• English / United States: Morty
• Japanese / Japan: マツバ
• Japanese (Romanized) / Japan: Matsuba
• Japanese (TL) / Japan: Matsuba

Morty, the Gym Leader of Ecruteak City, was first seen in the Burned Tower. He commanded Morty's Gengar and the other Haunter and Gastly to stop deceiving Ash Ketchum and the rest of the group. The Ghost-type Pokémon had created an illusion and made it seem as if the Burned Tower was aflame and burning to the ground. Morty stated that many trainers looking for the Ecruteak Gym stumble upon the Burned Tower, the home of many Ghost-type Pokémon. In the tower, Ash Ketchum sees a relic of the legendary Ho-Oh and claims that he once saw that same Pokémon. Morty claims that that cannot be possible, due to the fact that Ho-Oh vanished from the Earth many centuries ago.

Morty explains the legend of the Tin Tower to the group, stating that the current Burned Tower was actually the original and that the current Tin Tower is merely a replica. Morty's ancestors were guardians of the Tin Tower, and Ho-Oh would appear to the chosen guardians to signify the relationship between humans and Pokémon. However, he then states that a group of people attempted to exploit the tower and Ho-Oh's power, burning down the original Tin Tower in the process and causing Ho-Oh to flee and never be seen again. His ancestors wanted to build the replica Tin Tower in hopes that Ho-Oh would someday return.

As Morty was explaining the legend of Ho-Oh and the Tin Tower, Misty's Togepi crawled through a small crack in the wall under the relic of Ho-Oh. Ash's Pikachu followed Misty's Togepi through the crack to try and bring it back. Morty commanded Morty's Gengar and the other Ghost-type Pokémon to go in search of the missing pair, since the Ghost-type Pokémon know the layout of the tower better than anyone. However, Misty's Togepi and Ash's Pikachu ended up crawling to the outside of the tower, straight into the hands of Team Rocket. Morty and Morty's Gengar helped fight off Jessie's Arbok and James's Weezing and retrieve the two Pokémon for Ash Ketchum and Misty. Morty then tells Ash Ketchum to get a good night's rest so that he can be at full strength for their upcoming gym battle the next day.

On the day of the Gym Battle, Morty was lecturing his students on the powers of Ghost-type Pokémon. Morty said that teaching was a part of a Gym Leader's duties and asked Ash Ketchum if the students could stay and observe the battle. The gym battle starts with Morty's Gastly going up against Ash's Noctowl. Ash's Noctowl was able to expose Morty's Gastly using Foresight, allowing physical attacks to work. However, Morty's Gastly proved to be too fast for Ash's Noctowl, forcing Ash Ketchum to switch to Ash's Pikachu. However, Morty's Gastly was able to defeat Ash's Pikachu easily using a Night Shade attack. Next, Ash Ketchum sent out Ash's Cyndaquil to face Morty's Gastly. Ash's Cyndaquil was able to dodge Morty's Gastly's Lick attack and hit with a Tackle to defeat it, evening the match.

Next, Morty sent out Morty's Haunter to face Ash's Cyndaquil. Morty's Haunter quickly used Mean Look to prevent Ash's Cyndaquil from switching out, preventing Ash Ketchum from switching to Ash's Noctowl. Morty's Haunter proved to be too much for Ash's Cyndaquil, and quickly defeated it. Morty's Haunter was able to confuse Ash's Noctowl with Confuse Ray, but Ash's Noctowl was able to overcome it and defeat Morty's Haunter with a Confusion attack, evening the match once more. In the last match, Ash's Noctowl went up against Morty's Gengar. Ash's Noctowl was able to stun Morty's Gengar with a Confusion attack and then expose it with Foresight. Ash's Noctowl was then able to defeat Morty's Gengar with Tackle, giving victory in the Ecruteak City Gym Battle to Ash Ketchum. Morty awarded Ash Ketchum with the Fog Badge and congratulated him on his well-earned victory.