"Hmph~"
Serena Elm turned her head with a touch of tsundere pride, but the expression didn't hold for long. A smile slipped out as she and her Milotic splashed into the sea.
Auron Vale watched them run laughing into the surf, then sighed and headed for a beach lounger.
"Not going in? It's not every day you get to see the ocean."
He sprawled into the chair, took a sip of cola, and glanced sideways at Jace Rowan.
"Me? Who am I?" Jace puffed himself up, utterly dismissive. "A future Elite Four member—Fire-type. You know, water and fire don't mix."
Auron eyed him, suspicious. "You didn't get spooked by that spectacular wipeout earlier, did you?"
A flicker of awkwardness crossed Jace's face. He shot back immediately, "As if! Just wait—I'll conquer the ocean in a minute."
"Tch."
The look in Auron's eyes said he didn't buy it. Jace's pride took a dent. "Then why aren't you going in?"
"Slight motion sickness from the flight," Auron said, leaning back and sliding on sunglasses. "Gonna let it pass."
Jace had the perfect retort on the tip of his tongue and then… nothing. He gave up, slumped into the adjacent lounger, and watched the Pokémon play instead.
Auron's real reason for staying out of the water was different. He kept turning over the encounter on the plane: the Mew. Was it there because of Victini?
Whenever Auron spent time with Victini, there were moments—fleeting, unexpected—when he could grasp the gist of what it said. Once, while Victini slept, it murmured in its dreams, and he'd distinctly heard a name tucked inside the mumble: Mew.
Victini's sleep-talk was so garbled that even "Mew" had been half guesswork. He'd wondered if he'd just imagined it. But after today—after seeing Mew—Auron felt almost sure he'd guessed right.
"Rooaar!"
"Graaah!"
A sudden double cry from the two Charmander snapped Auron and Jace to attention.
Auron pushed himself up on an elbow and looked toward the sound. The two Charmander were glaring down a swaggering Krabby, while a Snorlax sat to one side, eyes crinkled with amusement as it watched the youngsters quarrel. It had no intention of stepping in.
Rewind to a few minutes earlier: after Snorlax had obligingly planted itself as a breakwater against the waves, the Charmander brothers settled on the sand and started building castles. Their claws weren't exactly made for delicate molding, but with dogged effort the first keep had taken shape.
That's when a sideways-strutting Krabby ambled right under Snorlax's nose.
It had only meant to pass by. But with poor eyesight and that customary sideways gait, it failed to notice where it was putting its feet. One leg nudged the unfinished sandcastle.
The half-complete tower wasn't very sturdy. With that single nudge, one corner collapsed.
Jace's Charmander bristled. It lunged and raked forward with a vicious [Scratch].
The hit landed with a dull thud, but Krabby's hard carapace ate most of the impact.
Jace's Charmander only got angrier. It inhaled, cheeks puffing—and spat an [Ember] straight at Krabby.
Krabby wasn't dumb. It skittered sharply sideways, the [Ember] hissing into damp sand.
But in dodging, the crab bulldozed through another section of the brothers' carefully shaped walls.
Krabby glanced back at the two fuming Charmander, then—testing them—raised a pincer. In their horrified stare, it crushed the last intact little bastion.
Which led to what Auron saw now: two indignant Charmander bellowing at a Krabby that had puffed itself up with triumph.
Auron flicked his eyes to Krabby's readout.
Pokémon: Krabby
Gender: Male
Type: Water
Ability: Hyper Cutter (Prevents its Attack from being lowered by any means.)
Potential: Blue
Basic Moves: Leer, Water Gun, Harden, Metal Claw
Egg Moves: Knock Off, Sucker Punch
Seeing that Krabby's level looked comparable to the two Charmander, Auron didn't get up. Instead, he shifted on the lounger so he could watch even while lying down, lifted his cola again, and observed like a true bystander.
Very soon, the two Charmander and the Krabby were tangled in a full-on scuffle.
Born together, trained together—the brothers' rhythm was uncanny. Without so much as a glance to coordinate, they came at Krabby from both sides at once, left and right, slashing simultaneously with [Scratch].
Krabby's eyes flicked back and forth, unsure which to answer first. For a heartbeat, panic flashed across its face.
Then it recovered. In a split-second decision, it angled its armored back toward Auron's Charmander to blunt the blow on that side, while its right pincer gleamed with a silver-white sheen—[Metal Claw]—to counter Jace's Charmander on the left.
The sharpened pincer struck with a clang, knocking Jace's Charmander back a few steps. Krabby then gritted through Auron's Charmander's [Scratch], shell taking most of it, and pivoted to counter—only to find Auron's Charmander had already hopped out of range.
Both Charmander blinked, then stared down at their own paws.
A faint film of silver light was spreading over their claws, a mirrored copy of what Krabby had just done.
Auron's brows lifted. One look and they'd picked up an inherited move? Not bad.
Back when Auron and Jace had received the Charmander, entrance exams had kept them too busy to plan any structured move training. While Golbat and Munchlax trained, the two Charmander usually just jogged along behind their trainers to build a base of physical strength. They were still very young; conditioning first, like when Jace had started Growlithe's training.
Now, in the present, both Charmander let the silver brightening crest over their claws. No more hesitation.
They surged forward again from left and right, crossing on the approach and striking in perfect harmony.
Krabby, seeing the gleam of [Metal Claw] on both of them, didn't dare take it lightly. It snapped a quick [Water Gun] at Auron's Charmander to stall it, then kindled the silver glow on its own pincer once more.
[Metal Claw] vs. [Metal Claw].
The clash rang out. Neither side could quite overpower the other.
That was when Auron's Charmander rejoined the fray in a blur, flanking to rake Krabby across the carapace and swat it clean off its feet.
Sorry—not one dragon. Two.
Grins tugged at both Charmander's mouths in unison. They pounced on the opening without needing to say a word.
They drew in breath together and spat twin [Ember] bursts the instant Krabby hit the sand.
Krabby had no time to scuttle. The two burning shots splashed across its shell, and its eyes whirled into spirals.
The brothers clapped their claws together in a triumphant high-five.
(｀)人(｀)
Heads held high, they trotted back to resume their grand castle-building enterprise.
They could walk off after a battle. Auron couldn't. He hadn't expected the two to be so bold—or so effective—that they'd actually knock their opponent out.
With a resigned chuckle, Auron got up, pulled three items from his pack, and walked over to Krabby.
He waited until the crab stirred and blinked back to awareness. Then he misted medicine over its shell and offered it a blue Oran Berry.
Still groggy, Krabby had no idea what had happened. It mechanically munched the berry—then, a beat later, remembered what its mother had always said: "Pinpin, when you're out there, don't eat food strangers give you."
Auron twisted open a bottle of Moomoo Milk and held it out. Krabby caught the scent, and temptation won in an instant.
(Mom said don't eat things from unfamiliar Pokémon. But from an unfamiliar human… that should be fine, right?)
It pinched the bottle delicately and tipped it back. Glug-glug-glug—all gone.
Auron laughed, patted the crab's armored back, and headed for the brothers.
The moment he came over, the two Charmander pointed out the newest tower they'd raised, chattering with pride.
Auron considered the structure, then ruffled both heads. "Nice teamwork." He handed them each an Oran Berry. "Here—well-earned."
They beamed and chomped into their rewards.
(End of Chapter)