Pokemon: I'm a Farmer

In the blink of an eye, several more days passed, and the day of Rex's departure to the Alola region finally arrived.

"Yuli, while I'm away, I'll be counting on you all to take care of Rex Farm!"

Before leaving, Rex earnestly entrusted the farm to the three girls.

"Don't worry, Boss. Go and enjoy your trip. We'll make sure everything is well looked after!"

Yuli gave Rex a firm and confident nod.

Beside her, Yui and Karen also nodded in agreement. They had long regarded Rex Farm as their home and would never let anything happen to it.

After saying goodbye to the trio, Rex turned to wave at the crowd of Pokémon who had come to see him off. He told them not to worry about him—but what truly surprised him was that even Snorlax, who spent most of its time sleeping, had shown up for the occasion.

"You all need to keep working hard while I'm gone. I hope to see some real progress in your strength when I return!"

With that, Rex mounted Swellow and took off toward Slateport City, leaving behind only a steadily shrinking silhouette in the sky.

There were no direct flights to Alola from Slateport Airport. Most likely due to the great distance between the Hoenn and Alola regions, Rex first needed to take a flight to Kiloude City in Kalos, and from there catch a connecting flight to Alola.

Rex found this unexpected, considering Kalos was also one of the regions he planned to explore one day—yet now it served merely as a transfer point on his journey to Alola.

Soon enough, Rex boarded the flight to Kalos.

To his surprise, he recognized a familiar face on board—Koi, the escorting trainer who had been on the same flight with him returning from Sinnoh to Hoenn.

"You're… Rex, right?"

When their eyes met, Koi asked uncertainly.

"That's right, Mr. Koi. I didn't expect to see you again on this flight."

Since they had only met once, Rex was pleasantly surprised that Koi remembered him at all and greeted him with a friendly smile.

"Are you headed to Kalos for a trip?"

Koi still had a good impression of Rex—after all, Rex had helped him avoid a potential in-flight incident during their last encounter.

"I'm actually going to Alola. Kalos is just a layover," Rex explained briefly, then asked, "What about you, Mr. Koi? Did your escort route change to Hoenn–Kalos?"

"Haha, not really. One of my colleagues had something come up, so I'm covering for him. Seems we're fated to keep running into each other."

After a brief chat, Koi returned to the cockpit. He needed to monitor the flight closely and couldn't spend too long talking.

However, Koi did invite Rex to have dinner together after they landed in Kiloude. It was his way of thanking Rex for helping during their previous flight, and their arrival was expected around 8:00 p.m. local time.

Rex gladly accepted the invitation. After all, he'd need a proper meal once they arrived.

After more than ten hours in the air, the flight finally landed at Kiloude City Airport at around 8:30 p.m.

During the trip, there were a few encounters with wild Flying-type Pokémon, but Koi's Alakazam had used its psychic powers to drive them off with ease—no real danger, just a few close calls.

To serve as an interregional flight escort, Koi's strength as a trainer had to be top-tier. Otherwise, he wouldn't be entrusted with the safety of dozens of passengers.

"Rex, could you wait for me in the terminal? I need to report the status of the flight real quick."

Before exiting the plane, Koi spoke to Rex apologetically.

Rex didn't mind in the slightest. It was part of Koi's job. Besides, he'd eaten some food prepared by Yuli during the flight and wasn't especially hungry yet.

Kiloude's airport terminal had a sleek, futuristic design and was massive in scale—clear signs of the city's prosperity.

While waiting in the central lobby, Rex noticed a large group entering the terminal.

Most of them were reporters, easily identifiable by their microphones and camera crews. They surrounded a single, stunning young woman—clearly their target for an interview.

Rex glanced over. The girl wore white shoes and shorts, a stylish white jacket over a blouse, with wing-like decorations on the back. Her short haircut looked neat and chic, and her charming face carried a poised confidence.

What caught Rex's eye most was the Key Stone necklace around her neck.

She bore an uncanny resemblance to the real-world beauty Audrey Hepburn. Her identity became obvious in that instant—she was none other than Kalos Champion Diantha.

Unlike Steven's obsession with stones or Cynthia's love for archaeology, Diantha was a famous actress. She had starred in many films and commercials and was beloved across Kalos.

That explained why the reporters hounded her—and also why she showed no irritation. As a celebrity, media attention was a normal part of her life.

Interestingly, Diantha and Cynthia were close friends. The two often vacationed together and were said to share a deep bond.

Rex had learned this through overheard conversations between Cynthia and Yuli.

Although Rex personally knew Cynthia, he'd never met Diantha before. Naturally, he had no intention of going up to greet her—she was a public figure, and randomly approaching her could easily be mistaken for fan behavior.

But as Diantha finished dealing with the reporters and passed by him, she gave Rex a soft smile and a polite nod.

Rex assumed it was just her gracious manners and nodded slightly in return.

What he didn't know was that Cynthia had already told Diantha all about Rex and Rex Farm, even showing her his photo and profile. Since it hadn't been long, Diantha recognized him instantly.

However, she refrained from engaging further to avoid drawing attention to Rex. The last thing she wanted was to cause trouble for his travels due to her celebrity status.

Once Diantha entered the departure lounge, the crowd of reporters naturally dispersed and exited the terminal.

(End of chapter)