Final Smash!!

Arguably the most popular game on the Wii, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is a crazy battle among some of Nintendo’s most popular characters (along with a few guests). Each character has a unique Final Smash, a notable feature of the game.

What does this have to do with Pokémon, you ask? Besides the fact that a handful of Pokémon are playable characters, Final Smashes can be compared to various Pokémon attacks, Abilities, and even Trainers that have had an impact on the metagame.

However, some of these Pokémon have had larger effects than others. Finally, I don’t know that much about pre-Diamond & Pearl cards, so I’ll mainly be covering some of the more recent moves and stuff.

Without further ado…

Do the Wave – Waddle Dee Army

Wigglytuff JU could do high damage for a relatively low cost, at least by that time’s standards. Do the Wave could be charged up in two turns, and even if you didn’t have the necessary Energy yet, you could put the foe to sleep. The only problem was that it wasn’t consistent damage, but even that didn’t slow down Wigglytuff too much.

Do the Wave is also in the current format as Cinccino BLW’s attack. Even though the card does more damage for each Benched Pokémon and costs 1 less Energy, the power creep has gotten far enough to where the card is only occasionally used.

Remember Dedede’s silly dance when he summons Waddle Dees? I’d imagine that a line of Pokémon “doing the wave” would also be pretty funny, especially for Pokémon that would have a hard time raising arms in the air (think Solosis). Both Dedede and Wigglytuff are reliant on backup as well.

Quick Search – Wolf/Fox/Falco’s Landmaster

pokemon-paradijs.comQuick Search was a much-used Poké-Power back in the day, and for a very good reason. This Poké-Power allowed you to search for ANY card you want and put it in your hand, no questions asked. Of course, it wasn’t stackable, but it was a very powerful card, and if it were legal today, it would probably be a staple in pretty much every deck.

Many other cards over the years have had searching powers, a contemporary example being Zoroark BLW. However, none have had the same impact as Pidgeot RG. Froslass AR, for example, could only use its search Power when it came into play, so again, Pidgeot was less restricted.

All three of these characters, Wolf, Fox, and Falco, call upon a powerful force (the Landmaster) to aid them in battle. Similarly, Pidgeot RG can summon powerful forces via Quick Search.

Set Up – Cook Kirby

Uxie LA was a very useful card, allowing you to draw several cards on most occasions. All you had to do was play him down. Generally, people would play things until they had a low hand, and then slap down Uxie and rake in the dough.

Drawing up to 7 cards is great, and such draw power in a Pokémon is kinda rare. A plethora of Supporters, though, have draw power. Probably the one that comes closest to Uxie is Professor Birch/Bianca, allowing you to draw cards until you had 6 in your hand.

Cook Kirby allows you to get all kinds of crazy stuff. While there was a chance you will get crummy food, I’ve also seen hammers come out of that pot. Similarly, Uxie gives you a lot of cards, but whether they will be useless or useful is up to chance.

Machamp SF – Triforce Slash/Great Aether

http://youtu.be/65pkTJHljSI

Even though I was a n00b when this card was released, I knew that it was great. Okay, so the card didn’t break the format, but something that got an immediate KO against Basics for 1 Energy in an SP format was pain for SP users. This card could also do Rage if you want, and you could dish out some nice damage.

To my knowledge, there has not been any card before this that 1HKO’d Basic Pokémon for a single Energy, though Mewtwo LV.X LA had a Poké-Body that was also hard on Basics. However, some cards could do 40 damage for a single Energy or better, Nidoqueen RR being an example.

Link’s Triforce Slash is pretty much a 1HKO on anything. Additionally, Link slashes his sword many times before dealing the final blow (Ike basically does the same thing). Machamp deals a finishing hit, and he can lash out multiple times with Hurricane Punch.

Bright Look – Blue Falcon

pokemon-paradijs.comLuxray GL LV.X dominated the format recently. Bright Look made none of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon safe, and the free Retreat enabled you to switch out with another attacker when necessary. The speed of this card made it the co-BCIF (best card in the format) with Garchomp C LV.X.

Of course, Bright Look is similar to Gust of Wind: it may have even been based on the old Trainer. Nowadays, Pokémon Catcher is a similar threat. One advantage of Luxray GL LV.X, however, is that it can be played under Trainer Lock. Even Vileplume UD won’t keep your opponent safe.

Just like Captain Falcon’s Final Smash, Luxray GL LV.X basically grabs one of your opponent’s Pokémon and hurls it into a dangerous scenario. In the case of Blue Falcon, a car runs over the character, while Luxray GL LV.X rams into its foe.

Healing Breath – Peach Blossom

An essential component of SP-based decks was Garchomp C LV.X, mainly for its Healing Breath Poké-Power. Completely healing every single one of your Pokémon SP could be incredible. The free Retreat was also nice, so you weren’t stuck with it if your opponent Bright Looked it up.

Max Potion also heals all damage counters from Pokémon, but it only works on one Pokémon, and it discards energy. Healing Breath is like nothing we’ve ever seen before, and it’s fortunate that it could only be played when Garchomp C Leveled Up.

Causing lots of healing food to appear, Peach Blossom is more of an assist Final Smash than a power-based one. It sounds strange comparing a dragon-shark to a pink princess, but both have healing effects. Of course, Garchomp C LV.X’s ability is much more useful in general.

Earthquake – End of Day

I’m sure many of you remember when Donphan Prime was revealed. Heavy Impact was very good, but Earthquake was incredible. You could do 60 consistent damage for a single Energy! Sure, it has a negative side effect, but that was some real power. Throw in an excellent Poké-Body, and you have a card that heralded the next level of power.

Recently, Accelgor NVI has been released. It can also do 60 damage for a single Energy, but it also cannot use the attack during your next turn. Fortunately, Accelgor has a free Retreat, which allows you to switch between two to consistently do 60 damage. However, its shaky HP makes it a little worse than Donphan Prime.

End of Day can land some major blows on opposing characters, especially when Olimar’s ship comes crashing back down. Additionally, this Final Smash can hurt your allies too, so watch out! Donphan does hefty damage, but also hurts your other Pokémon.

Afterburner – Wario Man

pokemon-paradijs.comTyphlosion Prime’s Afterburer Poké-Power has had a significant effect on the metagame. At first, it seemed like the Poké-Power was rarely played. Even though it worked with Charizard AR and Typhlosion Prime 32, the card still fell short of glory. However, with the release of Reshiram BW, Typhlosion has experienced a surge in popularity.

Typhlosion N1 17 works in a similar way to Typhlosion Prime. In fact, there are many cards that have effects similar to Afterburner, so I’ll just name a few of the modern examples. Heatran LV.X is another card that charges up Fire types with previously discarded Energy. However, Heatran immediately reattaches 2 Energy, while Typhlosion can attach Energy after attacks one at a time. Ninetales UL and Volcarona NVI have attacks that are similar to Afterburner.

Wario Man charges himself up, getting a boost in speed and power, much like Afterburner. However, Typhlosion is more generous than Wario, having the ability to share power with other Pokémon. The damage counter placed by Afterburner is exemplified by Wario Man’s sometimes-uncontrollable extra speed.

Lost World – Negative Zone

This effect didn’t have so much of an effect on the metagame itself as it did on the thinking of players. After all, this was the first card every that allowed you to declare yourself the winner! Decks featuring this card got hyped to Mars and back, but the deck ended up only doing okay. Still, this was a turning point in the game, and a signal of the steady power creep.

No other card was in the same position as Lost World. There may have been several very useful Stadiums over the years, but none of them allowed you to instantly declare yourself the winner.

The Lost World is weird, to put it frankly, because it stands out as something completely unique from everything else. Weird is also the perfect word to describe Luigi’s Final Smash. Anything that polarizes colors, causes people to dance randomly, and plants flowers on people’s heads is bizarre, in my opinion. Plus, they both have to do with “zones” – the Lost Zone and the Negative Zone.

Lost Burn – Super Sonic/Volt Tackle

Magnezone Prime, with its Lost Burn attack, can feasibly KO any Pokémon. I say feasibly because the attack’s damage is increased by 50 for each Energy you toss in the Lost Zone, so reaching 200 damage isn’t too difficult. One major problem with the attack, though, is that the Energy you threw away stays in the Lost Zone for good.

Several other Pokémon have attacks that do more damage when you discard Energy. Electivire SW did 50 damage for each heads you flipped, so while the attack could be better than Lost Burn, it was risky. There are also cards like Tyranitar SF and Tangrowth CL that do damage depending on the amount of Energy attached, but don’t discard that energy.

When you use Sonic’s or Pikachu’s Final Smash, you have to be careful that you don’t lose control and go flying off the screen entirely. Similarly, Lost Burn could run you out of Energy entirely, if you use it too much. However, all three attacks – Super Sonic, Volt Tackle, and Lost Burn – have enormous potential.

Glaciate – PK Starstorm

pokemon-paradijs.comKyurem NVI attacks everything on the field at once with Glaciate. Though a new card, Kyurem is quickly becoming very popular. If your opponent only has one or two Pokémon in play, the attack might not do much. With a full Bench? You’re looking at up to 180 damage a turn (depending on damage reducers, and not including damage increasers).

Tyranitar SF had an attack that did exactly the same thing, but it had a much steeper Energy cost. Even though Darkness Drive helped it, Tyranitar didn’t make much of an impact on the metagame. Several other Pokémon, including Forretress UD, have had similar attacks to Kyurem’s that do less damage. Finally, there are ones like Electivire TM that do more than 30 damage but only target certain kinds of Pokémon.

PK Starstorm has a huge range, as meteor things fall everywhere. Kyurem also attacks at all angles, and both are difficult to avoid. However, neither attack is as effective against only one other person.

Devour – Mario Finale

Different from most decks, a Durant-oriented deck attacks your opponent’s deck instead of Pokémon. It aims to deck out your opponent. This menace, with its ability to discard four cards a turn starting very early, is a huge threat to anyone who doesn’t know how to play against it. Even in a format of big hitters with its 70 HP, Durant has been successful.

Groudon CL can also discard several cards from your opponent’s deck, but other factors, such as a high Energy cost and a risk of the attack backfiring, prevent the card from being playable. Dark Tyranitar N4 could also discard multiple cards from your opponent’s deck.

Just like Devour, Mario Finale defeats foes in an indirect way. Rather than hitting an enemy with as much force as possible, Mario attempts to force the foe off the screen. Like Durant’s Devour, however, the attack does not win you games all of the time, as smart players can usually play around it.

Conclusion

Anyway, those are the summaries of some impactful attacks and stuff over the years. The list certainly isn’t comprehensive, but it is an overview of some game-changing effects over the past few years. It is interesting to see how the power creep has had an effect over the years. Back in the day, Wigglytuff JU was awesome, but now we have Reshiram, Zekrom, and similar cards.

Soon, we will even be getting Mewtwo EX, hyped by many as the best card ever. It’s also cool how they’ve made creative new effects over the years, even if some were a little broken.

Use this article however you like: nostalgia, Unlimited play, etc.

Discuss :)!