Pokemon: Skybound Chapter 330: 330. Challenge at the Mahogany Gym

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"That's right," the old man said. "I'm Pryce, the Gym Leader here."

Despite his age, his hair and eyebrows were completely white. Pryce still moved with strength and purpose. His posture was straight, and his eyes were sharp as ever, piercing and intense.

But the strangest part?

In this bitterly cold courtyard, he was wearing nothing but a T-shirt, shorts, and a pair of open-toed sandals like he was on vacation in Alola or sothing.

No doubt about it he was the Ice-type Gym Leader for a reason. The man could shrug off freezing air like it was nothing.

Still…

Noticing the slight tension in Pryce's voice, Kai glanced back at the open courtyard gate and scratched the back of his neck, a little embarrassed.

"Ah, sorry. The gate was open, so I figured it was okay to co in. I didn't an to intrude."

Pryce's gaze swept over both of them, lingering on Kai for a mont longer than necessary.

But he didn't seem bothered.

"Co with ."

With that, he turned and walked toward the gym building.

Kai exchanged a glance with Sabrina and shrugged. Pryce didn't seem to be the talkative type. A little cold, a little gruff—but Kai wasn't here to socialize. As long as they could battle, that was all that mattered.

If he rembered right, Pryce had a reputation for being distant. Word was, he'd once been badly injured during a battle and was bedridden for weeks. During that ti, his trusted Piloswine vanished presud to have abandoned him. Since then, Pryce had lost faith in Pokémon and distanced himself emotionally, becoming colder and stricter in both life and battle.

Kai figured there was more to the story, of course—but that was a problem for soone like Ash to fix. Not him.

Following Pryce inside, the temperature dropped even further.

Cold air bit at Kai's skin. It had to be well below freezing in here.

He zipped up his jacket as he stepped into the main battle arena.

The gym was dominated by a massive ice battlefield. The floor was scattered with jagged ice pillars of various sizes, and the entire platform radiated cold like a living glacier.

Beneath the surface, a deep pool had completely frozen solid thick enough to hold up even massive Pokémon like Gyarados or Steelix without cracking.

Kai exhaled, watching his breath fog into a misty cloud.

Aside from the battlefield and a few rows of benches in the viewing area, the rest of the gym was bare—minimalist, efficient, and quiet.

At Pryce's gesture, Kai stepped into the challenger's box.

"Since you've arrived so early," Pryce said, "Seema—the official referee—hasn't arrived yet. I'll be overseeing the match myself. Any objections?"

"None at all," Kai replied.

He didn't care whether there was a ref. The outco would be clear either way.

Pryce continued. "Standard rules. Three-on-three. Defeat all of my Pokémon, and you win the Glacier Badge."

Pretty standard.

But Kai took a mont to think it over.

Most ice types had secondary Water typing. That gave them a natural advantage over many of his team mbers Steelix, Dragonair, and even Charizard and Larvitar. All of them were at a disadvantage in so way.

Gyarados was an exception, but Kai didn't plan to use it—it was far too powerful after the recent incident.

Gengar was also off the table. For regular gym battles, Kai rarely let it fight.

He'd originally planned to use Dragonair and test out Larvitar here—but given the matchup, only Gardevoir and Jolteon seed like viable choices.

As Pryce reached for a Poké Ball, Kai quickly raised a hand. "Actually, I'd like to request sothing."

Pryce paused.

"I want to battle your ace. Right from the start."

Pryce raised an eyebrow, then let out a low chuckle. "You're confident, I'll give you that. Not many challengers walk in here and ask to take on my strongest."

Kai blinked. "Wait… you know who I am?"

"I've seen a few of your matches on TV," Pryce said, his tone neutral. "And I've known Blaine for many years. He's spoken of you. Highly."

Blaine? Of course.

The Fire-type Gym Leader in the Sevii Islands. He and Pryce couldn't be more different—one fiery and boisterous, the other reserved and cold.

And yet, they were old friends.

No wonder Pryce had taken a long look at him at the gate.

Pryce nodded. "You're not the average rookie. Since you've asked, I'll oblige. I'll use my strongest team against you."

He put away the Poké Ball he'd just drawn and reached for another.

Kai had been about to suggest a simultaneous start—like in his previous battles against Erika and Morty—but before he could speak, Pryce had already thrown his Poké Ball.

This man had his own rhythm. His own pride.

He'd already compromised by leading with his ace. That was as far as he'd go.

Fine by , Kai thought.

The Poké Ball burst open—and a Dewgong erged onto the ice.

Kai nodded to himself. Dewgong was a fairly common Pokémon. He'd battled them before. But if Pryce had chosen it for this fight, then this one had to be sothing special.

Ti to bring his best.

He grabbed a Poké Ball from his belt and tossed it high.

"Let's go, Jolteon! This one's all yours!"

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