Of the Petey subject...what do you think shot a cannon at Mario...
Petey doesn't shoot cannonballs to my knowlege...though admittedly with him it is limited.
Pettey I think confirms a few things.
First off, it confirms bosses from basically every series. We will likely have Ganon as a boss [or some other Zelda giant guy], maybe some DK [Country!
] boss, Kraid as a boss, maybe a dragon or two as a boss, maybe a legendary bird or something giant from Pokemon, etc.
Secondly, it confirms bosses can and very well will be huge. WE could have 50 foot tall bosses from wat it looks. Pit's final smash [summoning that one goddess person] also proves this [though she is in the background].
Third, the bosses will play a moajor roll in the story, unlike Metal Mario, Fighting Polgon Team, Fighting Wire Frames. Heck, even Giga Bowser, Master Hand, and Crazy Hand. And all the previous bosses could very well return.
Fourthly, it will be a more important thing in the game, and probably center around it. Also other forces could kick in for the boss fights before, during, and after.
Lastly, there could very well be matches where you team on bosses with other characters. Maybe even multiple [giant] bosses at once [again].
AS for Pettey playable, I don't see it happening. And the cannon is probably the same thing that shoots bullet bills in the Mario games, just instead a normal bullet cannon thingy.