Sawyer (Japanese: ショータ Shōta) is a recurring character in the Pokémon anime. He is a Pokémon Trainer and a rival of Ash who first appeared in Battling with Elegance and a Big Smile!.
History
Prior to Battling with Elegance and a Big Smile!, Sawyer was living in the Hoenn region. He went to Littleroot Town to visit Professor Birch in order to get his journey started, choosing Treecko as his first Pokémon. With Treecko, he battled a wild Taillow and later met the Hoenn League Pokémon Champion Steven, along with his Metagross. At some point, he traveled from Hoenn to Kalos.
Sawyer made his first onscreen appearance in Battling with Elegance and a Big Smile!, where he had a Gym battle at the Lumiose Gym against Clemont, who was training for his battle against Ash. His Treecko was easily defeated by Luxray's Wild Charge despite the type-advantage. After losing, he wrote down Clemont's advice regarding the timing of Treecko's moves.
He appeared again in A Fashionable Battle! intending to challenge the Laverre 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 and Serena. Soon after, he had a Double Battle against Ash, which was postponed when they noticed a fashion show going on. He was later picked by Linnea to battle Valerie as part of the fashion show. He used his Bagon against Valerie's Spritzee, but was quickly defeated.
He made another appearance in Fairy-Type Trickery!, where he and his Treecko watched and analyzed Ash's Gym battle against Valerie together. He then appeared in Rivals: Today and Tomorrow!, when he lost his notebook, but later found it thanks to his Slurpuff's strong sense of smell. Later, he had a three-on-three battle against Ash, but lost. During the battle, his Treecko evolved into Grovyle, but still lost to Ash's Frogadier. After that, he said goodbye to Ash and his friends and prepared to head for Coumarine City to challenge Ramos.
He appeared again in From A to Z!, where it was revealed he had obtained four more GymBadges, including the Plant Badge for defeating Ramos. He also told Ash and his friends aboutTerminus Cave, and helped them fight Team Flare.
He appeared again in A Meeting of Two Journeys!, where it was revealed that he had caught aHonedge, that his Bagon had evolved into Shelgon, and that his Grovyle had evolved into Sceptile. The episode began with his Shelgon in a battle against Ash's Hawlucha, which Hawlucha won. After that, Honedge quickly lost against Pikachu. 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.
He reappeared in XY119, where he had another three-on-three battle against Ash and finally won. After the battle, he decided to travel with Ash and his friends to Snowbelle City in order to watch Ash's Gym battle.
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.
After meeting Ash and being given helpful advice, Sawyer became more assertive and confident in battle, and his Pokémon reflect this newfound attitude. Additionally, 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.
He seems to admire Steven Stone.
Pokémon
- Treecko → Grovyle → Sceptile
- Bagon → Shelgon
- Slurpuff
- Honedge → Doublade
- Clawitzer
Badges obtained
This listing is of the Badges Sawyer has obtained:
- Unknown Badge (prior to A Fashionable Battle!)
- Bug Badge (prior to From A to Z!)
- Plant Badge (prior to From A to Z!)
- Two unknown Badges (prior to From A to Z!)
- Psychic Badge (prior to XY119)
- Fairy Badge (prior to XY119)
- Iceberg Badge (prior to XY119)
Trivia
- Sawyer and his Treecko were first shown in Mad-Paced Getter, the second opening song of the XY series.
- Sawyer is the first recurring human character to be voiced by Ikue Ohtani, the voice actress for Pikachu.
- The episode Sawyer met Ash, Serena and Bonnie aired in the same week as the episode where he debuted in the English dub.
- In Battling with Elegance and a Big Smile!, the closed captions show Sawyer's name as Scottie in the dub.