Ethan, who had come to the nearby area, heard the commotion and turned around, looking at Ryan Ford, who was lying there carefully sculpting a sandcastle. Ethan felt a bit complicated inside. It recalled the whole day spent with Ryan Ford, and suddenly had a strange feeling in its heart, different from any emotion it had felt before. Because of this, just as it was about to start piling up sand again, its movement stopped.

Instead, it began to carefully observe Ryan Ford's actions.

In that instant, Ethan felt as if it could stand from Ryan Ford's perspective, sensing every movement of the sand. The next moment, Ethan suddenly felt the sand beneath it become a bit hot, as if a strange wave was emanating from it, resonating with its own body.

This feeling made Ethan extremely panicked, and it let out a confused cry. The sound immediately caught Ryan Ford's attention. When Ryan Ford looked over, he saw that as Ethan's short, slender forelimbs swept across the beach, the sand at its three toes seemed to be manipulated, suddenly being pushed to the other side.

After experiencing this unbelievable event, Ethan felt its body return to normal, but it clearly remembered that strange sensation, as if its body had gained a memory. If it wanted, it could do the same thing again as before.

"Is this... the Sand Attack move?"

Noticing Ethan's unusual behavior, Ryan Ford spoke in surprise. Sand Attack—he had thought Ethan would only be able to grasp this move after starting formal training, but unexpectedly, it learned it under these circumstances.

You have to know, learning a new move in real life is extremely difficult. Even moves that can be learned just by leveling up in the games are not guaranteed to be mastered by Pokémon in reality.

Sand Attack is a Ground-type move that can manipulate sand and lower the opponent's accuracy. In the games, it's the earliest move Ethan can learn by leveling up, but in reality, there's no such thing as leveling up. To learn a move, a Pokémon needs a specific opportunity to comprehend it on its own, or it can be taught through a trainer's cultivation, but it's absolutely impossible to learn a move for no reason. For Ethan to learn Sand Attack while playing with sand shows just how perceptive Ethan is. However, this might also be related to its energy input—being completely absorbed in building sandcastles gave Ethan the chance to comprehend Sand Attack!

"Bui..." After comprehending Sand Attack, Ethan was both confused and puzzled. Only when Ryan Ford picked it up did it finally calm down.

"Isn't this great? Let's build it again from scratch!"

Ryan Ford looked expectantly at the sand all over the ground. If Ethan's understanding of Sand Attack was related to this little game, then could the Sand Attack move help Ethan build an even more perfect sandcastle?

"It's really amazing that a move can be comprehended in this way."

Gently putting Ethan down, Ryan Ford began a new round of effort with it.

Based on their previous experience, they knew that the key to building a sandcastle lay in the ratio of sand to water. Too little water couldn't bind the sand, and too much couldn't hold the shape. The best ratio was 99% sand to 1% water, which ensured the best stability for the sandcastle—especially for those tall and slender ones, where attention to detail was essential. If before they were just messing around, now that Ethan had mastered Sand Attack, it had a much clearer sense of the sand's moisture and easily found the optimal ratio.

Ethan's claws were nimble and sharp, much more useful than a small knife. Before long, they had indeed built a structure comparable to the sand palace made by a Sandslash.

"This is great, but there's still a little room for improvement."

Because they hadn't accounted for water loss during construction, the sandcastle at this moment wasn't quite perfect. After exchanging a knowing glance, Ryan Ford and Ethan smiled at each other, knocked it down, and started over, using Sand Attack to their heart's content.

Chapter 15: The Little Ho-Oh Cup

Ethan was able to build the sandcastle as it wished, all thanks to the Sand Attack move.

Besides its specific effects in the games, Sand Attack also helped Ethan manipulate sand more easily, making the sand on the beach more "obedient."

This trip wasn't just about deepening the bond with Ethan; learning Sand Attack was definitely the biggest gain.

So far, the little Ethan, who had just reached the age of "9 days," had already mastered four moves: Tackle, Growl, Tail Whip, and Sand Attack.

Although Growl and Tail Whip had some effect, after having Ethan use them a few times, Ryan Ford was left in despair—they were completely harmless, not threatening at all, ahhh.

But what comforted Ryan Ford was that he had already cultivated plenty of interest in Ethan. As for how long this enthusiasm would last, Ryan Ford didn't know, but for now, Ethan's condition was excellent, looking forward to the training methods that Ryan Ford said would make it stronger.

Ethan also really wanted to become stronger, to be as impressive as the protagonists in movies and battle videos, to become the center of attention in the arena.

Splash~~

After spending the whole day on the beach, Ryan Ford and Ethan immediately took a shower when they got back to their room, making themselves feel refreshed.

Don't be fooled by the fact that they played all day—both of them were as tired as dogs, especially little Ethan. Using Sand Attack to manipulate sand for a long time was really exhausting.