Some people may wonder why Victini was chosen for Project Unova over other potential candidates and that's okay, I am here to explain why that is the case.
Many other Pokemon candidates could have been picked, but in the end, I decided that Victini was the Pokemon to push for. Some big examples of characters I did not choose:
Mewtwo:
It would be great for Mewtwo to make his return as a playable character. Having Mewtwo removed from Brawl was very disappointing and left many fans frustrated because while Mewtwo wasn't the greatest fighter in Melee, he was (And remains to this day) extremely popular, deserved to be in Melee, and had an unique move set. Not exactly a good choice to take off after one game.
The problem with choosing Mewtwo is that while he should make his return in Super Smash Bros. 4, choosing him would likely limit our focus to just bringing Mewtwo back; it won't show a clear message that the main point of Project Unova is that we want an expansion of Pokemon characters and more variety. Not that he wouldn't offer it, however, his chances goes up if Victini is included (As does Lucario's, Deoxys's, and Meowth's) as a playable character.
Meowth:
Meowth is a possible character like Mewtwo, but is an even less realistic goal then pushing for Mewtwo's return. His main problem is that he is simply not that popular with requests and never had the high demands that Mewtwo/Deoxys commanded back in the day.
Deoxys:
The 3rd gen of Pokemon deserves to have a playable character and Deoxys is the most deserving. However, RunningCircles has a site dedicated to it which I link to on the left of this post, so no need for a second site dedicated to him.
Genesect:
Another good choice for a 5th gen Pokemon rep, he would be very unique and would be a nice dark horse candidate for the Pokemon spot. The problem is that he has not been officially revealed yet. As such, he may not even make it as a Pokeball, which show how unlikely he truly is. We admit it, he would be cool, but he's probably not going to make the cut.
Zoroark:
The only other likely Pokemon newcomer. However, he is a poor and severely overrated choice for the 5th gen slot.
Putting him in is an overall bad idea. Note that he has similar body structures to Lucario and Mewtwo. Now recognize that Lucario is in Brawl whereas Mewtwo is not. Mewtwo wasn't replaced since he was planned for Brawl, but I do feel that he was dropped because Sakurai didn't want two humanoid Pokemon in the game. If this is true and Zoroark gets in while Victini gets the Pokeball treatment, Zoroark will likely serve as a Lucario replacement or at least a poor reason why Lucario is dropped from the game. It will almost certainly bar the highly requested Mewtwo's return. Furthermore, I see only four slots being made if Zoroark gets in.
What Zoroark's inclusion would also do is likely cause a pattern where the latest gen Pokemon replace the last one that was playable in a previous game, putting Pokemon in a situation where it would stagnant and lose variety with only four slots. It would also leave many fans bitter, frustrated, and disappointed that Pokemon is not getting more slots when in SSB4, it's due for a fifth one. Sadly, the chances of this happening is decent and it makes me sad.
This is where Project Unova with Victini steps in. It is to prevent a cycle of disappointment among Smash and Pokemon fans from seeing an unique Pokemon be thrown away just because it's irrelevant, it is to help promote a completely new style of play and to break the "Anti-Mew" sentiment, it is to help ensure that Pokemon gets the fifth slot it deserves, and most importantly, to unite the Pokemon community to ensure that Pokemon continues to expand at a reasonable pace. Not to mention, he's the best shot we have at avoiding this pattern. Here is why he has a good chance of being playable:
* He had two movies come out on July 16, 2011, three months before SSB4's development starts. Lucario had his movie on July 16, 2005 with Brawl's development starting three months later. Victini and Mewtwo are also the only characters to star on two movies.
* More relevant to Pokemon now then Zoroark.
* More important to the series. The fact that he got two movies and his ears resembles the "V" Roman Numeral symbol shows that he is important to the series.
* He is popular. He is slowly gaining in requests to be playable in SSB4 and is becoming more popular within the Pokemon community.
We hope you understand why Victini was chosen and we hope that you support Victini's inclusion as a playable character.
