The elder gym leader recalls the sage before him from N’s castle, during the events of Pokemon Black and White.  Zinzolin ignores this, looking around and declaring the cold produced by the ice severe.  He considers (loudly) the fact that he is shivering and uncomfortable but alive proof of his very existence, then ends his musing to speak to you and Drayden.

The ice here, according to Zinzolin, was specially created by Team Plasma technology, which will prevent it ever being melted or broken while the device remains intact.  This is not why he is present, though.  He is here for the DNA Splicers, and demands they be handed over, pointing out that Opelucid, as a city with connections to the past and the present, is the perfect location to keep such an object.

Drayden refuses, on the grounds that knowing what the Sage did two years ago makes the very idea absurd.  Zinzolin acts resigned, admitting that while he’d love to ice the gym leader into submission, the device cannot be used again for a while.  Instead, he opts to search for the Splicers, alongside his Plasma grunts.  That decided, the three turn and walk back into the gigantic ice crystal.

The elder gym leader is naturally incensed by this attack on his town, and immediately requests your help driving Team Plasma from Opelucid.  Drayden heads off to the South, leaving you to follow.  Be careful as you move around Opelucid- the crystals aren’t completely blocking the roads, but they’ve spread icy frost around them that makes the ground slippery- when you step on one you’ll continue in the direction you moved until you run into an obstacle or land on a non-ice tile.

Follow Drayden, diverting to the right around the ice crystal, and you’ll spot the Gym Leader again immediately, facing off with some Plasma G members out front of the Pokemon Center.  He’s handling that pair, and the goon to the South by the vending machines has already been beaten.  Use the ice to the South to head West and then North, and you’ll encounter a Plasma Grunt on the West side of the city.

Battle: Team Plasma Grunt (1760 Poke)
Opponent: Seviper Lv 44, Weezing Lv 44