Morty
マツバ Matsuba
"The Mystic Seer of the Future"
HeartGold SoulSilver Morty.png
Art from HeartGold and SoulSilver by Ken Sugimori[1]
Gender Male
Eye color Brown*, Purple*
Hair color Blond
Hometown Ecruteak City
Region Johto
Trainer class Gym LeaderGSCHGSS
Pokémon TrainerB2W2
Generation II, IV, V
Games Gold, Silver, Crystal, HeartGold, SoulSilver, Black 2, White 2, Pokémon Stadium 2, Masters EX
Leader of Ecruteak Gym
Badge Fog Badge
Specializes in Ghost types
Game animation debut GOTCHA!
English voice actor Brian Hanford[2] (Masters EX)
Japanese voice actor Hiroshi Kamiya[3] (Masters EX)
Anime debut A Ghost of a Chance
English voice actor Andrew Rannells
Japanese voice actor Masaya Matsukaze

Morty (Japanese: マツバ Matsuba) is the Gym Leader of Ecruteak City's Gym, known officially as the Ecruteak Gym. He hands out the Fog Badge to Trainers who defeat him. He specializes in Ghost-type Pokémon.

In the core series games

Morty appears in Pokémon Gold, Silver, Crystal, HeartGold, and SoulSilver, where he is the fourth Gym Leader to be encountered. A user of the Ghost type, Morty is known as "The Mystic Seer of the Future". Morty is a follower of legendary Pokémon, and trains in Ecruteak so he may be able to see the rainbow bird Ho-Oh. He is friends with Eusine.

The body of Morty's Gym is a dark pit. Trainers appear to float over it, standing on an invisible floor. Some Trainers are scared away by the ghosts within the Gym. A challenger able to navigate along the invisible floor can safely reach Morty and challenge him. Once defeated, he will yield the Fog Badge, and TM30 (Shadow Ball).

Morty does not spend all of his time in Ecruteak Gym. In Crystal, HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions, he will join Eusine in the Burned Tower where they study the legendary Pokémon Suicune, Entei, and Raikou. In HeartGold and SoulSilver, he will also take Mondays and Tuesdays off once initially defeated to visit Bellchime Trail. Here, he will give his Pokégear phone number to the player. If called on Tuesday night, Morty will arrange to travel to the Fighting Dojo in Saffron City for a rematch with a stronger team of Pokémon.

Morty's outfit changed drastically between Generations II and IV. The artwork released with Gold and Silver showed him wearing mainly blue. This design was carried through into the anime and manga. However, his outfit was completely changed for HeartGold and SoulSilver: Morty now dons clothes of black and purple, like many of the Pokémon in his possession. Morty has shoulder-length golden-blond hair that is kept away from his face by a wide headband that matches his scarf.

Pokémon

Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal



Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver

Gym battle



Rematch



Pokémon Black 2 and White 2

Pokémon World Tournament

Morty uses three of these Pokémon in Single Battles, four in Double and Rotation Battles, and all six in Triple Battles. Morty will always lead with his signature Pokémon, Gengar.

Johto Leaders Tournament



Type Expert/World Leaders Tournament



Challenge the Champion Lance!



In the side series games

Pokémon Stadium 2

Morty appears in Pokémon Stadium 2's Johto Gym Leader Castle. Due to the small amount of Ghost-type Pokémon that existed in Generation II, the majority of his team consists of Pokémon of other types.

During the game's end credits, he is seen having a battle with Lt. Surge.

Pokémon

Round 1



Round 2



In the spin-off games

Pokémon Puzzle Challenge

Morty appears as an opponent in Pokémon Puzzle Challenge. He uses a Gastly to battle.

Pokémon Masters EX

Main article: Morty (Masters)

Morty forms a sync pair with Drifblim, Mismagius, Banette, Shiny Ho-Oh, and Gastly in Pokémon Masters EX. His Banette is capable of Mega Evolving. Morty became a playable sync pair on July 15, 2020.

Morty has also made notable appearances in one of the game's Main Stories, the Villain Arc.

Sync Dex Trainer NDex Pokémon Type Weakness Role Base Potential Availability
#099   Morty #0426   Drifblim
Ghost
 
Electric
 
  ★★★★★☆EX Sync Pair Scout
#099   Morty #0429   Mismagius
Ghost
 
Dark
 
  ★★★★☆☆EX Battle Points
#099   Fall 2021
Morty
#0354   Banette
  Mega Banette
Ghost
 
Dark
 
  ★★★★★☆EX Seasonal Sync Pair Scout
#099   Sygna Suit
Morty
#0250   Ho-Oh 
Fire
 
Electric
 
  ★★★★★☆EX Poké Fair Sync Pair Scout
#099   Morty #0092   Gastly
Ghost
 
Dark
 
  ★★★★☆☆EX Trainer Lodge Friendship Level 100

Gallery

Artwork

     
Headshot from
Generation II
Official artwork
from Crystal
Artwork from the
Game Freak website

Sprites

In the core series

       
Sprite from
Generation II
Sprite from
HeartGold and SoulSilver
VS sprite from
HeartGold and SoulSilver
Sprite from
Black 2 and White 2
     
Overworld sprite from
Generation II
Overworld sprite from
HeartGold and SoulSilver
Overworld sprite from
Black 2 and White 2

In other games

   
Portrait from
Puzzle Challenge
Portrait from
Stadium 2

Quotes

Main article: Morty/Quotes

In the anime

Main series

 
Morty in the anime

Morty's family has lived in Ecruteak City for centuries. He teaches classes on training Ghost types at the Ecruteak Gym, and his students also have the privilege of watching him battle challengers.

Morty debuted in A Ghost of a Chance. Ash and his friends met him after they mistakenly went to the Burned Tower, thinking it was the Gym. Its resident Ghost Pokémon had created an illusion of fire to scare the Trainers away, but Morty settled them down and introduced himself as the Gym Leader. He told them about the legend of Ho-Oh and the two towers of Ecruteak. When Ash claimed he had seen Ho-Oh, Morty didn't believe him. Later, when Team Rocket kidnapped Pikachu and Togepi, he used his powerful Gengar to stop them.

In From Ghost to Ghost, Ash and Morty had their Gym battle. Ash was able to defeat him by relying on his Noctowl's newly-learned Confusion and Foresight to weaken Morty's Ghost Pokémon. After Morty was defeated, he said he now believed that Ash may very well have seen Ho-Oh, given the great spirit he showed.

Ash and his friends passed through Ecruteak on their way to Mahogany Town in For Ho-Oh the Bells Toll!. They caught up with Morty and his close friend Eusine, after the Tin Tower's Crystal Bells were stolen by Team Rocket. Morty witnessed Suicune arriving on the scene and sending the trio blasting off.

Morty appeared during a flashback in Why? Wynaut!. He later reappeared alongside Whitney in another flashback in Bagged Then Tagged!, where it was revealed that Lyra's next Gym challenge was supposed to be one of them.

Character

Morty is generally calm. He is also knowledgeable about the legends surrounding Ecruteak City and Ho-Oh. Aside from Ghost Pokémon being his specialty, Morty also communicates with them and is great friends with the wild Ghost-types that live in the Burned Tower.

Morty is a strategic battler. He utilizes trickery like Mean Look to prevent a challenger from recalling their Pokémon from the match, which is otherwise a guaranteed privilege in all League Gyms. The Ghost-type's invisibility and type immunity to Normal-type Pokémon works in Morty's favor. He also knows that most Ghost Pokémon lack physical power, and relies on disabling his opponent by confusing or frightening them.

Pokémon

On hand

This article is missing information on this character's English voice actor and Japanese voice actor.
You can help by adding this information.


This listing is of Morty's Pokémon in the Pokémon anime.

 
Gengar
Main article: Morty's Gengar

Gengar is always out of its Poké Ball and hiding in the shadows, always coming out whenever Morty needs it. It loves to play tricks on people, especially on those who enter the Burned Tower.

Debut A Ghost of a Chance
Voice actors
Japanese Katsuyuki Konishi
English Ed Paul
 
Gastly
Morty sent out his Gastly as the first Pokémon he used in his match against Ash. Ash started with Noctowl, using Foresight to make Gastly vulnerable to physical attacks, but switched for Pikachu shortly afterward. Gastly defeated Pikachu easily but was then defeated by Ash's Cyndaquil.

Gastly's known moves are Night Shade and Lick.

Debut From Ghost to Ghost
Voice actors
Japanese
English Ed Paul
 
Haunter
Haunter was the second Pokémon Morty used against Ash. It used Mean Look to force Ash to stick with Cyndaquil, and with Hypnosis and Lick, it won the round. Ash now had only Noctowl left to battle with. Things looked bad for Ash when Haunter managed to confuse Noctowl with its Confuse Ray and was ready to finish it with Night Shade, but then Noctowl learned how to use Confusion, and beat Haunter with one try.

It reappeared in a flashback in Why? Wynaut!.

Haunter's known moves are Mean Look, Hypnosis, Lick, Confuse Ray, and Night Shade.

Debut From Ghost to Ghost
Voice actors
Japanese Kōichi Sakaguchi
English Ed Paul
Befriended
 
Gastly (multiple)
Morty befriended the many Gastly that inhabit the Burned Tower. They usually try to ward off trespassers that enter the Burned Tower with illusions. Morty knows these Gastly so well that he can call upon them at any time, and he can even understand what they say to him.

Gastly's known moves are Night Shade and Hypnosis.

Debut From Ghost to Ghost
 
Haunter (multiple)
Like the Gastly, Morty befriended many Haunter that live the Burned Tower. They play tricks on people who make their way into the tower on accident by making them see illusions. Morty knows these Haunter so well that he can call upon them at any time, and he can even understand what they say to him.

Haunter reappeared in a flashback in Why? Wynaut!.

None of Haunter's moves are known.

Debut From Ghost to Ghost

Voice actors

Language Voice actor
Japanese 松風雅也 Masaya Matsukaze
English Andrew Rannells
Czech Petr Burian
Finnish Robert Walli
Italian Flavio Arras (EP227)
Polish Ireneusz Machnicki (EP181-EP182)
Aleksander Gawek (EP227)
Brazilian Portuguese Figueira Júnior (EP181-EP182)
Vágner Fagundes (EP227)
Spanish Latin America Arturo Mercado Jr. (EP181-EP182)
Unknown voice actor (EP227)
Spain Juan Sainz Maza


GOTCHA!

Morty briefly appeared in GOTCHA!.

Pokémon Evolutions

Morty appeared in The Show, where he and Gengar were among the audience watching the Kimono Girls performing a show.

Pokémon
 
Gengar

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

History

Gold, Silver & Crystal arc

Morty first appeared in Professor Elm's fantasy in Delibird Delivery - 1 when informing Gold that the Masked Man may be a Gym Leader.

Morty debuts in Misdreavus Misgivings, where he helps a young girl find her missing Girafarig. After helping her locate it, Morty is informed that Suicune had awakened while he was away from Ecruteak City. He immediately leaves to go search for Suicune, only to find that Suicune has already found him. They do battle, but Suicune eventually tries to escape. Suicune attempts to escape back into the village Morty was in, only to be paralyzed by Gastly's Thunderbolt. Morty uses this chance to throw a Great Ball at Suicune, only to find out that it was an illusion and that he is trapped in Suicune's Mirror Coat. The attack reflects the Thunderbolt back onto Misdreavus, defeating it and making Suicune the victor. Afterward, Morty reports his loss to his friend, Eusine.

 
Morty in the HeartGold & SoulSilver chapter

Morty later arrives in Ecruteak City, only to be immediately attacked by an injured Lt. Surge. Surge asks Morty if he can use his clairvoyance to find the owners of the items he found since they had fought the Masked Man and survived. Although not happy with being threatened at first, Morty accepts Lt. Surge's request.

Later, Morty and the other Johto Gym Leaders travel to the Indigo Plateau to have an exhibition match against the Kanto Gym Leaders for the Pokémon League. For his battle, Morty is paired up against Lt. Surge and is the fourth battle out of eight. During the battle, Lt. Surge manages to easily gain the upper hand, but Morty uses his Pokémon's abilities to manipulate energy and disable moves to make it even. Eventually the battle ends in a tie after Morty uses Destiny Bond to have both their Pokémon faint.

When Team Rocket attacks the League, Morty works with the other Gym Leaders to drive them back. The attack turns out to be a trap to get the Gym Leaders away from the stadium while the Masked Man wreaks havoc by trapping them on the Magnet Train. With the power of Raikou, Lt. Surge manages to get everyone back to the stadium to help find the Masked Man's true identity. After the final battle had finished, Morty and the other Gym Leaders returned to their normal jobs at their Gyms. Due to the new rule about Gym Badges allowing Trainers to go to the Pokémon League finals unconditionally, the Gym Leaders had more challenges.

HeartGold & SoulSilver arc

Morty is asked by Eusine to help Silver look for the Plates that Team Rocket is searching for. Since he was only told that Silver was a young man with a Pokédex, Morty accidentally mistakes Gold for Silver when they meet at Ecruteak City. Gold takes the opportunity to ask Morty to use his clairvoyance to search for Lance, who had gone missing. When Silver arrives at the Ecruteak Gym, he is attacked by Falkner, Chuck, and Bugsy, who were asked to guard the Gym for Morty due to repeated attackers demanding Morty use his powers for them. After explaining the situation, the three Gym Leaders let Silver in. After Morty finishes up Gold's request, Silver arrives, cluing Morty into the mistake he made. Before they can continue, Arceus appears and destroys most of the Gym in one attack.

Morty and the others survive the attack, but are greatly exhausted from the chaos it caused. Before Silver leaves, he asks Morty to use his clairvoyance to locate the thirteen remaining Plates in Johto. Morty does so, but immediately collapses due to an image of the Plates being superimposed over Arceus's silhouette. Morty manages to give Silver an image of the Plates' locations, but is too exhausted to help due to him spreading his ability on so many different places. When Silver leaves, Morty wishes him luck.

Character

Morty has the ability of clairvoyance, which allows him to locate items for other people, making him a natural version of the Itemfinder. Although he can find many things, he is only able to find things for other people and is unable to locate certain Legendary Pokémon such as Ho-Oh or Suicune.

Pokémon

This listing is for Morty's Pokémon in the Pokémon Adventures manga.

 
Misdreavus
Misdreavus is Morty's first known Pokémon. He assists Morty with his clairvoyance alongside Gastly. He was first seen being used to battle Suicune, but was paralyzed by Gastly's Thunderbolt after Suicune reflected the attack with Mirror Coat. At the Pokémon League, Misdreavus was used to battle Lt. Surge's Electabuzz, where he managed to share any damage taken with Pain Split. After Surge switched to Magnemite, Misdreavus used Destiny Bond to knock his opponent out after being hit by Zap Cannon, making the battle a tie. In the HeartGold & SoulSilver arc, Misdreavus was seen by his Trainer's side and later helped Morty search for Gold and Silver's requests.

Misdreavus's known moves are Psywave, Psybeam, Pain Split, and Destiny Bond, and his Ability is Levitate.

Debut Misdreavus Misgivings
 
Gastly
Gastly was first seen being used to battle Suicune. With his Thunderbolt, Gastly appeared to paralyze Suicune, but it turned out to be a trick and he only ended up hitting Misdreavus after the attack was reflected. Later, he fought Lt. Surge's Electabuzz at the Pokémon League. Electabuzz nearly easily defeated it with Thunder, but Gastly managed to prevent the move from being used with Spite before being switched with Misdreavus.

Gastly's known moves are Thunderbolt and Spite, and his Ability is Levitate.

Debut Misdreavus Misgivings

Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys

 
Morty in Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys

Morty first appears in The Legendary Pokémon telling Gold about the legendary beasts of Johto. Later, he attends the grand reopening of MooMoo Farm and then a month-long conference in Kanto the day after. Since he will be busy, he is unable to battle Gold and tells him to take the Fog Badge for free. Gold refuses and follows Morty to a Pokémon Tournament hosted by him. Gold wins the tournament but Morty still couldn't battle Gold as it is past sunset. As a result, Morty gives Gold the Fog Badge for doing a good job and promises to have an official battle for it with Gold someday.

He reappears in a flashback in Farewell To Pikachu?!.

Pokémon

 
Gengar
Main article: Morty's Gengar

Morty called out Gengar to stop a Spearow from stealing the satchel that contained Berries collected by Gold.

Debut A Promise Given to Miltank

Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure

 
Morty in Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure

Morty appeared in JBA2. He reappeared in a flashback in JBA5.

Pokémon

 
Haunter
Haunter was the first Pokémon Morty sent out to battle Jō's Totodile.

None of Haunter's moves are known.

Debut The Revived Team Rocket!!
 
Gengar
Main article: Morty's Gengar

Gengar was the next Pokémon Morty sent out to battle Jō's Totodile.

Debut The Revived Team Rocket!!

Pokémon Pocket Monsters

 
Morty in Pokémon Pocket Monsters

Morty appeared in The Legendary Ho-oh!!.

Pokémon

 
Gengar
Main article: Morty's Gengar

Gengar is Morty's only known Pokémon and his partner.

Debut The Legendary Ho-oh!!

In the TCG

This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Morty or his Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Morty's Pokémon
Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format.
Cards listed with a silver background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats.
Card Type English
Expansion
Rarity # Japanese
Expansion
Rarity #
Morty's Ninetales         Pokémon VS   020/141
Morty's Gengar         Pokémon VS   021/141
Morty's Hypno   Tyranitar Half Deck     Pokémon VS   022/141
Morty's Marowak         Pokémon VS   023/141
Morty's Noctowl         Pokémon VS   024/141
Morty's Murkrow         Pokémon VS   025/141
Morty's Misdreavus         Pokémon VS   026/141
Dusknoir   Brilliant Stars   TG06/TG30 VMAX Climax   198/184
Other related cards
Card Type English
Expansion
Rarity # Japanese
Expansion
Rarity #
Morty's TM 01 T [TM]       Pokémon VS   109/141
Morty's TM 02 T [TM]       Pokémon VS   110/141
Morty Su Lost Thunder   186/214 Fairy Rise   048/050
Lost Thunder   212/214 Fairy Rise   055/050
      Tag All Stars   155/173
 


Trivia

Names

Language Name Origin
Japanese マツバ Matsuba From 松葉 matsuba (pine needle), 末 matsu (end), and 魔 ma (evil spirits).
In Japan, the pine tree was considered to be a charm that can ward off evil spirits.
English,
Brazilian Portuguese
Morty From mortis (Latin for "of death")
German Jens From Jenseits (afterlife)
Spanish Morti From mortis (Latin for "of death")
French Mortimer From mort (death)
Italian Angelo From angelo della morte (destroying angel)
Korean 유빈 Yubin* From 유령 (幽靈) yuryeong (ghost) and possibly 빈소 (殯所) binso (mortuary)
마솔 Masol* From 마 (魔) ma (demon) and 솔 sol (pine)
Chinese
(Mandarin)
松葉 Sōngyè* From the Japanese name 松葉 Matsuba. Contains 松 sōng (pine).
小松 Xiǎo Sōng* From 松 sōng (pine)
Chinese
(Cantonese)
松葉 Chùhngyihp* From the Japanese name 松葉 Matsuba. Contains 松 chùhng (pine).
小松 Síu Chùhng* From 松 chùhng (pine)
Indonesian Morty
Morti
Same as English name
Similar to his English name
Thai มัตสึบะ Matsuba Transcription of his Japanese name
Vietnamese Matsuba Transcription of his Japanese name


References


Gym Leaders of the Johto region
Violet Gym  
 
Falkner
Azalea Gym  
 
Bugsy
Goldenrod Gym  
 
Whitney
Ecruteak Gym  
 
Morty
Cianwood Gym  
 
Chuck
Olivine Gym  
 
Jasmine
Mahogany Gym  
 
Pryce
Blackthorn Gym  
 
Clair


  This game character article is part of Project CharacterDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each character found in the Pokémon games.