Almighty Zard
He has returned.
Some people really did not understand the episode here.
Of course because people are choosing to see what they want to see.
For example we've got someone in denial that Ash can not be a good tactician in battle when he's more than proven he can be, people trying to save face for Iris when there is no need, and others trying to come up with excuses for various plot points during the battle.
I wish everyone would be willing to accept the outcome, but that apparently will not happen, conflict is just something natural for this site.
Ash's Dragonite didn't love to battle, it battled because of her love to Ash. Ash's Dragonite gave her best because she wanted to fight for ash. Iris just showed to Ash's Dragonite that battling can be fun and with that way that she can still impress Ash, and make him happy. Because Dragonite's happiness comes from Ash's happiness. Ash's Dragonite's durability comes from her love to Ash. The will to fight for him. Like I said, Iris just showed, that she can still do the same by having fun in battles. Thats why Iris said, that she should relax. Ash's Dragonite is a kind one, thats what Iris felt by touching it.
Before that, Ash already gave Dragonite the order to battle, since he had a plan already, as you can see the battle vow Dragonite made before Iris touched it. Iris didn't expect that Ash would come with a strategy, to use Hurricane to absorb Dragon Pulse and to turn it into Draco Meteor. She was caught off guard. So she didn't have chance anymore to evade, it was too late.
Wait..is it confirmed Ash's is female?
Iris's Dragonite lost, because Iris never saw a Dracovish as a species. So, like Ash lost to Bea's Grapploct Iris's Dragonite lost to Dracovish. The problem is, Iris ordered her Dragonite to directly attack it because she didn't know that Dracovish had such a strong jaw. The point is, Dracovish bit Dragonite's head, so it couldn't even hear orders from Iris. The Ice Fang a 4x move + Dragonite's unfortunate situation lead to its loss. If Iris knew Dracovish before, Dragoran would win. Because as you can see, she directly ordered Haxorus to attack Dracovish from the "distance" by using Psycho cut,. So it was a easy win for Haxorus against Dracovish.
At least she adapted quickly and realized that going at mr.chewie mc gonna bite you dead by your head (Seriously this episode has now scarred me of how to perceive Dracovish!!!) directly wasn't a good idea, that's a sign of a good trainer as is Ash's battle tactics.
Who is Archer from Sn
Fate Stay Night, might want to look it up if you don't know what it is, it started as a visual novel, but has spawned many anime adaptations and movies.