Episode 64: Frost Fight

Ash and Pikachu are sitting at a table in the Versal City Pokémon Center. Ash seems to have something on his mind. "I still can't believe that Halley actually used to be a member of Team Rocket…"

Pikachu agrees with a, "Pika…"

We return to our hero to find him deep in contemplation. There's no doubt that the revelation of the Versal Gym Leader Halley's hidden past as an agent of Team Rocket is weighing heavily on his mind. Will this revealed secret have any effect on their planned gym battle?

Brock walks by and stops when he sees Ash. He's dressed in his doctor's coat and is holding a tray of medicine, inferring he's helping the center's Nurse Joy. He asks, "What's wrong, Ash?"

Ash shrugs. "I don't know. I've just been thinking about the fact that I have my battle with Halley scheduled for tomorrow morning. I'm just not sure if I still want to battle him…you know…learning about his past."

Brock nods. "I understand. You're not sure if you want to support the idea of an ex-member of Team Rocket running a gym, and battling him would be doing exactly that."

Ash nods. "Exactly."

Brock thinks for a moment and then suggests. "I think you should do what feels right to you, but I also think you should see if you can find it in you to give Halley another chance. It's up to you." He stops and looks towards the door. "I think you'll get the chance to figure this out now." He turns around and heads back to Nurse Joy.

Ash looks back to where Brock looked and sees that Halley has just entered the building. He walks silently past Ash and up to the counter. Nurse Joy greets, "Good evening, Halley. I hope you had a good day."

Halley sighs. "Unfortunately I did not. I had some ghosts from my past come back to haunt me."

"Oh, that's unfortunate."

Halley nods. "Indeed it is." He pulls out two Pokéballs and hands them to Nurse Joy. "Please take care of these Pokémon for me."

Nurse Joy grins and nods. "Of course." She takes the Pokéballs and walks into the back room with them.

Halley turns around and immediately sees Ash watching him. Ash quickly turns around, trying to avoid being caught staring. It's too late though. Halley walks over to Ash and asks, "Mind if I take a seat?"

Ash nods. "Go ahead." Halley takes a seat across the table from Ash.

He asks, "So you know all about Team Rocket already?"

Ash nods. "Those three you saw today follow me everywhere. I've encountered others as well."

Halley nods slowly. "I see." The two sit with an awkward silence for a few moments. Halley finally breaks the silence by saying, "I know you don't approve of my past, I certainly don't either. I ask you one favor though. Give this old man a second chance. You certainly don't owe it to me, and I have no right to ask it of you, but please at least think about it. I'll be waiting for you at my gym tomorrow morning. If you decide to give me that chance, show up and we'll have our gym battle. If you decide not to, don't show up. I certainly won't hold it against you, I lost that right when I signed up for Team Rocket." Without another word, he gets up, picks up his Pokéballs from Nurse Joy, and exits the building, leaving Ash to contemplate further.

It's the next morning. Halley is standing on his side of the battlefield. The opposing side is empty. The referee standing in his position asks, "Sir, is the challenger going to show up?"

Halley looks to a clock and sighs. "I suppose not, or he would have been here by now. Sorry I called you in for nothing, you can leave now."

The referee begins to step down from his platform, just as the front doors swing open and Ash declares, "Sorry I'm late. Are you ready for our battle, Halley?"

Halley grins. "I'm all ready to go. Let's do this."

Ash, followed by Brock and Brenda, enter the gym. Ash takes his position across from Halley and Brock and Brenda sit on the bleachers.

The referee returns to his position and declares, "Well then, in that case, the battle between Ash the challenger and Halley the Versal Gym Leader is about to begin. Each trainer may use three Pokémon. In addition, only the challenger may substitute Pokémon. Are these rules understood?"

Ash nods. "You bet."

"In that case, battle begin!"

Halley pulls out a Pokéball and throws it. "Go, Frostcicle!"

Ash pulls out a Pokéball as well. "Arborrior, I chose you!"

Arborrior appears and declares with energy, "Arborrrrrior!" It hops from foot to foot and takes several practice punches as a boxer might.

Brenda chuckles, "Ash's first Pokémon, and it already has a type disadvantage. Leave it to Ash to take the hard route."

Brock points out, "Let's not forget that Arborrior is part Fighting-Type as well as Grass. Not only that, but it knows Fire Punch, which is both a Fire and Fighting-Type move at the same time, making it four times as effective against an Ice-Type like Frostcicle."

Brenda thinks it over and nods. "Hmm…I guess I wasn't giving Ash enough credit, maybe he has thought this through."

Ash leaps into battle and orders, "Arborrior, use Fire Punch!" Arborrior's fist becomes cloaked in flames and it lunges towards Frostcicle.

Halley quickly counters, "Acid Armor!" Frostcicle melts into water and Arborrior's fist travels right through the floating mass of water, and is extinguished along the way.

Ash seems ready for this though, and immediately orders, "Use Wood Hammer now!" Still in the water, Arborrior creates its stump-hammer and swings it right through the melted Frostcicle. Water is sprayed all over the battlefield. It all begins to move in towards a central point and begins to refreeze into Frostcicle. As soon as Frostcicle begins to take form, Ash commands, "Fire Punch again!" Still gathering itself, Frostcicle is unable to dodge. The attack lands, knocking the now fully reformed Frostcicle back towards Halley.

Halley nods in approval. "That was a clever move, Ash."

Ash grins. "After seeing your battle with James I knew I had to come up with a way to counter your Acid Armor, so that's what I did."

"I see. Don't think that we'll let that stop us though. Blizzard, let's go!"

"I wouldn't expect it to. Arborrior, let's turn up the heat! Full scale Fire Punch!" Just as Frostcicle is creating a massive snowstorm and blowing it at Arborrior, Arborrior is generating another fist of fire. "Great, now use Razor Leaf!" Holding its burning fist in front of its face, Arborrior flings its razor-like leaves forward, right through the fire of its fist, creating burning Razor Leaves. The burning leaves get caught up in the wind of the Blizzard, and begin blowing around everywhere. Frostcicle may be unaffected by the snow and wind, but the storm carries several burning leaves right at it. The combination attack impacts its target and forces Frostcicle to stop the Blizzard.

Brock marvels, "Wow, that worked perfectly!"

Seeing that his plan has worked, Ash grins. "Now Arborrior, Fire Punch!" Arborrior lunges once more at Frostcicle. Still surprised from the fiery Razor Leaf, Frostcicle doesn't have a chance to dodge and the attack lands. Frostcicle falls to the floor.

The referee raises a flag and declares, "Frostcicle is unable to battle!"

Ash and Arborrior both celebrate. Arborrior does so by throwing three jabs and then leaping into the air with an uppercut.

Brenda says with surprise, "Wow, Ash just beat his Frostcicle like it was nothing. That was crazy!"

Brock nods in agreement. "Yeah, seeing Halley battle yesterday must have really helped Ash figure out a strategy. He was ready for everything Frostcicle could send at him."

Halley recalls Frostcicle. He then smiles.

Jessie, James, and Meowth are crouching behind a sidewalk bench and looking across the street. Jessie asks James, "Are you certain about this?"

James nods. "Yes. I saw Halley come out of there this morning on the way to his gym. That must be his house. Having been Rocket Agent Frostbite, he must have a treasure-trove of valuable Team Rocket artifacts, and if he's not going to put them to good use, then why shouldn't we?"

Meowth nods. "Sounds good to me. Let's do it."

James nods back. "Now all we need is a plan of attack."

Who's that Pokémon!?

This Pokémon gives over five gallons of milk on a daily basis. Its sweet milk is enjoyed by children and grown-ups alike. People who can't drink milk turn it into yogurt and eat it instead.

Still smiling, Halley says to Ash, "Perhaps it was a mistake to allow you to watch my battle yesterday. You sure used it to your advantage."

Ash shrugs and grins. "Hey, your loss is my gain."

Halley nods. "Indeed. Well, let's see how you do against this one. You never saw it battle yet." He pulls out a Pokéball and throws it. "Beetundra, go!"

Out of the Pokéball appears a white and light-blue beetle Pokémon. Its carapace seems to glisten like ice. Also appearing with it is a large snowball twice the size of the Pokémon itself. The Pokémon holds the snowball in place with its hind legs.

The appearance of the new Pokémon prompts Ash to pull out his Pokédex. "Beetundra, the Snow Roller Pokémon and a Bug and Ice Combo-Type. This Pokémon will never be caught without its snowball, which it creates in artic plains, using only the highest quality of snow. Inside the snowball, Beetundra will store its food in a frozen state. Evolves from Artick at level 17 and into Carapice at level 39."

Brenda asks, "So that Pokémon is always rolling a snowball around? That's strange."

Brock nods in agreement. "It goes to show the sheer variety of Pokémon that can be found in this world."

Ash asks, "Arborrior, are you up for round two?"

Arborrior declares, "Arboooorrior!" in excitement.

Ash nods. "Alright, here we go! Fire Punch!"

Halley grins. "There's no way we're letting that move get to us again! Beetundra, use Ice Ball!" Beetundra leaps up onto its snowball and begins to run on top of it. This running causes the snowball to roll right at Arborrior, who is running at Beetundra with a fist of fire. Just as Arborrior is about to punch at the rolling snow beetle, Beetundra displays an example of masterful maneuvering at rolls just far enough to the side to avoid the attack. It then continues forwards and rams right into Arborrior, knocking it to the ground then rolling right over it. Beetundra then turns its ball around and rolls in for a second pass.

Ash shouts, "Get up and use Low Sweep to stop its rolling!" Arborrior leaps back up and attempts to kick at the snowball. Once again, Beetundra manages to maneuver its snowball around the attack and veer last minute back into Arborrior, rolling over it again. Arborrior is left knocked out and Beetundra is now rolling extremely fast.

The referee declares, "Arborrior is unable to battle!"

Brock comments, "This isn't good."

Brenda asks, "What do you mean?"

"The move Ice Ball allows the user to continuously attack, and the attack gets stronger and stronger the longer its used. If Ash is having such trouble stopping the attack now, it will only get harder for him as this goes on."

It's Miltank!

Team Rocket is huddled outside of the building they have identified as Halley's house. James encourages, "Alright Meowth, do your thing."

Meowth nods. "Doing my thing now." He extends one of his claws and begins to pick the lock. After fiddling around for a few moments, a sudden cracking sound is heard. Meowth freezes up.

Jessie asks, "What was that?"

Meowth answers with fear, "There are two possibilities. Either the lock mechanism cracked…or my nail did…" Slowly he pulls out his claw, revealing that it has cracked and is now hanging by a thread. Meowth begins to whimper.

James asserts, "Oh, be quiet you crybaby. You've got five more good nails, just use those instead. We need to recover those relics for the glory of Team Rocket!"

Jessie adds, "And our wallets!"

Meowth groans. "What have I gotten myself into this time…?"

Ash recalls Arborrior. Beetundra is continuing to roll around the field in circles in order to keep up its momentum. Ash contemplates his next move for a moment and then pulls out another Pokéball. "Alright then, let's try this out. Turtsol, I chose you!"

"Turtsol!"

Ash encourages, "Alright Turtsol, we've got a tough battle ahead of us. Are you ready?"

Turtsol breathes a breath of fire and declares, "Turtsol!" once more to show it's ready.

Ash smiles with determination. "Alright then! Use Flamethrower!" Turtsol sends a burst of fire at the still rolling Beetundra.

Halley orders, "Swerve now!" Once again showing off its fine control, Beetundra rolls its ball off towards the side in order to dodge the fire. It then rolls straight at Turtsol.

Brenda covers her eyes. "I can't watch."

Ash doesn't seemed worried at all though. "Turtsol, use Rapid Spin!" Turtsol pulls itself into its shell and begins to spin. Ash grins. "Alright, let it rip!" The rapidly spinning Turtsol hurls itself at the incoming rolling Beetundra. The two Pokémon ram into each other and bounce backwards. Beetundra has to work quickly to make sure it maintains its balance atop the ball.

Brenda peeks through her fingers to see that Ash has managed to counter the attack.

Ash declares, "That almost worked! Try again Turtsol, this time give it all you've got!" The two Pokémon charge towards each other once more. This time Turtsol is moving at much higher speeds. When the two Pokémon collide, they are knocked back once more. This time there is so much force involved that Beetundra is knocked right off of its snowball and flung to the ground.

The grounded beetle Pokémon quickly recovers from the fall. It suddenly looks around anxiously and notices in a panic that it's now on the opposite side of the field from its snowball. Turtsol has quickly repositioned itself to be between the Pokémon and its snowball.

Brenda cheers, "Yeah, Ash separated Beetundra from its snowball! This battle should be easy now!"

Brock shakes his head doubtfully. "Unlikely. There are many things you don't want to do to a Pokémon, and separating a Beetundra from its snowball is one of those things. Beetundra becomes quite dangerous when trying to recover its snowball."

Brenda nods in understanding. "So Ash and Turtsol had better be careful…"

Brock nods. "Definitely."

Halley commands, "Let's get Turtsol out of the way! Use Avalanche!"

Beetundra shrieks, "Beeeeeeeet!" and causes a massive mound of snow and ice to appear above it. It then causes this buildup of snow and ice to fly straight at Turtsol.

Ash is forced to think fast. He quickly orders, "Turtsol, Rapid Spin and then Flamethrower in place!" Turtsol begins to rotate around again. Then, out of the arm, leg, and head holes of its shell, fire begins to pour out. The spinning motion of the Rapid Spin causes a fiery tornado to manifest around Turtsol. This firestorm causes the Avalanche attack to melt and then evaporate into steam before it can cause any harm to Turtsol.

Brenda gets up and exclaims, "That's that Counter Shield thing!" She has a flashback to Ash's battle with May in the Wallace Cup where Ash has Pikachu spin while using Thunderbolt to block an attack from May's Blastoise. She marvels, "It works even outside of contests."

Brock nods. "That's the idea. It's an adaptation of a contest technique into the realm of battles."

Halley appears impressed. "Wow, what a move."

Ash smiles. "Thanks. Turtsol and I worked hard to make sure we could pull off that one." Taking advantage of his momentum, Ash commands, "Now out of your shell and use Flamethrower!" Turtsol immediately stops spinning and attacks Beetundra with a powerful breath of fire.

Halley declares, "Alright Beetundra, it's all or nothing! Use Sheer Cold!"

Brock gasps. "Sheer Cold!? If that move makes contact, it's all over for Turtsol!"

Brenda objects with disbelief, "But Turtsol hasn't even been hit yet!"

"It doesn't matter. That's how powerful of a move Sheer Cold is."

A blast of super-chilled air is released from Beetundra's body. It is directed at Turtsol. Turtsol's Flamethrower makes contact with this chilled air and flies right through it. The chilled air continues at Turtsol and the Flamethrower continues at Beetundra. Both attacks hit their mark and both Pokémon faint.

The referee raises both of his flags and declares, "Both Turtsol and Beetundra are unable to battle!"

Both sides recall their Pokémon. Beetundra's snowball is pulled into the Pokéball as well.

A click is heard and Meowth declares, "There, the lock has been picked." He then sighs in exasperation and looks down to his paws. Most of his claws have been snapped off.

James declares, "Perfect. Now all that stands between us and that trove of Team Rocket treasure is this closed door."

Jessie eagerly urges, "Open it, then!"

James nods and turns the doorknob. They all step inside. The room inside is dimly lit, and nothing can be seen. They look around trying to find something. Meowth finds something, but not what they were looking for. He nervously points to the wall next to the door. "Um…James…what was that you said about nothing standing in our way?"

"I said that that door was all that stood in our way."

Meowth nods. "Right. Well did you consider that there might be security system in our way as well?"

James shakes his head. "Why no I didn't. Why do you ask?"

"Call it a hunch…" James and Jessie look towards where Meowth is pointing. On the wall is a small box. They all freeze up and gulp.

An electronic voice declares, "You have 10 seconds to either enter the security code or exit the premises." Team Rocket all panic and rush outside. The door shuts behind them. As it does, the click of the door locking itself can be heard.

Upon hearing this sound, they all freeze up again. Meowth looks down to his paws and sighs. "Oi vey…"

Ash compliments, "Wow Halley, that was great. You put it all on the line with that last attack and it payed off."

Halley nods. "I suppose so. It's not that often that someone manages to knock Beetundra off its ball. As a member of Team Rocket, I was taught to be cold and calculating. Excuse me for the pun, but I think it made me become too cold. Watching you battle has helped me warm up. You are the one who inspired me to battle in such a way."

Ash grins. "Glad I could help you out. Now, we both have only one Pokémon left. Are you ready for this?"

Halley grins back. "I sure am." He pulls out a Pokéball. "Go, Cosmet!"

Ash looks to Pikachu and says, "Alright Pikachu, I saved you for last. Are you ready?"

Pikachu affirms, "Chu." It hops off of Ash's shoulder and lands on the field in front of Ash.

Halley leaps into battle and orders, "Flame Charge, Cosmet!"

"Coooosmet!" The fiery tail around Cosmet's body flares up. With high speed, it flies towards Pikachu.

Ash quickly commands, "Pikachu, use Quick Attack to dodge!" Pikachu dodges to the side with a burst of speed.

Halley declares, "Flame Charge again!" Cosmet performs a 180 and heads right back at Pikachu. Pikachu attempts to dodge again, but Cosmet is too fast and its attack lands.

Brenda objects, "Hey, what gives? Pikachu was plenty fast enough to dodge the last attack."

Brock explains, "Pikachu isn't getting slower, Cosmet is getting faster. That's what Flame Charge does, it boosts the speed of the user. If it keeps up like this, Cosmet is going to get too fast for Ash to handle."

Ash says to Pikachu, "Okay, looks like we're not going to be able to win this battle with our speed. Let's try some power instead. Use Iron Tail!"

Halley orders, "Use Giga Impact!" Cosmet flies up into the air and then plummets down towards Pikachu with a massive cloak of energy around it.

Pikachu leaps up into the air and swings its tail at the incoming Pokémon. "Chuuu pika!" The Giga Impact is too powerful for Pikachu's Iron Tail to overcome, and Pikachu is hit by the attack and flung to the ground.

Ash shouts with worry, "Pikachu!"

Pikachu, showing signs of pain, slowly gets back up. It looks towards Ash and gives a look of confidence that shows it's good to keep on going.

Ash grins. "Great, we're not done yet."

Halley declares, "We're not done yet either. Use Ice Shard, Cosmet!"

"Thunderbolt, let's go!"

"Pikaaa chuuuuuu!"

"Cooooosmet!" The two ranged attacks collide. Pikachu's Thunderbolt causes the Ice Shards to shatter into harmless pieces.

Halley immediately orders, "Back to Flame Charge!"

Cosmet flies out of the dissipating attacks and towards Pikachu. Ash thinks quickly and orders, "Move it out of the way with Iron Tail!"

"Chuuu pika!" Pikachu spins around and catches the incoming Cosmet with it the crook of its tail, then spins around again, flinging the incoming comet Pokémon away.

Seeing Cosmet helplessly flying away, Ash takes the chance and orders, "Alright, now use Hallowed Lightning!"

Pikachu begins to charge energy. "Pikaaa… pikaaa… chu!" It unleashes a massive orb of electricity at the tumbling Pokémon. The moment the attack makes contact, a bolt of lightning comes down and strikes Cosmet, dealing massive damage.

Brenda cheers, "Alright!"

However, when the aftermath of the attack clears, Cosmet is still floating. Ash and Pikachu are both surprised. "Pika!?"

Halley declares, "Alright Cosmet, Pikachu can't move now that it has used Hallowed Lightning. Let's finish this off with a Giga Impact!" Cosmet climbs up into the air as high as it can get, and then becomes cloaked in a massive field of energy. It plummets down towards Pikachu.

Pikachu tries to move out of the way, but several electric sparks are emitted from its body and it is unable to move.

Watching the Giga Impact closely, Brock comments, "If this attack lands, it's all over for Ash. There's no way Pikachu could take another hit from a Giga Impact, let alone a direct hit from one."

Brenda worries, "And Pikachu can't move to dodge. Oh no…"

Ash clenches his fists and watches the battlefield carefully. Everything seems to slow down in the battle as Ash pays close attention. The Giga Impact gets closer and closer to Pikachu. Ash observes Pikachu especially carefully. He notices the sparks of electricity that display Pikachu's inability to move. He continues to watch until he notices it. The sparks around Pikachu stop. Ash grins with confidence. Still in slow motion, Ash orders, "Once more, Hallowed Lightning!"

The slow motion continuing, Pikachu charges. "Pikaaa… pikaaaa… chu!" Just as Pikachu is unleashing its charged energy, the Giga Impact is a mere foot away from it. The two attacks move at each other in slow motion. Brock and Brenda gasp in anticipation. Ash and Halley both watch closely to see the outcome. The attacks collide. The force of Pikachu's attack is so strong, that it actually knocks Cosmet out of its cloak of energy and into the wall. The energy quickly dissipates mere moments before hitting Pikachu. Pikachu breathes a sigh of relief.

Everyone looks towards Cosmet to see the result. It's on the ground, unable to move. The referee declares, "Cosmet is unable to battle! That means that Ash the challenger is the winner!"

Ash leaps up in victory. "We did it!"

Brenda and Brock both jump up and cheer, "He did it!"

Halley grins and, sounding impressed, says to himself, "He did it."

Meowth is leaning in towards the security system. A light on it turns from red to green. He declares, "There, it may have taken four tries, but the door is unlocked, and the security system is disarmed. We're in."

James smiles with pleasure. "Perfect. Now to see what treasures this place holds." He flips a light switch on, casting light throughout the room. Jessie, James, and Meowth all gasp.

The room around them is full of exercise equipment. It looks more like a place to work out than a home.

Meowth, with suppressed anger, asks, "James?"

Fearing what's coming, James answers, "Yes…"

"Did you actually have any confirmation that this was Halley's house?"

James slowly shakes his head. "No…I just saw him come out of here this morning."

Meowth grabs James and begins to violently shake him. "Yeah! On his way back from his morning workout!" He leaps up to scratch James face, but has absolutely no effect due to his broken nails. "I broke all of my claws for this!" He's about to try to attack in some other way, when he hears a voice and freezes up.

The voice, which is just outside the door, says, "This is it Officer Jenny, this is where I saw the suspicious activity."

Jessie, James, and Meowth all slowly look towards each other. Then, in a panic, they all run out the door at once. On the way, they push right past Officer Jenny, knocking her out of the way. They all shout, "Looks like Team Rocket's running from the law again!"

Officer Jenny is left completely stunned.

Ash, Pikachu, Turtsol, and Arborrior are standing with Halley in front of his gym. Halley says, "Ash, that truly was a wonderful battle. I may have a troubled past, but it does my heart good to see young trainers like you battling Pokémon for all of the right reasons. While you won this battle, I felt like this day was also a victory for me."

Ash grins. "I was wrong about you, Halley. You may have used to be a part of Team Rocket, but by battling you I've been able to see your true side, the side untainted by Team Rocket."

Halley nods. "That's the great thing about battling. On the surface, it seems like a way to put trainers in conflict with one another, but that is not the purpose. Battling is a way for two trainers to connect on a whole different level. It allows them to understand each other on a whole other level. Pokémon battling is a beautiful thing. Groups like Team Rocket ruin its purity. That is the reason I left. And now that you and I understand each other, I have something to give to you." He holds out a Comet Badge, like the one he gave to James, in an open palm. "It's a Comet Badge.

Ash takes the badge, looks at it for just a moment and then holds it up in triumph. "Yeah, I just got a Comet Badge!"

"Pik pikachu!"

"Turtsol!"

"Arborrrrrior!"

When two trainers meet in battle, their minds become one with their Pokémon, but their hearts become one with their opponent. Wise words from a wise man indeed. And with four gym badges to his name, Ash is now half-way to the Tenno League. What lies ahead? Find out next time, as the journey continues!

To Be Continued…