MHB002: Enter Iris and Axi!

**Enter Iris and Axi!** (Japanese: **ブレイブアイリスう！ 木場が捕らえられる** *Be Brave Iris! Kiba is Captured*) is the second episode of the first season of Magical Heart Beginnings.

## Summary

*Nina and her friends are eager to start their new journey, and armed with new Rotom Phones and Poké Balls, our heroes set out to meet as many Unova Pokémon as they can. While trying to catch a Pokémon, Bianca runs into a girl named Iris and her Pokémon Axi the Axew. It doesn't take long for Event Horizon to launch a plot to destroy the PokePilots...and successfully at least steals the Pokémon!? Of course, when the others are in a jiffy, Iris springs into action, not wanting to lose Axi to her. And by being selfless, it seems Iris will...!?*

## Plot

The heroes walk into the forest, wondering what kind of Pokémon they will catch first. Bianca then hears rustling from a bush, and seeing something purple, she checks her Rotom Phone. The electronic gadget displays a picture of an Axew, apparently green in color, which leaves everyone confused. Despite this, she throws a Poké Ball, and it actually hits a girl's head. The girl rises from the bush, enraged at being thought of as a Pokémon. Bianca immediately apologies for her actions while Cheren scolds her regardless, and also Kazmar for thinking it would work. Accepting the apology, the girl raises the fruit she had picked to her hair and an Axew pops out, grabs the fruit and jumps to the ground, eating it. As Rose walks towards Axi, the girl excitedly picks her up and starts playing with her tail, much to her dismay. She admits that Rose may be a new Pokémon and is unusual in Unova, before introducing herself as Iris. During the conversation, Iris learns that Rose is not a Pokémon, but a Dream Pixie, and Axi is like a big sibling to Ivy, Tep and Kazmar. That night, Nina has a flashback of what happened before she and her friends left.

While having dinner together with their Pokémon, Nina announced that she wants to begin a new adventure in Unova, to be able to meet new Pokémon and make new friends, and will be challenging the Unova League. Approving of her decision, Mallow told her that her father will take good care of Aina's Restaurant by himself while she is away, and Lillie advised Lana to call her parents and tell them that they need to look after her little twin sisters. Elio then adds that they may occasionally need to report to the Professor about new Pokémon and discoveries. Right after their dinner, Professor Juniper, who was having difficulties with her moving posture, gave everyone their Rotom Phones and twenty Poké Balls, and told them that the first Gym is at Striaton City. She also reminded Nina to make sure her Pokémon don't die quickly while on her journey.

The next day, back in the present, Nina spots a wild Lillipup resting, and checks her Rotom Phone. After a few moves, she throws a Poké Ball, which easily catches it. Iris teases Nina for not battling the Lillipup long enough, to which said Pokémon, Walter, growls at her. Having realized the Lillipup came out by himself, Nina quickly returns him, annoyed.

Meanwhile, Event Horizon, in a tree, disguises herself as an Emolga as part of her plan. The heroes, who are walking along the trail, see the "Emolga" and Nina scans it (the Pokédex cannot tell that it is not a real Emolga). However, Iris suddenly runs up and wants to catch it. She throws a Poké Ball at it, but it dodges and whacks the Poké Ball back before playfully shocking everyone with Discharge. Iris becomes frustrated and throws another Poké Ball, but it again dodges. Annoyed with what's happening, Whiskers proceeds to use Ember to stop Iris from throwing too many Poke Balls, only to alos burn Elio on purpose. As a result, Nina scolds him and Iris nervously chuckles. The "Emolga" flees while nobody was looking.

Night soon approaches and the sun begins to set. As the heroes and Iris begin searching for food, Nina picks an apple from the tree and wonders if it could be eaten. Iris manages to obtain a mountain of apples from the same tree. As night falls, Iris and Axi are sitting in the tree, while the others sit beneath it, all of them eating apples. Lillie looks up and realizes that Iris and Axi have fallen asleep. She and the others begin admiring the brilliant, star-filled night sky, when a shooting star, a symbol of good luck, runs across their field of vision. Everyone soon becomes excited about their journey, and as they exchange energized chatter, "Emolga" appears from behind a bush, oblivious to the two of them.

The next day, the heroes see a Purrlion looking around in the forest. Cheren checks his Rotom Phone and decides to catch it before giving chase. By having Leif using Vine Whip, the Pokemon faints and Cheren throws a Poke Ball, catching it. As Cheren and Leif celebrate the success of their first ever catch, Iris shows up with an apple, saying that his celebration over catching a Purrlion is typical of a small child's behavior, causing him to get irritated. Nina exclaims that she and her childhood friends now have a new partner to compete alongside in the Unova League. During the conversation, Axi splits the apple from Iris and shares it with Rose. Before the two of them could finish eating, the "Emolga" flies back and says it will agree to go with Iris if she can beat it in a battle, so that (as it claims) it can grow stronger. Iris agrees and calls on Axi to battle, but suddenly, it reveals its true form and Event Horizon grabs everybody's Pokémon, knowing the heroes have no chance to beat her in a direct confrontation. She creates a Nightmare, boasts that she'll destroy the PokéPilots, and dares the heroes to attempt to get their Pokémon back from her, since without the PokéPets, they can't transform.

Iris was about to question who Event Horizon is, but after learning her evil ambitions, she immediately demands the pink-skinned girl to return everyone's Pokémon. She refuses, and orders her Nightmare that is possessing the Soleil Èlèmen Spirit to fry Iris alive. Elio realizes that it is a sunny day and that the Nightmare grows even stronger the longer it is exposed to sunlight due to the Soleil Èlèmen Spirit inside, so he tells Nina to tell Zach to use Rain Dance to make it cloudy and less sunny, only for Nina to realize that he doesn't know that move and can't waste time teaching it to him (and since knowing it would solve the plot immediately). When the Nightmare unleashes its attack, Mallow, with no other choice, takes the hit for her friend and blacks out with a third-degree burn on her left arm, much to the distraught of Lana and Lillie.

The Nightmare nearly fries Iris with a sun-laser, but after she declares her intention to stand up to it, a bright light begins to shine in front of her, and it turns into a PokePilot, allowing her to transform into Draconic Heart, but not before Axi manages to break free in order to help his Trainer. Stunned by her new style, Iris proceeds to fight the Nightmare and manages to free the other Pokemon. After a brief reunion, Nina, Cheren and Bianca transform to help her out, but the Alolan Trainers are unable to do the same. To the shock of the Magic Hearts, Iris purifies the Nightmare by herself, using Dragon Storm. As Event Horizon retreats, however, everyone detransforms and their Pokémon collapse onto the ground, all from exhaustion.

Later that evening, Mallow and the Pokemon are released from treatment at the Pokémon Center. The Trainer states that she needs to take it easy next time and shows everyone her bandage, with Nina sighing in relief as she made it out alive. Knowing she is a Chosen One, Iris says that she will be a member of the Magic Hearts and take her role seriously, delighting Bianca and the others. Mallow just smiles as the episode ends, knowing that Axi, Ivy, Tep and Kazmar would make good friends.

## Major Events

* The Alolan Trainers are revealed to have decided to remain in Unova.
* The heroes are revealed to have gotten their smartphones converted into Rotom Phones and received twenty Poké Balls from Professor Juniper.
* Nina is revealed to have learnt that the first Unova League Gym is in Striaton City.
* The heroes meets a mysterious girl named Iris and her Axew, Axi.
* Rose is revealed to not like being pulled in the tail.
* Iris encounters Event Horizon, who reveals her name, for the first time. She also transforms and performs Dragon Storm for the first time.
	+ As a result, it is revealed that Axi himself is a PokePet due to him not even having a Poke Ball.
* Iris decides to join Nina on her journey and becomes a member of the Magic Hearts.

## Debuts

### Pokémon debuts

* Lillipup
* Audino
* Ninja Dragonet

## Characters

### Heroes

* Nina Aarden
* Cheren Harkabune
* Bianca Tulip
* Elio Sunne
* Selene Moonne
* Mallow Floris
* Lana Davis
* Lillie Aether
* Pollen Yellow
* Iris Scalehart

### Pokémon

* Axew (Iris's; Axi)
* Snivy (Cheren's; Leif) (Bianca's; Ivy; PokéPet)
* Tepig (Bianca's; Wilbur) (Nina's; Tep; PokéPet)
* Oshawott (Nina's; Zach (Cheren's; Kazmar; PokéPet)
* Bounsweet (Mallow's; Aki)
* Rowlet (Selene's; Feathers)
* Litten (Elio's; Whiskers)
* Popplio (Lana's; Poppy)
* Lillipup (Nina's; Walter; new; debut)
* Audino (Nurse Joy's; debut)
* Ninja Dragonet (Nurse Joy's; Cake; debut)

### Villains

* Event Horizon/"Emolga" (Pokemon disquise)

## Scripts

* Japanese
* English
	+ 4Kids
	+ Viz
	+ Nick
* Italian
* German
* French
* Korean
* Chinese
* Spanish

## Trivia

* Even though she debuted in the previous episode, Iris is officially introduced in this episode.
* When Event Horizon mutters to herself that "Queen Vera gave [her] some killer shapeshifting abilities!", it implies that it is not a real power of hers and was merely given to her by Queen Vera, giving a very subtle hint to her origins.
* This is one of the rare times that the heroes detransform onscreen. In this case, it is due to exhaustion.
* It is shown that Nightmares posessing the Soleil Èlèmen Spirit will grow stronger the longer they are exposed to sunlight.

### Errors

* After Iris says "Axew isn't yours. It's mine", Zach is nowhere to be found.

### Dub Edits

* Mallow's gruesome third-degree burn is toned down in the English dub, with the patch of black charred flesh being replaced with a bright red patch.

### Easter Eggs

* When Mallow is sent flying back with a burn, Lana exclaims "Argh, she almost had it too!" This is likely a similar reference to the games, where a similar message is displayed when a Pokémon breaks free of a Poké Ball after two or three shakes, depending on the generation.
* The Ninja Dragonet nicknamed Cake who is seen with Nurse Joy and Audino at the front desk has a pattern (white skin with big purple, orange, pink, blue, and yellow polka dots) strongly resembling Sprinkles from *Blue's Room.*
* When the bush rustles before Walter pops out of it, the rustling sound the bush makes sounds very similar to when Swiper hides in a bush in *Dora the Explorer.*

### Differences between the anime and manga

* In the manga, the fake Emolga simply flies off instead of shocking everybody.

## In other languages

* Chinese:
* French: Détruire les PokéPilotes?! Iris Prend Position
* German: Lilia und Milzas Erster Kampf!
* Italian: Entrino Iris e Axi
* Korean:
* Spanish: Las Aventuras de Iris y Axi!