List of Pokémon

At the core of the franchise are hundreds upon hundreds of the eponymous creatures. These are collectively called Pokémon and have many roles in the Pokémon RPGs, mainly as game pieces in Pokémon battling where the object is to defeat the opponent's enemy Pokémon with their own. Pokémon are introduced en masse once every several years as part of a new "Generation" of the franchise, along with the newest core series RPG versions. Thus far there have been a total of nine generations, with the grand total of species clocking in at 1,025 different species of Pokémon, and each  game features a selected assortment of Pokémon from all current generations existent at its time to serve a variety of roles, such as playable characters, characters that are summoned from an item called the Poké Ball, enemies and bosses, collectible trophies, stickers, or spirits, characters within stages, and others.

All listed Pokémon that are bolded have the major roles of either being playable characters, appearing from a Poké Ball item, or appearing as an enemy (boss, Smash Run, etc.). Others have more minor roles.

First Generation
The Pokémon franchise began in 1996 with 151 Pokémon species from the Kanto region featured in the very first versions of the Pokémon RPGs, Pokémon Red and Blue for the original Game Boy. This was the only generation in effect when Super Smash Bros. was developed and released.

Appearances marked with an asterisk (*) are unavailable without external means, such as hacking.

Second Generation
The Pokémon franchise entered its second generation in 1999 with 100 new Pokémon species from the Johto region added to the original 151 to form a total of 251 Pokémon, and all were featured in the RPGs Pokémon Gold and Silver for Game Boy Color. These two generations were in effect when Super Smash Bros. Melee was developed and released.

Third Generation
The Pokémon franchise entered its third generation in 2002 with 135 new Pokémon species from the Hoenn region added to the previous 251 to form a total of 386 Pokémon, first featured in the RPGs Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire for Game Boy Advance. This generation's first appearance in a Smash Bros. game, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, also happens to be the first appearance of the fourth generation that was put in effect an entire four years later, owing to the relatively long time period between the releases of Melee and Brawl.

Fourth Generation
The Pokémon franchise entered its fourth generation in 2006 with 107 more new Pokémon species from the Sinnoh region added to the previous 386 to form a total of 493 Pokémon species, and all are featured in the Pokémon RPGs, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl for Nintendo DS. Both this and the previous generation make their Super Smash Bros. debut in Brawl.

Fifth Generation
The Pokémon franchise entered its fifth generation in 2010 with 156 more new Pokémon species from the Unova region added to the previous 493 to form a total of 649 Pokémon species, starting in Pokémon Black and White for Nintendo DS. Pokémon from this generation first appear in Super Smash Bros. 4. So far, this is the generation to introduce the most species of Pokémon.

Sixth Generation
Pokémon X and Y for Nintendo 3DS, representing the sixth generation of the series, were released in 2013, and added 72 more new Pokémon species from the Kalos region to the previous 649 to form a total of 721 Pokémon species. Pokémon from this generation first appear in Super Smash Bros. 4. So far, this is the generation to introduce the least species of Pokémon.

Seventh Generation
Pokémon Sun and Moon for Nintendo 3DS, representing the seventh generation of the series, were released in 2016 and added 81 new Pokémon species from the Alola region to the previous 721 to form a total of 802 Pokémon species. They were followed by Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon in 2017, which added 5 more new species mid-generation (a series first), and ''Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!'', which added 2 more new species, bringing the total up to 809 Pokémon species. Pokémon from this generation first appeared in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Eighth Generation
Pokémon Sword and Shield for the Nintendo Switch, released in 2019, represents the eighth generation and introduced 81 new Pokémon species from the Galar region, bringing the total up to 890. The Pokémon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass, paid DLC for the games, introduced 7 more new Pokémon species, and a new Mythical Pokémon was added through a special event, bringing the total to 898. Pokémon Legends: Arceus, released in 2022, added a further 7, increasing the total to 905. Pokémon from this generation first appeared in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as part of a Spirit Board event. Currently, only 7 Pokémon are represented in Smash in the form of spirits, making this generation introduce the least species of Pokémon into a Smash game.

Trivia

 * Grass is the only starter type not to feature a fully evolved Pokemon as a fighter.
 * Nihilego is the only that appears in Smash.
 * Raichu, Vulpix, and Exeggutor are the only Pokémon to have their regional forms appear in Smash.
 * Vulpix is the only Pokemon to have both its normal (Kanto) and regional forms (Alolan) appear in Smash.