It’s tough to argue with the idea that Pokkén Tournament is a unique experience, coming with all sorts of unique ideas that reflect the main series in plenty of fascinating ways. One such way is the attack triangle, which breaks down the combat into three core components – attacks, counterattacks and grabs. The concept is simple enough; attacks beat grabs, grabs beat counters and counters beat attacks. the rest of the game play spirals out of these core tenets, but that doesn’t mean they always work. I mean, I can’t be the only who has had their counter beaten out by a jab that by all accounts it should have blasted through, right?
Apparently not, since Youtube channel Kaleb I.A has done a little more homework, and discovered that counters aren’t quite so fail safe an option against attacks as they first appear, thanks to what are being called Vulnerable Counter Attack Frames (aka VCA Frames). These occur in the moment between the charge of a counter, and the actual attack being unleashed and are, like the name would suggest, are vulnerable to attacks during this window. It might seem an unnecessarily risky option at first, especially when you consider that you can just grab, but as Kaleb points out, timing an attack just right could have a far, far higher reward than a simple grab.
Even if you don’t plan to use it in your play, it’s good to know why those seemingly perfect counters are being beaten, so check out the video below.
Source: Kaleb I.A