With Super Smash Bros Ultimate only having two DLC spots remaining in Fighters Pass Volume 2, fans have been anxious to learn who will be joining the roster. Now, however, it seems like one of the two slots won’t be going to a Pokemon.
Pokemon has been a staple in Smash since the original game back on the N64, featuring two representatives in the form of Pikachu and Jigglypuff. Melee added Pichu and Mewtwo while Brawl added the ambitious three-in-one Pokemon Trainer fighter.
Ultimate has by far the largest Pokemon fighter count with all the previous cast members returning plus some extras. However, notably absent are any Sword and Shield representatives, which had some fans believing we’d be getting one as DLC.
That said, this is looking incredibly doubtful now as Nintendo just announced its next Smash Ultimate tournament: Great Pokemon Brawl. The tournament, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the franchise, will only feature Pokemon fighters, stages, and items.
These aren’t new spirits though, it’s simply a tournament, but you would think they would have held off on this until a Pokemon rep was revealed/released
— lufy (@ToxinTaker) March 3, 2021
As some fans have noted, however, this tournament’s placement seems a bit concerning, especially if a Pokemon DLC fighter was planned for the future – why hold this event now? Surely it would make more sense to hold it after the DLC fighter was released.
“You would think they would have held off on this until a Pokemon rep was revealed/released,” one fan replied to the Japanese announcement tweet.
“A Gen 8 Pokemon probably isn’t happening now,” another remarked.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
https://twitter.com/redtutel/status/1366917532611842048
Not everyone feels the same though. As some other comments have pointed out, Nintendo could simply rehost the tournament when and if a Pokemon DLC is announced later down the line.
“I think it makes sense to rerun the Pokemon Tournament closer to the anniversary, rather than delay it until the next Pokemon character is ready,” one suggested. “I admit I could be wrong, though.”
It’s important to note that tournaments and Spirits don’t exactly fully deconfirm any fighters. MinMin was at one point a Spirit in the base game and was promoted to a full fighter. The same is now happening with the soon-to-be-released Pyra and Mythra.
However, in the case of Pokemon, with so much representation already, this tournament could very well be the death knell for an upcoming DLC and a sign that the game is maxed out with its Pokemon content as is.
Once Pyra and Mythra are released, only two spots will remain in Fighters Pass Volume 2 and no matter what, some fans are going to be left out. Whether fan favorites such as Crash Bandicoot, Master Chief, Doom Guy, or Dante make the cut remains to be seen, but only time will tell.