"So Pachirisu, have you ever played sports?" Haru asked while taking him and Psyduck down to the beach.

Pachirisu happily chirped and took a fighting stance.

"Huh?" It took a few seconds for Haru to understand what Pachirisu meant. "Oh, I didn't mean Pokémon battles. I meant the sort of stuff played at Pokéathlons and the Olympics. Have you played that sort of thing?"

The flying squirrel Pokémon now shook his head.

"Ooh, then you're ready for a special time! You're gonna play beach volleyball!" Haru clapped in excitement of what's to come. "It's mostly just normal volleyball that's played on a beach… but the ball is extra water-resistant! Which is important 'cause of who you'll be up against today."

Not long after, they spotted Alisa setting up the volleyball equipment. Her Mudkip stood beside her, alongside a Vulpix currently staying at the resort.

"Hi Alisa! We're here!" Haru exclaimed.

Alisa turned and smiled. "Hey Haru." She then walked toward Pachirisu and knelt down in front of him. "And aren't you an adorable scamp?" She brushed a finger along one of his golden cheeks, causing him to release a small electric charge from his tail. "Yep, adorable."

"Alisa and I are BCFFs," Haru said to Pachirisu. "Best Concierge Friends Forever!"

Psyduck made an offended-sounding quack.

"Oh no no no no, don't get the wrong idea, Psyduck," Haru quickly said. "She's just my best concierge friend. You're my absolute best friend." She then hugged her Pokémon tightly. The potential friendship disaster was averted.

"If y'all are done with that, we can start the game now," Alisa called out.

"Alright, let's begin!"

Mudkip and Vulpix sat on one side of the net, so Psyduck and Pachirisu ran toward the opposite one.

"On this side," Haru announced, gesturing to Psyduck and Pachirisu, "we have… the P's. And on the other side we have the… uh… the Quadrupeds! Yeah…"

Alisa gave her a very unimpressed look, and the Pokémon all had varying degrees of confusion.

Meanwhile, Haru was internally screaming at herself. 'Ugh, that was so awkward! Why didn't I come up with team names this morning?'

"Eh, team names aren't important right now," said Alisa with a shrug. The dark-skinned concierge connected her phone to a portable speaker and put on some energizing music. "Alright, the first team to 5 points Let's do this!"

She tossed a volleyball in the air over the center of the arena. Pachirisu jumped & hit it with his tail, but Vulpix quickly returned it using all six of his tails.

Over on Team P's side, Psyduck reached her hands out to get the ball and pass it over to Pachirisu, who hit it with an electric charge, sending it flying over the net and scoring them a point.

Alisa fetched the ball and placed it next to Psyduck. "Not bad out there. Keep it up."

Psyduck used her psychic powers to serve the ball over to the Quadrupeds, where Mudkip fired a Water Gun to send it back. Pachirisu quickly climbed onto Psyduck's head and jumped off, zapping the ball across the court in midair, but Vulpix was prepared and spat out a Flamethrower that launched the ball back. Psyduck and Pachirisu both leapt out of the way to dodge the singed volleyball. The score was now an even 1-1.

"Hey, be careful!" shouted Haru. "This is a fun, friendly game!"

And so the game went on back and forth — both teams used their unique abilities to play in an exciting way no human could manage. It was certainly fun for Haru and Alisa to watch, especially a rather impressive series of volleys that lasted close t0 two minutes before Psyduck scored the point for her team.

That point brought the score to 4-4. Pachirisu served the ball with his tail and Mudkip shot it back high into the air. But this was the move that cost the game for the Quadrupeds. Psyduck psychically lifted Pachirisu into the air, and the little squirrel spiked the ball into the sand. The game was won; Pachirisu and Psyduck high-fived in victory.

Haru cheered. "Great job, everybody!"

"First game goes to the P's," said Alisa, clapping a bit less energetically. "But Mudkip, Vulpix, it's not over for you guys. We've got time for a couple more games."

All four Pokémon smiled and took their starting positions. They were ready for more.

They should make a game like Mario & Sonic at the Olympics but all the playable characters are Pokémon.