ENGLISH NAME	JAPANESE NAME	POKEMOPOLIS NAME	DODGINESS RATING	ANIMATION	STORY	TEAM ROCKET	MORAL LEARNT
754: Drayden Versus Iris; Past, Present, and Future!	760: Soryu Jimu! Airisu tai Shaga	Dragging On			Iris' backstory is finally settled	Nope	High School Dropouts will go far in life

Today finds the twerps heading towards Opelucid City after initially trying to avoid it (at least, Iris was) by going to Iris' home - the Village of Dragons. However the person that Iris was trying to avoid - Drayden - was there as well and asked her to come to Opelucid City so he could test for himself how strong and skilled she had become since he gave her the first loss of her - at the time unofficial - career. There is something weird about the relationship between the two, with things that the Elder of the Village said suggesting that he has some kind of expectation of authority over her. We'll have to wait to find out the answer though, we know how long it takes the twerps to get anywhere once they set off for i.... wait a second, they're there? They've already arrived in Opelucid City!?! We won't have to wait for...



They head down the street, Ash confused when he spots two young kids wearing "some kind of uniform". Poor home-schooled Ash never experienced the normal horrors of childhood, he lived at home till he was 10 and then set off to bum around the countryside cock-fighting and living the high life off of the Government tit. Iris explains the children are students, and Ash doesn't understand so she takes him to see the school where they learn more useful things than how often to brush your Pokémon’s fur. Of course, in this Pokémon-obsessed world the school itself is all about Pokémon. It's Opelucid Academy, attended by talented trainers from across the Unova Region, and Drayden is the Academy President, the one who personally invites the students to come and study there. Ash is impressed, the Academy President AND the Gym Leader. That means that Iris impresses Ash too, since Drayden challenged HER to a battle. Iris just sighs, telling herself to stay calm and find her happy place.

Her happy place? So like, Drayden regularly heads up to the Village of the Dragons to molest the little girls up there?

Freaking out, Iris screams that she can't battle Drayden and takes off at a run, Axew freaking out as he tries to hold himself in place inside her hedgehair. Reaching what looks like a radio tower, she begins climbing rapidly, a sweating Axew flopping about and trying to hold on. Ash and Cilan try to follow her but can't find her, she was too fast for them. They soon get an idea where she is though, when a police car zooms by sirens wailing and two nearby citizens talk about somebody doing something incredibly dangerous - and it's a girl!

Iris stands atop the radio tower, taking a deep relaxing breath of the fresh air. She tells Axew that she feels much better now and is ready to return to the ground... at which point Officer Jenny begins bellowing at her from a megaphone, demanding she come down because she can't be up there without permission. Ash and Cilan rush up behind Jenny and yell at Iris that she could get hurt up there, and Jenny can't believe it when she hears the name. Iris? Again!?!

Yes it seems this isn't the first time that Iris has caused a nuisance in Opelucid City, and when she returns to the ground Jenny snaps at her that she told her many times that she can't climb that tower, it's dangerous! She wags her finger furiously, her breasts gigantic now for no apparent reason other than a horny storyboarder, demanding to know if Iris is listening. Irish sighs that she is, as do Ash and Cilan who have apparently been included in the tongue-lashing. An old woman spots Iris and approaches happily, it's Martha, her old Dorm-Adviser.

Wait, what?

Yes it seems that Iris was a student at the Opelucid Academy and... wait, WHAT!?! Didn't she grow up a half-feral kid in the village of the dragons? And isn't she only 10? Yet she's already completed (or dropped out) of an education at the Opelucid Academy? What the hell, is Iris some weird paedophile who pretends to be younger than she actually is to hang out with kids?

Martha offers them some lunch before heading to the Gym, but then they spot Drayden talking with a nerdy looking businessman. He tells Iris he heard what happened and asks if she has calmed down yet, and when she says she has he tells her he'll come pick her up after his meeting. He walks away, and Iris moans that she always feels like he can see right through her. They head inside to get some lunch, Martha bringing some skewered fruit that was Iris' favourite meal and always used to cheer her up. Ash and Cilan are eating sandwiches, and Ash asks for more background on Iris' time in the school - what was she studying, Dragon Types?

Iris admits that she doesn't like to think about her time at the school, that they aren't happy memories. She brings up her defeat at Drayden's hands, and Cilan remembers that this is what caused her strained relationship with Excadrill. After that battle, the Village Elder suggested that she go to Drayden's school to learn, and we're treated to a montage of a suspiciously younger looking Iris thought it was a great idea and agreed to go along.

Now hang on a second, I distinctly recall her NOT being that young in that episode. She was youngER yess, but not that young!

Anyway, she went to the school but she found the reality didn't match up to the fantasy. She'd never even seen a textbook before, and had no idea how to study, so she struggled to fit in. She enjoyed playing in the fountain with other Pokémon but the other kids didn't join in. She tried climbing trees and offering fruit to other students but they were too busy studying, and she was left to herself. Martha explains that the kids were like Iris - trying to fit in by doing what they felt they were supposed to -studying! They also didn't have their own Pokémon like Iris did, so they didn't know how to deal with this weird kid who acted differently and didn't seem to take studying seriously. Ash is on Iris' side in this regard though, claiming that kids need to be able to have fun and enjoy themselves. Iris' failure to make friends depressed her and she stopped eating, so Martha made up the fruit skewers as a treat to keep her from dying.

They return to Iris' old dorm room, which is currently empty. Iris is happy to see the crude scrawlings she left on the walls, and Martha seems pleased to see how happy Iris is that her vandalism has remained while she was gone. Ash spots the tower from Iris' old window, and Iris explains that she was still lonely despite eating again, and missed the Village of Dragons. She figured that climbing to the top of the radio tower would let her see her old home, but while she did enjoy the fresh air she couldn't see her home. She had no idea climbing the tower would cause an uproar though, and got a big ticking off from Officer Jenny when she returned to the ground. What Martha didn't know was that Iris continued to climb the tower, but was just more careful about not being seen when she did it. She was still homesick, still had no friends, but things changed one day when she was in a training session using a Fraxure against another student's Altaria.

She kept pushing Fraxure to attack, keeping it on the offensive despite Altaria's agility and speed in dodging, with the result that she lost the battle. Drayden chastised her for not working in conjunction with Fraxure, or paying attention to how it was feeling, and just blindly attacking. Humiliated, she climbed the tower again to cry, utterly depressed because she'd been pushing so hard in order to catch up to the other students, only to fall further behind. A gust of wind brought her a vision of the Village and Shannon and the Pokémon she played with, and she did what so many did before her - dropped out of school and ran home like a dog with its tail between its legs! The Elder told her she understood, and she stayed in the Village for a little while until she was given Axew and sent out to evolve Axew and eventually become a Dragon Master.

Back in the present, she is reunited with the Fraxure, apologising to it for the way she handled the battle. Fraxure seems to remember despite probably being used by hundreds of students in hundreds of battles in its time, and beams happily at her, not at all put out. She tells it that she plans to use the lessons learned from that battle in her match against Drayden. The man himself has been listening in, and finally makes his presence known, apologising for keeping them waiting and asking if she is ready to go. She is, so they head to the Gym - a stone pyramid with dragon figureheads on either side of the entrance.

Inside, the battlefield is your typical sand affair, but inside a dank looking open dungeon room with flaming torches for lights and statues of Dragon Types jutting out of the walls. Both trainers can use two different Pokémon, and when both of one trainer's Pokémon are defeated, they are defeated.

Drayden brings out Haxorus first (he ain't fooling around!) and Iris knows immediately which of her Pokémon to use. Not Dragonite, she wants Excadrill to have a chance at payback! She sends him in with Metal Claw which Haxorus blocks with its armoured limbs... but it IS pushed backwards by the force of the attack, pleasing Drayden who is glad to see he has grown stronger. He asks Iris what next and she exchanges a look with Excadrill, smiling and declaring they're going to win with the move that failed them last time - Dig!

Excadrill burrows into the ground and bursts out underneath Haxorus, who dodges aside at Drayden's command and lets rip with Rock Smash. But Iris expected this, ordering a Focus Blast that smashes through the rocks and into Haxorus' face. She orders a Drill Run next, countered by Giga-Impact, and the two Pokémon smash headfirst into each other. Breaking apart, they stand before each other and then both fall, knocked out by each other's attacks - it's 1-1!

Drayden recalls Haxorus and tells Iris that his opinion of her has been confirmed (is that good or bad!?!), and brings out his last Pokémon - Druddigon! It has a Trapjaw-esque face just like Drayden (or rather, Drayden's is like Druddigon's) and looks like it is powerful, so Iris answers with power herself - Dragonite! The big bruiser will love the chance to thrown down with a Druddigon, while Drayden peers over it and reads an entire story in the way Dragonite carries himself, noting that Dragonite has lived quite a life.

Iris ponders her best move, acknowledging that Druddigon can't fly so an attack from above would be most effective. But something stops her from calling for that, surprising Drayden who was clearly expecting this from her and has gotten silence instead. She's focusing on Dragonite, looking into his eyes, and he seems to understand her intention because he shakes his head. Knowing him well enough to know he wouldn't want to get an unfair advantage over Druddigon, Iris smiles and accepts it, calling for a Thunder Punch to open instead. Druddigon blocks the punch and hits back with Dragon Claw, and Dragonite takes the shot instead of taking to the air to dodge. Ash doesn't understand why, but Cilan has picked up with his Connoisseur skills what Iris instinctively picked up - Dragonite doesn't want an unfair advantage, he means to face Druddigon on the ground on equal footing.

Flash Cannon clashes with Flamethrower but Druddigon is surprised when Dragonite comes thundering through the smoke from the clash, preparing a Thunder Punch at Iris' command. Drayden reacts quickly by ordering Double Team, and Dragonite finds himself surrounded by multiple Druddigon. Iris calls to him to relax, only one of them is real, and Dragonite pays heed, Iris' "spirit" touching Dragonite's and communicating with him. There is only one Druddigon, so relax and concentrate and spot the real one - the one not shimmering, the one standing perfectly still.... and THUNDER PUNCH THE FUCK OUT OF IT!

Druddigon is sent staggering and Iris presses the advantage, ordering an Ice Beam - a Super-Effective move. Ash and Cilan are amazed, a move like this following up from a Thunder Punch could be enough to put down Druddigon, and that would mean that Iris would have beaten THE Dragon Master! Drayden doesn't have Druddigon dodge though, having his Pokémon block the Ice Beam with its crossed arms, shocking the twerps by taking the attack and then smashing free of the ice encasing its arms. Iris goes back onto the offensive though (as she did with Fraxure all that time ago?) and calls for a Dragon Rush. She knows that not even Druddigon can take that powerful of an attack, especially following on from a Thunder Punch/Ice Beam combo! She has this in the ba-



FUCK!

Yes she's got it in the baFUCK, because Druddigon - at Drayden's command - just smashed a claw right through the Dragon Rush and got Dragonite by the neck! Just how powerful is this goddamn thing? He orders a Dragon Tail and Druddigon tosses Dragonite into the air, then leaps high and smashes him back into the ground with his tail. Dragonite is KOed and the ref announces Drayden is the winner, but Iris is more concerned with Dragonite's well-being. She rushes to his side, checking on Dragonite who has recovered and woken, joined by Ash and Cilan who tell her they thought she had him beaten, but it seemed he was holding back to test her potential.

Drayden confirms it, approaching and telling her that she obviously has good friends and that it was clearly the right decision for her to go on a Pokémon Journey. He tells her he hopes she will continue to grow as a trainer, and that she will return again in the future to battle him again. He turns and leaves, and the twerps go the other way, leaving the Academy as the sun sets. Martha is there to say her goodbyes, and informs Iris that it was actually Drayden's idea for Iris to set out on her journey in the first place!

He visited the Village of the Dragons and spoke with the Elder, telling her that the Academy obviously wasn't suited to teach and train her, but that she would do better on a journey where she could develop at a pace and in a environment that suited her. The Elder agreed, seeing what Drayden's end-game was, he'd seen potential in Iris, and was grooming her (not in the bad way!) to one day replace him as Opelucid Gym Leader! Upon learning this from Martha, Iris is - to put it lightly - a little overwhelmed.



She doesn't know how to deal with it, but Martha points out the wisdom of Drayden and the Elder, who agreed that it was for Iris to decide whether this was the type of thing she wanted to do. Let her go on a journey, let her develop her skills and strengths as a trainer, and when she completed her journey and arrived at her destination, it would be one of her own choosing.

It's fair enough, and Iris likes the idea, so with a glad heart (and a healthy boost to her self-esteem!) she sets off with Ash and Cilan, the former happily telling her that he'll need to keep up with her by winning the Unova League. Is that their next destination, or will something else get in their way on their way to Vertress City?

Only time (or reading spoilers!) will tell!

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