Pokkén Basics Chapter 4 Part 2 Applying Frame Data

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You know how to read frame data, but how do you apply it in games? Here are some ways to utilize your knowledge of frame data on block, frame data on hit, and other specific frame data information in real matches. Frame data here.

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4.3 Frame Data on Block
4.4 Frame Data on Hit
4.5 Height and Armor interactions
4.6 Info for Nerds (Variable frame data)

4.3 Frame data on Block

Frame data is most useful for knowing what moves are advantageous on block or hit, meaning which character can act first after a move makes contact. This is how you determine if a move is punishable, if a move is safe, or if a move is advantageous and you need to keep blocking. A punishable move is a move so negative that the opponent can hit you before you can block again.  
 
Blaziken's 2X is -12 on block. That means if an opponent has a move that starts up in 12 frames or faster, they can use it to punish. For example, Lucario can punish with 2Y which has a startup of 11 frames. If you're having trouble knowing what to do when an opponent is attacking your shield, the first thing to do is look up your opponent's moves and find out their frame data on block. Once you know exactly how negative each move is, you'll be able to retaliate once they lose frame advantage or interrupt the opponent or get out of the way of slower attacks that keep the opponent plus on block. You don't have to sit there and try to memorize all the frame data in a single sitting like reading a book studying for a test. Just play some games, remember the animations of the attacks that you were having trouble with or don't know about, find them in the frame data sheet and focus on those. Learn how big the gaps are in your opponent's pressure and when you can strike back. This is the fastest way to gain understanding of any matchup. Without doing this, you're basically just playing in the dark and hoping you get lucky and land a hit.  

However, in the heat of a match, especially in a tournament sometimes you will get overwhelmed by attacks that you are not used to. An easy way to tell if you just blocked a move with significant frame advantage is by looking for the yellow flash on the screen and a stagger back animation from your character. That generally means your opponent is positive but not always.

Lucario's 6[X] is +8 on block and causes a yellow flash and stagger back animation from the opponent. jY and 4[A] do the same.

Frame data can help you determine whether or not you can continue your offense afterwards. Blaziken's 8X is +4 on block, so after the opponent blocks it, if both characters do a move of the same speed afterwards Blaziken's will come out first and win. Well unless the move had armor or some sort of invincibility. Also, two moves clash when they connect on the exact same frame. Such as when Blaziken is +4 and uses a 15 frame move against Lucario's 11 frame move. This either causes both characters to stagger back and do no damage, or the stronger attack (strength is an arbitrary property), will cause an explosion effect, increase hitstop and beat out the weaker attack. 

4.4 Frame data on Hit

From our previous example, Blaziken's 8X is +8 on hit meaning you it recovers 8 frames before the opponent instead of 4, but since Blaziken does not have any 8 frame moves, it still cannot combo after it. The fastest moves in Pokkén are 11 frames. If a move has enough frame advantage, you can combo after it. Shadow Mewtwo's 8X is +12 on hit, meaning you can move 12 frames before the opponent can move or block again. So you can use a move 12 frames or faster, like 2YY which is 11 frames to continue your combo. Following up a move with another move after the first move recovers is called a link. Combos are also possible using cancels, which is interrupting the recovery of a move into another move. Frame data does not incorporate cancel data because there is so much variation, so it is up to you to find what combos you can do using both links and cancels. 

4.5 Height and Armor Interactions

Even if your move starts up faster than the opponent's, it might not win for various reasons. Counter attacks have armor starting frame one and so do most command counters and red armored attacks. Also, your opponent's attack may have upper, lower, or full body invincibility. 8Ys are usually used as anti-airs because they have upper body invincibility starting on frame 5. Specifically, they are invincible against highs, and mid highs, starting frame 5. Some, like Chandelure's 8Y have this property starting frame 1. Most attacks that have some sort of airborne animation avoid lows early in the animation like 8Xs. Sometimes they avoid mid-lows early too. And remember that jumping avoids lows from the first frame, so it's usually not a very good idea to meaty someone with a low attack. Also jumping avoids mid-lows starting around frame 5.

Barring a few exceptions, 8Ys, even very slow ones, can be used to beat out aerial attacks due to upper body invincibility frame 5. (Gengar and Chandelure are frame 1)

With these interactions in mind, you can modify your defensive (or offensive) options based on how much frame advantage your opponent has. If your opponent is +8, you can jump back and avoid 11f lows because of jumping's frame 1 low invincibility and 15f mid lows because of frame 5 mid-low invincibility. This will still lose to 15 frame mids, mid-highs, and highs, but if your character has an armored attack in the air like Shadow Mewtwo's reflect you can avoid certain characters entire movesets even at -8 without having to guess.

Info for nerds

4.6 Variable frame data

The frame data document is not absolute. Some of the data is the document is actually just wrong so if something doesn't seem right, there's a decent chance that it isn't. But aside from that, frame data for a move can vary depending on how the move connects. We know that moves have startup frames, active frames, and recovery frames. A move can make contact with the opponent on any of those active frames. Usually moves connect on their first active frame; in fact the entire frame data document lists moves as if they hit on their first frame. However, using certain setups or specific spacing, moves can hit later in these frames. This gives you more frame advantage that what is listed.

For instance, Shadow Mewtwo's 6X canceled into Miracle Eye is not listed in the frame data, but it is somewhere between +12 and +14 on hit. So, you can link 11 frame moves after it, but not 15 or slower. However, if you hit late in the move's active frames with a setup such as: 6X 5A(2)YYY... 2X, 6X, 4A... then the meaty 6X hits late in its active frames and allows Shadow Mewtwo to connect 15 frame moves after it. 

How this works is every move has a set total animation length which includes startup, active frames, and recovery. Once you hit on an active frame, the move puts your opponent into a set amount of hit stun or block stun and then you have a set amount of recovery. By hitting with a move late in its active frames, your character puts the opponent in the same amount of hit stun or block stun, but you are farther along in your animation. So if you hit on the second active frame, that's one frame of animation that your character already skipped before your opponent goes into hit stun or block stun so it translates into an extra frame of advantage after the move is done. This same principle is why dive kicks and jumping attacks have less frame advantage when done high in the air and more when done lower to the ground. Hitting lower to the ground reduces the amount of frames the attacking character has to transition to the ground although the defender is always taking the same amount of hit stun or block stun. For this reason, rather than accepting the numbers listed in the frame data document for jumping attacks as concrete, test how much they vary depending on height for yourself. You will notice the data on both hit and block can vary wildly from what is listed. Bottom line, hitting with moves late in their active frames makes you recover faster in relation to how fast the opponent does, which can grant you more frame advantage and make you safer from armored reversals like counter attacks.

Summary

Don't avoid learning frame data. It only stunts your growth as a Pokkén and fighting game player. Knowing attack startup speeds, and their frame data on block and hit will improve your offensive pressure and give you knowledge for how to improve your defense drastically. Remember, don't try to memorize everything at once, keep the frame data sheet up every time you play matches and try to memorize a few attacks every session. That's it for Chapter 4. See you soon!
 
Cool information:
Average human reaction time to visual stimuli according to Human Benchmark Test is about 17 frames (283 milliseconds).  
 
Combined with Pokkén's input delay of 9 frames, it means that on average, people will be able to react to moves that are 26 frame or slower, but moves 25 frames and faster can be very difficult to interrupt on reaction.