Sophocles (anime)
| Sophocles マーマネ Mamane | |
 Art from Sun & Moon series | |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Eye color | Brown |
| Hair color | Orange |
| Hometown | Hau'oli City |
| Region | Alola |
| Relatives | Unnamed father and mother, Molayne (cousin) |
| Trainer class | Trainer |
| Game counterpart | Sophocles |
| Specializes in | Electric types |
| Member of | Aether Foundation |
| Rank | Ultra Guardian |
| Anime debut | Alola to New Adventure! |
| English voice actor | Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld |
| Japanese voice actor | Fumiko Takekuma |
Sophocles (Japanese: マーマネ Mamane) is a student at the Pokémon School on Melemele Island and one of Ash's classmates. He debuted in Alola to New Adventure!.
History
Pre-series
Prior to enrolling in the Pokémon School, Sophocles and his family often took trips to Ula'ula Island in order to visit his cousin Molayne, who works at Hokulani Observatory. During one visit, he befriended a Minior that fell from space. A few days later, the Minior, without a shell to protect it, faded into dust. The experience was traumatic enough for Sophocles to block it from his memory. Years later, Sophocles received a Togedemaru as his starter and partner Pokémon.
Sun & Moon series
Sophocles debuted in Alola to New Adventure!, where he, Mallow and Lana accidentally trampled Ash on his first visit to Samson Oak's Pokémon School. He later watched along with the rest of the class as Ash fought a group of Team Skull Grunts alongside Kiawe. Shortly after the battle, Ash claimed to see the guardian deity Tapu Koko in the sky, but neither Sophocles nor the rest of the class could see the guardian.
In The Guardian's Challenge!, Sophocles participated in Ash's surprise welcome party to the school by challenging him to a balloon-popping contest. Sophocles won the challenge with ease by bursting the balloons on Togedemaru's spikes, and then using her Lightning Rod Ability to absorb Pikachu's electricity to charge her attacks.
In A Shocking Grocery Run!, Sophocles met Ash in Hau'oli City's mall, where the two ate some ice cream. Later, the mall's fire shutters separated Sophocles and Ash from Togedemaru, Pikachu, and Rotom due to a system malfunction caused by Team Rocket. Using his knowledge of machinery, Sophocles was able to find out the solution to the problem. While on their way to the mall's power switch room, he and Ash got into an argument, but settled their dispute after Ash saved Sophocles from being locked up. Eventually the two made their way up to the mall's roof, where they encountered their Pokémon battling Team Rocket. Sophocles had his Togedemaru absorb Pikachu's Thunderbolt using her Lightning Rod Ability, allowing Togedemaru to turn the tides of the battle before the Team Rocket trio got carried away by Bewear. After solving the power problem, Sophocles went to have dinner with Ash and Professor Kukui.
In So Long, Sophocles!, his father and mother informed Sophocles that they were moving house which left him very upset. He later discovered that it was all a big misunderstanding as they were only moving a few houses away but was terrified of explaining this to his friends who were throwing a leaving party. Ash even got him a Charjabug as a going-away present, which he caught. Afterwards, Sophocles tearfully apologized to his friends for accidentally misleading them. Although Sophocles was reluctant on revealing the truth because he feared that everyone would be mad at him for lying, everyone was happy he wasn't actually moving away.
In Mounting an Electrifying Charge!, Sophocles, along with Ash and Kiawe, decided to enter the Charjabug race with his Charjabug. His Charjabug struggled at first, but he and the others trained with him so they could win. On the day of the race, he was confronted with Horacio, the leader of the Red Comet team, and was teased on, but he didn't back down. For the race, Sophocles took the role of the team director, with Kiawe acting as the mechanic and Ash as the support runner. When the race began, Charjabug moved slowly. On the rocky course, Ash and Charjabug became stuck, but Sophocles found a way to get around the obstacle. During the final stretch, Ash was rendered unconscious so he couldn't finish the race. Sophocles eventually found a way to use Charjabug's String Shot to go up the slippery slope and come out victorious.
From Family Determination! to 10,000,000 Reasons to Fight!, Sophocles was among those who helped Lillie and Gladion in their mission to rescue their mother Lusamine after Lusamine was kidnapped by the Ultra Beast Nihilego. In Ultra Deep Sea, his Charjabug and Togedemaru, along with Ash's Litten and Rowlet, and Lana and Mallow's Pokémon, fought and overcame Lusamine's Mismagius, Milotic, and Lilligant, which were under Nihilego's control. The battle ended when Ash and Pikachu performed 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt to defeat Nihilego, freeing Lusamine from its grasp.
In The Professors' New Adventure!, Sophocles attended the wedding of Professor Kukui and Professor Burnet. During the post-nuptials, Lusamine asked Sophocles and his classmates to join the Ultra Guardians, a task force dedicated to dealing with any upcoming Ultra Beast incidents, which they accepted.
As a part of the Ultra Guardians, Sophocles and his Pokémon have been critical to the success of the group's missions. In A Mission of Ultra Urgency!, Sophocles and his classmates were given their first task, capturing a Buzzwole that emerged from an Ultra Wormhole onto Melemele Island and began causing havoc. During the mission, Sophocles helped heal a wild Snorlax that was drained of its energy by the Ultra Beast.
In Rise and Shine, Starship!, Sophocles was out camping with his parents and Pokémon at Bamboo Hill when he came across a creature buried in the ground, which he believed to be Celestial Starship (Japanese 星舟かぐや Starship Kaguya), a character from a folktale. After telling his classmates about it, they went to the Bamboo Hill and unsuccessfully tried to dig it up. The next day, Lusamine revealed the creature was actually an Ultra Beast they named Celesteela, and set the Ultra Guardians off to return it back home. Attempts to catch Celesteela in a Beast Ball proved unsuccessful as it was firmly rooted down. Team Rocket later attempted to catch Celesteela, forcing the Ultra Guardians to protect it as Celesteela began to launch into the air. After creating an area for Celesteela to launch safely without setting the immediate area ablaze, they watched it fly home.
In Filling the Light with Darkness!, mysterious dark clouds appeared over the Alola region, causing all of the adults in Alola to lose their energy and motivation. The next day, Sophocles and his classmates embarked on their fifth mission, to investigate the situation at the Altar of the Sunne. Shortly after arriving, Lusamine revealed that Gladion would be joining them as a new member. In order to disperse the clouds, Lana, Kiawe, Ash, and Gladion combined their Z-Power to fuel a device that successfully made the clouds disappear, but they uncovered a hidden Ultra Wormhole in the process. Afterwards, Lusamine took the Ultra Guardians into the ruins, where she showed them a mural depicting the "Blinding One". Before they could translate the mural, the Ultra Guardians were forced to return outside, where they found the wormhole increasing in size. At that moment, a Lunala emerged from the wormhole with a Necrozma chasing after it. The group was eventually able to solve the unfolding crisis in Securing the Future!, where they, their Pokémon, Lunala, Poipole's friends, and everyone else back in Alola shared their Z-Power with Necrozma, causing it to release Nebby. After Ash and Gladion used Nebby and Lunala to replenish Necrozma's strength to revert it back to its true form, it restored Poipole's home world back to its original state. Afterwards, the Ultra Guardians, Nebby, and Lunala traveled back to Alola through the Ultra Wormhole.
In That's Some Spicy Island Research!, Sophocles and his classmates arrived on Poni Island for their individual research projects for school. His research project involved him evolving his Charjabug into Vikavolt at Vast Poni Canyon.
In Evolving Research!, Sophocles, Ash, Hapu, and Kiawe headed over to Vast Poni Canyon. After arriving, Sophocles challenged Horacio to a contest when the latter expressed his own plans to evolve his Charjabug with the "Bug Stone", a purported special evolutionary stone said to be located somewhere in the canyon. Sophocles, Horacio, and their Charjabug ventured to an old bridge that they had to cross. Sophocles feared that it was going to collapse, but Horacio stubbornly rebuffed his concerns and crossed. Indeed, the bridge did collapse, leaving him and his Chariabug hanging on for dear life. Sophocles's Charjabug subsequently evolved into Vikavolt, saved them, and retrieved the Bug Stone. When Horacio realized the Bug Stone didn't work, Sophocles informed him that Charjabug evolve into Vikavolt due to the canyon's special magnetic field. Meeting back up with his friends, Sophocles showed off his newly evolved Pokémon before being challenged to a Vikavolt race by Horacio, which he accepted.
In SM119, Sophocles and his Vikavolt entered in the Vikavolt race, where the winner gets a Buginium Z as a prize. There, Sophocles met Horacio again and learned that his Charjabug also evolved into a Vikavolt. During the race, Team Rocket interfered by turning the lights off in a cave area and trapping the other competitors' Vikavolt in a net. With encouragement from his Vikavolt, Sophocles overcame his fear of the dark and teamed up with Horacio to free the other Vikavolt. Afterwards, Sophocles and the other competitors resumed the race and was neck-and-neck with Horacio until his Vikavolt picked up more speed and won the race. Sophocles was congratulated by his friends and Horacio for his victory. Later, Hapu congratulated Sophocles for his earlier heroics and gave him a Z-Ring as a reward.
Character
Sophocles is an intelligent young boy with a knack for inventing helpful devices and machinery. He is also a skilled Trainer of Electric-type Pokémon, often using them to power his inventions. While at times rude and prone to absorbing himself in his technological activities, he is friendly and greatly cares for his Pokémon and classmates. In A Shocking Grocery Run!, it was revealed that Sophocles likes to collect information on all sort of things, such as the best ice cream in Alola. In the same episode, it is also revealed that he has a fear of dark places, but is never scared at night as long as he has his Togedemaru with him. Sophocles tends to get bashful when people complement him on his knowledge, responding with a shy "Mā, ne..." in the original Japanese version of the anime – a pun on his Japanese name, "Māmane".
Much like Clemont, Sophocles is not very athletic, and often fails to do tasks that require physical activity as shown in The Guardian's Challenge!, when he needed help to climb over a log, and in Racing to a Big Event!, during the Pokémon Pancake Race. He also has an interest in robotics. In All They Want to Do is Dance Dance!, it is revealed he converted the car he got for Charjabug in Mounting an Electrifying Charge! into a miniature mecha that can dock with Togedemaru, named TogeCharja Perfect Form Robot Deluxe (Japanese: トゲデンヂロボットパーフェクトフォルムデラックス TogeDendi Robot Perfect Form Deluxe). The mecha was seen again in Lillier and the Staff!.
Sophocles also has a defensive side, which was seen in Mounting an Electrifying Charge!, when he stood up for himself and his Charjabug after being mocked by Horacio. Sophocles has shown to be a gracious loser, as shown in SM113, where despite being sad after losing in the preliminary round of (Japanese: アローラポケモンクイズ Alola Pokémon Quiz), he happily congratulated his former fellow contestant Kuwashi on getting yet another correct answer in the final round when he saw him next. Sophocles is a fan of Electric-type Pokémon. In Alola, Kanto!, the Pokémon he wanted to see the most whilst in Kanto was revealed to be a local Raichu.
Pokémon
On hand
 Togedemaru ♀ |
 Charjabug → Vikavolt |
Ride Pokémon
| Debut | Yo, Ho, Ho! Go, Popplio! |
|---|
Sophocles, along with Kiawe, was first seen riding a Poké Ride Wailmer around Melemele Island.
None of Wailmer's moves are known.
| Debut | Treasure Hunt, Akala Style! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | |
| English | Marc Thompson |
Sophocles used a Poké Ride Stoutland to hunt for treasure around Akala Island.
None of Stoutland's moves are known.
Metang is Sophocles's personal Ultra Guardian Ride Pokémon.
Metang's known moves are Flash Cannon, Bullet Punch, and Metal Claw.
| Debut | Alola, Alola! |
|---|
Sophocles used a Mantine to get from Melemele Island to Treasure Island.
None of Mantine's moves are known.
Temporary
| Debut | Alola to New Adventure! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Chika Fujimura |
| English | Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld |
- Main article: Mallow's Steenee
In The Ol' Raise and Switch!, Professor Kukui tasked everyone with switching their partner Pokémon with somebody else and Sophocles was given Steenee. Sophocles had trouble sleeping without Togedemaru's light but Steenee helped Sophocles with its scent.
Befriended
When Sophocles was younger, during one of his visits to Hokulani Observatory, he befriended a Red Core Minior that fell from space. A few nights later, the Minior faded into dust. The experience left Sophocles traumatized enough to block it from his memory.
None of Minior's moves are known.
Pokémon competitions
Sophocles has competed in the following Pokémon competitions:
- Pokémon Pancake Race - Disqualified (Racing to a Big Event!)
- Charjabug race Koko Cup - Winner (with Ash and Kiawe; Mounting an Electrifying Charge!)
- Alola Pokémon Quiz - Preliminary round (SM113)
- Vikavolt race Fini Cup - Winner (SM119; received the Buginium Z)
Voice actors
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Trivia
- Sophocles is the first of Ash's classmates to obtain a second Pokémon, not counting Ride Pokémon.
- Sophocles is the only one out of Ash's classmates to have a rival.
Names
| Language | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | マーマネ Mamane | From māmane (Hawaiian for Sophora chrysophylla) and possibly 麻痺 mahi (paralysis) |
| English, Dutch, Turkish | Sophocles | From Sophora chrysophylla |
| French, German, Italian | Chrys | From Sophora chrysophylla |
| Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese | Chris | From Sophora chrysophylla |
| Korean | 마마네 Mamane | Transliteration of Japanese name |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 馬瑪內 / 马玛内 Mǎmǎnèi | Transliteration of Japanese name |
| Chinese (Cantonese) | 馬瑪內 Máhmáhnoih | Mandarin-based transliteration of Japanese name |
| European Portuguese | Sófocles | Similar to his English name |
| Russian | Софоклис Sofoklis | Transcription of English name |
| Thai | มามาเนะ Mamane | Transliteration of Japanese name |
| Vietnamese | Mamane | Transliteration of Japanese name |
Related articles
| Sophocles's Pokémon | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On hand: | |||||||
| Ride Pokémon: | |||||||
| Temporary: | |||||||
 Aether Foundation
| |||||
| Aether Bases (Heahea City • Route 8 • Route 16) • Aether Paradise • Aether House | |||||
| President | Branch Chiefs | ||||
| Lusamine (Masters • anime) |
Wicke | Faba (anime) | |||
| Other members | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aether Foundation Employees | |||||
| Related | |||||
| Mohn • Lillie (Masters • anime) • Gladion (Masters • anime) | |||||
| In Pokémon the Series | |||||
| Former members: Jessie • James • Meowth Ultra Guardians: Ash • Lana • Kiawe • Lillie • Sophocles • Mallow • Gladion | |||||
See also: Team Skull • Ultra Recon Squad
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |
