How to fight Bowser Jr.

[TechyTech]

I've been playing as ZSS when Smash 4 came out and I've been playing well as her so far. I've been focusing on players I have the most trouble dealing with and I've been having trouble with Bowser Jr. His d special has been the most troublesome for me and I can't get close to him sometimes. His d special will also explode on me when I successfully get a grab on Bowser Jr. which will cancel my combos.

I just want to know if anyone has any advice for how to fight Bowser Jr. and any way I can counter his d special.

 

[David Viran]

You can actually pick up his down special and throw it back at him if timed correctly. That should make him somewhat less annoying.

 

[pichuthedk]

laser/downsmash works when he is in side b except when he does the spin and as David said you should be picking up his goonling bomb.

the way I like to approach this is to treat this like a boss encounter if b.jr has his down b out its not safe to commit to him so going to pick it up and use it, OR space your self so your very far away and wont get distracted From it coming back.

you can punish His smashes easily if you can get in their head and bait their charged smashes or cannon ball you can murder him with down b kick. Running shield is very good this match up because I've run into b.jrs that up b upon reaction to you getting near don't. Bother getting baited take it s l ow and punish him hard.

 

[TechyTech]

laser/downsmash works when he is in side b except when he does the spin and as David said you should be picking up his goonling bomb.

the way I like to approach this is to treat this like a boss encounter if b.jr has his down b out its not safe to commit to him so going to pick it up and use it, OR space your self so your very far away and wont get distracted From it coming back.

you can punish His smashes easily if you can get in their head and bait their charged smashes or cannon ball you can murder him with down b kick. Running shield is very good this match up because I've run into b.jrs that up b upon reaction to you getting near don't. Bother getting baited take it s l ow and punish him hard.

Thank you. I've practice grabbing bombs with my friends and I'll remember what you said when I fight bowser jr again

 

[TeaTwoTime]

If he charges up his neutral-B and you're close enough, use your down-B to jump over the cannonball and ground him during his endlag (I've done this against bots many times so I assume it's possible against humans). At high percents this leads into a guaranteed up-B KO. I'd actually recommend using down-B to punish characters with laggy projectile animations frequently; it's worked really well for me.

 

[HelloSpy]

Don't, just submit to me and my Bowser Jr. main friends

But to be serious, heavyweight characters are combo food for Junior. Try to use lighter characters. He also takes less damage when you hit his clown car, and more when you hit him. When he uses up special (ejecting out of clown car), try hitting him from the ground. It's easier for him to hit you when you're midair.

 

[Uffe]

I don't know how much lag Bowser Jr. when dropping his Mecha Koopa, but unless there is a way to cut out some frames so he can grab it immediately, you shouldn't be having a big problem. If he throws the Mecha Koopa, airdodge to grab. If he's holding onto it so you can't do combos on him, do lesser combos. If you're trying to grab him while he has his Mecha Koopa, throw him immediately like you would with Rosalina when Luma is around. The biggest issue I have against this character is that he's constantly running off.

 

[Crosstails20]

• I am a new Bowser Jr. main and let me tell you, he is big and has an average air speed, so he is some what to juggle, also his up b is extremely vulnerable so try to edge guard him, but watch out for the hammer.
• If he comes at you with the cart shield, with the occasional spot dodge to avoid tomahawks.
• If he spaces his fair or bair a little close hold shield until he lands, both of them have a landing hitbox, however they auto cancel when not fast fallen so also be aware of that.
• His up air is one of the best juggle tools in the game, fast, if I'm not mistaken disjointed, and fast, you can challenge at your own risk.
• The kart can lead into many things at many percents. At really low percents it can lead into a footstool bair lock or down air which then leads into a small combo. At mid percents, it leads into an uair, fair or bair depending on di and where it was hit, it might also lead into down air, but I haven't tested this yet. At high percents, it leads into up b hammer which is also a kill confirm.
• Down B or Mechakoopa will give Bowser Jr. stage control but should be used while you are far off stage, if you notice that they are going for this too often, punish it, also he has a lot of end lag, there is a tech with the mechakoopa where if you drop it in the air, when it hits the ground it will bounce giving Bowser Jr. enough time to pick it up.
• Dair is a really unique move in the game in general, if you hit an opponent with it, it automatically auto cancels no matter what, this leads into combos, which leads into damage. Avoid being hit by this move.
• F Smash is an early killer and from what I know about it is that it is surprisingly safe in the neutral, disjointed and has a wonky hitbox.
• Up Smash is good at catching landings and if I am not mistaken catches opponents on Battle Field platforms. Do not challenge this move when in the air, land somewhere safe.
• Down Smash is a powerful kill option, and I mean powerful killing earlier than F Smash, but it does have a whole bunch of end lag, so just punish it.
• From what I know fair, bair, kart, F Smash, dtilt, dair, and maybe ftilt are used in the neutral the most.

That is all I can tell you about Bowser Jr., Sorry for the wait, I have spent 5 days making this post, so I hope it really helps.

 

[HelloSpy]

Also, I'd like to mention everyone here before I made my post mained Zero Suit Samus.

 

[Darches]

I was having the same problem with Bowser, because 90% of the time he just punches the mechakkoopa instead of picking it up. I found aerial approaches effective, and with enough speed you can run up and block the mechakoopa, then grab OoS as it walks away. Obviously this won't work well if the koopa is dropped toward the ledge.