For years we’ve sent Pokémon to do our bidding, dispatching them into battle with little care for their own feelings; they are our pawns, but the tables have turned. Now, we are the pawns in Pokkén Tournament. There’s finally a fighting game surrounding the chaos and strategy of Pokémon battles, bringing all types of different creatures into the ring, letting the player be the combatant.
There has been a strange variety of fighters selected, giving the impression that the Pokémon Company and Bandai Namco just don’t give a damn about what anyone thinks, and that’s exactly how it should be. Some choices have been more obvious like Fighting-type Machamp, who would already be easy to translate into the Tekken-like game. Other choices, however, like Chandelure take things to another level by letting you play as something far from humanoid or even animal-like; it looks like a chandelier. In fact, it is a chandelier. A haunted chandelier.
By their logic, anything goes, I suppose. So we at Twinfinite have been thinking, and here are six Pokémon, one from each generation, that we think would be perfect for the Pokkén Tournament roster…
Arbok
Who needs arms? Arbok doesn’t. As far as style goes, Arbok is a major contender with that design on its body used to spook the hell out of anybody in its way. Despite not having arms, Arbok could add even more variety to the roster through the mere concept of being a snake. Arbok, like many actual constrictors, can coil around enemies, except without strangling them to death. That wouldn’t be good for business in the Pokémon world.
The idea of this sort of close quarters combat could make Arbok a very interesting character to use, as making one wrong move might mean being trapped in its coil, at the mercy of any way Arbok decides to squeeze or toss the opponent.
To remain consistent with the rest of the game, Arbok could also have its own projectiles through Poison-type moves such as Gastro Acid, spraying toxic bile at enemies, or Glare to stun enemies with that very pattern on its body. Plus, who doesn’t want to be a giant, poisonous cobra, for once in their lives?
Unown
I know what you’re thinking: Andy, stop right there. My answer is no.
Many fans of the Pokemon games will know that Unown is, for lack of a better word, useless. That, however, is a lie. One could imagine that, in numbers, Unown can be deadly. This may be a stretch, as it would take a lot of graphical power to pull it off well enough, but imagine playing as a swarm of Unown.
The swarm would stay close together, simulating the feeling of controlling a single character. As they fly around forming various shapes, they may execute various moves in combat. The biggest difficulty here, however, is that an Unown only knows a single move called Hidden Power. Although, if Pikachu can learn to do the Stone Cold Stunner, there’s nothing stopping the developers from giving Unown a few new moves of their own.
Think of how terrifying it would be to be facing hundreds of those creatures, using their combined efforts to pummel enemies and form all sorts of different projectiles, from missiles to blades. Yes, it’s strange, but, if a chandelier is in the game, anything should be possible.
Deoxys
Not every character needs to just stay the same; they ought to be able to transform at will as well. Deoxys is perfect for this, similar to Shulk in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U & 3DS. Both of them can switch between various forms that allow them to alter their stats on a whim, to focus on various attributes such as speed, defense, or attack.
It’d be pretty awesome to see Deoxys switching between its four forms as the situation calls for it. Perhaps it needs to escape and give opponents the runaround, so the Speed form would be perfectly handy. Maybe Deoxys is getting beaten pretty badly and need just a few more seconds to think up a strategy, the Defense form would be perfect to hang in there. Or perhaps the player just wants to add some insult to injury and really make those finishing blows that much more powerful, in which case the Attack form is just the ticket.
Differing strategies require differing forms, and Deoxys would be able to fit right in with the rest of the wacky roster of characters. A great fighting game has plenty of different tactics for each player to choose from, after all.
Lickilicky
Many fighting games have that one character that just baffles the player due to their sheer silliness. Let Lickilicky be that character. Well, there’s already a chandelier and luchador Pikachu, so don’t stop there, developers. We’d love to see the big, pink, personal space invader Lickilicky join the fray.
With moves like Gyro Ball, it’d be interesting to see a Lickilicky curling up and rolling around the stage, pummeling into unsuspecting opponents. Just as well, using its massive tongue like a whip gives the giant lug some good reach, and an interesting yet slightly disturbing form of fighting.
If that’s not enough to convince you that Lickilicky is perfect for Pokkén Tournament then just look at it. It’s adorable. That’s the kind of cuteness that makes it all the more menacing. There’s an incredibly gratifying feeling in beating all your friends in a fighting game as the game’s cutest character.
Cofagrigus
While Ghost-types Gengar and Chandelure are already confirmed to join the Pokkén roster, we could use one more particularly unique ghost to do battle as well: Cofagrigus, the haunted sarcophagus. It’s incredibly bizarre, but it’s an idea just crazy enough to work.
Like something out of classic fighting games Guilty Gear and Darkstalkers, Cofagrigus is one of those strange and nonsensical creatures that is rife with possibilities when it comes to dishing out creative and stylish moves. It is essentially an ancient sarcophagus that houses a ghost with four arms. One could assume that these arms could take on any shape the creature can think of, so you can only let your imagination wonder what Cofagrigus’ moves would look like.
Similar to the Pokémon’s learned moves in the Pokémon RPGs, many of Cofagrigus’ moves could consist of buffs and debuffs, shifting it and the opponent’s stats to turn the tides of battle as they so choose, whether it’s to slow the other player down or to gain a temporary boost of power. Stacking these boosts with the buffs from Support Pokémon could make for some deadly combinations. Aesthetically and technically, the possibilities could be endless.
Hawlucha
Much of the gaming world was in awe when they saw Pikachu Libre would be a character in the upcoming fighting game. However, a feeling dread soon washed over when the masked Pikachu meant one thing: Hawlucha probably won’t be in the game. There is no reason we can’t have two tiny luchadors duking it out, though. If the developers are good to us, they’ll include Hawlucha anyway, one of the fan favorites from the latest entry in the main Pokémon RPG series.
Many fans of the Pokémon franchise really thought they would see Hawlucha join the roster, because it’s just a perfect fit. I mean, it’s a wrestling bird; it really is one of the best creatures to be dreamt up by the folks over at the Pokémon Company in years. Moves like Sky Drop would be a hilarious and awesome addition to Pokkén, giving players a chance to pull off one of those most terrifying and gravity-defying suplexes ever.
Hawlucha’s moves all have a focus on incredible mobility, on land and in the air, making it a formidable opponent in the ring. It would be a downright shame to see this opportunity lost. Hawlucha is not the hero we need, but the one we deserve.
You can get your hands on Pokkén Tournament when it finally releases worldwide for the Nintendo Wii U on March 18th. In the meantime, what Pokémon would you love to see join the Pokkén Tournament roster? Feel free to sound off in the comments below
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