Official Next Smash - Speculation & Discussion Thread

[Deleted member]

I doubt Link 6 is going to get any big gameplay changes. Especially considering TotK Link is already the same Link as Link Ultimate.

I think at most Link 6 will get a TotK alt costume. Possibly the upgraded Champion's Leathers, or the Archaic Set.

All right, all right, I'm sorry.

 

[DarthEnderX]

All right, all right, I'm sorry.

For what? You were just making a prediction.

 

[Deleted member]

For what? You were just making a prediction.

I try not to. Every time I do, people put me down.

 

[NintenZ]

You know another thing I'd love to see in Smash is Fortnite content, I think that Jones in particular would make for a really good fighter

Have him call in this dude for his final Smash.

 

[PeridotGX]

I just realized something when it comes to the idea of a Deltarune character in Smash. Years ago, Toby made a blog post about how he explicitly doesn't want merchandise for certain characters. He named Kris, Susie, and Noelle, but he probably means all of the Deltarune-original lighteners because we haven't gotten a Berdly plush or anything.

I think this means these characters are off the table for smash? Every Smash character gets an amiibo, which counts as merchandise. Even if they don't do amiibo for the next game, I think it stays the same. The principle seems to be "making plushies or figures or whatever for these characters goes against the themes of the game", and a playable character in Smash isn't that far out of the ballpark. I would love to be wrong, but it seems like the only major Deltarune character still on the table is Ralsei.

it will almost assuredly be an undertale character so this doesn't matter but i have deltarune brainrot

 

[Louie G.]

You know another thing I'd love to see in Smash is Fortnite content, I think that Jones in particular would make for a really good fighter

I flip flop on this a bit, since I feel like by all means Fortnite has asserted itself as a huge enough deal to be in the conversation. It'd be ridiculous to completely count it out. My hang-up has always been more about Fortnite's core identity - in essence it's kind of intentionally generic. For what the game is it works, it's a vessel to explore any and every idea and insane crossover that they can. But I have to wonder how captivating say, a full Fortnite challenger pack may be.

Do you have a better understanding than me of maybe a core identity that Fortnite has that is uniquely its own and would stand out in Smash? Or how they may handle original content, or flesh out a compelling moveset? I've played the game an okay amount but only on occasion, so I feel like I may not be getting the full scope of its potential and I don't want to unfairly write it off like I did with Steve for a while. I'm open to the idea after the game has proven its lasting appeal and has not shown any signs of slowing down, so if they want another big ticket "modern" series to appeal to the younger playerbase then this is about as good as you can get. So I'd be really curious to hear your ideas and see if it can get me a little more excited about it.

Something I am 100% convinced of though... Fortnite Mii Costumes. I feel like some of the more striking original skins like Peely, Fishstick or Meowscles could work as full body Mii suits and up to this point I felt like that would be a pretty satisfying crossover on its own. Since that's effectively what they are in-game anyway, would be kind of a slam dunk. Gunner type is obvious but could a pickaxe work over Swordfighter? I dunno.

 

[RileyXY1]

I'm also wondering if Pokémon will even get a newcomer at all.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

I'm also wondering if Pokémon will even get a newcomer at all.

I feel like if any series is a foregone conclusion on a newcomer, it's Pokemon. They always get one in every game (Pikachu/Puff, Mewtwo/Pichu, Pokemon Trainer/Lucario, Greninja, Incineroar) and introduce so many varied character designs for the new monsters every 3 years it'd be really weird for them not to, I would think.

With that said, I do kinda wonder if we're gonna get a Gen 9 Pokemon or if Sakurai is gonna pull a Greninja and give us a Gen 10 Pokemon like 6 months after the game comes out (XY was released in October 2013 and Greninja's trailer was April 2014).

Of course that Gen 10 idea relies on the assumption that this game would get announced in 2025 and released in late 2026, so very dependent on external factors.

 

[RileyXY1]

I feel like if any series is a foregone conclusion on a newcomer, it's Pokemon. They always get one in every game (Pikachu/Puff, Mewtwo/Pichu, Pokemon Trainer/Lucario, Greninja, Incineroar) and introduce so many varied character designs for the new monsters every 3 years it'd be really weird for them not to, I would think.

I just don't think there's that much newcomer potential among the SV cast. Let's wait and see what Gen 10 brings.

 

[fogbadge]

I just don't think there's that much newcomer potential among the SV cast. Let's wait and see what Gen 10 brings.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

I just don't think there's that much newcomer potential among the SV cast. Let's wait and see what Gen 10 brings.

I mean at the bare minimum there's at least Meowscarada, Quaquaval, and Ogerpon, plus options like Tinkaton that are popular.

I remember in Smash 4 speculation, there were always big debates between Victini, Zoroark, and Genesect, if I remember right, and I think the Gen 9 options make more sense than the Gen 5 options back then did minus Zoroark imo.

 

[RileyXY1]

I mean at the bare minimum there's at least Meowscarada, Quaquaval, and Ogerpon, plus options like Tinkaton that are popular.

I remember in Smash 4 speculation, there were always big debates between Victini, Zoroark, and Genesect, if I remember right, and I think the Gen 9 options make more sense than the Gen 5 options back then did minus Zoroark imo.

I don't think any of them are that interesting as fighters, as most of them are similar to what we already have. I'm just expecting them to just add new Poke Ball Pokémon and nothing else.

 

[fogbadge]

I don't think any of them are that interesting as fighters, as most of them are similar to what we already have. I'm just expecting them to just add new Poke Ball Pokémon and nothing else.

so you don’t like them therefore they won’t get in

 

[PeridotGX]

I just don't think there's that much newcomer potential among the SV cast. Let's wait and see what Gen 10 brings.

Here is a list of Gen 9 pokemon that would be cool in Smash.

• Meowscarada
• Skeledirge
• Quaquaval
• Spidops
• Tinkaton
• Garganacl
• Armourage
• Cerulage
• Toedscruel
• Espathra
• Kingambit
• Annhiliape
• Great Tusk/Iron Treads
• Slither Wing
• Brute Bonnet
• Iron Bundle
• Iron Valiant
• Gholdengo
• Chien-Pao
• Ting-Lu
• Koraidon
• Miraidon
• Munkidori
• Feazendipiti
• Ogerpon

I'm not going to pretend like most of these are likely but they would be cool

 

[fogbadge]

Let’s not forget there’s one who’s ideal echo material

 

[Mamboo07]

Let’s not forget there’s one who’s ideal echo material

SCREAM TAIL!!!

 

[Louie G.]

I think even if you wanted to opt for the most basic and obvious choice, Meowscarada, there are still a lot of fresh ideas to explore. For as surprisingly few mages and dedicated magic users we have on the roster, we especially do not have a "magician" character. Meowscarada leading into extravagant magic attacks and illusive tricks is already plenty and would stand out quite a lot.

I'm not a huge Pokemon guy myself, but that series will never run out of compelling options. There are dozens of choices with unique abilities, body types, fighting styles and they are refreshing that pool every couple years.

 

[Schnee117]

If amongst a selection of over 100 Pokemon you can't find one that brings something new to the table or would stand out in it's own right, you are simply uncreative

 

[Noipoi]

I don't think any of them are that interesting as fighters, as most of them are similar to what we already have. I'm just expecting them to just add new Poke Ball Pokémon and nothing else.

Pokemon is like, one of the easiest series to make a moveset for. Pick a funny monster, pick from the 70 moves it can learn, and boom. Moveset.

And there's over 100 options. If for whatever reason they were having trouble with the usual starters (Which I don't think they would) there's a gazillion other monsters they could try out.

This argument is a little silly, amigo

 

[Opossum]

The claim that Gen IX, of all generations, doesn't have interesting or feasible options to choose from is actually insane to me. Like, this to me was a bigger issue with Gen VIII and yet that still had a ton of discussion around it.

 

[Ivander]

View attachment 381290
Here is a list of Gen 9 pokemon that would be cool in Smash.

• Meowscarada
• Skeledirge
• Quaquaval
• Spidops
• Tinkaton
• Garganacl
• Armourage
• Cerulage
• Toedscruel
• Espathra
• Kingambit
• Annhiliape
• Great Tusk/Iron Treads
• Slither Wing
• Brute Bonnet
• Iron Bundle
• Iron Valiant
• Gholdengo
• Chien-Pao
• Ting-Lu
• Koraidon
• Miraidon
• Munkidori
• Feazendipiti
• Ogerpon

I'm not going to pretend like most of these are likely but they would be cool

No mention of Totsugeki?

 

[Opossum]

Now's as good a time as any to post my Gholdengo moveset lol.

Spoiler: Gholdengo

GHOLDENGO CASHES IN!​

Gholdengo joins Smash as a fighter with a Coin Meter. By continuing combo chains, Gholdengo gains more and more coins built up, which can either be used to power up its specials and smash attacks, or to seamlessly cancel moves into other attacks. The current coin count is kept upon KO.

Jab: Gholdengo does two headbutts, forward and back (much like Olimar's Brawl jab), before going into a flurry of punches. The headbutts give but a few coins, while a continuous stream of punches gets more.

Dash Attack: Gholdengo goes from its running animation (surfing on its surfboard) to turning sharply, doing a sort of surf board Akira slide as it crashes into foes. This is a multi hit attack that continuously hits the foe for coins until the move ends.

Up Tilt: Gholdengo leaps into the air, fists held high, striking foes above them. Combos into itself the first two times and gives a few coins.

Forward Tilt: Gholdengo turns around while carrying its surf board and smacks the foe with it. Has a tipper mechanic where the tip of the surf board gives extra coins.

Down Tilt: After crouching (taking Dedede's lounging position), Gholdengo kicks outward with a spin, adding to the coin total on hit.



Neutral Aerial: Gholdengo performs a 720° spin on its surfboard, with each rotation granting coins on hit.

Forward Aerial: Gholdengo leaps to the front of its surfboard and does a karate chop, spiking the opponent if sweet spotted and giving even more coins if successful.

Back Aerial: Gholdengo swings its surfboard around to the back and smacks the foe, getting coins in the process.

Up Aerial: Gholdengo flips 180° on its surfboard so that it's upside down, and then thrusts the board upward, hitting the foe with it for coins.

Down Aerial: Gholdengo holds onto its surfboard and instead does a corkscrewing drill kick below it. This multi hit move has a drag down effect and gains more coins the more hits connect with the foe.



Pummel: Gholdengo grabs the foe and bonks them over their head with its fist. While Gholdengo's throws have no effect on the coin meter, the pummel will gain you a small amount of coins per hit.

Forward Throw: Gholdengo performs a Tackle with outstretched arms, pushing the foe.

Back Throw: Gholdengo suplexes the foe, sending them back.

Up Throw: Gholdengo tosses the foe into the air with both hands, as if it's going to make-a da pizza.

Down Throw: Gholdengo grabs the foe and leaps up about a foot off the ground as they throw the foe down.



Forward Smash: Iron Head - Gholdengo rears its head back before slamming it headlong into the foe, spending a significant amount of coins to do so. This is a powerful kill move that does heavy shield damage as well.

Up Smash: Thunder Punch - Gholdengo electrifies its fist and performs a rising uppercut, doing significant upward knockback and costing a significant amount of coins on hit. A great anti-air kill move.

Down Smash: Heavy Slam - Gholdengo leaps up and slams its body into the ground, causing two pillars of gold coins to erupt on either side. This move has heavy knockback and spends a fairly significant amount of coins on hit.


Neutral Special: Make It Rain - Make It Rain is crucial to Gholdengo's moveset, tying its playstyle together. If the button is tapped, Gholdengo releases a small burst of coins in an area around it. If this move is activated while another attack is active, Gholdengo will instantly cancel the previous move and be able to instantly do a new attack. This is a Coin Cancel, and it can allow for powerful combos. However, it requires half of your maximum coin meter in order to use. If you hold the special button instead, and your coin meter is full, Gholdengo will instead unleash a torrential storm of coins. This variant requires a full coin meter to use, and fully depletes it, but it has the strength of a fully charged Wario Waft in return.

Side Special: Astonish/Metal Sound - If the special button is tapped, Gholdengo uses Astonish, where it makes a face, yells, and scares the opponent if they're directly in front of it and facing Gholdengo, similar in activation to Mewtwo's Disable. If successful, the foe is momentarily stunned, allowing for Gholdengo to start a combo. It has quite a bit of end lag of it misses, however. If the button is held, Gholdengo instead uses Metal Sound, which has a similar effect, but uses sound waves that spread forward as a projectile, giving it much more range. However, this variant uses up an incredibly large amount of coins.

Up Special: Shadow Ball - Gholdengo uses its spectral powers to rise high in the air, does a Spirit Bomb pose, and creates a Shadow Ball above its hands, before throwing it diagonally downward. By holding the special button, Gholdengo charges up a much larger Shadow Ball that has a homing effect, at the cost of a significant amount of coins being spent.

Down Special: Power Gem - Gholdengo stomps its foot on the ground as a sparkling gemstone rises out of the ground and float in the air beside it. It will stay in place as Gholdengo is allowed to move around, and if the button is pressed again, the gemstone will launch itself through the air in the direction of Gholdengo, allowing for combo extensions and unorthodox projectile play. If the button is held instead, Gholdengo will summon a much larger gemstone from the ground, which does rapid, dragging damage much like a Drill item, at the cost of a large amount of coins from the coin meter.

Final Smash: Terastalization/Tera Blast - Gholdengo becomes enveloped in a harsh light before emerging fully crystalized, with a giant axe on its head to show its Steel Tera Type. It then unleashes Tera Blast by launching a gigantic beam of steel-powered energy at whatever opponent gets caught in range. As the move ends, the crystals around Gholdengo disappear and it is no longer terastalized.

 

[FazDude]

We're gonna get a new Pokemon fighter in the next Smash - The exact gen will probably depend on the launch window of the next Smash (heck, we may end up with a situation like Incineroar where we get a Gen 9 rep while Gen 10 is under development), but at this rate adding any new Pokemon is an inevitability.

I just kinda want Smash to explore past gens for fighter material, since they've usually only done one fighter per generation with the exception of the first*. Give us Meowscarda and then, like, Meloetta (my personal most-wanted Mon) as DLC or something.

(*)while i'm thinking about it the high amount of gen 1 representation does make sense from a marketing perspective, but i wanna see that love come to other gens too. that or they can make pokken 2 already

 

[Noipoi]

We're gonna get a new Pokemon fighter in the next Smash - The exact gen will probably depend on the launch window of the next Smash (heck, we may end up with a situation like Incineroar where we get a Gen 9 rep while Gen 10 is under development), but at this rate adding any new Pokemon is an inevitability.

I feel like the next Smash is set for 2026. I dunno, that's just my gut feeling.

Pokemon usually launches a new generation every 3 years, meaning gen 10 would drop in 2025, right? HOWEVER, 2026 is the 30th anniversary of the franchise, and TPC loves dropping new gens on anniversary years. Getting the 10th generation on the 30th anniversary has crazy marketing potential.

So, under those assumptions, if gen 10 is 2025 and Smash 6 is 2026, then we'd get a gen 10 mon. If gen 10 is 2026, the same year as this presumed Smash Bros, it might be too late and they'd go with a Paldea Pokemon.

Of course I could be wrong about all of this. This is just what I think about when I'm supposed to be working on assignments

 

[FazDude]

I feel like the next Smash is set for 2026. I dunno, that's just my gut feeling.

Pokemon usually launches a new generation every 3 years, meaning gen 10 would drop in 2025, right? HOWEVER, 2026 is the 30th anniversary of the franchise, and TPC loves dropping new gens on anniversary years. Getting the 10th generation on the 30th anniversary has crazy marketing potential.

So, under those assumptions, if gen 10 is 2025 and Smash 6 is 2026, then we'd get a gen 10 mon. If gen 10 is 2026, the same year as this presumed Smash Bros, it might be too late and they'd go with a Paldea Pokemon.

Of course I could be wrong about all of this. This is just what I think about when I'm supposed to be working on assignments

Given how uncertain the future of Smash looks outside the broad idea that "we're gonna get another Smash eventually", it could swing either way. 2026 makes sense for Gen 10, though, given your rationale plus statements Game Freak made about taking their time with future games.

 

[Noipoi]

plus statements Game Freak made about taking their time with future games.

Honestly my only cope is that 2026 is an anniversary year and they could make more money if they capitalized on that. Otherwise I think they'd 100% drop gen 10 in 2025, whether it was ready or not.

I hope, if this turns out right, that extra year can give the game the dev time and polish that S/V sorely needed

 

[RileyXY1]

Also, 11 fighters is just too much for one franchise to have.

 

[Opossum]

Also, 11 fighters is just too much for one franchise to have.

The next game is almost certainly going to see some cuts to the Pokémon roster. Plus, Pokémon is the one franchise we KNOW is given a designated newcomer slot every time.

 

[Noipoi]

Also, 11 fighters is just too much for one franchise to have.

Good thing the next Smash will cut down the roster a bit

 

[PeridotGX]

Also, 11 fighters is just too much for one franchise to have.

Let's draw some blood!



This trims Pokemon down to six - with the newcomer that's seven, which feels reasonable.

 

[Kirbeh]

Let's draw some blood!



This trims Pokemon down to six - with the newcomer that's seven, which feels reasonable.

While I would dearly miss my Ultimate secondary this is pretty much what I'm expecting. It's both a reasonable and pretty realistic trimming of the Pokemon cast imo

 

[Nabbitfan730]

Oh, things could be happening.

Hey @GenosPapa, Next year is Smash's 25 anniversary and according to Zippo, Nintendo are planning "Announcements, celebrations and events to commemorate the anniversary of Smash throughout the year". Do you think these are what the Smash rumors about?

— Jason Suwarsa (@JasonSuwarsa) December 3, 2023

 

[Noipoi]

While I would dearly miss my Ultimate secondary this is pretty much what I'm expecting. It's both a reasonable and pretty realistic trimming of the Pokemon cast imo

Incineroar is my main and I know there's no way that mf is coming back

 

[Louie G.]

While I would dearly miss my Ultimate secondary this is pretty much what I'm expecting. It's both a reasonable and pretty realistic trimming of the Pokemon cast imo

Incineroar grew on me so hard, what a fun and wonderfully designed character. I agree that he's one of the least safe, but I really hope there's some way we can keep him around. The best chance of that is that Sakurai simply wants to keep a more traditional grappler around and chooses to prioritize Incineroar for his moveset over his relative significance and popularity in his own series. I think sometimes we gloss over the unique gameplay roles of certain characters when having these kind of conversations.

But yeah, he's gotta compete against some other faces who are simply more popular in the grand scheme. It's just a shame, because I think he brings so much to the roster in terms of personality, style and some genuinely compelling ideas such as Revenge. This is one character who, I guess like Jigglypuff has been for all these years, I don't even really think of as a Pokemon "rep" anymore and think he's just a terrific fighting game character. I love him.

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

Incineroar at risk of getting cut?

Better nerf Greninja

 

[Kirbeh]

Incineroar is my main and I know there's no way that mf is coming back

At the very least we can hope he gets the Smash 4 treatment and gets brought back as DLC. Maybe they can finally add a Gen VII stage and more music to make it a proper character pack.

 

[Perkilator]

Oh, things could be happening.

Hey @GenosPapa, Next year is Smash's 25 anniversary and according to Zippo, Nintendo are planning "Announcements, celebrations and events to commemorate the anniversary of Smash throughout the year". Do you think these are what the Smash rumors about?

— Jason Suwarsa (@JasonSuwarsa) December 3, 2023

While I’d be more than happy if this happened, I don’t exactly believe it coming from Zippo considering his track record.

 

[Speed Weed]

Oh, things could be happening.

Hey @GenosPapa, Next year is Smash's 25 anniversary and according to Zippo, Nintendo are planning "Announcements, celebrations and events to commemorate the anniversary of Smash throughout the year". Do you think these are what the Smash rumors about?

— Jason Suwarsa (@JasonSuwarsa) December 3, 2023

Zippo is not a trustworthy source

 

[CannonStreak]

While I’d be more than happy if this happened, I don’t exactly believe it coming from Zippo considering his track record.

Now that he said it, I do hope this happens, even if it is unlikely. I do wish at least he is piggybacking off someone else, since possibly all of the things he did get right was from piggybacking off others, or maybe there is more to what he got right, which is fewer in number than the ones he did not get right?

 

[TheFirstPoppyBro]

I dunno anything about Zippo or any of that, but I also think it'd be super funny if it was TECHNICALLY true and they announced Smash 64 for NSO at the start of the year and then pulled a 1080 Snowboarding/Mario Party 3 and it didn't come out until the end of the year like "See? Smash announcements aaaaall year!"