Kingler

It was the lowest tide of the moon cycle. That meant the Krabbies and Kinglers would gather for battles and courtship rituals. The Krabby line stayed in the wet sand where they lived. However, the evolved Kinglers moved further up the beach. It was harder to move in the loose and dry sand, but it proved their strength to go over there.

And he had only evolved last week. The new Kingler scurried over to where the others were going. He had some experience in dry sands, but that was before he had grown his grand claw. Despite it being a third of his weight, he was proud of it. He could break coral with it. He could scare off smaller fishes by waving it around. It made him a fully mature Pokemon.

Upon looking at his competition, though, he got nervous. Some of them had a grand claw that took up half their weight. Some of them were smashing rocks. His grand claw wasn't that powerful yet. Thankfully, other young ones appeared to have the same problem. His claw would get bigger and grow into something to be really proud of.

After watching the older Kinglers for a while, he decided to test himself out on one his own age. He picked one who looked like an equal match; their grand claws were the same size. He walked over to his foe and lifted his claw up. "Fight me!"

"You ever been on this part of the beach before?" he asked threateningly.

"No."

"You'll lose," the other Kingler said, waving his grand claw. He opened it, preparing to lunge for him.

The new Kingler scuttled to the side, brought his grand claw up, then smashed it over his head. Then he gripped his opponent and attempted to flip him, like he'd seen some other Kinglers do. It was harder than it looked, though. The other Kingler was cussing his head off; he stuck his grand claw into the sand to keep himself from being flipped. After several seconds of trying, the new one flipped his opponent over.

"You're not supposed to do that!" the defeated Kingler shouted, struggling to get back upright.

"What, beat you?" a nearby female asked. "He fought fairly."

"He must be cheating."

"How would I cheat?" the new Kingler asked. "There's no way..."

"You're denying it, cheater!"

"What's going on here?" an older Kingler demanded.

The new Kingler felt awed at the sight of this male. He had the largest grand claw he had seen yet. Yet he had the strength to hold it up off the ground as he walked.

On the other claw, the loser barely noticed. "He's cheating in battle somehow, father. It's his first time up here, so he couldn't beat me on his own."

"You can't cheat in a fair fight," he protested.

"It must not have been fair if you beat him," the older Kingler growled. "I am the ruler of this beach. My claw is the law. And he is my heir. Therefore, you must be cheating."

He raised his claw. "What? That's absurd."

"It's my ruling. And this is your punishment." With shocking speed, he grabbed the new Kingler in his grand claw and began crushing him.

For a moment, he was afraid that he'd be crushed to death on his first trip up the beach. But then the female who had stuck up for him slipped around behind the elder Kingler and snapped at his backside with her grand claw. He dropped the new Kingler and spun around, shouting, "Okay, who dares to nip my behind?"

Nobody answered, for the female had slipped away quickly. Her grand claw wasn't as large as the males, but apparently it was just as powerful. While the elder was distracted, the new one scurried away further up the beach. He nearly tripped over a jagged shell in the sand, but forced himself ahead.

He thought he'd gotten away when he heard, "You ought to leave."

He looked back at the female. "Leave for where?"

She gestured with her lesser claw away from the ocean. "Over there. Humans go that way often. You might find a Trainer willing to take you and make you stronger."

"What about you?"

"I've got things to stay for. But since you spoke against that tyrant, he's going to make life hell for you. So go."

"I see. Thank you."

"He will fall someday." She scuttled back to the other Kinglers.

He felt a little unnerved to be leaving the ocean, perhaps permanently. Then again, he had heard tales of his kind who had gone with Trainers and come back much much stronger than any other. Deciding that it was in his best interest, the new Kingler went towards the humans' path.

…

Kingler Leaf Green entry: The large pincer has 10,000-horsepower crushing force. However, its huge size makes it unwieldy to use.

Some of the entries make for tough additions.