Official Newcomer/DLC Speculation Discussion

[SKX31]

So as usual, I am continuing to uphold my tradition of playing the games of the characters of the roster in Smash Bros., and this time it was Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon, which stars Marth.

As a remake of the original Fire Emblem title, I wasn't sure what to expect. The oldest game I'd played up to this point was Path of Radiance...though I suppose Shadow Dragon DS is a bit younger than that, so there's a few ways to look at it.

I'm salty, because I got to a point where I needed to get something in order to get Falchion, but I SCREWED UP AND PLAYED LIKE FIVE HOURS AFTER SAVING. So basically, I beat the game without getting Falchion. I was a sad panda.

That said, it was cool to finally see what Marth is all about for myself. I still have never played the original Castlevania (Simon), Mother 3 (Lucas), Fire Emblem the Binding Blade (Roy), and King of Fighters (Terry) and Dragon Quest 3, 4, and 8 (Hero, Hero, and uh, Hero). I still don't think I'll be playing Gyromite or Wii Fit anytime soon.

If you are looking for a new game to really sink your teeth into, I really just have to recommend Xenoblade Chronicles. I'm starting it soon, and it really is just one of my favorite games ever. It introduced me to the larger JRPG genre, and it led to my strongest desires to see Shulk in Smash (which I was granted for Wii U!) I realize not everybody has the luxury of getting certain games, but I truly recommend it!

Wait, does this mean you've played Stack Up?

You madman. 10 / 10.

When it comes to FF music, I feel that it's got to do with Nobuo and licensing, not so much SE themselves.

Here in Australia, FF music (with the exception of Remake) isn't even sold in iTunes... but it is sold in American iTunes.

I feel like getting the rights and permissions for FF music is a separate issue outside of SE themselves.

Sometimes I do wonder what this costs, given the rights stuff:

There will be a Square Enix Cafe pop up store opening in Beijing on June 6.

Will be themed on Final Fantasy 7 Remake products.

Nine themed drinks and various other items.

Cloud, Tifa and Aerith drinks in the images. pic.twitter.com/ou0AmxHCt0

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) June 3, 2020

 

[Rie Sonomura]

So I guess Nintendo’s silence is now explained:

pic.twitter.com/AtDyFQsmsX

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) June 3, 2020

Shouldn’t it be black though and not red?

 

[blackghost]

Yeah, it seems pretty telling that, out of the DLC newcomers, the first party ones have been the least exciting (at least for me). I get that Piranha Plant was an opportunity for the developers to do a fun, unexpected little bonus while showing that they can make any character work and stretching their creative muscles, but Corrin felt like blatant promotion (their game wasn't even released outside of Japan when they were announced), and Byleth seems like the blandest possible option out of the main characters of Three Houses. (the character turned out all right, but only because they had to heavily borrow from the other main characters)

On their own, they were kind of lackluster or odd at first glance. Compared to , it seems extremely clear (at least from my perspective) which DLC newcomers are more exciting.

i agree with you. the third party dlc bring smash recognition and smash gameplay to new places. sakurai adds uniqueness to thier kits with extra moves, specials, and unique traits that most nintendo characters couldn't bring. when you DLC in fighters into a fighting game thier needs to be some reasont o try them. there's nothing more boring than DLC that never becomes relevant. I dont find it surprising that the most nintendo-like character (banjo) is also the leats played of the DLC. WHile characters with the most uniquesness have some of the most dedicated players bases even if tier wise they aren't amazing.

 

[Mushroomguy12]

So I guess Nintendo’s silence is now explained:

pic.twitter.com/AtDyFQsmsX

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) June 3, 2020

Shouldn’t it be black though and not red?

And with that, we have all three.

pic.twitter.com/AtDyFQsmsX

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) June 3, 2020

pic.twitter.com/fnkB9ZmYg5

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) June 1, 2020

Xbox stands together with our fans, creators, colleagues, friends, and the entire African American & Black Community against systemic racism and injustice.

We are proud to join with @Microsoft in amplifying Black and African American voices. https://t.co/sHrXqf454y

— Xbox (@Xbox) June 1, 2020

 

[clearandsweet]

So I guess Nintendo’s silence is now explained:

pic.twitter.com/AtDyFQsmsX

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) June 3, 2020

Shouldn’t it be black though and not red?

Kind of the least they could possibly do, but it's still nice to see all the same. Donation/matching or charity stream or something like Square and Ubisoft would be better, but I guess that's still a bit much to ask of Nintendo.

From what I've heard, NOA is very serious about diversity, a very good employer who really does take these issues seriously.

Whatever, at least the pro Smash community is entirely onboard 10000%. Makes sense, the community has always understood the importance of diversity and standing together against racism and police brutality. I donated to Samsora's charity drive yesterday. Good content and I'm proud of how outspoken top players/casters have been.

 

[Will]

So I guess Nintendo’s silence is now explained:

pic.twitter.com/AtDyFQsmsX

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) June 3, 2020

Shouldn’t it be black though and not red?

The World Nintendo Store or whatever it's called in New York got hit due to the riots, IIRC. I recall people talking about it before there was just a single Mario plush sitting down amongst broken glass and it was kinda funny.

 

[Professor Pumpkaboo]

So I guess Nintendo’s silence is now explained:

pic.twitter.com/AtDyFQsmsX

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) June 3, 2020

Shouldn’t it be black though and not red?

I really dont think the color they use matters

Kind of the least they could possibly do, but it's still nice to see all the same. Donation/matching or charity stream or something like Square and Ubisoft would be better, but I guess that's still a bit much to ask of Nintendo.

From what I've heard, NOA is very serious about diversity, a very good employer who really does take these issues seriously.

Whatever, at least the pro Smash community is entirely onboard 10000%. Makes sense, the community has always understood the importance of diversity and standing together against racism and police brutality. I donated to Samsora's charity drive yesterday. Good content and I'm proud of how outspoken top players/casters have been.

from what I heard, Nintendo was double matching so they werent exactly doing nothing unlike what resetera thinks but no one listens to them seriously anyway

 

[clearandsweet]

I really dont think the color they use matters

from what I heard, Nintendo was double matching so they werent exactly doing nothing unlike what resetera thinks but no one listens to them seriously anyway

I wouldn't be surprised. It fits the MO of them not tooting their own horn, like the logistic works they did behind the scenes for larger tournaments in the past.

 

[Professor Pumpkaboo]

I wouldn't be surprised. It fits the MO of them not tooting their own horn, like the logistic works they did behind the scenes for larger tournaments in the past.

Yeah, Nintendo isnt the one to speak out on EVERY little thing that happens and choose to take action in the background from what Ive noticed. So while people overreact saying " Nintendos not doing anything!" They could very well be doing something, just not making it public

 

[Guybrush20X6]

So I guess Nintendo’s silence is now explained:

pic.twitter.com/AtDyFQsmsX

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) June 3, 2020

Shouldn’t it be black though and not red?

I guess that explains why only the Japanese Pokemon trailer went live.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

That still feels less like an actual upgrade mechanic, and more of a stance switch system where you have to go out of your way to avoid switching
and then if you have to ignore an entire half of your moveset despite it technically being an "upgrade", what good is it

if you're gonna make an evolve/upgrade character, the upgraded form needs to have a clear, obvious advantage over the base form to justify going through the trouble to access it

Well first of all, you wouldn't be able to evolve immediately. You'd still have to fill an exp. gauge or something, and it should be the hardest "comeback gauge" to fill.

And you'd still want to evolve, just maybe not the second you're able too. For example, you could want the Single Strike form against one of the heavy characters, but since Cubfu is better at racking up damage, you may want to use the pre-evolved form's better combo potential first, before dealing the killing blow as the evolved form. From then on, your tactics would change due to the drop in combo potential for increased K.O. power.

The idea is that the Urshifu forms have great strength, but also glaring weaknesses. Cubfu doesn't have these weaknesses, but is a weaker character overall. The character should be about knowing which form to switch to, and when (if currently possible).

Kind of the least they could possibly do, but it's still nice to see all the same. Donation/matching or charity stream or something like Square and Ubisoft would be better, but I guess that's still a bit much to ask of Nintendo.

The reason for not doing a charity stream would probably be the higher difficulty of setting up on the spot. There's more layers of corporate to go through to get it green-lighted, and they'd probably need to get an entire room set up for it, and people to host the livestream, people to make sure it goes off without a hitch...There's probably just too many moving parts to get it set up in such a short amount of time.

 

[Digital Hazard]

Starters feel like such an effortless choice at this point. Pokemon is one of the few franchises in Smash that isn't buckled down by a main protagonist. Each Gen, you have dozens of new and unique options to choose from. Why not take advantage of that instead of focusing on starters, the most obvious and typically easiest Pokemon to make movesets for?

Marketing.

Just think about it, for most people, their starters are not only gonna be the first they get, it's going to be part of their main team if not carry them for most of the game, so they are amongst the most recognisable Pokémon at the time and the ones that, along boxart legendaries, get the most merchandise out of them.

I mean, look at the not-starters we have and why they're exceptions:
Popular at the time and could be done with some carryover data from Kirby
Clone made to pad the roster and take advantage to get a Gen II character, plus baby version of the mascot
One of the most popular legendaries ever with its own movie being the first and arguably the most memorable who at that point was already highly marketable
The poster boy for Gen IV, basically designed to be as such, having its own movie and even cameoing in Mystery Dungeon I in name at least, overall designed to be one of the most popular Pokémon around
Even if not counted because Yellow, do I really need to explain?

So yeah, starters are very easy picks for a reason: As you said, it's somewhat effortless, it's what's safest to choose from a marketing perspective.

And it works.

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Kind of the least they could possibly do, but it's still nice to see all the same. Donation/matching or charity stream or something like Square and Ubisoft would be better, but I guess that's still a bit much to ask of Nintendo.

From what I've heard, NOA is very serious about diversity, a very good employer who really does take these issues seriously.

Whatever, at least the pro Smash community is entirely onboard 10000%. Makes sense, the community has always understood the importance of diversity and standing together against racism and police brutality. I donated to Samsora's charity drive yesterday. Good content and I'm proud of how outspoken top players/casters have been.

Apparantly Nintendo has a strict policy on not announcing donations so that they don't look like they're doing it for PR, though ymmv on that

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

I mean, just think about it, for most people, their starters are not only gonna be the first they get, it's going to be part of their main team if not carry them for most of the game, so they are amongst the most recognisable Pokémon at the time and the ones that, along boxart legendaries, get the most merchandise out of them.

On top of this, a lot of younger players will use their starter exclusively. Why is beyond me, but it seems to be fairly common.

Still, it's really dumb that over half of the series with the most characters have trouble justifying adding secondary characters, especially considering how big most of them are.

 

[Digital Hazard]

On top of this, a lot of younger players will use their starter exclusively. Why is beyond me, but it seems to be fairly common.

Speaking from experience as someone who played Ruby since he was 7... It's simple attachment plus it tends to be the first Pokémon people get to train to be stronger by virtue of being the first, so people tend to remember starters the most out of most othe Pokémon.

Plus the exposure effect means people are more familiar with starters and are easier they get attached to them.

I know my younger sibling is very attached to his Inteleon in Shield for such reason.

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Marketing.

I mean, just think about it, for most people, their starters are not only gonna be the first they get, it's going to be part of their main team if not carry them for most of the game, so they are amongst the most recognisable Pokémon at the time and the ones that, along boxart legendaries, get the most merchandise out of them.

I mean, look at the not-starters we have and why they're exceptions:
Popular at the time and could be done with some carryover data from Kirby
Clone made to pad the roster and take advantage to get a Gen II character, plus baby version of the mascot
One of the most popular legendaries ever with its own movie being the first and arguably the most memorable who at that point was already highly marketable
The poster boy for Gen IV, basically designed to be as such, having its own movie and even cameoing in Mystery Dungeon I in name at least, overall designed to be one of the most popular Pokémon around
Even if not counted because Yellow, do I really need to explain?

So yeah, starters are very easy picks for a reason: As you said, it's somewhat effortless, it's what's safest to choose from a marketing perspective.

And it works.

Not to mention that Greninja seems to be the most popular Pokemon of all time these days

 

[Digital Hazard]

Not to mention that Greninja seems to be the most popular Pokemon of all time these days

Greninja was picked during early Gen VI development when there were only sketches of it though.

Still no wonder a starter was picked.

 

[PeridotGX]

Starters feel like such an effortless choice at this point. Pokemon is one of the few franchises in Smash that isn't buckled down by a main protagonist. Each Gen, you have dozens of new and unique options to choose from. Why not take advantage of that instead of focusing on starters, the most obvious and typically easiest Pokemon to make movesets for?

I can be happy with any of the Gen 8 starters, but I'd much rather get something else. Add the dragon that shoots its tiny children at its enemies, or how about adding the giant dog that has a literal shield for a face? Just choose something more unorthodox than one of the three human-like final evos.

This. There are so many Pokemon that would be incredibly unique and do things nothing else could do, it's a shame Sakurai seems to go for the tamer options.

that gives me an idea for a Fun Forum Game™. Click on this link to get a randomly generated Pokemon. It's in Smash now. Satisfied?
https://randompokemon.com/
I got Mincinno. I am not satisfied.

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Greninja was picked during early Gen VI development when there were only sketches of it though.

Still no wonder a starter was picked.

Ah, my bad, I misunderstood your post and thought you were talking about the Pokemon's reception as a whole, not Smash

 

[Scoliosis Jones]

I mean, I keep saying this but it's a mascot crossover.

You don't really just pick any character for these things. They've almost always had some sort of recognizability aside from, "It's Fire Emblem" or "It's Pokemon". Picking the Generation mascot (Lucario), or a starter (Greninja, Pokemon Trainer, and Incineroar) makes a ton of sense when it comes to the question of, "Who would fans recognize the most, both casual and hardcore?"

I don't think it's that complicated really.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

I mean, I keep saying this but it's a mascot crossover.

You don't really just pick any character for these things. They've almost always had some sort of recognizability aside from, "It's Fire Emblem" or "It's Pokemon". Picking the Generation mascot (Lucario), or a starter (Greninja, Pokemon Trainer, and Incineroar) makes a ton of sense when it comes to the question of, "Who would fans recognize the most, both casual and hardcore?"

I don't think it's that complicated really.

But at the same time the Super Mario series was able to flesh out its roster, the Pokémon series sticks to starters even though there are widely popular and well known Pokémon who aren't starters, and Fire Emblem characters aren't recognizable with the casual crowd at all.

 

[Guynamednelson]

Marketing.

Just think about it, for most people, their starters are not only gonna be the first they get, it's going to be part of their main team if not carry them for most of the game, so they are amongst the most recognisable Pokémon at the time and the ones that, along boxart legendaries, get the most merchandise out of them.

I mean, look at the not-starters we have and why they're exceptions:
Popular at the time and could be done with some carryover data from Kirby
Clone made to pad the roster and take advantage to get a Gen II character, plus baby version of the mascot
One of the most popular legendaries ever with its own movie being the first and arguably the most memorable who at that point was already highly marketable
The poster boy for Gen IV, basically designed to be as such, having its own movie and even cameoing in Mystery Dungeon I in name at least, overall designed to be one of the most popular Pokémon around
Even if not counted because Yellow, do I really need to explain?

So yeah, starters are very easy picks for a reason: As you said, it's somewhat effortless, it's what's safest to choose from a marketing perspective.

And it works.

I mean, I keep saying this but it's a mascot crossover.

You don't really just pick any character for these things. They've almost always had some sort of recognizability aside from, "It's Fire Emblem" or "It's Pokemon". Picking the Generation mascot (Lucario), or a starter (Greninja, Pokemon Trainer, and Incineroar) makes a ton of sense when it comes to the question of, "Who would fans recognize the most, both casual and hardcore?"

I don't think it's that complicated really.

The kind of non-starter Pokemon they go for also makes the "but there's over 900 Pokemon" excuse for defaulting to the latest gen bull**** to me. Do you seriously think they'd cancel plans to make Eevee/Gardevoir/Mimikyu just because of a few fans of Dewgong or Lickilicky?

 

[Staarih]

I guess a starter would be a safe bet also for the fact that Gen 8, as it is fairly new still, doesn’t seem to have any sort of ”mascot” (yet?) and whoever they hypothetically add in Smash would essentially become that as that’s the type they go for. Except for maybe Incineroar, but that’s kind of an outlier as Sakurai went theme first on that one (wrestler character).

I’d really prefer a non-starter though. Dragapult and Toxtricity topped the Pokémon of the Year vote Galar-wise a while back iirc, either would be good. Or Zacian or I’d even take Urshifu.

 

[Digital Hazard]

But at the same time the Super Mario series was able to flesh out its roster, the Pokémon series sticks to starters even though there are widely popular and well known Pokémon who aren't starters, and Fire Emblem characters aren't recognizable with the casual crowd at all.

Again: Marketing.

Mario has a consistent cast of characters that return all the time even if mostly in spinoffs... Of which there are many and sell well, so no problem anyway. It rarely introduces a new addition to its cast that will become permanent.

Both Fire Emblem and Pokémon introduce new characters and monsters to capture respectively, basically rotating in who/which get focus per game/generation. It reminds people of the most current products.

If hypothetically timing had been different for Brawl and it'd had released circa 2005-2006, maybe we would have had Ephraim and/or Eirika and one of the Gen III starters rather than Ike and Lucario.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

This. There are so many Pokemon that would be incredibly unique and do things nothing else could do, it's a shame Sakurai seems to go for the tamer options.

that gives me an idea for a Fun Forum Game™. Click on this link to get a randomly generated Pokemon. It's in Smash now. Satisfied?
https://randompokemon.com/
I got Mincinno. I am not satisfied.

Dreepy.


...yaaaaaaay.

The kind of non-starter Pokemon they go for also makes the "but there's over 900 Pokemon" excuse for defaulting to the latest gen bull**** to me. Do you seriously think they'd cancel plans to make Eevee/Gardevoir/Mimikyu just because of a few fans of Dewgong or Lickilicky?

Not sure what you're trying to say here.

 

[TheCJBrine]

I think what Sakurai said about Incineroar combined with past inclusions implies he just chooses ones he likes/represents the series or one of its gens well/are popular/fit an idea he has.

We could certainly get Gengar, Eevee, Meowth, Gardevoir, etc. in a mascot fighter if Sakurai wanted them and TPC and Nintendo allowed him.

 

[Guynamednelson]

Not sure what you're trying to say here.

That you shouldn't use "but there's over 900 Pokemon" as an excuse for defaulting to the latest gen if over 800 of them wouldn't be on the table if Sakurai's not just considering Gen 8.

 

[Digital Hazard]

I think what Sakurai said about Incineroar combined with past inclusions implies he just chooses ones he likes/represents the series or one of its gens well/are popular/fit an idea he has.

We could certainly get Gengar, Eevee, Meowth, Gardevoir, etc. in a mascot fighter if Sakurai wanted them and TPC and Nintendo allowed him.

Yeah, but the thing as you said, is if they allow him.

The guy is still a game developer that looks at current trends to see what to add, and just compare the number of secondary protagonists and villains to actual protagonists and mascots.

After all, the spot was specifically reserved for a Gen VII Pokémon, the current Gen at the time, and his choices boiled down to Decidueye and Incineroar, two starters.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

You know, I've grown to hate these conversations. They really just boil down to:

"I wish the roster of X series would branch out more, and really showcase all the series has to offer instead of vomiting the protagonists at us."
"Well Nintendo will never do that so screw what you want I guess."
"But it shouldn't be that way and in any other series these picks wouldn't be so radical."
"Tough. It ain't happenin'. Move on."

Nothing interesting is said, and the people who want the higher diversity are painted out to be whiney and entitled when that's not often the case.

 

[Guynamednelson]

You know, I've grown to hate these conversations. They really just boil down to:

"I wish the roster of X series would branch out more, and really showcase all the series has to offer instead of vomiting the protagonists at us."
"Well Nintendo will never do that so screw what you want I guess."
"But it shouldn't be that way and in any other series these picks wouldn't be so radical."
"Tough. It ain't happenin'. Move on."

Nothing interesting is said, and the people who want the higher diversity are painted out to be whiney and entitled when that's not often the case.

I do want more diversity in Pokemon, mind you. I just know it wouldn't come in the form of Cacsoon or Bronzor.

 

[Evil Trapezium]

This. There are so many Pokemon that would be incredibly unique and do things nothing else could do, it's a shame Sakurai seems to go for the tamer options.

that gives me an idea for a Fun Forum Game™. Click on this link to get a randomly generated Pokemon. It's in Smash now. Satisfied?
https://randompokemon.com/
I got Mincinno. I am not satisfied.

I got Dartrix. I was so close.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

That you shouldn't use "but there's over 900 Pokemon" as an excuse for defaulting to the latest gen if over 800 of them wouldn't be on the table if Sakurai's not just considering Gen 8.

Um. The "over 900" Pokémon fact isn't an excuse for looking at a single generation? It's not to say that there are over 900 candidates for a slot either. Realistically, there are 3, but if we expanded it to more than just the current starters, there's still a sizeable chunk of Pokémon they would consider since due to the sheer number of Pokémon, there are quite a bunch of hits.

 

[RouffWestie]

They're going to give us Urshifu Form 1 representing Pokemon Sword as Fighter Pack 7 and Urshifu Form 2 representing Pokemon Shield as Fighter Pack 8.

 

[Scoliosis Jones]

But at the same time the Super Mario series was able to flesh out its roster, the Pokémon series sticks to starters even though there are widely popular and well known Pokémon who aren't starters, and Fire Emblem characters aren't recognizable with the casual crowd at all.

Pokémon has a rotating cast for the game, for promotional materials, and for the anime.

That isn’t anything like Super Mario, which sticks to essentially the same cast every game. It makes more sense for Mario to get into supporting cast members than it does for games that don’t have the same supporting cast.

Again, I don’t think it’s that crazy of an idea.

 

[Mamboo07]

This. There are so many Pokemon that would be incredibly unique and do things nothing else could do, it's a shame Sakurai seems to go for the tamer options.

that gives me an idea for a Fun Forum Game™. Click on this link to get a randomly generated Pokemon. It's in Smash now. Satisfied?
https://randompokemon.com/
I got Mincinno. I am not satisfied.

For me, I got Kommo-o himself.

 

[SMAASH! Puppy]

Pokémon has a rotating cast for the game, for promotional materials, and for the anime.

That isn’t anything like Super Mario, which sticks to essentially the same cast every game. It makes more sense for Mario to get into supporting cast members than it does for games that don’t have the same supporting cast.

Again, I don’t think it’s that crazy of an idea.

And again, it's not that crazy of an idea for Pokémon or Fire Emblem to branch out either.

EDIT: Especially since the Super Mario series has characters that have been permanently dropped from the main series, and a generic enemy. It doesn't matter how different the two series are, you can't tell me that a box legendary or a Pokémon like Garchomp makes less sense than Piranha Plant.

 

[Rie Sonomura]

This. There are so many Pokemon that would be incredibly unique and do things nothing else could do, it's a shame Sakurai seems to go for the tamer options.

that gives me an idea for a Fun Forum Game™. Click on this link to get a randomly generated Pokemon. It's in Smash now. Satisfied?
https://randompokemon.com/
I got Mincinno. I am not satisfied.

MAREEP BAYBEE!

 

[TheCJBrine]

Pokémon has a rotating cast for the game, for promotional materials, and for the anime.

That isn’t anything like Super Mario, which sticks to essentially the same cast every game. It makes more sense for Mario to get into supporting cast members than it does for games that don’t have the same supporting cast.

Again, I don’t think it’s that crazy of an idea.

There are still some ‘mons like Gengar and Meowth that get considerably more of a push from TPC than most other ‘mons, so they could fit into the mascot fighter mold.

 

[Guynamednelson]

that gives me an idea for a Fun Forum Game™. Click on this link to get a randomly generated Pokemon. It's in Smash now. Satisfied?
https://randompokemon.com/
I got Mincinno. I am not satisfied.

Pikachu.

Like it would ever get in. Gotta make room for whatever new starter's the most human.

 

[Scoliosis Jones]

And again, it's not that crazy of an idea for Pokémon or Fire Emblem to branch out either.

There are still some ‘mons like Gengar and Meowth that get considerably more of a push from TPC than most other ‘mons, so they could fit into the mascot fighter mold.

Gengar would be a cool pick.

That said, again, I don't really know that this is a contested point. Nintendo, especially when it comes to DLC, would very likely pick characters that are unique and recognizable, but also paired to advertise the latest generation or games.

I think there's two different conversations being had here. Folks are saying that they want the Pokemon cast to be spread out a bit more and not just restricted to starters, etc. There's nothing inherently wrong with that.

Other folks are engaging in the conversation in terms of, "Is that likely to happen?". Based on previous instances of Pokemon characters in Smash (exception of DLC Mewtwo in Smash 4 because that's an entirely different context), they have almost always opted for mascot Pokemon, or highly recognizable Pokemon in the form of starters. It's not hard to see why they would continue to do so, because it most easily shows itself to viewers. The viewer knows exactly what it's from, for example, and it's easily tied to their particular game. When it is the newest game at the time, it adds incentive for people to buy said newest game. That's why throwing in a Hoenn pick when Sun/Moon is the big game in the series doesn't make any sense.

I don't know that anybody would disagree that particular Pokemon would be cool, but it has become pretty clear that Pokemon are not simply chosen based on who is "cool" or who isn't. They're seemingly chosen with a deliberate effort to look into the newest generation, and if you're not a focal point of the current content/generation, then you probably wouldn't be in Smash.

I would like to think Smash isn't only a marketing machine. But even if it isn't just a marketing machine, it's a damn good one. That's why I would say the best shot Sword/Shield has at getting a playable character would be a starter, or Urshifu.