"Grandma Nieno's craftsmanship is amazing; I finally understand why you two are such good cooks."
Rex exclaimed as he enjoyed the crisp cookies.
"Of course, we've learned a lot from Grandma Nieno."
Yui replied proudly.
"Huh, boss, why is there a Bellossom in our backyard? Did you catch it?"
After returning, Yuli immediately went to check on the plants in the backyard. Unexpectedly, she saw a Bellossom playing with the Hoppips, so she hurried back to the hall to ask her boss.
"That Bellossom is temporarily staying at our farm, sent by Miss Koko. Once it learns the Grassy Terrain skill, it will leave."
Rex explained the story of Koko leaving Bellossom at the farm to both girls.
"Our farm has a Bellossom? That's such a beautiful Pokémon! I must go make friends with it"
Upon hearing about the Bellossom in the backyard, Yui ran over excitedly. She had no resistance to Pokémon with beautiful appearances.
After learning about Bellossom's background, Yuli also returned to the backyard, evidently fond of Bellossom as well.
Now, only Rex and Marill were left in the living room, eating cookies. Rex squinted and glanced at the chubby Pokémon, making it feel somewhat uneasy.
Marill suddenly found the cookies less appealing. It had been very pampered, but now it felt like its favored status was being threatened.
Seeing Rex's mischievous smile, Marill quickly jumped off the chair and ran to the backyard, intending to rely on its adorable appearance to win back its trainer's heart and avoid being bullied by the 'big bad boss.'
Unfortunately, upon arriving in the backyard and seeing Bellossom playing with its trainer, Marill felt it had lost. It, too, was somewhat captivated by Bellossom's beauty.
With the mindset of "if you can't beat them, join them," Marill successfully integrated into the group and happily danced with Bellossom. At that moment, it thought maybe this wasn't so bad after all.
Having successfully scared off Marill, Rex enjoyed the delicious cookies alone. Just then, his phone suddenly vibrated.
"Hello, is this Professor Birch?"
Seeing that the call was from Professor Birch, Rex knew it must be about the fossil Pokémon revival.
"Yes, your Pokémon fossil has been successfully revived. It's a Lileep. I've completed my research on it. You can come to the lab and pick it up when you have time."
Professor Birch said with a smile.
Clearly, he was in a good mood, likely because the fossil Pokémon revival experiment had yielded significant results.
"Got it, Professor. It's a bit late today, so I'll come to the lab tomorrow morning."
"Alright then, see you tomorrow! Goodbye!"
"Goodbye!"
After hanging up with Professor Birch, Rex took out his Pokédex and started searching for information on Lileep.
Lileep has a black top with two yellow eyes. It has eight pink tentacles with darker tips extending from its head. Below is its purple body, which features a yellow ring pattern and several yellow spots surrounded by rings. The part connecting its body to its base is yellow and segmented. Its base resembles a suction cup with four protrusions arranged in a cross shape.
Lileep lived on the warm ocean floor about 100 million years ago and went extinct. It adheres to rocks on the sea floor with powerful suction cups, resisting even the strongest waves.
Stuck to rocks and unable to move, it uses its two eyes to scan the surroundings for prey. It sways its tentacles, resembling seaweed, to lure prey close, then captures and devours them.
Although Lileep's appearance isn't conventionally attractive and even somewhat strange, as a rare fossil Pokémon, Rex felt he could accept it.
Moreover, as a grass and rock-type Pokémon, Lileep can learn the Grassy Terrain skill, which is crucial for Farm's work in cultivating and accelerating plant growth.
The next morning, Rex set off directly for Professor Birch's lab. With Swellow's speed, the round trip to the lab now took less than two hours.
Upon arriving at Professor Birch's lab, Rex was greeted by Jushua, Professor Birch's assistant. He led Rex to a large ecological park.
"Good morning, Rex. Welcome."
Professor Birch greeted him with a wave.
"Good morning, Professor."
Rex quickly walked up to Professor Birch and greeted him politely.
"Follow me. Lileep has somewhat adapted to the outside environment, so I've placed it by the lake."
Following Professor Birch, Rex arrived at a lake. Before getting too close, he noticed Lileep attached to a moss-covered rock by the lake, its body swaying rhythmically.
"Through my research, I've found that Lileep still has a sense of detachment from the current environment. You'll need to help it adapt to the modern world, and this process might take some time. Be prepared for that."
Professor Birch said seriously.
"I understand. I'll do my best to help Lileep adapt to our time."
After assuring Professor Birch, Rex walked towards Lileep.
Professor Birch was confident in Rex, knowing he was a capable trainer. He wasn't worried about any danger during the process of Rex capturing Lileep, so he left to attend to his own work.
In fact, fossil Pokémon revived through the machine are similar to Pokémon hatched from eggs—they are new lives. However, the eras they lived in are so vastly different from today that everything from food to air and environment has changed. It's as if they've been transported from ancient times to the present, with no gradual adaptation process.
"Lileep, hello. Please take care of me from now on."
Rex greeted Lileep from a safe distance.
But Lileep didn't respond, swaying like seaweed.
This was actually its hunting technique, disguising itself as seaweed to lure prey close with its petal-like tentacles, then capturing and devouring them.
Rex couldn't guarantee that approaching wouldn't trigger an attack, so maintaining a safe distance was necessary.
"Come out, Swellow!"
Rex knew that for a creature still behaving like it was in ancient times, defeating it was the only way to gain its respect.
"Swellow, use Air Slash!"
Following Rex's command, a large wind blade flew towards Lileep. Sensing danger, Lileep conjured a rock using Ancient Power to intercept the wind blade.
Unfortunately, the difference in their strength was too great. The rock was shattered by the Air Slash, which continued towards Lileep, hitting it squarely and knocking it out.
Although Lileep was a fossil Pokémon, it had only recently left its juvenile stage. Rex used Swellow to leave a strong impression on it, ensuring its full submission.
(End of chapter)