The Perfect Shield can be used to block attacks without depleting the user's shield. The Short-Hop Attack is performed by pressing the attack and jump buttons at the same time, allowing the player to hop a short distance off the ground while performing an air attack however, all short-hopped aerial attacks deal 0.85x their regular damage (excluding special moves, and certain states such as Peach and Daisy's Floating Jump attacks and the Super Leaf item). However, if a player dodges excessively-whether in the air or on the ground-they become more vulnerable to attacks, with less intangibility and lower dodge speed. Melee, allows the player to dodge while moving at the direction they tilt, which can also be used for recovery. The Directional Air Dodge, a technique carried over from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: the Directional Air Dodge, Short-Hop Attack, and a new version of the Perfect Shield. Three techniques are also introduced in Super Smash Bros.
Spirits have a growth and evolution system similar to Pokémon games, leveling the Spirits to gain more powerful effects, or means of merging core abilities into a new Spirit. A separate Spirit Board mode presents a rotating set of challenges for players to gain Spirits from. Players gain Spirits through pre-made challenges that capture the theme of the Spirit character, embodied into one or more of the game’s fighter characters and other specific level effects for example, to claim the Spirit of Rayquaza, a flying dragon Pokémon, the challenge requires the player to defeat a version of Ridley that is larger than normal on a battlefield with added wind effects.
Each of these Spirits, based on a crossover character, can be used to power up a fighter with unique abilities, which can be used to fight against human or computer opponents and earn new Spirits. Another set of modes revolves around a new mechanic known as Spirits, which replaces the collectible trophies from previous games. In addition to returning modes such as Classic and Special Smash, new modes added to the game include Smashdown, where each character can only be played once, Squad Strike, where players battle in teams of multiple characters, and Tournament, which allows up to 32 players to battle in tournament brackets.