Commander (Trainer class)

A Commander (Japanese: ギンガだんかんぶ Team Galactic Executive) is a type of Pokémon Trainer that first debuted in the Generation IV games. There are both male and female Commanders.

The title has only specifically referred to three characters: Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. They are the subleaders of Team Galactic under Cyrus. They generally have stronger Pokémon than the grunts they command and can only be battled on certain occasions.

Another Commander for Team Galactic, Charon, was revealed in, though he is never battled in the game.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga there is also another Commander named Sird, who was previously a member of The Three Beasts of Team Rocket before it was revealed she had been a Commander on a mission for Team Galactic all along.

In the anime
Saturn first appeared in a brief cameo in A Secret Sphere of Influence!. He later made full appearances in Journey to the Unown!, where he obtained the Spear Key from the Solaceon Ruins; and Losing Its Lustrous!, where he was able to steal the Adamant Orb.

Mars debuted in Losing Its Lustrous!, while Jupiter debuted the next episode. Both of them, along with other members of Team Galactic, stole the Lustrous Orb from the Celestic Town Historical Research Center, completing the pair they needed.

All three of them later appeared in Steeling Peace of Mind! and Saving the World From Ruins! where Mars was trying to help locate the Spear Pillar using the ruins on Iron Island, however her mission brought and  onto the island. Eventually Mars was forced to abandon her original mission of scanning Mt. Coronet for the location of the Spear Pillar, and switched her objective to destroying Iron Island. However, she failed to complete her mission due to Riley and his Lucario using their aura to get rid of the explosion from the bombs that the Galactic Grunts had placed throughout Iron Island.

Charon made his debut as a cameo in Saving the World From Ruins!, however he later appeared in Gateway to Ruin! where he, along with Saturn, were excavating Mt. Coronet to search for the entrance to the Spear Pillar. However, the ruins that they found were not what they were looking for and they proceeded to retreat.

In The Needs of the Three!, with the help of J, the three were able to obtain, and , allowing the team to take control of them. This then allows them to summon and. However, they were later arrested after Cyrus disappeared, while Charon was nowhere to be seen.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga
Mars made her first appearance in Belligerent Bronzor where she attacked the Valley Windworks in an attempt to steal its energy. She battled, , and and managed to escaped with the energy and a windmill that she later uses for transportation. Much later, she was assigned to capture at Lake Verity and encountered Diamond there. She managed to capture Mesprit and assumed Diamond accidentally fell in the lake but was later found to be hiding in the airship that had Mesprit captive.

Saturn makes his first appearance in Passing by Probopass and Maneuvering around Magnezone where he planned on capturing Platinum in order to get ransom money. He battle Platinum's bodyguards, Paka and Uji, at the Lost Tower and is defeated, much to his anger and humiliation. Much later, at Lake Valor, Saturn is assigned to capture and encounters Pearl there trying to protect it. Saturn defeats Pearl and successfully captures the Willpower Pokémon.

Jupiter appears much later than the other two in Stopping Sableye where she is assigned to capture the Knowledge Pokémon,. At Lake Acuity, she encounters Platinum, and the Gym Leaders of and, Maylene and Candice. Jupiter easily defeats the three and manages to capture Uxie.

Charon is the last to appear, first appearing in Besting Buizel I. He is responsible for the creation of the Red Chain.

Sometime later, at the Spear Pillar, the Commanders are seen waiting for their Boss, Cyrus so he can begin the ritual that will allow him to create a new world. While Cyrus goes to summon the legendary Pokémon, and, the Commanders are left behind to battle the intruders—the Gym Leaders of Sinnoh. Each of the Commanders fight two Gym Leaders each; Mars battles against Gardenia and Crasher Wake, Saturn battles Roark and Fantina, and Jupiter battles the revenge seekers, Candice and Maylene. Eventually, one by one the Commanders fall until none are left and the Gym Leaders go to battle Cyrus.

While Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, and Cynthia battle Cyrus on the top of the Spear Pillar, the Commanders are woken up by Sird, who was previously shown to be a member of the Three Beasts of Team Rocket. Sird introduces herself to Mars and Saturn and reveals what she has been doing since her last appearance in the. Soon after, they are attacked by Riley who does battle with Sird, having tracked her with his aura sensing abilities. Sird and the Commanders eventually manage to escaped with plans of resurfacing sometime soon.

After the flight of other Commanders, Charon conspires the capture of Diamond's Regigigas but is captured. After takes the two Legendary Pokémon and Cyrus into the Distortion World, Charon takes his leave.

During the, Charon is the new leader of Team Galactic after Cyrus's disappearance. Meanwhile, the other Commanders are looking for their lost leader.

In the Pocket Monsters DP manga
Only Mars and Charon appear in, each making only one appearance.

Trivia

 * In, all gendered Pokémon that Team Galactic Commanders use are female.

In other languages
Commander Commandant (Team Galaxie) Comandante ギンガだんかんぶ 银河队干部