Mahogany Town, Mahogany Gym.
It was a building with a red roof and white walls, looking not much different from an ordinary sports stadium.
Using the classic red-and-white color scheme most commonly seen throughout the Pokémon world, Mahogany Gym was one of the rare Gyms that wasn't built in some bizarre or extravagant shape.
If one simply stood outside and looked in, it would be hard to believe that this was one of Johto's eight official Gyms.
The only distinctive feature was the collection of lifelike ice sculptures displayed in the nearby courtyard.
What made them particularly strange was that despite the scorching summer heat, each sculpture still radiated an intense chill.
"Pryce's achievements with Ice-type Pokémon can probably be considered the greatest in the world today."
Brock couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
Silas nodded in agreement.
As a Trainer who had become famous long ago, Pryce possessed far more titles than merely "Winter Pryce."
"Northern Radiance" and "Ice Sculpture Artist" were both testaments to his strength.
Even Kanto's Ice-type Elite Four member Lorelei and Hoenn's Ice-type Elite Four member Glacia would acknowledge Pryce as the strongest Ice-type Trainer alive.
After all, in a sense, both of them could be considered his students.
Silas wasn't sure about Glacia, but Lorelei's famous Ice Doll technique had definitely been learned from Pryce.
Nowadays, Lorelei had forbidden the use of that technique in official Pokémon battles, so many younger Trainers had never heard of it.
However, both Silas and Brock knew exactly how terrifying Ice Doll truly was.
This wasn't a technique aimed at Pokémon.
Its true target was the Trainer standing behind them.
Many criminal organizations in Kanto undoubtedly had vivid memories of that move.
Losing an arm or a leg was already considered mercy when facing it.
Unless someone possessed a Champion-level Pokémon capable of matching Lorelei's ace, Jynx, the Ice Doll technique would teach them exactly how sharp ice could be.
Simply put, any damage inflicted upon the Ice Doll would be mirrored onto the target's body, including but not limited to restraints and immobilization effects.
Many believed the technique relied not only on Jynx's Ice typing but also its Psychic abilities.
However, that remained speculation.
Other than Lorelei and Pryce themselves, very few people understood how Ice Doll actually worked.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have remained one of Lorelei's ultimate trump cards.
Standing outside Mahogany Gym for several minutes naturally attracted the attention of passing townspeople.
"Another pair here to get crushed."
"Yep. Wonder how many minutes they'll last."
"Minutes? I doubt they'll even get inside."
The residents of Mahogany Town were clearly looking forward to the show.
It wasn't that Silas lacked fame in Johto.
Rather, he had developed the habit of wearing a face mask.
Unless someone knew him personally, it was difficult to recognize him from only half of his face.
A handful of Trainers who had traveled extensively did recognize Brock.
As the heir of Pewter Gym, he possessed a certain level of fame despite never having officially begun his own journey.
People who enjoyed ranking Gym Leaders' descendants never seemed to tire of doing so.
Though nobody really knew what the point was.
Ding-dong.
Silas stepped forward and pressed the doorbell.
He had no interest in being stared at all day.
The iron gate slowly opened.
To the astonishment of the surrounding crowd, Silas and Brock walked directly inside without any inspection whatsoever.
"Wait, even challengers usually have to be checked by Auntie Sima first, right?"
One resident's jaw practically hit the floor.
It was the first time he had ever seen young Trainers enter without being verified.
Many others were equally confused.
Eventually, one Trainer couldn't help but explain:
"One of those two is the heir to Kanto's Pewter Gym."
Only then did everyone understand.
Regardless of what was happening outside, Silas and Brock were startled the moment they entered.
A kind-looking elderly woman wearing a light-red knitted sweater and a headscarf suddenly appeared right in front of them.
"You two must be the talented young Trainers Bugsy was talking about! You've got plenty of spirit!"
Before either of them could speak, the energetic old woman slapped both of them on the shoulder.
"Just call me Auntie Sima. Bugsy is training in the back, so I'll take you there.
Oh, right. What are your names?"
"Hello, Auntie Sima. My name is Brock, from Pewter City in Kanto."
"Hello. My name is Silas, from Viridian City in Kanto."
The two quickly introduced themselves.
It wasn't hard to tell from her tone that she and Pryce shared an extremely close relationship.
Otherwise, she wouldn't casually refer to him by a nickname.
More importantly, neither Silas nor Brock had noticed how she had suddenly appeared.
"A ninja..."
Silas naturally knew the reason.
However, compared to the ninjas he had met before, Auntie Sima was on an entirely different level.
"Ha! Hah!"
Powerful shouts echoed throughout Mahogany Gym.
To be clear, they weren't coming from Pryce.
They were coming from Auntie Sima in front of them.
Despite her simple clothing, the elderly woman moved through the chaotic rocky terrain at an astonishing speed.
Every so often she would glance back and call for Silas and Brock to keep up.
Her figure darted effortlessly from one boulder to another.
Keeping pace wasn't difficult for Silas.
Brock, however, was suffering.
He was already breathing heavily.
"You two are quite lucky. Today, Bugsy didn't head to the mountain behind the Gym for training. He's only meditating."
Even while moving at high speed, Auntie Sima's voice remained steady and powerful.
Brock nearly stuck his tongue out from exhaustion.
He was beginning to regret everything.
Nobody had told him that challenging a Gym involved endurance training beforehand.
That certainly wasn't how things worked at Pewter Gym.
And why was the Gym's backyard such a complete mess?
Did nobody maintain it?
"Young people these days really aren't much."
Auntie Sima shook her head at Brock's performance.
Then she glanced toward Silas, a trace of satisfaction appearing in her eyes.
"Each generation gets physically weaker than the last, but you're quite impressive, kid."
Was Brock physically weak?
Of course not.
He trained himself diligently every day.
But that depended entirely on who he was being compared to.
Compared to Auntie Sima and Silas, Brock could only admit defeat.
And compared to the old man waiting ahead, all three of them were children.
"Bugsy! I've brought them over! They've come to challenge the Gym, so get up already!"
Auntie Sima's voice echoed through the air.
The elderly man sitting cross-legged atop a block of ice slowly opened his eyes.
The indifference within them sent a chill straight into one's bones.
He didn't even need to stand up himself.
The Delibird waiting beside him immediately understood.
With a wave of ice energy, the rectangular ice block transformed.
Like a living machine, it wrapped itself around Pryce.
When he reappeared before them, he was already fully dressed and leaning on his cane.
"Hmph. As if anyone wants to see your scrawny body."
Auntie Sima snorted disdainfully.
Pryce was clearly long accustomed to his old companion's personality.
"You've been meeting quite a few interesting people lately."
His gaze briefly passed over Silas.
Before Silas could reply, Pryce turned toward Brock.
"That old fossil Takeshi hasn't died yet, has he?"
"My grandfather is doing quite well."
Despite Pryce's less-than-friendly greeting, Brock remained respectful.
As talented Trainers from the same era, Pryce and Brock's grandfather actually shared a fairly good relationship.
Before Brock left home, the old man had even told him to "say hello" to Pryce on his behalf.
"Hmph. Spending all day underground. Who knows what he's doing."
Pryce snorted dismissively.
This was probably just how elderly friends expressed concern for one another.
"Come on."
He turned and began walking.
"Let's head to the battlefield."
Without any further pleasantries, Pryce turned and walked deeper into the Gym.
Silas and Brock quickly followed behind.
The moment they entered the interior, the temperature dropped dramatically.
Wearing only short-sleeved shirts, both of them instinctively shivered.
Mahogany Gym's battlefield was extremely characteristic of an Ice-type Gym.
Aside from the circular pool filled with floating ice at the center, the entire battlefield was covered in a thick layer of ice.
Large and small ice blocks and ice pillars were scattered throughout the arena.
For Ice-type Pokémon, this battlefield was undoubtedly home turf.
In such an environment, not only would Ice-type moves receive a slight increase in power, but Ice-type Pokémon themselves would become noticeably more active.
Not to mention the reduction in effectiveness suffered by many non-Ice-type techniques.
The pool in the middle had likely been designed specifically for Pokémon that possessed both Water and Ice typings.
Pokémon such as Cloyster were far more agile in water than on land.
Even for many Elite-level Trainers, Mahogany Gym's battlefield was considered troublesome.
When simply standing upright required concentration, how could one expect a Pokémon to perform at one hundred percent during battle?
The battlefield itself meant challengers started at a disadvantage before the battle even began.
Only Flying-types or Water/Ice Pokémon could somewhat offset the gap.
But that simply created another problem.
Flying-types were generally disadvantaged against Ice-types.
And in an Ice-versus-Ice matchup, it was unreasonable to expect a challenger to outperform the Gym Leader in his own specialty.
This was one of the primary reasons why the Glacier Badge was so difficult to obtain.
Silas, however, remained completely unfazed.
While specialty battlefields weren't common, he had encountered several before.
This battlefield felt very similar to the Ice Field used in the Kanto Indigo Plateau Conference.
"The three Pokémon I'll be using are Piplup, Alolan Vulpix, and Escavalier."
Silas took out three Poké Balls and addressed Auntie Sima.
At this point, Auntie Sima had changed into the officially certified referee uniform of the Johto League.
In a Gym run by only two people, her role was naturally indispensable.
After making several adjustments on a nearby machine, she also took out three Poké Balls.
"Then, Pryce, you'll use these three Pokémon to battle this young man."
Pryce said nothing.
He simply accepted the Poké Balls from her and walked to the Gym Leader's platform.
"Now then! The Gym Battle between Challenger Silas and Gym Leader Pryce, with a Badge at stake, will begin now!"
Auntie Sima waved her flag.
Pryce silently threw his first Poké Ball.
"Snorrr!"
A small black Pokémon appeared on the battlefield.
Its body was covered by a yellow cone-shaped cloak with orange trim, and three orange diamond-shaped markings decorated its back.
Its egg-shaped body, rounded fingerless hands, simple feet, blue eyes, and upside-down grin made it look as though it was constantly shivering from the cold.
It was a Snorunt.
A highly popular Pokémon whose evolutionary line included both Glalie and, if female, Froslass.
Snorunt fed on ice and snow and often appeared at the beginning of snowfall.
People believed that a household visited by a Snorunt would prosper for generations, leading to the custom of placing blocks of ice made from pure water outside their homes.
"Then my partner will be this one.
Go, Piplup!"
Without hesitation, Silas sent out his first Pokémon, a Water-type.
Against Ice-types, Water possessed excellent resistance, while Ice did not resist Water in return.
The matchup was clearly advantageous.
Moreover, this was Piplup's very first official Trainer battle since joining Silas.
"Piplup! Piplup!"
Piplup looked full of energy.
Silas and several of his senior Pokémon had already taught it everything it needed to know about battling.
Aside from a few restrictions, official battles weren't that different from wild battles anyway.
As always, the challenger moved first.
"Piplup, use Water Sport!"
Silas waved his hand.
For a Pokémon that hadn't even officially reached the Standard level yet, Piplup's control over Water-type energy was practically overpowered.
Especially on this battlefield.
Thanks to the central pool, Water-type energy was abundant throughout the arena.
"Powder Snow. Maximum speed."
Pryce's command followed immediately afterward.
If the challenger didn't automatically receive priority, Brock might have thought Pryce had stolen the first move.
He's really not holding back.
Silas couldn't help but complain inwardly.
He understood exactly why this was happening.
The difference lay entirely in the Trainers themselves.
Pryce had predicted his command before it was even issued.
What Silas couldn't understand was how Pryce had reached that conclusion.
This should have been the first time Pryce had ever seen Piplup.
A normal Piplup certainly wouldn't open with Water Sport.
The phrase "maximum speed" perfectly demonstrated Pryce's response.
Rather than maximizing Powder Snow's offensive power, Snorunt focused entirely on shortening its activation time.
The instant streams of water began circling around Piplup's body, a white wave of freezing air crashed directly into them.
The water that should have assisted Piplup instead became the tool that restricted it.
Countless tiny frozen water spikes formed a cage around Piplup.
"Pipla—!"
Piplup immediately panicked.
It had never experienced anything like this before.
"Don't panic. Use Bubble."
Silas's voice rang out from behind it.
Piplup instantly calmed down.
That's right.
Unlike before, when it fought alone in the wild, it now had a Trainer and teammates standing behind it.
"Piplup!"
Opening its beak, it unleashed countless transparent bubbles in every direction.
Even without Water Sport's support, Piplup's natural talent in Water-type techniques was extraordinary.
The fragile ice spikes were never designed for defense.
They shattered instantly into countless fragments.
"Double Team."
Pryce's command remained as concise as ever.
Snorunt reacted immediately.
Four illusionary copies appeared on the icy battlefield, mixed among the real one.
...
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