OOPS this is incredibly late! Way too much Minecraft for this guy I think I should reconsider the schedule to once a weekday. It's still a bit optimistic (especially with school), but I think I can manage it. So without further ado, Matt Quest Chapter 8.

Matt finally had more than one Pokémon. He felt like he could take the Gym now.

The problem was that he had no idea where the Gym was.

As he looked around, he saw Morty outside a building that looked different from all the others in town.

"Hello, Morty! Could you please tell me where the Gym is?"

"Oh! You again," he said. "You're already here."

The building was explicitly different from all the others, sharing a similar aesthetic to the Pokémon Center. As Morty picked himself up from the sign he was leaning on, there, in bright red letters, were the words:

"Ecruteak City Pokémon Gym

Leader: Morty

The mystic Seer of the Future"

"Pokémon Gyms all look about the same as this one—from the outside. The interior's pretty much never the same. Looking forward to our battle, man!"

Once again, he was off like a thunderbolt.

It was at this point that Matt realized he needed to heal his Pokémon. Cynder was electrocuted, and the Magnemite was dented. It was off to the Pokémon Center for them.

"Your Pokémon have been restored to full health," she cheered. "Come see us any time!"

Just before Matt left, an eccentric looking man struck up a conversation with him.

"He-hey, boy! Those are some good-looking Pokémon!"

"Oh, well, thank you! I gu—"

"But I have got a deal for you! I will sell you the super-secret Pokémon Magikarp… for just $5! Isn't it a great deal?"

"Y-yes, it is!" replied Matt unconvincingly.

"Oooh, you don't sound interested. What if… I made it just $2.50? Will you take it now? Huh? HUH?"

"Okay, YES, I will!" he said, mainly to get this guy to shut up.

"Here you go!"

Just after he had placed the Magikarp in Matt's hands, he was off even faster than Morty.

"No refuuunnnndddssssss!" His voice trailed off as he ran away.

"Oh, schnap. I think I got scammed."

His Pokédex confirmed his suspicion:

"For no reason, it jumps and splashes about, making it easy for predators like Pidgeotto to catch it mid-jump."

He decided to try and help Magikarp become more useful, and the first part of that was nicknaming him Dragon. While he was at it, he nicknamed Magnemite Craig.

Here he was. The Ecruteak Pokémon Gym. He had never been inside one before, and he had no clue what to expect.

Inside, it was dark, only a few candles lighting the inside. Several meters away from the entrance, two statues stood. In a panel on the face of the statue, there were some names etched in the stone, atop them the header: "Certified Trainers".

Next to the statue on the right, there was a boisterous-looking man, someone who wasn't shy in any aspect. Upon seeing Matt, he walked over and blurted:

"Yo! Champ in the making! The Trainers here use Ghost-type Pokémon at will. A ghost is like a shade or a phantom… It won't do any good to use physical strength alone."

The greeting "Champ in the making!" was sudden, and Matt didn't expect it at all. Here he was, never having been in a Pokémon Gym before, and this guy was saying that he'd eventually become the Champion of Johto!

Not sure what to say in response to this, all Matt could say was a feeble "Thanks," and he went along the path into darkness.

He hadn't an idea of where to go, but he went on forward regardless. From the corner of his eye, he noticed a light coming from his side. It came closer…

From the light, he heard a voice, that of an old woman:

"As disciples of Morty, we are to battle with all challengers!"

Just then, Matt's Pokédex began vibrating. As he pulled it out and flipped it open, he heard it say

"Medium Georgina would like to battle!"