As cold as Pryce

      With the Red Gyarados situation over, Ash and co. finally arrive at Mahogany Town, and Ash is ready to battle the gym leader, for the Glacier badge, but there is one small problem, the gym leader isn't there. A lady named Sheila explains the gym leader is up the trail. After the tiring run they finally find the gym leader, Pryce. He was meditating under a waterfall. Ash recongizes him as the Dewgong trainer that saved Ash and co. from the enraged gyarados. Ash and Pryce argue about the friendship of a trainer and pokemon. Ash challenges Pryce to a quick battle. Ash's new Phanpy easily loses to Pryce's tough Dewgong. Pryce walks away and the determined boy Ash is follows, but they wall off the cliff, falling to their death, but Ash quickly reacts by using Noctowl to bring Pryce down, and using Totodile's watergun for a safe landing.Totodile is worn out, and Pryce cures it with herbs. Then Pryce explains his days as a young trainer and his victories with his long lost friend Piloswine. Young Pryce sacrificied himself for Piloswine in a battle against a Magmar. Pryce and Piloswine were badly burned. One day Piloswine got up and left in the snowy night. Piloswine was never seen again. Pikachu finds one of Piloswine's belongings and they run into the cave. Inside they find Pryce's Piloswine, but it is frozen. Cyndaquil's flamethrower melts the ice and a electric shock from Pikachu wakes it up. Then Pryce finds out Piloswine actually left to find burn herbs to help Pryce. Pryce sees true friendships last forever. With Pryce and Piloswine reunited, does Ash have a chance against that powerful duo. Find out what happens in the next episode, Mahagony Gym Battle (Nice Pryce Baby)
                                                                              -Review by: Keyoor Patel

Episode # 235 – As Cold as Pryce

After the big Red Gyarados incident, Ash and co. decide to rest in the Pokemon center for the night, and after waking up they head for the Mahogany Gym! Ash arrives at the Gym, knocks on the door and demands a battle. No one answers, then they think that the Gym is closed. Then a young girl approaches, and asks if they’re looking for the gym leader. She says Pryce is away, training by the waterfall. She introduces herself as Shima. Hearing that Brock is a gym leader, Shima agrees to go to the waterfall with them to find Pryce. Ash and co. thank her, but they are quickly amazed at how fast she is running there. Team Rocket are hiding nearby, they have been sneak following Ash and co. to the waterfall, luckily they weren’t noticed. Ash and co. have arrived at the waterfall with Shima. Shima tells them to wait up for a moment, as the conditions are very dangerous. Shima notices and points out that the waterfall is running better than before. However, Ash and co. are feeling exhausted from the walk. A while later, they see Pryce in a distant waterfall. He seems to be meditating right under the waterfall, but staying calm! Ash, however was surprised to see that it was the same man that saved them yesterday! Misty and Brock are confused a little, but Ash was eager to challenge him to a gym match. Team Rocket, who were following behind, wound up in a cave full of cracks. With Shima, Ash and co. decide to go approach Pryce as soon as possible. They reach him, and he makes comments on Ash’s relationship with Pikachu and they talk about how important it is to understand the Pokemon’s feelings in order to put up a good battle. Ash and Pryce argue over this, and then Pryce decides to prove his point. They start the match, Pryce sending out Dewgong, and Ash decides to test Phanpy, Misty argues, but Ash says that Phanpy is in great condition. Pryce says it’s important to rely on Special strength aside from physical strength. Ash has Phanpy do a rollout, but suddenly Dewgong’s Ice Beam freezes him while he’s rolling! Ash is surprised at the situation, since Phanpy is a ground type, and Ice attacks are affecting it. Ash apologizes to Phanpy as he returns it to its poke ball. Ash then gets very upset and decides to abandon this battle, and run. Shima tells him to stop, because the cave is dangerous, but Ash doesn’t hear her. They eventually catch up. Meanwhile, Team Rocket are still following them… After a while of pursuing they grab Pikachu with a net. As they go, Wobbuffet trips over a rock, and bangs his head on a rock, thus distracting them, and letting Ash make a break with Pikachu. They keep chasing Ash and the gang until they end up at a dead end on top of a cliff. They grab Pikachu…. And suddenly, Pryce appears, and yells at them for stealing Pokemon. They ignore him, and James has Weezing do smokescreen, to make their escape. In all this smoke, Ash can’t see where he’s going, and…. Falls off the cliff! Or so it seems, until Pryce grabs his arm, saving him or so it seems again, until Pryce falls! Ash now has to return the favor, so he sends out Toodile and Noctowl, Pryce grabs hold of Noctowl, and it helped up. But he’s too heavy. But falling slower though. Ash takes Pikachu and follows him down, gives Totodile a hug that he’s counting on him, and jumps, as Totodile uses a water gun, which somehow causes them to fall slower due to water pressure. They safely make it to the ground, but Totodile faints from so much water gun, Ash recalling him. Pryce is impressed at how Ash used great strategies. Suddenly, they look up, and notice Team Rocket again. James is upset now, and tells Meowth to go down there and attack them down there! Meowth is saved when Misty and Brock approaches. They ask where Ash and Pryce are (Meowth escapes). They just laugh, and then Ash calls, “Over Here!” and they notice that he got to the bottom somehow. Then Shima approaches once again, and tells them that there is a way down, and tells Misty and Brock that to follow her to escape. They follow her for now. Pryce remembers how Ash got down, and how Totodile used so much energy that it fainted. Pryce then gives Totodile a potion, and he seems to be revived. Ash thanks Pryce for helping. Pryce says he’s impressed with Ash’s survival Pokemon skills, and Ash said it was nothing, Totodile and Noctowl did their best. Then Pryce believes that Ash doesn’t treat his Pokemon like friends. But then Pryce says, just because his Pokemon are treated like friends, doesn’t mean he will be beaten. Pryce then explains how once, in the winter he saved Shima from the cliff when she was very young, by tying a rope to a tree, and using his skills. He explains how back them Pokemon were treated nicely like that as well, like a family. Back then, there were also a few other incidents regarding Pokemon in the Winter, and around he became known as ‘Pryce, of the winter’. Therefore he decided to specialize in Ice types. Then Shima, Misty, and Brock arrive at the bottom, where Ash and Pryce are. Misty and Brock decide to take the long way, and Shima jumps due to experience. After a while of looking for a way down, they come across a cave! The entrance seems to be closed from the water gun from before. Suddenly, Pryce seems surprised at the sight of this cave. He seems to be having a memory. He explains that he thinks this has a connection with the Piloswine he used to have, a long time ago. Ash is surprised at this. Shima then comes down and explains that she was around back then, and talks about how sweet it was, how Pryce and Piloswine got along like family. Then Pryce explains that somehow…….. their relationship ended. Shima then feels very sad at the mention of this. Then, Pryce says that Piloswine just… left him. No we see a flashback scene… Of how Pryce and Piloswine were great pals, really strong, winning battle after battle, like great pals. Pryce is happy with it, until one day…. At some tournament, he had Piloswine up against a Houndoom! Pryce is nervous, since Piloswine is an ice type which is weak to fire types. Piloswine, however seems confident to battle. Pryce decides to be brave and stand up to Houndoom! Houndoom, howeveruses Fire Blast, and toasts Piloswine until it faints! Piloswine was badly injured, but Pryce apologizes to it with all his heart, but Piloswine is still very angry and runs away. Pryce calls to Piloswine to wait, but it just runs off into the snowstorm. Pryce is very worried about what could happen to it out there, and starts crying….. And after he disappeared into a mountain…. He’s yelling “Piloswine…… wait…… Come back….. Come back!”…… And that was the last he ever saw of Piloswine since. Pryce explains that this is the reason that he takes Pokemon feelings very seriously. Ash understands this, and feels the emotion as well and cries. He notices that Pryce has hurried into the cave to look for Piloswine. Ash and the gang follow him in. This cave seems to be full of icicles. They see a bright shining image in the distance, Ash is glad because he thinks that it might be Piloswine! Then, Ash gets to the area of the light, and he sees Pryce waiting on a rock in the lighted area. It seems to be a beautiful place, the light bouncing off the ice like a prism. Ash looks around the view and sees something moving in the distance! A lot of objects seem frozen…… and that thing is getting closer…. It seems to be the figure of Piloswine frozen! Pryce recognizes it and bursts into tears and starts hugging it. Ash is relieved that Piloswine is saved. Pryce then notices that he has something with him…. It’s a piece of a plant. Pryce recognizes it as a ‘burn heal herb’. Pryce realizes that it wasn’t running away because it thought Pryce was a bad trainer, it just was brave enough to go find a cure by itself! Piloswine knew that a burn heal was needed, so it hurried into the right cave where they grow. He just wanted to impress Pryce by how independent it was! Pryce is so glad that they are still friends, and can be the old team again. They realize its frozen because it had too many burn heals. Ash calls out Cyndaquil, and easily melts the ice with flamethrower. He’s now out of the ice, but still out cold. Ash decides to charge him up with Pikachu’s thundershock. He tries over and over again, but it doesn’t seem to work, since as Pryce explains, Piloswine has been frozen for years. Suddenly, Piloswine begins to stir…… and wakes up!! Pryce is so happy, he goes over and hugshim, and Piloswine recognizes its trainer by scent. They seem to be back together, just like old buddies. Suddenly Ash gets knocked over. Pryce explains that its not used to strangers. Ash gets up again, and notices Shima, Misty, and Brock have left the cave. They all go outside then, and explain to what happened, and all seem to be happy and relieved…… Suddenly who is to appear but Team Rocket and their balloon. They attack, grab Pikachu, and Ash tells Pryce to send out Philoswine to beat them, but he’s regaining energy so he can’t battle. They keep attacking, and Ash tries to come up with a strategy….. Suddenly, Piloswine releases a Blizzard attack, freezing Arbok and Weezing! Ash has Pikachu shock Team Rocket to blast off. They arrive at the gym, but they both realiz that their Pokemon are tired out. So they decide to give them a rest at the Pokemon center and have their gym battle tomorrow.

LBCrystal