Pokemon: I'm a Farmer

After spending the afternoon at the Trainer School, Rex declined Professor Kukui's invitation to stay at his house and instead chose to camp alone on a remote beach.

Rex was planning to test a new hypothesis—one that involved his own healing ability. Staying with Kukui would only complicate things, so he found a quiet, secluded spot to carry it out.

Kukui didn't object to Rex's decision. After seeing the strength Rex had demonstrated, he no longer saw him as a student in need of protection but as a capable and independent Trainer.

The night passed peacefully on the empty beach. The next morning, Rex shared his plan with Swellow: the first step was for it to burn through all its stamina and energy.

"Swellow!"

Swellow chirped in agreement without hesitation.

Given Swellow's current reserves, draining its energy quickly wouldn't be easy. Fortunately, Rex was prepared.

"Swellow, keep using Brave Bird—nonstop!"

With the command given, Swellow's body was enveloped in flying-type energy. It dove at the incoming waves like a living blade, slicing through one after another, crashing into the sea until the energy ran out.

Rex took advantage of the moment to train Swellow's Brave Bird attack. It was Swellow's most powerful physical move, amplified by its flying type—but it inflicted recoil damage every time, so Rex rarely used it during regular training.

Now was the perfect chance to work on both Swellow's stamina and its mastery of Brave Bird.

The move was draining, both physically and in terms of life energy. After multiple charges into the sea, Swellow was left panting and covered in bruises from recoil damage.

"That's enough, Swellow. Start absorbing Z-energy. I'll begin the healing afterward."

Seeing that Swellow had pushed itself to its limit, Rex had it begin drawing Z-energy from the air. Once Swellow had absorbed enough, he pressed a hand against its body and began the healing process.

A green glow flowed from Rex's palm into Swellow. The bird closed its eyes, feeling the changes happening within.

"How do you feel, Swellow?"

The healing took longer than usual. When Swellow finally opened its eyes, it paused—then gave a joyful chirp and nodded at Rex.

Clearly, something was different. For the first time, Swellow had actually felt Z-energy being absorbed into its body during the process.

Rex's hypothesis had been correct: when Swellow was severely depleted, its body would instinctively absorb and retain any available energy—whether life energy or Z-energy.

Encouraged by the result, Rex resumed training. Swellow performed Brave Bird three more times, using up the remainder of Rex's healing ability for the day.

"Swellow, take the rest of the day off. We'll train more tomorrow."

"Swellow!"

Though still visibly excited, Swellow understood it needed to rest. The repeated high-intensity sessions had taken a toll on its body and mind.

Rex set Haunter on night watch duty, and the team spent a calm evening under the stars on the peaceful beach.

The next morning, Rex stepped out of his tent and blinked. "Huh? Swellow… you look taller."

Swellow cocked its head in confusion, then blinked in surprise as it slowly realized what Rex meant. A second later, it let out an elated cry.

It could now sense the changes—Z-energy had begun acting on its body, helping it grow. Swellow was evolving, not in form, but in strength and size.

With renewed determination, it pressed Rex to resume training.

Rex quickly wolfed down breakfast and resumed their Brave Bird sessions, exhausting both Swellow's energy and his own healing abilities once more.

The morning's gains were notable.

Swellow had not only improved its execution of Brave Bird—the charge time was shorter, and the impact more powerful—but it had also developed a stronger affinity for Z-energy.

Now, even when at full energy, Swellow could feel a trickle of Z-energy being drawn into its body. The absorption rate had jumped from 1% to nearly 10%.

That level of improvement was huge. Rex believed this affinity would continue to grow. Eventually, Swellow's body would fully accept Z-energy—at that point, it would have become a true Totem Pokémon, able to generate its own aura.

However, this path would still take a lot of time. Unless Rex planned to stay in Alola long-term, the fastest route would be obtaining a Sparkling Stone—one capable of storing large amounts of Z-energy.

Which was exactly why Rex now placed even greater importance on passing Island King Hala's trial. It was his best shot at acquiring the stone he needed.

(End of Chapter)