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@Charles Legend @Mia Blaze
Episode 99: As Cold as Pryce
"That was some party!" Misty smiled as the group made their way into the Mahogany Gym foyer a few days later.
"Almost like the party Saffron threw for us after we kicked out the Rockets in Silph Tower." Brock agreed as the group passed a sign on the hallway walls. "But this was Silph Tower multiplied by at least ten."
"Here's hoping we don't hear from the Rockets for a good long time." Misty grinned. "Last I heard, Proton and our favorite Rocket trio are on the run, the other admins and a whole bunch of other Rockets are in custody and awaiting trial..."
Ash, meanwhile, was pondering the sign on the wall. "'The Teacher of Winter's Harshness', huh..." he mused as the group emerged onto the massive skating rink dotted with ice floes that served as Mahogany Gym's arena. "Hello? Anyone here?"
"If you three are looking for Pryce, he's up in the mountains." a brown haired woman replied as she brought out a Zamboni to clean the ice. "He goes up to the mountains every morning to meditate under a waterfall."
"Can you take us to him, miss..." Misty started before realizing she had not asked the woman's name.
"Shelia, please." the woman replied as she put the Zamboni away. "If you want to see Pryce, you can come with me--I know his route well."
"Okay!" Ash led the way back outside, making sure not to lose Shelia as she led the way up the mountain path.
The group did not, however see Kamon following them in the forest underbrush....
---------
Ash balked when he recognized the old man peacefully meditating on a mountain overlook. "The guy who saved us on the bridge--that was Pryce!"
"We meet again, brash young singer of the Swanna Song." Pryce mused, seemingly in a trance from his meditation. "It would be pointless to battle you, because your emotional bonds with your Pokémon have dulled your senses."
"That's not true!" Ash pleaded. "We have a strong bond because we love and trust each other!"
A pop of a Poke Ball got his attention. "If you can beat Ilsa, you will get your wish for a match in the Gym." Pryce offered as his Dewgong materialized on a patch of snow.
Ash, meanwhile, decided to read up on his opponent:
"Dewgong, the sea lion Pokemon. It has an aerodynamic shape that allows it to swim at great speed. The colder it gets, the more active it becomes."
"This'll be too easy..." Ash smiled before heaving a Poke Ball skyward. "Cyndy, let's go! Start with a Flamethrower!"
"Ilsa, use Water Pulse!" Pryce commanded.
"What?" Ash gasped as the shining wave of water knocked his Cyndaquil into a snowdrift. "How could THIS happen?"
"Dewgong is also part water in addition to ice." Pryce explained as he turned to leave. "If you want to try again, meet me further up the mountain."
"But...I still want a Gym match!" Ash protested as he hurried after Pryce.
"Wait!" Shelia called after Ash. "It's dangerous to go into the mountains alone!"
---------
Ash hurried as fast as he could, desperate to find Pryce, and try again to defeat him. He didn't even notice that he had lost Tintri in his rush to follow Pryce.
"Ah-ha!" a voice called as he neared the edge of a cliff, startling him. "I finally found you, Wonder Boy!"
"Kamon!" Ash growled when he saw Kamon held Tintri.
"You idiot! Why are you trying to forcibly steal someone else's Pokémon?" Pryce scolded Kamon as he approached Ash, Kamon, and Tintri. "You should be ashamed of yourself, you red haired punk!"
Kamon just calmly summoned his Golbat. "Nightwing, use Smokescreen."
The resulting white plume the Golbat heaved obscured the cliff edge, sending Ash, Pryce, and Tintri over the cliff...
---------
Ash spotted Misty, Brock, and Shelia in the fog. Pryce may be a cynical old guy, but I still have to help! He is the elder of this place!
With that, he held his Mega Ring to the sky. Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul...
"That had to be Ash's voice!" Brock gasped as he and the girls saw a flash of red light and ethereal feathers, followed by Pryce, Ash, and Tintri landing on Mina's back.
"Kamon must've used an attack like Smokescreen, but it also obscured the edge of the cliff." Misty mused as the Mega Pidgeot triumphantly soared overhead, then spiraled downward. "Since they didn't know where the edge was, they fell."
"There's a small gully leading to the canyon floor--we can look for them there." Shelia offered, pointing out the gully in the distance.
In a makeshift camp, Pryce mixed together a variety of peppers and healing herbs as Mina's Mega Evolution wore off. "Here you go, Miss Pidgeot...I'm sure Mega Evolution must be exhausting for you..." he smiled as he offered the concoction to the exhausted Pidgeot.
He then looked over at Ash. "I will thank you for how your Pokémon reacted under duress, Ash...but that as close as you are with them, you must retain strict discipline..."
---------
"Shelia?" Misty asked as she and Brock followed Shelia down the cliff. "Why did Pryce become so mean and cynical? Did something happen that made him forget about what it really means to love?"
"Well, in his younger days, Pryce used to love his Pokémon." Shelia explained. "Because he treated his Pokémon so coldly, and he favored the Ice type, people started calling him 'Icy Pryce'."
As she, Brock, and Misty met Pryce on the cliff floor, Pryce spotted an old leg bracelet with elegant patterns on it. "That bracelet...is that the bracelet Manny once wore?"
"Who's Manny?" Ash asked as he emerged from the camp.
"Pryce once had a Piloswine named Manfred, or Manny for short, that one day just vanished without a trace." Shelia explained.
"Manny and I were in a national tournament against a Magmar once, back in my youth." Pryce explained. "In the heat of the match, the Magmar's attack went out of control, and both me and Manny were both badly injured."
"Oh my..." Ash gasped.
"One night, Manny just left the snowbound cottage we were recovering in, and I never saw him again." Pryce paused to brush away a tear. "This broke my heart--I never wanted to befriend another Pokemon again, out of fear I would lose them too."
"But what if we were to find Manny again?" Ash wondered as he and Pryce made their way into a cave covered in a thin layer of ice nearby the camp. "Would he still remember you, and remind you about what it means to love again?"
"I doubt it--it's been so long I fear he has forgotten me." Pryce sighed.
Just then, a large brown shaggy figure frozen in a slab of ice got Ash's attention, so he decided to identify it with the Pokedex:
"Piloswine, the swine Pokemon. It is covered by a thick coat of long hair for enduring freezing cold. It uses its tusks to dig up food that has been buried under ice."
He whistled to get Pryce's attention. "I found Manny!"
"What?" Pryce hurried over to the slab of ice, and smiled when he recognized the shaggy mammoth Pokemon inside. "By Arceus in heaven, it IS Manny!"
He noticed some leaves hanging from Manny's tusks. "Aloe vera...a plant long revered for treating burns..."
"Manny never abandoned you in the first place--he probably got trapped in here after looking for medicine to help you." Ash explained.
With that, he heaved a Poke Ball skyward as Tintri hurried to try melting the huge ice slab. "Cyndy, help Tintri revive Manny!"
Pryce watched in awe as little by little, the Cyndaquil and the Pikachu tirelessly worked to free the mammoth Pokemon in the ice.
When Tintri shocked away the last chunk holding Manny's feet some hours later, the shaggy mammoth spotted Pryce, and let out a happy bellow. "Manny!" Pryce cried as he rushed to embrace his companion. "I missed you so much!"
He smiled, giddy at being reunited with his long lost partner. "You've done well, Manny...you can rest now."
"What does that do?" Ash asked as Manny curled up on the cave floor to take a nap.
"Rest allows the user to take a nap for two turns. This fully restores the user's HP and heals any status conditions." Pryce explained. "If the user is holding the Eterna Tourmaline, the Z Crystal holding Psychic power, all of the user's lowered stats are reset, as well."
Manny waking up with a yawn snapped him to attention. "Come...your friends and Shelia are waiting outside...I'm sure they are worried sick about you after that tumble you took."
---------
"Ash...thank you for showing me that Manny never forgot me, and my cynicism was unfounded." Pryce smiled as the group returned to the Gym later that afternoon. "Thanks to you, I understand what you mean when you say you have a strong bond because of the love and trust you have in each other."
He smiled for what seemed like the first time in a long time. "Will you forgive me for giving you the brushoff before? In the throes of my sadness, I pushed you away, when you were only trying to help...and I'm sorry."
"Of course I forgive you." Ash smiled. "Besides, a wise man once said that it's always better to forgive and forget."
"That is true." Pryce grinned. "For bringing back Manny to me, and reminding me about what it truly means to love, you've more than earned a match here...we battle in the morning!"
To Be Continued...
Episode 99: As Cold as Pryce
"That was some party!" Misty smiled as the group made their way into the Mahogany Gym foyer a few days later.
"Almost like the party Saffron threw for us after we kicked out the Rockets in Silph Tower." Brock agreed as the group passed a sign on the hallway walls. "But this was Silph Tower multiplied by at least ten."
"Here's hoping we don't hear from the Rockets for a good long time." Misty grinned. "Last I heard, Proton and our favorite Rocket trio are on the run, the other admins and a whole bunch of other Rockets are in custody and awaiting trial..."
Ash, meanwhile, was pondering the sign on the wall. "'The Teacher of Winter's Harshness', huh..." he mused as the group emerged onto the massive skating rink dotted with ice floes that served as Mahogany Gym's arena. "Hello? Anyone here?"
"If you three are looking for Pryce, he's up in the mountains." a brown haired woman replied as she brought out a Zamboni to clean the ice. "He goes up to the mountains every morning to meditate under a waterfall."
"Can you take us to him, miss..." Misty started before realizing she had not asked the woman's name.
"Shelia, please." the woman replied as she put the Zamboni away. "If you want to see Pryce, you can come with me--I know his route well."
"Okay!" Ash led the way back outside, making sure not to lose Shelia as she led the way up the mountain path.
The group did not, however see Kamon following them in the forest underbrush....
---------
Ash balked when he recognized the old man peacefully meditating on a mountain overlook. "The guy who saved us on the bridge--that was Pryce!"
"We meet again, brash young singer of the Swanna Song." Pryce mused, seemingly in a trance from his meditation. "It would be pointless to battle you, because your emotional bonds with your Pokémon have dulled your senses."
"That's not true!" Ash pleaded. "We have a strong bond because we love and trust each other!"
A pop of a Poke Ball got his attention. "If you can beat Ilsa, you will get your wish for a match in the Gym." Pryce offered as his Dewgong materialized on a patch of snow.
Ash, meanwhile, decided to read up on his opponent:
"Dewgong, the sea lion Pokemon. It has an aerodynamic shape that allows it to swim at great speed. The colder it gets, the more active it becomes."
"This'll be too easy..." Ash smiled before heaving a Poke Ball skyward. "Cyndy, let's go! Start with a Flamethrower!"
"Ilsa, use Water Pulse!" Pryce commanded.
"What?" Ash gasped as the shining wave of water knocked his Cyndaquil into a snowdrift. "How could THIS happen?"
"Dewgong is also part water in addition to ice." Pryce explained as he turned to leave. "If you want to try again, meet me further up the mountain."
"But...I still want a Gym match!" Ash protested as he hurried after Pryce.
"Wait!" Shelia called after Ash. "It's dangerous to go into the mountains alone!"
---------
Ash hurried as fast as he could, desperate to find Pryce, and try again to defeat him. He didn't even notice that he had lost Tintri in his rush to follow Pryce.
"Ah-ha!" a voice called as he neared the edge of a cliff, startling him. "I finally found you, Wonder Boy!"
"Kamon!" Ash growled when he saw Kamon held Tintri.
"You idiot! Why are you trying to forcibly steal someone else's Pokémon?" Pryce scolded Kamon as he approached Ash, Kamon, and Tintri. "You should be ashamed of yourself, you red haired punk!"
Kamon just calmly summoned his Golbat. "Nightwing, use Smokescreen."
The resulting white plume the Golbat heaved obscured the cliff edge, sending Ash, Pryce, and Tintri over the cliff...
---------
Ash spotted Misty, Brock, and Shelia in the fog. Pryce may be a cynical old guy, but I still have to help! He is the elder of this place!
With that, he held his Mega Ring to the sky. Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul...
"That had to be Ash's voice!" Brock gasped as he and the girls saw a flash of red light and ethereal feathers, followed by Pryce, Ash, and Tintri landing on Mina's back.
"Kamon must've used an attack like Smokescreen, but it also obscured the edge of the cliff." Misty mused as the Mega Pidgeot triumphantly soared overhead, then spiraled downward. "Since they didn't know where the edge was, they fell."
"There's a small gully leading to the canyon floor--we can look for them there." Shelia offered, pointing out the gully in the distance.
In a makeshift camp, Pryce mixed together a variety of peppers and healing herbs as Mina's Mega Evolution wore off. "Here you go, Miss Pidgeot...I'm sure Mega Evolution must be exhausting for you..." he smiled as he offered the concoction to the exhausted Pidgeot.
He then looked over at Ash. "I will thank you for how your Pokémon reacted under duress, Ash...but that as close as you are with them, you must retain strict discipline..."
---------
"Shelia?" Misty asked as she and Brock followed Shelia down the cliff. "Why did Pryce become so mean and cynical? Did something happen that made him forget about what it really means to love?"
"Well, in his younger days, Pryce used to love his Pokémon." Shelia explained. "Because he treated his Pokémon so coldly, and he favored the Ice type, people started calling him 'Icy Pryce'."
As she, Brock, and Misty met Pryce on the cliff floor, Pryce spotted an old leg bracelet with elegant patterns on it. "That bracelet...is that the bracelet Manny once wore?"
"Who's Manny?" Ash asked as he emerged from the camp.
"Pryce once had a Piloswine named Manfred, or Manny for short, that one day just vanished without a trace." Shelia explained.
"Manny and I were in a national tournament against a Magmar once, back in my youth." Pryce explained. "In the heat of the match, the Magmar's attack went out of control, and both me and Manny were both badly injured."
"Oh my..." Ash gasped.
"One night, Manny just left the snowbound cottage we were recovering in, and I never saw him again." Pryce paused to brush away a tear. "This broke my heart--I never wanted to befriend another Pokemon again, out of fear I would lose them too."
"But what if we were to find Manny again?" Ash wondered as he and Pryce made their way into a cave covered in a thin layer of ice nearby the camp. "Would he still remember you, and remind you about what it means to love again?"
"I doubt it--it's been so long I fear he has forgotten me." Pryce sighed.
Just then, a large brown shaggy figure frozen in a slab of ice got Ash's attention, so he decided to identify it with the Pokedex:
"Piloswine, the swine Pokemon. It is covered by a thick coat of long hair for enduring freezing cold. It uses its tusks to dig up food that has been buried under ice."
He whistled to get Pryce's attention. "I found Manny!"
"What?" Pryce hurried over to the slab of ice, and smiled when he recognized the shaggy mammoth Pokemon inside. "By Arceus in heaven, it IS Manny!"
He noticed some leaves hanging from Manny's tusks. "Aloe vera...a plant long revered for treating burns..."
"Manny never abandoned you in the first place--he probably got trapped in here after looking for medicine to help you." Ash explained.
With that, he heaved a Poke Ball skyward as Tintri hurried to try melting the huge ice slab. "Cyndy, help Tintri revive Manny!"
Pryce watched in awe as little by little, the Cyndaquil and the Pikachu tirelessly worked to free the mammoth Pokemon in the ice.
When Tintri shocked away the last chunk holding Manny's feet some hours later, the shaggy mammoth spotted Pryce, and let out a happy bellow. "Manny!" Pryce cried as he rushed to embrace his companion. "I missed you so much!"
He smiled, giddy at being reunited with his long lost partner. "You've done well, Manny...you can rest now."
"What does that do?" Ash asked as Manny curled up on the cave floor to take a nap.
"Rest allows the user to take a nap for two turns. This fully restores the user's HP and heals any status conditions." Pryce explained. "If the user is holding the Eterna Tourmaline, the Z Crystal holding Psychic power, all of the user's lowered stats are reset, as well."
Manny waking up with a yawn snapped him to attention. "Come...your friends and Shelia are waiting outside...I'm sure they are worried sick about you after that tumble you took."
---------
"Ash...thank you for showing me that Manny never forgot me, and my cynicism was unfounded." Pryce smiled as the group returned to the Gym later that afternoon. "Thanks to you, I understand what you mean when you say you have a strong bond because of the love and trust you have in each other."
He smiled for what seemed like the first time in a long time. "Will you forgive me for giving you the brushoff before? In the throes of my sadness, I pushed you away, when you were only trying to help...and I'm sorry."
"Of course I forgive you." Ash smiled. "Besides, a wise man once said that it's always better to forgive and forget."
"That is true." Pryce grinned. "For bringing back Manny to me, and reminding me about what it truly means to love, you've more than earned a match here...we battle in the morning!"
To Be Continued...
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