| Nice Pryce, Baby!
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チョウジジム！こおりのたたかい！
Chōji Gym! Ice Battle!
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First broadcast
| Japan
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February 28, 2002
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| United States
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March 8, 2003
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|
English themes
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Japanese themes
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Credits
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Nice Pryce, Baby! (Japanese: チョウジジム！こおりのたたかい！ Chōji Gym! Ice Battle!) is the 238th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It was first broadcast in Japan on February 28, 2002, and in the United States on March 8, 2003.
Blurb
Having earned Pryce's respect and permission to face the trainer in a gym battle, Ash makes the unlikely choice of sending out Cyndaquil, a Fire Pokémon, to face his opponent on an Ice battlefield. Fortunately, Ash's strategy pans out as he leads the gym leader to lower his defenses, allowing Ash to take the first victory in a two-on-two match. Next the gym leader sends out his trusty Piloswine, which immediately unleashes a Blizzard attack that completely alters the battlefield, allowing it to make quick work of Ash's defending Pokémon. With one victory each, the round enters sudden death with each trainer playing his oldest, most reliable Pokémon. A seasoned duo, Ash and Pikachu may match the teamwork of the gym leader and his Piloswine, but will this be enough in a slippery ice arena that is second nature to Piloswine, but whereon Pikachu struggles even to stand?
Plot
Ash is excited for his upcoming Gym battle. He declares that his Cyndaquil's flames will make quick work of Pryce's Ice-type Pokémon. Misty reminds him that Pryce's Piloswine and Dewgong will be tough opponents, and Ash realizes there is a big hole in his battle strategy.
Sheila arrives at the Mahogany Gym and is pleasantly surprised to see Pryce grooming his Piloswine. Pryce admits that he has been with his Pokémon all night. Having been reunited with Piloswine only yesterday, Pryce has come to realize that his own ambitions were also frozen in ice for many years. Ash and his friends suddenly arrive at the Gym, and Pryce happily escorts them into the facility. Inside, Ash is surprised to see the glistening ice battlefield. Brock mentions that the field's central pool might be key to winning this match. Meanwhile, Team Rocket plans to steal all of the Ice Pokémon.
Pryce and Ash soon take their positions on the field. Ash prepares to call out his first Pokémon, but Brock halts the match after noticing that there is no referee. Sheila chuckles and reveals her referee uniform before taking her position as the referee for the battle. The two-on-two match begins. Pryce calls out his Dewgong, and it dives into the pool. Ash sends out Cyndaquil and orders a Flamethrower, but Dewgong ducks underwater to evade the attack. Dewgong retaliates with an Ice Beam, freezing Cyndaquil in solid ice after it loses its footing. Ash has Cyndaquil turn up the heat, and its breaks free of the ice to dodge an incoming Aurora Beam. The unconventional strategy takes Pryce by surprise. He orders another Aurora Beam. Cyndaquil moves out of the way and fires a Flamethrower at it. Dewgong dives underwater once again to escape. Ash spots an opportunity and has Cyndaquil also enter the water. Dewgong approaches with a Headbutt, though Ash bides his time before hitting Dewgong out of the water with a Swift attack. Cyndaquil follows up with a Flamethrower to knock Dewgong out of the battle. Next, Pryce sends out his trusty Piloswine.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket prepared to steal the Gym's Ice Pokémon with a net. Jessie pauses for a moment and suggests they keep some of the Pokémon for themselves. James and Meowth are a little confused, but Jessie explains that they could establish a global ice cream chain. With the money earned they would be able to finally pay off their dues to the boss. Meowth springs into action and prepares to net himself some Pokémon. However, he slips on the ice and disturbs a sleeping Seel. Soon enough Team Rocket finds themselves surrounded by the angry Ice Pokémon. The trio is quickly frozen after an Ice Beam is shot their way.
The focus switches back to the battle, where Piloswine immediately unleashes a Blizzard attack. The snow cover helps Piloswine disappear into its surroundings and it strikes Cyndaquil out with a Take Down. With one victory each, the round enters a sudden deathmatch. Ash selects his most reliable Pokémon, Pikachu against Pryce's Piloswine. Things start out rough as Piloswine releases a barrage of Blizzard attacks on Pikachu, who struggles to stand up straight on the ice. Ash notices that Piloswine's Blizzard attacks form ice pillars on the battlefield, and so, he commands Pikachu to slide on the ice underneath Piloswine. This confuses Piloswine as well as Pryce. Then, Pikachu slides and ricochets off of the pillars, easily dodging the Blizzards. When Pryce tells Piloswine to use Blizzard on the whole battlefield, Pikachu slides under it and unleashes a powerful Thunder. Almost out of energy, Piloswine uses Rest. Ash tells Pikachu to use Quick Attack before it heals, but he's too late. With its newfound energy, Piloswine uses Fury Attack and Take Down.
Pryce tells Ash to throw in the towel, but Ash refuses, so the battle continues on. Ash commands Pikachu to counter Piloswine's Fury Attack with a Quick Attack. Piloswine is hit directly on the nose and slides backward. Pikachu unleashes a massive Thunderbolt, which does nothing to it. Piloswine uses Take Down, and Pikachu jumps on its face and uses Thunder. This causes some damage and creates a hole in the field, which causes Piloswine to fall into the water. This time, Pikachu's next Thunderbolt causes more damage because Piloswine is wet. Piloswine shakes it off, leaving Ash and his friends astounded. It retaliates with Fury Attack, but Pikachu doesn't have enough control to dodge. Ash commands a Thunder, which sends Pikachu flying backward. Pikachu looks exhausted, but stands up, ready to keep fighting. In a surprising turn of events, Pryce forfeits, which gives Ash the victory under a T.K.O. Ash isn't pleased at first, saying he didn't actually win. Pryce admits that Ash's strength was impressive and explains he just didn't want his Piloswine to get hurt. With this in mind, Ash gladly accepts the Glacier Badge. Pryce once again thanks Ash for helping him to rediscover that being friends with Pokémon is important. Ash and his group wave goodbye and head towards their next destination, Blackthorn City.
Major events
Ash holding the Glacier Badge
- For a list of all major events in Pokémon the Series: Gold and Silver, please see the timeline page.
Debuts
Pokémon debuts
Characters
Humans
Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?: Weedle (US and international), Piloswine (Japan)
Trivia
Errors
Dub edits
In other languages
Bulgarian
Dutch
European French
German
Hebrew
Hindi
Italian
Polish
Brazil
Portugal
Latin America
Spain
