CURRENT STATUS: In Pokémon Ruby, beaten Roxanne.
Day 19
Wingman already hates the sling. He couldn't do anything to help pack up, and he hated it. I felt guilty for it, seeing as he hurt his arm even more because of me. But he never blamed me, only himself. If I could have, I would have told him not to.
But that couldn't be helped. We spent the morning packing while Wingman did anything he could to help, though it wasn't much. We got all packed up soon enough and flew off, back to Mahogany Town. Continuing where we left of the day before, we headed east again, towards Blackthorn City.
Getting there wasn't easy; an expansive maze of icy tunnels called Ice Path stood in our way. The ground inside the caverns was half covered in ice and getting and keeping footing was near impossible. Slipping and sliding became the easiest mode of getting around, and it started to become rather frustrating. Falling down was common, so we were extra careful to keep Wingman from falling on his arm.
Even then, it was impossible to completely protect him from slipping often, if not as often as we did. But he didn't get hurt any worse than we did.
The cave exited right into the city. It was more of a mountain village, though, with houses and buildings spread further apart and placed wherever flat ground was. The Gym was higher up than any other house, and it stood in front of a lake. The doors led to a long hallway that got increasingly hotter.
Finally, the hallway opened up into a large room with a field in the middle. The field was an isthmus between the two walls of the Gym, but instead of being through water, it was through lava. No wonder it was so hot in here.
Clair, a slightly hot-headed lady, met up with us and introduced herself as the Gym Leader. Wingman talked with her for a bit as they discussed the Gym and the sling he had. After a short period of time, Clair and Wingman got to talking about battling and the match was declared.
Standing with lava on either side of me was highly uncomfortable. But I knew that I might be able to use that to my advantage. Clair used all Dragon type Pokémon, and none of my attacks could do massive damage on them, so I used the one that could do the most damage easily. Shadow Ball was able to beat most of her Pokémon, but it took some time and patience. Those dragons were persistent and nimble.
Eventually, I was able to defeat them all. Clair, of course, was a little bit in disbelief, but she was denying it with her whole will. She refused to give Wingman the badge and grant him access to the Elite Four. "I don't think you're ready yet; you have yet to really prove yourself," she told us. Then she gave Wingman a task. If he could enter the Dragon's Den behind the Gym and successfully retrieve the Dragon Fang, she would award him the badge.
Across the lake behind the Gym was the entrance to the Dragon's Den. The cave was a huge underground lake. A shrine was built on the lake, but the bridge between the entrance and the shrine was destroyed. The lake churned and swirled, almost angry at our arrival. We had no idea where to look, so we decided to look at the shrine first. Unfortunately, the waters made it harder than ever to surf to it. I was thrown back and forth by the waves like a toy boat in a child's bath.
It took some time, but we reached the shrine safely. Soaked and half-drowned, but safe. The Dragon Fang was hanging on a necklace in the shrine. Wingman approached it slowly and, with his good arm, removed it. Almost instantly, the swirl of white-capped water calmed. Gripping the string tightly, Wingman climbed back on me and we easily returned to the entrance, where Clair was waiting.
She was dumbfounded. "Ever since Lance left, no one has been able to defeat me AND reach the Dragon Fang," Clair stated. "Fine, so be it. You have both beaten me and passed the test, so here is the badge you deserve." With that, Clair handed Wingman the Rising Badge. "You may keep the Dragon Fang," Clair added. "You've earned it."
Caroline, Wingman, and I stayed in Blackthorn for a little longer before flying off to the Victory Road gate. When we entered Victory Road this time, we entered through a different entrance into a different cave. This was supposed to lead to the Johto branch of the Elite Four.
The cave was a little easier to navigate than the Kanto part was. There were fewer puzzles and no other trainers. However, just as we were about to exit the caverns, we heard a familiar voice. "So, you weaklings have finally caught up to me."
We turned around to see Greg standing behind us with a smug grin on his face. "About time. You kept me waiting." Greg approached us slowly. "I was about to give up and destroy the Elite Four, but I kept waiting; and sure enough, here you are." He halted. "I see you've got yourself another injury there, huh? That's too bad," Greg said, getting in Wingman's face. "I wonder if it would hurt if I did this."
Suddenly, he grabbed Wingman's sling and shoved it down and out of position. Wingman cringed in pain, but he didn't scream out. I tensed up and started growling, but Wingman looked back as if to tell me no.
"Hmm... I guess I didn't hurt you enough with that," Greg coldly observed. "What if I did this?" He twisted Wingman's arm upward and away. Wingman yelped in pain, and I took a step forward. "No no; this is a human only interaction," Greg said to me as he continued to harm Wingman. Wingman looked up at me, and his eyes were pleading me to stay back; he knew that my involvement could end up disastrous. But I couldn't just stand there doing nothing.
Then there was a crack. Wingman's shouts of pain were cut off, and Greg released him. The arm fell down to his side, bending back awkwardly. "There, that should suffice," Greg stated as he began to walk off. Wingman's eyes were wide as he fell to his side, clutching his arm. I snapped, almost visibly, and roared. Greg turned around and looked at me, and I stared him down.
He started to back up, and I stepped slowly towards him. Then he turned and bolted out right. But I was faster, and I caught up to him in seconds. My hand wrapped around his arm and jerked him to a halt. I whipped his face around and picked him up. The smug grin had been wiped off now; a terrified expression took its place. With one swift motion, I hurled him around and slammed him into a wall, knocking the breath out of him. That was the only thing my mind was telling me to do, but my heart was broken seeing Wingman fall like that. And the man in my hands was responsible.
In a fury, I swung my free arm at his chest, smacking him right in the gut. His eyes flew wide, and he coughed in response. Blood droplets flung out of his mouth and splattered my face. Wiping the blood off, I threw the bastard to the ground. His body hit with a resounding smack. I stared down at him coldly, and he looked back up, absolutely terrified. He was about to crawl away, but I reached down and grabbed his leg. Then I yanked a boulder off of the ground and placed it on his leg. He shouted in pain, but I was deaf to his cries.
I left him trapped like that and turned to Wingman and Caroline. Caroline had gone to Wingman's side and lifted him up, and they had seen the whole event. Wingman stared at me, though it felt more like he stared through me. His mind was miles away. Caroline was looking at me with a mixed look of fear and respect, and she would glance over quickly as the desperate cries of Greg grew louder and more pained.
We carried Wingman out of the cave, past the lonely eyes boring into us. I couldn't care what happened to him from then on. He could starve to death there and I wouldn't give a crap. Besides, he had his Pokémon, though seeing as how he treated them, I doubt they'd do anything for him.
Once Wingman was in the Pokémon League, he was taken to the hospital they had built in there. They X-rayed his arm and fitted him in a cast. Caroline explained that it was broken by a trainer in Victory Road on purpose. She also explained that he was still there, trapped by a boulder. I wasn't upset that she told them; I was more worried that they'd be curious as to what happened to him, and that could mean trouble for me.
But for now, it had started to get late. Wingman was resting on the hospital bed, and Caroline and I fell asleep keeping watch over him.
Day 20
Wingman's arm is broken in two places. Greg is in the hands of the authorities. And I narrowly avoided being put down.
The x-rays weren't revealed to us until today, and they weren't good at all. Wingman had his lower arm twice, one break on the radius and one on the ulna. The worst part is that they weren't clean fractures; splinters of bone were also broken off. He would be forced to wear a cast for the good part of the next two months. He was pretty much devastated, and he started to consider stopping his training. Caroline and I were able to convince him to keep going, but he was still depressed.
Greg was brought in by the police and interrogated. Then Wingman and Caroline were interrogated. The cops came to the conclusion that Greg was responsible for the damages and was taken into custody on the charge of unprovoked attack. However, from the stories, my aggression was put up to question. They thought that my attack was a sign of a dangerous Pokémon and a bad mental problem. Which means I could be either ordered to be released, forcibly taken away, or even euthanized.
Wingman fought for me, though. He put up the case that I was very well behaved and normally non-aggressive. The Gym Leaders, he said, would support that. For the moment, the officials decided to let it go through consideration and that the Leaders would be called up and asked about it.
So for now, my long-term future was hanging in limbo. But for now, I knew what I had in store. Wingman would need to be cared for, and the Elite Four were right there, waiting for us. Wingman felt the same way, but the hospital required that he have a nurse with him at all times.
I don't have much to say on the Elite Four, only that they were almost just as easy as they were before. Only Lance gave me any real trouble, and that was only because of his Pokémon's resistance to most of my attacks. For the most part, though, the Elite Four fell quickly and with few disturbances.
What happened afterward was the much more interesting part. Wingman, Caroline, and I returned to the main lobby with Lance, discussing the events in Victory Road, when the people from the PAMP (People Against Mistreatment of Pokémon) stopped us. They had heard of the event and accused Wingman of mistreating me, saying that it was his mistreatment that caused my inner anger to build up and Greg was a convenient release for it. However, there was a hole in their theory: why would I attack Greg after he hurt Wingman if I was angry at Wingman? Lance pointed this out, and the PAMP people tried to counter it.
Before they could come up with anything, the police returned and told them to back away. They stated that they had talked with all of the Gym Leaders and confirmed that Wingman was treating me properly and that I was acting only to defend Wingman, not because of mental issues or need to release anger. They even mentioned Jasmine and Amphy, who was overly appreciative for helping save Amphy. PAMP was told to disperse and that the police had this under control.
At this point, I'm sighing a huge breath of relief. I knew I had been extremely close to losing either my life how it is now or even my life period. But the Gym Leaders had come through for me and cleared my name. I'd have to thank them somehow. I'd also have to go back and see Amphy again. I kinda wanted to talk to her and figure a few things out. And that doesn't mean I have a crush on her, it just means I wanna set a few things straight.
Wingman knew that he'd have to stay fairly inactive for some time, but he wanted to re-visit Kanto and clear his head of the anger that accumulated because of Greg.
He also decided that a good way to do so was to get in a few good battles, and he decided to go back to the Gyms and connect with Leaders to catch up on things.
The next few days will probably pass fast, and I'll be very busy making sure Wingman is taken care of. I might not be able to make another log for a while, but I'll do so as soon as I can.