Trace (Pokemon)

Trace
Species	Human
Hair color	Brown
Eye color	Brown
Relatives	Older Sister
Debut	Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu!/Eevee!

Trace is a young boy who was featured as the rival character in the Pokémon: Let's Go! games. He takes Blue's place in the original first generation storyline, including acting as the Elite Four's champion.

Background

Trace lived at Pallet Town with his older sister and was friends with Chase/Elaine. Trace was energetic and friendly, but he could also be somewhat timid and impulsive. He also felt that he had to look after Chase/Elaine. In the Let's Go! games, the day came when the two children were supposed to receive their first Pokémon from Professor Oak. Trace had sent his friend an e-mail summing up some basic information at waited at the laboratory for Professor Oak. There were originally only two Poké Balls containing Pokémon to chose from, but those were joined by a third one containing a Pokémon that Chase/Elaine had managed to catch. Chase/Elaine ended up claiming that Pokémon as their starter, while Trace took one of the original two Pokémon as his starter. They were each given a Pokédex by Professor Oak, and Trace challenged Chase/Elaine to a battle which the player could either win or lose.

Afterwards, Trace set off on his Pokémon journey across Kanto. Over the course of the travels, Trace defeated each of the first seven gym leaders before Chase/Elaine. He also continued to cross paths with them throughout his journey and challenged them to further Pokémon battles. The second battle was an optional one near Route 22, after he was turned away from entering without any gym badges. At Pewter City, Trace talked to Chase/Elaine about challenging Brock and gave them some Potions that he had bought for them with the prize money from his battles. Chase/Elaine next encountered him at Cerulean City, where he was spooked after encountering what seemed to be a talking Pokémon (and was actually a transformed Bill). Trace proceeded to battle Chase/Elaine for a third time, which managed to calm him down. They then crossed paths at Route 5, where Trace found a Revive that was stuck in the trainer's hair and also gave them some extra Revives of his own. He found out that Chase/Elaine had tickets to the S.S. Anne (and the truth about the Pokémon he had encountered), and the trainer gave Trace their extra ticket. On the S.S. Anne, they met with Blue, who warned them about Team Rocket. Trace also had his fourth battle with Chase/Elaine in order to check on their progress.

After Chase/Elaine's Partner Pokémon learned the Secret Technique known as Light Up, Trace volunteered to bring them to the Rock Tunnel from Route 2. From there, they went to Lavender Town. At the Pokémon Tower, Trace had his fifth battle with the trainer. Hoever, the battle scared off a Cubone that seemed to be looking for something. Trace tried to explore other floors of the Pokémon Tower in search of the Pokémon, until he was scared away by Ghost Pokémon. After Chase/Elaine got the Silph Scope, they used to re-explore Pokémon Tower in search of the Cubone and Mr. Fuji. After finding the Cubone and seeing that Its mother had become a ghost, Trace decided to take the Cubone with him

Afterwards, Trace joined Chase/Elaine in going to the Silph Co. building in order to save it from Team Rocket. They were met by Blue, who wanted each of them to prove their worth by beating him in a battle. Chase/Elaine fought him first, and then Trace did. Afterwards, they made their way through the building, and Trace teamed up with his friend for a double battle against Archer and a Team Rocket Grunt. Afterwards, Trace ended up holding Archer back in a battle while Chase/Elaine defeated Team Rocket's leader, Giovanni. At Saffron City, Trace celebrated their victory and hoped it would prevent tragedies like Cubone's from occurring. He met Chase/Elaine again at Cinnabar Island after they had each collected seven badges, and they realized that the only gym left was the one at Viridian City, which seemed to be abandoned.

Chase/Elaine and Trace ended up going to Professor Oak's lab in hopes of finding out more about Viridian's gym. There, Blue congratulated them for their efforts against Team Rocket, and he gave each of them a Key Stone and several Mega Stones, making them capable of Mega Evolving their Pokémon. After that, Viridian's gym finally opened. Chase/Elaine defeated their leader, who turned out to be Giovanni. Giovanni abandoned his gym immediately after being defeated, but Blue wasted no time taking over the gym. Trace acted as Blue's first challenger and earned his eighth badge by defeating him. Afterwards, he confronted Chase/Elaine at Route 22 for their sixth battle. After being defeated, Trace realized that he felt frustrated, because Chase/Elaine seemed to have grown into a more skilled trainer than him. He then went on ahead of Chase/Elaine and managed to reach the Indigo Plateau first.

At the Indigo Plateau, Chase beat the Elite Four and became the new champion. As a new rule, it was decided that the champion would be treated as part of the Elite Four and could be challenged by others. His first and only opponent turned out to be Chase/Elaine, who defeated him again and secured the championship from him. Despite this, Trace continued to appear as the champion for rematches against the Elite Four. He also appeared outside of Indigo Plateau and informed Chase/Elaine about rumors that he had heard about a powerful Pokémon in Cerulean Cave. Chase/Elaine was able to beat him to that Pokémon, and Trace then told them about a girl who had also entered the cave.

Pokémon Roster

• Eevee/Jolteon or Pikachu/Raichu: Trace's starter Pokémon is Eevee in Let's Go, Pikachu! or Pikachu in Let's Go, Eevee!. His Pokémon evolves before the fifth battle with him.
• Pidgey/Pidgeotto/Pidgeot: Pidgey is added to his team before the second battle. It evolves into Pidgeotto by the fourth battle and Pidgeot by team battle that takes place between the fifth and sixth battles. During championship battles with Trace, he will Mega Evolve Pidgeot.
• Oddish/Gloom/Vileplume: Oddish is added to his team before the third battle. It evolves into Gloom by the fifth battle and Vileplume by the sixth battle.
• Cubone/Marowak: This Cubone is specifically the one that was mourning its mother at Lavender Town. Trace takes in once its storyline is complete and first uses it during the team battle between the fifth and sixth battles. It evolves into Marowak by the sixth battle.
• Rapidash: Rapidash is added to his roster for the championship battles.
• Slowbro: Slowbro is added to his roster for the championship battles.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• Trace appeared in the eighth episode of Pokémon Evolutions, which was based on the Let's Go! games. In the episode, Trace was shown searching for Mewtwo in the Cerulean Cave, and Green raced him through the cavern for part of the episode, until she ultimately overtook him. He was then seen with Elaine and Green at Professor Oak's laboratory at the end of the episode. He was shown with Jolteon as his evolved starter.

Trivia

• Like most rivals from the early generation games, his name is chosen by the player.
• He replaces Blue in the storyline, but he has a different personality and different Pokémon for the most part. The only Pokémon that they have in common are the Pidgey/Pidgeotto/Pidgeot line and, depending on the version for both characters, Eeevee.