Lightning

Lightning
Information
Description	Makes everyone but the user drop their items, also making them smaller, slower, and high-pitched in voice.
Rarity	Very Rare
First Appearance	Super Mario Kart (1992)
Most Recent Appearance	Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit (2020)

The Lightning (also called the Storm, Shock or Thunderbolt) is a powerful attack item that appears in all games in the Mario Kart series. They resemble cartoon versions of thunderbolts, hence their name. Racers may receive these when they're either in, or close to, last place.

Uses

When the Lightning is fired, all the racers except the user will be electrocuted by a sudden electric arc that appears over them, making it a great recovery Item. When they are struck, they spin out, lose any of their Items (in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! onwards) and shrink down to a smaller size, slowing them down. The effect wears off after a different amount of time depending on the game and which position the victim is in. In some Mario Kart titles, if a player has been electrocuted by Lightning and a regular sized character (usually the racer who fired the weapon) runs the shrinkee over, the shrunken racer will get squished, losing even more speed.

Shock Dodges are instances of someone dodging the weapon's effects. Additionally, if the user fires the thunderbolt at the moment a racer is going over a ramp, a Target Shock will happen if the racer that got shocked falls into a pit as a result of getting hit.

Differences

In Mario Kart 64, if the player who wasn't shrunken runs over a player who is small, the latter will be squished for a while even if the launcher is a lightweight and the lightning-stricken player is a heavyweight. If two small people run into another they both will be squished. If they hit an obstacle such as a Thwomp they will be pushed back and be squished even if they hit the obstacle from the side. The only exception is an explosive type of obstacles such as the Kalimari Desert Train, or Snowman. Hitting in considerable speed may often cause you to spin out and recover faster.

In Mario Kart: Super Circuit, when this item is used, the music stops playing and then restarts after all shrunken drivers return to normal size. The shrunken drivers will spin out if coming into contact with another driver.

In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, it won't affect the player if he or she is currently indisposed (such as having just been hit by another item or fallen off a cliff), or has used a Starman or went through a launching Cannon. Here, the music will be quieter, and shrunken players will recover after a few seconds.

In Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii, the effect of being hit by a thunderbolt wears off quicker the lower in the rank you are. For example, someone hit by one while in 7th/11th place will return to normal almost immediately, while those in 1st or 2nd place will remain shrunk for much longer. Also, the background music of the track will be comically warped. In Mario Kart Wii, a racer who is super-sized from using a Mega Mushroom will be returned to normal size when struck by Lightning instead of shrunken completely. There are also two items (POW Block and Thunder Cloud) that act similar to Lightning, but with a few differences: the POW Block cannot hit airborne racers, and those that do get hit just spin out and drop their items without shrinking (or slowing down), and the music isn't warped, while the Thunder Cloud strikes the wielder. If the Lightning is used in a team match, it will only affect the players on the opposite team. In Mario Kart Wii, the Lightning can appear in Battle Mode, but it will neither pop the victims' Balloons nor give the user any points, but it will still shrink and slow them down. Thunderbolts are unobtainable during the first 30 seconds of a race or match, but 30 seconds must elapse before the next one can be obtained.

In Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart 8, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the Lightning acts similarly as in Mario Kart 64, in the fact that racers who are small can get run over. In Mario Kart 8 only (not in Deluxe), the victim will lose their Items even if they were under the effect of a Star at the time. The Lightning can also appear in Battle Mode in Deluxe (just like it did in Wii), but it will not pop the victims' balloons, nor will the user get any points from it. Much like in Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii, the music will become comically warped (except if the player is not a target, such as when they themselves fired off the weapon).

In Mario Kart Tour, the Lightning still acts as it does in the latter games of the series. It can be obtained in either 7th or 8th place, with certain gliders increasing your chances of getting one. Characters that can have three item slots in a race can get a Lightning Frenzy, which, while in use, chooses a random opponent to shock, shrinking them and spinning them out, making them lose any held items.

In other games

The Lightning was an item featured in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U. If a fighter touched it, either they, their opponents, or everyone would shrink or grow.

Trivia!

• In all the Mario Kart games (with an exception of Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and Mario Kart 7), all the voices of the characters affected by the Lightning will be more high pitched. However, in Mario Kart 7, the kart's sound will get extremely high-pitched.
• When Mario Kart 64 was released on the Wii Virtual Console as well as the Wii U Virtual Console, the flash coming from the lightning was less intense, most likely to avoid seizures.
• More than one person can hold this item at once. This allows for 2 lightnings to appear at the same time. In later games, even three can appear at the same time! An example of multiple lightnings can be found here.
• A common YouTube meme surrounding the Lightning is a voice clip from this video playing whenever the player successfully avoids taking damage from the Lightning. This voice clip is frequently used by Mankalor, the publisher of the video in the previous point.
• Uniquely enough in Mario Kart 64, hitting an obstacle that caused you to spin out during thunderbolt will make you recover faster. This is because you spin out without being floated when squished by obstacles.
  • Another thing is that all the racers affected by thunderbolt will have a high-pitched sound when hitting an item.
• In Mario Kart 7, There is a glitch where the A.I. will continuously drive into the Lava, however Lightning is unobtainable normally in this mode, and therefore it cannot be performed without hacking.
• In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, another glitch can be performed involving Lightning, however this glitch allows you to dodge the shock somehow.
• Interestingly, in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the Bullet Bill and the lightning item cannot be obtained at all during the first 30 seconds of the race.
• In Mario Kart Wii, the Lightning is one of three timed items, the others being the Blooper and POW Block. Lightning can't be pulled for the first 30 seconds of a race, and once a Lightning is pulled and used, another Lightning can't be pulled until at least 30 seconds have passed.

Gallery

Mario Kart 64.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart DS.

Mario Kart Wii.

Mario Kart 7.

Mario Kart 8.

Lightning Cup Icon (Mario Kart Wii).

Item icon from Mario Kart Wii.

A photo from super smash bros

Artwork of Petey Piranha and King Boo in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, with King Boo holding a Lightning.