The Snowpoint Pokémon Academy—honestly, it wasn't too different from a regular school. The only real change was that all the subjects had been swapped out for Pokémon-related knowledge.
When Zoey stepped up to teach about Pokémon Contests and the role of Coordinators, she actually pulled Dawn up to the front with her.
Caught off guard, Dawn's cheeks turned crimson on the spot.
One surprising detail—Jessie, James, and Meowth were in the academy too... and they were studying seriously!
Yes, Team Rocket's infamous trio seemed dead-set on turning over a new leaf through diligent training.
Since they weren't causing trouble, Ash didn't bother exposing them either.
By the time everything wrapped up at the Snowpoint City Pokémon Academy, a whole day had passed.
Ash hadn't scheduled any training or intense drills for his Pokémon that day.
Instead, he gathered everyone together to give their bodies some well-deserved care—shining fur, sharpening claws, and all-around grooming.
After all, constant high-intensity training without recovery? That was a no-go.
Ash understood this deeply.
Paul was a living example of what could happen when you pushed your Pokémon too hard without proper balance.
The next morning, Ash arrived at the Snowpoint Gym bright and early.
Dawn and Anabel had come with him.
Inside the Gym, Candice and Zoey were already waiting.
Ding! [Congratulations, Host! You've successfully arrived at the Snowpoint Gym. Sign-in in progress...]
Ding!
[Sign-in successful. Distributing rewards...
10 million PokéCoins!
System storage upgraded to 15 meters in length, width, and height!
One Tier-1 Legendary Pokémon Clue obtained!]
A special sign-in reward had arrived.
A Tier-1 Legendary Pokémon Clue… What Legendary could it be?
No rush for now. First, win the gym battle.
Ash smiled subtly—Master Balls. Looks like they were finally about to come in handy!
Candice greeted him cheerfully, "Ash, our gym works a little differently. Here at Snowpoint, we do four-on-four elimination battles. Most gyms stick to three-on-three, but not us."
They walked into the battle arena.
Candice smiled, and Ash took his place on the opposite side.
"Snowpoint City's Snowpoint Gym. I'm well aware of your special rules, Candice. This match will decide whether I earn the Iceberg Badge—my seventh in Sinnoh!"
"Pikachu!"
As always, Pikachu stood loyally by Ash's side.
"Perfect! That's the kind of spirit a challenger should have! But don't think we'll go easy on you—my Pokémon and I will give it everything we've got. Bring it on!"
Candice nodded with fiery determination.
"Now commencing the official Gym Challenge between the challenger Ash and Gym Leader Candice! Each side may use four Pokémon. When all Pokémon on one side are unable to battle, the match ends. Only the challenger has substitution rights. Begin!"
With the referee's command, Ash and Candice threw out their Poké Balls almost simultaneously.
"Let's go, Sneasel!"
"Snea-sel!"
"You're up, Metagross!"
"Meta—Gross!"
Both Pokémon took the field.
"Sneasel, show them your speed!"
"Snea!"
As Candice spoke, her Sneasel launched into action.
Classified as a Sharp Claw Pokémon, Sneasel's arms and feet boasted razor-sharp claws.
Now, Sneasel was using those claws to glide with astonishing agility across the icy battlefield, like a seasoned skater zipping between frozen peaks.
Ash watched with interest. "Metagross, this is our first official Gym battle. Let's make it count. Can you calculate its movements?"
Indeed, Sneasel was fast.
But it had met its match.
Metagross—the platinum-colored shiny version, no less—was often called a "Super Computer."
Even if its reflexes couldn't quite match Sneasel's speed, it could predict where Sneasel would land next.
"Metagross!"
Candice raised an eyebrow. "So your Metagross can really calculate that accurately? Well, even if it can… we're not backing down! Sneasel, use Dark Pulse!"
"Snea!"
Sneasel leapt high, using one of the icy pillars as a launching pad!
"Hammer Arm!"
"Gross!"
Metagross had waited long enough for a proper challenge. Now, it struck with full force!
Hovering in mid-air, Metagross swung one of its massive, steel-like arms with terrifying precision—
BOOM!
Sneasel, mid-air, still forming its Dark Pulse, took the full brunt of the Hammer Arm.
It flew like a rocket, crashing violently into an ice mound!
"Sneasel is unable to battle. Metagross wins!"
Even the referee looked stunned by the sudden outcome—but reacted just in time to declare the result.
Ding! [Congratulations, Host! Metagross has defeated Sneasel and earned 7,500 battle experience points!]
Ash's Metagross had taken down the first opponent, and it was pumped!
Ash realized a moment too late—he'd forgotten to activate a 10x Experience Multiplier Card for it.
No matter. Metagross's foundation was already solid; using the card later would still bring excellent results.
Candice smiled wryly. "They say Metagross has a supercomputer for a brain… I thought Sneasel's speed would give me the edge, but you saw right through us. Fine, then—here's my second Pokémon. Go, Snover!"
Snover!
From the spectator seats, Anabel quickly called out her own Snover.
"That's it, Snover. Watch closely—this is the kind of battle you need to learn from."
She spoke gently, full of encouragement.
Zoey's eyes widened slightly—she hadn't known Anabel had caught an Snover.
"Ahh, now I get it. But your senior's got an even stronger partner—her Snover! Stick around and let your Pokémon watch that battle too—it'll be even more eye-opening."
As the trio in the stands exchanged words, the second round of Ash and Candice's Gym Battle was already beginning!
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T/N:
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