From Krabby's perspective, it drooped its eyelids and stared at the strange duo of one human and one tadpole. It thought for sure it was about to be eaten.
It had already given up on struggling. If it got eaten, so be it—it had resigned itself to fate.
Just like when its claw was broken off by its own kind... just like when it was mocked and cast aside. It was simply too weak—so weak it couldn't even protect its own claw. It couldn't lift its claw to fight. There was no point in living.
What it hadn't expected was that this strange pair didn't eat it. Instead... they shared their food with it.
This was something it had never experienced before. From birth until now, all it had ever known was fighting—fighting, and more fighting...
Fighting for food against its own kind.
Fighting for territory against its own kind.
Fighting for mating rights against its own kind. Always fighting...
In its eyes, the whole world—everything it could see—was made of fighting. It was tired of it.
Then again, maybe it was just because it was always the one getting beaten up.
It didn't know why, but the others that hatched with it were all tall and strong. Their claws were just as impressive.
But it? Its claw grew too big while its body didn't grow at all.
That meant its claw was heavier than its body could support. It couldn't even lift it. It wasn't a weapon—it was a burden. And even that one claw got broken off.
Among all the Krabby in the group, it was a freak. It couldn't beat anyone. It couldn't grab food. It was mocked and pushed aside.
The ones it hatched with grew tall and strong, evenly developed—big claws, sturdy shells.
To be honest, it was envious. Deeply envious. It dreamed of having a strong, tough body like the others.
Eventually, it couldn't get food and was gradually cast out by the rest of the Krabby. It became so full of shame and self-loathing that it just wanted to find a quiet place and wait for death.
That was when it met Reiji and Poliwag—this strange pair.
In fact, it had heard Poliwag's warning calls yesterday. It just didn't care. Even if it got eaten, it didn't matter.
A weak, pathetic little Krabby that was looked down on by its peers, couldn't get food, didn't have a rock of its own, and couldn't earn mating rights—no one would care if it got eaten...
It had already accepted that fate.
But instead of being eaten, it had been offered food—by complete strangers.
Food that it had fought and bled for, lost claws over, and never once managed to win in a battle—was now being shared with it freely.
At that moment, the little Krabby truly wanted to cry.
And it did.
Tears welled up in its eyes as it looked at the delicious food in front of it. It broke down in sobs.
It was just so tired—so, so tired. Survival was too hard. It had so many frustrations bottled up. It wanted to tell another Krabby, but this human probably wouldn't understand...
"Krabby, aren't you going to dry out if you stay like that?" Reiji asked while eating dinner. For some reason, this Krabby had suddenly started crying.
It wasn't like he'd done anything bad to it. He didn't cook it. So why was it crying?
Was it scared?
Didn't seem likely.
Reiji glanced around. No crab shells in sight—he'd tossed them into the ocean.
So why was this little Krabby crying?
"Kr-chik... kr-chik…"
Krabby spoke through its tears at last, but Reiji couldn't understand it. Poliwag, however, did.
"Yoh-yoh, yoh-yoh," Poliwag responded to Krabby—sounding like it was saying, "There's more if you want."
"Kr-chik... kr-chik…" Krabby continued to eat through its tears. Its eyes squinted in joy. The fish really was delicious. It felt... happy. So happy, it thought even being eaten wouldn't be so bad.
"Yoh-yoh," Poliwag watched Krabby scarfing food and was reminded of itself before meeting Reiji. It quickly asked Krabby what had happened to it in the past.
"Kr-chik... kr-chik..." Krabby munched on grilled fish and slowly recounted its story.
It was a long, long tale, and Krabby talked for a very long time. The sun had completely set by the time Krabby was done, but it hadn't paused once—it had kept talking, pouring its heart out.
Even Magikarp and Wishiwashi, who had been chasing each other in the bucket, poked their heads out to listen quietly to Krabby's story.
No one knew how much time had passed. Krabby finished telling its whole history—everything it had bottled up over time: the ridicule, the rejection, the unfairness, the sorrow, the loneliness…
It let it all out in one breath. And afterward, it felt much better—at least now it had someone to talk to. Someone who actually listened.
When it stopped, it saw that all the Pokémon—and Reiji—were staring at it.
Krabby bashfully hid its face behind its claw, cheeks blushing. It felt awkward. It had talked so much and eaten so much... and now it was embarrassed.
The three Pokémon had been completely absorbed in the story.
Reiji, on the other hand, had been dozing the entire time. He hadn't understood a word of it.
Even after Krabby finished, Reiji's mind was still ringing with kr-chik, kr-chik...
And that was it. Just those two sounds. He'd been hearing them for hours. It was like torture.
Yet he had to keep smiling politely, unable to interrupt. It was exhausting.
Clap, clap, clap. "Alright, it's getting late—time to rest," Reiji clapped his hands and snapped the three Pokémon out of their sad daze.
Even if they still wanted to hear more, the story was over. And anyway, it wasn't complete.
He first recalled Magikarp and Wishiwashi into their Poké Balls, then placed an empty one in front of Krabby.
"Krabby, do you want to go in?"
"Kr-chik." Krabby watched as Magikarp was recalled and understood—if it wanted to stay, this was the way.
It didn't hesitate for long. It gave one last glance at the dark beach, then reached out and tapped the Poké Ball's button, entering it voluntarily.
Reiji picked up Krabby's Poké Ball, yawned, and called Poliwag back into the treehouse, closing the wooden door behind them.
He placed the three Poké Balls beside Poliwag's bed and said goodnight.
"Poliwag, sleep early. See you tomorrow. Krabby, Magikarp, Wishiwashi—you guys too. See you tomorrow..."
"Yoh-yoh." Poliwag lay down, blinking its big, bright eyes as it looked at Krabby through the translucent Poké Ball shell.
Krabby also looked through the transparent casing and saw Poliwag, the sleeping Metapod on the tree trunk, Magikarp beside it, and Wishiwashi as well.
As Krabby gazed at its new companions before bed, it realized that even though everyone was different, they were all kind.
It was a feeling it had never known before. And it felt pretty good.
Krabby didn't yet understand what this meant. Maybe it was the start of a new life. A new crab life.
It really looked forward to tomorrow. It hoped morning would come soon...
(End of Chapter)
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