Pokémon Trainer (SSBU)

:For information about Pokémon Trainer's Pokémon, see Squirtle (SSBU), Ivysaur (SSBU), and Charizard (SSBU).
Pokémon Trainer (, Pokémon Trainer) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was officially revealed on June 12th, 2018 alongside his team of Pokémon: , , and , the latter of whom returns to the team after appearing by itself in Super 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 as Fighter #33, Ivysaur is classified as Fighter #34, and Charizard is classified as Fighter #35.
The male Pokémon Trainer has new voice clips in all languages he is voiced in, with all of his voice actors from Super 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 in Brawl, Pokémon Trainer's Japanese voice clips are used in the Korean version of Ultimate, instead of unique Korean-language voice clips.
Pokémon Trainer is ranked 36th out of 82 on the current tier list, placing him in the lower half of the A- tier. This is a drastic improvement over his 29th out of 38 placement in Brawl, and a significant improvement over 's placement in Smash 4, where it was ranked 42nd out of 54. This improvement is thanks to the faster Pokémon Change, the ability to use Pokémon Change in mid-air, and the removal of the and Type effectiveness mechanics.
==How to unlock==
Complete one of the following:
*Play VS. matches, with the Pokémon Trainer being the 26th character to be unlocked.
*Clear with or any character in his unlock tree, being the 2nd character unlocked after .
*Have the Pokémon Trainer join the player's party in World of Light.
With the exception of the third method, Pokémon Trainer must then be defeated on Pokémon Stadium. In World of Light, he is fought on the Ω form of .
==Attributes==
As one of only three fighters in Ultimate to use the character-swap mechanic (with the other two being with and ), 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 as and , the Trainer does not fight directly and instead acts as a commander for his three Pokémon: , and . Although only one of these Pokémon can be present in battle at any given time, they can be swapped out using Pokémon Change in that order. In the absence of a stamina 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 from Brawl 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's Vine Whip to gain a small amount of vertical height, then switching and using Charizard's Flare Blitz and Fly 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 with Monado 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 as and , 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 as Squad Strike itself, ironically) as players are nonetheless forced to use all three during battle, even while waiting for the cooldown on Pokémon 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 with (who prioritizes Squirtle) and (who prioritizes Charizard).
Overall, the Pokémon Trainer is simultaneously one of the most adaptable, most unpredictable, and most challenging fighters to play in Ultimate. As the only fighter that allows the player to bring three completely different characters into battle outside of modes like Squad 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's stamina and type effectiveness mechanics), he is universally considered to be far superior than he was in Brawl. 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 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 was considered a lower-ranking character in Brawl, 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 to Ultimate.
Notably, both the stamina mechanic and type effectiveness have 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 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 to Ultimates 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 omniprescent flame 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 resets stale 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 in Brawl. 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 in Brawl, usage of all three for different situations is optimal. Nevertheless, the team performs much better than they previously did in Brawl.
==Update history==
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.
 
 
 
 
 
==Moveset==
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 (, and ) 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 the character 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 their down special move (Pokémon Change) and their Final 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 with five or more players, in Squad Strike's Tag Team mode, or on Custom 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's down 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 the Final 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 is stunned (including from a shield break) or buried:
**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===
Unlike in Brawl, , , and do not have unique announcer calls.
Pokémon Trainer English Announcer SSBU.wav|English/Japanese/Chinese
Pokémon Trainer French Announcer SSBU.wav|French
===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.
SquirtleOnScreenAppearanceSSBU.gif|Squirtle's on-screen appearance
IvysaurOnScreenAppearanceSSBU.gif|Ivysaur's on-screen appearance
CharizardOnScreenAppearanceSSBU.gif|Charizard's on-screen appearance
===Taunts===
====Male====
*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!"
SSBURedTaunt1.gif|Male Pokémon Trainer's up taunt.
SSBURedTaunt2.gif|Male Pokémon Trainer's side taunt.
SSBURedTaunt3.gif|Male Pokémon Trainer's down taunt.
====Female====
*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!"
SSBULeafTaunt1.gif|Female Pokémon Trainer's up taunt.
SSBULeafTaunt2.gif|Female Pokémon Trainer's side taunt.
SSBULeafTaunt3.gif|Female Pokémon Trainer's down taunt.
Pokémon Trainer's taunt quotes in each language are:
 	Up 	Down
English 	"All right!" 	"Yay!"
German 	"Nicht schlecht!"	"Klasse!"
Italian 	"Diamoci dentro!"	"Sì!"
Japanese	""(Alright.) 	"(Yeah!)
Spanish 	"¡Tu puedes!" 	"¡Ja!"
===Idle poses===
====Male====
*Rubs his left leg with his left hand.
*Jumps gently on the spot twice.
SSBURedIdle1.gif|Male Pokémon Trainer's first idle pose.
SSBURedIdle2.gif|Male Pokémon Trainer's second idle pose.
====Female====
*Wipes her brow with her left hand.
*Stretches her right arm, holding her elbow with her left hand.
SSBULeafIdle1.gif|Female Pokémon Trainer's first idle pose.
SSBULeafIdle2.gif|Female Pokémon Trainer's second idle pose.
===Crowd cheer===
 	Cheer (English)	Cheer (Japanese/Chinese)	Cheer (Italian) 	Cheer (Dutch) 	Cheer (French)
Cheer 	 	 	(♂) (♀) 	 	(♂) (♀)
Description	I choose you! 	Pokémon Trai - ner! 	A - llena - to - re di Po - ké - mon! (♂)A - llena - tri - ce di Po - ké - mon! (♀)	Pokémon Trai - ner!	Dre - sseur de Poké - mon! (♂)Dre - sseuse de Poké - mon! (♀)
 	Cheer (German) 	Cheer (Spanish) 	Cheer (Russian) 	Cheer (Korean)
Cheer 	(♂) (♀) 	(♂) (♀) 	 	
Description	Po - ké - mon Trai - ner! (♂)Po - ké - mon Trai - ner - in! (♀)	En - trenador! Po - ké - mon! (♂)En - trenadora! Po - ké - mon! (♀)	Trener! Pokemonov!	Pokémon Trai - ner!
===Victory poses===
The male Trainer can say "You all did great!" (, Good job, everyone!), while the female Trainer can say "Everyone did great!" (, 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.
========
During Squirtle's victory poses, the male Trainer might say "Good job, Squirtle!" ( This translates to "Good job, Squirtle!"), while the female Trainer can say "We did it, Squirtle!" (　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.
SquirtleVictoryPose1SSBU.gif
SquirtleVictoryPose2SSBU.gif
SquirtleVictoryPose3SSBU.gif
FemaleSquirtleVictoryPose1SSBU.gif
FemaleSquirtleVictoryPose2SSBU.gif
FemaleSquirtleVictoryPose3SSBU.gif
========
During Ivysaur's victory poses, both Trainers can say "Way to go, Ivysaur!" In Japanese, the male Trainer says , while the female Trainer says , 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.
IvysaurVictoryPose1SSBU.gif
IvysaurVictoryPose2SSBU.gif
IvysaurVictoryPose3SSBU.gif
FemaleIvysaurVictoryPose1SSBU.gif
FemaleIvysaurVictoryPose2SSBU.gif
FemaleIvysaurVictoryPose3SSBU.gif
========
During Charizard's victory poses, the Pokémon Trainer might say "You did it, Charizard!" (, This translates to "Charizard, you're the best!"), while the female Trainer can say "You're amazing, Charizard!" (, 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.
CharizardVictoryPose1SSBU.gif
CharizardVictoryPose2SSBU.gif
CharizardVictoryPose3SSBU.gif
FemaleCharizardVictoryPose1SSBU.gif
FemaleCharizardVictoryPose2SSBU.gif
FemaleCharizardVictoryPose3SSBU.gif
==In competitive play==
===Most historically significant players===
See also: :Category:Pokémon Trainer players (SSBU)
* - Used Pokémon Trainer as a main during the pandemic, and was considered the best Pokémon Trainer in Japan during this time, having won and placing 2nd at and 4th at . He eventually relegated the character to a co-main and primarily played in tournament, though he still had events where he used only or mostly Pokémon Trainer, such as placing 2nd at .
* - 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 at and 17th at , , and , and as such was ranked 41st on the Fall 2019 PGRU.
* - 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 winning and has also placed 9th at defeating and 17th at defeating , ultimately ranking Area 51 position on the Fall 2019 PGRU.
* - One of the best Pokémon Trainer players in North America in 2019, ranking 33rd on the Fall 2019 PGRU, with frequent high placement at North America's largest events including 13th at and 17th at . She continued to play Pokémon Trainer in 2021, notably placing 17th at and 25th at , but eventually dropped the character for by the end of the year.
* - 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 the Fall 2019 PGRU. He is best known for placing 9th at , defeating and ; 13th at ; and 17th at , defeating . He eventually dropped Pokémon Trainer for , although he eventually brought back the character as a secondary.
* - One of the best Pokémon Trainer players in Japan since the pandemic period, playing the character alongside . Although most of his best performances were with Olimar, he has taken several noteworthy names with Pokémon Trainer including at and at . In addition, with primarily Pokémon Trainer he placed 9th at and 13th at .
* - 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 at defeating , , and , and has since regularly placed well at North American majors and supermajors, such as 17th at , , and . His best ranking was 28th on the Spring 2019 PGRU.
* - The best solo-Pokémon Trainer player in the world since 2022, considered a hidden boss as he rarely traveled outside the Tristate area. He is best known for winning , becoming only the second Pokémon Trainer player to win a major, and immediately followed the event up by placing 5th at , two of the best Pokémon Trainer performances in the post-online metagame. Outside of majors, he has also won several noteworthy Tristate events such as . 
* - 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 at , and had several other top 8 finishes at majors and supermajors, including 2nd at and 3rd at . 
* - The best Pokémon Trainer in the game's early months, ranking 21st on the Spring 2019 PGRU and most notably placing 9th at and . He eventually began playing over Pokémon Trainer as the year went on before retiring from competitive play in 2020.
===Tier placement and history===
Thanks to the various buffs given to his three Pokémon, especially the removal of the infamously counter-intuitive mechanics stamina and type 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 as and . This playerbase only grew as 2019 went on after many other players began placing well with the character, including , , and -- most notably -- , who notably won the major with solo-Pokémon Trainer. By the end of the year, all three superregions had a Pokémon Trainer player ranked on the PGRU or its Area 51: the aforementioned players in North America, in Japan, and 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 the COVID-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 on Pokémon 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 such as increased startup lag on Razor Leaf, reduced knockback on Vine Whip, and down aerial's smaller sweetspot.
Most 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 (most notably Ned), or stopped competing altogether (most notably Leffen and Wishes). Although this led to a decline in representation, several new Pokémon Trainer players stepped into the limelight, including , , and . Most notable among these new players was , who won the major . The efforts of these players has kept Pokémon Trainer's reputation afloat, and he is still considered a strong character in the current metagame. 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 Future Champion==
Pokémon Trainer's route refers to becoming the , which is one of the primary goals in the Pokémon games. Like in 's route, the opponents are all Pokémon and all Rounds are fought 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.
Round 	Opponent 	Stage 	Music
1 	 	Pokémon Stadium 	
2 	 	Pokémon Stadium 	
3 	 	Unova Pokémon League	
4 	 	Kalos Pokémon League	
5 	 	Pokémon Stadium 2 	
6 	() Opposite-gender	Pokémon Stadium 2 	
Bonus Stage	Bonus Stage 	Bonus Stage 	Bonus Stage
Final 	, then 	 	(Mewtwo) (Master Hand)
Note: Items are disabled in every round.
Completing Classic Mode as Pokémon Trainer has 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 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 and his Fire Breath, he sent out Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard in an attempt to fight back against the beams with Triple Finish, but to no avail. All four were vaporized and placed under Galeem's imprisonment along with the rest of the fighters (excluding ).
The male Pokémon Trainer can be found at the southeast near the maze that resembles Pac-Maze. 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.
===Fighter Battle===
No. 	Image	Name 	Type	Power	Stage 	Music
33-35	 	Pokémon Trainer	 	7,500	(Ω form)	
==Spirits==
While Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard's fighter spirits are obtained by completing 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 from Ultimate, rather than also having alternative artwork from a previous appearance.
SSBU spirit Pokémon Trainer (Male).png|412. Pokémon Trainer (Male)
Pokémon Trainer (solo)-Alt1 SSBU.png|413. Pokémon Trainer (Female)
==Alternate costumes==
Only the starting Pokémon is shown on the character 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 the Pokémon games.
							
							
==Gallery==
Pokémon Trainer amiibo.png|Pokémon Trainer's amiibo.
SSBU Pokémon Trainer Number.png|Pokémon Trainer's fighter card.
Pokémon Trainer unlock notice SSBU.jpg|Pokémon Trainer's unlock notice.
Pokémon Smash Bros.png|Artwork of all playable Pokémon characters and Poké Ball Pokémon, as posted by the official Pokémon Twitter account.
SSBUWebsitePokémonTrainer1.jpg| using Flare Blitz on Prism Tower.
SSBUWebsitePokémonTrainer2.jpg| taunting on .
SSBUWebsitePokémonTrainer3.jpg| taunting on Gaur Plain.
SSBUWebsitePokémonTrainer4.jpg|The Pokémon trio dashing from a Burrowing Snagret on The Great Cave Offensive.
SSBUWebsitePokémonTrainer5.jpg|Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard on Skyworld.
SSBUWebsitePokémonTrainer6.jpg|The female Trainer throwing a Poké Ball on Prism Tower.
SSBUWebsiteInkling3.jpg|Squirtle attacking with Water Gun on Pokémon Stadium 2.
SSBUWebsiteIsabelle1.jpg|Squirtle getting splashed by 's down smash on Delfino Plaza.
SSBUWebsiteLucario4.jpg|Squirtle being hit by 's dash attack on the Bridge of Eldin.
SSBUWebsiteLucina6.jpg|Charizard with on Skyworld.
SSBUWebsiteMegaMan4.jpg|Ivysaur using its dash attack against a Leaf Shielding on Tortimer Island.
SSBUWebsitePikachu1.jpg|Female Pokémon Trainer with a taunting female on Battlefield.
SSBUWebsitePikachu5.jpg|Squirtle, Ivysaur and a giant golden Pikachu on Pokémon Stadium 2.
SSBUWebsiteSheik5.jpg|Ivysaur taunting with on Tomodachi Life.
SSBUWebsiteVillager2.jpg|Ivysaur taunting with on 3D Land.
===Fighter Showcase Video===
==Trivia==
*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 during , World of Light, and spirit 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 from Galeem, 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, with . Thompson has confirmed this in 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 a timed match regardless of the score. This would only occur whenever Sudden 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 with , , , , the , , , 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 resembles from .
*If a game modification is used to enable instant KOs during a result screen, Pokémon Trainer will change animations from their results screen victory/defeated animation to their in-game defeated animation.
*If Ultimate 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 how and 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 from Brawl.
==References==
 
Category:Spirits
es:Entrenador Pokémon (SSBU)