Knuckles visited Backwater, accused of being the one sabotaging Rooster's herd, and was almost lynched by an angry mob, following misinformation from Krouch. When the Sheriff returned in the nick of time, Deputy Krouch was fired and Knuckles became the new deputy. Together they launched an investigation into who was really trying to kill Rooster, and got results quickly after Knuckles coaxed the information from Chito. When Boss Krouch was brought down, Knuckles departed the Backwater region on one of Rooster's Pterodactyls.