Sandshrew is a two-legged, mouse-like Pokémon that only uses all four limbs when running.
These types of Pokémon have yellowish-brown skin—hard, dry, and patterned like bricks, making it resemble a brick wall. From the lower jaw to the belly, it's cream-colored, and it has a thick, cone-shaped tail. Its forelimbs have three small, sharp claws, its hind limbs have two toes, and its small triangular ears give it an honest, dopey look.
From a distance, the Sandshrew kept glancing over with its dark blue eyes—it was clear that it had also noticed Yun, who was staring at it.
Sandshrew's movements naturally didn't escape the attention of its trainer, a short-haired girl around the same age as Yun.
When the girl looked over, Yun politely returned a smile, then shifted his focus back to Eevee.
Sandshrew, a Ground-type mouse Pokémon, is timid by nature and digs into sand to avoid threats. They are professional diggers. When it comes to playing with sand, just as Yun expected, no matter how hard Eevee worked on its sandcastle, it couldn't beat the palace built by the Sandshrew.
Even when it was time to eat, Eevee continued obsessively refining its creation. Only when Yun called out did Eevee come back to its senses, stomach growling pitifully.
By then, the Sandshrew and its trainer had already left, but they had left behind the palace built from sand. Eevee had glanced at it countless times. Even though its own creation was better than most others left on the beach, that sand palace still made Eevee feel dissatisfied.
"We'll come back after we eat."
Yun picked Eevee up and patted its head. Though it was a small matter, it showed Eevee's unwillingness to admit defeat—an admirable spirit that shouldn't be lost. Spending these precious few days building sandcastles with Eevee was definitely worth it.
"Bui~ bui~!"
After getting Yun's approval, Eevee paused for a moment, then happily cried out.
That afternoon, they didn't see the Sandshrew or the girl again. The sand palace was also gone. Though Eevee no longer had a direct comparison, it could still improve its design based on memory and kept refining its own.
However, due to its size, Eevee couldn't match the Sandshrew when it came to fine detailing.
In terms of seriousness and effort, it was no less than that Sandshrew.
Just as Eevee was about to knock over its current project to rebuild it again, Yun stopped it and pointed to the side. Eevee immediately understood and started a new construction in a different spot.
Looking at Eevee's best and most time-consuming masterpiece so far, Yun couldn't bear to see it destroyed. He took a photo with his phone to preserve it, then picked up small tools to help Eevee with the fine carvings.
In fact, Yun had taken photos of all Eevee's previous sandcastles. He planned to keep them as memories to show Eevee in the future.
"Bui…"
As Eevee moved to the side and heard the sounds behind it, it turned back and saw Yun seriously sculpting the sandcastle. Its feelings became a bit complicated. Remembering how Yun had spent the whole day with it, Eevee suddenly felt something new—an emotion different from anything before—and hesitated in resuming its sand-building.
Instead, it began to closely observe Yun's movements.
At that moment, Eevee felt like it could see things from Yun's perspective, sensing every shift of the sand. Then, it suddenly felt heat from the sand beneath it—strange waves pulsed through it, resonating with its body.
The sensation panicked Eevee, and it let out a confused cry that immediately caught Yun's attention. When he looked over, he saw Eevee's short forepaw swiping through the sand, and the grains around its three toes moved as if under control—suddenly pushed to one side.
After that strange moment, Eevee felt its body return to normal, but it clearly remembered that bizarre feeling—like its body had learned something. If it wanted to, it could do the same thing again.
"That was... the move Sand Attack?"
Yun exclaimed with surprise. Sand Attack—he originally thought Eevee would only learn it after starting formal training. Who would've thought it would pick it up under these circumstances?
In the real world, learning a new move is extremely difficult. Even moves easily learned by leveling up in games aren't guaranteed in reality.
Sand Attack is a Ground-type move that manipulates sand to reduce an opponent's accuracy. In games, it's usually one of the earliest moves Eevee can learn by leveling up, but in reality, there's no such thing as leveling. Pokémon need special conditions to master moves, either through specific timing or through training from their trainer. There's no way a Pokémon would just learn one out of nowhere. That Eevee learned Sand Attack while playing in the sand shows just how sharp its instincts are. It may also have something to do with how fully immersed it was in building sandcastles—giving it the opportunity to comprehend the move!
"Bui…"
After realizing it had learned Sand Attack, Eevee was still confused and dazed. Only when Yun picked it up did it calm down.
"Isn't this great? Let's build again from the start!"
Yun looked expectantly at the sand all around them. If Eevee's mastery of Sand Attack was related to this little game, could it now use the move to build an even better sandcastle?
"Learning a move this way... really is amazing."
Gently setting Eevee down, Yun and it began a new round of effort.
From past experience, they'd figured out that the core of sandcastle-building was the mix of sand and water. Too little water and the sand wouldn't hold together; too much and it would collapse. The ideal ratio was 99% sand and 1% water—only this gave the most stable results, especially for tall and slender structures. To carve out the finest details, this ratio was crucial. Before, they were just messing around. But since Eevee learned Sand Attack, it had gained a more precise sense of sand moisture, and easily found the optimal ratio.
Eevee's claws were agile and sharp—much better than using small tools. Before long, they had rebuilt a structure that rivaled Sandshrew's sand palace.
"This is great, but still not quite perfect."
They hadn't factored in water loss during the building process. The current sandcastle wasn't at peak perfection. Yun and Eevee exchanged a knowing glance, then laughed and toppled the castle again, joyfully starting over with the help of Sand Attack.
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