Ashley's kanto adventure

Cold as ice

Ashley is excited for her upcoming Gym battle. She declares that her Cyndaquil's flames will make quick work of Pryce's Ice-type Pokémon.

She knows that Pryce's Piloswine and Dewgong will be tough opponents, and realizes there is a big hole in her battle strategy.

Sheila arrives at the Mahogany Gym and is pleasantly surprised to see Pryce grooming his Piloswine. Pryce admits that he has been with his Pokémon all night.

Having been reunited with Piloswine only yesterday, Pryce has come to realize that his own ambitions were also frozen in ice for many years.

Ashley and her Machop suddenly arrive at the Gym, and Pryce happily escorts them into the facility. Inside, Ashley is surprised to see the glistening ice battlefield. She mentions that the field's central pool might be key to winning this match.

Pryce and Ashley soon take their positions on the field. Ashley prepares to call out her first Pokémon, but Machop halts the match after noticing that there is no referee. Sheila chuckles and reveals her referee uniform before taking her position as the referee for the battle.

The two-on-two match begins. Pryce calls out his Dewgong, and it dives into the pool. Ashley sends out Cyndaquil and orders a Flamethrower, but Dewgong ducks underwater to evade the attack.

Dewgong retaliates with an Ice Beam, freezing Cyndaquil in solid ice after it loses its footing. Ashley has Cyndaquil turn up the heat, and it breaks free of the ice to dodge an incoming Aurora Beam.

The unconventional strategy takes Pryce by surprise. He orders another Aurora Beam. Cyndaquil moves out of the way and fires a Flamethrower at it. Dewgong dives underwater once again to escape.

Ashley spots an opportunity and had Cyndaquil also enter the water. Dewgong approaches with a Headbutt, though Ashley bides her time before hitting Dewgong out of the water with a Swift attack.

Cyndaquil follows up with a Flame Wheel to knock Dewgong out of the battle. Next, Pryce sends out his trusty Piloswine. Piloswine immediately unleashes a Blizzard attack.

The snow cover helps Piloswine disappear into its surroundings and it strikes Cyndaquil out with a Take Down. With one victory each, the round enters a sudden deathmatch.

Ashley selects her most recent Pokémon, a green-eyed Jigglypuff against Pryce's Piloswine.

Ashley captured the Balloon Pokémon with her Growlithe.

Things start out rough as Piloswine releases a barrage of Blizzard attacks on Jigglypuff, who struggles to stand up straight on the ice. Ashley notices that Piloswine's Blizzard attacks form ice pillars on the battlefield, and so, she commands Jigglypuff to slide on the ice underneath Piloswine.

This confuses Piloswine as well as Pryce. Then, Jigglypuff slides and ricochets off of the pillars, easily dodging the Blizzards. When Pryce tells Piloswine to use Blizzard on the whole battlefield, Jigglypuff slides under it and unleashes a powerful Thunder.

Almost out of energy, Piloswine uses Rest. Ashley tells Jigglypuff to use Double Slap before it heals, but she's too late. With its newfound energy, Piloswine uses Fury Attack and Take Down.

Pryce tells Ashley to throw in the towel, but Ashley refuses, so the battle continues on. Ashley commands Jigglypuff to counter Piloswine's Fury Attack with a Pound.

Piloswine is hit directly on the nose and slides backward. Jigglypuff unleashes a massive Thunder Wave, which does nothing to it. Piloswine uses Take Down, and Jigglypuff jumps on its face and uses Thunder.

This causes some damage and creates a hole in the field, which causes Piloswine to fall into the water. This time, Jigglypuff's next Thunder Wave causes more damage because Piloswine is wet.

Piloswine shakes it off, leaving Ashley and her Machop astounded. It retaliates with Fury Attack, but Jigglypuff doesn't have enough control to dodge. Ashley commands a Thunder, which sends Jigglypuff flying backward.

Jigglypuff looks exhausted, but stands up, ready to keep fighting. In a surprising turn of events, Pryce forfeits, which gives Ashley the victory under a T.K.O.

Ashley isn't pleased at first, saying she didn't actually win. Pryce admits that Ashley's strength was impressive and explains he just didn't want his Piloswine to get hurt. With this in mind, Ashley gladly accepts the Glacier Badge.

Pryce once again thanks Ashley for helping him to rediscover that being friends with Pokémon is important. Ashley and her Fighting-type wave goodbye and head towards their next destination, Blackthorn City.