This short story deals with a serious and deadly topic. It contains death and loss. Please do not read if that makes you uncomfortable.

Also, this contains mild Sword and Shield spoilers. If you would like to wait until later to read because of the spoilers, feel free to do so.

Just wanted to let you know.

🌊 🌊 🌊

"Hey, Bea! Wait up!"

Bea ignored her brother's call and ran ahead. Her short, dirty blonde hair hit the sides of her head with each step. Her eyes were a light gray. She had a tough face with tanned skin. Underneath her thin athletic shirt and shorts, her body was well musculated, adapted to swing a punch or to kick away enemies.

"Geez, Bea, with how excited you seem, it's almost as if you've never explored another region before." The girl's older brother followed behind her, more slowly. He was pretty tall for his age, standing at 6' 5". He had blonde hair so light it was almost white, as well as his sister's gray eyes. He had a bit darker skin than Bea, but that's not surprising, especially since he spent most of his time swimming along the Galarian shore.

Bea stopped in her steps and looked back, crossing her arms over her chest. "I have, actually. Remember that time I went with Alli to Kalos?"

"Yeah, and you scared him half to death on that trip," her brother muttered, not expecting her to hear.

"Hey, it's not like I meant to!" She loooed down and grumbled, "I was just trying to show him a cool Honedge. . ."

"Well maybe he doesn't like Ghosts?"

"That makes literally no sense!" Bea lifted her head and glared at her brother. "Why would Alli specialize in Ghost-types if he hates them so much?"

"I was just putting it out there. Calm down," her brother took a step back and held his hands up in defense.

"You calm down," Bea growled softly as she reached up to adjust her Scorbunny headband. It was a gift that Allister had gotten her when she first got her spot as a Galarian Gym Leader, and she wore it every day ever since. "I wish Alli was here."

"Well you know that he doesn't like big crowds. Honestly, I feel like I know more about him than you do." The older boy walked past her.

"Oh, well then what about you and Nessa, hm? I know her better than you." Bea smirked. She then noticed his freezing and red face. "What's the matter, Dylan?" Her voice raised a little as she said his name.

"Why do you bring her up now? And you know that that's not fair at all, since you're a Gym Leader, along with her. . ." Dylan turned his head away from her.

"Yeah, it may not be fair, but it sure is fun to mess with you." Bea resumed her brisk pace, and Dylan had to rush to keep up.

Dylan was silent, trying to control his obvious blush, so Bea went on. "You only like her because she's a famous fashion model, am I right?"

"That's not true!" Dylan grabbed Bea's shoulder, only to have her swing her arm around and narrowly miss his face. One look at her face said everything: You're lucky I wasn't aiming.

"Okay, you think she likes you, but remember that she's a busy Gym Leader, and has no room for romantic relationships." She lifted his arm off of her shoulder and let her eyes bore into his own. "Remember that."

"Ouch," Dylan called out as Bea began to leave again.

Bea ignored him; she wasn't going to let her brother ruin her vacation. Although she had only been a Gym Leader for a year now, breaks like this were hard to come by. She wanted to relish it for as long as she could.

She paused as she finally saw the place she and Dylan had been looking for for so long.

"The beach. . . Finally," Dylan breathed from behind her.

Bea stared around her at the vast expanse of golden sand and cerulean water. Several families of people were scattered throughout the area, their umbrellas signaling where they camped up.

"Race you to the water!" Dylan shouted and began running towards the waves.

"You're so childish!" Hardly a second passed before Bea processed his challenge and had outrun him. However, her large feet, more accustomed to kicks than sprinting on unsolid sand, slipped to each side. Bea watched in annoyance as Dylan ran past her, laughing at her misfortune.

Bea groaned and spat out the sand in her mouth. Maybe coming here was a bad idea.

Her thoughts were supported as something hard hit the side of her head, knocking her head back into the sand.

"Geez, if I didn't know any better, I'd think I wasn't welcome here in Kanto." Bea grumbled as she once again spat her mouth free of the miserable, crunchy sand.

"I'm sorry!" A child's voice entered her ears. She looked up, seeing a young boy running towards her. He had black hair that covered his dark eyes, and brown skin. Behind him, three other boys stood, watching Bea with a slightly annoyed expression on their faces. A Pikachu and Croconaw stood beside two of them.

"I didn't mean to hit you!" the boy said again, reaching Bea and stretching his hand down to her. Bea gratefully took his hand and allowed him to pull her up. "You see, my friends and I were playing football and then I kicked it and it hit you and. . ."

At the word "football", Bea perked up. "You guys play football here in Kanto too?" She couldn't stop the excitement from escaping her voice.

The boy blinked, probably surprised that either she wasn't mad at him, or that she seemed interested in playing football— probably both. "Uh, yeah?" He looked over Bea and her clothing. "You're not from around here, are you?"

Bea smiled. "Is it really that obvious?" She ran a hand through her now-sandy hair. "Nah, I'm not from here. This is actually my vacation from home."

"Woah!" The boy grinned. "Where are you from?"

"Galar," Bea answered. "It's a long trip from here to there."

"Hey, Josiah!" One of the boys in the group shouted towards Bea and the boy. "Get back over here— and hurry up!"

Josiah lowered his head. "Sorry, but I have to go." He grabbed the football, which had landed behind Bea.

"Wait," Bea called out to him before he left. He turned back to look at her. "Mind if I play with you and your friends?"

Josiah nodded eagerly. "Yeah! Come on!" He broke off in a run back to his friends. Bea followed much slower, not wanting to embarrass herself anymore.

When she finally caught up to Josiah, the other three boys were looking at her skeptically. "You want to play football?" Bea was taken aback by the boy's sharp tone.

"Yes," Bea answered calmly, ignoring his rude demeanor. "Is that okay?"

"Football isn't for girls!" Another boy chimed in, glaring at her.

Bea sighed and looked at the fourth boy, half expecting him to tell her to leave. Instead, she saw him looking at her face, confusion and thoughtfulness on his own.

"Conner, Matt, don't be mean to her," Josiah said, a small frown on his face. "Her name's. . ." He froze and looked back at Bea, and she realized she hadn't told him her name yet.

"My name is Bea, and I'm from Galar."

The last boy gasped. He stared at Bea, realization now evident in his expression. "You're Bea!" He shouted. "Like, the Galarian Gym Leader, Bea?!"

Bea couldn't stop from blushing slightly in embarrassment. Was she really that well-known? "You know me?" She asked slowly. She didn't quite understand how he knew her, since she lived on the other side of the world, and she was still a new Gym Leader.

"Yes!" He shook her hand quickly. "My name's Abe, and my sister is your biggest fan! She's going to be so jealous when I tell her I met you. . ."

Bea laughed nervously. I never thought I'd be so well-known, especially all the way over here.

"Well," Conner huffed and crossed his arms. "If you're a Gym Leader like Abe says you are, then I guess you can play with us."

"Thanks!" Bea grinned and took a step back. "Can my Pokémon join too, for the practice?" Conner nodded and so Bea brought out two Poké Balls. "Hawlucha, Mienfoo, come out!" She threw her two Balls, revealing a bird-like Pokémon. Her ruby feathers glinted in the sunlight and she stretched her wings, revealing emerald feathers underneath. The second Pokémon was a light yellow color, and stood on two feet. Her arms were a light maroon color, ending in cream hands. She had a long cream and maroon tail, as well as red legs and feet.

"I've never seen those two Pokémon before!" Josiah exclaimed.

Conner coughed, directing everyone's attention to him. "Are we going to play, or no?" He narrowed his eyes at Bea as he spoke.

"I'm ready," Bea responded, shrugging.

"Good. Then Abe, Matt, Croconaw, Pikachu, and me against you and Josiah." Conner smiled a tiny bit, probably thinking that this was going to be an easy win for him.

"Sounds good to me," Bea smiled.

Conner nodded and passed the ball to her. "Ladies first," he sneered.

Bea simply shrugged. "If you say so. Where are the goals?" Josiah nudged her hand and pointed to two cones about three feet apart, quite a distance from them.

Bea took a breath and reached out to tap the ball to begin the match.

"Bea!" Bea whirled around at Dylan's call. He was running to her, completely soaked from swimming in the ocean. "I'm going to go look for a Pokémon here in Kanto."

"Okay, so?" Bea but her lip and tried to ignore the dirty look Conner was giving her. "Why are you telling me?"

"Because I wanted to let you know?"

"Okay." Bea turned her back to him. Yet, she could still sense him standing there, not moving. "What?" She turned back around to face him.

"Can I, uh, borrow one of your Pokémon?" Dylan asked meekly.

"You have your own!" Bea responded.

"But he's still so weak! C'mon, Bea, please?" He looked at her with a sincere face.

"Fine," Bea said. She felt the acute gazes of the boys behind her. "Lu, go with him."

Hawlucha nodded and ran over to Dylan. The eighteen-year-old smiled at the dual type Pokémon, but she ignored it and walked past him.

"Thanks, sis! See you later!" Dylan called out to Bea. She didn't reply to him.

"I'm sorry about my brother," she apologized once he was out of earshot. "Anyway, you guys ready?"

"Thought you'd never ask," Conner remarked. "And don't get mad at me when you lose, because you gave up your own teammate."

"I know." Bea passed the ball to Josiah, catching him by surprise. He managed to recover quickly and return it back to Bea.

"But I don't need Lu to win." She dodged Matt's attempt to trip her, and ran with the ball through the sand, not once slipping like she had done earlier. In less than a minute she had scored a goal, even with five opponents chasing her.

"Wow, you're awesome!" Josiah told her after she won them their fourth point. Mienfoo nodded, agreeing with him.

"Oh, thank you." Bea rubbed the back of her head. "How about you try scoring the next goal?"

"But I'm not anywhere close to being as good as you!" He countered quickly.

Bea laughed softly. "I'll help you, so don't worry."

Josiah hesitated before nodding. "Alright, I'll try."

The new game started, and Conner began by passing to Matt. Bea tried to run to him to intercept, but Abe had learned from his mistakes of the last few games and was guarding her like a Yamper to a Poké Ball. And if she were to ever escape from him, she had Conner's Croconaw to worry about.

Matt dribbled the ball, evading Josiah, only to be stopped as Mienfoo ran past him, swiping the football as she did so.

"Woo! Go Mienfoo!" Bea cheered, watching as Mienfoo ran past Pikachu and passed the ball to Josiah. The Kantonian took two steps with the ball before swinging his leg back for a huge kick.

His foot made contact, and the ball soared over the goal and towards the water.

Josiah sighed. "I'll go get it," he said, sounding a bit annoyed at himself.

"Don't worry, Josiah, you'll get it next time," Bea called out to him as he ran towards the water to get the football.

"Pika!" Matt's Pikachu cried out suddenly and cowered.

"Hey, Pikachu, what's wr—" Matt was cut short as the ground quivered beneath everyone's feet. It started with a slight movement, catching everyone by surprise.

Bea felt a bit sick with the rumbling of the earth. She collapsed to the ground, feeling the sand jump up and down, scratching her bare skin.

"Help!" A voice cried out, full of fear. Bea could barely make out the word spoken, let alone who it belonged to. "Help me!" the voice yelled again, and this time Bea was able to understand.

She jumped up, barely able to stand. The shaking was so violent she thought she would throw up. She finally managed to take her gaze away from her feet, only to see Josiah trapped in wet sand up to his knees.

"Help!" He was screaming, over and over, trying desperately to free himself. But the ground was so slick that every scoop he made brought a gallon down to cover more of his legs. Tears fell down his face as he realized his efforts weren't doing anything.

Bea broke off in a run towards the boy, stumbling more than once. Once he reached him, though, the ground froze. The shaking that had seemed to last for hours had come to an abrupt halt.

Bea took a few seconds to catch her breath before returning to the situation at hand. She hurried to Josiah and began pulling huge handfuls of sand and throwing them behind her.

"Matt! Conner! Abe!" She yelled. "Help me!"

Moments later, the four of them, along with their three Pokémon, were digging Josiah out from his inescapable grave.

There was commotion all around them, mostly from the families and adults there. Everyone seemed confused and scared. One woman seemed pretty annoyed by it all.

"I came here from Unova, and this is the first thing that I experience? I am never coming back here again."

Bea bit back a rude remark to the woman, and continued digging Josiah out of the watery sand.

They had freed him down to his shins when Bea got an idea. "Josiah, wrap your arms around me."

Josiah looked at her, not understanding. "What?"

"Trust me. I'll pull you out." Her gaze towards the younger boy was gentle, and she watched in relief as he slowly nodded.

"Alright." He lifted his arms towards her, and she leaned down to wrap them around her neck. She grabbed his sides and glanced at the other boys.

"You three, help push him out of the sand, alright?" They nodded. "Okay, on the count of three. One, two— three!"

As one, the four of them pushed and pulled with all their strength. Bea straightened herself and was walking backwards, pulling Josiah out with her. Within a few seconds, Josiah was laying in the sand, free and exhausted.

Bea fell to the ground a few feet away, looking around the beach. There were a few groups of people talking amongst themselves, but no one seemed to notice her or the boys.

"Where are your boys' parents?" She turned to them.

Conner looked away, and it was Matt that spoke up.

"They're back at our homes. We usually come here every Saturday. . ." He shifted slightly. "I didn't know that. . . that would happen."

Bea nodded. "It's alright. No one knew it was coming." She stood up and extended a hand to help Josiah up as well. "Well, we'd better go back to your homes and tell your parents you're alright."

Josiah nodded and clasped Bea's hand with his own. He looked up at her, his face full of fear. Instantly Bea was filled with sympathy and she gave him a small, comforting smile before turning to the others. "Come on."

They had taken no more than five steps when Mienfoo let out a quiet whine. "Foo. . ."

Bea looked at her. "What's wrong?"

"Mien Mienfoo Mien. . ." She looked at Bea, worried.

Bea knew exactly what she was saying. Dylan.

The Fighting-Type Gym Leader turned around and looked at the water. After all, he loved swimming. Maybe he was safe; he had Lu after all.

Her hopes vanished as she saw that the ocean water was completely gone. Where there had been gentle waves only minutes before, there was now sand, quickly drying in the bright sun.

"Woah. . ." Conner ran back to the shore. He gazed across the beach. "What happened to the water?"

"Get back here!" Bea yelled at him, not knowing at all what was going on, but wanting to leave as soon as possible.

Conner ignored her cries and motioned for Matt to come to him. He did, with Pikachu on his shoulder.

Then, way off in the distance, Bea thought she could see a wave of water. It was a bit blurry, but. . .

A siren began squealing behind them, making everyone start.

Abe's face went white. "No. . ." He breathed.

Bea could hear other people, sharing her confusion. But she heard one word louder and more frequently than any other: tsunami.

Tsunami.

A tsunami was headed right towards them.