Sanpei
- If you were looking for the other character whose Japanese name is Sanpei, see Steveland.
| Sanpei サンペイ Sanpei | |
 Sanpei | |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Hometown | Ninja Village |
| Region | Kalos |
| Relatives | Ippei and Nihei (brothers) |
| Trainer class | Trainer |
| Anime debut | A Rush of Ninja Wisdom! |
| English voice actor | Chris Patton |
| Japanese voice actor | Yuko Sanpei |
Sanpei (Japanese: サンペイ Sanpei) is a recurring character who appeared in the Pokémon anime. He is a ninja from Ninja Village.
History
Sanpei left his hometown with his partner, then a Froakie, and embarked on a journey to become a strong ninja like his older brothers Nihei and Ippei.
He first appeared in A Rush of Ninja Wisdom!. As Ash was training with Froakie, Sanpei criticized their progress. Ash decided to prove himself in a battle, pitting his Froakie against Sanpei's Frogadier which Sanpei accepted as he was also looking for a battle opponent. Ultimately Frogadier proved too quick and Froakie was defeated. Ash, however was inspired to teach Froakie to learn Quick Attack. Sanpei accepted Ash's request, putting Froakie through an intense regime to perfect the technique.
Froakie's training paid off, as he managed to execute Double Team on Team Rocket, wo had stole Frogadier and Ash's Pikachu. Ash and Sanpei then blasted off Team Rocket together with a double Water Pulse from Froakie and Frogadier. Now showing more respect for Ash than when they met, Sanpei said his farewells to Ash and the group as he went on his way.
In A Stealthy Challenge!, Sanpei met up with Ash again, in the process revealing his Frogadier had evolved into a Greninja. Ash first found both Sanpei and Greninja unconscious and injured in a river. Sanpei told him he was given a mission by his mentor Saizo to deliver a secret scroll to a mansion by sunset, but during his quest he and Greninja got attacked by a masked ninja with a Barbaracle who wanted to steal the scroll. After crossing through the mountains and a few run-ins with the masked assailant, Sanpei finally reached the mansion. Saizo later revealed that he was in fact the masked ninja, and had designed the quest to test Sanpei's training. Saizo concluded that Sanpei had performed well and left to report the news back to Ninja Village.
As Sanpei was returning to Ninja Village, he spotted Ash and his friends nearby and invited them to the village festival in The Legend of the Ninja Hero!. They were welcomed by the village's chieftain, Hanzo, and Sanpei's brothers. Sanpei and Greninja then had a battle with Nihei and his Venusaur. Despite the type disadvantage, Greninja managed to make good use of its speed and held its own, but Sanpei eventually lost the battle.
While Sanpei showed the group around the village, the vengeful Kagetomo and his Ninja Corps attacked the village. Sanpei attempted to defend Hanzo, but the opposing ninja managed to take him prisoner. Sanpei and Ash chased after Hanzo's kidnappers, but they were stopped in their tracks by Heidayu, who sent out his Bisharp for battle. In the next episode, he and Ash battled Heidayu, but their Pokémon were easily overwhelmed by the Sword Blade Pokémon. When their Pokémon were about to be finished off, they were saved in time by Saizo and his Barbaracle, who proceeded to defeat Bisharp.
After the Ninja Corps retreated, Sanpei joined the others to save Hanzo up on Otori Mountain. As Ippei and Saizo continued to the mountain's summit, Sanpei and Ash faced off against Heidayu again. Again, Bisharp was able to overpower their Pokémon and Greninja was swiftly beaten by it. Sanpei then witnessed Ash's Frogadier evolve into Greninja and battled Bisharp. Ash's Greninja was able to battle Bisharp more evenly than Sanpei's, and eventually defeated Bisharp using a form similar to that of the Hero Greninja. After the conflict was resolved, he congratulated Ash and his newly evolved Greninja and bade farewell to the group the next day. Afterwards, Sanpei and his brothers mused that the Hero Greninja had returned.
He appeared in a flashback in Facing the Needs of the Many!.
Character
Sanpei is level-headed and tactical approach. He values his Ninja Village heritage, having mastered many of the ninja arts including concealment and running on water. He is also highly competitive and follows a strict regime of training in his bid to finally defeat his two older brothers in battle.
Pokémon
This is listing of Sanpei's Pokémon in anime.
 Froakie → Frogadier → Greninja |
Voice actors
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Trivia
- The names of Ippei, Nihei, and Sanpei are a play on the Japanese words for one, two, and three: "ichi" (一), "ni" (二) and "san" (三).
- He shares his name with the surname of his Japanese voice actor.
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |
