The “Forbidden Seven” of Brawl

[Perkilator]

Okay, so…the Forbidden Seven. A group of code names with leftover data implying seven characters cut from Brawl.

• "pra_mai", commonly theorized to be Plusle and Minun from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. However, the name also means “every player”, so it could’ve also been a name for Miis (which were considered for Brawl but ultimately dropped) or the RANDOM button on the CSS.
• "mewtwo", "roy" and "dr_mario", definitely known to be three characters who were planned to return from Melee, but were dropped due to time constraints. It should be noted that Mewtwo and Roy’s data put together includes unused victory themes and a Wii Remote sound.
• "toon_zelda" and "toon_sheik", commonly theorized to either be Tetra or simple Toon versions of Zelda and Sheik.
• "dixie", last name Kong. According to Sakurai, Dixie and Diddy were supposed to be another tag team like the Ice Climbers, but this was dropped because of technical issues and Diddy became a solo fighter.

After mulling over the Forbidden Seven most recently, I then thought to myself “what if all of these characters managed to make it into Brawl?” Keep in mind that these are my ideas and they do not reflect those of other people.

• Mewtwo, Roy and Dr. Mario would of course return, since they’re veterans (and in the latter two’s case, they’d be even easier to develop since they’re clones)
• Dixie Kong would also be a solo fighter and a semi-clone of Diddy
• ”pra_mai”: I was thinking it should be Plusle and Minun as spiritual successors to Pichu’s moveset (minus recoil, obviously) and a tag team character
• ”toon_zelda” and “toon_sheik”: Honestly? I’d say just put your best foot forward and make Tetra a fighter with a fully unique moveset

[Florete]

Diddy/Dixie would have been similar, but not quite like Ice Climbers. Sakurai said you'd be able to switch between them mid-battle, which would be pointless if they just shared the same exact moveset like Ice Climbers, and there's also no reason they wouldn't make it in if that were the case. I theorize that Diddy and Dixie were each conceptualized with a mostly unique moveset, but their special attacks were shared and utilized both Kongs in some way. And I really wish I could travel to the timeline where this actually happened.

If "pra_mai" was ever Plusle and Minun - which is dubious to begin with - I don't think they would have been a tag team duo. I think they'd be a Pichu "replacement" like how Toon Link replaced Young Link and they would simply be the first instance of alternate character skins, which we would later see with Olimar/Alph.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

On 9/7/2023 at 7:04 AM, Perkilator said:

”pra_mai”: I was thinking it should be Plusle and Minun as spiritual successors to Pichu’s moveset (minus recoil, obviously) and a tag team character

One approach could be, only moving around as one of the two, with the other in the background (like Pokemon Trainer). So, let's say I'm using Minun, and Plusle is in the background. With the taunt buttons, Plusle could give a cheer, potentially giving Minun a slight power boost. It should be possible to swap the two, but I'm not sure how, assuming that B-Down still functions as Thunder.

[Perkilator]

6 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

One approach could be, only moving around as one of the two, with the other in the background (like Pokemon Trainer). So, let's say I'm using Minun, and Plusle is in the background. With the taunt buttons, Plusle could give a cheer, potentially giving Minun a slight power boost. It should be possible to swap the two, but I'm not sure how, assuming that B-Down still functions as Thunder.

Well, this mod I found for Rivals of Aether gives a pretty good idea of a tag team.