Drayden is the gym leader of the Opelucid Gym.
Iris challenged
Drayden to a battle on the day of the battle tournament in the Dragon Village.
Drayden questioned
Iris as he wondered if she had ever earnestly studied Pokémon battles in depth or if she had been teaching yourself until that point. He found her answer of her Pokémon in the forest as her teachers amusing and accepted her invitation to battle.
As a Dragon Master,
Drayden specializes in Dragon Pokémon. His battle with
Iris didn't last too long
Drayden's Haxorus was easily able to defeat
Iris' Excadrill because
Iris' Excadrill didn't know any ranged attacks and
Drayden's Haxorus had strong counter defenses against close range attacks.
Principal of the Soryu Academy
Drayden is also the principal of the Soryu Academy which is located next to the Soryu Gym. He gathers students from everywhere to attend the school to learn about Pokémon.
Iris climbing up the Soryu Tower was the first incident the academy had since it was founded and
Drayden and everyone else were very surprised. Realizing that the academy just wasn't what was right for
Iris and that unfortunately her talents could not be fostered at the academy,
Drayden suggested to
Elder that
Iris start her own journey to let her feel free and more at ease in a broader world.
Drayden thought that by traveling and having various experiences,
Iris would be able to get closer to being a Dragon Master.
Drayden,
Elder and
Martha all have high hopes for
Iris and they hope that she will one day return to Soryu City to become the successor Gym Leader of the Soryu Gym.
Rematch Battle against Iris at the Soryu Gym
Having accepted the challenge to battle at the Dragon Village,
Iris met up with
Drayden to have a rematch battle. He heard about
Iris getting into trouble again by climbing the Soryu Tower but told here to eat something and have a rest while he had a school meeting and then they would have their battle.
During the battle,
Drayden was evaluating how much
Iris had grown and he noticed that
Iris' Excadrill power certainly seemed to have improved. The matchup between
Iris' Excadrill and
Drayden's Haxorus ended up in a draw as the two of them knocked each other out. In the matchup between,
Drayden's Druddigon and
Iris' Dragonite,
Drayden noted that
Iris' Dragonite had had an interesting life during its past.
Iris' Dragonite wanted to fight under the same conditions as
Drayden's Druddigon, who cannot fly. Everyone thought that
Iris was doing well in the battle but
Drayden's Druddigon proved to be more powerful than they had anticipated.
Drayden's Druddigon knocked out
Iris' Dragonite with a powerful
Dragon Tail attack to give
Drayden the victory in the rematch battle.
Cilan thought
Iris had cornered him, but
Drayden was still a few steps ahead.
Drayden was trying to get a clear picture of
Iris by drawing out their power.
Drayden complemented
Iris on making good friends and he realized that sending her off on a journey was the right thing to do. He could tell that she had grown up but standing still wasn't good for her. He told her to strengthen herself even further, become stronger and grow and then visit him again.