[P4A] Naoto vs. Yukiko

[ludwig van]

Discuss the Yukiko matchup here!

[Ichipoo]

-A wary Yukiko can AA you if you're being reckless with j.C when trying to rush her.

-Midscreen fans are punishable with Aim when used at the right time and obviously Raid.

-Her Auto Combo has some decent normals to them so be careful of that as well and don't press too many buttons.

-Once you see her healing, don't bother shooting bullets.

[Kyle]

Her R-Action is projectile invul. This means you can't punish it from full screen & you can't use your R-action against it.

[Raging Ghost]

Any way to stop her healing?

[Kyle]

Yeah, your answer is one of two combo starters depending on spacing & how prepared you are. She is left in CH state while standing during healing.

- CH 5C, IAD, J.B, J.C into anything you want

- FCH 236B, into anything you want (best in the corner)

[Zeromus_X]

Reaction counter seems like a good tool in this matchup. Makes the Yukiko not autopilot fans and you can even counter her flame supers (even after Fire Break) for a counter shot.

[zentovix]

Respect her normals, use 5B to punish blocked persona attacks.

[xntrikcat]

Yukiko's 5a and j.a are both very strong. I keep finding myself having underestimated their hitboxes, and getting clipped by them. Our Aim shenanigans can keep Yukiko honest at full screen. I try to frustrate Yukiko as much as possible at full screen and bait her to making some bad decisions.

That said, some Yukiko's are really patient and they'll just block my bullets all day and cancel healing at the faintest sign of me rushing in. One of the dullest matchups, imo.

[Ichipoo]

How ironic, that a character who's better suited as a zoner has an arguably better 5A than a character who's proficient at both rushdown and zoning.

Anyway obviously F-Action cancelled into 6X should keep them honest with their zoning. When rushing down after you've knocked them down, jump back is a good answer for baiting Yukiko's F-Action, or any F-Action that's not as godly as Yu's or Mitsuru's.

[Ichipoo]

So how do you guys approach this matchup? At first I figured I need to rush her down but Yukiko surprisingly has some decent normals and I found myself getting outpoked by her occasionally. Seems like all I do is just j.C all over the place until I can convert. So how do you guys rush decent Yukikos down? And how often do you guys use traps and gun?

[Zeromus_X]

I haven't played against many great Yukikos yet, but I basically just try to inch my way in bit by bit. You do have to get in on Yukiko, but you have to be patient; rushing in blindly will get you killed by her 5A and 5C which pretty much cockblock Naoto's regular "in" range. Like was said, fullscreen gunshots and R-Action are you friends, even if you don't get much damage of them, you need to use them to get Yukiko to respect you fullscreen. Once you are in, be smart with your pressure and make sure you can bait her DP (her reversal options are about as good as ours). She can zone us really well but we can pretty much kill her in 1-2 combos once we get in. On the flip side, if you have the life lead, don't be afraid to just hang back and force her to get in.

One thing I'm not too sure of is how to place traps in this matchup. Yukiko can sweep them away pretty easy with her Persona or fans.

Edited October 4, 2012 by Zeromus_X

[Doonpa]

This match up is a fun match. Both characters can't just derp each other. Gotta out think your opponent and react to whats happening pretty quickly. Yukiko's problem with most of her matchups is a lack of damage when she punishes in most situations, but because of Naoto's low health it actually isn't a problem for her. Either character can zone the other pretty well and at the same time can completely ignore the other's zoning entirely. Rushing in for either character is really really dangerous because neither of them have a completely safe approach. DP is your friend for when the yukiko player is just throwing her fans/ persona at you all from mid to full screen. Shots are great for breaking her persona, which is something you should do often. Naoto's 5D is great for this matchup when yukiko starts using her DP to negate your gunshots as Sukuna Hikona will hit her right out of the DP which also means a potential SMP for the easy kill. If you are in awakening, Critical Shot is soooooo good for this matchup since its very fast and can punish Yukiko carelessly setting out Agis or throwing out her persona. Silencing is great for comebacks against Yukiko or to maintain a health life lead against her while sucking away at her Fate Counters. DP also wrecks havoc on Yukiko if she tries to do her awakening super as naoto will just shoot right through it without a problem. Don't use Critical shot unless the first bullet will kill her as it will just trade.

Overall I feel like this matchup would be even if it wasn't for Naoto having really high damage output. Both characters have answers to each other and can just dominate the opponent if they are playing on point. As long as you respect Yukiko's pressure and mash when you see gaps like anything on block into 5D, or blockstring into 2D run up 2A, etc. you'll be fine. Avoid the corner like the plague and don't get unblockabled.