Wanting to get my priorities straight before doing anything drastic, I took a long breath of the stale air in the underground cavern (even though I didn't even have lungs) and sent a message to GM so she would, at least, know what was going on.

  “Hello? This is Sandy reporting to GM,” I said in my mind, focusing on the sand I had infused into my tailbone and passing through the bond some of my Ghost-stuff. “I caught the criminals, they were the Kingler's family after all. It seems like they had some big stupid pn in mind, although that's not relevant. The morons have blocked the entrance, so you’ll have to dig a bit, but the good thing is that they can’t get out either, and down here there are a lot of gems that I would like to cim as my reward.

  “I would love to finish cleaning up the mess myself, but it looks like there's stuff going on at the beach and I don't want to waste more time on this, so that's it. Good luck and see you ter.

  “PS: Send some reinforcements to ‘my house’ when you can, someone will have to heal a few injured crabs if things are as I think they are.”

  After finishing the message, I made the bone explode to release my words. A strange and archaic way of communicating over long distances, no doubt, but useful. ‘Communication via coccyx’ had some future… When I finished regenerating it, of course.

  Turning my gaze back to the petrified crabs, I gave them an incredibly unsettling smile that was only accentuated by my sand-formed head, and unched a massive amount of small Shadow Balls (non-explosive variant) at them before they could react, being careful not to damage the supplies.

  The attack had the expected effect, knocking everyone out in mere seconds to no one's surprise. I could have put them to sleep with Hypnosis or drained them dry using Giga Drain, but I didn't want to accidentally absorb the food and I wasn't in the mood to be polite to them, plus this was the least they deserved from me for wasting my time.

  Once the side quest was completed, I pounced on the supplies and replenished much of my lost energy by gobbling down a sitrus berry and some oran berries. Curious by nature, I also headed to the cavern walls and plucked a Ghost Gem from the wall.

  The little common sense I had left screamed at me not to do it, but the gem looked delicious, so I couldn't resist taking a bite, being pleasantly surprised with the result. Its taste was salty, which I didn't really like, but the pure Ghost-type energy it was made of was a real treat. In just that small test bite, I regenerated the aura I had left to reload and more.

  Satisfied, I tossed the rest of the Gem into my sandy maw and turned on my extrasensory sense, watching as what was essentially Ghost-type crystallized aura ‘decompressed’ and flowed throughout my body, temporarily enhancing and improving the quality of my own reserves.

  It was interesting, like so many other things in this world. It was also a shame that I didn't have time at that moment to p… I mean, experiment.

  With my ‘aura well’ filled again, I gathered up a handful of the Ghost Gems and Ground Gems embedded in the wall just in case, swallowed one of the st ones, looked up at the top of the cavern and jumped.

  I was in a hurry, subtlety was not an option, and my shovel itched to ‘pierce the heavens’. Brandishing my weapon enveloped in a thick Ground-type aura towards the ceiling of the chamber, it sank into the rock as if it were cy, letting me Dig at stupid speeds towards the surface by executing a move that Sandygast line is not even capable of learning.

  The hole I was making was magically closing as I dug, so I didn't have to worry about the crabs coming out when they woke up, but nothing of that mattered to me. I just needed to see my beach, so I went through the earth until I came out of it.

  Getting my bearings a bit, I saw the sun setting on the horizon and realized I was now on top of the cliff. I’d dug literal meters of solid rock in seconds, but I didn't give a damn about any of that. Like a blur, making the most of my excess energy (as well as the synergy that having perfect control of both my bones and my muscles offered me), I looked over the edge of the cliff and focused my gaze on the pce I had been just an hour ago.

  My vision worked in mysterious ways, since I didn't have eyes per se, but none of that stopped me from observing in great detail the absolute chaos that was unfolding in my house. A real all-out battle was raging between The 24 Cws and Kingler's family, and things were looking bleak…

  My skull was shattered, just as I feared, but it seemed my raft had also taken some stray attack, as it was reduced to splinters. The 24 Cws were fighting against an immense amount of Krabby, and although individually they were far superior, the numbers were beginning to take their toll, losing more and more ground and becoming exponentially exhausted as the conflict sted.

  Meanwhile, a Pelipper was fighting alongside Mr. Krabs against a gigantic Kingler, a Pelipper that I initially expected to be Cap, but that thought faded away when I saw him lying near my head, almost dead, but still conscious despite his protective yer of aura being more than destroyed. Pincitas wasn’t doing much better, as he was also lying in the sand in a simir state, and I swore that one of his cws was missing…

  I was incredulous.

  I couldn't believe things had escated so much and so quickly.

  It hadn't been even 5 minutes since the thin bond with my skull had been broken, and I’d only been away from the beach for an hour. Had that been Kingler’s ‘big pn’? Screw everything and everyone in less than an hour?

  Furious as never before in my two lives, I exceeded the limit of what I was capable of being angry and, instead of the cssic burning fmes in search of revenge that I should feel, a cold apathy settled in my chest. There was no joking, no fear, no anger even, just icy cold killing intent directed towards the son of a bitch who had dared to harm the beings I loved most.

  My intention alone seemed to pierce the space separating me from the conflict, as the Kingler stopped in mid-attack and turned his head toward my gaze, becoming completely petrified with whatever he saw in it. Keeping my ‘gre’ fixed on the rger crab, I put away the spade and stretched my sand-bending far beyond its limits, levitating the pieces of the shattered head to where I was standing.

  When I had the remains of my skull in my hands, I gently caressed them and used Shore Up to repair it, joining the broken parts with my sand and finishing regenerating my tailbone while I was at it. With my head healed, I softly pced it on my neck and used the sand that had been taking up its space to recim it, infusing it just as I had done with the rest of my bones.

  A distinctive click resounded as I completed the process, as if I had put the st missing piece to complete the puzzle that was my skeleton into its pce.

  The Gems I had collected earlier also began to levitate around me, granting me all of their energy, the aura of their corresponding type in their purest state, before turning to dust. That overcharged mix of Ground and Ghost-type energy resonated with every bone infused with my body, further amplified by the shovel located on my chest, making me become one with my skeleton.

  A shell of gleaming white energy, composed of that characteristic typeless aura, enveloped me for a few moments and increased my power to previously unthinkable levels. That seemed to get the attention of the rest of the Pokemon on the beach, as they stopped the conflict and turned their eyes to me, but I didn't give a shit about any of that.

  My sand muscles became more natural, allowing me to use them without having to invest half my concentration just to make them work. My bones became my ‘Pokemon body’, formed from sand covered in a thin yer of bone. My skin composed of my special sand remained unchanged, although it retained its deep dark tone and I suspected it had acquired some new properties.

  In short, I got it.

  I had finally achieved the long-awaited evolution, but I couldn’t feel the joy that should have accompanied such a moment.

  Instead, as the shell dissipated and revealed my new form to the world, my burning eyes formed from reddish-brown will-o'-wisps remained fixed on the petrified crab, eager for justice.

  Raising my hand, ready to pierce my chest, I searched inside myself for where my trusted weapon was. Nonetheless, it seemed like that would be unnecessary from then on, as just by thinking about it, a shovel made of obsidian-bck bone emerged from my shadow, gently levitating into my grip.

  Armed and prepared, not caring at all about what I had just done, I could only muster enough emotion to say one thing before I unched myself at the shitty crab like a ballistic missile fired from the top of that cliff:

  “You're dead, Kingler.”

  My shovel nded before me, its impact causing a true Sandstorm.

  I had thrown it in the middle of my descent, using something that I don't even know if it could be considered a move. I simply infused and enveloped it with an absurd amount of Ground-type energy, simuting a sort of Bonemerang with… a little more explosive results than expected.

  Just before I hit the ground, I also summoned a Shadow Ball and grabbed it with my right hand, breaking it down into this one while I closed it to emute a second-hand Shadow Punch, which redirected my nding on the Kingler's head. The sand had blinded all the invaders on the beach, becoming even more stunned when a second wave of Sandstorm rose when my punch connected with the big crab.

  Unfortunately, it seemed that the Kingler had good battle instincts, since when he was finally able to move, the first thing he did was raise a Protect barrier instead of trying to make any other useless move. This allowed him to block my punch, something he wouldn't have been able to do if he had chosen to dodge.

  “Looks like Giratina's spawn has already arrived, huh?” the bastard said, also blocking my follow-up attack. “I was hoping my brothers would entertain you a little longer, but nothing seems to be going as pnned today.”

  “Have you considered that maybe your pns are complete shit?” Mr. Krabs asked angrily, rejoining the battle by fnking the Kingler with a powerful Night Ssh.

  “It's possible, but you know my concerns are legitimate,” he replied, evading an Air Ssh from Pelipper after losing his Protect bubble. “Look at her! She hasn't said a single word since she joined the fight, it's clear that she's out of control! We must exorcise her before she…”

  “Shut up,” I muttered, throwing another Shadow Punch at him, which he blocked with another Protect. “I’m not going to waste my words on a gilipols like you.”

  “Are you okay, Sandy? Your voice sounds weird,” Pelipper told me, surprising me a little when I discovered who she was.

  “Don't worry, Pale Feathers. Let's finish this first.”

  Without another word, I unleashed a long flurry of Shadow Punches at the giant crab while the hyper-grown lobster and the pelican supported me. At another time I would have let out a long ‘ora ora ora’ with every punch I threw, but I wasn't in the mood for that.

  The Kingler seemed to be a master of barriers or something, as he blocked all my unavoidable attacks with small, well-pced Protects and dodged the others, but I could tell he was starting to tire. It only made sense. He had been fighting for a while before I joined the fray, and indiscriminate use of Protect couldn't be cheap in terms of both aura and mental energy costs.

  Seeing that I could slow down a bit, I took a half step back and re-evaluated the situation on the battlefield, letting Mr. Krabs and Pale Feathers dance with the big idiot for a while.

  My double Sandstorm had achieved the desired effect, leaving most of the Krabbys blinded and taking residual damage this entire time. The 24 Cws had also been affected, but not as much as their weaker opponents, so they had begun to regain ground and eliminate the now much more disorganized crabs.

  I was tempted to unleash the AoE version of Giga Drain, but I hadn't yet learned how to exclude targets for its absorption field, so I feared that doing so would hurt more than it would help…

  “Sandy, watch out!” Pale Feathers excimed.

  Turning my attention back to the battle, I saw that the Kingler had managed to shake off my two companions, leaving me within range of its rge cw.

  “Hahaha! This is the end for you, monster! Die!” he screamed with bloodshot, almost insane eyes.

  After that, he raised his enormous natural weapon and infused it with an iridescent white aura, more powerful than any other I’d seen up to that moment, spinning around himself at a Speed that someone of his size had no right to have in order to hit me with his almighty cw.

  Staring at him with dead eyes, I saw his Guillotine descend slowly, but inevitably, piercing me without me being able to do anything to resist it… like the not-so-little Ghost that I was.

  Ha, the irony. All that power and he still fell for the same mistake Mr. Krabs made in our very first fight.

  Pathetic.

  Now that he was almost completely exhausted, I set about delivering the final blow. The spade had been destroyed by the attack earlier, but that no longer mattered, as ‘my real shovel’ had never left its position on my chest. Reaching out, I summoned a second spade from my shadow, as dark as the first, and swung it with all my might at the surprised and defenseless crustacean, cracking its protective yer of aura with my perfected Shadow Bone.

  A second blow finished breaking his ‘Defense’, but the stubborn crab didn’t faint. I guess in life or death situations a Pokemon can keep fighting with their aura coat broken, even though they shouldn't.

  That was good to know.

  “Come on, keep your word!” the clearly insane Kingler shouted. “What are you waiting for!? Finish me off! Prove my point!”

  Looking at the crab in disgust, fair wrath burning in my eyes, I was tempted to comply with his demands for a second, but I held back. Taking a deep breath, I reassured my mind with a bit of psychic energy, easily learning Calm Mind, and thought with complete crity for a few precious seconds.

  It was obvious that this dickhead had some sort of objective in doing all this. A deep-seated hatred for Ghost-type Pokemon… or perhaps just for one and decided to project this hate onto all Ghost-type Pokemon?

  I didn't know, I wasn't a psychologist, I didn't really care. None of this was my problem either. All I cared about was the consequences of his actions. Two of my best friends were seriously injured because of him, he had waged a fucking war to prove his twisted point.

  A Pokemon like that was incapable of living in a community… but I couldn't just kill him either. I wasn’t an executioner, I had no right to dictate such serious things as who lives and who dies.

  I didn't want to have to do that either, not when the isnd was supposed to be ruled by that Yezalel entity.

  This was way above my pay grade; I wasn't going to dirty my hands and conscience forever because of this gaxy-css asshole. That being the case, I had no choice but to apply the mildest, but most reasonable response.

  With my thirst for justice satisfied, I raised my shovel and gave him a third blow with the ft side on the head, ‘fainting’ him.

  “It is not my pce to pass sentence on you, scum,” I muttered as his consciousness faded. “Nevertheless, rest assured that if anyone doesn’t survive this damn spectacle you have put on, I will make sure you share their fate.”