I'll write a general "how to not suck against pk fire" note. Not for just the characters you list.
I.) Avoid the pillar. First and foremost. This involves shielding the bolt or dodging the bolt. Things to avoid starting a pillar:
shield before the pillar goes off or jump over the bolt.
If they're angling it down at you, you can either jump back, dash in underneath, or shield to stop it.
spotdodge/roll/airdodge before getting hit by it.
II.) You're stuck
If you manage to get trapped in a pillar, it's all about mixing up your options. You can do any of the following:
0.) nothing....
1.) shield
2.) spotdodge
3.) roll (left/right)
4.) attempt to hit with a move (some people have quick and long moves that can put hitboxes out between the time of pillar hits)
5.) attempt to get out with a move that has invincibility/super-armor frames (marth's upB from brawl could get out of it)
6.) jump->airdodge? (this worked sometimes, but I've never really tested it myself)
7.) spam jump (in brawl, the ness would get footstooled; don't know about this game)
Character specific
a.) reflect it (falco/fox/palutena?/zelda)
b.) counter (a lot of characters)
c.) absorb (ness/GW/villager??)
0 -- nothing will fool people. Problem is that you take damage.
1 -- Shielding we can grab you. You can shield to bait out a grab so that you can spotdodge or roll away. This is the best option, but it can also be the worst if we grab you
2/3 -- If you roll or spotdodge, we can time our moves to cover where you move to (if we read you correctly). Our dash-attack just so happens to cover the roll back and potentially set up a trap after we pop you up. This is the second best option, because you get out and, if you escape, can go back to neutral game.
4 -- Fox's utilt or jab or something can hit through the pillar. I've had this happen to me, and it kept popping me up when I messed up an attack. Other characters may have fast moves that can copy this pattern. We can space our moves better to avoid this happening, but it can be a good way of stopping our approach.
5 -- I don't know what moves have invincibility in this game. Timing that move is key so we don't get a free followup.
6 -- Don't know if this actually works. If it does, be wary of how long it lasts. There is a chance that our first option ends in time for us to react without problems. The other part of this is "we waited and get a free hit"
7 -- spamming jump (or rather timing it) is only good if you're at the edge and SDI'ing out. Actually spamming it is only good if you're able to footstool the Ness. I don't recommend this.
a -- This works well to stop us from direct followups. A direct counter to this option is us using PK Bat.
b -- This can work in some situations. Similar to if you reflect it. PK Bat only works against some characters. Otherwise, we can PK Fire again or just anticipate/react to the counter.
c -- We can do anything to you. The only thing is you get what you wanted out of absorbing. If you're Ness, you can theoretically jump out of the absorption, but it's a sticky situation.
TL;DR -- Avoid the PK Fire bolt first and foremost. You won't worry about getting trapped if you can do that. If you get stuck by a pillar, mix up options so that we have to guess or react.
