Below is what I wrote on the Olimar match-up for the Kirby players
(Here's the original threaed)
Vs. Captain Olimar (& Pikmin)
Camping B-air against Olimar isn't going to win the game for you. Olimar never has to leave himself open to the B-air; a good Olimar isn't going to stand in one place F-smashing while Kirby is hovering in front of him. The Pikmin chain (U-special) will shoot out diagonally and knock Kirby out of the air if you're just floating around. If you try to be aggressive Olimar can punish anything Kirby has, out-of-shield.
You have to read Olimar really, really well and really, really consistantly.
In the air you have to predict his U-special, his Shield vs. your Aerial, his dashing U-smash, and his grabs when you try to move from air to ground. When you're approaching on the ground you have to know when he's going to shield vs your Tilts/F-smash/Dash Attack, you have to know when he's going to dodge your Grab attempts, when he's going to retreat (usually with Pivot Grab or Pikmin Toss), and you have to know when he's going to D-smash if you try to roll behind him.
When you go for your attacks you'll want to use attacks with as little lag as possible. U-tilt, Jab, and D-tilt are all good up close, while Grab and F-tilt is a little bit riskier. Smash attacks are very easy to punish if you miss because of all the lag afterward, but if you land a F-smash on Olimar it can lead to an easy KO.
For the most part, you want Olimar in the air. He's much less of a threat when he cannot grab, smash, or shield like he can on the ground. Better yet, you want him in the air and off the stage because he's a heartbeat away from getting edge-hogged. If you can hit Olimar after his mid-air jump is used up and you can get him off the stage, it's pretty much a lost stock for him at practically any percent.
Use Final Cutter as much as you can get away with, but judiciously. We all know Final Cutter is easy to punish, but not while you're chopping up Pikmin from half the stage away from Olimar. Let him know that you're not a push-over at long range, but not so much that he has time to punish you on your FC lag.
You have to learn which move to use to counter Olimar's next course of action. For example, if you approach with a Shield you had better be 100% sure Olimar is not going to go for a grab. If you know he's going to dodge, use a slow start-up attack like a charged F-smash, a Hammer, Inhale, or Dash Attack. If you expect a shield, go for a Grab, Inhale or play it tricky with things like a D-air crossover. If Olimar is going to Pivot Grab upon your approach, send a Final Cutter shot at him or jump over the grab and hit him with a B-air.
Speaking of the B-air, play it safe with your B-airs as much as you can. You never want to B-air Olimar's shield and land next to him in lag, that's just inviting pain. Use rising B-airs and pull away from Olimar to keep out of his reach. You don't even have to aim for Olimar, you can aim for his Shield to put him into Shield Stun as you retreat or you can intentionally whiff B-airs in front of him which puts even more distance between you and his out-of-shield options. There's always a chance that Olimar will leave himself open and your B-air will hit, or he might drop his shield or flub an attack or something and allow you to go from Rising-missed-Bair to 2nd B-air that's guaranteed to land.
Use N-air to knock Pikmin off of yourself - it's practically guaranteed to get any Pikmin off of you with the added bonus of un-spamming your Stale Moves. You can also use the N-air as an approach since it will knock Pikmin out of the air and will still hit Olimar if he's caught unaware. There's also a good chance that the N-air's hitbox will clash with Olimar's attacks (like Olimar's F-air) and can get you close as an approach, but the timing has to be very precise.
If you can get a Copy on Olimar, you'll have a very useful projectile at your disposal. Kirby's Olimar hat will let him throw Pikmin that out-prioritize Olimar's Pikmin, which can give you a much needed edge against camping and ranged damage. It's also great to send a barrage of Pikmin at Olimar while he's trying to jump and recover while off stage.
Take the opportunities as they come. If D-tilt trips, then by all means go for a F-smash. Leaving gaping holes in your defense by letting Olimar punish you for everything you whiff or flub will result in you losing very quickly. If you make sure Olimar isn't punishing, then you can be the one dishing out the damage and netting early KOs.
Since Olimar has so much more defensive options, greater range, and his over-powered U-smash, this match-up can be tough for Kirby. While Olimar is easy to gimp off-stage, it's getting him there that's the biggest problem for Kirby.
40-60, Olimar's advantage
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