Flamecaller of Kalos: Delphox for DLC! What future do the flames foretell?

[DelphoxFan97]

I'm so eager.

EDIT: 12 pages.

 

[Jigglymaster]

I

I feel like there was some backlash over what direction they went with for Delphox's appearance. There were people hoping Braixen would become a full on witch, only to be (vocally) disappointed when we ended up with a more standard mage design instead. It seems like things have settled down in the last year or so, though.

Personally, I actually really liked that they went with the mage motif.

I'm fairly certain that Delphox was the first of the evolution line to be designed, the motif of using RPG classes makes that apparent. The Mage, Warrior, and Ninja. Only Delphox, Chesnaught, and Greninja's designs fit these, all their previous evolutions hardly even display it, thus is why they only get their 2nd typing when they actually become the RPG class that they were designed to be. Quilladin does not look like a warrior at all, nor does chespin. Frogadier COULD be seen as a Ninja. But then there is Braixen. Braixen looks too much like a witch and that was not the motif for Delphox and it's Mage class. It was too good at looking like a witch Fox Pokemon that when people saw it, they were expecting it to grow into a full on witch. Which, mind you, is NOT an RPG class. So even if Delphox gets a Mega, it's not going to resemble a witch. It's going to resemble a mage. If I were to fix Braixen's appearance, I would have taken away the stick being in it's tail and removed it's fur skirt to make it look a bit more gender neutral like Delphox is.

Like it's really safe to say that Braixen's misdirection in the Mage motif is what essentially makes people dislike Delphox so much. Would've been so much more well received if Braixen didn't look the way it did.

 

[Delzethin]

Like it's really safe to say that Braixen's misdirection in the Mage motif is what essentially makes people dislike Delphox so much. Would've been so much more well received if Braixen didn't look the way it did.

Yeah, it definitely seems that way, and for more reasons than what you've mentioned. It wasn't just the sudden surprise in creative direction, it was also the the overall style of the Fennekin line changed that threw people for a loop, if that makes sense? Fennekin and Braixen gained a lot of fans for being cute, and it seems like a decent amount of them were hoping the line's final form was similar. When we ended up with something more reserved and elegant instead, they...didn't take it very well.

But I've noticed a lot of that dislike has...really faded away over the last couple years. It seems like people are starting to look at the Delphox species on its own merits instead of weighing them against their own personal lofty ideals that real life can never quite reach. Most complaints I've seen nowadays about Delphox are either detractors who have something to gain from it (whether they feel threatened by any chances for Smash Bros. or Pokkén, want to distance themselves from modern Pokémon however possible, or maybe because Delphox's design makes them feel...uncomfortable, if you know what I mean) or people who wish the Fennekin line had a bigger movepool, lol.

Our greatest odds still lie with the developers taking special interest in Delphox as well as Greninja when they were looking at new Pokémon to bring to Smash. Hopefully they'd be the type to think ahead and not get caught up in the same things parts of the fanbase did.

 

[Zerp]

Out of curiosity, would you guys think it'd be fair to say Delphox is the most likely Pokemon, after ,,, and Sceptile?
Or would that crown go to someone like Blaziken or Serperior instead? I've always found Delphox more likely than say, Magnemite and recently Jirachi, but I'm not really sure as to how likely Delphox is and I'm pretty curious as to what the general consensus is.

 

[Jigglymaster]

Out of curiosity, would you guys think it'd be fair to say Delphox is the most likely Pokemon, after ,,, and Sceptile?
Or would that crown go to someone like Blaziken or Serperior instead? I've always found Delphox more likely than say, Magnemite and recently Jirachi, but I'm not really sure as to how likely Delphox is and I'm pretty curious as to what the general consensus is.

I'd say Delphox has a better chance than Sceptile, Blazikien has a better chance too. Like I get it with the wanting the Grass starter thing to fit the trio but I don't see Sceptile as a fighter very much, or Magnemite or Jirachi for that manner. I just hope the movesets and the playstyles that we offered to Sakurai will be enough to convince him that Delphox is a unique enough fighter that he'll want to put Delphox in the game.

 

[Delzethin]

Out of curiosity, would you guys think it'd be fair to say Delphox is the most likely Pokemon, after ,,, and Sceptile?
Or would that crown go to someone like Blaziken or Serperior instead? I've always found Delphox more likely than say, Magnemite and recently Jirachi, but I'm not really sure as to how likely Delphox is and I'm pretty curious as to what the general consensus is.

Honestly...probably. There aren't a whole lot of other mons with notable support, and beyond those four, Delphox seems to have more pockets of support than any others.

Then again, maybe I'm saying that out of bias. After all, I've been interacting with some of those pockets of support, so I notice them more.

I'd say Delphox has a better chance than Sceptile, Blazikien has a better chance too. Like I get it with the wanting the Grass starter thing to fit the trio but I don't see Sceptile as a fighter very much, or Magnemite or Jirachi for that manner. I just hope the movesets and the playstyles that we offered to Sakurai will be enough to convince him that Delphox is a unique enough fighter that he'll want to put Delphox in the game.

Sceptile...might actually be super-underrated, depending on what they're planning on doing with the input from the Ballot. Something I've noticed is that while Sceptile is rarely a first choice, he's actually surprisingly common in people's Top 5 or so, and seems to show up more often in said Top 5s than the veteran mons. It seems a lot of Squirtle and Ivysaur support comes from being another box to check off for returning veterans, Pichu has its niche (which seems to be very nostalgia-driven, although I only know so much about that support base) but is also very divisive, while Sceptile is a long standing fan favorite who gained a window of relevance at just the right time. Meanwhile, I honestly haven't seen that much in regards to Blaziken. From what I've seen, there were some people putting Blaziken on their projected rosters, but like with Squirtle and Ivysaur--and even Chrom--it was more a box to check off than it was actual support. Combine that with the fact that Blaziken doesn't offer a whole lot that Captain Falcon and other physically-oriented fire users don't already have, and you have lower chances than what it seems.

We can't forget some other Gen 6 mons that might've been looked at when Greninja was, though. Any of them could sneak in just as Delphox could.

This is risky as it's tough to call, but here's around where I think most of the Pokémon characters we know of rank in likeliness:

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[Jigglymaster]

This is risky as it's tough to call, but here's around where I think most of the Pokémon characters we know of rank in likeliness:

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I want to say that I don't think any cut characters from previous games will be counting as ballot characters. The ballot is supposed to suggest new characters, do you know how lame it would be if the ballot was used by a returning character? I think Squirtle/Ivy/Pichu have no chance at coming back at this point, at least from the Ballot. So I feel as if the only pokemon that have any chance of making it into smash are.

 

[nonbinarysmasher]

Now I kinda wanna see a Braixen that looks more like a mage instead the feminine witch it is....

 

[Jigglymaster]

Now I kinda wanna see a Braixen that looks more like a mage instead the feminine witch it is....

I attempted it yesterday, but I feel like I could still do a better job. Here it is none the less.

 

[Shanoa]

I'm fairly certain that Delphox was the first of the evolution line to be designed, the motif of using RPG classes makes that apparent. The Mage, Warrior, and Ninja. Only Delphox, Chesnaught, and Greninja's designs fit these, all their previous evolutions hardly even display it, thus is why they only get their 2nd typing when they actually become the RPG class that they were designed to be. Quilladin does not look like a warrior at all, nor does chespin. Frogadier COULD be seen as a Ninja. But then there is Braixen. Braixen looks too much like a witch and that was not the motif for Delphox and it's Mage class. It was too good at looking like a witch Fox Pokemon that when people saw it, they were expecting it to grow into a full on witch. Which, mind you, is NOT an RPG class. So even if Delphox gets a Mega, it's not going to resemble a witch. It's going to resemble a mage. If I were to fix Braixen's appearance, I would have taken away the stick being in it's tail and removed it's fur skirt to make it look a bit more gender neutral like Delphox is.

Like it's really safe to say that Braixen's misdirection in the Mage motif is what essentially makes people dislike Delphox so much. Would've been so much more well received if Braixen didn't look the way it did.

Well I think that Delphox's design was intended to be a combination of Witches, Mages and the Delphic Oracles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythia, just like how Greninja and Chesnaught's "classes" are a hybrid of multiple different sources of inspiration. Delphox has a few witch-inspired features like her Fire Typing (which also goes because she's a fox), her robes somewhat, witches are female and it's implied that the line is female, and her tail which seems to resemble a broom lol. Her mage-like features could include her robes (mostly her sleeves imo), wand (which is stored in her sleeve like a mage), ability to use magic, etc. But I think out of the three, their biggest inspiration for Delphox is the Delphic Oracles. Some examples are her ability to see into the future, her Fire and Psychic typing, the red coloured robes that the Oracle would wear, and they're implied to be female. Since Braixen's design lacks pretty much all of these qualities, we could assume that she's just a noob normal priestess until she evolves into Delphox and becomes the Oracle. So imo, I think her design stayed consistent the whole way through. I don't think they're going to make her look more like a mage in her mega evolution, but I could see them make the design lean more towards witches. Honestly, I think it's most likely going to stay in the same direction, but who knows, we've seen some drastic changes in design before with some of the existing megas.

Edit: Just had an idea. Do you think we should have a Delphox Skype Group to discuss stuff with IMs? It might be easier for us to get some extra things done on there, and some people are just more active there than on SB, just a thought.

 

[Delzethin]

You know, I never actually knew the Oracle of Delphi was associated with the color red. So there is more of a tie there than just the ability to see glimpses of the future!

Edit: Just had an idea. Do you think we should have a Delphox Skype Group to discuss stuff with IMs? It might be easier for us to get some extra things done on there, and some people are just more active there than on SB, just a thought.

I'd rather we held off on that. For now, it's better that we're active here, to draw in more people. Once the Ballot closes and Smash DLC has officially finished, we could set up a Skype group then.

Or better yet, if Delphox got in, you can bet there'll be a group for everyone maining her.

 

[nonbinarysmasher]

I attempted it yesterday, but I feel like I could still do a better job. Here it is none the less.

Omgosh thats so much better X3
if braixen was like this i would have a hard time choosing between braixen and delphox.
I'm wondering would you give it a different name too?

 

[DelphoxFan97]

Still a few weeks left for the ballot. I can't take this anticipation anymore.

 

[Delzethin]

But now...we may have news to look forward to.

Remember when the Miiverse stage was given a release date? We got three characters along with it. Remember when Hyrule Castle and Peach's Castle were released? We still got a balance patch and another wave of costumes. There is a legitimate chance we'll get another wave of DLC on September 30th.

That's our best opportunity.

 

[DelphoxFan97]

I'm pretty sure we'll get something to go along with the Super Mario Maker stage.

 

[Shanoa]

I think we're at least going to see a balance patch and perhaps some Mii costumes. It'll be so hype if we get a character though. If that's the case, it's safe to assume they'll leave the "best" for last, so we might see Delphox earlier than everyone else.

 

[Delzethin]

If that's the case, it's safe to assume they'll leave the "best" for last, so we might see Delphox earlier than everyone else.

Less that, more the fact that I doubt they're working on any Smash Ballot content yet. Characters take a while to fully implement, meaning we probably won't start seeing anyone from it until at least next February or so. However, there's still a pretty good chance there's a pre-Ballot character or two that's almost done now. There're still those two placeholder spots unaccounted for, and while it wouldn't make much sense for them to give the Ballot all the pomp and circumstance it's had, only to barely use it, it would make sense if they had set up all the placeholders they needed for all the content they were planning for prior to when they'd start to pull from the Ballot.

You guys remember that theory I have, right? About how Delphox would've been one of the Gen 6 mons the Smash team looked at early in development? How there's a small chance they might've still been interested even though they ultimately decided to go with Greninja instead? How that interest might have been enough to bring Delphox back once DLC work got under way?

 

[Jigglymaster]

There's another thing I forgot to consider, for a while I was worried that the green blob pokemon was part of Gen 7, but now that it's just apart of zygarde, that kind of confirms we are getting Pokemon Z or Pokemon X/Y 2 instead of Gen 7, which is good because it leaves Delphox as part of the most recent starter trio and it also lets it be selectable as a starter pokemon again. The longer it keeps its spotlight the better, because when Gen 7 comes out it's going to be irrelevant for a while.

 

[Delzethin]

It certainly seems more likely we're getting something involving Kalos and Zygarde before Gen 7 happens, anyway. Maybe for 2016, we're getting Pokémon Z, Pokémon Go, and some special thing we don't know about yet, and Gen 7 isn't happening until 2017?

Every generation so far has lasted 3-4 years, so it's not out of the question.

 

[Delzethin]

In the mean time, we have a new piece of support art, courtesy of @Zem-raj!

 

[Delzethin]

This seems like an awfully strange time to be quiet, considering what awaits now only 12 days away.

How about an edit of the above support art to better show our cause?

 

[DelphoxFan97]

I'd love Delphox to get an amiibo figure.

 

[Delzethin]

I'd love Delphox to get an amiibo figure.

Well, if Delphox makes it into Smash, it'd almost surely happen...and it'd still probably happen if she only sneaks into Pokkén.

Why yes, I am up this late. Long story...

 

[LIQUID12A]

Or, you know, she could get an independent Amiibo.

There was that "all of the Pokemon are getting Amiibo" rumor at some point.

 

[Jigglymaster]

Or, you know, she could get an independent Amiibo.

There was that "all of the Pokemon are getting Amiibo" rumor at some point.

52 characters in Smash getting an Amiibo is one thing, but 720 getting amiibos is getting a little bit ridiculous. Maybe in card form, but definitely not as figures.

 

[DelphoxFan97]

I hope Delphox voters explained its uniqueness in the ballot.

 

[Delzethin]

So if something really does happen for us on the 30th...if the future we're hoping for really is in store for us...what do you guys think the reveal trailer would be like?

 

[Shanoa]

lol Some guy on skype thought I commissioned this.

nubcario - Today 20:43
> did shanoa commission this or something

Spoiler

EDIT: This edit of the GL render for Delphox made me think about how Delphox would look in Smash.

Spoiler

 

[TriforceOfAura]

I'm finally back! So what has happened while I've been gone?

 

[Delzethin]

I'm finally back! So what has happened while I've been gone?

Not a whole lot, unfortunately...but what news we have had is big. A new stage is coming on the 30th, and we have reason to believe at least one other stage is in the works. We could be looking at another major DLC wave coming in ten days' time...the last pre-Ballot one.

Remember that theory of mine, of how Delphox would've been one of the potential Pokémon newcomers they looked at early in development? There're two placeholder spots for characters that haven't been filled...and there's reason to believe they're both for pre-Ballot characters. There's only one remaining veteran that doesn't have potential issues...meaning that second one could easily be a newcomer.

Perhaps...one they looked at early in development, decided wasn't high enough priority despite being interested, then brought back for DLC because their interest was still there?

I'm saying...there's a chance.

 

[DelphoxFan97]

Fingers crossed!

 

[nonbinarysmasher]

What tier you ppl think would delphox have if it becomes playable?
Also would you be mad if delphox plays like nothing we think it will?

 

[Jigglymaster]

What tier you ppl think would delphox have if it becomes playable?
Also would you be mad if delphox plays like nothing we think it will?

It's impossible to tell how good or bad Delphox would be in the metagame, most people couldn't even tell how good a returning character like Captain Falcon was going to be when he was released, despite already knowing his moveset.

That being said, I don't really care how Delphox plays or how good or bad it is, as long as Delphox is playable that's all that really matters to me. Best character? I'm a tier *****, Worst character? I'm a Low Tier hero. That's just how it goes.

The only time I wouldn't play as Delphox in tournament is if Customs are legal and Mii Brawler is better than Delphox. Also, if Delphox actually got the moveset I suggest I would be amazed, since that would probably mean that I or one of us were the reason Delphox was chosen to be in the game.

 

[Zerp]

So, out of boredom I decided to see where Delphox stood in terms of popularity compared with some other candidates for a Pokemon newcomer that I felt were the most likely, and I feel like I should share this here, as the results were honestly pretty shocking. I'm utterly ecstatic by how Jirachi's doing, but equally appalled by how low Delphox is doing.

I feel like this lack of interest in Delphox is definitely a problem for us that would cripple our chances, and it's probably far too late to ask this, but since it's always worth a try, any ideas on how we could rectify this?

 

[LIQUID12A]

Unless you can cause some sort of uprising with internet famous chaps within 12 days, it's borderline impossible.

 

[DelphoxFan97]

Now I'm worried again.

 

[TriforceOfAura]

I might have a solution to our problems --- if I can get it to work, that is.

 

[Delzethin]

You wouldn't believe how frustrating it's been, being unable to get us more attention. It seems like unless you're already a big name or on a first name basis with a big name, you barely have any chance of getting a support base going. It also hasn't helped that a lot of the fanbase has become defensive about the characters they're already invested in, some actively hostile toward any others or any that don't already have a bandwagon.

It seems the Pokémon characters have been hit especially hard. In most places, you're not supposed to want another Pokémon as DLC unless they're a veteran!

And yet...despite that, we've made a blip on the radar.

I mean, consider what our in-series "competition" would be, even though such a thing probably doesn't exist. You have the veterans, but Squirtle and Ivysaur seem to be less like characters heavily requested and more like boxes to check off, former characters that some feel "deserve" to come back "first". No offense meant to any of their fans in here, but it seems like a pretty significant amount of their support has died off now that they aren't seen as shoo-ins due to veteran status any more. Pichu has a following in Japan (again, seemingly due to veteran status), but is still a polarizing character everywhere else and one that hasn't had much support from the Western fans who don't feel he no longer has anything worth bringing to Smash any more. Sceptile's support is a little unusual, rarely a top choice yet frequently a secondary one, and with a support base that gets disregarded constantly.

But after them...what else is there? Blaziken has fallen out of favor due to how many physical-based fire users Smash already has. Serperior has just kind of hung around in the background, with no real waves in recent months. Hawlucha? Chesnaught? Sylveon? All discussed early in development a little, but hardly ever mentioned now.

We've become the second most active support base out of all the possible Pokémon newcomers. Have you noticed how consistently active we've managed to keep this thread for the most part? If you take out the three weeks or so it sat in limbo after the Smash Ballot was announced, we've been averaging nearly 100 posts a month. If we had been around as long as the older threads in this subforum...we'd be among the ten largest.

Whether it'd have translated to greater, high level support or whether it would've just made everyone see us as zealots like the Daisy fans, I don't know...but despite the odds stacked against us, despite everyone out there who, for misguided reasons, wants to see us collapse because they see this speculation as a zero-sum game...we've made a difference, at least on some level.

And we still have that chance of Delphox sneaking in outside of the Ballot. Characters have a way of gaining a lot of fans if they actually get in...especially if they look interesting.

 

[TriforceOfAura]

You wouldn't believe how frustrating it's been, being unable to get us more attention. It seems like unless you're already a big name or on a first name basis with a big name, you barely have any chance of getting a support base going. It also hasn't helped that a lot of the fanbase has become defensive about the characters they're already invested in, some actively hostile toward any others or any that don't already have a bandwagon.

It seems the Pokémon characters have been hit especially hard. In most places, you're not supposed to want another Pokémon as DLC unless they're a veteran!

And yet...despite that, we've made a blip on the radar.

I mean, consider what our in-series "competition" would be, even though such a thing probably doesn't exist. You have the veterans, but Squirtle and Ivysaur seem to be less like characters heavily requested and more like boxes to check off, former characters that some feel "deserve" to come back "first". No offense meant to any of their fans in here, but it seems like a pretty significant amount of their support has died off now that they aren't seen as shoo-ins due to veteran status any more. Pichu has a following in Japan (again, seemingly due to veteran status), but is still a polarizing character everywhere else and one that hasn't had much support from the Western fans who don't feel he no longer has anything worth bringing to Smash any more. Sceptile's support is a little unusual, rarely a top choice yet frequently a secondary one, and with a support base that gets disregarded constantly.

But after them...what else is there? Blaziken has fallen out of favor due to how many physical-based fire users Smash already has. Serperior has just kind of hung around in the background, with no real waves in recent months. Hawlucha? Chesnaught? Sylveon? All discussed early in development a little, but hardly ever mentioned now.

We've become the second most active support base out of all the possible Pokémon newcomers. Have you noticed how consistently active we've managed to keep this thread for the most part? If you take out the three weeks or so it sat in limbo after the Smash Ballot was announced, we've been averaging nearly 100 posts a month. If we had been around as long as the older threads in this subforum...we'd be among the ten largest.

Whether it'd have translated to greater, high level support or whether it would've just made everyone see us as zealots like the Daisy fans, I don't know...but despite the odds stacked against us, despite everyone out there who, for misguided reasons, wants to see us collapse because they see this speculation as a zero-sum game...we've made a difference, at least on some level.

And we still have that chance of Delphox sneaking in outside of the Ballot. Characters have a way of gaining a lot of fans if they actually get in...especially if they look interesting.

The thing is getting public support for her, and with a time frame shorter than Meta Knight's range, this is a huge challenge for us. I'm not certain, being gone as long as I was, my opinion counts for much of anything, but if we can garner support somewhere... more well known, but I think our real issue is getting people to vote for Delphox INSTEAD OF other characters. It's not as much getting her out there, more as it's convincing people she's a worthwhile candidate to vote for.

 

[TriforceOfAura]

You wouldn't believe how frustrating it's been, being unable to get us more attention. It seems like unless you're already a big name or on a first name basis with a big name, you barely have any chance of getting a support base going. It also hasn't helped that a lot of the fanbase has become defensive about the characters they're already invested in, some actively hostile toward any others or any that don't already have a bandwagon.

It seems the Pokémon characters have been hit especially hard. In most places, you're not supposed to want another Pokémon as DLC unless they're a veteran!

And yet...despite that, we've made a blip on the radar.

I mean, consider what our in-series "competition" would be, even though such a thing probably doesn't exist. You have the veterans, but Squirtle and Ivysaur seem to be less like characters heavily requested and more like boxes to check off, former characters that some feel "deserve" to come back "first". No offense meant to any of their fans in here, but it seems like a pretty significant amount of their support has died off now that they aren't seen as shoo-ins due to veteran status any more. Pichu has a following in Japan (again, seemingly due to veteran status), but is still a polarizing character everywhere else and one that hasn't had much support from the Western fans who don't feel he no longer has anything worth bringing to Smash any more. Sceptile's support is a little unusual, rarely a top choice yet frequently a secondary one, and with a support base that gets disregarded constantly.

But after them...what else is there? Blaziken has fallen out of favor due to how many physical-based fire users Smash already has. Serperior has just kind of hung around in the background, with no real waves in recent months. Hawlucha? Chesnaught? Sylveon? All discussed early in development a little, but hardly ever mentioned now.

We've become the second most active support base out of all the possible Pokémon newcomers. Have you noticed how consistently active we've managed to keep this thread for the most part? If you take out the three weeks or so it sat in limbo after the Smash Ballot was announced, we've been averaging nearly 100 posts a month. If we had been around as long as the older threads in this subforum...we'd be among the ten largest.

Whether it'd have translated to greater, high level support or whether it would've just made everyone see us as zealots like the Daisy fans, I don't know...but despite the odds stacked against us, despite everyone out there who, for misguided reasons, wants to see us collapse because they see this speculation as a zero-sum game...we've made a difference, at least on some level.

And we still have that chance of Delphox sneaking in outside of the Ballot. Characters have a way of gaining a lot of fans if they actually get in...especially if they look interesting.

The thing is getting public support for her, and with a time frame shorter than Meta Knight's range, this is a huge challenge for us. I'm not certain, being gone as long as I was, my opinion counts for much of anything, but if we can garner support somewhere... more well known, but I think our real issue is getting people to vote for Delphox INSTEAD OF other characters. It's not as much getting her out there, more as it's convincing people she's a worthwhile candidate to vote for.

Crap, how do I delete posts? This internet has me pissed as hell...