Gallade
Chance:
7%
I will admit this rating might be a little too optimistic on my part (due to my favoritism getting the best of me), but I already know Gallade’s situation when it comes to Smash Bros.
He doesn’t have a very good chance. For starters, his ballot support is quite low compared to a Pokemon like Sceptile, a much more requested for Smash Bros than he is. Like other Pokemon we rated in the past, Gallade suffers from having an immense competition with a ton of other Pokemon that also have moveset potential and can be just as popular as it.
On the subject of popularity, Gardevoir, his female counterpart, is more popular and iconic than Gallade, so it seems like Gardevoir has the better chance. However, there is one issue: Gardevoir is already a Poke Ball summon. That said, I think you can already tell which of the two has the better chance of having a roster inclusion through DLC (of course, when it comes to Smash 5, Gardevoir has the advantage). There is also the argument that Pokemon is already well-represented with 6 reps, but truth be told, Pokemon is one of Nintendo's biggest and most successful franchises, so Pokemon is one of those series that
could go for one more Pokemon rep.
Despite the odds going against Gallade's favor, he still has a few things going for him aside from being a decently popular Pokemon (though admittedly nowhere as popular and iconic as Charizard and Lucario are). For starters, he has the relevancy going for him. He received a Mega Evolution in the recently released Pokemon OmegaRuby/AlphaSapphire. He also found his way into the updated the Hoenn Dex, and he is even the signature Pokemon of one of the games' rivals. Pokemon could also use another another rep to balance out the amount of Kanto-based Pokemon with the post generation 1 Pokemon, and Gallade could fill that role when considering that. He would also have some unique moveset potential that would make him stand out from the other sword fighters on the Smash roster (I'll provide a more entertaining detail about that when I discuss my want rating).
Of course, even with these advantages going for Gallade,
it is still important to consider that his chances are not the strongest. Pokken Tournament DLC, on the other hand, is where he has the better chance.
Want:
100%
With a relatively detailed explanation about his chances, as well as the fact my username is Gallade's Japanese name, you should have seen this coming. Gallade is one of my top 3 most wanted newcomers for Super Smash Bros 4 DLC. Why? Simply put, Gallade is my favorite Pokemon of all time, even becoming one of my favorite characters from
all Nintendo franchises. To me, he is an awesome Pokemon in every possible way: design, stats, usage, you name it. He really has a fitting design for Smash Bros. I mean, he's essentially the cross between a gladiator and a chivalric knight with the ability to grow swords on his elbows. In a way, I see Gallade is the first true
sword fighter Pokemon introduced. In addition, who wouldn't want to see one of the coolest looking Mega Evolution designs in Smash Bros?
And now to bring up some additional points that further highlight my interest in Gallade in Smash Bros (perhaps these points could potentially increase your interest with Gallade as well).
1) He is no ordinary swordsman!
Some will argue that Gallade is a generic swordsman. That isn't true at all. To quote Robin from his awesome reveal trailer, Gallade is "no ordinary swordsman." None of the swordsmen in Smash Bros are capable of growing blades from their elbows. They also do not have the ability to yield two swords at once, and most of them are very limited with their physical attacks. Gallade, on the other hand, definitely has the potential to be a unique fighter. He can grow blades from his elbows, dual-yield using both of them, and can use a lot of punching (as well as some kicking) to demonstrate his Fighting-type. He can also use teleportation to demonstrate his Psychic-type. Altogether, Gallade would definitely be a very interesting sword fighter thanks to his typing, so he's definitely "no ordinary swordsman" amongst the Smash Swordsmen.
2) He could be a more unique Psychic and Fighting type Pokemon than you'd expect.
Fans will argue we already have a Psychic type and a Fighting type on the roster through Mewtwo and Lucario respectively. That's very true, and I can understand why fans would prefer seeing type diversity in the roster. However, Gallade would play a lot different from the average Psychic and Fighting types considering he wouldn't attack with balls of energy/energy beams or deliver punching and kicking on a regular basis, focusing more on sword based attacks.
3) He's got some pretty neat moveset potential.
Gallade has a diverse move pool to choose from when it comes to creating a moveset. He can learn all the sword-based attacks in Pokemon such as Slash, Psycho Cut, Leaf Blade, Night Slash, X-Scissor, False Swipe, Fury Cutter, Swords Dance, Aerial Ace etc (and his blades changing types is another trait that other Smash Swordsmen don't have. Yes, there's Shulk and his Monado Arts, but in the end, Shulk's still remain an energy sword while Gallade's blades can change into blades of grass, dark energy, psychic energy, and so on). He also has access to a wide array of other physical attacking moves such as all the elemental punches, Knock Off, Dual Chop, Close Combat, Brick Break, Stone Edge, Low Kick, etc. Of course, throw in some teleportation and psychic powers (particularly levitating opponents aspect, not the ability to shoot energy balls/beams), and you can see Gallade has some interesting moveset potential.
To highlight this further,
I've created a potential moveset for Gallade over at the Pokemon DLC ideas thread. This moveset idea particularly highlights Gallade's sword fighting ability with his ability to using a wide range of physical attacks with a dash of psychic powers to show what kind of unique potential he has.
4) He represents the third generation, a generation yet to be represented on the Smash roster, to a certain degree.
Yes, this is a strange point for many, but it is really opinion-based on my part. I should briefly explain.
Lucario is already the 4th generation Pokemon rep on the Smash roster, and Gallade also comes from generation 4. For many, Lucario should be the only 4th generation rep that's it. I understand that, but to me, Gallade feels like he has a strong connection to generation 3 because he comes from a famous Hoenn-based evolution line. When I look at him, he even looks like he would perfectly blend in with the Hoenn Pokedex. Heck, he was actually added to that Pokedex in the recent Ruby/Sapphire remakes, so as of now, he feels a lot more like a generation 3 Pokemon than in the past.
5) He has an epic theme!
Well, technically this isn't Gallade's theme; it's really Wally's, one of the rivals in Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire and its remakes who is one of the most notable Gallade trainers in the Pokemon games. Many of you might remember Wally as being a sickly trainer who wasn't a very prominent rival in the games. However, with the Ruby/Sapphire remakes, that all changed. His battle at Victory Road proves how much better of a trainer he is with this amazing theme that plays during it. Here, have a listen:
Pretty awesome, isn't it? To me, it really captures Wally's growth as a Pokemon trainer. His signature Pokemon changing from Gardevoir to Gallade between the original and remakes was also quite cool considering Gallade further highlights his growth as a trainer. I don't want to analyze this too much, but I think you can understand where I'm going with this, especially if you played the games.
I provided this background to show that there is one prominent trainer in the games that uses Gallade, but why else would I share this theme for all you? Simply put, I think this theme fits Gallade really well. In Smash Bros, I think this could make for some awesome DLC Pokemon music with his inclusion (assuming we get another Pokemon stage through DLC), or maybe a sample of this theme could play for Gallade's victory theme instead of the normal victory theme the other Pokemon have.
In a similar light to how the Smash Bros Lucario is heavily hinted to be the Lucario from the 8th Pokemon movie, perhaps the Gallade in Smash Bros could be heavily hinted to be Wally's Gallade through ideas such as Gallade holding Wally's Mega Pendant for a taunt/victory animation, a cinematic Final Smash where the attack takes place in that same flower field from Pokemon OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire, a sample of Wally's battle theme playing for Gallade's victory medley, Gallade's reveal trailer showing Wally ordering his Gallade to surprise the fighters, etc. Can you imagine how interesting that would be? Ah well, one can only dream.
And with all of that said, it is time to move on to the next character!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nabbit
Chance:
2%
Nabbit has become somewhat of a rising star since hid debut in New Super Mario Bros U, mainly due to the fact he is playable in three Mario games right now (New Super Luigi U, Mario Golf: World Tour, and very soon Mario and Sonic at the Rio Olympic Games). Despite becoming a newer, recognizable face in the Mario world and having some sort of interesting potential (perhaps using his bag to grab opponents similar to the Villager’s net), Nabbit has minimal Smash Ballot support, and he already appears as the main stage hazard on the Mushroom Kingdom U stage.
While they could remove Nabbit in the situation he become a playable character for that match similar to the Toon Link treatment on the Spirit Train stage, Toon Link on that stage is more of an aesthetic detail, not a stage so that sort of removal makes since it doesn’t affect the stage too much. Here, removing Nabbit from Mushroom Kingdom U means removing an important aspect to the stage since it’s the main stage hazard; thus, Nabbit’s inclusion doesn’t seem all too likely at this point.
Want:
1%
There are other Mario characters I’d much rather see in Smash Bros over Nabbit at this point.
Predictions:
I'm going to abstain from predictions.
Nominations:
Jin Kazama (Tekken):
x5
. Steal status effects and charges and whatnot? Already (Somewhat) done by 
