Ash and friends meet a Trainer named Georgia, who’s obsessed with defeating Dragon-type Pokémon. This “Dragon Buster” challenges Iris to a battle, and her Beartic quickly beats Iris’s Axew. Georgia demands to fight against Iris’s other Dragon-type Pokémon, but of course Axew is the only one. Iris sends out Excadrill instead, and at first it actually seems willing to fight...but a Rock Smash from Beartic quickly sends the stubborn Pokémon back into hiding.

Iris opens up to her friends about her history with Excadrill, and we learn that it first went into hiding after being defeated by the same move a while back. Cilan suggests that perhaps Iris hasn’t been paying enough attention to Excadrill’s feelings while battling, and she tearfully vows to make amends. An all-night special training session ensues.

The next day, Iris asks Georgia for a rematch, and Georgia accepts. Excadrill acts like a brand-new Pokémon, battling Beartic fiercely! The match ends in a draw, but a very happy Iris and Excadrill are as close now as they were in days gone by—maybe even closer!