Guys, I don’t know what to do. Pokkén Tournement is just days away and I have no idea which monster I want to choose as my main. Sure, I could just try them all and then choose based on my findings, and that’s probably exactly what I’ll do. But I do think that it’s fun to go over the competitors and try to figure out which one I’d like the most, based on wild guesses and theories.
To be honest, I don’t scrutinize trailers and other promotional videos to try to figure out the attributes and abilities of each character before playing them. Most of my thoughts are just based on my existing thoughts about the Pokémon in question, how they perform in other games, and how their designs might affect their performance in a one-on-one fighting game.
Let’s look at the monsters that I’m least interested in first:
SCEPTILE
The final evolution of the grass-type starter from Ruby and Sapphire, Treecko. while it’s in a dire position because I don’t usually give a hot damn about grass-type starters, Sceptile is actually one of the cooler ones, at least in my opinion. A big ol’ lizardy guy with some manner of tree for a tail.
I would imagine that Sceptile would use that tail in the bulk of its attacks, because it’s got pretty puny little arms. It does have blades on those arms, but they still seem like more of a liability than a real asset Plus, man, grass type. I am really not a big fan overall, even though I love the colour green. There are a few grass-types that I absolutely love (like Roserade and Gourgeist), but for the most part I just can’t be bothered with ’em.
BRAIXEN
The second form of X/Y starter Fennekin, I feel like Braixen is at the same time a very great and very odd choice of a fighter. There were already a couple other “magic” fighters on the roster when Braixen was revealed, but Braixen is the only mid-stage Pokémon on the list. Also, its weapon of choice is a twig. Yep.
Fennekin is a really adorable starter, but I’ve never been too keen on its evolutions. Braixen is alright, but Delphox has always been a very undesirable pokémon to me. I dunno. Just not crazy about a magic bipedal fox. It really doesn’t help that the Pokkén roster has a whole bunch of much cooler fire-types on deck. Braixen never had a chance.
GARDEVOIR
The first time I played through Pokémon Sapphire, I caught a Ralts right away, and its evolved form, Gardevoir, was a wonderful asset to my team all the way to the end. It’s a very powerful Pokémon, made all the better with its new secondary fairy-typing. A Gardevoir that can go toe-to-toe with dragons? Yeah, sign me up!
Then again, Gardevoir’s power lies entirely in is psychic abilities. Not overly interesting when you’re playing a fighting game. Don’t get me wrong, a occasional projectile is perfectly fine, but building a character around psychic moves? That’s pretty much the same reason I’m not really into Braixen. Give me a more physical fighter, please.
MACHAMP
A massively muscled, four-armed powerhouse. Machamp exists solely to be the number one karate champ in the Pokémon world, and fits into the Pokkén roster perfectly. Those four arms will be great for pummelling opponents into submission before they have a chance to get an attack in. Heck, it’s even already got a championship belt!
So why is Machamp relegated to my “not interested” list? Simply because it’s not interesting. Even in generation one, it was the lamest of the fighting-type pokémon. It’s rough going when you’re up against the likes of Primeape and Hitmonlee, and Machamp just didn’t have the right stuff to make the cut. Plus, what’s up with that beak? Honestly, I’d probably be a bit more interested if this fighter were replaced with the mid-stage Machoke.
WEAVILE
Apparently wildly popular in.. I don’t know. Japan, maybe? For some reason, Weavile has some level of fame, and tends to pop up unexpectedly often. Some kind of weasel with an odd headdress, Weavile is an ice/dark-type Pokémon that seems to love being kind of a jerk. Or, at least that’s what it’s smirk suggests.
I don’t know much about Weavile. When it first showed up in Gen 4, I barely noticed it because I wasn’t into either of its typings, and by the time I came around on ice-types, there were so many better monsters to choose from. Weavile is also one of the few Pokkén fighters that I’ve watched video footage of, and it makes all of the horribly annoying cat-like sounds. There’s an easy pass right there.