A few days ago, we received our first preview of Pokkén Tournament’s gameplay courtesy of Bandai Namco Games’ Katsuhiro Harada and Masaaki Hoshino. During their appearance on Famitsu’s monthly broadcast, the two developers shared the game’s official reveal trailer and allowed the hosts of the show to duke it out live.
Part of the excitement came from the announcement of three new playable Pokémon. While legendary dog Suicune and Gardevoir were quite the shock, it was perennial mascot Pikachu that most certainly stole the spotlight, both because of its status in the franchise and the animations it exhibited.
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Look familiar? Tekken fans out there will recognize the uppercut demonstrated by Pikachu in the above image as an Electric Wind God Fist, a mainstay of the Mishima clan, but that’s not the only thing the cute mouse appears to have picked up from the series’ first family.
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Apart from Ash Ketchum’s companion in the anime series, Pikachu isn’t a species one would typically associate with high levels of badassery, but it seems like that’s all gonna change when Pokkén Tournament launches.
For more footage of the Pokemon in action, be sure to check out archives from Famitsu’s broadcast below.
Pokkén Tournament is expected to land in Japanese arcades sometime this year.