik can pummel the opponent before they break free or she throws them, thus now being more reliable for racking up damage.
• Up throw:
  • The move deals more damage (2% → 3% (throw), 5% → 6% (total)).
  • The move deals significantly more knockback (80 base/60 scaling → 110/62). This limits its 50/50 setups to low to mid percentages only, while still unable to KO at realistic percentages (until Sudden Death).
• Down throw:
  • Down throw has altered knockback (80 base/90 scaling → 95/60). This overall improves its combo potential.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack deals more damage (7% → 9%).

Special moves

• Needle Storm:
  • Its charge can now be canceled by jumping or spot dodging.
  • It reaches its full charge faster (98 frames → 82).
  • It has less ending lag (1-5 needles/6 needles: FAF 48/54 → 42/49), allowing for better followups with the aerial version.
  • The clean hit has a longer duration, with the late hit's duration reduced accordingly (frames 1-3 (clean)/4-10 (late) → 1-5/6-10).
  • A needle deals less damage (1.9% → 1.5% (clean), 1.2% → 0.8% (late)).
  • A needle has less knockback scaling (180 → 167). Coupled with its lower damage, this reduces the move's already limited KO potential, but further increases its combo potential at high percentages.
  • Its charge can no longer be canceled immediately by rolling, instead incurring 4 frames of lag beforehand.
  • The flight trajectory of aerial needles has been altered from approximately a 45° angle to a shallower 30° angle. This makes them worse for followups into aerials at lower percents, but better at higher percents.
  • Sheik can throw the needles with the attack button while charging.
  • After charging the move, Sheik now holds the produced needles on one hand until they are fired.
• Burst Grenade:
  • The move no longer leaves Sheik helpless in the air.
  • It has less ending lag upon releasing the grenade.
  • The grenade's vortex is clear/white rather than light blue.
• Vanish:
  • The move grants intangibility earlier when used on the ground (frame 19 → 14).
  • Sheik emits a gold flash right before she disappears.
  • Sheik's silhouette can be briefly seen in the direction the move travels, before she disappears. This makes it easier to predict where she teleports.
• Bouncing Fish:
  • After the first kick of Bouncing Fish hits an opponent, successive kicks deal more damage (12% → 13%) and knockback (26 base/90 scaling → 28/97), making them much stronger.
  • The move has slightly more startup lag (frame 17 → 18).
  • The move no longer grants intangibility.
  • The move no longer refreshes if Sheik is hit in midair after using it, hindering her recovery.
  • The first kick deals less damage (12% → 11%), though with its knockback scaling compensated (90 → 97).
  • The attack's hitboxes are considerably smaller (6u/4u → 3.5u/3u), reducing its reliability.
  • Bouncing Fish produces a splash of water at the start.
• Sheikah Dance:
  • Sheik has a new Final Smash called Sheikah Dance, replacing Light Arrow. She dashes forward while the Sheikah symbol flashes on-screen. If the initial attack lands, Sheik will trap the opponent in place and repeatedly beat them up and slash them with her dagger, before launching them away and behind her. This Final Smash is similar to Triforce Slash.
  • Sheikah Dance can only trap one opponent, as opposed to up to seven.
  • Sheikah Dance deals much higher, consistent damage (1% hit 1/44% first opponent/33% second/24% third/19% fourth/14% fifth/11% sixth/6% seventh → 3% hit 1, clean/2% hit 1, late/3% hits 2-3, 5-7, 9-11, 13-14/2% hits 4, 8, 12, 15/12% hit 16/52%-53% total).
  • Sheikah Dance launches at a higher angle compared to Light Arrow (20° → 361°).
  • Sheikah Dance's last hit deals less knockback due to its lower damage output. Combined with its higher angle, this makes it KO slightly later than Light Arrow despite its increased knockback (30 base/65 scaling → 65 base/135 scaling), though it remains among the strongest Final Smashes in the game.

Update history

Sheik has been buffed via game updates. Update 2.0.0 made her KO ability slightly more consistent: up smash's first hit is larger, allowing it to catch landings better and hit even a larger number of tall and/or large characters when they are standing right next to Sheik, whereas down smash's hits connect more reliably at higher percents. In addition to these changes, Burst Grenade had its ending lag decreased, which slightly improved its safety as an edgeguarding option. Update 3.0.0 brought a few more noteworthy buffs, increasing down tilt's range and slightly improving her neutral game, as forward aerial gained the ability to hit smaller characters beneath her, while Needle Storm charges slightly faster.

2.0.0

• Up smash's first hit has more range.
• Down smash's hits connect more reliably.
• Sheik can grab edges earlier after using neutral aerial (88 frames → 59).
• Up aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 47 → 44), matching the move's interruptibility.
• Burst Grenade has less ending lag.

3.0.0

• Neutral infinite's finisher has less ending lag (FAF 42 → 36).
• Down tilt's tipper hitbox has more range.
• Forward aerial has more vertical range.
• Needle Storm charges faster (98 frames → 82).
• The changes to shield mechanics make charged Needle Storm much harder to perfect shield, as each needle must be manually perfect shielded.

4.0.0

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

Moveset

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

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

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

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2%	An inward knifehand strike, followed by an upward knifehand strike. When button mashed, Sheik performs a barrage of knifehand strikes, followed by a palm thrust. Fast, at frame 2, and deals about 10% with good SDI. Can kill on certain platforms, such as one of the platforms on Town and City.
			1.6%
			0.3% (loop), 2% (final)
Forward tilt		Cycle Kick	3%	An inwards roundhouse kick. Deals very poor damage, but can string into itself and its low vertical knockback grants it excellent combo potential.
Up tilt			3% (hit 1), 4% (hit 2)	Performs a stretch kick that transitions to an axe kick. The first hit is hard to land on grounded opponents. Like forward tilt, its low damage is compensated by its great combo ability.
Down tilt			4.5%	A legsweep. The tip has a hitbox that launches the opponent straight up, while the rest of the move launches at a non-optimal 45-degree angle. The sweetspot combos into forward tilt, up smash, and all aerials besides down air. The tip leads into up smash for a KO at around 90%, though the timing is very strict.
Dash attack			7% (clean), 5% (late)	Lunges to perform an outward fanning knifehand strikes with both of her arms. While situational, its fast startup at frame 5 and decent base knockback make it a decent punishment tool.
Forward smash			5% (hit 1), 8% (hit 2)	A roundhouse kick followed by a jumping spinning side kick. Both attacks cause Sheik to move forward. One of Sheik's best KOing moves, although its power compared to other forward smashes is weak. Crosses up shields if done close enough.
Up smash		Razor Wing	15% (hit 1), 11% (hit 2)	Raises her arms overhead and then quickly swings them downward to perform outward fanning knifehand strikes. There is a hitbox at Sheik's hands, just before she swings down her arms, that hit opponents above her. If close enough to a tall character, it is possible to land both hits of the move, but this is difficult to achieve. When sweetspotted, it is Shiek's strongest move overall and one of her best KOing options. However it has high ending lag and the second hit lacks KO potential.
Down smash			4% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2)	A modified butterfly kick performed from the windmill (a breakdancing move). Does very poor damage and has below-average knockback for a smash attack, but it starts up quickly.
Neutral aerial			6% (clean sweetspot), 5% (clean sourspot), 4% (late sweetspot), 3% (late sourspot)	A flying kick. Very fast at frame 3, and a great combo breaking or out of shield option. Great for edgeguarding due to its somewhat powerful sweetspot and sourspot that lingers for a long time. The late hitbox on landing combos into Bouncing Fish at around 100% for a KO confirm. Autocancels in a short hop, but with strict timing.
Forward aerial		Hatchet	4.5% (sweetspot), 3.8% (sourspot)	A lunging, downward knifehand strike. Its sweetspot is located on Sheik's arm, while the sourspot is on her body. Comes out on frame 5 with minimal ending lag. Low base knockback, but very high knockback scaling. Combos into itself and other moves exceptionally well, including Bouncing Fish which can lead into a KO. Safe on shield if properly spaced. Has a very generous autocancel window, being able to do so after 11 frames.
Back aerial			9.5% (clean sweetspot), 7.5% (clean sourspot), 6% (late)	A high-angled back kick. While its power is slightly below-average for a back aerial, it can easily gimp characters with bad recoveries or outright KO offstage starting at around 90%. Hits on frame 4, sharing its speed with up aerial and making it one of the fastest moves of its kind in the game and autocancels in a short hop.
Up aerial			1% (hits 1 - 3), 4% (hit 4)	A diagonal, corkscrew flying kick, concluded by another kick with the opposite leg. KOs reliably near the top blast zone, and can be set up into by forward tilt or down tilt, though this requires precise timing and doesn't KO until around 120%. Can be used after a forward tilt to drag the opponent down and lead into another forward tilt. Does not autocancel in a short hop.
Down aerial			10% (descent), 2% (landing)	A diagonal flying kick. It is a stall-then-fall, and its clean hitbox is a meteor smash during its beginning. One of Sheik's least useful and most situational moves, as its lag makes it very punishable, and trying to use it offstage will most likely result in an instant self-destruct.
Grab			—	Reaches out. One of the shortest grab ranges.
Pummel			1%	A knee strike. Fast but weak.
Forward throw			5% (hit), 2% (throw)	Performs the tie shan kao[1] (a technique used in Bajiquan), attacking with a shoulder bash. Combos into aerials and Bouncing Fish at starting percents. Can be comboed into Bouncing Fish at higher percents, though this is easily escapable with an airdodge. However, this can be conditioned and punished with Sheik's extremely fast movement and frame data.
Back throw			5% (hit), 2% (throw)	Throws opponent behind herself and performs a mid-level side kick. The weakest back throw in terms of knockback. KO's Mario at roughly 565% at the edge of Final Destination.
Up throw			3% (hit and throw)	A handstand kick. Sheik's least useful throw, as it does the least damage and cannot be comboed out of. It is also Sheik's strongest throw, but fail to KO middleweights until around 288% on Final Destination.
Down throw			3% (hit and throw)	A collar drag takedown followed by a somersault axe kick. Can combo into up air at low percents.
Floor attack (front)			7%	Kneels and performs a palm thrust in front of herself, and then behind herself.
Floor attack (back)			7%	A kip-up transitioned into a double-footed scorpion kick.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Squats on one leg and performs a spinning roundhouse kick.
Edge attack			9%	Performs a corkscrew dropkick while climbing up.
Neutral special		Needle Storm	1.5% (per needle, close), 0.8% (per needle, far)	Accumulates up to six needles that can be thrown immediately or stored for later use. When used in the air, Sheik throws the needles downward at approximately 30°. One of Sheik's best options for camping and zoning. The needles have transcendent priority, and so cannot stop or be stopped by other attacks (including, for example, other projectiles).
Side special		Burst Grenade	1% (grenade), 1% (vortex), 12.6% (explosion)	Throws a grenade attached to a tripwire. On detonation, it creates a small vortex that pulls opponents towards it, then explodes. The detonation can be delayed a second by holding the special move button. The grenade can be thrown a farther when used in the air or when thrown over an edge, and its explosion is strong enough to KO middleweights at 115% near the edge, making it useful for edge-guarding. If Sheik is attacked before the grenade explodes, the grenade will detach from the tripwire and become a non-explosive item that anyone can use.
Up special		Vanish	12% (disappearance), 5% (reappearance)	After a short delay, Sheik destroys a Deku Nut in order to disappear via a small explosion, before reappearing nearby in a controlled direction. Its disappearing hitbox's respectable damage output and very high knockback scaling enable it to KO at 100% while near the upper blast line. It also grants a small vertical boost when used in the air. Conversely, its reappearance hitbox deals much less damage, but also has a windbox that can push away opponents who are very close to wherever Sheik reappears. It grants intangibility on frames 19-53. Reappearing near a edge renders her helpless, though self-destructing with the move is difficult to do because it allows Sheik to grab the edge the moment she enters helplessness.
Down special		Bouncing Fish	11% (first kick), 13% (following kicks)	A 360° Tengkong Pantui Cepu[2] (a kick used in Nanquan). If it connects with an opponent, she will backflip a distance away and land on her feet. She can then kick up to three times by pressing the special move button again after the preceding kick connects. Upon missing, she experiences landing lag if she lands before the move's animation is over. It can also be executed earlier by pressing the special button again, and covers more distance if the control stick is held in whatever direction Sheik is facing. Its long horizontal travel distance, respectable damage output, and high knockback scaling make it one of Sheik's most viable KOing options. It KOs middleweights at 120% while near the edge, and grants intangibility on frames 3-4. Due to its earliest input hitting on frame 17 and its landing lag, however, it is punishable if it misses.
Final Smash		Sheikah Dance	3% (first hit), 2% (first hit, late), 50% (entire move)	Sheik dashes forward and slashes with her knife. If she catches anyone, the Sheikah eye symbol will appear onscreen, and the screen will darken. She will then proceed to launch an onslaught of attacks from multiple directions before finally launching the trapped opponent with a final slash. The last hit of her Final Smash launches opponents the opposite direction of the initial dash. Only one opponent can be trapped in her Final Smash, though anyone nearby will also take damage during the duration.

On-screen appearance

Appears from a Deku Nut's explosion while briefly emanating blue wisps.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Performs the pike, a breakdancing move.
• Side taunt: Pulls out the tripwire she uses for Burst Grenade and stretches it out, causing a "twang" sound.
• Down taunt: A modified version of the age uke, a blocking technique in Japanese martial arts.

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  Sheik's up taunt.

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  Sheik's side taunt.

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  Sheik's down taunt.

Idle poses

• Rears back her left hand up to her face, then quickly swings it outward.
• Performs a modified passé.

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  Sheik's first idle pose

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  Sheik's second idle pose

Victory poses

• Left: Kicks once (similar to her forward tilt), spins on the ground (similar to her down smash), then poses with her arms blocking her face.
• Up: Crouches, swipes with her hand twice, then stands up while rearing back her right hand up to her face.
• Right: Performs the fumikomi geri^[3] (a stomp-style kick in karate), followed by a mid-level side kick, and then exhales loudly before performing the tate shuto uke^[4] (a blocking technique in Shotokan).

A flourished and abridged remix of the theme that plays when Link obtains a Triforce Piece in The Legend of Zelda and has since become the main theme of The Legend of Zelda series.

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In competitive play

During Ultimate's early meta, Sheik's representation was almost nonexistent due to the significance of her nerfs. With the reduction of her overall damage output, it was common for Sheik players to pull off a lengthy string of combos that only amount to the equivalent of 2-3 stray hits that their opponents dealt. As a result, much of her playerbase dropped her entirely due to the sheer amount of effort required when using her compared to the vast majority of the cast (for the same or potentially even weaker result). Her weak damage output even got notorious within the community, with players and commentators alike pointing it out during matches. As such, Sheik was commonly seen as a mid low or even as a bottom tier character by most professionals.

Patch 3.0.0 eventually gave Sheik a handful of buffs, most notably improving the effectiveness of some staple moves like down tilt, forward aerial and Needle Storm. As a result, some of her former players, most notably VoiD and Mr.R, began representing her in tournaments again, and her perception within the community has improved somewhat as some players such as ESAM believe that Sheik has potential and could make a great secondary character. VoiD has been using Sheik along with Pichu and has used her to great success. As of now, Sheik's current spot in the metagame is uncertain, although she is still agreed to be noticeably worse than her iteration in Smash 4.

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

•  K9sbruce - Uses Sheik as a secondary. Placed 17th at Thunder Smash 3: Clash of the Pandas, and 25th at both Mainstage and 2GG: Nightmare on Smashville in conjunction with Wolf.
•  kameme (#19) - Uses Sheik as a secondary. Placed 1st at The Mang0 Kickoff and 4th at Just Roll With It! 11 using Sheik as one of his characters. Has wins over Tsu and Shogun.
•  Kirihara - Uses Sheik as a secondary. Placed 5th at Umebura SP 5 using a combination of Sheik and Rosalina & Luma.
•  Mr.R (#36) - Uses Sheik as a secondary. Placed 2nd at Encuentro Mítico and 4th at both Saints Gaming Live 2019 and Expand Gong 4 using Sheik as one of his characters. Took a game off of Tweek using the character.
•  Shachi - Placed 25th at Sumabato SP 2, Sumabato SP 3, and Sumabato SP 7.
•  Sharp - Placed 4th at New England Three Houses Invitational and 17th at Overclocked Ultimate III. Ranked 1st on the Rhode Island Power Rankings and 12th on the New England Power Rankings.
•  Sylph - Placed 9th at Sumabato SP 4 and 13th at Sumabato SP 3.
•  VoiD (#9) - Co-mains Sheik with Pichu and is considered the best Sheik player in the world. Placed 1st at Goodwill of Orange County's Charity Invitational, 5th at Mainstage, 9th at Glitch 7 - Minus World, and 13th at 2GG: SwitchFest 2019. He has defeated Salem, MuteAce, and yeti with the character.

Inactive

•  Eim - Placed 9th at Umebura SP before switching to Wolf.

Classic Mode: Masquerade

Sheik's congratulations screen.

Sheik's opponents are characters who wear masks or other forms of headwear to conceal their identity.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Meta Knight	Fountain of Dreams	Forest Stage
2	Captain Falcon	Big Blue	Death Wind
3	Samus	Norfair	Opening/Menu - Metroid Prime
4	Roy Koopa	Mushroom Kingdom U	Underground Theme - Super Mario Land
5	Wireframe Mac	Boxing Ring	Tunnel Scene - X-Scape
6	Mii Fighter	Final Destination	Meta Crystal	Horde Battle. Items do not appear. Mii Brawler costume combinations: Majora's Mask and Skull Kid's Outfit, Hockey Mask and SSB T-Shirt. Mii Gunner costumes: Shy Guy Mask and Butler Outfit, Ray Mk III Helmet and Ray Mk III Outfit. Mii Swordfighter costumes: Black Knight Helm and Black Knight Armor, Yiga Clan Mask and Yiga Clan Outfit.
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.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Sheik has Gerudo Valley accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

Finding Sheik in World of Light

Although Sheik does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, she was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (sans Kirby) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.

During the mode itself, Sheik can be unlocked early on shortly after rescuing Mario, where the player arrives at a crossroads and has the choice to rescue her, Marth or Villager. If one of the others is rescued first, Sheik's path will be blocked by a force field created by Master Hand, which will disappear upon defeating a boss or can be circumvented by looping back to the other side.

Sheik has a separate awakening battle from Zelda, who appears in the opening cutscene.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
16		Sheik	Shield	2,500	Final Destination	Final Destination

Spirits

Sheik's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Sheik 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.

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  174. Sheik

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
104	File:Genosmrpg.png	Geno	Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars	•Sheik •Peach •Kirby •Bowser •Mario		13,700	Mario Galaxy (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Timed battle •The enemy's FS Meter charges quickly	Rainbow Road Medley
193		Impa	The Legend of Zelda series	•Sheik		9,400	Temple	•Defense ↑ •Item: Deku Nut	•The enemy has increased defense after a little while	Gerudo Valley
261	File:Byrne Artwork.png	Byrne	The Legend of Zelda series	•Sheik		1,800	Spirit Train (Battlefield form)	N/A	•The enemy's punches and elbow strikes have increased power •The enemy's throws have increased power •Stamina battle	Full Steam Ahead
660		Sothe	Fire Emblem series	•Sheik		3,600	Mushroomy Kingdom (Battlefield form)	N/A	•The enemy favors dash attacks •The enemy has increased move speed	Time of Action
677	File:Jakob Spirit.png	Jakob	Fire Emblem series	•Sheik		3,500	Spear Pillar (Battlefield form)	•Item: Throwing Types	•The enemy's throwing-type items have increased power •Items will be pulled toward the enemy	Lost in Thoughts All Alone (for 3DS / Wii U)
735		Kat & Ana	WarioWare series	•Sheik (×2) (,)		9,000	Suzaku Castle	•Item: Throwing Types	•The enemy loves to jump	The Mysterious Murasame Castle Medley	Kat (purple costume) Ana (red costume)
751	File:Gray Fox Spirit.png	Gray Fox	Metal Gear Solid series	•Sheik		9,700	Shadow Moses Island	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Gray Fox) •Move Speed ↑	•The enemy has increased move speed •Hostile assist trophies will appear	Encounter
835		Rover	Animal Crossing series	•Sheik •Villager (x2) ()		8,800	Spirit Train	N/A	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle	Title Theme - Animal Crossing: Wild World
990	File:Cammy Spirit.png	Cammy	Street Fighter series	•Sheik		9,300	Bridge of Eldin (hazards off)	•Jump Power ↓	•The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power •Stamina battle •All fighters have reduced jump power	Cammy Stage Type B
1,016		Loki	Bayonetta series	•Sheik		9,200	Umbra Clock Tower (Battlefield form)	•Invisibility •Item: Timer	•The enemy is invisible after a little while •Items will be pulled toward the enemy •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Tomorrow Is Mine (Bayonetta 2 Theme) (Instrumental)
1,069		Mummy	Castlevania series	•Sheik (x2)		3,600	Dracula's Castle (Ω form)	N/A	•The enemy's throws have increased power •The enemy has super armor but moves slower •Stamina battle	Mad Forest
1,085		Shinobu	StreetPass Mii Plaza series	•Sheik •Mii Swordfighter (Nia Wig, Ninja Suit)		1,500	Golden Plains (hazards off)	•Item: Bullet Bill	•The enemy is easily distracted by items	Boss 1 - Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword
1,313		Makoto Niijima	Persona series	•Sheik •Wario		3,000	Dracula's Castle (Ω form)	•N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy is invisible	Last Surprise

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
655		L'Arachel	Fire Emblem series	•Robin •Sheik •Wario		1,600	Castle Siege	•Health Recovery	•The enemy is healed when the enemy's at high damage	Preparing to Advance	Rennac
1,052		Trevor C. Belmont	Castlevania series	•Simon •Palutena •Sheik		13,000	Dracula's Castle	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Alucard)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear when the enemy's at high damage •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Beginning	Grant Danasty
1,306		Phantom Thieves of Hearts	Persona series	•Joker •Pikachu •Captain Falcon •Zero Suit Samus •Chrom •Sheik		13,300	Mementos	•Sudden Final Smash •Item: Daybreak Parts	•The enemy will suddenly have a Final Smash when the enemy's at high damage •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There	Makoto Niijima
1,328	File:Hero's Comrades Spirit.png	Hero's Comrades	DRAGON QUEST series	•Ike •King Dedede •Zero Suit Samus •Sheik •Robin •Zelda •Link		13,300	Yggdrasil's Altar	N/A	•The enemy has increased melee-weapon damage and move speed •The enemy's smash attacks have increased power •Stamina battle	The Hero Goes Forth with a Determination	Sylvando

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Artwork of all The Legend of Zelda characters, as posted on the official Legend of Zelda Twitter account.

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  Sheik's fighter card.

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  Sheik posing on Skyworld.

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  Fighting Wii Fit Trainer on Coliseum.

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  Surrounded by the fires on Kalos Pokémon League.

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  Sheik performing Bouncing Fish near a Goldeen on Tortimer Island.

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  Sheik and Ivysaur taunting on Tomodachi Life.

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  Sheik on Lylat Cruise.

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  Sheik and King Dedede hit by Mr. Game & Watch's down smash on Yoshi's Story.

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  Sheik getting hit by Toad's spores on Tortimer Island.

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  Sheik becoming buried by the male Wii Fit Trainer's neutral attack on 3D Land.

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  Sheik getting hit by Zero Suit Samus's back aerial on Luigi's Mansion.

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  Sheik charging Needle Storm on Tortimer Island.

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  With all playable The Legend of Zelda veterans on the Great Plateau Tower.

• Ganondorf(SSBU)WarlockPunch.png

  Struck by Ganondorf's Warlock Punch

Trivia

• Sheik is currently referred to with male pronouns on the Smash Blog despite being referred to with female pronouns in every Smash appearance thus far, as well as on various other official Nintendo social websites. Likewise, the game itself uses both female and male pronouns: Sheik is referred to with female pronouns in her moveset and tips, while Palutena and Viridi refer to Sheik with male pronouns in Palutena's Guidance, albeit in the latter instance is done for comedic purposes as Pit then mentions her being an alter-ego of Zelda.
• Ultimate is the first Smash game where Sheik's design is based off of a different The Legend of Zelda game than her alter-ego, Zelda.
• Ultimate is also the first installment in the series that gives Sheik a Final Smash different from Zelda's.
• Sheik is the only Zelda character (excluding Ganondorf, who transforms into Ganon) who doesn't face Ganon as her final boss.
  • She is also the only Zelda universe fighter who doesn't fight characters from her own series (including Ganondorf).
• Sheik is the only character who travels to Final Destination outside the final round in Classic Mode.
  • Sheik is also the only Zelda character to not travel to her home stages in her Classic Mode route.
• In English, Sheik and Joker are the only characters whose Classic Mode titles are each one word.
• Like in the previous installment, Sheik will revert to her Brawl idle animation while holding a small throwable item.
• In Palutena's Guidance, Sheik is referred to in the sense of having been present before in Smash ("Sheik appears to be wearing a traditional Sheikah outfit this time around."), despite every other newly recorded Zelda character guidance bringing up the characters having separate incarnations throughout the franchise (Ganondorf being the same person, Link being a different person than before and Zelda and Young Link being specific incarnations). This implies that she's the same version of Zelda/Sheik seen in Brawl and 4 that was based upon the scrapped Twilight Princess design. Seeing as Sheik and Zelda are separate characters starting from Smash 4 onwards, It is possible it could instead refer to the original Ocarina of Time version of Sheik from Melee as Ocarina of Time is her only canon appearance.

Notes

1.^ translates to "Applying Mountain Lean"

2.^ translates to "Vacant Cross-Legged Side Flip"

3.^ translates to "Stomping Kick"

4.^ translates to "Vertical Knife Hand Block"