'Super Smash Bros. Ultimate' Almost Had Decidueye Instead of Incineroar

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate added another Pokemon to its roster before release by unveiling Incineroar to be one of the newest combatants, but that Pokemon slot almost went to Decidueye instead.

Incineroar seems to have fit in well with the Super Smash Bros. formula as the charismatic Pokemon whips opponents around the stages and sends them to suplex city, but Super Smash Bros. Ultimate creator Masahiro Sakurai revealed in an interview that Decidueye was almost chosen instead. In Sakurai's interview with Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream which was translated and passed on by Twitter users PushDustIn, Japanese Nintendo, and SourceGaming, the creator revealed the previously unknown information about the contested Pokemon slot.

Sakurai confirms in an interview: Decidueye was almost chosen for the new Pokémon spot.

Thanks to @japanese3ds and @AllSourceGaming for the heads up. There's not a whole lot of new information in the interview, but here's a tweet thread of the neat tidbits. pic.twitter.com/pi0McYBZJp

— PushDustIn (@PushDustIn) January 20, 2019

A Grass/Ghost Pokemon and the final form of Rowlet, Decidueye isn't a stranger to fighting games, so the appearance of the Pokemon wouldn't be totally unexpected if it were added in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Decidueye appeared in Pokken Tournament DX where it was one of the many playable fighters. The Pokemon ranked high among people's lists of characters they'd like to see added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, so it might sting a bit to know that the fighter was so close to being added but was ultimately muscled out by Incineroar.

Sakurai's interview also explained some other absences and decisions in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate that some players might've been wondering about. It seems there was an idea at one point that characters from the Xenoblade Chronicles games or ARMS would've been added to the roster, but Sakurai said the characters were a victim of "bad timing," according to the translations. One of the newest characters, King K. Rool, stands out as a heavy fighter who's much quicker than he looks, but that was Sakurai's plan all along. The Kremling King has fast moves and a phenomenal vertical recovery which was all part of the team's goals to create a heavy character who could do things the fighter type wasn't typically known for.

King K Rool's concept was to be a heavy, but do things that a heavy character normally wouldn't be able to do. pic.twitter.com/t0SY1Mt9R0

— PushDustIn (@PushDustIn) January 20, 2019

Part two of the interview with Sakurai is scheduled to come next month, so expect to see more reveals like these then.