"That's right. I am Pryce, the Gym Leader of this gym."
Due to his age, Pryce's eyebrows and hair had turned gray, but his body was still very sturdy, and he didn't walk with the unsteadiness of other old men. His eyes, in particular, still looked quite sharp and bright.
But what was strange was that in such a chilly place, he was only wearing a T-shirt and shorts, and even a pair of open-toed slippers on his feet, as if he were on vacation on a tropical island.
It had to be said, as expected of an Ice-type Gym Leader, he was old but vigorous, and really resistant to the cold.
But…
Noticing that Pryce's tone was a bit harsh, Natsui glanced back at the courtyard gate and said apologetically, "Ah, sorry. I saw that the gate was open, so I came in without announcing myself."
Pryce's gaze swept over the two of them, lingering on Natsui for a while.
Fortunately, he didn't seem to mind much.
"Follow me."
With that, he turned and walked back towards the gym.
Seeing his cold attitude, Natsui couldn't help but exchange a look with Sabrina and shrug.
It was clear that Pryce wasn't very talkative and had a slightly eccentric personality. But Natsui was just here to challenge the gym. As long as he could battle him, it didn't matter how cold he was.
However, Natsui remembered that the reason Pryce had become like this was because, in his youth, he had been burned in a battle and was bedridden. At that time, his Mamoswine had suddenly left him and never returned. Pryce believed that his Mamoswine had abandoned him, lost his trust in Pokémon, and thus became so strict.
Of course, there were some misunderstandings involved, but Natsui couldn't be bothered with them. After all, it was better to leave such matters to the meddlesome Ash to handle in the future.
Following behind Pryce, as they entered the gym, the first thing Natsui felt was that the temperature here was noticeably colder than outside.
Good grief, it must be over ten degrees below zero, right?
He tightened his clothes and looked inside the gym. He immediately saw a huge ice field in the center.
The field was dotted with icicles of various sizes. At that moment, it was like a giant block of ice, continuously emitting a cold aura, causing the indoor temperature to drop sharply, as if he were in a refrigerator.
And under the ice field was a deep pool, but it had long been frozen solid. As long as one didn't deliberately break the ice, even large Pokémon like Gyarados or Steelix could battle on it without worrying about the ice suddenly cracking.
Natsui's breath turned into a white mist in the air and quickly dissipated.
Looking around, he saw that besides the battlefield, the interior of the gym was very simple. Only a few rows of seats in the spectator area could be considered decent furnishings. Other than that, it was empty and looked extremely spacious.
At Pryce's gesture, Natsui walked to the trainer's box on the other side.
"Because you came too early, Shima… the gym's referee, can't get here so early. So this match won't have a referee. I'll be serving as one. Do you have any objections?"
"None."
Natsui shook his head. For him, whether there was a referee or not was not important. They could judge the outcome themselves.
And a referee was just a 'tool' to make the match look more formal and fair.
As per custom, Pryce again explained the match rules to Natsui. "The Mahogany Gym battle consists of three rounds. As long as you defeat all three of my Pokémon, your challenge is successful."
It didn't sound any different from other gyms, but Natsui still pondered for a moment.
He knew that most Ice-type Pokémon were related to Water, and in terms of typing, Ice/Water had a certain advantage over several of Natsui's Pokémon. Whether it was Scyther, Crystal Steelix, Dragonair, Charizard, or even Larvitar, they would all be at a disadvantage against Ice/Water.
Gyarados wouldn't be affected much, but that guy was too strong, and Natsui had no intention of using it.
The same went for Gengar. In an ordinary battle, Natsui would never send it out.
If it were another gym, Natsui would have originally wanted to train Dragonair and the newly caught Larvitar. But now, it seemed he only had Gardevoir and Jolteon left to use…
Seeing Pryce about to take out a Pokémon, Natsui quickly stopped him and told him about his desire to battle his ace Pokémon.
"Young man, I wasn't wrong about you. You're indeed very confident, to dare to directly challenge my ace Pokémon."
Natsui was taken aback. Hearing Pryce say this, it was clear he had some knowledge of him.
"Hmm? You know me?"
Pryce first nodded, then shook his head.
"I've only seen a few of your battles on TV. But I'm an old acquaintance of that fellow Blaine, and I've heard him talk about you, so I have some impression of you. And from his tone, I could feel that he seems to approve of you very much."
I see!
No wonder he gave me a few extra glances outside.
But Pryce and Blaine, one with a cold personality and specializing in Ice-type Pokémon, and the other, passionate, excitable, fond of jokes, and specializing in Fire-type Pokémon—for these two old men with such different personalities to be friends was truly surprising.
Seeing Natsui's enlightened expression, Pryce added, "Your strength is different from that of an ordinary challenger. Since you've made the request, I'll make an exception and battle you with my strongest lineup."
Pryce put the Poké Ball he had just taken out back on his belt, fumbled inside, and took out another one.
Originally, Natsui had been thinking of fairness, just as he had when challenging the Violet and Blackthorn Gyms, to have both sides send out their Pokémon at the same time. But before he could speak, Pryce had already thrown out his Poké Ball.
It seems this old man also has his pride.
To be challenged directly to a battle against his ace Pokémon was already breaking the rules, which was his bottom line. He absolutely would not make another exception to change his own rules.
Alright then, let's fight like this.
Gathering his thoughts, Natsui looked at the field and finally saw clearly that Pryce had sent out a Dewgong.
Dewgong was a relatively common Pokémon. Natsui had dealt with it many times and was not unfamiliar with it. But since Pryce had brought it out, it must be very powerful.
He thought for a moment and threw out a Poké Ball.
Since Pryce is serious, I can't afford to lose even more. I have to get off to a good start.
"Go, Jolteon! This match is up to you!"
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