Representation of Pokémon Games with Stages in Smash [Part 2]
Warning: While most of the content in this article is factual, there is some speculation towards the end of it.
Welcome back to the second part of my analysis on the Pokémon series stages present in Smash. In this part we will have a look at stages that appear in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U, list some interesting statistics and trivia, and talk about beta content before wrapping things up with some discussion on notable games that haven’t been represented and speculation about future stages. If you missed Part 1 of this analysis, a link is provided below.
Representation of Pokémon games with Stages in Smash [Part 1] (Smash 64, Melee and Brawl)
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U
In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U, the split-development of the games caused a lot of series to resort to only having a returning stage in one version of the game. Thanks to the sheer scale of the franchise, the Pokémon series was one of the lucky few to get new stages in both versions of the game. In fact, it was one of only three series to get at least two new stages in one version. There are two brand new stages exclusive to the 3DS version, while the Wii U version has only one new stage, so the series received three new stages overall. Unlike the last two games, this time all the stages originate from the games.
Surely there’s a better way of allowing people to access your castle besides launching ramps into the Champion’s room?
The first of Pokémon‘s two 3DS-exclusive stages is Unova Pokémon League from Pokémon Black and White. While not the most recent generation, it was one that was new after Brawl came out, so after a Gen VI stage it was the most suitable candidate. Set outside the Champion’s room of the Unova region’s Pokémon League, this stage takes place during the climax of the game, where N’s Castle would rise from the ground and attach itself to the Pokémon League building using many ramps. This scene is recreated in the stage, where it starts off with the League building as normal only for N’s Castle to appear and send out ramps, two of which connect to each side of the stage. Similarly to the Spear Pillar stage, one of two legendary Pokémon can appear to affect the stage; Reshiram or Zekrom. First appearing by crashing through the top of the central part of the castle, the legendary dragon will appear and will display its power before attacking with its signature move. Reshiram uses Fusion Flare which sends two fireballs towards different parts of the stage and sets them alight, including the ramps if they are present (which are destroyed afterwards). Zekrom uses Fusion Bolt which hits a side of the stage and either tilts it (but unlike Spear Pillar this is an actual tilt and not just a camera tilt) or pushes the stage closer to one of the side blastlines. The dragons breaking through the wall and the animation where they show off their element are reminiscent of what they did in the cutscene for their entrance in N’s Castle in the Black and White. Their attacks also resemble their attacks in the games, with Zekrom even becoming a ball of electricity like it does in its signature move. Other Pokémon can also appear, although these ones don’t affect the battle in any way. They are Milotic, Shaymin and Whimsicott, with Shaymin appearing in Land Forme at first before transforming into its Sky Forme, and after a while, the Pokémon will fly away. None of these Pokémon appeared here in the original game, and all but Whimsicott can only be obtained in Black and White after beating the game, making their presence very strange. The main song for this stage is N’s Castle Medley, which consists of the opening notes of N’s Room, the N’s Castle theme and a portion of the game’s credits theme, ENDING ~To Each Future~. The alternate song for the stage is a remix of Battle! (Reshiram/Zekrom), which also includes the music that plays at Celestial Tower/Dragonspiral Tower in the games.
It’s like the Eiffel Tower, except instead of using it for sight-seeing you’re forced to take a quiz and fight trainers instead.
The second stage exclusive to the 3DS version is Prism Tower from Pokémon X and Y. With Gen VI being the latest iteration of the games and the addition of Greninja as a newcomer, it was only fitting to add brand new stage representing it. This stage is based around the Prism Tower in the heart of Lumiose City, the largest city in the Kalos region. The tower is an iconic landmark of the region (in fact it was one of the first things seen when X and Y were announced) and also serves as the location of the fifth gym, making it an important location in the game. Fighters start off on the ground at the base of the tower, where shorty after a large floating platform will rise from the ground and make its way up the tower, stopping at several points along the way. Eventually, it reaches of the top before giving you a view of the entire city, after which the platform then moves down into one of the streets below (specifically Vernal Avenue) and sinks back into the ground at the front of the tower, restarting the cycle. A day/night cycle also occurs during this process, with it becoming night by the time the fight is at the top of the tower and morning again when it returns to the base. During the match, wild Pokémon may rarely appear at one of the five stops, which are Helioptile, Emolga, a group of Magnemite, Zapdos and the legendary of Pokémon Y, Yveltal. The first three Pokémon are an allusion to Electric type gym leader Clemont’s team, which consists of Emolga, Heliolisk and Magneton. Zapdos’ appearance here is a reference to how in X and Y it was a roaming Pokémon, but it may also have been chosen due to how it is an Electric type. The main theme for this stage is a remix of Battle! (Trainer Battle) from Pokémon X and Y, while the alternate theme is a direct port of Lumiose City.
That’s a great design on the top of the pillar and all, but nobody who walks into this hall is gonna see that.
The Wii U version’s sole new Pokémon stage is Kalos Pokémon League from Pokémon X and Y. Like Prism Tower, this stage hails from the latest generation of Pokémon games at the time. This stage takes place in the Pokémon League building of the Kalos region, where players would face off against the Elite Four. The stage begins in the Main Hall on top of a large pillar with two floating platforms at each side. Shortly after the stage will transition to one of the four chambers of the League, each themed after a different type (similar to the two Pokemon Stadium stages in past games). These are the Blazing Chamber (Fire), the Flood Chamber (Water), the Ironworks Chamber (Steel) and lastly, the Dragonmark Chamber (Dragon). These chambers all bear a great resemblance to their original appearances from the original games, including such details like the designs of the statues, circular window and Champion’s door in the Main Hall, to the floor pattern designs and other elements in the Elite Four chambers. There are some differences though, for example all chambers have windows on each side of the throne, whereas in the games the Blazing and Ironworks Chambers only have one window directly behind the throne. The Dragonmark Chamber is notably missing a throne unlike the other chambers, and the Ironworks Chamber is coloured green instead of the black colour scheme it had in its original appearance.
Like with Pokémon Stadium 2, Pokémon make cameo appearances here in the background of each chamber. The Blazing Chamber features Infernape, Tepig, Blaziken and male Pyroar, the Flood Chamber is home to Clawitzer, Wailord, Piplup and Blastoise, the Ironworks Chamber has Klinklang, Steelix, Scizor and Honedge all appear, while Garchomp, Axew, Hydreigon and Dragonite all appear in the Dragonmark Chamber. Most of these Pokémon did not appear on the Elite Four members’ teams in X and Y, so most of them were chosen just for matching the types of the chambers. However, there are a couple of them that are relevant to the Elite Four (with Clawitzer on Siebold’s team and Scizor on Wikstrom’s team. Pyroar also appears on Malva’s team, except that one is female unlike the one on the stage). There are also secondary versions of each chamber that feature Legendary Pokémon instead of regular Pokémon that can be encountered very rarely, and unlike them the Legendaries have an effect on the stage. In the Blazing Chamber the legendary bird Ho-Oh appears, the Flood Chamber has Manaphy, Registeel appears in the Ironworks Chamber, and the Dragonmark Chamber is home to Rayquaza, who attacks fighters similar to one of his attacks in Brawl‘s Subspace Emissary. None of these legendaries can be encountered in X and Y, so their appearances here are not really relevant in any way.
This stage features a plethora of music from Generations IV, V and VI. First up for new songs is a remix consisting of both the Battle! (Champion) and Champion Cynthia themes from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. Generation V music includes new remixes of Route 10 from Pokémon Black and White and Route 23 from its sequel Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, both of which were the final routes before the Elite Four in their respective games. Pokémon X and Y got a remix of Battle! (Team Flare), with the rest of its songs being direct imports of Wild Pokémon Battle!, Victory Road and Battle! (Champion).
There are no returning stages in the 3DS version of the game, but there is one in the Wii U version with the returning Pokémon Stadium 2. This stage has one new song added to it; a techno remix of Diamond and Pearl‘s Wild Pokemon Battle! theme.
Representation of the Pokémon series improved massively this time around compared to the last couple of installments of Smash. Unlike last time where one generation was entirely skipped over, this time both new generations that came out after the previous game were given stages, with not just Pokémon X and Y receiving attention but Pokémon Black and White too. Two of these stages covered an area of the Pokémon games that was previously unexplored; the Pokémon League/Elite Four, while the third returned to the city setting that hasn’t been seen since Saffron City in the first game. Unfortunately, a massive opportunity was missed to represent some Pokémon spin-offs in the Wii U version, which despite having a focus on console games went with an X and Y stage despite there already being one in the 3DS version. That said, X and Y‘s Wii U exclusive stage does offer something new and explore another area of the games that Prism Tower doesn’t, so its inclusion is certainly a welcome addition. With Generation VII now out and an eighth generation not being likely to be announced anytime soon, it will be interesting to see how the Pokémon franchise will be explored in the next installment.
Games represented:
Pokémon Black and White
Pokémon X and Y
Games referenced:
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
Pokémon Black 2 and White 2
Continue on over to Page 2 for a look at some statistics, trivia and more!
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This is the great article you’ve made!
Pokemon have introduced many stages representing their main title games, but sadly it is understandable that not every titles were introduced so far. I could hardly imagine what would Sprout Tower would look like if it was brought to Smash. Maybe somebody could make the Dream Arena of that stage. I can quite imagine Gen 3 having Sootopolis City as their battle stage and use Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayqueza as stage hazards, as much we can have so much water being involved as well, which IGN will rate it terribly instead. (lol) I could agree the next Smash will have the Gen 7 stage, and the Mele Mele Island from the Dream Arena article can be the best choice.
I was wondering why there weren’t any spinoffs involved in this game. Not just only the stages, but music as well. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon could have been a best choice for Smash to represent with both stage and music, and Primal Dialga would’ve fit well in the Spear Pillar stage since it’s themed for Dialga itself. Probably it may be because the spinoffs weren’t made by Game Freak, but other companies like HAL Laboratory, Koei Tecmo, Chunsoft, etc. The spinoffs does belong to them as well too, and they need permission in order to bring them to Smash if possible. I don’t know if there is such thing as Sakurai bias, but they should’ve brought at least one stage from Mystery Dungeon. I could’ve imagined bringing the main town from the first PMD game, and giving the random weather effects as gimmick. Or maybe bring in some stage from Pokepark or Pokemon Snap, if there is an idea for these games…
Definitely, Pokemon series are the best titles Nintendo ever had, but even the main titles are the only usable ones to bring stages for Smash, I would like them to bring the spinoffs as they also brought success too.
Thank you, and so sorry for the late reply. Usually I don’t get comments after the first few days after it’s uploaded so I stop checking everyday.
Sprout Tower is a stage I’m very curious about. The moment I heard about it I’ve been wondering how it would have turned out ever since. It’s a shame we didn’t get it. Same with not getting a Gen III stage. Now I’m not really a big Hoenn fan (always preferred FireRed/LeafGreen over it) but there’s plenty of cool locations that could work. Like Route 113 or Mount Pyre. My personal choice would be the Cycling Road, since it overlaps a route and water, which would give it a very interesting layout, as well as represent a recurring aspect of the series.
I think it’s The Pokémon Company that’s behind the lack of spin-off acknowledgement in Smash, but I don’t know why they would choose to do so given how big some of the spin-off series are. I just think it’s likely them given how weirdly protective they are with Pokémon in crossovers (the amiibo costumes in Mario Maker having no Pokémon sound-effects, no Pikachu Mii Costume in Mario Kart 8). Sakurai had nothing to do with this.
I too hope for spin-off stages. I’d really like to see something based off Colosseum or the first Mystery Dungeon.