If you were looking for thePokémon Masters EX character, seeSawyer (Masters).

Sawyer ショータShōta
Sawyer
Gender	Male
Eye color	Blue
Hair color	Green
Hometown	Unknown
Region	Hoenn
Trainer class	Trainer
Animated debut	Battling with Elegance and a Big Smile!
English voice actor	Robby Duncan Sharpe
Japanese voice actor	Ikue Otani

Sawyer (Japanese:ショータShōta) is a recurring character inPokémon the Series. He is aPokémon Trainer and arival ofAsh.

History

Pre-series

Prior toBattling with Elegance and a Big Smile!, Sawyer was living in theHoennregion. He went toLittleroot Town to visitProfessor Birch in order to get hisjourney started, and he choseTreecko as hisfirst partner Pokémon. WithTreecko, he battled awildTaillow and later met theHoenn LeaguePokémon Champion,Steven, along with hisMetagross. At some point, he traveled from Hoenn toKalos.

Pokémon the Series: XY

Sawyer physically debuted inBattling with Elegance and a Big Smile!, where he had aGymbattle at theLumiose Gym againstClemont, who was training for his battle againstAsh. His Treecko was easily defeated byLuxray'sWild Charge despite the type-advantage. After losing, he wrote down Clemont's advice regarding the timing of Treecko's moves.

InA Fashionable Battle!, Sawyer intended to challenge theLaverre Gym, only to hear it was closed. Right at that moment Ash arrived, as he wanted to challenge the Gym as well. Sawyer reunited with Clemont and introduced himself to Ash,Bonnie andSerena. Soon after, he had aDouble Battle against Ash, which was postponed when they noticed a fashion show going on. He was later picked byLinnea to have a Gym battle withValerie as part of the fashion show. He used hisBagon against Valerie'sSpritzee, but was quickly defeated.

InFairy-Type Trickery!, Sawyer and his Treecko watched and analyzed Ash's Gym battle against Valerie together. InRivals: Today and Tomorrow!, he lost his notebook, but later found it thanks to hisSlurpuff's strong sense of smell. Later, he had a three-on-three battle against Ash, but lost. During the battle, his Treeckoevolved into Grovyle, but still lost toAsh's Frogadier. After that, he said goodbye to Ash andhis friends and prepared to head forCoumarine City to challengeRamos.

InFrom A to Z!, it was revealed that Sawyer had obtained four moreGymBadges, including thePlant Badge for defeating Ramos. He also told Ash and his friends aboutTerminus Cave, and helped them fightTeam Flare.

InA Meeting of Two Journeys!, it was revealed that he had caught aHonedge, that his Bagon had evolved intoShelgon, and that his Grovyle had evolved intoSceptile. The episode began with his Shelgon in a battle againstAsh's Hawlucha, which Hawlucha won. After that, Honedge quickly lost againstPikachu. He then sent out Sceptile, to which Ash responded by sending out his Greninja. They were evenly matched at first, but Sceptile gained the upper hand with Leaf Storm. Greninja, however, managed to endure the attack and transformed into Ash-Greninja, allowing it to defeat Sceptile with ease. After the battle, Sawyer questioned Ash about Greninja's transformation and came with the hypothesis of Ash becoming Greninja. Later, he said goodbye to the group and continued his journey.

InA Full-Strength Battle Surprise!, Sawyer had another three-on-three battle against Ash and finally won. After the battle, he decided to travel with Ash and his friends toSnowbelle City in order to watch Ash's Gym battle. In thefollowing episode, after seeing Ash losing toWulfric in theSnowbelle Gym, he left the group.

InA League of His Own!, Sawyer and Ash participated in theLumiose Conference. InValuable Experience for All!, he won his quarterfinal battle againstTierno. During his win against Tierno, it was shown that sometime after leaving Ash's group in Snowbelle City, he obtained a Key Stone and a Sceptilite, which allows for his Sceptile to Mega Evolve.

InAnalysis Versus Passion!, he began hisFull Battle against Ash in the semifinals. He started out withSlaking in order to take on Ash's Hawlucha and its battling style. Slaking took several supereffective hits from Hawlucha, but did nothing in response. Instead, it usedSlack Off to heal off most of the damage it took, and then defeated Hawlucha by usingCounter in response to Hawlucha'sFlying Press. Slaking then battled againstAsh's Talonflame, where it used Slack Off once again to heal itself. However, all of the damage it had taken caught up to it, allowing Talonflame to defeat it with consecutiveSteel Wing,Flame Charge, andBrave Bird attacks. Sawyer then sent outClawitzer, utilizingAqua Jet to keep Talonflame pressured, with Sawyer saying the speed attack was inspired by Ash's usage of them. Clawitzer then usedIce Beam to partially freeze Talonflame's wing, and then defeated it when its Aqua Jet overpowered Talonflame's Flame Charge.

Ash then sent out Pikachu as his third Pokémon, with Clawitzer dodging Pikachu'sThunderbolt andQuick Attack. Pikachu then dodged Clawitzer's Ice Beam, which then led toElectro Ball, while Clawitzer countered withDragon Pulse, causing an explosion that damaged both Pokémon. Clawitzer then attempted to chase down Pikachu with Aqua Jet, but failed. When Pikachu tried to useIron Tail, Clawitzer managed to grab it, attempting to finish the battle withWater Pulse. This gave Pikachu an opening to hit Clawitzer with Electro Ball at close range, and then finished it off with Thunderbolt. Sawyer then choseAegislash as his third Pokémon, usingSacred Sword to chop down the trees on the battlefield.

In thefollowing episode, utilizing the destroyed battlefield to hamper Pikachu's movements, Aegislash was able to lower Pikachu's attack when it used King's Shield to counter Iron Tail, then going on the offensive and scoring consecutive hits with Sacred Sword. However, Pikachu managed to use one of the logs chopped up by Sacred Sword to stop King's Shield from completing, before knocking it out with Thunderbolt. With Sawyer now down three Pokémon, the battlefield changed, while Sawyer sent out his newly evolvedSalamence to battleAsh's Noivern. After taking a hit fromBoomburst, Salamence'sDragon Rush overpowered Noivern'sDragon Claw. It then usedIncinerate to get Noivern close, where it then hit it withDragon Tail. Noivern then used Boomburst again to counter Incinerate, using the smoke to try and hit Salamence withAcrobatics. Knowing Noivern's ability to see through dust and smoke, Sawyer quickly ordered Salamence to useProtect, and then Dragon Rush to counter Acrobatics, resulting in a tie between the two.

Sawyer then chose Slurpuff as his fifth Pokémon, while Ash chose Goodra, whom Sawyer had never battled before, and as such, didn't have any data on its strengths and strategies. Slurpuff'sFlamethrower and Goodra's Ice Beam collided evenly, as Slurpuff hit it withDazzling Gleam. Slurpuff then usedFairy Wind, but Goodra countered withBide, Slurpuff limiting the damage withCotton Guard. Slurpuff then unleashed a constant Flamethrower stream, while Goodra used Bide once more. Sawyer was shocked to see that Goodra had held on after such a powerful attack, and caused the battle to end with another double knockout after Bide and Fairy Wind collided. Down to his last Pokémon, Sawyer sent out Sceptile, while Ash sent Pikachu back out. Sceptile stopped Pikachu's Quick Attack withLeaf Storm, but then took a hit from Thunderbolt. After a stalemate between Iron Tail andLeaf Blade, Sceptile defeated Pikachu withFrenzy Plant.

Ash sent out Greninja as his final Pokémon, sparking a final showdown between the two Pokémon, whose rivalry had only escalated with time. After a brief struggle, Greninja transformed into Ash-Greninja, while Sawyer Mega Evolved Sceptile. Despite Mega Sceptile taking a huge hit fromAerial Ace, Sawyer seemed to match Ash move for move, hitting Ash-Greninja twice with Leaf Storm. Ash-Greninja managed to avoid what would have been a decisive Frenzy Plant, and then using Double Team, before absorbing all of the clones intoWater Shuriken, causing the move to grow in size, allowing it to easily push past Leaf Storm, and give Ash the win. Despite the loss, Sawyer felt no disappointment or ill-will towards Ash, expressing his desire to keep on getting stronger and gaining more experience, so that he could continue to grow as a Trainer and eventually surpass Ash, shaking Ash's hand in a friendly respect.

InKalos League Passion with a Certain Flare!, Sawyer and Sceptile ate some Lumiose Galettes with Ash, Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, all of their Pokémon, along withMeyer andClembot. Later on, he and Sceptile viewed some of the battles that had occurred throughout the Kalos League in order to expose themselves to new forms of battle strategies following their loss to Ash. During this, Sawyer expressed that despite gaining a lot of experience and truly enjoying a battle for the first time, and being able to put on a good face in order to wish Ash good luck in the finals, he couldn't ignore the immense frustration that was building up within him as a result of the loss. With tears running down his face, he admitted to Sceptile that he wanted to battle more than he did at the Kalos League. Shaking off his tears, he proclaimed his resolve to gain even more experience, and that by sitting and moping around, he would never be able to surpass Ash one day. The next day, he sat with Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, Tierno,Trevor, andShauna, as the finals between Ash andAlain began.

InA Towering Takeover!, following the conclusion of Ash and Alain's battle, and Team Flare's attack on Lumiose City, Sawyer and Sceptile worked with Tierno, Trevor, and Shauna, along with each of their first partner Pokémon in an attempt to fight of the roots that were destroying the city. The four then worked alongside their Pokémon to provide relief supplies to survivors. They then all witnessed Lysandre's proclamation to the entire world about Team Flare, Zygarde, and their goals.

InComing Apart at the Dreams!, the four Trainers met up withDiantha and begged her to allow them assist, saying that they couldn't stand by and watch everything around them be destroyed. Diantha accepted their request, much to their delight, and instructed the four to assist all of the elderly and children still stuck in the area.

Sawyer made a cameo appearance inThe Right Hero for the Right Job!, then reappeared along with Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor inRocking Kalos Defenses! andForming a More Perfect Union!, where they watched as Ash, his friends, Alain,Mairin,Professor Sycamore, Diantha, the KalosGym Leaders,Malva, and Steven fought against theGiant Rock. AfterSquishy andZ2, in theirComplete Forme, destroyed the Giant Rock withCore Enforcer, he celebrated along with the others.

InThe First Day of the Rest of Your Life!, Sawyer joined in the dancing throughout Lumiose City, which was created during Serena, Shauna, andJessie'sShowcase performance. He later revealed his intent to assist Steven in learning more about the Giant Rock, so as to learn even more about Pokémon. Promising to one day battle again, he and Ash said their goodbyes.

He appeared in a flashback inFacing the Needs of the Many!, and then physically reappeared inTill We Compete Again!. In the latter episode, Sawyer was seen atLysandre Labs, helping Steven study the Giant Rock that once resided there. He proceeded to write down notes on what Steven was telling him.

Pokémon Journeys: The Series

InPride of a Champion!, Sawyer appeared watching theMasters Eight Tournament match betweenLance andDiantha on TV, alongside Tierno, Shauna, and Trevor.

Character

Sawyer is very studious and careful, seeing as how he writes down notes in his notebook after every battle he participates in. He does his best to apply his gained knowledge in battle, but can sometimes lose his calm in critical situations, causing him to make the wrong move and lose. However, Sawyer is shown to be very open to new experiences and doesn't seem to mind losing as long as it gives him a chance to improve himself. This attitude has allowed Sawyer to steadily progress as a Trainer. Furthermore, as he has progressed, he began incorporating Ash's unorthodox strategies, such as using Slaking to counter Ash's Hawlucha' battling style, and using Aegislash to chop down the trees on the battlefield to eliminate Pikachu's hiding spots.

Sawyer appears to look up to Ash as a friend and rival. After meeting Ash and being given helpful advice, Sawyer became more assertive and confident in battle, and his Pokémon reflect this newfound attitude. After witnessing Ash's loss to Wulfric inAll Hail the Ice Battlefield!, Sawyer appeared to be disappointed, saying that the Trainer he had been admiring for so long wouldn't have lost, but ultimately promised to believe in his friend, knowing they would see each other in the Pokémon League. This belief ultimately turned true when he saw Ash at the League's Opening Ceremony inA League of His Own!, and was completely confirmed for him during his battle against Ash in the semi-finals.

InA Riveting Rivalry!, Sawyer became visibly panicked during Ash's Greninja's finalWater Shuriken attack. Despite this, he quickly recovered from his loss, happily congratulating Ash on his victory and accepting his handshake in a show of good sportsmanship. However, despite putting on a good fight, he later admitted to Sceptile that he felt very frustrated as a result of losing, but was able to shake off his tears to reaffirm his desire to gain experience and one day surpass Ash.

He also admiresSteven Stone, as shown in a flashback where he met him and his Metagross in Hoenn. Sawyer also befriended Tierno, Trevor and Shauna during the Lumiose Conference, and the four worked together to oppose Team Flare during their takeover of Lumiose City.

Pokémon

This listing is of Sawyer's knownPokémon inPokémon the Series:

This article is missing information on this character's Japanese voice actor. Please feel free to edit this article to add this information.

Treecko → Grovyle →Sceptile 

Debut	Battling with Elegance and a Big Smile!
Voice actors
Japanese	Yūji Ueda
English	Bill Rogers

Main article:Sawyer's Sceptile

Sceptile is Sawyer's first partner Pokémon. InRivals: Today and Tomorrow!, it was revealed that it was given to him byProfessor Birch as aTreecko. Later in the episode, it evolved intoGrovyle while battlingAsh's Frogadier.

InA Meeting of Two Journeys!, it was revealed that Grovyle had evolved into Sceptile.

InValuable Experience for All!, it was revealed that Sceptile was equipped with aSceptilite, enabling it toMega Evolve.

Bagon → Shelgon →Salamence

Debut	A Fashionable Battle!
Voice actors
Japanese	Kiyotaka Furushima
English	Carter Cathcart (as Bagon) Justin Anselmi (as Shelgon) Kiyotaka Furushima (as Salamence)

Salamence first appeared as aBagon inA Fashionable Battle!, where it was used in aDouble Battle alongsideTreecko againstAsh's Frogadier andHawlucha until they postponed the battle. It was also used to battleValerie'sSpritzee but lost.

InRivals: Today and Tomorrow!, Bagon participated in Sawyer's three-on-three battle with Ash. It battled againstPikachu, but lost.

InA Meeting of Two Journeys!, it was revealed that Bagon had evolved intoShelgon. It battled against Hawlucha and lost.

It reappeared inA Riveting Rivalry! during Sawyer'sLumiose Conference semi-final battle against Ash, where it was revealed to have evolved into Salamence. It battled againstAsh's Noivern and eventually tied with him.

It appeared again inTill We Compete Again!, during a flashback.

Salamence's known moves areFire Fang,Dragon Breath,Headbutt,Dragon Claw,Dragon Rush,Incinerate,Dragon Tail, andProtect.

Slurpuff♂

Debut	Rivals: Today and Tomorrow!
Voice actors
Japanese	Hitomi Nabatame
English	Haven Paschall

Slurpuff first appeared inRivals: Today and Tomorrow!, where he was used to find Sawyer's notebook using his strong sense of smell. Later he participated in Sawyer's three-on-three battle withAsh. He battled Hawlucha and lost, despite the type-advantage.

InValuable Experience for All!, Slurpuff battled againstTierno'sRaichu in theLumiose Conference, but lost to hisBlastoise.

InA Riveting Rivalry!, Sawyer used Slurpuff in his semi-final battle against Ash, where he went up againstAsh's Goodra. The face-off ended with both Pokémon fainting simultaneously.

He appeared again inTill We Compete Again!, during a flashback.

Slurpuff's known moves areElectro Ball*,Attract,Energy Ball,Flamethrower,Dazzling Gleam,Fairy Wind, andCotton Guard.

Honedge → Doublade →Aegislash

Debut	A Meeting of Two Journeys!
Voice actors
Japanese
English	Justin Anselmi (as Honedge and Doublade) Marc Swint (as Aegislash)

Aegislash first appeared as aHonedge inA Meeting of Two Journeys!. It battled againstAsh's Pikachu, but lost.

InA Full-Strength Battle Surprise!, it was revealed that Honedge had evolved intoDoublade. It battled againstNoivern, but despite having the type advantage, lost.

InValuable Experience for All!, in theLumiose Conference, it was revealed that Doublade had evolved into Aegislash. It battled againstTierno'sLudicolo and won, but was then defeated byRaichu.

It was later used inAnalysis Versus Passion! andA Riveting Rivalry!, where it battled against Pikachu in the semi-finals and was once again defeated by him.

It appeared again inTill We Compete Again!, during a flashback.

Aegislash's known moves areFury Cutter,Iron Defense,Slash,Night Slash,Swords Dance,King's Shield, andSacred Sword, and its Ability isStance Change.

Clawitzer

Debut	A Full-Strength Battle Surprise!
Voice actors
Japanese
English	Billy Bob Thompson

Clawitzer first appeared inA Full-Strength Battle Surprise!, where it was used in a three-on-three battle against Ash. It managed to defeat Noivern and Hawlucha, but lost to Greninja.

It reappeared inAnalysis Versus Passion!, being used in the battle against Ash in theLumiose Conference. It managed to defeatTalonflame, but was soon defeated byPikachu.

It appeared again inTill We Compete Again!, during a flashback.

Clawitzer's known moves areCrabhammer,Heal Pulse,Dragon Pulse,Ice Beam,Aqua Jet, andWater Pulse*, and its Ability isMega Launcher.

Slaking

Debut	Valuable Experience for All!
Voice actors
Japanese
English	Bill Rogers

Slaking first appeared inValuable Experience for All!, where it was seen defeating aMedicham in the second round of theLumiose Conference.

Slaking was later used in the semi-finals against Ash inAnalysis Versus Passion!. It battled againstHawlucha and defeated him, but was then defeated byAsh's Talonflame.

It appeared again inTill We Compete Again!, during a flashback.

Slaking's known moves areSlack Off,Counter, andHammer Arm, and its Ability isTruant.

Achievements

Badges obtained

This listing is of theBadges Sawyer has obtained in theKalosregion:

• Unknown Badge (prior toA Fashionable Battle!)
• Bug Badge (prior toFrom A to Z!)
• Plant Badge (prior toFrom A to Z!)
• Two unknown Badges (prior toFrom A to Z!)
• Psychic Badge (prior toA Full-Strength Battle Surprise!)
• Fairy Badge (prior toA Full-Strength Battle Surprise!)
• Iceberg Badge (prior toA Full-Strength Battle Surprise!)

Pokémon League

Sawyer has competed in the followingPokémon League Conferences:

• Lumiose Conference - Top 4 (A Riveting Rivalry!)

Voice actors

Trivia

• Sawyer and his Treecko were first shown inMad-Paced Getter, the second opening song ofPokémon the Series: XY.
• Sawyer is the first major recurringhuman character to be voiced byIkue Otani, the voice actress forAsh's Pikachu.
• The episode Sawyer met Ash, Serena, and Bonnie aired in the same week as the episode where he debuted in the Englishdub.
• InBattling with Elegance and a Big Smile!, the closed captions show Sawyer's name asScottie in the dub.
• Half of Sawyer'steam is composed of Pokémon introduced inGeneration III, whereas the other half is composed of Pokémon introduced inGeneration VI.
  • In addition, half of his Pokémon were seen in all of their evolutionary stages, while the other half only appeared in their fully evolved form.
• Sawyer shares his Spanish name withNoland.
• Sawyer'sSlaking is the only Pokémon inPokémon the Series to have used the moveSlack Off.
• Sawyer's win/loss record in battles against Ash is identical to Ash's win/loss record against most of his previous major rivals, with Sawyer having lost to Ash multiple times and only scoring a single win against him.
  • The only difference in their win/loss records is that Sawyer defeated Ash in their matchbefore the Pokémon League Conference instead of during the Pokémon League Conference.

Names

Related articles

• Episodes focusing on Sawyer
• Images on the Bulbagarden Archives

This article is part ofProject Anime, aBulbapedia project that covers all aspects ofPokémon animation.

• Characters
• Male characters
• Characters with an unknown Japanese voice actor
• League Conference participants
• Trainers with Key Stones
• Animation characters