Drake (Pokemon)

Drake
Species	Human
Affiliation	Elite Four (Hoenn)
Base	Ever Grande City
Voiced by	Steve Kramer (2019)
Debut	Pokémon: Ruby/Sapphire Versions

Drake is the fourth and final member of Hoenn's Elite Four who must be battled in Pokémon: Ruby , Sapphire and Pokémon: Emerald Versions as well as in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. He specializes in dragon-type Pokémon.

Background

Drake was a dragon master who served as the leader of Hoenn's Elite Four. He lived to battle every day in order to learn more about Pokémon and their nature. He believed that the one thing needed to battle with Pokémon was a virtuous heart, because Pokémon touched and reflected the good hearts of their trainers. His battle strategy was to harness strong abilities. He also seemed to have some history as a sailor and is known to have worked with Mr. Briney in the past.

In Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Drake was defeated by Brendan/May, which led him to conclude that they had the heart of a good trainer. He then sent the trainer onwards to face the champion. In Emerald, he would also later contact Brendan/May through the Pokénav to talk to them about the Battle Frontier, although he considered it to be no substitute for the Pokémon League when it came to having real battles.

In Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Drake could also be found aboard the SS Tidal, where he caught up with Mr. Briney and his Wingull, Peeko. He could also be challenged to rematches in which he could utilized Mega Evolution, due to Steven Stone providing Key Stones to the Elite Four.

Pokémon Roster

Drake uses the following Pokémon in Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire:

• Shelgon (Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald only)
• Altaria
• Flygon (2 in Ruby/Sapphire/Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, 1 in Emerald)
• Kingdra (Emerald/Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire only)
• Salamence (Mega Salamence in Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire rematches)

For rematches in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, he uses the same roster as in the first match, except that Dragalge and Haxorus are added to his line-up in place of one of the Flygon.

In Other Pokémon Games

In Pokémon Masters EX, Drake and his Salamence appeared as a playable sync pair that could be recruited at random through the Sync Pair Scout feature. When battled as an opponent, he would sometimes sync with different Pokémon such as Flygon and Kingdra. He also played a role in the Special Event "Team Skull Crash Course", where he had been defeated by Guzma while fighting alongside Scottie/Bettie and Liza. Drake then oversaw as Liza tried to learn from Guzma, and he battled Guzma again (with Guzma fighting alongside Scottie/Bettie and Plumeria this time) as a demonstration for Liza, to find joy in defeat. Drake also appeared as an opponent in the Champion Stadium's Hoenn Challenge, which emulated the Elite Four line-ups from each region.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• Drake appears in one episode of the Pokémon anime series, being the only member of the Hoenn Elite Four to make an appearance in the series. In this episode, he is shown to own a ship, and he challenges and defeats Ash in battle in order to teach Ash a lesson about humility.
• Drake appears in the Pokémon Adventures manga when Steven Stone calls together the Hoenn Elite Four to gather legendary Pokémon to battle Groudon and Kyogre. Drake captures Registeel for the team and winds up controlling Regirock with Sidney during the battle. He reappers in the Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire arc, which touches more on his past, including his history with Mr. Briney and Mr. Stone. He helps in the effort to stop Grand Meteor Delta, including helping to analyze the cave paintings in the Granite Cave and gathering dragon-type users at Meteor Falls. Ultimately, he has his Pokémon help in the effort to destroy the meteor.

Trivia

• His English namesake is the word 'drake', which can be used to refer to dragons.
• Drake's Japanese name is Genji, taken from the Japanese name for the Ningpo figwort and possibly also referencing a Japanese word for a mythical beast.