How do I punish Incenaroar's "Alolan Whip" (side-special)?
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Incineroar's side special always throws me off my game. With ranged moves like that, I'm used to shielding and punishing, which obviously doesn't work with this move because it's a command grab. I am aware that spot dodging will work, but I'm having trouble getting the timing right. It's also not enough for me to just avoid the attack, I need to be able to punish it to deter the player from using it over and over again (I had a match with a friend who ONLY used that move and it was the most annoying thing ever lol).
I don't really have a true main, but three characters I use a bunch are King K. Rool (closest thing i have to a main), Sephiroth, and Terry.
Any help is appreciated.
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There are a handful of factors to consider here.
Your character choices. King K. Rool is a humongous character. Sephiroth is also relatively large. I can't say for sure, but spot dodging may simply not be enough; it's entirely possible that Incineroar's Side-B hitbox will still be active by the time that K. Rool's hurtbox returns from a spot dodge input. Rolling towards the attack might be a better option.
Consider that Incineroar's Side-B is purely horizontal. You can easily punish a spammy player by jumping and using some sort of aerial attack. Depending on the character and your positioning, forward air, down air, or back air would be ideal. For your character choices, I don't believe Terry is the best aerial fighter, but K. Rool and Sephiroth have insanely huge hitboxes in the air, so you should be able to punish repeated Alolan Whip inputs.
Consider that Incineroar is criminally slow. His run, certain moves, and Side-B, are just peanut butter slow. None of your character choices are particularly quick, but perhaps a faster character would outmaneuver Incineroar.
