Our Super Effective Guide to the New Fighters of Pokkén Tournament DX

Pokkén Tournament DX, the upgraded edition of 2015’s Pokken Tournament on Wii U just launched on Switch and Siliconera is here with a handy rundown of the new Pokémon. For the Switch release, all three starter Pokémon from Sun/Moon will be available, with Rowlet’s final form, Decidueye, being playable. Litten and Popplio appear as a support Pokémon. Four more new playable Pokémon have also been added, but were all previously available in the arcade version. In order of cuteness they are Croagunk, Scizor, Darkrai, and Empoleon.

Decidueye is a Standard type Pokémon that is a hoot to play. He excels at controlling space at a distance until he is in position to rush down mid-range opponents with Fury Attack. In addition to being much less adorable than Rowlet, Decidueye also has the ability to float in the air for an extended period of time by using Soaring Stance. While in this stance, Decidueye has access to a unique set of air moves, including some tricky movement skills and an air grab. These quick dodges and feints work especially well against slower grounded characters like Machamp.

Previously available as a support, Croagunk is a ribbiting Speed type Pokemon that focuses on buffs and debuffs on both himself and his opponent. While poison jab will apply random buffs or debuffs on his opponent, Acupressure will do the same to Croagunk. However, Croagunk is also able to steal any positive status effects from his opponent with Thief, leaving them with only negative status effects. These debuffs in turn will power up his extremely powerful Venoshock attack.

The trickiest of the new Pokémon, Darkrai is a technical type that has excellent space control through the use of delayed attacks and a powerful Duel Phase only stance switch. By using a variety of moves to place shadows with a variety of abilities across the battlefield, Darkrai is able to trigger these on command, allowing for interesting space control and combo potential. In addition, hitting an opponent with the Dark Void move will put Darkrai into a Duel Phase only state called Bad Dreams Rising. During this time, Darkrai gains new powers such as enhanced dashes, phantoms being automatically launched, and a new set of extremely strong attacks.

The next character to make the cut for the console version is Scizor, a fairly straightforward Power type Pokémon that has access to enhanced combos by storing charges and a unique set of moves that can only be done while dashing. By using Swords Dance, Scizor is able to store up to 2 charges that allow for additional follow-up attacks after most combos and all Pokémon Moves. These extra attacks add considerable damage when used in conjunction with moves like Bullet Punch. Hover Dash is a unique Duel Phase only dash that allows Scizor to negate some enemy attacks and opens up some new quick combos that power up greatly from having Swords Dance stock.

Standard type Empoleon, another Pokémon that traded away its starting form cuteness for considerable power is our final new fighter. With a good mix of ranged, melee, and a fast gap closing slide, Empoleon is equally adept at controlling the flow of battle in either Field or Duel Phase. In addition, after using the Aqua Jet Pokémon Move, a suite of powerful follow-up moves can be used after, allowing for powerful combo opportunities. In Field Phase, Empoleon is able to employ a variety of sweeping projectiles such his side ranged attack or his Ice Beam that he can combo into his slide on hit for added pressure in Duel Phase from his Aqua Jet combos. Depending on if the opponent blocks the initial attack, Empoleon is able to follow up with either more damage with Cut, counter a punish with Waterfall, pierce a counter attack with Rock Smash, or apply more pressure with Surf, which can be canceled into any air attack.

As for the new support Pokémon, Litten is fairly straightforward and will charge opponents when called out, with a bonus of dealing more damage the lower the player’s health is. Popplio will simply buff the player, granting them an attack increase, but also the ability to double jump, especially handy for tricky air characters like Decidueye.

In addition to all the new fighters, Pokkén Tournament DX also adds some welcome quality of life improvements, including:

Daily challenges that grant easy skill points to Pokemon that players might not play as much. The Pokemon you have to complete the challenge with (2 matches) will gain 3 skills points (basically leveling 3 times). Another Pokemon will also gain 2 skill points as a bonus.

Replay mode with the ability to see input data.

3v3 Team Matches and online group matches.

However, my personal favorite new feature comes with the addition of Pokkén Tournament DX on the Switch. The controls map perfectly onto a single Joy-Con, and allow for spontaneous versus pick up and play sessions on the go.