Tee hee. You probably all thought that I'd died, hadn't you? D Actually, I just decided to cancel my ongoing stories due to lack of interest.
Anyhoo, I suppose you could call this a side story to A Ghost's Story, but hopefully it makes more sense. It's pretty similar, but I'm putting it in Ash's POV, which is new for me. This is also for Halloween. I might do another one like it, but only if you people liked it.
Also, I'm having a herd time placing it in the Johto timeline. It would probably make the most sense if you replaced For Ho-Oh The Bells Toll, but it could probably go anytime after Ash got the Fog Badge.
Enjoy!
I liked Ecruteak City. It was a quiet town that had a ton of legends surrounding the towers. And Morty was a pretty nice guy, too.
There was one thing about him, though, that really freaked me out: his hands.
That sounds crazy, right? Well, when I took the Fog Badge out of his hand, a shiver ran down my spine due to how cold it was. It felt as if he had plunged his hands in icy water for hours. 1
I tried my best to smile and thank him, but it seemed as if I just couldn't forget about that.
Now, after I won the badges from the Olivine and Cianwood gyms, I was feeling pretty good. I decided that Morty must've been sick or something, and that's why his hands felt cold.
On the way back from Olivine, Brock, Misty, and I decided that we would stop at the gym first. Brock wanted to see if Morty was teaching a class, and I wanted to tell Morty about Lugia. 2
By the time we got to the gym, the sun was beginning to set. I suppose that's why we didn't notice the first sign of trouble.
Actually, I did notice it. I saw that the walls surrounding the gym were looking worn, and that the turrets weren't as stable looking as they were the last time. But I stupidly figured that it was the light of the setting sun.
I think we all noticed the second sign of trouble: the plants in the courtyard 3 were wilted and brown. I suppose none of us said anything because that was such a strange thing to be concerned about. Well, unless you were into landscaping or something. Also, I remembered that Ghost Pokemon have the ability to make things look newer or older than they really are, so I thought that it was an illusion.
We walked inside the gym and saw no one there.
"Helloooooo?" I heard Brock call out beside me.
A woman appeared in a doorway across the room from us.
"Yes?" she asked. She seemed to be about 30. She had blond-ish hair, so I assumed that she was Morty's mother.
"Um...we're looking for Morty. Is he here?" Misty asked cautiously.
A strange look formed on the woman's face. It seemed to be a mixture of sympathy and grief. "No, he's not. You see, the Morty that you are talking about, the former Gym Leader, has been dead for about 3 years. He was shot when he was 16."
1 My Volleyball coach has hands like that. shudder
2 Bah. I know the plot about Lugia by heart now; they've shown The Whirl Islands so much.
3 You know what I'm talking about. Surrounding the Ecruteak Gym are walls with lookout towers, and a small courtyard. It was on For Ho-Oh the Bells Toll.
Oo I think I made Ash seem too mature. Ah well.
Owari