All right- we have a few different types of characters. We have the starters, the cavalcade, the legendaries, the weirdos, and the 'trainers.' There were two ways I could figure to do this in honor of smash bros- to give the game a feeling of SSB with all pokemon style fighters, or to give the game more pokemon flair and add in other elements. The latter may run a bit towards Pokken Fighters, but I decided that I would not be being true to BOTH Pokemon and SSB if I did not take this approach, because if it is a game spinoff made for a specific universe, it would likely adapt a few more characteristics of said universe (I imagine Sakurai would do this).
Elements that I wanted to make sure to give homage to were numerous.
Breeding- baby pokemon and gender
Evolution Cycle- different stages and different ways to evolve (trade, stone, happiness)
Unique factor- Abilities, Items, Personality
Group battles- Double Battles, Triple, Horde
Battle Conditions- Time of Day, Weather
Superflous means by which they fight- Contests, Competition, Battle Tower, etc
More importantly, I wanted to represent different SPINOFFS(Stadium, Mystery Dungeon, Snap, Ranger, Puzzle Trozei, Colisseum), the ANIME (movies, television, manga), and also from the MAIN GAMES (Main encounters, Popular Pokemon, Competitive Gaming)
That was quite a challenge!
So, I figured it was important to get a bit of a variety. There was no way to have only a few pokemon, not with all these factors, and not living true to what POKEMON is, you gotta catch'em all! So I knew early on I would go for a big roster. Complete balance of the generations was not super important to me, just rough balance (as gen one is by far most iconic, and also each generation is not even the same size, not same duration, nor do they introduce the same number of elements).
The starter Pokemon are the starting roster, because I think that makes sense.
The majority of the pokemon, in the center (cavalcade), represent a variety of bodies, types, different areas of my list above (some anime and some game, all popular) and each add a new bit to the game for fun. You of course unlock them all.
The legendaries are at the bottom. They are not necessarily stronger (all are balanced in a perfect world), but they are boss characters you fight in the game as well.
The weirdos each just have their own niche I wanted to explain a bit further, and since I didnt have proper icons for them all I separated them out a bit further. They would have the highest learning curve! *exlpained below*
The trainers are the human characters (and Meowth, who I lump here because he would not fight like a Pokemon in battle) and are so crucial to the universe, each adds a different element. *some explained below*
Important Notes:
-The two symbols for Pokemon characters which are not listed are for Pokemon Ranger (who would fight with her stylus and work almost as a spellcaster, puppeteering her FOES) and for Ash Ketchum (who fights with the powers of never aging, friendship, and attracting young women.) They had no icons.
-Pokemon Trainer only uses a variety of different balls to catch and and try to obtain pokemon
-Oak stands for any science bit in the series, from cloning to ancient ruins.
-Nurse Joy is the healing based fighter.
-Todd Snap is the hipster fighter who uses art to fight
Weirdo Pokemon: Ditto (turns into a random other player), Eeevee (attacks based on evoltions), Unown (Horde of unown that you control), Plus and Minun (team), Pansear/Pansage/Panpour (triple team), Togepi (all Metronome), Kecleon (can go mostly invisible), and Castform (weather based). Jigglypuff is over on that side because I couldn't stand her 3D picture being mixed in with the cast.