Wheel

"Turn into a wheel and roll around at high speed!"

- Kirby Battle Royale - Kirby's 25th Anniversary Copy Ability Poll

Wheel is one of Kirby's Copy Abilities who first appeared in Kirby's Adventure.

General Information
The Wheel ability is made for getting to places fast and taking out enemies along the way. Normally wearing a backwards red baseball cap, Kirby can turn into a big pink wheel that zooms along the ground, destroying nearly any foe or obstacle and making Kirby almost completely invulnerable - he is susceptible to damage only when turning. An obvious downside to this is that although he is fast and damages enemies on contact, he is very hard to control, especially because he is incapable of jumping in some games. The Wheel ability is best used on flat terrain and in places where projectile-throwing enemies are sparse.

The Helper for this ability is Wheelie. Kirby can board this Helper to become Wheelie Rider, a pseudo-ability that behaves very similar to the regular Wheel ability.

With the Copy Scroll in Kirby: Squeak Squad, whenever Kirby drives over sparks, flames, or ice, he will take on the properties of the element. Ice Wheel can freeze water he rides over, Fire Wheel can burn bushes, and Spark Wheel generates sparks on water and metal. If Kirby is colored using Spray Paint, the Wheel will change to match that color.

In Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Wheel received a charge move which increases Kirby's speed. The ability hat was given extra detail as well; it now has white lines and a star on it.

Wheel is a Mode for Robobot Armor in Kirby: Planet Robobot.

Kirby Air Ride
In Kirby Air Ride, Wheel can be obtained by inhaling a Wheelie (or Wheelie Bike) in Air Ride mode, or by collecting its patch in City Trial and in several of its Stadiums. As it is a Copy Ability, only Kirby can transform, and not Meta Knight and King Dedede.

While in Wheel Form, Kirby turns into a faceless wheel with two circles containing a star on both sides. He has above average speed, and is slightly less maneuverable than most Air Ride Machines. The player can pick fast machines to cover straights and use Wheel (or Wing) to cover sections with turns - this is especially important in checking off several time attack checkboxes.

Kirby: Right Back at Ya!
Wheel Kirby appeared in both racing-themed episodes of the anime, where it's naturally the most useful. It keeps the same look, with Kirby turning into a pink tire with a star-shaped hubcab, but gains no extra powers - just pure speed. Even when it looks like all is lost, Wheel Kirby can zoom past all opposition. It's his fastest ability after Jet, though he does still get tired after a while.

In the transformation sequence, Kirby waves a checkered flag around until a tire hits him and he spins around, then the tire appears on his head where it turns into the red cap, which Kirby fixes so it's on backwards.

Related Quotes
"The legendary racer zooms down the track. 3, 2, 1... Turbo Accelerate!"

- In-game description for the Wheel Mode of Robobot Armor

Trivia

 * Wheel Kirby's hat looks similar to the hats of Yo-yo, ESP and Paint Kirby, but with a different color palette in each case (Yo-yo's is purple, ESP's is blue, Paint's is gray).
 * Wheel Kirby's artwork for Kirby's Adventure shows the wheel that Kirby turns into as gray instead of pink. The wheel also has a face in the artwork, which is not present in any game.
 * Like other Copy Abilities in Kirby & The Amazing Mirror and Kirby: Squeak Squad, part of the ability's color is affected by Spray Paint (in this case, the tire Kirby transforms into).
 * In Kirby: Squeak Squad, when Wheel Kirby is standing still, every few seconds he will fix his cap.
 * While Wheel did not appear in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Needle can roll into enemies with a dash attack similar to Wheel.
 * Wheel is the only Copy Ability in Kirby: Triple Deluxe that returned from a previous game that does not make an appearance in Kirby's Return to Dream Land.
 * Rocket Start may be a reference to Sonic the Hedgehog's Spin Dash, as both involve revving up on a spot before rolling at top speed.

Other Ability Icons
Rad Rueda Roue Ruota ホイール Wheel