Potential and possibility are two commonly swapped concepts. Possibilities can happen, and can be argued that in some parallel universe and absolutely theory crafted situation something you found AMAZING in training mode actually would impact a real game. Potential is raw unshaped power that is going to make a difference any time its used correctly against an unplugged controller the same as a tourney hardened pro. Guess which one white pikmin raking up more than 12% damage is?
Now that thats cleared up, on to something worth discussing. Yes, they are obviously intended entirely for latch purposes. So if you have on in the 2nd position, and a total of 5 pikmin plucked, two yellows at 1 and 4, a blue at 3, and a purple at 5, how are you going to attempt to KO a Diddy at 16% on Battlefield? Times up...
The point of that last paragraph is to try and broaden many Olimar's horizons. The future of olimar play doesn't lie in possibilities, or the heavy weight individual moves or attributes have. You can't win a match by whistle super armor -ing the other guy to death no better than you can win a game only using USmash, nor 60% done by a full length white pikmin (which by the way is incorrect as pikmin stay on for varying lengths depending on the % of your opponent when initially latched, if you read echo's guide...) The future of Olimar as the entire community starts getting a grasp on our respective "mains" is defined by either brilliant improvisation, or intense mental application and rehearsal of the details. If Brawl does in fact become competative, I foresee it taking more than roundabout good use of Olimar's strong points to land any olimar main in the top. I expect they are going to have to know exactly the pikmin order they have at all times, followed by its strengths and weaknesses by move, not just in general, but most importantly not only processing all this throughout the game, but using the order they have at the moment to string together an evolving play style determined not by what the user is good at but what colors come out of the ground in what order. Call me crazy, but this is what makes olimar "among the most specialized characters within the cast of Smash Brothers Brawl. In order to really unleash Olimar’s full potential, you’ve got to have a good knowledge of his helpful cohorts, the Pikmin!" (Smash Bros DOJO)
So, first person to answer my situation above gets a cookie, but you've gotta explain why you did each move with each pikmin and why it'd work =)
-True