It seems like that on paper, but when you actually play, you find out that Diddy isn't as helpless as you think. I've only managed to gimp Diddys if they really mess up during recovery or they are just sandbagging.
I'll agree that gimping a Diddy isn't exactly that simple, but it's really not that hard to edgeguard him and harrass him offstage with our options. In all honesty, I still believe that he is one of the more likely characters to be edgeguarded mercilessly or outright gimped by Lucario compared to the rest of the cast if done right. His options are just too few, and Lucario's are just too effective, even if he's no Meta Knight.
What? As long as the kick itself does not come out (which, unless you're over the stage, there is no reason for him to ever kick, as he gets invincibility frames (!!!) and the chance to latch onto you otherwise) he can double jump and rocketbarrel afterwards. I don't get why you think flip kick suddenly makes him unable to do anything if used.
The Monkey Flip is completely vulnerable by itself. If you're edgeguarding Diddy Kong aggressively, or predict it and launch an aura sphere, Diddy Kong really cannot use the flip kick without severely endangering himself. All I'm getting at is that Flip Kick is very punishable and it is entirely possible to either intercept it or make the distance gained negligible by hitting him back again. Also, until high aura sphere charges, iirc the Flip Kick clashes with/can go through Aura Sphere, which is a reason why he would be using it when closer to the stage in the first place if you're not in range to punish it. (Lucario's too slow.)
He has invincibility frames. If timed correctly, you can't beat it besides anticipating and retreating or forcing him to use it. He has more than enough options to make it back every time unless he screws up.
Airdodge forces him to recover low, which generally means he either has to use rocket barrels or other means to get back to the stage from below. Lucario absolutely destroys Diddy Kong if he tries to recover low with Dair and Bair. Sometimes we can fair him too if he gets super sloppy, but I wouldn't count on it due to Fair not always beating out Monkey Flip and losing to his own fair. ._.
All of this is ignoring his wall jumps and cling (and reverse popgun). I mean come on, I could argue that durr its easy to gimp Lucario, he has a crappy up + B, just grab da edge! But in practice, how often does a good Lucario get gimped? Only when he makes a mistake, usually.
Wall jumps are bad, bro. Lucario's wall jumps are situational and punishable enough, but Diddy's is even worse in both getting to the wall and for his options out of it. Popgun is a mindgame as well. It's still punishable.
Honestly, in some matchups, I think Lucario is usually not being edgeguarded enough myself. Take for example, DDD or Meta Knight, or probably even Marth. Lucario's options offstage in these matchups are extremely limited, and as such Lucario should be taking either extreme amounts of damage or dying outright most of the time he gets sent offstage. Unless the opponent screws up or wasn't in a proper position to edgeguard, (such as DDD hitting Lucario across the stage and not reaching the other side before Lucario comes back.) Lucario honestly shouldn't be making it back all that safely. However, the reasons that Lucario is having trouble recovering in these matchups are not all that related to Diddy Kong's trouble against Lucario, and you know it. Lucario's floatiness, combined with his very ranged aerial movepool, allows him to generally recover from nearly any attack with very few cases in which he actually needs to use Extremespeed. Diddy Kong is on the faster side of the fall speed list, with mediocre air mobility. These traits make him much more dependant on his Barrels for recovery.
He doesn't mean the flip itself, just when it goes into a kick, which a good Diddy shouldn't do <_<;
If it goes into a kick, it beats Aura Sphere, allowing him to recover near the edge quickly without worrying about Aura Sphere. Other than that, yeah, the kick is pretty meh, but it is his best protection against some moves. :\
Yes, but he seems to disregard the entire move as only the kick, which is ignoring the most important aspect of the move.
No, I'm not. <<
When Diddy is offstage and Lucario is near the ledge, Diddy has very, very few options due to his very poor recovery special in this matchup. Unlike Lucario, he doesn't have enough floatiness to make up for it and will have to use it muuuch more often than Lucario uses Extremespeed. If you force an airdodge with Aura Sphere, he will be put in a very compromised position, and often will be forced to use Rocket Barrels. If he does perform the rocket barrels, then Lucario's aerials easily intercept them, usually putting him in an even worse position if he doesn't get gimped entirely. :\
Low-% gimps are highly unlikely due to Diddy putting himself back onstage very quickly, but mid-% and high-% gimps are definitely fair game.
) since there isn't one as of yet.
