Stephan

Stephan ケニヤン Kenyan
Stephan
Gender	Male
Eye color	Blue
Hair color	Auburn
Hometown	Unknown
Region	Unova
Trainer class	Trainer
Anime debut	Oshawott's Lost Scalchop!
English voice actor	Darren Dunstan
Japanese voice actor	Tomohiro Waki

Stephan (Japanese: ケニヤン Kenyan) is a recurring character who appeared in the Pokémon anime. He is a rival of Ash who debuted in Oshawott's Lost Scalchop!.

In the anime

Pokémon the Series: Black & White

Stephan and his rival, Ash

Stephan challenged Ash to a battle and chose Blitzle as his partner. Ash planned to battle him with Pikachu but ultimately chose Oshawott. The battle ended up being postponed because Oshawott lost his scalchop. Cilan politely asks Stephan to wait until the next day to have another battle with Ash. He agreed and said that he'd be training up in the mountains and to come and find him there when they were ready. Ash and his friends found Stephan up in the mountains the next day, powering up his Blitzle using a bike-powered generator. Shortly after, he had his second battle with Ash. He ended up losing but was greatly impressed by Ash's skills. The two shook hands and he bid farewell.

In Reunion Battles In Nimbasa!, Stephan met up with Ash again in Nimbasa Town riding on his Zebstrika which had since evolved from Blitzle. He also entered the Club Battle tournament. In the next episode, he went up against Bianca who was his first opponent. Using his powerful Zebstrika, he managed to defeat Bianca's Minccino and advance to the next round.

Stephan battled Iris and her Emolga with his Sawk in The Club Battle Hearts of Fury: Emolga Versus Sawk!. Even with his special strategy of using Sawk's Close Combat to deflect Emolga's Attract, he still lost the battle and was knocked out of the tournament. In Club Battle Finale: A Hero's Outcome!, he acted as a judge for Cilan and Burgundy's Connoisseur battle to see how well they could evaluate Ash and Iris's battle. Once Ash and Iris's battle concluded, he left Nimbasa Town with the other rivals.

In Climbing the Tower of Success!, Stephan entered the Wishing Bell Festival contest with his Sawk. He passed through all of the portions of the contest, including one where he needed to dress up as Nurse Joy. He, along with Ash and Ricky, was able to make it to the final portion of the contest where he was to climb Mistralton Tower while keeping his Litwick candle from burning out. The three made it to the top but Stephan and Ash were the last two after Ricky's candle was burned out by Pidove's Air Slash. Giving it all he had, Stephan crossed the finish line first and was declared the winner of the contest giving him the chance to ring the bell at the top of the tower.

Stephan winning the Wishing Bell Festival

It had turned out that the Litwick-shaped candle he carried was actually a real Litwick and was what helped him win as it blew out Ash's candle just before they crossed the finish line. Still, Miles declared him the winner and he was able to ring the bell. The wish he made was to win the Clubsplosion tournament and he accompanied the group to Ambiga Town where they would all compete.

In The Clubsplosion Begins!, Stephan entered Sawk in the Clubsplosion and went up against Edmund in the first round. Though Edmund had a bit of an advantage because the sudden rain activated his Seismitoad's Swift Swim, Stephan was able to defeat him and advance to the second round. After the battle he was confronted by Montgomery, the winner of the last Clubsplosion, who had tried to convince him that his Sawk's strength could not compete with that of his Throh. Though insulted slightly, Stephan was interested in the prospect of gaining a new rival.

In Search for the Clubultimate!, Stephan offered to help Ash teach Scraggy how to make his Focus Blast more accurate by having him battle Sawk. However the training did not happen as Bianca interrupted wanting to poke Sawk's muscles again. In A Clubsplosion of Excitement! he attempted to help Ash again but were distracted from training when they heard crashing in the distance. There he saw Montgomery in the middle of a training session with Throh. He was undoubtedly impressed by Throh's power and wanted him to train with him and Ash but he refused. The next day, Stephan went against his second-round opponent, Cilan and his Pansage. Not even allowing the Connoisseur a chance to evaluate Sawk, Stephan took full control of the battle quickly and, literally, knocked his opponent out of the competition, advancing himself to the semi-final round. He discovered that his next opponent would be Bianca and defeated her again in Commanding the Clubsplosion Crown! which got him to the final round as did Montgomery.

Stephan and Montgomery

During lunch, Stephan and Sawk were given a special meal made by Cilan to help them in their battle. The others were worried for him feeling that Montgomery's Throh knew one other move that he didn't know about. Stephan only laughed knowing he would do well regardless because he had rung the Wishing Bell Festival. Once the battle began, Stephan did well in anticipating Throh's throwing moves and Sawk was able to parry them. However he did not expect his hidden move, Bind, leaving him to think of something quickly. He thought of using Sawk's Bulk Up then Close Combat to escape which worked well. Near the end of the fray both Pokémon were at their limit and Stephan encouraged Sawk not to give up even when he was down. Just as Throh was about to grab Sawk again, he commanded one last Close Combat which finished off Throh and made himself the champion. After celebrating with Sawk, Montgomery approached him saying that he would win the next time they battled but congratulated him on the victory. The two shook hands and Stephan replied that he would win next time as well. Later on he said his goodbyes to the group and promised Ash a battle the next time they would meet.

In Curtain Up, Unova League!, Stephan revealed that he was going to enter the Vertress Conference. In the preliminaries, he chose Zebstrika to battle against Radley and his Braviary and gained his first win.

Stephan appeared in Mission: Defeat Your Rival! and battled Ash in Strong Strategy Steals the Show!. He lost the battle and was eliminated from the competition. He stayed for the remainder of the league, watching all the other battles. He participated in the closing ceremonies of the Vertress Conference in A Unova League Evolution! and afterwards said farewell to Ash, his friends, and Ash's other rivals.

Stephan reappeared in Cilan's flashback in Survival of the Striaton Gym!. He also appeared prominently in the ending Let's Join Hands, and made a cameo appearance in the ending credits of Genesect and the Legend Awakened.

Stephan in Pokémon Journeys: The Series

Pokémon Journeys: The Series

Stephan reappeared in The Fiery Road to Mastership!, watching the Masters Eight Tournament battle between Iris and Cynthia alongside Trip, Alder, Georgia, and Bianca.

Character

Like many of Ash's rivals, Stephan has an intense passion for battling and is always willing to take on any opponent. His overall battle style is to charge the opponent head on with full power, thus he gets noticed for his reckless yet effective style. He can be both stubborn and impatient. His impatience is seen right before he was to battle Iris in The Club Battle Hearts of Fury: Emolga Versus Sawk! where he ran onto the battlefield before their names were called. He also can be extremely competitive as seen when he got into an eating contest with Ash in Cilan Versus Trip, Ash Versus Georgia!. Still, he always wants his rivals to get stronger and encourages them to do their best when witnessing them battle.

As is the case with Butch, Stephan's name is often mispronounced by other characters as 'Steffen', 'Steven', or 'Stuven' (In the original version, people have several different pronunciations of his name, with Keniyan being the most common). At times people call him a completely different name. When his name is mispronounced, it causes him to correct them in a mood that ranges from a slight annoyance to a vocal outburst as seen in Commanding the Clubsplosion Crown!. Whatever his mood may be, he quickly drops it. As of Curtain Up, Unova League!, his name has been pronounced correctly, which pleases Stephan; though Ash and his friends now claim to have never mispronounced his name.

Pokémon

This listing is of Stephan's known Pokémon in the anime:

On hand

Blitzle → Zebstrika

Debut	Oshawott's Lost Scalchop!
Voice actors
Japanese	Kiyotaka Furushima
English	Lisa Ortiz (as Blitzle) Marc Thompson (as Zebstrika)

Stephan used Zebstrika as a Blitzle in a battle against Ash's Oshawott, but it kicked off Oshawott's scalchop, which ultimately caused the battle to be postponed. Blitzle re-battled him the next day after being powered up. It managed to destroy the stone scalchop that Cilan's Dwebble had made for him with Shock Wave. However, because of Oshawott's training with the heavy scalchop, Oshawott's speed increased dramatically. Blitzle was eventually defeated after they both crashed into a rock while their Flame Charge and Aqua Jet moves combined into a huge wave of steam.

In Reunion Battles In Nimbasa!, it was revealed to have evolved into Zebstrika. Stephan also used it in his first battle in the Club Battle tournament against Bianca's Minccino in Cilan Versus Trip, Ash Versus Georgia!. Though hit by a barrage of Double Slap attacks, it defeated the Chinchilla Pokémon with Stomp and advanced its Trainer to the second round.

In Curtain Up, Unova League!, Stephan used Zebstrika at the Vertress Conference in his first match against Radley's Braviary and won. He used Zebstrika against Ash's Palpitoad in the fourth round during Strong Strategy Steals the Show!, however it got poisoned by Sludge Wave early on. Despite this, Zebstrika put up a good fight which led to a double-KO.

Zebstrika's known moves are Shock Wave, Flame Charge, Double Kick, Stomp, Thunderbolt, Giga Impact, Double-Edge, and Facade.

Sawk ♂

Debut	The Club Battle Hearts of Fury: Emolga Versus Sawk!
Voice actors
Japanese	Kiyotaka Furushima
English	Sean Schemmel

Main article: Stephan's Sawk

Sawk is the second Pokémon Stephan was revealed to have and made his debut in The Club Battle Hearts of Fury: Emolga Versus Sawk! where he was used to battle in the second round of the tournament.

Liepard

Debut	Lost at the League!
Voice actors
Japanese	Rikako Aikawa
English	Erica Schroeder

Stephan's Liepard first appeared in Lost at the League!. In the following episode, it battled Ash's Krookodile in a hard-fought battle. Although both Pokémon fought to their maximum, Liepard was defeated by Krookodile's Dragon Claw.

Liepard's known moves are Shadow Claw, Shadow Ball, Hyper Beam, and Double Team.

Temporary

Litwick

Debut	Climbing the Tower of Success!

Litwick appeared in Climbing the Tower of Success!. As part of the Wishing Bell Festival, competitors had to carry a lighted candle safely across the finish line, unbeknownst to Stephan, he was carrying a real Litwick. Near the end of the finish line, this Litwick helped Stephan by blowing out the candle that Ash was carrying, thus leaving the way for Stephan to be the clear winner. After the competition ended, it returned to Mistralton Tower.

None of Litwick's moves are known.

Achievements

The prize for winning the Clubsplosion

Badges obtained

This listing is of the Badges Stephan has obtained in the Unova region:

• At least eight Badges (prior to Curtain Up, Unova League!)

Stephan as the winner of the Wishing Bell Festival ringing the Wishing Bell

Pokémon League

Stephan has competed in the following Pokémon League Conferences:

• Vertress Conference - Top 16 (Strong Strategy Steals the Show!)

Pokémon competitions

Stephan has competed in the following Pokémon competitions:

• Club Battle - Top 8 (The Club Battle Hearts of Fury: Emolga Versus Sawk!)
• Wishing Bell Festival - Winner (Climbing the Tower of Success!)
• Clubsplosion - Winner (Commanding the Clubsplosion Crown!)

Voice actors

Language Voice actor Japanese 脇知弘 Tomohiro Waki English Darren Dunstan Danish Kasper Leisner Thomas Kirk Finnish Ilkka Villi (BW028, BW039, BW069-present) Aku Laitinen (BW040-BW042) German Roman Wolko Indonesian Nugie Nugraha (Disney dub) Polish Tomasz Robaczewski Brazilian Portuguese Thiago Zambrano Russian Петр Гланц Peter Glantz Spanish Latin America Luis Daniel Ramirez Spain Miguel Ángel Garzón Vietnamese Văn Tài

In the games

Snivy battling against Stephan's Sawk

Pokémon Black 2 and White 2

Stephan appeared in the Download Tournament "You Challenge the Unova League Too!", which was available for players of the Japanese Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 games from December 3, 2012 to January 31, 2013. The tournament was based on the Vertress Conference in the anime, which was conducted under Single Battle rules. Stephan was represented as the Black Belt Trainer class.

Pokémon

PKMN Trainer Stephan Pokémon World Tournament Black 2 and White 2 Reward: 1BP

Type: Fighting Unknown Ability: Sturdy Held item: Fighting Gem Sawk♂ Lv.50 Bulk Up Fighting Status   --       Close Combat Fighting Physical   --       Karate Chop Fighting Physical   --       Low Sweep Fighting Physical   --       Type: Electric Unknown Ability: Lightningrod Held item: Shuca Berry Zebstrika♂ Lv.50 Thunderbolt Electric Special   --       Giga Impact Normal Physical   --       Stomp Normal Physical   --       Flame Charge Fire Physical   --       Type: Dark Unknown Ability: Unburden Held item: Sitrus Berry Liepard♂ Lv.50 Shadow Claw Ghost Physical   --       Shadow Ball Ghost Special   --       Hyper Beam Normal Special   --       Double Team Normal Status   --

Quotes

• Announcement

はしりだしたらとまらない　きんにくの ぼうそうきかんしゃ　ケニヤン！

• Before battle

アクセントがちがーう！ってまーいっか おれたちのちから　みせてやる！

• After being defeated

おまえつよいな！　きょうは　サウナに はいって　はんせいかいだぜ！

• After winning

あつい　しょうぶだったぜ！ さて　サウナに　はいるか！

Trivia

• In the Taiwanese dub, Stephan was originally named 甘尼洋 Gānníyáng, but his name was later changed to 肯尼洋 Kěnníyáng in BW041. The change is possibly due to his original Japanese name sounding similar to a vulgar phrase in Taiwanese Mandarin.
• Stephan's Liepard only knows moves that it could be taught via TM in the games.

Names

Language	Name	Origin
Japanese	ケニヤン Kenyan	Likely from Kenya, one of two countries that Grévy's Zebras inhabit, referencing his first known Pokémon.
English	Stephan	Similar vowel sounds to Kenyan. Also a name with multiple pronunciations.
French	Jules	Possibly from Jules Grévy, from whom the Grévy's Zebra is named after. May also be from Joule.
German	Stefan	Similar to his English name.
Korean	케니언 Kenyan	Transliteration of his Japanese name.
Chinese (Mandarin)	肯尼洋 Kěnníyáng* 甘尼洋 Gānníyáng*	Transliteration of his Japanese name. Also from 肯亞 Kěnyǎ / 肯尼亞 Kěnníyǎ (Kenya). Rough transliteration of his Japanese name.
Chinese (Cantonese)	甘尼洋 Gāmnèihyèuhng	Rough transliteration of his Japanese name.

Related articles

• Episodes focusing on Stephan
• Images on the Bulbagarden Archives

Pokémon the Series characters
Protagonists Ash Ketchum (Pikachu) • Misty (Togetic) • Brock • Tracey Sketchit • May • Max • Dawn (Piplup) • Iris (Haxorus) • Cilan • Serena • Clemont • Bonnie (Dedenne) • Lana • Kiawe • Lillie • Sophocles • Mallow • Rotom Pokédex • Goh (Grookey) Rivals Gary • Ritchie • Harrison • Drew • Harley • Morrison • Tyson • Solidad • Paul • Nando • Zoey • Kenny • Conway • Barry • Ursula • Trip • Bianca • Burgundy • Stephan • Georgia • Cameron • Aria • Alain • Miette • Tierno • Shauna • Trevor • Nini • Sawyer • Gladion • Horacio • Hau • Leon • Raihan • Horace • Bea • League Conference participants • Coordinators • Performers • World Coronation Series participants Antagonists Jessie (Wobbuffet) • James • Meowth • Giovanni • Butch • Cassidy • Dr. Namba • Matori • Pierce • Dr. Zager • Gozu • Tabitha • Maxie • Shelly • Archie • Hunter J • Saturn • Cyrus • Mars • Jupiter • Charon • Colress • Aldith • Ghetsis • Barret • Malamar • Lysandre • Mable • Celosia • Aliana • Xerosic • Bryony • Tupp • Zipp • Rapp • Plumeria • Guzma • Viren • Rose • Oleana Professors Professor Oak • Professor Ivy • Professor Elm • Professor Birch • Professor Rowan • Professor Carolina • Professor Juniper • Dr. Fennel • Cedric Juniper • Professor Sycamore • Professor Kukui • Professor Burnet • Professor Cerise • Professor Magnolia • Sonia • Professor Amaranth Relatives Delia Ketchum • Daisy • Violet • Lily • James's parents • Flint • Lola • Forrest • Brock's siblings • Norman • Caroline • Johanna • Chili • Cress • Grace • Meyer • Lana's father • Lana's mother • Harper and Sarah • Rango • Sima • Mimo • Kiawe's grandfather • Mohn • Lusamine • Gladion • Sophocles's parents • Molayne • Abe • Mallow's mother • Ulu • Walker • Camille • Halta Supporting Officer Jenny • Nurse Joy • Magikarp salesman • Todd Snap • Charles Goodshow • Casey • Liza • Sakura • Lance • Clair • Raoul Contesta • Mr. Sukizo • Steven Stone • Vivian Meridian • Robert • Scott • Lilian Meridian • Solana • Brandon • Marian • Yuzo • Rhonda • Cynthia • Reggie • Angie • Looker • Izzy and Cara • Lyra • Khoury • Tobias • Don George • Elder • Alder • Luke • Freddy O'Martian • Ingo • Emmet • Jervis • Virgil • N • Anthea and Concordia • Porter • Alexa • Sophie • Cosette • Clembot • Sanpei • Mairin • Astrid • Diantha • Korrina • Gurkinn • Monsieur Pierre • Palermo • Keanan • Malva • Samson Oak • Anela • Hobbes • Nina • Anna • Laki • Dana • Yansu • Wicke • Faba • Ilima • Acerola • Dia • Chloe • Chrysa • Ren • Parker • Talia • Lei • Danika • Quillon • Hop • Gym Leaders • Elite Four • Frontier Brains • Island kahunas • Many temporary characters Supporting Pokémon Fearow • Ho-Oh • Squirtle Squad • Pink Butterfree • Haunter • Jigglypuff • Mewtwo • Mimey • Lapras herd • Granbull • Pichu Brothers • Lugia • Silver • Delibird • Wynaut • Larvitar • Kyogre and Groudon • Articuno • Deoxys • Lake guardians • Forces of nature • Meloetta • Reshiram • Super-ancient Pokémon • Wooper • Florges • Squishy • Z2 • Guardian deities • Bewear • Toucannon's flock • Stoutland • Oranguru • Nebby • Stufful • Ultra Beasts • Grandpa Forest • Necrozma • Lunala • Shaymin • Mew • Rotom Phones • Pelipper • Thievul trio • Eternatus • Drone Rotom • Legendary heroes • Latias • Recurring wild Pokémon
See also: Pokémon Horizons characters

Trainers in League Conferences

Indigo (Kanto) Mandi • Pete • Gary • Jeanette • Melissa • Ash • Ritchie • Assunta Silver (Johto) Darren • Salvador • Jackson • Macy • Gary • Ash • Harrison • Jon Ever Grande (Hoenn) Jump • Vivica • Gilbert • Gavin • Dominick • Clark • Johnny Katie • Morrison • Ash • Tyson Lily of the Valley (Sinnoh) Jeffrey • Nando • Barry • Conway • Paul • Ash • Tobias Vertress (Unova) Radley • Mikael • Ultimo • Kendrick • Trip • Bianca • Emmanuel Geraldo • Stephan • Flora • Kenton • Manning • Ash Katharine • Antonio • Russet • Ramone • Cameron • Dino • Virgil Lumiose (Kalos) Trevor • Titus • Astrid • Tierno • Remo • Sawyer • Ash • Alain Manalo (Alola) Hiroki • Pikala • Mr. Electric • Mad Magmar • Rapp • Zipp Tupp • Plumeria • DJ Leo • Master fisherman • Oluolu • Kahili Faba • Ilima • Samson • Mallow • Mina • "Jessina" • Acerola Lillie • "Jamesio" • Hau • Sophocles • Lana • Kiawe • Guzma Gladion • Ash

This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.