"Hey! Rex, you and Diancie are the worst—you've already eaten more than half the food!" Yui exclaimed as she suddenly noticed what was happening. She quickly grabbed her chopsticks and dove into the dishes. "No way, I need to hurry and eat too!"
"You can't blame me and Diancie for that. You're the ones who got too busy chatting and forgot to eat, right, Diancie?" Rex replied leisurely, sipping his juice.
"Dian~" Diancie nodded earnestly, fully supporting her trainer's statement.
"Yuli! Look at them—they're totally unfair!" Yui pouted and turned to complain.
"Alright, alright. What am I going to do with you? You're about to go off on a journey and you're still being such a kid," Yuli said, shaking her head.
With laughter and cheerful banter, the group finished their warm lunch. Rex left Diancie behind to continue learning Pokéblock-making from Yuli and the others, while he headed out with his usual crew to continue his rounds around the farm.
Before long, Rex arrived at the small forest where Machamp and the other Fighting-type Pokémon resided. This grove was the favorite hangout spot for Pokémon like Machamp and Heracross.
Blaziken and Monferno had also arrived there. Despite their massive growth in strength from evolving during the trip, they were still a bit behind Machamp and Heracross.
Especially Machamp—its strength now clearly surpassed Heracross. Its relentless and disciplined nature meant it dedicated almost all its time, aside from eating and sleeping, to training. That dedication was the key to its explosive growth.
When Rex reached the clearing that Machamp had specifically carved out as a training field, he was surprised to find a sizable group of Fighting-type Pokémon training in organized rows—many of whom he had never seen before.
A particularly hot-headed Primeape charged toward Rex, seemingly offended that a human had entered their territory.
Thankfully, Machamp intervened, stepping in front of Rex and barking out a few authoritative commands that sent Primeape sulking back to the line.
"Machamp, are all these your underlings?" Rex asked, surveying the lineup.
He did a quick count: three Machop, four Mankey, one Makuhita, and the earlier Primeape, not to mention his own Blaziken, Monferno, and Heracross.
Machamp proudly thumped its chest and nodded in confirmation.
These Fighting-types had followed Machamp back from his solo expeditions into the Petalburg Forest, where they had been awed by his strength and begged to train under him.
It made sense—Fighting-types were naturally drawn to strength and battle. For them, growing stronger was more important than anything else.
Eventually, even though Machamp initially tried to shake them off, it gave in and brought them back to the grove, especially after seeing how Gyarados and Milotic had recruited other Water-types into their own groups.
While Rex had been away, Machamp introduced these new Pokémon to Yuli and the others so they could receive Pokéblocks. Since they were still relatively weak, the cost wasn't significant, and the girls hadn't thought to mention it to Rex.
But Rex didn't mind. On the contrary, having more Fighting-types meant better sparring partners for his own Pokémon. The issue of their current low strength would resolve itself in time.
Wild Pokémon normally spent much of their day struggling to survive and fighting for resources. Even though this built resilience, it also meant inconsistent energy intake.
With steady access to Pokéblocks from Rex Farm, Rex believed these Pokémon would improve far faster than in the wild.
That was why none of them had left since arriving—they couldn't bear to return to their former, harsher lifestyle.
Now, hearing that this human was their leader's trainer, the wild Pokémon felt nervous. Would they be allowed to stay?
They had already fallen in love with life on the farm—food was plentiful, and they could train as much as they wanted. It was a dream come true.
Primeape, in particular, now regretted its earlier aggression.
"Nice to meet you all. I'm Rex, the owner of this place. You're welcome to stay at Rex Farm," Rex said with a smile.
The nervous crowd of Fighting-types burst into cheers, dancing around in joy. They hadn't expected such an easy welcome.
"Alright, alright. Back to training—I'm heading out," Rex said, a little overwhelmed by their enthusiasm.
He made a quick exit from the grove and headed toward the terraced flower fields where Shaymin was.
In fact, Shaymin had already been watching his awkward encounter from the flower terraces and was currently rolling with laughter among the Gracidea blossoms.
It wasn't often Shaymin got to see Rex so flustered—it was thoroughly entertained.
Before long, Rex arrived at the flower terraces, where the Gracidea flowers were in full, staggered bloom.
Due to increasing demand from Koko's flower shop, some sections had been replanted recently, resulting in a beautiful multi-stage bloom across the terraces.
Of course, the patch where Shaymin usually stayed was off-limits to harvesting. With Shaymin's presence boosting growth, even newly planted Gracidea sprouted at astonishing speed. Rex Farm could now meet twice the flower shop's needs without issue.
(End of Chapter)