Let’s get right to the point. This is a topic where you give your opinion on if you want Red to be in SSBB; either you do, don’t, or don’t care(Please respond even if you don’t care.) I’m going to collect all of the data and send it to Sakurai in one week(or less if the topic becomes inactive). I’ll also be sending along a packet of support for Red, including an explanation of Red’s character, how he may work in Super Smash Bros, why he should be in SSB, and finally, a full moveset. Both a Japanese and English copy will be included. I’d suggest reading it before you vote, it has got a lot of info:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I Intro
II Red as a character
III Reasons
IV Demand
V Red as a fighter
VI Moveset
VII Closing
I Intro
In Super Smash Bros, series are represented by what is important to them, whatever is most significant to the games. Many believe that in the pokémon series, this is held by the pokémon alone. I am here to tell you, that they are wrong. Pokémon are incredibly important to the series, yes, but they are not all that is significant. Trainers are significant. Trainers are the basis of every pokémon game right along with the pokémon themselves and are as essential to the games as they are. Trainers are the people of the pokémon world, they're the protagonists and the villains and the rivals and friends. Pokémon are important, but trainers are also.
Surely though, we cannot expect trainers as a whole to make an appearance in Super Smash Bros. Obviously a representative of trainers must be used. It is also obvious, that this trainer should be Red. Red is the original protagonist of the pokémon games, and the only protagonist to appear many times in the series, appearing in 9 of the 14 games, half of the series. No other character, pokémon or human alike has had as much effect in the games as Red has, making him the ideal trainer to represent the series.
I'm not sure if you've thought of Red in SSBB before, but I'm sure you'll think a bit more of him after this. This is filled to the brim with support for Red, so, I just want to humbly ask you not to ignore it. I apologize for the simplicity of the language, though, I’m an American fan, and this translation was slightly awkwardly obtained.
II Red as a character
By now, you know who this is for, Red. But from my support of Red in the past, it has come to my attention that many do not know much about Red, or even that he exists, not that you are necessarily in this category, of course. If you already know who Red is, feel free to skip this section, but if not, I've compiled a lot of information on Red for you.
Red is an eleven year old boy living in Pallet Town, in the Kanto Region of the pokémon world. Red and his neighbor, Blue, were childhood friends, but that all ended as they got older. Blue became a bully, and their friendship became a rivalry. One day, Red was told by his mother that Professor Oak, one of the leading researchers on pokémon and Blue's grandfather, had called for him to visit his lab. After a bit of mishap looking for Oak, he found Blue in the lab as well, and Oak told them each to choose a pokémon, and later gave them each a pokédex and a mission, to complete it by gathering info on every pokémon in the world.
From here, Red goes on an adventure with his pokémon team that spans all of Kanto. He traveled to every Gym and defeated the leaders to get the skills he needed to continue on his quest, and clashed many times with the evil Team Rocket. Of course, Blue managed to stay one step ahead of Red through out his entire adventure, but Red finally caught up at the Indigo Plateau, after defeating Giovanni in the Viridian City Gym and foiling Team Rocket's world domination schemes for good. Red defeated each member of the Elite Four, only to find Blue waiting as his final challenge. In the final conflict, Red is the victor and becomes the new League Champion. Red did not stay, however, but continued on his quest to continue the Pokédex, and was later admitted to Mount Silver, where he trains constantly with his team, silently defeating any challenger who should come to fight him.
And that's Red in a nutshell. I hope you'll take this and the rest into consideration for him.
III Reasons
1 There has yet to be a trainer in Super Smash Bros. This may seem thus, that it should not be done because it would be too difficult, but a trainer could be a very unique character. Using a trainer would lead to a unique moveset using either the trainer's team of pokémon or the items that the trainer uses to catch and control the pokémon.
2 Trainers, despite everything, are an incredibly important character to the pokémon series. Trainers deserve a representative in Super Smash Bros, because without them, the pokémon series wouldn't be what it is today. Trainers drive the stories of the pokémon games and almost every significant character in the pokémon series is a trainer.
3 There are, really, very few significant pokémon with actual reason to represent the series. Pikachu and Jigglypuff, for example, I'm sure they were picked for their popularity, Pichu was picked as an easy clone character I'd assume, and I'm not sure of why Mewtwo was picked. The point is, the popular, iconic pokémon have already been used. Why not leave that new pokémon character slot to someone with business representing the series?
4 There are two distinct goals in the pokémon series, one is battling to become the best trainer, and that's what the pokémon in the game represent. The other aspect of the game, the catching portion of the game, can't be represented by pokémon. The pokémon aren't the one's catching pokémon and filling the pokédex, trainers are.
5 On the other side of that, trainers would make excellent representatives of the catching aspect of the game. The trainers have all of their pokémon capturing equipment that could be integrated into the moveset, and their presence alongside pokémon in the game would remind people of this part of the game. The pokémon series currently has five things representing it; four pokémon and one item, none of which relate to the second goal of the game.
6 Red is unique among trainer choices from the pokémon series because, among other things, he is a protagonist. Furthermore, Red is the first protagonist of the series, making him a good choice for a pokémon protagonist in Super Smash Bros. Pokémon is the only series represented in Super Smash Bros currently which does not have a protagonist as a playable character. Red would fit well into the role as the first protagonist in the series.
7 Unique about Red among the protagonists, however, is the fact that Red is the only protagonist to make additional appearances beyond his debut. Red made an appearance as an enemy trainer in Pokémon GSC and in Pokémon Stadium 2. Red is also the only character to be playable in more than one generation, with his game's remakes in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.
8 Not only that, but Red has appeared in every generation of the games so far, thus making him recognizable to pokémon vets and those who are new to the series. Unlike other trainers, who've made appearances in only one generation, Red can be recognized by almost anyone who's ever played a pokémon game. Red, Blue and Lance are tied as the three significant characters with the most appearances.
9 In his appearances in Pokémon GSC and Pokémon Stadium 2, Red became notable as the most powerful trainer to ever appear in the series. Not only was Red's team in pokémon GSC the strongest any trainer in the series has ever had, but in pokémon Stadium 2, he used several rare and "legendary" pokémon, something opponents in the games don't typically do. Red's team is the best around, and he's the best equipped trainer to fight in Super Smash Bros.
IV Demand
This is the section I'm working on with this topic, so I'll get back to you with it once the research is done.
V Red as a fighter
It may seem that a trainer, like Red, would be a difficult character to implement in Super Smash Bros. If we just take a moment to look at the skills that trainers possess in their own game, it might become a bit clearer as to what a moveset for them should be. Trainers in the pokémon series have a lot of equipment for catching pokémon, a lot of which could be converted into attacks for Super Smash Bros. Any item, no matter how simple it seems, could serve a useful purpose in a Super Smash Bros fight. Take Repel, for example. In the games, Repel simply kept wild pokémon from attacking you. In Super Smash Bros, Repel could become a fume shield that reflects physical projectiles and keeps opponents at bay for a few seconds, while you're free to move around. Obviously, the move would need a downside, such as a wait time between uses, or a lot of lag, but it could make a great move. Another part of trainers that could be applied to Super Smash Bros is their pokémon team. The trainer, Red, could have access to his pokémon for certain moves, obviously his more powerful ones. For example, his "Super Smash" could be summoning a strong pokémon to use an attack across the stage, or he could use the various HM move that he acquires in the game, like using Fly for recovery. With trainers, the limit is only where you draw it, and I'm sure that you could come up with a moveset that would impress us all based on trainers’ skills.
As for Red’s stats, I would say that Red should be fairly balanced, but not completely. Power or weight would be good places to give him a disadvantage in, while Speed or jumping ability could be his strong points. When considering weight, you have to consider though that Red is carrying an awfully large amount of equipment, so he’s bound to have some weight on him, though he’s also smaller than Link, so he won’t be too heavy. At the same time, his inexperience in combat would prevent his attacks from packing much power. His speed and jumping abilities would likely be his strong points, because he’s young, and thus fairly agile.
When making a Red moveset, that is, if you put him in Super Smash Bros, aside from the above advice, remember this, Red is not skilled at fighting. Red's regular attacks, his punches and kicks should not be as precise and striking as the other characters, because Red is just a young boy. I'd predict that Red's moveset would involve a few attacks which just don't seem to make any sense, basically just any moves that show his inexperience. Red's trump cards would be his items and pokémon. Red's pokémon catching items would allow him to manipulate his opponents. He could capture his opponent in a poké ball then release them right into an environmental hazard, or even another enemy's attack. Red's pokémon would bring the punch that he needs to drive his victory.
That is all my advice for if you decide to make a moveset for him. I don't want to tell you how to do your job, because you do it best. All I can offer from here is an example moveset of my own creation, in the neatest format that I could muster.
VI Moveset
-Stats-
Size: 3/5
Weight: 3/5
Power: 2/5
Speed: 3/5
Jump: 4/5
-Specials-
B: Poké Ball(Red throws a poké ball. On contact, it causes damage and traps the foe inside. The ball can be thrown into the ground for damage, off the stage, or into level hazards. While in the air, opponents will break out of the ball much faster and will be popped into the air after coming out of the ball. 4-6% )
Smash B: Bike(Red pulls out his bike and starts speeding across the stage. Rapidly tap B to pedal and keep the move going, and turn with <>.6-10% decreases with speed. )
Down B: Repel(Red pulls out a can of Repel and sprays himself. For 3 seconds he will be surrounded by a shield of fumes, which reflects physical projectiles, and knocks opponents down. If used in the air, Red gets knocked down also. After use, it takes 10 seconds to recharge for another use, which is indicated by a spray can on Red’s belt.)
Up B: Fly(Red jumps onto a flying Pok'emon, which carries him straight upward then dives downward at a diagonal angle. 5-13%)
Super Smash: Ultimate Attack (Red randomly releases either a Venusaur, Charizard or Blastoise which uses it’s respective elemental “Ultimate Attack.”(Frenzy Plant, Burn Blast and Hydro Cannon) Red stands next to them as they do this and won’t move until the attack is complete. Frenzy Plant covers the ground in damaging vines, Burn Blast shoots a huge constant fire blast diagonally upward across the stage, and Hydro Cannon rapidly shoots many small water blasts across the stage at random trajectories.)
-Throws-
Grab: Super Rod(Red whips out the Super Rod and casts. The tip of the line will hook opponents and Red will reel them in.)
Grab Attack: Pound(Red smacks the opponent on the head with his fist.1%-3% )
U Throw: Poké Ball Toss(Red puts the foe in a poké ball and tosses it into the air. They are released in a random direction at the apex of the throw.5-8% )
D Throw: Bunny Hop(Red slams the opponent into the ground and bounces on them with his bike 3 times quickly.3-4% slam, 1-2% per bounce)
F Throw: Pack Launch(Red winds back, back pack in hand and smashes it into his foe’s face launching them forward.6-8% )
B Throw: Escape Rope(Red attaches an escape rope to them and throws the foe forward. After going forward about 5 Feet, he swings them back around on it and sends them spinning in the other direction.5-8% )
- Regular Attacks-
A: Punch(2-3% )
A-2: Punch(2-3% )
A-3: Uppercut(An uppercut. Upward knockback.3-4% )
Dash A: Running Shoes(Red starts using his running shoes and dashes really fast for a second to bowl over enemies. Knocks them back/up.4-7% )
U Tilt: False Swipe(Red punches upward. Minimal upward knockback.3-7% )
D Tilt: Dig(Red crouches(or is already crouching) and punches across the ground. Small forward/upward knockback.2-5% )
F Tilt: Rolling Kick(A kick forward.4-8% )
U Smash: Skull bash(Red jams his head upward to headbutt his enemy straight up.10-20% )
D Smash: Bag Sweep(A sweep attack with Red's back pack. up/back knockback.9-16% )
F Smash: Pack Smack(Red pulls off his pack and swings it in front of him, then quickly replaces it. Strong horizontal knockback.8-20% )
N Air: Jump Kick(Kicks and spins.4-9% )
U Air: Sonic Boom(Red turns upside down and stomps upward.6-12% )
D Air: Sky Attack(Red winds up and punches downward causing him to flip. If Red hits an opponent at the very beginning of the punch, it's a meteor smash.5-9% )
F Air: Aerial Ace(A forward mid-air punch. Knocks the opponent down and forward .6-8% )
B Air: Double Kick(Turns and does a series of two kicks. Low knockback for the first hit, mid knockback for the second one.3-5% each hit )
Stand up attack: Spikes(Red kicks up his feet to attack, then uses them to right himself.2-3% )
Ledge attack 1 (Under 100% damage): Slam (Red pulls himself up into the air then kicks hard, then lands on the stage.2-4% )
Ledge attack 2 (Over 100% damage): Double Edge(Red pulls himself up into a shoulder ramming attack.1-3% )
VII Closing
There's not much else I can say in closing. I just hope that you'll at least take what's been said here into consideration while you finish up the roster for Super Smash Bros Brawl.
As a final note, though, please do not turn Red into the anime character. Despite what it may seem, they are not the same person, and though it may seem that putting the anime character in would please many fans, that character is actually incredibly hated in the US, and his inclusion would bring about a negative feeling about the game. Please base him on the game art for Pokémon Red or Pokémon FireRed.
If you have something to add, or see an error, just notify me and I’ll see what I can do with it. Well, that’s it. Happy voting.
