15. Paranormal Rave Party (Gym) (F)

[Tiki]

OOC:
Grab Black Glasses from Alex's inventory and equip it on Persian
Deposit Snorunt, Ninask, Formantis
Withdraw Baltoy and Raticate and Kricketune
EXP share on Kricketune
Equip Poison Orb on Raticate
Equip psychic gem from Alex's inventory on Baltoy

Ethan finally felt that he was prepared for the next gym battle. In the morning, he gave everyone a good nutritious breakfast and swapped some Pokemon around in his party as he made final confirmation of his plan. His Pokemon had gotten stronger, mostly from the Nidorinas, Nidorinos, Pidgeottos, and some Ditto from traveling to Goldenrod. Now, he would need to witness their strength in a battle against Morty, who looked like his clothes would be too warm in a rave.

While the scenery change in Ecruteak was different from the bustling Goldenrod, it gave him some inspirations, but he would work on them after this important match. Wearing his sleeveless shirt like it was summer already-- it was not-- he entered the gym as he pushed both doors opened. Technically he only needed to push one door open to enter, but he was bring dramatic. He greeted whoever he first saw. "Name's Ethan. From Hoenn region. Mauville City." He paused. "Or you might have heard of me as DJ Berrythorn, if you listen to fast paced electronics."

[Caramell 🍬]

The GYM was a well known location within the heart of Ecruteak, though it did not outshine their most famous attractions to date. A strange presence lurked inside of the GYM like that of a bad dream or a premonition that would quickly and quietly usher you back towards the entrance that you wandered in through. Several trainers lurked through a dense and ever present smoke. They were like ghostly apparitions, where some even seemed to float in the air as most of the thick purplish-black smoke completely blanketed out the lower half of their bodies. “Gassss” A soft laughter called from Ethan’s left side and large red eyes with a Cheshire cat like grin floated in thin air, before poofing off in the blink of an eye. “Name? Purpose?" An elderly guy who looked positively ancient asked as he slowly approached Ethan.

The guy’s face was ladened with wrinkles that caused his cheeks to droop down as though they were melting off of his face. His eyelashes were long and thick, with some strands seemingly reaching up to touch the topmost parts of his forehead. Though the ancient guys head had absolutely not a single scrap of hair left, a long white beard that was unkempt and scraggily in nature dangled from his chin. The elderly man was rail thin and made you question if there was meat or only bones below the extra small clothes that he wore. When Ethan introduced himself, the strange man only nodded solemnly. “Mm’kay. Name, check. Purpose?” He’d waited patiently – possibly months, even, if not prodded soon enough – for Ethan to inform him.

“Come this way.” The elderly man would state only after Ethan confirmed that he was hear for a match. He led Ethan through the thick billowing smoke that surrounded the inner chambers of the frontmost room to the building and back to two large doors that swung open. The smoke smelled strange, like a never ending forest fire blazing all the trees around it, even though the building was not actively burning. When they entered the second room, it was completely clear of the strange smoke Ethan walked in on and only another man stood on the end of one battlefield with a floating ball of gas next to him. “Morty, a challenger. Name’s Ethan.” The elderly man introduce Ethan in an odd manner before bowing and leaving them in the room together.

“Hello Ethan, as you’ve discovered I’m Morty. I’m the GYM Leader of Ecruteak and my specialty is in Ghost-type Pokemon. In this battle I will use my three trusty Pokemon against you, though you’re free to use up to six Pokemon against me in battle. The battle ends when either of us are completely out of useable Pokemon.” Morty quickly explained to Ethan in a simple way, though politely. Most trainers knew the gist by now, Morty was just covering the basis. Then, he would walk over to his side of the field and stand firmly before nodding towards his trusty Pokemon, who floated over onto the battlefield with ease. “I’ll start off with my friend Nyx.” Gastly nodded with a large smile and agreed, “Gaastttllyy gasss!”

Morty accepts Ethan's challenge!

He sends out his level 28 Gastly named Nyx. Who will Ethan choose?

[Tiki]

OOC:
there's a user named Nyx I think
Cover used Shadow Sneak

While Ethan was used to dark indoors when he was Deejaying for some events, he wasn't used to it this dark with this much fog. Ambience and Atmosphere was one thing, but he thought this was overkilled. How did these people not hitting each other was a mystery of its own, but Ethan himself had to maneuver carefully so he wouldn't be hitting people, especially frustrated trainers who lost their gym matches and their fellow spectators. He thought he heard something, but was quickly distracted by trying to do a movign obstacle course in the gym. He was here to challenge his Pokemon, not his navigating and reflexes!

After he had introduced himself, he saw a glimpse of the old man and figured that he was definitely not his target audience. Older audiences in a concert was unheard of, but not this old. The young man was pretty sure this man would be conserving his energy to live and not to rave. He sighed quietly and then followed the elder man who could compete for the oldest man in Johto record.

When he entered the arena, he saw visible smoke regenerating itself. It had a strange odor that felt different from the ones he would see in party events. Was it his nervousness battling a gym leader or it really was a different material? He listened to Morty introduced himself. He was a polite man, but dressed a little too warm for Ethan's internal opinion.

"Hello, Morty. You might know me as DJ Berrythorn if you listen to fast paced music," the young man introduced and promoted himself again, as the elder receptionist wasn't helpful.

Before he sent out his Pokemon, he quickly asked before the battle would get intense. "Sounds good, this will be my fourth gym battle. So, what's the smoke made of? It feels like it's different from the ones I used in events."

"I've got a ghost type myself too," He grabbed his Pokemon and summoned a spiritually unamused creature. "Cover, use Shadow Sneak!"

[Avalon]

Morty rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. He hated to think about whether or not admitting it would effect Ethan's ego any. "Not much into house music or raves, I'm afraid. Those kinds of performers tend to not stay here very long, the older folk can be a bit...judgemental." Morty admitted. He was sure that 'DJ Berrythorn' was talented enough, but it was true that Ecruteak tended towards the more traditional when it came to the arts.

Morty smirked at the question about the smog, allowing himself a moment of pride. They went to a lot of trouble invoking the ambiance of the other side in Ecruteak Gym; this was a place for the revered dead, especially those creatures lost to the tragedy of the Burned Tower so long ago. "The fog is the souls of the dead, reaching out to ensnare the living..." he said, invoking the tone of someone telling a scary story by the campfire. After a moment of pause, he laughed and waved it off. "Nothing like that, I'm afraid. It's a bit rudimentary, but it's mostly just from this contraption we rigged up back in the day. Hot water, glass bottles, it's all a little more rustic than I think you DJ's would be used to."

Nyx the Gastly and Cover the Shedinja began their fight, Shedinja hiding in the shadows to perform its maneuver while the Gastly began to summon up some of the otherworldly fog into an attack around it. But before Gastly could weaponize the air into an Ominous Wind, Cover emerged from the ghost's own shadow and slammed its hollow carapace into Gastly's black orb body. Pain shot through Gastly's 'body', and the purple flames that consumed it were snuffed out in an instant. Gastly cluttered to the ground, eyes swirling and tongue hanging out as it drifted into unconsciousness.

Morty grimaced, retrieving the Ghost's Poke Ball and returning it. "Some ghost you've got there, guess I can't really take you too lightly. Then I'll use Erebus next!" From within Morty's own shadow a new figure emerged. A Haunter, a disembodied spectre with two large hands that glared at Ethan and Cover. Despite this, it had a rather gruesome grin across its face; it was hard to tell if it was mad at having to avenge its friend, or delighted to get some exercise.

SP39+ Cover used Shadow Sneak!
Nyx fainted!

---

Cover did some spooky stuff and won! Cover gained 1400 EXP!
Current EXP: (2501/2977)


Kricketune watched through the EXP Share and gained 1 Level!
Kricketune is now Level 12


Morty has sent out Erebus the Haunter (Level 30)!
Would Ethan like to switch Pokemon?

[Tiki]

"I understand, when I entered this city, I figured most people wouldn't be interested in the kind of niche music genre I play for." Ethan replied, humbly accepting the fact that some people just don't like the beats and rhythm of the type of music he's into.

He listened intently with the gym leader, only to laugh along with him when Morty let lose a light hearted joke. Of course, nobody would be leaving the gym alive to tell the tale of his Gengar, if everybody entered had died. "Nice, heh. You got me there."

He observed as the Pokemon battled out their attacks. The Gastly was doing something ominous with the air around it, but before it could control it fully, Cover sneaked up to it with equally other worldly force of an attack. The gas ball fizzled on the ground as it lost control of its eyes and tongue in an unconscious and comedy horror fashion.

"Thanks. Cover is my only ghost type Pokemon though. Good job, and return!" Ethan thanked his Pokemon's help and the opponent's compliments, but both of them knew this gym battle wasn't done. After seeing the Haunter's resting mean look on its face, Ethan grabbed another Pokemon to summon to battle. The white or beige colored cat growled and sat calmly as she waited for her instruction. The darkness was nothing to this street cat who had lived in the dark before.

"Felime, go for a Feint Attack! We got a gym battle to fight!" He finally gave his order, and his cat crawled toward the Haunter with a purposeful stride.

OOC:
Persian Feint Attack
using my bar

[Tarlar]

"It's a town pretty set in its ways, wanting to uphold traditions and pay respect to the ancestors and the ones before them by remembering them and their wisdom and way of life," Morty said kindly. "It's a beautiful thought but it can also give troubles and it can be hard to new people to move in and feel as a part of it."
Morty looked disappointed when Ethan recalled Cover, it was so rare that his challengers brought in ghosts types to face him, which made sense now they were strong against themselves, but as a ghost specialist he of course was interested in seeing how others handled them. When it came to ghosts and trainers it was often all or nothing. Either the trainer was obsessed and only trained ghosts, or they had completely misunderstood them and struggled.

Felime who followed was a much more common sight in the gym, and the move ordered wasn't that surprisingly either. It was back to business as usual for Morty and this round would certainly come down to how well prepared Ethan was.
"Erebus! Sucker Punch!" Morty ordered and the haunter laughed hollowly and Felime pounced, Erebus slowly dissolved into the fog and Felime's claws found nothing but swirling air.
Erebus came from out of nowhere and slashed down Felime's side, she winced but still spun around and let her claws run through the haunter, freezing its grin into a grimace and it began floating away. Morty sighed and recalled his second ghost.
"You are well prepared," Morty said with a smile and flicked his last pokeball into the air, darkness seemed to hone in and the whole area dimmed. The gengar slowly opened its eyes which was more or less the only visible thing as the fog whirled around it, slowly a white teethy grin appeared on its face which was otherwise shrouded in darkness. Morty smiled and shook his head over his dramatic gengar.
"Meet Tartaros, he likes to live up to his name," Morty said with a wry smile.

"But tell me, why do you only have one ghost on you? And how did Goldenrod City take your tunes? I'd assume that would be a city more to your liking," Morty asked. Learning the living was the way to remember them in death after all.

Felime too well prepared for Erebus so she grows (30*50)*1,5= 2250Exp!
She grows to [Lv 33]! (1718/3367)


Kricketune learned a thing or two through the exp share and grows to [Lv 13]!



Time for the last test! Morty sends out Tartaros the Gengar [Lv 34].

(ooc: Felime has 80/96 HP after level up)

[Tiki]

"I understand that," Ethan replied, nodding at Morty's statement about this town. "I'll probably move on to Olivine City where it's more vibrant after this." He was only planning to get inspirations and relaxation in Ecruteak City, but he'll likely have more fun time in Olivine City for his career.

He watched as the battle continued, with the Haunter fading into the fog and darkness. It laughed menacingly before being clawed away by his Persian into unconsciousness. With the second ghost Pokemon defeated, Ethan thanked his Pokemon's help, and then assessed the next one. The Gengar was much larger, and looked much more colder and frightening if you're like, five years old. The young trainer concluded that this might be a hardy ghost.

"Uhh, Shedinja evolved from my Nincada, so that's why." Ethan replied, not sure why he only had one ghost type either. "Cover doesn't look as scary and cold as other ghost types. It is more... neutral looking fella." He paused to ponder about his duo ghost and bug type. "Goldenrod was okay. The city is quite busy and I think pop music had a better hold there. I had a small audience, but I don't think it's fitting for me."

"So this is the Gengar..." Ethan commented on his opponent's last Pokemon. Then, he sent out his next Pokemon to face it, "Ratz, start off with a Sword Dance!" He knew this one was going to be tough, but at least he could use his other Pokemon as a back up. The beige rodent squeaked, and began dancing his war tunes.

[Avalon]

"Olivine isn't too bad a city, lots of interesting people come through the ports there. The sailor crowd is a bit rough, though, so be careful," Morty said, nodding along. He was pretty confident this kid could handle himself against some sailors; after all, he was holding his own against Morty's own team of ghosts well enough. He was more curious as to how the deejay would handle Jasmine and her team of Steel-types. Fighting Nyx, Erebus, and Tartaros was one thing, but her Steelix was a different kind of beast entirely.

"Neutral looking, but it's still a pretty good specimen. Even Bugsy would be real impressed if he got up close to that bug, I think," Morty offered. He understood that Ethan was still a little apprehensive about dealing with so many ghosts, so he was trying to put the boy at ease. He had been hoping that this battle wouldn't be over with too quickly, but it was clear that things were reaching their end. "Goldenrod's a bit too busy for my taste. Too many people, and it's bit of an untraditional place. I prefer a more classic vibe."

"Alright Tartaros, put a Curse on his Pokemon to start!" Morty commanded. The Gengar cackled maliciously, opening its mouth and flexing its oddly long tongue at the chunky rat. An almost spectral nail appeared, driving itself into the side of Gengar's body as a small black sprite appeared, encircling Ratz' body and imitating Gengar's cackle. Ratz flinched, but continued its strange little maneuver. Its muscles bulged a little as it prepared for the next command. Both Pokemon were already looking a little rough, but each was clearly preparing for something.

Gym Battle: VS Morty

---

Weather: Gym-my

[attr="class","qkt-bkgd"]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]
Tartaros LV 34
HP 51% [48/95]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]
Ratz LV 36
HP 75% [72/96]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

Morty's Tartaros [Cursed Body]: Status, Holding Sitrus Berry
Ethan's Ratz [Guts]: Badly Poisoned (Holding Toxic Orb), Cursed, ATK +2

SP90 Tartaros used Curse! Ratz is now cursed!
SP86 Ratz used Swords Dance! Ratz' attack rose sharply!
Ratz was hurt by the curse!
Ratz was poisoned by its Toxic Orb!

[Tiki]

"Rough sailors? That sounds typical of sailors," Ethan chuckled at Morty. While he would not mind going to Olivine City after this, there would be a few things for him to do before he would go toward the next city. He would have to research and train for the next gym, but he wasn't at all concerned for that in the kind of future.

"Unfortunately for him, I got the Shedinja after I cleared the Hive Badge," Ethan replied, shrugging without concern. "I'm sure he sees plenty of bugs every day, right? Other ghost types might not work well with the atmosphere I like the create." Then, he focused his attention to watch the battle commence.

He watched as the move Curse continue. He was a little confused at the spectral nail and the sprite. The Gengar did something strange and unsettling. "What did the Gengar just do? That looked uncomfortable and possibly painful for the Gengar."

"Well, we're both defensive on that last turn, but now it's time to switch. Ratz, go for a Crunch!" He ordered. The Raticate squeaked menacingly, and began sprinting toward the ghost. There can only be one Pokemon making kids scared tonight, and it won't be a ghost, but your unrecognized roommate.

[Avalon]

If someone were to kick in the door and issue a challenge while proclaiming themselves as some famous DJ, the natural assumption would be that they were just some bragadocious loudmouth. But it was clear that Ethan wasn't either of those things. It was nice to see someone on the same wavelength as him, Morty thought. He'd actually miss battling against DJ Berrythorn; though he still wasn't sure how he felt about that stage name.

"Alright Tartaros, we can't go down without putting up a fight of our own!" he called out to the spirit on his side of the field. Morty wasn't sure what Gengar could even do; its Curse had been laid, but it was clear that the orb attached to the rat's fur was inflicting it with some kind of poison. Purposefully poisoning your own Pokemon just to avoid a sleep strategy was an interesting strategy, though Morty wasn't sure if he could really condone such a tactic.

Regardless, Gengar launched itself forward, creating a ball of shadowy magical energy in its palms. But before it could launch the sphere, Ratz propelled itself forward, its fangs brimming with a dark energy of their own. The dark fangs pierced through the Shadow Ball in Gengar's hands, sinking into the ghost's shadowy body beyond that. Gengar flinched and let out a cry of pain, its body falling backwards and the ball of energy in its hands fading away. Gengar's eyes closed, and Morty knew he couldn't deny it anymore. The battle was won. Morty silently recalled Gengar, minimizing the Poke Ball and returning it to its home on his belt.

"You've bested all three of my ghostly partners. That's no easy feat. So congratulations are in order, Ethan!" Morty called out, crossing the battlefield to meet with his opponent. One of the gym staffers met him halfway, handing a small bundle of items to Morty before retreating to the sidelines. Morty offered these items to Ethan; a familiar looking Badge, a purple disk, and a small bundle of money. "Please, take these to commemorate your victory here today. And anytime your music career brings you through Ecruteak again, send an invite my way, I'd love to see you in your other element sometime."

Kricketune stole another level while sitting on its buggy butt! Kricketune is now Level 14!
Kricketune is trying to learn Absorb!


Ratz is trying to get the taste of poison out of its mouth, but won anyway! Ratz gained 1700 EXP! (2373/3997)
Ratz also gained +1 Happiness!


For defeating Gym Leader Morty, Ethan has received the Fog Badge, TM30 Shadow Ball, and $3,720!
Surf can also now be used outside of battle!

[Tiki]

Ethan quietly watched as the battle unfolded again. His neutral face gradually turned to a smirk as the Gengar conjured a Shadow Ball. He knew his strategy worked. By getting his Raticate poisoned with that purple orb he obtained from another trainer, he locked Morty from using Hypnosis on him. His Raticate's normal type would naturally block off the Shadow Ball from doing anything. With Curse being executed, if the Gengar used it again, it was the end for the Gengar itself.

When he saw that his Raticate ended victorious over the subconscious Gengar, his faint smile turned to a bigger smile. He thanked his Raticate as well for his help, and returned the rodent. "Thank you, Morty. I had fun battled with you. Thank you also for giving me some Johto travel advice. Once I finished up with Ecruteak, I'll move on to Olivine as well." He thanked the gym leader and grabbed his prizes. He did wonder if he'll even have enough audience to do a show in Ecruteak, and he wasn't even thinking about the venue problem. Well, for now, he'll have to rest up his Pokemon.

No Absorb.