During the same interview where he provided the first bit of Tekken x Street Fighter information we’ve received in some time, Bandai Namco Games’ Katsuhiro Harada touched on another title that’s seen little in the way of updates since it was first announced.

Pokkén Tournament represents a very interesting take on the hugely popular Pokémon franchise, allowing players to take direct control of the pocket monsters themselves in a fighting game environment. While The Pokémon Company is generally very controlling over how their property is used, mostly due to the series’ younger following, Harada mentioned to Korean website inven that they’ve been very open to his team’s ideas.

“Surprisingly, they weren’t as strict as I expected them to be with Pokkén,” he explained. “We sent The Pokémon Company twenty ideas and they allowed all of them barring one: I suggested that we have different Pokémon Trainers fight, and they immediately denied it.”

The interview also touched on the future of Pokkén should the first installment be popular. Though obviously a little too early to talk on such subjects, Harada did mention that the extensive amount of Pokémon now available in the franchise should make expanding the game a relatively easy feat.

Currently, only Lucario, Machamp, and Blaziken have been revealed as playable characters, all of which share very common characteristics. This new statement from Harada, coupled with earlier promises that Fighting-type Pokémon won’t take up the entire cast, opens up a ton of possibilities.

Pokkén Tournament is scheduled to release in arcades sometime next year.

Source: inven via Let’s Talk Nintendo and Avoiding the Puddle