I'm pretty friendly with a Greninja main over at Smashladder, so I'll see if I can come up with something from experience.
Character strengths and weaknesses.
- Greninja's grab is definitely something to be wary of. I believe his pivot grab is one of the best in the game, and his Up-Throw to Uair is a true combo. If I'm at a high percent, Up-Throw will send me pretty high so I have time to bring out the Guardian Orbitars to save me from the Uair KO. This has saved me a ton of times.
- If Greninja tries to gimp you with his Shurikens, pull out the Orbitars, obviously. Competent Greninja's probably won't do this against Pit. If he uses Shurikens onstage, don't bother reflecting the small ones. I don't know if it would be possible to pull out the Orbitars in time anyway.
How to effectively approach/bait your opponent.
- The Greninja I'm used to playing most has a heavy rushdown style, so if you're playing one like this, space with D-Tilts. Greninja has a fast running speed, so he often runs headfirst into consecutive D-Tilts or F-Tilts.
- I also find that Greninjas hop and jump around a lot. If you can get used to reading and predicting this, intercept their jumps with Nairs and Fairs. Learn his patterns and punish it.
- Competent Greninjas will not spam their Dair spike move. However, expect it to be used every now and then. I like to bait this move out of Greninjas. When Greninja is falling back down to the stage, try and stay on the ground underneath him or fake him out by pretending to approach with an Uair (don't jump high enough so you can't get to the ground in time). This can be enough to bait the move out of him.
Off-Stage game.
- When playing Greninja, I am usually quite wary of offstage play, and instead preferring to stay onstage and get a few shots in with my Light Arrows. However, Greninja's recovery is quite predictable, so it is possible to get a Dair spike or two off of it. I feel safer onstage versus Greninja due to his Hydro Pump move. Pit's recovery is
very predictable and easy to gimp. Hydro Pump's vertical knockback is
huge, so just be aware of that when using your recovery. If you feel a Hydro Pump is coming your way, use the Orbitars if you have the time/space.
- When you are making your way back to the stage, expect to be chased further to the edge of the screen with Fairs. Greninja's Fair is strong, and is good for spacing. If he catches you offstage with this, you're out of there. Don't be caught out be this; expect him to come after you.
- Pit's recovery is predictable, as I've already mentioned. When using Up-B to recover, get ready to tech the stage as Greninja will most likely go for a Bair stage spike. I can't stress how important it is to be able to tech this properly.
- Another reason why I don't like chasing Greninja offstage: Shadow Sneak. Shadow Sneak is a kill move, and he can easily hit you with it offstage when you can't see the shadow coming.
Positional Play.
- Watch out for Greninja spacing with Fairs and approaching with Nairs.
- Never fall back onto the stage close to him. His Up-Smash has a deceptively wide range to his right and left sides.
Punishes/Punishing.
- If you shield his Dair, he will jump into the air again and repeat the move. For this reason, it is far easier to punish this move by rolling out of the way and then exploiting the end lag.
- A botched Shadow Sneak is very easily punished due to the horrible end lag.
- Greninjas will usually attempt to punish with a grab to Uair. Being proficient at spotdodging is obviously very helpful in this particular matchup.
- Up-Smash has quite an amount of end lag.
What moves to avoid.
- There's really no moves you should be neglecting in this. The only move I don't implement into my games is U-Tilt. Just be careful using your Upperdash, as always.
Stage strengths and weaknesses.
- I don't really have the best advice for this one, to be honest. I feel most comfortable on Battlefield as I can easily shark Greninja using the platforms. Maybe someone else can give more in depth information and reasoning.
Overall match-up ratio.
- Although not a completely one sided matchup, I wouldn't say that it is in Greninjas favour.
- I'd probably say it's 60:40, but I'm definitely open for discussion.
Extra tip - In Sudden Death, Hydro Pump has enough knockback to kill you, so get ready for that if you frequent For Glory