An Age of Valour
by the Lady of the Mists
Chapter Twenty-eight: The Ghost Gym
"Come on, kids!" Lydia groaned slightly as she heard Mr. Turner's voice yell up the stairs. "Breakfast is ready and two of you have to get ready for a gym battle today!"
"Yeah, but the other one would still like to sleep some!" Jennie yelled. "Oh, jeez, I'm starting to pick up on Jesse's habits!" Lydia shoved her pillow over her head to block out the family's yelling.
After a few more minutes, she climbed out of bed and started to get dressed, staring at her reflection for a minute before she started heading downstairs, Umbreon at her heels as she picked up her bag. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night, after she'd woken up in the middle of the night. She felt as though she'd missed something with her mother, but as usual on the day of a gym battle, all other thoughts swept through her mind as she thought about the battle.
"So, what's the gym leader like, anyway?" she asked as Mr. Turner placed a pile of pancakes in the middle of the table and everyone started serving themselves.
"Morty's all right," Mr. Turner answered as Jennie climbed downstairs, brushing her hand through her hair as she slumped down into the table, glaring at her brother. "He's experienced, though. And with only ghost Pokémon, you're gonna have a tough time. Sleep all right, Jennie?"
"Yeah, until somebody started yelling in the middle of the night," Jennie said, giving Lydia an evil eye. Lydia looked down at her hands, missing the scowl that Jesse sent his sister. "What was all of that about, Lydia? A bad dream or something?"
"Or something," Lydia muttered. "I had another dream about Mom. I don't know if it's a dream or something else, but it's just really creeping me out. She made it seem like Jack wasn't a good guy or something."
"He's not the same man he was twelve years ago, I'll tell you that," Mr. Turner told her gently. "Losing your wife and all three of your children can change a man. I speak from experience," he added quietly. Jesse looked down and Jennie bit her lip. "But I can't help you decide whether or not your father is the bad guy, Lydia. You're going to have to decide for yourself which side you're on. And live with that decision."
Lydia sighed, brushing her hand through her hair. "I really need to go take out some anger on some ghosts," she muttered as she stood up. "Do you want help cleaning up?"
"No, you three go ahead," Mr. Turner said with a smile. "And have fun. Remember, battling isn't all about winning. Even if you lose, you're still a winner, so long as you battle your hardest."
"Thanks, Dad," Jesse said, rolling his eyes. "Where'd you hear that? Parents' Guide Weekly?"
His father looked embarrassed. "Well . . . yes," he admitted and Lydia stifled a laugh.
"Come on, guys, let's hit the gym," she said, biting her lip to keep from laughing. Jesse shook his head and followed her as Jennie finished her pancakes and scrambled to catch up with them. Lydia stopped at the door and looked back towards their father for a minute. "Hang on," she told them, walking back to the kitchen. Mr. Turner glanced up at her as she returned. "Um . . . Mr. Turner? Don't tell Jack that I know," she requested. "Not until I know what it means."
Mr. Turner considered her for a long moment, then nodded. "All right," he agreed. "I won't. But you have to tell him eventually, because the truth always comes out in the end. I think you've learned that over the past couple of days," he added with a smile.
"Yeah . . ." Lydia sighed as she returned to her friends, walking outside into the ghost city. "I know."
The gym wasn't hard to find. It was one of the largest buildings in town and looked more like a haunted house than a gym, but considering where they were, that wasn't too surprising. Lydia stopped at the sign and read it aloud as they approached it. "'Ecruteak City Gym. Leader Morty, the Mystic Seer of the Future.' Catchy," she commented, glancing at her friends.
"Well, let's go beat up some ghosts," Jesse said as he walked past her, pushing open the door. Lydia hurried to catch up with her as they walked in the gym and a blond guy a couple of years older than they were approached them, a steel glint in his eyes.
"Challengers?" he asked.
"Those two," Jennie told her. "I'm just the spectator."
"Spectator?" Jesse rolled his eyes towards her. "You're not a spectator, you're just a kid sister." Lydia started giggling for the first time in days, feeling the stress start to lift off of her as Morty grinned.
"Watch it," Jennie said, waving a hand threateningly at him. "Now, can we get this show on the road? I haven't had a good laugh since Wendy nearly sliced and diced you back in Goldenrod." She grinned as Morty's eyebrows went up slightly.
"You went up against Wendy?" he asked. "She's just a kid. If you ask me, Whitney was a little premature when she decided to let her sister take over. Well, come on, the battlefield's over here. Which one of you is going first?" he asked. Lydia, who'd had to go first for the last two gym battles, gave Jesse a push in front of her.
"Okay, I totally deserved that," he grumbled as Lydia smiled pleasantly at him. "Inside joke," he said quickly to the bemused gym leader. "Don't ask."
"Wasn't gonna," Morty said with a shrug as Jennie and Lydia sat down on the bleachers as the judge took Jesse's Pokédex and entered it into the computers. "All right, kid, simple rules here. Two Pokémon each, no substitutions. We're done when either one of us has no Pokémon left to battle with. Got it?"
"Yep, clean and simple," Jesse said with a shrug as his Pokédex was returned. "So can we do this?"
"You're in a hurry to get whipped," Morty observed, but grinned. "All right, then, let's go."
"This battle between Jesse Turner of Alyson City and Leader Morty of Ecruteak City will now begin!" the judge called as Morty released his first Pokémon, which turned out to be none other than a Gastly.
"I would think he would have a higher evolved one," Jennie whispered as Jesse released his own Gastly onto the field.
"He probably does," Lydia said just as quietly. "My guess is he's gonna use it as his second. Besides, I think that Gastly is at a really high level." She frowned slightly as she looked between the two. "Actually, this is going to be interesting."
Both Jesse and Morty stared at each other for a full minute before they reacted. Jesse's Gastly and Morty's Gastly both attacked each other with such awesome force that Lydia could've sworn that they were fighting for each other's honours as ghost Pokémon. Neither one of them was ready to give up and it was exhausting the both of them.
As both Gastly released night shades onto one another, it caused a titanic explosion, which filled the room with a thick smoke, causing Jennie to shriek with surprise. "What's going on?" she asked frantically. "Are they both all right? What's going on down there?"
"I don't know." Lydia couldn't tell, even with her psyche, what had happened with the ghost Pokémon. All of the eeriness of this town was throwing her readings off. "Just hang on, Jen, it should clear in an instant." Lydia bit her lip as the smoke finally began to clear. "See? Everything's . . . fine," she finished as she saw the scene that lay before them.
One Gastly was lying unconscious on the floor while the other one was hovering above their opponent, even somewhat painfully, but still conscious. Lydia gasped in surprise as even the two trainers looked awestruck, unable to tell which one was which. Even the judge looked bewildered, looking between the two.
"How are they supposed to tell which one is which?" Jennie asked as Lydia gave her a look. "Oh. Right."
The conscious Gastly flew over to Jesse, circling around him before lying on his shoulder, rubbing his cheek affectionately. Lydia smiled and let out a cheer as Morty reluctantly recalled his Gastly just as a brilliant light surrounded from Jesse's Gastly. Jennie gasped as she saw it. "Wait a minute," she whispered. "Is that . . ."
"He's evolving!" Lydia announced, though this was completely obvious to everyone in the room. Gastly grew bigger and sprouted hands that were missing arms and when the glow finished, he looked around at everyone.
"Haunter," he said in a deeper voice than he had before. Jennie squealed in delight as Morty looked awestruck, nodding with approval.
"Well, this certainly is a surprise," he commented. "Ready to continue, boy?" Jesse looked annoyed at being addressed as a boy, but nodded. "Good, let's go. Gengar!" The third evolution of Gastly's family appeared on the field and Haunter moved back onto the field. Lydia frowned; even though he had just evolved, she wasn't sure if Haunter could continue the battle or not. He looked exhausted.
Oh, he tried, but eventually, his exhaustion won out and he passed out onto the field, forcing Jesse to recall him. Lydia bit her lip as she stared at her best friend. What now? she thought. Ivysaur, Natu, Totodile, Scyther, which one would he choose?
Scyther was still weak from being attacked by his old trainer and still reluctant to listen to Jesse, even though he'd rescued him. Ivysaur and Totodile weren't particularly strong against ghosts and Natu . . . well, given Lydia's abilities were being thrown off in this town, it was pretty obvious that psychics weren't good against ghosts.
But of course, when did he ever listen to her? Lydia wondered as Jesse threw the Pokéball and released Natu. She released a sigh as she leaned back in the bleachers, shaking her head. Jennie stared at her brother like he'd lost his mind.
"Is he insane?" she asked Lydia. "Has he gone mental since he left home? Because while psychics aren't weak against ghosts, ghosts have a super advantage over them."
"I know." Lydia sighed. "But then again, so do bugs. And he did win his match against Bugsy with Natu at a clear disadvantage. Who knows? Maybe he's got a plan up his sleeve. Natu does know some ghost moves and those work well against other ghosts."
"Let's hope so," Jennie muttered as the battle resumed. Natu was doing really well until Gengar pulled a confuse ray on her from behind, which only ended up with her hurting herself.
"Come on, Natu! Focus!" Jesse yelled to her as she twirled her confused eyes to her trainer. "Close your eyes, concentrate. Find where he's going to be." Natu's eyes closed as Gengar disappeared to appear right in front of her. "Now! Night shade!"
Natu released the ghost type attack, which at such a close range packed a powerful punch, sending Gengar into the floor, unconscious. Morty's eyes widened as he ran to his fallen Pokémon.
"Gengar is unable to battle! Victory goes to Jesse Turner of Alyson City!" the judge called. Morty stood up as Lydia climbed down from the bleachers to take Jesse's place. "Sir? Are you ready to continue with the match?"
"Go ahead," Morty assured him as he returned Gengar to his Pokéball.
The judge nodded as Lydia handed him her Pokédex and he entered the information in the computer before handing it back to her. "Very well, then. This match between Lydia Talon of Rosewaters Isle and Leader Morty of Ecruteak City shall now begin!"
"Umbreon, go!" Lydia told the dark Pokémon that was her constant shadow. He gave a bark as he barrelled onto the field as Morty released a Haunter. "Okay, what's that about? He only got to deal with a Gastly on the first match." She directed her head towards Jesse.
"Hey, that Gastly was tough!" Jesse protested, but he was grinning. So was Morty.
"If it makes you feel any better, this Haunter is newly evolved," he told her, still grinning. "I still don't know all of his strengths just yet. So, you ready?" Lydia nodded. "Good. Haunter, hypnosis!"
"Dodge it!" Lydia called as Umbreon leaped into the air to avoid the attack that would put him straight to sleep. "Now, hit it with pursuit!" She hoped that the attack would continue, even if Umbreon did get himself out of the battle. If it did, then she would have a clear advantage.
The attack hit in full force and Haunter managed to get up, but not before Umbreon released a faint attack, which Lydia had been completely unaware that he knew how to do. "Wow, cool," she muttered under her breath. "Okay, Umbreon, let's get him dizzy, why don't we?"
Umbreon took the hint and hit Haunter with a confuse ray. Plus, the pursuit was still on Haunter, causing him to be knocked out of the match.
Morty took a few deep breaths as he recalled the ghost, staring down at the Pokéball for a minute before he looked up, grinning.
"Not badly, little girl," he said, still grinning as he pulled out another Pokéball, replacing Haunter's in his pocket. "But you haven't won yet. This one . . . isn't going to be so easy. Misdreavus, come on out!" He threw the new Pokéball into the air, releasing another ghost, but this one was completely different from the Gastly family.
"Misdreavus, psybeam now!" Morty called. Lydia stared at him, incredulous; did he forget that psychic attacks had absolutely no effect whatsoever on dark Pokémon? "Now, move in with Spite!"
"Umbreon, don't let it hit!" Lydia called, but unfortunately, Umbreon had been out longer than Misdreavus and the ghost hit him with the spite move. "Okay, it's time to put this ghost back in its place. Faint attack!" she called and Umbreon dashed forward, but at the last second, Misdreavus dived in behind him and used the confuse ray. "All right, Umbreon, return!"
Dazed, Umbreon managed to return to his trainer's side and she knelt down beside him, making sure that he was okay before she looked up at her friends in the stands.
"Jess!" Lydia called, waving him over. Jesse hurried down the steps as she gently picked up Umbreon, placing him in her best friend's arms. "Take care of him," she told him.
"Don't worry, I got him," Jesse assured her as he carried Umbreon back up the stairs to his sister as Lydia turned her attention back to the match, facing Morty as she thought about which Pokémon to use. Cubone wasn't going to be much good here, she thought as she stared at Misdreavus. That left Poliwag or Cyndaquil. Pulling out a Pokéball, she made her decision in the last possible second.
"Poliwag! I choose you!" Releasing the water Pokémon, Lydia caught the flying Pokéball in the air as the tadpole Pokémon blinked as she looked around the battlefield, thrilled to be back in the action. "All right, Poliwag, it's time to give them a show! Rain dance!"
The choice for the move was reasonable; it would increase the power of the water type moves that Poliwag had. Which was good, because the normal ones she had would have absolutely no effect.
"What do you know? It didn't work," Morty said sardonically as Poliwag's attack did absolutely nothing to Misdreavus—not that it was supposed to, though, Lydia thought. He should know that, being a gym leader.
"Not to you," Lydia replied as Poliwag released a powerful water gun attack that slammed into Misdreavus, sending her flying into the opposite wall. "It did to us."
"You upped her power," Morty realised a second later as Misdreavus came back onto the field, looking mad. "Okay, wasn't expecting that. Let's finish them off, Misdreavus. Psybeam!" The psychic attack, which did nothing to Umbreon, was unfortunately effective against Poliwag. She didn't move as well on land, which made it hard to avoid.
"Use bubble!" Lydia called. "And then use hydro pump!" She prayed that it would work, because Poliwag wasn't gonna stand a chance against another psychic attack.
Morty's eyes went wide as the hydro pump and bubble attacks hit and Misdreavus was sent crashing to the ground and didn't get back up. Morty hurried over to her. "Misdreavus is unable to battle!" the judge called. "The winner of this match is Lydia Talon of Rosewaters Isle!"
"We did it!" Lydia shrieked as Umbreon, fully recovered, hurried back down to his trainer just as, for the second time that day, a brilliant white light filled the auditorium, only this time, it surrounded Poliwag. "Hey, what . . . oh, my . . . she's . . ."
"Evolving," Jesse finished up for her. "It makes sense; we caught them at the same time and they're supposed to evolve at the same level." Lydia grinned as Poliwag began to grow bigger and sprouted arms that came out of her sides. Her eyes grew bigger and her tail disappeared. The swirl on her stomach changed directions as she looked up at her trainer.
"Poliwhirl," she said as she ran to Lydia, who hugged her tightly as Umbreon climbed into her lap. Morty smiled as he watched the sight for a minute before heading over to them.
"Congratulations," he said, looking at the both of them. "You two have earned these." He handed them each a Fog Badge. "This proves that you've won your match here. You've done a good job with your Haunter, by the way," he added, looking at Jesse.
"Thanks," Jesse said with a grin. "You, too." Morty grinned as Jennie climbed down to rejoin them.
"Well, good luck on your journey," Morty told them. "Where you heading after this?"
"Olivine," Lydia told them as they headed outside. "Then to Cianwood. Or vice versa, we haven't decided which."
"Well, either way, you should stop by the Whirl Islands. There are a lot of different ones there, mostly water, of course, but there's also some ice ones . . ."
"Ice? Really?" Jennie said, her eyes wide. Morty nodded. "Let's go!" She practically pushed them out the door with Morty waved them goodbye, looking bewildered at the strange girl.