On a Night Like This

3. Morty

Morty watched with curiosity as Ethan approached the podium. He was so young that a Silph Co. assistant had to lower the microphone before he could reach it.

"Hi, everybody!" Ethan addressed the crowd. He didn't appear the slightest bit intimidated by the prospect of speaking to a roomful of the most influential people in Kanto and Johto.

That was impressive, for a boy his age. But considering it was Ethan, Morty wasn't surprised.

"The president of Silph Co. asked me to talk about the Master Ball, so here goes. I'm lucky enough to have one already, thanks to Professor Elm." Ethan waved at one of the Pokémon professors, who glowed with pride. "The Master Ball is going to change the world. All you have to do is throw it, and the Pokémon you're after is yours. I used mine to catch the legendary Ho-Oh!"

At this, the audience began to clap. Morty followed suit, but groaned inwardly.

"It's a great Poké Ball," Ethan continued, "and I know lots of people worked hard to make it, so let's give it up for Silph Co. too, okay?" The room erupted into applause. "And I guess that's all I have to say. Have a good night!"

So Ethan had caught Ho-Oh with a Master Ball. Anyone could have done that. He could've done that.

But no, that wasn't true. After all these years, Morty hadn't so much as encountered Ho-Oh. He'd never been strong enough, could never train hard enough. He wasn't worthy of Ho-Oh's presence.

Not like Ethan.

Ethan was still a child, and he'd already accomplished what Morty had been working toward his whole life. Before Ethan had come along, he'd trained with the goal of summoning Ho-Oh. Now he was just training. For nothing.

"Morty! There you are!" A familiar voice roused him from his thoughts, and the color pink flashed before his eyes.

Whitney. Of course.

The Goldenrod Gym Leader threw her arms around him in greeting, nearly spilling her champagne on him in the process.

"Hey, Whitney." He returned the gesture with his left hand, tightly gripping his own glass in his right.

She'd caught him off guard. Whitney didn't hug him. Or, not before tonight, she hadn't. Which wasn't to say he minded, but he wondered if she was enjoying the free champagne a bit too much.

Even as she let go, she stood closer than usual. "So what's it like, actually stepping outside your dark, depressing gym?"

"I'm not always at my gym," he insisted.

Though he had been spending a lot of time there lately. It wasn't that he meant to. He just didn't know what to do with himself anymore.

"Training in that creepy tower down the road doesn't count." She giggled. "Seriously, Morty, you need to have more fun. Come back to Goldenrod sometime. Then you'll have fun. I'll make sure."

He allowed himself a small smile. "Maybe."

Not long ago, he'd run into Whitney while shopping for TMs at the Goldenrod Department Store. After some initial resistance on his part, he'd found himself agreeing to a whirlwind tour of the city in which she'd managed to get them lost in the underground despite having lived there for years. Then, just when he'd thought she was done with him, she'd convinced him to accompany her to the newly opened Johto Battle Frontier. It had taken up an entire day that he'd planned to spend training. It was also, when he thought about it, the best time he'd had in a while.

"Well, at least you're here. I thought you'd blow off the party for another night in the dark."

She'd been thinking about him, he realized. And then he dismissed the thought, asking himself why that even mattered.