Drake runs the Orange League, and trainers who beat him in a full battle at Pummelo Stadium earn the Winner's Trophy and a spot in the Orange League Hall of Fame.
Ash faced him in the episodes "Hello, Pummelo!" and "Enter The Dragonite." His Japanese voice actor is Kōji Yusa, with Scottie Ray handling the English dub.
There's actually some interesting nuance in how Drake's role is presented. The English dub kind of downplays him as just another Gym Leader, but the Japanese version specifically calls him the "Head Leader," which signals he's in a different tier. He's not technically a League Champion either—the show never makes it totally clear whether he actually had to defeat a previous Head Leader to get where he is, though it's implied he did. The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga calls him the Orange Crew Supreme Gym Leader, where Ash also battles him in the "Surf's Up, Pikachu" chapter.
What's notable is that Ash became the first trainer in Orange League history to actually beat Drake. Apparently a lot of trainers never even made it past his opening Pokémon—Ditto—and they'd lose their nerve watching a copycat beat their own team. Before Ash showed up, Drake seemed pretty bored and genuinely wondered if anyone would ever take him down. He carries his prized Dragonite's Poké Ball around his neck as a statement piece.
Despite his name and his obvious love of Dragon-types, Drake has no actual connection to either the Hoenn League's Drake or Lance of the Indigo League, though he does bear a resemblance to Lance.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
