Iris has an Excadrill because Excadrill's japanese name - Doryuzu - has the Japanese word for Dragon (ryu) in it: doRYUzu, since the word for "mole" in Japanese (doryu) is a combined kanji that literally translates into "Earth Dragon". He's an honorary one, like Emolga could be if her Hidden Power is Dragon!
Guess we can add another W for excadrill, not only for beating Cynthia's gastrodon, but for being the first pokemon to beat one of Cynthia's pokemon onscreen
I would say that Excadrill's story was more satisfying than the one with Iris' Dragonite. At least he actually won some official Trainer battles while he battled alongside Iris, it's a shame that he didn't appear much after BW season 2
@@ProfessorAlexSilver I love Excadrill as a Pokémon, I think it's one of Gen 5's best, but I have to agree that it would've been better for the story if he was a Dragon instead. Given how similar Excadrill and Dragonite's character arcs are, they could've easily merged them into a single Pokémon. Like have him as a rebellious Dratini or Dragonair that eventually becomes that angry Dragonite she gets in season 2, with the difference that he would trust Iris a lot more since they would have more development together Anyways, as always, great on your video!
@@supersonicheroes unova tournament arcs are more realistic though imo, similar to the pokemon contests and how it depends on the match up. Like how Zoey lost to May, but can beat Dawn even though Dawn won. And how Cilan won against Trip the first time but lost against Ash, even though Trip beat Ash multiple times
@@isaiah7985 The Unova tournaments are awful and a waste of time. The two where Ash lost in the finals were both terrible due to personal issues, plus the League is a disgrace.
I think that the reason why Iris had Excadrill as her first Pokemon rather than a dragon type is because she befriend it before she realized she wanted to become a master of dragon Pokemon. She was seen with a number of different wild Pokemon when she met Excadrill as a Drillbur, so I think that while Iris is said to have a connection with dragon types specifically, it applies to most Pokemon, and she even seems like the kind of character to be more "wild", if you will
@@matthewkuscienko4616 if we assume that Excadrill will be on her champion team (probably not since she is a dragon master) her team would get some coverage given the fact that it is ground steel and steel beats fairy and ice types. Edit 08/05/2021: I also forgot to mention that her ace (Haxorus) can also help Exadrill out. If it has adamant nature or dragon dance or both while it has the move iron tail, it would also be a very dangerous Pokemon to her team.
the fact how excadrill being odd ones out in iris team reminds me a little of how brock used ludicolo and mudkip in hoenn (then again could be a nod to his mother being a water type specialist)
Also Brock's goal wasn't to be a Rock type master, Rock is just what he's associated with the most. Iris is trying to be a Dragon Master while also having an Excadrill and an Emolga.
@@castform7 true then again he was the rock type gym leader in kanto until pass it down to his brother Then again another reason why iris theme got so diverse could be just cause of the rule of "main character showing off new appealing pokemon in their team" and since emolga is a pikachu clone ,so theres that I guess , also reason why axew didn't evolve for appeal purpose until journey
While it is strange that Iris relied on Excadrill so much despite her "Dragon Trainer" classification, we must remember that Dragon Pokemon were rare and took a long time to fully evolve, making them late-game additions. Well until Gen VI at least! ;-)
When he said not all dragons are dragon type I think he meant there are Pokémon who are obviously dragon species but aren’t dragon typing like Charizard
Excadrill is my favourite take on the "Charizard template" and was a great part of Iris' development as a character. Plus seeing Excadrll happy was always so cute to me. Just look at his goofy smile.
It's to be expected that they would have a strong bond if you ask me, since Excadrill was Iris's first Pokemon she owned, after all. The anime always seems to prominently feature a trainer's first Pokemon as the one they have the greatest relationship with
I love Excadrill's development, but I agree that starting with a dragon would have made more sense. I think it would have been nice to see her realize that dragons are strong, but not invincible, and add Excadrill to her team to add some coverage. But still, I love his growth, and hopefully we'll see him again!
Ah, Excadrill... Dawn's Mamoswine and Ash's Charizard of Unova... (Before Dragonite). I will admit... He's one of my favorite Unova Pokemon, despite it being my least favorite region. Wish it would have returned in Journeys. I mean... We saw Emolga... Where was this guy?
I like her Excadrill it's a strong pokèmon with great personality and I understand why it was disobedient, also he's a perfect counter for fairy pokèmon as iris uses dragons this beast can deal with their weaknesses
@@ProfessorAlexSilver Yeah dragon has 3 weaknesses ice Dragon Fairy, Excadrill resists Dragon and Fairy and his steel typing is super effective against Ice and Fairy plus he's not weak to ice he just takes neutral damage but he's fast enough to out speed
When I first watch Pokemon Black and White Series I always though that Axew is Iris first Pokemon until later in the episodes I learn that Excadrill is really Iris's first Pokemon back when it was a Drilbur.
Excadrill is part Steel Type and Steel is strong against ice types. Having him in a dragon type team is very beneficial to counter Haxorus and Dragonites weaknesses to ice. Also he is Iris's first pokemon and one she made a true bond with, no one can change that.
Your videos were just recommended to me today, and I'm gonna say that I'm so happy they were! I love this series of yours and all the work you put into them.
Exadrill is a good example of the fact that trainers are more than just their professed mastery. Pokemon are living creatures and intelligent, not just tools. Just as Goh had to realize he wasn't just going to catch a mew as his first pokemon, Iris' started ended up being some random pokemon she met and befriended. Sure, she's still aiming to be a dragon master, but it's no reason to abandon a friend.
I wanna say maybe Iris's Axew but the better part of the development (where it evolved to Haxorus and become the new ace as she is the Champion of Unova) is done while Ash went to Kalos and Alola.
Hey professor when you where talking about how iris has him reminds me of brock and how he only had one certain type of pokemon and ventured out to being a breeder and having different types. Iris is probably the female version of brock by having him be a part of her team to throw people off their game when they come and battle her. That's my opinion. Excadrill is super cool and one of my favorites.
Iris met Excadrill back when it was still a drillbur and picking on other pokemon. So iris literally threw hands with drillbur to get it to stop and lost easily then came back for a rematch, won and then befriended Excadrill before she was old enough to be given a starter pokemon. Only after Excadrills lost to Haxorus and never listened to Iris that Iris was given her intended starter, Axeu
Excadrill is excellent in design, excellent in competitive battling, and is just a great Pokémon overall. You can make it a great sandstorm user with sand rush or sand force, you can make it a mimikyu killer with mold breaker, you can do a lot of great things with this Pokémon. It’s a shame it doesn’t have a z move, mega evolution, or Gigantimax form.
@@ProfessorAlexSilver I’m actually creating my own region. It’s based on Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. I’m thinking of adding a really cool nod to excadrill to it.
I remember Iris’ Exacadril, it used to refuse to follow Iris’ orders after its loss against Drayden back when Iris was younger than she is now. But then Iris’ figured out of why it was upset at her and apologized for pushing it even though it knew it couldn’t win against Drayden’s Haxourus back then.
I agree Wasn’t much point having this Pokémon technically as her starter, but does help show character development and her journey. Coming up with strategies and adapting to her Pokémon’s disadvantages (like against haxorus).
I'll be covering Red's Charizard in a few weeks. I try my best to do as many Pokemon as possible, but each video takes 40-60 hours, and I can only do one per week so you'll have to be patient for some of your favorites. I'll get to everyone at some point :)
I wished Ash's Pidgeot have finally return to the series because back in the original Pokemon Series Ash only released it so it can protect the Pidgey and Pigeotto for Fearow and Spearow. Ash said he will return for it but unfortunely it next happened for years which is a disappointed and wasted of that episode too. Hopefully it'll return in the upcoming future episodes of Pokemon Journey Series.
@@ProfessorAlexSilver Hey professor Silver, I know you have recently done several of Iris's pokemon, but can you do Iris's Haxsorus? I think that axew is heavily overlooked with its role in Iris's character growth and role in the series.
