Blitz Ace error?

[Proto Mara]

So I am on my 4th play through and I know that you get Blitz Ace (BA) by using Swordplay 80 times, and i know that the ball is thrown by your most affection/valued female character.

I wanted to get Rikku so I farmed while doing the underwater ship and got Energy Rain (ER), and then continued the story. Now I am at the part where Wakka pushes you off the cliff and I keep using ER but BA refuses to unlock.

Is this a coding glitch? I assume because it wants to use Rikku but she is not re-unlocked at this point and can't switch to another female because I've not met them yet?

[Hinnyuu]

Have you checked your actual counter? 80 is a lot, many people underestimate it, especially since the one before is unlocked at 30 (so it's more than twice as much on top).

In addition, Blitz Ace will specifically NOT use girls who are K.O., petrified, or away from the party for story reasons (moving to the next in the list instead) - so it would seem the devs have accounted for this, and it's highly unlikely it's a bug.

The first assumption is always user error. That doesn't mean it can't be a bug, but alternatives should always be investigated first before considering a bug (doubly so one with no documentation I could find; I'm happy to be wrong, of course).

[Mikasa Ackerman]

dont quote me on this , but i once heard if theres no one available , the ball just flies towards tidus out of nowhere , i think i read that once ( maybe in the trivia of my physical guide , or maybe online , not sure )

found a video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPOvprHtB84

look at the luca one at 1:37

so most likely thing is like hinnyuu said , you are off with your calculation