"Trevor! get back here!" a dripping wet Shauna shouted as she chased after the ginger culprit who had dunked her under the water, with Tierno's help of course.

"Run Trevor!" Tierno laughed as his friend attempted to get away from his pursuer.

As Trevor ran along the water's edge, darting around a child's sandcastle, he tripped over at toy that was left in the sand and was immediately pounced upon by Shauna, putting him face down in the dirt.

"Gotcha ya little stinker!" Shauna grinned, sitting on his back so he couldn't get up.

"Ack! okay, okay!" Trevor cried out, prompting laughter from a few onlookers.

"You guys are a lively bunch aren't you?" Korrina laughed, looking over at Seth who was on his towel, his legs crossed and eyes closed.

Beside Seth was the little Carbink that they had met in the caves. It seemed that Jacquelene and her cohorts had only managed to take the ones in the cages, leaving the one under Seth's care to its own devices. Pawniard and the rest of Seth's team busied themselves with playing in the sand, while those that didn't mind the water, ran along its edge. Hearing Korrina's comment, Seth smiled.

"I do travel with quite an interesting crowd, don't I?" Seth replied, his eyes opening to see the spectacle that was Shauna tickling Trevor. The swordsman rolled his eyes.

He wondered when the ginger would gain the courage to tell Shauna how he felt. Shifting his gaze slightly, he saw Tierno and Serena dancing to the music playing on Tierno's holocaster. After the stressful events in the caves, it made sense to lose yourself in something that worked off the stress.

"You're quite interesting yourself, Seth. It's not every day you meet someone who can use aura, or have their aura be strong enough to be felt all the way from the Tower of Mastery," Korrina added with a slight laugh.

Seth shrugged. "Lucario are known for their heightened senses. Finding me is like a walk in the park for them."

"True, but even I could feel it once we got closer. For the past month, he's been picking up on your aura signature and honestly I was wondering if we'd ever find it," Korrina informed him.

"So he was keeping tabs on me then?" Seth ventured, earning a nervous laugh from the Gym Leader.

"Well, I wouldn't say that, but... sorta? Lucario obsesses over strong opponents. Quite frankly, so do I. Honestly, the only reason we went looking in the first place was because he felt how close you were and decided that he'd had enough waiting. So... we decided to seek you out ourselves," Korrina replied.

"And that's when you came upon the five of us, fighting for our lives," Seth added, glancing at his friends as Serena and Shauna attempted to wrestle Tierno.

It wasn't going very well.

"Hey Seth! give us a hand here will ya!?" Serena laughed as she stood up after being tossed into the water.

Seth shook his head and stood up. "I suppose I should get in the water. I'm starting to bake over here anyway."

"I'll join you then. Maybe you and I could have a little one on one?" Korrina inquired hopefully.

"You're gonna keep asking me aren't you?" Seth responded, giving her a knowning look.

"Hey, when you have an itch, it needs to be scratched right? well I have one. A big one. So let me scratch it dammit," she pouted.

Seth rolled his eyes and smiled at her eagerness.

"Alright, we'll spar. Thanks to your Lucario's Heal Pulse, my hands feel much better," Seth replied, making his way out to the water where his friends were still wrestling.

Korrina grinned excitedly as she followed Seth into the water, leaving Lucario on the beach with Seth's Carbink. The blue jackal turned to the rock rabbit, a sympathetic expression etched on his face. Carbink had just witnessed its family being captured, and was now under the care of a new trainer. Its entire world was turned upside down.

"I know it's not much of a comfort, but at least you weren't counted among those who were captured," Lucario said in attempts to reach out to the little rock rabbit.

"You're right, it's not that comforting. They're my family, which makes this even harder for me to take. If only I were stronger... had more power I could have stopped them from taking them!" Carbink despaired.

Lucario nodded in acknowledgement. He wouldn't know what he would do if anyone under his care were taken captive. No... he knew exactly what he'd do, and it wouldn't be pretty. Looking over towards Seth and Korrina, he crossed his arms and watched as they both took a ready stance at the water's edge.

"While I hear what you're saying, I caution you not to be so naive to think that you alone could have stopped them. If it's power that you seek, do so out of the desire to assist others and further the cause for good. Seeking power for revenge is a fools errand," Lucario counseled.

Carbink thought for a moment, and as it was about to speak, it felt the ground vibrate ever so slightly. Turning about, it saw that Seth was blocking an ax kick with his arm, the force of said ax kick being the reason for the disturbance in the sands. Seth shoved her back and transitioned into left palm strike which was cushioned by Korrina's crossed arms, the pressure forcing her to slide back a few feet from where Seth stood. Korrina looked up and grinned. Oh, this was going to be fun.

Serena and the others paused their water play, and focused in on what was going on between Seth and Korrina. Trevor immediately took out his camera and snapped pictures as the two began to spar.

"Forgive me if I sound confused, but did they just cause a tremor?" Carbink questioned, getting a wolfish grin from the jackal.

"My master has trained in various styles of martial arts, and due to the discipline her body has endured, and the years she trained, she has developed the ability to manipulate aura into her body at any given time. It seems that your trainer, Seth, is able to do the same..."

Korrina rushed into a leaping roundhouse, forcing Seth to duck the blow as she sailed over his head. Sensing the follow up, he pivoted and palmed her forward thrust, sparks of azure aura flaring up between their hands upon contact. Seeing a chance, he delivered a forward palm strike, coming up short as she leaned her head back to avoid getting hit in the jaw. Ducking down into a leg sweep, she managed to make Seth retreat a little and reset himself. It was Seth's turn to grin.

"I gotta admit," Korrina beamed, stretching her arms to the sky, "I haven't had this hard of a workout since gramps and I last trained. This is exhilerating!"

"I can agree with you on that matter. It seems we both have teachers that give us a real workout," Seth replied, thoughts of Mathilde and Mrs. Rosseau coming to mind.

"No kidding! I feel like going all out here! but... that might not be the best idea since this isn't the ideal location for it," Korrina admitted with a nervous laugh, knowing what she and Seth were most likely capable of from the exchange of just a few blows.

It was minor, but she could feel that Seth was definitely stronger than he was letting on. And while they were simply sparring, she had a feeling that if the two ever got into it for real, one of them would end up hospitalized, or probably worse, and she had a sneaking suspicion that someone would probably be her.

Just what kind of training has this guy been through? Korrina thought, a trickle of sweat sliding down her face as she repositioned herself. Every time I get close, it's like I can feel him flexing his aura in short, strong bursts. We're both doing the same thing, but his are far more amplified. And his fighting style... there's no mistaking it. It's the oldest known version of Savate. I didn't think there was anyone around who still did that!

Korrina laughed nervously inside. The fact that I know I'd get my ass kicked if I messed up is actually kind of exciting.

With a determined look, she flared up her aura slightly, a light blue azure glow outlining her frame, an indication that she was wanting to get a little more serious. Seth responded in kind by flexing his aura, the pulse nearly pushing her back a little like hers had done to him. Without a second thought, Korrina burst forward, her fist ablaze with an intense blue flame as she lashed out. Planting his feet, Seth extended his right hand and waited, the advice of Mathilde echoing in his mind as he prepared himself.

In order to nullify another's aura, and minimize any potential residual damage done to your surroundings, you must equal their output upon contact...

THOOM! A wall of sand and water flew into the air from the impact, obscuring everyone's view momentarily. Once things cleared up, Korrina was revealed to be leaning forward with her fist caught in Seth's hand. Withdrawing her fist, Korrina wiped her brow and placed her right hand on her hip.

"That was fun!" Korrina laughed. "You're really somethin' else, you know."

"Since you got more serious, so did I," Seth grinned.

"Makes me wonder how strong your team is if you're this good in a fight," Korrina mumbled.

"You two are nuts!" Serena exclaimed, shaking the sand from her hair.

Korrina laughed nervously and scratched behind her head as she looked at Serena.

"Sorry, I got a little carried away there didn't I?" Korrina replied apologetically.

Serena threw her hands up and shook her head.

"If we weren't near water where I could wash all this sand off, I'd be pissed," Serena grumbled, her irritation slowly dissolving into laughter as she saw that the others suffered much the same fate.

"At least you don't have sand in your shorts," Trevor complained.

"Never mind that, what about your camera!?" Shauna pointed out after shaking the sand from her hair.

"Huh? guys, it's me... did you honestly think I wouldn't make sure I waterproofed it before coming here?" Trevor laughed, showing them that the camera was just fine.

Tierno dusted himself off and dawned a wide grin.

"That was so awesome! It was like you two were dancing!" Tierno exclaimed. "Those were some sweet moves!"

Korrina giggled at Tierno's observation. "Well, a battle is also a dance is it not? two souls keeping pace with one another in a series of carefully coordinated movements is much the same as any dance."

"You sound like my teacher," Seth stated, shaking the sand from his hair. "She always coupled those two things in my training..."

Korrina smirked. "She knows what she's doing then. Dancing is a part of most any sport. Hell, football players practice ballet!"

"I'm not saying she doesn't know what she's doing. As silly as I first felt, she explained to me why I was learning dance to go with my training, and as I learned... I became keenly aware of the benefits thereof," Seth replied.

"If you fight this good, you must be a phenomenal dancer then," Korrina surmised.

"I wouldn't say phenomenal. I mean, I'm decent but--"

"Seth, you're our friend. So I'm going to kindly ask you to shut up and take a damn compliment for once," Serena said with a frown.

Slightly taken aback, Seth simply nodded and relented. Seth never was one for accepting too much praise. He knew that too much could to to his head.

"So... I don't know about you guys, but I'm kinda hungry," Korrina announced embarrassed by the sounds her stomach was making.

At this, the group dissolved into laughter, and the decision was made to wrap things up at the beach and venture off to find something to eat. After returning their companions, they all meandered into the city.