The champ in making would like to battle, Pokémon Trainer for Smash Switch.

[Kevandre]

I wish I knew why exactly the Trainer was cut in the first place. We would, of course, have a better idea on whether or not he was coming back if we knew this. People have said it had to do with the limitations on the 3DS, but can we actually confirm this? I also recall Sakurai mentioning that he appreciated cutting transformation characters so you could focus on perfecting a single move-set during the first Smash Direct. I will say that I'm worried...

I loved the inclusion of the Trainer in Brawl, and would love to see him again sans stamina mechanic (which isn't even something we see in Pokemon games). Battling with my three Pokemon felt like the closest I would ever get to an actual action Pokemon game in my life. Seeing as the Trainers (there should definitely be a gender swap option) are the actual protagonists of the games, they most certainly deserve a spot IMHO.

That said, I have to wonder if there's a near consensus on how people want the Trainer to be implemented? I'm definitely not down for the Trainers fighting themselves personally, as I just don't think this is how they would operate. I also think the use of anymore than three Pokemon would potentially be overkill. I feel using starter Pokemon is ideal as well, as they remain some of the most recognizable and iconic (in addition to the grass, fire, water trio being such a staple to the series) Mostly, I want him back to the way he was, but with different monsters in his pocket.

I know there are people that want Ivysaur and Squirtle back, and also want Charizard to remain his own character. Maybe we could go with Blastoise (which I know a lot of people want as well), Charmeleon, and Bulbasaur with Blastoise and Bulbasaur retaining a lot of Squirtle and Ivy's moveset?

Personally I would go with something completely different, which I think of as the "Pokemon Master". A trainer that has traveled the globe, and has all fully evolved pokemon? I would love the crap out of this. How about a Decidueye, Blaziken, and Samurott combination? The first two have a lot of fans, and then we would have Poke in smash from gen VII, V, and III which all have yet to have playable reps (and are pleasingly 2 generations apart from each other). They would need to bring back everyone including Pichu, and then we would have a freaking party amirite? Gen I-VII reps!

Anyway... those are just my thoughts. Take 'em or leave 'em.

Prior to my heartbreak at the loss of the Trainer, I really hoped we'd be getting a second one. My thought was covering the rest of the generations (at the time).

So let's say default trainer model is May, but the trainer itself changes with each pallet swap. I had thought that Snivy, Quilava and Swampert would be a good call all around.

So that way you've got

Gen 1 - Pikachu/Jiggs/Mewtwo/Charizard (Or PKMN Trainer)
Gen 2 - May
Gen 3 - May
Gen 4 - Lucario
Gen 5 - May
Gen 6 - Greninja
Gen 7 - Probably Decidueye

That'd be my own preferred thing. If the Smash devs had unlimited dev time, I'd love to see ALL the representation for everything.

 

[Superyoshiom]

I really want them to bring back Pokemon Trainer for the next game but make him just like Red was: Give him Blastoise and Venusaur instead of Squirtle and Ivysaur. I know that there are many fans of squirtle, but few can deny how amazing it would be to have Blastoise and Charizard in Smash.

Even if they don't do that and bring back the Trainer as he was in Brawl, I really want a model update. Age him up a bit, and make him at least have better textures than his oversimplified Brawl model. This is an extreme stretch, but I'd like him to be closer to this:

It's kinda edgy, but I really want Smash to capture the essence of a fully mastered Pokemon Trainer and how intimidating that can be. Fully evolving the roster and adjusting the model would do just that.

 

[pupNapoleon]

I wish I knew why exactly the Trainer was cut in the first place. We would, of course, have a better idea on whether or not he was coming back if we knew this. People have said it had to do with the limitations on the 3DS, but can we actually confirm this? I also recall Sakurai mentioning that he appreciated cutting transformation characters so you could focus on perfecting a single move-set during the first Smash Direct. I will say that I'm worried...

I loved the inclusion of the Trainer in Brawl, and would love to see him again sans stamina mechanic (which isn't even something we see in Pokemon games). Battling with my three Pokemon felt like the closest I would ever get to an actual action Pokemon game in my life. Seeing as the Trainers (there should definitely be a gender swap option) are the actual protagonists of the games, they most certainly deserve a spot IMHO.

That said, I have to wonder if there's a near consensus on how people want the Trainer to be implemented? I'm definitely not down for the Trainers fighting themselves personally, as I just don't think this is how they would operate. I also think the use of anymore than three Pokemon would potentially be overkill. I feel using starter Pokemon is ideal as well, as they remain some of the most recognizable and iconic (in addition to the grass, fire, water trio being such a staple to the series) Mostly, I want him back to the way he was, but with different monsters in his pocket.

I know there are people that want Ivysaur and Squirtle back, and also want Charizard to remain his own character. Maybe we could go with Blastoise (which I know a lot of people want as well), Charmeleon, and Bulbasaur with Blastoise and Bulbasaur retaining a lot of Squirtle and Ivy's moveset?

Personally I would go with something completely different, which I think of as the "Pokemon Master". A trainer that has traveled the globe, and has all fully evolved pokemon? I would love the crap out of this. How about a Decidueye, Blaziken, and Samurott combination? The first two have a lot of fans, and then we would have Poke in smash from gen VII, V, and III which all have yet to have playable reps (and are pleasingly 2 generations apart from each other). They would need to bring back everyone including Pichu, and then we would have a freaking party amirite? Gen I-VII reps!

Anyway... those are just my thoughts. Take 'em or leave 'em.

I'm not a big fan of the Pokemon being implemented the way they were in Brawl- though we have yet to see the core mechanic of a veteran change, so I'm tempted to say it is unlikely to see anything else.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I was never as hyped for a Smash character as I was when I woke up that morning and saw the Trainer as the announcement of the day for Brawl. That was definitely a character I didn’t expect, but loved the idea of.

I know I’m in the minority here, but I really had fun with the trainer. I liked that I could switch out between the Pokémon, and I did like the type effectiveness and stamina mechanics, especially on a mirror against a high level CPU.

I mained Squirtle of the three, but each had their uses. As a kid, Charizard was one of my favorites, but Squirtle shot up the list because of Brawl.

I really want them to come back, preferably untouched. I know there’s really no other way that Squirtle or Ivysaur will come back otherwise, and I wasn’t playing them for the movesets - I was playing for Squirtle and Ivysaur - so changing them out for other mons would not be fun.

Ever since, I’ve tried to base my team in the main series around Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard. All because of how awesome this character was.

Honestly, one of my biggest issues with Sm4sh was that they were out. And the lack of single-player modes, but I couldn’t even fight with my tiny tirtle...

 

[Kevandre]

I was never as hyped for a Smash character as I was when I woke up that morning and saw the Trainer as the announcement of the day for Brawl. That was definitely a character I didn’t expect, but loved the idea of.

I know I’m in the minority here, but I really had fun with the trainer. I liked that I could switch out between the Pokémon, and I did like the type effectiveness and stamina mechanics, especially on a mirror against a high level CPU.

I mained Squirtle of the three, but each had their uses. As a kid, Charizard was one of my favorites, but Squirtle shot up the list because of Brawl.

I really want them to come back, preferably untouched. I know there’s really no other way that Squirtle or Ivysaur will come back otherwise, and I wasn’t playing them for the movesets - I was playing for Squirtle and Ivysaur - so changing them out for other mons would not be fun.

Ever since, I’ve tried to base my team in the main series around Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard. All because of how awesome this character was.

Honestly, one of my biggest issues with Sm4sh was that they were out. And the lack of single-player modes, but I couldn’t even fight with my tiny tirtle...

To be honest, I was incredibly excited at the announcement because Ivy is my favorite. To my great surprise, I found that her moveset fit my style perfectly, as well. I would hope she would come back unchanged too, but mostly I'll be happy if she came back at all

 

[Luminario]

So I had this revamped Pokemon Trainer concept floating around in my head for like a month so I decided to finally type it out.
The basic concept is PT summons Eevee and the various Eevee evolutions to warp in and do attacks in his place. The last summoned Eeveelution changes what neutral B does. I chose to use the Eeveelutions because out of all Pokemon Eevee and the evolutions are one of the few consistently relevant and popular.

Spoiler: moveset~

Jab: PT holds his arm out as Eevee pops onto his shoulder and swipes forwards with a claw. 2nd hit has Eevee flip forwards off of his arm and swipe downwards with its tail. 3rd hit has Eevee backflip upwards to do an upward swipe with the tail before blinking out of existence at the apex of the jump.
Ftilt: Jolteon appears in front of PT's head to do a quick downward slash with its paw as it falls to the ground.
Utilt: Vaporeon jumps off of PT's head to swipe upwards with its tail.
Dtilt: Flareon spews out a small ember along the ground.
Dash: PT skids along the ground as Eevee headbutts forwards hard.

Fsmash: Lava Plume. PT points forwards as Flareon hits the ground with both paws, causing an eruption of fire in front.
Usmash: PT throws Jolteon upwards as it spins, doing multihit damage above before shooting the opponents away. PT catches it on the way down.
Dsmash: PT brings his arms in before lowering his body and extending his arms outwards to each side, as Vaporeon creates a splash of water on each side.

Nair: Espeon and Umbreon appear and circle PTs waist in a mix of lilac and scarlet light. Hitbox is similar to Peach's nair. PT holds his arms to his chest and spins with the Pokemon.
Fair: Icy Wind. Glaceon appears in PTs arms and blows an icy wind forwards. Has a slight windbox to it for foes out of range, similar to Palutena's smash attacks.
Bair: Leaf Blade. Leafeon appears behind PT and spins downwards, slashing opponents in front with its tail. PT looks backwards, similar in pose to Peach's backwards jumping animation (if anyone knows what that looks like besides me)
Uair: PT turns his body so that he's facing upwards as he holds Espeon, who's also facing upwards. Espeon then creates a ball of light that explodes half a second later. 2 hits.
Dair: Mean Look. PT turns to face the ground with Umbreon in his arms instead. Umbreon then creates a ghostly face with glowing red eyes that hits opponents away.

Grab: Sylveon pops up to constrict the opponent with its feelers.
Pummel: Sylveon squeezes its feelers tighter.
Fthrow: Sylv lets the opponent go then slaps them with 2 feelers hard in a X motion.
Bthrow: Sylv simply throws them backwards around PT.
Uthrow: Sylv summons a small Fairy Wind tornado that shoots the opponent upwards. Has an upwards windbox on opponents outside the grab.
Dthrow: Sylv lifts them up then whacks them into the ground hard.

B: Eevee Assist. The main unique part of this moveset. Summons the last Eeveelution used to do an attack. Only good for one charge, as pressing B after using this move simply Summons Eevee, so you have to re-use the specific Eeveelution move to re-summon it. Solo Espeon and Umbreon attacks both summon them both regardless. PT performs the specific Z move ending pose for the type of Eeveelution summoned.
Eevee: Simply headbutts forwards. Good range.
Vaporeon: Water Pulse. Shoots a water ring forwards that expands, revealing a blind spot in the centre of the projectile. Goes through stages.
Jolteon: Discharge. A rather defensive move. Jolteon immediately creates a shockwave of electricity around itself, with a range that covers all of PT.
Flareon. Fire Spin. Flareon creates a small vortex of fire a small distance in front of it, reaching up to around half of PT's height. Multihit and hits the opponent straight up for follow up attacks. Blind spot close to PT. Similar to Palutena's Explosive Flame.
Espeon + Umbreon: Reflect + Payback. combination of a reflector and a counter. Espeon appears in front to create a barrier of purple light that reflects projectiles, as Umbreon apppears behind and readies itself to counter. Only projectiles shot to the front of PT are reflected, while only attacks that hit from behind are countered. PT's pose is the Psychic Z move pose unless Umbreon counters something, where he turns and performs the Dark Z pose.
Leafeon: Magical Leaf. Leafeon throws out a single rainbow leaf that slightly follows the nearest opponent as it moves forwards.
Glaceon: Ice Shard. Glaceon shoots out a fast shard of ice straight forwards.
Sylveon: Draining Kiss. Sylveon shoots out a love heart that floats forwards. If it hits an opponent then half the % dealt heals PT. Comboes from down throw at low %.

Side B: Leaf Blade. PT flies forwards as Leafeon slices upwards with it's tail. Good as a combo starter but unsafe on shield.

Up B: Fairy Wind. PT hold Sylveon in his arms as they're both surrounded by a transluscent pink tornado that lifts them up. At the end PT releases Sylveon upwards as he then freefalls. multihit during the rise but low knockback at the end.

Down B: Hail. Glaceon appears and creates a small grey cloud just above PT's head that floats forwards, letting down small shards of ice periodically. no knockback damage. Range is just before 3/4ths of FD. Shards can be reflected but not cloud.

Final Smash. Evoboost Rainbow. PT summons Eevee to shoot forwards at high speed. If Eevee hits an opponent then they're trapped as the different Eeveelutions warp in to attack from all angles, resulting in heavy damage and knockback.

Taunt 1: Eevee warps in as PT grabs it then hugs it, then lets it warp out.
Taunt 2: Flips up a Pokeball then grabs it out of the air.
Taunt 3: Performs a random Z move dance.

Not super confident about the FS idea but whatever. Each Eeveelution warps in as soon as the attack is inputted and warps out as soon as the attack is over or PT was hit out of using it, with a colour coded flash of light to indicate exactly which Eeveelution was used.

 

[Curious Villager]

So I had this revamped Pokemon Trainer concept floating around in my head for like a month so I decided to finally type it out.
The basic concept is PT summons Eevee and the various Eevee evolutions to warp in and do attacks in his place. The last summoned Eeveelution changes what neutral B does. I chose to use the Eeveelutions because out of all Pokemon Eevee and the evolutions are one of the few consistently relevant and popular.

Spoiler: moveset~

Jab: PT holds his arm out as Eevee pops onto his shoulder and swipes forwards with a claw. 2nd hit has Eevee flip forwards off of his arm and swipe downwards with its tail. 3rd hit has Eevee backflip upwards to do an upward swipe with the tail before blinking out of existence at the apex of the jump.
Ftilt: Jolteon appears in front of PT's head to do a quick downward slash with its paw as it falls to the ground.
Utilt: Vaporeon jumps off of PT's head to swipe upwards with its tail.
Dtilt: Flareon spews out a small ember along the ground.
Dash: PT skids along the ground as Eevee headbutts forwards hard.

Fsmash: Lava Plume. PT points forwards as Flareon hits the ground with both paws, causing an eruption of fire in front.
Usmash: PT throws Jolteon upwards as it spins, doing multihit damage above before shooting the opponents away. PT catches it on the way down.
Dsmash: PT brings his arms in before lowering his body and extending his arms outwards to each side, as Vaporeon creates a splash of water on each side.

Nair: Espeon and Umbreon appear and circle PTs waist in a mix of lilac and scarlet light. Hitbox is similar to Peach's nair. PT holds his arms to his chest and spins with the Pokemon.
Fair: Icy Wind. Glaceon appears in PTs arms and blows an icy wind forwards. Has a slight windbox to it for foes out of range, similar to Palutena's smash attacks.
Bair: Leaf Blade. Leafeon appears behind PT and spins downwards, slashing opponents in front with its tail. PT looks backwards, similar in pose to Peach's backwards jumping animation (if anyone knows what that looks like besides me)
Uair: PT turns his body so that he's facing upwards as he holds Espeon, who's also facing upwards. Espeon then creates a ball of light that explodes half a second later. 2 hits.
Dair: Mean Look. PT turns to face the ground with Umbreon in his arms instead. Umbreon then creates a ghostly face with glowing red eyes that hits opponents away.

Grab: Sylveon pops up to constrict the opponent with its feelers.
Pummel: Sylveon squeezes its feelers tighter.
Fthrow: Sylv lets the opponent go then slaps them with 2 feelers hard in a X motion.
Bthrow: Sylv simply throws them backwards around PT.
Uthrow: Sylv summons a small Fairy Wind tornado that shoots the opponent upwards. Has an upwards windbox on opponents outside the grab.
Dthrow: Sylv lifts them up then whacks them into the ground hard.

B: Eevee Assist. The main unique part of this moveset. Summons the last Eeveelution used to do an attack. Only good for one charge, as pressing B after using this move simply Summons Eevee, so you have to re-use the specific Eeveelution move to re-summon it. Solo Espeon and Umbreon attacks both summon them both regardless. PT performs the specific Z move ending pose for the type of Eeveelution summoned.
Eevee: Simply headbutts forwards. Good range.
Vaporeon: Water Pulse. Shoots a water ring forwards that expands, revealing a blind spot in the centre of the projectile. Goes through stages.
Jolteon: Discharge. A rather defensive move. Jolteon immediately creates a shockwave of electricity around itself, with a range that covers all of PT.
Flareon. Fire Spin. Flareon creates a small vortex of fire a small distance in front of it, reaching up to around half of PT's height. Multihit and hits the opponent straight up for follow up attacks. Blind spot close to PT. Similar to Palutena's Explosive Flame.
Espeon + Umbreon: Reflect + Payback. combination of a reflector and a counter. Espeon appears in front to create a barrier of purple light that reflects projectiles, as Umbreon apppears behind and readies itself to counter. Only projectiles shot to the front of PT are reflected, while only attacks that hit from behind are countered. PT's pose is the Psychic Z move pose unless Umbreon counters something, where he turns and performs the Dark Z pose.
Leafeon: Magical Leaf. Leafeon throws out a single rainbow leaf that slightly follows the nearest opponent as it moves forwards.
Glaceon: Ice Shard. Glaceon shoots out a fast shard of ice straight forwards.
Sylveon: Draining Kiss. Sylveon shoots out a love heart that floats forwards. If it hits an opponent then half the % dealt heals PT. Comboes from down throw at low %.

Side B: Leaf Blade. PT flies forwards as Leafeon slices upwards with it's tail. Good as a combo starter but unsafe on shield.

Up B: Fairy Wind. PT hold Sylveon in his arms as they're both surrounded by a transluscent pink tornado that lifts them up. At the end PT releases Sylveon upwards as he then freefalls. multihit during the rise but low knockback at the end.

Down B: Hail. Glaceon appears and creates a small grey cloud just above PT's head that floats forwards, letting down small shards of ice periodically. no knockback damage. Range is just before 3/4ths of FD. Shards can be reflected but not cloud.

Final Smash. Evoboost Rainbow. PT summons Eevee to shoot forwards at high speed. If Eevee hits an opponent then they're trapped as the different Eeveelutions warp in to attack from all angles, resulting in heavy damage and knockback.

Taunt 1: Eevee warps in as PT grabs it then hugs it, then lets it warp out.
Taunt 2: Flips up a Pokeball then grabs it out of the air.
Taunt 3: Performs a random Z move dance.

Not super confident about the FS idea but whatever. Each Eeveelution warps in as soon as the attack is inputted and warps out as soon as the attack is over or PT was hit out of using it, with a colour coded flash of light to indicate exactly which Eeveelution was used.

That's a pretty interesting idea, I didn't think to use the Eeveelutions for this idea, which would be interesting, especially if the rumoured Flying type Eevelution comes to fruition. And would probably be a little less cluttered too.

Perhaps though, maybe let Eevee be the only one always present though, hanging around on the trainer's shoulder Ash & Pikachu style.

 

[Luminario]

Perhaps though, maybe let Eevee be the only one always present though, hanging around on the trainer's shoulder Ash & Pikachu style.

That's actually a better idea. It would make the warping make sense too since Eevee can use Baton Pass.

 

[PSIguy89]

Honestly Losing Red was one of the most disappointing things for me with this last game, like I really didn’t even feel like using Charizard anymore. The thing was, in my mind Red really help represent what the Pokémon games were about, rather than just being all about each mon. If they can bring him back with Squirtle and Ivysaur (or even their evos) I’d be thrilled! Just simply remove the stamina BS and forced switching. Instead add a feature that help encourage mid-battle switching, such as having the pkmn that’s coming out recover 5-10% damage and receive a *small* launch damage increase for maybe 10 or 20 seconds! Also I should note I imagine this having like a 30 second cooldown to prevent it from being spammed

 

[Kevandre]

Honestly Losing Red was one of the most disappointing things for me with this last game, like I really didn’t even feel like using Charizard anymore. The thing was, in my mind Red really help represent what the Pokémon games were about, rather than just being all about each mon. If they can bring him back with Squirtle and Ivysaur (or even their evos) I’d be thrilled! Just simply remove the stamina BS and forced switching. Instead add a feature that help encourage mid-battle switching, such as having the pkmn that’s coming out recover 5-10% damage and receive a *small* launch damage increase for maybe 10 or 20 seconds! Also I should note I imagine this having like a 30 second cooldown to prevent it from being spammed

Yeah, Charizard had a HARD nerf to his down-B... It was his best move in Brawl

 

[Wonks]

The Pokemon Trainer was a fantastic idea to implement in Brawl. While I don't think he's as important (for lack of a better word) as having his actual Pokemon in Squrtile and Ivysaur return, I would like to see him reprise his role, maybe with some new Pokemon, too, as you suggested. (Hopefully a potential 8-player wouldn't negate his inclusion.)

 

[Sean Wheeler]

You know, I've been a bit torn about whether I want the Trainer back. I really think everyone who's ever been in the Smash series should return in Smash 5. But since the removal of transformations had actually improved everyone and I want to see Squirtle and Ivysaur as standalone characters, it's really difficult to see how the Trainer can come back. If he comes back, I would like to see the other player character trainers like Brendan, Dawn, May, Calem and Leaf as alts. But the idea of transformations coming back make me worry that Zero Suit Samus players would have to run from the Smash Ball. And if he is a standalone character that's active on the field, he'd play nothing like what he did in Brawl. Man, this is so hard. I would like it if everyone could come back to Smash on the Switch, but Charizard would be nerfed if he gets his trainer back. And I feel like Squirtle and Ivysaur would deserve the buffs Charizard got. And I think character switching could be used for a mode instead of a character.

 

[Morbi]

You know, I've been a bit torn about whether I want the Trainer back. I really think everyone who's ever been in the Smash series should return in Smash 5. But since the removal of transformations had actually improved everyone and I want to see Squirtle and Ivysaur as standalone characters, it's really difficult to see how the Trainer can come back. If he comes back, I would like to see the other player character trainers like Brendan, Dawn, May, Calem and Leaf as alts. But the idea of transformations coming back make me worry that Zero Suit Samus players would have to run from the Smash Ball. And if he is a standalone character that's active on the field, he'd play nothing like what he did in Brawl. Man, this is so hard. I would like it if everyone could come back to Smash on the Switch, but Charizard would be nerfed if he gets his trainer back. And I feel like Squirtle and Ivysaur would deserve the buffs Charizard got. And I think character switching could be used for a mode instead of a character.

You never know, he could return as background element to a shared roster icon for Squirtle and Ivysaur as independent character. You would not need to bring transformations back, and you could keep that Brawl vibe.

 

[Sean Wheeler]

He feels more like a stage hazard than an actual fighter. Squirtle and Ivysaur could receive the same buffs as Charizard without him. I really don't want anyone cut, but he's going to be tricky to implement.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

But since the removal of transformations had actually improved everyone

In which way? Tier wise? Not everyone plays Smash competitively. I loved the transformations, and the Pokémon Trainer was one of the coolest character ideas because I did have to learn three movesets, each of which had its own strengths and weaknesses. If I needed a good matchup, I could switch out, just like it is in the main series Pokémon games. That mechanic was actually great for the trainer, if poorly done.

If they fixed the transformations to make them instant again, that would solve quite a few problems. But the mechanic made the Trainer unique, and it made Squirtle and Ivysaur relevant. With 800+ Pokémon now, there's no reason to put Squirtle in above most of the newer mons, and very few people care about the middle evolutions so Ivysaur is also DOA. Only with the Trainer do they have a chance.

You'll always have the competitive scene disfavor transformations since it's harder to play with or against because of matchups, and the competitive scene will always favor faster characters like Fox over mighty glaciers like Ganondorf. Does that mean that all characters who don't fall into that mindset should be scrapped?

Now I do think that Samus/ZSS was badly implemented. I'd rather her transformation was something you could choose and not have to avoid Smash Balls. Zelda, though, was fine. Again, if the transformations got fixed, it would be easier to use Zelda's KO power alongside Shiek's speed. If not, I'd actually rather they cut Shiek since she hasn't been relevant to the main series games since 1998, or at least give the moveset to Impa.

Charizard feels like an empty shell without the other two parts of his moveset. I really don't consider getting an extra special move to be an improvement over losing two other entire movesets.

 

[Sean Wheeler]

While the Zelda/Sheik transformation could be fun, there could be some people who just wants to fight Zelda and just can't stand Sheik and would rage if the CPU player changed characters on them. Okay, those people would be weird if they reacted like that. But if you want to just fight one specific character and the computer changed characters, how would that feel? Okay, guess the Zelda/Sheik thing doesn't really matter as much. But Samus & Zero Suit Samus shouldn't change after each Final Smash. The two forms of Samus have their own fans that would prefer one over the other and the Smash Ball would be a lose-lose situation because either they have to prepare for the new moveset or dodge a dangerous attack from the guy who grabbed the Smash Ball. And no, Charizard doesn't feel like an empty shell. He deserves a separate spot on the roster from Squirtle and Ivysaur which could have their own spots too. And since Nintendo Switch Game Cards hold quadruple the amount of data from the 3DS card, there'd be plenty of room for newcomers, so Squirtle and Ivysaur and other cut characters can still make it in. But all that data could make the loading times for each transformation slow, so no it wouldn't be easier to use Zelda's KO power alongside Sheik's speed because of the transformation lag.

 

[shinhed-echi]

If it weren't because I suspect that Tag-Team matches will finally be a thing in Smash 5 (because, come on... would they waste the opportunity to include a mechanic to SWITCH characters on this console?) I'd think it'd be a neat idea to have a Trainer version of the Pokemon, where you could choose 3 from the Pokemon sub-roster. Like... Mewtwo, Greninja, and Jigglypuff, for example.

This is why I think the Trainer as he was in Brawl will not come back, sadly. But maybe he could be reworked?
As for how he looks... well, a gen for each color sounds reasonable enough for me.

Red: Gen 1.
Yellow: Gen 2
Green: Gen 3
Blue: Gen 4
White: Gen 5
Black: Gen 6

etc.

 

[Sean Wheeler]

If it weren't because I suspect that Tag-Team matches will finally be a thing in Smash 5 (because, come on... would they waste the opportunity to include a mechanic to SWITCH characters on this console?) I'd think it'd be a neat idea to have a Trainer version of the Pokemon, where you could choose 3 from the Pokemon sub-roster. Like... Mewtwo, Greninja, and Jigglypuff, for example.

This is why I think the Trainer as he was in Brawl will not come back, sadly. But maybe he could be reworked?
As for how he looks... well, a gen for each color sounds reasonable enough for me.

Red: Gen 1.
Yellow: Gen 2
Green: Gen 3
Blue: Gen 4
White: Gen 5
Black: Gen 6

etc.

Wow, I literally just posted a new thread about Switch Smash.

 

[LightningVance]

MY MAIN IS BACK
WITHOUT STAMINA

 

[DNeon]

So for real, those pokemon switches almost look like damn spot dodges.

 

[BluePikmin11]

I am so glad Pokemon Trainer is returning. People during speculation were too one-sided on transformations returning, and I told people that there would be a real chance of it happening. Sakurai made a solution and made transforming seamless now. I wish I sticked to my gut and kept Pokemon Trainer in my prediction though.

 

[MasterOfKnees]

I am so glad Pokemon Trainer is returning. People during speculation were too one-sided on transformations returning, and I told people that there would be a real chance of it happening. Sakurai made a solution and made transforming seamless now. I wish I sticked to my gut and kept Pokemon Trainer in my prediction though.

Kudos to you honestly, I was one of those who argued against it when we discussed it once, but I just gotta hold my hands up and admit that your research paid off in that regard, even if you didn't stick with it all the way through.

 

[fogbadge]

i love playing as all three of them so im dead pleased to see him return

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Excellent!

The avengers have been reassembled, and I’m ready to play them again. So happy that at least this transformation is back in all its glory.

Didn’t think it would come, but I hoped. And it’s here!

 

[Bassoonist]

I'm sooo happy that they included Leaf as an alternate this time.

 

[ZealousGamer]

I'm quite happy that they all return. I missed Pokemon Trainer. Kind of would like the Gen 2 Pokemon Trainers as well.

 

[MAtgSy]

Good news: Red is back

Even better news: Leaf is in!

 

[shinhed-echi]

OMG!!! I'm still so pumped! He's finaly back!

Finally I get to cross someone off my list!

Thank you Sakurai! Now it's back to the Pokeball for you!

 

[Capybara Gaming]

I was a diehard Trainer main in Brawl. I never thought I'd see the day he returned to Smash after Charizard went rogue in Smash 4, but this... does bring a smile to my face.

 

[dangeraaron10]

Yeah, Charizard had a HARD nerf to his down-B... It was his best move in Brawl

OMG!!! I'm still so pumped! He's finaly back!

Finally I get to cross someone off my list!

Thank you Sakurai! Now it's back to the Pokeball for you!

It's quotes like these that remind me to double down on Charizard as my main. I'll work around whatever limitations Charizard has now, but I'm not switching out if I don't have to.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

It's quotes like these that remind me to double down on Charizard as my main. I'll work around whatever limitations Charizard has now, but I'm not switching out if I don't have to.

Well, Ultimate has you covered - no more Stamina to force you to switch!

And for people like me - I get the team back together. Win win for everyone! I am so happy.

I do hope Charmie keeps Flare Blitz over Rock Smash though. Rock Smash was pretty situational and didn't fit with him as well as the Blitz did.

 

[dangeraaron10]

Well, Ultimate has you covered - no more Stamina to force you to switch!

And for people like me - I get the team back together. Win win for everyone! I am so happy.

I do hope Charmie keeps Flare Blitz over Rock Smash though. Rock Smash was pretty situational and didn't fit with him as well as the Blitz did.

He retains Flare Blitz, assuming Down B is Pokeball Switch, that means he loses Rock Smash.

I think I seen some videos, probably in the invitational, that shows him using Flare Blitz.

Well, Ultimate has you covered - no more Stamina to force you to switch!

And for people like me - I get the team back together. Win win for everyone! I am so happy.

I do hope Charmie keeps Flare Blitz over Rock Smash though. Rock Smash was pretty situational and didn't fit with him as well as the Blitz did.

I've given it some thought, and I think I'm hyping myself up for Pokemon Trainer as a whole and not just Charizard. Much like you are. I'm ready to embrace the whole heroic reptile team and their hype boy/girl in the background. It does feel offputting to come to the P. Trainer thread and see people dog on my main, however. That's why I acted defensive at first.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I've given it some thought, and I think I'm hyping myself up for Pokemon Trainer as a whole and not just Charizard. Much like you are. I'm ready to embrace the whole heroic reptile team and their hype boy/girl in the background. It does feel offputting to come to the P. Trainer thread and see people dog on my main, however. That's why I acted defensive at first.

Don't worry about it; it's understandable. I know that a lot of people saw the transformations as a hindrance, especially how broken they were in Brawl, so Charizard mains would naturally feel the spotlight is getting hogged away from them.

Personally, Charizard didn't feel right to me without the other two. I've never been so hyped for a character when they announced the Trainer back during Brawl, so it's a dream come true to see the team come back together. I do need to work to get better with Charmie though - Squirtle was always my best, and I'd gotten okay with Ivy, but I couldn't play the Zard to save my life. I want to have these guys as some of my co-mains now that they're back.

And with Pokemon Let's Go coming out too, I'll get another chance to get my 002/006/007 team back in a main-series game again!

 

[Lyndis_]

Really glad he's back. The concept of transformation characters wasn't bad, it just needed to be faster. Glad they've done so, this game really looks like it knows it's audience so far.

 

[Deleted member]

I'm really happy Ivysaur and Squirtle are back but I still think they could've executed the trainer concept better. They talked about how they removed stamina because they didn't want to penalize you for sticking with your favorite, but you're forced to switch every time you get KO'd and they don't have a down special. That's two penalties for trying to stick with your main. If they really wanted to get the best of both worlds I would've liked to see two things: no switching on KO, and giving their down special some kind of variability like Shulk's Monado Arts. That way just pressing down b could activate Rock Smash/whatever down specials Ivysaur and Squirtle would get, while hitting down b followed by a left or right input or double/triple tapping b would change your Pokemon to either of the other two mons. It might work better if they made the Pokemon change apart of the neutral special though.

Also, is there any word on whether or not type matchups are back? I hope they're gone but you never know.

 

[NonSpecificGuy]

Has it been confirmed how you Switch Pokemon yet? Is it down b?

 

[Curious Villager]

Has it been confirmed how you Switch Pokemon yet? Is it down b?

Yes. At least they stated that Charizards Rock Smash has been removed.

 

[NonSpecificGuy]

Yes. At least they stated that Charizards Rock Smash has been removed.

Damn, I was hoping that they found a way around the use of one of the 4 specials. I mean the game IS still in development so maybe in time it'll be changed. I was kind of hoping they'd do it in the way that Inkling refills her ink. Shield + B. Would make the character as a whole more viable since it wouldn't be wasting a Special.

 

[Curious Villager]

Damn, I was hoping that they found a way around the use of one of the 4 specials. I mean the game IS still in development so maybe in time it'll be changed. I was kind of hoping they'd do it in the way that Inkling refills her ink. Shield + B. Would make the character as a whole more viable since it wouldn't be wasting a Special.

I'm surprised they haven't made any use of the fourth plus control pad button for things like that. It's only used for three taunts, two of them being used for one taunt and all.

I think it would have worked out if they placed the transform button to the down button and leaving the three taunts for up, left and right.
I guess that might have been a hindrance for certain controller options but still...

 

[younglinkaku]

Yes. At least they stated that Charizards Rock Smash has been removed.

As a Zard main I need rock smash.....somebody help me start a petition!!!!