Trip had long heard stories about Brycen and the Icirrus Gym; he hadn't bothered listening, as stories and heresy hadn't interested him in the least, but the research he had done certainly did justice to the marvel before him. The whole structure was constructed from ice, and the small flakes that fell from the roof high above made Trip shiver as they hit any exposed skin on his body. Across from him, on the other side of the slick icy field, Brycen stood pensively, as though waiting for the right moment to strike forward and attract the attention of the crowd that had gathered to watch. And what a crowd it was. Word had clearly spread around the area about the highly anticipated battle, with many locals pushing and shoving in an attempt to gain a good viewing platform around the large press contingent that enveloped the front rows in the stands. To the side, Trip could see Leo and Luke sitting, the younger man with his trusty camera at the ready and the less trusty Zorua jumping from head to head in the crowd, drawing yell after yell.

He had decided not to share his visions of Iris the night before with the two. He barely knew Luke, after all. And Leo? While he liked and respected the scientist's ambition and power, he couldn't help but feel like he was a little mad…and Trip was not keen for Leo to return the favour. In a strange way, even though he knew that it had all been a dream of sorts, just seeing Iris and hearing her calming voice and reason had centred him. A small voice of logic called out from the back of his brain. Brycen is a powerful Gym leader. There is no shame in losing to him in the current state you're in. Put in a good show, and you'll be respected for it.

But a larger part of Trip's brain quickly overrode such thoughts, and a red haze began to seep down over his vision, turning the icy battlefield into a dark, crimson red. To hell with losing with honour. There's no such thing! You're Trip. You cannot lose. You will not lose. Believe in your Pokémon. They sure as hell believe in you.

Brycen slowly extended one hand out and the media fell silent, their cameras unwavering from the smiling leader's face. "This is it, Trip. A three verses three battle, the first of us without any fit and able Pokémon to be declared the loser…the vanquished…in front of all of Unova. This is your last chance, boy…do you want to walk away?"

Trip joined the leader in grinning, ignoring the cameras panning in on his face. "I was going to ask the same thing of your Pokémon, given they won't be able to walk out of here when I'm done with them."

"Very well," Brycen called out theatrically. "That won't be an issue for my first champion, regardless. Time to begin! Come on out, Cryogonal!"

The familiar burst of light sparked the room into action and, without a hint of sound, the silent but deadly Cryogonal floated in front of Brycen, shimmering in the light from the flashing cameras. Trip responded instantly, hurling his own ball into the arena, with the slim but powerful form of Servine joining its opponent on the ice. "Ser-vine!"

Brycen laughed at the green snake, pointing in a mocking fashion. "A grass type…in my Gym? Surely you jest! My ice team will destroy this pretender in a matter of seconds! Cryogonal, let's finish this in the one foul swoop…action! Use Ice Beam!"

The floating crystal shone a bright blue and a burst of icy energy flew from the glowing blue point at its front. Servine did not have to be told what to do, and dodged with relative ease. "Good, Servine. Now, hit back with a Leaf Blade!"

Cryogonal, lacking the pure speed and agility of Servine, did not have the same success at dodging. Servine flew through the air, tail bright and green, and somersaulted straight into the crystal, scoring a direct hit. It flew back towards Brycen, who looked impressed at the power, but unconcerned all the same. "Not bad," Brycen conceded. "I can see that you have raised your Servine well. Fine…let's treat it with a bit more respect, shall we? Cryogonal, use Reflect!"

Cryogonal sparkled a light pink colour and a small shield enveloped the field in front of it. Trip grimaced; as soon as he had seen the Pokémon appear before him, he knew it was going to be a highly defensive and tactical battle. "Servine, you can't use your physical attacks against a Reflect that strong! Let's use Leaf Tornado instead!"

Servine jumped into the air and began to whip its tail around to create the tornado, but Brycen was prepared for this eventuation as well. "Cryogonal, follow up the Reflect with your delicious Light Screen!"

The pink shield was followed by a shimmering yellow light that drifted down and joined it, creating an array of amazing colours that had the press contingent gushing in admiration. Servine, though, was too busy focusing on the attack to notice. The Leaf Tornado shot through the field and smashed into the barriers, but when it dissipated, the shields remained and no damage had been done. Servine looked aghast at the lack of success from the powerful move, sneaking a glance back at Trip, who frowned and looked at the ground thoughtfully. A Reflect and a Light Screen? But that means that my normal attacks and special attacks won't do a thing.

Brycen, however, did not intend on allowing Trip time to reconsider his plans. "Hit him while he's down, Cryogonal! Ice Beam, now!"

The icy beam shot through the barriers and straight into Servine, who fell onto the ground with a cry. Super effective. "Don't give up now," Trip shouted. "Let's see just how strong those defences are. Use Vine Whip!"

Servine's vines shot out of its back and began to lash the shields over and over. Pink and yellow sparks flew around the arena, drawing another sea of happy cries from the crowd, but the shields both remained strong. Trip grit his teeth and continued to yell encouragement of sorts. "Keep going, Servine! We've trained hard for this! Keep going!"

Servine, just like its trainer, kept the determined look on its face and kept smashing away. Cryogonal just floated in safety, quite content to wear Servine out through its unabated attack. A small crack appeared in the shield, and a single vine shot through and smacked Cryogonal in the side. It gave a surprised cry and faltered slightly, its concentration broken, with both the Reflect and the Light Screen flickering in and out of focus. "Great work, Servine! Follow it up with a…"

"Cryogonal, Recover."

Bright yellow spots appeared around the Pokémon and slowly were absorbed into it. In an instant, Cryogonal was floating confidently once more, back to full health. Trip tried his best to remain calm and not lose his temper, but he was finding it quite difficult. Light Screen, Reflect and Recover? It's like an attacking trainer's nightmare! "Stop hiding behind your defensive tactics and fight me like a man," Trip called out. "My Servine would wipe the floor with your Cryogonal in a fair fight!"

"You've got much to learn about different styles of battle techniques," Brycen chided. "Cryogonal, use Reflect and Light Screen once more!"

Before Trip had a chance to attack, the two coloured shields appeared once more to protect Cryogonal from harm. If I leave Servine out there, one of those Ice Beams will eventually put him down. Be flexible. Remember your training with Pidove. That's the only chance you'll have to knock Cryogonal out. "Servine, return! Come on out, Pidove!"

Servine was quickly replaced by Pidove, who flew around the arena a few times before perching in front of the media, flexing its tiny wings in a showy attempt to impress. A majority either looked away or chortled. Luke just looked confused, scratching his head along with Zorua, imitating a nearby reporter. A Pidove, such a weak and common Bird type, against an Ice type? And I thought Trip was meant to be good!

"Recalling your Servine was a wise move," Brycen announced. "But to replace it with a Pidove? Well, it is like shuffling deck chairs on a sinking ship! Cryogonal, use Ice Beam!"

The beam shot out from behind the shields and narrowly missed Pidove, which athletically managed to twirl away and fly high up into the Gym. If only I can get above Cryogonal and avoid the shields, I can…

It was as though Brycen had read his mind. "Cryogonal, don't let Pidove get above you! Rotate, and use Ice Beam once more, directly upwards!"

Cryogonal rotated upon itself, and before Trip knew it, it had its back to the floor and was pointing directly upwards towards Pidove. The shields had followed, sitting above Cryogonal, keeping it safe from any attack from above. The Ice Beam shot out and just grazed Pidove's wing, sending it crashing down to the icy floor. Pidove cried out in pain as the crystal rotated once more and slowly began to float in Pidove's direction, the small bird struggling to gain any traction to pull itself up off the ice. "Pidove, we'll only have one chance at this! When it gets close, lunge forward and use Quick Attack! Give it all you've got!"

Cryogonal floated over Pidove, ready to land the knockout blow, when Pidove shot up at the speed of light and smacked straight into the shields. The bird shot back with a cry of pain, and Cryogonal cried in amusement at the attack, but Trip could have sworn he noticed a tiny crack appearing in the shields. "Pidove, keep attacking the very same spot! As quickly as you can!"

Pidove shot forward once, twice, thrice and hit the same spot on the shields before Cryogonal could even fire off a single Ice Beam. Trip smiled – a crack had appeared in the shields, and Cryogonal's weakness had yet to be noticed by Brycen nor the Pokémon itself, who continued to try to strike the bird with powerful yet slow Ice Beams. One final Quick Attack saw the shields break, Pidove dropping to the ground in exhaustion and members of the media clapping their support for the underdog. Brycen did not appear concerned in the slightest. "You can take down my shields all you want, Trip. I always have more up my sleeve! Cryogonal, replenish your…"

"I don't think so!" Trip bellowed. "Pidove, show them what we've learned! Use Taunt!"

Pidove shot forward once more, placing its tiny head through the shimmering forms of soon-to-be-shields, and whistled a mocking tone that reached Cryogonal just in time. The yellow and pink forms in front of it failed, blinking out and disappearing, leaving Cryogonal and Brycen both shocked in place. "Try using your non-attacking moves now, Brycen," Trip called out in obvious joy. "Now it's an even playing field."

"Hardly," Brycen roared in anger. "You've overplayed your hand with this pitiful Pidove. Use Ice Beam!"

At that range, Ice Beam was never going to miss. The beam scored a direct hit into Pidove's face, and the bird fell to the ground, well and truly fainted at the super effective attack. Trip frowned as he returned the vanquished Pokémon; he'd known well and truly that using Taunt would get Pidove into firing range, but it had been a sacrifice worth making. Now, he had an even money chance of knocking out Cryogonal and getting that badge. "You did exactly what you had to do – great job, Pidove. Don't let him down…come back out, Servine!"

Servine replaced Pidove and immediately looked happier with no pink or yellow shields protecting Cryogonal. Trip did not want to waste any time before the Taunt wore off. "Servine, use Vine Whip to pull Cryogonal into place for a Leaf Tornado!"

Brycen smiled as he watched the vines shoot out from behind Servine and snake their way through the air. You young fool. You have underestimated my Cryogonal's speed for the last time. "Cryogonal, time to stop feinting! Use Ice Beam on the vine and keep Servine in place yourself!"

Cryogonal shot the Ice Beam at a speed that Trip had scarcely seen before; given what he had seen in the battle up to this point, it hardly seemed believable. With incredible accuracy, the Ice Beam first struck the vine approaching from the left, and then the one from the right. Large blocks of ice formed on the front of both vines and they fell to the floor. Servine tried with all its might to retract the vines, but the ice was far too strong. Servine was helpless, stuck in the middle of the battlefield, Cryogonal floating directly above it.

"But your Cryogonal isn't that fast!" Trip yelled out angrily. "Servine should be able to outmanoeuvre it!"

"A great actor passes on many tricks to his Pokémon," Brycen retorted with amusement, the flashing cameras influencing his heroic pose. "But I am afraid for Servine, this is the end of his scene. Finish it with Ice Beam!"

With the newly revealed speed, Cryogonal shot down the most powerful Ice Beam yet at Servine, who gave one final cry before being enveloped by the ice. When the haze had drifted away from the impact, the half-frozen Servine was laying still on the ground, well and truly fainted as Pidove had been mere minutes earlier. Returning Servine to his ball silently, trying to ignore Brycen's jeers and shouts to the press in the crowd, he fumbled with the final active Pokeball in his belt.

Well. It's all up to you now. The ball, drifted through the air, and the shimmering light revealed Trip's last hope against Brycen's three remaining warriors.

"Sawk."

oOoOo

Brycen's powerful and speedy Cryogonal has taken care of Pidove and Servine, leaving Trip with only Sawk remaining! Can Trip make a remarkable comeback to get the Freeze Badge, or does he still have much to learn about battling techniques? Tune in next time to find out!