Icirrus City Pokémon Gym Leader: Brycen "Ice Mask"
Like in most other Ice-type Gyms, the challenge here is a skating challenge. There are curved surfaces which curve the skating. These surfaces can be redirected by stepping on colored switches. There are also two sets of ramps that can be jumped to get over seemingly bottomless ravines. After defeating Brycen, the player can take a long ice slide back to the entrance.
Pokémon Black 2 and White 2
Former Icirrus City Pokémon Gym
Although the Gym is no longer in use in Black 2 and White 2, it can still be entered and traversed, with the Gym puzzle still active. Brycen does appear at the end of the icy paths, where he will briefly talk to the player before leaving. Talking to Brycen here is one of the requirements for unlocking the fourth and final Brycen-Man movie at Pokéstar Studios.
Icirrus Gym appeared in Caution: Icy Battle Conditions, where Ash challenged Brycen in a 3-on-3 Gym battle. At first, Ash, sent his Krokorok against Brycen's Vanillish, but when Krokorok was partly frozen by Vanillish's Blizzard and subsequently struck by a Mirror Shot, Ash switched to Scraggy instead. Although Scraggy's Focus Blast's aim was still poor, it managed to hit Vanillish with sheer luck, allowing Scraggy to finish off Vanillish with a Headbutt. Brycen then sent out Cryogonal, which knocked out Scraggy rather easily, at least due to Scraggy's Focus Blast constantly missing. Ash next sent out Pignite, who managed to defeat Cryogonal with a Fire Pledge. Brycen's last and strongest Pokémon, Beartic, however, proved to be too much for Pignite, defeating it with super effective Brine and Aerial Ace attacks. Ash was left with just Krokorok, who was in a type disadvantage. Despite this however, Ash managed to come up with a winning strategy and defeat Beartic, earning him the Freeze Badge.
Like in the games, the Gym is located underground, and is kept constantly cold. The battlefield is covered with ice, similar to a hockey rink, with large chunks of ice standing on it. The slippery conditions can offer a challenge of their own for unprepared challengers.
Vanillish was the first Pokémon Brycen used against Ash in their Gym battle. At first, Ash sent out Krokorok. However, after Krokorok had failed to land any hits on Vanillish and taken some damage, Ash recalled him and sent out Scraggy instead. Scraggy found it difficult to work properly on an icy field, and was at first unable to land any hits. He was, however, able to block Vanillish's Icicle Spear with his "pants" before firing a Focus Blast. By a stroke of luck, Focus Blast hit Vanillish from behind, and Scraggy was able to finish the Icy Snow Pokémon with a Headbutt.
Cryogonal was the second Pokémon Brycen used against Ash in their Gym battle. Ash's Scraggy was unable to land a single hit on the Crystallizing Pokémon before he was knocked out by a powerful Aurora Beam. Next Ash sent out his Pignite, whose Flame Charge was blocked by Cryogonal's Reflect. However, despite scoring several hits on Pignite with Rapid Spin and Frost Breath, Cryogonal was unable to stand out the Fire Pig Pokémon's Fire Pledge, and was knocked out.
Beartic was used in a Gym Battle against Ash, as the third and final Pokémon used by him. It was able to easily defeat Pignite despite the type disadvantage with its super-effective Brine and Aerial Ace attacks, leaving Ash with just Krokorok. Beartic was repeatedly able to block Krokorok's attacks, until the Desert Croc Pokémon finally scored direct hits on it with Stone Edge and Dig. After this, Krokorok grabbed two stones from his own Stone Edge, and collided with Beartic's Aerial Ace with the stones in his hands, defeating the Freezing Pokémon and earning Ash the Freeze Badge.
The Icirrus Gym appeared in Tooth and Claw, The Cold Hard Truth, and A Cold Reception, during the time when Black challenged the Gym. After making his way through the ice maze, he started his battle with Brycen. During the battle, Black asked Brycen about the talk about "truth" and "ideals" he and Drayden had had at the Tubeline Bridge. Brycen explained that as Team Plasma had stolen the Dark Stone and were attempting to revive Zekrom, Black should take the Light Stone to awaken Reshiram in order to fight Zekrom. After a while of thinking, Black agreed to this, saying that as N was also attempting to defeat Alder, he was bound to face him at some point.
Meanwhile, as the battle progressed, both sides were left with just one Pokémon: Costa the Tirtouga and Beartic, respectively. Despite taking multiple hits from Beartic's Fighting-type moves, Costa managed to hang on and evolve into Carracosta. After Beartic seemingly defeated Costa, Brycen handed the Light Stone to Black. Upon hearing that the Pokémon League tournament was going to be held despite of Team Plasma's actions, Black revealed that Costa hadn't been defeated after all, and used the opportunity to defeat Beartic, after which Brycen gave Black a Freeze Badge as a sign of his victory.
Cryogonal is Brycen's first seen Pokémon. It was first seen with its Trainer at the Celestial Tower. Later, Cryogonal was used to battle the Shadow Triad and used its ice chains to easily defeat their Pokémon. When Brycen was training Black, it held Black's leg with an ice chain, forcing Black to try and find out how to break it. In Black and Brycen's Gym battle, it fought Black's Emboar, Bo, but was quickly defeated.
None of Cryogonal's moves are known, and its Ability is Levitate.
Vanillish was first seen being used to train with Musha, Costa, and Tula. Later, it fought in a Gym battle against Bo, Musha, and Costa. After defeating Bo and Musha, Vanillish was defeated by Costa's Scald attack, which melted the snow off of its body.
Vanillish's only known move is Hail, and its Ability is Ice Body.
Beartic is the fifth Pokémon Brycen is known to have. It was first seen with its Trainer at the Dragonspiral Tower. Later, it fought Black's Tirtouga, Costa, in a Gym battle. With its powerful claws, Beartic almost defeated Costa, only to be defeated once Costa evolved into Carracosta, giving him the power to win.
