The salt-sweet breeze lightly rolled across the sandy shore of the beach Gina sat on.

It was the second day after they had arrived on the island of Acapulco—specifically Porta Vista. It had been in the early morning of yesterday that they had arrived once the ship went down and, after being allowed to rest, everyone was being questioned by the authorities regarding what happened on the S.S. Anne. Since they had been directly involved, they were questioned after the crew and Captain of the now sunken ship, a tedious process that took longer than it had any right to. By the time they were free to go, it had become evening again.

Until the rest of the passengers were finished being questioned, they could make use of the facilities free of charge. In a way, it was like everyone had won the prize for the tournament, though Gina suspected it was done to temporarily appease the passengers who booked a ride on the ship in the first place. Either way, Brock had decided that they should spend today enjoying the reprieve they were being given and Misty seemed happy enough to see it as the silver lining of the entire situation.

Gina hadn't cared about winning the prize. But her pokémon did deserve the chance to relax occasionally in a nice place. So here she was on the beach with them, further out from most of the populace and somewhere along the northern edge.

Her Wartortle was closer to the water's edge, scooping up the sand into a bucket with a small plastic shovel. When she was done, Geodude came over and lifted it up so that they could pile it onto the rest they had. They were making a small sandcastle that was only partially finished but would probably be twice as high as they were by the time they were done.

As for Eevee, she decided that her time would be better spent playing with an inflatable ball that could be bounced around. Gina wasn't going to let her attempt battling for at least another two days since her runabout in the Vermillion City Gym, but the Evolution Pokémon was determined to get her fill of playing. While she probably would have been satisfied with running back and forth on her own, Nidorina and Rattata were playing with her as they moved the ball between them.

As for Gina herself, she was sitting down on a towel as she looked over them. The swimwear she had chosen was a modest choice that she had found from a local store nearby, consisting of a purple top and bottom, nestled behind a swim jacket and pair of black swim-shorts. It made her happy to see them all getting along.

However, there was one exception to that rule. "How are you feeling now, Spearow?"

She addressed the Tiny Bird Pokémon that was nestled on the ground next to her. Unlike the others who were frolicking around, he was instead laying on the sand with his wings spread to sunbathe. And rather than give her a vocal answer, he instead gave her an impassive look.

Gina rolled her eyes. "To be fair, I didn't know you were beginning to molt when I caught you."

During their stay for the questioning, she had spotted the birdkeeper that Brock mentioned had the Doduo for professional insight into how she could better train Spearow. But when the question of his temperament came up, she'd learned it was molting season for him once the avian specialist looked him over. He wasn't far enough into it that it inhibited his ability to fly, but it was far enough that he was especially grumpy—and that process was inhibited by being stuck in his ball all of the time.

When Pokémon were recalled into their balls, they were converted into energy and stored within it. The compressed or shrunken state of their balls put them into a state of outright stasis, but they were conscious when it was enlarged. In either state, their bodily processes didn't exactly continue as normal and that also meant that the various changes to it like molting were also unable to continue as normal.

So, while Gina was still fairly sure he was pretty temperamental by nature, at least some of that was because he was still stuck molting. He needed time to be able to complete it outside of his ball like how Ash kept Pikachu out all the time. But, given how short his temper was, Gina wasn't remotely comfortable leaving him out that often when they were traveling.

"I'll let you stay with Gramps for a while on his ranch," she decided, fishing a treat out of her jacket for him. "That way you'll be able to finish molting and growing your new coat. Just be on your best behavior, okay?"

A low grumble came from behind his beak before he plucked the treat out from between her fingers. "Row."

"…ka-pika…"

As she watched him peck apart the treat piece-by-piece, the familiar sound of Pikachu's voice reached her ears. She looked over to see that the yellow bundle of fur was on the move some distance away, pointing towards her. And following behind him were the others.

Misty had opted to wear a red bikini due to her natural inclination towards the water, leaving her skin exposed. In fact, she seemed almost radiant in the morning sun once as her emerald eyes gazed out to the sea. She was entirely in her element here.

Brock was a lot more… muscular than Gina had expected, his opened shirt displaying six-pack abs, short sleeves showcasing impressive biceps, and trunks showing powerful calves. He wasn't a pure mass of muscle like some of the bodybuilder she'd seen in passing, but you could see the definition of them fairly well. She could only guess that handling rock pokémon involved a fair amount of hard labor and heavy lifting.

Ash, on the other hand, did not have the well-defined muscle of the former Gym Leader. But he was in better shape than when she had seen him shirtless post-baseball practice. The constant traveling, sometimes to an excessive degree because he lacked a sense of direction, as part of their Gym circuit had left him with a lean but firm build.

For a moment Gina found it difficult to recall if his shoulders had been that broad to begin with. Then she shook her head to remove the errant thoughts as they approached her and said, "Well, you guys woke up later than usual."

"My brothers and sisters kept me up last night during the video call," Brock said. "Apparently the news about the ship reached them, so there was a lot of back and forth."

"My sisters were less … open about it, but they pestered me as well," Misty added, though she didn't sound as bothered about it as she put on. "I told them I could handle myself."

"Huh…" Gina tilted her head in thought as she watched Pikachu join in with Rattata and the others. "Gramps didn't bring it up when I called him yesterday about Spearow, so I guess he might not have gotten the news. What about your Mom, Ash?"

"I… didn't figure it was worth worrying her over." Ash rubbed the back of his neck, pointedly looking away when Gina raised a brow at him at that. "All's well that ends well, right?"

"Mmmm… I guess I can understand it if you put it like that," Gina mused. Mind you, she was fairly sure that his mother was going to find out one way or another. Even when they were children, she always seemed to know things no matter how well they tried to hide it.

Happily moving away from the topic, Ash then turned out to the vast sea. "Anyway, since we're here, let's go for a swim!"

"Not right now for me," Gina said, looking over to her team. "Maybe later."

"I want to warm up under the sun before I go swimming with my pokémon," Misty said, already in the process of unrolling a towel to sit on next to Gina.

"Well, I'm game," Brock declared. "How about a race?"

Ash took him up on it. "You're on!"

As the two boys ran towards the water and began to swim out towards a point further out, the girls found themselves having a conversation until two young men approached them. They had suntanned skin that and wore boarding shorts and shirts that clung to their bodies, glistening wet from the ocean waves. Gina figured they must've been surfers as she asked, "Can we help you?"

"We couldn't help but notice that you two were just hanging out here by yourselves," the first said. "Thought we could maybe show you how to board?"

She had the feeling their offer was made with less than noble intentions. And she didn't really care too much about boarding in the first place, so she chose to pass up on it. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm looking after my pokémon right now. This is their vacation more than mine."

Not getting the message, they continued to press the matter. "Just put them in their balls. We promise that it'll be a lot more fun hanging out with us than a scruffy looking bird."

The look that Spearow gave them both would have been followed by him attempting to peck out their eyes if Gina hadn't immediately set her hand on the top of his head. Then, when he began to fluff his wings, she gave him a stern look before he flew off the handle. Since avian pokémon could read facial expressions exceptionally well, due to their keen eyesight, it was more effective to show her displeasure than to yell at him.

Instead, she decided to save that for these two. "How about you both go—"

"Actually, we're here with two other guys," Misty cut in, setting a hand on her shoulder before she could get the words out. She gestured out to the pair swimming. "So we're good on company. But thanks for the offer."

Misty's attempt to try and drive them off by making it clear they weren't available still didn't carry. "That tall one looks like he lifts a bit, but you could do so much better than the scrawny guy."

…and there goes the last of my patience, Gina decided. Then she eyed Spearow and gave him a firm warning. "Not the eyes."

Unlike those two, he got the message. "Row!"

She moved her hand away and watched as he chased them off screaming. Her pokémon immediately took notice and then turned back to her to see if they should try to rein the angry bird pokémon in. She only shook her head. "It's fine. You can keep playing."

"…That could have gone better," Misty said, shaking her head. "I know they were annoying but setting him off on them like that was probably a bit much."

"I feel very little sympathy to idiots who insult my pokémon and insult my friends," Gina said matter-of-factly as she reached down for her water bottle.

"Even so, you shouldn't actively set a precedence for your pokémon to wantonly attack others simply because they've been insulted," a third, wizened voice chimed in whilst she was in the middle of taking a sip of the water. "Especially a pokémon that's capable of remembering the faces of individuals and teaching others of its kind to hold that same grudge."

She nearly spat it out when she recognized the voice and whipped her head around to see it was exactly who it sounded like. "Gramps!"

And he was not alone either. "It's been a little while, hasn't it, Gina?"

"Miss Ketchum!" She quickly rose to her feet in the wake of the smiling mother's greeting. "Why are you both here!?"

[-oOo-]

The sound of screaming stilled Ash's arms in the middle of the race—which he was losing, though he wouldn't admit it. Bobbing in the water, his eyes were naturally drawn to the pair of surfers running down the edge of the beach while being chased by a Spearow. He felt a notch of sympathy for them, being all too familiar with that, before turning his attention to the only person he knew who owned said pokémon…

And promptly nearly sank in surprise at the sight of his mother waving to him, Pikachu doing the same from right next to her. "Is that Mom!?"

Water splashed next to him as Brock doubled-back from his lead. "That's your mother?"

He nodded before deciding to swim back as a sharp whistle from Gina called back the Tiny Bird Pokémon. By the time he made it to shore, Spearow was perched on her arm and looking grumpy with strands of hair dangling from his beak. Gina had the palm of her hand on the top of his head while pointedly avoiding the disapproving look her grandfather was giving her.

"Mom. Professor. What are you guys doing here?"

"It just so happens this place isn't so far from Pallet Town that the Professor couldn't call in a favor so that we could come to check on the both of you. After all, it's not every day when you learn your children got into a fight with a bunch of criminals that ended up with a ship sinking—secondhand at that."

Ash winced. He recognized the 'Young Man, you are in soooo much trouble' tone that layered her words. She only gave him that tone when he did something wrong back at home or messed up a client's order at the restaurant.

"I didn't want you to worry about it," Ash said hastily in his own defense. "We made it out fine after all."

"Even if you didn't want me to worry, you still should have told me something, Ash," Delia pointed out, her expression softening as she laid bare her disappointment. "As your mother, it hurts when you hide things from me. So, imagine how upset I was to learn from the Professor about this mess and that my own son was involved without telling me as soon as he was safe?"

He looked away. It was because he didn't want to see that expression or have this discussion that he didn't tell her. Because he knew she'd worry, and he'd feel bad about it considering everything.

"Miss Ketchum, I want to apologize on Ash's behalf for both the incident itself and him not telling you about it." Eyes were drawn on the oldest of the group by the timbre of his voice as he emerged from the water. The expression on his face reminded Ash of when he was on the boat and spoke with authority to the others. "The blame lies solely with me."

His mother's amber eyes looked over the former Gym Leader, water clinging to his body as it dripped onto the white sands. "You must be Brock. Ash has told me a lot about you from when he did contact me after Pewter City."

Brock brought a hand to his chest and made a slight bow. "Please don't be too harsh on him. It was I who convinced our group to get on the S.S. Anne. In the aftermath I should have contacted you personally to explain the situation, knowing Ash was no doubt tired from his efforts in ensuring that everyone made it off the ship safely. It probably just slipped his mind."

Delia turned to her son with a brow quirked and her arms crossed. "Is that so?"

The group all knew that just wasn't true given the earlier discussion they had on the subject. But Brock had offered him a lifeline out of the situation, so Ash wasn't exactly going to refuse it. "Yeah, that's it. It just slipped my mind!"

"Let me make it up to you," Brock continued, raising his head and giving her a smile. "If you haven't had breakfast yet, allow me to treat you to a home-cooked one while I personally regale you of all of your son's adventures since we've met. As someone who's had to look after their younger siblings, I know there's nothing more satisfying than hearing someone praise them over a warm meal."

She brought her hand to her chin in thought. "Well, I was in such a hurry I didn't really eat anything filling on the way. I suppose it couldn't hurt…"

As Ash watched his mother follow after Brock, he felt a huge weight off his shoulders and sighed in relief. He owed Brock for covering for him. At least he felt that way until Misty stepped over to him and whispered in his ear. "Ash, you should probably follow them."

"Why?" he asked.

"You do remember Brock's habit of flirting with older girls, right?"

"Yeah, but she's no girl," Ash pointed out. "She's my Mom."

Misty only rolled her eyes before picking up her towel and then grabbing him by the hand, leaving the notion of subtlety behind. "C'mon, clueless. At the very least we should get breakfast too."

Just like that their time on the beach was cut short. They made their way back to their room, with Ash and Brock toweling off and changing. Then the latter began to cook, while the former introduced the rest of his pokémon to his mother.

"Aww, you're all so adorable," Delia said from one end of a couch while looking over the collective that Ash called his own as they crowded around her. "I know Ash gets himself in over his head sometimes, but please look after him for me when you can."

"Bulba!" / "Squirtle!" / "Furee-free!" / "Char! Char!" / "Ottoo!"

"Why do you have to make it seem like I'm the one being looked after and not the other way around," Ash grumbled softly as he sat on the opposite end of the couch. Sighing as Pikachu patted him on the leg in what seemed like pity, he turned his attention to the table on the other end of the room where Gina and her pokémon were around Professor Oak.

"Remember to be good while you're in Gramps' care," Gina said while holding an enlarged ball in her grasp. It shook in response before she set it into an inactive state, shrinking it down until it was small enough to fit in the palm of the hand. She then handed it over to Professor Oak. "By the way, since you came here, does that mean you brought him with you?"

He only sighed as he put Spearow's miniaturized ball away and then reached into the inside of his coat to pull out another. "Fortunately, I thought ahead and expected you to ask as much."

"Sweet!" Gina took, enlarged, and opened the ball. Light speared out and took the form of a small-bipedal shape that was sitting up on the ground in front of her. Staring down at closed eyes as his head shifted back and forth slowly, Gina greeted him. "Good morning, Abra."

"Vee! Vee!" Happy with the arrival of a new playmate, Eevee came rushing over and circling him, unaware of the way Abra began to fidget nervously. Then he promptly vanished before their eyes, leaving the space where it'd been empty. The Evolution Pokémon was left staring at the spot. "Vee?"

"It's gone," Ash said, just as confused as Eevee before he pulled out Dexter and read the pokemon's entry. "Abra, the Psi Pokémon. It sleeps eighteen hours a day but can sense danger using its ability to read minds even while asleep. Should it sense danger, it will teleport itself to a distant location even in this state… but he wasn't in any danger though."

"Since Abra are still developing their psychic powers they don't have a lot of ways to defend themselves and require a lot of sleep," Gina explained as she crouched down and brushed the top of Eevee's head. "On top of that, he's more than a bit shy and was surrounded by unfamiliar minds. It's not a surprise he used Teleport in a panic."

"I guess that makes sense," Misty mused from her own seat. "Even so, if he could disappear anywhere just how are you going to find him?"

"Fortunately, Abra doesn't really travel that far when there are familiar minds around," Professor Oak said, reaching into his coat once again. He pulled out what looked to be a small, metal spoon. It wasn't a perfectly neat one either, with it being only slightly bent at the neck. "And there's also little incentives like this."

After the professor waved it around a little for a few seconds, Abra abruptly reappeared on the ground next to him. The Psi Pokémon clung to one of his pants legs and let out a soft and inquiring sound. The moment he handed it over, the Abra held the handle with both hands and made a happy noise. "Abbb~"

"Why is he so happy about being given a spoon?" Ash asked, leaning over the edge of the backrest. Pikachu had relocated to the top of his own head, but he was used to the weight. In fact, he believed Pikachu might have lost some weight since they'd started traveling.

"It's a quirk of their species," Professor Oak said while looking down at the Psi Pokémon. "The reason that they're asleep for most of the day is because their minds are developing their psychic abilities. Once they reach a certain point in their development, they start looking for a way to express that. I don't know why they prefer using spoons, but its soothing from what I can tell and that one happens to be its favorite."

"It also means that he's getting closer to evolving," Gina said with a smile as the head of the spoon began to wiggle slowly back and forth. "Once an Abra manages to get a solid handle on their Kinesis, the body will change to better suit that by evolving. It takes longer since he can't fight on his own just yet, but since he's not in the wild and doesn't have to worry about foraging for food, he can practice like this to help it along."

Ash let out a light humming noise in thought as he considered that. "So you're planning on using him for the Fuchsia Gym then?"

"I'd like to if he manages to evolve by then," Gina answered. "Even if he doesn't though, there really isn't a disadvantage to using him against the rest of the Gyms and eventually the Conference. We'll have to go through multiple rounds before we reach the finals and then face off against one another, so having a lot of options will make it that much easier to beat you."

Ash frowned and opened his mouth to say otherwise. But before he could get the words out, his mother began to giggle. "What's so funny, Mom?"

"Dear, you should take it as a vote of confidence," Delia said fondly. "After all, that's just her way of saying that she expects you to make it all the way to the finals without any trouble. And doesn't that mean she also considers you one of the best trainers in all of Kanto?"

He took a moment to consider that as he turned his attention back towards the kitchen area. Gina looked like she'd swallowed something sour all of a sudden with a tinge of red coloring her cheeks. Misty, sitting in a chair at the table across from them, only looked away as her shoulder shook and she held her hand to her mouth.

"Ah… to be young," Brock said in a wistful tone.

To which Professor Oak nodded his head. "Indeed."

"No one get any funny ideas!" Gina said hastily as she jumped to her feet. "It just means I expect someone who calls themselves my rival to keep up with me. If I'm going to be the Champion, I expect Ash to at least make it to the Finals. That's all!"

"Of course, Gina," Professor Oak said, just a hint of humor in his tone before it faded away. "Even so, you both should be careful not to grow overconfident. You've both made excellent progress, but from here on out things will get harder. Just making it that far will be an achievement and there's no shame in cutting it short should you feel it's too much."

"Not a chance!" / "No way, Gramps!"

The near-simultaneous response spoke of their competitiveness. The thought of quitting when they'd nearly reached the halfway mark was simply not something they could even begin to think of. They were determined to see it through to the end.

"All done!" Brock said as he finished cooking, brushing his hands on the pink apron he wore. "Ash, Misty, Gina, set the food for the pokémon and our guests out while I go feed Onix."

"Sure thing," Ash said as he rose out of his slouch on the couch and did as asked, which still took a while given all the pokémon they had. By the time Brock had gotten back, they had just managed to get everyone situated before taking a seat around the table. Ash sat next to his mother while Gina sat next to her grandfather, leaving Misty and Brock to take the ends.

"So, Miss Ketchum," Brock began. "What are your plans now?"

"You can just call me Delia," she told him. "And I suppose Professor Oak and I will be heading back now that we know the kids are in good hands and doing well. This trip was mostly abrupt since I was worried about them and we could get here so quickly thanks to his connections, but I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving the restaurant closed for more than today."

"If you don't have to go right away, you should take at least a few more hours to enjoy yourself since you're here," the former Gym Leader said. "You have to take the little chances to unwind when you get them. Treat it like a small vacation so you can go home feeling refreshed and happy."

"That… does sound nice," she admitted after a moment of thought. "I can't remember the last time I've had a vacation, but I don't want to inconvenience the professor or waste the time you kids have here. Besides, I didn't bring a swimsuit either."

"There's no harm in slowing down just a bit and enjoying yourself for a little while," Professor Oak assured her. "We can get back in a few hours on a helicopter, and I can sponsor the cost of letting the kids stay in the hotel for a few days, so take this time to unwind. As for the issue of your swimwear, I believe the girls would be willing to help out there."

Misty nodded. "Sure thing."

"Well, I suppose I'll take you up on that offer then," Delia said in a delighted tone. "I want to get to know my son's friends and what he's been up to, so I'll have stories to tell everyone."

[-oOo-]

The depths stirred on a different coast of the island as the sun's rays filtered through dozens of cloudy rubies that seemed to hover lazily over a massive stretch of the seabed that was nearly as barren as a desert. The bottom that had once been decorated with brightly colored coral now looked like a forest of bones jutting out of the sand. If you looked closely enough you could even see bits of metal strewn about that did not belong there at all.

The silence was broken by a sound that was crossed between a gurgle and a shriek that rippled the water. The rubies loitering in the sea all turned towards it as if eyes, staring at a single pair that were absolutely massive in comparison. Those crimson orbs shone an ominous hue and the water churned in response.

There would be a reckoning soon enough.