How do I play Yoshi's neutral game?

[PineTree2.0]

I'm getting really salty at my brother. He keeps beating me with Falco, but only uses really predictable and easily punishable moves. I know what you're thinking "Why don't you just get easy reads and punishes on him?". Here's why. I SUCK at Yoshi's neutral game. Sure, I can get a good hit or two, but those are all luck. Not reads. I'm getting really pissed off at is because I can pull tech out the wazoo, and do all that stuff. I have no problem with that, but when I have to face a human. Poof! Everything I learned is gone. I suddenly start doing random grabs, egg rolls, and down b's. It's really annoying and I want to get better, but my brother barely plays, and doesn't know anything about the technical side. (which makes me even angrier). I'm lucky if I get to play a couple sets with him.
Also, what do I do when I'm on a platform above someone who can easily attack above it. I try t jump away, but am scared that they'll just chase me.
tl;dr I suck at neutral, but have rarely have anyone to play with.

 

[MurphyPrime]

Bare in mind you are playing as Yoshi, who is already disadvantaged compared to other top tiers. It sounds like your brother plays smarter than you so he doesn't need the tech skill (I'm not trying to offend, same thing with my bro and I for the longest time). Are you visibly salty after he beats you, like throwing controllers? Cause that will make him not have fun facing you and as a consequence he won't play much. What is he doing to approach that is so predictable but you can't punish? Maybe it's because you keep trying to punish the same way but he has set himself up to counter it. If you are on a platform, you could potentially light shield with yoshi, because you will get hit away very fast (look up yoshi light shield on google). When I was a scrub (which to me sounds like what you are, again no offense cause everybody has been a scrub), I would grind event 51 to try and beat it as cleanly as possible. It'll help with making think about what are safe moves. This isn't great for pros, but it may help in the meantime.

 

[yacess]

Basically just try to be as safe as you can when choosing attacks. Yoshi isn't the kind of character you can just throw out random aerials with. SH AC bair is usually a pretty safe option especially with the horizontal control you have over it so you can land safely if they shield. be careful with djc nair approaches because they can get predictable and can be punished easily. fairs are also good because of their large strong hitbox and can be good from wavelands on the top platform. Basically just be really careful and deliberate with your aerials and don't throw hitboxes just to have hitboxes. On the ground, you can let them approach and space them out with wd and dd or intercept them with tilts or upsmash if they're spacing badly. cc dtilt can be good to stuff pressure. I'm not very good either and it's easy to get frustrated when your approaches don't work. Just stay optimistic and be sure to keep your movement and approaches fresh and make sure you don't fall into a mindless routine. Always think. The worst thing you can do is try the same things over and over

 

[Nuttre]

Wavedash back is basically most of the game against spacies, unless falco is lasering, in which case you can either powershield or platform camp, but don't be predictable. Retreating SHFFL Fair and platform movement are decent mixups.

 

[MurphyPrime]

Fair is risky though. Falco can just dair you out of shield if you aren't careful.

 

[Dinowulf]

Fair is risky though. Falco can just dair you out of shield if you aren't careful.

If you L Cancel > Parry You might be able to cancel it out if you space it right.

 

[MurphyPrime]

That's the careful part . There are ways to get out, but at his level I think he should focus more on safer moves until he can get better. Especially considering that Falco can punish Yoshi pretty hard for messing up. Would Lightshielding be a safer option out of L canceling the fair? It would push yoshi very far I think.

 

[Dinowulf]

That's the careful part . There are ways to get out, but at his level I think he should focus more on safer moves until he can get better. Especially considering that Falco can punish Yoshi pretty hard for messing up. Would Lightshielding be a safer option out of L canceling the fair? It would push yoshi very far I think.

yea i would think so. Def to reset the neutral

 

[twopercent]

I started playing yoshi a bit and I've found I have the best luck with short-hop B-air in the neutral game. Lots of options, but you need to be able to L-cancel very consistently to avoid getting punished.

side-note about L-canceling with yoshi: I'm sure others have done this, but home-run contest was a great way for me to get my SH L-cancels consistent with him.. the classic SH D-air L-cancel method of getting distance will pretty much force you to get used to L-canceling every aerial and really make you think about how much you'll get punished for not doing it.

 

[MurphyPrime]

Back air is awesome, I really like using it. But someone who is mobile and can out range it, like Marth and maybe shiek with f-tilt, can disrupt it. I practiced L cancel by trying to juggle a level 9 fox with up air at low percents, forces you to double jump cancel up airs and L cancel them. But home run is cool as well. What ever makes the most sense for you.

 

[ABAP Kidney]

Don't think "my brother isn't good but he's beating me", because it's a terrible mindset. At the end of the day, if someone is winning they're doing something right. Pay attention to what is beating you: what moves are hitting you? What do you do that gets punished in neutral?

As Nuttre brought up, wavedash back is a great tool against spacies, but also against a lot of people. Dash dance is also a great thing to have ready for neutral game. Keep in mind that neutral game isn't all about throwing out good attacks but also about finding the right times to commit and the right times to make your opponent commit. Don't underestimate cross-ups. If you get a punish, there's not much better than up-air, and there's really nothing better against falco than a well spaced down tilt off stage.

But again, the main thing to do is to avoid mind-gaming yourself. Don't think of your opponent as bad: Play him like he's a worthy foe and pay attention to every opening you get. If you go into the match thinking your things should work due to some inherent you as a better player, you're unlikely to be able to see clearly.

PS: If you're worried about tech skill you should practice it more in different situations. You shouldn't be doing random down-B inputs because why are you using b inputs on the stage at all. You want to get so consistent with your tech that it's just natural movement for you. Be as consistent as possible so when pressure is added you won't freeze up.