JN087

Breaking the Ice! (Japanese: 氷の女王とグレイシア The Ice Queen and ) is the 87th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,172nd episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on November 12, 2021, in Canada on March 5, 2022, in South Africa on April 26, 2022, in Australia on May 13, 2022, and in the United States on May 26, 2022.
==Blurb==
A new student arrives at Chloe and Goh’s school—her name is Regina, and her partner is Mirche, a Glaceon. But they both seem reserved and aloof, and when the students attempt to befriend them, Mirche responds with a powerful Blizzard attack! The Pokémon eventually collapses from expending too much power, and as it recovers under the care of Professor Cerise, Regina reveals that it uses Blizzard in an attempt to protect her from bullies. The next day, Regina and Mirche apologize to the students for the misunderstanding, and then they create a miniature amusement park made of ice for everyone to enjoy together!
==Plot==
A plane approaches a nightly Vermilion City. Aboard it, a man looks at the city below and tells his daughter, Regina, that she's going to be making lots of friends there. Clutching a , Regina mutters that she already has a friend, but says it's nothing when her father asks what she said.
The next day, Goh and Chloe head to from the Cerise Laboratory, with a reluctant being forced to come with them, as Goh is going to be giving a presentation about him. As they walk towards the school, Chloe notices Regina nearby, playing with a she refers to as Mirche. Ash and Goh call out to Chloe, and when she briefly looks at them and then turns back, Regina and Mirche have already left.
At the school, Goh's presentation about Ash causes the whole class to laugh, especially when Ash tries to refute the claim that Pokémon and Pokémon battles are the only things he ever thinks about by saying that he also thinks about food. As Goh concludes his presentation, Regina and Mirche enter the classroom, and the teacher introduces her as a new transfer student, who will be staying with them for a short time while her parents work in the city. Chloe volunteers to escort Regina to the Pokémon Garden behind the school so that she can leave her Pokémon there for the duration of the class. While walking to the garden, Chloe introduces herself to Regina and admits that she saw her and Mirche earlier. At the park, , , and approach Mirche and try to make friends with it, much to its displeasure. Regina assures Mirche she'll come see it during the lunch break and heads back inside with Chloe, with Mirche looking after her.
Chloe tells Regina more about herself on their way back to the classroom, explaining how her father runs the Cerise Laboratory. Hearing the Cerise Laboratory being mentioned makes Regina recall how she overheard her parents planning to travel there to have her Glaceon examined. As soon as Chloe opens the classroom door, all the students in the room rush at her and start asking her questions. When Ash tries to calm everyone down, Mirche suddenly rushes in, and, seeing its 's uncomfortable predicament, launches a powerful that s the entire class. Regina collapses on her knees and has a flashback to children in another school bullying her by calling her "Ice Queen" after a picture book character she resembles. Pikachu, Grookey, and Eevee, having followed Mirche, break the ice and free everyone. Regina apologizes for freezing them, but Ash, Goh, and Chloe assure no harm was done, so everything is fine.
Meanwhile, at the Cerise Laboratory, Regina's parents are talking with Professor Cerise, explaining to him that their daughter's Glaceon freezes anything it dislikes, which is why Regina hasn't been able to make any friends and has been transferred from school to school. They request the to examine Glaceon, fearing that separating it from Regina could be the only solution that would allow her to make friends, and they don't want her to be alone forever.
During the lunch break, other students keep their distance as Regina walks out of the classroom. Chloe tries to invite her to eat lunch with her, but Regina refuses, saying she'll be gone by tomorrow and that the teacher wants to talk with her. In the teacher's office, Regina gets so lost in thought that she doesn't even hear what the teacher is saying to her. Ash, Goh, and Chloe suddenly burst in, pleading for Regina to not be expelled and saying the Blizzard incident earlier was an accident. To their and Regina's surprise, however, the teacher wasn't intending on expelling her at all, and was just telling Regina things about the school. Chloe apologizes for having jumped to conclusions and invites Regina to have lunch with them. Regina calls out Mirche, but it's still distrustful towards Ash, Goh, and Chloe. It prepares to use Blizzard again, but when Regina tells it to stop, Mirche suddenly collapses on the floor.
Mirche is taken to the Cerise Laboratory, where Professor Cerise performs a medical scan on it. He says that Mirche is fine and just needs rest, but while Regina's good care for Mirche shows, its body temperature is alarmingly low, even for a Pokémon like Glaceon. Based on what he's heard about Mirche's powerful Blizzards, he deduces that it has been overexerting itself by unleashing so many of them, and could end up pushing itself to fatal levels if this keeps up. Regina tells everyone how Mirche had first used a powerful Blizzard when it saved her from a group of children bullying her by calling Ice Queen. Similar incidents had kept happening, with Mirche eventually resolving to constantly stay on the edge and by Regina's side to make sure no one ever bullied her. Regina starts crying and blaming herself for not having been able to protect Mirche in return, like a friend should do. Chloe assures her that she and Mirche are friends, and Mirche protects her because it cares about her. Regina's parents arrive, having heard of what happened at the school. Regina stands up to her parents and explains to them that Mirche was only trying to protect her from being bullied and ended up pushing itself too far, all because she kept hiding behind Mirche. Her parents apologize for having not understood what was happening, and Regina resolves to get stronger so she can protect Mirche. As Mirche regains consciousness, Regina's parents are happy to realize that their daughter has had a friend all this time.
The next day, Regina meets the rest of the class out in the schoolyard and apologizes for what she and Mirche did to them. In addition, she has a gift to give to everyone: she and Mirche, assisted by Goh and Ash, will be creating an ice theme park for them all to play in. With the help of Mirche, , and 's moves and 's , a snowy theme park filled with snow, an ice castle, and ice slides quickly forms in the schoolyard, and the whole class starts playing in it and having a good time. As a finishing touch, Regina has Mirche use on the ground to form an ice rink, with Eevee assisting in the task thanks to .
Later, Chloe receives a package from Regina at the Cerise Laboratory, and opens it with Ash and Goh to find a with a miniature Mirche inside it. From the accompanying letter, they learn that Mirche has stopped using excessively powerful Blizzards, and that Regina is into Pokémon battles now. Regina also promises to come see them during the school break, which Chloe is happy to learn of. While Ash and Goh figure that they should battle Regina the next time they meet her, Chloe looks at the snow globe and hopes that she and Eevee can one day become as close to each other as Regina and Mirche are.
==Major events==
* Goh's Dewgong is revealed to know .
===Debuts===
====Pokémon debuts====
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* Goh
* Chloe
* Professor Cerise
* Regina
* Teacher
* Students
** Yeardley
* Regina's parents
===Pokémon===
Who's That Pokémon?: 
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (Professor Cerise's; Rotom Phone)
* (Regina's; Mirche)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
==Trivia==
* Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!!: 
* Chloe reads the title card for this episode.
* This is the last episode to air in Japan before the release of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
* The title of this episode is identical to a previous one of the same dub.
* The title of this episode is identical to a previous one of the same dub.
* Goh, Drake, , and narrate the preview for the next episode. 
===Errors===
===Dub edits===
==In other languages==
086
Category:Episodes focusing on Chloe
Category:Episodes written by Aya Matsui
Category:Episodes by one-time storyboarders
Category:Episodes by one-time directors
Category:Episodes animated by Masaya Ōnishi
Category:Episodes animated by Kyōko Itō
Category:Episodes by multiple animation directors
Category:Episodes which aired in Canada before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in South Africa before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in Australia before the United States
de:Das Eis wird gebrochen!
es:EP1176
fr:LV087
it:EP087
ja:新無印編第87話
zh:宝可梦 旅途 第87集