Pokémon Trainer inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Pokémon
Shares character slot with	Charizard Ivysaur Squirtle
Other playable appearance	inBrawl
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Triple Finish
Tier	A- (36)

Pokémon Trainer (ポケモントレーナー,Pokémon Trainer) is a playable character inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was officially revealed on June 12th, 2018 alongside his team of Pokémon:Squirtle,Ivysaur, andCharizard, the latter of whom returns to the team after appearing by itself inSuper Smash Bros. 4. Although Pokémon Trainer lacks a fighter number compared to the rest of the cast, his Pokémon have fighter numbers in his stead: Squirtle is classified asFighter #33, Ivysaur is classified asFighter #34, and Charizard is classified asFighter #35.

The male Pokémon Trainer has new voice clips in all languages he is voiced in, with all of his voice actors fromSuper Smash Bros. Brawl being replaced (except for his Japanese voice actor, who reprises her role). Respectively, the voice actors for the male and female Pokémon Trainers are:

• Tomoe Hanba (male) and Wakana Minami (female) in Japanese.
• Billy Bob Thompson (male, replacing Michele Knotz) and Kate Bristol (female) in English.
• Emilie Guillaume (male, replacing Virginie Demians) and Elisabeth Guinand (female) in French.
• Maximilian Belle (male, replacing Dina Kürten) and Lea Kalbhenn (female) in German.
• Tania de Domenico (male, replacing Francesca Guidice) and Giada Bonanomi (female) in Italian.
• Rodri Martín (male, replacing Isabel Navarro) and Tania Ugía (female) in Spanish.

Unlike inBrawl, Pokémon Trainer's Japanese voice clips are used in the Korean version ofUltimate, instead of unique Korean-language voice clips.

Pokémon Trainer is ranked 36th out of 82 on the currenttier list, placing him in the lower half of the A- tier. This is a drastic improvement over his 29th out of 38 placement inBrawl, and a significant improvement overCharizard's placement inSmash 4, where it was ranked 42nd out of 54. This improvement is thanks to the fasterPokémon Change, the ability to use Pokémon Change in mid-air, and the removal of thestamina andtype effectiveness mechanics. Being one of two fighters to be able to swap characters via Pokemon Change (alongside theAegis), each of the Trainer's Pokémon has unique playstyles and win conditions. Squirtle is the one that is best suited for combos and racking up damage, Ivysaur is the best at ranged combat to keep enemies at bay, and Charizard is the best at high percents, either for survivability purposes or to get KOs off of reads and powerful moves. This allows the Trainer to switch between three different playstyles on the go. Furthermore, they lack many definitive losing matchups, as in the case of an unfavorable opponent, the player can switch to a Pokemon best suited for the matchup. Finally, they also have a great offstage presence, because they can utilize many different edgeguarding and recovery options to be effective offstage. This makes for one of the best mix-up games in the game, as the enemy must learn 3 different playstyles to be able to do well against Pokemon Trainer.

Despite a myriad of pros from the ability to switch between different fighters, the team nevertheless has weaknesses. As each Pokémon has a separate playstyle, solo-maining a single Pokémon is heavily discouraged, and the player will have to learn how to play them all at once in order to make the most use out of the Trainer. In addition, each Pokémon also have their own weaknesses: Squirtle has a hard time in securing stocks, Ivysaur has a poor disadvantage state and a weak recovery compared to the other two, and Charizard has issues that come with being a superheavyweight, such as big frame, slow moves, and bad disadvantage. Finally, the Trainer cannot repeatedly switch between each Pokémon because of a cool down, and if a Pokémon is switched out or knocked out, they will have to wait two different rotations before being sent out.

Overall, Pokémon Trainer is a character with a high learning curve that centralizes around mastering the capabilities of all 3 Pokémon in order to be the most successful. Despite this perception, Pokémon Trainer was an incredibly popular character in the early metagame, with many players, especiallyTweek, finding great success with the character. However, nerfs to Ivysaur, the absence of their best players, and the rise of oppressive DLC fighters greatly reduced Pokémon Trainer's representation over time, though dedicated mains, especiallyAtelier andQuidd, were still able to put up strong performances with the character.

How to unlock[edit]

Complete one of the following:

• PlayVS. matches, with the Pokémon Trainer being the 26th character to be unlocked.
• ClearClassic Mode withDonkey Kong or any character in his unlock tree, being the 2nd character unlocked afterBowser.
• Have the Pokémon Trainer join the player's party inWorld of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Pokémon Trainer must then be defeated onPokémon Stadium. In World of Light, he is fought on theΩ form ofBattlefield.

Attributes[edit]

As one of only three fighters inUltimate to use the character-swap mechanic (with the other two being withPyra andMythra), Pokémon Trainer is arguably the most dynamic fighter in the game, yet also one of the most demanding. Unlike other tag team-oriented fighters, such asRosalina & Luma andBanjo & Kazooie, the Trainer does not fight directly and instead acts as a commander for his three Pokémon:Squirtle,Ivysaur andCharizard. Although only one of these Pokémon can be present in battle at any given time, they can be swapped out usingPokémon Change in that order. In the absence of astamina mechanic, players may use any or all of the three Pokémon freely without fear of becoming less effective. However, forced switching remains, with the player automatically switching to the next Pokémon upon losing a stock.

Each of the three Pokémon covers a different archetype: Squirtle is a fast combo-oriented lightweight, Ivysaur is a middleweight zoner, and Charizard is a super heavyweight with raw KO power and atypically fast mobility despite its slow moves. Typically, the most basic game plan is to build damage with Squirtle at low percents, use Ivysaur to outrange opponents and secure advantage state at medium percents, and score KOs and recover more easily with Charizard.

However, the Pokémon Trainer's versatility allows for a multitude of different game plans depending on the player's preference and the matchup. Pokémon Change has been significantly streamlined fromBrawl and has been made significantly faster and can be used in the air. This allows for more effective switching in the heat of the moment so that the current Pokémon can be easily removed from the battle and replaced if it is in a situation where its weaknesses can be easily exploited. This also allows for recovery to be extended further; for example, using Ivysaur'sVine Whip to gain a small amount of vertical height, then switching and using Charizard'sFlare Blitz andFly to provide a very extensive recovery. As such, the Pokémon Trainer can adapt to any situation simply by choosing the right creature for the job, providing for a fighting style similar to 3-on-3 fighting games where the player chooses a team of interchangeable fighters that can be exchanged in an instant.

Despite the advantages provided by the Pokémon Trainer's central mechanic, they do not provide for an infallible fighter. Most notable is the very high learning curve required to master the whole party; all three Pokémon have their own matchups and optimal reactions to different situations, requiring a very high level of commitment to become familiar with each of the three, when to switch Pokémon, and what new situations can arise from switching, requiring commitment akin to having three mains at once in a game where even handling two mains can be overwhelming.

Furthermore, each of the three Pokémon is slightly more specialized in their role than other fighters of their class, and therefore has more pronounced weaknesses. Squirtle's KO power and endurance are lacking, Ivysaur's recovery and disadvantage state are both very poor, and Charizard is susceptible to combos and has mostly unsafe moves. Because Pokémon Change operates in a set order (unlike withMonado Arts) and cannot be continuously spammed due to its cooldown, players cannot always choose which Pokémon to use in which situation and can sometimes be rendered helpless in preventing the current Pokémon's weaknesses from being exploited. This is especially notable in matchups such asPikachu andMr. Game & Watch, where two of the three Pokémon are at a disadvantage, resulting in strained efforts to use the one optimal Pokémon as much as possible while keeping the other two on standby.

While attempting to "solo main" one of the three Pokémon is possible, it is not recommended in most cases (outside of single-stock modes such asSquad Strike itself, ironically) as players are nonetheless forced to use all three during battle, even while waiting for the cooldown onPokémon Change. For instance, attempting to "main" Charizard while having little knowledge of Squirtle and Ivysaur will allow opponents to exploit the brief windows where using Charizard is not possible. However, it is entirely possible to centralize a playstyle around one or two preferred Pokémon and to use the remaining teammate(s) to complement them, such as withTweek (who prioritizes Squirtle) andPuppeh (who prioritizes Charizard).

Overall, the Pokémon Trainer is simultaneously one of the most adaptable, most unpredictable, and most challenging fighters to play inUltimate. As the only fighter that allows the player to bring three completely different characters into battle outside of modes likeSquad Strike, the Trainer can enable many different playstyles depending on the player's familiarity and comfort with each of his Pokémon and its matchups. Thanks to the Pokémon Trainer's reworked mechanics and his Pokémon being buffed to varying degrees (with the most notable buffs being the removal of both the Pokémon'sstamina andtype effectiveness mechanics), he is universally considered to be far superior than he was inBrawl. This has been reflected by his playerbase achieving very notable results in competitive play, with the unique Pokémon Change mechanic and comparative lack of restrictions allowing for a very open-ended game plan.

Changes fromSuper Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]

The list below covers the general changes of the Pokémon Trainer and his party as a whole. For information about each individual Pokémon's moveset changes, seeSquirtle (SSBU),Ivysaur (SSBU), andCharizard (SSBU).

Pokémon Trainer was considered a lower-ranking character inBrawl, as despite many of the Pokémon's unique strengths, the team's polarized balance and mechanics that adversely worked against the team counterbalanced said traits. Most likely following this status, Pokémon Trainer has been buffed significantly in the transition toUltimate.

Notably, both thestamina mechanic andtype effectiveness have been completely removed, andPokémon Change has been granted high utility due to the addition of aerial switching and significantly faster Pokémon switches. As such, switches between the three Pokémon have now become a unique advantage for the Pokémon Trainer alone instead of being a major mandatory commitment, and the Pokémon are now free to fight indefinitely without being limited by Stamina during battle. In addition, Ivysaur, who was previously the worst Pokémon in the party, has been greatly buffed, and the general changes toUltimate's mechanics greatly benefit Ivysaur and Squirtle.

Despite some noteworthy buffs, Pokémon Trainer has also received some nerfs. While the removal of type effectiveness slightly benefits Charizard and greatly benefits Ivysaur due to the latter's weakness to the near omniprescentflame effect, it also greatly hinders Squirtle due to its resistance to said effect. Additionally, while Pokémon Change has been greatly improved, it has also received a few new disadvantages, as there is now a timer which prevents switching for a couple of seconds (although there are ways to work around this) and it no longer resetsstale move negation, effectively weakening the next Pokémon. Squirtle has also been slightly nerfed overall, and Ivysaur and Charizard have received a few nerfs as well.

In bulk, Pokémon Trainer has become a significantly more effective character than inBrawl. Despite retaining a high learning curve, all three Pokémon now boast their own degree of effectiveness for certain matchups, making the character more dynamic overall. Still, while each of the Trainer's Pokémon is usable as its own character, as inBrawl, usage of all three for different situations is optimal. Nevertheless, the team performs much better than they previously did in Brawl.

Aesthetics[edit]

• The male Pokémon Trainer's model is significantly more detailed than it was inBrawl, having stylized body proportions and sharper, slimmer eyes. Additionally, the Trainer's Poké Balls have been resized to fit in his palm. Both of these changes make his design similar to the style of recentPokémon titles.
• The Pokémon Trainer has completely new alternate costumes based on protagonists in thePokémon series. Half of them are based on the female Pokémon Trainer fromFireRed andLeafGreen. In addition to distinct voice clips, the majority of her animations are unique.
• The Pokémon Trainer now turns in a battle to face the position of the Pokémon.
• Theannouncer no longer calls out Squirtle, Ivysaur, or Charizard on thecharacter selection screen; instead, when selecting a Pokémon manually, a small portrait of Squirtle, Ivysaur, or Charizard appears in the upper right portion of Pokémon Trainer's portrait.
• Triple Finish has a different text box and animations; the text box is now identical to how they appear in theGeneration VII games.
• The Pokémon Trainer now says "All right!" when performing an uptaunt and "Yeah!" when performing a down taunt.
• On theresults screen, the Pokémon Trainer is shown and announced as the winner of the fight rather than the Pokémon that was in battle.
• The Trainer's face is also used as the stock icon for all three Pokémon, although the Pokémon also have their own stock icons used for other modes.
• The Trainer now claps on the results screen, instead of looking down in disappointment like inBrawl.
• Pokémon Trainer'scrowd cheer is now "I choose you!"
• Both genders of the Pokémon Trainer have unique reactions to the situation of their Pokémon, such as when it lands a hit, takes a hit, scores a KO or is KO'd.
• If the Trainer's Pokémon is moved horizontally when he is standing on the main platform of large stages (such as theTraining stage), he will chase his Pokémon by dashing into them instead of aspace jump.
• As with all previously cut veterans returning fromMelee andBrawl, Pokémon Trainer now has aBoxing Ring title and aPalutena's Guidance conversation.
• Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard, as well as both Trainers now each have an individualSound Test section, rather than being grouped together.
• In matches with five or more players, the Pokémon Trainer will not appear on-screen - instead Poké Balls will be thrown and recalled from behind the screen.

Attributes[edit]

• TheStamina mechanic has been removed, eliminating the need to switch out Pokémon to restore their power.
• Type effectiveness has been removed, which affects the three Pokémon in different ways:
  • Loss of type effectiveness greatly nerfs Squirtle, who no longer takes less knockback from flame damage.
  • Loss of type effectiveness greatly benefits Ivysaur, who no longer takes extra knockback fromflame damage.
  • Loss of type effectiveness also slightly buffs Charizard, who no longer takes extra knockback fromwater damage, which is more prevalent than inBrawl.
• Squirtle is now selected as the starting Pokémon by default when the player chooses Pokémon Trainer on thecharacter select screen. This selection can still be changed before starting the match by pressing or, or highlighting the Pokémon. InBrawl, a random starting Pokémon would be chosen by default if the player did not choose a Pokémon on the character select. If anamiibo of the Pokémon Trainer's Pokémon is used, the default starting Pokémon will be locked into this Pokémon.

Special moves[edit]

• Pokémon Change:
  • Pokémon Change executes much faster, and no longer requires the game to load the next Pokémon with every switch. This significantly increases its safety, and allows it to potentially string into another Pokémon's moves.
  • It can now be used in the air. This allows the player to mix up their recovery between different Pokémon, and to utilize its intangibility frames as a pseudo-air dodge, with the notable advantage of coming out on frame 1. As a result, it poses much less of a risk than inBrawl as a defensive option.
  • It has a cooldown of around two seconds after the Pokémon switch is executed. However, it can be skipped by using another special move.
  • It no longer resetsstale-move negation, effectively weakening the next Pokémon when the current Pokémon switches.
  • It can no longerskip the ending lag of the switch if performed near the edge of a moving platform, although it still grants Ivysaur an extra midair jump.
• Triple Finish:
  • Triple Finish deals less total damage (58% → 44.3%).

Update history[edit]

Unlike his Pokémon, Pokémon Trainer did not receive any buffs or nerfs via game updates due to not being a directly playable character. Instead, he received only a number of fixes to both minor and major glitches.

2.0.0

• Fixed a glitch wherebutton mashingPokémon Change canceledMonkey Flip's knockback.^[1]

3.0.0

• Fixed a glitch where Pokémon Change would not properly switch Pokémon duringSpecial Smash.
• Fixed aDitto-related glitch where Pokémon Trainer would enter on-stage inTraining Mode.

4.0.0

• The duration of ledge invincibility is no longer shortened when usingPokémon Change in the air before grabbing the ledge.

6.0.0

• TheUnlimited Rebellion Gauge glitch has been fixed.

8.0.0

• Fixed a bug inGarden of Hope that caused the Pokémon to remain tiny after escaping the fully constructed pot if they usedPokémon Change at the top of the pot.

Moveset[edit]

All three of Pokémon Trainer's Pokémon, as shown via theMove List.

Although Pokémon Trainer is technically a fighter, he stays in the background and does not directly participate in a battle. Instead, he has a team of three Pokémon (Squirtle,Ivysaur andCharizard) that he instructs to fight in a battle. Only one Pokémon is active at once, and all three of them have different movesets and abilities.

It is possible to change which Pokémon the Pokémon Trainer starts with at the beginning of a battle. On thecharacter select screen, Pokémon Trainer has the starting Pokémon's portrait to the upper-right of the portrait. If the Y button is pressed, or if the Pokémon's portrait is hovered over and selected, the starting Pokémon is toggled to the next one. The default Pokémon is Squirtle, who can be toggled to Ivysaur, then Charizard, and then back to Squirtle.

The three Pokémon have separate movesets and attributes. The only moves shared by the Pokémon are theirdown special move (Pokémon Change) and theirFinal Smash (Triple Finish). Pokémon Change involves the Pokémon Trainer recalling the currently active Pokémon and sending out the next one to replace it. The order that the Pokémon are changed in is the same as toggling on the character select screen: Squirtle switches to Ivysaur, Ivysaur to Charizard, and Charizard to Squirtle. Triple Finish is a combination attack in which the Pokémon Trainer temporarily brings out all three of his Pokémon to attack simultaneously. The attack boasts a large range and inflicts damage to any opponents caught in it. Once it concludes, the two inactive Pokémon are recalled.

Although he is not directly controllable, the Pokémon Trainer can be seen standing in the background of the stage, commanding the Pokémon and reacting to the Pokémon's situation. Various animations and voice lines differ for the Pokémon Trainer and his female counterpart. The Pokémon Trainer is able to move around somewhat on most stages, running toward his current Pokémon if it is far enough away, and will also turn to face the position of his Pokémon at most times. On some stages, the Pokémon Trainer stands on a special platform in the background instead of standing on a portion of the stage's background. On these stages, the Pokémon Trainer can not move around, but will still turn to face his Pokémon.

Pokémon Trainer does not appear in the background during battles withfive or more players, inSquad Strike's Tag Team mode, or onCustom Stages. However, he can still be heard giving commands and the Poké Ball and its energy effects can be seen traveling towards the foreground, implying that the Pokémon Trainer is in the foreground and outside of the camera's view. This also happens in certain single player and co-op modes.

The Pokémon Trainer reacts to various situations and inputs:

• When the active Pokémon performs a special move, the Pokémon Trainer gestures with one arm, pointing in a specific direction based on the input or direction the Pokémon is facing:
  • Neutral special move: Points left or right, based on the direction the Pokémon is facing.
  • Side special move: Points left or right, based on the direction the move was used in.
  • Up special move: Points towards the direction the Pokémon is facing, or upwards if the Pokémon is above.
• When using the Pokémon'sdown special move,Pokémon Change, the Pokémon Trainer throws the next Pokémon's Poké Ball toward the Pokémon's position, then holds up the previous Pokémon's Poké Ball as it is recalled in energy form. The Pokémon Trainer then puts the Poké Ball away in his backpack (male) or her purse (female) and pulls out the next Pokémon's Poké Ball. The Pokémon Trainer also says a voice line, either encouraging the next Pokémon or praising the previous Pokémon.
  • Pokémon Change cannot be used again until this animation completes or is interrupted by using another special move.
• When using theFinal Smash,Triple Finish, the Pokémon Trainer throws the other two Pokémon's Poké Balls out and points toward the direction the move was used in for the duration of the attack while saying a voice line including the name of the move. Once the attack is over, the Pokémon Trainer recalls the other two Pokémon and puts the Poké Ball away in his backpack or her purse.
  • Pokémon Change cannot be used until this animation completes or is interrupted by using another special move.
• When the active Pokémon lands a hit, the Pokémon Trainer does a small fist pump with a happy expression.
• When the active Pokémon scores a KO:
  • The male Trainer raises his left fist and fist pumps, while nodding and winking, with a happy expression.
  • The female Trainer jumps into the air with her right arm raised, doing a full spin mid-jump, and does a double fist pump as she lands.
• When the active Pokémon is hit:
  • The male Trainer throws his left fist downwards with a distressed expression.
  • The female Trainer winces with a distressed expression.
• When the active Pokémon has changed into a different active Pokémon type:
  • The male Trainer might say "Come back!" during a fight.
  • The female Trainer might say "Return!" during a fight.
• When the active Pokémon is KO'd:
  • Both Trainers shake their heads while covering their faces with their left hand. They may say "Ah!" or "Dang it!" (the latter for their alternate KO line)
• When the active Pokémon isstunned (including from ashield break) orburied:
  • The male Trainer puts his left hand on the back of his head (or in the female Trainer's case, on the side of her head) and looks downward with a distressed expression. He will say one of three lines: the Pokémon's name in a distressed tone, "Wake up!", or "Get a hold of yourself...!" (male) and "You got this." (female)

Announcer call[edit]

This article could use additional or higher-quality audio files. The editor who added this tag suggests:Needs announcer calls from other languages. If you have a good audio file for this article, upload ithere.

Unlike inBrawl,Squirtle,Ivysaur, andCharizard do not have unique announcer calls.

• English/Japanese/Chinese

• French

On-screen appearance[edit]

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.

• 

  Squirtle's on-screen appearance

• 

  Ivysaur's on-screen appearance

• 

  Charizard's on-screen appearance

Taunts[edit]

Male[edit]

• Up taunt: Triumphantly raises his Poké Ball into the air, saying "All right!"
• Side taunt: Fist pumps with his left hand.
• Down taunt: Fist pumps with his left hand while posing triumphantly, saying "Yay!"

• 

  Male Pokémon Trainer's up taunt.

• 

  Male Pokémon Trainer's side taunt.

• 

  Male Pokémon Trainer's down taunt.

Female[edit]

• Up taunt: Fist pumps with her left hand while triumphantly raising her Poké Ball into the air, saying "All right!"
• Side taunt: Fist pumps with her left hand.
• Down taunt: Jumps slightly off the ground while doing a double fist pump, saying "Yay!"

• 

  Female Pokémon Trainer's up taunt.

• 

  Female Pokémon Trainer's side taunt.

• 

  Female Pokémon Trainer's down taunt.

Pokémon Trainer's taunt quotes in each language are:

Idle poses[edit]

Male[edit]

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

• 

  Male Pokémon Trainer's first idle pose.

• 

  Male Pokémon Trainer's second idle pose.

Female[edit]

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

• 

  Female Pokémon Trainer's first idle pose.

• 

  Female Pokémon Trainer's second idle pose.

Crowd cheer[edit]

Victory poses[edit]

The male Trainer can say "You all did great!" (みんな、よくがんばったな！,Everyone, you did great!), while the female Trainer can say "Everyone did great!" (みんな、最高だね！,Everyone, you're the best!). 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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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: UsesFlare 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.

Incompetitive play[edit]

Most historically significant players[edit]

See also:Category:Pokémon Trainer players (SSBU)

•  Atelier - Used Pokémon Trainer as a main during the pandemic, and was considered the best Pokémon Trainer in Japan during this time, having wonMaesuma TOP 3 and placing 2nd atKagaribi 3 and 4th atKagaribi 5. He eventually relegated the character to a co-main and primarily playedWolf in tournament, though he still had events where he used only or mostly Pokémon Trainer, such as placing 2nd atCafeteria Cup.
•  HIKARU - Although better known for playing a variety of other characters, he mainly played Pokémon Trainer from mid-2019 up until early-2020 and was considered the best Pokémon Trainer player in Japan. During this time, he frequently placed highly at supermajors, including 9th atUmebura SP 7 and 17th atUmebura Japan Major 2019,EVO 2019, andEVO Japan 2020, and as such was ranked 41st on theFall 2019 PGRU.
•  Leffen - The best Pokémon Trainer player from Europe in 2019, although the majority of his tournament activity was in the United States. He is best known for winningDreamHack Winter 2019 and has also placed 9th atSmash Ultimate Summit 2 defeatingTweek and 17th atSuper Smash Con 2019 defeatingMaister, ultimately ranking Area 51 position on theFall 2019 PGRU.
•  moxi - One of the best Pokémon Trainer players in North America in 2019, ranking 33rd on theFall 2019 PGRU, with frequent high placement at North America's largest events including 13th atMainstage and 17th atEVO 2019. She continued to play Pokémon Trainer in 2021, notably placing 17th atMainstage 2021 and 25th atRiptide, but eventually dropped the character forWolf by the end of the year.
•  Ned - Primarily played Pokémon Trainer in the early metagame and was considered one of the best Pokémon Trainer players in North America in the second half of 2019, ranking 37th on theFall 2019 PGRU. He is best known for placing 9th atDreamHack Atlanta 2019, defeatingKola andESAM; 13th atThe Big House 9; and 17th at2GG: Kongo Saga, defeatingNairo. He eventually dropped Pokémon Trainer forSephiroth, although he eventually brought back the character as a secondary.
•  Noi - One of the best Pokémon Trainer players in Japan since the pandemic period, playing the character alongsideOlimar. Although most of his best performances were with Olimar, he has taken several noteworthy names with Pokémon Trainer includingSparg0 atKagaribi 12 andKameme atKagaribi 8. In addition, with primarily Pokémon Trainer he placed 9th atWave 2 and 13th atSeibugeki 12.
•  Puppeh - One of the best Pokémon Trainer players in North America and one of the few Pokémon Trainer players who continued to solo-main the character in the post-online metagame. His breakout tournament was placing 5th atCEO 2019 defeatingNairo,ESAM, andSamsora, and has since regularly placed well at North American majors and supermajors, such as 17th atSuper Smash Con 2019,Pound 2022, andSuper Smash Con 2022. His best ranking was 28th on theSpring 2019 PGRU.
•  Quidd - The best solo-Pokémon Trainer player in the world since 2022, considered a hidden boss as he rarely traveled outside theTristate area. He is best known for winningLet's Make Big Moves 2022, becoming only the second Pokémon Trainer player to win a major, and immediately followed the event up by placing 5th atCollision 2022, two of the best Pokémon Trainer performances in the post-online metagame. Outside of majors, he has also won several noteworthy Tristate events such asHigh Rez.
•  Tweek - Although he only played Pokémon Trainer for several months in the second half of 2019, he is considered the best Pokémon Trainer of all-time and remained the only Pokémon Trainer player to rank in the top 10. He is the first Pokémon Trainer player to win a major, doing so atLow Tier City 7, and had several other top 8 finishes at majors and supermajors, including 2nd atEVO 2019 and 3rd atSuper Smash Con 2019.
•  Wishes - The best Pokémon Trainer in the game's early months, ranking 21st on theSpring 2019 PGRU and most notably placing 9th atFrostbite 2019 andCollision 2019. He eventually began playingJoker over Pokémon Trainer as the year went on before retiring from competitive play in 2020.

Tier placement and history[edit]

Thanks to the various buffs given to his three Pokémon, especially the removal of the infamously counter-intuitive mechanicsstamina andtype effectiveness, Pokémon Trainer received a strong positive reception in the early metagame. This reception correlated with a large playerbase in the early metagame which was initially spearheaded by players such asWishes andPuppeh. This playerbase only grew as 2019 went on after many other players began placing well with the character, includingmoxi,Ned, and -- most notably --Tweek, who notably won the majorLow Tier City 7 with solo-Pokémon Trainer. By the end of the year, all three superregions had a Pokémon Trainer player ranked on thePGRU or its Area 51: the aforementioned players in North America,HIKARU in Japan, andLeffen in Europe. This resulted in Pokémon Trainer having one of the best representation in the early metagame, peaking at 5th for the second half of 2019, and leading many to believe the character was top 10.

During and following theCOVID-19 pandemic, Pokémon Trainer saw a decline in tourney success, due to multiple factors such as buffs to other characters, a lack of viability online,downloadable content bringing forth a number of stronger characters, and new weaknesses growing more apparent such as limited landing options, linear gameplans, poor ledge options, and an over-reliance onPokémon Change to cover one another's weaknesses. In addition,Ivysaur, who was initially considered the best Pokémon of the three, received nerfs in Patch 4.0.0. Likely as a result of this, almost all of Pokémon Trainer's best players from the early metagame either dropped the character (most notably HIKARU and Tweek), relegated the character to a secondary (Ned), or stopped competing altogether (Leffen and Wishes). Although this led to a decline in representation, several new Pokémon Trainer players stepped into the limelight, includingAtelier,DDee, andNoi. Most notable among these new players wasQuidd, who won the majorLet's Make Big Moves 2022. The efforts of these players has kept Pokémon Trainer's reputation afloat during 2022-early 2024. This is reflected in the character's placements on the first two tier lists, where he is ranked 23rd on the first list as a high-tier and 24th on the second list in the A- tier.

The Pokémon Trainer's perception have since dropped during the late 2024-early 2025 era, due to worse results and an absence of representation, with most of his prior mains continuing to use other characters, or in the case of Tweek, going on an indefinite hiatus. This caused the Pokémon Trainer to experience a drop to 36th on the third tier list, a 13 spot drop and one of the largest drops between the second and third tier lists.

Classic Mode: The Future Champion[edit]

Pokémon Trainer'scongratulations screen.

Pokémon Trainer's route refers to becoming thePokémon Champion, which is one of the primary goals in thePokémon games. Like inPikachu's route, the opponents are all Pokémon and all Rounds are fought onPokémon 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.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Pikachu	Pokémon Stadium	Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue (Melee)
2	Jigglypuff	Pokémon Stadium	Battle! (Trainer Battle) - Pokémon X / Pokémon Y
3	Lucario	Unova Pokémon League	Battle! (Trainer) - Pokémon Sun / Pokémon Moon
4	Incineroar	Kalos Pokémon League	Battle! (Elite Four) / Battle! (Solgaleo/Lunala)
5	Greninja	Pokémon Stadium 2	Battle! (Champion) - Pokémon X / Pokémon Y
6	() Opposite-genderPokémon Trainer	Pokémon Stadium 2	The Battle at the Summit!	Represents Pokémon battles.
Bonus Stage
Final	Mewtwo, thenMaster Hand	Final Destination	Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue Medley(Mewtwo) Master Hand(Master Hand)	AMaxim Tomato appears after defeating Mewtwo.

Note: Items are disabled in every round.

Completing Classic Mode as Pokémon Trainer hasMain Theme - Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue (Brawl) accompanying the credits that roll every time the player finishes a Classic route, with the selected Pokémon playable during the credits minigame rather than the actual Trainer.

Role inWorld of Light[edit]

Finding Pokémon Trainer in World of Light

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

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

The male Pokémon Trainer can be found at the southeast near the maze that resemblesPac-Maze. Defeating the Pokémon Trainer clears a path leading up to the entrance toDK Island. Defeating him also grants access to all of his Pokémon, as well as his female counterpart. Uniquely, the player controls the Trainer instead of his Pokémon on the overworld during World of Light as a possible nod to thePokémon games where players control the Pokémon Trainer in the overworld while controlling their Pokémon during battles.

Fighter Battle[edit]

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
33-35		Pokémon Trainer	Attack	7,500	Battlefield (Ω form)	Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue (Brawl)

Spirits[edit]

While Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard's fighter spirits are obtained by completingClassic Mode as Pokémon Trainer, the spirits for the Trainers themselves are only available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Pokémon Trainer has been unlocked. Unlocking Pokémon Trainer in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As fighter spirits, they cannot be used in Spirit Battles and are purely aesthetic. Unlike most fighters, the spirits for Pokémon Trainer only use their artwork fromUltimate, rather than also having alternative artwork from a previous appearance.

Alternate costumes[edit]

Only the starting Pokémon is shown on thecharacter selection screen; it can be changed by pressing Y or by hovering the cursor over it and selecting it. Each of Pokémon Trainer's alternate costumes references a protagonist from the first seven generations of thePokémon games.

Gallery[edit]

• 

  Pokémon Trainer'samiibo.

• 

  Pokémon Trainer's fighter card.

• 

  Pokémon Trainer's unlock notice.

• 

  Artwork of all playable Pokémon characters and Poké Ball Pokémon, as posted by the official Pokémon Twitter account.

• 

  Charizard usingFlare Blitz onPrism Tower.

• 

  Squirtletaunting onBattlefield.

• 

  Ivysaur taunting onGaur Plain.

• 

  The Pokémon triodashing from aBurrowing Snagret onThe Great Cave Offensive.

• 

  Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard onSkyworld.

• 

  The female Trainer throwing aPoké Ball on Prism Tower.

• 

  Squirtle attackingInkling withWater Gun onPokémon Stadium 2.

• 

  Squirtle getting splashed byIsabelle's down smash onDelfino Plaza.

• 

  Squirtle being hit byLucario's dash attack on theBridge of Eldin.

• 

  Charizard withLucina on Skyworld.

• 

  Ivysaur using its dash attack against aLeaf ShieldingMega Man onTortimer Island.

• 

  Female Pokémon Trainer with a taunting femalePikachu on Battlefield.

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  Squirtle, Ivysaur and a giant golden Pikachu onPokémon Stadium 2.

• 

  Ivysaur taunting withSheik onTomodachi Life.

• 

  Ivysaur taunting withVillager on3D Land.

Fighter Showcase Video[edit]

Trivia[edit]

• Pokémon Trainer is the only composite character:
  • To have been separated in a sequel and later changed back into a composite character.
  • To have male and female alternate costumes.
• Each of the three Pokémon appear as solo CPU characters duringClassic Mode,World of Light, andspirit battles without the Trainer. They also use their own stock icons. In World of Light, if the player selects Pokémon Trainer, the selected Pokémon is used on the battle preparation screen as well.
• When freeing Pokémon Trainer fromGaleem, the male Trainer's eyes will be normally colored during the match despite his pre-battle render having the red-eye glow that other World of Light spirit fights have. His Pokémon will have red eyes, however.
• The male Pokémon Trainer shares his English voice actor, Billy Thompson, withGreninja. Thompson has confirmed thisin a Tweet where he jokingly asserted that the Pokémon Trainer's name is Momo and that Pokémon Trainer is his "most hated role yet".
• The official render of the female Pokémon Trainer uses her Pokémon's default colors, as does her appearance in the promotional image for the "The Ultimate Partnership"Online Tourney. However, in-game, the Pokémon use alternate color schemes with the female Trainer.
• The Trainer's Pokémon do not appear on the victory screen if there are three or more players on the winning team, nor on the "No Contest" screen. Despite this, Ivysaur can still be heard whenever it is the fighter with the highest score/stock count at the end of a game. Additionally, if Pokémon Trainer loses all stocks but still wins in a Team Battle, the next Pokémon will be shown on the victory screen rather than the last one KO'd.
• Prior to launch, there was a glitch where Pokémon Trainer could win atimed match regardless of the score. This would only occur wheneverSudden Death was supposed to happen.
• In Spanish, German, French, and Italian, the voice clip from the announcer on the victory screen is slightly different from the one used on the character select screen, instead featuring a noticeable translation of "the" (respectively, "el Entrenador Pokémon"/"la Entrenadora Pokémon", "der Pokémon-Trainer"/"die Pokémon-Trainerin", "le Dresseur de Pokémon"/"la Dresseuse de Pokémon", and "l'Allenatore di Pokémon"/"la Allenatrice di Pokémon"). This also happens withWii Fit Trainer,Inkling,Villager,Hero, theIce Climbers,Zombie,Enderman, and the Mii Fighters.
• If Pokémon Trainer is present in an 8-Player Smash, the sound effects for transitioning to the results screen will be out of sync, with the sound effect playing before the animation.
• The male Pokémon Trainer's official artwork closely resembleshis battle sprite fromPokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.
• If a game modification is used to enableinstant KOs during a result screen, Pokémon Trainer willchange animations from their results screen victory/defeated animation to their in-game defeated animation.
• IfUltimate is hacked to be able to select one of the Pokémon Trainer's Pokémon individually,the Trainer will function normally aside from multiple of the same costume being able to be selected and using each Pokémon's stock icon (which changes with the Pokémon in play) instead of the Trainer's own, similar to howPyra andMythra use interchangeable stock icons.
• While the male and female versions of Pokémon Trainer use the same Spanish-language voice actors between the European Spanish and North American Spanish versions of the game, some voice lines are regionally different between the game's two Spanish-language versions.
• Pokémon Trainer's description in the North America amiibo website is based on his trophy description fromBrawl.

References[edit]

v • d • e Pokémon universe
Fighters	Pikachu (SSB ·SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Jigglypuff (SSB ·SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Pichu (SSBM ·SSBU) ·Mewtwo (SSBM ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Pokémon Trainer (SSBB ·SSBU) ·Squirtle (SSBB ·SSBU) ·Ivysaur (SSBB ·SSBU) ·Charizard (SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Lucario (SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Greninja (SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Incineroar (SSBU)
Boss	Rayquaza
Stages	Saffron City ·Pokémon Stadium ·Poké Floats ·Pokémon Stadium 2 ·Spear Pillar ·Unova Pokémon League ·Prism Tower ·Kalos Pokémon League
Items	Poké Ball ·Master Ball
Poké Ball Pokémon	Abomasnow ·Abra ·Arceus ·Articuno ·Beedrill ·Bellossom ·Bewear ·Blastoise ·Bonsly ·Celebi ·Chansey ·Charizard ·Chespin ·Chikorita ·Clefairy ·Cyndaquil ·Darkrai ·Dedenne ·Deoxys ·Ditto ·Eevee ·Electrode ·Entei ·Exeggutor ·Fennekin ·Fletchling ·Gardevoir ·Genesect ·Giratina ·Gogoat ·Goldeen ·Groudon ·Gulpin ·Hitmonlee ·Ho-Oh ·Inkay ·Jirachi ·Keldeo ·Koffing ·Kyogre ·Kyurem ·Latias & Latios ·Lugia ·Lunala ·Manaphy ·Marill ·Marshadow ·Meloetta ·Meowth ·Metagross ·Mew ·Mimikyu ·Moltres ·Munchlax ·Onix ·Oshawott ·Palkia ·Piplup ·Porygon2 ·Pyukumuku ·Raichu ·Raikou ·Scizor ·Snivy ·Snorlax ·Solgaleo ·Spewpa ·Starmie ·Staryu ·Suicune ·Swirlix ·Tapu Koko ·Togedemaru ·Togepi ·Torchic ·Unown ·Venusaur ·Victini ·Vulpix ·Weavile ·Weezing ·Wobbuffet ·Xerneas ·Zapdos ·Zoroark
Enemies	Chandelure ·Cryogonal ·Gastly ·Koffing ·Petilil
Other	Charmander ·Cresselia ·Dialga ·Porygon ·Registeel ·Reshiram ·Team Rocket ·Zekrom ·List of Pokémon
Trophies,Stickers andSpirits	Trophies (SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4) ·Stickers ·Spirits
Music	Brawl ·SSB4 ·Ultimate

• Characters (SSBU)
• Pokémon universe
• Pokémon Trainer (SSBU)
• Spirits

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