Talk:Shulk vs Young Xehanort/@comment-25275196-20160323070512/@comment-27416494-20160325044441

Small misconception to clear up: Xehanort's "control" over the timeline isn't so much a result of his powers. Rather, he combines his extensive measures with heavy abuse of the existing rules of time to ensure the future he seeks will come to pass no matter what.

Now there is no doubt Shulk would steadily learn more about his opponent and the situation he was in as the battle prgressed, but he's still going to be hard pressed to keep up with the onslaught forever. But knowing how to combat a certain style doesn't quite ensure that you one can counter it perfectly. Unfortunately for Shulk, his foe has all the means to completely screw with his fighting style in the worst ways possible. I didn't even mention Xehanort's status effects, which include temporarily slowing a target down upon striking them with a certain projectile, and what really hurts Shulk: A whirlwind which basically inflicts a worse equivalent of Art Seal on the target. (Whether the Monado Arts would be effected is unknown, but that's still a massive hinderance either way.)

(And admittedly, I was pretty generous when it came to the amount of time needed before the clock restarted the fight again.) Actually stalling for time definitely seems to be a specialty of his anyway. What's more, this incarnation of Xehanort's powers haven't even been shown at their best yet. (His boss fights in Birth By Sleep and Dream Drop Distance amounted to testing the heroes and stalling for time respectively.) Really now, both fighters have the capability to score a win, but the end result could only be an early death or an endless fight.