You know who would be a good character for SSBB? Red.
Oh yeah... and just so that I'm not simply told to go away like the guy who suggested Sonic on the last page, I'll post my argument. ^_^
--BASIC INFO--Character name: Red
Series: Pokemon
Pictures:
img244.imageshack.us/img244/3331/7sl5.png - 3D
archives.bulbagarden.net/w/upload/3/33/Game_character_firered.png - 2D
First Appearance: Pokémon Red & Blue(Gameboy)[Sept '98: US; Feb '96: Japan]
Other Appearances: Pokémon Yellow(Gameboy Color); Pokémon Gold & Silver(Gameboy Color); Pokémon Crystal(Gameboy Color); Pokémon Stadium 2(Nintendo 64); Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen(Gameboy Advance); Pokémon Battle Revolution(Wii)[Future Appearance]
(Red also appears as a trainer figure in the Flamethrower starter deck in the Pokémon Trading Figure game and will make a small cameo in a future episode of the anime.)
Background info: Red is an eleven year old pokémon trainer in Kanto. He and his old friend, Blue were friends at a young age, but the older they got, the more competitive Blue became, and eventually the two were rivals. Throughout Red's whole adventure, Blue managed to stay one step ahead and impede his progress. Nevertheless, Red managed to defeat all eight Kanto Gym Leaders, stop Team Rocket from taking over the world, and reach the Indigo Plateau. After fighting through the Elite Four, Blue was waiting at the end as the Champion, for a final fight with Red, and Red came out victorious. Afterwards, Red was admitted to Mt. Silver for training. He presumably participates in battling tournaments on occasion, judging by the Pokémon Battle Revolution trailer.
--REASONS FOR APPEARING IN SSBB--1 Significance to the Series- Simply put, Red is the most significant trainer, if not the most significant character in general, in the pokemon series. Red was the first protagonist and the only one to recur in the series. He's an incredibly powerful enemy in some of the later games. He appears in at least one game in every generation through 4th(in RBY, GSC, FRLG, and PBR respectively). If you deny that Red has significance, you're lying.
2 Numerous Appearances- Red appears in the pok'emon series more than any other character, and has more important roles than most other recurring characters. Red appears as a protagonist in two generations, though the second is a remake. Red appears as an incredibly powerful boss in every game in 2nd Gen, and he's set to make an appearance of unknown significance in Pokemon Battle Revolution. Red also appears as a common Trainer figure in the Pokemon Trading Figure Game that will be released later this year. Red will make a small cameo in a future episode of the anime, though it may actually be one of his manga incarnations that appears.
3 Plenty to represent- Red has plenty to represent for the pok'emon series. First and most obviously, Red represents trainers. Red is a trainer, and trainers are an important aspect of the concept presented in the pokemon games. Satoshi Tajiri himself acknowlegdes the importance of trainers; the series couldn't have happened without them. Second of all, Red has an entire portion of the pokemon gameplay to represent. It's not a popular part, and people don't always appreciate it, but it's always present and is important, nonetheless. I am, of course, referring to the collecting portion of the game. There is literally nothing in Super Smash Bros at the moment that suggests this faucet of the gameplay, aside from a slight mention on the Poke ball trophy. This important part of the games needs representation, and a trainer, Red, is the only one who could bring it.
--MOVESET--(IMPORTANT NOTE- While most of Red's regular attacks are named after pokemon moves, he is the one performing the attacks, as you can see in the descriptions.)
-Stats-
Size: 3/5
Weight: 3/5
Power: 2/5
Speed: 3/5
Jump: 4/5
-Specials-
B: Poké Ball(Red throws a poké ball. On contact, it causes damage and traps the foe inside. The ball can be thrown into the ground for damage, off the stage, or into level hazards. While in the air, opponents will break out of the ball much faster and will be popped into the air after coming out of the ball. 4-6% )
Smash B: Itemfinder(Red holds out the Itemfinders and they begin to spin rapidly, signalling that a hidden item is nearby. An opponent ahead of Red will be caught in the spinning motion and hit rapidly for a small amount of damage. The Itemfinders will either lean forwards, showing that the item is ahead, lean backwards, signalling it's behind you, or spin normally, in which case an item will appear out of the ground. It will usually not usually be a very useful item, but in rare cases, it may be. 7-10% )
Down B: Repel(Red pulls out a can of Repel and sprays himself. For 3 seconds he will be surrounded by a shield of fumes, which reflects physical projectiles, and knocks opponents down. If used in the air, Red gets falls down also when he comes in contact with an opponent. After use, it takes 15 seconds to recharge for another use, which is indicated by a spray can on Red’s belt. Contact with the Repel shield causes no damage, and Red cannot use attacks while it is active.(Being hit by a strong energy projectile will cause Repel to dissapate, allowing Red to recover.))
Up B: Fly(Red jumps onto a flying Pok'emon, which carries him straight upward then dives downward at a diagonal angle. Can be used for recovery in a similar manner to Final Cutter; Red can end the move and grab on to an edge if one is available. When the move ends, or when Red is hit during the move, the flying pokémon will disappear like a pokéball pokemon. As in the games, the pokémon is not actually fully visible and is really more of a dark silouette of a bird than any specific pokemon. 5-13% )
Super Smash: Ultimate Attack (Red randomly releases either a Venusaur, Charizard or Blastoise which uses it’s respective elemental “Ultimate Attack.”(Frenzy Plant, Blast Burn and Hydro Cannon) Red stands next to them as they do this and won’t move until the attack is complete. Frenzy Plant covers the ground in damaging vines, Blast Burn shoots a huge constant fire blast diagonally upward across the stage, and Hydro Cannon rapidly shoots many small water blasts across the stage at random trajectories.)
-Throws-
Grab: Super Rod(Red whips out the Super Rod and casts. The tip of the line will hook opponents and Red will reel them in.)
Grab Attack: Pound(Red smacks the opponent on the head with his fist.1%-3% )
U Throw: Poké Ball Toss(Red quickly catches the foe in a poké ball and tosses it into the air. They are released in a random direction at the apex of the throw.5-8% )
D Throw: Safari Rock(Red pushes off his opponents with both feet, sending them skidding forwards and him slightly jumping backwards. While in the air, he throws a rock back towards his opponent. The knockback for the actual throw is fairly static, while the rock's knockback increases with damage.4%-9% )
F Throw: Pack Launch(Red winds back, back pack in hand and smashes it into his foe’s face launching them forward.6-8% )
B Throw: Escape Rope(Red attaches an escape rope to the foe and throws them forward. After going forward about 5 Feet, he swings them back around on it and sends them spinning in the other direction.5-8% )
- Regular Attacks-
A: Punch(2-3% )
A-2: Punch(2-3% )
A-3: Uppercut(An uppercut. Upward knockback.3-4% )
Dash A: Running Shoes(Red starts using his running shoes and dashes really fast for a second to bowl over enemies. Knocks them back/up.4-7% )
U Tilt: False Swipe(Red punches upward. Minimal upward knockback.3-7% )
D Tilt: Dig(Red crouches(or is already crouching) and punches across the ground. Small forward/upward knockback.2-5% )
F Tilt: Rolling Kick(A sort of forward stomp; Red pulls up his foot and jams his foot forward.4-8% )
U Smash: Skull bash(Red jams his head upward to headbutt his enemy straight up.10-20% )
D Smash: Bag Sweep(A sweep attack with Red's back pack. up/back knockback.9-16% )
F Smash: Pack Smack(Red pulls off his pack and swings it in front of him, then quickly replaces it. Strong horizontal knockback.8-20% )
N Air: Jump Kick(Kicks and spins.4-9% )
U Air: Sonic Boom(Red turns upside down and stomps upward.6-12% )
D Air: Sky Attack(Red winds up and punches downward causing him to flip. If Red hits an opponent at the very beginning of the punch, it's a meteor smash.5-9% )
F Air: Aerial Ace(A forward mid-air punch. Knocks the opponent down and forward .6-8% )
B Air: Double Kick(Turns and does a series of two kicks. Low knockback for the first hit, mid knockback for the second one.3-5% each hit )
Stand up attack: Spikes(Red kicks up his feet to attack, then uses them to right himself.2-3% )
Ledge attack 1 (Under 100% damage): Slam (Red pulls himself up into the air then kicks hard, then lands on the stage.2-4% )
Ledge attack 2 (Over 100% damage): Double Edge(Red pulls himself up into a shoulder ramming attack.1-3% )
-Other-
Taunt-Red tips his hat.
Unlock-See every non-special pokémon in a poké ball.
Costume-
img119.imageshack.us/img119/3535/redcostumesei9.pngKirby hat- Kirby gains Reds hat. Kirby gets a poké ball for B.
Winning Poses-
Winning Pose 1: Red tips his hat. This alludes to his entrance in the PBR trailer, and will likely be used somewhere in PBR.
Winning Pose 2: Red pumps his fist forward, and pulls it back. It would resemble his stance in his sprite from 3rd gen while his fist is out.
Winning Pose 3: Red stands with his hand extended, holding a poke ball. He tosses it into air and catches it in his hand, then looks at the camera, aluding, of course, to the Pokemon Red opening.
Loss Pose-Red whites out.(He appears with his head slumped down, as if he were still standing, but unconscious.)
Trophy Appearance-
Trophy 1: This, in 3D:
archives.bulbagarden.net/w/upload/b/b9/Game_character_red.pngTrophy 2: Red beginning to throw a poke ball
Trophy 3: Red casting his Super Rod.
Entrance- Red flies in on a Pok'emon and jumps off it's back onto the stage.
NOTE- I realize that this moveset may not be that good, but it is just an example; I also decided not to take the same liberties with the uses of Red's items that Sakurai might(i.e. SSB Red's items may not be that similar to their Pokemon counterparts. Case in point, Fox, Capt. Falcon and everyone else whose movesets were only very loosely based on anything they were ever able to do).
--NOTES---A suggestion for Steven Stone, a trainer, was posted by Sakurai during the Japanese Poll. This means that Sakurai is at least aware of the idea of a trainer appearing in SSB, and finds it interesting for one reason or another.
-Red's name is not up for debate; it has remained unchanged as "Red" since he appeared in Pokemon GSC. Red is named Red in the Pokemon Trading Figure Game and filenames in Pokemon FRLG refer to him as Red.
-In an interview, the creator of pokemon, Satoshi Tajiri said the following:
"It's interesting, because in Japan, everybody goes for Pikachu. In the U.S., the characters Ash [Satoshi in Japan] and Pikachu are grouped together. American kids seem to like that. In America there are more products sold with Ash and Pikachu together, not just Pikachu alone. I think Americans actually understand the concept of Pokémon better than the Japanese. The Japanese focus on Pikachu, but what I think is important is the human aspect--you need Ash." This clearly shows that trainers should be considered as important as pokemon to the series.
-Despite claims against it, Red actually has fought on his own within the pokemon games. There is an area in the game known as the Safari Zone, in which trainers are forbidden to use their pokemon. Red fought wild pokemon such as Rhyhorns, Tauros, and Kangaskan using only rocks and Safari Balls(Basically different colored Great Balls).
-Some food for thought: Red was shown to be in Pokemon Battle Revolution BEFORE the 4th gen protagonists were. This is the first time that a past protagonist has taken precedence over a current one. Red also appears alongside Brendon, the male 3rd gen protagonist, as a figure in the Pokémon Trading Figure game, though there seems to be no reason that Red should take the place of the other 3rd gen protagonists(there are 3 of them to choose from). One might wonder why Nintendo is so concerned about him...
-Sakurai noted on his site that: "Asking only for popular characters to appear in Smash...doesn't get me excited". Red may not be that popular, but a character doesn't exactly have to be intensely popular to earn a spot in SSBB.
--ADDITIONAL RESOURCES--bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Red_%28game%29 - Red's Bulbapedia page
youtube.com/watch?v=Lj2Jqz-rxk8 - 1st Pok'emon Battle Revolution Trailer
pokedream.com/pokemon/infocenter/tajiri.php - Interview with Satoshi Tajiri; see third point in --NOTES--
archives.bulbagarden.net/w/upload/a/ae/TFGFlamethrowerSS.jpg - Picture of the Flamethrower starter kit in the TFG; proof of Red's appearance
nindb.classicgaming.gamespy.com/stars/red.shtml - A profile for Red on Nintendo Database
All that said... I hope to see a trophy of Red in SSBB. Whether it be a random lottery prize or your spoils for beating Classic mode with him. ^_^
