After tasting the juice brewed by the Polteageists, Rex couldn't help but feel fortunate for bringing them to the farm.
He planned to collect the juice brewed by the Polteageists to serve as a beverage for entertaining guests at the farm. Of course, they would occasionally taste it themselves, but they had no intention of selling it commercially.
With only three Polteageists, the amount of juice they could brew at once wasn't much. Additionally, fruit fermentation also required a considerable amount of time. This meant that despite having Polteageists, the quantity of juice Rex could obtain wasn't substantial, possibly not even enough for themselves.
After bidding farewell to the Polteageists, Rex continued forward and arrived at the central area of the orchard, where the Swellow colony resided. Looking up, one could see Swellow perched on branches everywhere.
However, it was precisely because of their presence that the orchard could remain peaceful.
After seeing Rex approaching, the Swellow withdrew their scrutinizing gaze. They knew very well who the true leader here was.
"Swellow, is there anything your colony needs help with lately?"
Rex arrived under the tree with the best growth, where he could see his Swellow conversing with two other Swellow perched on neighboring trees. Both of them were in a listening posture, not daring to make any other movements.
As the Swellow's strength increased, its oppressive power towards other Pokémon in the colony also grew. Previously, there were Swellow daring to play around near the Swellow, but now they didn't dare to approach.
Only two evolved Swellow could barely stay by its side, acting as guards and assisting the Swellow in managing the tribe.
Upon seeing their trainer arrive, the Swellow flew down from the tree and shook its head, indicating everything was normal.
After all, the Swellow tribe, in terms of strength and numbers, was among the top in Rex's farm. If they didn't bully other Pokémon, that was already commendable; how could they be bullied by others?
"It's good if everything's fine, but you still need to be vigilant about patrolling the farm. Try not to let wild Pokémon cause trouble inside."
Rex reminded earnestly.
Although Rex's farm hadn't encountered significant damage so far, it was important to remain vigilant. They couldn't assume the place was safe just because life was comfortable now.
This area was near the outskirts of the Orange Forest. No one knew when migrating Pokémon colonies might pass by; that would be the true test of the farm's overall defense capabilities.
Obviously, Swellow understood their trainer's concerns well, so it promptly expressed its determination. Rex's farm was also its home; it wouldn't take its safety lightly, allowing its homeland to be damaged.
Taking advantage of the current abundance of food, it planned to rest for the day and then continue training its subordinates to enhance their strength, ensuring they could better guard the farm's safety.
Rex's final inspection destination today was the Poliwag tribe in the artificial lake. The Poliwag tribe had already approached him before, expressing that the current area of the artificial lake was somewhat cramped, and they hoped it could be expanded.
Rex had previously promised to help expand the artificial lake but had been delayed due to travel.
Today, he intended to confirm how much expansion was needed to satisfy the Poliwag tribe. However, considering the farm's limited manpower and resources, he wouldn't agree if they asked for too large an area.
"We're leaving, Torchic!"
Rex called out to the Torchic running further away.
As usual, Torchic, like before, was very steady, silently following a few steps behind him while looking around warily, acting like Rex's bodyguard.
Since birth, it had been carefully cared for by Rex, seeming carefree and curious about unfamiliar things. Fortunately, it wouldn't wander too far from its trainer, preventing it from getting lost.
Hearing the call, the Torchic reluctantly abandoned the half-eaten Fruit, which it found incredibly tasty, fitting its taste perfectly.
Of course, it had the same thoughts when eating Oran berry and Pecha berry earlier. Since entering the orchard, its mouth hadn't stopped; luckily, there were many fallen fruits recently, and it couldn't keep up with pecking them.
"You greedy thing!"
Rex saw the chick running over with fruit residue around its mouth, feeling both amused and exasperated, quickly taking out a tissue from his backpack to wipe it clean.
The artificial lake was located on one side of the orchard, so Rex didn't take long to reach the lakeside.
Unlike the relatively unchanged orchard, the lake's shore had grown a lot of aquatic plants, and the water was no longer as clear as before. One couldn't see the lake bottom clearly like before.
At this moment, many Poliwag were sunbathing on the lake surface. Most noticeable were two Poliwhirl snuggling together.
Floating on the water next to them were many tree fruits. The smaller Poliwhirl would occasionally take a fruit and feed the other.
The one enjoying itself was undoubtedly the Poliwhirl just returned, now savoring life. Rex's face twitched seeing its current enjoyment, inexplicably feeling like scolding it.
After all, as a trainer, he hadn't experienced such care, yet this tadpole achieved it; it was somewhat enviable!
"You're living quite comfortably, aren't you, Poliwhirl?"
Rex teased aloud.
Originally, enjoying life with closed eyes, the Poliwhirl opened them immediately upon hearing its trainer's voice, swiftly swimming to the shore upon seeing Rex looking at it in a half-amused and half-mocking way.
"Alright, no need to be nervous. I'm here mainly to ask about the overcrowding issue you mentioned with the artificial lake. Calculate how much expansion your tribe needs to live comfortably."
Upon hearing Rex's inquiry, the Poliwhirl also became excited, feeling uneasy about the deteriorating water quality of the artificial lake.
It had planned to approach its trainer in a few days with feedback. After all, it knew its trainer had just returned from a trip and needed a few days to rest. Unexpectedly, the trainer came to inquire by himself.
Suddenly, moved to tears, the Poliwhirl ran to Rex, embracing him tightly and spinning around madly.
"Ah, dizzy, dizzy!"
Rex felt his head swim as the Poliwhirl spun him around, quickly asking it to stop.
Realizing his trainer's discomfort, the Poliwhirl stopped spinning and scratched its head in embarrassment.
Afterward, with gestures from the Poliwhirl, Rex understood the expansion needed for their living area.
They only needed to double the size of the artificial lake to satisfy their colony's reproductive and living needs for a long time.
Because of the expansion, the artificial lake's self-purification ability would also improve. As long as the purification capacity
exceeded the pollution generated by the Poliwag tribe's activities, the water quality could be maintained without deterioration.
Rex didn't refuse their request but instead thought about the most suitable direction for expansion. With previous experience in excavating the artificial lake, it would only take some time to complete the expansion.
Especially now that Sandslash had significantly strengthened, he believed the excavation speed would be much faster.
(End of Chapter)