Drake (Orange League)

Drake (Japanese: ユウジ Yūji) is the Orange Crew Supreme Gym Leader of the Orange League, and he lives on Pummelo Island. s 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 animation==
===History===
At some undetermined time, Drake became the Supreme Gym Leader of the Orange League and was recognized as the strongest in the Orange Islands. His partner is a , which is easily his strongest Pokémon, as it managed to defeat three of 's Pokémon in a row.
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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 '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 . In Enter the Dragonite, when Ash had four Pokémon remaining, Drake called upon Dragonite to battle , , , and in turn, finally succumbing to Pikachu's 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 and The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Ash was the first person to defeat Drake in Orange League history. Many Trainers never even got past Drake's first Pokémon, , 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 's 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 in :
===Voice actors===
==In the manga==
===The Electric Tale of Pikachu===
Drake first appeared in The Orange Crew Supreme Gym Leader as '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 against Drake's , ultimately defeating it.
The battle continued in a montage in Pikachu's Plan, ultimately leading to Drake having to use his against Ash. Dragonite quickly defeated 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 , Pikachu climbed into its mouth and used , 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:
Drake also owns four other Pokémon that he used in his Full Battle with Ash.
=====Status unknown=====
==Trivia==
* Drake's Electabuzz used all of the moves introduced in Generation I except for , meaning that it used all the damaging Electric moves known at the time.
* Drake's Gengar unofficially used the Ability to avoid Tauros and his attack despite the concept of Abilities not being present at the time. Gengar officially obtained the Ability in Generation III through .
* Drake is the only official Gym Leader in the to not give out a Badge upon his defeat.
* Drake is the first Trainer to participate in a Full Battle against .
** He is also the only Gym Leader to have his gym require Full Battles.
==Names==
Language 	Name 	Origin
Japanese 	ユウジ Yūji 	Possibly from りゅう ryuu (dragon)
English, German,Italian, Spanish	Drake 	Possibly from , Latin for dragon
French 	Didier 	Similar to his English name
Korean 	강산 Gangsan 	
Chinese () 	勇次 Yǒngcì 	From 勇次 Yūji. Also, 勇 means brave.
==Related articles==
* Images on the Bulbagarden Archives
Category:Animation characters
Category:Electric Tale of Pikachu characters
Category:Gym Leaders
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fr:Didier (Archipel Orange)
it:Drake (Lega d'Orange)
ja:ユウジ
zh:勇次