Last week, Nintendo officially announced the WiiU Launch of Poke Tournament, a new fighting game from Bandai Namco (the makers of the popular Tekken fighting games) that uses Pokemon. Known as Pokken Tournament in Japan, the game has actually had a soft launch in Japan, appearing in select arcades with a relatively small roster of playable characters. To date, ten Pokemon characters are confirmed to appear, including two versions of Pikachu (a normal version and a female “Lucha Pikachu” version), Charizard, Lucario, Blaziken, Gardevoir, and Machamp. That might seem like a pretty small roster of characters, but Nintendo has already added four additional characterssince the arcade release.More additions may be on their way, since the game’s current character select screen has at least five blank spaces. It’s possible that they could be filled in with more characters before the game launches on the WiiU in early 2016.
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With over 700 different Pokemon to choose from, Nintendo and Bandai have lots of great options to round out Poke Tournament’s roster. Here are five suggestions for who we think would be great additions to the highly anticipated game:
Zoroark
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One of the interesting things about Poke Tournament is its relative lack of newer Pokemon. While multiple Pokemon from Generations I-IV are playable characters, the only Pokemon from Generation V and Generation VI (Pokemon Black and White and Pokemon X and Y) are “support Pokemon”, weaker Pokemon who players use briefly for a one-time effect or attack. If Nintendo wants to round out the roster with more recent additions, Zoroark, the Dark “Illusion Fox” Pokemon, is an obvious choice. Zoroark was the first Pokemon from Generation V and has its own signature move, “Night Daze,” which unleashes a debilitating shockwaveย to foes. Zoroark’s addition would not only give fans of Black and White a high profile Pokemon to use, it would also give players a character that relied more on speed and trickery than raw strength. ย
Hawlucha
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The lucha-inspired fighting/flying Pokemon, Hawlucha is one of the more unique Pokemon to appear in the recentย Pokemon X and Yย series.ย Hawlucha currently appears in the Pokemon anime as one of Ash’s Pokemon and has a literal “high flying” signature move called the Flying Press, which would be super effective against the bulk of Poke Tournament‘s other fighters as a dual flying/fighting move. A smaller Pokemon than most of the game’s other fighters, Hawlucha adds a flashy wrestling touch to Poke Tournament and give players another flying type to use.ย
Garchomp
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ย Anotherย surprising exclusion fromย Poke Tournamentย are Dragon type Pokemon. It’s odd, considering that many ofย Pokemon’sย powerhouse characters are dragon types. While most Dragon types would be hard to add to Poke Tournament due to their massive size and power, Garchomp, a Dragon/Ground hybrid, wouldn’t dwarf the other competitors in the game. Armed with a powerful jaw, sharp claws and spikes on both its arms and legs, Garchomp becomes even more powerful when it Mega Evolves, growing two deadly scythe-like blades into its arsenal. Garchomp would add a much needed “pseudo-legendary” Pokemon (a small class of Pokemon with maxed out stats) with plenty of bite to Poke Tournament.
Heracross
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ย A longtime favorite of old school Pokemon fans, Heracross was a popular Pokemon from Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver. A Bug/Fighting type, Heracross appeared in the Pokemon anime as one of Ash’s regulars, and participated in several of Ash’s biggest battles. Not only does Heracross’s “Fighting” type make it a natural fit for Poke Tournament, it also recently gained a powerful Mega Evolution that upgrades the powerful Pokemon with an even fiercer horn and two powerful arms. Adding Heracross to Poke Tournament adds another powerful brawler to the roster; one with a surprisingly long reach and multiple means of attack.
Empoleon
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While starter Pokemon are well-represented in Poke Tournament with Charizard and Blaziken, the lack of any water or grass starter Pokemon is a bit disappointing. Most of the Grass Starters are either too bulky or impractical to include, but both Greninja and Empoleon would fit well in Poke Tournamentย with their high attack stats and power. I picked Empoleon, the final evolution of Generation IV’s Piplup, since a pre-evolution of Greninja already appears in Poke Tournament as a support Pokemon. Empoleon adds a defensively oriented Steel type to the game and has unique blade like wings for attacking and defending. With so many powerful attackers already in the game, Poke Tournament could use a Pokemon that can outlastย its opponents with strong defense.
