Pokemon: I'm a Farmer

"Lillie, why aren't you joining the others?"

Although Rex already knew she couldn't touch Pokémon, he pretended not to, asking with casual curiosity.

After all, he'd just arrived in Alola—best to act like he was getting to know Class 3A naturally.

"Ah, well… um…"

Flustered by a question from someone she'd only just met, Lillie twisted the hem of her dress, clearly unsure how to respond.

"Rex, since you're new here, you might not know—Lillie can't touch Pokémon due to some past reasons. But she's the top student in our class and knows more about Pokémon than any of us!"

Mallow jumped in quickly to help, giving Lillie a graceful out.

"Oh, that's quite rare… but it sounds like something psychological. I believe you'll overcome it one day, Lillie."

Rex didn't pry further and offered her gentle encouragement instead.

"I will! Thank you, Rex!"

Lillie's eyes lit up with determination.

"Looks like you've all gotten to know each other pretty well."

At that moment, Professor Kukui reentered the classroom. After glancing at Swellow, he turned to Rex and smiled. "That Swellow of yours has a sharp look in its eyes. I think your idea of making it a Totem Pokémon might actually be possible."

"Professor Kukui, aren't Totem Pokémon born that way? You're saying they can be trained into one?"

Mallow raised her hand, curiosity sparkling in her eyes.

"Well, that's just it—we don't really know," Kukui admitted, shrugging. "We've encountered Totem Pokémon in the wild, but no one's ever successfully raised one. It's still a mystery."

"Then, Rex, what made you think of trying to make your Swellow a Totem Pokémon?"

Kiawe chimed in next, clearly intrigued by anything that could make Pokémon stronger.

"My Swellow's already reached a high level of strength. It can keep improving, sure, but because of its species' base stats, progress will get slower and harder. That's why I'm hoping it can become a Totem Pokémon—to break through its biological limits."

Rex responded to Kiawe but was also explaining his reasoning to Professor Kukui.

Sure enough, Kukui nodded thoughtfully, then fell into deep thought, clearly considering how he could help.

In truth, Kukui wasn't entirely unfamiliar with Totem Pokémon. Years ago, he'd investigated them too, but after hitting a wall with no breakthroughs, he'd shifted his focus to Z-Moves—where he'd found much greater success.

Kukui had a knack for Z-Move research. The Z-Moves he developed were tremendously powerful and had earned him recognition across many regions, eventually securing his reputation as one of Alola's most renowned Pokémon Professors.

But since focusing on Z-Moves, his research into Totem Pokémon had been shelved—until now, with Rex's arrival and the possibility of turning a Swellow into one.

Still, Kukui hadn't come away from that earlier research empty-handed. From ancient texts and myths, he had deduced that all Totem Pokémon possessed a distinct "Totem Aura." It was this aura that allowed them to transcend their natural species limits.

One legend claimed that long ago, during a great battle between Necrozma and the island guardian Tapus, fragments of Necrozma's light scattered across Alola. Some of this divine light struck wild Pokémon, triggering strange mutations—thus creating the first Totem Pokémon.

As for how modern Totem Pokémon came to be, Kukui had spent years observing them in the wild but never found clear clues. He couldn't just kill an existing Totem Pokémon to see if a new one would take its place. Nor could he tell which ordinary Pokémon might have the potential to become a Totem.

Listening to Kukui's account, Rex felt even more confident in his own theory.

He knew the materials used to make Z-Rings—Sparkling Stones—as well as the Z-Crystals found in the wild, all originated from that ancient divine light left behind by Necrozma.

In essence, both Sparkling Stones and Z-Crystals were manifestations of the same primal energy as the Totem Aura, just expressed in different forms.

So Rex's plan to make Swellow a Totem Pokémon would start by acquiring a Sparkling Stone and several Z-Crystals.

When he explained this to Kukui, the professor fell into thoughtful silence again.

Rex's idea made sense. Perhaps, by extracting and channeling the full energy within a Sparkling Stone or Z-Crystal, one could fuse that power directly into a Pokémon—triggering a transformation.

Z-Moves were already capable of temporarily releasing a portion of that energy to boost attacks. It was clean, renewable energy; after some time, Z-Crystals would recharge.

But Rex's approach would be fundamentally different: instead of temporary boosts, he wanted to permanently inject the energy into Swellow—using up the full contents of the stone in a one-time shot. Whether that would truly trigger a metamorphosis, Kukui couldn't say.

"Rex, your theory does seem plausible… but you need to understand, Sparkling Stones and Z-Crystals are incredibly rare in Alola. There's no guarantee you'll be able to find them."

Kukui finally spoke, gently pouring a bit of cold water on the idea.

Though he himself possessed both a Z-Ring and Z-Crystals, Kukui knew firsthand how difficult they were to obtain—luck played a big role too.

Most of the Sparkling Stones in Alola had already been made into Z-Rings and were now heirlooms of the Island Kahunas.

Among all of Class 3A, only Kiawe was lucky enough to inherit a Z-Ring from his late grandfather—a former Island Kahuna himself.

(End of chapter)