Karrablast, Galvantula, and Eelektross

"Boss!"

Alkar the Galvantula strummed his foreleg against a thick bundle of his silk. It was taunt, still strong. "Charge is low, but movement will no doubt correct that," he said, shutting the metal arm casing with a loud clang. Taking a drill in one leg and working some silk with three other legs, he securely shut the casing and set up a spiral of silk around the machine.

"Boss! Boss! Hey, can you hear me?"

"This is the last; after this, my machine should be ready for duty. But there's something..." Alkar paused, then looked around. There was some noise that was out of place. On the floor by the machine, he spotted one of his assistants waving his stubby little arms. Cid the Karrablast could be a pest at times, what with being a little eager for battles all the time. But he was a good worker once he had the right incentive. "Oh good, you're here at the perfect time. Well maybe a little early for perfect, but good enough. Give me a minute."

"Boss, I gotta talk with you," Cid said, but Alkar was already back to his work. It seemed like he'd have to wait. Sighing, he walked around and inspected the machine.

Every time Alkar built a new machine, it seemed stranger than the last. This one was no exception. It looked like a large version of a Galvantula, but with twelve limbs. At the bottom, eight were normal legs. Above, four more limbs acted more like arms: two held pincers to grab and hold things, one held a massive hammer, and the last held a huge pair of scissors with bladed edges. Its back held two sitting areas, one with large amount of switches and buttons, the other with a cushioned and protected seat. Most of the body was covered in Alkar's silk, made pale so as to not cover up the yellow and black paint job.

"There!" Alkar said, securing the last part of silk to the arm he was working on. He hopped off the machine and tossed the drill on the table. "It should be ready to go. And just in time, I believe. Come aboard, Cid, we're off to the beach!" He jumped back on and got into the cockpit.

Knowing he wouldn't get to talk to his boss in any other way, the Karrablast followed suit, getting into the passenger seat. It was rather comfortable; most of the town Pokemon would be able to sit in here. "What's this machine for, boss?"

"It's my ultimate Town Defense Vehicle," Alkar said proudly, putting on a pair of goggles over his red compound eyes. "It should take out that troublemaker who's been dragging folks into the sea."

Cid went to the edge of the seat closest to Alkar and put his arms on the side. "But this seems more like something that would attack, not defend."

"The best defense is a good offense, isn't that what they say?" the Galvantula replied. "It should help the town guard fight other invasive forces as well, although I may need to make a few more to be more effective. Hmm, and probably something that requires only two paws to work, and an electrical starter in case they can't do it themselves. All well, I'll fix that next design. Starting the steam generator!" The bristles on his body sparked as he fired a jolt of electricity into a port that would connect to the steam generator. This would produce enough steam from the water tanks to start up the machine. Once the system got moving, it would sustain itself.

The defense vehicle was soon hissing and humming. Once the pressure gauges equalized at a good level, Alkar pulled several switches, causing the machine to rise on its eight legs. He made a quick check of how things were running, then directed the machine to move towards the door. Thankfully, Cid saw fit to hop off and hurriedly pull the switch to open the way. Gears moved throughout the building and in the machine to lead to the grand entrance of his TDV onto the streets. As the Karrablast hopped back on by way of one of the legs, the workshop doors automatically shut behind them.

They didn't run into many Pokemon on their way to the beach. They did see some running off, afraid of the giant new thing tromping around their town. What ones did stick around stood at the sides of the street or at windows to gape in awe at Alkar's newest machine. The sky above was full of dark blue clouds, taking on streaks of yellow as the sun sent its final rays of the day across them. Most of the other 'mons in town would be heading home due to the recent disappearances around this time of day. Alkar and Cid were out to do something about that.

At the beach, Alkar parked his Galvantula vehicle a few yards from the water. He adjusted some dials to keep it running while they were waiting. "Right then, now to keep a look out for our culprit."

Cid hopped onto the back of the vehicle and went up to the cockpit, careful to not step on the silk. "Wow, this is great! It moves just like you do!"

"Hah, and you've only seen in walking on the ground!" Alkar nodded. "I mean for it to walk up walls, over cliffs, and across rough terrains too. I wasn't able to try any of that in my test runs so far; the workshop has so much stuff hanging on the wall, I never realized until earlier. It doesn't make silk, though. Doesn't need to, so we'll have to rely on existing structures. I'm glad you could be here to see it in action."

"Yeah, well, I had something I wanted to ask you, boss. Would you make a lasso out of your silk for me? It needs to be electrified."

Alkar lifted his goggles up. "What do you want that for? It's a piece of cake for me, but..."

"So I can prove that stubborn Saul wrong," Cid said, tapping a foot on the vehicle. "He says that a Shelmet and Karrablast must follow the old traditions and have a ritual battle during a thunderstorm to prove their worth to the legendary Pokemon. But I've been working with you for a while now and I have a different idea. See, I think it's just the electricity that matters. If I can get a lasso with your silk, I can hold it with one paw in a glove until I run into Saul. Then I lasso him good, put my ungloved hand on the lasso, and boom! That should do the trick to evolve us both without having to wait on a storm and the luck of a lightning strike."

The Galvantula rubbed his jaw with one foot. "I see, I see. In scientific terms, that should work. And I don't think the legends will be insulted or anything. It's been recorded that they don't know everything, and you'd be taking initiative so they should admire that. But Saul will probably have an issue with you lassoing him."

"Boo, it'll be good for both of us in the end."

He nodded. "Right, but it'd be better if you can get him to agree to it. He doesn't have to know that your goal is to evolve without the rituals, he just has to be in contact with my electrified silk along with you, both willingly. Let me think about it; I'm sure we can come up with something."

It wasn't what he wanted, but Cid grinned. "That's great, thanks boss! I'm sure you could convince him, one way or another." It would help prove that tradition wasn't everything, although his main reason for wanting a new way was that even if it was a ritual battle, he didn't want to take a chance of losing to that dumb brick Saul.

Although he seemed intent on thinking of a way, Alkar soon looked with interest towards the sea. Then he put his goggles back over his eyes. "Cid, head back to the passenger seat and hang on. Our target seems to be approaching."

"Gotcha," he said, hurrying back. Once he was there, he looked to the waters to see who was coming. There was a line of ripples moving along the waves, indicating something swimming their way. Then a dark-colored Pokemon emerged, its yellow eyes seeming to glow in the evening air. It had no legs on its long body, but its muscular arms were enough to pull itself around the sand surprisingly quick.

"Aw crud, I didn't consider an Eelektross as the culprit," Alkar said, bringing his machine into motion. "The static charge on the silk threads would have instantly crippled any regular sea Pokemon, but not this one. Thankfully, we can still brawl with it."

"Brawl?" Cid asked, before the TDV lunged forward. The Karrablast clutched at the side of the passenger seating, briefly considering clamping onto something with his headgear. But he also wanted to watch this fight.

The Eelektross hissed at them, pushing itself to slide across the wet sand. Electricity soon arced between it and the vehicle. Thankfully, Alkar's silk absorbed the shock, keeping the vehicle from breaking down. Alkar furiously worked the switches, causing the hammer arm to pound into the sand. Narrowly escaping that, the Eelektross grabbed hold of one of the TDV's legs and bit it. The metal casing was too tough for it to get through, although Cid briefly saw indentations of teeth in the leg as the Eelektross slithered underneath them. It was a powerful Pokemon; no wonder otherwise capable Pokemon were getting kidnapped by this one.

Finally, Alkar managed to slam the scissors into the Eelektross, stunning it long enough for one pincer hand to pick it up securely. The sea Pokemon was bleeding some from the hit, but was alert. Eyes full of bitterness, it said, "Submit or I will make you suffer."

"You're in no position to be making demands like that," Alkar pointed out. "What are you doing with the Pokemon of this town?"

The Eelektross growled with spite; that kind of attitude was usually meant a corrupted aura, a worrying sign of bad times to come. "I serve the fierce goddess of the sea. I bring tributes for her. Do not provoke her or your fate will be most dire."

Alkar shook his head. "You're going about this all wrong. A being who wants tributes like that does not deserve to be respected. We're going to bring you to justice." He turned the TDV around and headed into town with their captive.

"Going to kill me?" the Eelektross asked.

"We'll see what the court has to say about that," Cid said. Tradition didn't matter to him and Alkar, but they weren't going to ignore the law either. They were civilized Pokemon and they were going to act like it.

Although Cid still wanted to make a fool out of Saul. That jerk deserved it.

…

Karrablast B2/W2 entry: For some reason they evolve when they receive electrical energy while they are attacking Shelmet.

Galvantula B2/W2 entry: It creates barriers from electrified silk that stuns foes. This works as a weapon as well as defense.

Eelektross Black entry: They crawl out of the ocean using their arms. They will attack prey on shore and immediately drag it into the ocean.

Electric Pokemon done for now!