Super Smash Bros. Melee was lacking in content from Pokémon Gold & Silver, but things were almost different, as Masahiro Sakurai almost included the Sprout Tower from the Johto region as a stage in the game.
The original Super Smash Bros. game had two Pokémon on its roster, in the form of Pikachu and Jigglypuff. Super Smash Bros. Melee added two new Pokémon, with the highly-requested Mewtwo finally joining the roster. Pichu was also there. Despite this, there were no stages based on the Johto region added to the game. The only Pokémon stages in Super Smash Bros. Melee were Poké Floats and Pokémon Stadium.
It seems that the Johto region was going to receive more representation that the terrible Pichu in Super Smash Bros. Melee. According to an interview with Masahiro Sakurai on the Japanese Nintendo site, he had considered using Sprout Tower from Pokémon Gold & Silver as a stage in the game.
Sakurai didn’t elaborate on how the stage would have worked, but it likely would have involved multi-tiered platforms with a shaking pillar in the center that could damage players. The stage hazards could have included the new Pokémon introduced in the Johto region, as well as an abundance of Bellsprout.
A lot of content was planned for Super Smash Bros. Melee, but it never made it into the game, due to the short development time allowed for Sakurai and his team. These included characters like the Balloon Fighter, Urban Champion, and Wario, who would later come to the series in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Sprout Tower wasn’t the only stage considered for the game, as Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem were also planned to have a stage, to reflect the addition of Fire Emblem characters to the series. It’s a shame that Super Smash Bros. Melee didn’t have more time to add more content, as gamers all over the world could still be arguing over the tournament legality of jumping around a giant Bellsprout.
Source: Nintendo
