To the delight of many, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is less than a week away from release. While there have been major leaks preceding the launch of Nintendo's new fighter, including an upload of the full retail release, some new details are circulating - specifically, special Pikachu and Eevee Spirits will be added to the game on December 14.

Unlocking these Pokemon Spirits is easy, as they will be automatically available to all players that have save data from Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! on their Switch consoles. However, owning these new Pokemon titles is not requisite, and details on accessing the special Spirits through challenges is forthcoming.

Spirits are a new mechanic being introduced in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. There are two categories of Spirits, Primary and Support, which can be assigned to a player's fighter, providing them with stat increases and additional skills. There are over 1,000 Spirits, ranging from Star Fox's Slippy Toad to Cloud from Final Fantasy VII, and they can be collected in the game's Adventure Mode, "World of Light," or through the Spirit Board game mode.

let's go pikachu and eevee spirits

These newly revealed Pikachu and Eevee Spirits are both of the Support category. Pikachu offers a boost to damage and speed while a fighter remains undamaged, and those equipped with the Eevee Spirit will have greatly increased attack and defense after eating.

While this new Spirit system may feel overwhelming to some players, the complications Spirits cause are less than may initially meet the eye. To begin, they can only be used in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's Adventure Mode or in custom battles with friends - thus, players will not need to worry about determining the strongest Spirit combinations for standard online matchmaking. Additionally, players that wish to put minimal effort into Spirits can simply have them automatically recommended through the game's Spirit Assignment menu.

For fans that have just completed their Pokemon: Let's Go play-throughs, the imminent addition of Pikachu and Eevee to their stable of Spirits is likely to be exciting. Furthermore, this announcement comes with its own implications about post-launch Spirit additions. While nothing has been confirmed, it seems likely that many future Nintendo releases will bring new Spirits to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate releases December 7 exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.

Source: Nintendo Life, Reddit