Trace: the Let's Go rival, or Kanto without the spite

Same path, same role, opposite temperament. In Let's Go, Trace fills the spot Blue held in the original games: the kid from Pallet Town who sets out on the same day, crops up in the same places and is often one step ahead. But where his predecessor tried to humiliate the player, this one hands out items, shares information and fights alongside the player. Kanto, told without the spite.

Contents

• He Takes Blue's Place, Not His Personality
• The Mirror Team, an Inherited Mechanic
• The Lavender Town Cubone, the Moment That Defines Him
• League Champion, Very Briefly
• Trace at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

He Takes Blue's Place, Not His Personality

Trace is the rival in Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, and he shows up in exactly the same spots as the rival in Red and Blue: the lab, Route 22, Cerulean City, the ship's gangway.

The name is canon without being mandatory — the player can rename him at the start of the game, just like back in the day. His black-and-green sportswear instantly sets him apart from the scruffy, arrogant rival of the first games.

That doesn't make him a pushover, though. He works his way through Kanto's Gym Leaders, comes back again and again, and stays tenacious from start to finish — the difference is in the tone, not the level.

The Mirror Team, an Inherited Mechanic

Like every rival in the series, Trace builds his team around the starter that complements yours: Eevee if you play Pikachu, Pikachu if you play Eevee.

Around that core, he fields classic Kanto Pokémon: Pidgey all the way up to Pidgeot, Oddish all the way up to Vileplume, Rapidash, Slowbro, and a Jolteon depending on the version.

His progress is visible from one battle to the next. His Pokémon evolve from one battle to the next, his starter Pikachu or Eevee included — whereas the player's partner Pokémon can never evolve. The principle is explained in our deep dive on Eevee and its evolutions.

⚡ The Let's Go starter duo has its own shelf: browse everything Eevee.

The Lavender Town Cubone, the Moment That Defines Him

In Lavender Town, Trace comes across a Cubone whose mother was killed by Team Rocket in the Pokémon Tower. It's Cubone that soothes its late mother's anger, and Trace then decides to add it to his team.

This scene changes the nature of the character. The rival is no longer content to measure your progress: he gives himself a personal reason to fight the organization, something no Kanto rival had done before him.

He keeps his word. At the overrun Silph Co. headquarters, he teams up with the player and holds off Team Rocket Admin Archer while you deal with Giovanni.

League Champion, Very Briefly

At the Indigo Plateau, Trace overpowers the Elite Four and seizes the title of Champion. He beats you to it once again, at the very last step, in the finest tradition of the Kanto rival.

His reign lasts as long as it takes you to climb the stairs. Dethroned right away, he doesn't take it badly and keeps challenging you in the hope of winning his title back.

The post-game follows exactly the same pattern with Mewtwo: he chases the Legendary Pokémon in Cerulean Cave and leaves it to you once again.

Trace at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Does Trace replace Blue?
  He takes over Blue's role and spots in Let's Go, but not his personality. Where Blue tried to humiliate the player, Trace regularly gives the player useful information and items.
• Can you change Trace's name?
  Yes. The name is canon but not imposed by the game: the player can give him a different one at the start, just like the rival in the original games.
• Which starter does Trace pick?
  Always the one that complements yours. If you play Pikachu, he takes Eevee, and vice versa. That's been the rule for rivals since 1996, applied here to the duo unique to the Let's Go games.
• Why does Trace fight Team Rocket?
  Because of the Lavender Town Cubone, whose mother the organization killed in the Pokémon Tower. Cubone soothes its late mother's anger; Trace then adds it to his team and goes on to take on Team Rocket in Saffron City.
• Does Trace become League Champion?
  Yes, briefly. He beats the Elite Four before you and takes the title, which you take from him right after. He then keeps challenging you to try to win it back.

In short

Trace is the best illustration of what Let's Go did with Kanto: the same routes, the same battles, an entirely different tone. He stays ahead of you all the way to the Champion title without ever trying to put you down, and the Lavender Town Cubone gives him something his predecessor never had — a reason to fight that isn't vanity.