PK Flash

PK Flash (Japanese: PK フラッシュ PK Flash) is a PSI attack, introduced in EarthBound and later reappearing in Mother 3. In EarthBound it is learned only by Ness, and through an event Lucas learns it in Mother 3.

Overview
PK Flash targets all enemies on screen. Instead of doing a fixed amount of damage like other PSI attacks, it instead has a random effect, varying from status effects to instant knock-outs. In EarthBound each level of the attack can cause crying and strangeness, and starting with β it also has the chance of causing paralysis and instant knock-outs. PK Flash γ and Ω each increase the chance of more powerful effects while decreasing the chance of weaker ones.

While the effects are randomized, there are some enemies that are stronger against PK Flash and will more likely get affected with the weaker conditions, or are completely immune to it. On the other hand, some enemies are weak against it and have a higher chance of being affected with the stronger effects or instant defeat. Some enemies have an attack that that "emit a glorious light" which is the equivalent to PK Flash.

In Mother 3 instead of learning it via level-up like other PSI attacks, Lucas instead learns PK Flash when scaling Thunder Tower in Chapter 5. On the way up, he gets struck by lightning and realizes the ability to use PK Flash. PK Flash works mostly the same as in EarthBound, however it does not have levels that increase its power. As a result it has a fixed chance of causing the random effects at any point of the game.

In EarthBound







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In Mother 3

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In the Super Smash Bros. series
PK Flash has been Ness's neutral special attack since Super Smash Bros. Melee. In the original Super Smash Bros. game, it was PK Fire which was then moved to his side special attack in Melee. PK Flash is a chargeable attack that gets stronger the longer the special move button is held. It is a green ball of light that appears over Ness and moves in an arch, it then explodes in an electrical flash. When uncharged it is very weak but when fully charged it does a large amount of damage and can KO very early. Ness also used PK Flash during the Subspace Emissary to attack the King Statue in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The move is slow and leaves Ness vulnerable when charging, as a result it is often situational.

The attack is canceled if Ness is attacked, and it disappears if it touches the ground. It also leaves Ness if used in the air.

In Ultimate PK Flash is now much faster and no longer leaves Ness helpless if used in the air, as a result it is now a much more viable move that can be used in more situations. It also features circular flashes when being used to resemble how it looked in EarthBound.

Customs
In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U there is an extra custom variants of PK Flash:
 * Rising PK Flash: Instead of moving in an arch it continuously rises upwards then explodes when the special move button is released.It is colored pink and is slightly weaker.
 * PK Freeze: Functions the same way as PK Flash except it freezes opponents like Lucas's PK Freeze. Aesthetically it appears as ball of light colored cyan instead of a snowflake.

Trivia

 * PK Flash is the only PSI ability that Ness can learn in EarthBound that he also uses in Super Smash Bros.