Grusha: broken snowboarder, Glaseado Mountain Gym Leader

Grusha didn't choose Pokémon battles: they were what he had left. Before taking charge of the Gym on Glaseado Mountain, he was the snowboarder nicknamed the "Sub-zero Shredder," ranked just behind the best in the world by the sports press. An accident ended that career, and the Ice type took over. His whole story hinges on that turning point.

Contents

• "Sub-zero Shredder," second-best in the world
• Glaseado Mountain: a downhill run, then a badge
• The calm, and what lies beneath
• At Blueberry Academy, a more approachable Grusha
• Horizons: the test Liko doesn't pass
• The turnaround: a rescue, an apology, a pass
• Grusha at a glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

"Sub-zero Shredder," second-best in the world

Before the Gym, Grusha raced. The magazine Paldea Sport, which the player can read at the academy in Paldea, rated him the second-best snowboarder in the world, and his regional record points the same way: six consecutive wins in Paldea's major competitions, including the one in Montenevera.

His personality already showed in the way he won. From the podium, he would invite anyone who thought they had what it takes to come and face him — a calculated provocation meant to fire up his rivals' fighting spirit, not bragging.

The accident came shortly after that peak and put a definitive end to his sporting career. He then threw himself into his role as Gym Leader and into cold-climate Pokémon, with Cetitan as his centerpiece — a job that at least keeps snow at the center of everything.

Glaseado Mountain: a downhill run, then a badge

The Glaseado Mountain Gym Test doesn't start with a battle. You have to race down the snowy slopes on your Ride Pokémon and finish the course within the time limit; only a Trainer who makes it to the end earns the right to challenge the Gym Leader.

On the Gym field, the first to greet you is a Cetoddle that Grusha was looking for. He says he watched the challenger's run and thought it was good, then takes back his compliment in the very next sentence: one missed turn is enough to throw an entire life off course, and a battle you think you have under control becomes dangerous for the same reason.

He isn't in the mood to battle, asks the player whether they really want to, then gets to it because it's his job. Victory earns the Ice Badge and TM124 Ice Spinner; as for the souvenir photo, which he finds corny, he eventually goes along with it.

❄️ Cold-climate Pokémon have their own section: see the Pokémon plushies.

The calm, and what lies beneath

The games describe him as composed in all circumstances and not one to show what he feels. That reserve isn't indifference: as soon as a battle heats up, everything he usually keeps to himself ends up coming out.

His pre-battle line says the rest. He warns the player not to take it personally, because he intends to make them face a reality as icy and merciless as snow — a lesson, not a threat.

The Gym inspection lays bare what's really at stake. Grusha clings to his post because it's all he has left. Beaten a second time, he announces that he wants to take the role more seriously and thanks the player for rekindling his fire.

At Blueberry Academy, a more approachable Grusha

The DLC moves him over to the teaching side: Grusha is invited to Blueberry Academy as a special coach, available from the start, and the player can chat with him as well as take him on in a friendly battle.

The rewards are concrete. After a few conversations, he offers to trade a Cetoddle with a Partner Ribbon for any of the player's Pokémon, and gives three Carbos after your first win. He also keeps a Cetoddle that he never sends into battle.

One conversation is worth pointing out. In front of Iono, he lets slip that he followed the streamer in her early days and regrets that she now mostly thinks about views and sponsors. It's the first crack in his facade, and the anime will reopen exactly that one.

Horizons: the test Liko doesn't pass

The anime follows the same trajectory while adding the exact cause: the foot injury came from a failed dodge in front of a wild Cetoddle, in the middle of a run. Grusha then befriended that Cetoddle, made it his Pokémon, and redirected his career toward battling.

In the Horizons series, he spots Liko from the stands during a friendly battle — an interest so rare for him that Geeta points it out on the spot. He catches up with her in the lobby of Naranja Academy to tell her that if that match was enough to wake her up, she must be pretty cold.

The showdown comes later in the arc and serves as the practical test for Terastal training. Cetitan's bulk leaves Floragato powerless, then gets the better of Hattrem, before being stopped by a Magical Leaf fired into its mouth; Altaria finishes things off with a Terastallized Ice Beam. Grusha fails Liko: only results count.

The turnaround: a rescue, an apology, a pass

A little later in the arc, he shows up with Altaria during Dot and Roy's battle against Sidian and Coral, and his Pokémon covers theirs against the admin's Glalie. Alerted by a call from Friede at the Gym, he sends both opponents running, smashes the boulders blocking the way to Liko, then takes the group to warm up in a chalet.

The next episode brings him back to Naranja Academy for the tournament: he follows Liko's Hattrem to the top of the building and, hidden, watches her beat Sidian's Terastallized Garganacl. In the office of Clavell, in front of the principal and Geeta, he apologizes and finally passes her Terastal test: he had failed to see her worth, and he notes that she gives her all when she fights for others.

What follows makes him downright human. After another defeat for the young Trainer, he points out to her that losing means she still has room to grow and invites her to come back to Glaseado Mountain if the cold doesn't scare her. Much later in the arc, he ends up admitting his admiration for Iono — his ticket no. 6 for the meet-and-greet gives away a booking made very early.

Grusha at a glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why did Grusha quit snowboarding?
  An accident shortly after his greatest successes forced him to end his career. The anime specifies the cause: he badly injured his foot dodging a wild Cetoddle during a run.
• What badge and TM does Grusha give?
  The Ice Badge, along with TM124 Ice Spinner. But first you have to pass his Gym Test, a run down the slopes of Glaseado Mountain on your Ride Pokémon within the time limit.
• Which Pokémon does Grusha use?
  Six Pokémon are on record: Altaria, Cetitan, Frosmoth, Weavile, Alolan Ninetales and Beartic. Cetitan is his main partner; in the anime, it's Altaria that closes out his battle against Liko.
• Does Grusha pass Liko's Terastal test?
  Not on the first try: he fails her the first time, explaining that only results count. He reverses his decision a few episodes later in the Horizons series, after seeing her beat Sidian, apologizes and passes her.
• Where can you run into Grusha outside his Gym?
  He appears as a special guest at Blueberry Academy, where he trades a Cetoddle with a Partner Ribbon, and he joined a mobile game on January 22, 2024. On the card side, he debuts in the Scarlet & Violet—Paldea Evolved expansion.

In short

Grusha is one of those Gym Leaders whose post feels like a consolation prize: he admits it himself during the inspection — the Gym is all he has left. The game stops there, barely warmed up by a second defeat; the anime goes all the way and has him admit his mistake in front of Liko. What remains is the detail that reframes the whole character: when Onia approaches him in a late episode of Horizons, she admires him as much for the snowboarder he was as for the Gym Leader he has become.