Pokémon refers to Nintendo's expansive and hugely successful Pokémon media franchise. The Pokémon universe, hereafter the Pokéverse, is Nintendo's second most lucrative franchise, reaching only behind Nintendo's Mario franchise in global sales. Thus, a rather large portion of the content of the Super Smash Bros. series revolves aroung characters and properties from the Pokéverse, not the least of which are four separate playable characters in the Melee roster: Pikachu, Pichu, Jigglypuff, and Mewtwo.
Franchise description
Pokémon was introduced in Japan as "Pocket Monsters" by Nintendo in February 1996 as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy RPGs. It was not expected to be a huge success, but in the event, Pokémon exploded into an extremely potent franchise phenomenon, having been merchandised into an anime continuity (consisting of a television series with consistent motion pictures), many series of manga, an extensive collectible card game, toys, books, and other media. It was all ported to American audiences and worldwide later on. Pokémon has become the second biggest-selling game-based media franchise of all time, second only to Nintendo's Mario franchise; As of December 1, 2006, cumulative sold units (including home console versions) have reached more than 155 million copies.
In the various incarnations of the Pokéverse, the world of Pokémon is an Earth-like world inhabited by many species of the titular Pokémon creatures which coexist with humans. The Pokémon are colorful, generally sentient creatures possessing the abilities to perform amazing talents of seemingly every conceivable sort, examples of which are breathing fire, exhuming poisonous smog, summoning rainfall, performing martial arts, holographically splitting up into multiple copies of itself, employing psychokinesis, unleashing paralysis-inducing electricity, etc. Many Pokémon live as wild animals both as predators and prey, while other individual Pokémon are mythical and powerful beings responsible for the creation of the world, and others still are man-made. Most Pokémon can only communicate in a non-human language that consists of syllables of their own names, but some can communicate in English through telepathy (e.g. Mewtwo), and in extremely rare cases a Pokémon can master the ability to speak the physical human tongue (e.g. one particular individual of the Meowth species). As of now, there are 493 species of Pokémon that have been identified.
The concept of the Pokémon universe, in both games and the general fictional world, stems from the hobbies of insect collecting and cockfighting, the former being a popular pastime which Pokémon executive director Satoshi Tajiri had enjoyed as a child. In most instances of Pokémon, humans of varying interests seek out and capture various and multiple species of Pokémon using specially designed mass-producible tools called Poké Balls. In most cases a Pokémon caught from the wild by a human willingly joins up with the human and obeys his or her commands. Some catch and own Pokémon as friendly pets and lifelong companions and do not participate in any competitive activities with them. Others of a less savory nature, such as members of the Pokémon crime syndicate Team Rocket, capture Pokémon and use them as weapons to advance their evil agendas. For most humans, however, including players of the Pokémon RPGs, take the Pokémon trainer's route in life and collect Pokémon to train them and battle the Pokémon of other trainers in officially sponsored competitive Pokémon matches.
The two-stage object of most Pokémon RPGs is to collect all of the available Pokémon species in the region where that RPG takes place and from them train a winning team of powerful Pokémon fighters to defeat the powerful Pokémon teams of that region's Elite Four trainers and the regional Champion. Pokémon captured from the wild with Poké Balls gain experience and learn new battling moves by battling many wild Pokémon and challenging other trainers to Pokémon matches. Many species of Pokémon, when they gain enough experience and regardless of whether they are in the wild or under a trainer's ownership, undergo a metamorphosis and Evolve into a similar, but larger and more powerful, species of Pokémon. Many of the 493 species belong to such lineages, so in a sense there's more like 200+ distinctive species of Pokémon.
The Pokémon franchise's chronology is divided into "generations", defined by the original Pokémon that appear herein and the newest pair of handheld Pokémon RPGs featuring those Pokémon. Every several years, over a hundred new Pokémon are added to the existing Pokémon, along with new regions, characters, properties, and gameplay concepts. There have been four generations thus far: Pokémon Red and Blue versions for the Game Boy began the franchise with the First Generation, with 151 Pokémon species and the initial region of the world called the Kanto Region. This generation was in effect when Super Smash Bros. was developed and released in 1999, so Pokémon, locations, and properties of the first generation were featured in the game. In 2000, the Second Generation was heralded by the release of the Pokémon Gold and Silver sequel versions for Game Boy Color, which added 100 more new Pokémon to make for a total of 251, along with the new Johto region located just west of Kanto. Super Smash Bros. Melee was developed and released during this generation, so the game features content based on both existing generations. In 2003, the Third Generation took effect with the release of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire versions for Game Boy Advance, which added 135 more new Pokémon in the Hoenn region to make a total of 386, and in 2006 the Pokémon Diamond and Pearl versions for Nintendo DS ushered in the Fourth Generation with 107 more new Pokémon in the Sinnoh region, adding up to a grand total of 493 species. It is expected that Super Smash Bros. Brawl will incorporate content from all four generations of Pokémon.
In Super Smash Bros
Pokémon's first generation was in effect at the release of Super Smash Bros. in 1999, so only Pokémon from the first generation are to be found here.
Characters
With two of the twelve fighters being Pokémon themselves, the Pokéverse was the second most prominent universe in the original game, falling only behind the four characters from the Marioverse:
- Pikachu: A yellow mouse with red cheeks, this cute creature is imbued with electricity and may employ it as attacks at will, both in Pokémon battles and in Smash. It is often considered the mascot of the Pokémon franchise as a whole, often depicted on most of the franchise's merchandise and is unanimously included in any Pokémon product. It is the favored Pokémon of trainer Ash Ketchum in the Pokémon anime and has been trained to become a powerful member of the Pikachu species. It has a spiritual rival in the cat-like Pokémon Meowth. Pikachu, in the main Pokémon RPGs, is not strong in Pokémon battles at all. It has an evolved form, however, called Raichu, a larger, more imposing, and much more powerful electric rodent that is quite popular to use in the video games. Pikachu also has a younger, weaker pre-evolved form called Pichu which did not exist at all during the first generation; it was introduced in the second generation.
- Jigglypuff: A pink ball-like fluffy creature strikingly similar to Kirby in appearance and floaty stature. This cute creature possesses a hypnotic singing voice that literally puts those around to hear it to sleep, and when angered (as it often becomes in the anime when it sees its audience fall asleep from its performances), it will punish its target either with Pound or with vandalizing its victims' faces with a marker. In Smash Bros, it is widely agreed to be a legitimate force to be reckoned with, a fact that is especially ironic because in the RPGs it is one of the weakest Pokémon to bring out in battle. It has an evolved form, not seen in Smash however, called Wigglytuff, a larger, less spherical creature with markedly higher specifications to make it more appealing in battle. It also has a younger, even weaker pre-evolved form called Igglybuff which did not exist at all during the first generation; it was introduced in the second generation.
Stage and Items
Super Smash Bros. features Saffron City as the Pokémon stage. It takes place on the rooftops of various skyscrapers on the metropolitan Saffron City located within the Pokémon world's Kanto region. Saffron City is the largest and most populated city in the Pokémon RPGs and anime, and the Silph Co. building belongs to a major Kanto region corporation that designs technologically advanced devices like the Silph Scope, for identifying ghostly Pokémon, and the Up-Grade, an item that may cause the evolution of Porygon into Porygon2 in the RPGs. Several first-generation Pokémon appear out of the central structure's doorway to influence the action: Venusaur will pop out with Tackle and use Razor Leaf to attack fighters with projectiles, Charmander will appear and use Ember to burn whatever fighter is in front of it, Electrode will roll out and explode to send all fighters around it flying, Chansey will pop out and heal 5% of the fighter in front of it and throw out an Egg that may contain an item, and Porygon will shoot out to send any fighter in its path flying.
Super Smash Bros. introduces the one Pokémon-related item seen throughout the Smash series: The Poké Ball. When thrown, one of about a dozen available Pokémon from the first generation will emerge from the thrown item and perform an action unique to that Pokémon, making this the most unpredictable, complex, and variable items of all. Super Smash Bros' collection of Pokémon findable in throwable Poké Balls features the first-generation Pokémon Charizard, Blastoise, Beedrill, Clefairy, Meowth, Onix, Hitmonlee, Koffing, Chansey, Goldeen, Starmie, Snorlax, and Mew. See Poké-Ball for full information.
In Super Smash Bros. Melee
Pokémon's second generation was in effect at the release of Super Smash Bros. Melee in 2001, so Pokémon from both existing generations are featured.
Characters
Four of the 25+ fighters are Pokémon; however, the Pokéverse is made to be the third most represented franchise in the character select screen of Melee. It was overtaken for second place by The Legend of Zelda universe's five characters.
- Pikachu: Returning from Smash Bros. with Skull Bash as its new B-Forward move, Pikachu is otherwise not dramatically changed. Pikachu's pre-evolved Pichu form came into existence in the second generation and is featured as a new playable character.
- Jigglypuff: Returning from Smash Bros. with Rollout as its new B move, Jigglypuff is otherwise not dramatically changed. This means that it does not lose its image as a potentially deadly opponent. Its pre-evolved Igglybuff form came into existence in the second generation and cameos as a collectible trophy.
- Pichu: A new fighter that is an alternative version to Pikachu, much like Luigi to Mario. Pichu, a second-generation Pokémon, is younger and weaker than Pikachu in the Pokéverse, and its control over its electric powers is iffy at best; it often damages itself when unleashing a strong electric attack. This is reflected in Melee. That, along with other disadvantages, makes Pichu one of Melee's least able fighters, enough that it is considered a "Joke character".
- Mewtwo: A new and original fighter from Pokémon's first generation. Mewtwo is the strongest Pokémon in the RPGs and in especially the anime continuity is depicted as a sentient humanoid being with a personality that allows for the virtues and failings of a human being. The anime depicts Mewtwo as the twisted genetically-engineered result of scientists working to create the most powerful Pokémon artificially, using the DNA of the rare and powerful Mew (hence Mewtwo's name). Mewtwo is imbued with extremely potent psychic powers and is in fact able to communicate telepathically in well-grammared English. So it is utterly ironic that Mewtwo is considered a bottom-tier fighter for his playable appearance in Melee, lacking a solid method of approach that most other fighters have.
Stage and Items
Super Smash Bros. Melee initially features Pokémon Stadium as the initial Pokémon-themed stage available. It takes place in a typical night-time stadium located in the Kanto region; it does not represent any one specific location in the Pokémon RPGs. Available for unlocking later on is Poké Floats, a stage consisting of many Pokémon-shaped balloons floating in the skies above the Kanto region. Over the course of three-and-a-half minutes, balloons of Squirtle, Onix, Psyduck, Chikorita, Weezing, Slowpoke, Porygon, Wooper, Sudowoodo, Snorlax, Venusaur, Seel, Wobbuffet, Goldeen, Lickitung, Chansey, Geodude, and many Unown appear in that order and cycle through. It may be noted that neither of the above stages take place in the Johto region located west of Kanto, even though the Johto region was introduced in the second generation of games, Pokémon Gold and Silver, and was the main region one played in during that time.
The Poké Ball returns in Melee to reprise its role as the most complex, randomized item available, with a revised and expanded collection of Pokémon from both generations 1 and 2 able to appear from a thrown ball. Melee's collection of Pokémon findable in throwable Poké Balls features the first-gen Pokémon Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, Clefairy, Weezing, Chansey, Goldeen, Staryu, Snorlax, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, and Mew, and the second-gen Pokémon Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Togepi, Bellossom, Marill, Unown, Wobbuffet, Scizor, Porygon2, Raikou, Entei, Suicune, Lugia, Ho-Oh, and Celebi. See Poké Ball for full information.
Ditto makes a spiritual appearance as the icon selected when you choose to play as a random character in Melee's tournament mode. Ditto was originally planned to be one of the Poké-Ball Pokémon listed above, and it would Transform into a copy of the player's character for a short time, but it was discarded from the final product because of issues programming it.
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Pokémon will make a return in Brawl as expected, though how much and what arrangement of content from Pokémon will be included is currently unknown.
Characters
Currently, only one Pokémon is guaranteed to return in Brawl, based on trailers:
- Pikachu: Returning from Melee, Pikachu does not appear to be different almost at all. In the trailers Pikachu is seen hopping where it should be walking, and it demonstrates a crawling ability seen held be several other characters.
Stage and Items
Brawl appears to feature Pokemon Stadium as a returning stage from Melee.