In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, party members are referred to as “partners.” Recruited at various points throughout the story, these partners directly aid Mario in battle. They’re distinguished from one another not only by their story significance, but also by their movesets. Each character in Paper Mario: TTYD has a variety of different options in (and sometimes out of) battle: attacks, defensive maneuvers, healing, buffing, and debuffing spells.

https://screenrant.com/paper-mario-thousand-year-door-partners-party-ranked/