Liko, Roy, and Dot are on their way to the Glaseado Mountain Gym for Liko's second Tera Training test. They're starting to feel cold, despite their winter clothes, with Dot going as far as dramatically laying down and being ready to accept her fate, until the three of them spot a couple of people sliding past them on Cetoddle.
Arriving at the Gym, the group learns that Liko still has some time before her test is due to begin, so they decide to try out Cetoddle bobsledding as well in the meantime. Liko is a bit hesitant, but eventually agrees. Each of them rents a Cetoddle and starts sliding down a slope. Liko's path takes her through some woods, forcing Floragato to use her vine to grab tree branches and control their movements to avoid hitting the trees. When Liko sees a cliff ahead of them, Floragato jumps onto some branches and knocks down a pile of snow that stops Cetoddle. As soon as Roy and Dot join her, however, it turns out that the "cliff" was just a shallow ditch, leaving Liko feeling embarrassed. Just then, the group is addressed by Grusha, the Glaseado Mountain Gym Leader and Liko's opponent in the upcoming test. He says that Liko must feel confident about herself if she can afford to have fun before the test, before leaving.
The trio returns their rented Cetoddle to the sledding center near the Gym. Liko notices a magazine featuring Grusha on the cover, which the man in charge of the center mentions to be from just after Grusha won a major snowboarding competition. Grusha used to be a professional snowboarder, winning many awards, until one race had ended with him getting injured while avoiding a Cetoddle that had wandered into the racetrack. This injury had caused Grusha to retire from being a snowboarder, but that didn't stop him, as he instead decided to become a Pokémon Trainer, even catching the Cetoddle that had caused his accident, with him eventually rising to become Glaseado Mountain's Gym Leader. The man muses that Grusha could still return to being a snowboarder, but has not done so, because he cannot achieve the same results as he once used to, his harshness towards himself and others being his defining characteristic. Learning this, Liko is determined to receive an approval from Grusha, just as she receives a message that her test is ready to begin.
At the Glaseado Gym battlefield, Liko prepares for her test, with Grusha's Cetoddle arriving ahead of the Gym Leader himself. Grusha takes his position at the opposite end of the battlefield while Liko chooses Floragato as her first Pokémon. Grusha, in turn, chooses Cetitan as his lead. Dot can right away see that Liko is at a disadvantage, not only due to Floragato's weakness to Ice, but also because of Cetitan's high defenses. Grusha initiates the match, and Liko seeks to utilize Floragato's high speed to her advantage with Quick Attack, but Cetitan's bulk easily withstands the attack, rendering the strategy moot. After dodging an Icicle Spear barrage, Floragato tries Magical Leaf, only for it to be countered by Cetitan's Ice Spinner, which strikes Floragato at an unexpectedly high speed for such a slow Pokémon. Deciding on a change in strategy to hopefully to turn the tide, Liko recalls Floragato and sends out Hattrem in her place. Cetitan uses Icicle Spear again, but Hattrem is able to stop and send the icicles back with Confusion. Being hit by its own attack hardly fazes Cetitan, though, and a collision between Brutal Swing and Liquidation ensues, followed by Cetitan dealing the finishing blow on Hattrem with Ice Spinner.
With no other choice, Liko is forced to send Floragato back out. Knowing that Cetitan's hide is too tough, she is aware that she has to think of another way to attack. As such, after having Floragato outrun another Ice Spinner, Liko waits for the moment when Cetitan opens its mouth in preparation for using Icicle Spear, and has the Grass Cat Pokémon fire a Magical Leaf flurry into the Terra Whale Pokémon's mouth. Unable to protect the inside of its mouth from the attack, Cetitan stumbles and is knocked off its feet. Grusha chooses to recall Cetitan and send out his second Pokémon, Altaria. Dot grows even more worried, knowing that Grass moves do barely anything against a Dragon/Flying type. Despite being at a disadvantage, Liko is feeling confident after having come this far and resolves to do her best. Floragato uses Quick Attack, but Altaria simply flies up before using Moonblast. While the initial Moonblast is blocked by Magical Leaf, a subsequent rapid-fire series of Moonblasts forces Floragato to take evasive action. Liko tries to think of a way to deal with a flying opponent, until she spots Altaria's feet. Recalling what Floragato did while they were bobsledding, Liko has Floragato charge in and wrap her vine around Altaria's feet, pulling it down and allowing Floragato to hit it with Acrobatics. Capitalizing on the moment, Liko takes out her Tera Orb and Terastallizes Floragato. In response, Grusha does the same and Terastallizes Altaria, turning it into an Ice type. Dot realizes that this type change has shifted the type matchups and made Altaria more vulnerable to Floragato's Grass moves. However, as Floragato unleashes a Terastallization-boosted Magical Leaf, Grusha declares that a change in type doesn't change the gap in skill level, and has Altaria counterattack with a boosted Ice Beam. After a brief clash, Grusha's words are proven true as Ice Beam overpowers Magical Leaf, briefly freezing Floragato and causing her Terastallized state to come undone. The ice shatters and Floragato collapses, ending the battle in Liko's defeat.
Later, the trio is standing outside the Glaseado Gym. Liko apologizes to Floragato as she rests in her Poké Ball, but Roy and Dot try to cheer her up by reminding her that she can still pass the test despite losing, just like what happened with Dot. Grusha comes out of the Gym, ready to deliver the results of the test; he declares that Liko has failed her test. Roy and Dot are shocked, feeling that Liko did her best despite losing, but Grusha makes it clear that simply trying isn't good enough, and he won't be accepting a rematch, taking Liko's loss as an unapprovable sign of failure. Remembering the talk about Grusha's harshness towards himself and everyone else, Liko accepts his judgment with dignity, but is still left on the verge of tears as Grusha walks away.
