What Gengar’s Reveal Tells Us About Pokkén Tournament’s Mechanics

Pokkén Tournament is an upcoming arcade fighting game developed by Bandai Namco. The game brings all of your favorite pocket monsters into the arena, where they engage in battles similar to the play style of popular fighting game series Tekken. 

Many Pokémon have been revealed thus far including: Lucario, Machamp, Blaziken, Suicune, Gardevoir, and fan-favorite Pikachu. The latest addition is the classic shadow trickster, Gengar. 

Since the announcement of Pokkén Tournament, fans have been wondering how type advantage/disadvantage would operate, as it’s such a large element in the main series. Given the inclusion of Gengar, we can be pretty certain that it won’t be included at all. Because Gengar is a ghost type, it would be completely invulnerable to a majority of the physical attacks, which would pose a huge problem for the fighting game.

Don’t fret, though; Pokkén Tournament isn’t just going to be another Tekken with a Pokémon skin. From the beginning, we’ve known that the game is opting out of the more technical elements in favor of the action-based attacks and abilities we expect from the series. With this, every fighter possesses a unique moveset that will determine how they are played, such as Pikachu and its speed. 

From the trailer, we can see that Gengar will be a strong switch-up character, with quick changes from low-hitting to high-hitting moves, making it difficult for the opponent to predict and block its attacks. Additionally, its ghostly nature comes into play with parries and teleports. The trailer cuts just as Gengar mega evolves, so we don’t quite get an idea of what it’s capable of in that state.

So, what do you guys and gals think about the inclusion of Gengar? What about the exclusion of type advantage/disadvantages? Scroll past Gengar’s scary face and let us know in the comments below!