Danny's Journal, Part 14- Onward to Blackthorn
I woke up pretty late this morning, it was nearly noon when I got my team together to head out. The party last night was a blast, though, and despite being a little tired, I was feeling great, and my team seemed to be sharing my good emotions.
After looking at the map on my Pokegear, I decided to head for Blackthorn City, since the final Gym was there, and I needed one more badge in order to challenge the Pokemon League. I got on Thorne and flew to Mahogany Town, then headed out on Route 44.
There weren't many trainers on that route, but I easily defeated those that were on there. I also caught a Weepinbell that I found in a small patch of grass in the middle of a pond, and I named her Venus. I'll leave her in my PC box until I need her.
At the far end of Route 44, I found an opening in the mountain that led to a large, frozen cave. There didn't seem to be any other way to get to Blackthorn City, so I decided to take the cave route. My Arceus, it was cold in there. I could see my breath, and even with a couple layers of jackets, I was still cold. Thankfully I had Vesuvius to keep me warm, I could have gotten hypothermia or something.
There was a lot of places where the ground was frozen, so I kept slipping everywhere and crashing into rocks. I had a bit of practice with this from the Mahogany Gym, though, so I managed to get past the frozen floors. I also found the HM for the move Waterfall lying around, apparently someone dropped it on the ice. Oh well, finders keepers, I guess.
But yeah, I made it through the cave after a couple hours of walking and training. I did catch a Swinub I found nosing around (I named him Everest), and I found a couple of stat-boosting items that will come in handy, but nothing much else happened.
Oh, I did run into another one of my kimono lady stalkers, though. Her sandals were frozen to the floor, so she had me push her to get her un-stuck. She was pretty, but apparently lacked in the brains department, because who wears sandals into a frozen cave? Seriously?
Thankfully, the exit of the cave that I found led right to Blackthorn City, because I don't think I could stand walking through another route with frozen toes. I quickly defrosted at the Pokemon center with my team, who seemed thankful to get out of that cave. I don't think Indiana likes the cold much, he's trying to huddle with Vesuvius in a corner to keep warm. Poor guy.
After resting up, I took a quick tour of the town before trying to find the Gym. The city seemed to be built into the cliffside, and the Gym was right at the top of the town. It was a little bit of a climb to get up there, but the view was worth it. I could actually see my hometown from there!
Anyway, inside of the final Gym was all lava. It was a nice break from the ice cave, but maybe too much of a break. It was boiling hot in there! And to make it worse, the Gym had moving platforms I had to cross in order to get to the leader. I had to be careful not to fall, or they'd have to send me home to my mom in a matchbox.
I finally made it to the Gym Leader, though, who was surprisingly a young woman. I kinda expected some old guy, living in a town like this. Her name was Clair, and she had a very self-confident air about her. She didn't scare me, though, so I challenged her for my final badge.
I led with Scheme, and he took out her Gyarados quite nicely with a couple of Shadow Balls. He got Paralyzed and hurt rather badly by her first Dragonair, though (damn Dragon Rage), so I had to switch out to Thorne. Surprisingly he kicked her two Dragonairs' butts, Fly is actually a very handy move in battle. He barely got a scratch from that battle, so I kept him out to face her final Pokemon- Kingdra.
I hadn't battled or even seen a Kingdra before, so I had no idea what to expect. I had him use Fly again, which seemed to strike Kingdra pretty hard. It healed itself using a berry, though, and retaliated with a Hydro Pump attack. Thorne thankfully dodged it, and he took off another chunk of Kingdra's health with another Fly attack. Clair seemed to be getting mad, and she had Kingdra charge up a Hyper Beam to attack Thorne.
I ordered Thorne to dodge, but he didn't get out of the way in time. The energy beam caught him squarely in the chest, and he nearly fell into the lava before I returned him.
Okay, that damn Kingdra was going down. Nobody hurts Thorne and gets away with it.
I sent out Imani to deal the final blow. It only took one Psybeam to knock it out, it was already weak from using up so much energy on the Hyper Beam.
It was over. I had done it, I had beaten all eight Gym Leaders, and I was heading to the Elite Four!
...Well, I thought I was done. Apparently, Clair doesn't think I'm worthy of her badge, so she's having me go to the Dragon's Den in back of the Gym to take a test from the elder of the town. Heh, it should be a piece of cake, as long as it doesn't involve math. I hate math.
Remembering that my team needed healing, I rushed back to the Pokemon center to rest. As my team was in the healing room, though, one of the nurses came out to speak with me. As it turns out, Kingdra's Hyper Beam had done severe damage to Thorne... much more severe than I thought. It had cracked most of his ribs, and he had a punctured lung and internal bleeding. If I had brought him right to the center after the injury had happened, they might have been able to save him, but...
...He wasn't going to make it.
I told the nurses to leave me alone for a few minutes before they euthanized him. I apologized to him over and over, telling him how sorry I was, and how stupid I was to have sent him out against that Kingdra, but he squawked to shut me up. He had a strange look in his eyes, one that I don't think I'll forget soon. It wasn't hopelessness, doubt, fear, or anything like that. He was accepting his fate, and I'm sure he was silently telling me to go on and accept mine. I would bet my life on it.
With a final hug around his neck, I told the nurses I was ready. They administered the shot... and within a minute, Thorne was gone.
I took him up to the top of the mountain to bury his body, along with my team. They knew what had happened, and even the usually-happy Scheme seemed sad. I found a nice spot under a lone tree that got a great view of the region. He would have liked that.
Vesuvius and Indiana helped me dig his grave, and I placed him in the hole with great care. I placed his Pokeball on top of his chest and muttered a few prayers to Arceus before covering the grave over with dirt.
It then seemed to hit me full-force what had just happened. I lost Thorne, the first Pokemon I had ever caught in the wild; the one who had helped me win so many badges, and even defeat Team Rocket. I had lost a team member... and a close friend.
I don't think I have ever cried so hard. I cried until the sun started to sink below the horizon, and I'm currently writing this as I watch the sun set.
This is for you, Thorne. I won't give up. I promise to try my best, enjoy life, and not make any more stupid mistakes; and someday, I will be Champion. Until then, rest in peace, my friend. You deserve it.
Current Team:
Typhlosion 'Vesuvius' Female, Lv.40
Arbok 'Indiana' Male, Lv.40
Haunter 'Scheme' Male, Lv.41
Shiny Yanmega 'Ao Tonbo' Male, Lv.40
Espeon 'Imani' Female, Lv.41