"Hit it!"
"That heavenly melody!"
A battle is being waged in the outer world above, in the void of space. A battle to decide the future of life on the planet earth, the return of mammal-kind or the continued existence of aquatic-sapians. A young inkling girl stands in the path of a goliath bear while her friends support her on the planet left behind, singing a song to carve their victory. Music so strong that a smallfry companion of the inkling girl is able to take in the power of the song and temporarily become a mighty fish.
But while the ending to that story is reaching its conclusion, a tale set in stone, a new journey is set to begin back on earth. Deep in the uncharted waters swims a behemoth, a Salmonid of unprecedented magnitude. As of now, Squid and Octo-kind have only recently begun research into the mighty King Salmonids. Salmon Runs had already been exciting affairs between regular battles with the seemingly barbaric fish but these recent monsters were something to behold.
Currently only three have been discovered: the lumbering Cohozuna, swirling Horrorboros, and most recently the ferocious Megalodontia. But there are still different types to discover and this one we follow is no exception. It's kind is unknown as it swims through murky water, sheer size rivaling that of the Great Zapfish.
While seemingly unchallenged, it can sense something...the presence of another massive Salmon of some kind. Somehow nearby but faraway at the same time.
Curious, the unknown King Salmonid follows its senses. While it could be a potential rival, Salmonids were more known for their unity so it would do well to be familiar. But the closer it gets to the faint presence, it begins to notice something else...music.
Salmonoid music is unique, to say the least. It can be chaotic but still has a set and defined rhythm to it that the species as a whole throughly enjoy but this kind of music was something different. While the Salmonoid took a moment to simply listen and enjoy the song, something strange began to happen.
A blue light enveloped its body, pumping full of a strange and foreign power. As if the energy of marine-life itself was being funneled through the leviathan, channeled through the majesty of the rhythmic beat. And soon the effects became apparent as the fish's body warped and shifted, and most evidentially shrunk.
Smaller and smaller until it began a mere guppy compared to the gargantua it was before. It took the time to swim to a nearby platform, left behind by some machinery as the shrunken being crawled ashore. It breathed heavily, intaking air as it looked down as its altered body.
No longer fully a fish in shape, its body now resembled that a more common Inkling or Octoling, bipedal with a pinkish skin in place of smooth scales. Orange hair rested on their head, wild and untamed as it was in their original form yet now a more fitting size. At least they still retained their fish tail though not nearly long enough to even move around in air.
The former-Salmonid looked at their reflection in a piece of metal, stunned but taking the time to observe itself. It moved its arms around oddly, not used to their flexibility and fingers whilst taking the time to learn about bending their legs. For having their entire body recontructed so heavily, it was taking it surprisingly well.
And yet so distracted by its own appearance, particularly taking time to style their hair and poke at their sharp teeth, they failed to notice the presence of other Salmonoid creep onto the platform. Just some common Chums but they're on the hunt, eyes locked on the familiar appearance of their enemy.
Their laughter to themselves drew the former-Salmonid's attention, causing them to quickly turn in surprise. It would be too late as the hunters got ready, frying pans in their flippers as they prepare to charge in...only to pause as they smell something familiar to themselves, the scent of a King Salmonid.
While their eyes show them an enemy, they trust their instincts moreso and become submissive. They stand down and bow their heads as a sign of respect, causing their former prey to smirk at their quick submissal. It as happy to know that their king status still was apparent even with the odd transformation.
They turned their attention to the closest landmass, a continent that houses cities inhabited by "more civilized" marine life forms...which this King Salmonid now looked like. This seemed like fate, some kind of divine chance for salmon kind to finally perceiver against their enemies. It would take some thought and planning but that was a king's duty.
And so, as the battle against the Mammalians concludes in the outer world above, a new story begins as the newborn Salmonling begins his quest. A quest to push against their hated enemies and protect what's previous to them once and for all.