Shulk (SSB4)

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Shulk in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Xenoblade Chronicles
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Chain Attack

“	Shulk Foresees a Fight!	”
—Introduction Tagline

Shulk was unofficially revealed as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4 alongside Bowser Jr. and Ganondorf via leaked videos from footage used by ESRB to rate the game before being formally confirmed on August 29th, 2014. His official reveal came along with the announcement of the "new" Nintendo 3DS port of his game Xenoblade Chronicles.

Prior to his official reveal, Shulk's English voice actor, Adam Howden, had tweeted on 19 May 2014 that he had performed voiceover work for a game he was not allowed to speak about.

Moveset

Shulk uses the Monado as his main weapon, which can attack from long range using its beam properties. The Monado does more damage and knockback if it hits from the middle rather than from the tip.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	A punch, kick, slash combo. Very similar to Ike's Neutral Combo.
			4%
			5%
Forward tilt		rowspan="1"	13% (close), 11% (tip)	Shulk swings the Monado in front of him.
Up tilt		rowspan="1"	8%	Shulk jumps and does a fast, overhead sword swipe. A good anti-air technique.
Down tilt		rowspan="1"	7% (close), 9% (tip)	A reasonably fast downward swipe.
Dash attack			11%	Swipes the Monado forward.
Forward smash	↗			A long stab using the Monado's beam. It looks akin to his Slit Edge ability from Xenoblade. Like his up smash, the move has two hits, the first from the Monado and the second from the beam strike.
	→		5.5%% and 13%% (close), 11.5% (tip)
	↘
Up smash			4%% and 14%% (close)	Shulk smashes the hilt of the Monado to the ground, causing the beam to strike upward. There are two hits to this move, the first being when Shulk slams the Monado down, and the second with the beam strike. The first hit has a small horizontal range, but can easily connect to the second hit if it lands.
Down smash			14%%, 10%% and 6%% (close); 11%%, 8%% and 4%% (tip)	A high range spinning slash with long start-up and ending lag. There are multiple hits to this move, although the first hit is the strongest with the most knockback.
Neutral aerial		rowspan="1"	7% (close), 8% (tip)	A circular slash with the Monado.
Forward aerial		rowspan="1"	7% (close), 6% (tip)	An overhead forward Monado swipe.
Back aerial			12% (close), 8% (tip)	Shulk holds the Monado behind him and the beam strikes behind him. Has slow startup and moderate landing lag, but good range.
Up aerial			5% and 10% (close), 5% and 7% (tip)	Shulk holds the Monado above him and the beam strikes upward.
Down aerial			7% and 11% (full), 10% (beam only)	Shulk holds the Monado below him and the beam strikes downward. The first hit of the move does little knockback, but can easily connect to the second hit, which meteor smashes if sweetspotted. The sweetspot is located at the middle of the Monado's beam.
Grab			—
Pummel			3%	Hits the opponent in the head with the Monado's hilt.
Forward throw			11%	Shulk pulls the opponent towards him before slashing them with an uppercut from the Monado.
Back throw			12%	Shulk pulls the opponent behind him and stabs their midsection with the Monado in a reverse grip.
Up throw			7%	Heaves the opponent in the air and stabs their chest.
Down throw			7%	Slams the opponent onto the ground and drives the Monado through their spine.
Floor attack (front)
Floor attack (back)
Floor attack (trip)
Edge attack
Neutral special	Default	Monado Arts	—	Shulk activates one of five arts, which display kanji characters behind him when selected, to enhance some of his abilities while reducing others. The arts are: 翔 (Jump): Higher jumps, lower defense. 疾 (Speed): Faster movement, lower jumps, weaker attacks. 盾 (Shield): Higher defense, lower jumps, weaker attacks, slower movement. 斬 (Buster): Stronger attacks, weaker launch ability, lower defense. 撃 (Smash): Stronger launch ability, weaker attacks, lower defense against launching.
	Custom 1	Decisive Monado Arts	—	Arts last longer, but once an Art is activated it cannot be changed.
	Custom 2	Hyper Monado Arts	—	Both positive and negative effects of Arts are amplified, and the Arts last for a shorter duration of time.
Side special	Default	Back Slash	9-10% (front), 14-16% (back)	Jumps forwards with a Monado swing, similar to Link's dash attack. The attack is more powerful if it hits the opponent's back.
	Custom 1	Back Slash Leap		Shulk leaps up before slashing downward towards the ground. Has reduced horizontal movement, but comes out a little faster.
	Custom 2	Back Slash Charge		Shulk leaps forward, gaining super armor for the slash. This move has increased horizontal movement, but has harshly reduced damage if not striking the back.
Up special	Default	Air Slash	6%, 6%	Jumps upwards with a Monado swipe, similarly to Dolphin Slash. Pressing the attack button at the end of the swipe will result in a second, forward swipe.
	Custom 1	Advancing Air Slash		The first slash launches enemies diagonally, with the second slash moving Shulk forward.
	Custom 2	Mighty Air Slash		The range of the attack is reduced, but deals more damage.
Down special	Default	Vision	?	A counterattack, similar to Double Team.
	Custom 1	Dash Vision		Shulk takes a big step forward and the counter's range is extended. The counter is faster, but lacks power.
	Custom 2	Power Vision		Shulk counters an attack with greater power. However, if used too much, the counter will become less and less effective.
Final Smash		Chain Attack		Shulk summons Dunban and Riki to perform a Chain Attack on his opponents, before finishing them off with a strong Monado slash.

Reveal trailer

<youtube>GUl1EkUJ46k</youtube>

Alternate costumes

			File:ShulkHeadBrownSSB4-3.png

Trophies

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS trophy descriptions

Shulk's regular trophy can be obtained by completing Classic Mode with him and his alternative trophy can be obtained by completing All-Star mode with him.

Shulk

NA: In Xenoblade Chronicles, this young lad's colony is attacked by the Mechon, so he and his friends set off to take them down. In Smash Bros., his Monado Arts let him change his specialization during battle. You can choose to boost a stat—his jump or attack, for example—but other stats might drop as a result, so choose wisely.

PAL: In Xenoblade Chronicles, this young lad's colony is attacked by the Mechon, so he and his friends set off to take them down. In this game, his Monado Arts let him change his specialisation during battle. You can choose to boost a stat—his jump or attack, for example—but other stats might drop as a result, so choose wisely.

Shulk (Alt.)

NA: Shulk's up special Air Slash is an upward slash done during a jump. Press the button again quickly to launch opponents sideways. His side special Back Slash, on the other hand, is a downward swing with a very wide range, though using it leaves Shulk wide open. Try hitting foes from behind with this!

PAL: Shulk's up special, Air Slash, is an upward slash done during a jump. Press the button again quickly to launch opponents sideways. His side special, Back Slash, on the other hand, is a downward swing with a very wide range, although using it leaves Shulk wide open. Try hitting foes from behind with this to do more damage!

• 

  Classic

• ShulkAllStarTrophy3DS.png

  Alt.

Gallery

• 

  Shulk's poster.

• 

  Splash art of Shulk.

• Shulk Alt.png

  Swimsuit costume for Shulk.

• Shulk4PalleteSwaps.png

  More palette swaps for Shulk.

• 

  Pic of the Day, when Shulk was revealed.

• 

  Fighting Sheik.

• 
• 

  Shulk in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

• 

  Shulk activates the Smash Monado Art.

• 

  Attacking Donkey Kong.

• 
• 
• 

  Posing with two Villagers.

• 

  Forward air on Link.

• 

  Shulk's Final Smash, featuring Dunban and Riki.

• 

  With Luigi on Boxing Ring.

• 
• 

  Shulk posing with Riki.

• ShulkSSB4.png

  Image of Shulk from the ESRB leak.

Trivia

• The title of Shulk's trailer is the line he says in Xenoblade Chronicles when the party is about to face a enemy with a red tag.
  • Due to said line having no obvious connection to the trailer, some fans believe it is in reference to the ESRB leak.
• Shulk is the only fighter leaked by the ESRB leak to be a starter character on both versions.
• Shulk was the last character and newcomer confirmed for SSB4 before the Japanese release date for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
• Shulk, along with Pac-Man, are the only two characters in the game (and, by extension, the whole series) without a green palette swap option.
• Despite not being a third party character or a Mii, Shulk is placed with them in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, after the clones. This is changed in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, where Shulk is placed before the clones.