Pokémon Trainer (SSBU): Difference between revisions

|image = {{tabber|width=300px|height=300px|title1=Male|tab1=[[File:Pokémon Trainer (solo) SSBU.png|x300px]]|title2=Female|tab2=[[File:Pokémon Trainer (solo)-Alt1 SSBU.png|x300px]]|title3=Team (Male)|tab3=<br><br>[[File:Pokémon Trainer SSBU.png|300px]]|title4=Team (Female)|tab4=<br><br>[[File:Pokémon Trainer-Alt1 SSBU.png|300px]]}}

|tier = A+

|ranking = 23

Unlike ''Brawl'', ''Ultimate'' does not have a Korean dub, with Pokémon Trainer instead using his Japanese voice in the Korean versions.

Pokémon Trainer is ranked 23rd out of 82 on the current [[tier list]], placing him in the A+ tier. This is a drastic improvement over his 29th out of 38 placement in ''Brawl'', and a significant improvement over {{SSB4|Charizard}}'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 {{h2|Pokémon Change|Stamina}} and [[Type effectiveness]] mechanics.

:''The list below covers the general changes of the Pokémon Trainer and their party as a whole. For information about each individual Pokémon's moveset changes, see [[Squirtle (SSBU)]], [[Ivysaur (SSBU)]], and [[Charizard (SSBU)]].''

Despite some noteworthy buffs, Pokémon Trainer has also received some nerfs. 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 objectively nerfed overall, and Ivysaur and Charizard have received a few nerfs as well.

Nevertheless, 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.

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

*'''Up taunt''': Triumphantly raises his Poké Ball into the air.

*'''Down taunt''': Fist pumps with his left hand while posing triumphantly.

*'''Up taunt''': Fist pumps with her left hand while triumphantly raising her Poké Ball into the air.

*'''Down taunt''': Jumps slightly off the ground while doing a double fist pump.

SSBURedIdle1.gif|Male Pokémon Trainer's first idle pose

SSBURedIdle2.gif|Male Pokémon Trainer's second idle pose

SSBULeafIdle1.gif|Female Pokémon Trainer's first idle pose

SSBULeafIdle2.gif|Female Pokémon Trainer's second idle pose

The male Trainer can say "You all did great!" ({{ja|よくやったな、みんな！|Yoku yatta na, minna}}, ''Good job, everyone!''), while the female Trainer can say "Everyone did great!" ({{ja|みなさんは素晴らしい！|Minasan wa subarashī!}}, ''All of you did great!''). They will either say a non-specific line, or a Pokemon-specific line. In Team Battles, if there is 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.

Reception towards Pokémon Trainer has been positive ever since ''Ultimate''{{'}}s release. The changes to their infamously counter-intuitive mechanics, specifically the removal of [[Pokémon Change#Stamina|Stamina]] and [[type effectiveness]], alongside the significantly faster switch time for [[Pokémon Change]], left players excited for the character's return from ''Brawl''. However, players also noted that Pokémon Trainer's playstyle had some detractors due to {{SSBU|Ivysaur}} being overtuned compared to its teammates, while {{SSBU|Charizard}} was considered a very lackluster character; this led to optimal play requiring unbalanced use of the three Pokémon as well as a more predictable game plan. Although the character initially saw average representation due to a high learning curve, players such as {{Sm|Leffen}}, {{Sm|Wishes}}, and {{Sm|HIKARU}} found success at several national tournaments.

As more players began learning how to utilize all three Pokémon, Pokémon Trainer saw an exponential increase in representation. This positive trend culminated in an explosion of results during the summer of 2019 thanks to the efforts of players such as {{Sm|Puppeh}}, {{Sm|moxi}}, and most notably {{Sm|Tweek}}, who placed top 3 at several major tournaments including {{Trn|EVO 2019}}, {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2019}}, and {{Trn|Low Tier City 7}}. This led many to consider Pokémon Trainer to be top 10, if not top 5 in the game at the time.

During and following the [[COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on competitive Smash|COVID-19 pandemic]], however, Pokémon Trainer would then see 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 "more" viable characters, as well as several of Pokémon Trainer's best players such as Tweek, Moxi, and Ned dropping them. Despite this, new Pokémon Trainer players such as {{Sm|Quidd}} and {{Sm|Atelier}} rose to take their place, with the former winning Trainer's second major at {{Trn|Let's Make Big Moves}}. As a result of this continued success, Pokémon Trainer is still widely considered to be at least an upper-high tier character, with him ranking 23rd on the first and current tier list, thanks to above-average tournament representation and overall positive community reception.