Pokémon Trainer: Difference between revisions

Throughout each journey, the Trainer will battle hundreds of other Trainers, encounter countless Pokémon in the wild, and be involved in subplots involving thwarting the schemes of [[bulbapedia:villainous teams|criminal organizations that consist of trainers]]. While the playable Pokémon Trainers were initially depicted as exclusively male, the option to choose the gender of the playable Trainer has been available as of {{s|bulbapedia|''Pokémon Crystal Version''}}. Each game's protagonist options are similar, but they are all distinct characters in-universe. Playable Trainers also have one or more {{s|bulbapedia|rival}}s, whose motivations and characterizations vary significantly.  {{s|bulbapedia|''Pokémon Black and White Versions''}} introduced player characters slightly older than the previously established norm of 10-12 years old, while ''{{s|bulbapedia|Pokémon X and Y}}'' introduced Trainer customization, allowing the player to choose from a variety of skin, hair, clothing and cosmetic options. While Pokémon Trainers have always been an integral part of the ''Pokémon'' experience, the mobile game ''{{s|bulbapedia|Pokémon Masters}}'' makes them a primary focus of the game alongside the Pokémon themselves, allowing the player to recruit Trainers and their partner Pokémon to battle in teams.

All Pokémon Trainer protagonists can be named by the player, but the male ''Red'' and ''Blue'' protagonist would go on to become a recurring character known as {{iw|bulbapedia|Red|game}}. Since his debut, Red has gone on to appear as the final opponent of the {{s|bulbapedia|Johto}} games atop {{s|bulbapedia|Mt. Silver}}; an opponent in the {{s|bulbapedia|Pokémon World Tournament}} in [[bulbapedia:Pokémon Black and White Versions 2|''Pokémon Black'' and ''White Versions 2'']]; and the co-leader of the {{s|bulbapedia|Battle Tree}} in [[bulbapedia:Pokémon Sun and Moon|''Pokémon Sun'' and ''Moon'']] alongside his rival {{iw|bulbapedia|Blue|game}}. In all cases, Red's team consists of Pokémon that were caught during major events of his original quest, with [[bulbapedia:Red's Pikachu (game)|his Pikachu]] serving as his signature Pokémon; however, later appearances (including the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series) establish [[Charizard]] as another signature Pokémon for him depending on the canon. His female counterpart, likewise, would later be codified as the character {{iw|bulbapedia|Leaf|game}} in the games' internal data and her later appearances. Another female character exists known as {{iw|bulbapedia|Green|game}} who is very similar to Leaf, but it is unknown whether they are different versions of the same character, although both are conflated into a single character in the ''{{s|bulbapedia|Pokémon Adventures}}'' manga.

*Pokémon Trainer is one of the few human ''Pokémon'' characters to appear as a trophy, and the only one to do so in ''Brawl'' and {{forwiiu}}. Other human characters include {{s|bulbapedia|Professor Oak}} and {{s|bulbapedia|Misty}} in ''Melee'', and {{s|bulbapedia|Professor Sycamore}} in {{for3ds}}. {{iw|bulbapedia|Calem|game}} and {{iw|bulbapedia|Serena|game}} appear as a trophy in the latter, but as an extension of the Pokémon Trainer player character concept.

**The male and female Pokémon Trainers are also the only human characters from the ''Pokémon'' series to appear as a [[spirit]].

**The female Pokémon Trainer is the second alternate costume character to become playable in ''Super Smash Bros.'' after her base character. The first was [[Alph]].

**As with [[Villager]], [[Robin]], [[Corrin]] and [[Inkling]], the male and female Pokémon Trainers have been established as separate characters; ''{{s|bulbapedia|Pokémon Masters}}'' features both Red (male) and Leaf (female) as separate trainers.