Sawyer

Sawyer (Japanese: ショータ Shōta) is a recurring character who appeared in the Pokémon anime. He is a Pokémon Trainer and a rival of 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 started, and he chose  as his. With, he battled a  and later met the Hoenn League Pokémon Champion, , along with his. At some point, he traveled from Hoenn to Kalos.

Sawyer physically debuted in Battling with Elegance and a Big Smile!, where he had a Gym at the Lumiose Gym against, who was training for his battle against. His Treecko was easily defeated by 's 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, and. 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 against Valerie's, 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 '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 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 Gym Badges, including the for defeating Ramos. He also told Ash and his friends about Terminus Cave, and helped them fight Team Flare.

He appeared again in A Meeting of Two Journeys!, where it was revealed that he had caught a, that his Bagon had evolved into , and that his Grovyle had evolved into. The episode began with his Shelgon in a battle against Ash's Hawlucha, which Hawlucha won. After that, Honedge quickly lost against. 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 A Full-Strength Battle Surprise!, 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. In the following episode, after seeing Ash losing to Wulfric in the Snowbelle Gym, he left the group.

He was seen again in A League of His Own!, where he, along with Ash, participated in the Lumiose Conference. He appeared again in Valuable Experience for All! where he won his quarterfinal battle against. 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. In Analysis Versus Passion!, he began his Full Battle against Ash in the semifinals. He started out with in order to take on Ash's Hawlucha and its battling style. Slaking took several super-effective hits from Hawlucha, but did nothing in response. Instead, it used to heal off most of the damage it took, and then defeated Hawlucha by using  in response to Hawlucha's. Slaking then battled against Ash'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 consecutive, , and attacks. Sawyer then sent out, utilizing to keep Talonflame pressured, with Sawyer saying the speed attack was inspired by Ash's usage of them. Clawitzer then used 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's and. Pikachu then dodged Clawitzer's Ice Beam, which then led to, while Clawitzer countered with , causing an explosion that damaged both Pokémon. Clawitzer then attempted to chase down Pikachu with Aqua Jet, but failed. When Pikachu tried to use, Clawitzer managed to grab it, attempting to finish the battle with. This gave Pikachu an opening to hit Clawitzer with Electro Ball at close range, and then finished it off with Thunderbolt. Sawyer then chose as his third Pokémon, using  to chop down the trees on the battlefield.

In the following 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-evolved to battle Ash's Noivern. After taking a hit from, Salamence's overpowered Noivern's. It then used to get Noivern close, where it then hit it with. Noivern then used Boomburst again to counter Incinerate, using the smoke to try and hit Salamence with. Knowing Noivern's ability to see through dust and smoke, Sawyer quickly ordered Salamence to use, 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's and Goodra's Ice Beam collided evenly, as Slurpuff hit it with. Slurpuff then used, but Goodra countered with , Slurpuff limiting the damage with. 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 with, but then took a hit from Thunderbolt. After a stalemate between Iron Tail and, Sceptile defeated Pikachu with.

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 from, 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 into, 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.

Sawyer appeared again in Kalos League Passion with a Certain Flare!, where he and Sceptile ate some Lumiose Galettes with Ash, Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, all of their Pokémon, along with Meyer and Clembot. 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,, and , as the finals between Ash and Alain began.

In A 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 starter 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.

In Coming Apart at the Dreams!, the four Trainers met up with Diantha 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 in The Right Hero for the Right Job!, then reappeared along with Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor in Rocking Kalos Defenses! and Forming a More Perfect Union!, where they watched as Ash, his friends, Alain, Mairin, Professor Sycamore, Diantha, the Kalos Gym Leaders, Malva, and Steven fought against the Giant Rock. After Squishy and Z2, in their, destroyed the Giant Rock with , he celebrated along with the others.

Sawyer appeared again in The First Day of the Rest of Your Life!, where he joined in the dancing throughout Lumiose City, which was created during Serena, Shauna, and Jessie's 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 in Facing the Needs of the Many!, and then physically reappeared in Till We Compete Again!. In the latter episode, Sawyer was seen at Lysandre Labs, helping Steven study the Giant Rock that once resided there. He proceeded to write down notes on what Steven was telling him.

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 in All 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 in A League of His Own!, and was completely confirmed for him during his battle against Ash in the semi-finals.

In A Riveting Rivalry!, Sawyer became visibly panicked during Ash's Greninja's final 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 admires Steven Stone, as shown in a flashback where he met him and his Metagross in Hoenn.

Pokémon
This listing is of Sawyer's known in the :

Badges obtained
This listing is of the Badges Sawyer has obtained:
 * Unknown Badge (prior to A Fashionable Battle!)
 * (prior to From A to Z!)
 * (prior to From A to Z!)
 * Two unknown Badges (prior to From A to Z!)
 * (prior to A Full-Strength Battle Surprise!)
 * (prior to A Full-Strength Battle Surprise!)
 * (prior to A Full-Strength Battle Surprise!)

Pokémon League
Sawyer has competed in the following Pokémon League Conferences:
 * Lumiose Conference - Top 4 (A Riveting Rivalry!)

Trivia

 * Sawyer and his Treecko were first shown in Mad-Paced Getter, the second opening song of the.
 * Sawyer is the first major recurring human character to be voiced by Ikue Ohtani, the voice actress for.
 * 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.
 * Half of Sawyer's team is composed of Pokémon introduced in Generation III, whereas the other half is composed of Pokémon introduced in Generation 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 with.