Rex didn't bring Swellow with him this time when he set off for Petalburg City, which initially made Swellow a bit upset.
However, after learning that Rex wanted it to guard Rex Farm, it stopped throwing tantrums and instead solemnly promised to protect everything there.
Rex's decision not to bring Swellow was also because he considered that after he left, Rex Farm would only have the three employees, including Yuli.
If Rex Farm encountered an emergency, they might not be able to command the Tailow tribe flexibly. After all, these Tailow, strictly speaking, were wild Pokémon and were only attached to Swellow.
On this trip, the Pokémon accompanying Rex included Heracross, Shiny Mareep, Poliwag, Bellsprout, and Gastly.
As for why he didn't bring Sandslash, it was because he felt that Sandslash had been too tired from digging the artificial lake during this period, so he let it rest for a while.
As the Pokémon doctor of Rex Farm, having Bellsprout, who had learned the Grass Terrain skill, was enough.
After understanding that if he traveled on foot to Petalburg City, it would take about half a month, with only the nearby town available for rest along the way, and they would have to camp in the wilderness most of the time.
At this time, Rex once again entered the Orange Forest. However, now he had the guidance of a map and wasn't worried about getting lost.
"Finally, I meet you again. Let's have a proper Pokémon battle, Rex!"
Suddenly, a boy jumped out from the bushes ahead and said to Rex.
"It's you, Kyohei!"
To be honest, Rex was also startled by Kyohei Shida's sudden appearance. He thought he was being attacked by wild Pokémon!
He almost let Gastly hiding in his shadow take action, but fortunately, the voice from the other party made him realize that it was a person. Upon closer inspection, he found that the person was indeed Kyohei Shida.
Up to now, Rex had only met Kyohei Shida three times, including this time. The reason he could recognize him was also because Kyohei Shida had left a deep impression on him.
The first time they met, Kyohei Shida guided him and Swellow out of the Orange Forest. The second time was when they met at the Pokémon Center in Fallabor Town after his defeat in a Pokémon battle. And now, it was the third time.
"I agree. Come out, Mareep!"
Rex felt that it was very fateful to encounter Kyohei Shida in the Orange Forest. Since he didn't have anything urgent to do, there was no harm in having a Pokémon battle with him.
"Great! You finally agreed to battle me. Come out, Butterfree!"
After being guided by Rex last time, Kyohei Shida seriously trained his Pokémon. With Butterfree, he even defeated Ursaring, redeeming himself from his previous defeat.
"Then let's have a 1v1 Pokémon battle, okay?"
Rex asked.
"No problem, let's get started. I can't wait!"
Kyohei Shida said eagerly.
"You attack first."
Rex said calmly.
"Then I won't be polite. Butterfree, use Air Cutter!"
Feeling a bit underestimated by Rex, Kyohei Shida directly commanded Butterfree to use its signature attack.
"Mareep, use Thunder shock!"
Rex wasn't underestimating Kyohei Shida. He had confidence in Mareep's strength. During this period, Mareep hadn't wasted any time but instead trained harder.
From time to time, Rex also had it help Swellow with resistance training, which involved Mareep using Thunder shock to attack Swellow, thereby enhancing Swellow's resistance to Electric-type moves in each attack.
In this kind of training, Swellow's resistance to Electric-type moves indeed improved significantly.
As for the attacker, Mareep also worked hard to enhance the power of its Thunder shock move, redeeming itself as a source of pride for Electric-type Pokémon.
"Boom!"
Mareep's Thunder shock clashed with Butterfree's Air Cutter in the air, causing an explosion of energy. This showdown was evenly matched.
"Darn it, Butterfree, use Silver Wind!"
Seeing that Air Cutter didn't work, Kyohei Shida chose to strengthen Butterfree with Silver Wind.
"Mareep, use Charge!"
Since the opponent chose to strengthen their Pokémon, Rex naturally needed to strengthen Mareep as well.
"Butterfree, let's continue with Air Cutter!"
Seeing Butterfree use Silver Wind, Kyohei Shida chose to continue with Air Cutter. Several stronger Air Cutters swiftly flew towards Mareep.
"Mareep, use Discharge, maximum power!"
Rex timely gave the command.
This time, instead of using Thunderbolt, he chose the more powerful Discharge move. Coupled with the earlier Charge, a terrifying electric light burst from Mareep.
This electric light directly shattered the Air Cutters flying towards it, and then, with undiminished force, headed towards Butterfree.
"Quick, dodge it, Butterfree!"
Kyohei Shida exclaimed anxiously.
However, the speed of this electric light was too fast. Butterfree tried to dodge, but it was too late. It was directly hit by this electric light.
After enduring this extremely powerful blow, Butterfree was unable to support itself anymore and fell to the ground, losing its ability to battle.
"Are you okay, Butterfree!"
Kyohei Shida hurried over to check Butterfree's condition.
"Bellsprout, use Grassy Terrain!"
Rex released Bellsprout and had it use the Grassy Terrain skill.
With the release of Bellsprout's Grass Field skill, this area was enveloped in a verdant energy, which would continuously restore the strength of both Butterfree and Mareep.
After a while, Butterfree had recovered quite a bit of strength and could at least fly in the air on its own.
"Okay, Kyohei, your Butterfree is fine now, you don't need to worry too much!"
At this moment, Rex walked over to Kyohei Shida's side and smiled at him.
"Thank you, Rex. Although I lost this time, I and Butterfree will train even harder. We will definitely come back to challenge you again!"
Kyohei Shida was grateful to Rex for helping treat Butterfree. After all, he was quite far from the Pokémon Center at the moment.
"I'll be waiting for your challenge. But I have something to do in Petalburg City, so I won't chat with you for long. Goodbye!"
Rex and Kyohei Shida waved goodbye and planned to leave. After all, it was getting late, and Rex needed to find a place to camp.
Watching Rex's departing figure, Kyohei Shida didn't say anything else, just clenched his fists. The taste of failure was indeed unpleasant, and he needed to work harder.
"Mareep, this battle was a true Pokémon battle for you. Although you won, you still need to reflect on the process of the battle and summarize your shortcomings!"
Rex handed a medium-grade Energy Block to Mareep and admonished.
"Mareep, Mareep!"
Mareep nodded at Rex, indicating that it understood, and then ate the Energy Block. Just now, it had used the move Discharge, which consumed quite a bit of energy.
Seeing that Mareep wasn't proud of its victory in this battle, Rex smiled and nodded.
Afterwards, Rex walked for another hour and finally found a relatively open area with a small stream nearby, which was a good place to camp.
"Come out, all of you!"
Rex released all of his Pokémon and together they tidied up the area before happily eating dinner.
Although they were in the wilderness now, Rex wasn't too worried. After all, with the current strength of Heracross and the others, it was no problem for them to protect him in the outskirts of the Petalburg Forest.
After dinner, Rex spent some time doing daily training with his Pokémon before deciding to rest. After all, he had been on the road all day. However, before resting, he chose to use up all three uses of his abilities to help his Pokémon restore their condition.
Although the number of his Pokémon now exceeded his ability to use them every day, he still tried to treat them fairly and provided treatment for them regularly.
Though called treatment, it was more about clearing their hidden injuries and enhancing their vitality.
Although the change made by each treatment wasn't significant, Rex believed that through accumulation over time, it would definitely enable them to constantly break through their limits and achieve higher achievements.
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(End of Chapter)