"Here we are!" Ash said, shading his eyes and looking down into the valley. "Snowbelle City! What do you think?"
"I think it is nice to be able to appreciate how pretty everything looks," Zygarde said. "I thank Noivern for his able assistance in keeping me warm."
"That's fine!" Noivern replied, ears gently humming as he kept up a heat-controlling musical beat. "Oh, and I should say what I think too. I think it's funny!"
"What's funny?" Serena said.
"It's funny that there's such a huge bridge," Noivern answered. "And it's funny that the houses are all sort of spread out and there's not many of them. Is this a real city or is the name just pretend?"
"Huh," Ash frowned. "I guess it is a bit small."
"The houses don't seem spread out to me," Clemont said. "Is it the roofs that slope towards us?"
"Oh, yeah, I was missing the houses underneath them!" Noivern realized. "Yeah, that makes lots more sense."
"I do wonder why it's so cold," Serena admitted. "It got cold very quickly as we got closer… Ash, have you seen something like this before?"
"There could be an Articuno or a Regice or some other Ice-type Pokémon living around here," Ash speculated. "You normally find them in places where it's cold – that could be because they make it cold, or it could be because they live where it's cold. Maybe we should have a look on the way to the gym!"
"Where is the gym?" Bonnie asked, shading her eyes, then Tyrunt made a noise to get her attention. "Huh?"
He pointed.
"Oh, yeah, there it is!" she said, brightening. "It's up at the top of that mountain!"
"A lot of gyms seem to make it hard to get to them," Clemont said. "For the challenger, anyway. Like the Rock-type gym with the climbing wall, and this Ice-type gym on top of a mountain… what's next? Are you going to visit a Water-type gym that's under the sea?"
"Or an Electric-type gym in a big tower!" Bonnie suggested.
Clemont folded his arms. "That one wasn't my idea."
"I went to a Fire-type gym once that was in an active volcano," Ash said. "Actually, I'm not sure if the volcano's working again, I think it is, but maybe I should ask some time…"
As soon as Ash knocked on the door of the gym, Wulfric opened it.
"Ah, good morning," he said, with a courteous nod. "I was wondering if I'd be facing you, Ash Ketchum."
He stepped back from the door, to allow them inside. "I have to say, I'm interested to see what happens. Even allowing for the usual exaggeration, it's clear you're a skilled trainer, so this should be an interesting battle for both of us."
Serena tried to stifle a giggle.
"The usual exaggeration?" Braixen asked.
"Oh, you know," Wulfric replied. "The usual, simple as that. What normally happens is that a good Pokémon trainer gets noticed when they're doing very well, even for them, because it's when they're the most noticeable. And so what you hear about is better than average for that trainer. It's like how trainers who get profiled by the top magazines usually end up suffering afterwards… it's nothing to do with a curse, like some people think, it's just that to get profiled by a top magazine you're probably enjoying a run of luck and it'll end eventually."
He looked them over. "I hope you're ready for the cold air inside the Gym, it's much colder than normal in here… it's even colder than outside."
"Is it air conditioned?" Clemont asked. "Or should that be refrigerated? Or is it just all the Ice-types?"
"Not sure," Wulfric admitted. "I keep all my Pokémon in the gym, so that's probably what's causing it, but I've never tested the idea… isn't Noivern Dragon and Flying type?"
Noivern nodded. "Yep!"
"Hm," Wulfric decided, holding out his hand into Noivern's invisible warmth bubble. "Well, keep it away from the battlefield itself, please."
The route to the arena was obvious, and Wulfric followed them before taking his place at one side of the arena. "Now, then… three Pokémon a side, I think. I'm sure you have that many."
"Yeah!" Ash confirmed. "I already know who to use, so let's get going!"
Wulfric held up an Ultra Ball, and sent out an Abomasnow. The air immediately chilled further – outside Noivern's warm-air bubble, anyway – and snowflakes began to drift down, slowly at first and then faster and faster.
Ash, for his part, sent out Gible.
"Brr!" Gible said, jumping into the air and hovering there. "It's cold today! It's a good thing I'm an all-weather dragon!"
Wulfric watched closely, then nodded. "Blizzard, Abomasnow!"
Abomasnow punched forwards, whipping up the hail into a concentrated flurry of snow and sleet, and Ash waved.
"Ember!" he called.
Gible turned around in a circle, shooting out Embers around himself, and the Blizzard attack hit hard enough to knock him backwards but without the low temperature to do him serious harm.
"Now, counterattack!" Ash called. "Dragon Pulse!"
Gible used Dragon Pulses.
The attacks blazed out in rapid succession and, though Gible was only able to attack for a second or so before another Blizzard swept in, he hit Abomasnow at least forty or fifty times.
And missed with another forty or fifty.
"It's really hard to aim!" he said, wobbling a bit. "I shake about so much!"
"That's okay," Ash told him. "It worked, anyway!"
"Avalanche!" Wulfric called, and his Abomasnow Mega-Evolved at the same time as the rumbling barrage of snow came crashing down towards Gible.
"Thousand Arrows!" Ash retorted, and green streaks of light flashed through the snow, but Mega Abomasnow's Avalanche hit Gible and flattened him.
A muffled "Ow" came from underneath the ice, then Gible returned himself.
Ash glanced down at his belt, picked a Safari Ball off it, and held it up. "Come on out!"
Raikou came on out.
"Mffrrf!" she said, happily, and jumped up to give Ash a hug – a process which knocked Ash over and left him sitting with most of Raikou in his lap.
"Are you okay?" he asked. "Can I smell peanut butter?"
"Rrfmf," Raikou confirmed, nodding.
"Analyzing," Arc announced. "I believe Raikou is currently in the after-effects of a recent show on Hoopaflix involving a race and a peanut butter sandwich."
"Thanks, Arc," Ash said. "This is kind of awkward, though, I actually wanted to send out Dragonite… sorry."
Raikou shrugged, still sat on Ash's lap, and Ash leaned around a bit to reach the other Safari Ball he had with him.
Dragonite came out with a flash, and adjusted a Rocky Helmet he was wearing.
"Can I borrow a marker pen?" he requested, accepted one from Clemont, and carefully wrote MARY on the helmet. "Thank you."
"Are you ready to get started again?" Wulfric asked.
"Sure!" Ash agreed. "Barrier!"
Dragonite clapped his hands together, forming a glowing piece of translucent material between them, then put it on the floor in front of him and formed another one. That went next to it, and in only a few seconds he'd built a brick wall with the blocks interlaced rather than stacked directly on top of one another.
"Stay at a distance, Abomasnow," Wulfric told his still-Mega-evolved Pokémon. "Blizzard!"
Mega Abomasnow threw a blizzard at Dragonite, and the Dragon-type ducked down behind the wall he'd built. A shimmering Light Screen joined the Barrier, deflecting most of the force of the Blizzard, then Dragonite popped up again and began forming the resultant snow and ice into more blocks.
"Mustn't forget the sloped roof," he said, making one. "That's what you need in snowy environments."
"Destroy that shelter," Wulfric told Mega Abomasnow. "Stop him from hiding away, then use Blizzard again!"
The Ice-type slammed both arms into the ground, using Earthquake, and the whole gym trembled. The building Dragonite had been making collapsed, and he sprang out already clapping his forepaws together again.
This time, what appeared wasn't a simple brick, but a huge I-beam, and he took hold of it at one end in both hands before sweeping it across like a cricket bat and knocking Mega Abomasnow halfway across the gym.
"What move was that?" Wulfric asked, as Dragonite built a house with Reflect walls and a three-story block of flats with Barriers. "It looked familiar, but I'm not sure."
"I think it's that thing Gurdurr do with their beams," Ash replied. "So it could be Rock Smash? Or Superpower, it could be that."
"Well," Wulfric began, then returned his Abomasnow because the Ice-type had reverted and looked down for the count. "At least it's still hailing."
"Glaceon, you know what to do," Wulfric said, and the hail intensified around Glaceon as he padded out – ready to fight.
Dragonite retaliated by picking the I-beam back up, and swept it down, but as he did so the hailstorm got even stronger and it was impossible to tell precisely where Glaceon was. Dragonite's attack hit with a wham that sent up a cloud of ice shards, but it missed Glaceon, and the Ice-type exhaled a blast of frosty breath that caught Dragonite and left ice clinging to his forearms.
"Fire Punch!" Ash called, and Dragonite backwinged with his arms catching fire. "Now go in for a headbutt!"
There was a whoom as Dragonite accelerated, but again it was hard to pin down exactly where Glaceon was and he missed – and, worse, Glaceon hit him again with another Frost Breath as he went past.
This time he neutralized both of Dragonite's wings, and while they weren't actually necessary for Dragonite to fly it was still a problem – one compounded by an Ice Beam a moment later, which froze Dragonite solid and Ash recalled him.
"I have to ask," Wulfric said. "What was with the helmet?"
"Oh, Dragonite works in being an architect and construction worker," Ash replied. "I think the helmet was a Hail Mary, but he was only the second Pokémon so it didn't work as well."
He shrugged, and sent out his third Pokémon. "Larvitar, your go!"
Larvitar folded his arms, and a swirl of white-yellow sand built up around him. More formed under his feet to let him float into the air, and Wulfric frowned.
"You do know why Glaceon was using Frost Breath, right?" he asked.
"Yeah, it's really likely for it to ignore all kinds of defensive boosts!" Ash agreed. "It wasn't a great match up for Dragonite, but this is much better. Larvitar doesn't just use desert sand, he uses beach sand too!"
"What's the difference?" Wulfric asked, then noticed that the ice on the ground was melting.
"Salt," Ash clarified.
"Hm," the Gym Leader said. "Frost Breath!"
"Scorching Sands!" Ash countered, and Larvitar sent out a swirl of sand that hissed with visible, glowing heat. It went right through the Frost Breath, didn't hit Glaceon directly but did melt through the camouflaging Hail that was all around him, then Larvitar followed that up with a blast of white salt that hit Glaceon directly and knocked him out entirely.
"Two down on each side," Wulfric said, nodding. "That means it's down to our final Pokémon… Avalugg!"
Avalugg roared, stampeding forwards to use Ice Fang, and Larvitar summoned up a stronger shield of sand which the Ice-type crashed into with a sound like a continental collision.
"Crunch!" Wulfric added, directing his Iceberg Pokémon to take Larvitar's sand-shield in its mouth. "Now, Ice Fang!"
There was a sort of creaking sound, but the sand shield remained intact.
"Sandsear Storm!" Ash called out, watching as the hot sand left marks on Avalugg that slowly regenerated away in the hail. "Then… use Nature Power!"
With all the salt and ice-melting that had been going on, the two Pokémon were battling over a sort of warm slush of salty brine. That turned into a Brine move, hitting Avalugg hard, and the Ice-type kept struggling for a long moment before Ash suddenly snapped his fingers.
"Form sand under him!" he said. "Lift him into the air!"
Larvitar lifted Avalugg slowly into the air, the Ice-type still determinedly trying to chew on Larvitar's sandshield, and Wulfric frowned.
"There's something you've got planned," he said. "But why isn't Avalugg getting through?"
He blinked. "Wait, it's all those defensive moves – Frost Breath ignored them but that isn't!"
"Let him down!" Ash called. "And out of your shield!"
Wulfric, and Avalugg, got a reminder that actually the shield wasn't physically connected to Larvitar and he could leave it any time.
Then Avalugg hit the floor, and went through.
"Huh, so that's what was making it so cold!" Ash said, in the hole. "A Regice!"
"This application has frozen," Regice reported. "Do you want to restart?"
"Nah, you can stay down here if you want," Ash said. "Right? I guess it'd be a good idea to not bury Regice again, though, just make sure they've got an exit if they change their mind."
"That wasn't on the plans," Wulfric said. "But, well, you've definitely beat me… I have to point something out, though."
Ash looked up. "Huh?"
"That is not how you beat a Hail team," he replied.
"I didn't want to use Rayquaza because she gets cold," Ash said, in a way that made it sound like he meant it to be an explanation. "And her way of not having that happen is to have everyone else get hot, and I didn't want to melt your gym off the side of the mountain."
"I suppose it did work," Wulfric allowed. "You might want to keep an eye on that in future, though."
"Sure!" Ash agreed readily.
AN:
All Hail!
At least Ash didn't use Zapdos or someone like that.
