[Krabby]
[Type: Water]
[Gender: Male]
[Potential: 56.5%]
[Level: 10.66%]
[Ability: Hyper Cutter / 2.22%]
[Hidden Ability: Sheer Force / 0.53%]
[Known Moves: (Hammer Arm / 0.22%), (Leer / 0.43%), (Water Gun / 6.65%), (Harden / 6.14%), (Metal Claw / 0.84%), (Dig / 0.54%)]
Krabby's potential hadn't changed much—Reiji had already mentally prepared himself for that. Potential wasn't something that increased every single time.
But as for level, Krabby had now reached level 10.
Its ability, Hyper Cutter, had also improved by one percent. Krabby had been focusing a lot on claw training lately, and most of its attacks used its pincers—probably related.
Water Gun had gained over one percent mastery. Krabby was now familiar with training using two float balls, so it was time to move up to three.
Harden had also improved by one percent. Krabby had used it frequently in the last battle.
Finally, Krabby had learned a new move: Dig, a Ground-type move with 80 power.
Seeing that, Reiji involuntarily flinched and clutched his lower half.
It took a while before he snapped back to reality—he was safe. Still, just seeing Dig triggered a trauma response.
He'd developed crab-induced PTSD from that ambush. The thought of Krabby tunneling up beneath him in the middle of the night genuinely terrified him.
He knew it sounded over-the-top, but he couldn't help it. That ambush had left a mental scar.
Even though he was glad Krabby had learned a new move, this particular move made him uncomfortable. So he quickly closed the proficiency panel and went to sleep—out of sight, out of mind.
But Reiji had no idea that, over on the beach, a gathering of crabs was underway.
Not just one or two. Not even three or five. There were over a dozen—and the group was still growing.
Among them were the Krabby leader and another Krabby that had escaped earlier.
They were the ones who'd started this whole gathering.
Reiji's fears weren't paranoia—they were happening. For real.
And if this many Krabby decided to tunnel into his treehouse tonight... his butt might truly be in danger.
…
Reiji slept peacefully until midnight—until the ground began to shake.
No. Not the ground—the treehouse. More specifically, the door.
"Who is it? Who's knocking?" he asked reflexively.
Then everything went silent. Whoever was outside, Reiji himself, and all the Pokémon inside—Poliwag, Butterfree, Krabby—they all fell into complete silence, staring at the door.
Knock knock knock—
Creak, creak—
After the silence, the knocking resumed—more aggressive now—until the latch snapped off and the wooden door crashed down with a thud, kicking up dust.
By the moonlight, Reiji finally saw who had been knocking.
"Krabby?!"
He grabbed Poliwag and shouted, "Poliwag! Max power Water Gun! Now!"
"Poliiiii—WHOOSH!"
Poliwag blasted the Krabby outside the door with a full-force Water Gun.
"Poliwag, Butterfree, Krabby—get outside and hold the line!"
Clack clack clack—
Snap snap snap—
As the three Pokémon rushed out, Reiji heard the chorus of clacking and snapping just beyond the door. Countless voices filled the air—he couldn't even count how many Krabby were out there.
Looking through the treehouse doorway, all he saw were pincers. Everywhere. Dozens of Krabby completely surrounding them.
And that was just one direction. What about the rest?
Reiji quickly grabbed the four Poké Balls by his pillow—Magikarp and Wishiwashi were inside them.
Then his lighter, his cigarettes, his pocketknife—he stuffed everything into his pockets.
Finally, he slipped on his shoes—couldn't run barefoot—and grabbed his fishing rod, walking stick, and the honey bucket.
When he stepped outside, the moonlight revealed the terrifying truth: Krabby in every direction, forming layer upon layer around the treehouse. Nine layers in total, at least.
How many were there—one hundred? Two hundred?
Every Krabby on the beach had probably shown up.
He never imagined honey would be this attractive.
These Krabby were definitely after the honey. Reiji held his cane in one hand and opened the honey bucket with the other. The floral scent spread instantly, and the crabs went wild.
Clack clack clack—
"You want honey? Fine. Here it is."
Reiji hurled the bucket—still containing over a pound of honey—toward the shoreline.
The Krabby watched it soar through the air in a graceful arc, eyes locked on its descent.
Then they stampeded in unison toward it.
Reiji took the chance to recall Krabby into its Poké Ball and shouted to Poliwag and Butterfree, "Let's go! Now!"
"Poli poli!" Poliwag fell slightly behind to cover their retreat.
"Buuuh—" Butterfree flew overhead, leading the way and spitting Silk Thread at any Krabby that tried to block their path.
Together, they escaped the encirclement. As they retreated into the forest, Reiji passed by the bucket where he kept Wishiwashi and dropped his fishing rod nearby.
It was just a dead object, not even edible. He'd only brought it to keep the Krabby from smashing it.
Now, in the middle of the night, carrying it would be too cumbersome. He hid the Wishiwashi bucket under some grass, hoping the Krabby wouldn't find it unless they ventured deep into the forest.
Everything precious was already on him—fishing rod, lighter,knife, Poké Balls, Pokémon. Anything else, he could abandon.
Big stuff couldn't be carried anyway. Time was tight—he only had room for the essentials.
They planned to hide in the forest until at least morning.
What they didn't know… was that a squad of Krabby had already followed them in.
These Krabby didn't care about the honey anymore. They just wanted Reiji's head.
Rustle rustle—
"Who's there?!"
Reiji froze as the grass behind him rustled. He turned sharply to find…
A Krabby, pushing through the grass, eyes blazing with vengeance.
"Krabby… damn it."
Reiji saw the fury on its face—the kind of fury that would give up honey just to take revenge. Now he understood. The two escaped Krabby had returned… to avenge their murdered mates.
"Butterfree! Gust! Max power! Blow them away!"
"Poliwag, we're moving!"
More Krabby heads appeared from the underbrush. Reiji didn't hesitate—he and Poliwag fled deeper into the forest while Butterfree stayed behind to stall them.
Butterfree would follow later, using its sharp sense of smell to track them.
Reiji didn't know how long they ran. He only stopped when his clothes were drenched in sweat and the night wind had dried them again.
They couldn't afford to stop earlier. Wind-cutting sounds kept trailing them.
Whoosh whoosh—
Butterfree was using Gust—again and again—stirring the forest leaves with howling wind.
The Krabby were still chasing them. Even far from the coast, they hadn't given up.
"Buuuh… buuh…" Butterfree finally caught up, panting hard.
It had used Gust countless times through the night. Every time they paused to rest, the Krabby would catch up again.
It had tried using Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, and Poison Powder too, but the Krabby kept using Water Gun to clear the powders off each other.
This time, there were over ten Krabby—not like last time's four. They kept moving and flanking, never grouping up. Even when a few got hit, they'd stop chasing and retreat—but most kept coming.
Originally, over twenty Krabby had been chasing. The powders had cut that number in half.
"Let's go. No stopping," Reiji said, gritting his teeth. "I don't believe these damn crabs will chase us all the way to the island's center."
They marched on until sunrise.
Eventually, they emerged from the forest into a wide grassland. In the center was a large lake—an inland lake.
Pokémon of all kinds were drinking at the lake. Some familiar, some new.
Pidgey, Pidgeotto, Pidgeot.
Weedle, Kakuna, Beedrill.
Rhyhorn, Rhydon.
Krabby. Kingler. Damn it, why are there Krabby everywhere?
Pinsir.
Spearow, Fearow.
Caterpie, Metapod.
Oddish, Gloom.
Bellsprout, Weepinbell.
Rattata, Raticate.
Ekans—so there really were snakes and rats in this forest.
The dominant species of the island appeared to be Pidgeot, Beedrill, and Rhydon.
Second-tier clans included Krabby, Spearow, Pinsir, and Rattata.
Then there were loners like Ekans…
And the weaklings—Caterpie, Bellsprout, Oddish…
Each of the weak groups had only one evolved Pokémon guarding them.
He could tell how massive the Rhydon clan was at a glance: over ten Rhyhorn were drinking or sleeping by the lake, with one Rhydon napping in the sun.
Many more Rhyhorn were heading to the lake or returning to their mountain mines after drinking.
The mine was right next to the Pidgeotto nesting cliffs. Towering stone pillars lined the way, with Pidgeot perching above.
That bare rock beneath the nests? Probably carved out by Rhyhorn munching on stone.
On this island, Rhydon and Pidgeot were near the top of the food chain—Rhydon ruling the land, Pidgeot ruling the skies, and Beedrill dominating the forests.
Together, the three species controlled the island.
Krabby and Kingler ruled the shores and waters—if they could stop fighting each other.
But they couldn't. Krabby always moved in small cliques and were constantly bickering. No unity, just endless infighting.
Reiji and the others stayed cautious, afraid of disturbing the island's overlords. If one of those top-tier Pokémon noticed them, there would be no escape.
So they didn't even step into the grasslands—just lurked at the forest edge.
They were being careful… but the Krabby chasing them weren't.
The Krabby leader felt like it had stumbled into paradise. Fresh air, sunlight, food, water—everything it ever wanted.
The thirsty Krabby rushed toward the lake without a second thought, ignoring Reiji completely.
They just wanted to drink first—hunting Reiji could wait.
But halfway there, they were jolted to a stop.
They had woken up a sleeping Rhydon.
And Rhydon was pissed.
ROOOOAAARRRR!!
Its roar froze them in place.
Then it stomped forward. Boom. Boom. Boom.
Its massive feet—with gleaming steel-like claws—crushed the motionless Krabby into the dirt.
Over and over, it stomped them until they were all embedded into the grass.
Then it sat down—BOOM—shaking the ground, and casually picked up the smashed Krabby.
One by one, it tossed them into its mouth, chewing loudly.
The Krabby had become breakfast. Crunch. Swallow.
In no time at all, all the Krabby were gone.
(End of Chapter)
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