Trainer Card (game): Difference between revisions

A trainer card in the Pokémon games is the card that displays much of the information about a trainer. They seem to have appeared in all four generations of Pokémon games, however, they are only officially known as trainer cards in Generation III and Generation IV.

Several things are shared among the trainer cards, including displaying the trainer's name, their trainer ID number, how much money they have on them, how many Pokémon they have in their Pokédex, and the amount of time they have been playing their game.

In Generation III, a back side was introduced that displayed such data as how many times a player had played in link battles, won and lost, traded, and even how long they had been playing when they first defeated the Elite Four and Champion to enter the Hall of Fame. The trainer card also changes colors after meeting certain conditions, such as defeating the Elite four. In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, a trainer's party could be photographed in the Rocket Game Corner in Celadon City and put on the back as well.

When Generation IV was released, the ability to keep track of the precise date on which the game was begun and the date and time at which the Elite Four were defeated was added. An area for the trainer's signature was also included. In addition, when communicating in the union room, other players can ask to view the players trainer card, which has a picture of a random trainer class, which can be changed by talking to a man in the Oreburgh City Pokémon center. Once again, the trainer card changes colors once certain conditions are met: defeating the Elite Four, a 100-victory chain at the Battle Tower, winning a Master Rank Super Contest in any one of the five categories, capturing 50 flags underground, and obtaining data on all Pokémon in the National Dex excluding Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, Deoxys, Phione, Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin, and Arceus.

The trainer card also changes color according to the amount of stars imprinted upon it. Lacking stars altogether, the trainer card is the default red. With one star, the trainer card turns blue. After achieving two of the listed conditions, the trainer card turns bronze; with three, silver; with four, gold; and with all five conditions met, the trainer card turns black.

In Generation I, II, and III, the badges that had been earned were displayed on the bottom of the card. However, with the bottom screen of the Nintendo DS adding to the display area in Generation IV, an actual badge case was added where trainers could actually polish their badges using the stylus.

Frontier Pass

In Pokémon Emerald, a player can upgrade their trainer card to a Frontier Pass upon reaching the Battle Frontier. The Frontier Pass shows a player's symbols and Battle Points, allows players to view a map of the Battle Frontier, view a recorded match saved at a Battle Frontier facility except for the Battle Pike and Battle Pyramid, or look at the standard trainer card.

In the anime

Trainer cards do not appear in the anime; trainers are instead identified via their Pokédex, as demonstrated in Pokémon Emergency!. However, Ash's Trainer Card could be seen briefly in his Frontier Pass, colored copper.