Cloyster and Crawdaunt

The meeting was marked by lots of fighting. Not that this was any surprise; every single one of the pond community meetings involved arguments, either in words or in claws. No one ever complained. The Crawdaunts liked things that way and would pick a battle with each other over anything. As for their neighbors… what neighbors? All other Pokemon had left the pond months ago when the Crawdaunts began moving in. The crustaceans scared off the micro-fish and socialized in a highly violent manner.

Cawer, the male Crawdaunt with the largest star shell on his head, still tried to run the meeting despite the chaos. "I say it is high time we declared war on another pond!" he called out.

War? That announcement always got attention. "What reason do we have for declaring war?" a rival male asked.

"Who needs a reason for war?" a recently evolved Crawdaunt stated. "It'll be fun!"

"I say we declare war because the other ponds have been too soft on the land Pokemon," Cawer suggested. "If we intend for the Water type Pokemon to become the total overlords of all, we need to have a base of many ponds and force the other Waters to get into shape for the grand war against the land beings."

"Well then who needs those slackers for the grand war?" his rival challenged. "We could call a restart of the grand war against the land Pokemon."

"Against all of those Pokemon? We need more than just one species to win that war."

"So you don't think we're good enough?"

"Of course not! We're the best battlers around. But even we can't take on all the lands at once."

"If I were leading this pond, we could!" The rival then tried to pinch Cawer's head. He attacked back, and soon the community meeting had degenerated into all out battle again.

On the shore of the pond, a large violet shell rolled to a stop. It appeared to be made of many spiky layers. They opened a slight bit, showing a pair of glowing eyes. Looking around, the Cloyster didn't see anyone around the shores of the pond. "Hmm… I suppose this place will do for a break. This is taking longer than I thought."

The Cloyster's shells shut again, as he went to sleep.

Under the pond, the community meeting had broken up. Cawer had beaten his rival again, but still grumbled against him as he walked away. "Foolishness, thinking one kind of Pokemon could win the war against land Pokemon. I just don't see why the other Pokemon don't want to find the glory of the greatest of battles."

Thinking he might explore around for a good pond to invade, Cawer crawled out of the Crawdaunts' pond. Up there, he found a strange shellfish Pokemon that he had never seen before. Maybe it would fight, or maybe it would join their fight. Support of the grand war or proof of his skill in defeating other Pokemon would help his cause.

Cawer knocked his claw on the shell of the stranger. "Hey, what are you? What's your name?"

The shellfish didn't respond.

Frowning, he circled around it. "You shouldn't ignore me. I'm known as Cawer, a mighty Crawdaunt warrior. I am the leader of this pond and everyone knows it."

It didn't respond.

Cawer hit the shellfish again. "Hey! If you're going to be rude like that, I'm going to show you just how strong I am." When it didn't reply, the Crawdaunt went to pinch it with his strong claws.

Immediately, he grimaced. The stranger's violet shell was hard, resisting even his claws. Stepping to the side, he tried pinching other areas, even some of the spikes. Every attempt was the same; not a chip appeared in the stranger's armor. And still, the Pokemon did not respond.

Mad again, Cawer found and gripped the edges of the stranger's clamped shell. It was tough to get a hold, but he managed. Then he tried to force the stranger to face him. Nothing happened. The shell might have been glued for as little give as he got. Cawer tried another point, and another, and another, and another, and another… but no where he tried, he could not pry the stranger's shell open. Not even gripping the top shell and pushing with his feet got the stranger's shell open. It just pushed the two Pokemon apart.

"You are going to pay for making me look like a fool," Cawer hissed. He tried harsher means of attack: Crush Claw, Water Gun. He even kicked sand at the stranger and chucked rocks at it. But it still did not stir.

Cawer tried to trick the stranger into opening up. He tossed water weeds and small fish at it, thinking it would snatch up such tasty tidbits. No luck. He dumped lakebed mud on the shell, in hopes that it made it easier to pry the stranger's shells open. Didn't work. He grabbed a sturdy stick and tried to use it like a crowbar. It snapped before he could manage. Not even grabbing a metal crowbar that had been lying on the shore helped. The crowbar couldn't separate the shells, or wake the stranger up when it was beaten with the human implement.

Frustrated, Cawer came up with an ingenious solution. He left the pond area for a place where humans had been working the past few days. They were making a road, which required explosives to flatten the landscape. Sneaking around, Cawer snatched a stick of dynamite, then walked back to his pond with it. He placed it by the stranger, then had to figure out how to light the fuse.

Since the stranger hadn't objected so far, Cawer struck his claw across the tough violet shell. Small sparks appeared and fell to the ground, but not on the fuse. He tried striking again and again. After some twenty hits, a spark finally landed on the fuse, making it hiss. Cackling, Cawer rushed away to get some distance between him and the stick of dynamite. He made it to a large rock and hid behind it.

KA-BOOM!

Dirt and water were blasted twenty feet into the air. Shrieks from land Pokemon filled the air after the blast settled down. With that came the sound of dozens of feet running away from the scene for safety, or running to it in curiosity. Bubbles erupted across the pond as various other Crawdaunts came up to see what had disrupted their day. Cawer came out from behind his rock, grinning in excitement.

As sand was still raining from the sky, he went back over to where he had left the stranger and the dynamite. There was a wide pit there, filling in with muddy water. And right in the middle of the pit was the stranger, still closed. There was still not a scratch on the violet shell.

"ARRRGH!" Cawer kicked the stranger. Why wouldn't it respond?

Then, the shells moved, opening a minor crack. Two glowing eyes appeared in the dark insides. The Cloyster blinked sleepily. "Huh? What'd you wake me for?"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE A CRAZY LOSER WHO DOESN'T SHOW ANY RESPECT!" Cawer screamed.

"Um… I don't show any respect? You're the one yelling at me after I just woke up."

"I am going to show you the might of the Crawdaunts!" He went to attack again, this time aiming for between the shells, at the glowing eyes.

The Cloyster's shells opened wider, then fired shell spikes at Cawer. Those hurt. Then he shut his shells again. "I'm tired. Let me sleep." And he wouldn't open up again.

...

Cloyster Fire Red entry: Its shell is extremely hard. It cannot be shattered, even with a bomb. The shell opens only when it is attacking.

Ruby entry: Crawdaunt has an extremely violent nature that compels it to challenge other living things to battle. Other life-forms refuse to live in ponds inhabited by this Pokemon, making them desolate places.

I'm an avid Looney Tunes fan, hence the shades of the old cartoons appearing here.