Morty Levin
Morty Levin (born October 11, 1982) is the Ecruteak City Gym Leader and the city's chief librarian since 2003.
Early Life
Levin was born to a family of psychics in Ecruteak City in 1982, who were as well-respected as the Tower Elders and the Kimono Girls—both of whom, to this day, represent the city's traditions and its rich history. Levin became well-versed in Ecruteak history at a very early age, thanks to his family's teachings. He began his Pokémon journey in 1992 at the age of 10, when his family sent him on his way with a mischievous Gastly they had found in the Tin Tower.
"I think they were trying to test me very early on," he said in a 2006 interview with Johto Radio's Places and People!. "It was one thing to give me a ghost Pokémon as my starter. But to give me one that was known for wreaking havoc on the town? It must've been every beginning trainer's worst nightmare."
The Gastly he was given was known as "Gusha," which had famously pranked the Kimono Girls several times, usually doing harmless things such as letting their hair down in the middle of a dance. Only once did Gusha actually cause a wardrobe malfunction during a show, which resulted in the rest of the Kimono Girls' season being blacked out.
However, Levin did something no trainer ever managed to do with that Gastly: befriended it.
"It just wanted attention," he said. "When I took the time to get into its head and see why it was doing the things it did, I found out it was abandoned by a trainer several years back. He never used it, he never took the time to befriend it…I think that's why it was doing the things it did, because it felt betrayed, because it wanted to take revenge on the human that spited it. But Gusha is really more playful than anything else. It never wants to harm anyone."
As Gym Leader
Levin's friendship with Gusha impressed the elders at the Ecruteak Gym, who invited him to train there in 1997. He took over the Leader's post when the Gym was officially recognized by the Johto League in 2000, as the Gym at the time was nothing more than a training ground for the Elders and their apprentices.
Levin designed the infamous invisible floor in his Gym, claiming that he wanted to test trainers' abilities to perceive with their minds and wean them away from relying on their eyes.
"It's the thing I learned the most, from both being a psychic by birth and by training ghost Pokémon all these years," he said. "Even in life…let's say you were walking alone at night and needed to get home quickly, but didn't want to battle anyone or anything along the way. Well, at night, your eyesight is quite limited, isn't it? You can't rely on them all the time…sometimes you just need to trust your instincts or, if you can sense where something is coming from, more power to you. But that's what I'm testing."
Levin's team consists of Gusha (who has continually refused to evolve), Haunter, Gengar, Misdreavus, and Girafarig. He sometimes uses Noctowl and Exeggutor, according to recent challengers.
As of April 12, 2011, Levin's career Gym record is 164-141-5. This does not include his appearances in special tournaments or battles against other Gym Leaders.
In the 2008 Gym Leader Conference, Levin famously tied defending champion Sabrina LaFay, who had never lost or tied in any League conference match in the last two years. A sudden death match—held the next day—also resulted in a tie, leading to Levin and LaFay being declared co-champions.
Accomplishments
Levin is a kendo student under Koga Shimizu, which he studies alongside his longtime friend Falkner Jausch.
Levin became chief librarian in 2003, taking over from his ailing father who had been chief librarian for 25 years. He is only the third librarian in the family library's 60-year history.
Levin is currently documenting the legend behind Ho-oh and the three legendary rovers; Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. He is also currently researching the back story behind the collapse of the Burned Tower and Ecruteak's history of housing legendary Pokémon.
He appeared on a celebrity edition of Poké Family Feud, winning ¥125,000 for charity.
Since 2010, Levin has been a recurring "Ask the Expert" lifeline on the popular quiz show Who Wants to be a Pokémillionaire? hosted by DJ Ben. Levin has stated that he will be a lifeline for more episodes of the show, which he has already taped and are scheduled to air in May.
He has been a semi-regular panelist on Kanto's popular cooking series, Iron Chef, since 2006. In 2009 Levin published an article on his five favorite dishes he had ever tasted on the show—one of which was Delia Ketchum's quinoa-stuffed bell peppers.