Barefoot on the perfectly warm sand, Ryan Ford took a deep breath, instantly feeling refreshed and invigorated...

The sea was a deep blue, the sky just as blue, and as the gentle sea breeze brushed by, Ryan Ford immediately relaxed. Most importantly, there was also a group of swimsuit-clad big sisters.

“Bui bui~~”

Ethan kept rolling around in the sand, since it was its first time at the beach, everything felt especially new and exciting.

Not only Ryan Ford and his group, but there were also many other trainers and Pokémon on this beach.

Staryu, Seel, Slowpoke, Oddish, Psyduck, Dratini... all sorts of Pokémon were present.

Wait a minute...

Dratini?

Rich, so rich.

Besides that, there were also many adults and children on the beach. Some kids were digging for pebbles with little buckets, some had rolled up their sleeves and were splashing each other in water fights, some were holding swim rings getting ready to swim, and some were building sandcastles!

After seeing another Ethan also building a sandcastle, Ethan immediately started to imitate, using its two little paws to stir the sand around it. Interestingly, Ethan learned very quickly—even though it was its first time, the sandcastle it built looked quite impressive.

“Not bad at all.”

Next to Ethan, Ryan Ford simply sat down, focusing on watching it work. Honestly, Ethan's sandcastle was really quite good—in Ryan Ford's eyes, it looked even better than the one built by the other Ethan across from them.

After a while, Ryan Ford realized that the castle Ethan had built was actually modeled after one that appeared in a movie they watched yesterday... So this little guy still remembered it.

After finishing, Ethan compared its own castle with the others. This comparison made Ethan extremely proud; it glanced around, blinked, then looked down at its work, lifting its chin high, clearly very satisfied with its masterpiece.

But when Ethan looked around again, it accidentally caught sight of another Pokémon and a girl also playing with sand, and couldn't help but show a hesitant expression.

It was a Sandshrew, and the palace it had built was obviously even more grand and magnificent. This made Ethan look at its own castle with some doubt. Ryan Ford also followed Ethan's gaze—on the other side was a ground-type Pokémon, and when it came to playing with sand, it was understandable that Ethan couldn't compare. But what Ryan Ford didn't expect was that after thinking for a moment, Ethan suddenly smacked its own sandcastle down with a paw and started rebuilding, as if determined to make something even more spectacular than the one across from them.

“Bui bui!!”

While building, Ethan signaled for Ryan Ford to wait for it. Seeing Ethan's serious expression, Ryan Ford grinned. How had he never noticed before that this little guy was so competitive?

Building with sand—such a simple little game—was making Ethan show such a serious face for the first time. Ryan Ford was happy to see Ethan so focused, so he didn't rush off to do anything else, just quietly stayed by Ethan's side, watching it pile up the sand and perfect its creation...

Elsewhere, after wandering around for a bit, the psychology club members regrouped and found Ryan Ford, saying, “We checked, there aren't many people at the 'surf pool' right now. Let's go play there first.”

“Huh... what are you guys doing, building sandcastles?”

“Yeah... Ethan seems really interested. Sorry, why don't you all go ahead? I'll stay here and keep it company.” Ryan Ford put his hands together apologetically.

Jack Reed said, “No worries, building sandcastles is pretty fun too. Why don't we all do it together? Let's have a contest and see whose Pokémon can build the best one.”

Grace Carter said, “Sounds good!”

After Charles Mason and Alice Dean agreed, their Pokémon immediately looked over at Ethan, eager to join in.

Once they got permission, the Pokémon all sprang into action—Meowth, Graveler, Gloom, and Golbat all rushed onto the sand...

After a round of competition, the works of Graveler and Charles Mason were the most exquisite, followed by Meowth and Grace Carter's. Little Ethan only came in third, and this comparison made little Ethan even more upset.

Ethan: Σ(°△°|||)︴, as if it had been dealt a blow.

“Bui...” Little Ethan dejectedly compared a few times, then looked again at the sand palace built by that Sandshrew. Even now, it was still the most magnificent.

It seemed it was actually in fourth place...

“Hahaha...” Ryan Ford rubbed Ethan's head and said, “It's okay. When we have free time tomorrow, I'll bring you back and we'll try to build even better ones.”

“Bui...” Only then did little Ethan nod.

Ryan Ford let out a breath of relief—thank goodness Ethan was so understanding.

After finishing up here, everyone headed off to play at the water park.

However, Ryan Ford had already decided to bring Ethan back again tomorrow. It was rare for little Ethan to want to do something so seriously, and as its trainer, Ryan Ford felt he had no reason not to support it—just like his parents supported his own choices, he wanted to support little Ethan too.

Even if it was just building sandcastles, he wanted Ethan to have fun and gain a sense of accomplishment.

And as it happened, everyone was planning to split up for free activities tomorrow, which would give Ryan Ford and Ethan a chance to spend time alone together.

At the water park, everyone started playing like crazy, and the excitement of the rides helped Ethan temporarily shift its focus.