Pokémon Trainer (SSBU)

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Pokémon Trainer in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Pokémon
Shares character slot with	Charizard Ivysaur Squirtle
Other playable appearance	in Brawl
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Triple Finish

“	Pokémon Trainer returns with Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard. You can choose to play as a male or female trainer!	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Pokémon Trainer (ポケモントレーナー, Pokémon Trainer) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was confirmed on June 12th, 2018. Pokémon Trainer can use three interchangeable Pokémon in battle: Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard. Along with their Pokémon, the Pokémon Trainer is classified as fighters #33, #34, and #35.

Billy Bob Thompson and Kate Bristol voice the male and female Pokémon Trainers, respectively, in English; in Japanese, they are voiced by Tomoe Hanba and Wakana Kingyo, respectively.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with the Pokémon Trainer being the 26th character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Donkey Kong or anyone in his unlock tree, being the second character unlocked after Bowser.
• Have the Pokémon Trainer join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, the Pokémon Trainer must then be defeated on Pokémon Stadium.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Brawl

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, see Squirtle (SSBU), Ivysaur (SSBU), and Charizard (SSBU).

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 his 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. It is currently unknown however if Type effectiveness has been removed.

Aesthetics

• The Pokémon Trainer's model is significantly more detailed than it was in Brawl, having stylised 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. In addition to distinct voice clips, she has many unique animations.
• 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 is shown and announced as the winner of the fight rather than the Pokémon that was in battle. His face is also used as the stock icon for all three Pokémon, although they all have their own stock icons as well.

Attributes

• The Stamina mechanic has been removed, eliminating the necessity of switching out Pokémon to restore their power.
• Squirtle is now selected as the starting Pokémon by default when the player chooses Pokémon Trainer on the character select screen. This selection can still be changed before starting the match. In Brawl, a random starting Pokémon would be chosen by default if the user did not change their Pokémon selection on the character select.

Special Moves

• 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.
  • Pokémon Change will refresh ledge invincibility if used in the air. This even works if the move is spammed, as the new Pokémon is considered a different character grabbing the ledge. This gives Pokémon Trainer a unique stall option.

Role in World of Light

The 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).

Alternate costumes

Only the starting Pokémon is shown on the character selection screen; it can be changed by hovering the cursor over it and selecting it. All of Pokémon Trainer's alternate costumes reference a protagonist from each generation of the Pokémon games.

Gallery

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

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  Official render of the female Pokémon Trainer.

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  Pokémon Trainer's fighter card.

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  Charizard using Flare Blitz on Prism Tower.

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  Squirtle taunting on Battlefield.

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  Ivysaur taunting on Gaur Plain.

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  The Pokémon Trio running from a Burrowing Snagret on The Great Cave Offensive.

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  Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard on Skyworld.

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  The female trainer throwing a Poké Ball on Prism Tower.

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  Squirtle attacking Inkling with Water Gun on Pokémon Stadium 2.

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  Squirtle getting splashed by Isabelle on Delfino Plaza.

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  Squirtle struck by Lucario on the Bridge of Eldin.

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  Charizard with Lucina on Skyworld.

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  Ivysaur attacking a Leaf Shielding Mega Man with its dash attack on Tortimer Island.

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  Female Pokémon Trainer with a taunting Female Pikachu on Battlefield.

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  Squirtle, Ivysaur and a giant golden Pikachu on Pokémon Stadium 2.

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  Ivysaur taunting with Sheik on Tomodachi Life.

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  Ivysaur taunting with Villager on 3D Land.

Character Showcase Video

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Trivia

• Each of the three Pokémon can appear as solo CPU characters during Classic Mode, World of Light and Spirit battles without the presence of Pokémon Trainer in the background. They also use individual stock icons.
• As previous "dual character" pairings have been removed (such as Zelda and Sheik in Melee and Brawl, and Samus and Zero Suit Samus in Brawl), Pokémon Trainer's ability to switch characters has now become a unique character attribute.
• Pokémon Trainer is the first composite character to have been separated in a sequel and later reformed back into a composite character.
• There is a glitch where Pokémon Trainer can win a timed match, regardless of the score. This only occurs when a sudden death is supposed to happen.
• Pokémon Trainer is the only playable character to have multiple fighter numbers, as Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard are each numbered from 33 to 35.
• The official render of the female Pokémon Trainer uses her Pokémon's default colors; however, in actual gameplay, they use an alternate color scheme.
• The Trainer does not appear in the background during battles with five or more players. Instead, they appear to be placed in the foreground, outside of the camera's view.
  • The Trainer's Pokémon do not appear on the victory screen if there are (at least) four members on the team.
    • They also won't appear during the "No Result" screen.
• When freeing his Spirit, the trainer's eyes will be normal. His actual Pokémon will have the possessed red eyes, however.
• When fighting another Pokemon whose on screen entrance involves being sent out of a Poke Ball, the Trainer will sometimes send them out.
• The male Pokémon Trainer shares his English voice actor with another playable Pokémon character, Greninja.