The Fog Badge (Chapter)

Morty, the fourth Gym Leader of Johto had found these Pokemon Trainers shortly after they had inadvertently killed both a corrupted Kuroaki and Toukai. But, as he disappeared, something in Kuroaki's eyes stuck in Machine's eyes. There was something strange going on and no matter what, he couldn't shake it. He pondered on it until Yellow took his hand. He couldn't help but smile at her as they walked with Morty towards the next city, Olivine City where, Jasmine, the sixth Gym Leader was located.

"So... Morty, where is everyone that lived in Ecruteak City?" Hakel asked as the Pokedex Holders walked behind him. "Did that earthquake really make EVERYONE there leave?"

Morty laughed and said, "You're insinuating that we left for another reason?"

"Well... not impose on your help for leading us to Olivine City, but yeah, kind of." Hakel said, nervously laughing at Morty's quick thinking.

"Well, no. That earthquake was not the thing that drove us out of our city." Morty said.

"It wasn't?" Silver asked. "Then what was?"

"… Unfortunately... Team Rocket." Morty said as all the Pokedex Holders' eyes opened wide.

"Team Rocket?!" All the Pokedex Holders shouted surprised although they already knew the team had returned. They couldn't allow Morty to know more than he needed to know.

"Yeah and by my knowledge... the Pokedex Holders had broken them apart a few years ago." Morty said. "Am I correct?"

"You're right Morty but... there have been some complications recently." Gold said, not telling who they found out the new leader of Team Rocket was. In all honesty, they didn't know themselves. It was just a Masked Man, who was more powerful than them. But they didn't know who it was under the hood. Besides, if they did, they wouldn't tell Morty. They didn't want to worry people that weren't of great importance.

"Complications?" Morty asked, raising an eyebrow at them. "What the hell do you mean?"

"It doesn't matter really. It's something that we need to worry about as Pokedex Holders." Machine said, holding his arms outwards.

"Are you sure?" Morty asked. "Why don't you ask for anyone else's help? The Gym Leaders could definitely help you out."

"It'd be better if you didn't persist with this, Morty. It's our business and that's it." Hakel said as they all nodded.

"I'm just saying that-"

"Morty, don't." Machine said assertively. "Let's just stick to getting to Olivine. And then, I'm challenging you to a Gym battle, Morty."

"A Gym Battle?" Morty asked looking at how confident Machine was in himself. "Are you sure you're not too shaken up from that last battle you had?"

"I'm more than positive, Morty. I'm ready to battle you. I-" Machine started to say, however, Yellow put a hand on his shoulder. The look in her eyes told Machine what she didn't need to say. "Actually, Morty, give us all a day to recuperate. You may be right about what you're saying."

"Are you sure about this choice then?" Morty asked as Machine nodded. "Very well then. When we arrive in Olivine City, I will ask Miss Jasmine to get you rooms in the shipping town. But, tomorrow, after we have our match, I cannot except anymore for awhile."

"What?! Why not?" Kusa asked as Morty laughed at her response.

"No need to be worried about it, Pokedex Holders. It is something that you may not be very interested in." Morty said as they arrived on the Route that led directly into Olivine City. "Machine, be ready for me tomorrow. It won't be as easy as the first three Gym Leaders were."

"Morty, hold on a second..." Machine said, realizing that he could do something with this opportunity. "Instead of just having one single battle against one another, why don't we just have one battle... and you take on me, Hakel, and Kusa?"

"Are you suggesting that you do a three against one match? Isn't that a little bit over-the-top, Machine? I'd have no chance of beating you all with just my Pokemon." Morty said as Machine shook his head.

"No, that's not what I mean. Well, yes, I meant that we will all take you on, however, we all use ONE Pokemon against three of yours." Machine said, making Morty intrigued.

"I've got an even better idea." Morty said. "To make you all believe how powerful the next few Gym Leaders will be, how about I take the three of you on with just ONE of my Pokemon. However, the three of you will also choose one Pokemon."

"Hmm..." Machine said as he turned to Hakel and Kusa. They both nodded at him giving him their indefinite message. "You know, Morty? You've got yourself a challenge."

"Very well, Machine, Hakel, and Kusa. Tomorrow around noon, you will face me all at once. That way, you can all earn the Fog Badge at the same time." Morty said as he shook Machine, Hakel, and Kusa's hand. "Now, let us make our way into the city and find Miss Jasmine. She will be able to find some place to sleep for the night." The Pokedex Holders nodded to Morty and they all headed into Olivine City. Jasmine's Gym was right next to them right when they entered the town soon after.

However, after Morty searched for Jasmine, he came out and shrugged his shoulders. He then told them to wait for him where they stood because he wanted to check another place. Morty ran over to a tall Lighthouse that was dimmed. As far as their knowledge with that went, they were a bit clueless. However, they did know that Lighthouse's lit the way for ships to come into port at nighttime. There was no light coming from the Lighthouse and because Olivine City was right by the city, that must have meant that any ship's coming in at night or through random fog, they couldn't do that whatsoever. That troubled the Pokedex Holders greatly and they wondered why. A few minutes later, after Morty returned without Jasmine, he explained what had happened.

"What happened, Morty? Where is Jasmine?" Gold asked.

"According to what she had told me... it turns out that she is taking care of a sick Ampharos that normally lights the tower. However, shortly after I went to investigate Ecruteak City, I found you guys. Unfortunately, while I was gone, the Ampharos grew deathly ill and it's light was dimmed in the Lighthouse. Now, until Ampharos gets better, the Lighthouse will not be lit." Morty said as the Pokedex Holders sighed.

"Fortunately for you, even in times of stress and pain, Jasmine knows how to stay calm and collected. She's a bit emotionless at times, however, she knows how important you guys are. She has given me her key for her Gym. In her Gym, which I didn't know, are a few rooms left for you guys to sleep in. In fact, I think I'll give you the key to her Gym. You all seem like respectable people. Here, take it." Morty handed over the key to Machine and he took it willingly. "Until tomorrow, my friends."

"Til tomorrow, Morty." Machine said as Morty nodded to him and raced away from them, over to the Pokemon Center which was obviously too packed for them anyway. They were content with sleeping in Jasmine's Gym, even if it was going to be an uncomfortable sleep. As they entered the Gym, to their surprise, there was a silver-coated walkway that led straight to the backrooms where four different doors. Machine and Yellow shared the first one, Hakel and Kusa shared the second one, Gold and Crystal shared one, and Silver had his own.

There were very comfortable bedrooms actually. Everyone fell asleep soon after lying in their beds. However, shortly after Silver was sure everyone else was asleep, he woke up and headed out of the window of the Gym. When he stepped out onto the side of the building, he looked to see that Gold was leaving as well.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Gold and Silver asked each other quietly, despite being mad at one another for what they were doing. They both then sighed and nodded to one another.

"I think we're both going for the same thing." Silver said, as Gold tossed back his second glove that he left behind. "You had my glove?"

"Yeah, since the first time we met." Gold said as he took out his Pokegear, shutting the window behind him silently. Silver did the same as they both jumped onto the ground. "We're both going for the Masked Man. And according to my Pokegear, there has been a strange occurrence at Mahogany Town's Lake of Rage. I'm pretty sure that's where the Masked Man will be. I'm thinking that Team Rocket or the Reddosuta Shikaku."

"Alright then, that's where we'll go." Silver said as Gold nodded to him. "Let's just hope that it's not the latter of the two." Silver and Gold then disappeared into the darkness, as they headed for Mahogany Town.

On top of the Gym, Machine stood there, watching them leave. Inside of the Gym, the only people that were asleep were now Yellow, Kusa, and Crystal.

Hakel hopped behind Machine as Machine said, "Those fools. We'll lose them before they even get close to the Masked Man."

"Do you think we should stop them?" Hakel asked as Machine shook his head.

"No. Even though I don't agree with Gold and Silver's decision, they are highly capable of doing what they are trying to do. They just need to listen to their Pokemon and attack with all of their strength." Machine said as he stood up. Hakel moved backwards on top of the roof as Machine turned around to him. "Hakel, come with me to Route 40. We have some things to discuss."

"What do you mean?" Hakel asked as Machine just urged his best friend to follow him. Hakel shrugged his shoulders and watched as Machine hopped off of the roof onto the ground. Hakel jumped after him as they both headed for Route 40, which was just outside of Olivine City. It led to the next Cianwood City, where the fifth Gym Leader was located.

As they arrived on Route 40, Machine stopped and put his feet in the sand, watching as the water from the ocean in front of them washed onto the field. Hakel stood a few feet behind him, trying to understand what he wanted to talk about.

"Machine..." Hakel said as Machine put his arms out and allowed the wind from the sea brush against his body. Machine sighed and centered himself once again, turning to Hakel.

"Hakel, before I ask you what I brought you here to ask, I want to tell you something. Will you listen to what I have to say?" Machine asked.

"Depends on what you have to say." Hakel said as Machine sighed. "But, forget about that. Just tell what have to say."

"Well..." Machine said as he closed his eyes and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I have to say... This scene reminds of me when I was a kid."

"It does? How so?" Hakel asked as Machine turned to the ocean again and stared into the dark waters that lay ahead.

"When I was little... my family and I used to go to Slateport City and hang out at the beach..." Machine said as he stared at his feet touch the water that washed onto the shore. "It's funny... ever since I have gotten these damned appendages, everything was always the same to me. The same touch but this time... I don't know why but I can feel the water touch the metal on my feet. But I digress... I remember one time when we were out at the beach and a Zangoose, out of nowhere, began attacking us and everyone on the beach... I didn't know what to do. All I could do, really, was sit back and watch my brother and my father take care of things. Ruby and my father, whoever he REALLY is, seemed to take on the Zangoose without any Pokemon. My brother was famous for doing that. He would take on powerful Pokemon with just his bare hands even though, I think, at this time, he was just ten years old.

"I can't really remember how old I was for some reason... Maybe I'm becoming too old for this... But anyway, my father was eventually pushed aside by the fury that Zangoose showed. It was all up to Ruby now... He faced against the raging Zangoose and managed to defeat it valiantly. But... how he finished it off, made it seem like he was much too strong for me even at ten years old..."

"How did he finish it off?" Hakel asked, intrigued with Machine's past.

"He... he somehow made a fatal blow by positioning himself in the air and then diverting his weight back at one of his fists. By doing that, and now I understand it because I really didn't then, he was able to launch himself from the sky and make a direct blow onto the Zangoose. Unfortunately, and I think I understand now, that he knew he had killed that Zangoose without really knowing it... That's why I need you to help me with something."

"What? Killing a Zangoose? Cause I don't think they're even in this region, Machine." Hakel said, being extremely sarcastic.

"Now, you wise ass." Machine said, sighing at his sarcasm. "I... I need to see my sister, Hakel... I love my sister too much to be away from her for this long. I've held in my sorrows and for all I know, she's been captured by the Reddosuta Shikaku right now... I want Sapphire to travel with me on my travels, meet all my friends, and I want her especially to meet Yellow. Even though I don't say it very much, I want to Sapphire, my REAL father, and yes... even Ruby again."

"Your REAL father?" Hakel asked. "What do you mean?"

"My... sister, Sapphire, sent me a letter a few months ago while we were still in Kanto. She said that... Ruby and her had found out who our real father was... Hakel, I'm only telling this to you because I know you may truly help me with this... By what they said, they made it seem like... Norman, is my true father. Have you heard of him before?" Machine asked as Hakel shook his head. "It makes sense. But the weird thing is... Norman may be hiding his identity."

"I understand, Machine. Even though I haven't heard much about this Norman character, I can already see what you're going to ask me." Hakel said, patting his friend on the back.

"You do?" Machine asked as Hakel nodded.

"Yes, I'd realized as soon as you brought me out here and began talking about you past... The entire time, you seemed a little on edge about the whole thing... And then, when you mentioned your sister, I put all pieces together. You want to spar with me to learn how to become stronger than your brother. Am I right?"

"Yeah... That's right. And since you're the only person that knows true martial arts, I want to spar with you to get my technique up. That's the only way I'll save Sapphire, beat my brother, and bring my family as one once more..." Machine said as Hakel nodded to him.

"Very well, Machine. I will help you out. Let us start right now." Hakel said as Machine threw off his jacket and tossed his two shoes on his jacket. The two shoes landed on his jacket making it stay in place.

"Let's do this, man. No holding back either." Machine said as Hakel nodded. From that point, there was no more talking. Machine and Hakel went full strength on one another, and only their grunts and strikes were heard through the wind. Machine and Hakel didn't even realize that but they had become closer, as they both had learned something from their experience.

The next day, after their training had ended, they walked back into Olivine where Morty and the rest of the Pokedex Holders were waiting for them. They hadn't realized it but they must have collapsed on the shore of Route 40 and then hadn't woken up till just now.

"Are you all ready?" Morty asked as Kusa, Machine, and Hakel nodded to him. "Very well then. May I ask all non-combatants to step back?" Crystal and Yellow nodded to him and stepped back, off to the sidelines where they could watch the battle unfold. The battle was going to take place in the middle of Olivine City where everyone in the town and from both incoming route's could watch. "Let's get started then! Let's go, Gengar!" Morty tossed out his strongest Pokemon, Gengar onto the field in front of his three challengers.

"Gengar, huh?" Machine asked as he took out a Poke Ball from his pocket. "Then I'll choose... Croconaw, let's go!" Machine tossed his Croconaw's Poke Ball up into the air, releasing his Pokemon onto the field.

"Very well then! Come out, Meganium!" Hakel shouted, tossing his Meganium's Poke Ball up into the air. It landed on the ground and released his Meganium from it, that stood next to Machine's Croconaw.

"Guess it's my turn now, huh?" Kusa asked taking out her Poke Ball. "I choose you, Quilava!" Kusa threw a Poke Ball up into the air, releasing her Quilava from its capsule.

"So..." Morty said, getting pumped. "It's the three starters against... my Gengar?"

"Yeah, sounds fair right?" Kusa asked as Morty smiled at them.

"This is going to be exciting! Gengar, go!" Morty shouted, beginning the match between his three challengers.

"I'll take care of this first guys! Follow up on my lead and strike Gengar down!" Kusa ordered as Machine and Hakel nodded to her, agreeing with her statement. "Alright, Quilava, let's go! Flame Wheel now!" Quilava charged forward, as it began to roll around the ground similar to how Whitney's Miltank did. Its body was then covered in flames as Morty smiled at them.

"Gengar, Shadow Ball!" Morty ordered as his Gengar created a ball of shadows in its hands. It then fired the attack at Quilava knocking it into the air.

"Croconaw, save Quilava and then blast Gengar with your Ice Beam!" Machine ordered as his Croconaw jumped into the air and saved Kusa's Quilava with ease. It then landed on the ground and shot a beam of ice from its mouth, freezing the air around it as it traveled.

"Gengar, dodge it and use your Night Shade!" Morty ordered as his Gengar's eyes glowed crimson red. Its hand shimmered in the same light as it fired a crimson and black colored beam from its hand that completely broke through Croconaw's Ice Beam.

"Quilava, Ember now! Deflect both of the moves!" Kusa ordered as her Quilava turned to Machine's Croconaw and deflected both moves with its embers even though that was most likely easier said than done.

"You're all doing very well but... it's not over yet!" Morty shouted as a large shadow appeared above Morty and his Gengar. They both looked up as they saw that it was Hakel's Meganium. It could jump extremely high for something so large. "Gengar, Night Shade and make it quick!"

"Meganium, Reflect now!" Hakel shouted as his Meganium created a shield of green energy around its body that barely defended it against Gengar's Night Shade. Meganium landed on the ground as Machine and Kusa sent out their Pokemon to attack. "Meganium, charge up your SolarBeam while they're running at Gengar!"

"I don't think so! Gengar, Confuse Ray on them all!" Morty shouted as his Gengar sent an orange glow of light so bright that the Trainers themselves had to shield their eyes to resist it. Unfortunately, when the light dimmed, their Pokemon weren't so fortunate.

"No!" Hakel shouted, angrily. He saw that the three Pokemon facing against Morty and his Gengar were confused, dazed, and utterly flabbergasted. They didn't no left from right or right from wrong.

"Gengar, use Night Shade now!" Morty ordered, taking this opportunity to make some direct hits against Machine, Hakel, and Kusa's Pokemon. The three starters were hit directly with Gengar's attack, sending them rolling all the way back over to their Trainers. "Are you going to surrender yet? Because this situation doesn't seem to be turning out in your favor."

"Morty's totally annihilating those three." Crystal said as Yellow nodded to her. "I don't understand, why don't they just attack from each side at once? That way, they could easily gang up on Morty's Gengar and take it down."

"See, that's where you'll be wrong, Crystal." Yellow said as Crystal rose an eyebrow at her confused. "Even if they attack from each sides as a unit, there's no guarantee that would work. Gengar will simply need to use a giant Shadow Ball or even blast them all back with a Night Shade and would eliminate the possibility or that strategy. But if they don't try it, they'll never know."

"If that plan doesn't work will they lose this battle?" Crystal asked as Yellow nodded to her. "But their my seniors! How could they lose?"

"Nobody's perfect, Crystal." Yellow said as Crystal sighed. "Not even the Pokedex Holders."

"So... what say you three?" Morty asked. "Will you continue?"

"Of course we will!" Machine shouted as their Pokemon stood in front of them, ready to battle once more. This is going worse than I thought it would... I thought by combining my strength with Hakel and Kusa's it would work but... it doesn't seem to be going that way... That Gengar's too fast... Would we be able to slow it down somehow?

"Very well! Let's us begin anew then! Gengar, Shadow Ball now!" Morty shouted as Gengar shot a large ball of darkness at the three starters.

"Croconaw, let's do it! Water Pledge now!" Machine shouted as Croconaw puts its hand to the ground. A blue light shone up at Croconaw as geysers of water shot up from the ground, destroying the Shadow Ball instantly. The geysers then headed for Gengar and threw him up into the air, unable to move. "Guys, before he gets on the ground! Tell your Pokemon to use Fire Pledge and Grass Pledge!"

"Are you talking about the moves that we taught our Pokemon a few days ago?" Hakel asked as Machine nodded. "Alright, finally, we get use that in battle!"

"I'll go next then! Quilava, Fire Pledge!" Kusa shouted as Quilava stomped its feet onto the ground as bursts of flame shot up from the ground and slammed into Gengar's back. He landed on the ground, as they all noticed something. Gengar was moving slower. His speed had been cut but... was it because of the combination of Water and Fire Pledge directly after one another?

"No time to think! Meganium, use Grass Pledge!" Hakel shouted as Meganium stomped its feet onto the ground. Leaves spinning at an incredibly fast rate were brought in from the trees in the previous Route that led them to Olivine. They all slammed into Gengar, creating an enormous amount of dirt to surround Morty and Gengar.

"Impressive!" Morty shouted through the smoke. "But... not strong enough to take down, Gengar! Shadow Claw now!" Gengar burst out of the ground, its claws covered in darkness. It then slashed Meganium, Quilava, and Croconaw onto the ground, making another heavy hit onto all three of their Pokemon.

"Meganium!"

"Quilava!"

"Croconaw!"

They all shouted as their Pokemon rolled onto the ground nearby them, seriously damaged from that last attack.

"Nice try, you three." Morty said as his Gengar jumped back over to him. "That was indeed an impressive assortments of attacks but my Gengar is simply too fast even with a speed reduction."

"So? That doesn't explain why all of our attacks did nothing on it!" Hakel shouted as Morty laughed at him.

"That's simple, Hakel. You see, because of the fact that my Gengar is a Ghost type Pokemon, I am able to make all attacks phase directly through his body. Then, by making it look like you were hitting my Gengar, you let your guard down, allowing my Gengar, which I had hidden under the ground after the last attack, to strike down your three Pokemon." Morty said as they all sighed. "Sorry but without a strategy to take me down, you'll never beat my Gengar!"

"That's what you think!" Machine shouted, as his Croconaw charged forward. "Together, we're an amazing team! We just haven't gotten serious yet!"

"Then show me how strong you all are!" Morty demanded as the three Pokedex Holders smiled at him.

"Very well! Quilava follow after Croconaw and don't attack Gengar until I saw so!" Kusa ordered as Machine smiled at her. He looked over to Hakel and gave him a smile as he saw him put a thumb up to him.

"Meganium!" Hakel shouted to his Pokemon. "Don't move." Meganium turned around to him with a surprised look on his face. "Trust me, Meganium. Just wait for the right time to attack. We'll win this yet." He smiled at Meganium as his Pokemon smiled back at him, staying in place as he watched Kusa and Machine fight.

"Croconaw, Ice Punch now!" Machine ordered as Croconaw jumped into the air above Gengar and pulled back its fist. It was covered in a ball of ice as he brought it down at Gengar.

"Quilava now! Flame Wheel on Morty's Gengar as fast as you can!" Kusa ordered as Quilava dashed forward, turning into a flaming ball of fire. Surprised by this, Morty's Gengar was hit directly with Quilava's attack. As Quilava sped past him, still covered in flames, Machine's Croconaw came down with its Ice Punch, making a direct hit onto Gengar's body. Gengar crashed onto the ground, rolling over to Morty. "Awesome! It looks like we got him, Machine!"

"Yup, nice working with you, Kusa!" Machine shouted as Morty raised an eyebrow at him.

"What are you two talking about?" Morty asked, as his Gengar started to get up slowly.

"Oh you'll see..." Machine said as he looked over to Hakel and nodded. Hakel nodded back to him and pointed to the sky.

"Meganium, now! SolarBeam at full blast!" Hakel shouted as Meganium burst out of the ground and fired an overpowered SolarBeam up at Gengar. Gengar was hit directly in the face by the attack, and was sent rocketing into the air. When he landed back on the ground, somehow or another, it was still able to get back up. "Damn, what an annoyance!"

"I see now..." Morty said as his Gengar stood back up and flexed, bringing its energy back up. "While Machine and Kusa distracted me, you told your Meganium to use Dig, which I didn't know Meganium could legitimately learn, and then burst out of the ground with a fully powered SolarBeam that would ultimately defeat my Gengar because it had been charging to full power while you were under the ground. But you forget one thing, my Gengar doesn't give up."

Can they really beat someone with such a powerful Pokemon? Nothing they're doing seems to be working... Yellow thought as her and Crystal looked distressed at how badly the battle was turning out.

Damn it! Machine thought angrily. That was the last idea we had! What the hell are we supposed to do now? Just as Machine was about to give up, he saw a bright light submerge Kusa's Quilava and Machine's Croconaw. "What-?" Finally, after waiting for this to happen for awhile now, Kusa and Machine's Pokemon were about to evolve into their final stages.

A bright light shone over the entire city, blocking out all eyesight in the city. Jasmine and the sick Ampharos jumped from the light that shone into the lighthouse. As the light shone into the house, Jasmine noticed that the Ampharos was regaining its composure once more. Eventually, it began to absorb some of the light coming from the evolutions of Quilava and Croconaw. When their evolutions had finally happened, the sick Ampharos had, for some reason, become healthy by absorbing energy from Quilava and Croconaw's evolutions. Ampharos stood back up and gave out its cry, lighting the entire lighthouse in a blinding flash. Jasmine gave Ampharos a hug, smiling because she was happy that the Ampharos had returned to health.

"Amphy!" Jasmine shouted, hugging the Ampharos, which may have been hers. She and her Ampharos walked to one of the windows of the lighthouse and looked down on the battle going on. "Amphy, they may be a challenge after all. Let's see how well they'll able to end this battle with Morty."

Back on the battlefield, after each of the lights around their Pokemon had diminished, Machine and Kusa had two new partners to use in battle. Machine's Croconaw had evolved into a Feraligatr and had learned how to use Ice Beam, which was amazingly powerful and very useful for Machine. Kusa's Quilava had evolved into a powerful Typhlosion and had learned Flamethrower, which could do serious damage if it was able to be used in conjunction with Meganium and Feraligatr.

"Awesome!" Machine shouted, looking at how powerful his Feraligatr was. He quickly scanned it with his Pokedex and got its data as well as its movepool which he seemed very happy with. Kusa did the same with about the same amount of enthusiasm even though she didn't have to say anything to show how excited she was. Machine and Kusa closed their Pokedex's and turned back to Morty and his Gengar, confident that they could beat him now. "Ready to get pulverized, Morty?"

"That's what you think, Machine! The three of you will not beat me just because you have evolutions! Bring it on, Gengar can take all of you down!" Morty shouted, challenging the three powerful Pokedex Holders.

"Oh yeah, Morty? How about we test that theory?" Kusa asked as Morty urged them to attack. "Fine, this is our last attack!"

"That's right, Kusa! Let's attack at once and defeat Morty's Gengar with a single blast of combined power!" Hakel shouted, ready to attack once again.

"On my mark..." Machine said, as the three of them pointed at Morty. "Feraligatr!"

"Typhlosion!" Kusa shouted to her newly evolved Pokemon.

"Meganium!" Hakel shouted as Meganium stood his ground, ready to attack.

"3! 2! 1!..." Machine shouted as he counted down the numbers on his fingers.

Then when the time was right to finish Morty off, they all shouted at once, "ATTACK!"

"Gengar, you attack as well!" Morty shouted as Gengar charged forward, directly at the three starter Pokemon that were charging at him.

"Meganium, SolarBeam now!" Hakel ordered as his Meganium jumped into the air and fired its attack down onto Morty's Gengar. Morty's Gengar jumped up and smacked away its attack, also knocking Meganium down in the process

"Typhlosion, Flamethrower now! Burn Gengar to a crisp!" Kusa ordered as Typhlosion jumped behind Morty's Gengar and fired a blast of dark red fire out of its mouth towards Gengar's back.

"Gengar turn around and blast it back with your Dark Pulse!" Morty ordered as his Gengar turned around to Typhlosion and blasted with a wave of dark energy. Kusa's Typhlosion skidded backwards and then jumped back over to Kusa.

"Fine then, Morty! Feraligatr, Water Gun on the ground now!" Machine ordered as Feraligatr did as it was told, shooting a gush of water onto the ground in front of him. "Now, Feraligatr slide on the water and then follow up with a spinning Ice Beam!" Feraligatr slid on the water in front of it and then, somehow, shot itself into the air. Feraligatr then opened its mouth, while spinning, sending a spinning spike of ice at Gengar.

"Gengar, Shadow Ball now!" Morty shouted as his Gengar shot a gigantic ball of darkness out of its hands towards Feraligatr's Ice Beam. Utterly annihilated, Feraligatr was thrown through the air back at Machine. "See?" Morty asked as Feraligatr quickly back up, not finished yet. "Just because your Pokemon evolved doesn't mean much in terms of strength or succeeding against my Gengar."

"Shut the hell up!" Machine ordered, shouting at him. "We'll attack at once then! Feraligatr, use Water Gun now!"

"Typhlosion, Flamethrower now!" Kusa ordered.

"Meganium, SolarBeam now!" Hakel ordered.

All three attacks converged in the middle, launching a powerful tri-elemental blast of water, fire, and grass types that headed straight for Gengar.

"Gengar, Shadow Ball now! Stop their move!" Morty ordered as his Gengar created an average sized ball of shadows that took on the tri-elemental attack made of water, fire, and grass. The two attacks battled against one another, struggling for what seemed like minutes between one another. Finally, the epitome of explosions was set off between the two attacks.

A bright light shone from both of the attacks, meaning that both attacks were exploding on one another. Everyone who had been watching tried to move out of the way before the explosions went off, however, they were too slow to escape from. The explosion went off, destroying the entire beach that they were battling on, breaking the dock under them as well as the boats around them. Strangely, the Lighthouse nor the houses or the Gym were not even partially affected by the explosions. When the smoke and whatnot had disappeared, they all realized they had fell into the water below the docks. Luckily, they all had thought to return their Pokemon to their Poke Ball's before the explosions went off and so, none of their Pokemon were actually hurt. After they saw that everyone had been there had been alright, they swam over to Route 40, which had been piled with tall dunes of sand from the dock that they were standing on.

When they all had arrived on the beach, Morty already had three Fog Badges out on his palms as he said, "Here. You three earned it with that."

"Huh?" Hakel asked, a little out of breath. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah, we didn't really win, Morty. All we did was make a giant explosion between our Pokemon." Kusa said as Morty smiled at them.

"Don't worry, you defeated my Gengar. Trust me." Morty said. "Right before the explosions had happened, my Gengar realized that it was going to be a giant explosion so it diverted part of the blast at itself. It was defeated in the process, even though right after that you called back your Pokemon."

"Are you sure? It doesn't seem right." Machine said as Morty nodded and laughed.

"Yeah, it's no big deal. Plus, you guys save the day everyday. You might as well get a bit of break with what I'm doing." Morty said as the three Pokedex Holders shrugged. Yellow and Crystal smiled at them, even though they were both draining the water out of their hair at the same time. The three winners of the battle, took the Fog Badge and shone it up at the sky. "Nice work guys, you all earned it."

"Thanks Morty." Machine said as the sunshine shone brightly on their new Fog Badges. And thank you, Feraligatr... You did an amazing job... Machine, Hakel, and Kusa then smiled at one another, giving each other a high five shortly afterward. "So, Morty, where to go next?"

"Well... Sorry guys but I've... got somewhere to be right now. It's an important Gym Leader meeting over at the Indigo Plateau in Kanto. You guys should come and see me kick some ass at it." Morty said as they all raised an eyebrow at him. He then saluted them and disappeared in a blast of darkness, temporarily blinding the heroes. When they looked next, they were all completely dry, the sand dunes were gone from Route 40, and Olivine City was fixed, like nothing had happened in the first place.

Then, just as they started to head off to the next city on their Pokenav's map, Cianwood City, however, just as they started to leave, Machine, Kusa, Hakel, and Yellow had a vibration in their pocket. Crystal had a buzz on her wrist, where her Pokegear was put.

When they all turned on their gear, they saw a message that read, "Please, all Pokedex Holders head over to Indigo Plateau as soon as possible. The Gym Leader Conference is going to begin tomorrow and I would like you all to see it. Professor Elm had allowed your entrance to the Conference. Also, please watch out for Team Rocket, which I am sure you have learned has re-surfaced and the Reddosuta Shikaku. That may be your only chance to defeat them. Good luck." The message was from Professor Pine.

They didn't know what this "Gym Leader Conference" thing really was, however, it sounded very interesting. If this was what Morty was just talking about before he left, they had to go. So, without further adieu, Machine called out his Charizard and they all rode on it to the Indigo Plateau. With all of his heart and soul, he really hoped that Gold and Silver were going to appear there as well. Hopefully, they were alright and hadn't been captured by the Masked Man.