Hey everyone, chapter 21 is finally here and guess what that means?

Ecruteak City!

As always, R&R, PM, and Enjoy!

Chapter 21

(Jason's POV)

After leaving the Gym and returning to the Center-and after a quick change of clothes-we found Meema returning our room key, all of our bags sitting at her feet. She noticed us arriving and said, "Ah, there you two are. So, Jason, how was your Gym Battle."

"It was awesome." I showed her the badge and Meema congratulated me. She noticed Janice was still mad, and asked what happened.

"Oh, I don't know," she replied, looking away from me. "Why don't you ask your son who has a crush on the Gym Leader?" Both Meema and I were shocked at that response and we both spoke at the same time.

Janice silenced both of us, and I said "Janice, she kissed me. Plus, it was just on the cheek!"

"And besides, I thought Jason liked you Janice?"

My jaw dropped as I silently screamed at Meema. Janice looked surprised and I pulled Meema away from her. "Meema, what are you doing!?" I half shouted through gritted teeth. "You don't just tell her these kinds of things!"

"I'm sorry Jason," she said, loud enough for Janice to hear, "but it's the truth isn't it?" I growled, anger keeping me from forming any words.

Janice walked over to me and said, "Jason-"

Before she could say anything else I cut her off with several quick, incomprehensible words. "Let's just drop it. Let's just go to Ecruteak City. Next Gym Badge. Go." I left, leaving no time for discussion as we left the Pokemon Center. We began going through Route 35, which had several Trainers. Janice had finally given up on talking to me and we battled our way through the Route.

Along the way, Blaster evolved into a Wartortle and Lucy, Belle, and Mark evolved into Quilava, Ivysaur, and Flaaffy, respectively. After this, Janice began to train Pearl and Fletch more to keep them from falling behind.

Once we made our way out of Route 35 we came to the National Park. Janice explained that on certain days there would be Bug Catching Contests, but the next contest would be in two days.

We continued to Route 36, and we came across a really weird looking tree. It stood out from the other trees since it only had two branches and the only leaves were at the very ends of those branches. I could easily see through this and grabbed Blaster's Poke Ball.

"Excuse me, Sudowoodo? You awake?" It wiggled, surprising Janice a little. It popped up and revealed itself to be a Sudowoodo, a Pokemon.

Janice was completely surprised by this and the Sudowoodo said, "Hello, there!"

"Oh wow! It's a Pokemon!" Janice said, her surprise turning to amazement.

The Sudowoodo saluted, and said, "It's good to meet you. You're trainers, right?" He saw Blaster's Poke Ball in my hand and took a battle stance. "Well, if you want to catch me you'll have to fight me first. But I warn you, I'm no pushover." I repeated the message to Janice and she stepped forward.

"Okay, then let me have the honor." She pulled out her Poke Ball and called out, "Alright Pearl, time to shine!" Her Poliwag came out and the Sudowoodo jumped back.

"Water! Water! I don't like water!"

"Sudowoodo are Rock-types, which means that they're weak to water," Meema said.

"Alright, then let's go with Water Gun!" Pearl shot out a stream of water, and the Sudowwodo began running around to try and avoid the water.

"Now use Bubble!" Pearl stopped spraying out Water and then began spraying Bubbles all over the field. The Sudowoodo couldn't dodge all the bubbles, and it got hit several times, each one causing it to cry out in pain.

"Now finish it up with Water Gun!" Another stream of water was shot out and the Sudowoodo cried out as it was hit by the blast. It fell back and Janice pulled out a Great Ball.

"Okay, Great Ball go!" She threw it at the Sudowoodo and it was captured. Janice retrieved the Great Ball and let out the Sudowoodo. It was still weak, mumbling about not wanting to get wet. Janice sprayed it with a few Potions and the Rock-type jumped back up, saluting.

"I'm okay!" Janice laughed and the Sudowoodo thanked her for letting it join her team.

"Alright, now let's continue to Ecruteak." Janice returned her Sudowoodo and we continued up the Route. As we neared the gate to the city, two guys walked past and we instantly recognized them.

"Will," I said.

"And Tyler," Janice finished.

The two looked at us and Will frowned at me. "Well, if it isn't the chump, and Janice." Both of us fumed at him, and he said, "So what brings you to Ecruteak. Don't tell me you're here for the Gym challenge?"

"As a matter of fact, I am." I pulled out my badge case and showed him my three badges. He scoffed and showed his own badges. He had four badges, one more than me.

"I'd love to stay and cream you, but I need to get moving to Olivine City for my next Gym battle."

Will began to leave, but Tyler stayed behind and said, "If you want to take on the Gym, it's just down the road, second building on your right." He pointed in the direction and he added, "Oh, and I heard from Will that the Gym Leader, Morty, is only accepting one on one battles, and he'll only accept your challenge if you have one Pokemon with you."

Before he could say anything else, Will shouted Tyler's name and he quickly said goodbye before running off.

I sighed, "Well at least we know where to go." We finally entered Ecruteak City and we made our way to the Pokemon Center. Once there, Janice and I got our Pokemon checked out and I thought about who I should use.

'I wish Tyler could have told me what Pokemon this Morty uses,' I thought to myself. 'Oh well, I guess my safest bet would be going in with Typhon.'

Nurse Joy returned with our Pokemon and I turned to Meema, "Hey Meema since Morty's only accepting single battles, could you hold on to the rest of my team?" She nodded and I handed her the Poke Balls that held Gorz, Blaster, Victor and Ariana.

I let Typhon out and said, "Okay Typhon, we got another Gym Battle coming up."

"Alright. Who are we facing?"

"We'll be facing Morty, and it's only going to be you, one on one battle. Are you okay with that?"

Typhon smiled, "Of course I am." I smiled back and told Meema and Janice we'd be heading out for the Gym. They wished us luck and the two of us raced to the Gym, side by side. It was just like Tyler said, second building on the right past the gate, and we went in.

On the outside it wasn't much to look at, but on the inside it was surprising. We stood on a rectangular platform that was connected to a ramp. It went down below ground level to an arena that was surrounded by a thick fog. Between the arena and the wall there was nothing but fog, and it seemed to flash with lightning every once in a while.

Typhon and I walked down the ramp towards the arena and another figure walked to the other side. Once I reached my side, the figure reached his side at the same time. He had blonde hair that was pushed up by a purple headband. He wore a black sweater, white pants, and also had a purple and red scarf around his neck.

"Welcome, challenger. I am Morty, Ecruteak City's Gym Leader. I assume you're here for a gym battle?" I nodded and Morty pulled out a single Poke Ball. "Just so you know, I'm only accepting one on one battles today. I have other things I have to do, so I don't want to waste any time." I nodded to Typhon and he ran into the arena.

"Come out, Gengar!" The Ghost-type Pokemon was released, and it began floating in the air, cackling.

"Heh heh heh, another Trainer to crush."

I pulled out my Pokedex and checked its data, but oddly enough there wasn't any. I knew that Gengar was a Pokemon from Kanto, so I had no idea what could be causing this. I looked back up at the Gengar and noticed something odd about it. It seemed to have a third eye, above and between its two glaring eyes.

'What is that?'

"Now Gengar, let us show this Trainer our new power!" He held a hand up to his scarf, and upon closer inspection I saw he had some sort of charm attached to it. "Now, Gengar, Mega Evolve!"

"Mega Evolve!?" The Gengar's third eye also began to glow, but I figured it was a charm just like Morty had. The Gengar was covered in a bright purple light, almost blinding me. The light exploded outward and I could see the Gengar had drastically changed as it gave a battle cry. I could hardly describe it except that it looked both awesome and terrifying at the same time.

"Alright Gengar, attack with Shadow Ball!"

The Gengar opened its mouth and I quickly shouted to Typhon, "Hit it with Flamethrower!" Typhon shot out a burst of flames the same moment Gengar released the Shadow Ball. Gengar's attack cut right through the flames and it struck Typhon, making him reel back in pain.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Morty asked. "With this power that I discovered during my travels to the Kalos region, my Gengar is now stronger than it ever was." All of a sudden, the Gengar disappeared, reappearing right in front of Typhon with a crazed look on his face.

"You're mine!" The Gengar shouted as it prepared another Shadow Ball.

"Use Quick Attack!" Typhon quickly got up and charged the Gengar, but it passed right through. "Gengar is part Ghost-type, which means Normal-type moves won't work on it."

"I wasn't attacking," I explained as Typhon landed behind Gengar, "I was preparing for one." The Gengar turned around as I called out an attack, but it wasn't fast enough as Typhon used Eruption. Crimson flames burned the Gengar's body as molten rocks rained down on it from above. The Gengar used it's Shadow Ball but it missed and flew down into the fog, causing more flashes of lightning.

"Alright, now use Flamethrower!"

"Shadow Punch!" As Typhon readied another attack, I felt a sudden presence. I looked above Typhon and saw a fist made of black smoke head straight for him.

"Typhon watch out!" Typhon looked up and dodged, but it swung around and continued to follow.

"Shadow Punch will continue to follow him until it hits, there is no escape." Typhon continued to dodge, still charging his Flamethrower, and I figured there was no choice.

"Typhon, Flamethrower now!" Typhon shot out the flames at the fist, but it continued until it hit Typhon. Typhon landed, panting and weak, but I could tell that he could keep going. Gengar reappeared, and laughed as Typhon struggled to stay up.

"You have no chance of defeating us, so I suggest you forfeit now before I allow Gengar off his leash." The Gengar snickered at that, and I could feel its energy from where I was standing which made me feel weak.

'I can't give up. I won't give up.' I looked to Typhon, 'He's fought for me through thick and thin, I can't just give up because that Gengar's stronger. There has to be some way to beat him, but what?' Then I remembered: Quick Attack! 'The Gengar couldn't react fast enough to turn around. If I can do that again, Typhon just might win this.'

"I'm not giving up!" I shouted. Morty smiled, but his Gengar smile was twice as big.

"Very well. Gengar, Shadow Ball!"

"Quick Attack!" Typhon began to run at the Gengar, swerving to avoid the Shadow Ball attack and attacked. Just like last time, it went through the Gengar.

"Don't you get it? Quick Attack has no effect."

"Now Flamethrower! Full power!" Both Morty and his Gengar were surprised, now figuring out my plan. I focused on Typhon and shouted, "Give it everything you've got!" I could feel Typhon's energy growing, and it reached its peak the moment he released the Flamethrower. It was massive, and the flames kept coming as the Gengar cried out in pain.

The flames themselves reached all the way to the opposite wall, and when Typhon finished the attack the damage caused was considerably large. Both Typhon and I were panting, the parts of the ground and wall where the Flamethrower came into contact with were blackened, and the Gengar was back to normal and fainted. Morty returned his Pokemon and I realized we had won.

"Congratulations, you've defeated my only Pokemon. As a result, you have defeated me and have earned the Fog Badge."

Typhon and I were still silent until I shouted, "Yes!" Typhon ran over to me and I knelt down. We both laughed excitedly as Morty walked over to us and I stood up.

"You have officially earned this." He held out his hand to show me the Fog Badge. I took it and added it to my collection of badges, and he sighed. "Finally, someone who actually beat Mega Gengar."

I looked at him in confusion and asked what he meant. "All day no one could beat Mega Gengar, they were all defeated because of its power. However, to those that I recognized had a strong bond with their Pokemon or showed exceptional ability, I would give them a badge to show that they at least proved themselves." I was a bit fumed, but I calmed down and decided to ask about Mega Evolution.

"Well, It's kind of hard to explain what Mega Evolution is," he replied, "But the basic point of it is that certain Pokemon can undergo a further evolution. However, it requires a strong bond between Trainer and Pokemon, and also requires this." He showed me his scarf and I got a better look at the charm. "It's called a Keystone, and it reacts with a Pokemon's Mega Stone to activate Mega Evolution."

"Wow, how do I get one of those?"

Morty chuckled, and said, "They're not easy to come by, I'll tell you that. But I got mine because someone in the Kalos region recognized my bond with Gengar. Who knows, maybe someone will recognize a bond that you have with one of your Pokemon." Morty began to walk away, but stopped. "Can I ask a favor of you?"

I said yes, unsure of what he wanted. "If you could come over here, I'd like to show you something." I looked to Typhon and we began walking over to Morty to see what he wanted. We both stood at the edge of the arena, looking down at the fog below. "Tell me, what do you see?"

I was still skeptical about this, but I looked into the fog anyway. For a minute or so I just saw fog and flashes of lightning, but when I was about to turn away I saw something. I squinted and leaned forward to see what it was, and eventually it came into focus. It was a war zone, and the ones that were fighting looked like samurai.

Before I could see anything else, I felt a big push from behind and fell forward.

"Dad!"

Typhon began to scream as soon as he said that, and I soon joined in as we continued to fall deeper and deeper.

Finally! Next chapter and the one after that involve the Pokemon War as seen in Kit's story "Child of Mew". Until then, R&R, PM, and hope you stick around.