However, the wild games didn’t make Ethan forget about building sandcastles. The next morning, Little Ethan woke up even earlier than Ryan Ford.

The little guy hurriedly patted Ryan Ford’s face, looking full of confidence and calling out “Bui Bui,” as if to remind Ryan Ford to keep his promise.

“Alright, alright, I know.”

Lying in bed, Ryan Ford picked up Ethan, who was sitting on his face, and yawned sleepily.

“Don’t worry, I can spend the whole day with you today,” Ryan Ford said.

A wonderful day of free time was something to look forward to. Although his senior had invited him to hang out somewhere else, for Ethan’s sake, Ryan Ford politely declined.

A senior is precious, but freedom is even more valuable. If it’s for Ethan, both can be set aside!

Since it was still early, the temperature outside wasn’t as hot as yesterday. Stepping on the beach actually felt a bit cool, but that didn’t affect Little Ethan’s enthusiasm. After running to the same spot as yesterday, it immediately started building again without a word.

Using sand to build those magnificent structures it had seen in movies.

Ryan Ford also noticed that Ethan’s memory was really impressive—it remembered the details of those buildings very clearly, even better than he did.

“Bui Bui!” Before long, Ethan finished building. However, when it recalled the palace built by the Sandshrew across from them yesterday, it immediately shook its head in dissatisfaction and knocked it down with a paw.

“Keep it up, take your time,” Ryan Ford encouraged.

Ethan showed a determined expression.

Time slowly passed.

One hour… two hours… three hours…

Ryan Ford was amazed—he’d zoned out and so much time had already gone by, and during all that time, Ethan had been working hard.

Its sandcastle had improved a lot, but compared to the Sandshrew’s creation from yesterday, there was still a gap. Ryan Ford felt a bit regretful about that.

By now, more people had arrived and the temperature was gradually rising. As Ryan Ford stretched, he suddenly looked surprised, because he spotted the same pair of girls and the Sandshrew from yesterday.

Chapter 14: Splashing Sand

Sandshrew is a bipedal, mouse-like Pokémon that only uses all fours when running.

This type of Pokémon has yellowish-brown, tough, dry skin with brick-like patterns, making its skin look like a brick wall. Its lower jaw to belly is cream-colored, and it has a thick, conical tail at the back. Its forelimbs have three small, sharp claws, and its hind legs have two toes. Its ears are small and triangular, giving it a rather honest look.

From a distance, the Sandshrew’s blue-black eyes kept glancing over here. Clearly, it had also noticed Ryan Ford constantly looking its way.

The Sandshrew’s actions didn’t escape the notice of its trainer, a short-haired brunette girl about the same age as Ryan Ford.

When she looked over, Ryan Ford responded with a polite smile, then turned his attention back to Ethan.

Sandshrew, a Ground-type, mouse Pokémon, is rather timid and will dig holes in the sand to avoid danger—this is its nature. These Pokémon are expert diggers, and when it comes to playing with sand, just as Ryan Ford thought, no matter how hard Ethan tried to build sandcastles, it couldn’t surpass the palace built by this Sandshrew.

Even at mealtime, Ethan was still tirelessly modifying its creation. Only when Ryan Ford called did Ethan snap out of it, its stomach growling and its face looking pitiful.

By this time, the Sandshrew and its trainer had already left, but they’d left behind a sand palace. Ethan had glanced over at it countless times. Although its own creation was already better than most of the other works left on the beach, that sand palace still made Little Ethan very dissatisfied.

“We’ll come back after we eat.”

Picking up Ethan, Ryan Ford patted its head. Although it was a small matter, it showed Ethan’s unwillingness to admit defeat. This rare and precious spirit shouldn’t be lost. Even if all these wonderful days were spent building sandcastles with Ethan, it would be worth it.

“Bui Bui~”

After getting Ryan Ford’s permission, Ethan froze for a moment, then happily called out.

That afternoon, Ryan Ford and Ethan didn’t run into the Sandshrew and the girl again, and the sand palace was gone. Although Ethan no longer had a direct comparison, it could still judge the quality based on memory and kept making improvements.

However, because of its size, Ethan just couldn’t match the Sandshrew’s perfection in some of the finer details…

In terms of seriousness and effort, it was no less than that Sandshrew.

Just as Ethan was about to knock it down and start over again, Ryan Ford stopped it and pointed to the side. Ethan immediately understood and started building in a new spot.

Looking at Ethan’s best and most time-consuming masterpiece so far, Ryan Ford really couldn’t bear to see it destroyed. He first took out his phone to take a picture, then picked up some small tools to help Ethan carve the details and textures of the creation.

In fact, he had taken photos of Ethan’s previous works as well. Ryan Ford wanted to keep them as mementos to show Ethan in the future.

“Bui…”