The two Charmander opened their mouths happily to take the treats Auron Vale offered.
Grinning, Auron popped one into each Charmander's mouth.
With their mouths stuffed full and puffed out, the two Charmander worked hard to chew the Oran Berries, then lowered their heads again and went back to building their sandcastle.
A Chewtle poked up from the sand nearby, gave the two Charmander a curious look, then shook its head and toddled step by step toward the water.
Before long, Auron stopped thinking about Mew and Victini and, along with Snorlax, stretched out at the water's edge to enjoy the steady push and pull of the waves.
Jace Rowan, Tim Wynn, and Youyu You, meanwhile, were off to the side playing cards—Dou Dizhu—and sipping cola.
Out at sea, Serena Elm and Hanling Yin were having a blast near the shallows: one sprawled across Milotic's back, the other perched atop Cloyster's shell. They took turns surfing and diving.
Just like that, the whole group—humans and Pokémon alike—played until evening. With help from the hotel staff, they gathered at the hotel's designated beach barbecue area to feast on grilled meats and all kinds of seafood.
Snorlax's presence wore the hotel chefs out, sure, but under the onslaught of Dracocoins everyone was still all smiles.
…
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, everyone slept until they woke naturally before finally getting up.
They yawned their way through breakfast together, only really waking up once they'd eaten, then headed for the beach in a group.
Hooking an arm around Jace's shoulders, Tim asked, "So? Are we actually getting in the water today?"
"Absolutely."
Jace answered without hesitation. They'd wasted a whole day yesterday just playing cards. Being at the seaside and not getting in the water—sitting there in swim trunks to play Dou Dizhu—made Jace look down on himself. No matter what, he was getting in today.
"Then let's go diving," Auron suggested.
"Deal."
Not to be outdone, Jace agreed on the spot. No one else objected either; everyone said they'd follow Auron's plan.
Auron found a professional diving instructor, and they spent the whole morning on theory and practice. Once everyone said they were ready, they had a simple lunch—and then it was time to dive.
Six people would be diving; each of them wanted to see the undersea world for themselves.
Their partner Pokémon for the dive were Snorlax, Milotic, Cloyster, Skrelp, and Dragonair.
The rest of the Pokémon stayed on the beach to play, supervised by Torkoal and Arcanine.
Soon everyone had their gear on and was headed for open water.
Auron went first. He leapt off the boat and knifed straight into the sea.
Thanks to Suicune's purification and the protection of Manaphy and Lugia, the water was crystal clear. Once submerged, Auron felt the visibility was nearly the same as it had been up on shore.
As he descended, a cloud of Wishiwashi swam toward him, surrounded him, then happily schooled along at his side.
In the distance, the Frillish and Jellicent families drifted quietly through the water alongside the Tentacool and Tentacruel—two groups sharing the sea without disturbing one another.
Mantyke and Remoraid frisked along behind a Wailmer, careening about to their hearts' content.
From their perches on the reef, Mareanie cast sly little grins at every human dropping into the water, while Finneon, Lanturn, and Chinchou brought a wash of light to the dark seabed.
Huntail chased a giggling Gorebyss; Clamperl sat on the ocean floor blowing lazy bubbles.
In this serene yet bustling undersea world, Auron even caught sight of a few rare Water-type Pokémon now and then.
The sight stirred a little itch in him—a sudden desire to add a Water-type to his own team. Chalk it up to learned habits from back when he played the games: aside from utility mons, he'd never had a Water-type in his main party.
After Auron went in, it was supposed to be Jace's turn. But Jace dawdled and waffled, nerves getting the better of him, until Tim gave him a helpful shove from behind. Only then did Jace splash into the water.
He was panicky at first, but once he took in the undersea beauty, Jace was as enchanted as anyone.
Spotting Auron, he swam over as fast as he could and began gesturing wildly, clearly trying to tell Auron how gorgeous everything was.
Except the water resistance turned his arm-flailing into extreme slow motion, which almost made Auron—and Tim, who had just slid into the water after them—laugh bubbles.
Once the four boys were in, it was the girls' turn. Hanling Yin jumped first.
Serena Elm went right after—but unlike Hanling, who swam on her own, Serena was scooped up the moment she slipped beneath the surface.
Milotic had been waiting. It let Serena lie across its back and wove quickly through the Pokémon below, ferrying her between shoals and reefs.
Every so often, Milotic even broke the surface so Serena could take in the sight of Wingull and Pelipper wheeling under the sun.
At that very moment—unknown to Auron and the others—deep beneath the waves in a palace, a small blue Pokémon seemed to sense something.
It slowly woke from its sleep. After reaching out once more to the message carried to it by the sea, its eyes brightened. It threw open the palace doors and swam swiftly toward the sensation.
Its rapport with other Pokémon seemed extraordinary. Whenever it grew tired, a new companion would arrive to carry it along.
First a Gyarados, then a Lapras—and for a stretch in the middle, even an Inteleon escorted it.
It was fast to begin with; without having to stop to rest, its speed only increased. In a short time, it had crossed a very long distance.
…
Back with Auron's group, they stayed underwater until the tanks were nearly dry before reluctantly climbing back aboard and turning for shore.
On the deck, Auron laughed and patted Snorlax's big belly. "Didn't expect you to be so nimble in the water. Makes me think I don't even need to catch a Water-type—I'll just field you in water battles from now on."
Snorlax squinted in delight and patted its own stomach.
They hadn't gone far from shore to dive, so the boat put them back on the beach in short order.
Only a few Ghost-type Pokémon were still lounging on the beach chairs; the rest were nowhere near where they'd been.
Once they got to shore, Youyu asked Haunter what was up, and the situation became clear.
Arcanine and the two Charmander had taken the Fire- and Ice-type Darumaka and Swablu to go play beach volleyball with some bikini big sisters.
Since Ghost-types couldn't really play without solid bodies, they'd just waited in place for Auron's group to come back.
Haunter then pointed toward a distant, faint silhouette of Torkoal to explain to Youyu:
(Torkoal didn't feel right letting the little ones go off on their own and followed after them, but it's slow, so it's still on the way. If you head the same direction it went, you'll run into Arcanine and the others soon.)
After Youyu relayed Haunter's words, the whole group couldn't help but chuckle.
Responsible as Torkoal was, the image of it hustling after a bunch of kids was just too much.
Auron rallied the Pokémon and set off at a jog in Torkoal's wake.
Jace and Tim took the lead—they were eager to see how the Pokémon (and the bikini big sisters) looked playing volleyball.
(End of chapter)