Recap: After the situation in Azalea Town, Ash continued towards Goldenrod City.  While traveling through the Ilex Forest, he had an extraordinary encounter.  The legendary Celebi appeared before him, joining his team after a brief discussion with him and Lugia.  Upon going to the Radio Tower at Goldenrod, he unknowingly had a brief reunion with Professor Oak.  After getting a radio card, he headed to the gym.  After a delay, he won his 3rd badge.  On his way to Ecruteak City, he had a battle with a wild Sudowoodo, successfully catching it.
( ) after Pokemon talk is the translation
Italic words is psychic speech
/ is Ash mental conversation with Lugia and/or Charizard
/Italic words/ is Lugia and/or Charizard mental conversation with Ash
(' is Pokemon thoughts
' is human thoughts






                                         Chapter 7: A Legendary Encounter

Ash continued his way down Route 37 towards Ecruteak City.  He had just experienced his firs non-trainer Pokemon battle in the Johto region, which resulted in him catching a Sudowoodo.  He decided to train his Unown some more before facing Morty for his 4th badge.  He had used his Unown in almost every trainer battle he was in since he caught them.

"Okay 'A', 'N', let's do some training!" Ash said, releasing his said Pokemon.  Since they looked like letters, he decided to call them what they looked like.

Both Unown appeared from their Poke Balls.  "Unown (We're ready)," they said.

"Okay, I want you to face off against each other.  'A', you can call your own shots.  I'll direct 'N'," Ash said.

"Un (Okay)," "A" and "N" said.

"A" started off with Hidden Power, which resulted in a Razor Leaf.  "N" quickly got out of the way.

"Good job 'N'.  Now use your Hidden Power," Ash said.

"N" used its Hidden Power, which resulted in Shadow Ball.  "A" didn't get out of the way fast enough and suffered a direct hit.  "A" was knocked down but was able to get back up.  Then it used Hidden Power again.

"Use Teleport 'N'," Ash said.

"N" disappeared, reappearing behind "A".  "A" turned around only to take another dose of "N's" Hidden Power.  Being hit the second time did it.  "A" was down for the count.

"Good job 'N," Ash said before returning both his Pokemon.  Then he went the rest of the way to Ecruteak.  Half an hour later, he was in Ecruteak.  He first went to the Pokemon Center to have his Sudowoodo, Croconaw and his Unown healed.  After that, he headed to the gym, only to find the door locked.

Then one of the gym operatives came by.  "You must be here to face the Gym Leader," she said.

"Yes I am," Ash said.

"Well he's actually in the Burned Tower right now," the gym operative said.

"What's that?" Ash asked.

"Well it was once known as the Tin Tower. But it was burned down many years ago when corrupt people tried to capture Ho-Oh," the gym operative responded.

"Ho-Oh?" Ash asked.

"Yes.  Ho-Oh once dwelled here in Ecruteak.  The tower was considered sacred many years ago because it was built as a roosting place for Ho-Oh.  But that had all changed when corrupt people tried to use its power for their own foul purposes.  Ho-Oh fled, burning down the tower down as well.  Since then, another Tin Tower has been built in hopes that Ho-Oh woud finally return," the gym operative responded.

"Wow," was all Ash could say.

"I know," the gym operative said.  "So maybe you should talk to Morty," she added.

"I will," Ash said.  He saw the burned down tower in the distance and headed that way.  Ten minutes later, he was inside the tower.  He soon saw two men in the tower.

"One of the men had spiky white hair and the other had spiky brown hair.  Ash approached the two men.  The spiky white-haired man turned around and saw Ash coming.  He noticed the Poke Belt around Ash's waist.

"I take it that you're here to challenge me," the man said.

"Yes," Ash said.

"I'm Morty.  This man next to me is Eusine.  He's a good friend of mine," the man said.

"How do you do?" Eusine asked, holding out his hand.

"I'm fine.  My name's Ash," Ash responded, shaking Eusine's hand.  He couldn't help feeling that he was being watched.  Nor could he help the feeling that there was something else very special about this place.

"So Eusine, have you seen Suicune yet?" Morty asked.

"No I haven't.  I've come across people who happened to get brief glimpses of it.  I even happened to cross paths with Kurt, who said that he got a very good look at it.  But I haven't been able to see it yet," Eusine responded.

"Why are you looking for Suicune?" Ash asked.

"Ever since I first heard about Suicune, I've always wanted to have a battle with one.  But I haven't been able to cross paths with it," Eusine responded.

Ash suddenly felt a stronger urge to check the place out.  He started walking around.  He was soon out of Morty and Eusine's sight and hearing ranges when...

"Hold it!" a very familiar and annoying voice shouted.

"Speak of the devil," Ash muttered dryly, turning to face the approaching Alex.  "What do you want this time?" he asked, very annoyed.

"If there are any legendary Pokemon here, I'm going to be the one to capture them," Alex responded.

Ash mentally smirked to himself.  'I already have Lugia, Unown and Celebi.  I also consider my Charizard as a legendary Pokemon because she is quite literally the only Pokemon of her kind,' he thought.  "Even if you did happen to come across a lengendary Pokemon, I doubt that it would want to have an obnoxious person like you train it," he said.

/You got that right/ Lugia said.

('Amen to that') Celebi and Unown thought.

Alex was infuriated.  "You, me, two-on-two Pokemon Battle now," he said.

"You're asking to be trounced again?  So be it then," Ash said.

Alex released a Golbat.  Ash took out his Pokedex and got information on it.

"So a Golbat huh?  Well I'll counter your Golbat with Lapras!" Ash said, releasing the said Pokemon.

"Lapras (Ready for battle)," Lapras said.

"Golbat, use Supersonic!" Alex said.

Golbat fired the attack at Lapras.

"Lapras, head down quick!" Ash said.

Lapras put her head down as low as she could.  It was enough because the attack passed harmlessly over her head.

"Now Lapras use Blizzard!" Ash said.

"Lap (Right)," Lapras said, firing the attack from her mouth.

Golbat couldn't do much as the attack pummeled it.

"Now finish it with Ice Beam!" Ash said.

Lapras fired the Ice Beam, freezing Golbat solid.

"Great job Lapras.  Now return," Ash said, returning Lapras.  "I'll give you a shot to beat me.  Let's see if you can take advantage of it.  I choose you Croconaw!" he added, releasing the said Pokemon.

"Croconaw croc (Let's trounce this guy)," Croconaw said.

"Ha, this should be easy.  Come on out Bayleef," Alex said, releasing the said Pokemon.

Bayleef saw its opponent.  ('Ha, I've got this one in the bag.  This trainer will pay for humiliating me') it thought.

"Start off with Razor Leaf!" Alex said.

Bayleef fired off a barrage of leaves towards Croconaw.

"Use Water Gun on them!" Ash countered.

Croconaw did so.  The leaves were blasted backwards.

"What?" Alex asked in shock.

"Why are you so surprised?  Water can easily move leaves if its force is strong enough," Ash responded.  "Now Croconaw, use Slash!" he added.

Croconaw came up to Bayleef before slashing it across its stomach.

"Bay (Aaaahhhhh)!" Bayleef cried in pain.

"Don't let a water Pokemon beat you Bayleef.  Use Vine Whip!" Alex said.

Bayleef lashed out with its vines.

"Catch those vines Croconaw!" Ash said.

Croconaw caught one vine in each hand.

"Now Croconaw, finish it with Thunderbolt!" Ash said.

"What?!" Alex exclaimed in shock.

Croconaw smirked before sending the attack through Bayleef's vines.  Although Bayleef was strong against electric attacks, it wasn't able to withstand this one because of how the attack was used.  Seconds later, Bayleef fainted.

"That should be impossible.  A water Pokemon can't learn electric attacks," Alex said incredulously.

"Yes it can.  Many battles that Croconaw fought were against electric Pokemon.  Instead of always being the victim to electric attacks, he and I wanted him to be able to do electric attacks as well.  He was able to learn Thundershock, Thunderbolt, Thunder and Zap Cannon as a result.  You'd be surprised to the number of different attacks a Pokemon can learn.  Don't forget that," Ash said, returning Croconaw.  Then he took a few steps forward.

A minute later, the ground beneath his feet started to crumble.  Unfortunately, it wasn't too stable to begin with.  Before he could react, a section of ground about 10' in diameter collapsed underneath him, sending him plummeting below.  Charizard had released herself seconds after Ash fell through.  Soon, she had him Bridal style.

"Thanks Charizard," Ash said.

"You're welcome," Charizard said.  "But where are we?" she added upon landing and putting Ash down.

"It looks like a secret chamber of some sort," Ash responded.

"Cune (So we meet)," a voice suddenly said.

Ash and Charizard looked ahead and saw three Pokemon staring right at them.  One Pokemon was brown and white with what looked like a red, yellow and white mask over its face.  The Pokemon in the middle was blue and white with what looked to be a purple mane and the Pokemon on the right was yellow with black stripes with what appeared to be a white, aqua and navy blue mask over its face.  Ash pointed his Pokedex at the three Pokemon.

"Entei, the volcano Pokemon.  Entei is usually seen around volcanoes and can spit fire hotter than magma itself.  Entei is believed to have perished when the first Tin Tower burned down but was revived by the legendary Ho-Oh.  Suicune, the Aurora Pokemon.  Suicune has the special ability to purify water, no matter how polluted it is.

It is believed that Suicune was also revived after perishing in the Burned Tower.  Raikou, the thunder Pokemon.  Raikou can shoot lightning from the cloud on its back.  When it needs to recharge, it travels through thunderclouds.  Like Entei and Suicune, Raikou is also believed to have been revived after the Burned Tower incident many years ago," the Pokedex said.

Then Lugia revealed himself.  Entei, Suicune and Raikou were awestruck upon seeing that Lugia had chosen to be with Ash.

"Cune cune cune cune (So you've chosen this boy to be your trainer)," Suicune said.

"I have," Lugia said.

"Cune cune cune cune cune.  Cune cune cune cune (I happened to see him while he was in Azalea.  He is a very special one)," Suicune said, Entei and Raikou nodding.

"So you two must've happened to see Ash as well," Charizard said towards Entei and Raikou.

Entei and Raikou nodded.

"Cune cune cune.  Cune cune cune, Cune cune cune (I hope we meet again.  But if you want to capture us, you'll have to battle us first)," Suicune said.

"I look forward to it," Ash said.

Then Entei and Raikou bounded off in different directions.  Suicune took one last look at Ash before bounding off himself.

"Well Ash, it looks as though you'll have a chance to have more legendary Pokemon on your team," Lugia said.

"Yes it does.  But now I want to get out of here," Ash said.

"Leave that to me," Charizard said.

Ash returned Lugia.  Then Charizard used Teleport.  Ash and Charizard were soon in the first room of the Burned Tower again.  Morty and Eusine were still there. They were awestruck upon seeing Charizard.

"Whoa!  I've never seen a Charizard like yours before," Morty said.

"Neither have I.  To see a Charizard alive despite not having a tail flame is quite extraordinary," Eusine said.

"That's because she truly is one of a kind," Ash said.

"That's right," Charizard said.

"Wow!  She can talk too," Eusine said.

Then Charizard told them how she came to be.  Morty was quite intrigued.

"So you were the result of a successful experiment in hopes of helping Charmander, Charmeleon and Charizard everywhere and even had the legendary Mew experiment on you.  Only to have Team Rocket ruin everything," Morty said.

"Yes," Charizard said.

Then Ash told Morty and Eusine about his amazing encounter.  This time, Eusine was quite intrigued.

"So you happened to see not only Suicune, but Entei and Raikou as well," Eusine said.

"I sure did," Ash said.

"There is indeed someting special about you," Eusine said.  "Well, I'm going to see if I can find Suicune.  Bye for now," Eusine said before leaving.

"Well, I'm going to head back to the gym now.  Come when you're ready," Morty said before heading out of the Burned Tower.

"Well, we should head there too," Charizard said.

"Yeah.  Let's go," Ash said.

"So do you know who you're going to use?  Lugia told me that Morty trains ghost Pokemon, which 'A', 'N', Lugia, Celebi and I are at a disadvantage against.  But Lugia also said that Morty's Pokemon are also of the poison type, which gives us somewhat of an advantage," Charizard said.

"This is going to be an interesting match then," Ash said.  He returned Charizard before heading towards the gym.  'I know that I will let 'N' battle.  I don't think that it's time to show that I have Lugia and Celebi just yet.  I guess that I'll use Charizard as well,' he thought.  He soon entered the gym and saw Morty waiting for him.  He took several steps forward but was suddenly back where he started.  "What's going on here?" he asked.

"I'm sorry.  I forgot to mention that you have to figure out how to get to me before you can battle.  As you just witnessed, you'll have to be wary of your steps.  One wrong step, and you'll be back at the start," Morty responded.

"That's okay.  We can't remember everything right?" Ash said.

('If only you knew') Lugia thought upon hearing that.

"Right.  Well good luck," Morty said.

Ash started off very slowly.  In going very slowly, as well as watching how the floor would react to his every step, he had actually figured out what every trainer before him did not.  Certain parts of the floor glowed when stepped on while other parts of the floor didn't.  Because he took things only a half step at a time, Ash knew where to complete the step and where not to.  Morty was very impressed.

'He's figured it out.  All of the trainers before him were in such a rush to get to me, that they didn't think to see how the floor would reach to their every step,' Morty thought in satisfaction.

A medium was there as well.  She would be the referee for the match.  She was very impressed herself.  'This young boy is able to figure things out very well.  That will get him pretty far in this league,' she thought.

Ten minutes later, Ash made it to Morty.  "Whew, that wasn't easy," he said.

"Actually, you did very well.  All of the other trainers before you ended up taking a lot longer that you did.  But you did the one thing that they did not, which was seeing how the floor would react to your every step.  That alone really impressed me," Morty said before taking one side of the battlefield.

"I hope that I can impress you further," Ash said before taking the other side of the battlefield.

"We will use two Pokemon each for this match," Morty said.

"Okay," Ash said.

"I'll let you choose your Pokemon first," Morty said.

"Okay then.  'N', you're up," Ash said, releasing the said Pokemon.

"Unown (I'm ready)," "N" said.

"Wow.  You've captured an Unown," Morty said.

"Actually, I have two," Ash said.

"You really are a special trainer then.  I could sense something different about you the moment you came in," the medium said.

"I choose Haunter!" Morty said, releasing the said Pokemon.

"Haunter (Let's Battle)," Haunter said.

"Haunter, use Shadow Ball!" Morty said.

"'N', use Teleport!" Ash said.

"N" disappeared for a brief moment, reappearing in the same spot afterwards.

"Now, use Hidden Power!" Ash said.

"N" complied, sending a Shadow Ball towards Haunter.

"Intriguing I must say.  Haunter, through the floor!" Morty said.

Haunter passed through the ground.  The attack sailed harmlessly over it.  Haunter then came up behind "N".

"Now use Lick!" Morty said.

Haunter gave "N" a big, sloppy lick.  "N" was somewhat paralyzed afterwards.

"Now follow it up with Shadow Ball!" Morty said.

Haunter fired the attack.  "N" couldn't get out of the way and was struck directly.  "N" fell down.  It struggled and was able to float in the air again.

"Time to fix the paralysis problem.  Use Refresh!" Ash said.

"N" did so, effectively getting rid of its paralysis.

"Now use Confusion!" Ash said.

"N" did so.  Haunter was the one who couldn't move now.

"Now slam it to the ground while it's still solid!" Ash said.

"N" complied, dealing Haunter more damage than the Confusion alone did.

"It looks like it's time for a stealth move Haunter.  Use Shadow Punch!" Morty said.

Haunter became invisible and approached "N" with its now closed fist rearead back.  Because neither Ash nor "N" could see where Haunter actually was, "N" wouldn't be able to react in time.  Haunter soon appeared right in front of "N" before giving "N" a wallop of a shadowy punch.  "N" was knocked to the ground.  This time, it would not get back up.

"'N' is no longer able to battle.  Victory to Haunter," the medium said.

"You gave it a good try 'N'," Ash said, returning it.

"I must say.  I was very impressed.  'N' held out longer than many other Pokemon before it.  Haunter took out many other trainer's Pokemon with only one strike.  Only few have been able to defeat it," Morty said.

"Well I hope to be one of the few that does defeat it.  Let's do this Charizard!" Ash said, releasing the said Pokemon.

"Let's beat this ghost," Charizard said.

"Be on your guard Haunter.  This is a very unique Charizard we're facing," Morty said.

"Haunt (Right)," Haunter said.

"Start off with Flamethrower!" Ash said.

Charizard fired off the said attack.

"Use Shadow Ball!" Morty countered.

Haunter fired the Shadow Ball.  But the Flamethrower cut right through the Shadow Ball like a hot knife through butter.  Haunter suffered a direct hit.

"Now follow up with Psybeam!" Ash said.

Charizard quickly fired a Psybeam.  Neither Haunter nor Morty could react in time.  Haunter was directly struck again.  Charizard's one-two punch was enough to faint Haunter.

"You did great Haunter," Morty said, returning his fainted Pokemon.  Then he looked at Ash.  "Your Charizard is quite powerful," he added.

"Thanks," Charizard said.

"If you thought Haunter was tough, just wait.  Out of those who have defeated Haunter, there have only been a select few that have been able to beat my next Pokemon.  Gengar, I choose you!" Morty said, releasing the said Pokemon.

"Gengar gar (Ready for battle)," Gengar said.

"Charizard, use Psychic!" Ash said.

Gengar let it pass through you!" Morty countered.

Charizard unleashed her Psychic attack, but the attack went righ tthrough a now transparent Gengar.

"You won't win this one that easily," Morty said.

'The battle with Haunter wasn't that easy," Morty said.

"Now Gengar, use Shadow Ball!" Morty said.

Gengar moved behind Charizard before firing the attack.  Because Gengar was still transparent, the Shadow Ball looked transparent as well.  Because both Gengar and the approaching Shadow Ball were transparent, neither Ash nor Charizard could tell which direction the attack came from.  Soon, Charizard was struck directly.  She fell to the ground but was able to get back in the air.

"What hit me?" Charizard asked, still a little disoriented.

"Now Gengar, use Shadow Punch while she's still disoriented!" Morty said.

Gengar, still transparent, came towards Charizard with its fist reared back.

"Charizard, you've got to snap out of it!" Ash said.

Charizard shook her head a few times and was soon alert again.  She closed her eyes in concentration.  Seconds later, she used Teleport.  Gengar made contact with nothing but air.  Confused to what happened, George became solid again.

"Quick Charizard, use Psybeam while it's solid!" Ash said. 

Charizard quickly complied.  Gengar cried out in pain as it was struck directly.

"Follow up with Flamethrower!" Ash said.

Charizard fired the Flamethrower.

"Gengar, turn around and use Shadow Ball!" Morty said.

Gengar turned and fired the Shadow Ball.  The two attacks met in the center, but the Flamethrower soon started to win out.  The Shadow Ball was being pushed backwards.

"Become transparent again Gengar!" Morty said.

Gengar became transparent again.  However, there was one thing that neither Morty nor Gengar seemed to realize.  Because the Flamethrower didn't cancel out the Shadow Ball, the Shadow Ball still headed for Gengar.  And since a ghost Pokemon is vulnerable to its own type attacks, Gengar would be in for an unpleasant surprise.  Several moments later, the attack made impact.  The Flamethrower passed harmlessly through Gengar, but the Shadow Ball did not.

"Gengar (Aaaaahhhhh)!" Gengar cried in pain upon feeling the Shadow Ball strike it, becoming solid immediately afterwards.

"How can that be possible?  Gengar should've been fine," Morty said totally confused.

"You didn't realize that the Shadow Ball hadn't been cancelled out.  Charizard's Flamethrower only pushed it back," Ash said.  /That was great thinking and even better anticipation to what Morty would have Gengar do/

Charizard turned and gave Ash a thumbs' up.  She and Ash could see that Gengar was still pretty much disoriented.

"Now Charizard, finish it off with Psychic!" Ash said.

Charizard complied.  Gengar was unable to become transparent and soon succumbed to the attack.  It soon fainted.  Then Charizard landed.

"Gengar is unable to battle.  Charizard is the winner.  This match goes to Ash," the medium said.

"Great job Charizard," Ash said, running up and hugging her.

Charizard hugged back.  Morty had returned the fainted Gengar and was soon in front of Ash.

"That was a great battle Ash.  You really are good at figuring things out," Morty said.

"Thanks," Ash said.

"As proof of defeating me, this Fog Badge is yours," Morty said, holding out the badge.

Ash proudly accepted the badge.

"This TM is also yours.  You could teach your Pokemon Shadow Ball with it," Morty said, holding out the TM.

"Thanks," Ash said, taking the TM.

"Olivine City is down Route 38.  When you leave the building, just turn left," Morty said.

"Thanks," Ash said before returning Charizard.  Not wanting to do what he had to do to get to Morty again, he simply let the floor teleport him back to the starting point.  Then he left the gym.  He first headed to the Pokemon Center to get his Pokemon healed.  After he got his Pokemon back, he headed towards the Route 38 entrance.

"Wait!" a male voice shouted.

Ash turned to see an elderly man coming towards him.  "Is there something I missed?" he asked.

"I was hoping that maybe you would want to see the five Kimono Girls at our Dance Theater," the man responded.  "They're quite good.  Each of them dances with a different evolved form of Eevee," he added.

"Eevee can evolve five ways?" Ash asked.

"Yes.  Three of its evolution are the result of it coming in contact with certain stones, while the other two are natural evolutions that are based on the time of day," the man responded.

"Can you explain please?" Ash asked.

"Certainly.  When an Eevee comes in contact with a Water Stone, it evolves into Vaporeon.  When it comes in contact with a Thunder Stone, it evolves into Jolteon.  When it comes in contact with a Fire Stone, it evolves into Flareon.  As far as natural evolutions, that happens with taming.  If Eevee is really happy with its trainer, it can naturally evolve into either Espeon during the daytime, or Umbreon during the nighttime," the man responded.

'Bellossom and Croconaw might really love the show,' Ash thought.  "Okay, I'll go.  Where is the theater?" he said.

"Excellent.  Follow me," the man said.

Ash followed the man to the theater.  Several minutes later, they were inside the theater.  Ash saw the Kimono Girls dancing with different Pokemon.  Deciding to let all his Pokemon watch, he let them all out.  Everyone present gasped in awe upon seeing Lugia, "A", "N", Celebi and Charizard.  Even the dancers and their Pokemon stopped to look in awe.  Then they continued their routine.  They finished an hour later.

"The guy was right.  They are good," Ash said.

"Bell, bellossom (Yeah, I'm impressed)," Bellossom said.

Then Ash returned his Pokemon before leaving the Dance Theater.  Then he headed towards the entrance to Route 38, and towards the next gym battle.  But all was not well in Olivine.  The light in the Lighthouse was not working.  That was because the Ampharos that powers the Lighthouse was very ill.  Jasmine, the Olivine City Gym Leader, was currently caring for the sick Pokemon.

'I wish that there was a way that I could get the medicine that Ampgy needs.  But I don't want to leave him here alone in his condition,' Jasmine thought, not knowing that her wish would soon be granted.



And that's a wrap on another chapter.  Things are starting to heat up now.  As far as the next chapter, I'm sorry to say that I really can't give a preview this time.  The title of the next chapter really says it all.