After Rex, who had obtained a 'rare' Pokémon, finished tidying up his fishing rod, he began preparing dinner.
Having spent the entire day fishing, Rex wasn't in the mood to cook a lavish meal. He settled for a pot of noodles as his dinner.
At this moment, the various Pokémon that had spent the day out and about began returning to the beach, one after another, to enjoy the energy cube meals that Rex had prepared for them.
Torchic, unusually, was not by his side today. Instead, it formed a small jungle exploration team with Flaffy and Gastly, venturing into the forest for an adventure.
Rex was quite familiar with the surroundings. Knowing that there weren't particularly strong Pokémon nearby, he allowed the Pokémon to roam freely.
With the strength of Flaffy and Gastly, there was no problem protecting Torchic. Indeed, the most powerful Pokémon they encountered today was a Shiftry.
The Shiftry hid among the fallen leaves, trying to take advantage of Torchic's carefree running.
However, just as it was about to succeed, Flaffy struck it with a powerful Thunderbolt, nearly knocking it out, forcing it to retreat in embarrassment.
During their time in the forest, they encountered many woodland Pokémon, but there were no conflicts, only friendly exchanges.
Then there were the lazy ones. Victreebel, basking in the sun all day, while Sandslash dug a hole on the beach and lounged inside, enjoying a sandy beach bath.
The only member of the food-loving group was Heracross, which scoured the forest for large trees that produced delicious sap.
However, it didn't overindulge. After consuming a certain amount of sap from one tree, it moved to another to ensure the trees wouldn't wither due to its excessive consumption.
This was their instinct for sustainable development, a key to the survival of their species.
Lastly, there was the fishing group where Rex was located. The trio of Machop, Poliwhirl, and Swellow assigned to this group were quite dissatisfied, feeling that their trainer had deceived them.
After all, their trainer hadn't caught any powerful Pokémon all day, leaving them bored and idle.
The next morning, Rex was awakened by a commotion outside his tent. Upon opening it, he found that the beach was already bustling. Clearly, the Pokémon knew that training would begin today, and they were all eager.
Especially Machop, who felt that its recent progress was slowing down and wanted to spar with other Pokémon to make greater strides.
"Everyone seems spirited!"
Rex greeted them with a smile.
After breakfast, Rex announced the start of training.
Flaffy teamed up with Poliwhirl, Swellow, and Gastly for battle practice, and they were all eager, ready to prove themselves after their last encounter.
In particular, Swellow, being the oldest among them, felt that its previous performance was due to the lack of nearby water sources, demanding that battles take place by the seaside.
Flaffy and Poliwhirl were also excited, believing their joint training in controlling battles would finally be put to use.
Indeed, due to their unsuitable bodies for excavation, Rex didn't involve them in the construction of the artificial lake.
However, they didn't waste these days. Especially Flaffy, which felt its type was a natural counter to Poliwhirl's, couldn't accept being defeated.
During this time, Swellow and Gastly frequently trained together, with Swellow perfecting its Aerial Ace and Steel Wing skills, while Gastly practiced Shadow Ball, Hypnosis, and Scary Face.
Moreover, they practiced skill combinations, always using Machop as their imaginary opponent, trying to find ways to outsmart it and launch effective attacks.
For Sandslash, making a rare visit to the beach, Rex instructed it to practice Sand Attack and Sand Tomb, improving its control over sand, ideally leading to mastery of the Sandstorm technique.
For Sandslash with the Sand Veil ability, mastering Sandstorm would allow it to hide its form within the sandstorm, confusing its opponents—a useful tactic in battles.
After assigning training tasks to the Pokémon, Rex stood by the seaside, observing Magikarp and Feebas blowing bubbles on the sea surface, unsure where to start their training.
Their skill sets were similar, both knowing Splash and Tackle. Simply competing over who could jump higher seemed meaningless.
So Rex had them practice Tackle. After a few collisions, he discovered that Magikarp liked to charge head-on, while the seemingly foolish Feebas would cleverly evade Magikarp's attacks, then strike its body with headbutts, avoiding its toughest parts.
However, Feebas's headbutts were weaker compared to Magikarp's tough, bony body, resulting in minimal damage regardless of where it struck.
Rex didn't intervene, merely watching and promising an energy cube reward to the first one to defeat the other.
Hearing about the reward, the initially indifferent duo finally started taking it seriously, both being bottom-dwellers in the ocean, neither stronger than the other, prompting them to fight on equal terms.
This was exactly what Rex wanted to see. Without this determination, he didn't know how to help them level up quickly.
Lastly, Torchic needed to develop its physical endurance. Rex tied ropes around its legs, attaching stones at the other end, then had it run circles around the beach.
This exercise would strengthen Torchic's leg muscles. For the time being, this was Rex's training regimen for it, with the weight of the stones changing as Torchic's strength improved.
(End of Chapter)