POKEMON TRAINER
Fighter Number: 33, 34, and 35
Fighter Group: Brawl Veterans
Franchise: Pokemon
Game of Origin: Pokemon Red/Blue/Green* (Game Boy, 1996 (JP), 1998 (US), 1999 (EU)
*In Japan, Pokemon Blue debuted as Pokemon Green
While naturally the Pokemon series is most well known for well… the Pokemon. We know that throughout the series history there's been a fair share of notable humans in the series. Besides of course what today's character is you have professors like Professor Oak, gym leaders and/or anime companions like Misty & Brock, and even the many Nurse Joy's that poke fun at how the nurses all look the same in the Pokemon games. If you're known for stretching facts with takes like saying Ness from Earthbound is also Sans from Undertale, you may even say the Humans themselves are a Pokemon too. In any case, the Trainers of Pokemon serve a very important part of the Pokemon world. It's through human trainers that Pokemon compete to be the very best, and not always in battle, as there are also the many contests that include judging a Pokemon's beauty.
Though it'd be fair to say the rather unfortunate implications of a world where Pokemon battling is a world-wide sport. As you could arguably see it as if Pit Bull fights were legal all over the world and the championship of such had the same hype for it that the Super Bowl does in our world. (Not exactly something we would like to see the Puppy Bowl become that's for certain) That implication has gotten the series ire from PETA and/or other Animal Rights activists. At the very least, the series mostly depicts the relationship between a Trainer and it's Pokemon to not be akin to a human raising a Pit Bull to fight. But for the most part Trainers befriend their Pokemon, although there are certainly abusive trainers out there that fit the worst case scenario. And then there's also the many evil organized crime that use Pokemon for evil or selfish deeds… at least until they're beaten almost singlehandedly by a 10-year old.
I guess to be fair these 10-year old trainer over the years have used their Pokemon to face down several threats that are fully capable of killing multiple humans whether they just have many dangerous Pokemon moves, are ghosts, and/or outright Pokemon gods. We probably shouldn't be underestimating the resolve of a 10-year old capable of defeating god with their Pokemon.
On the Pokemon Trainer that is in Smash though, contrary to what some people probably thought at one point. This isn't exactly Ash Ketchum getting playable in Smash, although it could be said that Ash is derived from who the Pokemon Trainer really is. While you can usually name the Trainers whatever you want, the official name for the default trainer we see in Smash is Red. And while some may ask if there's even much of a difference between Red and Ash. Well one thing's for sure, Red had a far more successful Pokemon career then Ash did (Although if you count the movies, perhaps Ash has saved the world more often then Red has). Although, after the events of Pokemon Red/Blue it seems he went alone for a time and you get to actually battle him as an optional challenge in Pokemon Gold/Silver. But he's as silently stoic as he was when he almost never said a thing when you were controlling him. Giving him something of a creepy vibe where maybe becoming the Pokemon champion isn't all that it's cracked up to be. And they actually keep that vibe for most of his reappearances, even for as recent as Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee.
But I suppose we should also remind ourselves that the Trainer himself is not actually the playable character. For the Pokemon Trainer is actually 3 in 1. They all come from the Iconic first 3 starters of Gen 1, just in different parts of the evolutionary chart. Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard all are famous Pokemon from Gen 1 with legacies all their very own.
Squirtle is the cute turtle Pokemon who if you picked to be your starter it was a godsend against Brock at the beginning making the first gym very much a breeze. Though it would be a different story once you got to say the Grass type gym or the Electric type gym. Which it would be recommended you catch a different Pokemon by the time you get there. Squirtle was also very much featured in the Anime being used quite a bit by Ash not to mention the Squirtle Squad where a pack of them that banded together because they were neglected by their trainers, and all wear sharp Sunglasses. The leader of the Squirtle Squad is even the one that decides to travel with Ash for a good while. Though he would eventually return to lead the squad once more.
Ivysaur is sadly sort of the black sheep of the three. Perhaps partly because it's a 2nd evolution so it doesn't have the familiarity of Squirtle, Charmander, or even it's pre-evolution Bulbasaur which being the first Pokemon in the Pokedex arguably makes Bulbasaur more iconic then any of it's evolutions. And then you have Charizard who is an uber-tier popular Gen 1 Pokemon for reasons I'll get into soon. Still, Ivysaur is notable for being one of the few other then Duck Hunt Dog to be a fully quadrupedal fighter in Smash. There's just sadly not a lot of choices for characters that aren't bipedal that would be iconic enough for Smash (Ivysaur is the true #PlantGang in that regard. They literally gave Piranha Plant feet in Smash, technically making it a biped)
And Charizard well, I'm not even sure I need to explain too much. As Charizard is SO popular, that when unfortunately restraints caused by the 3DS Version of Smash 4. It meant transformations/character switching mid-battle would not be possible, so they cut Squirtle and Ivysaur in favor of making Pokemon Trainer specifically Charizard only. But even besides that, Charizard was just one of the main Pokemon from Gen 1 that hit it big. Charizard Pokemon cards are some of the most sought after and/or do very well at auctions if they're in mint condition. And it's kinda easy to see why, Charizard was basically a fire breathing dragon (Even if of course he's not exactly dragon type). Although if you chose Charmander as your starter, the beginning of the game is a little awkward since Fire doesn't do a lot against Rock, and then you have the Water gym right after. But what really helped Charizard I have to imagine is just how much use Charizard had in the anime, even having an arc where it would not listen to Ash for a while.
If I were to rank the 3 Pokemon's merit individually. Charizard would go first, Squirtle 2nd, and Ivysaur would be 3rd. Where they would be all-time is a bit of another question. Charizard might have the resume worthy of being in the Top 40 or even 30 somewhere all on his own. Squirtle might be more middling but decent for one Pokemon and probably at least more than Jigglypuff. Ivysaur sadly would probably be less than Jigglypuff. As the more neglected of the 3 in comparison, Jigglypuff has more overall history and promotion in the Anime it feels.
The ideal plan while playing as Pokemon Trainer is to use all 3 in the same match for different purposes. Though in Ultimate you are fully capable of just using one if you so wish, which wasn't quite as possible back in Brawl since they included a stamina mechanic that meant the Pokemon got slower and/or weaker if you used the same one for too long.
Another thing about Pokemon Trainer in Ultimate, is they addition of an alt where you can play as a female Pokemon Trainer. Specifically Leaf (Or Green) which was a choice you could make for FireRed and LeafGreen. Which is also something of a godsend when er… IMO they really nerfed the Pokemon Trainer's voice between Brawl and Ultimate. Red's English VA in Ultimate sounds much more nasally, and a little annoying. But the actress for Leaf/Green sounds much better. So I honestly prefer using Leaf over Red in Ultimate just for that reason.
All in all, the Trainers are a very important part of the Pokemon series that may sometimes get overlooked in a series where understandably the many, many, MANY Pokemon take center stage. Even if it's odd that it seems every new Pokemon generation a 10-year old is the one who defeats the criminal investigation or sometimes even saved the Pokemon world in some fashion
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As for where the Pokemon Trainer belongs on our rankings. I mentioned before that there could be a bit of a solid debate on whether the Pokemon Trainer or Pikachu should get most of the credit. I decided Pikachu still would get most of it. But we can't deny the trainer's own in a number of ways. I think it's fair to say with how huge the Pokemon franchise. That at the very least, the Trainer is above Luigi. As we've had Pokemon Trainers for the entire franchise, the use of the Gen 1 Starters, especially Charizard helps boost the merit significantly. Though at the very least the Trainer is under Samus and Kirby for it's not like we've had the same Pokemon Trainer since Gen 1. As for the most part, even if you include Leaf. These are specifically the Gen 1 Trainers. And it's not like they could have just added the other trainers as alt costumes, as having the trainers of the future games still only using Gen 1 Pokemon would never really feel like them
Also as a heads-up. Pokemon Trainer is most likely the final character to crack into the Top 10. As if you can take a look at who's left. I see no path for any remaining character to be that high on this list. There may at least be one more that cracks the Top 20, But otherwise the Top 10 is already here
1. Mario
2. Link
3. Pikachu
4. Donkey Kong
5. Kirby
6. Samus
7. Pokemon Trainer
8. Luigi
9. Wario
10. Yoshi
11. Bowser
12. Peach
13. Mii Fighters
14. Mega Man
15. Pac-Man
16. Diddy Kong
17. Banjo & Kazooie
18. Simon Belmont
19. King Dedede
20. Mewtwo
21. Ridley
22. King K. Rool
23. Zelda
24. Meta Knight
25. Ganondorf
26. Mr. Game & Watch
27. Sonic the Hedgehog
28. Cloud
29. Sora
30. Ryu
31. Bowser Jr.
32. Olimar
33. Fox
34. Rosalina & Luma
35. Marth
36. Zero Suit Samus
37. Toon Link
38. Isabelle
39. Inkling
40. Snake
41. Shulk
42. Pit
43. Ness
44. Captain Falcon
45. Sephiroth
46. Robin
47. Jigglypuff
48. Falco
49. Wolf
50. Duck Hunt
51. Greninja
52. Steve
53. Bayonetta
54. Lucas
55. Pyra
56. Mythra
57. Joker
58. Sheik
59. ROB
60. Min Min
61. Byleth
62. Ice Climbers
63. Wii Fit Trainer
64. Chrom
65. Dr. Mario
66. Dark Pit
67. Piranha Plant
