Alright, I'm going to talk about Shadowball, since there are some big misconceptions about the move.
Just because you have a reflector, bucket, cape, or pocket doesn't mean you nullify the moves uses entirely. Though Mewtwo may dislike reflectors and rather not have to deal with them, it doesn't mean it loses all it's uses. It's still a good neutral tool regardless.
Alright, let me set up a scenario:
A Villager is within kill percent of my Shadow ball. How many ways can I kill him with Shadow ball?
- Villager misses a ground tech, I cover his getup options with Shadow Ball. He dies.
- I read a roll or standing getup option off the ledge. He dies.
- The Villager whiff a grounded option, such as grab, smash attack, or tilt. I retaliate with a Shadow Ball. He dies.
- Villager launches a lloid rocket. I reflect it back and follow it up with a Shadow Ball. Villager accidentally shield both and breaks his shield. I go for the disrespect and stun him with a Disable and charge another shadow ball and throw it at him. He dies.
- I catch him off guard and throw it at him while offstage instead of going for average things like a Fair or Bair. He doesnt react fast enough. He dies.
- I bait out the pocket and then fire the Shadow Ball. He misses it. He dies.
- I throw it out at point blank because YOLO! He dies.
Just for reference, I've tried all of these on actual villager main's and have worked. Villager can avoidable of these options, but that's the point. It doesn't matter whether or not the Shadowball hits, it's about if he has the shadow ball. Villager may be able to stop a shadow ball, but he can't stop a Mewtwo from charging shadow ball. Not only does he have to use a move that literally had no other offensive uses other wise, and has to taken in to account all the scenarios I stated. At that point, Mission Complete! The psychological effect of Shadow Ball has taken its course, which is just as valuable, if not more, than the fact that Shadow Ball kills people pretty early.
If you still disagree, think of it this way: Do you think Villager, Game and Watch, Falco, and others have anything better to do than sit there and use a reflector? Of course they do! Villager could be planting a tree, firing a lloid rocket or a sling shot. Game and Watch would like to get in a grab for some bread and butter down throw combos. Falco would like to..... do whatever the heck Falco likes to do. All I know is spamming reflector is not on the top of his to do list in neutral.
What actual matters if you can stop him from charging. Sheik's needles and falcon's speed plus dangerous dash grab combos made Charging shadow ball kind of risky. It's also why the needles nerf is a big deal in that matchup.
Basically this is why falcon is perceived as losing, but villager is considered even (for now
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This rant was triggered by GnW main who said he hard counter Mewtwo because of bucket btw.