Beetle

This article is about the Copy Ability in Kirby: Triple Deluxe. For the enemy in Kirby: Triple Deluxe, see Beetley. For the ally in Kirby Mass Attack, see Rhino Beetle.

“	A flash of lights reflects off its horn as the king of bugs returns! You can pound stakes with Hardhead Slam and use up to gather your friends on your head and fling them into the air!”
	— Flavor Text • Kirby Star Allies

Beetle is a Copy Ability introduced in Kirby: Triple Deluxe. It later reappeared in Kirby Fighters Deluxe as an unlockable ability, accessible by saving StreetPass data from Kirby: Triple Deluxe on the player's 3DS system, and even later in Kirby Battle Royale as unlockable ability; it also appears in Kirby Star Allies.

General Information

With the Beetle ability, Kirby can use the horn on his helmet to attack and skewer enemies. He also gains a new flying animation, where he flaps wings that appear on the back of his helmet -- it inflicts damage on contact, similarly to Jet's Hover and Wing's Hover Flap. Beetle excels in grab-and-throw attacks, much like the Suplex and Backdrop abilities. All attacks involving Kirby's horn can cut ropes and grass, and the Hardhead Slam attack can pound down stakes. A powerful, hard-hitting ability, Beetle's main weakness is the long start-up and recovery time for its attacks. In Kirby Fighters Deluxe, the Rocket Horn dash attack takes an even longer amount of time to start moving.

Beetle's Rare Outfit in Kirby Fighters Deluxe is a helmet designed to resemble the Hydra Legendary Air Ride Machine from Kirby Air Ride.

Moveset

Move	Controls	Description	Damage ^[1]
Horn Upper	B	Kirby slashes the large horn of his hat upwards.	16
Horn Flurry	B (repeatedly)	Kirby quickly slashes upwards several times with the large horn on the front of his helmet.	8 per hit, 38 (Back Slash)
Rocket Horn	Dash + B	Kirby lunges forward, horn-first, and skewers any small enemies in his way. After he stops, he throws them off.	24 (Horn), 48 (thrown object)
Rocket Horn Dive	↑ during Rocket Horn	Kirby flies upwards and backwards in a wide circle to slam the skewered enemies into the ground.	24 (Horn), 48 (thrown object)
Spiral Horn	↑ + B	Kirby spins and flies upwards, sucking in and damaging any nearby enemies with his horn. Kirby is invincible while performing this attack.	12 (Initial Hits), 18 (Final Hit)
Hardhead Slam	↓ + B	Kirby points his horn downward and spirals to the ground.	24
Catching Horn	↑/→ + B (near enemy)	Kirby skewers an enemy with his horn, rendering them helpless.	16
Carry Around	Move (after Catching Horn)	Kirby can walk around with an enemy on his horn.	16
Quick Throw	B (after Catching Horn)	Kirby tosses the enemy off his horn.	60
Throw Drop	↑ + B (after Catching Horn)	Kirby jumps with the grabbed enemy and slams it against the ground, similar to Ninja's Air Drop.	52
Crown Drop	← + B (after Catching Horn)	Kirby does a double backflip with the grabbed enemy and slams it against the ground.	52
Slamming Drill	↓ + B (after Catching Horn)	Kirby spins the grabbed enemy against the ground.	52
Hover Wing	A (Midair)	Kirby flaps his beetle wings. Holding the button or pressing it repeatedly will make him fly higher. It does little damage to enemies.	8

Kirby Battle Royale Moveset

Move	Controls	Description	Damage (Robo Bonkers)
Horn Upper	B	Kirby slashes the horn on his helmet upward.	45
Horn Flurry	B + B	Kirby repeatedly slashes with the horn on his helmet.	30x4
Back Slash	B + B + B	Kirby finishes his rapid slashing with a final slash upward.	135
Spiral Horn	B during jump	Kirby spins his horn around him in a yaw movement. Does not cause Kirby to rise.	40
Rocket Horn	Hold/release B	Kirby flies forward with his horn outstretched in front of him. Move lasts for a fair bit of time, and Kirby can still turn and move around.	100 per hit
Dive	After Rocket Horn	Kirby flies upwards and slams any skewered opponents into the ground. Similar to Rocket Horn Dive, but will always occur after a successful Rocket Horn.	200 per hit (rising flips), 150 (slam)
Forward Lunge	Y	Kirby does a short lunge forward with his horn in front of him, which can grab opponents. Similar to Catching Horn, but can be activated whenever instead of only when near an enemy.	50
Slamming Drill	Y or B after Forward Lunge	Kirby slams his captured opponent into the ground.	90 (rising hit) 70 (slam)

Video

Kirby Battle Royale Tornado and Beetle Showcase

Friend Abilities

Friend Ability	Mix	Description	Damage
Friend Throw	Anyone	Kirby/Beetley throw up to three friends, and they fly around the screen, hitting any enemies they come across.	62

Flavor Texts

Game	Flavor text
	A flash of light reflects off its horn as the king of bugs soars through the sky! After charging your enemies to grab them with your horn, you can slam them into the ground!
	Harness the power of the king of insects to fling and pierce foes!
	A flash of lights reflects off its horn as the king of bugs returns! You can pound stakes with Hardhead Slam and use up to gather your friends on your head and fling them into the air!

Related Quotes

“	Grab foes with a beetle horn, and then toss them around!”
	— Kirby Battle Royale - Kirby's 25th Anniversary Copy Ability Poll

“	Look at that horn on you! The Beetle ability sure looks impressive. Use Rocket Horn to grab foes and Dive to drive them into the ground.”
	— Knuckle Joe • Kirby Battle Royale

“	Attack with your powerful horn. Use the beetle's power to beat your opponents into submission.”
	— Official Kirby Battle Royale Website

Trivia

This is the second ability to be based on a living creature, the first being Animal and the third being Spider.
This is the fourth ability to give Kirby a unique flying animation. The other three are Jet, Wing, and Cupid.
This is the ninth ability which Kirby actually attacks with his hat. The others are Jet, Cutter, Wing, Needle, Laser, Animal, Magic, and Water, with Poison as a tenth.
In Kirby Fighters Deluxe, if the player uses Rocket Horn Dive in the Castle Lololo stage, Beetle Kirby can grab opponents from the level above and force them through the floor.
Beetle's helmet may be partially inspired by some extravagant real-life helmet designs that were worn by military commanders in feudal-era Japan.
- Beetle's insectoid helmet may be a visual pun on the name for the Japanese rhinoceros beetle, kabutomushi (カブトムシ), which means "helmet-insect".
Beetle's Rocket Horn and Catching Horn have arguably the most overtly violent implications of any attacks used by Kirby.
Beetle is the only ability that debuts in Kirby: Triple Deluxe to reappear in Kirby Star Allies.
Out of the four main abilities that first debuted in Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Beetle has appeared in the most games than the other three.
Despite Beetle being referred to as the "king of insects," that phrase usually refers to the bee.