Early the next morning.
Xia Chi's body clock woke him naturally in the faint dawn light of Alto Mare.
Outside the window, a thin, milky layer of morning mist shrouded the canals. There were no pedestrians on the streets or boats on the waterways.
Clearly, this slow-paced city, steeped in leisurely romance, was still asleep.
Pushing aside the slender foreleg Meowha had draped over him again at some point, Xia Chi got up to wash.
Once he was fully awake and ready to begin the day, he found himself in a bit of a predicament.
This inn was already among the best Alto Mare had to offer, but its rooms were still limited in size.
It was a little cramped with him and his Pokémon companions inside, so naturally, it couldn't offer the spacious, dedicated Pokémon training rooms found in luxury hotels in big cities.
Xia Chi looked around but simply couldn't find anywhere he and his Pokémon could stretch out and do their morning training.
With some regret, he could only put the morning training routine he'd maintained for months on hold.
After breakfast.
Just as Xia Chi was about to contact Kanon, he received a message from her first.
[Xia Chi, good morning! Did you sleep well last night? The weather is wonderful today, with just the right amount of sunshine for an outing. Are you ready to explore Alto Mare? I'll be waiting for you at the café beside the Bridge of Sighs we visited yesterday!]
She neatly picked out all the important details and put them into a single message.
Bombarded every day by cluttered messages like "You there?" "Um..." and "It's just..." from people who seemed determined to break one sentence into eight messages, Xia Chi actually felt gratified.
What an excellent communication habit!
After