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As the two ghosts square off on the beach like gunfighters waiting to see who draws first, the moment is interrupted by a yell from across the beach.

A familiar woman’s voice, “Dammit Kurt! You wait right there.” Gabby and her cameraman are jogging our way, “Ty get set up with the tide in the background, I want a slight angle from Kurt’s side of the battle.”

Looking over to Naomi, “I think you forgot something again.”

Her angry pout is enough to tell me she just doesn’t care today.

Honestly, that’s fine given last night, but it means I’ve got some slack to pick up…

While Ty is wrangling his tripod I call over to the little haunted sandcastle, “Hey bud, do you know more Sandygasts? Let's have a big sand fight!”

The little pile sand shuffles in place a bit before a conch is dragged up from beneath the surface. A mournful howl echoes across the waves as the pokemon blows into the shell.

It takes a few minutes, long enough for the camera to be ready to record, but a second Sandygast does arrive, and then a third. Each one is a slightly different shade of sand. Before long a large wave crashes on the beach, and in its wake is a layer of black sand.

All the dark grains swirl together in a waist high dust devil. When the dust clears, a single, black sand tower remains. I can tell it’s probably from a beach closer to the volcano.

Checking the dex, there are no known ways to tell if a Sandygast is shiny, they take whatever sand is available at the beach they live on. So it’s similar to my Phantump. Furthermore this specimen is nearly evolved to it’s Palossand form.

“Well, they have four,” looking at my teammates, “Jane, can I borrow your Sandile?”

I also bring out my Sandshrew, Rusty, and my Tirtouga, Zilla.

“Alright team, huddle up,” as our squad puts our heads together I notice the Sandygasts doing the same, centered around their big bro. “Alright, Blue, you’re our construction boss, Rusty and Crooky are your diggers and shapers. Zilla you’re our anti air, any sand launched our way, you spray down. Alright, let's win this!”

Our opponents have definitely caught on and are taking up formation, “Good sports for something the dex says eats souls.”

Gabby seems fascinated, “Well they are made by children’s abandoned toys.” She steps to the middle of the two teams, “Alright the two teams will each create a castle in the sand, whichever team knocks over the other’s, wins. Ready?”

Blue giggles, and the Sandygasts smack a coconut shell against a rock.

Jane mutters, “This is crazy.”

Ty laughs, “none of them are over waist high, it's like kids playing.”

“Start!”

Blue begins by sprouting up the wooden frame of his sand fort, a square tower surrounded by a round wall. Sandshrew starts plowing a moat with my turtle bringing a canal of water up from the tide. Sandile is packing dirt into the central tower, it's looking to be about four feet tall.

Meanwhile the sand ghosts are shifting their bodies to form a wedge of towers around the central one. Knee high walls connect each Sandygast tower and from the tops I can see little sand cannons forming

“Incoming Zilla! Blue ya need to skip the gardens and get with the siege weapons.”

Three sand balls fly across the beach, two get shot down by Zilla’s water gun while the third pegs Jane’s Sandile in the face.

The surly croc thumps his tail and continues to pack sand into walls while leering across the battlefield.

Blue starts sprouting miniature palm trees with walnut sized coconuts and shows Rusty how to bend them back like a spoon at school lunch…. Or I guess a catapult if you stretch your imagination.

It doesn’t take long before none of us are quite sure what to say as barrage after barrage of sand and wood are flinging back and forth across the battlefield. At some point Blue found actual coconut shells and now all four of our team are sporting makeshift helmets.

Just when it seems like Blue is getting tired from growing so many sprouts and Zilla is running out of breath, tiny green spores start to float up from the enemy sand castle.

Jane whispers, “Is using Leech Seed like this cheating?”

Gabby, who’s been excitedly narrating the match to her camera this whole time, “Everyone's favorite trickster might have been called out for playing dirty as I see the opponent Sandygasts are attempting to use Shadow Ball. That move is a bit above their level but with their combined power they might just pull it off!”

Sure enough I see what looks like a doomsday cannon in miniature forming out of sand with an ominous black glow emanating from the barrel.

Crooky helps Rusty dig under the sand for safety while Zilla withdraws into her shell. Blue however begins a childish version of a maniacal laugh as the melon sized black orb blasts across the beach straight towards him atop his central tower.

Just before impact, his entire tower shifts to the side revealing a four foot tall palm with a boulder wrapped in vines.

The Shadow Ball impacts the palm, bending it back. Blue waves his little shadow hand in a firing motion. The palm whips forward, flinging a rock the size of a beach ball.

Gabby is gripping her mic, “Yes, moving your castle is definitely cheating, but no one told Blue that.”

Rock crushes black sand as the larger Sandygast gets smattered across the beach.

No time like when it’s just taken a big hit!

I ready one of my ridiculous supply of Lure Balls.

“Kurt!” Naomi smacks the ball out of my hand and replaces it with a black and gold Ultra Ball.

“Thanks!” I throw.

Some of the smaller Sandygasts look to shoot down the ball but Zilla is still on point with her Water Gun shots, each sand attack is sprayed away!

My new Ultra Ball lands and begins to vacuum up all the black sand.

One shake…

Two…

Ding!

“Haha, Nice!” I give Naomi a high five as the girl looks caught up in the excitement of the moment.

Gabby steps infront of the camera showing the sulking Sandygasts and celebrating Team Blue, “Well that might have been one of the most irregular pokemon captures I’ve ever seen. Congratulations to the ever entertaining Kurt and his Rebels.”

I congratulate each of our pokemon and promise snacks on me later before dashing over and grabbing the Ultra Ball one of the Sandygasts was inching towards.

“Sorry buds, this one is coming with me,” seeing the wilting little sandcastles, I do feel kind of bad, “Don’t worry I’ve got a nice private beach all picked out for it back home.”

Mollified or not they drift away up the beach.

Ty starts getting ready to move while Gabby walks over, “So, I see Kurt has his local catch, anyone else still catching pokemon this morning? When you’re done I bet some of the other trainers would love to battle, we could get some great footage.”

Shaking my head, “Naomi still needs to catch something, maybe we’ll head inland a bit of the way back. After that I think we’ll go check in on the Zapdos.”

Noami eagerly nods at getting to see her protector, so much that I think we may as well just head there.

Glancing again at my new Pokemon, “Didn’t think my Lure ball was up to it, eh Princess?”

Realising I was talking to her, Noami actually snorts, “Mr. Kurt, just cause you have dozens of one ball doesn’t mean you should risk losing a quality pokemon. That Sandygast is probably near the same level as your Golbat.”

I open my dex app and begin to register my pokemon, I note that the ball clicks to the locked mode as I already have a full team. As always I can still force it open but that would signal the local rangers like dialing 911. I can even change it from automatic to letting me pick a pokemon from my team to lock in my official league app.

Anyway the dex does start giving me some preliminary info, more so than normal thanks to the higher quality Pokeball.

This Sandygast has an estimated level in the low 30s, the volcanic sand slows it down but increases its resistance to steel type attacks while lessening it’s weakness to water.

Guess I should stock up on enough black sand to help it grow into Palossand before we leave… Honestly this guy is so case sensitive on where I can use it that it’ll just chill in Rustboro most of the time.

He’ll give me an advantage at the Rustboro gym and probably Lavaridge depending on their gym arenas. Maybe the Mosh, but definitely not Fortree, I don’t know what’s in Mossdeep, or Sootopolis… I guess we’ll see, maybe this guy will be awesome. I just thought he’d go great at my future lighthouse.

The boardwalk on the way back is lined with food stalls and drink shacks. I can’t help but feel this whole experience is getting dragged down by yesterday’s problems.

Well, that might be naive of me, who ever wanted to bring us down would clearly still want to come after us. What a pain in the ass.

I muster up a fresh sense of vigilance as we navigate the beach crowds while trying not to be obvious to the kids, Lacy clearly notices me checking every person we pass. Her hand grips mine and doesn’t let go until we’re back in front of the hotel.

It’s no problem to arrange a ride, Naomi refuses to let Gabby and Ty get her injured Zapdos on film. The camera couple take it in stride and opt to go get some shots of the other teams. The shuttle to the Pokemon Center is a quiet ride.

Naomi is practically running out the door as soon as we come to a stop. I hand Lacy the balls for the three pokemon I used this morning plus my new Sandygast.

“Get them checked in and meet us upstairs please, can’t let the brat out of my sight right now.”

Maybe my concern is overboard once I notice several Wattson Company trainers standing security by the elevator. I don't think I should be seen as taking it easy on the job right now. I catch up to Naomi just in time to join her on the lift.

Even before our doors open I can hear shouting.

“I told you this would happen! You can never assume anything is 100% guaranteed when it comes to legendary pokemon.”

“Father this has nothing to do with Zapra, this is sabotage!”

We step out onto the balcony overlooking the lobby below, the two senior Wattson men stop yelling and look at their little princess with far more concern than when I last saw these two at the restaurant.

Nearby, in a makeshift nest of palm leaves, Zapdos chirps with excitement. Sparks shower across the floor causing Mayor Wattson to hop away or risk burns on his dress shoes. The grandfather just let's it spray across his boots.

“Naomi dear, are you feeling better this morning?” The old timer pulls his grandchild into a hug while Zapra squawks impatiently.

Wattson Sr. chuckles and ushers Naomi forward so Zapra can inspect her adopted chick. I can actually spot new feathers already growing in the treated areas.

Mayor Wattson shakes my hand, “Damn fine work bringing in the Zekrom safe Kurt, damn fine.”

Are you more worried about your toy or your kid guy?

“Of course, although now I have a nosey investigator looking to interrogate me as soon as she gets time.”

He laughs, “Don’t stress over Abby, she’s a sweetheart. Still, I’m impressed you knew how to fly my bird.”

“You and me both,” remembering the shouting from a moment ago, “So, sabotage?”

Sighing, “It seems one of our lead technicians took a spur of the moment vacation just after you took off from Mauville. We’re still looking for him.”

Seems my day job is getting more complicated, “Sounds like I should be asking for a raise.”

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