"How are you getting on, Croconaw?" Ash asked, on the road down towards Mahogany Town. "I know you're heavier now."

"Well, my balance hasn't changed much, which is good," Croconaw said brightly. "My tail's bigger, but I can just use it for better balance!"

He tested that, jumping to one side and then the other. "Hmm-mmm… yeah, I need to rework a bit but I bet it'll just make them better!"

"Sounds good to me, Croconaw," Ash said. "I guess it's not all that likely you'll get a Gym battle in the rest of Johto, though."

"Well, yeah!" Croconaw agreed. "You've got to make sure everyone gets a go, right? And some of the new girls haven't even had one!"

He pondered, tapping a claw against his muzzle. "I suppose Phanpy's a bit young yet. But Lokoko and Zacian could battle any time, couldn't they?"

Ash nodded. "Zacian wants to battle Blackthorn," he said. "And besides that… it does kind of depend on what the gym rules are. Especially Mahogany."

Someone up ahead snorted. "Kid, you couldn't handle challenging Mahogany Gym."

"No, no, trust me on this," Misty interrupted. "He really could. This isn't even bragging. Do you watch the news?"

The old man who'd spoken gave her a look, then walked up to inspect Ash, and frowned. "...actually, he does look familiar."

"I'm Ash Ketchum!" Ash explained.

The old man looked more closely, then frowned. "No, it was someone else I saw. Something about a kid with a Salamence."

"I wonder if Ritchie has to deal with this kind of thing," Pikachu said.

Then, for no particularly obvious reason, the ground gave way underneath Ash and the old man.

"Whooa-" Ash yelped, seeing the ground below getting closer, then there was a golden shimmer and a ring appeared beneath him.

And the ground was further away, and getting rapidly closer – further away, and getting rapidly closer – further away, and…

"Hoopa has saved the minute!" Hoopa announced proudly, through another portal which kept pace with Ash as he fell. "Hoopa is thinking with Hyperspace Holes! But Hoopa always messes up the fancy momentum tricks a bit, so Hoopa has brought you time to save yourself! That is why Hoopa did not say Hoopa saved the day."

"Right," Ash said, thinking. "Articuno, go!"

"You've got a what?" the old man asked. "What's going on?"

Ash's Articuno emerged from her Pokéball with a yawn, abruptly realized the situation, and telekinetically froze them all in mid-air. Then Hoopa's hyperspace-holes vanished, job done, and Articuno lowered them to ground level.

"What exactly were you doing?" she asked.

"That doesn't look like any Articuno I've seen," the old man said, shaking his head.

"And what would you know, you old buffer?" Articuno demanded.

"I… uh, she's kind of annoyed at that," Ash winced. "I don't know exactly what that word meant."

"See if I give him a lift without an apology," the Psychic-type huffed, folding her wings and perching on mid-air.

"I've been an Ice type gym leader for decades, boy, I know what an Articuno looks like," the old man said.

"Wait, you're Pryce?" Pikachu said. "Huh."

"Actually, what are your gym challenge rules?" Ash asked. "I'm planning on challenging your gym later."

"The Pokémon you use have to share a weakness-" Pryce began, then stopped. "What is even happening right now?"

"Well, the ground gave way," Ash listed off. "Then Hoopa set up a thing with their portals so we had long enough to think on the way down, and I sent out my Articuno – she's from Galar, she's a Psychic-type. Then I think that's about when you started insulting her."

Zygarde jumped down the hole, and landed with a thump.

"Are any of you injured?" they asked.

"I think we're all fine, thanks Zygarde," Ash replied.

"That is good news," Zygarde said. "I will inform Brock and Misty."

With that he jumped right back out of the hole again.

"...what was that Pokémon?" Pryce asked, now completely lost. "I've never seen that one before either."

"I'm pretty sure Zygarde is from Kalos," Ash supplied.

"Ash," Marshadow said, walking over from a dark passageway. "There is something unusual deeper in this cave. Do you have any idea how it is possible to freeze a Piloswine?"

Ash thought about that. "Uh… actually, I don't know. Pryce, do you have any idea how you could Freeze an Ice-type like a Piloswine? Because Marshadow found one over there…"

Pryce didn't believe them.

Then, he saw the frozen Piloswine, and didn't believe his own eyes instead but for a completely different reason.

"So…" Misty said, as they sat in Mahogany Town Pokémon Centre. "You found a frozen Piloswine, and it was actually Pryce's one from, it must be decades ago."

"Yeah, and apparently that was why he didn't like Pokémon much?" Ash said. "Pikachu and I think it's kind of weird someone who did that would run a gym, but… I don't know, maybe it's because all the other Johto gym leaders so far have been normal. Maybe he's the odd one, like Sabrina."

Misty remembered the Whitney battle, and decided not to comment.

"The weird thing though was that it was frozen," Ash went on. "That's actually why we were down there for so long, we were brainstorming about how it could happen."

Misty and Brock exchanged glances.

"Of course you were," Brock said. "Did you work it out?"

"The best guess Mew could come up with is that it had to do with Soak," Ash said. "Besides that, uh… I need to work out what Pokémon to use…"

At around the same time, on the outskirts of Pallet Town, a lively debate was wrapping up.

"Voting will now take place," the chairdragon said. "The proposition: that the new resident is either a large shiny Dragonair or in some other sense draconic, and therefore to be considered as a dragon for all intents and purposes. All in favour?"

Tails went up, or stayed down.

"All opposed?"

Votes were tallied.

"Very well," the chairdragon concluded. "It is the sense of the Parliament of the Ryuunited Kingdom that Mr. Red, Esq., is a dragon. This concludes the session."

She turned to the slightly baffled Red Gyarados. "Would you like to participate in tonight's board game? It is a cooperative game where all teams are working towards the same goal."

Ash didn't challenge the Mahogany Gym until next morning, but when he did he'd already worked out the team he had planned.

He'd also had to get hold of something special, but fortunately Dragonite was happy to help.

"All right, challenger," Pryce said, then chuckled. "Ash, that is. All right, Ash. Which weakness do you plan to claim?"

"I'm planning on Rock type," Ash replied. "Only, uh, does it count if the Pokémon isn't always that type? I don't mean because of a move, this is a different Forme."

"Formes count," Pryce told him. "And it's three Pokémon a side for this one. I have to admit I'm interested how many Legendary Pokémon you could fit in."

"Uh…" Ash began counting. "I… think four, with a Rock type weakness."

He kept going as Pryce made a slight choking noise. "That might be the maximum, I'm not sure there are any weaknesses where it matches five Legendary Pokémon I've got… Zapdos isn't weak to electricity or that would match Rock…"

"I… hope you're not planning on using a full Legendary team in this battle," Pryce admitted, once he'd recovered. "But… could you, currently, make a six-Pokemon Legendary Pokémon team?"

Ash counted under his breath.

"Only if I benched Pikachu," he said. "And that doesn't seem likely."

Pryce was silent for a few seconds.

"I'm just going to get to the battle, now," he said, holding up his first Pokéball and sending out the Pokémon into a watery ice hole. "Dewgong, you first!"

"Shaymintwo!" Ash replied.

Shaymintwo Sky Forme emerged from his Pokéball, dove down to the icy surface of the gym, and touched it with a paw. That immediately reverted him, and he lit up his Flame Charge to hover just off the surface.

"...did your Pokémon just revert a Forme change in the first five seconds of a battle?" Pryce asked. "Why?"

"Because when he's in Sky Forme he's weak to Rock," Ash said, considering that the only explanation that was necessary. "Okay, Shaymintwo, build up some speed! Flame Charge!"

"Ice Beam," Pryce instructed. "Build some layers into the ground to slow him down."

Dewgong did as instructed, using Ice Beam to change the terrain, but Shaymintwo dodged between the beam as it fired before bouncing into the air.

"Tch," he snorted, then teleported into the air. "Power Gem!"

Pryce winced as a glowing green gemstone smashed Dewgong back down under the water, and Shaymintwo dropped down to grab it before blazing off at speed. "I always thought Shaymin were Grass type."

"Oh, yeah, he is," Ash agreed.

Pryce cupped his hands around his mouth. "Aqua Jet! Try to match him for speed!"

Dewgong could not match Shaymintwo for speed.

Dewgong also could not match Shaymintwo for raw power, especially when Shaymintwo used Seed Flare.

"Well, that was interesting," Pryce declared, returning his Dewgong. "Are you going to be leaving your Pokémon out?"

"He wouldn't admit it, but I think he needs a break," Ash replied. "Ice is kind of a problem for him… and, more to the point, I've got other Pokémon who deserve a turn."

"That's a good reason," Shaymintwo declared. "Only that one, not the other one."

Ash switched Pokéballs, and Pryce did as well – sending out his old Piloswine onto the drier half of the gym arena.

"Hail," Pryce ordered, as Cyndaquil emerged onto the field.

"Keep this quick, Cyndaquil!" Ash said. "Flame Wheel!"

Cyndaquil lit his flames on the first try, spun up, and closed in on Piloswine.

"Earth Power," Pryce said. "That's it!"

"Jump!" Ash called.

Cyndaquil unballed and sprang into the air. His flames sputtered irregularly, looking like they might go out, but instead each burst was a burst of propulsion – one that kept him gliding through the air over the Earth Power, before landing without much loss of speed.

"I'm just warming up!" the Fire-type declared, darting in for a Flame Wheel attack, and Piloswine growled in reply.

"Now, Earthquake and keep it going!" Pryce added. "Don't let him dodge!"

Piloswine's Earthquake pulsed out and kept going, a rumbling crash that shook the gym, and as Cyndaquil landed he got bounced back up into the air again with a squeak.

"Rock Climb!" Ash said. "Use it to get a grip and hold yourself to the ground!"

Cyndaquil slammed down with all four paws glowing, and used Rock Climb. The next wave of Earthquake didn't launch him into the air as he held himself down, and he grinned.

"That's more like it," he chuckled.

"Switch back to Earth Power!" Pryce advised. "Cut off his options!"

"Close in!" Ash called, and Cyndaquil darted forwards using Rock Climb – smashing holes in the icy ground with the recoil from his pawsteps. "Now jump – back to the ground – and hit him with Rock Smash!"

Cyndaquil wound up and delivered a massive blow to Piloswine, sending the Ground-type skidding backwards in a cloud of snow and ice.

"Blizzard!" Pryce called. "Blow it out around you – use that to keep him from getting close to you! You're doing great!"

Piloswine sent a swirl of ice and snow out from his fur, keeping it up for several seconds, then had to stop and take a deep breath.

There was no sign of Cyndaquil.

Then the Fire-type used Lava Plume, revealing he'd used Dig to get underneath Piloswine.

"Two down," Pryce observed. "And one to go."

He considered. "But you might have a bit of trouble with having your Cyndaquil keep battling, since Piloswine landed right back on top of him. Are you going to switch him out?"

"Yeah, he did really well – so did your Piloswine – but I think they both need a rest," Ash agreed, calling the Fire-type back, and switched to another Pokéball. "Lokoko, are you still ready for this? You don't have to."

Lokoko emerged from her Pokéball, landing with a thump of paws on the field, and smiled.

"I thank you for the choice, Ash," his Ninetales told him. "But my answer has not changed. I am ready to battle."

"I think Lapras is going to have a hard time of it," Pryce said, sending the Water and Ice type out with a flash. "But that's hardly something I can complain to you about. Lapras, use Surf!"

"Double Team!" Ash replied.

Lokoko promptly demonstrated that the word Double in Double Team was complete nonsense. Her tails swirled – and she vanished into a superposition of more than a hundred overlapping Ninetales, taking every possible course of action at once and filling the arena with waving tails and fast-moving Fire-types.

"Ice Beam, try and find the real one," Pryce said, and Lapras swept his beam around to try and find his actual opponent. More than a dozen duplicates evaporated in a second, then one of them flinched when she was hit – only to dart away, lost in the crowd again as Ninetales stalked all over.

Pryce frowned slightly as Lapras continued sweeping the area, trying to keep track of the duplicates and which way Lokoko had gone.

"...wait," he said. "That's not just Double Team. Lapras, that first one you found was an illusion as well, the scar marks from the attack don't have a gap!"

"Fire Blast!" Ash called.

All the Lokoko doubles used Fire Blast at once, appearing to create a roaring inverse starburst of flame, and while only one of them was actually real it still knocked Lapras bodily backwards.

"Hail!" Pryce said. "Then Blizzard!"

"Fire Blast straight down!" Ash called.

The Hail-boosted Blizzard filled the entire arena, but globes of orange heat bubbled up all around as all the Lokoko duplicates detonated the ground underneath them. The sheer strength of the cold couldn't be ignored, but it lessened the effect it had on Lokoko… and when the blizzard faded a little, her eyes lit up with a yellowish glow.

Her Extrasensory knocked aside the hail, and she jumped into the air overhead. Lapras shot a Water Pulse up at the pouncing Fire-type, but that turned out to be an illusion as well, and then a Fire Blast hit him from the side.

Then another one from the other side, which turned out to be the real incoming Fire Blast.

"On the balance of the information, I'm going to say you've probably won the Glacier Badge," Pryce decided. "I'm not ruling out that none of that last battle actually went the way I saw it, though."

"I'll take it," Ash decided. "Great work, Lokoko!"

"A pleasure," Lokoko told him.

She took in a deep breath, including all the scents of the air inside Mahogany Gym, and slowly let it out. "I have missed this. Thank you, for letting me experience it all again."

AN:

We are fast approaching Point Wat, which is the point where nobody has any idea what the hell is going on in any of Ash's battles.

Also, falling down a hole with Pryce's frozen Piloswine in it is canon.