I figured it out, so I think I'd share in case any one else still wants to play this:
- In order to generate energy with Trick Shots you need to predict the opponents shot. If you try to react to an opponents shot, you'll end up spending energy instead.
- Use the right stick for Trick Shots, double tapping X is much slower and will mess up your timing.
- Even if you predict the shot correctly, if you input the Trick Shot command a bit late you won't get the energy. This was happening to me a lot, so, instead of tilting the stick when the opponent hits the ball, I've started to hold it down before the opponent event hits the ball and until the Trick Shot comes out. This way I know for sure that the Trick Shot will come out as soon as possible and I'm always getting the energy.
- Even if I miss more Trick Shots doing it this way (you have to predict and commit to your prediction, which can go wrong) whenever I guess correctly I'm generating a lot of energy. And if I miss, I'm losing a point but I'm not wasting any energy at all, so with 1 or 2 correct guesses I can have enough energy to make a comeback. Also, a perfect Trick Shot is enough to change the momentum of a point and help me start getting Star Shots and getting into the offensive, generating more energy and using it to attack instead of wasting what little I get on defense.
The reward you get by getting 1 Trick Shot right very soon outweights the penalty of missing 2 or 3, so it pays off to fully commit on prediction Trick Shots. With this technique I was able to finally generate more energy than my opponent for the first time. I was also able to come back from a situation where the opponent had much more energy and was bullying me and win the match, where before I would've just been steamrolled.
