I am heavily in the opinion that Fire Emblem and Pokemon are the two worst represented franchises in all of Smash Bros. When you look at the characters each series has in Smash, account for their important and popularity (to an extent), they are just a mess. It's no wonder why people get mad looking at all of the different "Marths" because they don't recognize the character.
With that being said, I think Fire Emblem should look more like this:
- Marth: The hero king and first of his kind.
- Robin: The idea of a tactician was BRILLIANT and similar to the Pokemon Trainer. It doesn't even have to be Robin, just a tactician.
- Ike: Though I'd personally want to argue against him, he seems to be popular even if his games weren't considered, last I checked, good sellers. Also fights different from Marth, more so than Roy does, like the Hero class.
- Hector: The weapon variety we both deserve and need in Smash, plus being one of the most wanted main Lords in a FE game. Also, belongs to the first FE game brought over to the West.
Those four alone are probably more than enough to represent Fire Emblem honestly and fairly though if I'd consider ANY more I think Anna/Emphraim would be good potential candidates. Anna has existed throughout several Fire Emblem titles in many roles, even playing the role of main character in FE Heroes, to an extent, and has the ability to use practically any weapon (good for the variety we need). Emphraim is less important, I'd say, but is still very recognizable alongside the main Lords from 7, as his game, The Sacred Stones (FE 8), also came to the West and was, at the time, baby's first Fire Emblem.
Now when it comes to Pokemon, semantically, a lot of them are literally NO DIFFERENT than the Piranha Plant, that being that Pokemon exist as generic species minus the select few legendaries and what not. That being said, I think Pokemon's roster is better represented with:
- Pikachu: The poster child of the series and one of the most recognizable Pokemon.
- Mewtwo: Pretty much THE legendary when it comes to Pokemon.
- Pokemon Trainer: BRILLIANT character design that honestly represents what it feels like to have played the Pokemon games suuuper well. Honestly the BEST Pokemon representative in my eyes.
Similar to Fire Emblem I honestly don't feel like Pokemon really NEEDS more than those mentioned above to be represented well. The only others that already exist in Smash that I think would be appropriate are more so fitting based on popularity and not necessarily importance, such as Greninja, who is one of, if not the most popular Pokemon amongst children.
TL;DR
WITH ALL OF THAT OUT OF THE WAY: A lot of characters are awful and don't fit in Smash. I think the biggest offender, and my choice, is Doctor Mario. He's among the few characters (like Samus) to just be wearing a different outfit. He shouldn't exist as a separate character from Mario. Period. Is he fun and do I like playing him? Yes, but that doesn't make up for the fact that he should solely be an alternate costume. Even Samus makes more sense with a different moveset inside/outside of her suit.