"We've arrived!"
After getting off the maglev train, the group took two buses and finally reached their destination.
Entering the resort area and checking their reserved rooms with satisfaction, the group decided to eat together first.
It wasn't until the afternoon that they officially began their leisure time.
Minato and Eevee stepped onto the sand. The soft, comfortable sensation instantly reached every part of their bodies.
"How is it, Eevee?"
Standing barefoot on the perfectly warm sand, Minato took a deep breath and immediately felt refreshed...
The seawater was azure, the sky was azure, and with the gentle sea breeze brushing past, Minato relaxed completely. Most importantly, there were groups of young women in swimsuits.
"Eevee Eevee~~"
Eevee continuously rolled around on the sand. Being at the beach for the first time, everything seemed especially fresh.
Not just Minato's group, but many Trainers and Pokémon were on this beach.
Staryu, Seel, Slowpoke, Oddish, Psyduck, Dratini... various Pokémon were present.
Wait...
Dratini?
Rich people, rich people.
Besides that, many adults and children were on the beach. Some children carried small buckets, digging for pebbles. Some rolled up their sleeve,s splashing water at each other. Some held swim rings, gs preparing to swim. Some were building sandcastles right there!
After seeing another Eevee building sandcastles, Eevee immediately started learning, using its two small paws to stir the sand around it. Interestingly, Eevee learned quickly. Although it was its first time, it built quite decently.
"Not bad."
Sitting down beside Eevee, Minato watched it work attentively. Honestly, Eevee's sandcastle was much prettier than the other Eevees in Minato's opinion.
After a while, Minato realized that the prototype of Eevee's castle was from a movie they watched yesterday... so this little creature still remembered.
After finishing, Eevee compared its work with others'. This comparison made Eevee extremely proud. It looked around, blinked its eyes, looked down at its work, then raised its chin high, seemingly very satisfied with its masterpiece.
However, when Eevee looked around again, it inadvertently glanced at a Pokémon and a girl also playing with sand, showing a hesitant expression.
It was a Sandshrew. The palace that the other built was clearly more magnificent and grand. This made Eevee look at its own castle with some doubt. Minato also followed Eevee's gaze. The opponent was a Ground-type Pokémon. It was understandable that Eevee wasn't as good at playing with sand. But what Minato didn't expect was that after thinking, Eevee actually slapped its sandcastle apart with one claw and started rebuilding, seemingly wanting to make major renovations to create something more spectacular than the opponent's.
"Eevee Eevee!!"
While building, Eevee signaled Minato to wait. Looking at Eevee's serious expression, Minato's mouth opened into a grin. How had he not noticed before? This little creature was so competitive.
Building structures with sand—this simplest of games—made Eevee show a serious expression for the first time. Minato was happy to see Eevee getting serious. He didn't rush to do other things but quietly stayed by Eevee's side, watching it push sand and refine the structure...
Meanwhile, after wandering around, the Psychology Club members gathered and found Minato. "We checked it out. There aren't many tourists at the 'Surf Pool' right now. Let's go play there first."
"Eh... what are you doing, building sandcastles?"
"Mm... Eevee seems quite interested. Sorry, why don't you go ahead first? I'll stay here and keep it company." Minato put his hands together apologetically.
Riku said, "It's fine. Building sandcastles is quite interesting too. Let's do it together? How about a competition to see whose Pokémon builds better?"
Yukari said, "Sounds good."
After Shigenori and Ai accepted the suggestion, the Pokémon beside them immediately looked toward Eevee with eager expressions.
After getting permission, everyone's Pokémon sprang into action. Persian, Graveler, Gloom, and Golbat all charged at the beach...
After the competition, Graveler and Shigenori's work was the most exquisite, followed by Persian and Yukari's. Little Eevee only ranked third. This comparison made Eevee even more distressed.
Eevee: Σ（°△°---）︴, as if struck by a blow.
"Eevee..." Little Eevee compared the works dejectedly, then looked again at the Sand Palace built by that Sandshrew. Even now, that remained the most spectacular.
It seemed it was actually fourth...
"Hahaha..." Minato rubbed Eevee's head and said, "It's fine. During tomorrow's free time, I'll bring you back here. We'll aim to build better and better."
"Eevee..." Little Eevee finally nodded.
Minato exhaled. Fortunately, Eevee was sensible.
After finishing here, everyone headed to the water park to play.
However, Minato had already decided to bring Eevee back tomorrow. It was rare for Eevee to want to seriously accomplish something. Minato felt that, as its Trainer, he had no reason not to support it, just as his parents supported his choices. He also wanted to support Eevee.
Even if it was just a simple sand building, he wanted Eevee to enjoy it happily and gain a sense of achievement.
And conveniently, tomorrow the group planned to split up for free activities, giving Minato and Eevee time alone.
At the water park, everyone began playing wildly. The excitement of the attractions temporarily shifted Eevee's focus.
However, the wild play didn't make Eevee forget about the sandcastles. Early the next morning, Eevee woke up even earlier than Minato.
The little creature hurriedly patted Minato's face with its paws, making a confident expression and chirping "Eevee Eevee," seemingly wanting to remind Minato to fulfill their promise.
"I know, I know."
Lying in bed, Minato picked Eevee off his face and yawned sleepily.
"Don't worry. I can spend the whole day with you today." Minato said.
The wonderful free activity was worth looking forward to. Although Yukari had invited him to go somewhere else, for Eevee's sake, Minato politely declined.
Upperclassmen are precious, but freedom is more precious. But for Eevee's sake, both can be cast aside!
Because it was still early, the temperature wasn't as hot as yesterday. Stepping on the beach actually felt somewhat cool, but this didn't affect Eevee's enthusiasm. After running to yesterday's spot, it immediately started building again.
Using sand to build those magnificent structures seen in movies.
Minato also discovered that Eevee's memory was truly good. The details of those buildings were very clear in their minds. He couldn't match that.
"Eevee Eevee!" Before long, Eevee finished building. However, when it recalled the palace built by the Sandshrew yesterday, it immediately shook its head dissatisfied and slapped it apart again with one claw.
"Keep it up, take your time." Minato encouraged.
Eevee also showed a determined expression.
Time slowly passed.
One hour... two hours... three hours...
Minato was astonished. In the blink of an eye, so much time had passed. And during this long time, Eevee had been working hard continuously.
The sandcastle it built had improved greatly. However, compared to the Sandshrew's work from yesterday, there was still a gap. This also made Minato feel a bit regretful.
By now, more people had arrived, and the temperature was gradually rising. As Minato stretched, he suddenly showed a surprised expression because he spotted the same girl and Sandshrew duo from yesterday again.