>>11128764>Hm, why Rathalos specifically and not, say, a Palico?Palicos are more for utility in the games - they hunt with you when you're solo and do a bunch of other menial things depending on the games; the monsters, however, are the main attraction, and what you're playing the games to see. While it's true Capcom seemed to have wanted to use Palicos as their original mascots, even tying them to merch, it's been shown repeatedly that monster merchandise greatly outsells anything Palico related especially (and ironically) in terms of plushies; as is such, Rathalos reigns supreme as the official mascot, and has always outshone the cutesy cats. While it's possible they could throw in a small Palico Autobot transformer, it would only happen if it was bundled with a Rathalos Decepticon, like how we got the two jeeps from JP bundled with the dinosaurs. Of course, if they went the 2-pack route, it would be better to pack in an actual Hunter stand-in over a Palico; maybe make the Rathalos come apart like a Fossilizer for the 'Hunter' to wear, with the parts separating to form the iconic Rathalos weapon and armor set.
