A Ghost of a Chance
After traveling through mountains and getting into practice with tournaments, Yugi and his friends finally made it to Ecruteak City. "We're finally here," Joey said, sounding relieved. "This took longer than our journey to Goldenrod City."
"Yeah, but it was worth it," said Yugi. "Look over there," he said, pointing to the building in the distance. "That's Tin Tower. It's one of the city's most historical sites and the gym is right next to it."
"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" And Emily and her friends began racing to the gym.
As they passed through the city, they noticed that the architecture was pretty old-fashioned. "You'd think they could modernize this place," Kaiba figured.
Yugi looked through the guidebook. "It says Ecruteak City is well known for history and tradition." He was right. Even the clothes the townspeople were wearing were traditional.
The gate to the Ecruteak City gym looked more like a gate to a traditional restaurant or shrine. But it brings up the same adage people forget: 'Don't be fooled by what you see.' But when they passed through the gate, it didn't lead to the gym. It lead to the Burnt Tower. It had been burnt for centuries, but it still stood as a reminder of the city's past.
When the heroes started looking around the Burnt Tower, strange apparitions began attacking them. Suddenly, the Tower began to catch on fire. Yugi and his friends tried to find a way out, but the fire was spreading fast and trapping everyone. Joey called on Croconaw and Poliwag for help. He commanded them to use Water Gun, but nothing was happening. Emily approached the fire with caution. She knew she couldn't unfold her wings or use her magic in this world, but maybe her other powers would still be in effect. There was only one way to know for sure. She stretched her hand towards the fire, but felt no heat. She couldn't even catch it in her hands. Joey reached out too, but felt nothing. The only explanation was that this was an illusion.
Yugi knew what to do. He tossed his Pokéball and called on Hoothoot for help. Hoothoot used Foresight and exposed the ghost Pokémon causing this trouble. It was a horde of Gastly. Emily called on Shade and Lumina for help. Lumina used Confusion and Shade used Faint Attack. Hoothoot helped out by tackling the Gastly. The Gastly disappeared within the walls. When they did, Hoothoot began glowing. He was no longer round and he stood tall with an arch on his head. He evolved into Noctowl.
When everyone was about to cheer in triumph, they saw that the Gastly didn't really leave. They went back for help. Now the heroes had to contend with a horde of Haunter. As if that wasn't bad enough, a Gengar also appeared. It was also wearing a Mega Stone.
"Stop," a voice called. Everyone looked and saw a young man at the stairwell. He had blue clothes and a blue headband over his dark blonde hair and a Keystone over his wrist. "Please understand that these Pokémon are not here to harm you," he pleaded to the heroes. "They're only trying to defend themselves against your intrusion. I know them well."
"Who are you," Kaiba demanded.
The young man descended down the stairs and waved his arm, signaling for the ghost Pokémon to leave. They obey his command and disappear. "My name is Morty," he answered. "I'm the Ecruteak gym leader."
Emily and the boys were amazed to hear that. "Sorry for the fuss," she told Morty. "My friends and I were just looking for you. You see, my name is Emily Briar and I've come here to challenge you to a gym battle."
The expression on Morty's face changed into one of surprise. "You're Emily Briar?" He smiled and said, "I would be honored to battle you, Emily, but this isn't the place to do it. Trainers come here thinking that this is the Ecruteak gym, but it's not."
"Yeah, we kinda figured," said Joey.
"This used to be a place of hope," Morty explained. "Now it's a place of darkness. That's why so many wild ghost Pokémon have come to live here."
Yugi looked and saw a stone carving of a great bird. He and his friends recognized that it was the legendary bird Pokémon Ho-Oh. It was one thing to see it in the card game and on the television show, but to see it in person would be even better. Morty told them it would be impossible because Ho-Oh vanished from the world long ago and haven't been seen for nearly three centuries.
Morty went further into the story and explained that the Burnt Tower was the real Tin Tower in the past and the other one stands as a replica. "This Tower was built to promote understanding between humans and Pokémon and my ancestors protected it for generations. Over the decades, the Tin Tower came to be known as a special place for another reason. It was the only place on Earth where Ho-Oh made contact with humans. Ho-Oh's appearances were a sign of peace, but it would only make itself known to a chosen few. One day, invaders came and sought to use Ho-Oh's power for evil. The battle set fire to the Tin Tower. Ho-Oh fled and hasn't made contact with humans ever since.
"Some wanted to rebuild the Tower, but my ancestors insisted that it be left as a lesson and reminder for future generations. But they decided to build a new Tin Tower with the hope that Ho-Oh might return to a new place of peace. But those hopes have been in vain. For that, many believe that Ho-Oh was a legend that never existed."
It was quite a story, but there have been few who have witnessed Ho-Oh's appearance. Yugi and his friends hoped they would get a chance.
Morty led the heroes out of the Burnt Tower and brought them to the gym. "We could have our gym battle now," Morty suggested.
Emily kindly refused. "Thanks, but I think my Pokémon and I should rest up at the Pokémon Center. But I can come back tomorrow."
Morty accepted her decision. "Great. I'll see you tomorrow, Emily." And he walked inside the gym.
Emily was wise to take this time to plan. Ghost Pokémon are tricky and there's no denying Morty plans to tap into the power of Mega Evolution. The only way to know how Emily would fare against their power and cunning was to train tonight and come back tomorrow. And she already had her team planned out.
Shade was a dark-type Pokémon and ghost-type attacks weren't very effective against him. Plus, Shade was nimble and capable of avoiding most hits. The ghosts were also poison-types and that was where Lumina came in. Her psychic attacks would deal a good amount of damage. And her ability of clairvoyance would help her know when and where her opponents would strike from despite having the ability to disappear. Finally, there was Luna. She was a normal-type Pokémon and normal-type attacks didn't work against ghost Pokémon and vice versa, so it would be evenly matched. With her team arranged, Emily was ready to start training her Pokémon. They ran laps to build up their speed, blocked attacks to increase their defenses, they even battled blind so they could hone their senses. If they couldn't see the ghosts, they could still hear, smell, and feel their presence in the air.
After training, everyone returned to the Pokémon Center for dinner and to rest up. Luna was feeling nervous. "I don't think I can do this."
"Sure you can," Shade told her. "You've got as much strength and spirit as we do."
Luna disagreed. "How? I'm still so little and I haven't even evolved yet."
Shade placed his arm over his sister. "Great Pokémon aren't always fully evolved. Strength isn't based on size."
"Yeah," said Salamando. "Remember the old saying: 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall?'"
Luna laughed. "It's just that when I battle for Emily, I get beat after my first try. After one round, I can't take anymore."
"But you've been training so hard," said Lumina. "So maybe this time, things will be different."
"I sure hope so." Luna curled up into a ball and yawned. "You know, Lumina, sometimes I was I was brave, strong, clever, fast, and beautiful like you guys."
Lumina smiled and kissed her sister. "You are." She positioned herself next to Luna and lied down beside her. "Let's get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow."
Shade agreed and kissed his two younger sisters. "Good night, Lumina and Luna."
"Good luck tomorrow," Undine told them.
Morty spent some time training his Pokémon as well. He was also giving some lessons to students training under him. By demonstrating the power of his ghost Pokémon, he taught his students that although they don't have the same physical appearance many other Pokémon do, they can use their spiritual power like a weapon, proving it to be stronger than brute force. It was one of the jobs of being a gym leader to teach trainees who may want to run the gym what they would need to know about Pokémon.
The day was finally here. Morty greeted his guests as they entered the gym. "Hello, Emily. I've been expecting you."
Emily felt a little awkward seeing the students. "I can come back later, Morty."
"That's not necessary. We're finished with our lesson for now." He turns his attention to his students. "Class, this is Emily Briar, one of the champions of Duel Monsters, and she'll be challenging our gym today." He faces Emily and wonders, "I'd like for them to observe our battle, Emily."
"Please, Miss Briar," the students pleaded. Even they were excited to meet the four dueling champions and wanted to watch their teacher face them in a battle.
Emily didn't mind. Perhaps watching the battle would educate the students as well as entertain them.
The referee spoke up and announced, "This is an official Ecruteak City gym match. The challenger is battling for a Fog badge. The gym leader and the challenger will use three Pokémon each and the match will be over when all three Pokémon on either side are unable to continue battling. The challenger will be the first to attack and will also be permitted to substitute Pokémon throughout the match. The gym leader will not be permitted to substitute Pokémon. Let the match begin!"
Morty tossed his Pokéball and called on Gastly. Emily called on Luna. Luna started off with Sand Attack. Gastly evaded it and attacked with Confusion. Luna rolled over and got back on her feet. Knowing she won't be able to see Gastly, she closes her eyes and relies on her ears and nose. Feeling Gastly's presence, she runs up to him and tries to bite him. But Gastly was too fast and dodged her. He fought back using Lick. Its effect wouldn't work on Luna because it was a ghost-type attack, but Luna felt disgusted.
Emily called Luna back and sent Shade into battle. Gastly was elusive, but Shade knew attacks that would hit. When Gastly tried to come in for an attack, Shade stopped him with Faint Attack. And because it was a dark-type attack, it was super effective. Gastly used Night Shade to fight back. Shade shook himself back to his senses and used Assurance, knocking Gastly out and ending the first round.
Morty was impressed with Shade's slick movements and being able to land an attack, but he still had more surprises. He tossed his Pokéball and called on Haunter. Shade tried to attack using Bite, but Haunter quickly evaded it. He was much faster than Gastly. Haunter used Mean Look not to intimidate Shade, but to prevent Emily from substituting him for another Pokémon. Shade was forced to stay in the arena.
Shade managed to land an attack with Faint Attack, but Haunter began using Hypnosis. Shade closed his eyes and tried another Faint Attack. Haunter used his floating hands to grab Shade and began licking him. The effects of Lick stunned Shade, but it also stunned Haunter too because of Shade's special ability Synchronize. Both Pokémon could barely move, but Haunter licked Shade once again.
Shade was in no condition to continue battling, so Emily called him back and sent Lumina to take it from here. With Haunter rendered immobile by having the effects of his own attack used against him, this was an easy win for Lumina. She used Confusion and defeated him.
Morty was ready for this. He tossed his Pokéball and called on Gengar. Rather than tap into the power of Mega Evolution, he decided to take his chances and see how Gengar would fare against Lumina. She tried to attack with Confusion, but Gengar's Shadow Ball created a blast and overwhelmed her. Gengar disappeared and began attacking Lumina mercilessly. Her ability of clairvoyance allowed her to predict where Gengar's attacks were going to strike, but she wasn't getting a chance to land an attack. She tried to attack with Psychic, but ended up getting hit with Night Shade and Shadow Ball.
Lumina was unable to continue battling. Emily had no choice but to rely on Luna now. Morty thought it would be interesting to see how a normal-type would fare against a ghost-type. To make it more interesting, Morty took the fight to the next level and touched his Keystone, enabling Gengar to Mega Evolve. Gengar looked rounder and his limbs grew larger. Luna was intimidated and knew a meek little Pokémon such as herself had no chance against a fully evolved Pokémon; especially a Mega Evolved Pokémon. But her brother and sister and trainer were all counting on her. For as long as Luna could remember, she wanted to grow up to be big and strong like her brothers and sisters. She wanted to prove she wasn't a runt and there was more to her. All she had to do was remember all that her brothers and sisters taught her.
When battling a ghost Pokémon, you have to be prepared for anything and keep it together. It's about grace under pressure. As long as Emily was calm and able to concentrate, Luna would be too. All she had to do was listen, smell, and feel. All of Gengar's attacks were ghost-type attacks and would inflict no harm on Luna, but he would still intimidate her. Luna also knew some attacks outside of her type. If she was going to fight blind, then so must Gengar. She used Sand Attack to irritate his vision. As Gengar rubbed the sand from his eyes, he saw Luna coming. She bit down on his arm and held on. Gengar tried to shake Luna off, but she wouldn't let go. She kept biting down on Gengar. Gengar tried to gather his energy and attack with Shadow Ball even though he knew it would have no effect on Luna. She finally let go and began gathering all of the ominous energy around her, focusing it into her own Shadow Ball attack and landing a direct hit on Gengar. The effects of Mega Evolution wore off and the match was over.
Luna could hardly believe what happened. She won her first match, and against a fully evolved Pokémon, no less. She jumped and squealed triumphantly and leaped into Emily's arms. "You did it, Luna! You really did it," Emily cheered. "I knew you could do it!"
The rest of the family cheered and congratulated their youngest sister. "Oh, Luna, you were so brave," Lumina said proudly.
"You're sure not a runt anymore," said Salamando.
"Thanks, you guys," Luna said appreciatively. "I didn't think I could do it because I wasn't an evolved Pokémon like the rest of you, but I was wrong."
Lumina shook her head. "No, Luna. You're perfect just the way you are." And she hugged her little sister.
Luna hugged her back. "I wish Mommy and Daddy could have seen me."
"They would have been very proud of you," said Shade. "They'd be proud of all of us for what we've accomplished and what we've become."
"I can't wait to find Mom and Dad," said Sylphid, "and tell them everything that's happened." The rest of the siblings agreed. They gathered around Luna and tossed her in the air and cheered her name.
Morty praised his Pokémon for putting up a great fight, but he had to admit Emily and her Pokémon put up a better one. He approached Emily and congratulated her. "I have a lot of faith in you and your friends, Emily. And I hope that someday, you'll get to see Ho-Oh with your own eyes. With the four of you, anything's possible."
"Yeah, anything could happen," said Emily.
He nods and presents her with the Fog badge. "This is what you came here for. The Fog badge is yours. You earned it."
Emily takes it with great appreciation. "Thank you, Morty. We've waited a long time for this one." She raises the badge and cheers triumphantly.