>>37490616It played the antagonist role in the movie, the driving force for Ash to get stronger and go through all of his emotional development, even then it got exposure alongside other shillmons and unique merchandise, the TCG card with the “God Damn Punch” is a product of that.
His first appearance in the anime is asserting dominance over the other 2 starters, he then joined Pikachu and Greninja as the only 3 Pokémon to defeat a mega evolved Pokémon, and is later teased for more future roles in the openings, he appears in the league part of the opening too fighting Pikachu.
Still even if none of that counts, Smash is enough to call it a shillmon, even if Sakurai was the one who made the decision, he’s going to get a lot of attention because of it, he’s going to be one of 10 Pokemon to have an Amiibo as well, so many people and smash enthusiasts are going to at least the very least acknowledge him.
