1. Ash's Story (Part 11: Paldea,Kitakami,Unova)

Chapter 55

As we gather on the battlefield, we wait for the Gym Leader to make an appearance. Suddenly, a Cetoddle approaches us, and Alice gasps, "A Cetoddle! You do have one, right, Ash?"

"Of course, I have a Cetitan on my team," I reply.

The Pokémon jumps in front of me, leaving me puzzled. Just then, a blue-haired man with a scarf covering his mouth and wearing a white coat approaches the Cetoddle, saying, "There you are!"

He shivers a little and adds, "Brrrr... I'm freezing..." Turning to me, he says, "I take it you're a challenger? Ash Ketchum, the 8th region champion?"

"So you're Grusha? The Gym Leader?" I ask.

"My name's Grusha. I used to be a pro snowboarder, now I'm a Gym Leader. I saw you on the slopes. Your skills... Yeah, they were pretty cool," Grusha comments.

"Thanks?" I reply, somewhat unsure.

"But don't let that go to your head. Winter mountains are dangerous. They can throw your life right off course, easy as that," Grusha warns me.

"Yeah, I think I've already had some experience with that," I say, wincing a little at the memory of our earlier Snow Slope Run practice.

"Same thing with Pokémon battles, really... It's always the most dangerous when you're just starting to get the hang of things. Today's not a great day to face me, you know... You're better off giving up. You sure you want to battle me?" Grusha challenges, his tone cautious.

"Give up? Like hell, I'm going to give up!" I declare, determined to prove myself.

"Still tryin' to act cool, huh? That's too bad. Well, this is my job now...so don't take what I'm about to do personally," Grusha says.

He reminds me of Pryce from the Johto Region, but no matter; I'm determined to win this battle, just like all the others.

"Get ready to feel the icy bite of reality. Frosmoth!" Grusha calls out his first Pokémon, Frosmoth. Perfect, I have a Rock Type advantage for this one. "Garganacl, I choose you!" I decide to lead with Garganacl.

"Don't say I didn't warn you. Not my fault if you get overwhelmed," Grusha remarks before ordering, "Tailwind!"

Grusha sets up Tailwind to boost his team's speed. I respond, "Garganacl! Let's set up Stealth Rocks!" My Pokémon begins creating invisible rocks on the battlefield.

Grusha counters with "Quiver Dance and go for Bug Buzz!" Frosmoth gets a power boost and lands the Bug Buzz attack on Garganacl, dealing some damage. I command Garganacl to retaliate with Heavy Slam, hitting back and causing damage.

"Now, let's go with Stone Edge!" I yell, and the Stone Edge attack lands, dealing significant damage to Frosmoth.

Alice remarks, "Nice... Frosmoth is taking quite a beating."

"Use Blizzard!" Grusha orders Frosmoth to unleash Blizzard, but I have Garganacl use Wide Guard to protect against the damage. Eventually, I defeat Frosmoth with another Stone Edge attack.

"Looks like you do have some skills, as the rumors say," Grusha acknowledges as he sends out his second Pokémon, a Beartic. Beartic strikes with Aqua Jet, dealing a substantial amount of damage to Garganacl.

"Stonjourner! Use Explosion!" I decide to make a tactical sacrifice, knowing that Garganacl can't hold on much longer. Beartic remains standing, while Garganacl faints due to the powerful attack.

"You did a good job," I say as I recall Garganacl and send out my second Pokémon. "Flamigo, I choose you!"

Flamigo takes the field, and I opt for a Low Kick, but Beartic counters with Icicle Crash, dealing significant damage to Flamigo.