"That's right. I'm Pryce, the Gym Leader here."
Because of his age, Pryce's eyebrows and hair had already turned gray, but he was still hale and hearty. Unlike other elderly people, he did not totter when he walked, and his eyes in particular still looked remarkably sharp and alert!
Strangely, though, in such a chilly place, he wore nothing but a T-shirt and shorts, with a pair of open-toed slippers on his feet, as though he were vacationing on a tropical island!
As expected of an Ice-type Gym Leader, he was vigorous despite his age and certainly knew how to withstand the cold!
Only...
Noticing the stiffness in Pryce's tone, Xia You glanced back at the courtyard gate, then said somewhat apologetically, "Ah, sorry. I saw that the gate was open, so I took the liberty of coming in without announcing myself!"
Pryce's gaze swept over the two of them, then lingered on Xia You for quite a while.
Fortunately, he did not seem particularly concerned about it.
"Follow me."
With that, he turned away and headed back toward the Gym.
Seeing how cold his attitude was, Xia You exchanged a glance with Sabrina and shrugged.
Pryce did not seem to enjoy talking much, and his temperament was a little odd. But Xia You had only come to challenge the Gym. As long as they could battle, however cold Pryce was had little to do with him.
Still, Xia You remembered that Pryce seemed to have become this way because, when he was young, he had suffered burns during a battle and been left bedridden. His Piloswine had suddenly left him then and never returned. Believing that Piloswine had abandoned him, Pryce had lost his trust in Pokémon, becoming the stern man he was today.
Of course, there were some