Go home, Ash: Pokken Tournament cuts out the middle man

By Will Fulton August 26, 2014

The Pokemon Company has announced Pokken Tournament, a Pokemon fighting game being developed for Japanese arcades by Bandai Namco with Tekken series director Katushiro Harada and Soulcalibur series lead programmer Masaaki Hoshino (via Gematsu).

The announcement trailer features the mighty Machamp going toe-to-toe with fighting game veteran Lucario in a Tekken-style open arena. There are no trainers in sight, presumably meaning that the Pokemon have finally overthrown their captors and learned to fight for themselves.

Given the pugilistic nature of the Pokemon franchise, a traditional fighting game spin-off seems like a natural fit. An array of colorful monsters would also provide a nice counterpoint to the usual roster of muscle-bound men, scantily-clad women, and the occasional demon that populate most fighters.

Pokken Tournament will come first to Japanese arcades in 2015, as is typical for Tekken games, and possibly Wii U afterwards, though no announcement to that effect has yet been made.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

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Checking in on the Epic Games Store is one of the easiest ways to grow your gaming library. Epic gives out a free game or two every week, ranging from darling indies to AAA titles. All you have to do is jump on the Epic Games Store to claim the free games and they'll be added to your library to keep forever.

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What's free on the Epic Games Store right now?
These games can be picked up on the Epic Games store right now for free. Scroll down to the Free Games section of the app's Discover tab or find the individual title using the search bar. Just find and select the Get button to claim your free game. You do not have to download or install it right away.