Pokken Tournament producer Katsuhiro Harada recently responded to a fan on Twitter about a possible sequel to the Pokemon fighting game. The fan asked whether or not the game was "one time only" and Harada gave his thoughts on that.
Pokken Tournament is a fighting game developed by Bandai Namco. It takes some elements from the Tekken fighting game series and uses characters from the Pokemon series as the fighters. It was originally released for Japanese arcades in July of 2015, before being released worldwide for Wii U in March of 2016. An enhanced edition, called Pokken Tournament DX, was released for Nintendo Switch in September of 2017.
A fan asked Pokken Tournament producer Katsuhiro Harada on Twitter whether a sequel to the game might be in the works. Harada responded, saying that he has a good relationship with Nintendo and The Pokemon Company, and that he would like to make a sequel. But he also said that, like with many other Pokemon spinoffs, ultimately, the decision rests with Nintendo and The Pokemon Company as to whether a sequel gets created or not.
Pokken Tournament features a roster of 23 different playable Pokemon, including favorites such as Charizard, Lucario, and the recently added Blastoise. While the fighting mechanics are somewhat similar to Tekken, there are some major differences. The fighting system changes depending on the distance between opponents, shifting from Tekken-based 2D combat at close range to more open, 3D movement at long range.
There's also some rock-paper-scissors gameplay in that grabs can't be countered, counters cancel out attacks, and attacks overwrite grabs. The traditional Pokemon elemental rock-paper-scissors isn't in the game, though, so Suicune's water-type attacks won't do extra damage against Charizard, for instance.
From what Katsuhiro Harada said, it doesn't sound like a Pokken Tournament sequel is currently in development though. It might be that, having just finished up with Pokemon Sword and Shield's Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra DLCs, and with New Pokemon Snap just on the horizon, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company aren't interested in a new Pokken Tournament right now.
That being said, a sequel would be amazing. If Bandai Namco were to make a sequel, there are several Sword and Shield Pokemon that would make good characters. A sequel could add new mechanics and expand on the world and lore of the original Pokken Tournament. Beyond that, there's just so much potential for a Pokemon-based fighting game to feature fighters with unusual designs and mechanics.
Pokken Tournament is currently available for Wii U and in Japanese arcades, and the enhanced port Pokken Tournament DX is currently available on Nintendo Switch.