Official Smash Ultimate Discussion

[Garteam]

I feel like I've made this point several times but I'll mention it again because it's relevant. The Pokemon Company knows what they are doing. They already know which Pokemon will become the popular picks before they release them (besides surprises). Rowlett, Lycanroc, Mimikyu and to an extent Littens whole line were made to be popular, hence their huge promotion and role in the Anime. The Anime needs to be written and storyboarded in advance, it's not like they wait until the games are released to decide which Pokemon Ash will catch. It's all planned. This is marketing.

I'm kinda ticked about it too because I saw a video last night that said Mimikyu wouldn't be picked because popularity has never been the reason a Pokemon was picked for Smash. Mimikyu aside, are you kidding me? Melee - Mewtwo. Brawl - Lucario. Smash 4 - Greninja. Are you trying to tell me none of these Pokemon were the popular pics of those generations?

Just saying, just because the roster may have been decided before Sun and Moons release (not that that matters because they could have definitely seen which Pokemon were stirring the most hype for release) does not mean popularity will not play a role.

I don't know if I would agree with the idea of Mimikyu was "made to be popular". Mimikyu's reveal was kinda lowkey, being revealed in an issue of CoroCoro magazine. Compare this to other major players such as Decidueye and Lycanroc, who had international videos showing off their release.

Additionally, I wouldn't really call Mimikyu's role in the anime as a sign its meant to be popular. Sure, it has a reoccuring role as Jessie's Pokemon this season, but others like Seviper and Woobat also have had this role and obviously didn't have it because Game Freak wanted them to be popular. Yes, Mimikyu is popular, but its popularity more comes from the fanbase latching on to it as an ensemble dark horse than a direct push by Game Freak itself.

 

[Smartz]

I don't know if I would agree with the idea of Mimikyu was "made to be popular". Mimikyu's reveal was kinda lowkey, being revealed in an issue of CoroCoro magazine. Compare this to other major players such as Decidueye and Lycanroc, who had international videos showing off their release.

Additionally, I wouldn't really call Mimikyu's role in the anime as a sign its meant to be popular. Sure, it has a reoccuring role as Jessie's Pokemon this season, but others like Seviper and Woobat also have had this role and obviously didn't have it because Game Freak wanted them to be popular. Yes, Mimikyu is popular, but its popularity more comes from the fanbase latching on to it as an ensemble dark horse than a direct push by Game Freak itself.

woobat for smash 5

 

[TMNTSSB4]

My issue with Lyn getting in is just that I don't think it's likely. Popularity is pretty much all she has going for her...mainly because Intelligent Systems seemed genuinely shocked at her placement in the first Choose Your Legends poll, basically admitting they underestimated her popularity to some degree.

That poll came around in late January of 2017, presumably long after the roster was decided. I honestly think she has a far better shot at DLC than a main-game newcomer.

I’d accept her being playable in any fashion possible (she’s already taking over FE Heroes and gets to run Warriors, so her becoming dlc would be a pretty good draw)

 

[SuperSmashStephen]

How would Mimikyu actually be able to put up a fight with someone like Donkey Kong or hell even someone like Kirby. He’s 0.02m tall. Is there some sort of like form where he grows legs or something? I really do think someone will be added from pokemon just not mimikyu or Lycanroc. Lycanroc might actually work because they got a dog and duck into a game with an actual move set.

They’ve altered size of characters in Smash before. Bowser’s size has varied throughout Mario’s history, and Olimar is technical only a few inches tall, but there he is about the same size as Ness. Mimikyu would be a small character, no doubt. Big things come in small packages though.

 

[MopedOfJustice]

And then Lyn in Smash uses everything she’s ever learned from her own game and Heroes (meaning the horse and love would be included)

Yeah, Bridal Lyn is really what we need.

Mimikyu's shape is pretty workable, I reckon. Headbutt attacks, swipes with his little tail stick thing, and especially those dark tentacles / arms he has in some of his artwork. I also think it'd be pretty neat if he could "mimic" other characters somehow, like a counter that lets him copy whatever move he got hit with or something.

The main one that puzzles me is Rowlet... his body shape doesn't lend itself awfully well to making attack animations.

Mimikyu can learn Mimic which, unlike Copycat, can be ported pretty faithfully to this game if the devs wanted to go through the effort. Basically he'd be Kirby, but the pre-set move he gets from the character could be a special besides neutral special. To clarify, I'm not saying that he could pick any of them, but that it makes sense for the move he copies to be different because Mimic is thematically different from Inhale and it would make him mechanically distinct from Kirby. So he might copy one character's forward special but another's down special.
Though, as I'm thinking about it, down special is clearly the best option for him in like 80% of the cases (Dedede and Olimar notwithstanding) so maybe he could just do that/

Edit: dammit, I want this character now.

 

[MBRedboy31]

They’ve altered size of characters in Smash before. Bowser’s size has varied throughout Mario’s history, and Olimar is technical only a few inches tall, but there he is about the same size as Ness. Mimikyu would be a small character, no doubt. Big things come in small packages though.

Don’t forget that Totem Mimikyu exists, by the way... if they really had an issue with making it larger, which they wouldn’t, they already have a canonically upscaled version to use anyway.

 

[Blargg888]

You forgot Sakurai can predict the future with 33.333% accuracy.

"Please understand, my predictions are always correct 30% of the time! Yes, I'm still alive."

How would Mimikyu actually be able to put up a fight with someone like Donkey Kong or hell even someone like Kirby. He’s 0.02m tall. Is there some sort of like form where he grows legs or something? I really do think someone will be added from pokemon just not mimikyu or Lycanroc. Lycanroc might actually work because they got a dog and duck into a game with an actual move set.

Canon size doesn't really matter in Smash, it's all about relative size, really.

Lots of characters have inconsistencies in their designs in Smash, mostly because being meticulously accurate isn't really the point.

 

[Smartz]

I’d accept her being playable in any fashion possible (she’s already taking over FE Heroes and gets to run Warriors, so her becoming dlc would be a pretty good draw)

My opinion don’t crucify me, but I’m sick of Fire Emblem characters. I saw Marth and was “Oh hey cool I didn’t know he would get added to Smash, it’s nice they’re adding in characters like Marth!” Roy was also a thing and I was like “He’s fun to play!” Then I saw Ike and 12 year old me was like “Bigger sword = Better Sword” then along came Smash 4. I have nothing wrong with Robin, Lucina is a clone which kinda bothered me but there’s only so much you can do with a sword right? Then I saw DLC for Corrin, then Roy. I was like is this a staple series now? I never played a fire emblem game growing up and I was a nintendo kid! I played Earthbound at my uncle’s house I played Metroid and I even played Dr. Mario cause my cousin said it was Tetris. I just don’t think I’d be ok if they added another Fire Emblem character. It’s rivaling Mario now lol.

 

[Murlough]

How would Mimikyu actually be able to put up a fight with someone like Donkey Kong or hell even someone like Kirby. He’s 0.02m tall. Is there some sort of like form where he grows legs or something? I really do think someone will be added from pokemon just not mimikyu or Lycanroc. Lycanroc might actually work because they got a dog and duck into a game with an actual move set.

Gee, I dunno lets ask Pikachu.

ROB?

And bulbepedia said he was 0.02m tall. and in like perspective ZSS is 6ft tall. And shortest human (I think don’t quote me on this) is Little Mac at 5’3.

Yes, because they have never altered the sizes of characters to make them more workable for Smash. All the characters are reanimated Trophies anyway. Its not like you buy amiibos or those giant bobblehead figures and expect to get actual size.

Also the Pokedex says Mewtwo weighs a heck of a lot more than he does in Smash. Artistic liberaties have been taken in the past. These are not legit reasons why Mimikyu wouldn't work.

Its running animation is the only thing I'm struggling with. Maybe it floats because its a Ghost? Does it float in the anime? I don't watch it so I wouldn't know.

EDIT: I sound like a **** here and I apologize. My back hurts after work and my money hasn't been coming through which is putting me on edge.

 

[TumblrFamous]

ROB?

And bulbepedia said he was 0.02m tall. and in like perspective ZSS is 6ft tall. And shortest human (I think don’t quote me on this) is Little Mac at 5’3.

0.2 actually.

Pikachu is canonically 0.4m. Zero Suit Samus is canonically 1.9 meters. Is she almost 5 times the size of Pikachu in Smash? No, that'd be unrealistic.

Olimar and Kirby are much much shorter than Pikachu, they're literally tiny in their base games. Do they follow that in Smash? Palutena at least has a couple feet on the Pits yet she is only a bit taller than them in Smash.

If we want to keep it within Pokemon, look at Mewtwo. He's 6 feet tall, compared to Pikachu and Jigglypuff's 1. Yet they're only roughly half of his size in 4.

This whole size argument is baseless. If they want to add Mimikyu, they'll do it. Size is not at all holding him back.

 

[Scoliosis Jones]

I’d be careful with basing additions on only popularity.

Wii U added:


Characters where popularity probably helped:


Now, this isn’t to say popularity isn’t that big of a factor. Every character has their fans. Even Duck Hunt Dog had his. The thing is that roughly a 3rd of Wii U newcomers were arguably popular enough to get that attention.

Other than those 4 I listed, there were other choices favored over them that were certainly considered more popular than the one we got. Let’s not forget who is also always said to be “popular” which “helps their chances”.

Ridley, K.Rool, Lyn, Chrom (arguably expected, not entirely popular), Toad, Waluigi, Zoroark, Mewtwo (not in until DLC, which was probably because of popularity), Takamaru...all were big name characters that many...MANY characters wanted or expected.

None of them except for Mewtwo as DLC, got in. Yet they’re the most popular choices. They’re shoe-ins!!!

When this fan base says, “They’re the most popular pick, of COURSE they have to be in”, it makes me feel like nobody learned from Wii U. With the ballot in play I think there is a chance for characters to be picked based on popularity, but then again that’s not how the ballot has been guaranteed to work. They might take the most creative ideas and stick with those rather than the most votes for picks.

Simply put, simply being popular means nothing. We’ve been through like, 2 games of speculation, and yet the same characters were considered shoe-ins because of their popularity.

Cool it with the buzzwords and just enjoy the ride. We have only a few weeks left until mega salt begins.

 

[MopedOfJustice]

Its running animation is the only thing I'm struggling with. Maybe it floats because its a Ghost? Does it float in the anime? I don't watch it so I wouldn't know.

I think he just skitters under the cloth like you'd expect from the outfit it's wearing.

 

[TMNTSSB4]

Yeah, Bridal Lyn is really what we need.

I need all of the costumes Lyn in Heroes has worn...but the Bridal Lyn form especially

My opinion don’t crucify me, but I’m sick of Fire Emblem characters. I saw Marth and was “Oh hey cool I didn’t know he would get added to Smash, it’s nice they’re adding in characters like Marth!” Roy was also a thing and I was like “He’s fun to play!” Then I saw Ike and 12 year old me was like “Bigger sword = Better Sword” then along came Smash 4. I have nothing wrong with Robin, Lucina is a clone which kinda bothered me but there’s only so much you can do with a sword right? Then I saw DLC for Corrin, then Roy. I was like is this a staple series now? I never played a fire emblem game growing up and I was a nintendo kid! I played Earthbound at my uncle’s house I played Metroid and I even played Dr. Mario cause my cousin said it was Tetris. I just don’t think I’d be ok if they added another Fire Emblem character. It’s rivaling Mario now lol.

Ever since Awakening, FE has started to become a staple franchise for Nintendo (and it’s understandable for you to have not played one of their games before since they weren’t huge back then outside of Japan). Also, don’t worry about them rivaling Mario cause the king is fine (with and without the others who were given their own spinoff franchise)...just worry about them targeting the Pokémon characters and keeping Zelda buried beneath them

 

[Murlough]

I think he just skitters under the cloth like you'd expect from the outfit it's wearing.

Well, yeah I meant like imagining how his body would look while running. Would he bend forward and float like Mewtwo? His walking animation is easy as heck they can just take it from SuMo but thinking about Mimikyu running is....odd. I'm probably overthinking it by a mile.

 

[T-Hell]

I may condemn myself here, but I find kind of funny seeing you guys discussing about size not being a problem yet Ridley is too big, or his wings are to wide or whatever.
If Sakurai can't make them viable, that's him, but I don't think size matters here. That's what she said.

 

[Smartz]

Gee, I dunno lets ask Pikachu.
Yes, because they have never altered the sizes of characters to make them more workable for Smash. All the characters are reanimated Trophies anyway. Its not like you buy amiibos or those giant bobblehead figures and expect to get actual size.

Also the Pokedex says Mewtwo weighs a heck of a lot more than he does in Smash. Artistic liberaties have been taken in the past. These are not legit reasons why Mimikyu wouldn't work.

Its running animation is the only thing I'm struggling with. Maybe it floats because its a Ghost? Does it float in the anime? I don't watch it so I wouldn't know.

EDIT: I sound like a **** here and I apologize. My back hurts after work and my money hasn't been coming through which is putting me on edge.

Yeah I liked a few of the posts before. The Olimar one pretty much made me realize that there have been a lot of size changes. The Pikmin series itself is one of my favorite Nintendo franchisees. I wouldn’t want to see Olimar get kicked out of Smash and I wouldn’t want someone else’s character idea to get kicked out for size limitations.

 

[MopedOfJustice]

Well, yeah I meant like imagining how his body would look while running. Would he bend forward and float like Mewtwo? His walking animation is easy as heck they can just take it from SuMo but thinking about Mimikyu running is....odd. I'm probably overthinking it by a mile.

If I was doing it, it would just be the skittering centered on the real body with the "head" lagging behind as secondary motion. It's awkward and clumsy, but that's his entire presentation.

 

[Chandeelure]

Why choose these...

when you can have this instead.

 

[Blargg888]

Its running animation is the only thing I'm struggling with. Maybe it floats because its a Ghost? Does it float in the anime? I don't watch it so I wouldn't know.

It's easy to forget since they were never utilized, but all existing Pokemon (Except possibly those exclusive to USUM) already have walking and running animations.

Whether it'd be the same in Smash, I dunno, but the point is that there is a precedent for running animations with all Pokemon, even those that don't look like they can run.

 

[Smartz]

Oh another thing I’d like to see for Smash 5 is when you buy DLC for it to be organized with the character franchise it belonged with rather than at the bottom. Idk just kind of a OCD thing that bothered me in Smash 4.

 

[TMNTSSB4]

Palutena at least has a couple feet on the Pits yet she is only a bit taller than them in Smash.

Pit is 5’3 while Palutena is physically 5’9, so Smash 4 seems to be accurate enough

Waifus where popularity probably helped:

Chrom (arguably expected, not entirely popular)

Sakurai love and care for Uprising also helps her out, while Chrom is pretty popular when you ignore the part where his daughter and best friend/wife overshadow him (maybe Tharja aswell but idk)...the technical main protagonist of Awakening

 

[SuperSmashStephen]

Don’t forget that Totem Mimikyu exists, by the way... if they really had an issue with making it larger, which they wouldn’t, they already have a canonically upscaled version to use anyway.

True that.

 

[Garteam]

I’d be careful with basing additions on only popularity.

Wii U added:


Characters where popularity probably helped:


Now, this isn’t to say popularity isn’t that big of a factor. Every character has their fans. Even Duck Hunt Dog had his. The thing is that roughly a 3rd of Wii U newcomers were arguably popular enough to get that attention.

Other than those 4 I listed, there were other choices favored over them that were certainly considered more popular than the one we got. Let’s not forget who is also always said to be “popular” which “helps their chances”.

Ridley, K.Rool, Lyn, Chrom (arguably expected, not entirely popular), Toad, Waluigi, Zoroark, Mewtwo (not in until DLC, which was probably because of popularity), Takamaru...all were big name characters that many...MANY characters wanted or expected.

None of them except for Mewtwo as DLC, got in. Yet they’re the most popular choices. They’re shoe-ins!!!

When this fan base says, “They’re the most popular pick, of COURSE they have to be in”, it makes me feel like nobody learned from Wii U. With the ballot in play I think there is a chance for characters to be picked based on popularity, but then again that’s not how the ballot has been guaranteed to work. They might take the most creative ideas and stick with those rather than the most votes for picks.

Simply put, simply being popular means nothing. We’ve been through like, 2 games of speculation, and yet the same characters were considered shoe-ins because of their popularity.

Cool it with the buzzwords and just enjoy the ride. We have only a few weeks left until mega salt begins.

While I do agree with the general point you're making, I would add , , and to the popularity list.


Robin was the 8th most wanted character in the RTC thread here prior to his inclusion, so the idea of Robin was popular at the very least. You could argue that he wasn't really popular with the casual crowd, but if that's the criteria for popularity then Shulk and Palutena would have to be removed from the popularity list

Bowser Jr. was probably the most requested Mario character prior to Rosalina's announcement, but his popularity went down after Rosalina's announcement, because he was no longer thought to really have a chance. Popularity (at least on Smashboards) often comes if the character is expected and inversely goes down if the character is thought to have "no chance".

Villager was also a character who's popularity on Smashboards suffered because of the fact he was no longer seen as viable for Smash. In more casual circles, an Animal Crossing character was a very popular idea. Likewise, I imagine Villager would've been more popular on Smashboards if Sakurai never said "Animal Crossing is too peaceful" during Brawl.

but ya, your point still stands. Popularity alone has never been enough to get a character into Smash. Otherwise, we would've seen Geno or King K. Rool.

 

[Murlough]

I may condemn myself here, but I find kind of funny seeing you guys discussing about size not being a problem yet Ridley is too big, or his wings are to wide or whatever.
If Sakurai can't make them viable, that's him, but I don't think size matters here. That's what she said.

Its already been said before. But this only looks like a double standard when it really isn't. Ridley's body needs to be large for his proportions to look intimidating like he should.

Mimikyu can be made larger and people won't even notice.

I get what you are saying but there is a difference. Obviously, Sakurai could just make Ridley a smaller size and put him in the game. Its because he thinks it will be a disservice to the character that he doesn't.

 

[TumblrFamous]

Pit is 5’3 while Palutena is physically 5’9, so Smash 4 seems to be accurate enough

I could've sworn in Uprising that she was looking to be a few heads taller than Pit, but I may bethinking incorrectly. Either way, all other examples work.

 

[Scoliosis Jones]

While I do agree with the general point you're making, I would add , , and to the popularity list.


Robin was the 8th most wanted character in the RTC thread here prior to his inclusion, so the idea of Robin was popular at the very least. You could argue that he wasn't really popular with the casual crowd, but if that's the criteria for popularity then Shulk and Palutena would have to be removed from the popularity list

Bowser Jr. was probably the most requested Mario character prior to Rosalina's announcement, but his popularity went down after Rosalina's announcement, because he was no longer thought to really have a chance. Popularity (at least on Smashboards) often comes if the character is expected and inversely goes down if the character is thought to have "no chance".

Villager was also a character who's popularity on Smashboards suffered because of the fact he was no longer seen as viable for Smash. In more casual circles, an Animal Crossing character was a very popular idea. Likewise, I imagine Villager would've been more popular on Smashboards if Sakurai never said "Animal Crossing is too peaceful" during Brawl.

but ya, your point still stands. Popularity alone has never been enough to get a character into Smash. Otherwise, we would've seen Geno or King K. Rool.

These are all good points, for sure.

One thing I would say in response, however, is that was picked specifically because of what he could do, not so much because of his popularity.

The popularity is always there for every character, no matter the capacity. It’s more about the consideration Sakurai and his team have for popularity.

There’s also series popularity vs. general popularity. Animal Crossing getting a character probably was given some attention because of the general popularity the series has.

I can’t say much for the other base roster characters. I just think it’s interesting that popularity is used to argue for characters when it doesn’t seem to weigh heavily on selection.

 

[augustoflores]

oh god smash speculation. i just came to like ismars post and just like that im back in

 

[SchAlternate]

Palutena at least has a couple feet on the Pits yet she is only a bit taller than them in Smash.

It's actually less than that...

Notice how she's barely taller than Pit while he's slightly kneeling.

 

[TMNTSSB4]

I could've sworn in Uprising that she was looking to be a few heads taller than Pit, but I may bethinking incorrectly. Either way, all other examples work.

And if it weren’t for Palutena being a self conscious tease, you would’ve had that example working aswell

View attachment 145707

And this is why Palutena should use her powers to make Pit shorter or herself taller...and also to make an army of useful Pits so that the real Pit doesn’t have ear death and can take care of her all the time

 

[New_Dumal]

I'm scared you're wrong about what popularity is about.
A character being popular here doesn't mean he is popular to the general public.
K.Rool is a good example. I love the idea of he being playable but I have to admit that most people who would enjoy his inclusion are Dk fans and big Nintendo fans. From Dk, Dixie is the most popular character, even if is the opposite in Smashboards.

Ryu/Megaman/Cloud were helped by their popularity. Rosalina was much wanted too.
I don't think Shulk or Palutena are examples of cases where popularity made a difference.

 

[augustoflores]

technically speaking, everyone besides our coined WTF character is and should be defacto popular. it's almost part of the job for character designers to design main characters with the visual appeal for a general popularity. i'd argue literally everyone's popularity in smash helped them get in (besides the WTF characters)

as i see it, I believe King K. Rool isn't actually wanted because of his character or design, but just to advance on a quota of villain character, or more heavy character inclusion. personally speaking, i don't want him in cause i like his design, just that i want his potential moveset to diversify the roster.

 

[SmashChu]

I’d be careful with basing additions on only popularity.

Wii U added:


Characters where popularity probably helped:


Now, this isn’t to say popularity isn’t that big of a factor. Every character has their fans. Even Duck Hunt Dog had his. The thing is that roughly a 3rd of Wii U newcomers were arguably popular enough to get that attention.

Other than those 4 I listed, there were other choices favored over them that were certainly considered more popular than the one we got. Let’s not forget who is also always said to be “popular” which “helps their chances”.

Ridley, K.Rool, Lyn, Chrom (arguably expected, not entirely popular), Toad, Waluigi, Zoroark, Mewtwo (not in until DLC, which was probably because of popularity), Takamaru...all were big name characters that many...MANY characters wanted or expected.

None of them except for Mewtwo as DLC, got in. Yet they’re the most popular choices. They’re shoe-ins!!!

When this fan base says, “They’re the most popular pick, of COURSE they have to be in”, it makes me feel like nobody learned from Wii U. With the ballot in play I think there is a chance for characters to be picked based on popularity, but then again that’s not how the ballot has been guaranteed to work. They might take the most creative ideas and stick with those rather than the most votes for picks.

Simply put, simply being popular means nothing. We’ve been through like, 2 games of speculation, and yet the same characters were considered shoe-ins because of their popularity.

Cool it with the buzzwords and just enjoy the ride. We have only a few weeks left until mega salt begins.

I think the issue may be we are using the wrong definition of popularity.

There is popularity within the Smash fanbase and there is popularity as a whole. These usually overlap, but not always. If you want to see an example, look at some of the top viewed thread in the Character section. There are a lot of characters who aren't going to make it as they aren't that relevant (Issac, Krystal ect). But the fanbase likes them. You could say K Rool is this way too but we'll get a better idea when Smash 5 is out.

Back in the Brawl days, there was a lot of overlap. Wario, Dedede, MetaKnight, Diddy, Olimar, Lucario, Wolf, and even Pit to a lesser degree were all popular characters. But Brawl pretty much added most of the Nintendo icons Melee and 64 missed. There weren't many left. So Smash 4, instead, focused on characters who were in the spotlight at the time. Rosalina and Bowser Jr. were appearing in numerous Mario titles. Animal Crossing was a big series (though the idea of an AC character was popular). Kid Icarus and Fire Emblem just came out. Xenoblade was new and Wii Fit was a massive success. The roster had characters who were overall popular, or at least well known to anyone keeping up with Nintendo at the time.

It's one reason why I think Isabelle will happen despite her not being a community popular character. Isabelle is the face of one of Nintendo's largest series. Every game that has come out since Smash 4 featured her. She's the face of the series's twitter account. She's featured in commercials. A lot of people with a casual knowledge of Nintendo have probably heard of Isabelle. She is a massive character but isn't as popular within the Smash Bros community.

One group of characters that have been helped by popularity are the guest characters. All of them with the exception of Snake and Ryu were very popular characters within the community. For them, this makes more sense because there are a ton of big name characters outside of Nintendo. The only way you could pick a great character to be a guest was to use popularity (for this game, it will be the ballot). One of the reasons I've said there will be a scaling back is there isn't that big name character. A few come up here and there but no one really rises to the top. I expect they may do something crazy (Banjo, which is the only character I could see them adding that will make people go bonkers) or select someone for promotional reasons (Octopath Traveler). If you want a good example of a guest character that is community popular but not overall popular, it would be Rayman by a long shot.

To close, if you want to get a good idea of who they will add, look more to what Nintendo has been releasing. This is pretty much how I came to the characters I'm predicting. Unless Nintendo goes in some wild direction for this new title, you'll probably get close enough.

 

[DJ3DS]

as i see it, I believe King K. Rool isn't actually wanted because of his character or design, but just to advance on a quota of villain character, or more heavy character inclusion. personally speaking, i don't want him in cause i like his design, just that i want his potential moveset to diversify the roster.

He may be reduced to that in a lot of these discussions but if you go to his support thread you'll find a large community of people who disagree.

 

[Imadethistoseealeak]

I don't know if I would agree with the idea of Mimikyu was "made to be popular". Mimikyu's reveal was kinda lowkey, being revealed in an issue of CoroCoro magazine. Compare this to other major players such as Decidueye and Lycanroc, who had international videos showing off their release.

Additionally, I wouldn't really call Mimikyu's role in the anime as a sign its meant to be popular. Sure, it has a reoccuring role as Jessie's Pokemon this season, but others like Seviper and Woobat also have had this role and obviously didn't have it because Game Freak wanted them to be popular. Yes, Mimikyu is popular, but its popularity more comes from the fanbase latching on to it as an ensemble dark horse than a direct push by Game Freak itself.

I'd argue it receiving a promotional video beforehand, it's own section in both games as well as it's own Z move make up for a lot of that.

And I wouldn't compare it to Seviper or Woobat, it has its own story lines with Jessie and Pikachu. I'll completely admit I haven't watched much of Pokemon Advance or whatever the Unova region was called but I'd wager that Mimikyu is used more often.

EDIT: Alright I have a thought. When reffering to past Smash Pokemon and contemplating future ones, is it better to considered "Marketed" instead of popular? My point was that whichever was more marketed tended to be more popular anyway.

In this way every Smash Pokemon was heavily marketed. Mimikyu, Lycanroc, Rowlett are heavily marketed. The most Decideueye has is Pokken which might not have been something the Pokemon Company was thinking about in early 2016. But it might have been ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[augustoflores]

He may be reduced to that in a lot of these discussions but if you go to his support thread you'll find a large community of people who disagree.

no i know. i'm wholly aware of the kremling kutthroats. support is what support does. the more you invest, the stronger your feelings are though.

 

[Luminario]

I don't know if I would agree with the idea of Mimikyu was "made to be popular". Mimikyu's reveal was kinda lowkey, being revealed in an issue of CoroCoro magazine. Compare this to other major players such as Decidueye and Lycanroc, who had international videos showing off their release.

Additionally, I wouldn't really call Mimikyu's role in the anime as a sign its meant to be popular. Sure, it has a reoccuring role as Jessie's Pokemon this season, but others like Seviper and Woobat also have had this role and obviously didn't have it because Game Freak wanted them to be popular. Yes, Mimikyu is popular, but its popularity more comes from the fanbase latching on to it as an ensemble dark horse than a direct push by Game Freak itself.

Those are actually some potential points against Mimikyu. I guess that if they didn't expect it to be one of the most popular and pushed Gen 7 Pokemon to begin with, the immediate positive response certainly made it so. The roster for Smash Switch was decided around like mid-late 2016 right? This would have been around the time Mimikyu was revealed. Let's not forget that fact that it also got it's own music video too a few months later, and they already planned Mimikyu being part of a trial, so it's not like it was a low-profile Pokemon like Bruxish or Morelull.

 

[TheLastJinjo]

Mark my words, Gen 7 is Mimikyu or Rowlet.

People are gonna get their upset with Decidueye this time.

He's the Chrom this time.

I think we all need to just accept it's gonna be Mimikyu.

 

[Pacack]

Popeye.

Dude's history with Nintendo pretty much lead to the creation of Mario.

But Goku would only please anime fans. And not everyone watches anime, believe it or not. That's part of why despite his iconic nature? He's so divisive.

I was going to mention him, actually. Popeye merchandise was effectively managed by Nintendo of America at one point. Hell, I don't know if they even lost the licence.

I managed to find some Popeye cards irl that have Nintendo's copyright from before the existed. It's actually fascinating.

 

[Zinith]

There are a LOT more connections Nintendo has with Popeye than just those. But yeah, I believe they don't hold any sort of rights anymore

 

[TheLastJinjo]

I don't know if I would agree with the idea of Mimikyu was "made to be popular". Mimikyu's reveal was kinda lowkey, being revealed in an issue of CoroCoro magazine. Compare this to other major players such as Decidueye and Lycanroc, who had international videos showing off their release.

Mimikyu was the most well received Pokemon in that magazine and had a song released. All the game sites were talking about him.

From Wikipedia:
Kotaku called Mimikyu "Game Freak’s most brilliant and heartbreaking Pokémon that they’ve ever come up with", and noted Mimikyu's large Internet fan following.[9] Catrina Dennis of Inverse also observed this following, writing that "a new, immediate obsession has begun to spread throughout the [Pokémon] fandom surrounding one addition [Mimikyu] that has pulled at players’ heartstrings already".[10] Janine Hawkins of Paste explained the online attention as being a result of the character's design, writing that "fans have embraced the creature expressly because of [its] overt vulnerability ... Mimikyu was designed to emotionally compel us, and they’ve already been a huge success".[11]

Destructoid listed Mimikyu as one of its staff's favorite Alolan Pokémon, stating that it is "probably going to be the star of Gen VII for a lot of people".[12] Allegra Frank of Polygon wrote that Mimikyu "may be one of the most unique, creepiest Pokémon to ever join the series",[13] and Jessica Lachenal of The Mary Sue wrote that "Mimikyu is as mysterious as it is adorable".[14]

Additionally, I wouldn't really call Mimikyu's role in the anime as a sign its meant to be popular. Sure, it has a reoccuring role as Jessie's Pokemon this season, but others like Seviper and Woobat also have had this role and obviously didn't have it because Game Freak wanted them to be popular.

How do you know that?

Mimikyu is literally Pikachu's RIVAL in the anime. It has a hatred specifically for Pikachu and part of why he's so popular is that he mimics Pikachu's appearance. So Mimikyu's role is not comparable to Seviper and Woobat.

Yes, Mimikyu is popular, but its popularity more comes from the fanbase latching on to it as an ensemble dark horse than a direct push by Game Freak itself.

Then why does he have his own song, totem battle, and consistent appearances in the anime?

A Pokemon doesn't need their own ****ing movie in order to qualify as "made to be popular".