Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Trouble at the Orphanage
"Milktank, say hello to everyone!"
Rex came to the yard and released Milktank from its Poké Ball.
Milktank, released into a completely different environment, looked around with curiosity and a bit of longing.
Standing on the grass, with the breeze blowing by and the evening sun casting its rays upon them, they felt a comfortable sensation, as if they were naturally meant to run on the prairie.
"Moo!"
Milktank mooed to everyone.
"Hello, Milktank! My name is Akiko. Can I be friends with you?"
Akiko, who was playing with Mareep, hurried over when she saw Milktank.
Milktank responded with a hug, and she returned it with an enthusiastic embrace. This signified that they were already good friends.
"So Milktank has already been born, that's great!"
Yuta, holding the Taillow Egg, said enviously.
Ever since he obtained the Taillow Egg , he would take it wherever he went, fearing that he wouldn't be by its side when Taillow hatched.
"Let's see, your Taillow should be hatching in a day or two, so you don't need to envy," Rex said to Yuta.
"Hehe, I know that, but the closer it gets to Taillow's hatching time, the more nervous I become."
After scratching his head, Yuta said.
"Yuli, from now on, I'll leave Milktank to you!"
Rex said to Yuli.
He needed to intensify the training of his own Pokémon. Only by increasing their strength could he deal with the upcoming Gym challenges and the Ever Grande Conference. Since he had chosen to participate, he had to give it his all.
"Of course, no problem, boss. You can trust me with Milktank!"
Yuli naturally wouldn't refuse Rex's request and agreed directly.
After dinner, Rex began planning which Gym to challenge first. Since he needed to challenge seven Gyms, it was daunting, and he needed to plan his challenge route carefully.
Through studying the map of Hoenn, he found out that he could first challenge the closer Rustboro Gym.
Then, he would head to the Lavaridge Gym, and finally challenge the Mauville Gym. After completing this round of Gym challenges, he could return to the Rex Farm for a rest and then proceed to the next round of Gym challenges.
According to Rex's calculations, with Swellow carrying him to his destinations, he could complete the challenges of three Gyms in just over half a month at most.
Now that the route was set, Rex planned to train his Pokémon for a while before setting off.
"Come on, Swellow!"
"Have you all eaten? Heracross, and Poliwhirl!"
Now was the tenth day since Rex returned to Rex Farm. It was the fifth battle between Heracross and Poliwhirl against Taillow.
Since their first battle ended in a tie, both sides were somewhat dissatisfied with the outcome.
The result was that both sides wanted to challenge again. Naturally, Rex wouldn't refuse. The previous challenge results were one win, one loss, and two ties, so this match was particularly important to them.
However, the result might not be friendly to Heracross and Poliwhirl.
Since returning to the farm, Swellow seemed to have exceeded its limits, perhaps due to the intense battles before. Its height increased by another section, reaching a height of 2.1 meters, much taller than Rex now.
Not only that, but along with the enhancement, Swellow's skill power and release speed also increased, gradually becoming more dominant over time.
Although Heracross and Poliwhirl had grown considerably during this time, there was still some gap compared to Swellow.
This gap had already manifested in their previous battle; it just wasn't as obvious as it was now.
Sure enough, with Swellow's Brave Bird attack, both Heracross and Poliwhirl lost their combat effectiveness. At this moment, Swellow, though covered in wounds, still had fighting spirit left.
After seeing their opponents fall, Swellow flew back to the ground, then emitted a white light from its entire body, using its Roost move to restore its stamina.
Yes, Swellow had already mastered the Roost recovery move. Rex believed that it was because he taught it the Rest move and frequently used abilities on it, allowing it to comprehend some techniques of using life energy on its own, which enabled it to learn the Roost recovery move independently.
Of course, the Roost move wasn't useful in battle as it required Swellow to land on the ground, which would give opponents a chance to strike back.
So, this move could only be used after defeating the opponent to restore its own condition, maintaining its endurance.
"Weepinbell, use Grassy Terrain!"
This Weepinbell had just evolved from Bellsprout a few days ago, and its Grassy Terrain move had improved significantly after evolution.
Through its evolution, Rex also realized that even without battling, as long as Pokémon repeatedly trained their skills and maintained sufficient nutrition, they could still increase their level and evolve.
It's worth mentioning that two Taillow in the Taillow group had already evolved into Swellow. This was closely related to the abundant energy cubes provided by Rex Farm and the frequent training.
These two Swellow were of normal size, half the height of Rex's Swellow, and couldn't carry passengers for now. Otherwise, it would be convenient for other people at Rex Farm to travel.
However, after they grew for a while longer, carrying passengers should be no problem.
"Hey, boss, I'm really sorry to disturb your training, but can you please let Swellow take me to Fallabor Town?"
From the other end of the phone, Yuli's trembling voice came through.
"Don't worry, tell me what happened first."
Rex inquired.
"It's like this. I just got a call from Meirei. She said she didn't know what happened, but the orphanage suddenly caught fire. After Grandma Nieno rescued them from the fire, she fainted, and now she's been taken to the hospital in town."
Yuli said to Rex with a hint of crying in her voice.
"Wait for me, I'll be right there!"
After Rex finished speaking, he immediately recalled the other Pokémon, then mounted the mostly recovered Swellow and hurried back to Rex Farm.
Since the training ground where Rex had Swellow battle was not far from his farm, it only took a few minutes for him to return home.
"Yuli, you and I will go. Yui and Yuta, you two take care of Akiko and the farm. Wait for our news!"
Rex looked at the worried faces of the few people and said.
Then, Rex brought Yuli onto the back of Swellow, directly letting Swellow fly them to Fallabor Town. With Swellow's current strength, carrying both of them for flight was very easy.
"Yuli, should we go directly to the hospital or go to the orphanage first?"
Rex asked.
"Let's go to the hospital first. I just heard from Meirei that they've all been taken
to the hospital in town."
Since Swellow's speed had increased again during this period, it took less than eight minutes to reach Fallabor Town Hospital.
After asking the nurse at the entrance, Rex and Yuli came to the second-floor ward.
"Sister Yuli, you finally came! Our home is gone, sob!"
Seeing Yuli, the only three children left at the orphanage rushed over as if they had found their backbone, and hugged her.
"Don't cry first, how is Grandma Nieno?"
Yuli patted their heads and asked anxiously.
"I heard from the nurse that Grandma Nieno inhaled a lot of smoke while saving us, her lung condition is quite serious, and she may need a long time to recover!"
"Meirei, don't be sad. I believe Grandma Nieno will get better in the future."
Yuli was also somewhat distressed upon hearing this news, but she still endured the sadness and comforted Meirei.
"Is it Yuli?"
At this time, lying on the hospital bed, Grandma Nieno woke up and called out.
"It's me, Grandma Nieno. Are you okay?"
Yuli hurried to the bedside, grabbed Grandma Nieno's hand, and asked anxiously.
"Cough, I'm fine, just my throat feels a little uncomfortable. You don't have to worry!"
After coughing a few times, Grandma Nieno said.
(End of this chapter)
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