The Palto Adventures

Part 6: The King-ler of the Raging Coast
( Guest starring FallingHawk as Hawk )

Kazuki sat up, shielding his eyes from the sun. He was on an endless beach that trailed on for hundreds of miles. He turned to one side and spit up some water. Golduck patted him on the back.

“ Thank you. “ Kazuki said.

He wiped his mouth and stood up. A few miles west of him was a river running into the island from the sea. He could follow the river into a city and look for a way to the Forgotten Archipelago. Or was he on the archipelago? He checked his pokegear.

< Map function activated. > It said.

“ Where am I? “ Kazuki asked.

< Please hold. >
< You are on Tidal Island’s Raging Coast. > It said.

“ Dang, I’m back where I started. “ Kazuki yelled.
“ Looks like there is a ferry dock just a few miles south of here. I can grab one to the Archipelago! “ Kazuki said excitedly.

< The abandoned docks, as they are now called, do not house ferries since a storm sank the last ferry. > The pokegear said.

“That’s right. Bob told me that’s why I had to get a water pokemon to get here. “
“ Well, maybe my river idea will work. “

Kazuki closed the pokegear and recalled Golduck, who was meditating on the beach. He started to walk to the river.

An hour later, Kazuki had made it. The sun beating down on him was almost unbearable, but he pressed on until he got there. He fell to his knees and went to scoop up some water.

“ A little salt water never hurt anyone, at least I don’t think so. “ Kazuki thought to himself.

As he raised his hands to his mouth, he saw an enormous tooth in his cupped hands. He threw it down, startled.

“ What is that? “ Kazuki asked.

< A Gyarados tooth. > The pokegear said.

Kazuki jumped to his feat.

“ If that’s a Gyarados tooth, then there is a Gyarados around here that is missing a tooth and probabley pretty angry. “ He said nervously.

< No. > The pokegear said.
< This is the Gyarados Graveyard. >

“ The what? “ Kazuki said.

< The Gyarados Graveyard. >
< It is an ancient place on Tidal Island where aging Gyarados go to die in peace. They wash up on shore, and that tooth was most likely from a dead one. > It said.

Kazuki inspected the tooth. It had been eroded by water and sand, and the enamel on it was dried up.

“ I guess judging by the age, its owner is dead. “ Kazuki thought.

Hey heard mumbling a few feet away. He saw a young man wearing a leather jacket, a red shirt, and blue jeans. He was kneeling on a stone alter and whispering prayers. Kazuki approached him.

“ Excuse me? “ Kazuki asked.

The boy kept praying.

“ What are you doing? “ Kazuki asked again.

The boy got up and frowned as he turned to Kazuki.

“ Do you mind? “ The boy said angrily.
“ I am trying to pay an important homage to the Gyarados long dead, and I can’t do so with you interrupting me! “

Kazuki sat down, stunned. The boy Sat back down and finished praying, then stood back up.

“ I’m sorry for getting angry at you before, but I really had to do that. “ The boy said.

“ Why? What were you doing? “ Kazuki asked.

“ I, like every trainer on this island, must pray to the ancestors of the present-day Gyarados. They are believed to protect this island. “

“ Oh, like how Tempest used her Gyarados to battle that Tsunami the other
day. “

“ Yes, most of the trainers on Tidal Island raise Gyarados in hopes that they will use them to protect the island in the future. One might even rise to the rank of gymleader when Tempest steps down. “

“ Do you train a Gyarados? “ Kazuki asked.

“ No, I don’t. “
“ I am leaving to become a pokemon master, and I didn’t see the need to have one if I wasn’t staying to defend my home. “

“ Oh, well, I’m Kazuki. “

“ I’m Hawk. Nice to meet you Kazuki. “

The two talked about why they were here, and where they were going. Apparently, Hawk was trying to get to the Forgotten Archipelago as well, but the storm made it too hard to get a boat. They agreed to help each other to Bacillus Town.

“ Where should we go now? “ Hawk asked.

“ Well, according to my pokegear, there is a lighthouse on the west side of the island. If we can get there before sundown, I’m sure that someone will give us a ride. “ Kazuki said.

“ Alright, it looks like we’re traveling partners. “

The two walked along the beach for hours. They saw Mantine leap from the water and glide gracefully over the waves. It was a beautiful site to see. They couldn’t help but stop and watch.

“ What are those? “ Kazuki asked Hawk.

A group of skinny yellow pokemon were rolling around playfully near some sand hills. They had big, red, thick shells.

“ Those are Shuckle. “ Hawk whispered.
“ They are bug and rock type pokemon that the people of Tidal Island use for medical purposes. “

“ How? “

“ They Shuckle gather berries in their shells, and when they do, it ferments and becomes a sort of berry juice. The juice has different healing properties depending on the type of berry fermented, and it can help humans and pokemon alike. “

“ Wow. Should I try and catch one? “ Kazuki wondered.

“ No, they’re still real young. Matured Shuckle are the only ones worth capturing. “ Hawk explained.

The two continued on.

An hour or two later, they happened upon a big ship, smashed into the beach. It was old and rusted, probabley from being there for years. They looked at it in disbelief.

“ What do you think happened to the crew? “ Kazuki asked.

“ Don’t know. “
“ Maybe they escaped, or maybe they didn’t. “

Kazuki winced.

“ You know... “ Hawk said.
“ We’ve been walking for awhile, and I don’t even know what pokemon you have. How about we battle? “

“ Right now? “
“ Shouldn’t we try to get to the lighthouse? “ Kazuki suggested.

“ Come on, we’re makin’ great time, and I really want to see how tough you are. “ Hawk boasted.

“ Alright, a one on one. Let’s go! “

The two jumped back, one on each side of the ship. They both took pokeballs from their belts.

“ Go, Chikorita! “ Kazuki ordered.

“ Go, Cyndaquil! “ Hawk ordered.

“ Dang, of all the luck. “ Kazuki cried.

The two pokemon stared at each other from across the battlefield. Hawk raised his finger and pointed towards Chikorita.

“ Quick Attack! “ He ordered.

Cyndaquil raced forward and slammed into Chikorita. She fell backwards and rolled a few times before staggering back forward.

“ Whoa, that’s a fast pokemon! “ Kazuki said stunned.

“ Yes, Cyndaquil are among the fastest fire type pokemon around. “

“ Chikorita, Razor Leaf! “

The leaves raced forward and caught Cyndaquil off guard. They knocked him back on to his hind legs.

“ Chikorita, try another one! “

This time, Cyndaquil leaped up high and avoided the leaves. As it came back down, Hawk gave another order.

“ Rollout! “ Hawk yelled.

The Cyndaquil started to spin forward and hit the ground, kicking up dust. It spun towards Chikorita like a bolt of lightning. Chikorita barely dodged the attack as Cyndaquil rolled up the side of the old ship.

“ Get those flames burnin’ “ Hawk ordered Cyndaquil.

As Cyndaquil’s back burst into flames, it began to become a rolling fireball.

< Flame Wheel. > The pokegear said.
< This fire attack can affect even water types. It is learned by only Cyndaquil and its evolutions. >

“ Look out, Chikorita! “ Kazuki cried.

The Cyndaquil barreled past and began to roll up the other side of the ship. As it did, an angry Krabby jumped from a hole in the hull and Crab Hammered him into the ground. Cyndaquil fainted.

“ What, what happened? “ Hawk asked puzzled.

No sooner than he could get to his fainted pokemon’s side, an army of 50 Krabby had poured out of the ship. They began to swarm straight towards Hawk!

“ Look out! “ Kazuki yelled.

He grabbed Hawk and Cyndaquil as the Krabby ran by. After the Krabby had made a circle around them, a huge Kingler lumbered down, out of the ship. It shot its foamy bubbles into the air, and the Krabbies did so too. Hawk and Kazuki both grabbed for their pokeballs.

“ This is where we show each other how good we really are. “ Hawk said.

“ I know. “ Said Kazuki

“ Larvitar, Go! “ Hawk yelled.

“ Pichu, Go! “ Kazuki yelled.

The two pokemon were released from their pokeballs. They nodded to each other respectfully.

“ Pichu, Thundershock! “

The tiny, yellow pokemon fired a shot of electricity at Kingler. He raised his big claw and stood its ground. When the attack struck his clamp, it was totally deflected! Kazuki fell back.

“ How is that possible? “ Kazuki wondered.
“ All water types have at least a small weakness to electricity. “

“ This Kingler is different. “
“ He was using a Metal Claw attack to reflect electric attacks, and its probabley a really high level. “

The Kingler Clamped Kazuki’s Pichu. It cried out as he tightened his grip.

“ Stop! Don’t do it! “
“ Chikorita, Solar Beam that bully! “

Chikorita popped out of its ball, and stared at Kazuki.

“ What’s wrong? Use Solar Beam, like on that Gyarados. “

Chikorita still didn’t understand.

< Solar beam was a spontaneous attack. > The pokegear said.

“ A what? “ Kazuki asked.

< A spontaneous attack. >
< A spontaneous attack is an attack that is used by a pokemon, but not necessarily know. Chikorita was powered up by the Miracle Seed, and was able to use Solar Beam. >

“ Great. “ Kazuki said.

He watched in horror as Pichu cried for help. Kazuki jumped up and ran for Kingler.

“ Kazuki, No!!!!!!!!!!!! “ Hawk screamed.

Kazuki jumped on to Kingler’s enourmous claw and managed to loosen it enough to free Pichu. He wiggled free and ran towards Hawk, who scooped him up in his arms. Kingler threw Kazuki off, and Slashed him as he went flying. He landed on the hard ground, and Hawk went to his side.

“ Are you alright? “ He asked.

Kazuki looked down at his chest, which had been cut deeply. Blood stained what was left of the shirt. He staggered up, but fell back down, exhausted.

“ Don’t worry, Larvitar will teach Kingler a long overdue lesson! “ He vowed.

“ Sandstorm! “ Hawk ordered.

Larvitar raised his tiny arms like a conductor. The earth around him swirled into a funnel of dust, and swirled into the group of Krabby and their leader, Kingler. All but Kingler were blown away.

“ You’re tough, but not tough enough! “
“ Larvitar, Horn Attack! “ Hawk ordered.

Larvitar hopped into the air and tried to slam into Kingler, but was pinned down by his claw. He raised it high, and it began to glow w a bright white.

“ No. “
“ It’s the Guillotine. “

Kingler smashed Larvitar into the ground. It shot out its Bubblebeam, as it looked over the hole it was buried in.

“ Return! “ Hawk ordered.

He recalled his pokemon and started to run to the fainted Kazuki as Kingler was distracted.

“ Koooooooooooooo, Keee! “ It yelled.

The bubbles showered Hawk in water as he tried to press forward towards his friend.

“ Hyper Beam! “ A voiced yelled.

An Octillery scooted on to the scene, and fired the yellow beam, that looked bigger than itself. The Kingler tried to Defense Curl, but it was blown back into the side of the ship, and it passed out.

“ Come with me? “ The girl said.

She and Hawk helped lift Kazuki, and they walked to a waiting jeep. They took off towards a lighthouse on the horizon.

Hours later, Kazuki woke up. He was in a small round room, and in the corner was Hawk, and Tempest! He started to rise.

“ Tempest, what are you doing here? “ He asked.

“ Oh, your up. “ She said.
“ I’m here because this is my lighthouse, and I saved you and your friend here. “

“ What, saved us? “

Kazuki grabbed at his chest and saw it bandaged up.

“ Oh yeah, that Kingler. “

“ If it hadn’t been for Tempest, we would have been down for. “
“ Tempest says that the ship has been there for such a long time, that the Krabby and their Kingler king took it over. It’s their territory, and we were the intruders. “

“ Oh, thank you Tempest. “
“ We were trying to get to this lighthouse so we could get a ride to the Forgotten Archipelago. “

Tempest walked over to a map of the island. On the bottom-right hand corner of the map was a picture of the city docks.

“ If you go here, then you can hitch a ride to the Forgotten Archipelago. “

“ Sounds good! “ Kazuki said, as he put a new shirt on.

Tempest said goodbye to Kazuki and Hawk and watched as they walked to the docks. When they got there, a ship captain agreed to drop them at the Remoraid Lake for a small fee. They paid and boarded, but something caught Kazuki’s eye.

“ What is it? “ hawk asked.

“ Its, its Rival. “ Kazuki said.

A long, black ferry was stopped on the beach, and Kazuki could clearly see Rival, carrying boxes on board. He shook his head in disbelief.

“ Come on, boys! “ The captain yelled.

They got on board and started off.

A few hours later, the ship stopped by a huge circle of rocks. Hawk and Kazuki got up and looked over the side of boat.

“ Here we are. “ The captain said.

“ Uh, and that is? “ Kazuki asked.

“ Remoraid Lake of course. “
“ My ship isn’t going near Bacillus Town, so you’ll have to get there from here. “

Hawk and Kazuki shrugged and stepped off onto the slippery rocks. In the center of the lake were little Remoraid firing their beam attacks. Kazuki decided that capturing one was a good idea.

“ Careful Kaz, those pokemon have incredible aim. I would be a shame if they knocked you off the rocks. “

“ Don’t worry, Golduck can handle them. “
“ Go, Golduck! “ Kazuki commanded.

Golduck came out of its ball and yawned. He raised his hands and got ready to fight.

“ Psybeam, now! “

Golduck raised his hands to his red jewel and fired the Psybeam. It sparkled all the colors of the rainbow as it headed towards an unsuspecting Remoraid.

“ Remmmmmmmmmmm! “ It cried.

The little fish pokemon blasted a Psybeam at Golduck. The beams were hitting each other and push back and forth.

“ Golduck, Meditate! “

Golduck, still firing the Psybeam, went into a trance. His body pulsed with energy, and he began to glow like the Psybeam did. The Remoraid’s beam began to weaken and push back.

“ Confusion, quick! “ Kazuki ordered.

Golduck shot out waves of energy that turned both beams into a ball of light. He fired it so hard, that he, Kazuki, and Hawk were blown back. They watched as the ball exploded in the center of the lake, throwing Remoraid high into the air.

“ Pokeball, Go! “ Kazuki said.

He tossed the ball below the now falling Remoraid, which trapped it. It splashed down in the water, and jiggled once or twice, before settling.

“ Yes, great job Golduck! “ Kazuki said.

He turned to Hawk.

“ What’s wrong Hawk? “

“ I was just wondering who was going to get that pokeball. “ He said.

“ Well, Golduck of course. “

Golduck was sleeping next to Kazuki’s leg. Kazuki looked out into the lake and frowned.

“ Oh man… “