"Swellow, what's wrong with you?"
Rex looked at the dejected Swellow and asked.
In the afternoon today, he mainly focused on Heracross and Machop's training, only observing Swellow and the others briefly. But seeing Swellow in this state, it seemed that it didn't gain the overwhelming advantage in the afternoon battles. It even seemed to be at a disadvantage.
"Swellow, Swellow!"
After hearing Rex's words, Swellow excitedly gestured.
It had thought the afternoon battles would be easy wins, but unexpectedly, the opponents played dirty tricks, and it couldn't handle it!
Mareep's Thunder Wave and Gastly's Lick kept it paralyzed all afternoon. There were also other moves like Confuse Ray and Hypnosis, which just made it confused the whole afternoon, getting beaten up.
Even after it was under control, Mareep didn't use powerful moves; it just used weaker Thunders to toy with it.
Being a Flying-type Pokémon, naturally, it was afraid of Electric-type moves. It didn't get to showcase its strength this afternoon, just getting beaten up, which put it in a bad mood.
As Swellow complained, Mareep and Gastly smirked nearby. They had a fun afternoon, completely different from Swellow's experience.
"Swellow, I understand the situation now, but you still need to work hard and try to make a comeback in the future."
At this point, Rex roughly understood the situation. However, he didn't know what else to say; he could only blame Swellow for being too weak. Given the opportunity, it still couldn't seize it.
"Swellow, Swellow!"
Seeing that its Trainer didn't seem intent on seeking justice for it, Swellow could only grumble as it walked towards its good brother, Heracross, hoping that Heracross could understand its plight and help condemn the two little troublemakers.
At this moment, Heracross also felt a bit annoyed by the afternoon training. When it saw brother Swellow coming to complain, the two Pokémon walked to the lakeside together, muttering something to each other.
"Machop, how did you feel about the afternoon training?"
Rex found Machop, who had resumed training, and asked.
Machop didn't say anything, just stopped its training, gave him a thumbs-up, and then showed a somewhat simple smile, indicating its approval of the afternoon training.
For Machop, the afternoon training was indeed effective. It had greatly improved its proficiency in the attacking moves they practiced, much stronger than when it trained alone.
"Sandslash, it's time for dinner. After eating, you can continue sleeping!"
Rex approached a spherical figure and said.
For Sandslash, Rex's expectation was more like a hardworking farmhand. With it around, many things became much simpler.
So in terms of battles, Rex didn't demand much from it. Of course, if Sandslash wanted to improve its strength, Rex would arrange training for it.
But it seemed that Sandslash wasn't very interested in improving its strength.
Upon hearing about dinner, Sandslash finally snapped out of its ball-like state.
It was very satisfied with its current life. Unlike when it was in the wild, it didn't need to desperately search for food to eat, nor did it need to fight other Pokémon to get enough to eat.
Although Rex often made it do some digging work, it wasn't a big deal for it. It actually felt uncomfortable if it didn't dig a bit of soil every day. Digging or burrowing was like playing for it.
As for battles and training, Sandslash didn't want to tire itself out too much. Why stand when it could lie down?
After a fulfilling day, Rex went to rest early. But before sleeping, he didn't forget to use Life Energy to refine the Egg of Torchic.
After the refinement, Rex could feel a significant increase in the life energy within the Torchic Egg, as if adding fuel to a fire.
The night passed uneventfully.
"Swellow, we've arrived at Rustboro City. You almost overflying it!"
It was approaching noon on the second day. After a few hours of flying, they finally arrived at Rustboro City.
Swellow was now able to utilize the air currents in the sky to assist its flight. This method of flying greatly reduced its energy consumption, enhancing its endurance.
Immersed in this feeling, Swellow would have continued flying forward if not for Rex's reminder. As for where it would have flown to, it didn't really care.
Slightly annoyed at being disturbed, Swellow reluctantly obeyed its Trainer's command and slowly descended to a square in the center of Rustboro City.
Rustboro City was a large city located in the western part of the Hoenn Region, bustling with people coming and going on the streets.
After seeing Rex land, the pedestrians only glanced briefly at Swellow. They probably hadn't seen such a large Swellow before!
"Hello, do you know how to get to Rustboro Gym?"
After recalling Swellow to its Poké Ball, Rex approached a slender girl and asked.
"Just keep going straight ahead, and you'll see a Trainer's School. Rustboro Gym is next to the school."
The girl, seeing a handsome boy blocking her way, readily informed him of the Gym's location.
"Thank you for your help, beautiful lady!"
Rex politely thanked her.
"You're welcome!"
The girl felt a bit awkward under Rex's praise.
Following the direction indicated by the girl, Rex arrived at a large school after about ten minutes. He remembered that Gym Leader Roxanne, the Gym Leader of Rustboro City, was a teacher at this Trainer's School.
Well, her main job was being a teacher, and being a Gym Leader was just a side job!
But Rex's purpose was to challenge the Gym, so he didn't waste any time and went straight to find the Gym.
In no time, he found Rustboro Gym next to the school.
"Hello, I'd like to challenge Rustboro Gym. Could you tell me when I can start the challenge?"
After entering the Gym, Rex found a receptionist and inquired.
Challenging the Gym wasn't something the challenger could decide on their own; it depended on the Gym Leader's schedule. However, the appointment time generally wouldn't be more than three days.
"I'm sorry, but Gym Leader Roxanne has classes today. We can arrange the challenge for tomorrow morning. Is that okay?"
The receptionist seemed to be asking Rex, but he didn't have much choice unless he wanted to postpone it further.
"No problem, I'll come back tomorrow morning!"
Although he couldn't challenge immediately, Rex wasn't disappointed. After all, the delay wasn't too long and was within an acceptable range.
With some time left in the afternoon, Rex completed the check-in procedures at the Pokémon Center and then went to Rustboro City's shopping center. Last time he traveled, he didn't bring back any gifts, and he was pestered by Akiko!
After about an hour of shopping, Rex picked out gifts for everyone, mostly local specialties from Rustboro City, as well as some toys, clothes, and other items. They didn't cost much in terms of Alliance Coins, but the most important thing was the thought, showing that he hadn't forgotten about them.
With time left, Rex didn't idle around. He found a vacant area behind the Pokémon Center and let Heracross and Machop continue their training.
Because Rex knew that Rustboro Gym adopted a 2v2 battle format, and the opponents used Rock-type Pokémon, having his Fighting-type Pokémon spar was the best choice.
"Heracross, today you can spar a bit more actively, but don't use any moves."
Rex did this to add some difficulty for Heracross, allowing it to tap into its potential, and not allowing Heracross to use moves was to ensure that the sparring could last longer.
"Heracross!"
After hearing Rex's words, Heracross became excited.
It wanted to vent the frustration from yesterday. As for not using moves, it didn't care. When they first met, it had subdued by Heracross injust with simple Seismic Toss.
As for Machop, it had no objections either. It feared nothing in its heart. Even when it lost its right arm, it didn't retreat; it just regretted its lack of strength.
Through Rex's adjustments, the overall situation became somewhat unfavourable for Machop. It was easily tripped or thrown to the ground by Heracross. Fortunately, their sparring ground was a grassy area, which was soft, so the damage it received was relatively light.
(End of this chapter)