Iris (anime)

Biography
Iris is a wild girl Ash met while traveling in the Unova region. Ash first encountered Iris by mistaking her hair for a Pokémon (since he saw her in a bush picking berries and used his Pokédex, which told him that the Pokémon was in her hair.) He then throws a Poké Ball at her head. She then yells at Ash but soon becomes quick friends with his Pikachu, by hugging him and poking his cheeks which caused him to zap her. Her goal used to be a secret to Ash and Cilan, though it is revealed in BW030 that her goal was to become a dragon master. She also wishes to see the legendary Pokémon Zekrom. She appears to be a wild child and has been seen swinging from vines in forests in order to get from place to place. and that's why she doesn't need a bike, like Misty, May, and Dawn.

Iris, like Ash, Dawn and Misty seems to have her partner Pokémon stay out of its Poké Ball on most occasions. Her partner Pokémon being Axew, the Tusk Pokémon. However, despite the fact it doesn't go into its Poké Ball, Axew does jump into Iris' hair whenever Iris decides to actively go somewhere.

Unlike May or Dawn she practically radiates confidence. On the tomboy scale she is between Misty and May. Her expressions unseen by others suggests a sly, almost manipulative, but well meaning nature. Like Misty at the start of their journey, Ash is in the dark that Iris may or may not be a Gym Leader. Also like Misty, Iris thinks Ash is a little kid but helps him out since he doesn't know a lot about the Unova region.

In BW036 she meets Georgia, her rival. The two share a heated rivalry.

Voice Actresses

 * English: Eileen Stevens
 * Japanese: Aoi Yuki
 * Dutch: Sophie Hoeberechts
 * Spanish: Belen Rodriguez
 * Mandarin Chinese: Lin Meixiu
 * Finnish: Saara Aalto
 * Brazilian Portuguese: Agatha Paulita
 * Latin American Spanish: Susana Moreno

Trivia

 * Iris is considered the first Black Character in the Pokémon anime, with Lenora being the second and Marshal being the third.
 * In the games she is the second, with Lenora appearing before her.
 * Iris is currently the only main character to travel with Ash in the anime series to keep her Japanese name.
 * Iris often calls Ash a 'kid' or a 'child' which is a contradiction for her because she herself is the same age as Ash, and Cilan points out that she and Ash are quite similar. Iris possibly calls Ash a 'kid' because of how reckless and immature he acts and because she thinks he is a novice trainer, due to his lack of knowledge about Unova and its Pokémon.
 * Iris is the fourth main character besides Ash, Misty and Dawn who keep their partner Pokémon out of its Poké Ball.
 * Iris doesn't have a bike. Ergo, she is the only female to have traveled with Ash who has not had their bike destroyed by Ash's Pikachu, instead she herself gets shocked by Pikachu.
 * Iris is the second of Ash's companions to have an -type Pokémon. The first was Dawn.
 * Strangely, both Dawn's Pachirisu and Iris' Emolga are based on a type of squirrel.
 * Iris is named after the Iris Flower which is a native flower to Africa and North America.
 * Iris' reason for joining and traveling with Ash is still currently unknown.
 * In BW034, Iris was revealed to have a fear of -type Pokémon, the same way Misty has a fear of -Type Pokémon.
 * Iris' fear of Ice-type Pokémon may be a reference to -type Pokémon being weak against -type moves.
 * Iris has currently won two Tournaments in the course of the anime series so far.
 * The first was back in her youth which was the Dragon Village Tournament, the second being the Don Battle tournament.
 * In the anime, she appears to be a novice trainer (still starting out), while in Pokemon Black and White game, she is a Gym Leader (though she does not play as the gym leader in the black version). It is unknown whether or not she is going to share this with Ash and Cilan, or even if she is a gym leader in the anime.