Super Smash Bros. Melee/Movelists/Ness

Basic Techniques

Standard Attacks

Button(s)	Description/notes
A	An unremarkable neutral A.
A A	Two unremarkable neutral As.
A A A	A quick combo that can sometimes be comboed into a bat.
Forward + A	An excellent move for intercepting people, this kick has surprisingly good knockback and quick startup time.
Dash + A	Projects an orb of energy in front of Ness. Quite powerful and a decent setup at higher damages. Very useful.
Down + A	One of Ness' most annoying moves, this kick can be repeated ridiculously fast. It's best used to annoy people.
Up + A	Ness claps his hands over his head. This move has excellent priority, decent damage and isn't too laggy. It can sometimes be a bit awkward to get used to though.
Smash Forward + A	Ness swings his bat. Does about 20 damage and has significant knockback. It's a great edge guard. Great for KOs and great knockback.
Smash Down + A	Ness stalls his yo-yo behind him, then spins it in an arc over his head. This is basically a down tilt that you can charge up. Very little knockback, but decent damage. Note that you can only charge this attack if the yo-yo ends up resting on a flat surface.
Smash Up + A	Just like down smash, but forward. You can only charge up this attack if the yo-yo is on a flat surface.

Aerial Attacks

Button(s)	Description/notes
A	Ness spins around for a bit, doing some physical (i.e. not PK) damage. This move is often overlooked and can be useful sometimes.
Forward + A	Ness attacks the oponent with a flurry of PK lightning. While this move traps the oponent for a while to rack up damage, it then shoves the oponent away from Ness. Useful when avoiding throws or when returning to the stage.
Back + A	This move is pure pain. It's a lot like Zelda's bair - sweet spot it by hitting with the tip of Ness' foot and you'll do crazy damage and knock the sucker away. Otherwise, it's weak as a kitten. An extremely useful KO move as well as a combo finisher.
Down + A	Ness does a downward kick, causing decent damage. Considered Ness's spike move, it can be used to stop an oponent before he returns to the stage.
Up + A	Ness does an upward headbutt to the openent, doing decent damage. Used often in aerial combos to juggle the oponent or as a combo finisher.

Special Attacks

Button(s)	Attack	Description/notes
B	PK Cross	A somewhat controlable ball of light is emitted from Ness' head, release B to make it explode, at full power, it is quite devastating. It is very slow, and will be negated if the light hits a wall, or if Ness is attacked before it is set off.
Up + B	PK Thunder	A controlable ball of electricity is emitted from Ness' head, it lasts quite a while and can be really annoying to enemies. If you hit Ness with his PK Thunder, he will be launched in the direction you hit him as if hit by a hammer to do some decent damage.
Down + B	PSI Magnet	A Barrier that will take any special attack and make it heal Ness instead of damage him
Forward + B	PK Fire	Ness emits a thunderbolt from his fingers, if it hits the enemy, it bursts into a pillar of fire. When used in the air the thunderbolt is shot down diagonally.

Throws

Button(s)	Description/notes
Down	Ness throws his opponent into the ground and assualts them with a PK Fire barrage
Forward	Ness sends his opponent flying away with his psycic powers
Up	Ness spins his opponent on his finger and then sends them flying upward
Back	Same as forward, but backwards. Better for K.O.'s. Works well in combination with the PK Cross. (See Advanced Techniques below.)

Pros and Cons

Summary

Ness, despite being a low-tier character, has massive potential. He is one of the trickiest characters in the game. He has a few very powerful moves. The thing that really holds players back is his steep learning curve. Ness is a great character for those who want to work hard and surpass high-tier players with a low-tier character.

Pros

Extremely tricky
A few extremely powerful moves (i.e. bat, bair, PK Cross) considering his small stature
Often unexpected (not many people play a good Ness)
Multiple projectile attacks

Cons

Very difficult to master
Recovery with up + B is initially difficult for beginners

Advanced Techniques

Baseball bat (Smash Forward + A) + PK Cross (B)

If you play one on one, this is an invaluable technique. While somewhat near the edge of a stage, use a baseball bat to knock the other player of the edge. While he trying to get back, start holding down B. This will start Ness's PK Cross. Hold the analog stick in the direction of the edge so that when the green ball reaches the apex above Ness, it will start to go down towards edge of the stage. Time the move so that by the time your oppenent comes back to the stage, the green ball is at full power. (The amount of time is different depending on your opponent: for instance, Kirby will take longer to get back to the stage then Gannendorf.) Release B to deal maximum damage just as your opponent tries to climb to the stage. Because it's at full power, this move almost surely knock out any opponent over 50% damage.

It is also possible to have the PK Cross ball come back toward Ness. This way, when your opponent tries to come back and attack you, they will be attacked instead.
Usually you want to stand near the edge to perform this move. You can have the PK Cross ball come back toward Ness, and at the same time it's going toward the edge. This way, if you time it wrong, the player won't be able to attack you since they would get hit by the PK Cross if they did.
You don't need to use the baseball bat. Any move that throws another player over the side of the stage far enough will work. Using the Back Throw works the best (esp. at higher damages). Block often, so when your opponent gets near the edge of the stage, perform a roll to the edge to get closer to the edge than them. Then, use a back throw to throw them over the edge. A back throw is actually more likely than a forward throw to throw the player completely offscreen for a K.O. at higher damages (100% or greater).

Headbutt (Aerial Up + A) + PK Thunder (B)

Doing this move requires a firm command of Ness's PK Thunder to aim it where you want it to take you. Once you have an opponent trapped in a barrage of headbutts preventing him from landing on the stage, you can pull this off. First the opponent needs to have around 80% or more so that the attack will be lethal. Do one more headbutt and as soon as you do, take out your PK Thunder and aim in a direction where your oponent will fall. It's tricky at first, but try to predict where he will be when you hit yourself with it to attack him head on.