Foresight

Foresight is 's fighter ability, based on the Blade skill of the same name. It is functionally similar to Bayonetta's Bat Within mechanic, but has a slowdown effect reminiscent of Witch Time.

Overview
In order to activate Foresight, Mythra must perform a dodge right before an opponent lands an attack. If done correctly between frame 2 and the last frame before the dodge starts becoming intangible (frames 2–6 on her spot dodge and forward roll, frames 2–7 on her back roll, and frames 2–5 on her neutral and directional air dodges; note that these values assume fresh dodges rather than staled ones), Mythra will perform an animation, the damage received is halved, she takes no knockback whatsoever, and the opponent receives the slowdown effect for 36 frames. This mechanic is useful for breaking out of untrue combos and getting out of disadvantageous situations, and can be used to punish moves that would otherwise be difficult for even her to properly punish.

However, similarly to Bat Within, Foresight does not work against grabs, unblockable attacks or Final Smashes. Due to Mythra's dodge intangibility starting noticeably later than all other characters (except Bayonetta), this can make Mythra unusually vulnerable to such moves, especially grabs by opponents performed out of shield against her (particularly if she attempts to spot dodge an incoming shield grab after hitting an opponent's shield). It noticeably also does not function correctly against 's, causing her to take full damage from the banana peel while not slowing down Diddy Kong himself in any way. Additionally, Foresight causes Mythra to move directly downward if used in midair, which may be useful on-stage but is highly detrimental to her off-stage game due to her weak recovery. Also, much like Bat Within, the Foresight activation window is affected by dodge staling, meaning that the maneuver only truly activates on frame 2 if Mythra's dodges are fresh.

Origin
In Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Foresight is a Blade skill that Mythra can perform. Once activated, Mythra briefly sees into the future, similarly to Shulk's Vision. The party will then have increased accuracy and evasion rates, with the total percent increase dependent on skill and affinity level, as well as meeting certain prerequisites. Foresight is introduced in the cutscene where Mythra reawakens, during the boss fight against Akhos and Malos at Olethro Playhouse; she uses Foresight to help Rex dodge and counterattack their advances, much to their surprise and confusion.

Trivia

 * Masahiro Sakurai showed an early version of Foresight in a YouTube video that notably did not have an after image of Mythra at the point of collision. One was later added for visual clarity.