As night deepened, the halo of the campfire danced softly at the center of the camp, pushing back the surrounding darkness to claim a small, warm patch of territory.
Inside the tent, Xinhai gently adjusted Eevee, curled up in his arms, into a more comfortable position. Then he reached over and tucked in the corner of Axew's blanket in the little nest beside him.
Charmander lay in its own little nest, the flame on its tail turned down to its faintest state, flickering on and off like the gentlest rhythm of breathing beneath the night sky.
Weedle curled up in the custom-made little nest beside Xinhai's pillow, its tiny body tucked into a ball as the dark red markings rose and fell faintly with its breathing.
Gardevoir sat at the innermost side of the tent with her eyes closed, meditating. An extremely faint glow of Inner Focus lingered around her; even while resting, she maintained the most basic vigilance.
Blaziken was also meditating nearby with its eyes closed. Having persisted with meditation training for so long, it could now meditate all night without feeling tired.
Outside the tent, Mightyena and Krokorok sat facing each other.
Mightyena lay atop a flat rock, its crimson eyes half-lidded. Yet its ears remained pricked straight up, catching every faint sound in the forest.
Whenever a night breeze swept past and stirred the leaves with a rustle, its ears would twitch slightly. Once it confirmed that it was only the wind, it would resume that seemingly lazy yet vigilant posture.
Krokorok leaned against the trunk of a sturdy tree, its dark red eyes half-closed as well.
Its heavy feet pressed against the ground as Ground-type energy formed an intricate sensory web and spread outward—ten meters, twenty meters, fifty meters... Any creature that stepped onto this