How to punish airdodges?

[Deleted member]

So I have been baiting out airdodges against my friend for a while but don't know how to punish them. Any help would be great!

 

[lugowy11]

you can punish them by waiting for them and then throwing out an attack when their animation is done, sounds like your friend air dodges alot so it should be fairly easy to punish them

 

[FamilyTeam]

An empty hop into a kill move works on most people.
If they're falling and they're near the ground, a full hop into a Fast Fall and a quick Side/Up Smash can get them.

 

[Deleted member]

Thanks! Since airdodges have no noticable ending lag, that helped.

 

[Green Zelda]

Everyone above pretty much covered everything, but don't forget about the frames of landing lag charcaters have after an airdodge to the ground! Use them to your advantage.
(I think 20?)

 

[Deleted member]

Oh, I forgot about landing lag! And he doesn't know how to a-land which is very useful.

 

[Routa]

You could always mix things up with Inhale just like Wario with his Chomp. Perfect for punishing Air Dodges as Kirby (I presume he is your main).

 

[Deleted member]

Never thought of that. All his mains have good neutral Bs so that will help!

 

[RIP|Merrick]

I'd say to always mix things up. Like after a throw if you read your opponent and they happen to for whatever reason immediately air dodge, charge a full smash attack and make them learn the error of their ways.

 

[Deleted member]

If you read an air dodge or you notice that your opponent is air dodging too much, I would try to bait them into doing one. Air dodges are easily punishable if the opponent gets a wrong read.

I'm sure this applies to other characters, so what I do with Cloud is bait them into doing one. One of the most infamous things Cloud can do is down tilt to uair strings; after a while, my opponents try to counter it by air dodging the move. So, I would down tilt, wait for the air dodge, and then punish with one of Cloud's smash attacks.

Keep in mind that baiting won't work all the time; the opponent could jump or attack as a mixup. Definitely play patiently against your opponent and see what they are doing.

 

[MockRock]

It depends on what's off; your position, or your offense? If you're wondering about position, you generally want to be falling with them, preferably directly below them. If you're wondering about offense, up air from below them is usually the easiest to hit with, and most characters' nair moves are a good option as well. If you're directly beside them, then fair or bair is fine, but because of the lower consistency you'll generally try and aim for uair with most characters.

 

[MarMarTheGreat]

Go in the air bait it and DI to not be open for aerial counterattacks and use an aerial of your choice

 

[gamecubeguy214]

You could always mix things up with Inhale just like Wario with his Chomp. Perfect for punishing Air Dodges as Kirby (I presume he is your main).

Now, don't forget about his Falcon main in Melee.