Character Overview:

Sapphire Birch, the daughter of Prof. Birch, is the main female protagonist of the RS series. Being a wild child who advocates the nature and resents artificial things, she can tell a Pokemon's health condition simply by smelling their faeces, and uses natural means such as Berries for ailment instead of resorting to the PokemonCenter. She has heightened animalistic senses, which allows her to quickly detect changes in the environment and the presence of others. This ability also made her gain control of the mystical Blue Orb much easier than Ruby during the Mirage Island training. While doing fieldwork for her father, she would often spends night in the wild, and wears clothes made entirely of leaves for camouflage.

However, Sapphire was actually very lady-like when she was little girl, and her wild personality is the result of an incident at the age of five, when she and Prof. Birch went to Johto to give support to Norman in his Gymleader Selection Test. At that time, a wild Salamence attacked young Ruby and Sapphire, and although Ruby managed to defeat the dragon Pokemon, the terrifying experience made Sapphire cry, and she believed that her weakness has tarnished the young boy's dignity. Following the incident, she put behind her girly side, and vowed to become stronger. She looked up to Red as her idol, who just claimed championship in the Pokemon League Tournament in Kanto.

Through helping her father's research work over the years, Sapphire has gained ample knowledge about Pokemon, as shown in her full score accomplishment at the Rustboro Gym pre-challenge test, in which her incompetence in reading traditional kanji characters was also revealed. Sapphire uses her extensive knowledge as well as her acute observations to supplement her natural talent in battling, and quickly became famous among gymleaders as she advanced from gym to gym. She became fairly acquainted with most of Hoenn's gymleaders, and was particularly close to Winona, who later accepted her as a disciple. When the catastrophe caused by Kyogre and Groudon wrecked Hoenn, Sapphire showed great patriotism to her homeland, and went to the extremes to safeguard it, leading to a fallout between her and Ruby even.

The truth is, Sapphire has been in love with Ruby since their childhood encounter, but the two ironically did not recognize each other when they met again, and ended up being rivals instead. Sapphire scorned at Ruby's sissy behaviour and often mocked at contests for being too artificial. She even severed ties with him when Ruby showed little care about Hoenn's fate despite the impending catastrophe. However, Sapphire soon found herself developing feelings for Ruby, and it wasn't until they were back to Sootopolis that she realized that he was the little boy in her childhood, and shared the same sentiment as hers all these years. Currently, she is in an ambiguous relationship with Ruby, for Ruby has not brought up their confession since the Groudon and Kyogre crisis ended, much to Sapphire's frustration.

Sapphire highly respects her senior Pokedex Holders, and was practically frantic when she finally met up with them at the Battle Tower. She found the notion to be named alongside her seniors an embarrassing one, especially when Red, her idol, was one of them. She was initially thrown by the arrogant and mischievous behaviour of Gold, who nicknamed her the 'wildchild girl'. After hearing enough bragging of Gold though, she and Ruby joined Crys's side in being scornful at him.

Sapphire's design is based on the female protagonist of the third generation Game Boy Advance Pokemon titles, Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. She is depicted to have sharp teeth and often appears in animalistic postures to reflect her wild and no-frills personality. In the RS series, the red attire which her game counterpart wears is hand-made and given to her by Ruby. Before that, she simply uses big tree leaves to cover up herself as a form of camouflage, which caused Ruby to mistake her as a real animal. When she had a fallout with Ruby at Fortree, she ripped away the red attire Ruby made her, and returned to wearing leaf clothes.

Afterwards, Ruby made her a new outfit, which matches the green-based design her game counterpart has in the third sequel game, Pokemon Emerald. Her bagpack remains yellow however. In the Emerald series, Sapphire returned with an identical outfit in blue, believably made by Ruby as well. Along with Ruby, the two have the highest frequency of outfit change among all Pokedex Holders. In the flashback of Sapphire's childhood, when she was still a lady-girl, she wore a puffy and flowery dress with a matching hairband. Like her name, Sapphire's eyes have varying shades of sapphire blue.

Sapphire's journey began when she rescued Ruby from two wild Mightyenas, and the boy mistook her as a wild animal due to her leafy camouflage and started attacking. The mutual hostility was further escalated when the two expressed their contrasting beliefs and goals, and they eventually agreed to settle their rivalry with an 80-day pact, in which Sapphire would conquer all 8 gyms in Hoenn while Ruby did the same for all contests. Finding an unexpected outfit that Ruby made her, Sapphire was oddly moved by a comment in the accompanying note, and decided to wear it for her journey.

At Rustboro, Sapphire rescued Mr. Stone's Castform in a fountain, and had her first battle against the SSS of Team Aqua. Following that, she challenged Roxanne, and gained victory with her acute observations. Travelling to Dewford on Wailulu, she beat Brawley, and met up with Ruby before encountering Team Magma on the Abandoned Ship. The two parted ways at Slateport, and Sapphire accidentally stumbled upon New Mauville, where she helped Wattson and the Trick Master settle the power generator machine, and activate this underground city built by their ancestors. Afterwards, Sapphire headed up to Mt. Chimney, and teamed up with Flannery to stop Team Aqua from inactivating the volcano. Alas, they failed to do so, and Sapphire flew all the way to Fortree on Tororo, where she suffered her first gym defeat against Winona.

Sapphire became Winona's disciple afterwards, and an emergent meeting of the gymleaders brought Ruby to Fortree, who has become Wallace's student. Unfortunately, the two had a fall out when Sapphire realized that Ruby has been hiding his real strength all along, but the boy showed little care about Hoenn's fate. As the awakening of Kyogre and Groudon brought havoc to Hoenn, Sapphire accompanied Winona, and eventually learnt from the Mt. Pyre old couple about the happenings at the Seafloor Cavern.

At that time, Ruby finally decided to join the battle, and headed to the Seafloor Cavern with Sapphire with the help of Relili. The showdown resulted in the assimilation of the Red and Blue Orbs into the bodies of Archie and Maxie, and the battleground was brought to Sootopolis, where the sea and land titans finally clashed. Using the powers of the Grand Meteor fragment which Sapphire picked up on Mt. Chimney, Ruby and Sapphire knocked the two mystical jewels off the evil men, but were chosen by the jewels to be their new users.

Juan rescued Ruby and Sapphire to the Mirage Island, where the two trained under Tate and Liza to perfect their double-battle skills, and learn how to control the Red and Blue Orbs. On their way back to Sootopolis, Sapphire confessed her feelings to Ruby, but this resulted in Ruby pushing Sapphire away from the battlefield and teaming up with Courtney instead. It turned out that Ruby was the young boy who changed Sapphire's life 5 years ago, and he wanted to protect Sapphire from danger.

After Ruby and Norman successfully calmed Kyogre and Groudon, Archie and Maxie rose again and caused new havoc. Sapphire rushed to their rescue with Wallace, who was forced to surrender as Winona was held hostage. Following the return and evolution of Ruby's Mimi, Ruby and Sapphire lent powers from New Mauville's power generator machine, and had Plusle and Minun fire off a deadly electric attack to stop the battle. Ruby sent out his secret sixth Pokemon, Celebi, and restored life and peace with the Red and Blue Orbs. When the crisis was finally over, Ruby and Sapphire managed to fulfill their respective part of the pact on the very last day, and met up once again at Sapphire's secret base.

Emerald Series

10 months later, Prof. Birch sent Ruby and Sapphire to the Battle Frontier to find and assist the third Pokedex Holder, Emerald, in his quest to protect Jirachi. Together with Winona and Wallace, they attended Wanda and Roger's wedding ceremony on Mr. Briney's S.S. Tidal, and upon arrival at the Frontier, the two met Emerald outside the Battle Dome under a 'rainbow', resulting in a not so friendly first encounter between the three Hoenn Dex Holders.

Emerald's resentment towards Ruby and Sapphire's presence made them take part in the Dome Tournament, and Sapphire eventually lost to Tucker's Salamence in the semi-finals. Afterwards, they were confronted by the Palace Maven Spenser, who learnt of Sapphire's connection with the Blue Orb simply by looking into her eyes. The old man's odd behaviour kept Ruby and Sapphire on guard, and when the evil Guile Hideout finally succeeded in capturing Jirachi, Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald teamed up with Nolan to scale the Battle Tower, where they found the Salon Maiden Anabel brainwashed by the armoured man.

Using Latios and Latias's ability to share visions, Spenser revealed his past connection to the Blue Orb, and how all those who have come into contact with it would be stained with a permanent scar, forcing Guile Hideout to show his true identity as Archie. The evil man wished upon Jirachi for a giant sea monster, and created a giant sea monster to flood the entire Battle Frontier. Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald were eventually joined by their seniors, Gold and Crys, who finally revealed their true goal was to revive the petrified senior Dex Holders, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow and Silver.

Along with Zuzu and Emerald's Sceptile, Sapphire's Chaka learnt the ultimate attack inside a transparent house created by Crys, and when Emerald finally acknowledged his true feelings for Pokemon and successfully wished upon Jirachi to reverse the five senior Dex Holders' petrifaction, all 10 Dex Holders joined forces together to defeat the giant sea monster with their combined ultimate attacks.

Pokémon on her Active Team

Torchic → Combusken → Blaziken
Nickname: Chaka	OT: Sapphire	Gender: ♀
Nature: Quiet	Ability: Blaze	Level 59
Attacks: Blast Burn, Blaze Kick, Ember, Flamethrower, Double Kick, Double Team, Ember, Peck, Sky Uppercut
Info: Sapphire received this Torchic from her father, Prof. Birch, and has been using it even before the beginning of her journey. It battled Ruby's Zuzu at Sapphire' secret base due to a misunderstanding, and later on took on a wild Seviper that attacked them. After an intensive training at the Granite Cave, it evolved into a Combusken and defeated Brawly's Hariyama in the Dewford gym challenge. It also had a friendly battle with Flannery's Magcargo, and evolved into Blaziken while challenging Winona's Altaria. Possessing powerful fire and fighting attacks, it is undoubtedly Sapphire's most trusted team member, and was used in almost every single major combat she had. It teamed up with Zuzu in a double-battle against Archie and Maxie at the Seafloor Cavern, and used its Flamethrower to activate the Grand Meteor fragment at Sootopolis, which succeeded in knocking out the Red and Blue Orbs from the two evil team leaders. In the Emerald series, Chaka was Sapphire's core member in the numerous Dome and Tower battles, and after it evoked the ultimate fire attack, Blast Burn, from Brinca's metal ring, it teamed up with other starters to defeat the giant sea monster with their combined attacks.

Aron → Lairon → Aggron
Nickname: Ronono	OT: Sapphire	Gender: ♂
Nature: Naughty	Ability: N/A	Level 54
Attacks: Aerial Ace, Iron Defense, Iron Tail, Metal Claw, Take Down
Info: This Aron grew up with Sapphire, and was first put into action when it chewed on the metallic Pelipper fountain at Rustboro City, and helped Sapphire rescue Mr. Stone's trapped Castform. It learns a wide range of steel attacks, and took on Roxanne's Nosepass in the Rustboro gym challenge. It evolved into a Lairon at the Granite Cave after Sapphire's intensive training, and afterwards battled Brawly's Makuhita. It was also took part in Sapphire's fight against Team Aqua's Matts on Mt. Chimney, her second attempt to challenge Winona, as well as the battle against Archie and Maxie at the Seafloor Cavern. It evolved into an Aggron during the training on Mirage Island, and was not seen in action again until the Emerald series, where it fought against Tucker's Salamence in the Dome Tournament semi-finals.

Donphan
Nickname: Phadodo	OT: Sapphire	Gender: ♂
Nature: Hasty	Ability: Sturdy	Level 58
Attacks: Façade, Rock Tomb
Info: This Donphan began a rampage at Mauville City due to the effect of a magnetic field created by a giant power generator machine in the underground city of New Mauville, but it was misunderstood by Wattson and the Trick Master, who attempted to capture it with their tricky traps. After the discovery of New Mauville, it teamed up with Sapphire to handle the problematic power generator machine, and joined her team afterwards. Phadodo has very high attack power, and Sapphire has used it in several major battles, including the one at the Seafloor Cavern where it battled Archie and Maxie. In the Emerald series, it attempted to hold down Guile Hideout with other Pokedex Holders' team members, but eventually got knocked back by the armoured back.

Wailord
Nickname: Wailulu	OT: Prof. Birch	Gender: ♂
Nature: Bold	Ability: N/A	Level 53
Attacks: Water Spout
Info: Prof. Birch uses Wailulu to travel on water during his fieldwork, but leaves it in the wild at the oceans instead of keeping it in a Pokeball because of its humongous size. He lent it to Sapphire for her journey, and Sapphire first called upon this giant Wailord when she needed to travel to Dewford from Rustboro. Wailulu sailed Ruby and Sapphire to Slateport after bypassing the Abandoned Ship, and was not put into action again until Sapphire headed down to the Seafloor Cavern, and left it at the oceans. Wailulu used its Water Spout to save Wattson near the Abandoned Ship, who was defeated by Sean of Team Aqua. Later, along with Relili, Wailulu played the critical role of unsealing the legendary Regirock, Regice and Registeel by fulfilling the Pokemon line-up requirement stated on the Braille stone plate.

Tropius
Nickname: Tororo	OT: Prof. Birch	Gender: ♂
Nature: Calm	Ability: N/A	Level 56
Attacks: Aerial Ace, Magical Leaf, Razor Leaf, Solarbeam
Info: Tororo is Prof. Birch's means of flying when he does his fieldwork, and is usually kept in the wild. Sapphire borrowed it from Birch for her journey, and first called upon it when she teamed up with Flannery to fight against Team Aqua, who was scheming to inactivate Mt. Chimney. Apart from providing aerial transport, Tororo is also one of Sapphire's major battling forces, packing a wide range of powerful grass attacks. It took part in the combat against Archie and Maxie at the Seafloor Cavern, and also flew Ruby and Sapphire out of Mirage Island back to Sootopolis. In the Emerald series, it joined forces with Mantaro, Tupeon and Latios and took part in an aerial battle against Guile Hideout's giant sea monster.

Relicanth
Nickname: Relili	OT: Sapphire	Gender: ♂
Nature: Hardy	Ability: N/A	Level 55
Attacks: Dive
Info: Sapphire found this Relicanth as one of the deep-sea water washed ashore on the dried up sea Route 123 due to Groudon's drought effect. She decided to keep it on her team until it was nurtured back to full health, but eventually discovered through Ruby that it was the Pokemon spoken in old folklores which is capable of taking humans to the deepest part of the oceans. Using the special Dive power of Relili, Ruby and Sapphire travelled to the Seafloor Cavern to battle Maxie and Archie. Afterwards, along with Wailulu, Relili played the important role in breaking the seal of the legendary Regirock, Regice and Registeel, which called for the presence of a Wailord and Relicanth in a team-of-six line-up. Relili is now kept in the oceans like Wailulu.

Pokémon she has had or been partnered with

Minun
Nickname: None	OT: N/A	Gender: ♀
Nature: Naive	Ability: Minus	Level 53
Attacks: Double Team, Helping Hand, Shock Wave
Info: Sapphire first encountered this Minun along with Plusle on the Abandoned Ship on sea Route 108. Under the siege of Team Magma's Courtney and Tabitha, Sapphire and Ruby teamed up with the two electric Pokemon temporarily. Afterwards, Plusle and Minun were incidentally washed onto the mysterious Mirage Island, and Sapphire partnered up with Minun in their double-battle training. In the final battle against Archie and Maxie at Sootopolis, it was the combined powered up electric attack of Plusle and Minun that put an end to the great fight.