Pokémon Exchange Tournament

The sun shone brightly.

The sand had baked to a golden yellow, and heat shimmered above it.

Out in the rolling blue sea, people and Pokémon stood on surfboards, rising and falling with the waves as they tried to master nature's power.

This was Dewford Beach.

It was one of Brawly's favorite places. Known as the Fighting Tide, he often trained here alongside his Pokémon.

On hot summer afternoons, Dewford Beach was also a favorite spot for young men and women.

Baimu was young too, so he had brought his Pokémon along.

"Aren't you going to give it a try?"

Under a beach umbrella, he turned to Aggron. "Hey, buddy, you can use Surf! Get out there and show them how it's done!"

"Grrroar~"

Aggron flicked his tail lazily, looking thoroughly unmotivated.

In weather this nice, why move around when he could take a nap?

Was wrestling with waves supposed to be fun?

"Chido~"

Mawile, reclining on a beach chair in sunglasses, agreed. Even back in Pyrite Town, she had liked finding a shady spot to lie down and rest.

Not far away,

Chansey was playing with Deino.

Or rather, Deino was playing while Chansey acted like a babysitter, keeping him from knocking down the sandcastle someone had worked so hard to build.

"Mono~ Mono~"

Deino kept calling out, trying to get his trainer to come play.

But Baimu didn't much feel like moving either.

He felt as though Galarian Corsola's talent for lazing around had rubbed off on him. Lately, he had grown increasingly fond of finding a place to sit and doing nothing, or just scrolling through his phone...

I can't keep this up.

I'm not retired yet.

He sat up, rubbed the back of his neck, and walked toward Deino. Just as he was about to greet