"Hey Chad, can you swim?" Kurishimi asked him late in the afternoon while they waited for Akuma to return.

"Well enough I suppose. Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking we could head down to the beach for a swim. We might be able to capture some ocean Pokémon while we're out there too."

"I've already got Wooper though. Why would I want another water type?"

"Different types of Pokémon have different skills. Your Wooper is an agile water Pokémon with ground attributes. It's good for defensive battling, but can't carry you across the water very well. You'll need a Pokémon like that to keep you safe in case you run into danger when out at sea. Some Pokémon and challenges can only be found by crossing rivers and oceans so it would be worth your while to have a Pokémon you know can help you in emergency situations."

"I see your point. Do you have any Pokémon like that?"

"Yeah, Vaporeon is strong enough to carry me and is an excellent swimmer. That doesn't mean I won't look for a new fighter while I'm down there though. Besides, I've wanted to go swimming for days!"

"Ahh, so that's your real motive isn't it? It does sound like fun though. Anything we should bring?"

"Just a swimming suit and a towel. Oh, and leave your Cubone behind in case you need to battle while you're down there. It won't like the proximity to the water. I've got to leave some of my Pokémon behind for healing too so we'll both need to switch up our teams before we go. I'll meet you outside the building when you're ready to leave."

"Your Bulbasaur has a scar on its right side doesn't it?" Kurishimi asked Chad as they moved down the roads toward the bottom of the cliff. "How did that happen?"

"It was during the fight with Akuma's Metagross when he lost control. It was a hyper beam that finished the battle."

"Hyper beam, huh? That's a pretty brutal attack that's more powerful than Metagross's meteor mash punch. Bulbasaur's a tough little guy isn't he?"

"Oh yeah, and then some. I'm wondering if I shouldn't train Bulbasaur to be a tank type fighter like Metagross seems to be. It can take a hit well and deal a lot of damage with well-placed strikes. He can get critical attacks quite frequently too. I didn't teach him how to do that."

"Bulbasaur sounds like it would be a very tough Pokémon in the wild where rules don't apply to survival. It sounds like a great training regime to me."

"Will the scar go away if Bulbasaur evolves?"

"I can't say for sure. Some scars vanish on evolution while others remain through even the most extreme changes. My parent's friend Tammy had a Ponyta that got a scar on its forehead a couple days before evolving. After it became a Rapidash the scar was still there but because a horn came with the evolution the horn had a rising spiral ring going around it much like a scar in the bone. I think it differs from species to species personally. I think deeper scars have a better chance of staying but I can't say for sure. I suppose we'll find out when or if Bulbasaur evolves, won't we?"

"You think Bulbasaur might not evolve?"

"Oh no, not at all. Like Akuma's Gastly though, it might not want to or it could take some time before it reaches the requirements. Don't worry about it, I didn't mean anything."

"Changing topics for a moment, what kind of Pokémon do you think will be at the beach, Kurishimi?"

"Magikarp."

"That was a fast answer."

Kurishimi laughed. "Magikarp can be found everywhere. Even though it's the weakest Pokémon it's pretty resilient. They've been found in the tropical climate of Hoenn, an ice cave on an island, and in a boiling river by a volcano! Wherever you find water you're sure to find a Magikarp somewhere nearby as well. I meant that as a joke answer. All kidding aside, I think we can expect to see ocean dwelling Pokémon instead of what you'd find in lakes and rivers. For instance we won't find any Poliwag or Wooper. We're more likely to find Krabby and Tentacool instead. There are other Pokémon to find outside of the water too if you don't feel like swimming."

"Oh don't worry; I think I can swim well enough to go Pokémon hunting underwater. Speaking of which, there's the ocean!"

Surprisingly Chad was correct. They had quickly made their way down the hill and onto the beach without realizing it. Way out over the ocean they could see a flock of Wingull approaching as well as some Pelipper which evolved from Wingull. Kurishimi and Chad pulled off their clothes since they'd worn their swimsuits underneath and placed them further up the beach with Bulbasaur and Ponyta who preferred to sunbathe instead of going down into the water. Since they planned to capture Pokémon while they swam they kept their belts with their poké balls around their waist. Vaporeon was very happy to finally be at the ocean where she could swim long and hard. With a laugh, Vaporeon ran into the surf calling for Kurishimi and Chad to join her. Kurishimi quickly followed her Pokémon until she noticed Chad wasn't coming. She looked back to see the boy staring at Vaporeon with wide eyes and an open mouth. Kurishimi then realized that Vaporeon hadn't spoken in Chad's presence yet.

"Sorry about the surprise, Chad. I never mentioned Vaporeon could speak, did I?"

"Not to me you didn't," Chad replied.

"Stop staring at me, it's rude," Vaporeon chided as she danced around in the open water.

"How did that happen?"

"That's a long story. Let's just say it was a bad evolution stone for now, okay?"

"A bad what?"

"Chad, this is hardly story time right now. Come on; let's have some fun while we still have the sunlight for it! Oh, and don't spread the word that my Vaporeon can talk either. That tends to bring bad attention."

Chad nodded and followed the two females down into the water. They swam around and splashed for a while until Kurishimi's Ekans released itself from its poké ball wanting to go for a swim as well. They then started a game of underwater tag with the two Pokémon who were even more slippery underwater with the extra dimensions to move in. As they swam around they began to take notice of the various underwater Pokémon and eventually began to swim off on their own to look for newer acquisitions. Being the better swimmer, Kurishimi headed farther out and down to the ocean floor in her search. Vaporeon managed to create an ingenious ability for Kurishimi to breathe underwater by creating a large bubble around her head and then freezing it with an ice beam. The effect was short lived however, so Kurishimi didn't have long to make use of it before the bubble broke and Vaporeon would quickly bring her back up to the surface when she couldn't hold her breath any more. Chad practiced his underwater swimming while he searched. While looking around he tried to see how far down he could swim before feeling the need to come back up for air. As his swimming ability increased, so did his bravery and willingness to swim farther out. Of course he was smart enough not to push his limits too far. After finding a safe distance he could travel, he began swimming back and forth in the surf looking for new Pokémon. He made a few attempts to catch a large orange fish named Seaking, but the larger creature kept him at bay with its large dorsal horn.

While Chad explored the shallow waters, Kurishimi was searching near the ocean floor for some more exotic Pokémon. The trick was to find a strong Pokémon that wouldn't need to return to an ample water source frequently in order to keep up its health. She passed up a Shellder, Seadra, and a group of the ever common Tentacool with these rules in mind. She briefly swam after a rare Crawdaunt, but the crab Pokémon was much too fast a swimmer for her to keep up so she had to abandon the chase. Kurishimi was becoming increasingly frustrated with her search until she saw what looked like an underwater cave further down. After Vaporeon took her to the surface and Ekans retreated inside its poké ball for the trip they quickly swam down to investigate. As they drew closer Kurishimi saw a rocky form enter the cave. It was tall, or long depending on how its dimensions really were, and was covered in what looked like armor made of spiky rocks or scales. Its forearms were nonexistent. In their place were blades that looked very much like a Scyther's. Curious about this unique creature, Kurishimi steered Vaporeon down into the cave. As they entered, she took one last breath from her bubble before it broke away.

The cave wasn't totally dark inside, but it also wasn't easy to see either. Vaporeon carefully and quickly guided her down into the rocky tunnel until it arched upward into another section of the cave where air was trapped inside. Kurishimi took a deep breath and found that the air tasted salty and stagnant. There was a natural decoration consisting of a thick layer of moss and algae which covered the rock walls and ceiling. The floor was a mixture between sharp jutted rocks and pockets of sand. Some of the plant growth had a dim glow to it which kept the makeshift room somewhat lit. To her left Kurishimi could see another air filled tunnel leading deeper into the caves. She felt a little intimidated at the sight of it, but carefully stepped across the sand and into the tunnel. She stared in wonder at the formation of the tunnel as if it had been crudely and deliberately carved into a tunnel meant for frequent travel. She wondered if the Pokémon she had followed down here had done it or if it was a natural formation. It could even have been created by a former resident of this cave long ago as well.

Soon she could hear a sound as if rock was being scraped against rock. Sounds of scrabbling and breathing could be heard as well as other organic noises. She attempted to slow her breathing while Vaporeon's tail rose in anxiety. After a few yards more she could see ahead into what appeared to be yet another large room. This room was adorned with decorative rocks jutting out from the walls and ceiling which she quickly noticed were actually Pokémon fossils. Scattered around on the floor were loose fossils which gave the room the appearance that a predator once lived here if one didn't know the bones were preserved. But when she came closer the thing that really caught her eye was the Pokémon in the center of the room; the same one she had followed down here. As she had seen, it was covered from head to toe in a rocky plated armor much like an exoskeleton. Down the back were six spikes, three on each side, going from the back of the neck to the tail. Its chest armor area was colored white instead of the earthy brown that the rest of its armor favored. Its feet were two spiked toes without a claw on the back of the foot like most predators might have had. And indeed it was a predator as evidenced by the sickle blades it had in place of forearms. One such blade had a fish skewered halfway up which the creature was in the middle of eating. Its head was also armored as a flat half circle. It was possible that the bones littered on the floor were not all fossils and could actually have been recent foods for this magnificent creature.

Kurishimi slowed her approach to not appear as a threat in case it noticed her. She stood in the hollow doorway with Vaporeon beside her and watched it for a while. She wished she'd had her pokédex with her to identify the exotic creature assuming it was actually a Pokémon and not a generic animal. How could it have been though? As the Pokémon finished its meal she lightly tapped her foot on the ground to draw its attention. The Pokémon's head snapped toward her with a startled expression that soon turned territorial. Expecting the reaction, Kurishimi smiled gently and didn't move at all except for pulling her foot back to her side to show that she intentionally got its attention. The two eyed each other for the longest time with Kurishimi keeping her face pleasant despite the hollowed glares she was receiving in return. The other only moved once; to toss the fish bones off its blade onto the floor.

Finally the creature's gaze softened slightly and Kurishimi took the chance. "Hello there," she simply said.

The creature gave a simple grunt and nodded its head once, but didn't make any other changes in its position. Kurishimi expected that it was done feeling threatened now and was simply being cautious.

"Is this your cave?" she asked. She was met only with a stare this time. Kurishimi looked around the room casually. "I like the decorations. Did you design them yourself or were they here when you moved in?" As expected, her question was once again met with silence so she adopted a less direct approach. "Oh, I'm sorry. I hope I'm not intruding on your space. If you want me to I can leave you alone. Am I bothering you?" This time the Pokémon slowly shook its head. Kurishimi smiled again, "Ah, that's good then. I didn't want to be a bother. My name's Kurishimi, what's yours?"

This time the creature responded with a rough but likeable voice. "Kabutops," it told her.

"Kabutops is it? Are you a Pokémon?" The creature nodded once more. "I've never seen a Pokémon like you before. Do you live in the Kanto region with others?" The reply was an actual response of Pokémon linguistics this time which Vaporeon translated.

"Kabutops says that it lives here in this ocean area, but it only lives here alone."

"Oh, that's sad. What happened to all your friends?"

Kabutops looked over to one wall which Kurishimi looked toward as well. On it was a Kabutops fossil. She walked over cautiously to gently touch the armored head.

"These were your friends?"

"Yes, the Kabutops species is now nearly extinct," Vaporeon translated.

Kurishimi's face fell as she looked around the room. She could pick out two or three other Kabutops fossils around the room. "So you're the last Kabutops left?"

"No, there are other Kabutops in the world. However they are too few and too far apart to come together," Vaporeon told her. "This Kabutops has only met two others of its species during its lifetime."

"How well have you been living?" Kurishimi asked, trying to change the topic as she felt a tear in her eye.

"Kabutops believes that you've come to take it away from the cave for your own gain."

Kurishimi shook her head. "Oh no, not at all. I'm a Pokémon trainer, yes, but I respect nature and the Pokémon that live in it. Besides, if I wanted to capture you I would've attacked right away instead of getting your attention right from the beginning."

"Kabutops also knows that even some selfish trainers can have some honor too."

"Well I can't argue with that I suppose. Still, capturing one of the last remaining Kabutops wouldn't do me any good. Not to mention the bust for my reputation with the exception of some seedier circles. You look pretty tough so I don't mean any disrespect when I say this, but I don't really need a rare and powerful Pokémon to become the best trainer. My Pokémon are already very strong. I'll admit I was swimming through the ocean to find a new Pokémon to capture, but I couldn't catch you and still have a clear conscience."

Kabutops thought about it for a minute, then rose up and walked over to Kurishimi and touched the side of her face with the flat of its blade. "Kabutops trusts you and won't attack you. However it does ask that you keep the location of this cave, and its existence, a secret."

"Hey, don't worry about me talking. In fact I'll even lose my sense of direction when I leave by having my Abra teleport me out of your cave to above the water's surface. That should leave me plenty disoriented."

Kabutops nodded once more with satisfaction before it leapt across the room to a section of the wall. It struck the wall with its blades violently until a chunk of rock fell down. After inspecting the fallen piece it motioned Kurishimi over. When she was closer it flipped the rock over to show her a similar fossil to the Kabutops and began to speak to her.

"Apparently Kabutops knows about the recent developments in technology; specifically the fossil resurrection machines that have been in use lately. As thanks for keeping its secret it wants you to take this Kabuto fossil of one of its children and have it revived. After it is healthy and strong it asks you to take it to a trustworthy breeder who can breed it with other Pokémon and revive a small portion of the Kabuto race."

Kurishimi smiled. "I'd be honored to help revive a magnificent species such as yours, Kabutops. I'll do everything I can to help bring your race back into existence." So saying, she gathered up the fossil under her arm and walked back to Vaporeon. "I'll make sure your species lives on, Kabutops. And I'll personally oversee the upbringing of your children and grandchildren myself." With that she released Abra and recalled Vaporeon to its poké ball. "Take care of yourself, Kabutops. And watch out for Sharpedo packs next month during their migration in the bay. Abra, teleport us above the ocean waters straight up." Kurishimi kept an eye on Kabutops as Abra's teleport flash blurred her vision until she fell into the ocean waters. Immediately she used her free hand to recall Abra and pulled out Vaporeon once more. "I need you to help me back to shore, Vaporeon. I can't swim with one arm while this fossil is dragging me down."

"It would help if Abra could teleport more than one individual besides itself at the same time, but I suppose its psychic powers are still too weak for that," Vaporeon mused.

"As long as there isn't any real emergency we'll be fine."

While they swam in the direction of the beach Kurishimi let her mind wander back to the awesome figure of Kabutops in the cave. That posture with those mystical lights around the cave was a scene she would certainly never forget. As they drew closer to the sands there was a loud crashing roar that almost caused Kurishimi to release her grip from Vaporeon.

"What on earth was that?" she exclaimed when she could hear her own voice again.

"Something I wish wouldn't be happening," Vaporeon replied. "Look up toward the beach."

Kurishimi peered ahead and saw a massive sea serpent rising out of the ocean. Its face was terrible and its destructive power was legendary. She'd been praying that she wouldn't see this creature during their ocean trip, but luck wasn't hers today. It was the dreaded Pokémon, Gyarados, mercilessly attacking the people on the beach.

"Vaporeon, see if you can swim around it without being seen. If we get on shore I think we'll be able to help drive it away."

"I don't know if I can swim fast enough for that," Vaporeon replied with a fearful tone. "Look at what's happening over there."

"It's attacking the people, I know. That's why we need to hurry."

"No Kurishimi, look closer!"

Kurishimi stared hard at what was happening and then she understood what was going on. The Gyarados wasn't attacking the people on the beach; it was attacking a single person on the beach. Everyone else had fled to the city. There were attacks being directed at Gyarados as well which suggested it was a Pokémon trainer trying to drive it back into the sea. But the real shock came when the attacks cleared so she could see what was really happening. The person striking back at the Gyarados was someone very familiar to her, and unfortunately it wasn't Akuma.

"That's Chad over there!" Kurishimi screamed.