I
Seagulls crowed and the ocean swirled. He looked above him at the blue sky. The sun was deviously taking cover behind a cloud, and it was a tad cold. It wasn't the perfect day for the beach, but they had just arrived, and most of them were eager to get into the sand and surf.
Link was not.
Having grown up in the woods, the elf was no stranger to water. It was the sand that he didn't like, or maybe more specifically the clumpy feeling of wet sand between his toes. He also hated being tossed around in the waves, and the result, sand and shards of seashells in the corners of his pointy ears and against his eardrums, was irritating.
And it was too serene and peaceful. He was on edge, as if he should be looking for enemies. Everyone on vacation with him had been his opponents since the fourth Smash Tournament had begun, but now they were all taking a break from the fighting before the semis started up. The tournament participants had gone to the beach for vacation during the past three tournaments, and each time, Link had returned to the boardwalk as soon as possible so that he could use the foot wash and go to the arcade. There, he would usually be alone, aside from Mr. Game and Watch and R. O. B., but those two also couldn't talk, so it wasn't too bothersome.
When Link finally got the chance, he started to slip away from the others, quickly escaping up the sandy hills. His progress was stopped when he bumped into something he didn't see and fell on his bottom. Getting up, he looked directly in front of himself. Greninja, a newbie to the tournament and a Pokemon, stood before him. Link felt slightly uneasy whenever he noticed its scarf-like tongue, and he was never the one who liked to welcome the newcomers. Mario did that job best.
Link shook his head and frowned to indicate that he was sorry. Instead, it grabbed him by the arm. Link jumped. It must not know that I don't like being on the beach, he thought. Greninja must have heard him thinking, somehow, and proceeded to drag him down to the surf nonetheless. Link decided to give up the struggle. He had been avoiding the beach for a long time, and if anyone knew what would be fun or interesting at the beach, it would surely be a water-dwelling creature.
Once at the shore, Greninja pointed at the waves and made a swimming motion, tilting its voice up at the end as if to ask if Link could swim.
Link nodded.
"Gre Greninja?" it said, as if it were asking, "Then why don't you?"
Link shook his head and frowned to show that he didn't like swimming. He gestured at the whole of the beach and shook his head. Greninja's eyes narrowed in confusion. Link guessed that this action meant that it couldn't understand why someone wouldn't like the beach.
Greninja's eyes lit up suddenly, and it motioned for Link to follow it further down the coast, away from the others. It walked until it was a few steps away from the forbidden zone for swimming, then it ran out into the surf. Link watched and waited; the creature appeared to be searching the waves intently. It returned with its paw closed, opening it to show Link what it had found: a seashell. Not just a shard, but a complete seashell. Link's interest was piqued. He had always found shells somewhat beautiful, but he didn't usually have the patience to deal with wet sand, rough waves, and painful shell shards. Whole shells, however, meant that he wouldn't have to deal with roughness or jagged pieces. He was eager to join the hunt.
He pulled off his beach sandals and put them behind him so he wouldn't lose them, then followed Greninja into the surf. In minutes he had found half of a full-sized clamshell; it was pure white on the inside with parallel gray ridges on the outside. Link wanted to be able to ask Greninja where it had found such a perfect shell-hunting spot. The next shell he found was an attached pair of angel-wings; he kept finding lady-slippers and whole halves of scallops. Greninja even found some seaweed, unfortunately for its shell-hunting efforts. Link showed his finds to Greninja, and it beamed with excitement. He briefly wondered whether it would have done this activity on its own without Link.
Of course. That must have been why Greninja picked this spot. It knew that Link didn't want to be around many others.
Or maybe it just knew the right places to find mussels and scallops.
Link's hands didn't touch an arcade machine the whole day until after dinner when everyone was trying them out. Surprisingly, he had loved going shell-hunting, and he didn't mind the sand now, as long as he was still able to get to the foot wash.
