A tether is a far-reaching grab that can be performed both in the air and on the ground. Air tether attacks are versatile, extending a far-reaching, disjointed, persistent hitbox. They’re commonly used to zone out foes past neutral attack range, usually extended during a short hop’s descent to prevent enemies from closing in.
Fighters with tethers have an extra recovery tool, too. They can use their tether moves to latch on to nearby ledges. Fighters like Ivysaur, and the vampire-hunting Belmonts have other means to tether ledges besides zairs. If the tether succeeds, the fighter can reel themselves into the ledge and grab it, starting the typical ledge-hanging intangibility period.
During one airborne period without standing firmly on a floor, there are limitations to how many times a tether can latch on to a ledge. This prevents infinite ledge-stalling tactics. After you tether a ledge three times without your feet touching solid ground, your fourth tether attempt simply bounces off the ledge, usually resulting in a loss of a stock as you plummet to the bottom blast zone!
Fighters with Tethers: Dark Samus, Isabelle, Lucas, Pokémon Trainer: Ivysaur, Richter, Samus, Simon, Toon Link, Young Link, Zero Suit Samus