| " | \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAfter a proper night's sleep, and after getting dressed and eating breakfast, Shinxy and his pals left the hotel with heading to the Snowpoint Gym in mind. Altan: Wow, this place is much nicer during the day. The sun makes it a little warmer. Crystal: And it's not the least bit windy either! Shinxy: Yes, it's a perfect day for a gym battle! This will be my seventh badge... I'm so close to having all eight, it's kinda making me all giddy. Altan: I'm not looking forward to the trip back, but if what Stephanie said about the weather not usually being so windy, then it probably won't be so bad. Mewtwo: I would hope so. Upon entering the gym, the air was noticably colder inside. The battlefield was icy. Shinxy: Kinda cold in here, isn't it? Altan: I'd expect as much from an ice-type gym. ???: Hello, all of you? You're not all here to challenge Candice, are you? That would be me! Shinxy: Nope, just me. Nice to meet you! I'll be winning my seventh badge from you today! Candice: Your seventh? I was waiting for someone tough! But I should warn you that I'm tough as well, because my pokemon and I know how to focus! Whether it comes down to pokemon, fashion or romance, it's all about focus! You'll see what I mean when you lose! Now, step over to your side of the battlefield there and we can get started. Shinxy: Alright! Crystal: Good luck, Shinxy! Shinxy and Candice took their stands on the opposite ends of the battlefield as Altan, Crystal and Mewtwo headed to the bench to observe. Candice sent out her Sneasel to battle first, which led Shinxy to stop and think about how to proceed. Shinxy: Okay, who to send out first... Candice uses ice types, so using Noibat or Serperior might not be smart... Sneasel is a dark type, too, so Mew would be at a disadvantage... I should save Arcanine for her ace pokemon... Okay, I got it! Shinxy sent out his Rhydon to battle Sneasel. Shinxy: I know Rhydon's also weak to ice attacks, but ice is weak to rock, and Rhydon's defense is great! Candice: Took you long enough to decide! But it looks like you're trying to really focus, which is beneficial in battle. Let's get this started! Candice commanded Sneasel to use Ice Shard as it's first attack. Small but quick chunks of ice flew at Rhydon and impacted multiple points of it's body. To retaliate, Rhydon would use Rock Blast. Sneasel's nimble form was able to dodge a couple, but not all of the powerful rocks. Three impacts led to Sneasel's defeat, and Candice returned it to it's pokeball. Shinxy: Haha, nice, Rhydon! Altan: Looks like Shinxy made the right choice in using Rhydon first. But, gym leaders typically have pokemon to counter such weaknesses. Candice: Nicely done! But I'm just getting started! Candice followed up with her Piloswine, and commanded it to use Earthquake. The massively powerful attack shook the entire battlefield and dealt a heavy blow to Rhydon, causing it to faint. Shinxy returned Rhydon to it's pokeball. Shinxy: I guess Sneasel's Ice Shard did more damage to Rhydon than I thought. But this battle is far from over! Shinxy then sent out his Quagsire onto the battlefield, not taking much time to think about it since he knew Quagsire's only weakness was grass attacks, a type he figured Piloswine did not have. Without hesitation, Shinxy commanded Quagsire to use Brine. Quagsire fired a powerful blast of water from it's mouth and directly impacted Piloswine, but did not knock it out. However, taking the brunt of the attack was part of Candice's strategy, as she commanded Piloswine use Avalanche. Heavy chunks of ice rained down on top of Quagsire, knocking it out in a single move. Shinxy: What? How did that happen?! Candice: Now you see, my favorite ice-type move, Avalanche! It does double the damage if the user was damaged right before using it! Shinxy returned Quagsire to it's pokeball, then sent Mew to fight in it's place. Crystal: Wow, what a dangerous move. If Shinxy doesn't K.O Candice's pokemon,it uses a devastating attack like that... Altan: Yeah, Candice might even be as tough as Byron. Shinxy quickly commanded Mew to use Water Pulse. The second Water type attack finished off Piloswine and caused it to faint. Candice returned it to it's pokeball. Candice: Not bad, you've managed to beat half of my pokemon! Shinxy: Half? You have four pokemon? All the gym leaders I beat up to this point had three... Candice: That's right! And my second two pokemon are much stronger than my first two, so get ready!\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t | \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t