Pokemon: I'm a Farmer

"Bagon, pick up the pace or the Yungoos are going to overtake you!"

"Chimchar, focus on training! Stop teasing the Gumshoos!"

"Flaaffy, tone down that Thunderbolt! Can't you see your opponent's already out of juice?"

It was now Rex's fifth day inside Verdant Cavern, and after spending time with the Totem Gumshoos and its subordinates, they'd all become quite familiar with each other.

At the moment, Bagon was doing laps along the cavern wall with a group of curious Yungoos. Rex had noticed the cavern's uneven terrain made it a great environment to train agility, so he had Bagon—who wasn't particularly nimble—run there daily.

The Yungoos, intrigued by Bagon's movements and having been on the receiving end of beatings from both it and Chimchar over the past few days, decided to tag along in the training, eager to understand what made Bagon so strong.

This turned into a competitive race inside the cavern. Driven by its fierce sense of rivalry, Bagon pushed itself hard, refusing to lose to Pokémon it had previously beaten. Whenever it encountered a boulder too tall for its short legs to climb, it simply accelerated and smashed through it with Headbutt—gradually making the outer ring of the cave smoother with each lap.

Rex didn't stop it. As long as Bagon overcame the obstacles through its own strength, he had no reason to intervene.

Chimchar, being much more agile, wasn't part of the running circuit. Instead, Rex paired it against a slightly stronger Gumshoos for battle practice. But Chimchar's favorite tactic was to use its nimbleness to constantly harass and mess with its opponent, rather than engage head-on.

Though that could be considered a viable strategy, Rex quickly stepped in when he saw the Gumshoos flushed red with frustration and on the verge of quitting.

The rest of the training was more routine. Combusken and shiny Flaaffy were engaged in intense sparring with multiple Gumshoos, while Jumpluff served as support, using Grassy Terrain to heal any wounded Pokémon.

Haunter also emerged from Rex's shadow. Though primarily a bodyguard, it spent time nearby honing its skills without straying too far.

The Totem Gumshoos watched all of this unfold but didn't stop Rex's activities. After all, Rex wasn't just training his own Pokémon—he was strengthening the Gumshoos and Yungoos as well.

And with Jumpluff's healing around, the Totem had no concerns about injuries among its ranks.

For the Totem, this boost in group strength was a big win. The only downside? Future rookie trainers coming to Verdant Cavern for easy training would be in for a tough surprise—the difficulty level was about to spike.

The only thing that annoyed the Totem was Swellow, who had practically set up camp beside it. Ever since the day after their battle, when the Totem Aura had regenerated, Rex had made Swellow stick close, observing and absorbing the aura at all times.

In fact, once the aura was back, Rex spent hours studying it and even asked the Totem to ramp it up to full power for a detailed analysis.

His conclusion? The Totem Aura wasn't a conventional move, but a kind of energy-channeling technique. The Gumshoos was instinctively pulling out a particular energy from within and wrapping itself in it.

As for where that energy came from or how it regenerated—the Totem itself had no clue. It simply knew it would recover after some time without needing to do anything.

Rex deduced that the energy used to form the Totem Aura likely existed in Alola's very atmosphere. Totem Pokémon could absorb it passively and store it in their bodies.

As their strength grew, so did their capacity to store that energy—leading to a more powerful aura.

It was similar to how Z-Crystals worked. When a Z-Move was used, the energy would be consumed, but after a while, the crystal would recharge on its own.

So if that theory held, Rex's goal for Swellow was to turn it into a living energy reservoir.

That's why he had it shadowing the Totem—so it could grow familiar with the aura, learn to sense the energy, and eventually begin to absorb it.

Once Swellow could do that, it would be able to store the energy in its body. When enough accumulated, it could use that power to break its own limits and become a Totem Pokémon.

But whether Swellow actually became a Totem didn't matter as much. What Rex truly wanted was for this energy to purify and reconstruct Swellow's body—pushing it beyond the natural limits of its species.

After several days of this, Swellow was finally beginning to grasp the concept. It could vaguely sense the energy surrounding the Totem Aura.

But sensing was one thing—absorbing was another. Catching and storing the energy from the air, especially when it was so scarce, was an uphill battle.

At the current rate, it would take years of effort to accumulate enough for a breakthrough.

Rex was sure this energy came from Necrozma—the so-called Radiant Deity. Only a being of such divine power could produce something so unique.

That meant acquiring a Dusk Stone or a Z-Crystal—both saturated with this energy—was once again at the top of Rex's to-do list.

Unfortunately, both were incredibly rare. Just because Ash got a Z-Ring and Z-Crystals easily didn't mean others could. Ash had caught the attention of Tapu Koko, the guardian deity of Melemele Island. That changed everything.

For now, Rex would remain in Verdant Cavern. He'd let Swellow continue learning from the Totem's aura and train his other Pokémon in the meantime.

He also reported his progress to Professor Kukui.

When Kukui heard that Rex had convinced the Totem Gumshoos to cooperate with his research, the professor finally relaxed.

He'd always trusted in Rex's strength and Swellow's power, but there had been a lingering concern that something might go wrong.

(End of Chapter)