They had finally arrived in Ecruteak City!
"Ash, what Pokémon did you actually catch with that Ultra Ball? You've been grinning the whole way!"
Ecruteak City was right in front of them. Usually, Ash would be the first to run into the city in excitement. But now, he was just holding an Ultra Ball, giggling like a fool!
Misty couldn't take it anymore. Had Ash finally lost his mind?
"Ash, are you okay?" Molly asked, looking worried.
Brock, however, knew Ash well. "If he had to use an Ultra Ball, could it be Suicune?"
Misty and Brock had seen Ash summon Suicune before and were shocked by the connection he had made with it.
Finally, Ash snapped out of it and tucked the Ultra Ball away. "It's not Suicune, but I'll catch that one eventually too."
If it wasn't Suicune, what was it?
Brock and Misty didn't press him further. They finally entered Ecruteak City. From a distance, they could already see the Bell Tower, the city's symbol. The Ecruteak Gym should be somewhere nearby.
As they expected of a historic city, the buildings of Ecruteak had a timeless, ancient charm.
Following the travel brochure, Brock led them to a grand courtyard, only to find a dilapidated, seemingly fire-ravaged tower.
"This is the Ecruteak Gym?" Misty asked, looking skeptical.
It clearly wasn't!
"This is the Burned Tower!" Ash explained. "Let's go take a look! Molly, come down."
"Burned Tower?" Misty found herself relying on Ash for information more and more.
"There used to be two towers in Ecruteak City. Hundreds of years ago, this one was destroyed in a great fire. Three Pokémon were trapped inside and died, but Ho-Oh resurrected them, giving birth to..."
Before Ash could finish, Molly raised her hand to answer. "I know! I know!"
"It was Entei, Suicune, and Raikou!" Ash considered Molly to be Entei's daughter, so she knew the legends of Entei very well.
Brock examined the pillars. "You're right. This fire didn't happen recently. It looks very old!"
"Pika!"
Pikachu suddenly gave a warning. Immediately, blazing flames erupted all around them!
Misty and Brock panicked instantly. "Run! Get out of here!"
However, the flames surrounded them completely. There was no way out!
Ash didn't move an inch, and Molly stayed calm in his arms. she trusted her big brother Ash implicitly; as long as he was there, she was safe!
"Brock, Misty, don't panic. Look closely. These flames have no smoke and no heat!" Ash reached out and put his hand into the fire without suffering any harm.
Once they calmed down, Ash tossed out Noctowl's Poké Ball. "Use Foresight!"
Noctowl's eyes glowed with red light. The Foresight move could reveal the true forms of invisible Ghost type Pokémon and break through their illusions!
Sure enough, the flames vanished, and several Gastly appeared before them.
Ash had encountered Gastly many times on his journey.
In his previous life, or rather, when he was in Saffron City, he had become friends with a Haunter. It had brought a smile back to the lonely Sabrina and opened her heart, which helped him earn the Marsh Badge.
However, Ash had never met one with high compatibility. Gastly were mischievous by nature, and even after evolving into Gengar, they never lost their love for pranks.
The Gengar line generally had very low compatibility with Ash, but he was determined to get one!
Ash shook his head. "Let's go."
These Gastly had clearly made this dark tower their nest. It was they who had disturbed the Pokémon's lives; it was best to leave quickly!
The group nodded and followed Ash and Noctowl toward the exit, but they ran into someone at the door.
"Who are you?" the man asked. He had apparently heard about the disturbance in the Burned Tower and come to investigate.
Ash set Molly down. "Hello. I'm Ash from Pallet Town. I've come to challenge the Ecruteak Gym!"
"I see. The fact that you could leave the Burned Tower so quickly shows you're a very skilled Trainer. I accept your challenge!" the man said with a smile. "I am Morty, the Ecruteak Gym Leader!"
"Please, follow me!"
The real Ecruteak Gym was a modest ancient building. It was dim inside, shielded from the sun, making it a perfect environment for Pokémon like Gastly.
Morty had been demonstrating the abilities of Ghost type Pokémon to the local children before a Gengar reported the noise at the Burned Tower, prompting him to rush over.
"Sorry, everyone, I'm back! Now, as I was saying, Haunter type Pokémon are experts at sabotaging their opponents. If used correctly, these moves can be even more effective than direct attacks!"
That was the Ghost type style of combat.
"Today, we have a challenger!" Morty turned to Ash. "Ash, would you mind if I let these children observe our Gym match?"
"We're counting on you!" The children were very polite.
Ash naturally wouldn't refuse; he didn't mind the audience at all.
"Then the Gym challenge will begin. It will be a three-on-three match. Begin!"
According to Gym rules, Morty had to send out his Pokémon first, and only the challenger had the right to switch.
"Go, Gastly!"
"Noctowl, I choose you!"
Misty and Brock were stunned that Ash led with Noctowl. With its Foresight skill to counter the invisibility of Ghost types, Noctowl should have been his ace!
However, Ash's strength was on a whole different level now.
"My aces come one after another!" Ash smiled confidently and struck first. "Noctowl, Foresight!"
"Gastly, dodge it!"
Red light shot from Noctowl's eyes, but Gastly's figure vanished, successfully avoiding the Foresight.
Ash didn't use his Aura Power to locate Gastly. Instead, he commanded, "This is a battle. Even if it disappears, Gastly is still on the field!"
Hearing this, Morty grew anxious. "Gastly, look out!"
"Noctowl, use Confusion to cover the entire field! Let's see where you can hide!" Ash commanded imperiously. Noctowl tilted its head, and the V-shaped markings above its eyes glowed with blue light!
The Confusion energy blanketed the arena, leaving Gastly with nowhere to hide. Psychic moves were super effective against it!
"Use Air Slash!"
The finishing blow was the Flying type Air Slash. Gastly's gaseous body was instantly incapacitated!
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