Forward Smash: Dynamo of Doom
For Ratchet's Smash Attacks, I'm showcasing some chargeable weapons from the series. To begin his Side Smash, Ratchet strikes a James Bond-like pose while whipping out a strange weapon--it appears to be an orb attached to an apparatus with a light bulb on top and a handle holding it all together. He charges the gun while holding it by squeezing the trigger, and as he does so sparks begin to surge from the orb while the bulb lights up like a Christmas tree. once it reaches critical mass the electricity shines bright enough to obscure the orb. Just what exactly is Ratchet planning to unleash with this gun...?! PEEeewwzZZZZZSSSSHHhh....!!! an electrical sphere straight from the Dynamo of Doom! In A Crack in Time, Ratchet used this gun to fire off orbs of various sizes to manipulate the battlefield while facing dozens of enemies. He used this as an effective form of crowd control due to the orbs lasting a bit after being fired out. As you charge your Smash Attack, Ratchet charges his gun and immediately sets it loose upon his victims when you release the Attack Button. The Dynamo orb, once fired expels all the energy it has stored while being charged and moves along a fixed trajectory; anyone who makes contact with the electrical sphere and/or the orb itself will take constant damage until they either shield themselves, escape the damage radius or when the orb expels all its energy. Here’s an example of the sizes of the spheres:
As you can see, the more Ratchet charges his Smash the larger the sphere, but the size of the sphere affects how fast it will move and thus how far it will travel. Each orb has a 2-second lifespan once fired and travel on a strictly horizontal path. The larger spheres can rack up alarming levels of damage but it comes with a catch: enemies won’t be stunned or flinch when in contact with the orb or sphere, they’ll take damage the same way in which Fox shoots you. That‘s great for people Ratchet uses this on, but there’s a couple more things to keep in mind about this attack:
Dynamo Spheres also have a level of suction that gets stronger based on the charge, making it harder to escape a fully charged variant. Larger Spheres tend to move slower than the Quick Smash variant, but its suction is a mean force to contend with, and slower characters can become easy prey for the attack. A small sphere will give a gentle tug while a large one certainly won’t; you don’t have to be Sonic to escape the spheres by running but you do have to be fast (sorry Ganondorf).
If you are stuck in the sphere and can’t outrun it, use your shield and dodges/rolls constantly to drastically limit the damage you’ll receive. Since you won’t flinch while being hurt by the sphere you’re free to try and defend yourself, but don’t get too caught up in damage control, because Ratchet’s free to do whatever he wants after firing off a dynamo, like use an attack with actual killing power. The pros and cons of this Smash attack means that it’s best used strategically, and the insane amount of damage it can inflict, coupled with the slow movement of the larger spheres means that you should NEVER use this on a skilled Ness and Lucas, because it can give them some massive health boosts.
TL;DR: Ratchet's Side Smash has him release a radius of pain that racks up damage without stunning, flinching or knocking foes away. It has zero KO power, its radius and magnetic pull are positively affected by its charge time while its speed and distance get the inverse. Each orb fired has a 2 second lifespan; the move can be Reflected, Absorbed and Collected--thus these reasons make it best used strategically. Ratchet is free to do and use whatever after firing the orb and airborne opponents have a harder time escaping the suction compared to grounded foes. Suction works similarly on items.