Smash Bros. Ultimate needs to add this punchy Pokémon in DLC 7
Could Kubfu follow-up Min Min?
Nintendo might have just added Min Min from its ARMS series to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but fans are already feverishly awaiting the announcement of the next Fighter Pass 2 DLC character. While diehards are holding their breath for Geno and Waluigi, Nintendo showcased an adorable, ass-kicking Pokémon that was born to take stocks in Smash: Kubfu.
The legendary pocket monster was released in Pokémon Sword and Shield as part of the Isle of Armor expansion and checks all of the boxes to become a part of Fighter Pass 2. He’s a martial arts specialist, and in his introductory cinematic in Sword and Shield, Kubfu showed off moves that could easily be ported into Smash Bros. Ultimate, and he’d be the first representative from the eighth generation of Pokémon to join the fighting game.
Kubfu is not only perfect for Smash Ultimate, but there’s good reason to believe Nintendo might actually add him as a DLC fighter.
For starters, it almost seems as if Nintendo and Game Freak specially made Kubfu to later be added to Smash Ultimate. When he’s introduced in Sword and Shield, he leaps into a fierce sequence of fighting moves, two of which look like they could be used as his rapid jab and neutral aerial attack in Smash Ultimate.
Here’s the brief clip:
Kubfu shows off his martial arts skills and they seem perfect for 'Smash Ultimate.'
Most importantly, Nintendo has yet to add a Gen 8 representative to its fighting game, and based on Sword and Shield’s popularity, one is almost guaranteed. The latest batch of Pokémon games sold 17.37 million copies worldwide, according to Nintendo’s earnings report published in March 2020.
The two previous Pokémon generations both have representatives in Smash Ultimate, Incineroar (Gen 7) and Greninja (Gen 6). Seeing as the Pokémon franchise underwent a massive overhaul in terms of graphics and gameplay this generation, it seems like a huge hint that Smash fans could expect to see yet another pocket monster join the roster.
Plus, Nintendo has done exactly that for its other franchises in the past.
The Inverse Analysis — When the company added Byleth from Fire Emblem: Three Houses to the Smash Bros. Ultimate, most fans were less than pleased about “another sword character,” but it was easy to see why Nintendo made the choice. Fire Emblem: Three Houses sold 2.29 million copies five months after its launch, making it the most successful release in the franchise’s history. Those numbers pale in comparison to Sword and Shield’s popularity, which reportedly sold 16 million copies.
To top it off, Smash Ultimate’s game director Masahiro Sakurai has revealed that he doesn’t always get the final say in what characters end up on the game’s roster, so to some extent, Nintendo may be planning on DLC characters that promote its most popular new games rather than characters that add diversity to the already overwhelmingly large lineup. That suggests he’s been tasked with making the best out of the decisions made higher up Nintendo’s corporate ladder.
If that’s the case, Kubfu could be a serious contender for a slot in Fighter Pass 2.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's 77th fighter should join the fray later this year.
