It was early morning in Dewford Town.
Challengers were lined up at the gym, waiting for a chance at the Knuckle Badge.
From the back of the gym a loud laugh bellowed. He gave some words of advice and sent the trainer on their way.
The receptionist called for the next challenger, but said person was pushed aside by a child.
"Hey! Brawly's in the middle of his job!" he called. "You have no business with him until the end of the day."
The girl pushed her way through. "He promised he'd play with me, and he's not getting out of this!"
Many annoyed grunts and groans came from the trainers waiting. The ones in the stands were all in awe at the little girl who obviously had no business being in a gym.
Brawly looked down at the little spitfire. He mimicked her pout then rustled her already messy hair. "What is it, Andy?"
"You said you'd train with me!" Andy responded, crossing her arms.
"I also said after the battles," he reminded her.
"C'mon!" she whined. "I wanna surf! Or maybe comb the beach! Hear some gossip from the mainland? OH OH OH! Or we can go to Granite Cave and look for gems!"
Brawly was already liking the idea of slacking off. He looked at the line of trainers and nodded down to his young friend. "Okay. Go get your gear. We'll head off after a few battles. My 'mon can rest while we hang out."
Andy shrieked and hugged Brawly before running out of the gym.
Andy chatted with one of the older townsfolk about some things from the bigger cities while she waited for the leader.
Brawly soon strolled out with his Makuhita. His Machop soon followed, but turned towards Brawly's residence.
She ran up to them and patted the small Pokemon on the head. "Hey, Makuhita! Where's Machop going?"
"He doesn't want to play today," Brawly looked towards the beach."This guy's up for some sunbathing though." He motioned to his bulky partner while still staring at the waves. "So, surfing then?"
"Actually, let's hold off on that." Andy smiled. "Ignis said that there's gonna be a cruise liner passing soon, so maybe we'll get to meet some cool trainers from inland!"
"I don't understand why we can't surf..."
"We'll be at the beach all day talking to them!" She whined. "I don't wanna be there now and then."
"I wouldn't mind it." Makuhita yawned.
"Well, would you mind breaking some rocks for me at Granite Cave?" She smiled when he turned his head a bit more interested. "You may find some Geodude to fight."
The hefty 'Mon smiled and looked at his trainer. "I guess the beach can wait, huh?"
"Aren't you tired? We had a lot battles..." The fighter still wanted to surf.
"Brawly..." Andy pouted and looked away. "I'm no good at that and you know it."
"You enjoy it though, and that's all that matters," Brawly smiled. "The skill will come in time. You're pretty young still, I'd be scared if you were as good as me."
"You'll be scared when I'm old enough to become a trainer and legit beat your butt!" she grinned then turned on her heels. "Onward to Granite Cave!"
As she marched away, Brawly frowned towards the beach and it's inviting waves. Makuhita got behind his trainer and started pushing him towards the cave.
"She'll get bored in 5 minutes," the 'Mon said. "We'll be on the beach in no time."
Of course, he was wrong.
They spent an hour exploring the top level of the cave. Makuhita was happy enough smashing stones and battling the Pokemon that sometimes showed up. Apparently he still had energy after the morning of gym battles. Brawly on the other hand was nearly asleep leaning against one of the walls.
He popped up when he heard a loud crash, this one not coming from his Pokemon crushing a rock. "Andy… Did you hear that?"
"Huh? Sounded like thunder…" She shrugged. "What about it?"
"You said there was a cruise liner coming towards Dewford," he was already heading towards the cave's entrance.
"What about it?" she asked again, more annoyed.
Makuhita patted her back. "Storms sink ships." He headed out after Brawly with Andy following. "But, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. The captain probably knew and redirected."
"Then why are we-" she dropped off mid-sentence when they got into sight of the beach.
"Oh, boy..." Makuhita ran after his trainer.
Andy stood still for a moment before running to the beach. She pushed past the group of people gathered there. The waves weren't impressively big, but they were obviously getting higher.
"Well," one woman sighed. "I guess we're getting no visitors today..."
"Yeah..." a young man agreed.
"Why's everyone here?" Andy looked around. If they expected no visitors, there shouldn't be anyone at the beach.
"Didn't you hear the crash?" When she nodded the man she had been talking to earlier continued. "We came to see what it was."
"Wasn't it just thunder?"
"No… It came from Route 107… On the sea..."
"Then..." she looked around. "Brawly?"
By this time, Machop was out, being drawn by the chaos. "Andrea! Where's Brawly and Makuhita?"
"I..I don't see him..." she looked through the crowd, then peered out on the waves. "Machop..." She grabbed his arm before he could respond. "C'mon!"
Several people shouted after her as she ran towards the shore.
"Where are we going?!" Machop tugged back, obviously not using full power against a child. "Do you know how dangerous going swimming is in this!"
"Brawly and Makuhita are out there!" She pointed towards them, then towards Route 106. "I can see something out there. Help me out?"
"Can't they handle it? He'd kill me if you died..."
"They're on Route 107… They won't make it!" Before Machop could resist, she dove in, dragging him with her.
Machop helped her swim towards Route 106, staying close to the rocks scattered around 106.
"I don't see anything…." he was taking a break, the both of them clinging to a rock on the route. "This is getting worse… We should head back.."
She ignored him, looking around. "The crash came from 107… If it was the liner… then Brawly went to help them..." she was talking to herself. "But if they had trouble out here..."
Machop sighed. "Yeah… Then someone could have flew overboard… But… This long after..." He froze. "Stay. Here." He commanded before swimming towards a source of thrashing.
A hand rose from the water, followed by the top half of a human. Machop grabbed them and headed back towards Andy, groaning when he saw she was no longer where he left her. "Andrea..."
Andy watched Machop swim off. The calls from that direction were human, she couldn't help if she wanted too. She was content to stay, thinking that's what she saw, until she heard another sound.
"Was that..." She looked to the next route. Usually it had a few people swimming, but it was baron, which was expected.
She narrowed her eyes when she heard another cry.
Past the raising waves, she saw two Pokemon. They clung to a rock, the water bombarding them, trying to pull them away. Their paws scrabbled against the stone, but it was evident they couldn't hold on much longer.
Andy looked at Machop, who was still heading towards the human. She took a deep breath and dove into the waves, heading to the next route up.
She made it to the twin Pokemon, who ended up being a pair of Eevee.
The one Eevee shrieked, almost headbutting Andy when she grabbed it.
"It's okay," she grabbed onto the rock where he had been. "I got you." She reached towards the other one, gaining a terrified look when it was no longer there. She looked around in a panic before realizing it must have sank.
"Okay, little buddy," She put him in the bag she had been collecting gems in and wrapped the strap around the rock. It didn't look sturdy, but it would have to do. "I gotta get your friend. Sit tight, and don't move." Once the Eevee nodded, she dove down.
She swam down, looking around for the fox Pokemon.
It didn't take her long to find him, his silver pelt showed pretty well in the darkness.
When she tried to make her way towards him, she felt something grab her around the waist.
She turned her head to see a Tentacool had a hold of her.
She fought not to gasp, grabbing at the Pokemon's tentacles trying to force it to release.
The Pokemon spoke, but was not understood past the current. It tired of her struggling and jabbed her, injecting poison into her side.
She choked from the pain. She finally got it's one arm off and bit down on it.
It backed off, though it still looked smug. It figured she'd die from the poison, and if not from that, from drowning. It'd return when she put up less of a fight.
She watched it retreat, mentally exhaling when it was gone. She looked back down towards the Eevee, who had stopped moving at this point.
She swam down, ignoring the pain in her side and grabbed it by the leg.
She made her way back to the surface. Desperately trying to ignore the searing pain from the wound and poison. She eventually hit the top of the waves, taking a deep breath when she could.
She forced her way back to where she left the brown fox, setting the other beside him. She clung to the rock weakly, waiting to see if the silver fox stirred. Just as he took in air, she passed out.
