"Hello, is this Professor Birch?"
After Officer Jenny left, Rex took out the contact information she had given and directly contacted Professor Birch.
"Yes, may I ask who's calling?"
Professor Birch on the other end seemed somewhat puzzled.
"Hello, I'm Rex. The Alliance asked me to come to you to collect a Pokémon Egg and a Pokédex. When can I come to collect them?"
Rex asked directly.
"Oh, you're Rex. Yes, that's correct. You can come to collect them anytime!"
Professor Birch seemed to have just received this notification, so he remembered it well.
"Okay, I'll come over as soon as possible. Sorry for the trouble!"
After confirming with the other party, Rex hung up the call.
Plans can't keep up with changes. Rex had already planned his travel route, but because of the Alliance's reward, he needed to rearrange it.
Certainly, he would go to Littleroot Town first to collect the Starter Pokémon Egg. After all, time waits for no one, and the sooner he received the Starter Pokémon Egg, the sooner he could train it. This would definitely be his future main Pokémon!
The reason for saying this is that the Starter Pokémon, after years of cultivation by the Alliance, had excellent qualifications, and there was a high probability of inheriting powerful skills.
"Sigh, I'm full!"
After finishing lunch, Rex patted his stomach comfortably. He felt that Yuli's cooking had improved again.
"Rex, I have something to discuss with you!"
Grandma Nieno, with a serious expression, said to Rex.
"Oh, Grandma Nieno, just tell me what's on your mind."
Seeing Grandma Nieno looking so serious, Rex quickly straightened up and looked like he was ready to listen to her advice.
"It's like this, didn't the Alliance compensate us with some money? I plan to use this money to build another house next to our old residence. What do you think?"
Grandma Nieno asked.
"If you want to build another house, there's no need to use your money. I'll pay for the construction."
Rex said casually.
In Fallabor Town, the houses are usually wooden because it's convenient to get materials from the surrounding forests, so the construction cost is not high.
"No, you've already helped us a lot. We definitely can't use your money to build our residence."
Grandma Nieno said firmly.
"Well, since you insist, I won't force it. However, if you encounter any difficulties, feel free to tell me."
After thinking for a while, Rex understood the reason why Grandma Nieno did this.
If he paid for the construction of their house, then the house wouldn't belong to the orphanage. This would make them feel like they were dependent on him. That's why Grandma Nieno insisted on building their own house because it would be their home.
"I've already talked to Yuli about this. I want to participate in the Ever Grande Conference, so I'll leave tomorrow for Gym challenges. It'll probably take me more than half a month to come back, so I may not be able to help you build the house. I'm sorry!"
Rex said apologetically.
"Rex, what are you talking about? We're entrusting the construction of the house to the town's construction company. You don't need to worry about it. Just go on your journey. Yuli and I will take care of things here on the farm!"
Grandma Nieno said with a smile.
"Boss, I'll help you prepare what you need for the trip in the afternoon. You don't have to worry about it!"
Yuli said to Rex.
"Thank you, then I'll leave it to you. I also need to inspect the farm this afternoon!"
After leaving, Rex first found Miltank grazing on the grass.
"Miltank, hello!"
Rex greeted one of the Miltank as he patted its head.
"Moo!"
"Moo!"
Seeing Rex, the Miltank surrounded him and excitedly mooed, gesturing with their hooves. One of the Miltank even started trembling while gesturing.
Seeing their excitement, Rex understood that they had encountered some problem and wanted his help.
"Are you saying you got shocked?"
Rex guessed directly as he looked at the trembling Miltank.
"Moo!"
Seeing that Rex understood them, the Miltank nodded vigorously.
"But why were you shocked? Did the Mareep bully you?"
Rex thought for a moment. The only Electric-type Pokémon on the farm that he remembered were the Mareep, but in his impression, Mareep were gentle and wouldn't bully other Pokémon easily.
"Moo!"
The Miltank pointed to a warehouse. Originally, this place was used to store grains. After Rex modified it, it became the residence of the Mareep. After the Miltank were born, Rex temporarily arranged for them to live here.
Later, Rex followed the Miltank into the warehouse. The area of this warehouse was relatively large, enough to accommodate the Mareep and Miltank, and there was thick straw on the ground, which was very soft to sleep on.
"There seems to be no problem?"
After inspecting it, Rex didn't find any problems and turned to ask the Miltank.
The Miltank pointed to the pile of straw, indicating Rex to touch it.
Rex had no choice but to walk over and reach out to touch the straw.
"Crackle!"
As soon as Rex's hand touched the straw, he shivered all over, and sparks flew from the straw.
Now Rex finally understood. The Mareep carried a lot of static electricity on their bodies. When they gathered together and rubbed against each other, it generated even more static electricity. The straw underneath them also accumulated some static electricity, so the Miltank were occasionally shocked even without touching the Mareep.
"I'm sorry, Miltank, I didn't consider it carefully. You can come to my room to sleep for now, and I'll build your shelter as soon as possible."
Rex apologized to the Miltank with a remorseful expression.
It had been almost a week since Rex arranged for the Miltank to live here, but they endured it until now before coming to tell him. It showed how good their temperament was; they would rather endure the pain themselves than trouble him.
"Moo!"
Hearing Rex's words, the Miltank happily bounced around.
"Yuli, there's something I need you to follow up on. Let the construction team build a shelter for the Miltank as soon as possible!"
After separating from the Miltank, Rex went straight to Yuli and told her about the problem the Miltank had just reported, asking her to coordinate with the construction team to build a shelter for the Miltank.
"I'm sorry, boss, I neglected the Miltank during this time because of the orphanage affairs and didn't consider their inconvenience!"
After hearing Rex's words, Yuli also felt very regretful.
Rex entrusted the Miltank to her care, but she didn't notice the problem with their living conditions earlier. This was obviously due to her focusing too much on the affairs of the orphanage recently, which could be considered negligence on her part.
"You don't
need to blame yourself. I also neglected them in the same way. Such things are unavoidable. As long as we can solve the problem promptly after discovering it!"
Rex comforted her.
"I understand. I will make sure to have the construction team build a comfortable shelter for the Miltank as soon as possible. I promise!"
Yuli assured Rex.
Due to the incident with the Miltank being shocked, Rex specifically asked other Pokémon living on the farm if they had any requests or complaints.
Fortunately, other Pokémon were still satisfied with their current living conditions, with only some minor friction in their daily lives. The only somewhat difficult issue to handle was raised by the Poliwhirl.
It felt that the artificial lake where it lived was too small, and the water was not deep enough. Its group had become somewhat crowded living there, so it wanted Rex to expand the area a bit more.
Regarding this request, Rex thought it could be considered, but it would have to wait for some time, as he couldn't spare the time right now.
Poliwhirl agreed, understanding the situation. For now, the artificial lake could still accommodate their group, but it wouldn't be enough if their group expanded further.
After making a round, Rex was quite tired, but he had gained a lot. At least it made him understand the relationships between the Pokémon better.
(End of this chapter)