Pokémon Trainer (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)

One of my favorite Brawl characters!

''This article is about Pokémon Trainer's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Pokémon Trainer.''

Pokémon Trainer (, Pokemon Torēnā), is a selectable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. His design is taken from the FireRed and LeafGreen versions of Pokémon. Rather than fighting directly as the Trainer, the player instead controls his three Pokémon, which consist of Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard. The three Pokémon all share the same damage meter, but they have their own individual Stamina stat, which balance out the use of each Pokémon. Knocking out one of the Pokémon will make Pokémon Trainer lose a life. It is possible to choose which Pokémon the player begins the match with. By clicking on the Pokémon of the player's choice on the portrait (not the icon), the player will start with that Pokémon. Selecting Pokémon Trainer himself makes the starting Pokémon randomly chosen.

Whichever Pokémon is currently battling will have its picture shown in the bottom of the screen, next to the damage percentage and the series logo. The picture then presumably changes when a new Pokémon is sent out. Pokémon Trainer and the Pokémon that was out during the match's end will appear together on the Results screen. Pokémon Trainer will hang his head while the Pokémon claps if he loses. If he wins the Pokémon is named as the winner, while Pokémon Trainer and his Pokémon do their victory pose together. When the current Pokémon is KO'd, the next in the Pokémon Change cycle will appear on the "halo" platform (Squirtle KO'd leads to Ivysaur, etc.).

If one of his Pokémon gets a certain item (Super Mushroom, Metal Box, etc.), the Pokémon Trainer would be unaffected by it. Contrary to some claims, this character is not Ash Ketchum from the Pokémon anime series. Masahiro Sakurai has stated that only characters originating from video games are eligible for inclusion in Brawl ' s roster. However, he is identical in appearance to Red, the main character of Pokémon (Red, Blue, Yellow, LeafGreen, FireRed). For the various voice clips that are used, a new English voice actor from the anime (Sarah Natochenny, who voices Ash) is not in this game, despite popular belief. Michele Knotz, who voices Nurse Joy, May, and characters other than Ash, was given the role.

Various accommodations are made for Pokémon Trainer in several stages. In moving stages like Halberd and Delphino Plaza, Pokémon Trainer only appears on the stationary sections. On the Bridge of Eldin, Pokémon Trainer always stays to the left, so that he never gets hit by the bomb that destroys the middle of the bridge. In Norfair, Pokémon Trainer stands on a special platform in the background that flies away when the huge lava wave is coming. Pokémon Trainer will appear on a similar background platform for any custom stage or Melee stage.

Pokémon Trainer is currently ranked 27th in the tier list. This is partly due to players being forced to master all three Pokemon playstyles. The stamina problem forces a PT player to make crucial decisions about whether to try and switch safely or to just keep piling on the damage and hope for a KO, with the problem being most apparent when fighting as Squirtle. The Pokémon also all suffer recovery issues, ranging from poor to relatively predictable (from bad to manageable: Ivysaur, Squirtle, Charizard).

Role in The Subspace Emissary
After fleeing from Wario, Lucas bumps into the Pokémon Trainer, who tells him to stand back, and proceeds to take on a group of Primids with his Squirtle. After saving Lucas, he goes on his way, but Lucas follows him. As the story progresses, they developed a rather large friendship. Pokémon Trainer is searching for two Pokémon, Charizard and Ivysaur, that are identified when he shows Lucas their cards. So, he and Lucas set out to find them. Until then, Squirtle is the only choice the player can use and using Down Special will not result in anything except the Pokémon Trainer in the background "flipping" a Pokéball in his hand twice. Outside of an old temple, they survive a brief encounter with Wario. After venturing deep into the ruins, finding Ivysaur, and battling and capturing Charizard, players will then fight a giant monster named Galleom. When the boss is defeated, it will grab both Lucas and Pokémon Trainer after the fight, and jump up into the air, revealing an armed Subspace Bomb in its head. Lucas then uses PK Thunder to detach the arm, and they free-fall towards the ground. Before hitting the ground and narrowly escaping the Subspace explosion, Meta Knight grabs them both before collision, in-flight and takes them to Marth and Ike.

Later, Pokémon Trainer and Marth watch as Ice Climbers fall from the mountain. As the Shadow Bugs swarm over the cliffs, he joins Marth, Ike and Lucas in repelling the Primids. As he retreats, tossing a Pokéball from hand to hand, Mario and his companions arrive at the Canyon entrance.

Later, he joins the rest of the fighters in their assault on the Subspace Gunship, and is aboard one of the smaller ships when they navigate their way into Subspace. However, upon reaching Tabuu, the leader of the Subspace army crushes all the fighters with his Off Waves. He is later revived by King Dedede and his companions, and can be chosen to fight Tabuu at the end.

Attributes
For character specific Attributes, see Squirtle (SSBB), Ivysaur (SSBB) and Charizard (SSBB)

Pokémon Trainer's unique ability to be three characters at once allows for many different positive effects. For instance, the three separate characters can be used together in conjunction for a powerful effect, especially since altogether the Pokémon Trainer has nine special moves. (Pokémon Change just swaps the Pokémon around, so it's not a real special move.) Since all the Pokémon have varying weights and sizes, certain Pokémon can be switched to during opportune moments. For example, if the Pokémon has high damage, Charizard can be switched to since it has a higher survival rate. Squirtle and Ivysaur both are excellent at racking up damage. The high damage opponent can then be KO'd by one of Charizard's high knockback moves. The invincibility granted by Pokémon Change can be used to avoid attacks on the ground, such as Final Smashes, or cure status ailments. However, Pokémon Change happens automatically after a Pokémon is KO'd. If the player wants to switch back to the Pokémon they were just using they must endure four seconds worth (or more) of Pokémon Change to get back to that last Pokémon in use. Pokémon Change has another flaw, such as the fact that it makes the Pokémon being switched to somewhat vulnerable at the end. Also, it cannot be used in midair or while invincible. Certain Pokémon are bad for certain situations, either forcing the player to use the wrong Pokémon for certain bad situations or go through multiple Pokémon Changes.

The one thing that the entire team shares is a strong grab/throw game, though each one has different ways of implementing it. Squirtle's grab has roughly average range, but its strength is in grounding an opponent in their shield with an overwhelming attack rate before rushing in for a grab. From there, it has a kill option and excellent setup options with decent damage all around. Ivysaur does things differently by focusing more on tricking the opponent into a grab; Ivysaur has one of the best pivot grabs available and will often have retreated to the edge in the process, and from there has the option to use its powerful back-throw for a kill (or up-throw, should the match-up recommend it). Charizard's long neck can outgrab most of the characters in the game due to owning the second longest non-tether grab range in Brawl (second to King Dedede), giving it good match control options. It also has the option to grab-release, since the spacing will become perfect for a down-tilt (and potentially a KO).

Trivia

 * On the Halberd, if the cannon is fired in his direction, he won't be affected.
 * He will move above the pit in the Yoshi's Island Stage when his Pokémon is on the opposite side of the pit (for example, if Pokémon Trainer is on the right and his Pokémon is on the left).
 * If the player selects Pokémon Trainer and chooses either Brinstar, Norfair, Frigate Orpheon, Corneria, Rainbow Cruise, Big Blue or a custom stage as the stage, a new platform is added to the background for him to stand on.
 * Squirtle has a much longer swim time for its damage before it "panics"; whereas Charizard "panics" almost immediately when in the water. This is a reference to Squirtle being a water-type and not affected by water, whereas Charizard is weak to water because it is a fire-type.
 * If Pokémon Trainer is defeated, he will remain on the stage, covering his face with his hand. This is similar to some of the defeated poses in the 3D Stadium games after GameCube's Pokémon Colosseum. This is only if there are 2 or more people still brawling on the stage.
 * On the Tourney mode and Adventure Mode character-selection screens, the player can toggle between character-related options using the "-" button on the Wii Remote, the right Control Stick on the Classic Controller, or "C" on the GameCube Controller and Nunchuk. This feature allows the player to choose the starting Pokémon for Pokémon Trainer.
 * During the Subspace Emissary, Pokémon Trainer will often Space Jump around the level to catch up with his Pokémon. This is seen as an orange-yellow streak across the screen.
 * During the Subspace Emissary. The trainer only has Squirtle (SSBB) to begin with. If the player tries to Pokémon Change during these levels, The trainer will just look down and spin the Pokéball he has on his hand.
 * When Pokémon Change is used, Pokémon Trainer's Pokéballs are smaller than the item Pokéballs.
 * What Pokémon Trainer says as he withdraws the Pokémon currently on stage depends on how many KOs they have achieved. At 0-2 KOs, he will say "Get back!". At 3-5 KOs, he will say "Good job!". At 6 or more KOs, he will say "Amazing job!
 * What Pokémon Trainer says as he releases the next Pokémon is dependent on how much damage the opponent has taken. From 0%-99%, he will say "Go, _______!". From 100%-149%, he will say "Hang on, _______!". From 150% and above, he will say "Just a little more, _______!" This is a reference to Pokémon being sent out in the main games.
 * Pokémon Trainer wears a VS. Seeker, an item in Pokémon used for detecting if people want to battle.
 * After clearing Classic mode, and gaining the player character's trophy, in the screen that follows before the roll-call (showing all your previously collected character trophies), you may notice that the Pokémon Trainer is the only misplaced character in the line-up, always appearing at the end, after Sonic. This is probably because the Pokémon Trainer isn't exactly a fighter; and the individual Pokémon's Trophies are not shown.
 * There are many different reasons for choosing these particular Pokémon. They are all: originals; different types; different sizes; at different stages of evolution; are evolutions of the starter Pokémon in the first generation of Pokémon games.
 * Pokémon Trainer is one of the four people to not clap at the results screen when he loses, the other 4 being Jigglypuff, Diddy and the Ice Climbers. Though Pokémon Trainer does not clap, his Pokémon do.
 * The Pokémon Trainer's defeat from Tabuu's Off Waves in the Subspace Emissary can be considered to be the only time the Pokémon Trainer, himself, is KO'd in the entire game.
 * Ivysaur is the first and so far only quadrupedal fighter in the series (unlike Pikachu and Squirtle who only go on all fours when running).
 * In the Japanese tier list, Charizard, Ivysaur, Squirtle, and Trainer each have their own spot.
 * All his Pokémon are scaled, Squirtle is 1'08" (50cm) tall, Ivysaur is 3'03" (1m) tall and Charizard is 5'07" (1.7m) tall, while, when brawling, Squirtle is a little smaller than Ivysaur and both are almost the same size as their Trainer, while Charizard isn't as tall as he is in the Pokédex comparing to the Trainer.
 * In Classic mode, you need to finish with each Pokémon, Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard, separately to obtain each of their individual trophies.
 * In Pokémon Fire Red & Leaf Green his Pokéballs are in the his right bag pocket; however, in Pokémon Change, the Pokémon he's switching to's Pokéball comes out the left side and the one he's calling back goes to the right.
 * Each of Pokémon Trainers alternate costumes are the colors of the three of the four games from the first generation of the Pokémon games: Red, Blue, Green. The colors of the Pokemon in each of these costumes is tinted to match the trainer's: this is a reference to the limited, version-based color pallete used when playing the original games on Super Game Boy or Game Boy Color.