Building Sandcastles

"Here we are!"

After getting off the maglev train, they transferred to two more buses before finally reaching their destination.

After entering the resort and taking a look at their reserved rooms, everyone was fairly satisfied and decided to get something to eat together.

It wasn't until the afternoon that they officially began relaxing.

Fang Yuan and Eevee stepped onto the sand, and its soft, comfortable feel instantly spread through their bodies and minds.

"How is it, Eevee?"

Barefoot on the pleasantly warm sand, Fang Yuan took a deep breath and immediately felt refreshed...

The sea was blue, the sky was blue, and the gentle sea breeze instantly relaxed Fang Yuan. Most importantly, there was a whole group of older sisters in swimsuits.

"Vee, vee~~"

Eevee kept rolling around in the sand. It was also its first time at the beach, so everything felt especially new.

It wasn't just Fang Yuan and the others. There were quite a few Trainers and Pokémon on this beach.

Staryu, Seel, Slowpoke, Oddish, Psyduck, Dratini... all kinds of Pokémon were there.

Wait a second...

Dratini?

Rich kid, rich kid.

Besides that, there were many adults and children on the beach. Some children held little buckets and dug for pebbles, some rolled up their sleeves and splashed one another in water fights, some carried swim rings and were preparing to go swimming, while others were building castles out of sand!

When Eevee saw another Eevee building a sandcastle, it immediately began copying it, using its little paws to stir up the sand around it. Interestingly, Eevee learned quickly. Although it was its first time doing this, its sandcastle was already taking shape.

"Not bad."

Fang Yuan simply sat down beside Eevee and watched it work intently. And honestly, Eevee's sandcastle was quite good. In Fang Yuan's eyes, it was much prettier than the one built by the Eevee opposite them.

After a while, Fang Yuan realized that the castle Eevee had built was modeled after one that had appeared in a movie yesterday... So the little guy had remembered it.

After finishing, Eevee compared its work to the others'. The comparison made it immensely proud. It looked around and blinked, then lowered its head for another look before raising its chin high, seemingly very satisfied with its masterpiece.

However, when Eevee looked around again, it inadvertently caught sight of a Pokémon and a girl who were also playing in the sand, and it could not help showing a hesitant expression.

It was a Sandshrew. The palace it had built was clearly far more majestic and spectacular, making Eevee look doubtfully at its own castle. Fang Yuan followed Eevee's gaze. The other Pokémon was Ground-type, so it was understandable that Eevee could not match it at playing with sand. But what Fang Yuan had not expected was that, after thinking for a moment, Eevee directly smacked its sandcastle apart with one paw and began rebuilding it. It seemed determined to make major renovations and create an even more spectacular building than the one across from it.

"Vee, vee!!"

As it worked, Eevee told Fang Yuan to wait for it. Seeing Eevee's serious expression, Fang Yuan grinned. How had he never noticed before that this little fellow was so unwilling to admit defeat?

Building things out of sand was an incredibly simple little game, yet it was the first time Eevee had worn such a serious expression. Fang Yuan was more than happy to see it taking things seriously. He did not hurry off to do anything else, instead quietly staying by Eevee's side and watching it pile up the sand before refining it all over again...

Meanwhile, the members of the Psychology Club, who had taken a look around, gathered together and found Fang Yuan. "We checked it out. There aren't many visitors at the Surfing Pool right now, so let's go there first."

"Huh... What are you doing, building sandcastles?"

"Mm... Eevee seems pretty interested in it. Sorry, why don't you go ahead? I'll stay here with it," Fang Yuan said apologetically, pressing his palms together.

Lu Jie said, "It's fine. Building sandcastles is pretty fun too. Shall we do it together? How about a competition to see whose Pokémon can build the best one?"

Tang Ying said, "Sure."

After Meng Zicheng and Du Ai agreed as well, the Pokémon beside them immediately looked toward Eevee, eager to give it a try.

Once they received permission, the Pokémon all sprang into action. Persian, Graveler, Gloom, and Zubat all rushed onto the beach...

After a round of competition, Graveler and Meng Zicheng's creation was the most exquisite, followed by Persian and Tang Ying's. Little Eevee only came in third, and the comparison made it feel even worse.

Eevee: Σ(°△°)︴, as if it had suffered a blow.

"Vee..." Little Eevee dejectedly compared the creations a few times, then looked once more at the Sand Palace built by that Sandshrew. Even now, it was still the most spectacular one.

It seemed it was actually only fourth...

"Hahaha..." Fang Yuan rubbed Eevee's head. "It's okay. When we have free time tomorrow, I'll bring you back here. We'll keep building better and better ones."

"Vee..." Only then did Little Eevee nod.

Fang Yuan let out a breath. Thankfully, Eevee was sensible.

After wrapping things up here, everyone headed to the water park.

However, Fang Yuan had already decided to bring Eevee back tomorrow. It was rare for Little Eevee to want to seriously accomplish something, and Fang Yuan felt that as its Trainer, he had no reason not to support it. Just as his parents had supported his choices, he had to support Little Eevee too.

Even if it was only something as simple as piling up sand, he still wanted Eevee to enjoy itself and gain a sense of accomplishment.

And as it happened, everyone had already planned to split up for free activities tomorrow, which would give Fang Yuan and Eevee a chance to be alone.

Once they reached the water park, everyone began playing like crazy, and the thrills of the rides temporarily shifted Eevee's attention.

However, the wild fun did not make Eevee forget about building sandcastles. Early the next morning, Little Eevee woke up even before Ting Shu.

The little fellow hurriedly patted Fang Yuan's face, wearing an expression full of confidence as it cried, "Vee, vee," seemingly reminding Fang Yuan that it was time to fulfill his promise.

"I know, I know."

Fang Yuan, lying in bed, lifted Eevee off his face and yawned groggily.

"Don't worry. I can spend the whole day with you today," Fang Yuan said.

A wonderful day of free activity was worth looking forward to. Although an older student had invited him to play somewhere else, Fang Yuan still politely declined for Eevee's sake.

An older student was precious, freedom was more valuable, but for Eevee's sake, both could be cast aside!

Because it was still early, the temperature outside had not yet become as hot as yesterday. The sand even felt a little cool beneath their feet, but that did not affect Little Eevee's enthusiasm. After running to yesterday's spot, it immediately started building again without another word.

It used sand to build the magnificent structures it had seen in the movie.

Fang Yuan also discovered that Eevee's memory was truly impressive. It remembered the details of those buildings very clearly, putting him to shame.

"Vee, vee!" Before long, Eevee finished building. But when it recalled the palace built by the Sandshrew across from it yesterday, it immediately shook its head in dissatisfaction and smacked its creation apart with one paw again.

"Keep it up. Take it slow," Fang Yuan encouraged.

Eevee also wore a determined expression.

Time slowly passed.

One hour... two hours... three hours...

Fang Yuan was surprised. In the blink of an eye, so much time had passed, yet Eevee had been working hard the entire time.

Its sandcastle had improved greatly, but compared to the work of that Sandshrew yesterday, there was still a gap. Fang Yuan could not help finding that a little regrettable.

By then, more people had begun arriving, and the temperature was gradually rising. As Fang Yuan stretched, an unexpected expression suddenly appeared on his face, because he spotted the girl and Sandshrew duo from yesterday again.