"Looks like you have a way with them, Torchic!"
Rex, seeing Torchic easing the tension of the Teddiursa, patted its head affectionately and praised.
Torchic, pleased to be praised by its trainer, narrowed its eyes happily, puffed out its chest, and continued leading the Teddiursa towards the camping site.
"Don't be shy, help yourselves!"
Rex said to the three Pokémon who, despite being at the campsite, still hesitated to act.
Rex understood why they were hesitant. Being stared at by so many stronger Pokémon, it was only natural for them to be afraid.
If it weren't for seeing that Rex had no intentions of harming them and Torchic's invitation, they would have fled long ago.
However, when Rex pushed the food towards them, allowing them to eat, the temptation of the food gradually eased their reservations, and they began to enjoy the delicious meal before them.
After taking the first bite, they were won over by the delicious food, setting aside their last bit of restraint and devouring it.
Torchic sat beside them happily eating, occasionally interacting with them.
With Torchic as a buffer, the Teddiursa finally temporarily blended into their feast, creating a cheerful atmosphere where all the Pokémon enjoyed the moment.
"I'm so full, I can't eat anymore. Keep up the good work, everyone!"
The first to exit the battle was unsurprisingly Rex, the trainer, whose belly was already round from eating.
Swellow, nearby, glanced at his own novice trainer with a contemptuous look, then proudly puffed out its equally round belly, continuing to demolish the remaining food. For Swellow, food couldn't be left behind; it was a matter of self-consciousness as an epicure.
"Swellow, take it easy, don't burst your belly!"
Rex looked at Swellow, whose belly was expanding, with concern.
Of course, Swellow responded with a disdainful glance; how could it be defeated by the food before it? That would underestimate its perseverance.
Thirty minutes later, the food on the cloth was cleaned up, but as a result, a group of Pokémon lay on their backs with bellies raised, even the unexpected guests.
For the Teddiursa, tonight's meal could be said to be the best and fullest they had eaten since birth. At this point, they found it hard to believe, but after patting their round bellies, they had no doubts.
"Swellow, you should take it easy, with your current state, can you even fly?"
Rex joked, patting Swellow's prominently raised belly.
Swellow only rolled its eyes and turned its head aside, closing its eyes as if to sleep.
It didn't want to bother with its trainer now; with a little time, it could digest this food quickly, and then it would be a good Swellow again.
"Torchic, stop circling around me, you're making me dizzy!"
Rex said to the only lively Torchic.
This little chick had eaten quite a bit, and its belly was also bulging. Unexpectedly, it quickly regained its vitality after a short time.
As the only Pokémon in its early life stage, its only goal at this stage was to absorb a large amount of energy to promote its own growth and development. Therefore, its metabolic capacity was incomparable to other Pokémon.
As for its trainer's words, Torchic naturally ignored them, or rather half-ignored them, as it continued to circle around the new Teddiursa it had just met.
While circling, it also chattered with them, mostly chirping, with the Teddiursa occasionally responding weakly.
"You rascal!"
Rex felt increasingly embarrassed in front of his Pokémon and then turned to Swellow, feeling that this trouble was caused by this troublemaker.
Swellow, who was already about to fall asleep, suddenly felt a chill all over its body, turned its head to look, and found its trainer staring at it with a somewhat malicious look.
Feeling uncomfortable under Rex's gaze, Swellow twisted its body and slowly moved away from its trainer.
Seeing nothing was wrong, Rex looked up at the starry sky; it was now nighttime, deep and dark. However, the environment here was much better than in his previous life, and the stars in the sky were incredibly clear to him.
Although he wasn't an astronomy enthusiast in his previous life, he could only admire the beauty of the night sky and couldn't discern anything else, let alone identify the familiar constellations from his past life.
Although it had been quite some time since he crossed over, during these quiet nights, he still inadvertently recalled bits and pieces of his past life, reminiscing about the simple yet heartwarming family life he had.
"Alone in a foreign land, every holiday intensifies the yearning for home."
Now he had a deeper understanding of this poem, because he was not only in a foreign land but also in a different world, a place he couldn't return from.
With this homesick feeling, Rex drifted off to sleep.
Although he was in the wilderness, surrounded by so many Pokémon companions, he wasn't worried about any danger, allowing him to sleep so unguarded. During the early days of his crossing, no matter how tired he was, he couldn't sleep so peacefully.
When Rex woke up again, it was already early morning of the second day. The gentle sunlight shone on his face, bringing a hint of warmth. The weather had cooled down now, and the reason he could sleep so soundly was that Torchic, lying on his stomach, played a crucial role.
It was like a torch, bringing a different warmth to the surroundings and preventing the morning dew from affecting Rex.
Looking around, surrounded by his Pokémon, they created a windbreak for him and prevented any danger from approaching him.
Stroking the sleeping Torchic on his chest, Rex didn't rush to get up; he didn't want to disturb the Pokémon's sweet dreams.
However, for sensitive Pokémon, as long as there was the slightest movement, they could be alert. Especially now, when they needed to guard their trainer's safety, they had actually been awakened numerous times last night.
They wouldn't overlook any suspicious movements, whether it was birds in the sky, Magikarp in the river, or wild Pokémon in the grass. As long as they dared to approach their location, they would be driven away.
"Now that you're awake, let's pack up and get ready to go home!"
Rex said to the awakened Pokémon.
The Pokémon were excited this time. Although it had only been a little over ten days since leaving the farm, they missed their companions on the farm, especially Swellow, Poliwhirl, and the Flaaffy. As the leader of a group, they still cared about their followers
"Have the Teddiursa left already?"
After washing his face by the river, Rex found that the Teddiursa, Exeggcute, and Bounsweet who visited as guests yesterday had already left and asked Swellow.
After receiving Swellow's affirmative answer, Rex didn't mind. After all, it was just a chance encounter. Meeting and parting were common during travels.
After breakfast, Rex packed everything and prepared to ride on Swellow to return to his farm.
He realized that he had been neglecting the planning
and management of Farm recently, delegating many tasks to Yuli and others. He needed to plan it well when he returned this time.
After everything was ready, just as he was about to mount Swellow, Rex saw Teddiursa running towards them and stopped to wait for their arrival.
"Do you have something else to do?"
Rex looked at the three panting Pokémon and asked.
After catching its breath, Teddiursa spat out something and pushed it forward with its head.
"Is this for me?"
Rex asked slightly puzzled after getting a positive reply from Teddiursa.
After Teddiursa's affirmative response, Rex went up to check.
"This is... charcoal?"
After holding this item in his hand, Rex recognized it as a piece of charcoal. As for its quality, Rex wasn't very sure, but he felt that this charcoal couldn't be worse than the one Flannery had obtained.
(End of this chapter)