Drake (Orange League)
- If you were looking for the Hoenn Elite Four member, see Drake.
| Drake ユウジ Yūji | |
 Drake of the Orange Islands | |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Hometown | Pummelo Island |
| Region | Orange Islands |
| Trainer class | Orange Crew Supreme Gym Leader |
| Anime debut | Hello, Pummelo! |
| English voice actor | Scottie Ray |
| Japanese voice actor | Kōji Yusa |
Drake (Japanese: ユウジ Yūji) is the Orange Crew Supreme Gym Leader of the Orange League, and he lives on Pummelo Island. Trainers who defeat him in a Full Battle at Pummelo Stadium receive the Winner's Trophy and enter the Orange League Hall of Fame as Honored Trainers.
In the anime
At some undetermined time, Drake became the Supreme Gym Leader of the Orange League and was recognized as the strongest Trainer in the Orange Islands. His partner is a Dragonite, which is easily his strongest Pokémon, as it managed to defeat three of Ash's Pokémon in a row.
Drake debuted in Hello, Pummelo!, where he wondered when he would finally meet a challenger capable of defeating him. During his time as leader of the Orange Crew, Drake remained undefeated no matter how many challengers tried to beat his team of powerful Pokémon.
After easily foiling Team Rocket's attempt to steal Dragonite, Drake accepted Ash's challenge for the Winner's Trophy. Battling in a stadium overlooked by a statue of Dragonite, Drake's first four Pokémon fainted while only managing to defeat Lapras. In Enter the Dragonite, when Ash had four Pokémon remaining, Drake called upon Dragonite to battle Charizard, Squirtle, Tauros, and Pikachu in turn, finally succumbing to Pikachu's Thunder attack. Drake was extremely impressed with Ash and his Pokémon and presented Ash with the Winner's Trophy as proof of his victory.
Character
Although the English dub implies that Drake is merely a fifth Gym Leader in the Orange League, the Japanese version specifically uses the title Head Leader to denote his importance. Additionally, Drake is not necessarily a Pokémon League Champion either, given that it is not clarified whether or not he ever actually had to defeat a previous Head Leader in order to take the title (though it is suggested). In The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga, he is referred to as the Orange Crew Supreme Gym Leader. Ash battles him in Surf's Up, Pikachu.
In both the anime and the manga, Ash was the first person to defeat Drake in Orange League history. Many Trainers never even got past Drake's first Pokémon, Ditto, apparently losing their cool seeing a copycat defeat their own Pokémon. Before Ash's challenge, Drake seemed bored and wondered if anyone would ever defeat him. He keeps his prized Dragonite's Poké Ball around his neck. Though no one prior to Ash had ever knocked out four of his Pokémon in a row, it is implied that some Trainers did get past his five other Pokémon only to be defeated by Dragonite, as the announcer says that he has saved Dragonite for last many times before.
Pokémon
This listing is of Drake's known Pokémon in the anime:
| Debut | Hello, Pummelo! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Katsuyuki Konishi |
| English | Katsuyuki Konishi |
- Main article: Drake's Dragonite
Knowing a variety of attacks including Hyper Beam, Ice Beam, and Dragon Rage along with seven more, Dragonite was Drake's powerhouse and Drake's sixth and final Pokémon to be used in battle. Dragonite was used to battle four of Ash's Pokémon. It defeated Charizard, Squirtle, Tauros, and even broke away from battle to send Team Rocket blasting off, before finally being defeated by a close-range Thunder attack from Ash's Pikachu.
| Debut | Hello, Pummelo! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Kotono Mitsuishi |
| English | Rachael Lillis |
Ditto was Drake's first Pokémon used against Ash. With its Transform, it was able to completely mimic Pikachu and match all of his attacks. However, in the end, Pikachu was able to outpace Ditto due to Ditto's physical condition remaining the same despite its transformation. It was defeated after Pikachu managed to stand up and knock Ditto to the ground with his tail after a prolonged race using Agility.
Ditto's only move is Transform.
Ditto has also used Thunder*, Thunderbolt**, Agility*, and Quick Attack* via Transform.
| Debut | Hello, Pummelo! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Unshō Ishizuka |
| English | Unshō Ishizuka |
Onix was Ash's second opponent. Squirtle started the battle with a Water Gun, but Onix dodged it using Dig. Ash decided to send Squirtle into the water only to be stopped a couple feet shy by Onix emerging from underground which knocked Squirtle into the air before using Bind. Squirtle escaped Bind by using Hydro Pump. After using a Skull Bash on the now weak Onix, Ash's Squirtle won the battle. It reappeared in a flashback in The Fire-ing Squad!.
| Debut | Hello, Pummelo! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Kōichi Sakaguchi |
| English | Ted Lewis |
Drake's third Pokémon used against Ash was Gengar. Ash initially sent out Tauros, but after a failed attempt at Fissure which allowed Gengar to counter with Confuse Ray, prompting Ash to switch Tauros for Lapras. Lapras avoided a Hypnosis attack by diving underwater where upon surfacing both Lapras and Gengar launched their respective Ice Beam and Night Shade attacks simultaneously which resulted in a massive explosion knocking out both Pokémon.
Gengar's known moves are Confuse Ray, Hypnosis, and Night Shade.
| Debut | Enter The Dragonite |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Unshō Ishizuka |
| English | Eric Stuart |
Drake's fourth Pokémon used against Ash was Venusaur. It faced off against Ash's Tauros. Tauros's Fissure didn't work due to the sand field's cushioning effect. However, after surviving Venusaur's Solar Beam, Tauros was able to defeat Venusaur with a Take Down attack.
Venusaur's known moves are Solar Beam and Vine Whip.
| Debut | Enter The Dragonite |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Kōichi Sakaguchi |
| English | Kōichi Sakaguchi |
Drake's fifth Pokémon used against Ash was Electabuzz. Although Electabuzz initially defeated Bulbasaur with ease, Charizard was able to withstand a Thunder Punch and a Thunder before defeating Electabuzz with Seismic Toss.
Electabuzz's known moves are Thunder Shock, Thunderbolt, Thunder Punch, and Thunder.
Voice actors
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In the manga
The Electric Tale of Pikachu
Drake first appeared in The Orange Crew Supreme Gym Leader as Ash's final opponent in The Electric Tale of Pikachu. After defeating the other Orange League Gym Leaders, Ash participated in a tournament on Pummelo Island and was eventually allowed to face Drake. The battle started with Ash using his Pikachu against Drake's Ditto, ultimately defeating it.
The battle continued in a montage in Pikachu's Plan, ultimately leading to Drake having to use his Dragonite against Ash. Dragonite quickly defeated Squirtle without issue, after which it took on Ash's Charizard. After a fierce battle, Charizard lose too, leaving Ash with only Pikachu. After avoiding Dragonite's Hyper Beam, Pikachu climbed into its mouth and used Thunder, defeating Drake. After the battle, Drake complimented Ash on his victory.
Pokémon
On hand
This listing is of Drake's known Pokémon in the manga:
- Main article: Drake's Dragonite
Dragonite is Drake's strongest Pokémon. It was the last Pokémon used against Ash in their match. Dragonite proved to be powerful, strong enough to take down two of Ash's Pokémon and severely damaging a third before finally being defeated by Ash's Pikachu using Thunder inside of its mouth.
Drake also owns four other Pokémon that he used in his Full Battle with Ash.
Status unknown
Rhyhorn was only seen in a flashback. It is currently unknown whether or not Drake still has it.
None of Rhyhorn's moves are known.
Trivia
- Drake's Electabuzz used all of the Electric-type moves introduced in Generation I except for Thunder Wave, meaning that it used all the damaging Electric moves known at the time.
- Drake's Gengar unofficially used the Levitate Ability to avoid Tauros and his Fissure attack despite the concept of Abilities not being present at the time. Gengar officially obtained the Ability in Generation III through VI.
- Drake is the only official Gym Leader in the anime to not give out a Badge upon his defeat.
- Drake is the first Trainer to participate in a Full Battle against Ash.
- He is also the only Gym Leader to have his gym require Full Battles.
- Coincidentally, Ash goes on to own a Dragonite and Gengar which he uses in his team to become Monarch of the World Coronation Series, both which Drake also owns.
Names
| Language | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ユウジ Yūji | Possibly from りゅう ryuu (dragon) |
| English, German, Italian, Spanish |
Drake | Possibly from draco, Latin for dragon |
| French | Didier | Similar to his English name |
| Korean | 강산 Gangsan | |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 勇次 Yǒngcì | From 勇次 Yūji. Also, 勇 means brave. |
Related articles
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |
