It had been several days since Rex returned to Rex Farm. In that time, he had visited every corner of the farm, becoming fully familiar with the changes that had taken place.
This also helped the Pokémon living on the farm not feel distant from him due to his absence. Rex felt that doing this really worked well.
Before being tasked by Professor Birch to visit Meteor Falls, Rex and the three girls—Yuli and the others—had already planned to vacation at the beach where Rex had once washed ashore. However, the mission had delayed those plans until now.
So today, Rex planned to fulfill that promise and take them to the beach for a well-earned break, to reward them for all their hard work.
"Shaymin, we're planning to go to the beach for a vacation. Do you want to come along?"
Before setting off, Rex headed to the Terraced Garden, called Shaymin out, and asked.
To help Shaymin truly integrate into Rex Farm, Rex needed to treat it as a member of the farm family. Even though he knew Shaymin, who loved staying in its flower field, was unlikely to agree, he still wanted to extend the invitation.
"Mii!"
Shaymin looked conflicted after hearing Rex's invitation. By nature, it didn't like going out, but the idea did sound kind of fun.
Watching Shaymin's adorable little face scrunch up in frustration, Rex found it amusing. He walked over and scooped up the tiny hedgehog into his arms, then headed toward Jade Moon Lake.
By then, Yuli and the others had already gone ahead to wait for him by the lake. As for the farm, Rex had entrusted it to Machamp and Heracross. The two were now perfectly capable of looking after the rest of the Pokémon on their own.
Meanwhile, Shaymin remained deep in thought in Rex's arms. Since it hadn't yet made up its mind, it simply shifted to a more comfortable position and kept pondering, completely unaware that Rex had already carried it out of the Terraced Garden.
Chimchar and Bagon were seeing Shaymin for the first time and were curiously examining the little hedgehog in their trainer's arms. Surprisingly, neither of them felt jealous.
To them, Shaymin had a scent that was incredibly pleasant—full of life and vitality—making both of the little ones instinctively want to get closer to it.
"Mii!"
At that moment, Shaymin noticed Chimchar and Bagon's curious stares and called out to them in greeting.
"Chichi!"
"Raa!"
Chimchar and Bagon responded happily when they saw Shaymin greeting them.
Soon, in this cheerful atmosphere, Rex brought Shaymin to the edge of Jade Moon Lake. From a distance, he could already see Yuli and the other two girls waiting on the shore, along with Milotic, Gyarados, and Lapras.
As Rex got closer, he noticed that Politoed and a few Poliwags were already waiting in the lake as well. Apparently, they wanted to tag along for some fun at the beach.
Rex had no objections. After all, Politoed and its group could swim there themselves, so he didn't need to make any arrangements for them.
"Wow, boss, you're amazing! You actually managed to bring Shaymin along!"
At that moment, Yui spotted Shaymin lying quietly in Rex's arms and beamed with delight.
Among the three girls, Yui had the best relationship with Shaymin, and Shaymin liked playing with her the most—or rather, teasing her.
Shaymin's favorite pastime was dragging Yui all around the Terraced Garden, making her run until she was gasping for air. Then, from a short distance away, Shaymin would burst into laughter.
Though Shaymin often played tricks on her, Yui still enjoyed spending time with it. She believed that one day Shaymin would genuinely accept her as a friend.
"Alright, let's head out!"
Seeing that everything was ready, Rex didn't waste any time and called out.
The three girls climbed onto Lapras's back, while Rex, carrying Shaymin and accompanied by Chimchar and Bagon, boarded Gyarados. Milotic took the lead in front.
Politoed and the Poliwags, meanwhile, leisurely floated on their backs, basking in the sun as they brought up the rear.
As they crossed through the Forest, the girls would occasionally exclaim in surprise at the wild Pokémon drinking water along the riverbanks.
Since none of them had ever traveled before, they'd only seen Pokémon that Rex had captured or that were raised on the farm. This jungle trip was a real eye-opener for them—most of the wild Pokémon along the banks they had only ever seen in pictures or on TV.
Rex didn't think much of it and soon led the group out of the forest and onto the open sea. The vast, endless ocean lifted everyone's spirits.
"Boss, look over there—it's Wailmer!"
Karen pointed excitedly into the distance.
Following her finger, Rex and the others saw several Wailmer swimming in the distance, occasionally shooting water jets from their backs.
Everything they encountered along the way amazed the girls, making them look forward even more to the beach they were headed to.
"Boss, how much longer until we get to the beach?"
Yui asked curiously.
"We're almost there. I promise the view won't disappoint you."
Rex was confident in the beach's scenery.
After traveling a bit farther across the ocean, Milotic led them into a bay. Upon sensing Milotic and the others arriving, the Pokémon living in the bay began surfacing one after another.
"Boss, with so many wild Pokémon here… is it going to be alright?"
Yuli asked nervously.
Seeing so many wild Pokémon all at once, she worried that they might not be welcome and that the Pokémon were gathering to drive them away. She didn't know what to do.
"Don't worry—they're just coming out to welcome Milotic."
Rex explained as he looked at the water-type Pokémon gathering around them.
Sure enough, once they got close, the Pokémon didn't show any hostility. Instead, they swam alongside them, escorting the group deeper into the bay.
"Whew!"
Seeing this, Yuli let out a sigh of relief and began observing the Pokémon more closely.
"If any of you are interested, you can try catching one of them."
Rex noticed the girls seemed intrigued by the water Pokémon and offered the suggestion.
"I'll pass. Jumpluff and Marill are enough for me. But maybe Yui and Karen can give it a shot."
Yuli thought for a moment and politely declined.
"I might consider it—but only if I find one I really like!"
Yui carefully studied the surrounding Pokémon, hoping to spot one that truly appealed to her.
As for Karen, she declined outright. She had already decided that all her future captures would be flying-type Pokémon.
(End of Chapter)
Note: Join my Patreon to get access 10 advance chapters.
Patreon:
patreon.com/RockyRoad891