Ha ha ha! Man, you are so wrong here that it's funny. It really, really is. Let's see, where should I begin?
1.) Lucario's importance to the Pokemon franchise
Now lets move over to the newest generation of Pokemon. The fourth generation in my opinion is "The generation of Pokemon that's giving the franchise one more shot before they call it quits". Well there might be more games out after Diamond/Pearl, but I don't think as many people will care at that point. The only people that play the game at this moment are really young kids that get suckered into buying the game because its targeted towards them. Or the generation of people that were young when they first saw Pokemon, and because they are so into it they can't help but get it. Has anyone noticed 20-25 year olds playing this game now? I'm not trying to pick on them for being 20 and playing Pokemon, because I'm 20 and I REALLY want to buy the game. Its just something I noticed.
Okay, here. This isn't so much wrong as it is misinformed. You clearly don't know too much if you think Diamond and Pearl are proof the Pokemon franchise is on it's last legs. On the contrary, D +P prove that Pokemon is stronger than ever. To put it in perspective, Diamond and Pearl became the highest selling installments in the Pokemon franchise of all time before they were even released outside of Japan. The sales in Japan alone rocketed past the global sales of all of the other Pokemon games. I think it's pretty safe to say that Ninty won't be drawing the curtains on this one any time soon.
So who isn't playing Pokemon then? My guess is older game players, players that moved on from Pokemon, younger adults that never got into Pokemon, and of course everyone that doesn't play gameboy games at all. So while almost everyone plays Smash Bros around the world, not everyone plays Pokemon. I bet 50% or less still play Pokemon on these boards. Which is still a lot, but also a lot who don't play as well.
There, you are correct. Pokemon is generally marketed towards a younger audience. I don't really see how that matters, but I will concede that point.
Lucario is part of this fourth generation. When I first saw Lucario's name on these boards I didn't know who he was. In fact none of my friends knew who he was either. My Dad knows who Charizard is because of the card game, but it would be silly to ask him who Lucario is. So other than these boards, not many people would give it a thought for Lucario to be in the game. Even if they did play the Pokemon game and Smash, saying Lucario should be in is like saying Alakazam should be in. While they both may be powerful characters, they hold no importance to the games continuing existence. Would Alakazam make sense if he popped up in the game as a playable? Not really, because his character is just your standard Pokemon. It isn't one of the starters, legendary, or famous Pokemon from the franchise.
If Lucario never existed, the Pokemon franchise would have not suffered any loss. If Mewtwo never existed, the game would have been lacking a "final" boss in the Pokemon world. Not to mention he's the only evil pokemon out there.
Now, see, this is your biggest mistake. You underestimate just how much of an impact Lucario has made. Just take a look at the Lucario Shrine thread. Look at all the Lucario merchandise that's being pumped out. Beach towels, plushies, keychains... the list goes on and on and on. They even made him the star of his own movie, for crying out loud. Lucario is quickly becoming the new Pikachu. And I don't mean that in the sense that he is the most popular out of the most current generation. Lucario is enjoying a level of popularity no Pokemon before it other than Pikachu ever acheived. He was even popular before his game even came out. Lucario has made a gigantic impact on Pokemon. You'd have to be blind to see that. Hell, I knew all about him long before I ever even got back into Pokemon.
2.) Lucario's Moveset
Movesets are extremely important when it comes to Smash. It provides skills as well as personality for characters. While some character have never been seen physically fighting, they have been provided a moveset which suits their personal style perfectly. Lets look at some examples.
- Link and Marth both use swords, but while Marth only uses his sword, Link uses kicks and various items.
- Bowser and DK are both heavyweights, but Bowser has a shell which provides him vavious attacks. Since DK has no shell, he can use kicks and headbutts.
- Ness and Mewtwo are both psychic, but Ness is much more physical and he uses weapons. Mewtwo has dark energy and his tail.
After looking over Lucario, I was wondering what type of moveset he would have. Here we have some similar characters, but they all seem different to me. Lucario on other hand is a fighting/steel pokemon, so what kind of new abilities would he be able to provide? Lets look at his movelist from the pokemon game.
1 Quick Attack Physical
1 Foresight Status
1 Detect Status
1 Metal Claw Physical
1 Dark Pulse Special
6 Counter Physical
11 Force Palm Physical
15 Feint Physical
19 Bone Rush Physical
24 Metal Sound Status
29 Me First Status
33 Swords Dance Status
37 Aura Sphere Special
42 Close Combat Physical
47 Dragon Pulse Special
51 Extremespeed Physical
While these moves may be good in the game. Most of them do not provide anything unique for Smash. Now here is a link to the Lucario shrine where they came up with his own moveset. Lets look at it.
Making up a great moveset for Lucario is very difficult. You see he is a fighting/steel type, and as we all may know the pokemon world contains tons of elemental styles. Electric, Water, Fire, Grass, Poison, and Psychic all provide a more unique style than just a fighting type. Yes this is a fighting game, but pokemon provides many elemental abilities. Why not use someone that goes beyond punches, kicks, and some energy shots? Also Lucario acts like a human, so some more "instinctive" attacks are just out of his reach....
Talking about movesets is pointless speculation. Movesets are unpredictable, and since none of us have played the game, it is impossible to actually say "____ can not have an interesting/unique moveset" truthfully. This is basically saying "My factual reason why he should not be in is that I'm guessing he maybe might not have good moves."
Lets compare a Pokemon with a completely different fight style than Lucario's. For this example we'll use Squirtle, a character that is a water type. No characters in Smash Bros use water yet, so already he is unique!
Squirtle
Strength: ***
Jumping: **
Weight: ***
Speed: ***
Traction: *
B: Bubble - Squirtle spits a bubble from his mouth. The bubble is the size of a turnip. It moves slowly straight forward, after a second it begins to float upward. It has no KO power, but it can be a handy projectile. Two can exist at one time (like Mario's fireball).
^B: Hydro-Mini - Squirtle spins rapidly upwards. As he is spinning water is shot around from the shell. Unlike Bowser's UpB, Squirtle's only hits them once in the air, and multiple times on the ground.
>B: Water Gun - Fires a quick small stream of water from his mouth. Projectile move straight and goes into a downward arc. As the water lands on the ground, that area becomes slightly slippery for two seconds. If it hits an opponent, it will hit them three times, but with no KO potential.
vB: Protect - Squirtle hides in his shell for a brief period of time. Timing of this move is very precise (like Roy's). If Squirtle hides as soon as he is attacked, he will slide away in his shell. Due to his low traction, he can slide far away without taking any damage. If he rams into a different opponent, they will be hit by a strong attack, and Squirtle can bouce off walls as well. If the timing is off though, he will be hit as if he wasn't guarding at all.
Nair: Goes into shell and spins
Uair: Spins elegantly and shoots a short guzzle of water.
Fair: One claw slash, then quickly another.
Bair: Quickly falls back to deliver a blow from his head.
Dair: Kicks rapidly downward.
Usmash: Rears his head back, and deals a strong headbutt attack.
Fsmash: Shoots a burst of water in front of himself. Low trajectory effects.
Dsmash: Goes into his shell and onto his back and spins rapidly. He performs a random pose after the spin to deliver a final blow.
Dash attack: Falls over and slides into opponent head first.
A: Little headbutt
Ftilt: Does a quick slash.
Utilt: Swings his tail upward.
Dtilt: Swings his tail downward twice.
Grab: By hand
Upthrow: Tosses them upward.
Downthrow: Throws them downward and lands on their back with his shell.
Fthrow: Jumps around them and throws them forward off his back.
Backthrow: Rolls along with them and throws them.
Final Smash: Hydro Pump - Squirtle fires multiple rounds of water like pokeball Blastoise. His water dramatically sends opponents off to the side and downward.
Taunt: Squirtle folds his arms and nods his head in a cool manner. He then says "Squirtle!"
So if you compared the two movesets, I would hope that some of you would find Squirtle more fun to play with. Squirtle has water moves, shell moves, kicks, slashes, headbutts, and some of his moves have attitude to it. Lucario is just not as exciting in my opinion. Fox makes sense when it comes to a bunch of kicking moves, because his games require him to be in a ship. But Lucario comes from a game where there are a lot of quirky characters, so why not use someone more exciting?
Yeah, no. Again, this is nothing more than speculation on your part; propaganda you made up to try and convince people you're right. Just like it was said at the beginning of this thread, you're only saying Squirtle 'deserves it more' because you like it better than Lucario.
3.) Lucario and Deoxys for Brawl!
These were the big two that were wanted for Brawl. Now... unless you've been deliberately avoiding the Smash site, then you'll know Deoxys has been turned into an item.
Deoxys has absolutely nothing to do with Lucario apart from the fans who were arguing about who deserved it more.
Has anyone been noticing a pattern here? Twilight Link, Twilight Zelda, Bridge of Eldin. Aha! They're all from the same game! What does that have to do with pokemon you say? Notice the last two announced have been from Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire? Is it me, or does Sakurai have a pattern going on here? It seems like he’s picking one series and is particularly focusing on one game to represent the group.
Pikachu destroys your 'one game' theory. The reason all of the Zelda elements are the same is because the Zelda franchise always dramatically changes its graphics and design scheme with every game. Pokemon always look the same, no matter how many games it goes into.
Still think I'm wrong? What about Mario and Bowser? The models used in Smash are the same as the ones in Mario Galaxy. And Fox is the same Fox as he appears in Starfox Command.
Making Lucario playable would be completely rejecting the fact that there is a third pokemon game. Pikachu and Jigglypuff were from the first, Pichu was from the second, so where’s the third game? I'm not a fan of Blaziken or Deoxys, and he is going on a Ruby rampage here. Not to say someone from Ruby will be playable, its just someone from Pearl would be less likely to become playable.
Wait, what? Your reason is that since characters are being picked and designed from the most recent incarnation of their games means Lucario can't be in
because he's from the most recent Pokemon game? By your logic, Fox should have been in his Adventures costume, and Mario wearing the FLUDD because those were from the games that came after the ones they were modeled from in Melee. You're not making any sense at all.
If the legendary Deoxys couldn't make it in, what’s in store for Lucario? Lucario's fame can't compare to Squirtle's. Looking at some of these results I still have to say Squirtle, Charmander, and maybe even Bulbasaur have a better chance making it in.
Again, Deoxys has nothing to do with Lucario, and Lucario has become so popular that it's almost eerie. When put up against Lucario, Squirtle, or any of the other generic starters that haven't been relevant since the '90's don't even compare.
4.) The Movies
This is always an excuse to why Lucario will make it in. So I figured I should mention it. The movie he has appeared in is called "Lucario and the Mystery of Mew".
Saying Lucario will be in the game because of a movie, is almost like saying Munchlax will be in the game because of a movie. Didn't Snubble have a short clip in the first movie? Shouldn't it be in the game then?
Seriously, if Lucario needs such a crutch like a movie to get him into a game... then... well... that’s just a shame. That's saying his character wasn't good enough on his own to be in Smash, so we'll rely on a movie instead.
His role in the movie wasn't that great either, in fact it was pathetic. It was the stereotyped "I don't like humans", he got taken out by Ash, he ran away from the regis even though he’s a fighting type, and he sacrificed himself for a tree.
Some people even have the nerve to say Lucario is better than Mewtwo! Well then lets look at Mewtwo's roll in the movie. He's actually evil, he controlled the planets weather, he pretty much took over the world, he made a pokemon army, and of course he actually managed to kill Ash! That's unheard of in the pokemon world! And doesn't he have a sequal?
Even without the movie, Mewtwo was the original best and very last Pokemon to get without cheating. Even today some consider him the be the most powerful pokemon in the game.
I don't watch any of the movies, so I won't argue this point, suffice to say that I do know that most people believe that he should be in because he was the star of his own movie, not just because he appeared in one.
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More than enough reasons to why Lucario shouldn't be in Brawl..
And all of them faulty, misinformed, or just all-out lies.
