Mary was trying to retake her intro for the radio show again. The Director gestured dramatically at them from behind the camera, looking at Ash.
"C'mon, give us something! Commentary! Banter! Emotional stakes!"
Ash shook his head. "Nope."
"Come on," Misty echoed flatly. "We're already half-frozen and possibly being filmed for a blooper reel. You're lucky I'm not throwing snowballs at your camera drones."
Yellow was sipping from her thermos again, offering some to Chuchu and Pikachu, who both looked supremely comfortable snuggled in Arcanine's warm mane.
But there was no Whitney around.
Meanwhile, the Chairman peeked over the edge. "Hey Whitney, are you okay?"
And from inside the ravine: "Hey Whitney, are you okay?!"
Whitney was already halfway down, rappelling on a rope that Mil Mil was holding onto.
"Better than okay! And here I thought you only brought me along for my looks!" she called as she descended.
"Can we just talk about how that cow has better upper body strength than Brock?" Misty muttered under her breath.
"Hey!" Brock barked indignantly, before slipping slightly on an icy patch and flailing his arms to regain balance. "Okay fine, point taken."
Ash stepped closer to the edge, carefully crouching beside the rope. "Whitney, are you sure it's stable down there?"
"Yup!" she called up. "Looks like there's a slope that zigzags down. If you take it slow, you won't die!"
"That's… reassuring," Mary muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. "This is a mistake. This is all a mistake."
"No, it's not!" the Director chimed in. "This is award-winning content!"
Ash and Misty rolled their eyes as Whitney finally reached the bottom.
"Alright, solid ground again!" she said, putting her hands on her hips and looking proud. "Okay, you guys can come down now!"
The Director nodded, but first looked at everyone else.
"Alright, who's next?" he asked shamelessly.
Seeing that none of the radio team wanted to go, Ash sighed. He returned Arcanine to her Pokéball and handed Vee and Pikachu over to Yellow.
"Fine. I got this. When I'm down there, I'll help you."
"Wait, why can't we just use Abby to go down?" Yellow asked.
"Because she doesn't want to. She does her own thing, and I don't even know where she is. She just shows up when I need her… and then she doesn't. That's it," Ash said, stretching his arms.
Misty sighed. It definitely would have been easier if Abby were here. "Okay, so what are you gonna do?"
"You ain't gonna like it, so I ain't gonna tell you," Ash said with a smirk as he took a step back and fell off the ledge, giving a salute as he dropped.
Immediately, everyone panicked and looked over the edge, watching Ash fall. Even Whitney, all the way down below, looked like she tried to get under him to catch him.
Ash didn't look scared as he fell. He coated his hands in Aura and grabbed onto the rope, digging his boots into the ice as he slowed his descent, shards breaking off the icy wall.
Ash slid down fast, as chunks of ice shattered away. The rope jerked slightly, but Mil Mil grunted and dug its hooves into the frost, holding steady. Ash finally reached the bottom with a loud crunch, landing in a crouch as the last of the snow settled around him.
Whitney, wide-eyed, ran over. "Are you crazy?! You could've broken every bone in your face!"
"Meh, wouldn't be the first time. I mean, not even counting the Dragonite that raised me and probably broke most of my bones when I was like five," Ash said, waving his hands, trying to cool them off from the rope burn. He had covered them in Aura, otherwise, he probably would've ripped some skin off.
"…Okay… that's an adorable image," she took a breath, calming down. "But you scared the Moomoo Milk outta me."
Up top, Misty had her hands on her head. "I knew he was going to do something reckless!"
Yellow clutched Pikachu and Vee tightly, still shaking from the shock of seeing Ash jump off. "He always does something reckless."
Mary had dropped to her knees, holding her chest. "I thought he was going to die on-camera. I can't handle this. I need warm Moomoo Milk and ten minutes alone."
The Director, of course, was absolutely glowing.,"Perfect! Cinematic tension! Can we do another take of that fall, but slower? With a drone spinning overhead?"
"NO!" everyone shouted at once.
Now that Ash was at the bottom, he went to his belt, pulled out Snorlax's Pokéball, and threw it. Snorlax appeared, and immediately kept sleeping. He didn't even stir.
"Alright, come on, jump on down!" Ash called.
Everyone blinked. Was that really Ash's plan? Even though Misty, Brock, and Yellow could tell Snorlax looked clearly bigger now, even from up there, was that really enough?
Whitney, on the other hand, looked starstruck. "Aww, look at this cutie! He's so chonky!" She ran over to Snorlax's sleeping face and rubbed his cheeks. "Look at these squishable cheeks!"
Then she moved to his stomach and hugged it. "And he's so soft and warm, I could fall asleep right here. Why didn't I bring one of my Snorlax? That would've been such a good idea."
Mil Mil, however, was watching, and she felt a little jealous. Without warning, she jumped down, catching the team up top by surprise as she slammed directly onto Snorlax's belly. His stomach rippled from the impact, but otherwise, Snorlax didn't even twitch at a whole cow landing on him.
Mil Mil, meanwhile, was slowly sinking into the plush, jiggly mass. She tried to glare grumpily at Whitney, but it was hard to look upset while disappearing into what was basically a giant, living pillow.
Yellow peered over the edge, blinking in disbelief. "Did Mil Mil just… jump without waiting?"
Misty squinted down at the scene. "She did. She actually belly-flopped a Snorlax. And now she's just… sinking."
Brock adjusted his jacket, nodding like this was all perfectly normal. "That's a sign of true jealousy. Classic Miltank behavior."
"I'm not even gonna pretend I understand Pokémon emotional politics," Mary muttered, still clutching her chest.
Ash waved up from below. "See? Works fine. Snorlax is basically a walking mattress. Just aim for the tummy!"
"This was your plan?" Misty shouted, half-laughing. "You're insane!"
"Maybe. But I'm also down here and not dead, sooo… you be the judge~" Ash said with a smug little smirk. "Besides, you're acting like you're not the one who constantly asks me to let Snorlax out so you can sleep on him."
"You shut up, you!" Misty shouted, blushing furiously as she pointed down at him.
Grumbling under her breath, Misty tugged her scarf tighter. "Okay, fine. But if I break a leg doing this, I'm haunting you forever, Ash."
"You already haunt me when you're alive!" Ash called back, grinning. "Besides, I'm a surgeon, remember? I'll fix your leg if you break it."
"That doesn't help as much as you think it does…" Misty mumbled. Still, she stepped back, took a deep breath, and jumped.
She landed belly-first onto Snorlax's stomach with a wumpf and an echoing boing. The soft mass absorbed the impact like a trampoline, sending her bouncing slightly before she flopped safely onto her side with a groan.
"Okay... that was terrifying, but weirdly comfortable." Snorlax, unsurprisingly, still didn't wake up.
Ash walked over, casually helping her to her feet. "See? Told ya. Trust the process."
Misty groaned again, brushing snow out of her hair. "I hate that it worked."
Whitney was still clinging to Snorlax's side, giggling like a child. "This is the best field shoot I've ever been on! I feel like I'm in a luxury hotel. Made of pudding."
Mil Mil mooed insistently, wriggling next to her to reassert dominance. Whitney gave her a side hug. "Yes, yes, you're still my number one cuddle cow. Don't get your tail in a twist."
Yellow peeked her head over the edge, hugging Vee tighter. "Uhhh… is… this a good idea? I don't…"
Ash put his hands into a cone and yelled up to her, "If you jump and you don't make it, I'll catch you!"
Yellow blushed like a tomato, you'd think she was burning hotter than Vee.
Brock leaned over toward her with a knowing smirk. "You gonna jump, or should we get you a parachute made out of unresolved feelings?"
"Wha-Brock!!" Yellow sputtered.
Vee blinked and gave a small, amused vee, tail flicking like he was enjoying this way too much.
Mary, meanwhile, had finally stopped clutching her chest and stood up again. "Okay, okay. Let's just get this over with. If we wait too long, we'll all freeze to the ledge."
Yellow was still nervously debating. "Okay… okay, you got this…" She turned to Pikachu and Chuchu. "I'm gonna jump. You two stay with Vee, okay?"
Pikachu offered a tiny salute. Chuchu gave a squeaky chirp of encouragement. Vee tilted his head, then gently pressed his forehead to hers.
With a breath, and a little shriek, Yellow jumped.
She hit Snorlax with a soft pomf, bounced once, and landed nestled in the crook between his arm and belly like a bean in a burrito wrap.
"...Oh my gosh, I'm alive."
Ash walked over, crouching to check on her. "You okay?"
Yellow looked up at him, face red again. "...You said you'd catch me."
Ash gave a little smirk. "Oh? Do you want me to~? If that's what you want, I can carry you again~"
Yellow buried her face in her scarf, muffling a squeak. "N-No! I'm fine! I landed just fine! See? Totally fine!" she said quickly, flailing her arms a little to demonstrate her absolute, non-blushing, totally-in-control composure.
Ash just chuckled, rising back to his feet. "Sure, sure. Just say the word and I'll princess-carry you next time."
Yellow turned even more red, steam was actively rising from her head, when Pikachu, Chuchu, and Vee jumped down, landing right next to her and nudging her while still sitting on the Snorlax.
Then, from above: "BANZAI!!" (Which was basically a Japanese war cry begging for life.)
Brock leapt without warning, arms flailing like a cartoon character. He crashed into Snorlax with a bounce so strong it sent Mil Mil popping a few inches into the air like a marshmallow. Snorlax snorted once, but remained asleep.
Brock groaned from where he lay half-buried in Snorlax's stomach, "I regret nothing, except maybe that angle."
Mary peeked over the ledge again and sighed deeply, like she was reevaluating all her life choices at once. "This is unprofessional. This is deranged."
Whitney waved up cheerily at her best friend. "Come on! Peer pressure's not gonna get any easier!"
Mary took a slow breath. "Fine. I'm going. If I die, I want the radio special to be titled 'The Legend of the Idiots Who Jumped Off a Cliff.'"
She hopped, and unlike the rest, landed with unexpected grace. Tucking her legs as she hit, she rolled off into a neat, slightly snowy crouch on Snorlax's belly.
Everyone clapped.
"10 outta 10!"
"A flawless landing!"
Whitney gasped dramatically and grabbed Mary's shoulders. "Since when have you been secretly cool!?"
Mary looked up, face blank, hair windblown and full of snow. "That wasn't cool. That was pure survival instinct and suppressed trauma."
Whitney wiped a pretend tear from her eye. "Beautiful. Just beautiful."
Ash sighed and looked up at the rest of the radio team. "Well, if you want to come down, do it, we're moving ahead."
"Wha?! You're going to leave us?!" the sound person shouted from above.
"You're all welcome to jump down!" Whitney added.
"Sure, I'll leave Snorlax there. He's just gonna nap for a while!" Ash said playfully, already turning to start walking down the ice path.
"Wait up!" Whitney took Mil Mil by the hoof and followed behind. She turned back and waved. "Come on!"
Mary, Misty, Yellow, and Brock looked at each other, then up, and shrugged as they followed, leaving the rest of the radio team to either jump or find a much less dramatic route down.
—-
As the group moved through the icy ravine, Whitney glanced around. "Hard to believe someone could even build a Gym down in a gorge like this, let alone an entire gym made of ice."
Ash chuckled as their boots crunched over packed snow and slick ice. Misty walked close behind him, arms crossed but eyes alert. Yellow shuffled forward in a dazed haze, still recovering from both the mortifying jump and the lingering warmth of being snuggled between Snorlax and a teasing Ash.
"Yeah, I guess the Gym Leader Pryce doesn't really like talking to anyone," Brock said, recalling what he'd heard during his own Gym days. "I hear he doesn't even have a phone."
"Yeah, even the website barely has anything," Ash added. "Not even a picture of what Pryce looks like. No vods of his past battles, either."
Pikachu, shivering a little, slipped into Ash's hoodie. "Pika..."
As they continued walking, a massive dome of ice came into view.
"There it is!" Whitney pointed. "The Legendary Sub-Zero Gym. Seriously, who'd want to live here?"
"That's what I'd like to know…" Mary muttered.
"Well, if no one visits him," Whitney said, stepping up to the door, "then I guess we'll just have to be uninvited guests. HELLO? ANYBODY HOME?!"
No answer.
They pushed open the door and stepped inside. Immediately, the change hit them.
"Whoa, it's really warm in here!" Yellow called out, surprised.
"You won't hear me complaining," Misty mumbled, already unzipping her jacket.
Everyone started peeling off their layers, grateful to shed the freezing air outside.
"So where's Pryce?" Brock asked, about to step forward-
Ash walked up and grabbed his shoulder. "Wait, my dude, look down." Ash pointed down at the shiny floor that was made of Ice, "You're gonna slip,"
Everyone looked down at the shimmering floor. Whitney crouched, running a gloved finger along the surface.
"Wow, you're right," she said. "If we stepped on this, we'd be sleeping around. Literally slip 'n' snooze."
"Huh," Brock said, glancing around the edges of the room. "So, where do we go? Think there's another way around?"
Suddenly, there was the echo of rapid footsteps, someone running.
Ash sighed and calmly stepped to the side, gently pushing everyone else out of the way with a lazy but practiced shove. "Move."
WHAM—SLIDE—BOING.
The Director, the sound guy, and the Chairman all came flying into the gym. "We're here! That wasn't so ba—WHOAAAA!" the Director shouted as the second his foot hit the ice, all three of them went sailing across the room like human curling stones.
The group just watched silently as the trio ricocheted off the icy walls, spinning and bouncing like chaotic ping-pong balls. The Director slammed into a pillar, rebounded, and tangled up with the Chairman mid-air, while the sound guy let out a shriek as his boom mic flew from his hands and clattered into a corner.
"...Should we do something?" Yellow asked, clutching Vee nervously.
"And miss this show?" Whitney said, stifling a laugh. "No way."
She reached into her bag and casually pulled out a jar of Moomoo Milk. "Moomoo Milk, anyone? Oh-Ash, can I borrow Vee to warm this up?"
Ash looked like he was about to say something… but then he glanced at the chaos happening across the gym, then at the deadpan looks of his teammates. He exhaled in resignation.
"...You know what? Sure. Why not."
Vee gave a soft "Vee~" and hopped over to Whitney, his fur giving off a gentle warmth as he curled around the jar like a little heating pad.
Meanwhile, the Director hit the far wall with a dull thump, bounced once more, and slid to a halt in front of the group, eyes spinning.
He blinked up at the kids.
"Cinematic," he wheezed, raising a weak thumbs up. "...Very cinematic."
Whitney beamed. "You wish you could direct moments like that."