Snowbelle City was a place where snow fell all year round. The city sat on a high plateau along the southern mountain range of the Kalos continent.
After riding Giant Dragonite and landing outside the city, the moment Silas touched the ground a piercing cold wind blew toward him. The chill went straight through his clothes, making him instinctively tighten his coat and shiver.
The temperature here felt even colder than winter.
In fact, it was said that Snowbelle City was colder than Snowpoint City in the Sinnoh region.
According to local rumors, the city's eternal snow was influenced by the frigid energy leaking from the nearby Pokémon Gym, which was how Snowbelle City gained the title of the Frozen City.
Silas hugged Cinccino tightly in his arms and wrapped the fluffy tail around his neck like a scarf.
Then he waved to Giant Dragonite and hurried toward the Snowbelle Gym located in the center of the city.
Along the way he noticed something strange.
There was not a single person walking on the streets.
Everyone seemed to be hiding inside their homes.
That alone showed just how freezing the entire city truly was.
However, Silas soon realized that the rumors were probably not baseless exaggerations.
He knocked on the gym door.
The door, which was coated in a thick layer of frost, slowly opened from the inside.
The moment it opened, a violent gust of icy wind mixed with bits of frozen ice blasted outward.
Giant Dragonite quickly stepped forward and stood in front of Silas, shielding him. The powerful wind covered Giant Dragonite's body in a layer of shattered ice crystals.
"Are you… Mr. Silas?"
A staff member from the gym walked out to greet him. The poor man was shivering from the cold, and even speaking clearly seemed difficult.
"Yes, that's me."
Silas pulled Cinccino closer as he answered.
"Please… come with me. Gym Leader Wulfric is already waiting for you at the battle field."
The staff member barely managed to finish the sentence before shivering violently again.
Compared to the outside temperature, the air inside the gym was even colder.
Everything around them was covered in shimmering layers of frost crystals.
The battlefield itself was a massive sheet of solid ice that looked like it would never melt.
Across the arena sat the gym leader himself.
Wulfric.
The large man sat cross legged on what looked like an icy throne, waiting calmly for the challenger.
Strangely, he wore only a sleeveless shirt with a jacket draped loosely over his shoulders.
His resistance to the cold was incredible.
If someone like him were thrown directly in front of Kyurem, he probably would not freeze to death.
As expected, humans in the Pokémon world were all somewhat abnormal.
"Well then, I am Wulfric, the Gym Leader of the Snowbelle City Gym."
"Silas, a trainer from Vaniville Town."
Their eyes met across the icy battlefield.
There was no need for more words.
The gym challenge officially began.
"Now… the Snowbelle Gym battle… will begin!"
The young gym trainer acting as referee forced himself to finish the announcement, taking a deep breath afterward before quickly explaining the rules.
"Each side may use three Pokémon. When all Pokémon on one side lose their ability to battle, the match will end… Please send out your Pokémon."
"Well now, kid," Wulfric spoke while folding his bare arms across his chest. "You've already collected six special badges. I won't go easy on you."
With that, he tossed aside the jacket on his shoulders and pulled a Poké Ball from his belt.
"Well then, Abomasnow, come out."
"Abomasnow!"
With a deep roar, the Pokémon known as Abomasnow appeared on one side of the frozen battlefield.
The moment it arrived, the amount of ice type energy in the air suddenly increased.
Within seconds, snowflakes began to drift down from above the arena.
At first there were only a few.
But quickly the snowfall thickened into heavy, swirling snow that fell onto the icy battlefield with soft rustling sounds.
The sudden snowfall caused the already freezing temperature to drop even further.
"Cinccino, do you want to return to your Poké Ball for now?"
"Cin!"
Cinccino shook its head and used its fluffy tail to brush the snow off its head.
Silas gently pinched its ear before turning his gaze toward Giant Dragonite beside him.
"Biggie, I'm counting on you today."
"Draa!"
Giant Dragonite let out a deep growl.
It flapped its wings powerfully, blowing away the snow and ice surrounding its body. Then it stepped forward with steady steps and stood firmly before Silas.
Soon after, Giant Dragonite's face became serious.
There was a reason it absolutely had to win this battle.
Perhaps because Giant Dragonite had lived for so long, its resistance to ice type energy was surprisingly high. Even in such a brutally cold environment, it showed no signs of discomfort.
Wulfric crossed his muscular arms and narrowed his eyes.
"Well now. You're actually sending out a Dragonite, which is four times weak to ice type attacks. It seems you trust your partner very much."
"Of course," Silas replied confidently from across the battlefield. "Dragonite is my partner."
"Then let us see it for ourselves," Wulfric said as he issued his command. "Abomasnow, use Ice Shard."
Ice Shard was an ice type priority attack.
Several sharp chunks of ice instantly formed around Abomasnow, floating in the air.
At its command, the ice fragments shot forward like cannonballs, tearing through the air with whistling sounds.
Because it was a priority move, the attack allowed almost no time to react.
In the blink of an eye, the shards had already reached Giant Dragonite.
Even Cinccino at the edge of the battlefield clenched its tiny paws nervously and cried out anxiously.
"Extreme Speed!"
Silas's command came even faster than the incoming Ice Shard.
Giant Dragonite trusted Silas completely.
Without even the slightest hesitation, its body glowed with a faint white aura.
A blurry afterimage remained in its original position.
In the next moment Giant Dragonite had already moved several meters away, dodging the incoming ice shards with incredible speed while rapidly closing the distance to Abomasnow.
The momentum created by its high speed movement converted directly into raw power.
Its fist, as large as a sandbag, slammed directly into Abomasnow's abdomen.
The terrifying force caused Abomasnow's stomach to cave inward slightly as pain appeared across its face.
Its massive body was sent flying backward before crashing heavily onto the frozen battlefield with a deep booming sound.
"Well now… the strength of that Dragonite… it's actually this powerful!"
Wulfric looked genuinely surprised.
His voice carried a hint of disbelief.
He originally expected Dragonite to struggle badly due to its ice weakness.
But this Dragonite's performance had far exceeded his expectations.
Of course, in the snowy weather Giant Dragonite was not completely unharmed.
However, thanks to its Multiscale ability, the damage caused by the snowstorm was extremely minimal.
"Don't give the opponent time to recover. Use Fire Punch."
"Draaa!"
Giant Dragonite's right fist instantly ignited with blazing flames.
The orange fire burned fiercely despite the freezing environment, even evaporating the snowflakes falling around it.
Using the momentum from its previous dash, Giant Dragonite kicked hard against the icy ground.
The small wings on its back stirred up a powerful gust of wind as it shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.
The fiery fist carved a bright arc through the snowstorm.
"Let them see the heat of our fighting spirit as well," Wulfric shouted. "Abomasnow, counter with Ice Punch."
"Abomasnow!"
Abomasnow roared loudly.
The snowfall suddenly intensified.
Under snowy weather conditions, Abomasnow's defense increased. The earlier Extreme Speed attack had only caused moderate damage.
Enduring the pain in its abdomen, Abomasnow slammed both fists into the ground and pushed itself back to its feet using the recoil.
At the same time, freezing energy rapidly gathered around its right fist.
Light blue ice crystals formed layer after layer, creating a thick icy armor around its fist.
Fire Punch, Ice Punch, and Thunder Punch were often jokingly called the farmer's three punches.
But in battle, they were extremely effective moves.
Excitement flashed through Wulfric's eyes as he shouted loudly.
"That's it! Abomasnow, take Dragonite's attack head on with Ice Punch!"
At this moment both Pokémon were using attacks that were four times effective against their opponent.
Giant Dragonite's Fire Punch was already only a short distance away.
The orange flames illuminated Abomasnow's body, melting the ice particles around it and making it feel slightly uncomfortable.
Both Pokémon roared.
Their fists flew forward at the same time.
Then the two powerful punches crashed directly into each other.
(End of Chapter)