Ness (SSB18)

**Ness** (ネス, *Ness*) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. OC 2018. He is the ninth of the Original 12 to be revealed (Following Mario, Link, Pikachu, Kirby, Samus, Donkey Kong, Fox and Captain Falcon) and the second of the secret 4.

## Attributes

Ness is an unusual blend of character archetypes, being a short, projectile-heavy character with a lot of versatility with his moves. Ness's weight is average and his falling speed is rather slow, giving him no disadvantage with weight alone. His walking speed is slow while his dashing speed and air speed are both sub-par, but his air acceleration is very high.

Ness possesses three projectiles: PK Flash, PK Fire, and PK Thunder. PK Flash can be used as an extremely powerful punishing or edge-guarding option, dealing huge knockback which can Star KO even Bowser, the heaviest character under 60%. PK Fire is fairly quick, possesses a good amount of range, and the projectile holds opponents in it when it hits them (while being difficult to SDI out of), allowing Ness free follow-ups (it can combo into a grab, a PK Fire or down tilt infinite and a forward smash to finish the opponent) as long as he acts quickly enough, also, it can be used off-stage to gimp fast-fallers and heavyweights in conjonction with down air. PK Thunder is one of the more unique projectiles in the game. When used, the player will lose control of Ness and instead take control of a large and powerful thunder ball for a few seconds. PK Thunder can essentially be used to knock opponents towards Ness for follow ups, to mindgame opponents in conjonction with PK Thunder 2 to finish them, edgeguard and juggle opponents. The knockback it provides can also hit an opponent over the upper blast line (especially light and floaty characters), allowing it to be used as a situational KO move as well, and it can allow him to use the massively powerful PK Thunder 2. His down special move, PSI Magnet, provides a psychic shield that can heal him when hit with an energy based attack and is extremely effective against characters such as Samus or Mega Man, quickly healing him until very low percentages.

Ness's biggest strength is found in his superb aerial game. All of Ness's aerial moves can be used to either combo, space, or KO. All except down aerial are capable of auto-canceling in a short hop. His neutral aerial possesses very little startup and ending lag, and hits on both sides of Ness, making it a very useful out of shield option. His forward aerial has quick startup, a large, disjointed hitbox, and traps opponents, essentially allowing it to chain into either itself or another move. It is a powerful spacing tool and very useful in approaching opponents. His up aerial can be used to combo at lower percents and KO reliably at higher percents. It possesses a large hitbox and little lag, allowing it to be of low risk to use. His back aerial is another reliable KO move that possesses low lag. His down aerial has long range and can be useful in edgeguarding and breaking juggles, although it has significant startup in comparison to his other aerials.

While Ness's aerial make him a formidable fighter at close quarters, he can also pressure from afar. His dash attack has an exceptionally long range and is useful to approach. PK Fire covers a lot of ground and can be used to perform a PK Jump, which has amazing range and is very rewarding, yet very risky.

Ness's grab game is also very strong. His standing grab has decent range and is fast, his pivot grab is surprisingly disjointed and his dash grab gives him a substantial speed boost. Also, Ness can easily trap careless opponents with aforementioned PK Fire and PK Jump in order to set up for a grab combo. Ness possesses one of the fastest pummels in the game, allowing him to deal a decent amount of damage before throwing. His down throw easily sets up for aerial attacks, leading into a forward air at lower percents (which can be used multiple times by following the opponent's DI) or an up air at higher percents. Ness's forward throw has very high base knockback and can set up edgeguards. Up throw can be used to play situational mindgames with PK Thunder. Ness's infamous back throw is the strongest throw in the game; while it has very low base knockback, it has extremely high knockback scaling and is often regarded as his most effective and commonly used KO option.

## Moveset

### On-screen appearance

* Ness teleports on the screen using PSI Teleport. He then shakes the ash off of his body.

### Taunts

* Up: Turns to the screen and nods his head while saying "Okay".
* Side: Takes his bat out and points it in front of him.
* Down: Releases a wave of PSI from his finger.

### Idle poses

* Looks around curiously.
* Closes his eyes and places his fingers on his forehead, concentrating his PSI, and then points it forward.

### Victory poses

* Skips in place and then nods similar to his up taunt.
* Looks to his sides quickly before facing the screen, putting his hand on the back of his head.
* Swings his bat multiple times, then points it forward.