Several Wingull flew overhead, crying out brightly as they gradually disappeared into the dusk.
Blaziken and Krookodile returned from the woods. Blaziken carried a large bundle of dry branches in its arms, piled so high they nearly obscured its face.
Krookodile followed behind, carrying a large bundle of dry branches in each arm.
"Thanks for the effort." Xinhai handed his fishing rod to Gardevoir, walked over to Blaziken, and took one bundle of branches. He picked out a level spot on the beach and began building a campfire.
He arranged the thicker branches into a cone, leaving gaps in the middle for air circulation. Then he laid a layer of thin, dry twigs and dead leaves at the bottom.
That would let the fire burn more thoroughly once it was lit.
Blaziken placed the remaining branches beside the campfire for later use, crouched down, and adjusted the structure of the woodpile with the tips of its claws. Then it gave a gentle breath—a small flame drifted from its mouth and landed precisely on the dead leaves at the bottom of the pile.
With a boom, the flames sprang up.
Orange-red firelight danced in the twilight, warmly illuminating several meters around them.
The heat of the flames drove away the chill brought by the sea breeze, creating a cozy little space on the beach.
More than ten minutes later, Mightyena and Zigzagoon returned as well.
Mightyena held a palm-sized shell in its mouth, its surface gleaming with a pearly silver-white luster.
Zigzagoon happily ran to Xinhai's feet and opened its mouth, spitting out several Nuggets and Pearls, along with a strangely shaped shell that glowed with a faint blue light.
Xinhai crouched down and collected the Nuggets, Pearls, shell, smooth colorful stones, and other little trinkets.
The Nuggets were of fairly