Chapter 60 - The Crabominable and The Snow-Woman - Pt. 2

“Well, you don’t know me very well. So, it’s no shock you can’t get why it was important for me to watch that battle. How about I kick things off from the top?”

—*——*—

Two Years Ago - Kanto, Saffron Gym: The Fighting Dojo, Saffron

Bruno had been preparing for his journey for years, way before he actually took the plunge. It kicked off when he was twelve and his brother gave him a starter. A Machop that’d shown up in the ranger station he worked at.

“Since you’re all about Gyms, here’s your own battler,” said the note with the pokéball. But his brother, who’d gone on a journey and did the whole shebang, got it twisted. Bruno adored his new Machop, sure, but leaving Saffron wasn’t on his to-do list. Instead, he had a lightbulb moment: he did like to go to the Gym and watch, so why not join the local Fighting Dojo? With a huge smile and a dream bubbling inside, that’s exactly what he did.

From that day on, Bruno Siba had one goal: to keep up with his Machop, his Bro, and to be a master of Fighting-Types.

And what a blast the Dojo days were! He felt like he did it all, and then some. Winning a tournament and earning a Tyrogue egg, the rugged mountain camping trip with the other orange belts where he met his Mankey, and the proud moment his Machop evolved during his green belt exam. That last one was everything to him, and his master couldn’t have been prouder. His life was set, then. He’d keep training hard every single day until he became a black belt and could teach at the Gym himself. It would be great when he got just as proud of all other little Brunos when their Machops evolved.

But then, everything changed when the Fighting-Type specialist from the Elite Four, Anton, visited the Gym.

It was a well-known fact that all the Fighting-Specialists in the region come either from the Fighting Dojo or their rival school in Cianwood. Trainers from Dewford or Veilstone popped up from time to time. But, meh, nobody really cared. The thing about Anton was that he was from neither of those places.

Truth was, no one knew where he came from.

That—the mystery—gave him a lot of fans, but ask the students of any dojo on the entire continent and they’ll say the same: Anton lacked formal training, and it showed. He lacked the discipline, the humility, the essence of a martial artist. More show pony than warrior, with a flair for the dramatic and dressed like a circus performer. Even his team was wrong. They were all fighting Pokémon, sure, but also flashy and strange. Foreign. Even his Hitmontop moved differently from the expected. They were all so… unrestrained.

Anton could be Elite, but to Bruno, his dojo’s master was the real deal, the epitome of what it meant to be strong. So, during that visit, when the Master and Anton grudgingly agreed to a demo match, Bruno was all in, no doubts about who’d come out on top.

The result?

Anton clearly held back and still his Quaquaval made quick work of the master’s Pokémon.

It was horror, and also the best battle Bruno had ever seen in his life.

Before Anton even left the Dojo, he’d bolted to his room, heart racing with a newfound determination. He promised—no; he vowed—to face Anton in battle one day and win. That night, Bruno mapped out his life’s new mission: a seven-step plan to victory.

1 - Train hard every single day. Body and Pokémon should be in their prime.

2 - Assemble the perfect team.

3 - Become a black belt and get Master’s blessing for this mission.

4 - Collect every badge.

5 - Claim victory at the Conference.

6 - Defeat the other Elites before Anton.

7 - Beat Anton.

A tough road, but hey, you can’t just go around asking to battle Elite Four members.

Perfect as his plan might’ve been, he’d been stuck between steps one and two for about a year that day when a redhead with a Piloswine challenged the Gym. He hardly payed attention to her then. That year’s conference winner had beaten Irene and was having the most incredible battle against Anton on TV, so he ran back to it as soon as he was done with his gym duties. The screen showed a Mega Swampert squaring off against Anton’s… Breloom?

A Mega versus a Breloom? And the Breloom was winning?

Bruno caught the score. A 6v6, with the challenger down to their last Pokémon. He’d missed most of the action, but the current matchup had him hooked.

“He didn’t bring out Lilligant today?” Bruno scratched his head.

Without taking their eyes off the screen, a friend, one of the many watching, replied, “Swapped it earlier. The challenger had a Rapidash.”

A Rapidash? Bruno whistled. Anton had a reputation for being quick and almost impossible to hit, so it made sense to use a Rapidash. Or… was the Fire-Type the problem? He peered at the battle tally, trying to make sense of Anton’s strategy. “But if Lilligant’s still good, why go with Breloom?”

One of the others shrugged. “You’re overthinking it like always. Lilligant wasn’t fresh. Bad match for a Mega.”

“Or he just wanted to show off Breloom for once,” another student snorted. “It’s always that weird ass Lilligant with this guy. Like it’s some kind of trophy.”

A third student chimed, “Yeah, I’m all for seeing Breloom in action over some fancy flower Pokémon.”

“Go back to the circus, clown!” someone else yelled.

Laughter filled the room, but Bruno kept to his own. After countless hours obsessing over Anton’s battles and his team, he’d grown to respect the Elite Four. Not that he could ever like the man who’d humbled the Master and mocked what it was to be a Fighting-Type specialist. But yeah… laughing or underestimating him wouldn’t bring Bruno any closer to ever achieving his goal.

He snapped his focus back to the battle just in time to see Swampert’s Hammer Arm slam into Breloom, unleashing a mudslide right on impact. The Dojo fell silent, all eyes glued to the struggling Grass-Type, now barely visible under a thick coat of mud but with some of its sap shimmering in the harsh sunlight.

Sunlight?

It must have happened before Bruno got back to watching, but Breloom’s role was to set up the sun for what came next. A hit like that from a Mega could sideline most of Anton’s Pokémon, but he had reserves to spare and could play a long game. Amidst the dojo’s boos, out sprang the Elite’s next Pokémon, the unique, yet infamous Lilligant.

Thriving in the sunlight, she was untouchable, making Swampert’s defeat inevitable.

Bruno shut his eyes, trying to piece his thoughts together. Anton could double down on Grass-Types and had a lot of type coverage. If he was serious about winning one day, he needed more than some elemental punches.

“Swampert is unable to battle. Victory to Elite Trainer Anton.”

The cheers on the TV and complaints around the room erupted. The match ended faster than Bruno expected. He opened his eyes back and felt worried. That Swampert alone was stronger than his entire team and yet it still lost. He needed to think more about coverage for his perfect team.

Just as he was about to leave, a snippet of conversation caught his attention.

“Did you hear? There’s a Crabrawler picking up fights north of Lavender.”

“Darn, I’d challenge it, but my belt exam’s next week. It’ll be caught by then.”

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

“How’d a Crabrawler even end up in Kanto?”

“Maybe Anton let it escape from his menagerie.”

They all laughed again.

All but Bruno. Though, this time his thoughts weren’t exactly on Anton.

A Crabrawler… he thought. Didn’t it evolve into an Ice-Type? Type coverage was good, but an Ice-Type…? High-stakes battles aren’t won on type advantages alone. Swampert had lost because of his speed in the end.

Yet, despite the horrible typing, Bruno could see it,

A field of ice. Where Lilligant’s speed would falter. Where Breloom couldn’t leap. Where not even Quaquaval could dodge. On this field, Bruno’s Pokémon could do what they do best: punch the opponent down to submission.

All while flashing out his traditional Fighting Dojo style.

Before he knew it, Bruno was putting down essentials in his rucksack. He wasn’t quite ready for a journey, but he couldn’t miss out on a team member that could change everything.

He scribbled a quick note telling the others he’d be back in a few days. This wasn’t the start of his grand adventure, after all.

Just a quick field trip.

—*——*—

“So you see? Beating Anton is my goal. I can’t miss watching all of his battles.”

—*——*—

Today - Sevii, Two Island Marina, Two Island

Celeste could only blink incredulously. Maybe the others too, but she only had eyes for Bruno.

“Aren’t there reruns of those Elite battles?” Delia murmured.

Luan made a sound that could’ve been either a hum or a nervous squeak. “There’s this League website now. They post all the battles online.”

“See Bruno, they all agree you were being unfair.” Lori sounded cocky.

“What’s your take?” Bruno’s voice, loud and full of life, came thundering over Celeste, nearly making her spill her drink.

She blinked away her surprise, struggling for a moment to find her words. “I… Is that your goal?” The question slipped out before she could catch it. It wasn’t something noble like Lori’s or filled with passion like Paul’s. It didn’t make sense, yet it just was. “All the trouble of getting badges and going on a journey just to battle some guy?”

Bruno’s laughter filled the air. “Yeah, why not?”

“But that’s not…” Celeste bit her tongue. Thoughtful? Grand? Something her mother would accept? “What comes after you win?”

“Dunno.” Bruno shrugged. “I suppose I keep going? Champion title will be just three battles away, right?”

“But…”

It was Lori’s turn to cut in. “Isn’t the desire to surpass someone you respect enough?” She smirked knowingly. “You keep going on and on about finding some grand purpose, as if every journey must be monumental. Sometimes, ambitions are simple.”

“Hey!” Bruno’s protest was half-hearted, then he conceded with a smile. “Master says it’s the journey that shapes us, not the destination.”

Celeste raised an eyebrow, inwardly groaning. This master was becoming a bit much. Lori, on her part, sat back, seemingly content to let Bruno continue.

In the brief silence that followed, Celeste noticed their friends leaning in, more engaged. Off to the side, Luan’s Hoothoot was fussing over Aria, who had flopped over, belly-up, after eating too much. Yes, she had a limit. Luan himself glanced from his Pokémon to Celeste, offering her a small smile. He said nothing, but it was like he did.

“Anton! That’s one of the Elite Four people I told you about the other day.”

She smiled back at him.

They were all going to be just fine, weren’t they?

“So… will you get to the point already?” Delia interrupted, filling in her mug of hot chocolate again.

Bruno grinned.

—*——*—

“I bolted out the door, and before I knew it, I was already north of Lavender Town. Initially, I was pumped, thinking I might be the first trainer to stumble upon the Crabrawler. But as more time passed, I just wanted to meet her, first or not.”

—*——*—-

Two Years Ago - Kanto, Off-Route, Lavender Outskirts

Route 10 lay to the north of Lavender, but Bruno didn’t stay there long. Once he reached a sprouting village near the new Power Station’s construction site, he took the trail east. The path off-route wasn’t easy, and he wandered through canal-filled woods for a while, until finally reaching the coast where he made camp. A week of searching the area yielded nothing more exotic than a Quagsire who turned up its nose at battling his Mankey.

A pity. Jab really needed the training.

Eventually, exhaustion crept in, along with regret for his impulsive hunt for a Pokémon he wasn’t even sure he wanted on his perfect team. That’s when he spotted it: a small fishing village, the kind that people sometimes forgot to add to the maps, just a few hours away. It was perfect for supplies, and maybe, just maybe, someone there had heard of the elusive Crabrawler.

“Alright,” he told himself as he walked past a moss-covered welcome sign. “If no one here has any leads, I’m heading home.”

With a new resolve, he dropped his rucksack at the tiniest Pokémon Center he’d ever seen, before making his way to a local fisherman’s haunt. When he got there, he expected to see all the manly, sea-battered men from the village, but he walked right into some tiny red-haired girl. Not only was she small, but she also had a map filled with cutesy stickers spread out on a table and all the drooling, sea-battered men from the village gathered all around her.

And somehow it was only when she saw him that her face contorted into a frown.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded, her voice cold as ice. The room’s atmosphere thickened, hostile gazes pinning him in place. Bruno’s instincts kicked in. He had to shield her from these… men. Like the Master always said—actually, not the time for that.

Closing the distance, he met her glare. There was hate there… almost like they were mortal enemies. Of course, this couldn’t be. They’d never met before. So maybe… was she giving him some coded SOS?

Bruno could play into it.

“I came looking for you, my friend,” he said, forcing a grin that didn’t sit well with anyone.

“I’m not your friend,” she shot back, even less impressed. “And I’m busy.”

Bruno rubbed his neck uncomfortably. “Hey, no need for that. Maybe I can help with… uh…” He gestured vaguely at her map, clueless.

She wrinkled her nose. “Unless you have stumbled upon a Crabrawler recently, I doubt it.”

Bruno felt as if the air had been punched out of him. “Did you say Cra…brawler?”

She gave him an exasperated look. Maybe she was scared? She had to be terrified of those terrible men around, even if her way of showing it was strange. Rather than seeking shelter behind Bruno, she went right back into her conversation with the fishermen, ignoring their predatory stares.

“So, you say you’ve spotted it along the coast?” She pointed to a location on her map, not far from where Bruno had camped just days earlier—no Crabrawler in sight. Sensibly, the redhead didn’t bite. “I searched through that area this morning.”

Despite her scepticism, one sailor persisted, claiming the Crabrawler was last seen on a cliff-side, while another suggested it was on the move, tracing a path along the shore. As they debated, ignoring Bruno entirely, she concluded the Crabrawler must be heading south towards Lavender.

She tapped the map decisively. “If I hurry, I can reach that spot by noon.”

Bruno couldn’t help but laugh, earning a glare in response. “Sorry,” he apologised. “It’s just… far, isn’t it? Lavender’s a two-day hike from here.” More if you are tiny and with short legs. He didn’t say that last part out loud, but he’d camped with the other dojo students enough to know that hikes got hard if you weren’t in top shape.

One sailor, perhaps surprisingly, sided with Bruno’s concerns. Less surprisingly, he told the girl she could cut down some time by boat. His, naturally, was available. Bruno tensed, ready to intervene, but the girl dismissed him and all the other sailor’s offers with a serene, “No, thank you.”

As she turned to leave, a few gazes from the sailors lingered a bit too long for comfort. Bruno, after a moment’s hesitation, followed her out. She might have fended off the creeps, but she was still a young girl alone in some town in the middle of nowhere.

“Wait.” He quickly outpaced her, blocking her path before she got into another horrible situation. “The hike back to Lavender really is long. And off-route. There are dangerous Pokémon about.”

She sized him up silently, then continued on her way. Not bothering even with a thank you.

“The terrain southwards is all uphill, you know, miss…” Bruno waited for a name, but it never came. So he persisted. “Like I said, it’s not a short hike and the cliffs can be dangerous.”

She paused, a muscle beneath her eyes twitching, yet remained silent.

“I, uh… this is awkward, but I’m also here for a Crabrawler.” Bruno stumbled over his words, laughing. “If you’re set on hiking, I feel like I need to accompany you. And, well, if you take a boat, I should also join… for safety.”

Her expression tightened. Was she finally going to answer him?

He waited a while, but got nothing.

“My master taught me to always help when I can… It’s bad form to leave girls unprotected,” he tried to explain, gesturing to his green belt tied over his waist. “I’m not like those creepy men. I’m Bruno, a martial artist. You can trust me.”

The girl’s gaze shifted from Bruno’s face to his belt with a mix of disinterest and mild irritation, then she turned back towards the pier. “Well, Bruno,” she finally spoke, “thanks for the kind offer, but maybe next time try not gesturing to your crotch while grinning like an idiot.”

“W-what?” Bruno glanced down, realising how his gesture must have looked, and his cheeks burned with embarrassment. This was new for him. For an instant, he didn’t know what to do with his hands.

Who was this girl?

The ones at the Dojo weren’t like that. They were tough and still gladly took his help when needed.

“Sorry,” he quickly corrected his stance and caught up to her as she paused by the water, visibly annoyed. “I just wanted to make sure you were safe,” he said, feeling somewhat deflated.

Still ignoring him, she reached for a Pokéball on her belt, unleashing a creature that shimmered into view with a burst of red light. A blue form with a shell and a long neck, materialised.

“A Lapras?” He whistled, having never seen one up close. “Guess you didn’t need my help after all,” he added, his voice shrinking.

“No, I didn’t.”

To the point. Yet Bruno couldn’t resist a smile.

“Can I have a ride?” he tried. After all, they were both on the trail of the Crabrawler.

Her laugh took him by surprise. “Why the hell would I do that? There’s only one Crabrawler around, as far as I know.”

“Trainers help one another,” Bruno tried again.

“That’s rich,” she spat back, eyes cold as ice from behind her glasses. “Especially coming from you.”

“I don’t…? Why are you so mad at me? I really thought those guys back there were bad news. I was just trying to help.”

She sighed heavily and lifted her noodle arms up to her ponytail. “You really don’t remember?”

The calmer she became, the more intimidating she seemed. Bruno racked his brain—had they met before? He couldn’t place her among the faces from the Dojo, and he didn’t know many people outside.

“The nerve,” she murmured, already mounted on her Lapras. “Come on Fractal.” By the time her words reached him, she was already pushing off from the pier.

Bruno felt a twinge of sadness at her cold departure, yet he couldn’t suppress a thrill at the thought of a rival Crabrawler hunter. It seemed he wasn’t giving up then. He waved, unwilling to abandon his manners.

“Bye, new rival!” he called out, perhaps too loudly. “Good luck finding the Crabrawler! And hey, if I catch up, let’s have a battle!”