Having won my fourth ribbon I've decided to return to Snowpoint City to rest for a little while, especially after hearing from Dawn that she would be coming to my hometown. This is why I decided to pay a visit to Candance's gym and give her the heads-up. I know from experience that gyms tend to be attacked by fans and the media whenever The Saint was in town. Now that his popularity reached new heights after the festival in Alola... I'm kind of worried about my city as a whole.
"Congratulations on winning the Icicle Badge," I heard Candance congratulate a trainer. "It's a well-deserved win." I was able to notice who was Candance talking to, as I stepped closer to the battlefield. It was Dawn's friend, Paul! "Zoey! What a surprise what brings you here?"
"Hi, Candance, Paul," I greeted them, receiving a node from Paul and a cheery wave from the Gym Leader. "My friend just contacted me and told me that Ash Ketchum is reaching Snowpoint City today, I just wanted to inform you so you could get prepared for the whole mess that will create."
"So, it's finally my time..." Candance murmured looking down, before jumping up and looking at me with eyes burning with a fire I did not think an Ice Master would have. "I will finally face off against The Saint! Ash Ketchum, here I come!" She screamed rushing out of the gym.
"Where is she going on?" I asked out loud, mostly to myself, but unexpectedly got an answer from Paul.
"Most likely to the entrance of the city, to wait for Ash," he pocketed his badge into his case, before turning towards me. "I was not aware there was a contest here."
"There isn't, I am just here to visit my family and take a rest before going back out for my last ribbon," I answered with a smile. "What about you? I thought you were traveling with Ash and Dawn."
"I was, but they were making a lot of stops. I could handle the contest, as I've never watched one live... but the ping-pong competition? I said my goodbyes and continued the journey here on my own." Paul explained, sharing an unexpected amount of information with me.
"Are you staying to watch Ash's battle?" I asked him curiously.
"I was already thinking of taking a couple of days before going back on the road," Paul hummed. "I will be here to watch the battle, I just hope that the gym won't be crowded."
"Fat chance!" I laughed. "After the news of Ash being in the city spreads the place will be filled with people."
I decided to accompany him to the Pokemon Center to get his pokemon healed up, before returning to the Pokemon Gym early to reserve some good seats for all of us. I spent it asking him questions about his training methods and battle strategies, finding it quite interesting how different he was from Ash. Which earned me a glare from Paul and a huff of 'why are all coordinators the same, you people should understand that comparing a normal trainer to Ash Ketchum is madness on its own!'. I chuckled, blushing a bit, he was right about that. Ash is crazy, and so I am for expecting other gym trainers to be like him.
Surprisingly it took them a couple of hours to get here, especially after Dawn had sent me a text telling me that they were close. However, as expected they took a detour to the Trainer's School, so Ash could teach a class to Candance's senior class. A class they brought to the gym to observe the gym battle between their teacher and The Saint, which would be refereed by Mr. Honcho, the head teacher at the Trainer's School.
Dawn waved at us excitedly as she approached us to the bleachers with a smile. "In Shelter Town, we got new clothes from mom!" Dawn exclaimed excitedly, twirling around to show off her new coat and scarf, before sitting down between Paul and me. "We also met this girl Marilyn who wanted my Buneary and had a weird definition of cute. But she ended up being a pretty cool girl at the end, we exchanged contact info and everything!"
"I can't wait for the battle," commented Riley, between Paul and his Lucario. "It will be the first five-on-five Gym Battle of Ash I'll observe."
"Mine too! Our teacher was very excited about facing off against The Saint," the businessman sitting beside me commented. "Oh, how rude of me, my name is Jeremiah, I am part of the senior class from Trainer's School that Gym Leader Candance teaches. We were fascinated by Ace Ranger Ketchum's lesson in adaptability and terrain manipulation."
"It was a good lesson," Riley agreed, before smiling at Paul and me. "But nothing you guys haven't already learned from him. So, don't worry about it."
Before we could reply, Mr. Honcho stepped forward with a smile and announced: "The battle between Ash, The Saint, and Candance, the Gym Leader of Snowpoint City, will now begin. Each trainer is only allowed five pokemon, and the battle will be over once all pokemon on one trainer's side have been defeated. Furthermore, only the challenger may substitute pokemon. Let the battle begin!"
"Froslass!" Both trainers on the battlefield called out, taking out their Poke Balls. Silence reigned in the gym, before Ash and Candance burst into laughter, soon we also joined them. Even Paul chuckled at the coincidence. Who would have expected them to call out the same pokemon out of all the possibilities out there?
"Froslass, use Hex!" Candance commanded. Ash did not even need to order his Froslass to dodge before she was moving. However, the moment she moved out of the way, Candance's Froslass materialized before her and hit her with a powerful Confuse Ray. "Nice one! Let's take advantage of her confused state, Icy Wind!"
"No!" Dawn exclaimed beside me, looking at Froslass with worry. Though my eyes were not on the pokemon fighting, but on Ash, who was uncharacteristically quiet. He is someone who is in constant movement and a chatterbox, especially during battles. Yet, he stood there in silence, clenching his fists on each side of his body, observing the fight like a Pidgeot. "Not Ice Shard! Froslass needs to snap out of it!" Dawn moaned, bringing my attention back to the fight. Right now Ash's Froslass was on the receiving end of a barricade of Ice Shards, she won't last long if it continues like that.
"There's not much to do, once you get hit by a Confuse Ray from an experienced and powerful ghost is hard to make a comeback," Jeremiah commented.
"Just wait, Ash will turn the fight around before you know it," surprisingly, the one who jumped to defend Ash was Paul. His eyes never left the battlefield, observing the battle like a Staraptor. He suddenly smirked, when electricity crackled on the battlefield. "See," he commented smugly when Ash's Froslass returned the Ice Fang attack she received from Candace's, with a Thunder Wave.
If there's one Ghost-type pokemon that I expected to use an electric attack with the precision and power of an Electric-type one, it would be Ash's. I thought, shaking my head in good humor. Especially, under Pikachu's tutelage. I've seen what Pachirisu's Electro Ball can do and I do not want to be on the bad side of that attack, thank you very much!
"Draining Kiss!" Ash ordered, getting Candace's Froslass in a worse state. Unfortunately, the paralysis did not last long and before they could attack again, Candace's Froslass snapped out of it and retaliated with a Will-O-Wisp. But Ash did not back down and his next attack shocked us all. "Froslass, Destiny Bond!"
The gym was silent when during the next couple of minutes, both Froslass landed on the floor and fainted.
"I did not expect you to use that move," Candance said what we were all thinking, as both trainers recalled their Froslass. "That is not a move I would expect from you."
"I've been taking a few lessons from Fantina," Ash commented with a bashful grin. "Learning that ghosts are different than other pokemon and trying to adapt to their nature."
"Well, it's been working." Candance chuckled, taking out a Poke Ball and calling out her next pokemon. "Glalie!"
Ash stopped frozen before throwing his Poke Ball and burst out laughing. We all saw the pokemon that came out of the Poke Ball... and we burst out laughing. "Did we coordinate this somehow and I am not aware?" Ash inquired, still laughing.
"Not that I am aware of," replied Candance, tearing up from laughing so hard. "Let's do this!"
"Double Team!" Ash commanded, doubles of Glalie appeared surrounding Candance's Glalie.
"Make them disappear with Freeze-Dry!" Candance ordered, making the doubles disappear in a show of lights. That's pretty, I thought. I'll steal that for my contests. However, Candance did not see Ash's Glalie sneaking from behind and attacking with a precise Iron Head. "Glalie!" Candance shouted worriedly. "Pay Back!"
"Glalie!" Now it was Ash shouting for his Glalie. "Retaliate with a Dark Pulse and Shadow Ball combo!" The Dark Pulse surrounded the Shadow Ball creating a beautiful attack, one that burst into a light show of violet and black lights.
That! That I am so stealing! I exclaimed internally.
"Beautiful!" Dawn murmured beside me.
"Since when does Ash fight like a coordinator?" Paul asked confused.
"It seems that your training practices with Ash are showing," Riley commented towards Dawn, who beamed back at him.
"Water Pulse!" Ash ordered, his Glalie attacking the other before they could get off the ground. "Frost Breath!" It was then that I realized how brilliant his plan was. Candace's Glalie was soaked and now he was attacking him with an ice attack. He was frozen in seconds. "Iron Head!" The ice sculpture shattered revealing a battered and fainted Glalie.
"Glalie is unable to fight! Ash Ketchum and Glalie are the winners!" Mr. Honcho announced to a cheering crowd.
"Well done buddy!" Ash smiled blindingly at his Glalie, who was floating in circles around him. "Return and relax."
"You might be winning, but this is far from over!" Candance warned him. This time both of them called out their pokemon at the same time, no matching set this time.
"Glaceon vs Miltank... bad match up," Riley murmured.
"Does Miltank have the Thick Fat ability?" Jeremiah inquired.
"Yes, but she is also very versatile," Riley replied.
"To be fair, all of Ash's Normal-type pokemon are very versatile," Dawn commented with a chuckle. "What I find funny is the fact that Ash was thinking of bringing his Glaceon to this battle but ended up deciding not to at the last minute."
"Wait, he has a Glaceon?" I exclaimed surprised.
"It would have been a three for three then," replied Paul with a dry chuckle.
"Don't you remember Zoey? You met them during Christmas!" Dawn exclaimed.
"I thought that was May's Glaceon!" I replied. "There were so many pokemon back then and I was already nervous about the Wallace Cup, I did not notice two different Glaceon going around." Soon our attention was recalled by the ongoing battle before us. Glaceon started with a Quick Attack to get close to Miltank fast and bite down on Miltank with a vicious Ice Fang. But because of Thick Fat, it was not very effective. Miltank retaliated with a Fire Punch to the gut and before it could send Glaceon flying, face-slapped him with an Iron Tail. "Ouch!" I muttered as Glaceon landed on the wall behind Candance, leaving a crater behind. "That must have hurt!" But Ash was not over. "Rollout!" He commanded, taking us all by surprise by the speed of that Rollout. Then again, Miltank's Rollouts are known for being both powerful and fast. However, Glaceon was expecting it and received it with a well-timed Double Kick, that sent Miltank rolling back and crashing into the wall behind Ash. Glaceon then followed with a Rain Dance and an Icy Wind that froze Miltank. "Well, they do say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," I commented with a chuckle.
However, the ice sculpture did not last long, being cracked open by a Fire Punch from within. "Miltank, Heal Bell!" Ash's pokemon was healed up, while Glaceon was bruised and tired. "Now, let's finish this! High Horsepower!" Glaceon had no chance, it was truly a bad match-up. "Well done, sweetheart!" Ash congratulated her on her win, as Miltank rolled back to her trainer, before returning her to her Poke Ball. "This is getting good!"
"Just wait, we are just getting started!" Candance replied, getting all fired up. An Ice Master should not be that firery, but we would not want our city's Gym Leader any other way. "Abomasnow, you are next!"
"Then I will choose you, Nidoking!" Ash called out his fourth pokemon. This has now become a battle of titans! "Poison Jab!"
"Recieve it with Wood Hammer!" Candance commanded.
Her Abomasnow roared, and the titans fought. They received one hit with another, evenly matched when it came to raw strength. It did not make it any less exciting. If anything it umped things up. We could feel the shocks from the strength of the hits from where we were sitting. I felt as if I watching a fight between Fighting-type pokemon, their form was very well trained. Things got to a point both sides were starting to get tired, which was when Ash decided to change the pace with a well-timed Earthquake that destabilized Abomasnow and made him fall to the ground from a Poison Jab to the gut.
"Fire Punch!" Ash went for the kill, but the punch was received with an Ice Punch. Abomasnow was not giving up!
"Abomasnow! Go for it!" Candance shouted, startling us all, even Ash's razor-sharp concentration faltered. Abomasnow then summoned an Energy Ball, but instead of attacking he swallowed it. I was so confused, until the moment Abomasnow fired a Solar Beam.
"Nidoking!" Ash screamed, as his pokemon hit the ground, leaving a crater behind.
"Nidoking is unable to fight! Candance and Abomasnow are the winners!" Mr. Honcho announced to a silent crowd, which broke into cheers.
"She used the Energy Ball as a charging battery," Paul said stunned. "And here I thought only Ash came up with crazy attacks."
"She is good..." Dawn murmured.
"But it does not matter much, Abomasnow is done for," Jeremiah commented, pointing at a heaving Abomasnow. "He is exhausted and poisoned, he won't last long." As if he had heard him, Abomasnow fell forward and faceplanted on the ground.
The next battle was a quick one. As good as Mawile was, taking Weavile by surprise with a nasty Flamethrower from her jaw, Weavile was just too fast. No matter what a good match-up Mawile was against Weavile, what good was it when her attacks could not reach Weavile? What's worse Candance and Weavile did not give Mawile an opening to use the terrain or their attacks against them. So, Mawile ended up having to be on the receiving end of a barricade of well-placed and well-timed Shadow Claws and Focus Punches. Candance and Weavile ended the battle with a powerful Focus Blast, that caused Mawile to faint. But Ash did not take it laying down. He rapidly called out Miltank, Weavile's speed had nothing on Miltank's Rollout and Thick Fat. They ended up taking Weavile down with an overpowered Hyper Beam to the face.
"Ouch!" I cringed. "They are truly going for the kill out there."
"Yeah, I have not seen Ash this vicious before," Dawn commented.
"I have... during his battle against Bruno," Paul replied, thoughtfully.
"How did you see that? It was before you guys met," Riley asked him.
"My brother had the recording, he showed it to me," Paul answered.
"Weavile is down, all of Gym Leader Candace's pokemon are out," Mr. Honcho announced. "Ash Ketchum and his pokemon are the winners!"
The crowd was deafening, just like I was expecting. But Candance paid it no attention, recalling Weavile with a smile and walking towards a celebrating Miltank and Ash. She took out a badge and smiled at our friend. "This is the Snowpoint Gym's badge, the Icicle Badge, It is my greatest honor to present it to you. It was a well-earned badge and an amazing battle. Thank you!"
"No, thank you!" Ash replied, taking the badge and shaking her hand, before jumping in the air and posing with his pokemon. "I GOT AN ICICLE BADGE!"
I was so happy for Ash, he had truly earned this badge. It was an incredible battle, one that I will forever remember. Thank you Ash!