Summer off? Free time? No homework or projects? Writing time!

Enjoy.

Chapter 66
Frosty Fight

"I figured that I would see you here eventually," Cilice said as she smoothed out the wrinkles on her dress. She looked at the young girl expectantly.

"Um..." Marina looked away for a brief moment as she thought, but she returned the woman's patient gaze energetically. "We met in Ecruteak; you know my brother, right?"

"Indeed. My name is Cilice."

"Oh, Cilice! That was it," she giggled, "I'm sorry, it's just been a long time."

"Yes." Cilice laughed softly. Unlike the previous times Marina had met her, she was not wearing her heavy cloak. Rather, the woman had donned a long, indigo dress decorated with intricate beading and delicate, feathery sleeves. Her smooth arms were bare, and though the temperature in the gym was below freezing, she did not appear bothered by it. Along with her icy-blue hair and a curious pair of short, static wings presumably strapped to her back, she appeared to fit in perfectly with the world of snow and frost around her, like an angel of ice.

"So what are you doing here? Are you the new Gym Leader?" Marina asked.

"New Gym Leader? Heavens no, though I suppose my position is similar," she said with a modest wave. On the other side of the battlefield, the young Trainer tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Then what do you do?"

"Ever since reopening, this Pokémon Gym has had many, many visitors," Cilice answered her. "The Gym Leader cannot handle the hundreds of challenges he receives every week, and the majority of them are defeated with ease only to return the next day. Therefore, he has hired a substitute Gym Leader that will battle in order to filter out the weaker challengers. I am that Trainer.

If you defeat me in battle, you may proceed to the next room to challenge the real Gym Leader."

"That makes sense! I'm okay with that." Marina carefully avoided any patches of ice as she made her way to her position on the wintry arena. She moved a hand over her belt and the Poké Balls it held. "So how many Pokémon should we use?"

"This will—."

"There is no need for that, Cilice."

As Cilice began to respond to Marina's query, another voice interrupted her from above. Though affected by age, it had a bold quality that assured it was well-heard. The girls looked upwards at the network of catwalks that ran alongside the walls of the gym. Draped in a warm longcoat, an old man with snow-white hair watched over them. He made his way toward the nearest staircase that led to the battlefield. Dropping her composed demeanor, Cilice pivoted in his direction with a look of notable concern.

"Are you well enough to be wandering alone up there? You are—."

"I am fine. Please, I know how to climb stairs."

"Yet you should be resting."

"My leg will have little effect on the battle, I assure you," the man waved away her worries with a gentle flick of his free hand. His sturdy wooden cane clacked as he descended the metal stairs and made his way toward her. She appeared too stubborn to yield even when he stopped in front of her. He made a knowing smile on his wrinkled face. "Hm. Willow is my middle name. Willow is flexible and not easily broken. You know not to worry."

"...Yes. I'm sorry."

"There's no need to be. I know you're just looking out for me."

The proper woman seemed to sigh, but straightened her posture. "Then you have discerned that this girl is worthy of battling you at once?"

"One needs seven badges in order to gain entrance to the Blackthorn City Gym, and this young Trainer has six," he turned to the puzzled girl, who looked down at the collar of her light coat. "That on its own tells of her skill.

"And like many Trainers here, I have been watching her battle; I am quite impressed by her prowess, especially for her age. She would defeat you easily."

"I see," Cilice yielded with a passive nod. "Go ahead then."

The man proceeded to take her place, and Marina could not contain her curiosity any longer. She raised her hand.

"Um...! Who are you? Are you the Gym Leader?"

The adults looked at her with a bit of surprise, and then glanced at one another. The man laughed a bit. Marina felt particularly silly for asking, but tried to hide her embarrassment by laughing along with him.

"Yes," he answered. "My name is Pryce, the Winter Trainer, and I train Ice-type Pokémon. I have been the Gym Leader here for many years."

"For many years? Wait! Didn't the last Gym Leader die? And someone else replaced him? And that's why it took a long time for the Gym to reopen? What about...?" Marina moved her hands about in confusion.

"Is that what they're saying, now?"

"Then it isn't true?"

"He is alive and standing before you, is he not?" Cilice chimed in with a polite smile. "Be careful of rumors."

"Okay." The girl simpered and held her hands behind her. "I will."

Then again, I guess Morty didn't say much about a new Gym Leader, she thought.

"I apologize for keeping my Gym closed for so long, but I had important business that needed to be done," said Pryce. Cilice nodded in quiet agreement. A particularly strong breeze caused his scarf to flicker about for a moment as he went back on topic. "Now, which type of battle would you prefer?"

"What type?" Marina asked. "You mean like three-on-three?"

"Do you plan on participating in the Johto Tournament or in the Pokémon League?"

"Oh. I'm going for the Pokémon League!" she answered with a little jump.

"Good," Pryce said, wearing an amused grin. He pulled out a Poké Ball. "I have three Pokémon, but you can use as many as the six that are on your team."

"Right!"

"Now, I have been with my Pokémon since before you were born. I do not lose easily. I shall demonstrate my power!"

"Well, I'm ready! Let's go Muu-chan!" shouted Marina as she flung her own Poké Ball into the air. Two Pokémon appeared on the field, Misdreavus on her side and a Dewgong on Pryce's. The white sea lion swam without effort in the chilling waters, and Muu-chan regarded it with caution as she hovered about in the air. "Muu-chan, use Thunderbolt!"

"Dodge and then fire Aurora Beam!" Pryce commanded not a moment afterward.

Forming static around her, the little ghost unleashed a bolt of electricity at her opponent, which jumped into the air onto the large slab of ice in the center of the battlefield. The Dewgong fired a colorful, frosty beam as the momentum from its jump sent it sliding back into the water, but not without taking a direct hit from Muu-chan's Thunderbolt. The two exchanged another round of attacks, which collided and tore each other apart in the process. Muu-chan avoided the next Aurora Beam, but managed to strike her opponent once more.

"Now Rest!" ordered Pryce. Dewgong barked in response as it jumped back on the iceberg, curled up, and quickly fell asleep. It moved its mouth as it napped, and its burn wounds from the electricity began to heal.

"Alright, it's sleeping! Keep using Thunderbolt!" Marina said, pointing at the sleeping Pokémon. But the instant Muu-chan began to comply, Dewgong suddenly woke and dived back into the lake to avoid the attack. The girl gasped in surprise. "What? Why did it wake up so suddenly?"

"A Chesto berry," he responded. "Aurora Beam once more, Dewgong!"

"Wha—ah, Muu-chan, dodge it!" Her Misdreavus was unable to obey her belated response and rushed to shake off the frost accumulating in her pink tassels.

Chesto berries wake up a sleeping Pokémon, I think, she guessed with some amazement. It must have been hiding it in its mouth. That's so clever! It can't do it again, though!

"Use Confuse Ray!" she ordered. Dewgong flinched and grew dizzy from her Pokémon's sudden flash of light. "Now follow it up with Pain Split!"

"Go back underwater!"

Pryce's Dewgong furiously flailed as its energy was drained away, slipping out of range as soon as it was able to. Muu-chan let out an energized sigh yet kept her distance from the pond.

"Now fire a Thunderbolt into the water!" Marina shouted.

"Muu!" replied her Misdreavus.

"Back onto the ice, Dewgong," Pryce commanded.

The ghost Pokémon charged up static and fired another thunderbolt just as the Dewgong rushed to swim up to the top. But its lack of coordination caused it to smash headfirst into the iceberg. Unable to escape the electricity running through the water, the graceful mermaid-like Pokémon howled before passing out. It rested halfway on the ice, exhausted.

"Dewgong! ...You did well. Return," said the Gym Leader as he recalled it. With a small nod, he put his first Poké Ball away and took out the second.

"Good job, Muu-chan! How are you feeling?" Marina praised.

"Muu," hummed her Pokémon with a friendly glance in her direction. Her Trainer smiled.

"I thought so," she laughed.

"Lapras, go!"

She looked in Pryce's direction. "Lapras?"

As a large figure appeared and the opponent's next Pokémon reared its head high, she couldn't resist taking a step backward. The Gym Leader's words rang true as his Lapras was certainly taller, older and more experienced than Marina's. The sheer difference in height caught her off-guard, and she tried to calm herself as she felt no sense of unusual panic while in its presence. Pryce and Cilice seemed to notice this reaction, as well as Muu-chan tensing up in response to her Trainer.

"Why are you so surprised? You have a Lapras as well," Pryce reasoned with an odd stare.

"Oh, I know—well, it's just—yours is so different from mine!" she stuttered with a forced grin. "I didn't know that they could get taller than that."

"Hm. Ok then. Lapras, Ice Beam."

"Muu-chan, Thunderbolt!"

The two Pokémon exchanged attacks, both landing as the two turned away in pain. Muu-chan was almost sent flying out of the battlefield from the force of Lapras' Ice Beam, but zipped past Marina to the opposite end of the moat from where her opponent was.

"Use Thunderbolt again!"

"Surf, Lapras!"

With a quick intake of breath, Muu-chan again unleashed a bolt of lightning in Lapras' direction. The large sea creature was slow to move and so took the piercing attack, but its movements made the water churn in sever unrest. Lapras then swam as quickly as it could toward her. The water became choppier until a big wave followed and passed by it, swallowing up the little ghost.

"Muu-chan!" called Marina, helplessly looking into the pool.

"Rest!" ordered the Gym Leader, whose Pokémon obeyed at once. It lowered its head slightly and fell asleep.

Marina watched the Lapras in a tense, focused manner in case it too had a Chesto berry. Fortunately, it did not awaken, and moments later Muu-chan rose up shivering from the cold pond with a little splash. "Are you okay, Muu-chan?"

"Mu...Muu!"

"Good, now Pain Split it while it's asleep!"

Her tired Misdreavus swept in and proceeded to light up her necklace and drain energy from her slumbering opponent.

While she was doing this, Pryce shouted, "Sleep Talk, now!"

"Sleep Talk?" Marina blinked in mild confusion. She gasped. "Muu-chan, move away!"

Making a loud grunt, the Lapras suddenly opened its mouth and fired a powerful breath of ice with its eyes completely closed. Muu-chan cried out a screech and flew back, landing hard on the ice beside Marina. The Lapras then continued to bob its head undisturbed.

"Muu-chan!" When she did not receive a response, Marina quickly walked to her Pokémon's side to lightly pet and recall her into her Poké Ball. "You did good. Return!"

That move allowed Lapras to use a move even when it's sleeping... I completely forgot about that for a moment, she thought as she returned to her place and grasped her next Pokémon.

"Go for it, Prince!"

"Efi!" called her Espeon as he posed elegantly on the ice.

"Use Psychic, but keep your distance!"

Prince distorted the air around him as he sent a potent wave of psychic energy right to his opponent, which cringed considerably but remained in a light sleep.

"Sleep Talk!" ordered the Gym Leader. Lapras once again uttered a loud noise before moving forward without warning. Prince leaped away and tried to hold his ground as the massive sea creature crashed into and broke off part of the icy peninsula. However, the impact of its Body Slam technique woke the Pokémon with a grouchy start, leaving the two enemies to stare down one another.

"Psychic, Prince!" Marina shouted.

"Ice Beam!" commanded Pryce simultaneously.

The Pokémon followed orders on instant, their Ice and Psychic-type techniques plowing into one another. Prince skidded and briefly landed in the pool, and his opponent's aim was thrown off track as it unintentionally covered some of the water and added frozen icicles onto the ceiling.

"Ice Beam once more!"

Frantically scrambling back onto the ice, the fox shook off access water only to be coated in a layer of ice from Lapras.

"Psybeam!" Prince's Trainer ordered. Red jewel glistening, Prince broke free and quickly fired of a Psybeam into his opponents face. With a brief, hoarse roar, Lapras turned away and wobbled dizzily before falling unconscious with a great splash. A brief moment of silence followed before the Gym Leader recalled the Pokémon. Marina and Prince both heaved a sigh.

"Cold, huh?" Marina asked, wiping off some water that had sprinkled onto her bare legs. Prince made a mixture of a purr and a growl as he repeatedly shivered in a vain attempt to get all of the ice off of his fur.

"Hmm... You are quite the Trainer. This is my last," Pryce announced from his side of the field.

Marina nodded. "We're ready!"

"Ef," Prince barked softly in response.

"Piloswine!" he called as he tossed the last Poké Ball onto the ice, where a bulky, small mammoth-like Pokémon appeared with a howl.

"A Piloswine?" she repeated as she quickly took out her Pokédex.

"Hail, Piloswine!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Marina exclaimed.

"There will be no time for that during a major battle," Pryce responded as a large gust of wind descended upon the battlefield. As the brown mammoth continued to summon the wintry air, the falling beads of ice grew in size bit by bit.

"Ohh—Prince, use Psychic quick!" She blindly turned on her Pokédex for a moment to gather the opponent's data before putting it away, shifting her attention back to the battle. Prince landed his mark with ease, causing Piloswine to stumble about haphazardly for a moment, but he was beginning to have a difficult time ignoring the hail pelting him constantly.

He's not going to retreat no matter what, she thought. Got no choice but to deal as much damage as we can!

"Again, Prince!"

Her Espeon fired off yet another Psychic-type blast, but the hail and wintry weather became so thick that the attack veered off course and grazed the snow-covered fur on the mammoth Pokémon's back.

"It missed!" Marina gasped, trying to protect her eyes from the blistering winds. "Use Swift, Prince!"

"Blizzard, Piloswine," she barely managed to hear Pryce order. The gusts turned into gales, and everything turned white as Marina did her best to brace the intense cold. When it calmed, the entire pond was frozen over. Her Espeon had toppled over, a considerable amount of snow accumulating over him.

"It's okay, Prince. Good job! Return!" She recalled him, and she was sure to hold the ball close before clipping it back to her belt.

It's an easy choice who's next, she thought and grabbed King's Poké Ball.

"Go, King! Let's finish this!"

"Magu!" he excitedly barked and ignited his flames, which tenaciously remained even in the wintry winds.

"Lava Plume!"

"Mud Bomb," Pryce responded.

The vivacious Quilava easily bounded out of the way of the glob of dirt his opponent hurled, shooting out a flurry of fireballs that landed on and around the Piloswine. The fire burned holes in the ice, which began to crack under the weight of the mammoth Pokémon. It scuttled away from the unstable surface and heaved a loud, aggressive grunt at King, who barked back in return.

"Take Down, Piloswine!"

"King, use Flame Wheel!"

Surrounding himself in fire, he darted toward his opponent barreling toward him. The flames left a trail of polished ice as the two headstrong Pokémon crashed into each other. But Piloswine continued pushing forward without any effort, thrusting King into a wall of uneven ice that had been left behind by Lapras. He cried out and flailed, but was unable pry himself free.

"Lava Plume once more, King!" Marina quickly ordered.

Before Pryce could give another command of his own, the Quilava's flames completely enveloped Piloswine, which swayed and fell over on his side with a tired cry. The blizzard-like winds finally died down, and Marina smiled in satisfaction as the last Pokémon disappeared from the battlefield. King tenderly stretched before bulleting toward Marina, jumping into her arms as she knelt.

"Magu!" he happily cooed as she petted him.

"Great job, King! Geez, you're so warm," she said, hugging the Fire-type tightly. "I'm freezing!"

"Magu, maguma!"

"That's badge number seven, though. Can you imagine how quickly we've gotten this far?"

"Rashi!" King responded, causing his Trainer to giggle in delight. She looked up to see Pryce approaching, and she almost disdainfully pulled away from her Pokémon's warm embrace as she faced him. Cilice followed after the Gym Leader, seeming satisfied yet not quite paying attention, deep in her thoughts.

"You did not leave me disappointed," Pryce said. "I am happy that such talented Trainers come to see me. You are worthy of this Glacier Badge." The old man seemed to be smiling almost as much as she was, even as he held out the Gym Badge for her to take. It resembled a snowflake fit in the shape of a hexagon. Marina took it from his gloved hand, standing back to bow deeply.

"Thank you! That was a fun battle," she said. "You had a lot of tricks up your sleeve!"

"Hm." Pryce made a pleasant hum of gratitude. "Could you return later today?"

"Sure, why?" asked Marina as she pinned the Glacier Badge to her jacket, the pin shining brilliantly along with the others.

"I would like to talk to you about your Pokémon," he told her, "Although you treasure them, it seems you don't see eye to eye with some of them. I would like to help you with that, if you would allow it."

"What?" Uncertain, she asked, "Then, what about now?"

"Look behind you," Cilice responded coolly, "It appears as though your battle has inspired some of the Trainers here."

The girl turned, and as she did so faced a pack of various Pokémon Trainers—many of whom clapped in response to her victory. Feeling a little overwhelmed, she giggled and quickly bowed in response to the attention. She glanced back at the Gym Leader and his elegant assistant with a smile.

"Okay then, I'll stop by again this evening. Bye!"

"I suggest visiting around closing time," said Cilice with a nod. "Farewell."

Marina waved and began walking, almost tripping over the ice as she did so. After checking to make sure King was following her, she wove through a small crowd of people as they headed for the exit of the gym—with a new badge in tow.