Pokémon Trainer (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)

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

“	The trainer returns with Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard. You can choose to play as a male or female trainer!	”
—Description from the Super Smash Blog.

Pokémon Trainer
Universe	Pokémon
Also appears in	Brawl 3DS/Wii U
Shares slot with	Squirtle Ivysaur Charizard
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Triple Finish
Tier	A- (36)
Character Statistics
Gender	Optional
Voice Actors
Voiced by (English)	♂: Billy Bob Thompson ♀: Kate Bristol
Voiced by (Japanese)	♂: Tomoe Hanba ♀: Wakana Minami

The Pokémon Trainer is a veteran fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, first playable in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The character now has alternate costumes that allow players to play as either a male (known as Red) or female (known as Leaf or Green) Pokémon Trainer.

When unlocked, Red and his Pokémon are fought at Pokémon Stadium.

Attributes

Strengths

• Stamina mechanic has been removed, eliminating need to change Pokémon to recharge stamina.
• Great edge-guarding.
• Pokémon Change can be used in mid-air.
• Ability to switch Pokémon makes them unpredictable.

Weaknesses

• Squirtle is tied for 3rd lightest character in the game, being launched easily.
• Charizard is very heavy, with poor recovery, giving it a bad disadvantage state.

Changes from Brawl

Pokémon Trainer has received several key changes for his transition from Brawl to Ultimate. Notably, the Stamina mechanic has been completely removed, and Pokémon Change has been granted high utility due to the addition of aerial switching and significantly faster Pokémon switches. As such, switches between their three Pokémon have now become a unique advantage for the Pokémon Trainer alone, and his Pokémon are now free to fight indefinitely without being limited by Stamina during battle.

Aesthetics

• The Pokémon Trainer's model is significantly more detailed than it was in Brawl, having stylized body proportions and sharper, slimmer eyes. Additionally, the Trainer's Pokéballs have been resized to fit in his palm. Both these changes now make their designs similar to the style of more recent Pokémon titles.
• The female Pokémon Trainer from FireRed and LeafGreen appears as an alternate costume.
• The Pokémon Trainer now turns in battle to face the direction of the fight.
• The designs and proportions of Squirtle and Ivysaur now match their appearances in the more recent Pokémon titles. They are much more expressive than they were in Brawl.
• Triple Finish has a different text box and animations, making it identical to how they appear in the Generation VII games.
• The Trainer now claps on the results screen.
• On the results screen, the Pokémon Trainer himself/herself is shown and announced as the winner of the fight rather than the Pokémon that was in battle. His/Her face is also used as the stock icon for all three Pokémon.

Attributes

• The Stamina mechanic has been removed, eliminating the necessity of switching out Pokémon to restore their power.

Special Attacks

• Pokémon Change can now be used in the air and is much quicker, due to no longer having to load each individual Pokémon for every switch. Like in Brawl, it also offers brief invincibility upon switching out, though the quicker switch time allows it to potentially combo into another Pokémon's moves, or function somewhat as an alternative "air dodge". It also allows the user to essentially choose the recovery that suits a situation best.
• Spamming Pokémon Change will grant no invincibility frames for a period of time.

Special Moves

Pokémon Trainer's Special Moves
	Brawl	Ultimate
Standard Special	(differs between Pokémon)
Side Special	(differs between Pokémon)
Up Special	(differs between Pokémon)
Down Special	Pokémon Change
Final Smash	Triple Finish

On-Screen Appearance

• Pokémon Trainer sends out the starting Pokémon from its Poké Ball while saying "Go!" and the Pokémon's name; the female Trainer winks and smiles while doing so.

Taunts

• Strikes a pose with his/her Poke Ball, saying "Alright!"
• Thrust his/her fist in the direction of that taunt.
• Says "Yay!", then the male version pumps his left fist and winks, while the female version jumps up and down while thrusting her fist.

Male

• Rubs his left leg with his left hand.
• Jumps gently on the spot twice.

Female

• Wipes her brow with her left hand.
• Stretches her right arm, holding her elbow with her left hand.

Victory Poses

The male Trainer can say "You all did great!" (よくやったな、みんな！, Good job, everyone!), while the female Trainer can say "Everyone did great!" (みなさんは素晴らしい！, All of you did great!). They will either say a non-specific line, or a Pokemon-specific line. In Team Battles, if there are more than two players on the winning team, the Pokémon will not be present, but this does not affect the Trainer's lines. The male and female Trainers also have variations in their own pose depending on the gender of the Trainer, similarly to the Inklings.

• Left: The Trainer throws a Poké Ball up. The male Trainer poses before catching the Poké Ball and holding it in front of him, while the female Trainer performs a twirl, catches it, and holds it out in front of her. The only animation the Pokémon Trainers use during team victories.
• Up: The Pokémon does one of its moves, and the Trainer cheers it on. The male trainer ends his pose by raising his left arm high in the air with a fist pump. The female trainer ends her pose by bending her left elbow with a fist pump.
• Right: The Trainer pets the Pokémon.

Squirtle

During Squirtle's victory poses, the male Trainer might say "Good job, Squirtle!" (よくやったな、ゼニガメ！ This translates to "Good job, Squirtle!"), while the female Trainer can say "We did it, Squirtle!" (やったね、ゼニガメ！　This translates to "We did it, Squirtle!").

• Left: Jumps and spins around on its shell in a breakdance move, and then lands and poses.
• Up: Spits water quickly in three directions, does a backflip, then poses with its arm in the air.
• Right: The Pokémon Trainer holds Squirtle, then kneels down and puts it on the ground, and rubs its chin and head.

Ivysaur

During Ivysaur's victory poses, both Trainers can say "Way to go, Ivysaur!" In Japanese, the male Trainer says がんばったな、フシギソウ！, while the female Trainer says がんばったね、フシギソウ！, both of which translate to "You did great, Ivysaur!"

• Left: Runs forward, does a backflip, then strikes a pose.
• Up: Whips two vines forward, then poses with its vines extended.
• Right: The Pokémon Trainer pets Ivysaur, who then jumps on the Trainer, but the Trainer puts it back down and continues to pet it.

Charizard

During Charizard's victory poses, the Pokémon Trainer might say "You did it, Charizard!" (リザードン, あなたは最高です！, This translates to "Charizard, you're the best!"), while the female Trainer can say "You're amazing, Charizard!" (すごいね、リザードン！, This translates to "Amazing, Charizard!").

• Left: Stomps and rears its head back to roar upward, then strikes a pose.
• Up: Uses Flare Blitz downwards to descend from the sky and crash into the ground, bounces out of it and lands on its feet, then strikes a pose.
• Right: The Pokémon Trainer pets its head and neck.

In competitive play

Pokémon Trainer's perception has been positive ever since the game's release. The changes to the character's infamously counter-intuitive mechanics, specifically the removal of Stamina and type effectiveness, alongside the significantly faster switch time for Pokémon Change, had players excited for the character's return from Brawl. However, players also noted that Pokémon Trainer's playstyle had some detractors due to Ivysaur being overtuned compared to its teammates while Charizard was considered a very lackluster character, leading to optimal play requiring unbalanced use of the three Pokémon and a more predictable and exploitable game plan. Although the character initially saw average representation due to his high learning curve, players such as Leffen, Wishes, and HIKARU found success at several national tournaments.

However, as more players began learning how to utilize all three Pokémon, Pokémon Trainer saw an increase in representation. This positive trend culminated in an explosion of results during the summer of 2019 thanks to the efforts of players such as Puppeh, moxi, and most notably Tweek, who placed top 3 at several major tournaments including EVO 2019 and Super Smash Con 2019. Although Pokémon Trainer has since seen a decline due to buffs to other characters as well as the release of DLC, thanks to his above-average representation as well as an overall positive perception in the community, many players consider Pokémon Trainer to be at least a high tier character with some players even considering the character to be top tier.

Classic Mode: The Future Champion

Pokémon Trainer's route refers to the player's goal of becoming the Pokémon Champion in the Pokémon games. Like in Pikachu's route, the opponents are all Pokémon and all rounds are on Pokémon stages. Each round will start with the Pokémon chosen on the character select screen regardless of which one was active at the end of the previous round.

Role in World of Light

The male Pokémon Trainer was among the fighters summoned to fight the army of Master Hands.

During the opening cutscene, the Pokémon Trainer was present on the cliffside when Galeem unleashed its beams of light. Working together with Bowser and his Fire Breath, he sent out Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard in an attempt to fight back against the beams with Triple Finish, to no avail. All four were vaporized and placed under Galeem's imprisonment along with the rest of the fighters (excluding Kirby).

The male Pokémon Trainer can be found at the southeast near the maze that resembles Pac-Maze. Defeating him also allows access to all of his Pokémon as well as his female counterpart. Uniquely, the Trainer is controlled on the overworld during World of Light, rather than his Pokémon.

Palette Swaps

• Default: Male Pokémon Trainer is based on his appearance in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.
• Red: Female Pokémon Trainer is based on her appearance in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. Squirtle resembles the Pokémon Wartortle, its evolved form. Ivysaur resembles its in-battle sprite from Gold, Silver, and Crystal. Charizard resembles Charmeleon, its pre-evolved form.
• Green: Male Pokémon Trainer resembles Ethan as he appears in Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal. Squirtle resembles its shiny coloration. Ivysaur resembles its monochromatic sprite from the Gen I games.
• Pink: Female Pokémon Trainer resembles May as she appears in Pokémon Emerald.
• Yellow: Male Pokémon Trainer resembles Lucas as he appears in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. Squirtle resembles its in-battle sprite from Gold, Silver, and Crystal. Ivysaur resembles its shiny coloration. Charizard resembles the Shiny colorations of Charmander and Charmeleon.
• White: Female Pokémon Trainer resembles Hilda, the female protagonist of Pokémon Black and White. The white color scheme of her Pokémon coincides with Pokémon White. Charizard resembles the Pokémon Aerodactyl.
• Blue: Male Pokémon Trainer resembles Calem, the male protagonist of Pokémon X and Y. He has tanned skin, much like one of the customizable options in X and Y. The blue color scheme of his Pokémon coincides with Pokémon X. Charizard resembles the Pokémon Zubat and its evolved form, Golbat.
• Purple: Female Pokémon Trainer resembles Selene as she appears in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. She has tanned skin, much like one of the customizable options in Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon. The purple color scheme of her Pokémon coincides with Pokémon Moon and Ultra Moon. Charizard resembles its original Shiny coloration from Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal.

Gallery

The male Pokémon Trainer with his Pokémon

The female Pokémon Trainer with her Pokémon.

Both Pokémon Trainers with Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard on Onett.

External links

33-35 Pokémon Trainer – Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Trivia

• Pokémon Change is the only one of Squirtle and Charizard's Special Moves that does not begin with the letters "W" and "F" respectively.
  • This is excluding Triple Finish for both of them.
• Pokémon Trainer is the second non-Fire Emblem fighter to have the option to choose from either the male or female versions, the first being Wii Fit Trainer.
  • Inkling is the 3rd fighter to do so.