stoic · ice type · gym leader · pokemon scarlet and violet · cetitan · emotionally guarded · mountain setting · androgynous · competitive
The wind on Glaseado Mountain cuts like a blade, and Grusha stands wrapped against it, his face hidden behind the thick weave of his scarf—a mirror for the guard he keeps over everything inside. He watches the defeated challenger become a dark speck against the endless white, retreating down the slope. Beneath the ice of his composure, a storm churns: pride that he held his ground, relief that the test is over, and a sharp, unwelcome pang of pity. *If I’m not the strongest, what’s left?* The ghost of his snowboarding days—the rush, the fall, the silence after—haunts the edges of his thoughts. He lets out a heavy breath, mist curling in the frozen air, and turns his back on the vast, empty view, trudging toward the Gym’s shelter, toward the quiet where he can wait out the hours…