The Sinnoh region is a part of the Pokémon world consisting of the main island, the northeastern island where the Battle Zone is located, and numerous smaller islands in the east. Sinnoh is located northeast of Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn, far away from other regions. Most of Sinnoh's routes are on the main island, and like Mt. Silver which connects Kanto and Johto, Mt. Coronet is situated at the center of Sinnoh, extending north and south, dividing Sinnoh into eastern and western parts.
Unlike the warm southern region of Hoenn, Sinnoh is located in the northern part of the Pokémon world, resulting in a cold climate. The northern areas often experience snowfall year-round, while certain southern areas experience rain.
In some parts of Sinnoh, such as Snowpoint City, roads may be completely covered in snow. The local Pokémon have long adapted to this climate.
It has been over half a month since May and Max left the Rex farm. During this time, Rex ordered a batch of Mareep eggs from the Yezawa couple, totaling ten eggs, which were all the Mareep eggs available for sale from Yezawa's breeding house during this period.
A few days ago, these Mareep successfully hatched from the incubator, and with their addition, the Mareep population at Rex farm has reached 25.
To accommodate the new Mareep, Rex expanded the pasture area with the help of Sandslash, doubling the size of the pasture. He expects that once these pastures mature, the Rex farm will have an abundant supply of forage for a long time.
Rex also expanded the orchard area and introduced a variety of new common berries. Once these new berry varieties mature, Yuli and the others will be able to develop more targeted PokéBlocks to provide the Pokémon on the farm with sufficient energy.
After completing these tasks, Rex found that the Rex farm had reached a developmental bottleneck. He needed to introduce new industry pillars to achieve further growth.
Therefore, Rex moved forward with his plan to introduce a Combee colony. To this end, he researched some information about the Sinnoh region.
Through his research, Rex learned that the best place to obtain a large number of Combee in Sinnoh is Floaroma Town. Floaroma Town is a small town in Sinnoh, located between Jubilife City and Eterna City, known for its honey production and omnipresent fragrant flower fields.
Legend has it that Floaroma Town was once a barren land where people tried to plant flowers to restore its vitality but nothing grew. Later, someone prayed and thanked nature's gift, causing the hills to instantly bloom with colorful flowers, attributed to Shaymin using its ability to make the flowers bloom instantly. Shaymin's ability is to "instantly make barren land fertile and lush."
Surprised by the mention of Shaymin in Floaroma Town's legend, Rex remembered his grand goal of mass planting Gracidea flowers to attract Shaymin.
Although Rex was skeptical about Shaymin's presence in Floaroma Town, he decided to bring some Gracidea flowers there. After all, it might just work, and he might attract a Shaymin to settle at Rex farm.
However, Rex knew this was highly unlikely, and he would be content with successfully capturing a batch of Combee for the farm.
Suddenly, a person's image flashed through Rex's mind. He quickly took out his phone and dialed a number he hadn't used before.
"Hello, who is this?" a clear female voice asked on the other end, slightly confused.
"Is this Yuki? This is Rex. We met at the competition in Slateport City!" Rex politely introduced himself.
"Oh, oh, I'm sorry, Rex. I didn't recognize you at first since you haven't called me in such a long time. What's the matter?" Yuki recalled the boy who had defeated her during her travels in Hoenn.
"It's like this, Yuki. I remember your hometown is Floaroma Town in Sinnoh. I plan to visit Floaroma Town to capture some Combee for honey production on my farm. I wanted to ask if you could provide me with some advice?" Rex asked directly.
"If you're looking to introduce Combee, I suggest purchasing some from beekeepers near Floaroma Town. Wild Combee are relatively rare around there now, and most Combee near Floaroma Town are domesticated. Capturing them randomly might lead to conflicts with others," Yuki advised.
Realizing his initial idea was naive, Rex was glad he consulted a local. Otherwise, he might have gotten into trouble by capturing domesticated Pokémon.
"I'm currently traveling, but I'll give you my cousin's contact. She runs a berry shop in Floaroma Town. You can seek her help when you arrive," Yuki offered, intending to help Rex despite their brief acquaintance.
Rex didn't expect this pleasant surprise. After thanking Yuki, he ended the call.
Knowing that local help could make his trip to Floaroma Town much smoother, Rex felt confident about his journey.
Before heading to Sinnoh, Rex planned to visit Professor Birch's laboratory. He had intended to have Professor Birch check on Combusken's condition after its evolution and now needed to add Machoke, who had regrown its right arm.
Despite Celebi's power having regrown Machoke's right arm, Rex was unsure if there would be any side effects. Since Machoke originally came from Professor Birch's lab, he believed the professor wouldn't refuse to help.
After informing Forsythia and the others about his plans, Rex flew towards Littleroot Town on his Swellow.
Having visited Professor Birch's lab several times, Rex quickly found the professor, who was examining a Clefairy, with the help of Miho Kawakami.
"Hey, Rex, what brings you to my lab today? Did you find another Pokémon fossil?" Professor Birch greeted Rex with a smile.
Rex then released Combusken and Machoke, explaining their situations to Professor Birch.
At this point, Combusken showed no abnormalities except for its bright head feathers. However, Machoke's appearance surprised Professor Birch.
Although Machoke's right arm had become stronger through targeted training, it was still noticeably smaller than its left arm, giving it an unbalanced look.
(End of chapter)