By the following afternoon, everything had arrived.
The Poké Ball Yantai Bai Mu had sent came first. When Xinhai signed for it at the front desk, he could feel Quagsire's restless movements inside—it was rocking around in the ball as if it could not wait to get out.
The two large packages Xiao Luo had sent also arrived. When he opened them, he found neatly packed, sealed Pokéblocks and Pokémon food inside.
A card lay on top of the packages, bearing Xiao Luo's handwriting: "Xinhai, be careful at sea! Let me know you're safe once you reach Sootopolis City! (｀ω´)ゞ"
Xinhai smiled and put the card away.
Back in his room, he sorted everything out and stuffed it into his Spatial Backpack.
In the bathroom, Xinhai took Quagsire's Poké Ball off his belt and pressed the release button.
A flash of red light, and a sturdy Quagsire appeared in the middle of the living room.
"Quag—!"
The moment Quagsire came out, it let out a cheerful cry. Its feet skittered rapidly across the floor, and its whole body shot toward Xinhai like a blue torpedo.
It wrapped its arms around Xinhai's leg, rubbing its head against him with the unmistakable look of someone saying, "I missed you so much."
The impact forced Xinhai back half a step. Once he regained his footing, he looked at the Quagsire clinging tightly to his leg and smiled helplessly.
"All right, all right. I know you missed me." He patted Quagsire's smooth head. "I'll be counting on you for the next while, Quagsire."
"Quag!"
Quagsire let go with one forepaw, patted its chest, then patted its head. Its tiny eyes narrowed into slits as it flashed an adorably dopey grin, clearly saying, "Leave it to me!"
Eevee poked its head out of the bedroom.