Okay, the only saving grace of Ash VS Trip battle was that Ash was using Nitro Speed in order to raise Pignite's speed so he could hopefully match Serperior's. However, his attacks turned all to be futile since Trip's Serperior was too fast. At least Ash used his brain, so I'm happy.
I found the Iris VS Ash battle somewhat intense and enjoyable. Krokorok didn't take as much hits as I hoped for and I'm very happy that he learned Dragon Claw, it was amazing - Axew also seemed impressed. I was confused that Dragonite was obeying Iris, but then he went on rampage again, so I can see that this plotline is far from over. Drayden will probably play a role in the whole thing.
EDIT: Also, I think I know why Dragonite listened to Iris. Krokorok wasn't an ice type so he didn't really present a threat to him. But once Krokorok evolved, learned Dragon Claw, Dragonite realized that he was much stronger than he had hoped for, so he began listening to himself again.