Dropkick Laser
Smash Apprentice
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2014
- Messages
- 135
SUCKER PUNCH! You Never Saw Him Coming: Bisharp for DLC
First off, let's answer some questions about/address some arguements against Bisharp.
Who the heck is this Bisharp supposed to be?
Good question. Bisharp is a dark/steel Pokemon, originally appearing in Black and White's Unova Region. It is classified as the sword blade Pokemon, and evolves from Pawniard (basically a smaller version of it) at level 52. Here are some pokedex entries to get you up to speed.
Black It leads a group of Pawniard. It battles to become the boss, but will be driven from the group if it loses.
White Bisharp pursues prey in the company of a large group of Pawniard. Then Bisharp finishes off the prey.
Black 2 This pitiless Pokémon commands a group of Pawniard to hound prey into immobility. It then moves in to finish the prey off.
White 2
X This pitiless Pokémon commands a group of Pawniard to hound prey into immobility. It then moves in to finish the prey off.
Y Bisharp pursues prey in the company of a large group of Pawniard. Then Bisharp finishes off the prey.
Omega Ruby This pitiless Pokémon commands a group of Pawniard to hound prey into immobility. It then moves in to finish the prey off.
Alpha Sapphire Bisharp pursues prey in the company of a large group of Pawniard. Then Bisharp finishes off the prey.
White Bisharp pursues prey in the company of a large group of Pawniard. Then Bisharp finishes off the prey.
Black 2 This pitiless Pokémon commands a group of Pawniard to hound prey into immobility. It then moves in to finish the prey off.
White 2
X This pitiless Pokémon commands a group of Pawniard to hound prey into immobility. It then moves in to finish the prey off.
Y Bisharp pursues prey in the company of a large group of Pawniard. Then Bisharp finishes off the prey.
Omega Ruby This pitiless Pokémon commands a group of Pawniard to hound prey into immobility. It then moves in to finish the prey off.
Alpha Sapphire Bisharp pursues prey in the company of a large group of Pawniard. Then Bisharp finishes off the prey.
Another pokemon?/Mewtwo is all I need.
A fair point. With Mewtwo set for DLC, it seems like it's going to be the one to round out the Pokemon six (you have six Pokemon in your party). But let's think for a moment. You have six Pokemon in your party. And while all the other pokemon in smash enter the battle in pokeballs, Lucario appears in a flash of aura. That's five pokemon on the unknown trainer's team. And Mewtwo itself could very well have a unique stage entrance, if Project M is any indication. Plus, pokemon is a big series, with over 700 characters. Why not bump it up to Mario level representation?
As for the second part, that's kind of short-sighted of you. If Smash never had a pokemon rep, and in this game we got Pikachu, how would you feel if everyone said that we didn't need Mewtwo, and it had no shot at getting in? Maybe not the best example, but you understand what I'm getting at. I'm glad Mewtwo's in, and I'm not trying to force Mewtwo fans to support Bisharp fans, but treat our opinion like you'd like us to treat yours.
But do we really need another Pokemon rep?
That depends. Remember how Sakurai himself stated that a fighter's unique attributes are a key factor in deciding if they get in? And Bisharp could definitely be made an interesting and unique fighter. More on that later. I can't think of a reason against the inclusion of 2 or 3 more Pokemon reps, so long as DLC first covers some other underrepped series like Zelda or Metroid.
Why does Bisharp deserve in over all the other 700+ pokemon?
Another good question, if not necessarily one I can answer easily. Let's take this in generations.
(a disclaimer: I'm sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings here. I respect your opinion, but I'm just stating why I feel or don't feel certain Pokemon deserve Smash status. This is all just opinion. I repeat, this is all just my opinion.)
Gen 1 (Kanto): We have plenty of representation here already. Pikachu, Charizard, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo. That isn't to say that there isn't more we can pull from it. But we should try to broaden our views and draw from elsewhere. I also feel I should address the issue of Brawl veterans, Squirtle and Ivysaur. They both deserve to come back, yes, and they have a decent shot at doing so. Definitely threats to Bisharp's inclusion, but the winds could blow either way. Maybe Sakurai wants them back in, maybe he doesn't. Maybe we can get 3-4 Pokemon reps, maybe we won't.
Gen 2 (Johto): Not much noteworthy here. Pretty basic starters. Possibly Scizor, but nothing else really sticks out as a possible fighter.
Gen 3 (Hoen): Okay, now we're getting serious. With the new Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire games out, Hoen's relevancy has skyrocketed, almost overnight. And many Pokemon here, specifically starters, hold a lot of popularity. But let's take a closer look. At first glance, Blaziken looks like a prime candidate. Popular, and with a lot of fire-enhanced fighting moves to draw from that would translate nicely into Smash. But the thing is, we already have a fire type starter in Charizard, significantly hurting Blaziken's chances. Next up, Sceptile. Also with a very dedicated fanbase, but its standout trait just happens to be speed. Look at its pokedex entries, look at its stats, look at the anime. Sceptile is a speed demon, and master of quick movement. But why would this hurt its chances? I mean, it's not like... Oh, wait. Greninja. Greninja: water-frog-ninja-speed demon extraordinaire. Would two Pokemon characterized by incredible speed feel repetitious? Maybe, and maybe not, but it's altogether too possible that this could put Sceptile out of the running. And finally: Swampert. A cool pokemon, with an awesome looking mega-evolution, at least in my opinion. But that's where its smash pros stop. We already have Greninja, a water type. We already have Charizard, a heavy hitter. Swampert just doesn't have enough traits to set it apart from other candidates. So we can probably count it out. So what else is there? Gardevoir? Slaking? Medicham? Maybe Deoxys, but its implementation could be a bit wonky, what with no transformation in this game. And one of the more interesting support threads I've visited was campaigning for Mystery Dungeon's Grovyle. If I could find it again, I'd support it in a heartbeat, but the Mystery Dungeon games might just end up being considered too niche compared to the main series.
Gen 4 (Sinnoh): We already have Lucario, but it's still possible we could get another gen 4 rep. Infernape is in the same boat as Blaziken. Empoleon gets beaten out by Greninja. Don't kill me, Ridley fans; Torterra is too big and awkward. Beyond that, there aren't too many standouts. Darkrai, possibly, but it's already a pokeball summon.
Gen 6 (Kalos): We're skipping gen 5 for now. Why? Because I say so, and I'm the one making the thread. Now, we already have Greninja. If we get another gen 5 starter, the internet will throw a hissy fit and demand Blastoise/Squirtle and Venusaur/Squirtle in, because of Charizard. Outside of starters, we have Aeigislash and Diance, and that's about it. Aeigislash could be very cool if pulled off right, but it could also end up being too wonky to program/design. Diance is probably too new. That's about all, I guess.
Gen 5 (Unova): Why did I really put this off? Because this is Bisharp's generation. So what opposition is there on the home front? Starters? Hoen complex (although I do love Samurott). Victini? Pokeball summon. Excadrill? Maybe, but it's "big thing," digging, would be hard to translate into Smash. Zoroark is admittedly a big contender. Fairly popular, and very unique, what with its illusion powers and all. Genesect is up there too.
Human Reps: Pokemon Trainer? Charizard's here already. Zinnia (from ORAS)? Maybe. N (from the BW games)? Also a maybe. Grunt (from any team)? That actually sounds cool. Heh. He'd just fight with a bunch of Zubat. But probably not.
Gen 2 (Johto): Not much noteworthy here. Pretty basic starters. Possibly Scizor, but nothing else really sticks out as a possible fighter.
Gen 3 (Hoen): Okay, now we're getting serious. With the new Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire games out, Hoen's relevancy has skyrocketed, almost overnight. And many Pokemon here, specifically starters, hold a lot of popularity. But let's take a closer look. At first glance, Blaziken looks like a prime candidate. Popular, and with a lot of fire-enhanced fighting moves to draw from that would translate nicely into Smash. But the thing is, we already have a fire type starter in Charizard, significantly hurting Blaziken's chances. Next up, Sceptile. Also with a very dedicated fanbase, but its standout trait just happens to be speed. Look at its pokedex entries, look at its stats, look at the anime. Sceptile is a speed demon, and master of quick movement. But why would this hurt its chances? I mean, it's not like... Oh, wait. Greninja. Greninja: water-frog-ninja-speed demon extraordinaire. Would two Pokemon characterized by incredible speed feel repetitious? Maybe, and maybe not, but it's altogether too possible that this could put Sceptile out of the running. And finally: Swampert. A cool pokemon, with an awesome looking mega-evolution, at least in my opinion. But that's where its smash pros stop. We already have Greninja, a water type. We already have Charizard, a heavy hitter. Swampert just doesn't have enough traits to set it apart from other candidates. So we can probably count it out. So what else is there? Gardevoir? Slaking? Medicham? Maybe Deoxys, but its implementation could be a bit wonky, what with no transformation in this game. And one of the more interesting support threads I've visited was campaigning for Mystery Dungeon's Grovyle. If I could find it again, I'd support it in a heartbeat, but the Mystery Dungeon games might just end up being considered too niche compared to the main series.
Gen 4 (Sinnoh): We already have Lucario, but it's still possible we could get another gen 4 rep. Infernape is in the same boat as Blaziken. Empoleon gets beaten out by Greninja. Don't kill me, Ridley fans; Torterra is too big and awkward. Beyond that, there aren't too many standouts. Darkrai, possibly, but it's already a pokeball summon.
Gen 6 (Kalos): We're skipping gen 5 for now. Why? Because I say so, and I'm the one making the thread. Now, we already have Greninja. If we get another gen 5 starter, the internet will throw a hissy fit and demand Blastoise/Squirtle and Venusaur/Squirtle in, because of Charizard. Outside of starters, we have Aeigislash and Diance, and that's about it. Aeigislash could be very cool if pulled off right, but it could also end up being too wonky to program/design. Diance is probably too new. That's about all, I guess.
Gen 5 (Unova): Why did I really put this off? Because this is Bisharp's generation. So what opposition is there on the home front? Starters? Hoen complex (although I do love Samurott). Victini? Pokeball summon. Excadrill? Maybe, but it's "big thing," digging, would be hard to translate into Smash. Zoroark is admittedly a big contender. Fairly popular, and very unique, what with its illusion powers and all. Genesect is up there too.
Human Reps: Pokemon Trainer? Charizard's here already. Zinnia (from ORAS)? Maybe. N (from the BW games)? Also a maybe. Grunt (from any team)? That actually sounds cool. Heh. He'd just fight with a bunch of Zubat. But probably not.
Well, so far I've shot down most, if not all of Bisharp's possible contenders. Dragging people down to make you feel better about your pick. Real nice, Dropkick.
Okay, we see why it has a chance, but why does it deserve to be in?/What exactly are its chances?
Badassery. Seriously, it looks like a Power Ranger. Why wouldn't you want it in? And uniqueness. Sakurai prioritizes uniqueness, remember? Once again, I'll cover that later. Coming soon. I promise. And besides, who knows what goes through the guy's head? He'd never heard of Greninja when he designed its moves for Smash. I guess he must have just thought it would be cool to have a ninja Pokemon in Smash. So if a guy came up to him and said, "Can you think about putting this Pokemon in Smash? It's a badass gangster Power Ranger made out of metal that looks a little bit like a Samurai version of Doctor Doom. And it has Minions," he might, just might, consider it. I'm not entirely sure what Bisharp's popularity is, but among the competitive Pokemon battling community, it is one of the most commonly used Pokemon, for its high attack, commanding offensive presence, unique typing, useful ability, and access to the pull-your-hair-out-annoyingly-effective sucker punch attack. While this doesn't exactly warrant its getting in, it would be a nice nod to the hardcore fanbase, and a way of showing that Ninty still cares for them. So what are its chances? Still up in the air, at least.
Well, what can it do?
If you couldn't tell from the picture, Bisharp has nasty looking sword blades attached to its wrists. It learns many "cutting" attacks, like slash, night slash, and metal claw.
But that sounds a lot like just another ordinary swordsman.
That couldn't be further from the truth. Bisharp's blades are quite short, and fused to its hands. Really, I don't really think they qualify as "sword" blades. Stupid pokedex, I guess. But let's compare Bisharp to Pit, who would have a conceptually similar fighting style. They both have short, knife-like blades, but Pit holds his in his hands. This means that their fighting styles are, in fact, fundamentally as different as night and day. Bisharp has fewer degrees of freedom from which to strike, and probably uses his blades more akin to claws. And we could draw off of its dark/steel typing to create an incredibly cold and merciless fighting style with lots of hacking and stabbing.
All cool, but not necessarily unique enough to warrant a spot on the roster.
Yes, but Bisharp's fighting style would extend far beyond this. Or actually, the fighting style of others. I hope you took the time to read the pokedex entries I posted above. If not, that's okay. I can still explain. First, take a good look at this:
This is a Pawniard, the sharp blade Pokemon, and pre-evo of Bisharp. According to the pokedex, large groups of Pawniard accompany Bisharp as it hunts, weakening prey so Bisharp can finish it off. Of course, the pokedex also states that Pawniard's entire body is completely comprised of blades, when its feet are actually really dull and stubby. But my point still stands.
Are you meaning to say... No...
Yes.
No...
Yes...
Noooo....
Yeeesssss.... In case you can't follow along, I'm talking Rosaluma shenanigans.
But we already have Rosalina and Luma.
Yeah. We have a puppetmaster character already. But within that class of fighter, there's still more we can expand on. In fact, to some extent, we've already had a lot of different types of puppetmasters in Smash. Olimar, Brawl DDD, even Bowser Jr.'s Mechakoopas. My version of Smash Bisharp would combine elements of all of them, while adding its own unique zip. I'll go over that in detail in the movesets.
Coming soon, movesets and more! Stay tuned!
Screenshots/Official Art
And apparently, its blades are
retractable. I never knew that until
just today.
Fanart
(not canon, btw)
![]()
(also not canon)
![]()
(also not canon)
Pawniard Horde (Supporters)
Last edited:
