Iris Scalehart (Shining Bonds)

**Iris Scalehart** (Japanese: Ryuno Iris) is a main character of *Shining Bonds a la Mode*.

Iris can transform into the Fairy of Dragons, **Draconic Heart**, whose theme colors are purple and bright rose. She is a Dragon Elemental who represents the Elemental of Courage.

## Bio

### Appearance

Iris is a young, 10 year-old girl with ruby eyes and long deep purple hair, tied back with yellow bangles in thick ponytails that resemble the petals of an iris blossom. She wears a cream-colored top with a pink collar and cuffs, a pink puffy miniskirt with a slit on the left side and a big ribbon over it. She also has white leggings with yellow colored ends at the legs, and pink and white yellow-strapped shoes with no socks.

As Draconic Heart, her eyes turn bright red and she gains a long light purple long-sleeved ballgown with magenta stitching on each layer and she gains light mint green gloves that have emerald green cuffs. Her hair turns bright purple and is tied into a curly ponytail reaching her ankles, with a purple headband that is encrusted with purple and blue gemstones. Her earrings are red rubies, and her dress has a long thin rose-colored back bow. Her shoes are checkered rose and green heeled boots. She also has dark purple fairy wings on her back.

### Personality

Iris is said to be a wild girl who likes to swing on vines and eat Berries. She seems to be very hyper on occasions such as climbing up trees very quickly. Iris is very adventurous and bold, oftentimes being the first to suggest something and not being afraid to speak her mind. She is shown to be a quick thinker, such as seen in *Magic Unovan Idols and a Angel!* when she was able to quickly save Nanette from falling into a Nightmare when she lost her grip. This becomes a running theme and is always shown when she is quickly able to evade oncoming dangers when most others can't. She is very in tune with nature and claims to have a "sixth sense" and follows her instincts often. Despite this she also seems to have a poor sense of direction, occasionally getting the group lost.

She was also a little shy and nervous at times towards others, as seen by her evasive and distinct relationship towards Ash after their first meeting. She was not entirely trusting of Ash when it came to the safety of her Pokémon during battles and often kept secrets from him and the other heroes. However, as their time together expanded, she slowly began to open up and trust the two of them in battles as well as revealing her dreams and ambitions. She seems to get along easier with Pokémon, often preferring their company. This was especially true in the past, where her only real friends (besides Shannon, Elisa, Nanette, Marina, Hilda, Hilbert, Rosa, Nate, Bianca and Cheren) were the Pokémon that lived nearby. This is again made apparent during her time at Opelucid City's academy, where she had a tough time making friends with her classmates.

Iris is an experienced Trainer and has been in many battles in the past. She has been portrayed as a sort of prodigy in the Village of Dragons, and while there she had built up a 99-win streak with her Excadrill before losing to Dragon Master Drayden. These experiences seem to have affected her, as she has a high view of herself and her abilities. Perhaps because of this, Iris typically seems to think of Ash as a little kid and often treats him like a rookie Trainer when he makes simple mistakes, much to Nanette's chagrin. She is also shown to be slightly hypocritical since despite how commonly she refers to Ash's mistakes when she is usually known to make similar mistakes as well. However this critical view of Ash seems to stem from their first meeting. Her habit of calling out his immaturity and trying to show herself off as more mature also stems from the tough time she had in Opelucid City as a child, where her own childish and immature behavior had kept her from making friends and fitting in. Despite this, she is not above cheering the heroes on during Gym matches and battles against other Trainers. Also, her calling Ash a kid has shifted from a critical tone to harmless teasing between the two of them, particularly as Iris comes more to term with her own immaturity.

Iris adores most Pokémon, often hugging them upon first meeting. On some occasions this is shown to be a bit invasive, which normally makes the Pokémon uncomfortable, sometimes causing them to attack her (such as with Ash's Pikachu). She has a particularly strong understanding of Dragon types and tends to be very excitable around them in particular, not showing fear even against a rampaging Druddigon. Because of this strong passion, she aims to become a Dragon Master like so many others from her hometown. The one type she does not like is the Ice type, due to the fact that Ice-type attacks are super effective against Dragon-type Pokémon. Trip mentions that her fear of Ice types based on that is irrational, as Dragon-type moves are super effective against Dragon-type Pokémon as well. Iris shrugged this off, however, and mentioned that she also does not like the cold. Iris is willing to overcome this fear, however, as shown when challenged by an Ice-type Nightmare in one episode.

### Relationships

* Grand Elder: Iris has known the village Elder her whole life and looks up to her. Also, Iris would go to the Elder for advice and has given her a lot of wisdom to help her become a great Dragon master someday.

* Shannon: Shannon is Iris' best friend as they have known each other since they were little. Iris supports Shannon and her ambitions. Also, Iris with her friends help encourage Shannon to travel around to improve her skills and to reach her goals. Iris would do anything for Shannon and she would do the same for her.

* Drayden: Iris first met Drayden when she was little, after she won her hometown festival tournament, as he notices her potential in her battle skills. After hearing that he's the Gym Leader of Opelucid City, Iris asked Drayden to battle her and he accepted but she lost against him. However, Iris decided to enroll in Drayden's school in order to learn about Dragon-type Pokémon but had a hard time fitting in. Despite it, Iris has come to see Drayden as a helpful mentor when she was training to become a Dragon-type Pokémon master. One day, Iris got scolded by Drayden for pushing her temporary Pokémon to its limits and not noticing how tired out it was. Hearing Drayden's words that she can't take her life in Opelucid City anymore, Iris left without telling him and returned home. However, Iris was unaware that Drayden not only did find out that she did return home but also realized that his school isn't helping her with her talents then talked to Elder about having to go on a journey to help guide her in becoming his successor one day.

* Ash Ketchum: Despite seeing Ash as a little kid sometimes, Iris does respect his skills as a Trainer and admires how much he cares about Pokémon. They have their ups and downs but they're very good friends despite it. Like Misty, Iris teases Ash from time to time. Iris and Ash went their separate ways when she decided to continue traveling to pursue her goal while he went back home to figure out his next move to achieve his goal. However, Iris knows she'll always be friends with Ash till the end.
* Ryutsuki Crystaller: Iris admires and is good friends with Ryutsuki after meeting her for her similar love of Dragon-type Pokémon. She often goes shopping with her for cute outfits.

* Cilan: Iris treats Cilan with a lot of respect and sees him as a great friend to have around. Iris can sometimes get annoyed when Cilan does some of his other hobbies saying he's a connoisseur for it but she does like how he evaluates the relationship between a Trainer and their Pokémon. Like Misty's relationship with Brock, Iris would get helpful advice from Cilan.

* Dawn Berliz: Iris and Dawn are very good friends as they are impressed with each other's skills and abilities. Also, Iris would help Dawn just like she would help her.

* Georgia: Iris and Georgia are fierce rivals as they get on each other's nerves. However, Iris does have some respect for Georgia and she has some for her as well.

* Drill: Drill was the first Pokémon Iris ever caught and raised as they've known each other since she was little and during his time as a Drilbur. However, Iris and Excadrill didn't hit off their relationship with each other when they first met as he was bullying the wild Pokémon and she was beaten by him. Iris kept trying to defeat Excadrill until she finally succeeded but ended up saving him when he fell over. After that, Iris and Excadrill became partners and best friends. When he evolved into Excadrill, Iris ended up pushing her partner into winning a battle against Drayden but lost. After he distanced himself from her as he believed that his Trainer never cared about him and felt that winning was more important than him, Iris tried to win back Excadrill's trust but to no avail. With Cilan's help, Iris realized why Excadrill had shunned her and tearfully apologized for her selfish actions, which made him realize that she truly did care about him. With their relationship for each other restored, Iris and Excadrill's bond for each other remained unbroken.

* Axi: Iris' Pokémon partner. He is often seen riding in her long hair or shoulder. Iris deeply cares for Axi and will do anything to protect him as he would do the same for her. Also, Iris would drop everything to look for Axi and fears losing him as she doesn't want anything to happen to him.

* Emmy: Iris first met Emmy when she helped stop Axi's apple from rolling away. After she ran away due to her friend Bianca's attempts to capture her, Iris went after Emmy as she wanted to repay her for helping Axi. However, Iris and Emmy formed a bond with each other during their time together. Although she ran away after shocking everyone, Iris became surprised when Emmy came back but realized that she wanted to go with her then their partnership and friendship became official. Like she would for Axi, Iris would let Emmy sit on shoulder or be inside her hair but she does let her sit on her head sometimes. However, Iris does get annoyed with Emmy sometimes but still cares very much about her.

* Nite: Although they didn't get off to a great start when they first meet, Iris and Nite have shown to have a good relationship with each other. Nite has helped Iris out in many battles as it is her ace battler.

* Gibby: When Gibby was causing trouble in Blackthorn City, Iris instantly went to figure out why. After reading his thoughts, Iris realized that Gibby missed his home then brought him back there. However, Iris was secretly followed by Gibby as he decided that he wanted to go with her. After finding out, Iris decided to let Gibby join her and their friendship became official.

### Etymology

The name Iris comes from "iris", a type of flower.

## History

### Pre-Series

Iris was born and raised in the Village of Dragons and would spend her time as a little girl playing with the wild Pokémon that lived in the forest just outside the village. She had learned to be quite skilled in tree climbing, as well as tending and caring to different Pokémon. She originally did not like Dragon-type Pokémon, believing them to be scary. One day, she had taken shelter from a rainstorm in a cave and found an injured Druddigon that was initially hostile to her. However, after she treated its foot, it returned the favor by saving her from a Scolipede. Since then, she liked Dragon-type Pokémon.

One day, sometime prior to her journey, she met a wild Drilbur that had injured a Patrat and had stolen its food. Angered, she sought justice for what the Drilbur had done and challenged him. After countless defeats, she finally managed to outmaneuver the Mole Pokémon and get him caught in some vines dangling just over a cliff. After coming to his rescue, the two became good friends and began training together. After many victories against different types of Trainers, Drilbur evolved into an Excadrill. The two then got the opportunity to meet Drayden, a Dragon Master, who praised Iris for her skill in battle. When he asked who was teaching her how to battle she responded that she was teaching herself with the help of the Pokémon she had befriended in the village. Brimming with confidence, she then challenged Drayden to a battle. However, Drayden's Haxorus was more powerful than Iris had anticipated and Excadrill was easily defeated. After suffering defeat and becoming distrustful of his Trainer (due to Iris pushing him to keep battling even though he knew it was a lost cause), Excadrill then closed himself off from Iris, rarely opening up, and never showing emotion.

Not long after those events, Iris left for Opelucid City to attend school at the Opelucid Academy. When she was not in school, she stayed with Martha in a dorm. These were very difficult times for Iris, though. She struggled in school, and failed to make any friends or interact with any of the other students at the academy. Iris also didn't feel compatible with the urban city life. She tried to take her mind off the city by climbing the radio tower for a view of the mountains, but always got into trouble with Officer Jenny. All of these hardships in the city made her homesick, so she often spent her spare time writing to her friend Shannon. Eventually, after losing a battle at school, Iris could not stand this life anymore and dropped out, returning to the Village of Dragons.

### Reunion with Nanette, Meeting Nijimia and Becoming Draconic Heart

Years passed, and Iris was called upon by the village elder. She was to start a journey with a newly hatched Axew and raise him to become a full-fledged Haxorus. She accepted this trial, and set off on her journey, hoping to someday become a Dragon Master herself. Some time after this, she bumps into Nanette, recognizing her as one of her childhood friends. She felt odd when meeting Nanette again, saying she "felt like a dragon," which was actually true. However, suddenly she sees an injured abandoned "Deino" limping over, which they didn't think second thoughts about since it was the Village of Dragons. They quickly get the "Deino" to the Pokémon Center, and while waiting for it to heal, Iris brings up the "feeling like a dragon" she had felt from Nanette earlier. Nanette comments she gets that sometimes but nervously brushes it off. After "Deino" is healed, Iris wants to catch it and it pretends to want to go with her, but then suddenly it turns out to be Event Horizon in disguise. Iris screams and starts to run off, but Event Horizon brags how the kids fell for her trap yet again and kidnaps the Dragon Element Spirit in the Village of Dragons while Black Hat creates a Nightmare from it and the villain trio dares the aspiring Dragon Master to try and defeat it (according to Necrosis's calculations, "the probability of Iris Scaleheart becoming a self-proclaimed 'Dragon Master' is .0000003 percent," which infuriates Iris).

## Abilities

Iris is an excellent vine swinger which shows that she's very athletic. She can also fish, is a great battler, has the ability to read Dragon-type Pokémon's thoughts and feelings, and can also sense where they are located as well.

## Draconic Heart

**Draconic Heart** is Iris’s alter ego. In order to transform, she needs her Harmony Fairy, her Miracle Fairy, her PokéPet Dragi (a Shiny Axew that is unofficially owned by her), her Dream Seed and her PokéPilot.

## Pokémon

*Note: Despite Iris aiming to be a Dragon Master, only a little more than half of her party are Dragon-type Pokémon, and her first one is not. Like most/some of the main Trainers of the cast, she tends to catch Pokémon she befriends or want to travel with her regardless of their type.*

* Drilbur > Excadrill (Drill)

* Axew (Axi)

* Emolga (Emmy)

* Dragonite (Nite)

* Gible (Gibby)

* Sliigo > Goodra (Slimy)

## Trivia

* It turns out that Iris and the other Unovians of the main cast are childhood friends as revealed in her debut episode.

* Iris is one of the characters who retain their Japanese names in the English dub, though her surname is changed.

* Iris has had more disobedient Pokémon than any other main character.

* All of the Pokémon that Iris owns joined her willingly rather than being caught in a battle.

* Iris is one of the main characters who have no known relatives.
* Gibby often gets *iCarly* jokes for having the same name as Gibby, the character who would often take his shirt off on said show.