River the Floatzel

> "One would not look at a herd of Torterra or Rapidash and think us capable of building villages. The truth is we are every bit as intelligent as Mobians or humans. We are tribal creatures. It is in our nature. But we are wary of those who would exploit our power, beyond what we can do in battle. Is it any wonder why we hide our villages so well? And why they are never mixed like Mobian towns?"
>
> River to Red, Rise of the Warriors

**River the Floatzel** is a character who appears in *The Legend of Fox the Brave*. He is a male Shiny Floatzel who currently only appears in the alternate timeline shown in *Rise of the Warriors*. He is a leader of the Soleanna Freedom Fighters who eventually left to become a founding member of the Storm Fighters. He is close friends with Fox, Karra, and Maako

## River the Floatzel

### Occupation

Leader(Resistance); Warrior(Storm Fighters)

## Appearances

### Debut

Rise of the Warriors(only appearance)

It is currently unknown if River has a main timeline counterpart. While it is never seen, it is extremely likely

## Appearance

River is a Floatzel, the evolved form of Buizel

He is a tall, anthropomorphic weasel-like creature around average Mobian height(if not a little taller). He has a bright yellow body with paler, less saturated color on his face, belly, arms, tail-tips, and back-spots(of which he has two), and two long, thick tails

He has two black streaks on each corner of his muzzle, two visible fangs, a long blue arm-fin on each elbow, and a long white flotation sac that loops behind his head and rear, and in front of his arms

## Personality

River is calm, collected, and confident. He is a strategist, a quick thinker, and amazing in battle

He is also surprisingly wise, relaying to Red why Pokemon hide their villages so well

River is also very protective of younger people, and those who cannot defend themselves, shown when he defended the kids in the face of the Dark Legion, despite barely knowing them

## History

At some point before *Rise of the Warriors*, Dr. Eggman took over the Four Worlds, and began capturing people all over the Worlds. Large groups of free people began to band together, forming teams of Freedom Fighters. The team in Soleanna, appropriately called the Soleanna Freedom Fighters, were formed and led by the wild Floatzel River

Some time after Red and his family were captured and taken to a prison camp, River caused a riot, giving the signal for his spies to attack, freeing the prisoners. During the escape, River found himself looking after the kids after they were separated from their family

After the kids are returned to their families, River returns to leading his team, as his presence is needed there

Some time later, when Red is starting up a resistance team of his own, he decides to seek out River, having liked the Floatzel's take charge attitude. Though River is initially reluctant to leave his team, he goes at the urging of his second-in-command, the silver fox Rocky

River serves as an experienced warrior, helping Red, now called Fox the Brave, to learn how to run a team, and effectively work with Pokemon. When Fox eventually decided to name a second-in-command, Maako suggested River, but Fox instead decided on his family friend EJ. Regardless, River still served with the same calm, confident ferocity he brought to the Soleanna Freedom Fighters

## Skills/Abilities

River's Ability is Swift Swim, and his moveset is Ice Beam, Ice Fang, Hydro Pump, and Hyper Beam

River has noted that his moveset is a little limiting in some situations, and has made up for it with his smarts and long-range fighting skills. He likes to use Hydro Pump, Ice Beam, and Hyper Beam as his primary attacks, using Ice Fang if someone gets too close for comfort, or to just freeze them up front

Like all Water-Types, River is capable of breathing underwater, making him an excellent spies in watery situations. He can spin his two tails like a propeller to push himself through the water, and stop on a dime with his flotation sac. In battle, his flotation sac also allows him to bounce back enemy attacks(so long as it's from a Pokemon)

## Trivia

River is the first, and so far only, major character to appear exclusively in an alternate timeline

* Orville the Wolf was a scrapped character rewritten for *Rise of the Warriors*

In keeping with the theme of Buizels and Floatzels having water-themed names, River is named after a river, a large body of flowing water that usually feeds into a body of still water, or the ocean