A Real Icebreaker!

### Written by

Sonic876, Punkasaurus0530, Frogadier55, NegimaLover, TMNTHedgehog5, and DragonSpore18

### Directed by

Sonic876 and NegimaLover

***A Real Icebreaker!*** is the 29th episode of *Josh's Adventures of Pokémon the Series: XYZ*.

## Plot

Ash returns to the Snowbelle Gym for a rematch. Inside the Gym, Serena calls to Ash in a worried voice, but Ash responds by convincing her and the others that he will definitely win this time. Inside the Gym, Wulfric is eager to battle Ash for a rematch, only to be stopped by the apprentice because he had not explained the rules yet. Wulfric convinces his apprentice that it's okay, as Ash had a battle earlier and would know the rules.
After the apprentice begins the battle, Wulfric sends out Bergmite as his first Pokémon. At first Ash becomes a little confused over Wulfric's choice, but quickly sends Pikachu as his first Pokémon. The fight starts with Pikachu using Electro Ball which is easily dodged by Bergmite by skating on the ice battlefield, as Ash expected. Bergmite responds with Icy Wind, which Pikachu manages to dodge, but the cold air created by the wind numbs his lower body. Ash calls out for a Quick Attack, but Pikachu's speed gets reduced because of the effect of Icy Wind and is easily dodged. Pikachu instead retaliates with Thunderbolt, which scores a direct hit. Wulfric is surprised to see that Pikachu is still able to keep up with Bergmite's speed and calls out his secret move, Sharpen, which encases Bergmite in a crystal of ice and raises its attack stat before using Rapid Spin. Though Pikachu tries to dodge, Bergmite scores a direct hit. Suddenly, Ash is struck with inspiration, and tells Pikachu to run around the battlefield, which warms him back up and melts the ice on his lower body. Wulfric tries to stop Pikachu by calling out Rapid Spin, which is countered by Pikachu's Quick Attack, followed by an Iron Tail which knocks out Bergmite.

Wulfric sends out Avalugg as his second Pokémon. Pikachu starts by scoring a direct hit with Thunderbolt, only to be stopped by Avalugg's Avalanche counterattack. Pikachu starts skating on ice to dodge any further attacks, but is followed by Avalugg's Gyro Ball. Pikachu uses Iron Tail to create a hole on the battlefield to trap Avalugg's Gyro Ball. The trap works, but Wulfric and Avalugg counter with Stone Edge. Even though Pikachu tries to destroy the rock spires, he is finally hit and is knocked out of the battle.

Ash sends out Talonflame as his second Pokémon. Before the battle continues, Wulfric notices a newfound spark in Talonflame's eyes. Ash and Talonflame start with Flame Charge, landing a direct hit. Avalugg retaliates with Stone Edge, which chases down Talonflame and causes it to crash into the super effective move. Talonflame responds with a direct hit from Steel Wing, digging into Avalugg's flat top as it strikes. Avalugg attacks with Avalanche, which sends Talonflame into a free fall, but Talonflame recovers and counters with Flame Charge. The intense fire and smoke from Flame Charge briefly engulfs Avalugg, and as it disperses, Avalugg is shown to be knocked out.

Wulfric sends out Abomasnow as his last Pokémon. Like last time, Abomasnow summons a hailstorm due to its Snow Warning Ability, which begins eating at Talonflame's stamina. Talonflame tries to open the battle with Steel Wing, but is intercepted by Abomasnow's Wood Hammer instead. It retaliates with Flame Charge, but Abomasnow's Ice Shard chase down Talonflame and stop it again. Abomasnow finishes Talonflame with another Wood Hammer, knocking Talonflame out.

Ash sends out Greninja as his last Pokémon against Abomasnow. Greninja opens with two successive Aerial Aces followed by two Water Shurikens. After that, it successfully stops Abomasnow's Energy Ball with Cut. Coming back to its side of the arena, Greninja flinches from the pain cause from the hail. Abomasnow tries to strike with Wood Hammer, but is stopped when Greninja freezes itself in ice. Breaking out of the icy shield, Ash and Greninja decide to activate Ash-Greninja form and gain the upper hand. Wulfric immediately notices the differences in Greninja and its Trainer, to which Ash proclaims they've become even stronger.

Ash-Greninja launches back into battle with a series of Aerial Ace attacks. Abomasnow tries to fight back with Wood Hammer, but is stopped by Ash-Greninja's Cut, which has now manifested itself a pair of knives formed with water, similar to Water Shuriken. Ash-Greninja follows up with a giant Water Shuriken. Impressed and backed into a corner, Wulfric reveals a Key Stone embedded in his locket, and Mega Evolves his Abomasnow.

Ash-Greninja attacks with another Water Suriken, but Mega Abomasnow's Ice Punch freezes and shatters it. Mega Abomasnow follows up with Ice Shard, which strikes Ash-Greninja. Ash and Ash-Greninja combine Double Team and Aerial Ace, attacking Mega Abomasnow in droves, but Mega Abomasnow knocks the clones away with Wood Hammer and strikes Ash-Greninja. Starting to get the upper hand in battle, Mega Abomasnow launches another series of Ice Shards, but Ash-Greninja strikes them down with its enhanced Cut. As Ash-Greninja approaches, Mega Abomasnow counters with Ice Punch, freezing Ash-Greninja's water knives. Just as Mega Abomasnow attempts to finish the battle with an extremely powerful Wood Hammer, Ash made Ash-Greninja use frozen water knives to skate on the icy battlefield, greatly enhancing its mobility, and allowing it to dodge Wood Hammer and Ice Shard. Ash-Greninja distracts Wulfric with a giant Water Shuriken aimed at Mega Abomasnow's feet, allowing Ash-Greninja to finish the fight with another series of Aerial Aces. Ash-Greninja reverts to normal, and Ash and his friends let out a cheer.

Ash calls out all his Pokémon to celebrate his hard-earned victory, as Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie come down to congratulate him. Wulfric proudly presents Ash with the Iceberg Badge, allowing him to enter the Kalos League. At nighttime, outside the Pokemon Center, Ash vows to train hard to win the Kalos League with his Pokémon.

## Major events

* Ash has a rematch against Wulfric and wins, earning the Iceberg Badge and thus qualifying for the Lumiose Conference.
* Ash and his friends prepare to head back to Lumiose City in order to participate in the Lumiose Conference.

## Characters

### Humans

* Ash
* Serena
* Clemont
* Bonnie
* Wulfric
* Apprentice

### Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?: Avalugg

* Pikachu (Ash's)
* Dedenne (Clemont's)
* Greninja (Ash's; Ash-Greninja)
* Talonflame (Ash's)
* Hawlucha (Ash's)
* Noivern (Ash's)
* Abomasnow (Wulfric's; Mega Abomasnow)
* Avalugg (Wulfric's)
* Bergmite (Wulfric's)
* Zygarde (Zygarde Core; Squishy)

## Transcript

*Main article: A Real Icebreaker!/Transcript*
## Trivia

* Poké TV: "Poké Love TV" Focusing on Abomasnow.
* This episode marks the first time since *Just One of the Geysers*, 616 episodes earlier, where Ash uses a different lineup of Pokémon in a rematch against a Gym Leader. In this case, he substitutes his Hawlucha for Pikachu.
* The tactic used by Ash where Greninja uses the frozen Cut "knives" as ice skates to maneuver around the field and avoid Ice Shard is similar to the move used by Ash's Chimchar in *Sliding Into Seventh!*, during Ash's Snowpoint Gym battle with Candice, where he used an ice shard to skate around the field.
	+ Similarly, both instances were used against an Abomasnow, and both times were used to avoid Ice Shard and Wood Hammer.
* A remix of XY&Z is used as an insert song in this episode when Greninja transforms into Ash-Greninja.
	+ An instrumental version of XY&Z is used during the battle between Ash-Greninja and Mega Abomasnow.
* Clemont's Dedenne, Ash, Bonnie, and Clemont narrate the preview for the next episode.
	+ At the end of the preview, Ash and Bonnie say the catchphrase "Everyone, keep Pokémon!", with Bonnie saying the "keep" part and Ash saying the rest, instead of Ash saying his "Everyone, get Pokémon!" phrase.
* Despite it having existed since Generation I, this episode marks the anime debut of Sharpen.
* When Greninja is first brought into the battle, its pose matches its battle pose from the games.
* This is the final episode of *Pokémon the Series: XY* in which Team Rocket doesn't appear.
* This is the last episode in which Ash has an official Gym battle.
	+ Furthermore, this is to date the last official Gym battle shown in the anime.