Iris (anime)
| Iris アイリス Iris | |
 Artwork from the Best Wishes series | |
| Gender | Female |
|---|---|
| Eye color | Brown |
| Hair color | Purple |
| Hometown | Village of Dragons |
| Region | Unova |
| Game counterpart | Iris |
| Anime debut | In The Shadow of Zekrom! |
| English voice actor | Eileen Stevens |
| Japanese voice actor | Aoi Yūki |
Iris (Japanese: アイリス Iris) is a girl from the Unova region who is a current traveling companion of Ash.
History
Iris was born and raised in the Village of Dragons and would spend her time as a little girl playing with the wild Pokémon that lived in the forest just outside the village. She had learned to be quite skilled in tree climbing, as well as tending and caring to different Pokémon. One day she met a wild Drilbur that had injured a Patrat and stolen its food. Angered, she sought justice for the Drilbur's deed and challenged it. After countless defeats, she finally managed to out maneuver the Mole Pokémon and get it caught in some vines dangling just over a cliff. After coming to its rescue, the two became good friends and began training together. After many victories against different types of Trainers, Drilbur evolved into an Excadrill. The two then got the opportunity to meet Drayden, a Dragon Master, who praised Iris for her skill in battle. When he asked who was teaching her how to battle she responded that she was teaching herself with the help of the Pokémon she had befriended in the village. Brimming with confidence, she then challenged Drayden to a battle. However, Drayden's Haxorus was more powerful than Iris had anticipated and Excadrill was easily defeated. After suffering defeat and becoming distrustful of its Trainer, Excadrill then closed himself off to Iris, rarely opening up, and never showing emotion.
Years passed, and Iris was called upon by the village elder. She was to start a journey with a newly hatched Axew and raise it to become a full-fledged Haxorus. She accepted this trial, and set off on her journey, hoping to someday become a Dragon Master herself. Some time after these events, she witnessed a storm caused by Zekrom during the events of In The Shadow of Zekrom!. She missed actually encountering the Deep Black Pokémon, and continued on her journey, eventually meeting Ash Ketchum the very next day when he accidentally tried to catch her, thinking she was a Pokémon. The two had a rocky start, often finding reasons to argue and occasionally calling each other names. However they kept each other company and Iris even stayed to watch his first Gym battle in Triple Leaders! Team Threats!. After the battle one of the Gym Leaders, Cilan, had decided to travel alongside Ash, and noted that the three of them make a good team. So Iris decided to officially become their traveling companion.
In The Bloom Is on Axew! Iris decided she would begin using her new friends to help train her Axew, so she asked Cilan to battle her to help get her started. It was then that she revealed her Axew knew Dragon Rage but hadn't yet mastered how to use it. She later opened up to Cilan and Ash and told them about her hometown, and how she got Axew in the first place. After she finished her story, the group realized Axew had gone missing, and found him stuck in the horns of a Scolipede. They failed to calm the raging Pokémon, so Iris called upon her Excadrill for help. Unfortunately, Excadrill was still closing himself off from Iris, but Excadrill still took care of the Scolipede after Iris had saved Axew herself, when the Scolipede kicked him into a boulder. With everything calmed down, Cilan approached Iris and reassured her to do things at her own pace and not worry too much, and that someday Axew and Excadrill will become even more powerful and loyal to her.
In A Home for Dwebble! she revealed that she knows how to make herbal remedies to heal sick Pokémon when Cilan's Pansage got hit with a rock and caught a fever. This skill became quite handy throughout her journey whenever the group was low on medication and too far from a Pokémon Center. In A Night in the Nacrene Museum! she claimed that she has an acute "sixth sense" when she felt the presence of a spirit haunting the museum. It later turned out to be a Yamask who merely wanted its mask returned to it. However, she was still sure in her abilities in Sewaddle and Burgh in Pinwheel Forest! when the group got lost in Pinwheel Forest.
Iris got separated from the group in Emolga the Irresistible! after Axew tried to befriend a wild Emolga who had narrowly avoided being smothered by Bianca who had been accompanying the group after Ash won his third Badge. The three of them end up being attacked by a swarm of Swoobat and eventually rescued by Ash and Pikachu. The Emolga had grown fond of Iris and accepted her as her Trainer, earning Iris another Pokémon. In Emolga and the New Volt Switch!, Bianca offered to battle the newly caught Emolga, however things didn't go as planned when they found out that Emolga was fairly lazy and used Volt Switch to avoid battles. This did not discourage Iris too much as she accepted the challenge of raising Emolga to hopefully become a skilled battler.
In The Dragon Master's Path!, the group met a young girl named Emmy who was having trouble with her Druddigon. Iris noticed the cause of the Pokémon's rage was a wire wrapped around its ankle, and managed to calm it down by removing it. Impressed with her knowledge of Dragon-type Pokémon, Emmy formally introduced herself and admitted to being a novice. Iris then offered to train her in the ways of Dragon-type Pokémon, and revealed her dream of becoming a Dragon Master some day.
In Iris and Excadrill Against the Dragon Buster!, Iris was challenged by Georgia, a Dragon Buster. Her Axew was easily defeated by Georgia's Beartic. Georgia criticized her for not owning more Dragon-types and Iris decided to call on her Excadrill who still wouldn't obey her. Again, the battle resulted in a loss for Iris. She later explained that the resulting loss to Drayden when she was younger is what caused Excadrill to disobey her. But after a night of bonding with Excadrill, he regained his confidence and learned Focus Blast. Iris re-challenges Georgia with Excadrill and the battle resulted in a draw.
Iris competed in the Club Battle along with multiple other Trainers, including her rival, Georgia. Her first battle was against Jimmy Ray and his Watchog in Cilan Versus Trip, Ash Versus Georgia!!, which Iris easily won with her Emolga. She then battled against Stephan and his Sawk in The Club Battle Hearts of Fury: Emolga Versus Sawk!, which she also managed to win with Emolga. She then went up against Luke and his Golett in the next episode, using Axew. In the battle Axew learned Outrage, which he used to defeat Golett. In the final round, Iris went up against Ash and his Pikachu, while Iris used her Excadrill. After a long fight, Excadrill managed to defeat Pikachu, allowing Iris to win the tournament, along with a full set of Wings.
Character
Iris is said to be a wild girl who likes to swing on vines and eat berries. Her Pokémon friend Axew travels with her in her hair instead of inside a Poké Ball. She seems to be very hyper in occasions such as climbing up trees very quickly. Iris is very adventurous and bold. She is a quick thinker such as in A Sandile Gusher of Change! she saved Ash from falling into hot water. This is again shown in Here Comes the Trubbish Squad! and Minccino-Neat and Tidy! where she is quickly able to evade oncoming danger when Ash and Cilan can't. On some occasions, she becomes invasive with some Pokémon such as Ash's Pikachu which normally causes the Pokémon to attack her.
She can also be a little shy and nervous at times towards humans, as seen by her evasive and distinct relationship towards Ash after their first meeting. On occasion Iris would leave Ash's company for a while before unexpectedly reappearing later, usually surprising Ash in the process. This pattern would continue until she was formally asked by Ash and Cilan to join them on their journey. Also, she wasn't entirely trusting of Ash when it came to the safety of her Pokémon during battles and often kept secrets from him and Cilan. However, as their time together expands, she slowly begins to open up and trust the two of them in battles as well as revealing her dreams and ambitions.
Iris is an experienced Trainer and has been in many battles in the past. She has been portrayed as a sort of prodigy in the Village of Dragons, and while there she had built up a 99-win streak with her Excadrill before meeting Dragon Master Drayden. These experiences seem to have affected her, as she has a high view of herself and her abilities. Because of this, Iris typically seems to think of Ash as a little kid and often treats him like a rookie Trainer when he makes simple mistakes, despite that he too has had many adventures and accomplishments in the past. Her view of Ash seems to stem from their first meeting. Despite this, she is not against cheering him on during Gym and Trainer battles.
Iris adores most Pokémon, often hugging them upon first meeting; however, she has a particularly strong understanding of Dragon types and tends to be very excitable around them in particular, not showing fear even against a rampaging Druddigon. Because of this strong passion, she aims to become a Dragon Master like so many from her hometown. The one type she doesn't like is the Ice type, due to the fact that Ice-type attacks are super effective against Dragon-type Pokémon. Trip mentions that her fear of Ice-types based on that is unjust, as Dragon types are super effective against themselves. Iris shrugged this off, however, and mentions that she also has a fear of the cold. Iris is willing to overcome this fear however as shown when challenged by Georgia's Beartic.
Pokémon
On hand
 Axew ♂ |
 Drilbur → Excadrill ♂ |
 Emolga ♀ |
Pokémon competitions
- Club Battle (Winner)
- Clubsplosion (Top 8)
Voice actors
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Trivia
- Iris is so far the only main character to keep her Japanese name in the English dub of the anime.
- Iris is Ash's only female traveling companion whose Japanese name does not contain the kana カ ka, and the only traveling companion whose Japanese name is comprised of more than three kana. She is also the first to have a western name instead of a traditional Japanese name.
- Iris is Ash's only female traveling companion to not have owned a bike and have it destroyed by Pikachu.
- Silhouettes of Iris and Cilan were shown after DP183 aired on July 1, 2010. The two were officially revealed during a trailer for the anime shown on Pokémon Sunday exactly one month later.
Names
| Language | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | アイリス Iris | From iris, possibly the flaming dragon iris or the "dragon drums" (tall bearded iris). |
| English, French, Italian, Spanish | Iris | Same as Japanese name. |
| German | Lilia | From lilien (lily) or possibly Schwertlilien (iris). Related to the lis (French for lily) in Lysander. |
| Korean | 아이리스 Iris | Transliteration of her Japanese name. |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 艾莉絲 Àilìsī | Transliteration of her Japanese name. |
Related articles
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |
